As I was listening to our class discussion on commodifying difference and cultural citizenship I could help but think of one specific Jim Bean commercial, where this very exotic woman with a very thick accent is stating what she would like in a man. If you listen to the things she mentions it depicts your typical beer drinking, football playing, stripper watching American male. At the end of the commercial they label this woman as the “Perfect Girlfriend.” I thought about how we mentioned language in class and how important it is in order for one to be a cultural citizen and this woman who is the ideal woman according to the marketing team for Jim Bean can barely speak English. Using what we discussed in class what else can be seen in this commercial or what are your thoughts on how her exoticness and her difference being commodified?
Like we discussed in class language is a very important component to cultural citizenship. The American society wants everyone to act and sound like them in order to be an “accepted” citizen. In this case, the overly sexualized woman is not necessarily speaking clear English due to her accent but she is speaking another “English language” clearly which is a very common theme in America media. The usage of sexual imagery in American media has created a language of its own. So since this woman is fluent in that language her citizenship does not seem to be questioned. The fact that her exoticness is being commodified does not surprise me. It is a method to make money which several businesses have capitalized on. This is a common commodity in American.
ReplyDeleteI see her difference being commodified via intellect. The audience is automatically bombarded with her lack of authenticity and the importance that that has when linked with the content of the commercial. Because many people don't think in this way in conjunction with the fact that since many women typically don't desire the type that she's speaking of, her being exotic allots a space for this social lack of intelligence.
ReplyDeleteAnother possible perspective that through her foreignness, she's also allowed to accept these non-socially cool expectations and desires of men. However, these preconceptions are highly conflicted with how she looks (thin, light skinned, long hair) and her accent (which is totally unidentifiable).
The sense of her being a perfect girlfriend lies in her inability to distinguish what is not only culturally acceptable, but also her ability to please whichever social insecurities that people have a tendency to harbor.
This commercial reminds me of how Miller mentions the need for cultural citizenship to value the language, religion and heritage. But why people that are not “white”, non-Christian, or speaking with an accent cannot be “accepted” as a cultural citizen? I personally think it’s due to the Americans’ “No.1 Mentality”. Since Americans usually perceive themselves being superior than others, people who look or sound different from Americans will be viewed as “outsiders”. In the commercial, “go to strip club” was tagged as something “inappropriate”, something “cross the line”, something wouldn’t be accepted by the social norms. It’s just like the woman’s accent. I found a comment on the youtube page saying that“So she's supposed to be perfect..??? -,..I'm sorry.. but for her to be perfect..... she would have to.. shut her damn annoying mouth first of all...” This comment shows how people view accent. Obviously, it’s claiming that accent is something bad, stopping a woman from becoming perfect. However, I also noticed that speaking with an accent or using inappropriate English has gained a new interpretation these years—being EXOTIC! Some people start to think women with accent are actually hot, and men with accent especially British/Italian accent are cute.
ReplyDeleteI HATE THIS COMMERCIAL!!!
ReplyDeleteAs I read the commercial, its saying: "The perfect girlfriend is the one that doesn't complain, and let you (the male targeted in the video) do everything that you want" is saying: THE PERFECT GIRLFRIEND IS LIKE THE PERFECT BEER... an object, that you can enjoy when you like...
Also what is the American Beer from Kentucky doing by having this women: long hair, exotic, boobs, underwear, alone in a nice apartment being interviewed??? Is this campaign successful for the product??
Please see this ad.. it seems that the trend from centuries ago was if you have a beer you can have or attract women, BUT NOW who needs a girlfriend if you have a beer...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zil1j9S0Oe8
This is such an interesting advertisement to look at when you consider language and the commodification of ethnic and cultural difference by the American media. While this woman is being coded as different and exotic, she is speaking a distinctly American cultural language of ideal femininity. She is silently juxtaposed to the overbearing white stereotypical girlfriend as the exotic woman who can fulfill the American man's desires and fantasies.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think Nibia mentions an interesting point, that this commercial is for a Jim Beam product. It is implicitly paralleling this young woman and to the enjoying this alcoholic beverage.
I think Sam makes a really good point in her comment and sums up the way that ethnicity and cultural difference is commodified by the media. The commercial is actually an Australian ad for Jim Bean, I believe. Which is interesting because this form of representation goes beyond just American media and culture. While there a lot of overlaps between American and Australian culture, do you think that American products are marketed and advertised internationally with similar ideals of difference and commodities?
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Kortney, the woman featured in this commercial does not have to speak English fluently because she is speaking media, which is that old saying sex sales. Yes, we see this woman being commodified by regurgitating these stereotypical attributes we expect or see in the average American male. Does it matter she is not American no because she is exotic, she is serving her purpose which is to sell sex while selling the product….GO JIM BEAN!!!!
