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Manuel Gandara
Alison Sarreal
David Martinez
Emily Regalado
Professor Kubler
English 114B
May 13, 2015
Accepting One Another
In modern day, our eyes pay more attention to something visual which is why a video is a
great way to share an argument. For our music video, we decided to share the awareness of how
much we put an impact on one another. The specific topic we chose was societys pressure on the
ideal body type and what comes with that concern. Our group is called Project M.A.D.E, which
stands for Manny, Alison, David, and Emily, which are all the members of the group. Manny as
the Director, David as the Web Master, Emily as the Graphic Designer, and myself as the Editor
were all people that made this project possible. Body image has always been a very sensitive
topic in our society, but it seems that people do are not aware of how deeply it affects other
people. It has come to the point where people believe that people associate the perfect body
image with success which causes more pressure added to become this goal to be that photo shop
girl on the fashion magazines (Ana). This idea of success is unrealistic, but some people will do
anything to have that taste of success so that they can feel acceptance into our society. The media
has portrayed something that is not considered to be possible for the average women, such
standards of beauty are almost completely unattainable for most women that women have to
do outrageous things to be considered beautiful (Serdar). Why is it that a person must do

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something to satisfy another? They feel they must change who they are inside just to feel
accepted in public. Has this mentality of following another become moderate obsession?
From this film we are using two different scenes to convey our message of societal
pressure. The first scene shows Kevin Spaceys character imagining one of his daughters friends
dancing and removing her clothes in a sexual manner. As the teenager takes off her shirt, red
rose pedals begin to fly out rapidly. We then cut to the scene where he is now laying on a bed
while rose peddles pour down all over him. We then see the young girl fully nude covered in rose
peddles. Kevin Spacey character lies on the bed with a face full of lust. Kevin Spacey is sexually
attracted to the under age girl despite the fact that he is clearly much older. This scene will give
an example of how women are sexually objectified in our society and their sociological view of
them as sex objects. This shows the danger that women face when it comes to sexually obsessive
men.
From the same film, we use a scene where a young woman is walking home in the dark.
She then notices a strange man filming her with a video camera. Then woman notices the man
and she flips him off while the man gives her a smirk. We added this scene because it resembles
the issue of stalking of women by sexually obsessive men.
The first shot that we got of this music video of Ruby Rose, is of her cutting her hair in
an angry manner. She is wearing a very fancy dress with her cleavage being shown. After she
cuts her hair, she steps inside of a bathtub and pours water over herself. She begins to scrub her
arms as makeup begins to wash off. As the makeup washes off, you can start to see her tattoos
underneath. After she bathes herself, she starts to get dressed. She wraps a tight cloth over her
breasts in order to hide them. She dresses into a mens button up shirt and a blazer. She then
lights a cigarette while she stairs dead at the camera. She looks very mad yet proud. She begins

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to scream the words I dont care what you think. She looks very mad and she flips off the
camera. The final shot is of her smirking at the camera. We use this powerful music video
because it shows a person expressing himself or herself for who they are rather than what society
is telling them to look like. She identifies herself like a man so she cuts her hair and she dresses
her self as one.
Another part we wanted to portray was pressure in high school because that is a stage in
life where identity becomes crucial. We chose the movie Mean Girls and from this movie we use
many scenes relating to high school groups. The first scene shows boys carrying Regina George
who is the considered the queen of the school. She and her other two friends are the popular girls
at school who think they are better than everyone else. We then added a scene that shows the
different social groups in the school cafeteria. The teenagers are labeled as jocks, nerds, freaks,
and are also labeled by their weight. All of these people look at the new girl in school in a rude
way. The new girl then eats her lunch in a bathroom stall because she feels as if she doesnt
belong to any of the social groups. This demonstrates the pressure of belonging to a specific type
of group.
Our last film was Pinks song Stupid Girls, from this music video, we use scenes that
portray the struggle that women have when it come to societys pressure of being beautiful. One
of the scenes that we use is of Pink running at a gym and she is starring with jealousy at the girls
who have big breasts. We then later cut into a shot pink laying down on a surgery bed ready to
have plastic surgery in order to be beautiful in societys eyes.

