In the past few days, "squinting" has become the focus of the whole network debate.
The origin of this controversy is that the product promotion poster taken by the nut brand "Three Squirrels" in 2019 was suddenly pulled out, and the model 'squinting' makeup in the poster was considered by some netizens to be deliberately scandalizing the Chinese.
▼
After this, related topics quickly rushed to the hot search. A large number of netizens poured into the brand live broadcast room to verbally attack the anchor, and the anchor had to be quickly dropped after 30 minutes. And the voice of "boycotting brands" is also getting louder and louder.
Things continue to ferment, many netizens flesh out of the model used by the brand, and began to point the finger at this model. Someone said " Have you ever seen an eye like this in real life?" If you really have such eyes, what makeup does the poster put on? Someone else asked her, "How can you be so ugly and confident?" ”
Screenshot of the model's online violence speech on social media
At the same time, the character makeup design of "Lion Boy" and the model image in Mercedes-Benz's new advertisement were almost simultaneously exposed, quickly escalating the "squinting" controversy into a hurricane.
The domestic animation "Lion Boy", which has just been released, has a high score of 8.3 on Douban, but the "small eyes" and "wide eye distance" in its character image have been criticized by many netizens for being racist.
In the new advertisement launched by Mercedes-Benz on December 25, the image of the model has also aroused strong dissatisfaction among netizens.
The "three squirrels" quickly apologized, saying that "the models on the page are Chinese, and their makeup is based on their personal characteristics, without deliberate ugliness." He also said that "the model's makeup does not conform to the public aesthetic and causes discomfort, and we apologize." Mercedes-Benz quietly withdrew the new advertisement.
Yesterday, the squirrel's model came forward to respond, "The eyes, indeed, look like this... I don't deserve to be Chinese with small eyes? "Maybe everyone's aesthetic is different, maybe some friends can't appreciate my type, but they don't have to attack me like this, radish cabbage has its own love." That's how my eyes are, even smaller than that in life. Does that mean that if you look like this, you shouldn't choose the profession of modeling? ”
So, is "squinting" deliberately scandalizing the image of the Chinese people? Are netizens alert enough to malice, or are they overly sensitive and on-line? Even, is there anyone among them who is deliberately stirring up emotions in an attempt to obtain traffic benefits?
First of all, what we want to say is that "maliciously defaming the image of the Chinese people" and "pluralistic expression of aesthetics" are two different things in essence.
In history, Western countries have stereotyped Chinese such as "Fu Manchu", "Charlie Chen", and "Su Xi Huang", and "squinting" has even become a symbol of insult to China and a way of racial discrimination.
For example, the treacherous character "Fu Manchu", derived from the British novel "Fu Manchu", with a pointed chin, a beard, and slender eyes, is a typical representative of western "yellow peril" thought. He was well versed in all kinds of torture and poison, plotting all kinds of evil deeds, and had been applied to many Western works in the past. In 1980, Chinese Americans also launched the "Boycott of Fu Manchu Movement."
The image of Fu Manchu in the 1968 film "The Blood of Fu Manchu"
Such depictions of Chinese and even East Asians still exist in today's world. Some have become a stereotypical, narrow Western aesthetic, even internalized into some styles that Chinese consciously or unconsciously pandered to, while others remain ugly expressions full of malice and discrimination – either way, they deserve extra vigilance and counterattack.
Whether the brand involved in this case is "deliberately ugly" or a relatively simple "aesthetic problem" is a matter of opinion. Some people feel extremely uncomfortable, and some people are completely indifferent, and everyone can criticize and examine according to their own understanding and make their own choices of action.
However, if because some Westerners regard "small eyes" as the stereotype of Chinese, we ourselves criticize and resist "small eyes", it will become another kind of discrimination and insult derived from Western standards, and become a real cultural lack of self-confidence.
In this round of "squinting eyes" controversy, some models with "single eyelids and small eyes" have "lying guns". For example, under the advertising photos of supermodel Ju Xiaowen, various "strange" comments poured in.
Some netizens commented on the photos posted by Ju Xiaowen
This simple and rough shot to knock down and resist is obviously a prejudice: as long as the use of small-eyed models is maliciously ugly and caters to Western aesthetics. However, this is not only the unnecessary oversensitivity and on-line, but also a regression of aesthetic pluralism.
It took us a long time and a lot of effort to make different forms of beauty begin to bloom freely. Admittedly, there are still some familiar recipes and routines for women's aesthetics, such as white skinny, European double eyelids, collarbone coins... But as far as the aesthetic choices faced by women are concerned, they are obviously much more diverse than hundreds of years or even decades ago, from girly, neutral to high-end faces, from pure and natural to wild and handsome, from cyberpunk style, Y2K to Hanfu, national tide, from Gentlewoman, A and Sa to plus size girls, single-eyelid girls... All styles can have a place.
And this time, the "Mimi Eye" dispute has made many people say the words "held in the heart": "A girl like you (looking) is not qualified to be a model." "Obviously, such a look is not a generally accepted aesthetic in China."
So let's ask in depth: what is the "universally accepted aesthetic"? Who defines this "universal"? Why can't small eyes express beauty?
Full of agility, Ju Xiaowen, confident and cute Moringa Yoko, 200 pounds of "mud and rock top stream" Watanabe Naomi, unrestrained and funny Okafina... It may be true that some people can't get their beauty, but it really doesn't prevent more people from genuinely finding them so attractive.
And one of the important signs of social progress is that more and more people can appreciate, or at least tolerate, diverse beauty, rather than saying, "Girls like you are not beautiful!" Not eligible XXX! ”
The best fight against discrimination is definitely not for one's own people. Sadly and infuriatingly, the only thing some people can do and want to do is to release violence against their own people, and even use the simple emotions of the people to pull hatred to earn traffic.
Saying that people "look insulting" is really the joke of the year.
Image source: Weibo, video screenshot