America The Beautiful

Year: 2007

Grade: B+

Country: USA

Director: Roberts

Review

good documentary (mostly) about the ideas we have in america about beauty. the director makes a lot of common sense observations like the fact that beauty is arbitrary and differs from culture to culture. he also points out all the effects it has on society, particularly young girls. one odd paradox that exists in america is that we spend more time and money than anyone being bombarded by images of skinny as beauty, yet we’re the fattest nation in the world. perhaps we value being skinny because it’s increasingly rare. as for youth, we probably value that because it’s fleeting and i don’t think that’s specific to our culture as the fountain of youth has been written about for ages throughout cultures.

roberts gives us a lot to think about and meanders a bit with tangents like the plastic surgery bit or the bit with the racist scientist, but it’s all interesting stuff and is at least somewhat connected to his original thought that it works well enough. there are plenty of problems that feed this ugly machine that makes people feel bad about themselves for not looking a certain way. in the end all we can control is ourselves so we need to begin within and realize that what doesn’t matter, doesn’t matter. set your own standards and stick to them and you’ll probably be fine. ignore the noise. unfortunately the majority of people are so eager for validation that they change themselves in the hopes that they can get it.