ReplyDeleteIn addition to the example you posted I wanted to add a few and follow up on some things from class as well. These were the examples I thought of in class:
ReplyDeleteMassai (as well as other indigenos cultures) in avatar...this appropriation as we discussed in class is being discussed in terms of racist-antiracist representation. So that everyone is in the loop...here is the dialogue that has been going around about Avatar: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/willheaven/100020488/james-camerons-avatar-is-a-stylish-film-marred-by-its-racist-subtext/
On the topic of commodifying whiteness, I think this commercial series is very telling. Ponds whitening cream in india http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyysgUAsmoc this one is the full version (all commercials put into one) but if you want to watch it as consumers would as an episodic production...feel free. Clearly, whiteness here means desirability and beauty. In japan the campaign is called flawless white. There are also commercials that show themes where the consumers couldn't advance in their careers until they whitened.
On the topic of comedy's ability to de-politicize and make 'safe' I was thoroughly annoied with Mad TV Krumping. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AiqzuWFdeg See how they take the dance form of resistance and mock it and depoliticize it on this comedy show. For a view inside the world of Krumping, please see RIZE the movie. Here is a trailer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0efEID-uCtE Its interesting to see because the style of dance is specifically against this types of sanitization and commodification.
Another example of this comedic de-politicization is Colbert report blk history month http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/264056/february-09-2010/celebrate-black-history-month-with-heineken . I think you get the idea.
In order to be commodified in media you have to have something that will sell such as sex appeals. This ad show that whether you speak English fluently or not you can attract the society with exotic attack. However this can make your culture become more a citizen in American when you expose your language through media with what ever you can use. In this case, it's the body and the language that she speaks.
ReplyDeleteThis commericial actually really bothered me. Like everyone else said I was surprised that this was an advertisement made for Jim Bean.
ReplyDeleteWhat I noticed and what I think about her exoticness and difference being commodified is that YES it most definitely is.
Her difference is this "exoticness." Her accent, her body structure, hair color, and views on the type of guy that she wants are all different from what a typical "American" Girl might want. Hearing what she is saying people may find that her being so loose about males is sexy and therefore somewhat acceptable in our culture.
Also her being in her underwear sitting on the couch of what seems to be a very nice and expensive pad makes her seem like she is a object, and like Nibia said, an object like a bottle of beer that a man can enjoy anytime he chooses.
This is one of the most sexist/racist commercials I have seen in a while (ok maybe there are worse). It is no doubt that not only is her exoticism being commodified, but also her intellect and her overt sexual inhibitions. Not only is she saying what kind of guy she likes, but she is also being very open with how she wants kinds to handle her sexually, for she states that guys can do "whatever they like because she doesn't care".
ReplyDeleteShe is considered the perfect girlfriend because even though she speaks broken English, she may be more useful quiet, which is what a beer is...just there for consumption.
I am actually not bothered by this commercial, nor do I think it is racist or sexist against women. If anything, it is stereotyping the American male as a fat, hairy, alcoholic, sport-obsessed individual. The woman may have an accent, but that is just part of her personality. In "What is Cultural Citizenship?" Toby Miller claims that, "Ideal Citizenship can never be quite attained, but the drive toward perfection as the best possible consumer, patriot, or ideologue, enjoins the subject to strive for it by the instillation of ethical incompleteness" (39). She may be of a race that is not the majority and may have a foreign accent, but she is still being represented as American in this commercial through her consumption habits (presumably she is a fan of Jim Beam whiskey) and her adoration of the "American" men she describes (thus having supposedly perfect patriotism and ideologies). Jim Beam whiskey may not always be associated with otherness, as its roots are in pre-colonial Midwest America, but this commercial is saying that things like race and dialect should not inhibit this, that love can prevail through anything. And I also do not believe that she is a symbol of how women should be treated. This is a particular individual who is a little bit more relaxed about the relationship she has with men. What's not to say that she acts in a reciprocating way towards them?
ReplyDeleteI want to say I agree with Lena and Kourtney exactly. I agree with the discussion in a whole but those two took the words right out of my mouth. A commercial like this is very sexist and racist in it's own manner. I believe the woman's exotic appeal is being sold and commodified to the viewer(males). Also the ideal submissive american woman is being sold. It is very sad that this is how a marketing team believes this how they have to depict women to get the males attention to by their alcohol. I also like how others have basically took a spin the commercial and showed how the woman becomes and object. But if this is how the company depicts women. What does that say about the commodication of relationships and women?
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that this is an example of misogyny that is not discreet or meant to be implied. It is up close and personal. Furthermore, I feel that her exoticism is being commodified through her language and she's appealing to the dominant, and patriarchal values of America. I agree with Lena, in saying that this is something I haven't seen in awhile. However, its here and its in mass media. I also agree with Matthew in calling this a commercial that depicts the typical white American male. I didn't think to look at this way. However,this commercial obviously has a double standard or meaning that exceeds from being sexist to both male and female audiences. Maybe this is a anti-sexist commercial that seeks to destroy negative images and actually make a parody of negative imagery of women within the media. However, this was a great visual to include in this blog.
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