After watching Beauty and the Beast (a recent documentary on channel 4), I was amazed at the extremes of discrimination portrayed. Each episode centers around two individuals who are often defined by the way they look. One has an intense preoccupation with their appearance and the other a facial disfigurement.
The image above, which I found on channel 4's official website, has been greatly manipulated by the photographer, especially in terms of the body language of the subjects. The pose which the female beauty-obsessive upholds oozes confidence, where as the arm-crossing pose which the male with the facial disfigurement holds perhaps suggests that he is much more defensive and cautious towards those around him and the discrimination which he has undergone. Many meanings can be established from images within the media - this one has highly likely been used to attract audience members towards watching the documentary, they have attempted to do this by creating such an interesting contrast between the two people within this image. People are interested in those who are different and unique, in many ways this image acts as a source of escapism from everyday 'normal' life and whilst, if read appropriately, also gives an interesting insight into the lives of two people with extreme circumstances and/or values. I have come to realise that it is highly important to create unique and insightful media texts in order for it to create enough intrigue to be successful.
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