randle lee
Member
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2005
- Messages
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Gerren Taylor's in this film. I saw it at a film festival and really enjoyed it.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y06bkDVCM6w
Synopsis of film "America the Beautiful":
The United States of America is known for being one of the wealthiest
nations on the planet with the most opportunities for its citizens.
In 2004 alone, Americans spent $12.4 billion (yes, billion!) on
cosmetic surgery. With such an abundance of wealth, why are
Americans so discontent?
In almost 40,000 media messages a year, youthful Americas are being
told that, unless you look like supermodels and rock stars, you’re
not good enough for anyone to love. This is a message that too many
people are buying..
Filmmaker Darryl Roberts goes on a two year journey to examine
America’s new obsession; physical perfection. In America the
Beautiful, we learn secrets, confessions, and strikingly harsh
realities as Roberts unearths the origins and deadly risks of our
nation’s quest for physical perfection.
Too much television and easy access to plastic surgery are
conventional answers, but they do not fully explain this national
psychosis. These same images are found all over Europe and Canada,
yet their citizens do not have this same obsession.
Looking at models on glossy pages of supermarket magazines, Americans
have found themselves wishing they looked more like ‘that’. The hope
of achieving these 'ideals' has consumers purchasing cosmetics,
toiletries, fashion and plastic surgeries at increasingly dramatic
rates. Has the ‘American Dream’ changed so much that it can only be
achieved once we can perfectly emulate the super thin and sexy images
of Britney Spears or other pop icons?
In America the Beautiful we see how these increasingly unattainable
images contribute greatly to the rise in low self-esteem, body
dismorphia, and eating disorders for young women and girls who also
happen to be the beauty industry's largest consumers. Who actually
benefits from this high-priced journey towards this ideal? Is
corporate America’s bottom line so important that it justifies a
nation’s psychosis? What are the true costs of our obsession with
youth, beauty, and a slender physique?
To find out what has America’s pre-teens standing in line for their
turn on “I Want a Famous Face", and it’s adults on “Extreme
Makeover,” Roberts dives deep into America's culture of fear,
consumption, and idolatry for all things external; he seeks answers
from celebrities, media, academia, as well as everyday Americans.
Follow Darryl as he asks Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson, Anthony
Kedis, Martin Short, as well as Ted Casablanca from the E! Channel
and Susan Schulz, the Editor-in-Chief of CosmoGirl!, along with
various other celebrities and experts in cosmetics, fashion, media,
and self-esteem the major question at hand…
Does America have an unhealthy obsession with beauty?
“America the Beautiful” made it’s World Film Festival Premiere last
March, with two sold out screenings at the AFI Dallas International
Film Festival, and then won the audience choice award at the very
next festival, the Giffoni Hollywood Film Festival. Soon after,
Roberts won the special jury prize for best director at the Chicago
International Film Festival, and the United Nations Rights of the
Child Award at the Chicago Children’s Film Festival. Most recently,
“America the Beautiful” has won best documentary at the Beloit
International Film Festival.
Go to http://www.americathebeautifuldoc.com for more information
about the film.
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y06bkDVCM6w
Synopsis of film "America the Beautiful":
The United States of America is known for being one of the wealthiest
nations on the planet with the most opportunities for its citizens.
In 2004 alone, Americans spent $12.4 billion (yes, billion!) on
cosmetic surgery. With such an abundance of wealth, why are
Americans so discontent?
In almost 40,000 media messages a year, youthful Americas are being
told that, unless you look like supermodels and rock stars, you’re
not good enough for anyone to love. This is a message that too many
people are buying..
Filmmaker Darryl Roberts goes on a two year journey to examine
America’s new obsession; physical perfection. In America the
Beautiful, we learn secrets, confessions, and strikingly harsh
realities as Roberts unearths the origins and deadly risks of our
nation’s quest for physical perfection.
Too much television and easy access to plastic surgery are
conventional answers, but they do not fully explain this national
psychosis. These same images are found all over Europe and Canada,
yet their citizens do not have this same obsession.
Looking at models on glossy pages of supermarket magazines, Americans
have found themselves wishing they looked more like ‘that’. The hope
of achieving these 'ideals' has consumers purchasing cosmetics,
toiletries, fashion and plastic surgeries at increasingly dramatic
rates. Has the ‘American Dream’ changed so much that it can only be
achieved once we can perfectly emulate the super thin and sexy images
of Britney Spears or other pop icons?
In America the Beautiful we see how these increasingly unattainable
images contribute greatly to the rise in low self-esteem, body
dismorphia, and eating disorders for young women and girls who also
happen to be the beauty industry's largest consumers. Who actually
benefits from this high-priced journey towards this ideal? Is
corporate America’s bottom line so important that it justifies a
nation’s psychosis? What are the true costs of our obsession with
youth, beauty, and a slender physique?
To find out what has America’s pre-teens standing in line for their
turn on “I Want a Famous Face", and it’s adults on “Extreme
Makeover,” Roberts dives deep into America's culture of fear,
consumption, and idolatry for all things external; he seeks answers
from celebrities, media, academia, as well as everyday Americans.
Follow Darryl as he asks Paris Hilton, Jessica Simpson, Anthony
Kedis, Martin Short, as well as Ted Casablanca from the E! Channel
and Susan Schulz, the Editor-in-Chief of CosmoGirl!, along with
various other celebrities and experts in cosmetics, fashion, media,
and self-esteem the major question at hand…
Does America have an unhealthy obsession with beauty?
“America the Beautiful” made it’s World Film Festival Premiere last
March, with two sold out screenings at the AFI Dallas International
Film Festival, and then won the audience choice award at the very
next festival, the Giffoni Hollywood Film Festival. Soon after,
Roberts won the special jury prize for best director at the Chicago
International Film Festival, and the United Nations Rights of the
Child Award at the Chicago Children’s Film Festival. Most recently,
“America the Beautiful” has won best documentary at the Beloit
International Film Festival.
Go to http://www.americathebeautifuldoc.com for more information
about the film.
