I couldn't get this ad to display but it portrays a girl (about 6) wearing nothing but a dress of
human hands in a normal looking room. The room is filled with toys and there is a teddy bear
on the floor. The girl has a disparaging look on her face and she is holding a doll. The words
underneath the advertisement says: "Certain things hang on Forever, Set kids free from abuse."
human hands in a normal looking room. The room is filled with toys and there is a teddy bear
on the floor. The girl has a disparaging look on her face and she is holding a doll. The words
underneath the advertisement says: "Certain things hang on Forever, Set kids free from abuse."
My first reaction to this ad was one of disapproval. At first I thought it was very inappropriate to have a little girl portrayed in such a disgusting manner, but as I recovered from the shock of this image, I realized what the message of this ad was. This advertisement's message is that child abuse is a damaging, common occurrence and we as good people need to help prevent it. This advertisement convinces us to take this position on child abuse through the usage of signs and shock value. For example, the dress of hands in this picture signifies sexual abuse and the way they hold onto the subject signifies to us that this abuse has an everlasting effect. This image is effective because in our culture children are considered innocent and protected, therefore, when you see a child being groped by a bunch of hands, you can't help but to be shocked and alerted to the message of child abuse. Also by reading farther into this advertisement, you become aware of the type of environment the subject is in. The little girl appears to be in a normal looking room with toys and she is holding a doll. This normalcy that surrounds this abused girl illustrates to us that abuse can happen anywhere and that it is an alarming, common occurrence. Also, the image of the girl holding the doll is a brilliant touch because in our culture dolls are often associated with children and innocence. Therefore, by having the child hold onto her doll, it further illustrates the point that this little girl was an innocent victim whose innocence was lost because of the groping hands of sexual abuse.
I agree with your views regarding this image. My first reaction of this image was disgust. To me this image signifies hurt, disturbance, and violation of rights. The setting of this ad takes place in a normal room with a child holding a doll. This is identical to the ad I blogged about regarding second hand smoke within the home. In my opinion, advertisers place know figures such as children and pets in areas of safety such as their home to signify trust and belonging. The doll symbolizes innocence within the child in both blogs. Even though the main focus is on the numerous amount of hands groping the child, it’s hard not to notice the small details that make the picture come alive such as the room, doll, and child. I think you did a great job of describing the hidden context of this ad.
ReplyDeleteI just googled this image and im shocked from what I saw! Once I got over the initial disgust of seeing the picture I took a deeper look. Sexuality is a new thing for children and its completely necessary for them to not experience it through abuse. When you're child you have experiences that you will never forget and sexual abuse is one of them! The dress of the hands is long so it is a representation of how the child is walking forward and carrying on with life but will always have a heavy memory of abuse that will always be with them. I have a friend who was sexually abused which still affects that person to this day.
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