On Beauty

12:12 PM. Alone. Teletubbies on the TV.

I was rummaging through the net, looking for that famous quote by Greta Garbo ("I want to be alone.") then stumbled on AFI's -American Film Institute - 50 Greatest Screen Legends list, in which she was no. 5 (my beloved Judy Garland is no. 8). Here's the link just in case anyone want to see it: http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/stars.aspx

In a case of stupidity that I hope all film-goers would be kind enough to forgive, that page was where I first found out that Audrey Hepburn was NOT related to Katharine Hepburn. I always thought Audrey was the daughter of Katharine Hepburn. My mistake!

Okay, after that I browsed through each names on the list by Wikipedia. What struck me then, - as I looked at the pictures of these great actresses and actors - is how beautiful and handsome these people are. My mind then flew to thinking of today's 'hottest' and most popular stars. Angelina Jolie. Beyonce. Brad Pitt. Tom Cruise. etc. All of them, and I mean ALL, look like garbage compared to these past great screen legends (most of whom are already deceased). And please don't get me started on Paris Hilton. True, I have some favorites from today's stars, but nearly all of them are senior ones like Meryl Streep, Anthony Hopkins, and uh... well, that's it, really. Oh, I like Anne Hathaway too. Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that there's no longer that luminous presence, dignity. Our eyes no longer light up in wonder and fascination when we set sight on these 'hottest' stars. What light is there are drowned by the flashes from papparazzi cameras, news and magazines force-feed us useless and pointless informations, and these stars' behavior are only making it worse: bed-hopping, trial-and-error marriage, spouse-stealing, public indecency; the list goes on. Give Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Lindsay Lohan, and Beyonce Knowles a few years of popularity and they strip down their clothes. Because of what? "I'm mature now." Oh, so stripping down in your video clip and wearing minimal clothing makes you an adult? Moron.I don't want to be a hypocrite. I do like looking at beautiful actresses and artists. But if that's all I'm looking for, come 50, the physical attraction would have gone and what will they be left with? Wrinkles or plastic surgery.

What beauty is there in today's stars are purely sexual. The dignity and pride are gone the moment their clothes are off. If AFI's 50 legends were only pretty, they wouldn't have make it to that list. They made it there because people have something to remember them by.