Extra Credit blog

I was having a hard time thinking of something to critique, so I decided to analyze a fairly recent song by the Lonely Island called "We Like Sportz". Although this music video is a parody, it still points out certain messages about gender. First off, the whole video is about 2 guys who like sports, which is a leisure/spectator activity stereotypically enjoyed by males. They are shown to be intimidating egomaniacs which can be seen by hard looks, face paint, and sports jerseys. Just as men are so often portrayed to do, the two males in the video eat junk food, drink, smoke, and don't enjoy watching sports with women, claiming that the females "don't know all the rules". Aside from not letting women watch sports with them, they don't like to watch with their friend Steve, whom they claim talks too much, which is stereotypical of women. They constantly claim that they are real men and talk about getting into fights, shooting guns, and challenging other people on the court with overstated bravado. Although the video is meant to be funny, which I believe it is, there are several statements about gender which the video pokes fun at which are at least partially true today.

makeup blog for week 11

I decided to critique an episode of South Park that aired for the first time last week. The episode compares the act of men farting with the act of women queefing. Through most of the episode, all males vehemently opposed women queefing, claiming that it was gross and that "That's where babies come from!". The women honestly didn't see what the big deal was about because the men farted all the time and it was funny, and to the women, this was their equivalent. The women were annoyed with the men farting all of the time and didn't understand why farting was funny. So to retaliate, the women started queefing frequently, including on Butters' face, sending him to the hospital for trauma. Even on the Canadian television station, once dominated by Terrance and Phillip, known for their numerous fart jokes, queefs overtook farts as funny material as the Queef Sisters soon replaced Terrance and Phillip. The fact that the "sisters" dominated the television and the women in this episode took such widespread actions presents two statements about women. The executive producer of the station told Terrance and Phillip that the "sisters" took over the airwaves because they appealed more to the station's audience. Since all of the men found the queefs unbearably disgusting, it is safe to assume that the intended audience was women, showing that the woman's place is in the home as traditionally believed. However, the act of the women queefing shows women empowerment and a way of getting back at the men. About halfway through the episode, the men make it illegal for the women to queef, and they are all very sad and claimed that they "just wanted to have a little fun for once". Feeling remorse, the men allowed the women to queef, as shown in the above clip, establishing a kind of equality in the realm of gaseous expulsions. The clip shows a lot of heroic women and states that women went through a lot of hardship. Although the clip shows equality between the men and women, it still stands true that the men gave this equality to the women, illustrating the patriarchy that remains.

Extra, Extra! Read All About It!

This week I critiqued the Raisin Bran Extra commercial. The ad depicts several men camping out in front of a grocery store eagerly waiting for the new cereal to arrive. Once the cereal is forklifted in, a random woman casually walks inside the store, wondering what the men are doing outside of the store. Finally, the men realize that the store they are camped out in front of is always open, and they rush inside. The ways the men are dressed and all of the accessories accompanying them while camped out in front of the store are indicative of the oversized male ego, and is similar to how men dress on days which major sporting events are taking place, which is a male stereotype in itself. The act of the woman plainly walking into the store while the men are camped out front shows the woman as strong and intelligent, and even though the men were there first, their stupidity caused them to miss out on what they wanted most: to be the first to enjoy the delicious new cereal. The single man whining and banging on the glass shows him as a sore loser and emphasizes the need of the male to always be first, especially when it comes to women. Finally the men rushing inside the store regardless of the fact of their loss shows the men as gluttonous, as they stereotypically enjoy food much more than women and don't care nearly as much about their weight as women do. This can also be seen in the size of the men in the commercial.

South Park and women

This week I was at a lack of new commercials to critique, so I decided to critique the first episode of South Park's thirteenth season which first aired two Wednesday nights ago. There are several episodes which don't view women in a good way, but this episode is the latest and most blatant. The episode opens with Kenny's girlfriend being called such things as "slut" and "notorious whore". Such talk acknowledges and promotes that there is a double standard with regard to sex; men who have sex are cool, and women who have sex are sluts. This can also be seen with Kenny's reaction when he is told his girlfriend is a slut. He becomes overjoyed, and this once again shows the double standard because he wants to be cool, and if his girlfriend is willing as he is led to believe, he can achieve that status. Also, it brings to light that men think with their jeans, which is a common stereotype. In one scene Kenny even goes to the store to buy condoms, and the shopkeeper sells them to him without question. This shows that young males having sex is more acceptable to the public. The next scene is at the Jonas Brothers concert where all the girls start to go crazy and they say they get "tingly". This shows that females are more easily aroused and willing to give themselves. After the concert several girls are asked to go backstage. The girls are given purity rings by the Jonas Brothers and agree to wear them because of the masculine willpower they have over the girls, showing male dominance. However, this episode shows that girls are ones in charge in relationships. Kenny wears a purity ring because his girlfriend wants him to, and everything they do is determined by her, including going to T.G.I. Fridays. This episode shows men as the exploiter, in the form of Mickey Mouse, who uses the Jonas Brothers to make money off of the Christians and little girls by "selling sex to them". It is bluntly stated in the episode that girls are stupid, stating that men are the more intelligent gender, and that girls are dirty and disease-ridden, which further puts salt on the wounds of girls affected by the double standard.

