If you surf the internet at all during your work day, the liklihood of you seeing a video based on 100 years of beauty is pretty high. Now, there's a new one, and it's wicked cool. Cut LLC Video released 100 Years of Indian Beauty, and it's an eye opening look at how ideal beauty has changed in the past century.
While the amazing clips seem like a ton of fun to make, the creators take painstaking lengths to ensure that the videos aren't only compelling to watch but also culturally accurate. Mike Gaston, creative director of Cut Video, explained the emphasis on cultural competency stating, "We try to find researchers who are very specific to the culture...For the Iran episode, the main researcher is a student at the University of Washington majoring in Persian studies and the history of fashion, and she was recommended to us by the head of the Persian studies department there." When examining beauty standards of different countries, Cut Video's desire to be true to a nation's identity is what makes the videos so special. Instead of utilizing the glamour of starlets of each era, The Cut looks at overall culture to inform their choices.
Gaston and video director and concept leader Blaine Ludy explain that the impetus for the creation of the videos came from wanting different cultures to be able to see beauty from around the world. Perhaps the best aspect of Gaston and Ludy's videos is that they don't attempt to universalize beauty. Cut LLC truly does seem to understand that beauty standards vary culturally, and they work hard to avoid the whitewashing of a country's beauty heritage.
