Shis issue: ( Don't be that guy: A whole latte trouble So lame it just might work (Y You only have one reputation And more! Have your voice heard! Contact: Elliot Chan, Opinions Editor M opinions@theotherpress.ca www.theotherpress.ca ig Photoshop challenge » The impact of retouched images Elliot Chan .. Opinions Editor © opinions ) @theotherpress.ca ( ran a Magazine with untouched images of models sell? I don’t know. Every time I have stood in the supermarket checkout line, I’ve noticed the stunning works by digital artists on the front pages of magazines. I must admit; I’m not the demographic for those magazines. There is nothing in there for me except fashion advertisements and regurgitated articles about topics I have no interest in. That leaves me to wonder, how influential was Cindy : Crawford’s photoshop-free : image that leaked on the : Internet? Was it simply a : publicity stunt to sell magazines : ora true stance against a : manipulative industry? In the April issue of Marie : Claire, you will be able to : find a picture of the famed : supermodel dressed ina : bathing suit with all her flaws : fully displayed. It’s a bold move : that has earned resounding : applause. But will it affect the : landscape of modelling or the : cutthroat world of media? It : won't. As magazine sales decline dramatically, marketing stunts : need to be implemented. : Yes it’s brave of Crawford to : appear in her humbling form, : but it was also brave when : Kim Kardashian appeared : in Paper Magazine oddly : mutated with her giant : butt exposed. And there is : a certain courageousness : to those Instagram girls : who take to social media, : posting #NoMakeup pictures : of themselves. These are : apparently the things people : need to do to get attention : and to sell magazines today. : However, models and people : are not pioneers, and if they : were they would be destroying : the very industry that : entertained and created them. It’s clear why the veil of computer modification needs : to be pulled down. People : are impressionable and : photoshopped images corrupt : the idea of what beauty— : achievable beauty, realistic : beauty—actually looks like. : However, the public does not : want to pay good money for : magazines with undesirable : images. I’m sorry that I’m skeptical : and that I believe one day : our shallow world will realize : what hideous creatures we've : become, not just in print but : also in reality. Photoshopped : images are drugs and we are : addicted. We are now obsessed : with the fantasy of looking : perfect and dressing well. No : model can change the current : zeitgeist alone. Sure it is : empowering but how can we : use that power for good and Image from GalleryHip.com : not have it be one small step : forward and three giant steps : back. I hate the idea of someone : behind a computer retouching : scars, wrinkles, pores, and : pimples from an image of me, : and I’m sure you'd hate that too. : But simply eliminating it won't : work either. Perhaps there is : a middle ground, a balance in : every publication to have both : retouched images and originals. : Perhaps there can be two : versions printed. Maybe we can : see which initiative sells better. It is a business, after all. McDonald’s burgers always look : bigger, juicer, and tastier in : advertisements. And so it goes : with supermodels. Liver drink » Determining who should get organ transplants % Eric Wilkins Assistant Editor We | M assistant @theotherpress.ca orontonian, Mark Selkirk was diagnosed with acute alcoholic hepatitis in 2010. Told by doctors that his life was going to come to a premature end without a liver transplant, he was in dire straits. To make matters worse, Selkirk was an alcoholic, and all Canadian liver transplant centres require candidates to be alcohol-free weeks later. His wife, Debra, is now trying to take down the policy on the basis that, “With universal health care, which as Canadians we pride ourselves : on, every person who goes to a : doctor ora hospital in Ontario : has the exact same right to have : their disease cured or treated, : their condition improved, or : their life saved, regardless of : who they are, how they got : there, or what their lifestyle is. : We have the same right, under : the law, to treatment.” And she’s correct. To a certain : point. You walk into a hospital : needing treatment, you get : it. That’s your right. Organ : transplants are another beast : entirely though. Organs aren't for six months. Selkirk died two : an infinite resource. There’s no : facility churning out kidneys, : hearts, and lungs as required. : They’re not synthetically : produced medicines; they’re : unique organic machines. : In BC last year, according to : : Transplant.be.ca, there were 326 : : transplants. However, that left : 465 people still on a wait list. : Many will never see the organ : they so desperately need (30 per : : cent rate of death according to : bemj.org). With the need always well- : beyond the supply, should it : come as any surprise that there : are restrictions and qualifiers : in place? While Selkirk’s case : isa little different—he couldn't : wait the necessary period : (though he did die eight weeks : sober)—the policy about being : alcohol-free for six months for : a liver transplant makes sense. : Alcohol is damaging to the liver, } : and alcoholics aren't classified : as such just because they like : the sound of the word. Not being able to save everyone also means that : doctors have to ensure those : who can be saved won't waste : the gift of life being given to them. Someone who has shown : : a propensity to drink, and an : inability to stay sober for even : half'a year may not be the : ideal candidate. A study from : the University of Pittsburgh : in 2008 revealed that six per : cent of liver transplant patients : : with prior alcohol issues faced : setbacks, while 2.5 per cent fell : off the wagon again outright. : To further emphasize those : numbers, these are people who : are on their cat’s ninth life. Their last chance. It’s difficult : enough getting a liver once; : it’s virtually impossible to get : another, especially if the need : fora second transplant exists : solely due to abuse again. : That there are any people who : relapse should be a testament : to the need for the policy. If people can't keep themselves : away from booze when there’s : a ticking clock, what chance do : they have once that immediate : threat is gone? The six-month system isn’t : perfect; medical professionals acknowledge that. But is any : system, particularly in the : quasi-ethics, quasi-science, area : of organ transplants perfect? : The intention is neither to : discriminate nor pronounce a : death sentence upon anyone— : it’s there to try and make sure : such a precious resource is : given to a deserving individual : who won't squander it.