Angolina Jolie's lips or Katy Holmes' nose? Brad Pitt's cheeks or Justin Timberlake's eyebrows? Tough decisions like these are made all of the time in waiting rooms of plastic surgeons. We keep seeing more and more people that have the desire to get plastic surgery. Shows like "Doctor 90210" and "Nip Tuck" are becoming increasingly popular.
Don't all of these modifications to the body seem so pointless, when in the long run the boobs will eventually sag, the chin will eventually wrinkle, and the body will eventually die?
In VAS, eugenics is a recurring theme. It is the idea that improving the gene pool will improve the future for the human race. Less genetic defects, less undesirable traits, less inherited health issues.
Like plastic surgery, eugenics looks to alter what nature has put forth. It is about making modifications to a body. In the case of eugenics, the body is the human race as a whole.
Similar to the way the human body dies, the human race will eventually die off. And like plastic surgery, eugenics seems pointless.
Besides, to be perfect seems unhuman. Who wants to live in a world of Barbies and Kens. Everything "perfect", everything unoriginal, everything engineered, everything wrapped in plastic.
Many times, the most enjoyable things in life are the unexpected and imperfect things. Like a cool rain in the summer.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Wrapped Up in Plastic... Surgery
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6 comments:
I almost feel like we are living in a world of Barbies and Kens. Originality is, for the most part, frowned upon, yet conforming to the masses is praised. It seems that a "perfect" world would be incredibly boring.
Interesting point you made about eugenics seeming pointless because the human race will eventually die off. It makes the future seem bleak and forces us to live and enjoy the present.
but what better way to live and enjoy the present than by having plastic surgery to instantly make you feel better off. What about people with birth defects having surgery to make them appear more normal?
As far as plastic surgery goes, US society and the world for a large part places a lot of value on beauty and physical attractiveness. People wear make up and go to more extreme measures to live up to Hollywood and supermodel beauty. Though what you said about the human race dying and eugenics not being important in the long run may or may not be true, I think plastic surgery and the like is subconsciously our way of cheating nature to say "Hey, I have good genes" and help us to reproduce and be a "valued" member of society today.
To kdl63: I believe there is a huge difference between plastic surgery for the sake of vanity and plastic surgury for health reasons.
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