You know the action-reaction forces, which is a physical science concept perceived by Sir Isaac Newton initially. The concept is that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This advertisement rightly proves it. It is a known fact that whether most men admit it or not, they check women out. This does not seem or sound awkward, in fact, it is quite normal. What if it is vice-versa though? The institution of media is so powerful that it can quickly force the general public to alternate their beliefs and opinions. A common stereotype associated with men is how they have the "freedom" in public to actually almost glance at women and comment about their physical appearance. This attribute, possibly, is one of the aspects shaping up their sexual orientation of heterosexuality. Can you imagine women doing the same with men? How would the media portray that change?
From the lens of heterosexual men, women are underlings in the male-dominated world. When men socialize in institutions such as offices, women are more often than not left out from the ongoing casual discourse. The gender role for men enables them to live a life of superiority as we have become accustomed to it as the norm. In the corporate world, women are not at the top of the ladder in most cases. Why is this? It is simple; women are to manage households than industries no matter the wealth of talent they would possess. Thanks to changing times and technology, women are better off than yesteryear, but still have a long way to go before true equity and equilibrium of power is reached. Unfortunately, we know that is never going to happen in our lifetime, at least for now.
Why are we shocked when women express themselves in public? My first reaction when I had viewed this advertisement for the first time last summer was like - "Wow...this is awesome"! I loved how both the women use their authoritative power to check Roger Federer out (He is the best tennis player ever - no discussion). This commercial not only sells the Lindor chocolate, but beats the stereotypes related to how women are often drawn back and stay low key. Some people can consume and interpret the portrayal of women in the commercial quite differently, but I guess that would be natural. Media texts and messages are open-ended as people might have varying opinions about the same piece. As a matter of fact, the commercial could be looked upon from an angle where one might find the "ladies" atrocious as of their audacity to express themselves. Personally, attraction is inevitable when someone is good-looking, and I am saying this in the most holistic way possible; you would gaze at the attractive person for a minimum of once. It is infatuation.
We are missing out on something big here as well. What if they had homosexuals in the commercial? Bisexuals? Why did the makers of the commercial choose not to put them instead of two women and one man? The reason, as we all know, homosexuals or bisexuals are indirectly ostracized from the global community, although some countries have legislated the marriage of homosexuals as legal.
A few questions to be addressed :
1) What is your first reaction to the commercial? What do you think about the women?
2) How effective is the commercial in opposing the stereotypes related to men and women as women are the dominant ones here?
3) How would you feel, if you see homosexuals or bisexuals in the commercial?
P.S. - I hope all of you liked the commercial!
1)The commercial made me think about the abuse of power from the two female security guards. I also found it funny when they tease Roger Federer, by the way, Nadal is better then him. The two women were controlling Federer and I found them very unethical to steal his Chocolates. They were corrupted as they abused their powers. I also found it funny how Federer carries a bag full of chocolate for his flight.
ReplyDelete2)I think this commercial suits Federer very well, he is quiet and the passive type of person. The two women are clearly the dominate one in the commercial as they made Federer to turn around to show his body and they confiscate his chocolates.
3)In the first place, Federer would not be in a homosexual commercial because it would affect his image and he would lose a lot of fans. If the two female security guards were male, I would be surprised that Federer done a commercial like that. I actually would not mind seeing homosexuals in a commercial but at the same time, I don't promote it.
OHHHHH MYYYY, I SEE LINDOR <3 AAAA, I WANT SOME TOO!
ReplyDeleteokay. I'm done.
So, where was I?
Let me first comment on a couple of things in the article before I get to answering the questions. Akshay, I know I have this all too optimistic view on things, but I do not think that the equilibrium that is needed between males and females (regardless of their sexual oritentation) cannot be achieved in our lifetime. I think it is just a matter of women standing up for themselves and some more great commercials like these to subvert stereotypes.
Now, here's the place where I agree with you. (And from Round Tables, I think we all know these moments are rare ;) ) When you see someone good-looking (or even an attractive object for that matter), it is almost a reflex to look at it.
Traditionally, we've always been given the impression that men are allowed to 'girl-watch' openly, and I think its high time the world accepted that females have the right to stare also (and no, I do not mean that in a creepy stalker kind of way).
So that brings me to the questions:
1. My reaction to this commercial was a big smile. And though it did have a little to do with Federer and Lindt chocolates, I think what really made me smile was to see this clear reversal of typical gender roles in the media. The women did a great job, and it felt good to see the females in a position of authority. Also, the way they check Federer out gives women a sense of empowerment that it is acceptable for women to be just as open as males without any apprehension.
2. This relates back to what I said earlier, that I think the commercial opposes the stereotype extremely well. It sort of brings women at par with men (even though these are not the biggest issues in which women are seeking equality). It answers Simmi's question in her earlier article about whether objectifying men in return is a way to get rid of the inequality, and I think this commercial proves that it might be.
3. I would not have a problem with the commercial if it represented the homosexual community within it. I do not think however, that brands would want to openly cater to homosexuals for two reasons. Firstly, they form a minority of the population and commercials obviously always target the masses. Secondly, homosexuality is still taboo in some parts of our society, and brands want to avoid controversy, because of which I doubt that homosexuals will be represented in our media anytime soon in a positive light.
