Author Tara Moss was asked, along with three other industry experts, if airbrushing in magazines and advertisements was becoming out of control. Her response was the best of the four. The other three chose to look at the situation as a problem of society, but Moss said it’s being viewed in a wrong light. She compared modern day advertisements to popular works of fiction and explained that these advertisements are merely works of fiction and should not be taken so literally. In a specific example, she claimed the Pirates of the Caribbean movies are as historically accurate as an advertisement image is true. Her answer to the question encourages people to stop taking these advertisements literally and to start looking at them for what they are, for the results in an advertisement are not easily attainable.
Moss’s views on this cultural hot topic are similar to the views expressed in Aristotle’s Mean: “Moral virtue is a middle state determined by practical wisdom.” A wise person is typically the most qualified judge in determining right from wrong. So when looking at these advertisements, a wise person would be able to tell these are fictional and that one shouldn’t strive to be exactly the same as the celebrity who appears in the ad. In this case the mean is between fiction and nonfiction. When looking at an advertisement, most people are able to determine what is real and what is unreal about a product. Red Bull does not, in fact, “give you wings,” but “15 minutes can save you 15 percent or more on car insurance.” Determining the truth within an ad is not rocket science, and it’s impractical to assume a person will look just like the celebrity in the ad if he or she uses the product.
References
Christians, C., Fackler, M., Richardson, K., Kreshel, P., & Woods, R. (2012). Media Ethics: Cases and Moral Reasoning (9th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Swinson, J., Moss, T., Lumby, C., & Leesong, D. (2011, August 6). Is airbrushing in magazines and advertisements out of control? Retrieved February 26, 2015, from http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/the-question/is-airbrushing-in-magazines-and-advertisements-out-of-control-20110805-1if23.html
MATTHEW E. COHLMIA II 