The Pitfall of the Insensitive

Still Killing us Softly by Jean Kilbourne gives us prime examples of how the media tries to influence the way we see our society. The advertisement examples that she gives show how they portray the ideal woman as young, thin and beautiful, as well as making all men to look like powerful and insensitive animals (which they aren’t). Both of the distortions use pathos as their persuasive devises by evoking emotion in the consumers …

…little trick Cicero thought was so important, prevails (322). After hearing what Kilbourne has to say, the consumer is ultimately disgusted with him or herself. However, this is good thing! We recognize how advertisers use pathos to evoke emotions of unsatisfaction about the way we look, and strive to become perfect by using their products. After these realizations the consumer is less likely to fall into the advertisers pitfall and more likely to conceive their motives.