Feminism and TV Commercials
Television commercials to the average person are a form of entertainment. They are also a way for people to see what is being sold out there in the real world. To a critic television commercials are much more than that. Depending what critical approach the critic uses he or she will analyze the television commercials differently.
I decided to challenge myself and instead of using an approach that I knew about I used one that I knew little about. In my discussion of television commercials I focused on using the Feminist critical approach. I will discuss what Feminism is made up of. Then I will discuss and analyze six television commercials.
Feminism has at least four different parts to it. There are the radical feminists, which argue “that women’s oppression is the result of the system of patriarchy, a system of domination in which men as a group have power over women as a group,” (Storey 135). The Marxist feminists who argue that women’s oppression is due to capitalism. The third is the liberal feminism, which does not believe a system like patriarchy or capitalism oppresses women, but that males are prejudice against women. The fourth is the dual systems theory, “women’s oppression derives from their situation within an autonomous system of sex divisions of labor and male supremacy” (Vogel 128).
The first TV commercial is about a woman who is walking out of Taco Bell with a burrito in her hand. It is no ordinary woman she looks skinny and beautiful. Two young men look at her as she comes out of Taco Bell and they comment on how good she looks. This commercial might look harmless to someone who does not care, but to a critic it is not. This commercial shows a very skinny woman walking out of a Taco Bell with a burrito. A woman who sees this and has a low self-esteem could become anorexic or bulimic. Since she might go eat a taco or something at Taco Bell and then when she does not look like the model she might decide to hurt herself to look like the model. This commercial gives women a false perception and could be harmful. Women and men believe that the way the model looks is the norm and if they are not like that they will not be taken serious.
In the next commercial there is a man and a woman taking pictures of their surroundings. The man’s film finishes so the woman grabs a camera and takes the ...
... middle of paper ...
...on women, particularly women’s bodies, as sales bait is in universal evidence” (Gallagher 75). To know that the stereotyping is not only in the United States, but that it is universal is disturbing because it shows that we are in a male dominated world.
Despite the mixed perception of women as models, mothers, sex objects, and so on in these commercials the bottom line is that Feminists want the best for the women in this society and around the world. I learned by using the Feminist approach that women in general have it hard. I feel everyone grows up being taught about gender stereotyping since a very early age without really noticing it. We all have to have an open mind and not label people because of their gender. But if we must label or judge someone let it be because of what they have accomplished in life.
Bibliography:
Gallagher, Margaret. Unequal opportunities The case of women and the media. France: Offset Aubin, Poiters, 1981.
Storey, John. An Introduction to Cultural Theory and Popular Culture. 2nd ed. Georgia: The University of Georgia, 1998.
Vogel, Lisa. Marxism and The Oppression of Women. New Jersey: Rutgers, The State University, 1983.
According to Robert Scholes, author of On Reading a Video Text, commercials aired on television hold a dynamic power over human beings on a subconscious level. He believes that through the use of specific tools, commercials can hold the minds of an audience captive, and can control their abilities to think rationally. Visual fascination, one of the tools Scholes believes captures the minds of viewers, can take a simple video, and through the use of editing and special effects, turn it into a powerful scene which one simply cannot take his or her eyes from. Narrativity is yet another way Scholes feels commercials can take control of the thoughts of a person sitting in front of the television. Through the use of specific words, sounds, accompanying statements and or music, a television commercial can hold a viewer’s mind within its grasp, just long enough to confuse someone into buying a product for the wrong reason. The most significant power over the population held by television commercials is that of cultural reinforcement, as Scholes calls it. By offering a human relation throughout itself, a commercial can link with the masses as though it’s speaking to the individual viewer on an equal level. A commercial In his essay, Scholes analyzes a Budweiser commercial in an effort to prove his statements about the aforementioned tools.
During the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, many saw alcohol as a cause of instability among communities. To counteract the effects of alcohol on American society, The Temperance Movement, Prohibition Party and many others sought to enact anti-liquor laws that would prohibit the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol. On January 19, 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment had taken effect and a nationwide ban on alcohol was enacted. This was thought of as a solution to the many problems that America had at the time, but it only made matters worse. The American society had been greatly affected by the Eighteenth Amendment in many negative aspects such as increasing crime and violence, worsening the economy, and much more.
