"Two Ways"

"Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt" is a disturbing essay that details just how low our society has been dragged down through irresponsible and ugly advertising. Author Jean Kilbourne, piles on the evidence of this low-class, do anything for money, advertising that has now become common-place in our society. Drawing parallels with today's advertising and pornography, Kilbourne is effective in driving home her point and shining a light on the dangers of this disrespectful and harmful type of media.
Throughout the essay pictures that correlate with her message are displayed. These images are very graphic. They play an important role in helping the reader to see exactly what Kilbourne is writing about. She describes the ad that each picture portrays. This is effective in helping the reader to relate to images they have themselves experienced in advertising. The most powerful part of the essay is the sheer mass of ad's that she lays out before the reader. Her purpose in being to help the reader see how much of this is out there. She then leads her audience into the affects of this advertising. She describes some of the gross problems that are occuring throughout schools, in almost every age group, throughout our country.
This essay is shocking. And shocking is good when you are trying to raise a point and bring awareness to an issue. It is a technique that can be overplayed, but Kilbourne uses a good mix of personal feelings, stories, images,and statistics to cultivate this shock-value.