Prettification

"Vanity, definitely my favorite sin."
--John Milton, The Devil's Advocate (1997)

I don't deny it, I'm an avid fan of a local television series, "I Love Betty La Fea." The story's pretty much predictable (as how Filipinos love to have their storylines, be it on TV or movies), but the antics, especially that of Vhong Navarro's character, never fail to amuse me.

One thing is off-key, though. The Colombian soap from which the local version was derived successfully transformed stunning Ana Maria Orozco to a less than plain-Jane. On the other hand, the Philippine version perhaps ran out of creative ideas to make Bea Alonzo as ugly as required for the La Fea role. I mean despite the wig, abundant brow hair, giant spectacles and the braces, Bea still looked like...Bea. She's still pretty. At least they could have casted someone whose skin is not as pink and porcelain-like. If a Pinoy series can't cast an "uglier" gal for an ugly role, what more with the other TV programs? Some might even think, 'If Bea Alonzo looks ugly in Betty La Fea, then how do I look like?'

Whitening products, slimming procedures, slimming products, these things are everywhere. Endorsers claim that making yourself look 'good' has evolved from luxury to necessity. If you're not pretty/dead skinny, you're sooooo not good enough.

Since anyone can remember, much has been written about how too much emphasis is given to aesthetic beauty, especially in the local media and showbiz industry. I thought that by this time, it would have sunken into more people that there's more to life than aggravating over your skin color or your belly fat. (Applause to Dove's endorsements, by the way)

True beauty is natural beauty. If you're born with curly hair, it's because curly hair looks good on you. Since the time that hair rebonding became much more affordable, every girl I see has rebonded hair, and most of them don't have very positive reaction to the chemical. A lot of girls end up having hair that looks like a broom. It would've looked better if they simply sported their natural look. Just because everybody gets hair rebonding (even guys), it doesn't mean that your hair doesn't look pretty as it is. I don't get why some girls don't get this.

I can go on and on about this topic, it's not gonna end. But here's some thoughts for pondering.
From a text message, a deep realization was spread about how looking beautiful can be an unfair ticket to stardom. This text message questions why Pinoy Big Brother always chooses participants who look 'artistahin', while the advertisement way back before the show started stated that this reality TV series is about the ordinary Filipino. If they lived up the ad, they should've chosen the ordinary: a jueteng bookkeeper, a rugby boy, a prostitute, a cigarette vendor/takatak boy, etc. You know what I mean.

If you look into magazine stands, what kind of materials is usually seen? I'm estimating 90% of printed material in magazines is about fashion and beauty products. But can you spot an education magazine, one that gives hardcore study tips and time-management advice? No. That's why kids these days, especially girls, are more concerned about how orange is the new pink or who's Zac Efron's current girlfriend than how to ace their next written exam.