Familiarize yourself with the work of Jean Kilbourne
"Sex sells, and this update of author and lecturer Jean Kilbourne's Killing Us Softly film series examines how advertising tactics and images in popular culture reinforce unrealistic viewpoints about "beauty, perception, and identity." Speaking before an appreciative audience, with accompanying visuals (advertising and print-media stills, television clips, and commercials) smoothly intercutting the lecture, Kilbourne clearly relays statistics, anecdotes, and quotes. Many of the clips show impossibly glamorous, thin women (sometimes digitally enhanced or a composite), and according to Kilbourne, girls and women often try to conform to these images, resulting in widespread eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression. She believes some contemporary ads border on pornography, and females are objectified, and products (from burritos to beer) are sexualized. Men fare better, but masculine portrayals are often linked with violence. Kilbourne urges viewers to change their attitudes and become "citizens," not consumers. Promises to promote discussion in women's studies groups and mass-media classes."
- Booklist
