Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Can stereotypes be forgotten?

In the commercial “brotherly love” for Coca Cola there is a trend that has been going on in movies, TV shows and other TV programs for a long time. This trend is that all boys are fairly violent and rough with each other and everything in general. Other movies that show this are How to eat fried worms, The karate kid and Diary of a wimpy kid. This commercial is not true because of how they interpret most boys in this way, but it also is true because of how they present one boy who is not like all the others.
This issue is important to discuss now because of all the pressure put on young boys to be tough and strong, similar to how there is a different pressure on girls to be dainty and delicate. Specifically in this commercial at the very beginning the “main character” of this commercial who is a young boy is shown captivated in a video game while his brother pushes him around. This is already expressing this stereotype, but it is not done there. Later towards the end of the commercial the boy is sitting on a bench while three other boys come up and start picking on him, similar to how his older brother did in the beginning. The ending of this commercial is otherwise sweet when the boy's older brother who was picking on him saves him from these bullies, but to do this he shows toughness so it is still proving the argument.
This stereotype applies to several other movies, TV shows and other pop culture in addition to the ones already named. Others are Lord of the flies (where someone ends up getting killed), The outsiders (where someone gets shot) and Dog Fight (an entire play about boys fighting). I have also seen this type of behavior in school with friends and other people that I don't even know, this behavior shouldn’t be very common but it is.

1 comment:

  1. I think this display of action is something that everyone in our society is exposed to so much through the media. Which most of us seem to forget about because it has been normalized through mainstream media. That boys and men are supposed to not show emotion and be "tough" while girls are always emotional and constantly need to be rescued.