People Magazine recently came out with their annual "Beautiful People" issue. Instead of the expected list of 50 of the world's most beautiful, this year the list was 100 strong. And oddly, it excluded every single one of my favorite attractive people in Hollywood. Every. Single. One.
Which got me thinking. Either People has some sort of contractual obligations to the celebrities they chose, or beauty is just such a subjective thing that they chose to stick to the popular kids with current projects, hoping that readers would nod along to the eye candy and take their word for it. If it's in print, it must be true. Well, my mom told me, "Don't believe anything you hear and only half of what you see." So I don't believe them.
Oddly, the Sexiest Man Alive, Matt Damon,
didn't even make the list. I suppose sexy isn't beautiful. Or to be
both is monopolizing too many positions on too many lists. Just as I
suppose considering Batman (Christian Bale) as beautiful would undermine his brooding, tortured superhero soul. And the prettiest cast on television, that of Lost, was shut out. Because they're scruffy and unshowered? Whereas the Grey's Anatomy folks pretty much dominate the list.
To me, the very fact that such a list exists is odd. And unnecessary. Most movie fans have their personal favorites. They are drawn to certain entertainers. They defend them at the water cooler and scan for their names in the headlines. So I find it a little awkward that we have to be told that the person we're staring at is beautiful. I don't know about you, but I can discern that for myself. And my personal definition of beauty goes beyond "skin deep." So pictures of The Hills cast doesn't do much for me.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I believe that. I also find that the most powerful performances win me over. Before my eyes, previously nondescript actors become stunning. Likewise, I've seen plenty of pretty people become vacantly and excruciatingly bland as they stumble on the big screen in roles they can't handle.
I propose that a list be made of beautiful characters, not beautiful people. Because I don't know if Kate Hudson is a beautiful person. I've never met her. Her perky blondness could be masking a disturbing monster. I do know that Guido Orifice (Roberto Benigni in Life is Beautiful), while no conventional heartthrob, is stunning.
Nadine Bells
on her toes
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