What is it about seemingly arbitrary people that makes them attractive?
Asked by
Shippy (
10015
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October 19th, 2012
Sometimes when I have begun a movie, and been presented with various actors, I don’t think they are that attractive. Then as the movie progresses they seem to become much more attractive. How is that? But mostly what I find so interesting is ordinary people who are thought of as very attractive, like Helen Mirren for example.To me she seems quite ordinary really, but she is a sex symbol. Which is great I think, since it shows us that there are different types of sexiness.
However, how does one explain this? What is the phenomena of it? Is it the “X” Factor? If so do you experience X Factors around you? and what is it exactly if you had to describe it?
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I have to be attracted to their spirit and personality. I look at a beautiful woman and I think okay, she looks pretty good. I fall for her spirit and personality and she becomes frigging beautiful. On the other hand if she’s got a crappy personality she turns me off.
Personality is everything, regardless of looks.
I find ANYONE that is open, playful, witty, sharp minded and humorous to be highly attractive, even if they are “packaged” in what most would consider an unattractive body or face.
If a film character “grows” on us it is because we are identifying with something deeper in them than their looks.
Beauty IS in the eye of the beholder.
Most of us are at least a little tentative and unsure of ourselves. Some one seemingly strong and decisive can seem very attractive. When the strong decisive one turns out to be an abusive, controlling bully; the attraction goes away. (sometimes, unfortunately, too slowly.)
First impressions make a big impression on us all. However, continued exposure to someone can overcome a negative first impression and make it positive. So if you give people a chance, then people who strike you as ordinary on first look can become extraordinary when you actually get to know them.
A movie kind of forces you to give them a chance, unless, of course, you walk out before the end.
@wundayatta Vice versa too, sometimes first impressions are misleading for better or for worse. :-)
Humor of the day…I was just on hold forever with AT&T having problems with my voice mail box and joked with the guy that finally took my call…
” Wow, THAT was quite a diverse musical venue you were piping in, everything from 50’s lounge music to 70’s porn soundtracks and a smattering of Tinkerbell Disneyesque tunes.”
” I don’t know whether to pour a cocktail, watch some porn or pop in Fantasia.” He had NO sense of humor, at all. Well bah humbug to you too dude! Pffft!
Jesus mercy, laugh a litte!
Your face won’t shatter ya know!
I am completely incapable of being attracted to an actor unless he or she has played a character that I admire.
The first time I saw David Tennant, I thought “What a weird lookin’ dude”.
Then I saw him play The Doctor. Take me, Mr. McDonald, I’m yours.
@Coloma That sounds like a hell of an evening. Martinis, masturbation and Mickey Mouse.
Trying too hard is unattractive. All of the makeup, accompanied with a vacuous personality doesn’t help either.
The beauty of a face or a shapely body is what strikes you at first but then as you watch the person closely how they move becomes important and their posture and the expression. How they talk, the sound of their voice and what they say can play a part in how we feel towards them. There is the perverseness of humans too that don’t always love what is beautiful but are captivated by a flaw, a mole upon the face, teeth that are not quite straight or a quirky personality. All these things are more endearing than perfection.
Surely it varies from person to person, be it in cinema or real life.
For me, it’s the combination of intelligence and wit. Toss in a decent dash of humbleness, and I’m hooked. Physical appearance has never been a factor. There are people who I would classify as attractive physically, but it doesn’t flip the switch to “On”.
@flutherother Totally true. Enrique Iglesias and Jennifer Grey are perfect examples of beauty coming from imperfection.
@Coloma If you called AT&T, you may well have gotten someone in another country, (India?) who had no idea what you were talking about. They know the answers to specific questions in English, but banter is beyond them. Just sayin’
@Sunny2 No, he was a Texan with a twang and no sense of humor. A serious southerner.
Of course I wouldn’t expect a foreigner to maybe grasp my verbosity but this guy must have taken some arrows at the Alamo or something, he was as dry as a 200 year old adobe brick.
@Coloma Some people don’t know how to have fun!!!
@Shippy I wouldn’t call Dame Helen Mirren, DBE an ordinary person. To begin with, she is a Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. On top to that, she has won an Academy Award for Best Actress, four SAG Awards, four BAFTAs, three Golden Globes, four Emmy Awards, and two Cannes Film Festival Best Actress Award. But I get what you’re saying. She’s not what I’d call a blonde bombshell. Much of her appeal comes from her charm. She seems completely comfortable in her skin.
When I was in my 20s, and my hormones were surging through my system, outward appearances were enough to get my blood boiling. My little head would demand so much of my circulatory output there was precious little left to keep the brain in the big head working. As I’ve aged, that has reversed itself. Now, no matter sexy someone way look, it’s their personality that makes the desirable to me.
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