Beauty is subjective. There is never going to be someone that perceives beauty in the same way as someone else. Due to this, some people may not see beauty in something that others find perfect, especially when people are forced to see beauty in a specific way. Alessia Cara released a music video, titled “Scars to Your Beautiful”, that attempts to get a meaningful message across. Cara communicates that individuals should dismiss all the media’s notions of what beauty is supposed to be through her lyrics, her cast, and contrast when filming.
In her video, Cara utilizes her voice to connect with the audience and speak to them. There is a lyric that is repeated multiple times throughout the song, “Scars to Your Beautiful”, that helps introduce the message of acceptance she is conveying throughout. ‘You should know you’re beautiful just the way you are. And you don’t have to change a thing, the world could change its heart. No scars to your beautiful, we’re stars and we’re beautiful,’ (Alessia Cara). The line ‘the world could change its heart’ restates that there is nothing wrong with the individual. Society sustains a culture that strives to fit a cookie-cutter mold of beauty. There are only a few people that fit this mold and it is impossible for all to attain it. People will never be happy striving for impossible standards that are not realistic or practical when it comes to beauty and being yourself. Angela Andrade conducted a study called ‘The Ugly Duckling Effect’. In it she states,’…People who abandon unattainable goals have higher subjective well-being and less depression that people who continue to strive for such goals,'(468). Trying to reach unattainable goals, is not the best option. Attempting or even reaching such goals could be consequential to your health and emotional wellbeing. The reason for this is because there are methods to reach these goals that are extremely dangerous. Two lyrics that Cara shares are, “So she tries to cover up her pain and cut her woes away,” and “She has dreams to be an envy, so she’s starving. You know, Covergirls eat nothing. She says beauty is pain and there’s beauty in everything. What’s a little bit of hunger? I could go a little while longer, she fades away.” In these two lyrics, Cara is referring to self-harm by cutting and anorexia. People may stoop to harmful behaviors or even possibly develop disorders just to achieve these preposterous standards, deeming them to be unfit and unhealthy goals.
Throughout Scars to Your Beautiful, a large variety of people are utilized to complete the message. Individuals from very diverse backgrounds, different ages, different stories; they are very diverse for a large number of factors. In the media, some of the factors that make you beautiful are being skinny, fair skin, long hair, having a toned body free of blemishes or scars, perfect teeth, being young, etc. By showing a large variety of people grasping their own version of beauty, Alessia is getting her message of acceptance across yet again. Kathleen Hou interviewed German photographer Peter Lindbergh in regards to his makeup-free calender photoshoot in 2016. He later stated,’ In a time when women are represented in the media and everywhere else, as ambassadors of perfection and youth, I thought it was important to remind everyone that there is a different beauty, more real and truthful and not manipulated by commercial or any other interest, a beauty which speaks about individuality, courage to be yourself, and your own private sensibility,’ (Hou). Alessia Cara is trying to reinforce that being a unique individual, makes you beautiful. She wants people to know that the fact that people look like themselves and no one else, is truly special and something to be proud of. Even though media pushes a beauty standard on people, there are people in media that are trying to get others to see that there is beauty in everyone.
Lastly, the contrast seen in the video adds to her message as well. There is a large contrast between the way people were filmed in the testimonials. There was no uniformity and a large variety of angles were used. This contributes to the idea that it is okay to be different. Not only were all the individuals very distinct in appearance in the video, but also the way they were showcased uniquely. Additionally, in the video, Alessia is wearing all black attire. She is wearing no makeup and not dressing up to put herself above anyone else in the video. By wearing all black and not drawing attention to herself, she is leaving the focus on the people and the testimonials in her video. Not only does she separate herself from the cast, she distinctly dresses in dark clothing to connect to the lyrics. Through the line, “And there’s a hope that’s waiting for you in the dark…,” Cara is referring to herself as the hope in the dark due to her black clothes. She is separating herself from the cast in an effort to try to inspire the public to accept themselves. She wants a distinct difference between her and the cast so you can see the real life everyday people and her trying to accentuate her message.
Throughout the video, there are many elements that contribute to the expression of Cara’s message of acceptance. Cara shares the message that individuals should dismiss all the media’s notions of what beauty is supposed to be. By utilizing her lyrics, cast, and contrast Cara successfully gets shares this with the world.
