The 2nd edition of the Killing Us Softly film/lecture series by Jean Kilborne.
Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D. is internationally recognized for her groundbreaking work on the image of women in advertising and for her critical studies of alcohol and tobacco advertising. In the late 1960s she began her exploration of the connection between advertising and several public health issues, including violence against women, eating disorders, and addiction, and launched a movement to promote media literacy as a way to prevent these problems. A radical and original idea at the time, this approach is now mainstream and an integral part of most prevention programs. Her films, lectures and television appearances have been seen by millions of people throughout the world. Kilbourne was named by The New York Times Magazine as one of the three most popular speakers on college campuses. She is the creator of the renowned Killing Us Softly: Advertising's Image of Women film series and the author of the award-winning book Can't Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel and co-author of So Sexy So Soon: The New Sexualized Childhood and What Parents Can Do to Protect Their Kids.
Killing Us Softly 4 from MagHon on Vimeo.
Wow, I knew this was the case but Im sad that our society still feels the need to strive for unrealistic ideals of beauty and that our priorities and values are so screwed up and unhealthy. In discussion these issues with students or my family and friends I like to use these kinds of examples, talk about the true message being conveyed and then pull back the curtains to reveal the Wizard behind all the smoke and mirrors.
ReplyDeleteI too more or less knew this and even thought hard about the idea that "I too think I tune out ad's" I do not watch TV often, but I started thinking about all the ad's I see on face book and realized that ad's are indeed everywhere subliminally embedding there messages in my mind, and more scary than that, my children and my students too..... UGH, Its time to move to the woods!.
ReplyDeleteSeriously though.....
I think what shocked me the most was her ability to analyze poses and characteristics of advertisements geared to sell children's clothing or children's toys. That section of her talk threw me for a loop, especially when she started talking about all of the little girls being passive until a child of color was thrown into the picture, and then the little girl was seen as more authoritative. I also really enjoyed how she spoke about teenagers and the need to sell themselves as adults and how it was becoming more and more prevelent in advertisements. This made me think of one of my favorite trashy TV shows, Gossip Girl, and their print ads for their 2nd or 3rd season. If a product is geared towards teenagers, I hate to say it, but sexy does sell, even if it is such an unrealistic portrayal. Great video!
ReplyDeleteMy job as a Graphic Designer is to make images taken for designs look "better." In my job description, it is not stated that I get to choose what is morally right or wrong, and I must say that I am well aware of the techniques used on these models. In advertising, it works, but in real life, I agree that themessages are being sent to young women. It is funny the discussion involving women as objects. One thing that consistently was ringing in my head was all of the murder/crime shows I watch. In true documentaries of Serial Kilers, Ted Bundy, Ed Gein, The Green River Killer, etc. it is a known, admitted fact that each of them viewed women as objects rather than humans....This makes violence alot easier for them, as they do not feel they are hurting people, only objects.
ReplyDeleteSexy sells, trust me. I have made PLENTY of money photoshopping up some model photos for this agency or that, but I can assure you that it does NOT promote a healthy lifestyle..
Great article, and posts!!!
Rusty or R-Dawg