America the beautiful statue of libertyAs you may have read in earlier posts over the weekend, I spent my Sunday catching up on some good shit. Meaning – eating disorder, labiaplasty and beauty/fashion industry documentaries and films. I was just about to write about “Labiaplasty Hungry Beast” when our Beutiful Magazine newsletter recipe contributor Helen Tiller (creator of Sans Tomato) told me about the documentary “America the Beautiful.” I’m fortunate enough to live with this woman, so we watched it together. Absolutely fascinating, it is a documentary about the nation’s obsession with beauty. The film was created by Darryl Roberts, President of Sensory Overload Entertainment, who is an established writer, producer, and director. Throughout the film, Darryl interviews young girls, men, magazine editors, people within the modeling and fashion industry and even celebrities. He even goes into the dangerous chemicals that cosmetics contain (which are not approved OR regulated by the FDA) and the risks of plastic surgery (as well as many plastic surgeons not being board certified).The film also examines what happens when rich cultures that have never been exposed to television and media become introduced to it (hint: eating disorders and behavioral problems were almost nonexistent before this). All for “beauty.” It’s heartbreaking to see young girls literally look into the camera and say (and believe) that they are ugly. Or see images and sexy music videos and say that it makes them feel less attractive. The film also focuses on Gerren Taylor, a striking 12-year-old African-American girl – who gets sucked into the adult world of high fashion just because of her looks, an environment that’s clearly unhealthy for her at that age. The point is – this industry does not have your safety or well-being in mind. Most of them don’t feel responsible or care at all for the images they sell. Overall, I thought the film was well-rounded and covered a lot of angles. The one thing that Helen and I both wished there would have been more of was how men are getting sucked into the beauty machine, too. There are only a few minutes that men talk about what they are expected to look like. Any other time men talk in the film is to talk about what they expect from women (and if you watch the film, you’ll quickly figure out which one I wanted to punch in the face). Anyway…you should Netflix this. Or something. Watch it!

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