Beautiful/Ugly

So tonight's post pool session rubbish topic was: Can ugly people ever seem beautiful? Or more politically correct....can people who do not look like gods and goddesses ever hope to look remotely attractive?
we were trying to dig up possible examples from society. Mothman cites "Harvey Keitel". I raise a "Steve Buscemi" (ooh that one is tough call). I thought "Mark Lee" of Jack Neo's gang of comics qualified. For all his pockmarked, ah-beng glory, I think Mark Lee has some x-factor that I can see as attractive.

We finally settled on whatever it is, a person must have "Seh" - an air of "Phwoar, he/she has got something" An elusive kind of charisma that just radiates.

I find it hard to be attracted to perfect lookers. Take Brad Pitt, Jude Law, Orlando Bloom as Legolas and Takeshi Kaneshiro. Or MIchelle Pfieffer, Zhang Ziyi, any random supermodel. All deadly chisled and honed classic good looks to a fault. Being attracted right away to them is not even an option - That kind of good looks you would stop and do a double take for. The truth is we all cannot help but look and marvel at something close to perfection. But amazing as they are, they don't fire my imagination, their presence does not linger or haunt my mind. I need to know more about them, what stories they come with before that happens.

The human body is like a marvelous live canvas - our life stories should mark it. Which is one reason why I never liked the whole Botox-facelift-pancake makeup nonsense. Why would you want to erase the signs of age to look like a cariacature of youth?

I think imperfection is underrated. Perfect beauty is definitely head-turning but imperfection more often than not captures the mysterious "Seh".

Imperfection has a realness, an edge, a strange haunting unpretentious earthy quality. It is like looking at something raw and honest. There is power and profoundity in the unfinished and unvarnished. Like acoustic live music compared to studio perfected tunes. Or a quick sketch in a dog-eared sketch book compared to a finished framed artwork. Or hearing people talk about their lives in an unrehearsed moment compared to a delivered polished speech.

Imperfection is less obvious, subtle, profound. I like people that show a life interestingly lived in their faces and bodies...it reflects something closer to the truth of this world. Scars, tattoos, signs of old teenage acne, a lined face without makeup, skinniness, athletic sinews, a few pounds overweight, stretch marks, wrinkles around the eyes, hands that have obviously done hard work, a slight unconfident hunch. Its like a little collection of stories to be deconstructed.

I think Kate Winslet's earthiness makes her beauty more profound than Michelle Pfieffer. I like Kristen Scott Thomas' sad, slightly crow feet lined eyes. Mother Teresa's worn face radiates something deeper and lovelier for every haunting line drawn across it.

I guess "Seh" arises when something meaningful, something that speaks of a person's private beliefs or hard-worn character shines through the cracks. A less classically good looking person can suddenly look wonderful if you see him/her with new eyes. An already good looking person blessed with an equally gorgeous character....phwoar. That admittedly would be potent combo! :) But meanwhile, my heart is with the less perfect.

I once observed a guy I knew playing with kids in a child care centre. Back then, his face was reddened with teenage acne, he had odd floppy beng hair and slightly girly looking eyes. But when he horsed around a bunch of rambunctious kids and every inch of him radiated "Big brother", his eyes alight with laughter....now that was beautiful. That was who he was. His imperfect looks were but an unvarnished frame to the true portrait within of something lovely and sweetly human.