Christina Aguilera
New “Beautiful” video with an important statement
Christina Aguilera on the 2018 red carpet.
© Tinseltown/Shutterstock
Self-acceptance is needed more than ever in the age of social media – that’s why Christina Aguilera made a new “Beautiful” video.
Christina Aguilera (41) celebrates the 20th anniversary of her hit “Beautiful” with a meaningful new video for the song. The song, written by Linda Perry (57), was released on the album “Stripped” in 2002 and tells of self-acceptance and self-love. The singer herself can no longer be seen in the new video.
Instead: young girls practicing putting on their make-up in the ring light. Children staring through their cell phones at muscle men exercising or women being prepped for cosmetic surgery. A depressed teenager taking medication. It’s about ideals of beauty, social media and mental health. Finally, the kids wipe the plastic surgery marks off their faces, drop the dumbbells, go play, and hug.
A bleeding cell phone
In the final sequence, overlaying a bleeding cell phone is text indicating how social media has changed the way we relate to bodies over the past 20 years. Studies have shown that this leads to body image problems, self-harm and eating disorders in children and teenagers. “This has to change,” concludes the video.
Aguilera himself had the video on Instagram announced by saying, “Today it’s harder than ever to hear our own voice among so many others infiltrating our feeds and minds with mixed messages… ultimately leading us to tune out our own truth and self-worth.” The singer also writes that the message of her 20-year-old song is still relevant “to find a sense of balance and to accept ourselves as we are.”