Madrid’s Fashion Week, the Pasarela Cibeles, announced last week it was banning models with a Body Mass Index, or height to weight ratio, below 18. A 5-foot-9 (175-centimeter) model weighing 125 pounds (57 kilograms) would have a BMI of 18. I agree, and hopefully the same rules will be applied to those that do not have that choice all over the world.
And now a British Cabinet minister has taken up the controversy, asking the London Fashion Week also to ban super thin models.
This is such an unequal world. Why should the international press be so fascinated by this strange controversy when 95 % of the population of our planet are so thin becasue they just cannot get enough to eat !
Are we surprised that there are revolts all over the world against such unequal consumerism ?
shekhar
Hi dude…
are you doing something for social cause? if yes tell us, if not then-
You are a celebrity. After The Golden age post before the release if you have time, go and visit that place and work. don’t send the money, go there as a celebrity and work there as a common man. After working there, then come back and send the money. you will know the right organisation to send the money. it could be a person from that community or UN organisation. this experince will also help you as a film maker. because you are a person where the artist and the person are not different.
as for me, i am visiting a near by slum area and talking with drunkards and trying to understand there problems ( i dont drink with them because the drink they consume is horrible to smell and process to make it is worst.) i am not going to attach myself to any NGO or government body. After doing that i return to my work of writing.
i am not surprised by the revolts all over the world against unequal consumerism.
and i dont feel any contest or work or job or process should be banned.
Dear dude,what if some one who knows a lot about films comes to you and asks your guidence for he wants to make a film. You will guide him properly. How will you be able to guide him? because you have made some of the most wonderful films ever made. and what will you tell him about the bad film makers and bad writers and bad actors and mediocrity, if he asks you about that?
you are one of the most sucessful directors in the world. Even then you feel pain, sorrow. some times you are in pain because of the personal reasons and some times you are in pain because of social reasons. as a human being you will be facing pain and sorrow till you are dead. but the strenght of looking at those pains and sorrows objectively, will come out of action. what you have applied to become a film maker, apply same thing to other things which trouble you! Action!!!
otherwise it will be something like reading a book on Nutritious food while you are eating a chicken burger with double cheese layer and extra mionese sause.
take care…lots of love…tata…kedar.
I can’t find appropriate words, but appearing to turn away by not commenting is wrong, so here I am, appreciating this post.
love, Heather
Hi Shekhar,
Really sad photos, put things into perspective and makes you not sweat the small things in life. I wish I had millions of dollars and I could feed 100s of people everday in India or Africa but when you don’t have any thing in your own pocket and you live pay check to pay check one can only wish you could do more. I grew up in a poor family in Bombay, and came to America chasing the American dream (Which ironically the American dream has gone to India)
What can I do? I think about it all the time and yes moving back to Bombay is one of the ideas to help there in any which way I can, but then can I not live some where else and help too?
Can I not help from where I am now? All these questions keep popping in my head
I had an idea for the longest time for a reality show which I would like to produce & host.
Which I think would be a better and effective way to reach more people and make them aware of what’s going on in the world. I wanted to call it “NOW LIVE MY LIFE” The Reality Show, Takes Rich American or European Families (or spoilt kids or brats) and have them live in India or Africa in poor neighborhoods for 2 to 3 weeks as the Locals live, I bet they will come out a better human being so will the audience.
On an Irrelevant note, Congratulations on starting work on the script for your new project “FOUNDATION” Is work on “SOLACE” goig to begin or is that totally canned?
Please do keep me in mind for any Roles/Character’s you see me fit. It would be an honor to work with you,because you are a good soul and a wonderful human being.
And also because I am a really hard working & talented actor 🙂 will not let you down thats a promise (Ok I am plugging myself) but, I can tell you this If I want to change the world, the change has to begin with me. Right?
Cheers,
Eliyas
The problem here is that we have willingly, by the use of images, reduced people to being “symbols” – a skinny model is a symbol, not of poverty, but of a certain lifestyle, wealth, in fact…a malnourished person in Africa is also a symbol, but of something very different..
Until we ignore the symbols and man made signposts which point “to something”, then nothing will change…
Films also contribute to this symbolising process, unfortunately, since they deal with images which become archetypes or feed off / perpetuate archetypes.
Hey Shekhar,
The first image is the one which we like, which some of the American girls look forward to be, specially after having a Mac’s burger. The second which we dont’t,many simply give a sympathetic look and move on, saying they feel sorry for it.
Well Ravi swami has said it well that we have attached symbols to them , I totally agree, but don’t u think in this situation attaching symbols is necessary and not only attaching symbols but also reacting towards them is important.
What can we do? big question.
Here we mostly talk about changing ourselves, which itself is a difficult task. Changing the world, making a better place to live, OH MY GOD!!! let me think, hmmmmm , well making donations is not going to help neither visiting africa for a week and staying with them is going too in a long run, we need to use the resources we have . Shekhar can use his films, can we do something with the haelp of net, can we come up with good ideas that can be later converted into a policy which can be implemented on ground zero. Sounds good, i think so we should give it a try.
