Dingfod
12-17-2004, 06:49 AM
In this thread, I said: (http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=28083#post28083)
I have no idea why the androgenous look is fashionable. Maybe it appeals to women, who in most of society still do not have equal power. If men can be emasculated through imagery, it is appealing to them. There are quite a few television commercials that make the men look stupid, always having to be rescued by the well dressed, more intelligent competent women in their lives. Is that the same sort of imagery that appeals to women?
The commercials are abundant, but offhand...
#1 - In this Verizon ad (http://www.sptimes.com/2004/11/10/Worldandnation/Dumb_dad_in_ad_riles_.shtml), mom finishes up helping daughter with homework, sending the unhelpful dad out to wash the dog, a task suitable for dear dumb dad.
#2 - In an upscale bar in some city a single, sexy, self-assured female, alone, sitting down at a table, pouring a bottle of beer into a glass. She's not looking at the glass, though. She's looking at some guy, but still manages to pour the perfect glass of beer. The guy she's looking at is also pouring a beer, but because he's staring at her like a complete goober, he forgets completely about his beer and proceeds to spill it all over himself.
#3 - Old guy doesn't have enough change to purchase a coke from the vending machine. He goes to the fountain and starts fishing out some change, until a nun stares at him. He gives the nun an sheepish grin. Back at the vending machine, a young woman pulls out her cell phone points it at the machine, dials the magic number, and out pops a can of coke.
From Women's Quarterly: (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IUK/is_2001_Spring/ai_75453034)
Moaning from beneath his fuzzy flannel sheets, the big lug whines that every breath hurts and blubbers that his nose is raw from the constant rubbing. In comes Super Mom, armed with the latest in tissue technology: Kleenex Cold-Care. He's relieved. Then the voiceover: "The bigger the man, the bigger the baby."
...
Take for example, the Campbell's soup commercial that paints the picture of a cozy family supper. "M'm! m'm! good!" cry the kids, who thank mom profusely for making such a mouth-watering meal. The soothing background voice spells it out: It's a delicious and oh-so-easy meal that comes from a can. Step one: Brown some chicken. Step two: Empty a can of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup into a pot and voila, your kids will love it. Only, guess what? Mom didn't make this meal; it seems this task was easy enough even for dumb, old dad to handle.
...
VISA, perhaps the worst offender, showed a seriously anti-male ad during this year's Super Bowl. Again, this one features a corpulent guy's guy lounging on his sofa in his dirty undershirt, which barely covers his beer gut. The camera pans down, exposing his socked feet in a perpetual twitch. He's picking popcorn out of his teeth, and is engrossed in a black-and-white television cartoon. All the while, his dutiful, beautiful wife is giving her new vacuum a test-run. As if this poor slob couldn't be any worse, he barks, "You missed a spot!" Unfazed, his wife turns the nozzle on him and sucks him up. "Huh, it really does work," she says looking down into the tube that swallowed her husband whole.
...
You might think a rugged product like Levi's would hesitate to make fun of guys. But consider this ad: It begins with sirens blaring as the ambulance roars to the scene. A paramedic rushes to the aid of a sickly man on the verge of death, curled up in the fetal position on his bed. Carrying a cooler containing what seems to be some vital organ, the paramedic summons the man's attention and reveals the lifesaver. It's a pair of Levi's jeans. It seems that this poor schlepp can't even get out of bed, never mind dressed. But once he musters the strength to pull on his hand-delivered Levi's, he is infused with life.
...
Along the same lines, there is an ad that features an incompetent buffoon who can't get his car stereo to work. Meanwhile, his frustrated and infinitely smarter wife looks on with pity. Luckily, she is clever enough to use the Yellow Pages to call a real professional.I could pay attention to television a day or two and probably come up with a dozen more. Is my perception correct that there is a trend in the direction of making men look dumb? Or is it payback time for eons of male dominance?
I have no idea why the androgenous look is fashionable. Maybe it appeals to women, who in most of society still do not have equal power. If men can be emasculated through imagery, it is appealing to them. There are quite a few television commercials that make the men look stupid, always having to be rescued by the well dressed, more intelligent competent women in their lives. Is that the same sort of imagery that appeals to women?
The commercials are abundant, but offhand...
#1 - In this Verizon ad (http://www.sptimes.com/2004/11/10/Worldandnation/Dumb_dad_in_ad_riles_.shtml), mom finishes up helping daughter with homework, sending the unhelpful dad out to wash the dog, a task suitable for dear dumb dad.
#2 - In an upscale bar in some city a single, sexy, self-assured female, alone, sitting down at a table, pouring a bottle of beer into a glass. She's not looking at the glass, though. She's looking at some guy, but still manages to pour the perfect glass of beer. The guy she's looking at is also pouring a beer, but because he's staring at her like a complete goober, he forgets completely about his beer and proceeds to spill it all over himself.
#3 - Old guy doesn't have enough change to purchase a coke from the vending machine. He goes to the fountain and starts fishing out some change, until a nun stares at him. He gives the nun an sheepish grin. Back at the vending machine, a young woman pulls out her cell phone points it at the machine, dials the magic number, and out pops a can of coke.
From Women's Quarterly: (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IUK/is_2001_Spring/ai_75453034)
Moaning from beneath his fuzzy flannel sheets, the big lug whines that every breath hurts and blubbers that his nose is raw from the constant rubbing. In comes Super Mom, armed with the latest in tissue technology: Kleenex Cold-Care. He's relieved. Then the voiceover: "The bigger the man, the bigger the baby."
...
Take for example, the Campbell's soup commercial that paints the picture of a cozy family supper. "M'm! m'm! good!" cry the kids, who thank mom profusely for making such a mouth-watering meal. The soothing background voice spells it out: It's a delicious and oh-so-easy meal that comes from a can. Step one: Brown some chicken. Step two: Empty a can of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup into a pot and voila, your kids will love it. Only, guess what? Mom didn't make this meal; it seems this task was easy enough even for dumb, old dad to handle.
...
VISA, perhaps the worst offender, showed a seriously anti-male ad during this year's Super Bowl. Again, this one features a corpulent guy's guy lounging on his sofa in his dirty undershirt, which barely covers his beer gut. The camera pans down, exposing his socked feet in a perpetual twitch. He's picking popcorn out of his teeth, and is engrossed in a black-and-white television cartoon. All the while, his dutiful, beautiful wife is giving her new vacuum a test-run. As if this poor slob couldn't be any worse, he barks, "You missed a spot!" Unfazed, his wife turns the nozzle on him and sucks him up. "Huh, it really does work," she says looking down into the tube that swallowed her husband whole.
...
You might think a rugged product like Levi's would hesitate to make fun of guys. But consider this ad: It begins with sirens blaring as the ambulance roars to the scene. A paramedic rushes to the aid of a sickly man on the verge of death, curled up in the fetal position on his bed. Carrying a cooler containing what seems to be some vital organ, the paramedic summons the man's attention and reveals the lifesaver. It's a pair of Levi's jeans. It seems that this poor schlepp can't even get out of bed, never mind dressed. But once he musters the strength to pull on his hand-delivered Levi's, he is infused with life.
...
Along the same lines, there is an ad that features an incompetent buffoon who can't get his car stereo to work. Meanwhile, his frustrated and infinitely smarter wife looks on with pity. Luckily, she is clever enough to use the Yellow Pages to call a real professional.I could pay attention to television a day or two and probably come up with a dozen more. Is my perception correct that there is a trend in the direction of making men look dumb? Or is it payback time for eons of male dominance?