do me a favor, watch this commercial:
i've seen this commercial a lot lately, and somewhere in there i started to really think about the commercial and what i was seeing. the subtle things. the little things. maybe it's because i teach sociology. maybe it's something else. i don't know. maybe i'm seeing things that aren't there, or blowing things out of proportion. what i see in this commercial is a common theme in a lot of movies.
let me throw this out there: we see an african american woman waiting at the bus stop, dissatisfied. next, we see a caucasian male show up with the mc cafe and it's all good for him. cut scene, now we have the african american woman on the bus, all disjointed. who's satisfied? it's a white woman with a mc cafe. scene three, we again have the african american woman toiling away in her cubicle. thankfully, the caucasians arrive, bringing her a mc cafe, saving her day.
it's not overt racism. i don't think the makers of the commercial intended it. but, in some ways it's the same message that gets put out into the media. it's an especially common plot in movies: the lives of minorities are messed up and the whites bring the answer to the problem.
it's very subtle in the commercial. and maybe that makes it worse.
or maybe it really isn't there and i'm reading too much into a commercial.
9 comments:
I didn't even really notice she was black and I am not trying to be funny, it really didn't cross my mind while I watched that, at least not overtly.
I think you can also interpret the white people bringing her her coffee not as them saving the day but them serving her. Bringing someone else coffee has often been interpreted as something someone who does not have power will do for those in charge.
lulu,
that's an interesting take. i hadn't thought about the aspect of them serving her.
I think there are multiple ways to see this commercial, either you can see into it and see rascism, or you can see it as a serving and non-power play aspect.... to the viewer beware, no? :)
Interesting food for thought!
both of you ladies are insightful, and correct. i actually don't think that they're trying to be racist, but i just thought it was an interesting undercurrent to discuss.
my wife says i'm making too much of it.
i'm just fascinated by these sorts of discussions, so if anyone else wants to contribute, please do.
oh, and lulu,
the first few times i watched the commercial i didn't notice that she was black, or even that it was the same woman. but, on one watching it hit me, and so i rewound it and watched it again.
Everyone's worldview is based on past experiences and our own personal paradigms are what is going to shape our interpretation of everything we see, including that commercial. Your job means that you are thinking about society, racism, sexism and issues like that on a regular basis so it doesn't suprise me that you would pick on a something that subtle in that commercial. When I was in grad school I noticed things like that a lot more than I do now.
When I watched that commercial I was thinking, I wish I had people bringing me coffee at work! I realted to the work sucks but coffee makes it better message:) Thats probably what McDonalds was going for which means I am their target audience, awesome.
I noticed the racist thing the first time I saw the commercial. I had wondered if anyone else would. btw, im a white female for anyone keeping tabs :)
I'd like to borrow your post, in it's entirety. I hope you don't mind. I will link it back to you. If you mind terribly please let me know and I will take it down. Thank you in advance.
-Craig
The new commercials for the Mc Cafe are outrageously racist to the point of hilarity, this one is mild.
One new commercial takes place in what appears to be a jazz club populated entirely by blacks. The speaker, also black, goes on about how things are mocha and chocolaty while the camera pans across the faces of African Americans. McDonalds proves it has the class to notice "hey negros, your skin matches our coffee!" What's more, it is made clear that the coffee is free on Mondays, implying that the word "free" will pack your restaurant with blacks.
In another Mc Cafe commercial the most stereotypical Mexican woman on the planet chews up the English language and spits it out in a Rosie Perez style accent that made my toe nails curl. It has to be seen to be believed, and the slogan "me encanta" at the end of the commercial is the icing on the cake. Simultaneously making non-Mexican Americans feel alienated and similarly for Mexican Americans reminding them that they are a long way from being assimilated Americans.
Classy McDonalds, you pack as much class into your advertising as you pack nutrition into your food.
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