Dr. James TwitchellSmithsonian, April 2000
The media has become more and more saturated into our culture today. Marketers seem very well aware that they have the power to set the new trend just by coming up with that perfect ad campaign or getting the right person in Hollywood to represent their product. Life without technology feels impossible with the explosion of cell phones, mp3 players, and blackberry’s etc… Media provides us with entertainment, information, and comfort. As the standard of living in this country is rising, people find themselves investing in digital cables and high speed internet connections, thus increasing their exposure to such media as the World Wide Web and the hundreds new channels that come with digital cable. While everything we experience us as individuals, it is probably the commercials seen on television that have the most influence over our own choices and decisions. In America, the media and advertising are some of the biggest influences on an individual's method of viewing and interpreting the world around them. The influential power of the media is reaching controversial levels and very few aspects of life in America remain outside the pressure of these outlets. Violent programs, biased twenty-four hour news networks, and impossible social standards promoted by advertising are some of the negative byproducts of modern media. Nonetheless, television, radio, print ads, and other forms of media all remain crucial to the dissemination of knowledge and ideals which continue to inform people's views about the world.
If you go to this link, you will read an article about how to generate influential propaganda: http://www.doshdosh.com/the-art-of-propaganda-seven-common-techniques/
I thought this article was interesting because it hit on some major techniques that marketers use to influence its audience. One particular point that this article makes is the importance of appealing to the audience’s emotions. This tactic can be seen in many commercials on TV like the Hallmark card campaigns or as the holiday’s approach, those tacky family food commercials with everyone around the table, talking, laughing, and enjoying a nice holiday meal. The article also lists six other main tactics such as name-calling, glittering generalities, and testimonials. These are just some of the ways that advertisers manipulate language and images to capture our attention. The following are some true statements I have found to be true about advertising:
- Advertising sets us up to feel dissatisfied - even if we think we have everything we need, ads will still try to convince us that there is something else we need.
- Advertisers try to show us how much more satisfied, popular, happy, hip, attractive, sexy, fun and in control we would be if we had their product.
- Fashion and trends are always changing so that we must continually spend money to be current.
- Advertising stresses competition and status versus feeling good about being who you are and accepting others for who they are.
One trend that I think has the most influence in teen culture especially today is the projection of the perfect female body. Images of the thin, idealized female bodies are everywhere. Women—and their body parts—sell everything from food to cars. Popular film and television actresses are becoming younger, taller and thinner. Some have even been known to faint on the set from lack of food (USA today 2006). Women’s magazines are full of articles urging that if they can just lose those last twenty pounds, they’ll have it all—the perfect marriage, loving children, great sex, and a rewarding career. The American research group Anorexia Nervosa & Related Eating Disorders, Inc. says that one out of every four college-aged women uses unhealthy methods of weight control—including fasting, skipping meals, excessive exercise, laxative abuse, and self-induced vomiting. Who introduced this trend? Who taught girls that being thin was the only way to go? Researchers report that women’s magazines have ten and one-half times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than men’s magazines do, and over three-quarters of the covers of women’s magazines include at least one message about how to change a woman’s bodily appearance—by diet, exercise or cosmetic surgery. Television and movies reinforce the importance of a thin body as a measure of a woman’s worth. Canadian researcher Gregory Fouts reports that over three-quarters of the female characters in TV situation comedies are underweight, and only one in twenty are above average in size (BBC News World Edition, Feb 5 2003).
Killing Us Softly is a 20-minute film that is an excellent resource for use by classes or discussion groups that want to explore the impact of advertising images on society's view of women. This is extremely eye-opening.
Here is a link for a seven minute clip from the film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufHrVyVgwRg
Here are some sample images of women in the media:
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