I decided to give the Serenity DVD to my niece and her husband for Christmas. I couldn't believe what they did to Summer Glau on the packaging. In the posters released at the time of the movie, she looked like herself -- a slender, youthful dancer. Now she has these huge Xena-like breasts -- but she's wearing the same costume as she had in the poster!

Part of me is offended by the idea that a woman can't be beautiful if she doesn't have big boobs. Part of me is offended on behalf of the actor whose body image was changed by an air brush and I'll bet it was without her permission. I can't believe Summer wanted to look so different on the packaging than she does in the movie!

Imagine if some marketing guy decided that women don't really like slender men and what Sid needed was bulging muscles and an 18" neck. Grab an airbrush and it's a done deal.

There ought to be a law.

Carol

One of the artists I "met" on a Firefly board created a different cover for the DVD, printable. I like it much better, and I've re-covered the original cover.

(She also created a humorous "llama" cover -- I'm very tempted to buy a second copy just to have the llama cover on my shelf too, and see if it gets any second looks!)

I have to agree about the airbrushing. Very disheartening. Can't be good for the actors either -- with all the pressure to be "perfect" in Hollywood terms, it's got to be damaging, in some ways, to see the changes made to the images of their bodies to make them conform to these ideals. They're "not good enough" as they are, it seems.

- Sharon

Yes, the typical male still loves a woman with boobs and the industry still wants to portray them that way, yet at the same time, telling these girls that they are too fat for the camera at size 3. So they almost kill themselves to lose the weight and as a result, they lose the boobs as well and have nothing left but washboard chests. It's sickening.

Some time back, I linked up to interviews of most of the "Serenity" cast, and Summer Glau was one of them. She seemed very excited in portraying a very challenging character, very real, both knowing and yet innocent. It seemed to me, that the little extra on the airbrush would probably make her upset at the touch up. To me, that is selling a lie, almost like a bait and switch deal. Unfortunately Carol, it's still a 'sex sells' type world, and I'm not liking it. I wonder if things will get better when you some stars speaking up about their images being used in the wrong way. I'm sure some of you know about actress Jessica Alba's suit against playboy, from what I have read so far, and how they have her image, (in a bikini from a movie), on the cover of playboy. She's upset they are using that against her wishes making people believe she is posing nude or semi-nude in the issue. What is actually the situation is that playboy had a survey, where Alba won a most so and so contest, and that is why her picture was chosen to be on the cover. I take it, Alba denied Playboy permission, so the grabbed the movie pic. It looks to me, a very low move on their part. I think more stars need to speak up about how their images are portrayed. Maybe things will change to a more honest way things are, and not lies to sell things.

I have the DVD in question, and looking at the cover, it looks like nothing has changed, but then again I hadn't noticed Glau's assets before. Though not that I'm implying anything Carol !
[Sienfield]Or not that there is anything wrong with that. [/Sienfield]

I agree. Most likely the stars will have to add that in their contracts. A clause to prevent their images from being changed or portrayed differently than they would like.
It is a very sad thing. I personally would like to see more stars that are not so skinny looking. They look like skeletons! When the average woman can barely fit into a size ten, why wouldn't the actresses that is supposed to play the part of an average woman in a movie not wear a size eight at the least. I hate seeing all these unhealthy looking women all over the place. Plus there could be women who wear a size ten and be thin. I was one of them; in high school I weighed 135lbs and thought I was fat because I wore a size twelve. It never occurred to that my body shape had something to do with the size of my clothes. I was then actually only ten pounds over my ideal weight (according to my doctor), but within the parameters of weight according to age and height. But because my body frame seemed large I thought I was fat.
Since not everybody has the same body shape, not everybody can fit into the same clothing size. There is a happy medium between skeleton and overweight. Being thin isn’t being healthy. I think it’s not just the actors that need to complain, we as the consumer need to as well. The only way that things are going to change is if we as the consumers force it too. Though I admit it will take a while, we can make the world change its perceptions. It can start with artists (actors are included in this one word) not putting up with this and the general public backing them up.

This is an issue with me, mostly because my aunt, whom I lived with in high school, was one of those people that believe thin is everything and the smaller size you wear makes you healthy.

Now that I am older, I know that, people are beautiful the way they were created, not in the way Hollywood and the Fashion Industry dictate!

Andrea

Exactly! If one looks on painting of the past, the beautiful women depicted on there, would be ostracized as obese today! It is also a matter of perspective, and I think that is entirely forgotten in today's world. I also think if one thinks it also in this way, there are life situations that cannot be done, if you are a size 2. An example of mine that might make a point, I use to be about 110 lbs, yet time and children have increased it. I can give blood and not worry about being turned away. That happened to me at one time, because one has to be 110 lbs and more to give blood. I was just a bit under. I have A- blood, a bit rare. I try to give because of that. There are other things one could think that more weight is essential. I believe there are individual gifts to every different person. Conforming to one size, I believe could be unhelpful. Maybe celebrities could help in creating the need for a more apprecitiveness of their individual looks status. I don't know, but I think you are right, colibri23.

Seconded. The driving force of media is based on a combination of effecting the opinions of the consumers and then the consumers directing the direction of the media based on those effected opinions.

I have to admit, I think Summer Glau is absolutely one of the most attractive young women I've seen onscreen. She's not terribly thing and she doesn't have large breasts. She is gorgeous. The way she holds herself and with the grace she holds herself--that is always more attractive than physicality.

A girl could be dropdead gorgeous a la society but if I see her and the way she holds herself doesn't support that image then it loses its power quite quickly. More shallow people would disagree, I'm sure. (I don't usually like using the term "shallow," but I know it exists.)