Who Is Jean Kilbourne's Killing USftly IV?

Killing Us Softly IV is a film that discusses the effects of how women are portrayed through advertisement. Jean Kilbourne, looks deeper into the relationship between the women in advertisement and our society’s acceptance of sexual harassment and assault of women. The video also discusses the social and economic consequences of the media’s depictions of women today.
The relationship between the video and society’s acceptance of harassment and assault are linked by looking at women as an object rather than a human. The video explains how women are dehumanized by the advertisements today. The video claims how people “tune out” the ads, however, viewers receive the message quick and subconscious. Also over time these subconscious messages build

up in the brain and form a stigma towards women that the viewer is unaware of. This stigma makes people see women as an object which then implies that women “ask for it” or “deserve it” when it come to harassment and assault. The people of today’s society don't advocate for the victims, instead they blame them. They do this because the subconscious information that is stored in the back of their head built up from years of exposure to these advertisements.
Aside from the relationship depicted, the video displays social consequences of viewing the media’s displays of women today. The most significant social consequence is shown by the women of Fiji. They never struggled or obsessed over their weight until TV was introduced. The way in which the women are photoshopped in ads and on TV cause other women to disrespect and hate their bodies. The photoshopped women display an unrealistic body image and have lead to 91% of cosmetic surgeries to be performed on women. The video said that 12 million procedures are done every year on women alone.
Along with the social consequences there are economic consequences. The economic consequences are less a consequence and more benefit for the economy. On only the economic standpoint these advertisements increase sales. The video talked about the old saying “sex sells”. No matter how sad it is, the reality of it is that making objects out of people and sexualizing of objects allows companies to increase the amount of revenue they receive. This “sex sells” message becomes available to kids at such a young age that by the time they become teens the message is so far embedded into their minds that the trend continues and more money is brought in.
In summary, the video links the dehumanizing of women and the acceptance of harassment and assault of women and how it creates a stigma towards women. The video also covers the social consequences like an increase of surgical procedures due to the display of unrealistic body images. It also bring light to the subject of economic consequences that in reality are benefits.