Aimee Mullins TED Talk

Shawn Jennings

October 31, 2014

Professor Young

English 1100

Response to Aimee Mullins TED Talk

                The main point of Aimee Mullins TED Talk is the idea that beauty can be constructed.  Throughout her speech, Aimee refers to the many pairs of legs, twelve to be exact, on stage with her at the time.  She explains that each pair of legs were constructed to look beautiful, almost as if they were art.  I agree with Aimee.  I believe beauty can be constructed in the form of art, but not to the extent of plastic surgery.

                Some examples of art are paintings, sculptures, and in this case prosthetic legs.  I believe art is beautiful and for art to become beautiful it has to be constructed.  Famous painters had to construct their work in order for it to become a beautiful painting.  For example, Leonardo da Vinci had to construct the Mona Lisa for it to become beautiful.  If beauty was unable to be constructed what word would we use to describe works of art?  Famous sculptures are called “a work of art” for a reason.  The reason is because the sculpture had to be made or constructed to look a certain way, just like Aimee’s prosthetic legs had to be made to look beautiful. 

                I also believe that the construction of beauty can go too far.  For example, plastic surgery is not a construction of beauty, it is a deconstruction of yourself.  Once someone gets a body part enhanced by the form of plastic surgery they are not themselves anymore.  Plastic surgery may construct parts of your body, but it does not make you beautiful.

                Beauty can be constructed in the form of art.  Beauty cannot be constructed in the form of plastic surgery.  Art is made to look beautiful while it is also constructed.  On the other hand, plastic surgery is the construction of the body, but not beauty.             Aimee Mullins TED Talk