“Changing our bodies, changing ourselves? From Popular culture: A user’s Guide” written by Susie O’Brien and Imre Szeman is an excerpt which comes from a chapter in the “Identity and the Body” textbook. The textbook discusses the “powerful impact of cultural practices” which it has on the daily lives and a “sense of identity” of humans. Susie O’Brien is an assistant professor at McMaster University for courses offered in the Humanities while Imre Szeman is Canada research chair in Cultural Studies at the University of Alberta.
In the chapter, the authors discuss the variety of relationships between the identity and the body of an individual.
The authors of the article, explore the various ways of popular culture in which North America which is obsessed with the body. The modern ways which there are in the world today are bounded to references which are made to the body, from products for the body to representations of the body. The dualist philosophy described as “I think therefore I am” (Descartes’s famous formula) through “.
.. overlapping oppositions- spirit vs. matter, mind vs. bod, reason vs. passion, nature vs. culture – … map out relations of being … and relations of power” (Susie O’brien and Imre Szeman, 2).
This suggests that the body and mind are connected to represent the identity of a person, it can be proven that the modification to the body is a way of changing one’s identity. The authors describe and question the different ways in which postmodernism has affected the world, these include the human body being either natural or cultural, physical capital and social status, enhancing the healthy body and transcending the body.
Taking the concepts from the actual piece of writing, one can infer the possibilities of the general population which the article talks about and to whom it is intended for.
The daily lives of everyday people can be summarized with this one article, as it clearly states what people do in order to fit in society. Specifically the audiences which the article pertains to are young adults who are going through the process of education, adults who work daily jobs, and also the elderly. As the article discusses the “relationship between self and body” (O’Brien and Szeman, 28), young adults may “figure” the main connection. “… pursuit of body and indentity [through fitness and exercise]” (O’Brien and Imre Szeman, 28).
The adults and the elderly may even take the associated “health practices” which are used to “enhance natural physical state” (O’Brien and Szeman, 29). The authors are very concise and clear in what they try to prove throughout the entire paper. The different topics which they exhibit include “the human body being natural or cultural, physical and Capital and Social status, Enhancing/producing the Healthy Body and Transcending the Body” (O’Brien and Szeman, pp. 221-232).
The common topics which are “hot” among the world today in general society such as “bodybuilding is… more than health and fitness… but] is also about display” (O’Brien and Szeman, 32). Taking general concepts from the world such as “looks don’t matter and that the beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, the authors seem to manipulate the idea of changing “our” bodies in modern society. As any author would, he/she would always provide a paper with a tone which seems acceptable to their readers and is appropriate in its meaning. The authors are very thorough and clear, therefore it seems as if there is little or no bias in their writing, as the facts are stated and clear examples are used to solidify the points.
The description of the modern day individual is defined as “the modern notion of body and mind as somehow separate”. An example which is used to support this notion is the movie “Shallow hal, [which has] a moral message of judging people by their inner qualities and not by outward appearance” (O’Brien and Szeman, 3). A great convention of relating the concepts of “body techniques” were used by the authors, “French women’s characteristic style of walking” changed due to the arrival of American Cinema.
The concept of change is concluded with a concept of a “clear sense of separation between private and public” (O’Brien and Szeman, 14). Emotions and ethics which are described in the article seem to truly reflect only logic. Any human being in the world has the freedom to do what they would like to enhance their body, even though the topics among the article reflect a different opinion of what should be done about either “cosmetic surgery” or even “physical fitness (bodybuilding)”.
The body as it is linked to the mind is quite significant, it means that the body symbolizes the mind through its actions. It is the modification of “our” bodies though which the other people “perceive [us]” as. The motive of the authors was to provide the readers with a more specified version of different techniques which “take over” us as beings as we are unable to “see the reality”. As the recognition of mind and body is a subjective topic, careful analysis of actions must be taken in order to live life positively and freely.
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