Christopher Burning
English 101-5:30
Dr. Sonia Begert
11/26/15
Photoshop, the Power of God in Your
Hands: For Good or for Evil?
Advances in technology in the recent years have given people the power to
transform the way others look to their desire. Initially it wasn’t something to
be too concerned about. However, as people have learned these programs and as
they have advanced, more is now possible than before with Photoshop.
Transformations to models on magazines are now so unobtainable due to Photoshop
that it’s causing more harm than good, both mentally and physically. So, is
Photoshop for the better or for the worse in this day and age?
Images have always been altered, well before Photoshop. In the New York Times
article concerning PhotoShopping of models, Eric Wilson indicates that the
amount of PhotoShopping that happens now is astounding. Images have always been
effected in one way or another. Whether that be the use of lighting, exposure,
angles but more recently software. The use of software in this age has taken
models to the point of unrealistic and unreachable levels of perfection. In
some ways they look like creatures from another planet. I surveyed ten of my
good friends and family through Facebook and asked, “Do you believe that the
Photoshoping of models on magazine covers accurately represents what is
obtainable or do you think they're outlandish”? Every single one of the people
who responded thought that the use of Photoshop as it is today, is outlandish
and too extreme. Furthering onto the idea that Photoshop has been taken to the
extreme Vivian Diller, Ph.D, wrote an article in the Huffington Post and quoted
The American Medical Association saying, “alterations made through processes
like Photoshop can contribute to unrealistic body image expectations, eating
disorders and other emotional problems”. So considering it can cause a slew of
physical and mental disorders and it being completely outlandish, what’s the
positivity of it?
Well according to Alice Chen, for the use of Photoshop on models, in HerCampus
website, the author states, “As an editorial publication, a magazine strives to
meet its standards of perfection. In the same way that an article passes
through the hands of multiple editors, a photo experiences a meticulous
retouching process in order to represent the best version of itself. And like
the words in a written piece may change during the process, the colors,
textures, shapes and other details of a photo may be altered without losing
what that image is at its core”. However, consider the amount of altering a
photo can go through for an ad, not even a magazine cover but just an ad. The
ways in which an image can be altered is astounding. They can change the skin
color, lip color, eye color, remove blemishes, extend the length of the
persons’ body, change breast size, eye size, hip and waist size including many
more possibilities not listed. So if all of those things are changed has the
image really kept what it is at its core? Why should a photo have to go through
retouching to represent the best version of itself? If an image is to really
represent itself, let it represent reality and not a fantasy that Photoshop
force feeds you. Another argument that is prevalent is that if Photoshop wasn’t
allowed to be used on models or in magazines, or in ads that it would put many
people out of jobs. Yes, that would be true, many people would lose their jobs,
but with the marketing being the way it is, instantly there would a large
demand in photographers or makeup artists so, yes, it would destroy jobs but at
the same time it would create the same amount that were lost, if not more.
Another point that comes from opposing side is that without the use of
Photoshop makeup sales would drop, or anything that uses enhanced images to
sell their product. However, as mentioned earlier Photographs have always been
altered, with the use of angles, lighting or exposure, so even before Photoshop,
beauty products still sold. If Photoshop was no longer used to sell products it
wouldn’t impact sales greatly, if at all.
Similarly to Vivian Diller, Harper Yi agrees that Photoshopping of models
shouldn’t be considered fiction, stating from HerCampus website, “Our ideas
about our bodies are not solely based on real-life experiences, but the
messages we consume every day and the patterns we see in the media. Say all you
want about how magazines aren’t made to be a reflection on reality, but
magazines are not considered fiction and it’s time we recognized that the
bodies of women and girls should not fall under that category either”. As it is right now, most women on the
covers of magazines are fiction. Most times there’s no way to have the flawless
skin they do, or the prefect curves they have or the 0% body fat, so it’s pure
fiction. So as Harper Yi says, why is it fiction? In essence, it shouldn’t be.
These pictures initially came from a video originally made for GlobalDemocracy.com. The top picture being the version after Photoshop and the bottom being before the use of Photoshop. Shocking isn’t it? It looks almost like an entirely different person from one picture to another. So, as Alice Chen said an image is “altered without losing what that image is at its core”. What core is left though? Her waist has changed, her facial features have changed, her height has changed, her eye color changed, her weight has changed and her skin color has changed so where’s the core? Every single aspect has been changed to meet what media expects to see from a perfect model. However, there isn’t any form of the original image left.
Yet we
judge those who are depressed or overweight or don’t fit that idea of “perfection”
as presented by media. We don’t know their stories though, so for us to judge a
book by its cover isn’t the best thing to do. To put things into perspective “47%
of girls in 5th-12th grade reported wanting to lose weight because of magazine
pictures. 69% of girls in 5th-12th grade reported that magazine pictures
influenced their idea of a perfect body shape. 42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want
to be thinner. 81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat.” according to the
National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders. A picture is
painstakingly painted from these facts. Photoshop is altering the minds of this
generations children. 1st-3rd grade girls have self-esteem
problems, self-esteem shouldn’t even be a concern to them at this point. Due to
magazines though, it is. Setting them up for more self-esteem issues and possibly
emotional problems or disorders later in life. So the next time you see any type
of ad with a model on it think about what that ad means to you, what it does to
you. Think, would it be better for us, better for you, better for your family
and better for our society if Photoshop wasn’t allowed to create the “perfect”
person?
Works Cited:
Yi, Harper. "Op-Ed: Why I Am Against the Photoshopping of Women's
Bodies." Her Campus. Style, 3 Aug. 2012. Web. 01 Dec. 2015.
Chen, Alice. "Op-Ed: In Defense of Photoshop: Why Magazines Should
Photoshop Their Models." Her Campus. Style, 2 Aug. 2012. Web. 19 Nov.
2015.
Wilson, Eric. "Smile and Say ‘No Photoshop’." The New York Times. The
New York Times, 27 May 2009. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
Diller, Ph.D. Vivian. "Is Photoshop Destroying America's Body Image?"
The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 7 Aug. 2011. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.
GlobalDemocracy.com.
"Body Evolution - Model Before and After." YouTube. YouTube, 22 May
2012. Web. 02 Dec. 2015.
ANAD.
"ANAD." Eating Disorders Statistics. ANAD, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
