Earlier this month, Rebel Wilson told an Australian radio show she turned down the chance to present with Kendall and Kylie Jenner at the MTV Video Music Awards in August.
“What they stand for is totally against what I stand for,” she said of the Kardashian family. “They seem a bit superficial and their careers aren’t really based on talent.”
An article in Entertainment Weekly by Christopher Rosen on Nov. 12, 2015 went on to discuss this quote and after affects.
Let’s first review Rebel’s comments about superficiality and her claim that she is not for what these younger Jenner girls stand for. Most people realize Hollywood is in the business of entertainment. Whether that be TV, movies, music or some art form of celebrity, these people are practicing their art and the advertising and superficial aspects to the business that engulfs as a result of public fame and image.
The dark side of all this appears to be what celebrity has become in our society: a representation and promotion of some unrealistic images of beauty or unhealthy body image and unattainable fame granted to a very small group who have access to the best personal trainers, makeup artists and photo shop crews around. Images are exacerbated by the advent of social media and celebrities are paid well for all of this.
I worry about the promotion of unattainable external beauty standards on women, which translates to how to protect teenagers from these unhealthy ideals as they become targets of media and advertising. The issue about talent is not really noteworthy, as talent can be described in various ways and may not be traditional as others might define it.
Let’s dig into Wilson’s statement on what are the effects of superficial elements being so widely promoted in our society through media and what this might mean to you and me. Also, I think we have to look at this from both sides, as the Kardashian family has created what society allows for, as so do many of those in Hollywood where celebrity is a coveted spot.
There is no need to be negative about any particular person; it is the persona of what the quest for external values creates in society. For people who work hard and achieve fame; that is their accomplishment and worthy of the appropriate accolades, but let’s be realistic about what meaning this gives to society — possibly to just be entertainment and to have a wow factor.
Being an advocate for healthy body image and encouragement of women and men to be more concerned with their achievements as opposed to external concepts, such as finding self worth through image or monetary values,I would hope people will begin to take a more active stance to value inner beauty and give less attention to outer beauty.
I like that Wilson makes an attempt to call out society on the excessive attention and focus to this issue of achievement through beauty or external looks and superficial elements of money, social status, fashion and fame. These are not important values. I find the deeper meaning of this whole issue to be about a society that finds growing attention to these unrealistic ideals by overloading us with the suggestion that those who achieve social status, fame or the pursuit of external beauty should be revered.This can be found in the endless magazine covers, TV shows or in Instagram photos that depict the pursuit of external things to be gawked at.
What is more important is to be humble and modest, to teach our children and teens to value characteristics that come from the inside and acceptance of who they are not for what they look like. Read my blog on inner beauty, how to help your children work on these ideas and the importance of inner beauty.
Just my thoughts… change starts somewhere, and I hope I inspired you.
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