Last week I came across two commercials on Youtube that really caught my attention. The two commercials I found fit perfectly on the topic we are analyzing this semester: How women are represented in popular culture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHX2mvFVQMs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi47UcyK4Ms
The German automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz made both TV commercials a couple of years ago to promote two of their new models. Assuming by the language and the topics used in the two videos, the commercials were directed to the American male public. Both advertisements use allegories to promote their product and be innovative in some way.
I have to admit that I found the first commercial to be really funny and amusing, it is definitely intended to be humoristic. But this didn’t draw me away from the subject we are analyzing. How is this commercial related to the way women are represented in pop culture? Well, in here we find a stereotype of women that has been widely used in media: the dumb blonde girl. The phrase at the end of the commercial says it all: “Beauty is nothing without brains”. In this commercial, like in many others, women are solely associated with physical beauty and mental shallowness. Mercedes uses this “cultural idea” or representation to make an allegory with the product they are promoting: a car not only has to be attractive on the outside, but also on the inside. This stereotype represents women as superficial human beings, as if they had nothing else to offer than just their physical looks.
I found the second commercial really interesting too, since it is also closely related with the topic we are analyzing. In this TV ad, we find other stereotypes of women that are commonly used in media. Just like in the first one, physical beauty is pretty evident. But this one goes a little bit farther and touches the sexual representation of women. Women in media are commonly related to sex, they are shown as sexual objects. This commercial also shows the cheating-wife and hot-mistress stereotypes. Both of these go hand-in-hand with the sexuality and untrustworthiness that women are sometimes related with. Mercedes uses this last part to make an allegory with the weather in order to promote the car model.
Without a doubt, both of these commercials are intended to be seen through the eyes of a man, or the male gaze. Car-related topics are commonly associated with a male public, and that is probably why Mercedes decided to make these in the first place. I personally find these TV ads entertaining and funny, but there is more to it if we make a profound analysis. From a woman’s perspective, this may not be the case. Most women might find them disrespectful and unimaginative. I searched a bit more a found another interesting Mercedes-Benz TV Ad, a much recent one:
http://www.youtube.com/user/MercedesBenzTV?blend=3&ob=5#p/u/22/_JPxcUfEbz0
This commercial is very different to the first two. There is a change in the way women are represented. We find a new and much more recent female stereotype: the independent, executive, and intelligent woman. We can say that there is a more feminist perspective of women in this ad, and that makes it less disrespectful and more tolerable to the female public. However, the sensuality and physical beauty of women are still present.
Popular culture is very male centered and the various representations of women in it are pretty narrow. Like we saw in the last video, there has been a slight shift in recent years due to feminist movements and cultural changes, but the male gaze still dominates. Publicity and advertisement are everywhere in today’s globalized world and they are an important part of popular culture. Everyone has access to and is inevitably influenced by them. The way in which women are represented in advertisement is crucial to the way individuals perceive and accept the role of women in society.
Good overall start here. You could clarify a few points. You say "Assuming by the language and the topics used in the two videos, the commercials were directed to the American male public" but don't actually address the language/topics that they use. While the videos are there, you should always assume that your audience has seen the same things you do.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you say, "the sensuality and physical beauty of women are still present." Explain how this supports your opinion of how things have changed rather than potentially undermines it.
Do you think that, in last couple of years, the role of women in popular culture has changed due to the amount of feminist movements that have appeared?
ReplyDeleteHow can popular culture influence the way society sees women?
1) Yes! The role of some in popular culture really has transformed. Nowadays, women tend to be portrayed in television and literature as more independent, providing for themselves and their families both financially AND in the home. Also, it is progressively becoming more favorable and attractive for women to be intelligent and educated, largely due to feminist movements AND as American society's desire to be different and "revolutionary" in a sense. Just think about it: here in the US, we are tend to be very accepting of certain differences, and don't entirely look down upon a group of people who attempts to stand out from the crowd. Rather, as we were discussing last week, counterculture groups like goths and hippies ultimately blend into our culture.
ReplyDelete2) Mercedes-Benz commercials that portray two different types of women in marketing their product.
3) The main idea focuses on the "male gaze" that we have been discussing so much in class.
4) The author uses analysis of these two commercials as examples of how our culture wavers between two very different perspectives toward women. On one hand, women can be used in popular culture for their physical appearance to attract the "male gaze", or for their growing independence to attract a different "breed" of males as well as females. He also discusses how the first commercials are probably the way they are to attract the attention of males, who are generally the ones who tend to have interest in cars.
5) The visual element that the author utilizes is the commercials, but he mainly focuses on analysis of the words and appearance of the actors. He could include more about the environment of the commercials themselves, including the lighting, colors, expressions of the actors, etc.
yes i do actually if not for those women that fought and are fighting for the rights of women the way women were seen in the past would not have changed...although the change we se today just gives then ladies the power the essence of them being sexy is still there.
ReplyDeletei believe that this article is very interesting the aids really do help; they were really effective hoe they really played important roles in the conniving your ideas...i think the main idea is showing us how the women of nowadays are pictured and how they were pictured in the past.
In my opinion i think this is a nice piece of work.
The cultural item here would be car advertisement. The main idea shows how women can be integrated into these advertisements to appeal to a certain audience. You gave lots of support for your argument! And the use of the videos lets the audience compare and contrast how women can be represented in pop culture to sell a product.
ReplyDelete