A visit to any French magazine kiosk will illustrate the extent to which French men and women are just as preoccupied as Americans, if not more so, by body image, physical perfection and beauty. A trip to the pharmacy, supermarket or specialty shop will put you front and center with the widest selection of pills, creams and gels boasting miraculous powers to fight visible signs of ageing, banish cellulite and reduce appetite to foster weight loss. The global mass media leverage widespread body insecurities (which are heavily influenced by big corporations, advertisers and marketers) to promote goods and services we’re made to believe are crucial aids in helping us become the best versions of ourselves, regardless of how unattainable the “best” might be.
Poor, rich, young, old, educated, uneducated – men and women all over the world are susceptible to succumbing to the persuasive and often underhanded messages diffused by the media and big business. Elena Rossini, my friend whom I have previously featured on this blog (Interview and Video), has been working to obtain funding in order to begin filming her documentary, The Illusionists about the commodification of the body and the marketing of unattainable beauty around the world.
In June, she…
