IB English A Lang & Lit The Plan Notes

Exemplar IO Plan

Global Issue: The commodification of women and how it distorts personal identity and reinforces harmful societal expectations

Texts: The Handmaid’s Tale (literary) and Killing Us Softly (non-literary)

Introduction (1 to 1.5 mins)

1. Introduce the global issue: Commodification of women negatively affects identity and reinforces unrealistic social expectations.
2. Present the two texts: Atwood's dystopian fiction and Kilbourne's media critique.
3. State how the texts differ in form but both expose the systemic reduction of women to objects.

Literary Text: The Handmaid’s Tale

1. Close Analysis 1
   1. Quote: “We are two-legged wombs, that’s all: sacred vessels, ambulatory chalices.”
   2. Technique: Metaphor and irony
   3. Insight: Language strips identity, women are reduced to reproductive functions.
   4. Link to GI: Shows how commodification dehumanises women by defining them through use.
2. Close Analysis 2
   1. Feature: Colour symbolism (Handmaids in red, Wives in blue)
   2. Technique: Visual motif as ideology
   3. Insight: Clothing marks function and reinforces division.
   4. Link to GI: Commodification is institutionalised through appearance and hierarchy.
3. Wide Analysis 1
   1. Feature: Naming system (“Offred”)
   2. Technique: Symbolic language
   3. Insight: Language becomes a tool for ownership and erasure.
   4. Link to GI: Reflects real-world practices like women taking men’s surnames, echoing commodification.
4. Wide Analysis 2
   1. Feature: Historical allusions and speculative framing
   2. Technique: Intertextuality and exaggeration
   3. Insight: Atwood’s dystopia mirrors real-world systems (Puritanism, anti-feminist backlash).
   4. Link to GI: Warns how easily real societies slip into commodification masked as tradition.

Non-literary Text: Killing Us Softly

1. Close Analysis 1
   1. Quote: “Women’s bodies are dismembered in ads, legs, lips, breasts...”
   2. Technique: Visual fragmentation
   3. Insight: Women shown as parts, not whole people.
   4. Link to GI: Objectification becomes the norm, women internalize this broken identity.
2. Close Analysis 2
   1. Feature: Passive vs dominant poses in ads
   2. Technique: Juxtaposition
   3. Insight: Women are portrayed as weak or submissive, reinforcing powerlessness.
   4. Link to GI: Commodification reinforces power imbalances and strips autonomy.
3. Wide Analysis 1
   1. Feature: Beauty standards and moral worth
   2. Technique: Cultural critique
   3. Insight: Female appearance is equated with value, deviations are punished.
   4. Link to GI: Identity becomes dependent on conformity to commodified ideals.
4. Wide Analysis 2
   1. Quote: “Girls are taught to think that they should be effortlessly beautiful, and that any flaw, any sign of aging, any weight gain is a personal failure.”
   2. Technique: Contemporary relevance
   3. Insight: Women now internalise and perform their own commodification, curating idealised online personas to meet societal expectations.
   4. Link to Global Issue: Commodification is self-driven and socially rewarded, reinforcing the idea that a woman’s value is based on appearance.

Conclusion (1 min)

1. Recap: Atwood shows overt, state-enforced commodification, Kilbourne reveals subtle, systemic commodification in media.
2. Both texts show how objectification erodes identity and autonomy.
3. Real-world relevance: from reproductive rights to Instagram culture, commodification is ongoing and urgent to resist.