Jezebel: about face

Are You Sick Of Ladies On TV Looking Jacked Up?

Dodai — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:00:00 EDT

In a piece for Sunday's L.A. Times, Mary McNamara wrote about all the Botox, face-lifts and cosmetic surgery on TV right now. For instance: Priscilla Presley. "At once puffy and yanked, her face, and its odd relationship to her neck, often takes on the dimensions of a Picasso painting." Or Barbara Walters, whose face is "painfully taut and shiny." Or Carrie Fisher, who made guest appearances on Weeds and 30 Rock: "Her face was so changed you had to hit the rewind button a few times to make sure it was her." McNamara also calls out all of the Desperate Housewives. She admits that criticizing an actress's looks can often seem sexist: "If women look old, we criticize, and if they try to fix it, we criticize more snidely." But the problem, McNamara says, its not that these women have cosmetic procedures — it's that TV critics don't say anything when their ability to act is inhibited.

Well, other people are saying something. Yesterday, McNamara wrote a follow-up to her article, claiming that "E-mails have been pouring in from frustrated television viewers grateful for the chance to talk about this 'elephant in the living room.'"

When we see bad things happen to good faces, when cosmetic decisions interfere with performances, I think we need to speak out. Otherwise the younger generation will think that a fish-mouth smile and those shiny cheeks are normal and that the Posh Beckham look is something to aspire to ... I wish everyone would stop not only because the sight of some ill-advised surgery or injection can wreck a perfectly OK television show, but also because I am afraid we will forget what normal looks like.

And this conversation has excellent timing: Botox (as an anti-wrinkle treatment) turns 20 years old this year. The drug has been approved in more than 75 countries for 20 different neurological indications and approved for cosmetic use in more than 40 countries. Which is why it's kind of scary that new research shows that the botulinum toxin can get into the brain — at least in lab animals. Earlier studies suggested that the toxin gets broken down at the injection site and doesn't travel; these new findings are "surprising," says the lead doctor on the study. Of course, a Botox spokesperson says"This study is not conclusive." But what would happen to Hollywood faces if the product got taken off of the market? Would viewers have to watch — gasp! — women with realistic faces?

On TV: Botox. Face-Lifts. Reconstructive Surgery., Cosmetic Surgery Freaks Out L.A. Times Readers Too, Critic Finds [LA Times]
Happy Birthday Botox [Daily Mail]
A New Reason to Frown [Newsweek]

Is It Bad That Big-Screen Actresses Use Botox?

Dodai — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:40:00 EST

"I was watching the hypnotically horrible new Coen brothers movie, No Country For Old Men, and I couldn't shake off the sense there was something different, something thrilling and vivid, about the performances of all the lead actors: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin. It was only after half an hour of awe that I realized what it was. They can all move their faces." That is Johann Hari in the Independent, and you know what? He's got a point. Hari, who notes that women in Hollywood have long altered their appearances for stardom (including Rita Hayworth and Marilyn Monroe), posits that today's actresses have done themselves — and the movie-going public — a great disservice by freezing their faces with Clostridium botulinum bacteria, also known as Botox.

He contends that British actresses like Helen Mirren, Judi Dench and Julie Christie win awards because they "have accepted the potential richness that comes from worry-lines and crows' feet. " But look at it this way: Do American actresses even want to win Oscars? Doesn't it seem like they'd rather party, pose for Miu Miu, attend fashion shows, get free clothes, and star in L'Oréal commercials? Being the "face" of a brand means doing a few days' work for a year-long campaign, always looking glamorous and hauling in some big bucks. Appearing in a film means memorizing lines, working with other actors whose talent may outshine yours, and then doing a publicity tour during which magazine editors and morning talk show hosts will ask you questions about your love life you don't feel like answering. The truth is that Ellen Page and Katherine Heigl may be fielding offers, but Hollywood doesn't have tons of roles for women of a certain age anyway. Doesn't ditching flicks for a contract with Chanel sorta make sense? And if a flawless face is what they want, what's the harm in complying?

Johann Hari: Botox Is Destroying Hollywood Stars' Ability To Act [The Independent]

Women on the Upper East Side of New York ...

Dodai — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 13:45:00 EDT

Women on the Upper East Side of New York are taking classes in facial yoga, reports Reuters. Instructor Annelise Hagen (pictured) says that muscles become weak and flabby and need workouts for circulation and reduced wrinkles. Wait a minute: don't people who "exercsie" their face by laughing get laugh-lines? And crows feet? Don't divas refuse to smile because they can't "afford the wrinkles"? But you know, I'm sure the ladies in Ms. Hagen's class are having fun making faces like "The Lion" and "Satchmo" and "Marilyn." We have a face, too, it's called "Haha! Suckaaaz!" [Reuters]