Killing Us Softly

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Killing Us Softly: Advertising's Image of Women is an American documentary by Margaret Lazarus, Renner Wunderlich, Patricia Stallone, and Joseph Vitagliano, based on a lecture by Jean Kilbourne and distributed by Cambridge Documentary Films, Inc. The documentary, first released in 1979 and since revised and updated four times, focuses on images of women in advertising, in particular on gender stereotypes, the effects of advertising on women's self-image, and the objectification of women's bodies.

Video Killing Us Softly

Overview

Kilbourne is critical of the advertising industry, accusing it of misconduct. She argues that the superficial, objectifying and unreal portrayal of women in advertising lowers women's self-esteem. Sexualized images of women are being used to sell virtually all kinds of goods, and Kilbourne argues that they degrade women, encourage abuse, and reinforce the patriarchal, sexist society. Kilbourne also draws a connection between advertising and pornography, stating that "the advertisers are America's real pornographers".

Maps Killing Us Softly

Versions

Kiling Us Softly and its revisions have been developed from lectures that Kilbourne has been delivering at American universities since early 1970s. The documentary has had four editions, each updating the previous release:

• Killing Us Softly: Advertising's Image of Women (1979)
• Still Killing Us Softly: Advertising's Image of Women (1987), update of the 1979 film by Margaret Lazarus and Renner Wunderlich through Cambridge Documentary Films, with Jean Kilbourne as co-creator
• Killing Us Softly III (1999 or 2000; sources variously report the publication date of this documentary, possibly confusing it with Beyond Killing Us Softly (2000) featuring, as well as produced and directed by Jean Kilbourne with The Media Education Foundation)
• Killing Us Softly IV (2010), featuring, as well as produced and directed by Jean Kilbourne with The Media Education Foundation

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Reception

Killing Us Softly has often been used in university lectures. Its various editions have been described as "extremely popular" and have attracted praise; Bakari Chavanu, for example, notes that the documentary is "an engaging and even humorous analysis of how images and ads shape our values". Ford, et al. noted that the documentary raises feminist consciousness, up to the point that it has been positively correlated with boycotts of products whose advertisements were seen as offensive.

The documentary has also evoked some negative reactions. Paul Rutherford criticized Kilbourne for a "crusade against advertising", arguing that in the documentary she is conflating pornography and erotica, not noticing the satirical and artistic values of advertising, and ignoring the influence of the world of fashion.

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Related documentaries

Cambridge Documentary Films created two other films on this subject; the first is Beyond Killing Us Softly: The Strength to Resist (2000). That title was updated and released as The Strength to Resist: Advertising's Impact on Women and Girls, featuring Gloria Steinem, Amy Richards, Gail Dines, Valerie Batts, Jamila Batts, Catherine Steiner Adair, and others.

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See also

• Effects of advertising on teen body image
• Exploitation of women in mass media
• Gender advertisement
• Sex in advertising
• Sexual objectification

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References

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Further reading

• Jean Kilbourne (1996). Patricia Fallon; Melanie A. Katzman; Susan C. Wooley, eds. Still Killing Us Softly: Advertising and the Obsession with Thinness. Guilford Press. p. 395. ISBN 978-1-57230-182-5. 
• Jean Kilbourne (1 November 1999). Deadly persuasion: why women and girls must fight the addictive power of advertising. Free Press. ISBN 978-0-684-86599-7. 
• Conley, T. D.; Ramsey, L. R. (31 August 2011). "Killing Us Softly? Investigating Portrayals of Women and Men in Contemporary Magazine Advertisements". Psychology of Women Quarterly. 35 (3): 469-478. doi:10.1177/0361684311413383. 
• Jean Kilbourne, Killing Us Softly: Gender Roles in Advertising, Adolesc Med. 1993 Oct;4(3):635-650.

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External links

• IMDb links: Killing Us Softly 1, Still Killing Us Softly, Killing Us Softly 3, Killing Us Softly 4
• Killing Us Softly 4, short preview (4 min., 56 sec.) and full-length preview at MediaEd.org (45 min., 44 sec.)
• Kanopy previews: Killing Us Softly 1, Still Killing Us Softly, Killing Us Softly 3, Killing Us Softly 4

Source of the article : Wikipedia