I think I am going to do my research paper on the Old Spice commercials that we see frequently on television. I think these commercials would be great to research and revise because these commercials just scream M-A-N. The men in the commercials, do everything in their power to say “I am man. Hear me roar!” I get so tickled every time I see these commercials on TV, and I started thinking about what the commercials would be like if they were a commercial for a women’s body wash. The commercials are kind of sexualized for men, so I am thinking if they are that sexualized and the target audience is men, how sexualized would the commercials be if they were targeted towards women? I think it would be great to switch the male’s role in with a female. What would this switch be like?
My audience is just everyday people who watch advertisements on TV. I want my audience to see that men are not as sexualized as women are in commercials. I also want the audience to see what would be different in these commercials if the male role was given to a female. The expectations for this paper will be for me to show how these commercials will challenge the idea of heteronormativity by making the girl the dominant and tough one. I am going to change the commercials around so that the girl is the one using the body wash to get the attention of the guy.
I was thinking I could try to find a lot of sources about how women are represented in commercials. The commercials themselves will be a big information source for me. I also think the Old Spice website will be of some help because it is just MANLY. I will probably need to include a visual of some sort, but I don’t know what to use other than the commercials’ links since they are commercials.
I need to start finding research materials now before I can even get a good start on my paper. I need a lot of information on women in commercials. I think if I start now I will be set.
I am a little worried about finding enough sources, and I am also having trouble deciding between doing my paper on these commercials or possibly a series of weight loss commercials. I thought it might be interesting to put the man in the woman’s shoes for weight loss commercials like Slimquick or Weight Watchers. What do y’all think?
I want to prove that women and me are always represented certain ways. I want to prove that the roles are rarely switched.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Hold The Mayo and Cheese Please
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdqlxzSU_oE
As I was watching the winter Olympics this weekend, I saw this commercial and it just made me smile. It is so different from all of the other commercials you normally see on television. It reminded me a lot of the commercial that Special K did with the men in the bar talking about their weight and not wanting to get upset about it. We saw the Special K add in the Jean Kilbourne video.
The commercial attempts to challenge heteronormativity in the fact that the one guy orders off of the 550 calorie menu, thus doing something that is traditionally feminine. The commercial, however, conforms to heteronormativity by deeming him less of a man when all of the other guys order their cheeseburgers and ribs, while he orders his not so “manly man” meal. I also loved the fact that the commercial felt the need to put the words “manly man” on the opening screen just to show that he truly is a man even though he is ordering off of the 550 calorie menu. I also thought that it was funny that all of the men at the table had their beers, and they were all trying to be very hyper-masculine. To be a man, you must eat burgers, drink beer, and leave your shirt slightly unbuttoned at the top. This just screams M-A-N to me.
The main thing I got from this commercial was that our society automatically assumes that if low calorie or low fat eating is concerned, it must be for the women. We live in a culture that encourages men to eat and women to limit their intake. Don’t get me wrong, I am excited that Applebee’s has come out with a menu that is healthier and lower in calories than your typical restaurants. I just think it is sad that a majority of the people that order off of it probably are women because men, such as the guy in the add, seem like pansies in the eye of society when they are watching their waistlines.
As I was watching the winter Olympics this weekend, I saw this commercial and it just made me smile. It is so different from all of the other commercials you normally see on television. It reminded me a lot of the commercial that Special K did with the men in the bar talking about their weight and not wanting to get upset about it. We saw the Special K add in the Jean Kilbourne video.
The commercial attempts to challenge heteronormativity in the fact that the one guy orders off of the 550 calorie menu, thus doing something that is traditionally feminine. The commercial, however, conforms to heteronormativity by deeming him less of a man when all of the other guys order their cheeseburgers and ribs, while he orders his not so “manly man” meal. I also loved the fact that the commercial felt the need to put the words “manly man” on the opening screen just to show that he truly is a man even though he is ordering off of the 550 calorie menu. I also thought that it was funny that all of the men at the table had their beers, and they were all trying to be very hyper-masculine. To be a man, you must eat burgers, drink beer, and leave your shirt slightly unbuttoned at the top. This just screams M-A-N to me.
The main thing I got from this commercial was that our society automatically assumes that if low calorie or low fat eating is concerned, it must be for the women. We live in a culture that encourages men to eat and women to limit their intake. Don’t get me wrong, I am excited that Applebee’s has come out with a menu that is healthier and lower in calories than your typical restaurants. I just think it is sad that a majority of the people that order off of it probably are women because men, such as the guy in the add, seem like pansies in the eye of society when they are watching their waistlines.
Monday, February 8, 2010
"You Must Whip It"
After watching the movie Whip It four times this week, I thought well why not write a paper on it. I apparently love the movie, so why not share my love for it with others…..
I absolutely love this movie. It has many elements that challenge heteronormativity, but it also conforms to heteronormativity in terms of the characters’ relationships. This movie is great because it portrays women as tough and intimidating on the roller-derby scene; however, in terms of the relationships, it is not so wonderful because the main character gets her heart broken by her guitar-playing boyfriend.
The part of the movie that I am a little critical about is the relationship that occurs between the main character and her boyfriend. I plan on analyzing this in my paper to my audience. I am going to discuss the roles of the women in this movie because the women don’t fit into the normal gender norm. These women in this movie are presented as the dominating figures whereas many of the men in the movie are portrayed in a much more passive manner. It is so neat to watch a movie that has women as very powerful. It is very empowering, and it kind of makes me want to be a Roller Derby girl……I think Roller Derby Darby sounds quite good.
As for my working thesis, I still need to work on it. For now, it is the following: Whip It challenges the dominant culture’s idea of gender and sexuality through the empowerment and domination of women of the roller derby rink.
I like the idea that Whip It doesn’t conform to the idea that women have to be extremely passive and overly sexualized to be accepted by society. This movie makes being independent and strong appealing to its audience. I think it will be a perfect topic for this paper because I will be able to talk about it in terms of gender and sexuality.
I absolutely love this movie. It has many elements that challenge heteronormativity, but it also conforms to heteronormativity in terms of the characters’ relationships. This movie is great because it portrays women as tough and intimidating on the roller-derby scene; however, in terms of the relationships, it is not so wonderful because the main character gets her heart broken by her guitar-playing boyfriend.
The part of the movie that I am a little critical about is the relationship that occurs between the main character and her boyfriend. I plan on analyzing this in my paper to my audience. I am going to discuss the roles of the women in this movie because the women don’t fit into the normal gender norm. These women in this movie are presented as the dominating figures whereas many of the men in the movie are portrayed in a much more passive manner. It is so neat to watch a movie that has women as very powerful. It is very empowering, and it kind of makes me want to be a Roller Derby girl……I think Roller Derby Darby sounds quite good.
As for my working thesis, I still need to work on it. For now, it is the following: Whip It challenges the dominant culture’s idea of gender and sexuality through the empowerment and domination of women of the roller derby rink.
I like the idea that Whip It doesn’t conform to the idea that women have to be extremely passive and overly sexualized to be accepted by society. This movie makes being independent and strong appealing to its audience. I think it will be a perfect topic for this paper because I will be able to talk about it in terms of gender and sexuality.
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