Monday, October 01, 2007

Killing Us Softly 3: Advertising's Images of Women


If you have 34 minutes to kill, you should watch this - especially if you are a woman. I promise that you will learn something. I love Jean Kilbourne's book; this is like an updated, condensed version. It's almost 10 years outdated and I hope that a fourth film is made, possibly addressing digital advertising along with print advertising. Basically, this film is much like a lecture, with Kilbourne discussing advertisements and how the subtly affect our lives, making women feel as though they can never live up to unrealistic ideals all while objectifying us. Oh believe me, it's pretty infuriating. I'm also amazed at how Special K's advertising campaign has changed in the last 8 years, from being proactive to being a diet plan. Yeesh.



(Here's your fair warning - some of the ads she shows are graphic, but they are ads from fashion magazines...you've probably seen most of them before.)

4 comments:

wendy_d23 said...

I was only going to watch a minute of this but I just watched the whole thing, I couldn't stop. I don't know if I should be mad or sad.

VirtualM said...

Yep, that's how I was - I started watching it, thinking I'd watch it for like 3 minutes, and by the time I got that far, I was completely hooked and went the whole 34. It'll get ya that way, so be warned anyone else!

Annie Gedge said...

I thought she did a good job. Very well rounded and was considerate of other groups a people while still focusing on women in advertising. It made her argument stronger and harder to say that she was some crazy feminist that didn't know what she was talking about and hates men etc. All the usual arguments. I totally enjoyed it thanks.

VirtualM said...

Annie, if you like, I'll loan you the book when you finish the one I just gave you on Friday :) I'm loading you down with women's studies reading! Woooo!