Media Analysis: Socio-cultural Issues and Eating Disorders

Media Analysis: Socio-Cultural Issues and Eating Disorders
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Introduction
Eating disorders have been on the rise particularly in western culture, with the most affected population being young females and males. The media propels the development of these disorders by steering false beliefs and ideals on body image and eating (McLean et al., 2017). For instance, television shows portray a ‘perfect’ body image as thin and slender, prompting young people to fall into disordered eating. In this essay, an advertisement poster and a music video will be critiqued to demonstrate how body image is promoted and highlighted in media. Further, a reflection of how western culture negatively impacts eating and body image will be done. Further, a section on what needs to change in western culture to improve how body image and eating are portrayed will be done.
Part One: Critiquing the Advertisement and Music Video
‘Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs’ Poster
Females are usually more sensitive and have imagined ideals on body image and eating. Society, including the media, has a huge role in influencing distinct perspectives and ideals on body image and eating. The advertisement image/poster for the movie; ‘Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarfs’ portrays a controversial idea of body image. The poster (attached above) portrays snow white in two different forms. On one, she is slender and tall while on the other, she is short and fat. The poster also has a question that brings controversy. The question attempts to ask what it would have been like if snow white was no longer beautiful, and the seven dwarfs were not short. The question attempts to bring the idea that beauty is not being fat and chubby, nor is it being short like the dwarfs. Any person in the audience could interpret the image and the question with an ideal of beauty meaning being slender, thin, and tall, with a thin face and makeup on.
The mind of a female would be corrupted by the idea coded in the poster, even at a young age. They would be forced to create an unrealistic ideal of a perfect body image, and what physical beauty means (Risma ayu Pradnyani et al., 2022). Even though the movie demonstrates an interesting plot, the advisement poster would create dissatisfaction with a pre-imagined body image, making a woman somewhere have low self-esteem over their chubby self. Low self-esteem corrodes one's confidence and may make one develop eating disorders to become like the slender snow white who is described as being more beautiful. Some of the eating disorders include anorexia nervosa and bulimia. Therefore, society and the media contribute significantly to unrealistic ideals of body image and beauty.
“I’m Good” Official Music Video by David Guetta and Bebe Rexha: /watch?v=90RLzVUuXe4
The song is a positive affirmation that everything is well. It spreads a positive and exciting vibe, and the video has impeccable quality. In the video, slender young women who are half-dressed seem to enjoy themselves while dancing and drinking in a pool. The video creates a negative perception of body image to the viewers by only capturing girls who are slim and physically fit. The girls’ makeup is on point and their dancing styles are amazing. Ideally, every girl would wish to live their life that way and look like that. The problem is that most music videos only show vixens and models who are slim or rather physically fit and attractive. Young people who enjoy these songs ultimately carry the pre-imagined concept that beauty is all about being slender, thin, and having excess make-up on. A young girl who may be admiring these vixens might try to be just like them and set unrealistic body goals that they may not achieve through healthy means.
Eating disorders arise from such pressure; to be just like the vixens and models in media. The fact that these models show most of their skin when dancing shows that they treasure their physical beauty, and have set beauty standards based on that. Society has set beauty standards based on such images, terming anyone who presents a different ideal as ugly and unfit to be a model. In firms that recruit models, there are rules that one must fulfill and qualify in, to be allowed to dance or present in a music video. Therefore, following these rules and baselines for beauty, most young people suffer a lack of self-esteem which leads them to develop eating disorders.
Part Two: Reflection
Eating disorders are common and usual in western culture where food is in plenty. People from the western culture are most likely to do just anything, to acquire their desired physique. They attach extreme importance to their physique and physical abilities. Eating disorders are serious mental illnesses that are seen through affected thoughts, behavior, and attitude to eating and food in general (Pullan, 2022). These disorders can be realized through a person's obsession with physical exercise, body shape, and weight. There are several known eating disorders. These include anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder, bulimia, and avoidant-restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) (Pullan, 2022). Y...