In Susan Bordo's Hunger as Ideology, we see how the images in the media silo men and women. As clear as it is that many men are good cooks and enjoy doing it, it is seen as the realm of the woman unless it is for money-making purposes. This makes men apprehensive to learn to do this essential part of life. Jon Berger points out how woman are groomed by western society to be ubiquitously concerned with how she is perceived and to fit into the whimsy of men of power's view of beauty at that time. Bordo mentions how culturally, there have been admiration for more voluptuous women in many different places, but the pervasive views coming from western society has affected even those places.
How can this be changed? How can we reach the point where we as content to show positive imagery? Where we do not seek to mislead? Where we do not become automatons?
Start by word of mouth. High Fructose corn syrup and trans fats began to take a hit because people began to shout out about how detrimental they are (though the actuality is slightly debatable, with regard to HFCS, at least). They cost less to produce, but because large numbers of people were refusing to spend their money on these products, companies were forced to change. It won't be any different with the current state of advertising. They will continue to produce whatever we are willing to accept. And as we give them the leeway by feigning that advertising doesn't affect us, they will continue to fool us.
Using word of mouth, we need to make people aware of the influence that the media really has. From there, we need to push for the addition of Media awareness to the elementary school curriculum. From childhood, people need to be able to discern and analyze what is being given to them as social reality just as much as they need to know that 4 + 4 is 8. School is supposed to teach us how to learn, not what to learn. It is supposed to build within us the ability to analyze and put critical thinking to use.
In the United States justice system, there is one, simple, clear counter-argument to libel. The TRUTH is the absolute defense to defamation. It is also the case with negativity in advertising. To quote Bordo's poignant words: "Today, all we view as meaningful is appearances." Now that we have the power to push the truth of reality, we must!
Truths like: It's ok and even HEALTHY to be a little chubby.
You don't NEED makeup, or a perm or external factors to be beautiful. They are simply like garnish on a meal, but not a prerequisite for beauty. A strong woman, as pictured above, is also still beautiful. To be happy with what we have and enjoy our differences. And to make sure that such viewpoints are passed on to our children, and at the same time is not viewed as just childish thinking.
We have to stop being solely consumers. But we need to be selective, and positive contributors.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.