In the life of actress and producer Maria Padilha, issues such as pressure related to appearance and ageism have always been present – and she reinforces that this is not exclusive to her journey. At 62, the artist says that “this aesthetic pressure has a lot to do with sexism and machismo, it’s very much on women.”
For her, this current of aesthetic demand is very strong in Brazil, a reflection of the cultural influence of the United States, especially when talking about celebrities. “In Europe, things are a little calmer. There, they don’t do facial harmonization and those crazy things, it’s hard to see an actress all retouched. It’s a thing of Brazilian culture.”
Padilha points out that currently, despite advances, many women continue to have cosmetic procedures that hurt, especially as they get older, and that this pressure falls little on men. “Latin countries are more sexist… Women suffer, in addition to being thin or fat, but [também] by age.”
The actress – who is in the cast of the film “Sweet Family”, starring Mariana Xavier – also comments that artistic productions can generate great reflection on the aesthetic pressure that still exists. “Like the song ‘Pretty Hurts’ [Beyoncé, 2013]”, complete.
About the production, Padilha says that it is the first explicitly comedy film in which he participates, despite having made “Sábado” (1994) by Ugo Giorgetti, which was “another type of cinema”. “I like that I’m doing something that’s really fun but has depth,” he explains.
For her, the film still doesn’t need a big name of humor in the cast, because the script is enough to entertain the audience. In the plot, she plays the protagonist’s mother, a woman who owns a slimming company.
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