The Media Analysis and Intersectional Feminism

The Media Analysis and Intersectional Feminism

Intersectional discrimination is a significant menace in society today. It is absurd that the media is at the forefront of encouraging this instead of eliminating it. The advert in this link  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE is sensitizing the benefits of using “Old Spice body wash.” The masculine dark-skinned man is addressing women to compare their men, especially those who do not use old spice body wash with him who uses the product. In this essay, my argument will be based on the widespread cultural propaganda that the media engages in to normalize, commodify, and construct identities in the name of advertising, as presented by Sut Jhally.

The man on the ad stresses, “Look at your man, then back to me! Then to your man, then back to me! The man is comparing himself and other men and feeling that he is better than all men. He is addressing women instead of addressing men directly. It is evident that he is choosing the female gender because, to him, women prefer men who smell good just like the old spice body wash. In my opinion, this is only but propaganda to enable the female gender to buy this product for their men. From Jhally’s arguments, I tend to think that the ad is using the male gender to get the attention and to persuade (p. 330) women to acquire the body wash for their men. Is it because women are the most persuaded compared to men! My argument is that this ad is not ethical because why does it have to address the women the target group is the men. It suggests that the females are viewed as easily persuaded creatures, or is as Gill argues that as males are associated with the discovery of new things, women are associated with shopping (p. 385). It seems to be an appropriate reason why the ad addresses ladies.

Consequently, I tend to think that the ad is praising the masculine men. When I look at the man, he is without his shirt, and his muscles are well displayed. And why is he insisting that the ladies look at him? It is because he knows he is masculine. According to rice, body structure ai something appreciated, especially in Western culture (p. 436). The ad is using this identity to commodify the old spice body wash through the speed in which everything is being said and done. Jhally says, “Speed and fragmentation are not conducive to thinking. They induce feeling” (p. 333).  Thus, due to the masculinity of the man in the ad may influence the thinking and feeling towards their men without knowing that the body structure is only there to commodify the product. Some may end up seeing as if their men are not good enough, while others may go straight away to buy the product. Especially in modern society, people’s consciousness and perceptions concerning the product are much influenced by what the media says.

The primary purpose of this ad is to encourage the men to use the old spice body wash to smell like a romantic jet fighter pilot, in simple terms, to smell nice. I concur with the ad that men should smell nice. However, in my opinion, the old spice industry is employing the strategy to reach its intended market. According to Jhally, the media easily manipulates them by capturing their emotions, packaging it well, and selling it back to them through modification (p. 329). Therefore, the advertisement doesn’t necessarily create the attitudes and values in the lives of people but instead draws and re-channels the concerns which the target audience already shares. We as the views, we all know that it is good for the men to smell nice, and thus, the ad does not impact anything new in our minds but stresses what we all know is the right thing.

It goes without saying that those with a higher social status mostly use the old spice body wash. Why display a costly bathroom then the horse! How many people can afford a horse? Very few people! In my opinion, the advert could have incorporated all the social classes so that even those in the lower class don’t feel like they cannot afford the product. The advertising sector, in most cases, focuses on the higher social class and forgets the middle and low class (Gill, p. 393). I think that the advert sector should incorporate all the cultures and lifestyles since everyone is a potential customer. However, with the advancement of new technology, only those who will be able to access it will be considered. Especially those in third world nations, it will be almost impossible to access the technology due to their lifestyles.

In conclusion, I think that, especially in the twenty-first century, advertisement has become essential to production organizations. Without it, then it is impossible to make sales due to stiff competition in the market. However, the media should refrain from the propaganda that promotes intersectionality for the benefit of everyone. Therefore, the advertisement culture should be reviewed to ensure that the media is creating awareness concerning products.

Works cited

Gill, Rosalind. “Postfeminist media culture: Elements of a sensibility.” European journal of cultural studies 10.2 (2007): 424-447.

Jhally, Sut. “Image-based culture: Advertising and popular culture.” Gender, race, and class in media (1995): 327-335.

Rice, Carla. Becoming women: The embodied self in image culture. University of Toronto Press, 2014.