The relationship between media and advertisement is indispensable, either we stay home or go outside, “we are each exposed to over 1500 ads a day”(Kilbourne, 121). In such a society encounter with massive media, it is hard for us to avoid absorbing information regarding sexism, racism, and gender roles. The mainstream media on women tend to criticize women’s status in the society, and raised many issues such as sexisms. In order to reduce the bias, I want to point out alternative media in these readings.
Within alternative media, subvertising is a successful way makes everyone be aware of the society we lived in, to realize how mainstream media strongly shaped our minds. As Cortese stated in the article, “Subvertising overthrows or subverts mainstream ads. Subvertising uses the power of brand recognition and brand hegemony either against itself or to promote an unrelated value or idea” (p 49). In other words, Cortese is saying that using the power of brands to makes us to realize the truth occurring in the society.
Most of the time I see subvertising ads depicted as to show individuals how unrealistic products are. As advertisement emerged into the society, people are exposed with more and more ads that promote women as sex objects, that women are beautiful only if they are always young and thin; this creates a wrong perception for women to pursue. “Cultural ideology tells women that they will not be desirable to, or loved by, men unless they are physically perfect” (Cortese, p 54). Advertisers created unrealistic messages that makes perfection and beauty seems “reasonable” to many women, that is why they are following these rules. When Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty has successfully established, the purpose is to show everyone that beauty is not only thinness and youth; it is about realistic features such as fat, wrinkles, and flaws for every woman. In the commercial Evolution created by Dove, audience realizes how advertising images are unrealistic, that the beauty is not natural, instead, it is created by make-ups and technology like photo shop to make the woman appear to be perfect and attractive. At the end of the commercial, words “No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted” concludes the idea that women should not pursue only on what the media (advertisements) depicted, they should be having self-esteem based on their natural beauty.
Most magazines tend to post beauty photos in order to persuade women to buy advertise products or to have intensions to become beautiful by using those products. It is always difficult to stay create alternative media while the mainstream is strongly shaping our society. In the Ms. Gazette, writer criticizes the products of Clairol that they are carcinogenic. Ms. is the only women magazine that refuses to provide beauty photos but rather criticize on products. (Steinem, p 114) According to Steinem, many women use products from Clairol, it is their responsibility to report anything that affects our lives and I think Ms. did the correct decision on reporting the news.
In addition, it is sad to look at the teenage girls nowadays, that the media has strongly influence their lives and caused many of them getting eating disorders from diet to cut down their sizes. Advertisers created messages that make all women feel horrible about their bodies so that the ads industry can be profitable. “Some studies have found that from 40 to 80 percent of fourth-grade girls are dieting…one survey found that 63 percent of high-school girls were on diets, compared with only 16 percent of men” (Kilbourne, p 134). It is surprised to know the statistic that advertisements affect girls from their early ages, and “brainwashed” the girls to believe their success is to be attractive and seductive, in order to achieve this first they have to be very skinny.
Works Cited:
Cortese, Anthony “Constructed Bodies, Deconstructing Ads: Sexism in Advertising”
Evolution (Dove Commercial). Web. 10 Mar. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbb8D-u8ues>.
Images come from Google. com
Kilbourne, Jean “Beauty and the Beast of Advertising"Kilbourne, Jean "The More You Subtract, The More You Add"
Steinem, Gloria "Sex, Lies and Advertising"
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