The Pitfall of the Insensitive

A detailed Summary of The Pitfall of the Insensitive

Still Killing us Softly by Jean Kilbourne gives us prime examples of how the media tries to influence the way we see our society. The advertisement examples that she gives show how they portray the ideal woman as young, thin and beautiful, as well as making all men to look like powerful and insensitive animals (which they aren't). Both of the distortions use pathos as their persuasive devises by evoking emotion in the consumers to cause them to buy their product.In almost all advertisements with the exception of Depends and Polydent, all the models are probably not over twenty-five. This may have worked in the 1930's when, according the American Academy of Anti-Aging, the life expectancy was thirty-five. However, that is not the case today, when the average person living in America is predicted to live to 85. The media is entirely misrepresenting the average person just to make it look as if you use their product; your age will be preserved. This causes many consumers to become disheartened and want

Men are also labeled in the media. Most male models have a commanding and powerful sense of style. They always look in shape whether they are in a three-piece suit or in jogging shorts and a tank top. Particularly in men's cologne commercials the men are always handsome and have an ideal body. Just as women are looked at like sex object in some advertisements, women equally gawk at men. Both sexes, to a certain extent, enjoy attention from the opposite sex. These ads cause the consumer to see life through the eyes of theses models and they conclude that if it looks good on the models, then it must look good on them. Once again Pathos, that little trick Cicero thought was so important, prevails (322). After hearing what Kilbourne has to say, the consumer is ultimately disgusted with him or herself. However, this is good thing! We recognize how advertisers use pathos to evoke emotions of unsatisfaction about the way we look, and strive to become perfect by using their products. After these realizat

Some common words found in the essay are:
Academy Anti-Aging, Jean Kilbourne, Depends Polydent, average person,

Approximate Word count = 681
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous

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