Body image on the big screen!

For many of us, body image is something we are concerned about. We will actively try to change the way we look, for whatever reason that may be, and many people become obsessed with losing even more weight, or gaining even more muscle. Before you grab your gym kit and whey protein, sit tight for a moment and read the rest of this, then do as you please in the gym.
Just take a moment to name a plus size Hollywood star – Melissa McCarthy for example. Now have a think about those ripped stars – Ryan Reynolds, Channing Tatum, Taylor Lautner, Mark Wahlberg,  Gwyenth Paltrow the list goes on. The latter examples came into your head much faster, am I right?  Maybe it’s just me, but more notice is taken of these celebs, by name at least, than larger actors! Now if comedy performances are something to go on, I bet most of you could identify an actor or actress, maybe not by name though. Alan from super bad maybe, or Fat B*stard from Austin Powers, but I challenge you to name the actors off the top of your head. I can’t, maybe that’s just me?
In this ever increasing body conscious society, the Average Joe, or Josephine maybe, is feeling more and more pressure to look like the red carpet superstars, the ones in my second list, the Tatums and the Paltrows, but why? Do you need a six pack and a chiselled jawline to win over the girl of your dreams, or is that size zero figure really going to attract the right sort of men? Probably not. The depicted images are extremes. These people pretty much rely on their looks to succeed, after all Hollywood is an aesthetics driven business, regardless of what is said. Even the larger celebs are attractive, perfect hair and make up. Take for example the TV show ‘Glee’. The show is supposed to depict a group of social outcasts, those brought together due to an inability to fit into any other social group, yet not one of them would be classed as unattractive. Young people seeing these images are going to further increase their expectations of how they should look. “If Lea Michele isn’t attractive, and is a social outcast, what hope do I have?”
Lets be entirely honest. Does it really matter how you look if you have everything you need in life? Is image, or more to the point, should image be that important? As long as you have your health, your family and friends, and you are comfortable in life, what more do we need?