Roberts packed a lot of material into the film (he says he had 900 hours of footage). Some memorable moments: Seeing Seventeen, ElleGirl and CosmoGirl editors explain why they only use thin, pretty models. Grade-schoolers looking at images from magazines, music videos and skin cleanser commercials and proclaiming that the "perfect" women make them feel "ugly." The sequence about dogs getting face lifts. An interview with a perfume producer claiming that phthalates — known carcinogens — do not get absorbed into your body when you spray yourself with fragrance was intercut with a scientist proclaiming, "Bullshit." Eve Ensler saying something about how a woman shouldn't get plastic surgery to "tighten" her vagina (Eve: "Get a bigger dick!"). The news that there are about 600 substances found in cosmetics that are banned in Europe but allowed in U.S. products. Oh, and then there was the part where the filmmaker called the American Board of Plastic Surgery and found out that all three of the doctors from Dr. 90210 were not board-certified, but had been performing cosmetic procedures anyway.

And then poor Gerren, such a bright beam of light in the beginning of the film, becomes convinced that she is obese and needs breast implants. Part of that was on the Today show this morning:

In any case, the reviews are mixed — some of the complaints seem to be that "there's nothing new" in the film. But when you compile all of the evidence together in one 105 minute oeuvre, you see that our society is literally sick. Roger Ebert says the film carries "a persuasive message" and is "filled with astonishments." I only wish that it didn't have an R rating; every teenage girl in America should see it. Roberts says he'll make an "educational" PG version for schools when it comes out on DVD; until then, if there's an under-17-year-old in your life, take her (or him!) to watch it. And start a discussion.

America The Beautiful opens today in New York.

America the Beautiful [Time Out New York]
America the Beautiful [Variety]
America the Beautiful: A Well-Intentioned, Scattershot Look at the Image Conscious [Village Voice]
America the Beautiful [RogerEbert.com]
Gorgeous, Tall And Age 12 [NY Post]
America The Beautiful [Official Site]

"People would put whitening on their skin and over time, it would eat the skin away, causing all sorts of scarring," says Kevin Jones, curator at the FIDM Museum in L.A. "And the way they covered that up was to apply thicker amounts of the makeup, which would then exacerbate the situation. It was a horrible process, once you got started you couldn't stop."

Sure, but we're totally sane and safe now, right? Well, in 1930, Lash Lure, and eyelash dye, caused 16 cases of blindness and one death. The FDA started monitoring these things in 1938, yet a third of lipsticks contain lead, says a study released in October 2007. And in November, US marshals seized 12,000 tubes of Age Intervention Eyelash, a product designed to make lashes long. They suspected the stuff could harm your vision. (The FDA oversees cosmetics, but after the fact; removing items that prove to be unsafe. Unlike drugs, cosmetics are not required to have clinical trials before they hit the market.) So from piercing (ears) to courting skin cancer to altering your posture, how far are we willing to go to look more alluring?

Suffering For Beauty Has Ancient Roots [MSNBC]
Related: Potentially harmful cosmetic eye product seized [MSNBC]
Earlier: Is Your Lipstick Poisoning You?
Oldies But Goodies: Savage Tan
Fashion Victims