Media And Influence

862 Words4 Pages
Whether we realize it or not, mass media surrounds us in our daily lives. Newspapers, magazines, advertisements, and television are all around us and have a very clever yet powerful force on how we view them. The media can be potentially harmful because it conveys certain messages that are supposed to be socially desirable are part of the norms. Adolescents become prime targets of what the media displays because they are new consumers. Advertising is one of the most compelling messengers in a culture that can influence an adolescent. In the article by Kilbourne, she starts out by making a great point. She says, “ Adolescents are new and inexperienced customers- and such prime targets.” I agree with her statement because in many movies, magazines, and television shows targeted towards teenaged viewers, the “ideal” body type is constantly portrayed. I’ve noticed that in many cases, it’s the main character whom everyone envies because of her beauty. In magazines, the “ideal” body type is always on the cover so teens wont be able to miss it. In the film by Kibourne, she shows an ad with an excessively thin girls sitting down. The caption of that ad said, “The more you subtract, the more you add.” This caption sends the wrong message to these adolescents who look at it. Because they are inexperienced, they take whatever they see into consideration. Like Kilbourne said, they are the prime targets. A teenaged girl who views this ad, will be able to understand the message being conveyed which is why our society has become obsessed with the way they eat. Eating disorders are potential outcomes of these ads and other forms of media result in this obsession with being thin. Intersectional analysis is demonstrated in the article by Kilbourne in that “the socialization that emphasizes passitivity and compliance does not apply to many African-American and Jewish girls, who are
Open Document