The selfie has become one of the greatest cultural phenomena of this decade. His rise in public life has brought all sorts of advertising practices that “beautify” photography so that it fits within the standard of beauty. Consequently, many young people feel that they have to edit their self-portraits to make them beautiful.
This is nothing new. In fact, it is a phenomenon studied by experts. British photographer John Rankin Waddell has responded by ideating alongside the creative agency M&C Saatchi a project called Selfie Harmin which it is planned to reflect the ideal image that the participants would like to have, and how different it is from their true appearance.
As part of the project, some young people were recruited for a photo session of only their faces and then allowed to edit the photos until they were happy with the result. It is then intended to reveal the remarkable contrast between the original images and those edited by the participantsas a reflection on the impact of the selfie culture on the self-image of adolescents.
In the results it can be seen that, indeed, the edited images and the originals present very evident differences, which probably reflect the insecurities of those photographed regarding their appearance.
Rankin explains: “The program we used was Facetune but there are hundreds of these applications; the most significant thing is that we did not select people accustomed to using these tools, but randomly chosen teenagers”.
Some of the retouched photos can be disconcerting compared to the original. Polished complexions abound, without a single blemish or birthmark. Some of the participants even changed their features slightly in what we assume was an attempt to get closer to their ideal image.
The photographer himself admits that programs like Facetune are somewhat equivalent to computer games, and it can be a lot of fun to play with your appearance. But do these modifications reveal a deeper reality about what we think of our appearance?
Faced with all this, Rankin asks: “If you can be a ‘more polished’ version of yourself, how difficult can it be to accept who you really are?”
What do you think of this initiative? Would you modify your features to achieve an “ideal” beauty?
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restless culture