The cultivation theory plays a great role in today’s media. This is the theory that consistent messages over time create images for the audience of what reality should look like. These messages through the media have long-term effects on the audience in their outlook on society and life. Take, for example, Ralf Lauren’s advertisement that I’ve embedded below.
I believe the cultivation theory helps me understand the impacts of fashion images, such as this Ralf Lauren advertisement, on women in today’s society. This advertisement is one of three that I know of where the company has taken a photo of a female model and digitally altered it, slimy down her already extremely thin figure. Advertisement like this plays into the cultivation theory and has long-term effects. Women of all ages have body issues, especially young women. Young women in today’s society grow up seeing images like these and think they have to be as skinny as models (even skinnier-than-humanly-possible models) in order to be accepted in society. This mindset leads to all sorts of problems like eating disorders.
As Jean Kilbourne of Killing us Softly said, “advertising tells us who we are and who we should be.”
http://forum.santabanta.com/showthread.htm?t=160943
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