Beyoncé Debates The Concept of Beauty In “Pretty Hurts”

“My aspiration would be to be happy”

“perfection is disease of a nation”…That’s very deep. So, it has come to light that many girls starve themselves, use makeup, or even go as far as to get plastic surgery in order to compete in beauty pageants or simply to feel accepted in society.

Our entertainment industry constantly sells images of celebrities with “perfect” skin, hair, or shape. What is the effect of this type of programming on a society? hmmm…

Beyoncé – Pretty Hurts

The visual imagery from this video goes a little deeper than some of her previous work. I think that’s the idea of her entire album this time around  [“Beyoncé” The Visual Album]. In one scene, she’s seen walking out of a bathroom stall and wiping her mouth, which is later followed by her actually throwing up in the toilet and shots of girls trying to control their weight.

At the end of the video you can see Beyonce breaking all of her past pageant trophies then an old clip of a younger Beyonce winning a pageant. As I watch this I’m thinking to myself that this song is powerful. It is, unless Bey continues in reality to go along with the status quo. In that case, it’s just a song.

In the text box under the video Beyoncé encourages everyone to join the #WHATISPRETTY conversation by uploading a photo or video to Instagram tagged #whatispretty that captures what the word ‘pretty’ means to you. I have my own criticisms of Beyonce but #salute to her for encouraging the conversation.

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