22 - 28 November 2001
Issue No.561
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 22 - 28 November 2001 Issue No.561 |
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Limelight
Pursuing the fountain
He sailed with Columbus on his second voyage to America. He led the first Spanish expedition to reach what is now the state of Florida. He was the Spanish soldier explorer, Juan Ponce de Léon (1474 - 1521) who tirelessly sought an imaginary spring, which the native Indians claimed could restore youth to the old who bathed in, or drank from it. He remembered tales he had heard as a child in Spain, medieval European folktales of a spring that was the Water of Life in the Garden of Eden, which supposedly lay somewhere in the Far East. To the early Spaniards, the New World was the Far East and the fountain of youth could not be far.
But he never found it - no one ever did!
It starts at the moment of birth. As baby's screams subside, and mother's pain fades, the aging process begins; only then we call it growth. We continue to grow until one day we wish to arrest that growth, or the appearance of it. While we desire longevity, we wish no one to know how long. The search was on for the preservation of youth, and that magic fountain, certain to retard the oncoming effects of old age. This preoccupation with our outward appearance dates as far back as 6,000 BC. In Ancient Egypt beauty shops and perfume factories flourished by 4,000 BC. Vanity was not restricted to women. Egyptian men were no less vain in death as in life. Indeed, every culture prior to the Christian era was obsessed with bodily beauty, lavishly adorned itself in powders, perfumes and paints. The Greeks were different. They idolised masculinity and favoured the unadorned, unclothed male. The craft of cosmetics was left to their courtesans and ladies of amusement, who are credited with using the first breath freshener in history by rinsing with aromatic oils and liquids to perfume their breath. Even then 'gentlemen preferred blondes', as Greek women achieved the colour with the application of yellow-flavoured petals, pollen, and potassium salt.
Cosmetics (Gk, kosmetikos - 'skilled in decorating'), over 6,000 years old, is once again enjoyed by both sexes, with sales of men's cosmetics rising 3-5% annually. The cosmetics industry has now surpassed the $25 billion mark in annual sales in the US alone. Early in the 20th century, the French spearheaded a complete revival in the manufacturing of cosmetics, which heretofore had been homemade. The consumer has now become so demanding and knowledgeable, that cosmetics themselves have likewise become more sophisticated and innovative. But do they really forestall or disguise signs of aging? 'Cosmeceuticals' a new branch of cosmetics, is trying to achieve just that with the addition of such ingredients as alpha- hydroxy acids, vitamins and plant extracts, catering to the needs of older skin, protecting younger skin. But the verdict is still out on their promise of youthful rejuvenation. Apart from cosmetics the onset of the 20th century saw the birth of plastic surgery (Gk Plastikos, 'to mold or give form'), though there is evidence that plastic surgery existed in ancient times - skin grafts were performed in India as early as 800 BC. WWI brought new weapons, which caused new injury and disfigurement. Dr. Harold Gillies, an innovative surgeon, pioneered reconstructive surgery and himself dealt with a minimum of 2000 cases of face damage after the battle of Somme (1916). He is considered the father of plastic surgery.
Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard (1950)
What plastic surgery achieved was short of miraculous, yet as a new discipline in medicine, it struggled to gain recognition for two decades. It was finally recognised as a specialty in 1940. Modern day plastic surgery with all its branches of liposuction, peeling, laser ablation and collagen shots, takes care of the beautiful and the would-be beautiful. But the undeniable fact is that our bodies have a limited life span, try as we may to cover, delay or prolong the years. While the effect of ageing is governed by heredity, environment and lifestyle, it has been proven that ageing can be delayed, prolonged or even reversed by some very simple changes in our life styles. It begins with stress and weight loss, exercise, adequate sleep, social activity and involvement, tackling new challenges, et voila, the younger you emerges! The more you work your brain, the more it will stay young and replace the brain cells that are lost with the passing years. Of course, there is the elementary regimen of multivitamins, daily aspirin, folic acid, and antioxidants, which neutralise the 'free radicals', the main culprits of cell ageing.
If you wish to add years to your life then forever and always watch what you eat. While 'dos' and 'don'ts' change almost on a daily basis, one thing has remained constant - "eat your fruits and vegetables", then add fish, nuts, whole grain fibre. Christian Barnard, famous South African heart surgeon in his latest book, 50 Ways to a Healthy Heart, recommends fruits and veggies, fresh herbs and spices, red wine, olive oil, nuts and fish all proven to be heart-protectors. He, as everyone else, frowns on red meat, saturated fats, full-fat dairy products, smoking and alcohol. Barnard's goal is to "die young" as late as possible.
That is exactly what the film industry as a whole aims for. Hollywood, for the most part has reserved its obsession with youth and beauty, for off, rather than on the screen. Still, a few productions have gingerly dealt with ageing, beauty and love at all ages. The most unique and affectionate amongst them is the black comedy Harold and Maude (1971), directed by Hal Ashby (Being there, Shampoo). This fresh exploration of a tender yet forbidden romance between a disillusioned, suicidal, 20 year old Harold, and a feisty, eccentric, fun- loving, swinging, 80 year old Maude, developed such a cult-following, that an ecstatic viewing public ageing from 12 to 80, kept it running in art theatres for years. Yet it is little known commercially.
Robert Zemeckis' quirky Death Becomes Her (Forest Gump, Back to the Future) deals with declining film actress, Meryl Streep, yearning for that magic potion to restore her lost youth. Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard, finds Gloria Swanson, ageing silent-screen siren, pathetically hanging on to her glorious past. "I AM BIG, it is the pictures that got small!" Oscar Wilde's unique and only novel The Picture of Dorian Gray is a moral account of the vanity and futility of physical beauty. As Dorian admires his recently finished portrait, he wishes he would always remain as young and as beautiful, and the painting would grow old instead. His wish is granted.
Perhaps, the most magical film of the genre is Jean Cocteau's frighteningly beautiful adaptation of the classic French fable La Belle et la Bête (1946), made at the urging of his friend and companion, matinée idol, Jean Marais. The result - a hauntingly, lyrical, love story with an eternal message. The 1991 Disney animated film version is meant for children. Cocteau, poet, surrealist, painter, novelist, playwright and sculptor, gave us a strangely passionate and enchanting love story for adults.
Scientists, scrambling in their labs, with their genome map and stem cell research, may inevitably hand us that 'magic potion' from their own fountain of knowledge. For now, let us drink from the fountain of goodness that lies deep within us. To lead a full life, feed the brain regularly, feed the body carefully, fill the heart with love, and smile, smile, smile. What is wrong with old age anyway? Meanwhile do not forget that second helping of veggies.
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