The Cave Of Beauty

The allegory of the Cave was a class discussion that I really found extrememly fascinating. The idea that we are all living in a false reality that is completely accepted by everyone around us is amazing, because even though Plato wrote that hundreds and hundreds of years ago, I feel like in today’s society it has never been truer.

The first thing I thought of when I heard the phrase “living in a false reality” was the idea of modern day beauty. Every where you turn, men and women alike are  being bombarded with ads upon ads showing scantily clad models displaying any product you can think of. Nowadays “sex sells” is even being applied to items such as cleaning supplies and deoderant. Magazine covers show us what we are supposed to look like and everyone not only goes along with it, some even devote their life to figuring out ways to make their body look like the people on TV. Beauty is a trait that is embraced and even idolized by countless people. Entire cultures differ on what can be defined as “beautiful”, however in America it can be once again pretty much defined in the phrase “sex sells.” I am not a feminist or hardcore womens rights by any means, but I am someone who prefers natural beauty the way God made us, not the beauty is portrayed in our culture nowadays. And I know a lot of guys and girls that feel the same way.

This is a completely false reality, and the youtube video I am attaching is proof. This is a short film made by the brand Dove when a few years ago they started a “Real Beauty” Campaign for women. They made it their goal to show women the outside of the cave, taking the risk that would get torn apart for it. Which ironically enough, I think a lot of women still refuse to admit how unrealistic our society has become with beauty standards, thus showing Plato’s theory to be true. And this false idea of beauty is thrown at us starting at a very early age. I remember one time I heard that if Barbie was real life she literally wouldnt be able to support herself because her measurements are so ridiculous. So I did a little research and found that a standard Barbie doll is 11.5 inches tall, giving a height of 5 feet 9 inches at 1/6 scale. Barbie’s vital statistics have been estimated at 36 inches (chest), 18 inches (waist) and 33 inches (hips). According to research by the University Central Hospital in she would lack the 17 to 22 percent body fat required for a woman. So I don’t understand how you can deny the faslehood of it, especially after seeing this video. Photoshop, pounds of make up, and even re-shaping human features, are just a few tricks used by editors to make models look “beautiful”. The body we see in a magazine, if edited enough, could literally be impossible. 

I hope we never forget the allegory of the cave, and instead of accepting the truth everyone else sees to be true, we take a look outside for ourselves.

Click the link below for the video:

Model to Billboard