Make-Up Exploration
Georgie Kennett
Perceptions of Ugliness and Disfigurement.
Dieterle, W. (1939). The Hunchback of Notre Dame.IMDb.[online]. Available from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031455/?ref_=nv_sr_2 [Accessed 5 January 2015]
Amenábar, A. (1997). Abre los ojos.IMDb.[online]. Available from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0125659/ [Accessed 5 January 2015]
Donner, R. (1985). The Goonies.IMDb.[online]. Available from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089218/?ref_=nv_sr_1 [Accessed 5 january 2015]
Hellman, M. (1988). Iguana.IMDb.[online]. Available from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095354/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 [Accessed 5th January 2015]
Lynch, D. (1980). The Elephant Man.IMDb.[online]. Available from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080678/?ref_=nv_sr_1 [Accessed 5 January 2015]
The five references above are from the surrounding images of deformity and disfigurement in film. Questions have been raised in society about the representation of deformity in film and whether it is made into something unnatral and evil. An article questions why in bond films the villians always have facial scars. - As anyone interested in the representation of disability and disfigurement in the cinema knows, facial disfigurement is often used to represent a character’s inner evil. Take the Batman films. Harvey Dent starts off in The Dark Knight as an honest, decent lawyer defending the rights of the good people of Gotham City. After half his face becomes disfigured in an attack, he turns into the murderous Two-Face. God forbid anything bad should ever happen to Shami Chakrabarti.
In the James Bond franchise, there is most famously Blofeld, played by Donald Pleasence in 1967’s You Only Live Twice. Blofeld had a long facial scar to signify his villainy, which was a bit pointless. A grown man who conducts his business with a cat on his lap clearly has issues.
In 1995’s Golden Eye, Sean Bean played a double-crossing and facially scarred secret agent. Le Chiffre in 2006’s Casino Royale had a scarred and bleeding left eye. Jaws in 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me and 1979’s Moonraker, had his, erm, jaws. Zao in 2002’s Die Another Day had diamonds embedded in his face caused by an exploding briefcase. That film left me with a permanent fear of popping into H Samuel. The last thing I want is a load of exploding cubic zirconia embedded in my chin.
It’s disappointing that Skyfall, acclaimed for (slightly) improving the sexist portrayal of women, is still using facial disfigurement to provoke revulsion and promote the stereotype that disfigurement makes a person morally abnormal.
(n.d.). BBC Inside Out - Facial Disfigurement. [online]. Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/northeast/series7/facial_disfig.shtml [Accessed 1 February 2015].
Davies, J. (n.d.). disfiguring makeups | facial scarring | Emma Amos in ‘Secrets & Lies’. [online]. Available from: http://www.themakeupgallery.info/disfigured/facial/secrets.htm [Accessed 5 February 2015].
Connelly, B. (2012). Why Are So Many Bond Villains Disabled Or Disfigured? I Ask The Producers - Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News. [online]. October. Available from: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2012/10/24/why-are-so-many-bond-villains-disabled-or-disfigured-i-ask-the-producers/ [Accessed 10 February 2015].
PitchWhite. (2014). Beauty And The Beast The Ugly Face Of Prejudice Part 1 of 12.YouTube.[online]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PUvJo20dgc [Accessed 20 December 2014]
Beauty and the Beast - The Ugly Face of Prejudice is a series examining the extremes of discrimination, bringing together people often defined by the way they look; whether they have a facial disfigurement or an intense preoccupation with their appearance. The proogram brings together two different worlds of people with extremly alternative views of beauty and perfection. The program is interesting because it uncovers the things people living with deformity and disfigurement face in their everyday lives and shows some of the hurtful comments and actions of members of society. Some beieve that
“In modern Western society discrimination continues towards those with some physical deformity. This negative stereotype is considered to be a cultural legacy of Ancient
Greece, but is it? Cultural attitudes to deformity in a much earlier period differed. In Ancient Egypt deformity was viewed favourably, even as a mark of divine beneficence, elevating those affected from all social strata to important magico-ritualistic positions.” – from DEFORMITY – A MODERN WESTERN PREJUDICE WITH
ANCIENT ORIGINS by R. Sullivan, Department of Physiology, University College London.
Beauty and The Beast - The Ugly Face of Prejudice
Having a facial blemish or disfigurement can be a painful psychological problem for those affected.
Today's society is extremely image conscious, and there's pressure for everyone to look glamorous and blemish-free. We all know that looks are purely superficial, but we often judge people by their appearance, especially when we first meet them. Skin disfigurement and facial blemishes are a major problem for may adults and children. Medical treatment is available for many conditions, including cosmetic surgery.
Make-up can reduce facial disfigurement and highlight other facial features, and can be applied by the person or a specialist. Skin or cosmetic camouflage can be applied to good effect to conceal features such as blemishes, birthmarks and scarring. Medical and cosmetic treatment can help enormously, but for some adults the problem is one that they have to learn to live with. However, until we understand that a person's intelligence, looks and personality is more than skin deep,
Since many films portray deformity as ugliness and extremely common of the disfigurement is a scar. Facial scars are seen in hundreds of films, as experimentation towards my project I am going to explore the significance of disfigurement in my essay so will experiment changing the face with a scar. Above are a couple of images where scar make-up is used in film.
Mature
Light-coloured and flat
Major keloid
A large, raised scar which may be painful or pruritic. Extends over normal tissue and can continue to spread over many years.
Linear hypertrophic
Red, raised and sometimes itchy. Confined to the border of the original surgery or trauma. Develops within weeks after surgery. May increase rapidly in size for three to six months and then, after a static phase, begin to regress. Mature to have an elevated, slightly rope-like appearance with increased width. Full maturation can take up to two years.
Widespread stretched
Appear when the fine lines of surgical scars gradually become stretched and widened. Typically flat, pale, soft, symptomless scar often seen after knee or shoulder surgery. Stretch marks after pregnancy are variants of widespread scars. No elevation, thickening or nodularity which distinguishes them from hypertrophic scars.
Widespread hypertrophic
Common after a burn. A widespread red, raised and sometimes itchy scar that remains within the borders of the original burn.
Minor keloid
A focally raised, itchy scar that extends over normal tissue. May develop up to several years after injury and does not regress without treatment. Surgical excision is often followed by recurrence.
Immature
Red, sometimes itchy and painful, slightly elevated. Many will mature to become flat and assume pigmentation similar to the surrounding skin, although they can be paler or slightly darker.
Types of Scars
Types of scars — Site (no date). Available at: http://en.strataderm.com/about-scars/types-of-scars (Accessed: 11 January 2015).