A quick look at Looks
I recently saw a movie poster. It was one of those which was desperately trying to portray a miserable looking chap as a cool looking wonder-boy. (Of course he was a son-of-a u-know-what….a great actor).
I wondered how this chap who actually looks like a porcupine’s bum attracts a crowd (or even a gathering). But thats not the point. I also immediately wondered why we expect a hero to be good looking after all. I mean… can’t an average looking fellow or a terrible looking fellow have a good love life? Is it a prerogative of only the good looking category?
Lets take it for the moment that good-looks is an essential qualification for a hero in the film industry. How about real life? How good do we think we look? Remember, I am not talking of Beauty-is-in-the-eyes-of-the-beholder kind of beauty. I am talking about looks which will turn heads and invite stares. If I start thinking that I look great, it does not last long as there are so many better looking creatures to generously feed my inferiority complex. The moment I have that, there are so many distorted faces that makes my position relatively better. I guess its a gentle balance.
One thing is for sure. No matter how mediocre a person looks, he/she yearns for the best looks in a spouse. I guess that happens by instinct. No matter how much one convinces himself/herself that ‘beauty is only skin deep’, it is difficult to settle for less than average looks. I do agree that if there is no wavelength match in a pair, looks take a beating and new avenues are searched. But in most practical cases, a perfect wavelength match without looks also ends up in infidelity.
I am unable to see if beauty is skin deep or bone deep or harmone deep or wavelength deep. If it is a combination of all, then, in general, which has a greater percentage? I guess the fact that most of us find it difficult to accept a terrible looking fellow as a film hero shows that by instinct, we like good looks. That has a pretty big percentage!
I do not have profound conclusions on this topic. Please leave comments generously.
Relevant Quote: “I look forward to being older, when what you look like becomes less and less an issue and what you are is the point.” — Susan Sarandon