Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Image...Schmimage

first let me say that my holiday was grrrrrrrrrreat! i'm not gonna do a play-by-play but i will share a pic of the beautiful clouds from the plane and a pic of le bebe. she is the highlight of my life...and she had a blast, shaping the mind even on vacay.




now, i wanted to pose a question....how important is image? rhetorically speaking, what do you look for/care about within an image? is it the look of youth, a thin physique, a shapely image, light/dark skin? for instance, a celebrity by the name of mariah carey has taken her image waaaaaaaaaay too far, imho.






i understand that she is an artist, therefore she is a product...but at what level does reality shine through? take for instance this recent promo photo of her. her new album has dropped, so the flood of appearances and photos have been jammed into public eye-space. but, what is UP with this pic here? she is so photoshopped that she doesn't look real, let alone look like herself. there's not a line in sight, no sape to her knees or ankles, everything is brushed plastic smooth like a mannequin and her skin seems to be tinted, almost like she's going for a sun-kissed look, but just looks brown. i wonder, what is this about? why is she so obsessed with looking like an ageless perfect thing? then she goes and actually says...


"I'm eternally 12. And that 12-year-old inside me is an eternal optimist. Honestly, I don't even have birthdays."
"I call them anniversaries. It really is about how young you feel. Some people convince themselves they are old, or they think, 'I have to grow up now.' I will still always choose a day at Disney World over a night in Las Vegas. That's who I am."



Mariah Carey doesn't have birthdays. According to the "Shake It Off" singer, she refuses to acknowledge her birthdays because getting old doesn't really sit well with her.
Carey has banned the word "birthday" and refers to them instead as "anniversaries." She says she prefers to think of herself as a child who will never grow up.

(pic from a while ago)

i feel you on having a positive outlook, but the 12-year-old thing has played itself out in other ways besides taking trips to disney world...(and by the way, when have you seen a pic of her at disney world? every time i've seen pap shots of her on holiday, she's frolicking on some exotic beach or yacht-lol) also, i could tell she was stuck in the kiddie phase from all of the butterflies she still clings to. that just irks me.
(an older pic)
what 38 year old woman walks around wearing butterfly rings with wings that actually flutter, all kinds of butterfly paraphernalia and wearing dresses that would fit my baby? be sexy & be daring if you wish...however, i also believe in the art of getting your grown woman/man on...even as an artist or entertainer, you CAN acheive beauty within the barriers of your age bracket. i'm certainly NOT hating because i really enjoy a good number of mariah songs. i even enjoyed the movie "glitter" (stop laughing). and i understand the concept of preserving your sexy...but when is too much truly too much?
(pic from a few days ago)
when you start wearing butterflies and banning the word "birthday", or when you start calling yourself peter pan & build amusement parks in your backyard, or when you implant a plastic booty to appear more voluptuous, or rendering yourself unrecognizable from your former self???? and i won't even get started on the diva image she's projected....having people to hold her fan directly on her, or allegedly hold her straw when she's drinking, a full glam squad that follows her and tweaks her during breaks to a ridiculous level. i don't get that. i know she's a mega-star...but where is the line between fame/fortune/excess? i guess i understand the need/desire to tweak some things about appearance, especially if you are a celeb, but when do you draw the line? my real issue with mariah is all of the excess isn't even necessary...she's in fabulous shape, she's gorgeous and does not appear 38, especially when she's made up but also when she's not...so the over-airbrushing and photoshopping just makes her look...silly, and uncessarily so.


take note from erykah badu about how to be successful in the music industry...she's on point! (language ma be slightly offensive)




genius!-LOL


****WHAT DO YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT REGARDING PHYSICAL IMAGE? WHAT IRKS YOU ABOUT SOMEONE'S PHYSICAL IMAGE? DROP A NAME, A TREND OR WHATEVER THAT BOTHERS YOU ABOUT THE VANITY OF SOCIETY OR CELEBRITIES****

12 comments:

Edirin said...

i understand you have to be attractive and have that look, or at least a good look to sell records but people like mariah carey take it too far

airbrushing has become something else, whats the point of it when its too obvious.

cover a unexpected pimple, get rid of abit of wrinkles, fine

not airbrush your whole arm to make it look smaller.

i think the whole idea is a mess and with mariah, she doesn't need it. looking at paps shot of her, she looks fine.

Eb the Celeb said...

