Killing Us Softly A Film Review Essay, Research Paper

One of the films that struck me the most was ?Killing Us Softly?, the documentary on how advertising and the whole media in general can basically run this entire world. Sounds a bit drastic, but I really believe that this statement is true because of the many horrible incidents that happen throughout the world today.

The documentary effectively demonstrated how easy it is for advertising to send across many different hidden meanings that can cause tremendous effects like bulimia, rapes, murders, disrespect towards women and vise versa, and several other things like making a weak minded person go crazy. For example, if for decades all the media has been showing is women who barely weigh 110 lbs, don?t you think every girl who weighs over 130 lbs is going to try to do the impossible to try to fit into what society thinks is the norm only because the media has planted it into our subconscious minds without us even noticing it. Another example that is extremely disturbing to even hear about is the J B Ramsey case. Obviously the person who committed this crime was a Bergen Pines basket case, but I think that if the media wasn?t so big on showing 6 yr olds as beautiful models dressed up to look provocative, these pedophiles wouldn?t get much of a chance to view such pageants. The more exposure we get of something, the more acceptable it becomes in our society whether it?s wrong or right. Personally I?ve realized that, the media brought about even my style of dressing. If you see a commercial on TV or in a magazine for a shirt you thought looked good, wouldn?t you buy it? I know I would. I guess that?s my problem.

?Killing Us Softly? relates to several other works studied in the course. For example, in ?The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter? the media basically controlled every American society by turning women into the reciprocal of what they were used to being. The film also shows that if media were used in a constructive way, it would help in a tremendous way to solve the many problems of racism and sexism that are discussed in the works studied throughout the course. For example, if there were commercials on how African Americans are treated differently than whites when applying for a job or doing anything for that matter, maybe people would start feeling guilty for being so narrow minded. Also if there were advertisements of women acting equal instead of inferior in front of men, women would probably be viewed with more respect, which could even lead to equality in the payroll department.

I think this was a wonderful film because I always knew that the media had influence on people, but I never stopped to think twice about how effective it can be and in a negative way non the less. Another good thing about the film is that it gets the point across with humor to make it interesting and easily understood.