Racism in TV shows

Game of  Thrones

1. I would say Game of  Thrones does a good job with gender diversity. Although there are several powerful male characters, there are also many powerful female characters as well. Both are represented equally.  You won't find the common trope where the male will come and save the day for the female. Instead you have characters like Danny, Arya and Cersi (just a few out of the MANY characters in GoT) who take care of themselves and don't need men to come and save them. Yes, there are powerful men in the show as well, but women are definitely also represented in my opinion too. 

However when it comes to racial diversity, Game of Thrones fails. The TV show was based off of George R. Martins novels, and he even admits that his books don't have enough racial diversity even though its set in a fantasy world.  In the show all of the main characters (and as stated before, there are a lot of main characters) are white. There is only one black character I can think of at the moment who's been in multiple episodes, and he is a pirate (of course the black guy is going to be a pirate, right?) and he is more of a minor/side character. Another side character, Shay, isn't white, but she's just Tyrions (one of the main characters) lover. Even though she does have a strong personality, in the end she is portrayed as a bitch who betrays her lover. 

Representation of gender and races is very important because it's not healthy for kids of color to see only white people, or girls to see only boys on their TV screens. TV and movies should represent what people are really like, and not just what looks good. 

 

2. I think there are a few stereotypes in game of thrones, but The Khaleesis/Dannys story line in Game of Thrones, really uses the common "white savior" trope. First Danny changes the "savaged  and colored" Khal Drogo into a sensitive and good man. Then she goes on to "save' all the colored people who are poorly treated. There was actually a lot of controversy about a specific image in one episode. 

 

Racism in advertisements

1. No, I do not believe its ever okay to racially stereotype people in advertisements. Stereotypes negatively effect they way we look at people around us. They only apply to a small population of a certain group, yet end of impacting everyone in the group. For example, I am Muslim and I have first hand experience of how stereotypes can follow you around, even if they are completely untrue to your situation. In class we were shown an ad for Levy's Jewish bread. Although that ad wasn't obviously offensive, it did play on cliched stereotypes. Not all native Americans or Asians look that way. If you're advertising something to the customers, you need to respect them. No one would want to buy a product if they feel the ad is being disrespectful, plus using stereotypes is old and cliched. Ads should be more creative than that, especially now.

2. Racism in advertising is NOT a thing of the past. May companies still rely on racial tropes and stereotypes to sell their products. For example Pepsico's Mountain Dew had an add that, though created by Tyler the Creator, who is black, still heavily relied on racial stereotypes that black men are "thugs" and go to prison.
Dr. Watkins, a professor at Syracuse University said its, "Arguably the most racist commercial in history." He goes on to say, " Mountain Dew has set a new low for corporate racism.  Their decision to lean on well-known racial stereotypes is beyond disgusting.  This doesn't even include the fact that the company has put black men on par with animals." He further discusses how the fact that a white woman was attacked and almost all the cops are white, so its plays on the whole black people are bad but whites are good.

After finding out that Tyler the creator himself made the ad, I admit I don't see it as racist, because a lot of the time racism stems from people making assumptions about other races. In this case, Tyler claims he just wanted to make a funny ad and his friends played themselves basically. However at the end of the day I do think this commercial plays on a lot of racial stereotypes that are very negative and harmful. 

3. Yes advertisers do have an ethical responsibility. First of all it has been proven that ads effect many people in society. We see they way people are portrayed and feel like we should be like them. I think ads are in some way similar to peer pressure. Whether it be wanting to buy whats advertised, or wanting to look like those people featured in the ads, it really does influence people. In an article from The Atlantic, Nigel hollis wrote the article "Why good advertising works (even when you think it doesn't)." He says, "Instead, the best advertisements are ingenious at leaving impressions." I agree with the claim, but I think many of these impressions, which do stay with us, can leave negative messages. This is why those who work on advertisements should have an ethical responsibility. They are reaching many people and sending them messages that are going to be influential and leave impressions. 

