Grace's+Reflection+on+the+American+Beauty

A large part of the American character is caring about your image and how others perceive you. It’s hard for any girl to deny this, but in America these values are more prevalent because they have been instilled in us since our youth. I created a collage of makeup and models, celebrities, and Miss Americas that American girls and women look up to. I wanted to demonstrate the standard of image that Americans strive for. The video of the little girls’ pageant embodies my concerns as it begins with a little girl singing, “One day I will be a Miss America, and I’ll be the happiest dame alive!” It shows that these little girls’ //lives// revolve around their image and how the judges rate them. My next image is of Shirley Temple, who is famously thought of as adorable. But that’s just the problem. We think she’s so cute, but what about the other little girls who don’t look like that? All they wish for is to be cute like Shirley Temple because that’s the only way they think they can be loved, as I demonstrate through my photos of other little girls next to quotes from the //Bluest Eye.// Because Americans are so concerned with their image, they are devastated when they can’t reach the standard. The last quote by Toni Morrison shows this devastation: when people tell you aren’t good enough, that you’re ugly and worthless, you begin to believe them. My last two images exhibit the personal insecurity in Americans that result from the striving for the American beauty and these feelings of worthlessness.