Rethinking Aesthetics

Our class viewed the documentary "Killing Us Softly 4", conducted by Jean Kilbourne. Kilbroune directed this video mainly towards sexuality and objectification of women in advertising. She goes into good depth about what our society thinks women should look like. Throughout the documentary, she displays many visual aids to help explain her side of the film even more.

It's funny to think about the purpose and reasoning behind these types of advertising also. In perspective, as I feel for many other things throughout out media and society, I feel it's mainly once again for the money. Our media loves to take advantage our their viewers by sex, money, and drugs to gain out attentions. It's wrong, but it's consistent and efficient.

Women unfortunately suffer through the clips and videos that Jean display in her presentation, but she does mention the suffering that us men can go through as well. (As weird as it may sound) She talked a lot about how our society wants the perfect women. Usually slim, skinny, and under one hundred pounds. Throughout the video she mainly discussed a fair amount about how many of us as an audience want that from women, but never about how the women want it on their own. In some cases, women prefer to be the "perfect" women in advertising.

Many people have come out and said that this all should end, but it simply won't. We tend to forget that products need to be sold, and money needs to be made...

Links:

http://loveyourbody.nowfoundation.org/offensiveads.html

http://www.socialistalternative.org/literature/womensrights/advertising.html

http://www.care2.com/causes/mad-women-a-history-of-women-in-advertising.html