Takecare
Its truly painful to see all this but this is the fact. There are several NGOs working honestly towards the abnormalities in our society. What we lack is Motivation-Devotion-Action. We talk a lot, discuss such subjects but when it comes to ACT, we rather turn our back to the problem thinking-oh! c’mon, its none of my business, I have hell of my own problems to look after.
I started my NGO (registered & active in Delhi so far) just 2 years back with meagre funds of Rs.2000/-, still have one more year to survive Independently & funding the ngo from my own pocket, not because I want to make money, (I am a young, single, working woman) but just ‘coz it was my ultimate aim to devote myself to the society that has given me a place to live in and call it mine, to give back to the society what it has offered me, be it a Small Contribution for the time being but inside my heart I get a feeling of satisfaction and contentment in the end of every project when I see the results.
Its nice to see you are concerned about such issues. I am a great fan of yours. Keep guiding us through your films, that too is great contribution to the society.
Regards,
K.A.
Its unfortunate that XYZ can only see the heavy people around him. The world is full of selfish people who only see what is around them and it semms to me that XYZ is one of them. Shekar I love to read your social views. I am impressed but would also like to know what have you done for the society besides making good movies. I think people liek you can make a great difference. So are u ready to take it to the next level?
I will wait for your response
Sabba
Hi Shekhar, Sorry I haven’t been to your site in months. And today I come back and notice you have had a question for me sitting here for months. Thanks. I feel really honored!
I am actually from Ranchi, Jharkhand. I am currently in Mumbai visiting my sister in Panvel and I will be going back to Ranchi in a week or two. I hope things are well with you. I am enjoying reading your new posts.
Very painful comparision and hard cold truth. As much as I agree with you that world hunger needs to be addressed very badly, anorexia and bulimia are also serious diseases that needs to be addressed in this world. We just don’t know to prioritise I guess. Ofcourse we don’t want to see our daughters with fingers up their throat trying to be like a model and that’s what effects us the most and that is the closest thing we see arround us. May be that’s why it has most of the media’s attention.
Thanks.
Hi Mr.Kapoor
In States…obesity is a problem! …Either way on the index it will be an issue. Body mass index of 18 and below are sad and above 40 are sad too. There is no dearth of extremities and wheresoever they exist it will be a melancholy sight.
Nevertheless i have always considered you a director or actor, just plain human with a more than average thinking mind. Nice to come across your blog.
when i look at them i want to cry i want to feed them all
I think that the fashion industry is crazy when they critize models weights like on The Agency and America’s Next Top Model. They should make the BPI of 18 rule like Madrid did. These models are way to skinny and they look horrible and emaciated!!! They are pressured into purging and being anorexic or bulimic so that they can make it sucessfully as a model.. They look gross.. people with the disease need medical and physcological help immeadiatley!!!
anorexia & bulimia are too popular, if you’re not thin enough then you’re not excepted by others especially the skeleton figures at school..
is death the only thing thats going to make them realize how harmful it really is to live that way?
all this probrem bagan since years ago…but nobody could see this big problem..
now..people has a lot of sources as tv, internet and others that makes them want to be “better”
and maybe is also because of the freedom teenagers are getting now at days.!!
thats just plain sad ;(
You know you all forget about the people who are just naturally skinny like myself. If you want to stab at society try picking directly at the unhealthy, insecure men and women who actually have eating disorders. Not just anyone because they happen to weigh under what you would personally consider abnormal. Modeling industries want one specific size to just be able to model all of the clothing without dilemma. They just advertise the one clothing size for organization and simplicity. You can get whatever size outfit you want. They do not hire unhealthy girls and trust me they know the difference between a naturally healthy skinny person and a fake. I’m very disgusted at how you all stereotype and judge so fast at things you might not even have all the facts about. And for falling into all of some of societies brainwash. I’m especially disappointed and disgusted at how you would put up people in horrible, sad, situations and compare this model when she’s actually healthy.
I think that it’s discusting. I hate looking at people who think that weighing 92 pounds is beautiful. I hate that they are making the girls of America want to look like that. i myself am a teen, and I’m happy to say that I weigh 170 pounds. I don’t want to loose weight because I know that I am beautiful, and I don’t have to look dead to have a succesful career. So to all of those people who weigh less than my baby brother, I hope you do find God and he show’s you the light. There are really people out there dying to be thin.
People just look in the mirror and think that they are fat when all they are seeing is skin and bones. I really don’t know why anyone would want to do that. I guess they just want to fit in with the little folks, but really that’s making poeple talk about them more and more. Being anorexic is not all ways perfect because you cna really die from just not eating or throwing up everything that you eat. People listen, we are loosing people erveryday just to anorexicia. That’s not cool. Please eat some damn food