Abigail Plant
ENGL-1301-407
Mr. Regetz
06 October 2014
Beauty is Pain In today’s society, advertisements play a huge role in people’s actions, thoughts, and appearances. Depending on who the targeted audience is, some people may interpret the ad as offensive, while others may not. In Sisley’s campaign for their “Fashioin Junkie” clothing line, two younger, Caucasian females appear to be snorting a line of cocaine, when in reality, the “cocaine” is a dress. The advertisers use a variety of social values to sell their product including gender, race, and the alluring qualities of addictive drugs. By utilizing these three elements, “Fashioin Junkie” appeals to specifically a younger, Caucasian audience, showing that their clothing line is not only addicting, but also causes girls who buy and wear it to look cool. The ad for Sisley’s clothes reveals the horrifying glamour of today’s fashion industries social values, through the use of these three components, gender, race, and drugs, creating much controversy. It is no secret that certain ads appeal to a specific gender in order to sell their products, especially when dealing with fashion. In Sisley’s “Fashioin Junkie” advertisement, the designers are clearly trying to persuade females to buy their clothes, due to the fact that it is a girls clothing line. Although the ladies in the picture are normal, young girls, how they are portrayed in the image causes female viewers to think otherwise. The two models shown in the picture are obviously out partying, given the dark atmosphere, their appearance, and the “drugs”. By bringing all three elements together, girls automatically think the fashion line can help them be just as glamorous, without even realizing it. If advertisers had not put all three pieces together, the ad most likely would not have been as effective to the targeted female audience. Looking at this advertisement, many people do not realize how stereotypical it is. Both of the girls in this picture are Caucasian and seem to have a decent amount of money, yet again due to the atmosphere and setting. Commonly, when a person is white, others associate them with coming from a wealthy background and not having to work extremely hard for their money. Although it is only a stereotype, this ad is obviously directed towards girls of Caucasian descent, not only because of their “privileged” life, but also because the type of drug portrayed in the picture. Statistics have shown that “[n]early 20 percent of whites have used cocaine, compared with 10 percent of blacks and Latinos” (Knafo 1). Even though many people, Caucasian or not, see drugs as horrible, advertisers still used cocaine to appeal to white and, quote on quote, “rich” audience. Lastly, previously mentioned, the advertiser’s use of the white dress lying on a slick black table to create the allusion of cocaine is extremely important. When asked about the white powder, most people aging from twelve and up can explain the dangers and addictiveness of this drug. The Sisley Company not only glamourizes, but also utilizes it to show that their products are cool and addicting. Though the portrayal is clever, it is also controversial. It is known by many that the fashion industry is commonly associated with drug abuse
a pointless effort? This idea is outlined in a poem by Heather McHugh called In Praise of Pain. Women get the idea from society that we need to, practically, maim ourselves in order for people to notice them. We don’t change our looks to appear more appealing to ourselves; we do it to please others. While the theme is not referred to directly by the speaker, it may be discovered through imagery of beauty that most women are able to relate to. The line “...and affection where the eye/ is least…
experiencing pain I chose this image because I see pain being portrayed by the elderly women. The elderly women has closed eyes, her hand on her back, her mouth open, teeth grinded together, and is leaning to one side. It looks as though she is experiencing back pain from falling down stairs. What really stands out is her hand on back because when people hurt a part of them they hold the area that pain is coming from. The image has clear body language of physical pain. When you…
more enlightened worldview. This can be aptly observed in the world of art; where artists toil tirelessly to create works that are beautiful. This has always been the goal for most artists; however, as constant as this goal is, the definition of beauty has changed with each passing era and at times had multiple contrasting definitions because of the disparate art movements that might exist concurrently. For example, the Classical Greeks believed that the human was the ideal and to symbolize this…
which reckon their attractiveness based on how glamorous or thin they are. Body image amuses a very defining role in our nonconformist society, in which a women’s identity is meticulously cognate to her body. Because of the immense stress on size and beauty, the currents of general thought suggest that material success, self-confidence, and enticing personality characteristics are all corresponding to the level of how elegant a woman is. Improving how you look can definitely have an effect on your self-esteem…
flaw. In the end, the birthmark turns out to be a fatal flaw. With Aylmer trying to remove it, Georgiana wishes she was dead, rather then have her birthmark. Aylmer's perfectionism is slowly but surely "killing" Georgiana in a way. The saying "beauty is pain", is very evident throughout the story: with Georgiana being hurt with Aylmer's obsession. Soon Aylmer's cure works, slowly getting rid of the birthmark. As the birthmarks disappears, it seems that In "The Birthmark", Hawthorne uses Aylmer's perfectionism…
the first poem deals with a view of the world as innocent and beautiful, the other suggests a darker theme, with the narrator having a distorted view of the world he lives in. The world view depicted in Blake’s poem “The Lamb” is of innocence and beauty. The narrator of the poem is a young child who begins by asking a lamb “who…
“Ode on Melancholy” is a three-stanza poem addressed to people who are susceptible to fits of melancholy, and it offers a prescription for coping with “the blues.” John Keats says that the melancholy mood is full of beauty and potential spiritual instruction. Therefore, instead of seeking escape through intoxication or even suicide, the melancholy individual should savor the mood because it has divine properties. Lethe, referred to in the opening line, was one of the rivers of Hades in Greek and…
Imagine if clothes did not have anything to do with status, and we only wanted to stay thin to be healthy. What if people fell in love with people for their inside beauty only? Girls would not go to such extremes to meet these beauty standards. They would not think that self worth had to do with being beautiful and that a life without beauty is a life without fun. A life like this will never happen, and that is nobody's fault. People are attracted to each other for biological reasons. For instance, symmetry…
Imani Rodgers “Beauty is not only in the eye of the beholder…but also in the hands of its owner.” Women are creatures of the heart, and displayed as embodiments of beauty in art… yet so many of these “beautiful creatures” go unnoticed. Inevitably one is lead to believe that it is hard for women globally to evoke profound inner beauty, when the world only seeks outer beauty. From paintings to music videos, women are represented as “beautiful creatures” of elegance, seduction, innocence, fierce…
Egyptians had a goddess named Hathor, who was the goddess of beauty. Ancient Egyptians aspired to be as beautiful as their goddess as she was said to be absolutely stunning. She had many titles, one of which being ‘the one who shines like gold’. Women prayed to her asking her to help relieve their troubles and when some situations improved they praised her and tried to be as like her as possible. The ancient Greeks also had a goddess for beauty. Aphrodite was her name and like the ancient Egyptians worshiped…