#6

In the Article Jesus is a Brand of Jeans, by Jean Kilbourne, it is brought up how society has been affected by advertisements. We might not always be able to see that it is or how it’s affecting us, but there is really no way around it. We see ads on everything now a day and most have to do with our appearance. It’s all about how you will look with a certain product and how you will feel after you have it. The article mentions how most human beings look for relationships and when we do we look for one that will last, we tend to do this with products we buy and forget about people relationships; “it is easier to love a product than a person. Relationships with human beings are messy, unpredictable, and sometimes dangerous.“ Says Kilbourne. It makes perfect sense why we would do this; we have made it a major necessity in life to focus on how we look, so we are going to buy whatever is most convincing to help achieve this. We tend to be sensitive creatures so relationships scare us, but we do want that feeling of having someone there for you, therefore we get hooked in our products, because they will never disappoint us. In regards to advertisements Kilbourne states: “cumulatively they create a climate of cynicism that is poisonous to relationships. Ad after ad portrays our real lives as dull and ordinary, commitment to human beings as something to be avoided.” Not only to ads persuade us to buy merchandise, but they put thoughts in our head of how we should or could be living. The article really shows how we have become so much more invested in the latest products then what it means to be a human. From experience I know how it feels to be affected by advertisements. When I was younger I always read Seventeen magazine, and looked at all the make-up and clothes ideas, finding ways to improve myself and change. I would get so hooked on little changes that I wanted to make; sometimes it was something as small as a new style of shirt. I really thought I would be better off with certain product and I would believe whatever the ads told me. There was a specific time I remember when my sister and I were watching TV and a commercial came on for “Veet shaving products” It’s similar to Nair because you leave it on and it takes off your hair without a razor. The second we saw it we instantly became intrigued and left for the store to purchase it. Of course when we tried it, it wasn’t nearly as impressive as the commercial made it seem, but it fooled us and who knows how many others. I always told myself that I didn’t actually believe that buying certain items would “improve” me or make me feel better, but I can honestly say I must have really thought that. When looking at ads, I got ideas of what I thought I wanted to look like, be known for, what my relationship would look like. Even though I said that the media and advertisements didn’t affect me, they most certainly shaped my thoughts. One picture could cause me to obsess over having a product that in the end wouldn’t work and would be a waste of money. I still find myself acting this way, but when I notice it I just try to remind myself that it’s about who I am as a person and that always outshines what you have on.