by Brittany Kaelber

Created on: October 19, 2007

It is a common misconception that models are all skinny. However, the faces gracing the covers of our magazines are even thinner; they're celebrities. It seems to me that Hollywood get thinner every year. Sadly, this is not in a healthy, positive way; it is in an unhealthy, dangerously skinny, negative way. Normal, twelve-year-old girls are worried about the size of their thighs. Size 8 girls are being referred to as "curvy." It has gotten out of control. These people that have become today's roll models are not only unhealthy in look alone, but many are addicted to drugs and alcohol. Many of the celebrities in the public eye part uncontrollably and switch boyfriends as often as they switch their purses.

However, this is only one way that Hollywood is having a serious negative impact on the world. Hollywood is using movies to slowly make things that were previously deemed unacceptable acceptable in today's society. I recently viewed a children's movie where I heard at least 3 swear words. When did it become acceptable for our young children to watch a movie with the word "damn" in it? It is not just children's movies that have gotten out of control either. I have just lately taken to walking out of the theater. Nudity, language, and violence have gone above and beyond acceptable. Nudity has become graphic sex scenes, language has become the f-word being the main form of dialog in the film, and violence is full of so much blood, gore, and inhumanity that grown men cringe. Our society is slowly becoming desensitized to the horrible imagery being put before us.

Hollywood is also being integrated into our everyday lives and causing us to be unsatisfied with what we have and how we live our lives. A large chunk of today's television shows are reality shows based around the Hollywood life style. Our grocery stores are lined with magazines designed to keep our focus on the life of the rich and famous. Credit cards are being maxed out to achieve the latest fashion. It is just recently that names like Prada, Gucci, and Dior have become widely known and recognized in middle class, suburban homes.

The saddest part is that we LET Hollywood have that big of an impact on us. We sit through the movies, we buy the magazines, we know the words to the trashiest songs and we let all of these bad habits sneak through to our children. The real problem is not Hollywood, it's us.

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