syn. judgmental, calumniatory, belittling, scolding
From Jean Kilbourne's "Can an Engine Pump the Valves in Your Heart":
People sometimes feel exempt from the laws of civilized behavior in their cars and thus wield them in a way they would wield no other “weapon.” Ads that encourage drivers to break the rules certainly contribute to this attitude. “The engineers of the Pontiac Grand Am see no shame in gutsy driving. Only in timid cars,” declares one such ad. The copy continues, “If you’re not exactly the shy type on the road, you belong in the Pontiac Grand Am. Because […] it suits your driving style to a ‘T.’ As in ‘tough.’ Not as in ‘tame.’” And an Audi ad says, “Why push the envelope when you can shred it?”
This excerpt from an essay on car advertisements by Jean Kilbourne reveals her critical attitude towards them. She claims ads are savage, for they encourage people to break the “laws of civilized behavior.” The last thing society needs is people acting recklessly while in the control of such a powerful “weapon.” Kilbourne quotes the ads with the most superlative words to show her disgust. When you drive a car you should be “gutsy” and “tough” they claim. The final ad takes a common phrase for technological advancement, “push the envelope,” and changes it to “shred.” Kilbourne is angered by these violent words, and rightly so since every day people are killed by cars. She blames ads for encouraging a reckless attitude towards driving.
Kilbourne, Jean. “Can an Engine Pump the Valves in Your Heart.” The Bedford
Reader. Ed. X. J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Jane E. Aaron. 8th
Edition. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003. 340-347.