“Yeah, it was pretty good. But did you see her butt? My God, it’s huge!”
This is the conversation I overheard leaving the theater after The Avengers. And what I find interesting is that this conversation referring to Scarlett Johansson’s bum wasn’t between two teenage girls – it was among several thirty or forty-something women!
First of all, Scarlett Johansson looked nothing less that her usual stunning self. As the character, Black Widow, Scarlett spent most of the film running around in a sleek, skintight black bodysuit. And she wore it well. Yet, there is one particular sequence in the film that would make any actress cringe. For whatever reason, the director chose to shoot a scene with the camera behind Scarlett and low to the ground. The result? Her behind filled the entire thirty-foot theater screen!
What fascinates me is that the women I overheard talking wouldn’t (or couldn’t) put this into context. It seemed as if they were clinging to this one less-than-flattering moment in the entire film in order to judge Scarlett and feel better about themselves. And ironically, it’s only the women that found anything negative in the shot in the first place. All of the men in the audience were very appreciative of the director’s vision…
So what is it that drives this behavior? Do we really feel better about ourselves when we find fault in another? Were these women looking to find fault with Scarlett from the very beginning? If so, why? Because she’s beautiful? Because she’s a celebrity? Because she has opportunities they do not? What is it?
Of course, I can never know the answer. The answers live in the deepest centers of our own hearts. What I do know, however, is that when we stop looking to find fault in others, we stop looking to find fault in ourselves. When we can start seeing perfection in others’ imperfection, we can see perfection in our own imperfection. When we actively look for beauty in others, we start to see the beauty in ourselves. When we allow others to be free, we are free. And when we are free, we are happy. And when we are happy, we shine like the brightest star in the sky.