Pictures That Lie

For class, we had to go to the webpage called CNet and look at pictures that lie. I am surprised by the pictures because they look so easy to doctor and there is so much photo editing technology out there that pretty much anyone can change a piece of media to show exactly what they want it to show. I chose the picture of Gov Ann Richards from the 1992 cover of Texas Monthly. The picture has Gov Ann Richards on a motorcycle in a white leather suit. The actual picture is doctored because they used a headshot of her, but the body is a model’s. The photo editor said, “since the model had such a nice body, she could hardly complain.” I think this is completely wrong because the American public already has a skewed idea of how the normal person is supposed to look. If her body is not perfect, that is okay, because nobody’s body is perfect. I am pretty sure it was manipulated because the magazine feels that covers with “attractive” people on them sell better. It is a marketing ploy. I feel that the manipulation is harmful because it could hurt Gov Ann Richards’ feelings because they are basically saying that her body is not good enough for the cover. It also hurts the American public because it is just reinforcing the “thin ideal.”