The Cosmetic Surgery Blog

Ashley Tisdale's most recent statement is that she is happy with her "new nose." Tisdale is one of the stars of Disney's High School Musical movies, with which you are somewhat familiar if you have a teenage daughter or have wandered through a Target or other department store recently, where branded merchandise for the movies fills up the doll and school supplies aisles.

In late November, according to her statements, the actress underwent surgery for a deviated septum to correct breathing problems she was suffering, not to get a rhinoplasty. The result also led to a change in the appearance of her nose. Unfortunately, many of the actress' fans reacted negatively to the new shape of the nose, which is narrower. At first, she also apparently did not like her nose, and she was also afraid she would be unable to make it as expressive as her old one. Now, though, she has gotten accustomed to it, and the hope is that her fans will, too.

One of the main questions I think it is reasonable to ask here is: why are we so engaged by things like the nose job of a minor celebrity? There are two possible answers to this question, one cynical, one sincere. The cynical answer is that we're manipulated to be concerned about such things, that the placement of stories like this in the news media is designed to make us gravitate to media figures that are being groomed for (super)stardom. These people will be promoted in many venues for as long as they can be made profitable, then dumped to make room for the next major figure.

The sincere answer is that in the modern age, when people are surrounded by a crush of strangers all around, we need familiar faces to give us a sense of community, and so of course we feel a deep engagement in the state of these faces. For most of our history, human beings lived in small communities, wandering across often-strange landscapes. The things you knew, the things you could rely on, were often embodied in the faces of the prominent members of your group: the wisdom of the matriarch, the strength of the hunter, the spirit of the leader, the beauty of youth. Although not many of us would probably be prepared to attribute archetypal status to Ashley Tisdale, the point is that we often can't make that choice. Our mind makes it for us, applying the concrete image of a familiar face to concepts for which the mind has only vague notions.

Labels: archetype, Ashley Tisdale, mythology

The Pre-Raphaelite painters, including Waterhouse, are praised for the rich colors of their artwork and the loftiness of their themes, which represent characters from ancient mythology and high poetry. Although his paintings share many common features with Maxfield Parrish, Waterhouse's subjects are in no way asexual. They are figures of striking beauty, a beauty that is the form of deadly temptation.

The Siren, of course, is the most familiar form of feminine tempter. Her voice draws ships off course, forcing them to crash into the rocks, drowning their crews. Waterhouse's siren, lacking a voice, must show her temptation with her body. There are some clear similarities between Waterhouse and Parrish, especially in their emphasis on profile. Here, Waterhouse works harder to emphasize the shapely nose and strong chin by contrasting them with her russet-red hair. Waterhouse also emphasizes the line of her jaw, showing the importance of a taut skin and muscles of the neck. Although similar, the bodies of Waterhouse's figures are fleshier than those of Parrish. Consider the extended leg of the woman on the left in Contentment and the legs of the siren. See how much more fleshy depression we see in the siren's leg. Waterhouse also shows us the small rolls of fat under the siren's small breast and the feminine paunch of her stomach. This woman has a very realistic body, but one that is so beautiful the drowning sailor's eyes are wide with awe, completely absorbed by the sight of her.

In Waterhouse's more famous Hylas and the Nymphs, we see a very similar beauty replicated many times. The bright skin of the nymphs contrasts sharply against the dark water and vegetation and also the dun color of Hylas' weather-browned hide. Again notice the nose, chin, and neck of the central nymph. In this painting, it the women's eyes we see, and though their slender hands are on Hylas' arm and his indigo chiton, it is their eyes that pull him--and us--in.

In Lamia, Waterhouse shows this Libyan queen before her transformation into the devouring half-serpent. In her case, her beauty is her own doom. The only hint we have of her future fate is the python-patterned shawl in her lap. Interestingly, Waterhouse foreshadows the dangerous nature of her beauty by showing that she herself is entranced by it as she stares at her reflection in the still pool.

Labels: art, beauty, body image, John Waterhouse, mythology