Kate Winslet, Rachel Weisz and Emma Thompson have formed the “British Anti-Cosmetic Surgery League,” to fight not only against pressures to go under the knife, but also promises to speak out against ageism in the entertainment industry.
Kate Winslet stated:
“I will never give in. It goes against my morals, the way that my parents brought me up and what I consider to be natural beauty. I am an actress, I don’t want to freeze the expression of my face.”
Emma Thomson says:
“I’m not fiddling about with myself. We’re in this awful youth-driven thing now where everybody needs to look 30 at 60.”
Rachel Weisz says:
“who look too perfect don’t look sexy or particularly beautiful.”
Brava ladies, and might I say finally some women who are taking a stand against an industry that almost demands that women stay ever-young and stick thin. What I find interesting (but not surprising) is that all three of these actresses are English. Europe, as well as its film industry has a different, more natural idea of beauty, they like actors and actresses to look like real people, rolls, wrinkles, crooked teeth and natural hair. The lighting in these films does not try to obscure there “flaws” their costuming tends to be more realistic, less styled and contrived. The characters in European movies look like real people, people that you would see walking down the street, sitting in a cafe, or working in a common office. The European attitude on aging is divergent from that of America as well, think about Dame Judy Dench, or Helen Mirren, these women work regularly without having to augment or “refresh” themselves to stay in the business, and they have only gotten better with age.
Hollywood prefers the manufactured glamorized idea of woman: Thin, slender nosed, (now en vogue) full lips, and ample breasted. They are more then likely blonde,( or end up getting thinner and blonder as their fame grows) they look polished, styled, and as close to “perfect” as possible. This look is achieved both through styling, lighting, re-touching and often times plastic surgery, especially as they begin to age out of the golden zone, (16-25). To achieve that camera ready lithe figure, most are on a perpetual diet. Comedian Kathy Griffith once joked that she knew the diet secret of the stars “they are HUNGRY” she said that she is perpetually hungry trying to obtain that look. In Hollywood, it seems like all the actresses have one eye on an Academy Award and the other eye on the chick coming up behind her. This is not to say that this sort of mentality does not exist in Europe but it would seem less so.
Of the three pioneers, Rachel Weisz is the most conventional beauty of the three pioneers in body in face, and where Kate Winslet is a beauty facially her full figure has been an “issue” since her Titanic days, and Emma Thompson is a less conventional beauty and the eldest of the trio, but ALL are STELLAR ACTRESSES, Masters of their Craft, which incidentally the most important point. I applaud these women for starting an initiative such as this, I hope that it catches on across the Pond and American actresses join the cause. Perhaps then the images of women in cinema, media and the fashion industry will start to reflect that of real woman not some airbrushed unobtainable ideal, and the concept of beauty and aging will be expanded to include everyone! what do you think?