Distortions of Race, Class, and Gender in Advertisements and Commercials

Distorted depictions of race, class, and gender have been portrayed for plenty of years in advertisements. In Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice representation is meant to “raise questions of inclusion and exclusion” (271). In the 1960s, the media industry was deciding how race, class, and gender would be presented in advertisements. During the late 1960s representations of minority groups in the media was frowned upon in American society (Hollifield and Kimbro, 2010).  Since the majority culture was mainly advertised during that time, television networks wanted media to align with the social reality. A report from the National Advisory Committee on Civil Disorders in 1968 found that the media industry did not have a diversified staff in the 1960s. Therefore, Caucasian males were the leaders of the media industry and a part of the dominant culture, so they mainly endorsed their views in advertisements. Likewise, advertisements that showcased African-Americans, Asian-Americans, or Latin Americans were not publicly acceptable because Caucasians males did not deem these races as equal.

Separation of gender also existed in advertisements during 1960s. For instance, most advertisements featured women as a mother or a sexy vixen. Similarly, women were seen as the subordinates in heterosexual relationships. The image with a woman and three male children display that women’s role mainly involved being a mother who raised her children. This is suggested with the woman’s position in the advertisement where she mirrors a mother nurturing her children. Next, the picture of a man blowing smoke in a woman’s face has a sexual suggestive line, which reads “blow in her face and she'll follow you anywhere.” In this advertisement, it could be perceived that men who smoke could easily attract women for their pleasure. Also, the advertisement pinpoints the dominance men had over women with them being showcased as sex symbols during the 1960s.

Then, in today’s society there are diversified depictions of race, class, and gender in commercials. It seems that companies are striving to target multiple races, classes, and genders, instead focusing on the majority group. For example, commercials will feature African-Americans, Latin Americans, Asian Americans, same-sex couples, women in power positions, and stay-at-home fathers. During the 1960s, this range of race, class, and gender was not present in advertisements. However, the depictions that are being showcased in commercials today are still misconstrued. For instance, I will watch a commercial about an African-American family eating a KFC dinner, and this commercial is misconstrued because it promotes the stereotype that most African-Americans prefer fast food over preparing the meal their selves. This example is misleading because it assumes that all African-Americans cannot afford to buy enough groceries for every meal, so purchasing bargain meals is more ideal for this culture. However, in reality not all African-Americans are middle-class or living paycheck-to-paycheck and some can afford to shop at Whole Foods every week.

Currently, race in society plays two roles that contradict each other. The first role involves race as an ideal in society and the second role includes racism in society. In Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice Barker notes that “race is held to be a current ‘problem’ and yet racism is regarded as a thing of the past” (278). This statement is a contradiction because if race is a problem than racism must also be a problem, since racism stems from race. Commercials reveal how race and racism are problematic in today’s society. Walmart’s commercial “Tomorrow Starts Today” is a prime example of how commercials display depictions of race and racism in society. This commercial shows a Caucasian male as the manager and African-Americans, Latin Americans, and other Caucasians as the workers; this is racially problematic because it presents the ideal that Caucasian males are still in charge while minorities are working effortlessly to retain their low-level jobs. It could be inferred that Walmart intended for the commercial to show equality among workers for the future, but the multiple distorted depictions generated the opposite effect. Next, Target’s Bella Thorne Chris Noth commercial provides the view that racism is over. In this commercial, women, men, the young, the elderly, African-Americans, and Caucasians are seen to have equal status based on their clothing, body language, and dialogue with each other. Also, the shape of the community in this commercial is the formation of a circle, which is similar to Target’s logo. The symbolism between the shape of the community and Target’s logo communicates that everyone has equal status racially, socially, and gender wise.