Final Project: It Is Your Body.

It is Your Body

For my final project, I decided to do a short film on how different forms of media can effect a persons idea of what is considered to be a perfect, attractive body. Advertising how your body should really be; which is skinny, built, and toned out, is such a negative impact on people's mindsets. It really does have a huge impact til this day, because I see it effecting myself and those around me. My film also showcases how social media is a fabrication of someone's life. I used some of my readings from my Women & Media and Myths & Images class to create this film. I contributed some of mine and my friends experiences with how the media has impacted us.

Throughout the film, you start to have an understanding of who are my characters and the problems they face. My female character, Shannon, is faced with the fact that being muscular and lifting is too manly. Apparently being muscular is not considered to be the ideal body that society has accepts, because it is deemed as something that is not attractive. She goes on trying to make her friend, Camille, realize that lifting weights isn't considered too manly. Even though Camille's mother is pressuring and influencing her into thinking of what's acceptable for her body to look like, Shannon convinces her that at the end of the day it is still her body and her body alone.

While my male character, Jake who is a workout junkie and is heavily influenced by the media, faces an issue with himself. You learn that he over works out to achieve this ideal body, due to insecurities, competition, and low-esteem. After meeting Olivia, Jake soon notices that he has been competing with himself, as well as those at the gym, and could possibly be close to severely injuring himself if he doesn't take it easy on the weights.

My actors had no real acting experience, in addition there was no script given to them. The reason, why I did this was not only did I not want them to sound scripted but because I wanted them to act how they would act of they were put into that position of their character. All these issues that the characters face are a combination of experiences that my friends and I have actually went through. Some of my actors have actually encountered some of these dilemmas, so it was easy for them to act out there parts.

In terms of shooting this film, I shoot it on my Iphone 6. Crazy, right? It doesn't look like I shoot it all on my Iphone, however there is a reason why I shoot it on it. Everyday we use our electronics; laptops, tablets, and cellphones, and we never leave it alone. If you watch my film carefully, you notice that all my characters are surrounded by there devices at all times. It just symbolizes that we are hardwire to never depart from it, however that goes to show how much power our electronics have. The fact that I can shoot an entire short film with my iphone 6, and seeing how technology has a hold over us is completely flabbergasting.

Overall, this film was a personal view of how I saw the media controlling and influence our lives. I tried to be as detailed as possible when creating my characters and setting up the scenes. Every part of the film represents an issue that people can relate or face.

Sources:

• The website that Shannon was looking at.
• The magazine that Jake was using.
• The website that Shannon used to use her makeup.
• Kilbourne, Jean. “Beauty… and the Beast of Advertising.” Reading Culture. Ed. Diana George and John Trimbur. 4th ed. New York: Longman, 2001. 121-125
• Kilbourne, Jean. Deadly Persuasion: “The More You Subtract. The More you Add.” New York: The Free Press, 1999. (128-154)
• hooks, bell (2004) The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love , Chapter 2 Understanding Patriarchy

Links to Inspirations

• http://haley-morriscafiero.squarespace.com/wait-watchers
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-dixon/women-muscles_b_4235790.html
• The website to "..too muscular"
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/27/womens-self-esteem_n_2774083.html