I love that dress that mariah has on in the first pic... gotta figure out how to cop that... But on topic... I have always felt that Mariah has some serious mental problems so nothing she has or ever will do will surprise me. She's always looked a little slow to me... idk what it is.

Erykah is the truth though... thats why I love her... she tells it like it is and doesnt apologize for it.

Brown Girl Gumbo said...

Wow, I didn't even recognize Mariah in that photo!! I don't know why she seems to always overdo her image.

I think she looks great to be 38, but seeing herself as a 12-year-old is a bit weird. I do believe that she has some self-esteem issues that have yet to be addressed professionally.

I love her songs just like you do, but her image can be a little annoying at times. It almost seems as if she walks on her tip-toes like a kid!!

On a side note - I was watching old reruns of "Diff'rent Strokes" the other day and Janet Jackson was on there. Back then she actually spoke in a regular, non-baby voice!! I was shocked! Her innocent, yet naughty image is annoying to me.

Anyway, very great post!!

TravelDiva said...

Great vacay pic!!!

Good post.

I saw that Mariah pic on YBF and I was like, what in the world? Her FACE isn't recognizable, let alone her body.

She looks good, she's in shape--the whole ageless butterfly wonder is a little MJ Peter Pan esque if you ask me.

BOTOX and unnecessary surgery irks me! I see so many random celebrities who used to be pretty and fearing HIDef, they butcher themselves. That tight lip pucker and the expression like their hair just got braided is so unattractive to me. I know it's got to be ridiculously hard in the limelight, but I do think you can age gracefully without ruining your features.

12kyle said...

PCD
Whussup my sista? You have been missed. I saw pantsuit on tv the other day and said out loud "I'm tired of paintsuit." And my wife was like...huh? LOL

I'm not caught up in all that image stuff. You must be able to stimulate a man (me) mentally. Looks will change over time. We all get old. Botox can't change that. The mind never changes.

The F_Uitlist said...

ROFLMAO! "even enjoyed the movie "glitter". That was the worst movie ever.

These celebrities need to really seek out some therapy! Embrace who you are and LOVE IT no matter what. And Mariah really has no reason to be so silly because she has the means to keep herself in excellent condition physically. So why let someone force your hand into their defined book of beauty.


Young at heart does not mean young in mind. So you can love Disney but you also have to know how to appear like an adult. Everytime I see her she has boobs spilling out and is giggling and carrying on.

@Brown Girl Gumbo, I saw the Different Strokes marathon too then I realized it was on BET and turned!

PCD (Pretty Circle Drawer) said...

@ F&F...exactly...when its too obvious, whats the point?

@ eb...isn't erykah the best!?!? i would love to sit & chat with her!

@ bgg...i agree, jj is too old to still be whispering everywhere-LOL!

@ 12kyle...thanx! good to be back. and you for the record are rare, cuz a lot of men would prefer visual beauty over any other attribute

@ traveldiva...have you seen a botox procedure? it's soooooooo gross! i don't understand it.

@ F-it...yeah, you summed it up with theyoung at heart comment...and hush your mouth- glitter was good!!

Taryn said...

I mean hey, thats basically what the music industry is reduced down to. Sad but true.

People may not have liked how she said it, but what she said was the true.

Mizrepresent said...

There is nothing wrong with growing old, gracefully. These celebs sometimes, mosttimes over do it. Trying to stay young by any means necessary and wind up looking older than their counterparts. The NOT List:

Vivica Fox
Lil Kim


The Hot LIST - Plastic surgery free growing old and beautiful...still

Nancy Wilson
Angela Bassett

TravelDiva said...

Yeah, I saw a clip of it on best week ever when Janice Dickinson did it on her show. ICK!

PCD (Pretty Circle Drawer) said...

@ taryn...welcome to the circle!

@ mizr...EXACTLY! nancy wilson is the epitome of grace in older age. these women could learn a thing or two

@ traveldiva...a clip of mariah's performance?

Queen of My Castle said...

I so feel you on this post. LMAO @ Mimi's butterfly obsession. I thought I was the only one that truly noticed that. LOL. I liked Glitter, too. I just hated the scenes in which her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. She looked like a mouse, IMO.

OMG! I swear this is one of my pet peeves. I hate to see people dress out of their age brackets!! It irks me to no end, seriously, especially when I see a very attractive older woman dressed like a 19 YO college woman. I think as we evolve, become richer, and more refined so should our dress, style, and overall lives.

Great post, luv