Sidney Sheldon penned a book titled 'a stranger in the mirror' in 1976 which was later adapted into a movie in 1993. The book tells the story of two fictional characters, Toby and Jill who embarked on a journey to stardom in Hollywood. It tells of their struggles and how they 'lose' themselves in their quest for stardom. They both become ruthless while ascending the steps to fame. The novel climaxes with a tragic end for both characters.
The plot of the novel is relevant to the message I intend to pass across with this piece. We live in a world where people are literally willing to do anything in order to achieve fame or acquire wealth. They can become so ruthless and undergo a transformation such that they wouldn't recognise the person they have become in comparison to who they were if they were to stand in front of a virtual mirror. Indeed the sight they would behold would be that of a stranger in the mirror.
The dilemma of getting carried away in achieving stardom or the likes especially if it is not for a good cause is that the individual is usually oblivious to the negative transformation that is occurring to them in terms of character and principles. Indeed any attempt to caution such individual is usually rebuffed as the individual for some reason can't seem to come to grasp with the reality that they have become anything else but noble.
This is usually the case when the motivation for wanting to achieve fame is to fulfill a selfish reason or execute a personal vendetta such as revenge. Indeed even for those with noble motives, they are not immune from being carried away by the intoxicating effects of power or influence. Little wonder it is said that:
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men...", Lord Acton
This statement hints at the fact that there is a tendency for an individual's sense of morality to decrease or decline as his or her power increases. Only very few great men have been able to withstand the intoxication that accompanies becoming powerful or greatness. Some of them literally became 'monsters' of some sorts who didn't take counsel from anyone no matter close they were.
The other aspect to becoming strangers in the mirror is that of actually staring at a physical mirror and not recognising the person one sees. The entertainment industry has been the major culprit in causing people to subject themselves physiological and sometimes physical torture because they do not fit into what the industry has projected as the 'perfect ' male or female. Through movies and music videos , an imagine of how a 'hot' or 'perfect' guy or lady should appear has been projected to the society, especially the younger generation such that some persons who fall short of this 'criteria' often feel inferior.
This even results in such individuals becoming depressed some times. The female folk have suffered and continue to suffer the most subjecting themselves to all manner of surgeries or treatments in order to meet the unjust standard of the ''ideal' physical appearance that has been adopted by the society and save themselves from body shaming and other forms of emotional abuse.
Indeed we can do better by encouraging people who have weight issues to adopt healthy habits and exercise rather than body shaming them to the extent that some have opted for suicide or subjecting themselves to cosmetic surgery just to fit in with the image of the 'perfect' physique that has literally been forced onto the society by Hollywood and its cohorts. Cosmetic surgery is now so common place that even teenagers are patronising its practitioners so that they can alter their bodies to become 'hot' or 'perfect'.
Do not get me wrong, I am not against keeping fit and looking good or corrective plastic surgery for medical reasons or to address deformities which may have been there from childhood or due to accidents. The kind of surgery I am not comfortable with are those intended to alter the body to get a 'perfect' shape or figure or body part which isn't possible in the first place. This is due to the fact that there is no 'perfect' body type or physique.
Certainly having a six pack abdomen isn't a bad idea but the reality is that we all can't have it. Hence there's no need for anyone to put themselves under unnecessary pressure to have it or worse still go under the knife to achieve that purpose.
While maintaining a healthy lifestyle including exercise is surely the way to go , we all can't have the same body build or physique which the entertainment industry is forcing on the society whether deliberately or otherwise. Similarly the notion that ruthlessness or doing unsavoury things is necessary in order to achieve fame or acquiring wealth is also a wrong one.
I will conclude this piece with a question.
When you look in the mirror, who or what do you see ?
Shukran
Danke
Merci
Gracias
ขอบคุณ
ধন্যবাদ
Спасибо
for reading.