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Conformity can begin with a son or daughter that feels they can never satisfy their
parents in any way, and generally feel defeated. A child will have the notion that everything they
do is wrong in their parents eyes. They do what they feel will make their parents happy rather
than what makes them happy. This can hurt the child because they dont have the support that
they need, and rather console in approval before support. As they continue to fit the mold of a
perfect child, they add stress to themselves, since they are no longer themselves. A child will
always look to their parents for guidance, and once they no longer can, whom must they go to?
After trying to be what their parents want them to be, they endure mental and social issues. They
are so overwhelmed with themselves, trying to be something they are not, can make them lose
who they once were. A person can erratically spiral out of control, lose their friends, colleagues,
and their sense of ability and lose hope within them.
No matter how much one strives to make change, stay true to him or her or progress, the
undertow (pressure) keeps pulling them back. Society can pressure a person to change their body
and look a certain way. As they are presented an ideal body type, then mentally it can make a
person believe that is what they should look like. If a person sees people who do this, they are
inclined to do as everyone else is. Even if the person tries to shake this mentality of
reconstruction, it will always be in the back of their minds. The subconscious tells them that they
must do it to fit in, but their heart says otherwise.
Nevertheless, there are those that refuse to conform. A person may not want to follow
with conformity, and are not affected by what they are exposed to. It is still a possibility that if
they see the picture-perfect person that person will want to be just like them. This can develop
into obsession, and once the obsession dies down, they come to realize that being accepted is not
a necessity, rather a want, that is no longer wanted. A person who is influenced by others and is

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being smothered can only make the person desire to break away from them, they can harm them
emotionally and mentality and evidentially their self esteem. As they are constantly being
bombarded with images of a person or group can end up consuming and drowning the other
person. And as a person grows older they learn to not take it, and are now able to think for
themselves.
Every person is in charge of their own body and mind, so why would self-identity
continue to be of a nuisance for some? Self-identity is when one knows themselves, and
continues to act how their characteristics were intended to be. People should be able to think for
themselves, have their own opinion and if they choose to be a certain way they should not be
judged for it. If a person is being told to act or look a certain way, it should not be their
responsibility to conform. Life is about keeping your identity, being unique and being true to
oneself.
As the web master of the group, my job was to provide an external source of insight to
further explain the topic in which we decided upon. The use of videos, data charts, and personal
information was vital in explaining the relevance and impact of our topic. As a fellow teen, I felt
the need to further elaborate on the many issues faced during this stressful period of our life. For
example, peer pressure is perhaps the most obvious instance, but we forget about the pressure
place upon us by our very own parents. It is for these reasons we must take into account the
amount of stress everybody must endure, and examine the impact of everything.
The main gist of our focus as a group is to morph into person whom you wish to become,
and nobody else. Peer pressure in high school is a killer to many who arent ready for the cultural
impact they will face once they begin those four tumultuous years. To refer back to my groups
video, we used the film Mean Girls, because the context of the movie perfectly fit in our main

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idea. A girl changes her entire personality for the sole purpose of wanting to socialize with the
popular girls. Many high schools in America have various cliques within the school, and of
course everybody wishes to feel as if they belong to a group. Somebody altering their personality
only to socialize with a group in which they truly dont belong is not the correct way to make
friends. Friends are meant to accept us no matter what. We should associate with those whom we
feel the most comfortable with. If I love football, then it would not make much sense if choose to
make friends with the basketball enthusiasts only because they are a bit more popular. Another
example within my website is the large info graphic in which it provides numbers of many teens
who only partake in certain only because their friends do so. For example, the statistic I found
most intriguing was the 70% of teenagers who smoke; however the main reason they chose to do
so was because their friends smoked. From my experience, this statistic is accurate because many
of my friends pressured me to participate, but I knew that was never for me, so I chose not to.
The main idea is to be yourself, and choose those who you feel best with. If not, then your high
school years will not be four of the best years of your life, as they should be.
Most people forget just how much of an impact our parents make in our lives in our
teenage years. Many of us are blessed to have wonderful parents who we love dearly, but we all
know they just annoy us more when we are teenagers. I say that jokingly, but its the hard truth.
One of the biggest examples I thought of were the infamous sports dads. I provided a short clip
in my website exemplifying exactly what these parents are doing incorrectly. One of the fathers
threatened his son with a beating after embarrassed him. Im sure many of these kids love
playing their respective sports, but having their parents push them so hard is only adding an
unnecessary burden. This unnecessary burden has the potential of wiping away a persons love
for the game. Unfortunately, these kids are afraid to tell their parents their true feelings, which

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results in these kids not living their preferred lives. Another example of overbearing parents is
the ones who place too much pressure on academics. Many enroll their kids in programs against
their will. Even worse, many follow the academic path their parents choose for them. A teenager
who aspires to be a pilot should not become a doctor only because their parents demand it. It is
important for us to inform our parents of exactly what we wish for, and they should support us in
whatever we decide upon.
I cant stress just how important it is to live the life you wish. Letting outside influences
decide your decisions tarnishes your enjoyment. Do things for your very own enjoyment. Its
great to make others proud of you, but it should not be your main goal because you should aim to
make yourself proud first. Socialize with people you really wish to do so, and make sure your
parents know your personal interests. Life should be a joyous experience, so its dependent upon
us to enjoy it.

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Works Cited
Ana. "The Influence of Body Image in Our Society." PocketCultures RSS. Creative
Commons, 20 Aug. 2013. Web. 13 May 2015.
Serdar, Kasey L. "Female Body Image and the Mass Media." The Myriad: Westminster's
Interactive Academic Journal. Westminister, n.d. Web. 13 May 2015.