Elena Rossini noticed a disturbing trend; she observed a cross-generation epidemic of body dissatisfaction. Not only was the trend across generations but it was manifested in similarly distressing ways across diverse cultures.

Elena Rossini is an Italian film director, producer, editor and public speaker. Her work focuses on issues of social justice, media representation, and the empowerment of women and girls. Elena’s most notable film is the documentary The Illusionists, about the globalization of beauty ideals and the dark side of advertising. Rossini shot the film in eight countries, across four continents. The documentary has been featured in Vogue Italy, New York Magazine, NPR, FOX and NBC Baltimore, amongst others. Rossini has taken the documentary on tour, including some of the biggest companies in Silicon Valley (Apple, Facebook, Google, Twitter) and at dozens of schools in the United States and Europe (most recently: Harvard University, University of Chicago, USC, UCLA, UC Berkeley).

In today’s episode, I have the honor of talking with Elena about themes from The Illusionists and her upcoming film The Realists. In our time together, we talk about the globalization and saturation of unrealistic beauty ideals and how such inundation is impacting us. She also discusses the connection she sees between the rise of social media and the current teen mental health crisis. Elena’s voice and message are pivotal in our media saturated world. She helps us pull off the blinders to see the agenda and dangers of popular beauty ideals, so we can direct our life and energies toward more meaningful, lasting endeavors.