A clean, Well-lighted Place response.

Author's Note: My classmates and I were instructed to read and answer one of the question referring to the short story “A clean, Well-lighted Place”. I chose to answer the question "Write a brief analysis of the two waiters.  What do they represent about life? What does the café symbolize?" The is my response...
 

Two waiters were used in the story “A clean, Well-lighted Place” The youngest of the two became rude and inconsiderate to the old man. Representing evil within the café. Which the café could be interpreted as life or the world. While the older of the two waiters was patient and easygoing representing the good in the world. Both treating the old man, who could be depicted as struggles and challenges in life, in very different ways. 

Feeling Pretty?

Authors Note: Beauty, being a large part in society today it seemed that writing a research paper on the effects it has on people and their thoughts on beauty would be more interesting then the usual "Life of..." research papers! 

Beauty, is it the perfect body? The prettiest face? The best clothes? Or is it the utmost purity and humbleness within you? The media has had the largest and most detrimental impact on societies definition of beauty. Ad’s and magazines plastering the perfect airbrushed body and face on the front cover of every magazine. One in every three (37%) articles in leading teen girl magazines included a focus on appearance, and most of the advertisements (50%) used an appeal to beauty to sell their products. Is it wrong to be comparing yourself to a model when society expects that out of you?  

America 1950s, an era where women and men embraced curves. Every body type was used in campaigning and no one was judged based on facial beauty. America 2013, according to an ongoing study funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute 40% of 9 and 10 year olds have attempted to lose weight. Only 9 and worried about looking like their idolized actress or pop-star. Even the famous are judged for their body! "In Hollywood, I’m obese … I’m considered a fat actress.” Jennifer Lawrence, Hunger Games star, states to the media. She’s perfectly toned and 22 years young, anything but “obese”. With the media’s tabloids throwing fat next to every actress/actor in Hollywood children and adults start to compare themselves, trying to reach goals in the wrong ways. Ways that cause anorexia, Bulimia, and EDNOS. 8,000,000 or more people in America are diagnosed with eating disorders each year.

People will give anything for their perfect body, from eating disorders to now procedures with our availability to new modernized technology. Children and technologies are evolving in each generation. Media streams through not only magazines but cell-phones, I-pods and internet. Children are developing along with technology, they become more attached to Facebook, Instagram, and the lasted trends. Tests have proved children are spending a quarter of their days with media. Easily available to the growing tendency of perfection; that anything but flawlessness is thought out to be unacceptable: acne, pointy nose, eyes to far apart, eyes to close together, round face, big ears, exedra.  Some of this has resulted in 1.6 million Cosmetic Surgery procedures a year and still growing by 5%. Now even teen magazines giving tips on how to achieve you’re “perfect look” as if teen’s natural beauty not good enough? One study reports that at age thirteen, 53% of American girls are "unhappy with their bodies." This grows to 78% by the time girls reach seventeen. Is this because of their overexposure to media’s thoughts on beauty?

Along with being over exposed many people are inspired by a perfect petite actress/athlete and disown the famous who are not a size two! For me an actress like Rebel Wilson is someone I aspire to be like. At 213 pounds and 5’8” she has been considered by the media as “fat”, but she is one person who embraces their body. Sure she, like the rest of the world, probably has her insecurities but she gives a bigger pant size something to be proud of. “I know, I pick up the roles other actresses don’t want [laughs]. When there’s movies where there are two sisters and one’s the uglier sister, there’s always no actress that wants to go for it. I’m like, why not! They’re the best roles!” She acted upon her words in her latest movie, Pitch Perfect, playing “Fat Amy”. Rebel doesn’t let the media tell her she’s fat, she says it before they get to. Although this may not be the healthiest option she gives women and men a reason to embrace their bodies. But, she has become bullied and ridiculed by the public for her weight. Media being a horrible example to the public, letting them think it's okay to judge people. As said, Ms.Wilson doesn't let anyone knock her down and without people like this humanity would have no chance against the fight of media. 

The cameras, the callous words and the preposterous idea of “pretty”. America today is brainwashed by the modern media to think that prettiness is based on outer appearance then your true inner beauty. So whether you are 100 pounds or have arched eyebrows does not define who you are. That model on the front spread is just as pretty as the next girl!

 Bibliography

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Disorders, National Eating. National Eating Disorders . n.d. http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/. 10 April 2013.

Now, Children. Media's impact on Children. n.d. http://www.childrennow.org/index.php/learn/medias_impact/. 18 April 2013.

Relations, Media. Plastic Surgery . n.d. http://www.plasticsurgery.org/news-and-resources/press-release-archives/2012-press-release-archives/138-million-cosmetic-plastic-surgery-procedures-performed-in-2011.html. 18 April 2013.

Samhsa. SAMHSA'S National Mental Health Information Center. n.d. http://store.samhsa.gov/home. 10 April 2013.