While spirituality teaches us that happiness is internal, the world around us teaches us the contrary; that happiness is achieved through external appearances. I feel that the emphasis placed on external appearances shifts the way in which we value our own internal happiness. The media and magazines focus on the external appearances of celebrities. Celebrities are often glorified for their expensive clothes, exotic cars, and impeccable red carpet appearances. This instills an impression among viewers that having these kinds of things will make each one of us happy. However, this obsession with the external disrupts the importance behind the true meaning of happiness. This leads to us trying to conform in achieving external happiness while neglecting internal happiness.
Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s is a documentary about Bergdorf Goodman, an exceptional department store, in New York City. Bergdorf’s is described as being elegant and glamorous because it carries luxurious goods from high end fashion designers such as Michael Kors, Prada, and Giorgi Armani. Bergdorf Goodman is extravagant from both the inside and outside. Bergdorf’s exterior has made it a great tourist attraction because every window and every door has its own personalized story or message in each changing season. Creative designers spend countless efforts trying to perfect the holiday windows for Bergdorf in order to flaunt to the public the authenticity of the department store. Countless celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor and John Lennon have spent over two hundred dollars’ worth of money on ear muffs and fur coats, respectively. Because of this, luxurious Bergdorf’s is portrayed as every fashion enthusiast’s destination site.
Film producer, Jean Doumanian, states, “ Everybody wants to better themselves so they aspire…stores like this are necessary to make people want to aspire to bigger and better things… you need this for the American dream. For people to actually reach it, they need to see it.” This statement reveals the direct influence external appearances have on our perception of what defines our success and happiness. This proves how individuals set their aspirations to achieve things they can visually see. While most fashion designers dream of one day being able to have their line of work inside of Bergdorf’s, others dream of simply being able to walk into Bergdorf’s and purchase something. With only the rich being able to sustainably shop at Bergdorf’s, it seems nearly impossible for an average middle class family to be able to afford a single item within that department store. Unfortunately, this type of socioeconomic constraint can create problems as to who can attain this type of happiness based on external appearances. Although not everyone can graciously walk into Bergdorf’s and purchase a two thousand dollar dress, actress, Nicole Richie, explains the importance of self-expression through fashion and how clothes has the power to make you feel like a different person. I believe this is something each one of us can relate to at all socioeconomic classes. When we put on a meaningful piece of garment, regardless of the price tag, it can make us feel like a million bucks. Indeed, clothes have the ability to showcase what we like, who we are, and what we are about. What someone wears can say a lot about the person such as their favorite color or what kind of music they like.
The several different personas in the documentary appeared happy externally through their success and passion for their line of work but it is hard to say for certain whether they are truly happy with themselves. One persona in particular, Linda Fargo, appeared to be happy with her line of work and success. Fargo is a woman of power within the fashion world and she showcases this through her language and unwavering attitude. She is Bergdorf’s fashion director which means that she decides which fashion designers make it into the luxurious department store and which fashion designers do not. She is described as having an exultant attitude and even gives upcoming fashion designers constructive criticism in order to help steer them in the right direction within the industry. On the other hand, famous personal shopper, Betty Halbreich, exhibited a very blunt attitude and admits to not liking many people. Betty lacks a filter when she speaks so she comes off as rude since is too honest with her clients. Regardless of the fact, she is still sought out by many celebrities to select their gowns for weekend getaways. Her animosity towards others may make her seem unhappy but her character doesn’t reflect whether she is unhappy with herself. With the documentary reporting that sales associates can make roughly five hundred thousand dollars a year, one might find it hard to believe that such a person can be unhappy. However, the truth is that money cannot buy happiness. Although some celebrities are happy, some of them may not be. We know this from mainstream media because few celebrities have opened up on their struggles with battling depression. This is because you can have all the fancy clothes and money in the world, but if you believe that you are not worthy then you cannot be happy.
Although the media focuses on external happiness achieved through appearances, the meaning of true happiness should bridge both external and internal happiness. We should find happiness within us to love and value ourselves while also using clothing, fashion, and physical appearance as a form of self-expression which in integral part of cultural experience. In order to be happy we should follow our heart and intuition before we base our experiences and actions on the media’s definition of happiness. We shouldn’t put our time and efforts in focusing on getting the newest clothes in fashion which does not define true happiness but embracing internal happiness. Connecting with our spirituality can help teach us that we are worthy while physical appearances tell others that we are worthy. This is why it is first important to believe that you are worthy before you try to convince others that you are worthy.
vivivivi
A.docx
0
