OUGD401 - Study Task 8 - Outcomes

Outcomes:

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

‘I compare my body to bodies of TV and movie stars’ (Karazsia and Crowther 2008). This quote is one of the main reasons I wanted to base my investigation around the stigma that men in the current culture need to have the 'perfect body. It was important for my poster campaign to question when men feel this way and why they continue to compare their bodies to those seen on TV and in movies. The first poster seen in figure 1, is the poster that I designed as a way of directly questioning this issue. I decided to use two models for the imagery in this poster because I thought that it was the best way which I portray the idea that no one can really know what perfection really is and that its all down to personal preference. I also incorporated a statistic which I thought was quite shocking (4 in 5 men talk about their bodies in ways that promote anxiety and 38% of men would sacrifice at least a year of their life in exchange for the ‘perfect body') in the poster in order to make people think. I was hoping this would have a similar effect on people to the example NHS posters which I looked at. 

The second poster seen in figure 2 was influenced by Kyle who is a case study seen in the documentary with Reggie Yates, Dying for a six pack. ‘I'll be lucky if I make it to the age of 30’ (Kyle, Dying for a six pack),  I found it so shocking that someone could be aware that the extreme exercise they are doing is so dangerous it could cause them to die early, but still continue anyway. This is something that I wanted to question in my campaign which the use of the model wrapping himself in clingfilm was intended to portray. The slogan 'Where does it End?' questions to what extent men will go to in order to gain the body that they see as perfect. I also added in a quote that was said by Yates in the documentary because I thought that it was extremely accurate to the situation, 'this isn’t fitness this is something else, this is punishing your body'.

The final poster uses the NHS description of body dysmorphic disorder taken from their description. I chose to look into this disorder because Kyle (Dying for a six pack) said another statement in the documentary that made me think that extreme fitness could be something that is beginning to effect the mental health of young men. ’I see a s*** body, when I look in the mirror I am unhappy with what I see.’ (Kyle, Dying for a six pack), one of the signs of body dysmorphic disorder is spending a long time looking in the mirror or having to avoid them all together. The poster I created is aimed at these young men in order for them to gain some awareness of the disorder and possibly seek help if they think they could have this mental health issue. The imagery which I used is eye catching to men who are interesting in the gym and extreme work outs because it is of a body which many males would aspire to have. 

Overall, the campaign is eye catching to young men because it is different and based on something which the group of gym goers would be interested in. The imagery used was created to catch the attention of the target group as it is obvious straight away what the posters are about. The campaign would spread awareness of the impact of the media and the ideal of the 'perfect body' to those who may be at risk of putting themselves in danger and the people who care for these particular individuals.