With every decade or so that passes, the culture of Hollywood transforms itself, and with that transformation comes a new set of standards, especially concerning female beauty. The notion of what is "beautiful" in American culture seems to be anything but set in stone. Instead, it seems that the ideal portrait of beauty has evolved greatly since the early days of Hollywood. While beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder, it is interesting to take a look at how the so-called ideal image of Hollywood beauty has changed so dramatically from the days of Rita Hayworth and Ketherine Hepburn to the present days of Angelina Jolie and Cameron Diaz. Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic between "A-List" actresses from Old Hollywood and and New Hollywood is the lack of imperfection in today's most sought after actresses.
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| Katherine Hepburn So what's to thank for the seemingly flawless faces we see on the silver screen today? Clearly, if one thing has impacted the evolution of physical appearances among the rich & famous, it is plastic surgery. We all accept the profound proliferation of plastic surgery in today's beauty-centered society, and it's certainly not breaking news that practically every single actor and actress in Hollywood has altered or enhanced their appearance in some way or another. |
Look no further than Angelina Jolie for a perfect example of just how plastic surgery-oriented Hollywood has become. Any basic google search on Angelina Jolie and plastic surgery reveals clear evidence that she has substantial procedures done on her face. Glancing at a before and after of Angelina Jolie's head shot, it's more than apparent she has a nose job. What's surprising though is that she was very beautiful looking in the "before" picture. Her "after" appearance is undoubtedly also stunning. In fact, many of the commentators on these blogs note that her surgery is an example of "good plastic surgery (Good Plastic Surgery refers to a surgery that enhanced the patient's looks significantly, without it being obvious he or she had work done, as compared to "Bad Plastic Surgery"-see Pamela Anderson, Heidi Montag). Yet her "after" appearance is wiped clean of any unique imperfections. Jolie's post-plastic surgery appearance is almost Barbie like- perfectly taut eyebrows (perhaps too taut), chiseled cheek bones, and a perfectly symmetrical nose.
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| Angelina Jolie |
The new look sought after by young Hollywood actresses is no longer beauty, but perfection. A perfect nose, a perfectly white and straight smile, over-filled lips, and botoxed skin, is the new standard in Hollywood. But how did this look become the new standard?
Beauty is not a new thing to Hollywood. Pin ups and actresses who have graced the silver screen since before World War II are beautiful in their own right. However, what distinguishes the actress who dominated Hollywood prior to the roughly 1980's from the actresses of today is that the actresses of today have increasingly "perfect" and increasingly similar facial appearances than their predecessors. To support this point, here are a few examples of "Old Hollywood" actresses who were considered beautiful, but clearly had some unique characteristics. If these woman were in their prime today in 2011, do you think they would go under the knife to "fix" their imperfections.
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| Scarlet Johansson. Another young celebrity to go under the knife. Take Natalie Wood for example; a beautiful brunette, envied by woman and wanted by men. Natalie Wood was the picture of a beautiful starlet. She did however, have very prominent nostrils made more noticeable by her slightly stuck-up nose. This is the type of physical trait you might seen on a young starlet today in her feature debut, only to go under the knife to have her nose touched up. |
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| Natalie Wood |
The argument is that if you can afford to have the surgery done by a world-class plastic surgery, and that surgery would enhance your image and make you more photogenic, why not do it?
