Ellen on Aging

An obsession with the process of aging is becoming more and more prevalent in America. We have twenty year olds starting to use anti-wrinkle cream in order to start early in preventing their skin from showing signs of age. Middle aged and older women are getting plastic surgery, microderm abrasion, and Botox to try and look as young as possible. Ellen’s opening statement in her Cover Girl Simply Ageless commercial “Inner beauty is important, but not nearly as important as outer beauty” has become an anthem for American women. We associate getting older with being less beautiful, even having less value and advertisements like this reinforce that mentality.

Ultimately, our makeup and anti-aging preferences aren’t going to keep us young, make us who we are, define our relationships, change a life, or make us truly happy. So, why do we stress so much about our age, our wrinkles, our makeup, and clothes? Outer beauty may make us feel more comfortable and confident, but it’s fleeting. Inner beauty is what is more important; it’s things like being a friend, loving your family, enjoying your surroundings, sharing knowledge, and looking back on memories.

Maybe we should spend less time scrutinizing ourselves for the way our faces and body change as we age, and look at it as how much we have experienced and loved our lives. How would our lives be impacted if we saw fewer media telling us how much we need to change who we already are? What do you think advertiser’s motives are in telling us things like this? Do you think they might be effected by it too?