The Way People Look, Dress, And Act Reveals Their Attitudes And Interests.
208The way people look, dress, and act reveals their attitudes and interests. You can tell much about a society's ideas and values by observing the appearance and behavior of its people.
The statement claims that ideas and values of a society can be revealed through its people’s appearance, dressing habits and behavior to a large extent. As far as I am concerned, although on some occasions, people’s appearance, dressing habits and behavior are specific indicators of their ideas and values, while more often than not this is not the case.
As a substantial part of their customs, people’s dressing habits and behavior indeed serve to reflect their ideas and values. For instance, the fact that Indian women are inclined to cover their body with traditional clothes like sari reveals their approval for the preservation of tradition and adherence to conventions. A society, which has a preference for fast food and shortcuts, successfully gives us an image of efficiency rather than procrastination. Those people who advocate such virtues as punctuality and put much emphasis on the penalty of delinquencies probably live in a society which places priority on regulations and rules. However, just as the old saying goes “you cannot judge a book by its cover”, it seems unlikely to fully comprehend a society’s values and ideas only by the foregoing superficial phenomenon.
In some cases, due to outside pressure, people would not easily display their true attitudes and interests by their appearance and behavior, not to mention assume the role of representing beliefs and values of the society they live in. it is objective restraints that impede their wiliness to express their individuality. To illustrate this point, a vivid example is film stars at the command of their respective mangers. These celebrities usually show up in clothes of certain luxurious brands, not necessarily because they have a liking for those elaborately made clothes, but because they are spokesmen for the...
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