Killing Us Softly

Killing Us Softly

Killing Us Softly: Advertising Image of Women is an American documentary by Jean Kilbourne. The film is considered to be one of the pioneering material that spread the awareness of media violence that is done to women through advertising. The film focuses on gender stereotypes and how they are represented in a way that objectifies the female body. Kilbourne is critical of the effects that advertising has on women and how it contributes to a dangerous perception of self-image. The documentary was first released in 1979 and has been updated multiple times with additional footage and research. The most recent edition was released in 2010.

Jean Kilbourne

Jean Kilbourne

Kilbourne is an author, speaker and filmmaker who has been internationally recognized for her efforts in publicizing the effects of advertising on women and girls. Kilbourne started her research in the late 1960's , where she started to make connections between advertising and social issues, particularly in those that marketed alcohol and tobacco. She recognized problems that included violence against women, eating disorders, and addiction. Identifying issues in the core of mass media, Kilbourne launched a radical movement that promoted media literacy, which has since then been accepted in mainstream studies. According to Cynthia Pomerleau, a research professor at the University of Michigan, Kilbourne's insight was rooted from her own experiences of smoking and drinking in her teens, which she used to cope with her mother's death. Kilbourne went to graduate at Wellesley College and has a doctorate in education from Boston University. After getting international recognition from her documentary, Kilbourne has since become a leading figure in her field, being named by The New York Times Magazine as one of the three most popular speakers on college campuses. She has also been recognized for her other works, which include the award-winning book Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel, among many others.

Background

The Advertising Environment

Kilbourne started to critically analyze advertisements in the 1960's, inspired by her involvement in the women's movement, her interest in media, and her past experiences as a model. The documentary identifies a connection between a myriad of advertisements in various different industries, in which Kilbourne says that over the past 40 years, the image of advertising in women has only gotten worse, despite the rising awareness of the women's movement. She identifies how society is constantly exposed to advertising and it's images, stating that the average American is exposed to 3,000 advertisements everyday, and will spend two years of his or her life watching them. She refers to a quote by Rance Crain, the editor-in-chief of Advertising Age, stating that, "Only eight percent of an ad's message is received by the conscious mind; the rest is worked and reworked deep within the recesses of the brain...." Kilbourne makes it clear that advertisements sell not only products, but values, images, concepts and norms that unconsciously affect the individual and society.

Objectification

An alcohol advertisement, objectifying and exoticizing the black woman.

Kilbourne goes on to talk about the manipulation of advertisements and how they spread the false image of female beauty, which is often impossible to achieve without the use of editing tools such as Photoshop. She believes that this image of ideal beauty highlights Caucasian features, such as light skin and straight hair, and that physical features that stray away from this image are often represented as exotic. Kilbourne scrutinizes the sheer power of advertising and how it constantly objectifies the female body, turning it into "things". She adds that men aren't as heavily affected by the images of advertising, which again emphasizes the damage done on the female body and it's image.

Image of the Female Body and Thinness

Highlighting the media's obsession with thinness, Kilbourne criticizes the forces of media and the influence of celebrities and how they ridicule those who gain weight. She refers to a popular quote by model Kate Moss, who has previously stated that "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels." Kilbourne identifies the violence that this does to women in the society and how it makes abnormal body weight desirable, obtainable, and natural. Media often reinforces unhealthy behaviours and teaches women and particularly teenage girls to hate their own bodies. She connects this to public health issues such as anorexia, obesity and eating disorders.

Sexualization

Kilbourne continues to talk about the heavy sexualization of the female body, which she sees as an extremely critical issue due to its extensive reach towards a younger audience. The body language that is often advertised in images promote passivity and vulnerability, which Kilbourne says reaffirms the hegemonic masculine nature of Western society. She also states that advertising is often becoming synonymous with pornographic material, and reaffirms heterosexual normatives that advertisements foster. She ties the sexualization of the female body to issues such as depression, eating disorders, and low self-esteem.

Beyond Advertising: Consumerism and Violence

Finally, Kilbourne identifies the commodification of images and values being reproduced in advertisements. She states that sexualized images aren't intended to sell sex, but that it is ultimately used for the product being marketed. However, the consequence of advertising the female body with products such as alcohol and cigarettes only promotes further objectification. Kilbourne also notes the increasing masculinity of the male body, and how it assists the image of masculine dominance over feminine traits. Men are thus exposed to normalized images of toughness and insensitivity that promote violence towards others. She then states that human qualities should be shared, and that it should not be categorized by gender. She ties these forces with domestic violence, rape, and murder, that is often done by the aggressive male towards the passive female. She concludes that society must be consciously aware of these norms and values in our everyday lives to help solve some of the biggest issues in our communities today.

Reception

Kilbourne's documentary has generated a variety of responses. It is one of the most popular works related to feminism, and arguably one of the most popular educational videos of all time, and is taught in university lectures around the world. While many have praised the documentary for raising the "feminist consciousness", some have come forth to criticize it's points. Author Paul Rutherford scrutinizes Kilbourne's extreme views, stating that she ignores certain artistic values associated with erotica and also identifies her failure to recognize satirical elements in advertisements.

Jean Kilbourne at TEDxLafayetteCollege: The dangerous ways ads see women