This is appalling for both genders because it encourages women to remain passive even in the face of some men’s sexist or even violent attitudes about women because the world of advertising depicts this as perfectly normal. Today’s ads, Kilbourne says, mirror and normalize a pornographic view of women as sexual objects. Ads depict women as passive, silent, and in poses with men that almost look like a violent sexual attack is about to occur. Kilbourne claims the types of images shown of men and women in advertising have negative effects on the way men view the female gender. Kilbourne says that supermodel Cindy Crawford once said, “I wish I looked like Cindy Crawford.” The worst effect of this impossible standard of beauty is the epidemic of health problems like eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression among women. Even beautiful women are not immune for example, Dr. It is not only the ordinary women who feel guilt or shame by Photoshopped advertisements. A fascinating example was the time-lapse Dove commercial where beauticians transform an ordinary-looking woman by applying makeup and doing her hair, then graphic designers alter her further with Photoshop retouching so she appears “perfect.” This is terrible for women, because it makes them feel “ashamed and guilty” about how they look when they compare themselves with ads for products that promise results they cannot deliver. The bad part about people believing that they are not affected by advertisement is that they have no understanding of how buying into advertisers’ campaigns is adversely affecting their pocketbooks.Īnother critical point that Kilbourne raises is how ads aimed at women present an ideal of beauty that simply does not exist. Whether or not this creates a “toxic cultural environment” as Kilbourne claims is debatable, but the proliferation of advertisement at least creates an environment in which people are continually encouraged to buy the latest and most fashionable products. A simple walk down a city street shows how correct she is ads cover everything, from billboards, busses, bus stops, on gasp pumps, trash cans, cars, the sides of buildings, and more. As Kilbourne points out, ads are not only on television, but saturate the entire environment we live in.
Perhaps this is because of innovations in today’s television that allow people to “skip” through the ads. People are greatly mistaken in believing they are unaffected by advertisement. Three critical points that Kilbourne raises are that people do not believe advertising affects them, that the advertisement aimed at women present an impossible ideal of female beauty, and that advertisement has a negative effect on how men view the female gender. Jean Kilbourne’s documentary brings up many issues about how men and women’s attitudes about themselves and each other are affected by the images shown in advertising.
0 kommentar(er)