Common sense seems to dictate that commercials just advertise products. But in reality, advertising is a multi-headed beast that targets specific genders, races, ages, etc. In “Men’s Men & Women’s Women”, author Steve Craig focuses on one head of the beast: gender. Craig suggests that, “Advertisers . . . portray different images to men and women in order to exploit the different deep seated motivations and anxieties connected to gender identity.” In other words, advertisers manipulate consumers’ fantasies to sell their product. In this essay, I will be analyzing four different commercials that focuses on appealing to specific genders.
In this generation businesses use commercial to persuade different types of audiences to buy their product or to persuade them to help a certain caused. If you analyze commercial you can see how certain things play a major role in the success of a commercial. The ad I decide to analyze as an example is the commercial snickers used during the Super Bowl in 2010;”Betty White”-Snickers. This commercials starts off with guys playing a game of football with an elderly women know as Betty White. As Betty White tries to play football she is tackled to the ground. Her teammates refer to her as Mike when they come up to her to ask why she has been “playing like Betty White all day”. This helps inform the audience that Betty White is not actually playing but instead represent another teammate. As the guys keep arguing Mikes girlfriend calls her over and tells her to eat a snicker. Betty White takes the first bite and then suddenly a man appears in her place ready to finish the game. At the end of the commercial the statement "You're not you when you're hungry" is shown followed by the Snickers bar logo. What this commercial is trying to show is that hunger changes a person, and satisfying this hunger can change you back to your normal self. They use different types
The documentary Killing Us Softly 4 discusses and examines the role of women in advertisements and the effects of the ads throughout history. The film begins by inspecting a variety of old ads. The speaker, Jean Kilbourne, then discusses and dissects each ad describing the messages of the advertisements and the subliminal meanings they evoke. The commercials from the past and now differ in some respects but they still suggest the same messages. These messages include but are not limited to the following: women are sexual objects, physical appearance is everything, and women are naturally inferior then men. Kilbourne discusses that because individuals are surrounded by media and advertisements everywhere they go, that these messages become real attitudes and mindsets in men and women. Women believe they must achieve a level of beauty similar to models they see in magazines and television commercials. On the other hand, men expect real women to have the same characteristics and look as beautiful as the women pictured in ads. However, even though women may diet and exercise, the reality...
“Prohibition did not achieve its goals. Instead, it added to the problems it was intended to solve.” On 16th January 1920, one of the most common personal habits and customs of American society came to a halt. The eighteenth amendment was implemented, making all importing, exporting, transporting, selling and manufacturing of intoxicating liquors absolutely prohibited. This law was created in the hope of achieving the reduction of alcohol consumption, which in turn would reduce: crime, poverty, death rates, and improve both the economy, and the quality of life for all Americans. These goals were far from achieved. The prohibition amendment of the 1920's was ineffective because it was unenforceable. Instead, it caused various social problems such as: the explosive growth of organized crime, increased liquor consumption, massive murder rates and corruption among city officials. Prohibition also hurt the economy because the government wasn’t collecting taxes on the multi-billion dollar a year industry.
The hopes of the prohibitionist were dreams of a healthier and more successful nation. Their dreams were spun from the idea of shutting out the alcohol industry and enforcing large industries and stressing family values. The eighteenth amendment consisted of the end of sales, production, transportation, as for importation and exportation of intoxicating liquors. Their imaginations were large and very hopeful. The prohibitionists felt that alcohol is a slow poison of their community. They felt that if the liquor industry was shut out that Americans would spend their hard earned money in the clothing, food, and shoe industries therefore boosting the American economy. Many felt, “Seeing what a sober nation can do is indeed a noble experiment and one that has never yet been tried, (Crowther, 11) Prohibition was a test of the strength of the nation and an attempt at cleaning up societies evils. These reformers denounce alcohol as a danger to society as well as to the human body. Some ethnic hopes of prohibition was to regulate the foreigners whose backgrounds consisted on the use of alcohol for religious purposes. And try to enforce an American valued society upon them. Many reformists felt that ending the use of alcohol would protect American homes and families. They felt that alcohol use was the root of their family’s destruction. Many women felt that their husbands would waste a lot of their income on the purchase of alcohol and not on family needs. Alcohol was often known as a “poison, or sin”. Another hope for the eighteenth amendment was to reduce the crime and death rate. Many people felt that drunkenness was the cause of many of the nations crimes. Prohibitionist felt very passionately on their cause and were often called “dry’s.” They felt their battle was justified and that, “it is manifest destiny that alcohol will not survive the scrutiny,”(Darrow and Yarros, 20).
