Week 7: Chapters 10 and 16

Chapter 10:

With alcohol and beer commercials, sex and women are used the most to attract attention. I was too young to remember the Swedish Bikini Team, but I did grow up in the "cutesy animals" commercials. To me, the advertisers might have been trying to grab kids attention with those commercials to steer them towards their brand. I remember my brother and I or my friends and I at elementary school would imitate the frogs and would laugh as we would go around in a circle saying "Bud-wie-ser." At the Superbowl, while the adults would be actually watching the game, we would wait for commercials to see the latest frog, lizard or the famous four horses pulling the sellers and dalmatian puppy. Kids could care less about scantly clad blond women bouncing around, but give us computer animated frogs, and we will remember the commercials even 10 years later.

I can understand why Coors Light got away with their commercials because they were in the right environment. If someone complained about the commercials, they would have to complain about football and any sport for that matter with the cheerleader's uniforms and suggestive dancing. The advertisers were smart because people would be hypocrites if they denounce the commercials, but still watched football and other sports. With Miller Lite, I'm a bit surprised they got away with their commercials. Yes, television and radio shows turned back to looking at women as objects with big hair, butt and boobs, but that doesn't give excuses to advertisers. I understand that they were "making fun" of the stereotypical beer commercials, but those commercials hadn't been on television for about 10 years with an exception of the Coors Lite Twins.

I guess the advertiser's job is just to toe the line. How far will the line be pushed? Now we have women shown as robots to serve men their beer. Well, if we have robots doing that job, maybe now the women of the advertiser's world have more time to cook, clean and anything else the men want us to do. Oh boy.


Chapter 16

Ok, I'm going to be bias and focus on the Mexican side of me. I find it very amusing as reading the chapter while trying to work on my project. Latinos are the largest minority at 12.5% and the majority in Texas, yet they are hardly represented on television or in print. While watching 7 hours of news during the Thanksgiving break, all I got was a mention of immigration issues being fought between candidates and two Latino reporters. I was so discouraged that I tried to watch the news this week and I got a story: Miss Puerto Rico Scandal. Let me tell you how excited I am: ...... Seriously. Another bad press. Latino women adding to the stereotype that we are all super skinny, super sexy and super dramatic. Apparently, the winner's makeup and evening gowns were doused with pepper spray because the other contestants were jealous that she was a judge last year, so she knows how the vote. Seriously? Way to show how great we Latinas are.

But anyway, back to the chapter. Not only are we only in less than 1% of national nightly news on ABC and NBC, but we are also less than 1% in commercials and advertisements. Yes, for the most part, we are very short and don't make the 5'10'' super model requirement, but we do have some women who are tall enough, yet they're still rarely photographed in high fashioned magazines. Also, the only Latino commercial I can think off the top of my head were the few that McDonald's did in Spanish that targeted the Latino community--Finally! But fast food that will make our population even fatter? Darn... As of what the commercials that Latinas are in, they are just skinny and ooze sexuality. A great movie that just got a little press when it was released is "Real Women Have Curves" starring "Ugly Betty" star America Ferrera. In this movie, she proves that she doesn't have to be a size 0, but that she is gorgeous just as she is, curves and all! Also, in her television show, "Ugly Betty," although she is the "ugliest" worker at Mode Fashion Magazine, she's the one with the biggest heart who is always more beautiful than her model-like co-workers.

To me, this is sad that the other minority groups such as Latinos, Asian Americans and Native Americans haven't raised as much noise as the blacks. The Civil Rights movement wasn't just for them. We all should take a stand against stereotypes in the media and become more represented in commercials. Minorities are soon becoming majorities in many areas of the United States, but watching television and movies, no one would know it. Minorities need to take part in the giant mixing bowl that is America and show that we are Americans too and what we contribute to American culture.