Our Purpose

The purpose of this blog is to educate our viewers about the widespread use of retouching in print publications. Retouching implies making minor changes to photographs. However, modern advances in photo editing software allow photographs of individuals to be transformed into manufactured projections of reality.

Mostly commonly, retouching is used to enhance positive characteristics of an individual, although sometimes negative aspects are emphasized. Unlike a Barbie doll or animated character, these retouched images are portrayed as living, unimagined, portrayals of individuals in society. The truth is that most of the images we see in print publications, as well as online, are just as fake as cartoons. When looking at these blog posts, try to think about the effects these images have on yourself and others, especially younger generations.We are not trying to judge the rightness or wrongness of retouching; rather, we want to increase awareness about the prevalence of retouching so that media consumers are able better construct meanings from the images they encounter.

Five Steps to Media Literacy

1. Describe - Describe media product(s) by indentifying noteworthy elements or characteristics.

2. Analyze - Look for patterns that call for closer attention. Categorize those words!

3. Interpret - Try to determine meanings of patterns. What is the connection between the categories?

4. Evaluate - Make an informed judgment about media product

5. Engage - Take some action!

After viewing our blog, we hope you feel better knowing the world often being sold to us is not as perfect as it seems. We encourage you to post comments. Thank you for visiting!

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Not Only Magazines




Magazines are not the only industy which retouches photos. When a big movie is coming out, photoshoppers will edit movie posters and the like for "better looking" actors and actresses. Although many posters are taken straight from a sence in the movie, sometimes there are photos taken to capture the essences of the film. Here is a untouched photo of Kate Winslet at the movie premire of Last Chance Harvey and to the right is the retouched photo for the promo poster. Notice they took away the crows feet, softened her skin and norrowed her cheeks. In the movie she showed many of the features you see in the photo on the left, but those are not the qualities that the producers wanted the people to see in the posters. What does this do for the people who look up to these people? Can their perceptions change of their favortie actress or actor? What are we suppose to expect from a movie when retouching is done?

2 comments:

  1. Photos like this make older women believe they should still be looking like they are 20 when they are 40. Women buy anti-aging creme believing that they will look younger and can hold off the aging effect. Why should they believe that aging is bad? We should embrace our aging bodies they are beautiful and tell our past stories. Women are beautiful the way they are now if only the advertising companies realized this

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