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Celebrity status brings with it a range of qualities that the person holds to the public: desirability, envy, something to aspire to - they are perceived as perfection. Whether they are placed on the front of a high end magazine, photographed on the red carpet of their newest box office hit, or simply snapped in public unaware, they are constantly critiqued on their appearance and the impression they leave on a global scale.
The advancement of technology over the past 25 years has opened new doors in terms of photographic reproduction and tweaking. The software available in the present day harbours new techniques; techniques that can be implemented past the initial shot, applied to give the image an added edge that the original simply didn't have. The act of doctoring images is an example of hyperreality in the media today - an exaggerated form of an original image.
The three images that I have included are the best examples of photographic alteration through digital means, in my opinion. Before the restoration, Penélope Cruz has prominent wrinkles, George Clooney looks older than he should and Kim Kardashian has visible cellulite. Regular problems for regular people, it seems. But these images are rarely seen by the public eye. It is the latter images that people see on the front of magazines, through self promotion and as a part of corporate advertisements on a worldwide scale. These images are constantly streamed to the public to give a false perception of celebrity appearance.
The simulation of celebrity perfection also creates false aspirations, which reflects on personal appearances of the public. Personal imperfections that are picked up on by members of the public may be present on many celebrities, but are simply airbrushed out prior to public release.
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