Saturday, March 27, 2010

WP2: First Draft

The stereotypical idea of a supermodel is a tall, beautiful, really thin woman. This is not off base from the average supermodel, which does not at all represent the average woman. The fact is that supermodels today weigh 23% less than average women and often would be hospitalized for this weight if they were to see a doctor (from Our Health, Our Futures). They minimum height to be a supermodel is usually five feet and eight inches versus the five feet and three or four feet which is the average according to soyouwanna.com. On top of already be out of the usual, they are airbrushed and edited a lot, to appear even more “perfect” and extraordinary.

Children see images of supermodels on billboards, on television, and in magazines starting at a young age. They are innocent and naïve so they do not understand the absurdity of the idea of a supermodel and often admire them and their looks. They accidentally can get the thought in their heads that these looks are achievable and what they should strive for. In other words, they may think that it will be successful for them to look like the supermodels do when they grow up. This leads to what is called media internalization. “This internalization refers to the extent to which an individual invests in societal ideals of size and appearance (thin ideal for girls and muscular for boys) to the point that they become rigid guiding principles” says a study done by Thompson et al. in 2004.

In the media supermodels have become fantasy, extraordinary women. Children, who are naïve to the facts, believe that they should admire these supermodels and strive to look like they do. As a result of that, it is argued that these supermodels have a negative effect on adolescents today. Media internalization is believed to cause body dissatisfaction leading to dieting, often by means of fad diets, leaving the child with a negative attitude, such as depression, and increases in eating disorders. The comic “Soup to Nutz” by Rick Stromoski uses similar points to argue for the negative effects the supermodels portrayed in the media have on adolescents. Through appeals to logos and pathos, the comic uses wordplay, typography, juxtaposition and abstraction to provide and support the argument.









The use of wordplay in this comic is the most prominent appeal to pathos, provoking humor. The wordplay is the connection of super in supermodel and superhero, which is why they boy is asking what powers it has. By making this play on the word super the comic compares superheroes and supermodels. Superheroes are fantasy characters with powers giving them the ability to do things that normal, or average, people cannot. Supermodels on the other hand are real; they are people. However because of their astonishing body measurements, they are not like average people. Also, due to the editing and airbrushing done of their photographs, they are able to look as normal, or average, people cannot. In this way, they become fantasy just like a superhero.

The comic uses a typography that reflects the innocence and naivety of children. The type is rounded and is meant to look like it is handwritten. This makes it look like it could be the handwriting of a child. This matches the idea that the kids shown in the comic are the ones speaking these words, and it is a reminder of their inexperienced mind states. Due to the idea of children possessing this innocence and naivety, the comic makes another appeal to pathos evoking humor. This is done by the error the young boy makes by putting supermodel and superhero into the same category. His conflation is humorous because he is young and just making an honest mistake, in which the viewers can see the mistake, but also can understand why it could be made.

When the little girl is shown to say supermodels are women who “can live for three weeks on just half an apple”, it is an appeal to logos because it uses juxtaposition. It is showing her idea of a supermodel versus the stereotypical way models are described, such as really thin, tall, beautiful women. The act of a supermodel starving themselves, which is a typical idea of a supermodel, is then linked to a power, or an ability to do something that normal people cannot. This is done through the wordplay of superhero and supermodel.

In the comic the boy replies to the “power” supermodels posses by saying “wow” showing the vulnerability of children to see these supermodels in the media, such as the magazine it is scene in the comic, and look up to them as someone you strive to be, just as they would look up to a superhero and dream of being one of them. In the case of the superhero, they eventually learn that the powers they possess are just fantasy and not something one can actually obtain. Opposite of this unfortunately, they learn that supermodels are real people and some of them may continue to be wowed by them, just like the adolescents in the comic.

The drawings of “Soup to Nutz” use abstraction of the objects in the drawings. The kids look quite goofy, having a weird nose, mouth, and just one tooth, a contrast with the stereotypical supermodel they are speaking about. They do not look human-like, but they are accepted as humans because that has been normalized in comics. By using abstraction, the characters do not look like any person too specific. Due to not being too specific, the characters in the drawings can be universalized to any young, white kids. By having them universalized it shows the effect supermodels in the media can affect any young, white kid.

The kids are drawn with a specific style of abstraction, making them charactures. When a person is drawn as a characture it highlights the flaw, in this comic that would be the kids having very prominent overbites. Although, their flaw has been highlighted, and literally blown up, the children are still viewed as universalized. This is because everyone has flaws. Having a flaw is universal, and something everyone can relate to. The stereotypical idea of a supermodel is not thought of having flaws, because they edit out their flaws. By showing that having flaws is a universal characteristic, contrasting with the “perfect” supermodel, it calls to mind how the media affects adolescents. Because they are naïve and “wow” the fantasy of a supermodel, when they see flaws in themselves it sometimes can lead to have the negative effects of body dissatisfaction.

The comic uses wordplay on supermodel and superhero, childlike typography, juxtaposition of a starving supermodel and the stereotypical thoughts of a beautiful supermodel, and character abstraction to bring attention to the effects of supermodels in the media on to adolescents. It points out that the naivety of children allows them to believe and even admire the fantasy of a supermodel, leaving the possibility of media internalization and body dissatisfaction. However, making the argument in a comic strip it demonstrates the argument in a new light. Although the effects of that the media can possible have on youth is very concerning and troublesome, through this comic it is shown through humor. Because people know that comics are humorous they are more likely to read them and not avoid them. This makes a great source for making an argument because it is relaxed and does not feel forced. The universality of the characters allows a mass amount of viewers to relate to it, and see the possibility of the supermodels in the media affecting a child they know and care about. This is more likely to cause a reaction then an argument presented that the audience does not relate with. So, thanks to the comic the argument of the possible effects of supermodels in the media reaches more people, in a different way.

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