The Prohibition was started in the 1920s when the 18th Amendment was ratified. This leads to many disruptions in America. The 18th Amendment caused many people to become upset with the government. The 18th Amendment was the prohibition of alcohol but was this Prohibition really good for this country? This research paper will tell the positives and negatives of the Prohibition and the overall effect on the country. There are many arguments to both oppositions. This paper will be focusing more on the negative points of the argument. The Prohibition was put into effect on January 16 1920. There was very few people that supported The Prohibition. US leader and temperance movement groups supported it. Many People opposed the Prohibition including, the average citizen, teenagers, and the mafia.
Prohibition is the legal ban on the manufacture and sale of intoxicating drink (“Temperance, Prohibition, Alcoholism” 1). The term also denotes those periods in history when such bans have been in force, as well as the political and social movements condoning them. This method of liquor control was most often aimed at preventing alcoholism and thus removing a social, physical, and economic harm from society.
Prohibition lasted from 1920-1933, the and the repeal come in1933. Alco pone was the biggest gangster of all times. He was the cause of virtually of all crimes. On the eve of prohibition some towns sold their jails, because all crime would break loose. The “Bathtub Gin” got its name from alcohol, glycerin and juniper juice was mixed in a bottle it was too tall to fit in a sink so they had to put it in the bathtub. (Burns Web)
Feminism is a perspective that views gender as one of the most important bases of the structure and organization of the social world. Feminists argue that in most known societies this structure has granted women lower status and value, more limited access to valuable resources, and less autonomy and opportunity to make choices over their lives than it has granted men. (Sapiro 441)
5) Lumby, Catherine. Bad Girls: The Media, Sex & Feminism in the 90s. Australia: Allen & Unwin Pty Ltd. 1997.
Prohibition in the United States lasted about 14 years from 1920 to 1933. “Prohibition was the period in United States history in which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors was outlawed.” . Intoxicating liquors were beginning to ruin the lives of some Americans and it became banned. “Prohibition, members of the Temperance movement urged, would stop husbands from spending all the family income on alcohol and prevent accidents in the workplace caused by workers who drank during lunch” . Alcohol was beginning to tear families apart and some wanted to finally outlaw all of the alcohol which would make life easier. In the beginning organizations pushed moderation, but after some decades the organizations’ focus’ turned into the idea of complete prohibition . Although the idea of total prohibition was far-fetched it eventually began. The 18th amendment brought about complete prohibition to all of the United States, with this amendment prohibition in the United States was finally established.
The average American is exposed to hundreds of advertisements per day. Advertisements targeted toward females have an enormous effect on women's thoughts, attitudes, perceptions, and actions. Most of the time, women don't even realize these advertisements are formulating self-image issues. These ideals surround them daily and they become naturalized to the ads. Advertising creates an entire worldview persuading women to emulate the images they see all around them. In order to create a market for their products, companies constantly prey upon women's self esteem, to feel like they aren't good enough just the way they are. This makes women constantly feel stressed out about their appearance (Moore). Advertising has a negative effect on women's body image, health, and self-esteem.
Popular media such as magazines and television shows like Sex and the City and Nigella portray contemporary core feminist beliefs that can strongly impact the consumer culture of their target audience. A common trend, although represented differently in each medium, is how identity is expressed through consumer culture and the politics of consumption. This paper will investigate how media depicts and exploits the changing feminist identity through consumption and independence.