The Importance of Appearance

The definition of appearance is the way someone or something looks. No matter what time in society, appearance is always important, because the way a person looks tells a lot about them. Just because on the outside a person is nice and clean it does not mean that is what is inside. Do not be fooled by appearances, the outer appearance of a person does not guarantee the emotion or character of the person. If a person is wearing clean fancy clothes, shiny shoes, has there hair combed or brushed neatly, it does not mean that, that person is happy because they look the way other people want them to look.

In the photograph, The Westwater Family (Tina Barney, 1999), a modern day of image of a white family, all dressed nicely stand in a room, all preoccupied by something is presented. It is a sharp, clear image that leaves people to wonder what exactly is going on. Even though that every person in the photo is dressed up and looks very nice it is clear through the expressions on their faces that not everyone is happy. They all stand in a bright room, surrounded by nice things but just because the family has reason to be happy, it doesn’t mean that they are happy. Several people look down while others are engaged in conversation. Most of the people in the room are dressed in black. To an outsider watching the family the first impression would be that these are people are not happy even though judging by their appearance and surrounding they do have reasons to be.

In the photograph, As We Found Them (Peregrine F. Cooper, 1864), the image shows a before and after shot of two African American children. The before shot labeled “As We Found Them” shows a boy and a girl dressed in ragged clothing, standing against a banister, relaxed, and staring into the camera. In the after shot labeled “As They Are Now” the boy is dressed in a nice, clean clothes and his sister is in a nice clean dress. They both stand straight and even the image is old the lighting is brighter in the after shot then in the before as if advertising that because people think the children are dressed this way it is better and now everyone is happy except the children. Through the expressions on their face it is clear that the kids are unhappy, even though they didn’t look much happier in the before shot they are more unhappy in the after. The surrounding in the after, looks slightly cleaner then in the before. Just because the children in the picture look a way that society finds acceptable doesn’t mean it is better and it doesn’t represent what is on the inside because clearly the children are unhappy.
The authors of “Practices of Looking” state that “Images are an important means through which ideologies are produced and onto which ideologies are projected,” (23). The quote helps reinforce the idea that the way people look sends a message to others of who that person is in society, what class they are, and what they believe in. In both The Westwater Family and As We Found Them, the photographs show that the way the families are dressed and where they are does not represent who they are what they feel, it just shows what everyone else wants to see: the idea that people are looking a way they feel is acceptable. In America On Film the authors write “Images of people on film actively contribute to the ways in which people are understood and experienced in the “real world,” (1). The quote explains what appearance means in the world and how appearance is used to get to know a person and judge them.
Appearance can suggest things about people that others may not know or may lead them to misjudge them. Photographs can be used to manipulate ideas a person has about people they in the image. Just because a person looks one way does not mean it represents who they are or what they feel. Appearance is important in society and can say a lot about a person that is not true.

Works Cited
Harry M. Benshoff and Sean Griffin, “The Importance of Appearance,” America On Film. ed. (Chichester: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2009) 1.

Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright , “The Importance of Appearance,” Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture. ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2009) 23.