This is my video mashup. I chose to talk about the use of feminism and empowerment in advertisement. Lately, it feels good to see real women in ads, or should I say “real women”. I don’t know exactly where to stand with this new fade of real. Let’s say, good message, Wrong messenger.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=micAQSxvNx4&feature=youtu.be
We All Dream in…
Advertisements say a lot about a culture. The slogans we use, the logos, the name of a brand, the visual symbols used to advertise for a product are contributing to who we are as Citizens, or should I say, Consumers. Are the Oscar’s Ceremony a product? Yes. The Oscars aren’t just a film contest, it’s also selling an idea, an image we have about our society. But it also reflects who we are as a society. So, are the Oscars a Model to follow, or a mirror of who we are?
This year’s Oscars posters are all about advertising for equality between men and women, black and white people (http://oscar.go.com/photos/2016/2016-oscar-posters/chris-rock-poster-new .) There are eight posters showing a diversity of men, women, black and white people who all won an Oscar in the past. “We all Dream in Gold,” says the slogan. The poster I chose is the only one that doesn’t represent anybody in particular, although to understand it, I need to also mention the others. The stylized shape of the Oscar’s statuette is in gold on a black background and its curve surrounds the phrase “We all dream in Gold,” also in golden letters. Clearly, the message here is simple: Gold is precious, and the statuette represents the Oscar’s ceremony which is the dream we should all want to realize. We All dream to reach the status of being recognized and celebrated worldwide. Gold is also a colour that is nobody’s skin colour. It’s a colour we can all identify to. The font used looks like loose hand-writing, which emphasizes closeness with the person who looks at the poster; it looks simple, it could be anybody’s hand-writing. Because, says this poster and the seven others, anybody could one day be nominated and win an Oscar, no matter your skin colour or gender. But the truth is…
First of all, I counted; the irony of these posters portraying a seemingly equal amount of black and white people actually shows 3 black men, 3 white women (or at least that is what I assume when looking at them, but that doesn’t mean the identify as such), 1 black woman, and 5 white men. Yes, they win, again. So, although there are 8 posters, 1 being the one I chose, 3 showing white people, and 5 showing black people, in reality, white people outnumber the others. I chose to change the word “Gold” for “White”, and write it in white, because this year, again, nobody, not one black actor is nominated to the Oscars, although several movies in 2015 had black characters played by really good actors. It just feels like it’s not just a coincidence, especially when it’s not the first time. So, of course, the Oscars should not have a 50/50 quota for black and white actors, that wouldn’t make sense to nominate people just because they aren’t white. It should be because they are good actors and they deserve recognition. But, then… how is nominating only white actors be less illogical? Is it, then, that the Oscar’s is a white-thought, white-owned, white-representing organisation? Some people argue that people of colour should not even dream to be part of the Oscars, because the Oscars are white, and people of colour should feel proud of themselves without the need to be recognized by a white organization. It’s a good point. But I dream of a world where it would not matter, where we would not have to identify to a colour or a gender to feel like we exist and matter. I dream of a world where we would all celebrate our differences without excluding anyone.
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