This article talks about the drastic physical appearance of actors/actresses in order to fit a movie role, mostly concerning weight. For example, the article talks about Renee Zellweger in the movie "Bridget Jone's Diary." In order to fit the role as "Bridget" Zellweger gained weight in order to have a more 'average' appearance. What does that mean anyway? Today's society and media puts enough pressure on women as it is to lose weight. Of course after the filming was over, Zellweger went back to her "normal" weight at a pretty fast pace. The same goes for actor Christian Bale who lost a lot of weight in order to appear gaunt in the movie "The Machinist." It's interesting that many movies in which actors/actresses change their appearance in this way, win Oscars or are nominated for Oscars, which suggests a selling point. According to the article, actors create an illusion to viewers that they can change their appearance in the same manner.
My response after reading this article is concern. It seems that in order to have a hit movie, actors will go out of their way to do just about anything to become the character in a movie. I don't see how anyone could put themselves through that so many times without facing repercussions. It seems that there's a fine line between reality and illusion.
I'm concerned as well, because I have a teenage daughter that is worried about her weight. The movies give a false image to the public about what is a normal weight. I like how you say there is a fine line between reality and illusion. Teens especially miss this important point.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is shocking that what these actors are doing is cause for concern. It is alarming that by physically changing their appearance they almost guarantee themselves award nominations, if not actually winning the award. It's really interesting to see what actors are doing to get into the mind of their character. I think Matt Damon was one of the most recent actors to gain weight for his role in "The Informant". Hopefully he will realize what you said and recognize that gaining and losing weight time after time can cause serious effects in the long term.
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