This week I did a little more research (in order to have little more insight for our cultural artifact assignment) on the photo editing software named Photoshop. I came across an article that was written by a professional photographer it was titled “Is photoshop a villain?” Essentially the article was about Photoshop and the perception society has on it in our culture. After reading this article I had major thoughts and ideas. For one can artifacts actually be good or bad or does our culture/society give them the label they want to give them. Do we label artifacts good or bad depending on how they will benefit us in the long run? Do we label artifacts good or bad because they are not necessarily something that we believe in or are very fond of?
Take the example of this cultural artifact: Make-up. I am a wearer of make-up. I LOVE make-up. Do I wear it all the time? NO. Do I feel ugly without it? NO. Do I think I’m hideous and thats why I wear it? NO. Do I feel prettier with it? YES. Does it change the person that I am or what I will stand up for? NO. Do I get judged for wearing make-up? YES. I wear make up because I want to look my best. (Is there something wrong with that?) I like make- up because to me its like art. There are so many colors/shades you can choose from in relation to eyeshadows, lipsticks,eyeliners,mascara, blushes, bronzers etc. There are so many looks that one can do with make up. The greatest thing about make up is that you can choose the amount you want to wear. Sometimes I can wear very little, a little bit more or even none. It all depends on the occasion. I have been told that people who wear make up are fake or have something to hide. They consider make-up a villain in our society. They say that make-up skews reality.I don’t think this is true. When I wear make-up I don’t think I look like a completely different person. It’s not like I went to go get tons of cosmetic procedures to alter my face (and if someone actually does this who cares?) Yet people think that wearers of make-up are fake. They say that make-up is deceiving that people are trying to portray something that they are not. I apologize if you thought that I was born with eyeliner on my eyelids and highlight on my cheeks. I’ve been called out by certain feminist that I know because I wear make-up. I thought being a feminist (correct me if I’m wrong) was suppose to be about women empowerment or is the term feminist reserved for only certain “types” of women. One more thing I cannot stand is when people assume that just because you wear make-up you can’t be intelligent. I’ve heard people say that I should focus my time on other things. I go to school full time (get excellent grades), I work part time, I do my homework, I sleep, I eat, and do other things. The time it takes for me to do my make-up does not take away the time for all of these other things. I choose to spend the time to do my make-up (if I have to wake up earlier then that is my decision that shouldn’t effect anyone else). I understand that other people will have a different priority list when it comes to dividing their time but why judge people who have different priorities/lifestyles. Maybe this has to do with age? Different priorities different age? I don’t know. What I do know is that make-up isn’t the villain here. Maybe you are. I think this is true to all cultural artifacts. I we like them they are heroes and if we don’t we consider them villains.