Shamwow: I'll be saying "wow" everytime this commercial shows a traditional gender role

This week, I decided to critique a commercial most of us have seen and like to joke. I am of course talking about the Shamwow commercial, second in ridicule only to Billy Mays. The Shamwow commercial is mostly directed toward women because it is a cleaning material. This can be seen by how many more women appear in the commercial than men do. Also, whenever, women are shown in the commercial, they are seen in a traditional gender role. Women are seen cleaning the kitchen floor and counter, dishes, clothes, and the shower walls. Women are traditionally viewed as the homemaker that completes all of these tasks. In addition, when Vince mentions that you can clean it in the washer, a woman is seen placing the shammy in a washing machine, reinforcing the thought that it is women's job to clean clothes. Whenever men are shown in the commercial, they are either cleaning vehicles outside or testifying that the Shamwow is perfect for such activities. The rest of the testimonials on behalf of Shamwow were made by women, showing that either more women use them or that the male testimonials were cut to focus on the maker's intended audience. Amongst all of this, the person advertising this fine product is a male, showing that males have dominance over females, as was read in Beauty and the Patriarchal Beast, and that women will listen to him and buy the Shamwow. In short, there is not even the slightest snippet of this commercial that strays from traditional gender roles, and the gender ideological ideas that accompany them.

"Men should act like men"

This week, I figured I would critique my favorite Milwaukee's Best Light commercial. This commercial obviously states that men should act in a completely masculine matter. Men that don't act masculine in all of the commercials are immediately taken out of the commercials by having a huge can of beer from the heavens crush them into the ground. Whether by calling his wife during a poker game to check in or by executing an extremely girly jump on a trampoline, these "men" quickly become victims of gravity and what it carries down--a huge can of beer. These commercials are definitely aimed at men. Milwaukee's Best, or "Beast" as it is commonly referred to, is a particularly harsh and manly beer that most women won't touch. It is brewed for men, and this can be seen in the commercials by the lack of women. The only times women appear in the commercial are when they are walking by looking very attractive or when they are emphasizing a "man's" femininity, such as when a man and his wife go to a cookout wearing matching shirts and swinging their arms gleefully. The slogan of "Beast" is that "Men should act like men, and light beer should taste like beer." Not only does this slogan dictate how men should behave, but it also makes the statement that real beer is harsh, and this harshness should be the taste that real, tough men should prefer.

"Eat like a Man!"

The point of this commercial is to get across to men who like to eat real meals that although the Hungry Man meals are convenient and easy to make, they are never lacking in quantity or quality of food. This commercial makes the statement that real men eat a lot, don't care about their weight, and eat what have been designated as manly foods such as beef or chicken. The man eating the Hungry Man meal in the commercial appears proud and confident, two characteristics of what our society would call real men. He also questions the other males' masculinity by calling them ladies. This is for two reasons. He calls them ladies because they are all going to the bathroom even though not all of them have to "go", much as females stereotypically do, and because they are drinking what appear to be small, low-calorie fruit-flavored smoothies, which is a very girly meal when compared to the huge manly amount of food in a Hungry Man meal. Women don't typically eat big meals or manly food because those things can make them gain weight, which is a huge feminine concern. The commercial beckons us to "eat like a man" and to "be full like a man." This tells us that real men indulge into what satisfies them and that they don't worry about such trite issues.

What Are "Real" Women?

