This silent animation by French production company Planktoon explores issues of body image and self-esteem in a thought-provoking way. A woman, in a hurry for a date, sits down to get ready for her evening out. She hates what she sees in the mirror, and her reflection begins to sneer and laugh at her as she attempts to make herself beautiful.

The video summary explains the short film’s aim: to illustrate how much time we waste in front of the mirror, fighting what we see there. This is written in Spanish but the English translation would be: ‘The reflection of a woman in front of a mirror can be her worst enemy in a society where appearance and stereotypes govern, especially when she has a date with the love of her life.’

If that sounds highly sexist, we promise the film doesn’t focus only on female body image (wait until after the credits at 3:57 to see the male character going through exactly the same battle with his own reflection). According to the uploader, ‘this indicates that the paranoia of appearance is not just a women’s issue’.

Far from attacking female vanity, this animation is actually a criticism of the pressures that society puts on us- especially on women- to always look our best and to conform to a standardized ideal of what is beautiful. Please share this animation if you enjoyed it, and let us know whether you agree in the comment section.

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