Pretties, Make Up! 

2017

Single-channel video, color, sound, 1:52 minutes

 

Japan’s economy developed rapidly in the 1980s, which meant that more women were entering the workplace. Becoming more attractive and improving oneself turned into an element of “transformation”, which was also projected into the world of anime. “Sailor Moon” as a cultural output with “transformative” elements gradually spread to Southeast Asia and even the rest of the world. The first time it was translated and introduced to China from TVB (television channel in Hong Kong) was in 1994. The protagonists also became the idols of girls in that era. The image of “Shōjo” in popular culture also influenced the standard of beauty.

This short footage tries to explore some moments of awakening in female consciousness and how pop culture shapes young women. The transformation of Sailor Moon on the side of the screen contrasts the images of my childhood drawings of girls, which have been collected by my mother. Through the drawings, one can see that the change is not only in the improvement of my drawings and the ability to imitate the anime characters, but also in the images of the girls: the eyes of the girls become larger, their faces become sharper, and their legs become longer. This process of transformation is not unlike the “transformation” in the animé.