Advertising and the Representation of "The Other" Review
- Submitted by: mimimea
- Views: 309
- Category: Arts
- Date Submitted: 01/20/2015 12:10 AM
- Pages: 5
- Report this Essay
Advertising has always shaped the way we view ourselves and view others in the society we belong to and in societies around the world. And throughout the 21st century, and with human rights and human equality taking over, we consider having a mindset that does not discriminate between genders and does not label or stereotype people according to any physical or social norm. But considering that to be true would be foolish in light of what mass media (as a whole) and advertising (specifically) throw our way. What was seen as acceptable a decade ago, has now created an uprising by activists of worldwide and local communities.
Advertising promotes more than mere products in our popular culture. Images used in advertising are often idolized; they eventually set the standards for which people must live up to. Advertisements now serve to show us what the ideal image is and further tell us how to obtain it.
Tokenism has been one of the aspects which have caused minorities especially in the United States to raise their voices, in objection to the image in which they were portrayed. As companies, making a minimum effort in displaying minorities such as blacks in advertisements was sufficient in proving their social responsibility. But what roles where these people taking? How was it acceptable to show a black man assigned to the role of a janitor or a garbage truck driver in fighting racism? Why is it hard to comprehend that a black man could hold a respectable job and reach high levels of employment equal to white-collar employees?
Due to the increase in colored individuals in the overall U.S workforce, protests have been voiced in an attempt to remove disproportionate representation of minorities in advertisements. As the Declaration of Human Rights clearly states, all human beings are born equal, advertising companies have been indirectly contradicting this statement through highlighting the inferiority of other ethnic groups.
One of the first content-analytical...
Advertising promotes more than mere products in our popular culture. Images used in advertising are often idolized; they eventually set the standards for which people must live up to. Advertisements now serve to show us what the ideal image is and further tell us how to obtain it.
Tokenism has been one of the aspects which have caused minorities especially in the United States to raise their voices, in objection to the image in which they were portrayed. As companies, making a minimum effort in displaying minorities such as blacks in advertisements was sufficient in proving their social responsibility. But what roles where these people taking? How was it acceptable to show a black man assigned to the role of a janitor or a garbage truck driver in fighting racism? Why is it hard to comprehend that a black man could hold a respectable job and reach high levels of employment equal to white-collar employees?
Due to the increase in colored individuals in the overall U.S workforce, protests have been voiced in an attempt to remove disproportionate representation of minorities in advertisements. As the Declaration of Human Rights clearly states, all human beings are born equal, advertising companies have been indirectly contradicting this statement through highlighting the inferiority of other ethnic groups.
One of the first content-analytical...