The advertisement for Skyy Vodka uses sex and class to sell its product. In the advertisement, a female is straddling a male sitting in a chair. The man has his glass raised and the female is holding a glass to pour for him. The atmosphere of the advertisement is classy and fancy. The room appears as being very modern in a sky scraper with gleaming floors. The room overlooks the city and the sky scrapers are seen lit up through the all-glass wall. The chair the man is sitting on is a fancy chair that is depicted in the media as not being something the average man would own. Both the man and women are dressed in all black, which indicates the formality of the situation. The female is wearing studded shoes that appear as diamonds, which symbolizes wealth. These portrayals are insinuating that Skyy Vodka is for people of wealth and importance. Wealthy people are able to afford any drink, so the fact that they are choosing Skyy Vodka means that it must be good. It shows that even if you are not able to afford the things that the people in the advertisement have, you can still be perceived as wealthy if you drink Skyy Vodka. The advertisement also has a strong sexual undertone. The female is standing over the male in a sexual position. Her stance shows her dominance and confidence. The man’s face is not shown in the advertisement, just his legs being straddled by the female. This could be interpreted as him being submissive and the woman being the face of importance for the advertisement. Female dominance can be seen as sexually appealing to men, and they are often attracted to a woman “taking charge”. Her pouring the man the drink while he casually sits back in his chair reflects this. She is also wearing a revealing dress that emphasizes her sexual assets. Her facial expression towards the man is a look of desire. This advertisement is appealing to the heterosexual male. It is implying that drinking Skyy Vodka will make you sexually desirable to the opposite sex. Attractive females will want to have sexual relations with you solely because you drink Skyy Vodka. The advertisement does not consider homosexual men and exclusively dictates to the stereotypical desires of the heterosexual male.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Dove advertisement
An advertisement I have recently seen that says something significant about the ways genders are perceived is the Dove Life Cycle Song commercial. The advertisement describes the life cycle of a man and what is expected of him. The beginning starts with the lyrics “be good at sports, always look cool”. This shows that men are naturally expected to participate in physical activities in order to fit in. While saying this, the ad shows a boy playing football coinciding with playing sports, and a boy lifting weights to show “looking cool”. The ad is therefore saying that boys need to portray their physical strength in order to maintain a good reputation and to be liked. The next lyric is “be strong, know how to fight”, and then shows a boy boxing and knocking someone out. This shows that dominant and aggressive men are looked more highly upon than men that have certain feminine traits. “Trim the leaves and mow the yard” is then said, which is a duty of his after marrying and having children. Outdoor work is often thought of as a male responsibility because females are not expected to have the same physical abilities as men. The next lyric is “honey can you open this jar?” in which the wife says that to the husband. This shows that women are portrayed as dependent and rely on men to help them with tasks they are not able to do themselves because they lack the strength. Another lyric used was “if you hear a noise in the middle of the night, go check it out with a flashlight.” This implies that women need protection and men are aggressive and assertive, making him able to do a task a woman would not be fit to do. After these stages of his life, the lyrics then say that the man feels at ease and comfortable in his own skin. It also states that “you can take on anything; of course you can, because you’re a man”. I believe that this phrase in particular is offensive to females because gender should not be involved when discussing overcoming obstacles. Trials and tribulations are faced by everyone, and no gender is especially better at dealing with the problems you will encounter in life. The beginning of the commercial shows the man as being uneasy and somewhat awkward. He doesn’t seem very comfortable with being masculine but as the commercial progresses, he beings to conform into a “typical man”. He begins to grow facial hair and carry on the appearance of masculinity. I feel that the man was somewhat forced into this masculinity because he seemed to have learned these traits rather than them occurring naturally. I believe that this shows how people have to conform to what society deems acceptable in order to carry out a respected life. Had he not have learned how to grow into a masculine man, he may not have married and reproduced. He knew what his male expectations were and he followed them whether or not he was comfortable doing so and ultimately grew to be the “ideal” man.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Daily Show/Colbert Report
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JzGOiBXeD4
Television shows such as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are very beneficial in learning about political information. Politics is a topic that can be boring to a lot of people but shows such as these put a humorous spin on political issues which makes it enjoyable. Comedy news shows attract a diverse audience that may not be necessarily tuning in for the political news, but the humor of the reporters, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. By presenting the news in this manner, a greater number of people are taking an active interest in politics. I have been watching these shows since a very young age and my political standpoints have been shaped by the content I have received through the show. The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear was a gathering created by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. The rally was intended to bring attention to how unreasonable people are when dealing with politics and how the media does everything in its power to bring down other candidates. The rally brought together about 200,000 people and 2,000,000 viewers. Buses from UB were provided to attend the rally in Washington DC. A political event not involving Colbert and Stewart may not have been something that a great amount of college students would have wanted to attend. People that have appeared on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report range from musical artists to Barack Obama. Both shows feature interview segments where they bring on guests to talk about events such as political affairs. The funny nature of the shows makes it entertaining yet very educational. Aside from just talking about United States affairs, both shows talk about worldwide affairs as well. A recent episode I just watched of The Colbert Report featured an interview with Alison Klayman. Klayman discusses with Stephen a Chinese artist named Ai Weiwei. Weiwei is a Chinese activist who was considered a god by many Chinese people. He had a blog that was shut down by the Chinese government for being outspoken about his views of the government and was recently imprisoned for 44 days. His views are not drastically radical, he was just an activist encouraging people to speak out and he was detained for doing so. This kind of information is not something I would have ever known about had it not have been for The Colbert Report. He conducts the interview in an entertaining manner, but the interviewee still provides facts that are important. The same episode also comically discusses the 2012 presidential candidates and pokes fun at candidates but still provides information about the candidate’s standpoints and plans. The majority of the episodes criticize other broadcasting networks like FOX news. The personalities that Stewart and Colbert possess leads them to be more liked and listened to than other hosts, which could greatly influence elections. Having TV shows that provide useful information is a good way of getting people of all ages engaged in important issues.
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