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ReplyDeleteJust to add to Akshay’s comment about the stereotype that women are supposed to manage households rather than industries. The stereotype that men can‘t manage a household should be a considered a weakness for men. And the implication that women can work and manage a household as well should be strength. There are other factors that do not allow women to break the “glass ceiling.” I think the long history of men dominating politics, businesses and other positions of power is what has led to the stereotype that women are not as competent of doing such jobs. Traditionally boys are encouraged to be assertive while girls are discouraged to do the same. As children we are constantly conditioned by elders to believe in stereotypes. For example, when we see a baby dressed in blue, we automatically assume it’s a boy, while the opposite is true for the color pink.
ReplyDelete1)My reaction – LOL!
Doesn’t this advertisement imply that women are equally perverted as men? Aha, I take that back. Let’s just say it shows that women and men are both sexual beings. And I agree with Ryan, those women really abused their power!
2) After watching the advertisement I thought, what if the two security guards were males …and asked a female to turn around? Most women would find that quite offensive, yet it’s rather funny when the opposite occurs. And then I thought, ok, objectifying men could be the answer to equality, but does it really affect men or does it just degrade women even more…?
But to respond to question 3, I would have no problem if any of the characters in the advertisement were homosexual or bisexual. I believe that the power dynamics between the security guards and the tennis player would not be affected if any other sexual orientation was represented in the ad.
1) After watching this commercial, I found it pretty surprising that these two women were taking advantage of the authority they have. In general, women are portrayed to be shy and don't do such things.
ReplyDelete2) This commercial is against the stereotype. Men are usually the dominant ones in the society, but this commercial proves that women can also be in men's shoes.
3) I personally dont like to watch commercials which cantain homosexuality. So I'll ignore this commercial.
I actually wanted to post this video up as well, but it looks like you beat me to it.
ReplyDeleteAfter i watched the commercial, i found the role of the female airport security to be switched with the role of a male. In many different tv shows, the male is the one that is "checking out" the girl. But in the commercial, it showed that women can be as dominant as males.
I dont mind commercials that involve Bi-sexuals, or Homo-sexuals in them. So, it doesn't matter to me who is in a commercial and who is not.
1) I found this commercial to be really funny, how these two women were checking out Roger Federer. I think that since in the media we always see men checking out the girl since it is the norm; it is really funny when you see women doing the same to men. While watching this commercial, the two women where controlling (telling Federer what to do and taking his chocolates and eating in front of him), and they were the ones in power.
ReplyDelete2) I think that this commercial is really effective in opposing the stereotypes related to men and women. In this case men and women switched positions, in the media you would always see men checking out the females, and you would rarely see females checking out the males.
3) Personally, if there were homosexuals or bisexual acting in these characters I wouldn’t watch it or agree with it because in Islam homosexuals or bisexuals aren’t accepted and I don’t like watching films, commercials etc, that include these types of characters at all.
1. It's pretty funny to see how those two women check out Roger. Ryan brings up a good point about the powers that those women abused. I found that highly dazzling.
ReplyDelete2. This commercial is definitely effective in opposing the stereotypes related to men and women. We usually don't see women behaving as the dominant ones as Abhishek said. But it's perfectly fine, whatever makes you happy.
3. If there were homosexuals or bisexuals involved, I wouldn't watch it just because I don't like watching such type of people.
7. 1) I think the commercial is quite superficial and silly; it wasn't as entertaining as other commercial of the same kind, partially because I'm not a show off at airport check up. And form the commercial those girls appear quite superficial and lousy employers. Something even suggests me they might even be bisexuals looking for an extra peer.
ReplyDelete2)I don't mind actually being commanded by a woman is as bad as being commanded by a man, what is strange that they here in this commercial show that the women is superficial at work and doesn't really pay attention to safety procedures. To me it is implying that when you give a job to a women see what happens not professional.
3) It wouldn't bother me as much I mean i cannot think badly of people if it is what they are. It would increase rage against homosexuals and bisexuals because now not only they have all those girly prevented stereotypes but now they even don't even take their work seriously.
The commercial can be seen as pretty funny, i enjoyed it. The women are depicted as very authoritarian and they make some use of their power! But i can't blame them, almost everybody abuses of their power nowadays whether it be women or men. Depicting women as the dominant ones is pretty efficient as it makes this advertisement sort of unique. Generally speaking, it is not totally acceptable for girls to admit that they were checking out guys for they would be seen as "dirty" or "easy". Problem is, when men do it, we just assume it's natural and part of their identity without thinking that they are misbehaving, we see their reaction as being normal. What we have to realize is that a heterosexual girl or heterosexual boy would be attracted to the opposite sex, therefore it is normal for those "checking-out" activities to be going on. Of course, the way the 2 women behaved in the commercial was exaggerated since that would almost never happen in real life. If the same commercial was performed by bisexuals or homosexuals, i would still find it funny if it was still well made. It is obvious that some people will find it funny while others finding it offensive and disgusting, the mentality of people is something which is extremely difficult to change and as a result, there will be always be anti-heterosexual haters around.
ReplyDelete