Print ad, TV ad, Billboard

Print Ad
Natalie Portman as Miss Dior
Denotation: pretty white girl sitting on stairs covered in a soft purple. Looks like she's at home. Looking straight at camera. Brown-ish hair. Pink dress, its poofy with flowers on it. The dress is not completely on her, she's holding it up with her hands.Her back is bare.  Awkward hand almost touching her lips. The label "Miss Dior" in black cursive and "Blooming Bouquet." The perfume bottle has a bow on it and is clear/pink/outlined in black.  
Connotation: Natalie Portman IS miss Dior. By putting on this perfume, she is a beautiful girl who wears beautiful elegant dresses. The tones and color used in the picture is soft and pretty. the "typical" girly colors. The fact that she is staring at the camera, makes it seem like this is not an ad. Instead its someone who likes her taking her picture because she is so pretty. The perfume allows her to be who she is.
Mythology: The link between perfumes, and beauty products that make women feel more beautiful, or even more as a person. In today's world both men and women do rely on beauty products to feel better about themselves.

TV Ad
Iphone 5S-Strength
Denotation: A guy putting on music (somewhat upbeat) and jumping on the bed to wake up his partner, a woman swimming and using a device on her phone right after, a woman running on a hill using her phone, a guy checking his weight with an app on his phone, a girl watching her gymnastic performance from video recorded on the phone, two friends golfing and using the 5S to check their speed, a guy exercising on the beach, another at the gym, and a girl at the gym all using their phones. A parent at a soccer game using his phone to check the kids speed, A man on a bicycle using the phone, two friends racing and laughing, their phones visibly on their arms. They're running in front of the ocean. Good shots of gyms, beaches, and outdoor spaces where people usually exercise. At the end of the commercial, while the two are running next to the water, the words "You are more powerful than you think" appear. Then a final shot of the water and tall buildings in the background and it says "iphone 5s"
Connotation: If you're active you're a happy, healthy person. And if you're active, play sports, do any type of exercise, you should have the 5S because its going to help you with your active life style. No matter what type of sport or activity you engage in, you're going to need an iphone 5s to help improve the way you exercise.
Mythology: In today's society exercising is usually accompanied by some sort of technology. Whether its a simple ipod for music, or more advanced devices that can help you record your activities and help you better your performance.

Billboard Ad
Law and Order-Lamp post
Denotation: A dark room except for one lamp. The room has dark bricks as the walls.A black desk and a couple chairs around it. Two men. One  is wearing a collared shirt with a tie. Another, with a baggy black sweater, is sitting down at the desk, fidgeting his hands. The guy with the collared shirt is shining the light on the guy sitting down.
Connotation: A police officer/detective is interrogating a suspect.
Mythology: Law & Order is a popular TV show, and their TV show accurately portrays what its like to be a police officer or a suspect. It is known that police officers usually do conduct interviews in closed off rooms, putting a lot of pressure on the suspect.

#2-Superbowl Ads

I really liked the 2015 Super Bowl commercials. Some were funny, but there were a lot that were also powerful as well.

I had two favorites. The first was the T mobile and Kim Kardashian data commercial. I thought that was a really funny commercial, yet it wasn't too over the top either. Kim did a good job of being able to make fun of herself and the product, the data storage, was well represented.

Another commercial I liked was the No More's ad on domestic violence. Though it took a serious tone, it effectively represented an important issue that needs to be discussed. I think its great that they ran this during the super bowl because millions of people were able to see it.

There was some controversy as to why the commercials took a more serious tone. The word "buzz kill" was used a lot on social media  describing some of the ads. People especially didn't like Nation Wide's commercial about a young kid who died, advocating the dangers of household incidents. I however disagree and think that was an important commercial. Yes, people watch the Super Bowl for entertainment, but because so many people watch, its a great time for these important messages to be displayed for all to see.

Budweiser had a really cute commercial featuring a puppy and horse, but they also had another ad that created some buzz. The ad makes fun of certain people and certain drinks like "pumpkin peach ale." I did think the ad was a little funny, but after doing some  quick research I found it to be very hypocritical. Other companies that Budweiser is closely related to (even owned by) sell drinks like pumpkin peach ale, so it doesn't really make sense for Budweiser to target the company it came from. Also the commercial can be considered insulting. Not really a smart move if you want to get more customers.