Everyday we watch TV, read magazines, and walk around campus. This is a normal routine for us all; but what we don't realize is that through all our regular activities we are being bombarded with ads that try to influence us in many ways. "Advertising is an over 100 billion dollar a year industry, and we are exposed to 2,000 ads a day" (Kilbourne 194). In fact American children are exposed to so many controversial ads that fourth grade girls are beginning to watch their weight. So where does this lead us you may ask. In "Beauty and the Beast of Advertising," Jean Kilbourne brings to our attention just how much we are affected by the way America advertises. Kilbourne's essay is an excellent one and I would highly recommend it to a freshman seminar professor. Through Kilbourne's exciting facts and examples, not to mention the irrelativeness to college students, she displays how cultural influences and factors (such as advertising) shape attitudes, ways of thinking and behaviors. Which is the purpose of the freshman seminar class according to the syllabus.
The first reason that I would recommend "Beauty and the Beast of Advertising," is because it would relate to the students in the freshman seminar class. As I stated before we are exposed to 2,000 ads a day (194). So quite obviously the issues presented in the essay have much to do with any American including the students of a freshman seminar class. They are all exposed to these ads and these ads affect each and every one of them. Also Kilbourne tells us, "Adolescents are particularly vulnerable, however, because they are new and inexperienced consumers and are the prime targets of many advertisements" (194). All of the students in the freshman seminar class are either still in their adolescent years or just coming out of them so they have all experienced how ads can change your views. I know that in my composition class we read this article and the reaction was strong.
