We love to put people on a pedestal and expect them to be picture perfect round the clock. Again, the way we are conditioned to feel the word ‘perfect’ is utter utopian. Imperfections and Individualism are extremely liberating and allow each one of us to just be ourselves. We all will start to feel that we are ‘good enough’ just the way we are bcoz there is no yardstick or benchmark that we have to measure up to.
Person on pedestal is not responsible or accountable for the choices we make. Right choices are the ones that we can live with & only our heart + head knows what we can endure. Stop torturing influencers with the pressure of running a righteous life. Expecting a certain person to win or succeed all the time just because he/she is your ideal is a total human rights violation.
Usual suspects of high impact mediums are TV, Movies, OTT platforms, Books, Music, Talk shows, celebrities, Our near and dear loved ones, School/Colleges, Magazines/ print, Radio etc.. We are so familiar seeing the key person across all the channels mentioned above evangelizing archaic concept of how a perfect human is supposed to be – Forever calm, cool, sacrifice for the greater good, keep everything and everyone together, ever smiling, altruistic, over achiever, all –rounder, good at education, managing home/kids/company – Uff list seems endless. This whole depiction has made everyone feel less adequate and hence there always is a bugging buzz of ‘something lacking’ within. At times, we just fail to realize that it’s just a projection and positioning not their reality
Exceptional and refreshing work such as ‘Gone with the Wind’ did try to bring in the flawed protagonist to light – way ahead of time. Scarlet O Hara was not our typical conditioned lead role character. She was raw and faulty yet endearing. She didn’t allow anyone to put her on a podium as the only way from there is to come tumbling down. She was ok to say ‘Mea Culpa’ if need be.
Sadly, over time such characters didn’t become normalized among popular folklore or archived mediums. Of late, we are getting to experience freshness again through imperfect portrayal of lead roles and conversations – on a day today basis which can eradicate jaded judgments of society. It was a delight to see ‘Made in Heaven’ series being helmed by characters who are so unconventional yet extremely engaging and appealing to our palate.
Also, a protagonist is always expected to look prim and propah + follow all etiquettes to a T + toe the line + uphold moral high ground. Morality is a loaded word and can never ever have a fixed meaning attached to it and neither individually nor as a society we can define it and set it on stone. It gets interpreted based on the context. Breaking the above shackles of beauty and behavior standards make huge business sense and positively impact bottom line of any firm especially in the cosmetics industry.
Added benefit is – diverse representation of appearance can make all of us more accepting of each other thereby improving confidence quotient of humans as a whole. Imagine the range and vastness of beauty products when they start catering to all skin type. Not every damn thing needs to be aspirational. Spotless + no blemish skin is a myth being propagated for business benefits and no young person should aim for it.
Fair skin and slim body is as beautiful as mocha skin and curvy structure. We all should unapologetically own our bodies and flaunt it just the way it is. It’s always comforting to see someone like me in an ad or any visual medium. If someone looks different than me then it’s sheer diversity that should be admired but should not be propagated as an aspiration that is meant to be achieved. It’s demeaning and disgusting to tell a young girl or a boy that she/he needs to look a certain way. Fitness is a separate topic of discussion and outside the boundaries of this thought flow.