beauty is only skin deep

Golden boy: What makes Robert Redford tick?

My high school biology teacher, Mrs. Varnum, had a favorite saying: "Beauty is only skin-deep. But - oh, that first layer!"</p><p> It was her way of acknowledging that we were shallow creatures stupefied by the superficial. She assumed we'd mature and one day learn that there is more to admire about a person than just a pretty face.</p><p> Alas, the first thing I did when I picked up "Robert Redford: The Biography" (Knopf), a new and admirably low-key telling of the actor's life story, was to flip quickly to the 24 pages of photographs included therein.</p><p> Because Redford, to be sure, has a heckuva first layer.</p><p> He has always been more than that, too, of course, more than just a movie star. And to Michael Feeney Callan's credit, he digs beneath the surface of Redford's golden-boy good looks, made up of a fluid physical grace and an inner radiance that sometimes makes it seem as if he's lit from within, and explores the heart and soul of an elusive and enigmatic artist.</p><p> Like the movie business itself, Redford comes from California, and Callan is at his best when he's persistently stitching parallels between his subject and the geographical crucible out of which he arose.</p><p> "Robert Redford was a first-generation Californian," Callan writes, "born in Los Angeles as the citrus era ebbed and Hollywood hit flood tide."</p><p> Once stardom made it possible, Redford purchased land in Utah, creating his film institute and festival in the shadow of all that raw, magnificent physical beauty.</p><p> Callan's well-informed theories about what makes Redford tick creatively - a love-hate relationship with money and fame, the loss of key loved ones in his formative years - are enough to make an interesting book, but "Robert Redford" also includes anecdotes from film sets and from a sometimes complicated family life.</p><p> There are feuds, love affairs and medical crises. Little of it is new or scintillating, but perhaps that is because Redford has finally aged out of the gossip columns - a fate that probably suits him just fine.</p><p> The movie-star biography is not a distinguished genre. Such books usually fall into one of two categories: They're slobberingly reverential or nastily muckraking. Most are clip jobs - that is, they are little more than slapped-together compilations of materials swiped from other sources.</p><p> Callan, however, did his homework. He interviewed Redford multiple times over a 14-year period, and also interviewed the actor's children and colleagues. The only notable blank spot is Redford's first wife, Lola, whose perspective is not present.</p><p> We care about Redford not only because he's handsome and charming, but also because he's done splendid work for a long, long time. As an actor, Redford has participated in wonderfully entertaining movies such as "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969), "The Way We Were" (1973) and "Out of Africa" (1985). As a director, he has created such luminous, intelligent films as "A River Runs Through It" (1992) and "Quiz Show" (1994). And he's still at it, of course: "The Conspirator" just opened in theaters.</p><p> Redford's persona, like his films, always seems to be in sync with the nation's upheavals and preoccupations, from Watergate to the environmental movement to war to baseball. And - again like America - he always seems to be in motion. My favorite insight about Redford in this biography comes from the actor's daughter, Shauna. "Everything of value that she learned about her father, she told me, came in transit," Callan writes. "In cars, while skiing, trail riding, on long walks."</p><p> Redford is a restless man, reflecting a restless nation back to itself. As fans, we want to know every last thing about him - while knowing, deep in our hearts, that we never will.</p><p> Julia Keller: jikeller@tribune.

Face Value: Beauty Is Only Skin Deep « Whiz Biz

There is no doubt that physical beauty is a highly-valued quality throughout the world. Whether we wish to believe it or not, appearance is the first layer of our character, and people pass judgments on us based on this superficial aspect of our bodies. In spite of our many proverbs – “Never judge a book by its cover,” “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” “Beauty is only skin deep” – we are constantly told through literature and popular culture media that the outer shell represents what is inside us.The primary focus of beauty is the face. We look to the face to interpret people’s emotions, to extrapolate personality traits, or to determine their sincerity during discussions. In fact, whether we do it consciously or not, we often communicate complex ideas solely through our facial expressions. For example, if someone purses the lips and slightly frowns, we can recognize that he or she is expressing disapproval. If a woman makes eye contact with someone at a bar, smiles shyly, looks down and gazes somewhere else, we assume she was flirting with the man. Though one’s image is not everything, it does give others their first impression, which will affect how they view the person’s behavior and interactions with people. To some degree, our outward appearance is a mirror image of our characters and personalities. This cycle reinforces the view that our appearance is symbolic of our inner selves. Though societal perspectives on face value probably will not change, perhaps one day in the future, a person’s moral character,generosity of the heart and intelligence will receive the kind of emphasis they deserve.

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