So, I decided to critique this Trojan Vibrating Touch commercial since they show it about 50 times after 11PM on Comedy Central and because it applies to the subject matter. First of all, the commercial shows only women, even though one of them claims that the vibrating touch is enjoyable for men as well as for women. No men appear in the commercial to affirm this claim, and the woman sounds very unsure of herself when she says it is pleasurable for men. She slows down her talking and almost seems to stutter and second guess herself. I believe this is the case because the goal of the product is to please the women consumers and that the enjoyment of the male users is an unnecessary added bonus. The premise for the women to buy this product is that their male companions are not pleasing them sufficiently. So the makers of the product don't really care whether it pleases the men, because the problem that is being solved is the satisfaction of the women. This ad also has much to say about the sexual nature of women. The stereotype that stands true in most societies is that women are modest when it comes to sex because of the double standard which is in place. This double standard pretty much says that guys who have a lot of sex are cool and that women who have a lot of sex are easy. This commercial attempts to break that barrier by stating that "real women" are ones that like to be pleased and that aren't afraid to talk about it. The ad also breaks the age barrier regarding sex by including the old woman who tells the younger women where they can purchase the Vibrating Touch. She speaks with complete confidence and no embarrassment, showing she is a "real" woman. I must be skeptical of this commercial and the messages it tries to send. Although the old woman says her part with confidence, the younger women laugh to themselves at the thought of an old woman still getting pleased. Also, during one of the testimonies, one of the women starts laughing uncontrollably while talking about the product. That makes me believe she is just reading off of a script and that what the makers would like her to believe and what the words say are totally ridiculous. I also find one of the main points made in the commercial to be contradicted in the commercial. The makers claim that women won't be afraid to talk about their product, yet the entire commercial advertises discreet shipping and how no one will know you have it. If these "real women" are so confident and unafraid, why don't the makers just send the product as it is?

all tel my circle commercial

It is obvious in this commercial that all the main characters are men. The men represent the cell phone company Alltel and its top competitors. By having men represent the companies, the commercial is making the sexist statement that men own everything. Men are stereotypically the head honchos and CEO's of all major corporate companies, and this ad supports that claim. It also adds another completely different aspect by including the male wizard in the commercial. The wizard has always been a symbol of wisdom and power. By having the male wizard in the ad with all of the male "owners" it all implies that men are all-powerful and all-knowing. The competing cell phone companies are dumbed down to make Alltel look better. The fact that the wizard has my circle in the commercial is sending a syblymonal message that having alltel is the wise thing to do. Slightly off-topic but just as significant is the observation that the "owners" and the wizard are all white and that they have very Caucasian names such as "Chad". The makers of this ad are apparently under the impression that white males are on top of the occupation world.

Everybody loves Smilin' Bob!

I always thought these kind of commercials were funny and couldn't resist critiquing it, since it directly relates to the theme of gender. For starters, I think the tune of the commercial, although simple, is a major part of it. Everyone who has seen that commercial has had that tune stuck in their head at some point because it is just so catchy. The makers of the commercial also make it funny by having Bob smile through the whole commercial and by inserting not-so-hidden metaphors into the narration or into props (North Pole sign). By doing these, the makers hope to have the male viewers, whom they hope to have as customers, randomly think about their product even when they are not watching the ad. Another reason they make Bob smile is to give the male viewers the assurance that men who use the product will be overwhelmingly happy. The line of women waiting to sit on his lap and all the other guys fooling around and being ignored by the women is where the commercial seeps into the male psyche. This is supposed to imply that women only want men who take the product, and that all other men are insufficient. It is a questioning of the male viewers' masculinity, and this particular aspect, the anatomical distinction which defines someone as a man, is one which many men are insecure about. Many men are unhappy with their size or are embarrassed about impotence. Finally, Smilin' Bob's wife smiling through the whole ad as well is another main strategy to get males, particularly married ones, to buy the product. Men want to be able to show their wives how much they love them and to make them happy. With divorce rates as high as they are nowadays, and many cases being over the issue of sex, if there is a way for men to please their wives more to avoid that fate, many will go for it. Women only want to be with a "Smilin' Bob", and men aspire to be like him, and that's why everybody loves Smilin' Bob!

nutrisystem weight loss commercial

I think it's obvious in this Nutrisystem weight loss commercial that the intended audience is comprised of women because only women are shown in the commercial. This is probably true because there is more pressure on women than on men to be in shape, as can be seen in many women's magazines. All the pictures seen in magazines such as Cosmo or Vogue show models that are extremely skinny. Since those women are being glorified in the magazines, the women readers compare the underweight women to themselves, and they feel insecure about their weight because of it. It has been noted before that more women than men suffer from eating disorders such as anorexia or bolemia in an attempt to fit into society's view of a beautiful woman. Whoever made the commercial is targeting the psyches of women across the country because the makers know that many women are not comfortable with their appearances, and that their product will sell because of it.