Obesity and other
eating disorders has been a growing health concern in America and this hasn’t always
been the case. I wanted to conduct further research on why this has been an
issue in the past 40-50 years. As I was looking for an artifact to critical
analyze I came across a Binge Eating Disorder commercial, this was the
first time I had ever heard of such a disorder, so I did further research.
As
I was implementing different rhetorical factors such as ethos, pathos, and
logos I realize that the commercial did a really good job in terms of logos. The
symptoms that the commercial listed were very broad and targeted a large
portion of the society, “anyone that over eats”. According to Web MD, “eating
too much is not unusually” and by stating that “it is a real medical condition”
makes the audience feel guilty and question themselves whether or not they
should “go talk to their doctor about B.E.D”. Media has a large influence on
society and what the ideal image of the body should look like can be related to
this ad. I believe Shire, the pharmaceutical company that funded this ad took
advantage of obesity and other eating disorders and blew them out of proportion
in order to gain a larger audience.
Some
questions and concerns that come along with this ad are: Did the commercial do
a good job targeting a certain audience? Is Kairos an important factor for this
ad? Did Shire have good ethical intentions to actually inform the public about awareness
of B.E.D or just to make a profit by being prescribed medicine to help regulate
this disorder?
As someone who has had several friends suffer from eating disorders, I am glad to see that there is someone out there trying to spread awareness. However, I feel like this commercial may do more harm than good. It only lists such a broad range of symptoms that most anyone could look at that and go "hmm maybe I have BED." Perhaps this would have been more effective had the advertisers listed more than just three or four symptoms. Additionally, many people with eating disorders feel ashamed and barely even want to discuss such issues with their close friends, much less go to a doctor for something they may not see as an illness.
ReplyDeleteOne of the important discussion points you bring up is about the kairotic situation of B.E.D. With the growth of obesity rates in the U.S., the public discourse has been culturally saturated with binge eating self diagnosis. With this growing sentiment, an introduction of a campaign message that pressures those who experience similar symptoms of the disease will be more likely to seek a professional diagnosis and remedy for such disease.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Beving and Graham. The symptoms are so broad and this has really been a problem in recent years. I am not saying that B.E.D. Does no exist, but it seems rather convenient to pathologize something that is directly linked to America's culture of excess and instant gratification. B.E.D. Can be seen as a way to take the blame off of of those suffering from overeating. I would say there is an overwhelming amount of kairos. One could compare this to sex addiction and its recent media attention.
ReplyDeleteThis commercial brings many different thoughts to mind. First, my own 6 year struggle with obesity. Second, all of my friends who I know have struggled with B.E.D. Both thoughts are accredited with valid experiences, but I tend to have more sympathy with myself and those with similar stories than those friends with B.E.D. Why is this? Well, for me I see obesity as a real struggle and B.E.D. as more of a temporary hardship. In addition, B.E.D. just seems like it warrants an easier fix than obesity does. Maybe because I've never struggled with it or maybe because it is a disorder which cannot be seen physically. It is only seen by those who struggle with it and the people they allow to help them. Obesity, particularly my experience with it, was seen by everyone whether I liked it or not. My decisions about my weight and health were debated by everyone in my life. I didn't actually get to make my own decision about it until I was in the 10th grade. And, it wasn't until then that real, lasting change occurred.
ReplyDeleteI guess With my obesity struggle I knew a little of what B.E.D. was like. I would binge eat all day, everyday. It was extremely unhealthy! I remember eating an entire box of Little Debbie Cakes one time. It wasn't until people pointed out my behaviors that I did some soul searching and changed my habits. I started working out, eating healthier, and working on self-image. This process took 6 years to complete and I still struggle with it today. With B.E.D. maybe one of the solutions could be to help those struggling to really see their unhealthy behaviors. To come face to face with them and then encourage a season of soul searching to see what emotion is behind these habits. This worked for me but I am not ready to institute it as a universal fix. I think this disorder is experienced differently by everyone and thus demands a different fix for each of those people.
This commercial specifically, to me, did not really seem that helpful in finding a person specific fix for its sufferers. Although, it did bring up the importance of the disorder to my mind which has been unaware of it for a long time. I do not think it was effect rhetorically though.
This is really disturbing to me. It is medicalizing something that should be handled through counseling and education rather than medication. Typically with these types of binging behaviors, there are underlying emotional issues that contribute to coping with food. As Katie said, I believe it should be a soul searching process that helps the person uncover why they resort to binging behavior. Disordered eating such as this can be powerful and debilitating and I just don't believe that medication is the solution. We as a nation need to be taking a look at our culture and seeing why it is that our obesity rates continue to rise every year. It's not a personal problem, it's a societal problem.
ReplyDeleteAlthough i understand eating disorders are a very real and serious condition, the Binge Eating Disorder seems to be something society has created and doctors have accepted within the past few years (medicalization). The ad uses ethos with a famous Tennis star trying to convince people about B.E.D.'s credibility. Overall, I agree with B.E.D. being a convenient disorder within our culture that many people could use to describe their obesity. Since the obesity rates continue to rise, society is looking for ways to mask the reasons behind it.
ReplyDeleteI also understand that eating disorders are very real, but it is not right that people accept someone to live with a binge eating disorder. It has become more convenient for people to blame their other problems in their life on an eating disorder when in reality and proper diagnosis you can turn your life around and live a healthy lifestyle. The B.E.D.'s credibility is held up from the tennis star trying to use her ethos to persuade the audience. I also agree with Bevin, that the commercial just points out a few symptoms and people could automatically assume that they have a medical condition when they don't. The ad helps bring awareness more then rhetorically changing people's minds in my opinion about eating disorders.
ReplyDelete