Posted on 02/17/2005 1:26:35 PM PST by governsleastgovernsbest
In this PC age of advertising, there is one group who can still be made the butt of jokes with total impunity: middle-aged white guys.
The latest installment was on display in a commercial I just caught. A befuddled guy is sitting on the couch, fiddling with the TV remote. His roughly 11-year old daughter enters, and he tells her he can't seem to switch to a given channel.
"Of course not," she curtly informs him, "it's been blocked." She goes on to inform the ignoramus that most channels can be blocked via the remote or by calling the cable company.
He asks whether channels can be unblocked, and once again she condescendingly explains they can, then snidely adds:
"But you're going to have to get Mom's permission."
He calls out for his wife. She enters, and he imploringly asks her if he can watch the channel. She glances at the screen, gives a curt "No!" then exits.
Another day in the life of Bumbling, Stumbling White Guy.
Yes, yes, I know: "don't be so touchy. I thought it was funny. Chill out. Relax." etc. Look, I have no problem if this was an equal-opportunity thing. But it does bug me that if the tables were turned cries of outrage would echo throughout the land.
Geeze, it must be a slow news day. I refuse to be a victim today....I can take it...like a man.
Peg Bundy was a dumb, incopetent clod.
The equal-opportunity patheticness of every cast member was part of the strength of the show.
Al Gore is a known moron, even by democrats..
Speaking of counter-productive ads, did you see the ad for a certain brand of car during the Christmas period where the husband leads the wife to the garage and there is the new car with a big red bow on it? The wife pauses, then says, "I had no idea they made such big bows."
So she was more excited about the bow than the car, and the guy has a confused look on his face. How this promotes the car, I can't begin to understand.
"Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans were not even portrayed . . . "
There was that hot Asian (half chinese, half Irish, I believe) girl on the iPod commerical.
She's started such a kerfluffle that there's even a web site dedicated to her.
The GoDaddy girl is partially Hispanic, as well.
LOL
And I can take your boastful condescension. But leaving all the personal stuff aside, I believe the commercial is indicative of a significant social trend.
Very astute......have you ever heard about a book written by Christine Hoff Sommers called "The War Against Boys" which details some of the efforts by radical feminists in education, advertising, etc. to continually barrage us with these types of messages?
I liked that!
How about the Jaguar commercial where the woman buys the car for the man? It may be ego, it may be old school, but there is no way a self respecting male would have himself in that situation. Then it really does become a f*guar.
Don't think I've seen that one. The Jaguar folks must have determined that my zip code isn't fertile ground for them. Here, it would be more common to find a woman buying a Subaru - for another woman ;-)
Don't know, but if some lady wanted to buy me a XJ VandenPlas L or maybe a newish XKR, I'd let her.
That kind of thinking is so dumb. The white males who are being lampooned now either weren't alive in the 50s and 60s or were really young. They couldn't have been the ones who "made women look stupid." So why should they suffer now?
I'm a female, but I won't buy any product whose ads ridicule white males. They wouldn't dare do such a thing to women or non-whites!
OK,I may be losing it here, folks. A commerical just came on for Countrywide Home Loans, and they flashed their phone number: 1-800-xxWecan.
I immediately thought: "hey, are they promoting Wiccans or something?" I'll put down the remote now.
I've heard of the book, but haven't read it. I agree there is a crisis of manhood in this country (sorry if that term sounds silly, couldn't think of anything else). Fatherhood is denigrated, male responsibility is denigrated, male intelligence is denigrated, male chastity is denigrated, and so on. A small number of man-hating "feminists" has had a huge influence on this, I think. Ironically, the kind of men produced by a society where maleness is denigrated are the least likely to treat women with respect and as equals - they become a feminist's worst nightmare instead: violent, promiscuous, and irresponsible.
People need to realize that it's possible to encourage men to be strong, responsible, leaders without returning to the days where women were second-class citizens. Promoting women's equality by tearing down men is simply counter-productive.
Interesting that you chose to say White Chicks was spoofing, while BAPS was sterotyping - personally, I believe both were sterotyping and hence, equally offensive. Incidently, find me a white guy that would not have been run out of Hollywood on a rail if he made the remarks Chris Rock did.
Thank you, I mean every word. These commercials are largely a symptom of men's, particularly fathers', surrender of leadership. Not entirely, because there is a pro-active agenda, among the self-proclaimed "elite," to denigrate real men -- but the advertisers wouldn't stand for it if they lost revenue.
You are right. The advertisers purposely hire weak looking men, with weak chins and big noses. That tells it all. The women are perfectly groomed, ready to face the world. THey put up with the lesser being because she needs the money. Its sickening.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.