I just finished watching a Korean movie titled "200 Pounds of Beauty". Although it is an entertaining flick to watch but I think it endorses really negative values about the concept of "beauty" and "happiness".
The movie is about this fat girl who has amazing vocals and sings for another female singer who is beautiful but talentless. In short, she basically remains hidden while singing at the concert of another person. Anyway, she was in love with the dashing producer as he treats her really nice and all but was heart-broken when she found out that he had been making use of her all along for her vocals. He does not have any feelings for her at all.
So she seeks out a plastic surgeon and underwent a major reconstruction from head to toe. Finally, she became a beautiful girl after a few years of dieting and surgery. She then looked up the producer again and got to sign a recording contract after he heard her sing at an audition.
However, he did not know that she was the same fat girl from before as she deliberately kept it from him. She feared that he would despise her for having plastic surgery. Anyway, in the process of getting famous, she sort of deserted her best friend and mentally-challenged father. She became a materialistic bitch but got overwhelmed by guilt in the end and admitted to the whole world (at her concert) of her true identity.
Not surprisingly, her fans were super understanding people and still continued to chant their support for her despite everything so she got to remain as a popular singer but as her real identity. Another "surprise" was that the producer fell in love with her and claimed that it wasn’t because of her looks but because of her innocent nature. Now, everybody say ‘YEAH RIGHT’! It sounded like total crap to me. If that was the case, he could have fallen in love with her when she was fat!
As you’ve guessed, everything ended up ‘happily ever after’ and the last scene was of her fat best friend sitting in the plastic surgeon’s office, trying to get a major reconstruction as well.
I find that really, really sick. I am not saying that going for plastic surgery is a sin and that it is evil. If a person finds that a little improvement here and there is totally necessary, then by all means go ahead but this movie gives people the illusion that plastic surgery is the answer to EVERYTHING. It sends the message that by being beautiful, the world is your’s and if you are NOT beautiful then you better get beautiful or die trying. If in any case you fail, then you might as well commit suicide because the world has no place for less-than-perfect people.
I know how some younger girls would feel that they need to go for a serious makeover after watching this kind of movie but I’ve got news for you, being beautiful doesn’t make you a happier person. I know this from personal experience. I used to be a butt-ugly kid all through primary school. I was fat and suffered from lousy grades but I had lots of friends and life was much more simpler.
I wouldn’t say that I am beautiful now but at least I have improved quite a bit. At least I don’t get laughed at as ‘fat pig’ or ‘godzilla’ anymore but I can’t say that I am blissfully happy now. As we grow older, we start to realize that life isn’t a bed of roses and start to miss our childhood.
Sometimes I wish that I could go back to the days whereby I am not troubled by money, love and social issues. Anyway enough about all this, I am not trying to wallow in self-pity because there are people worse off but what I am trying to say is that sometimes the richest, smartest, most beautiful people are the saddest bunch of us all. I mean, look at the history of rich and famous people who committed suicide. Ironic huh?
Maybe I am feeling melancholic recently after going through a series of disappointing relationships but who knows? Maybe I’ll think that the world is a beautiful place again after I’ve found Mr. Right or landed my dream job.
In the meantime, I’ll just work hard everyday and try to achieve these goals. I only hope that when I do finally achieve them, it will make me a happier person.
