Advertising

http://www.shoppingblog.com/pics/lady_gaga_alejandro_still.jpg

http://www.fun.net.pl/Zabytki_From_Hell/2004/2004-05-26/Group_sex.jpg






This is a photo image of Lady Gaga during her performance in the video of alejandro. I chose this ad because I am also obsessed with Lady Gaga’s modern art performance. It is a group of men suppressing Lady Gaga like a sandwich in the middle. It is telling a story that a woman is about to get raped by a group of males in jail. One interesting thing from this photo image is that Lady Gaga is the only one who is not passive among a group of males. I think this has something to do with who is the main character in the performance and it also has something to do with the setting of this story.

Sexism is expressed in this photo image. As we can see, Lady Gaga is in the middle as an inferior character. Then all males in this photo image are masculine type. They have muscles and they are controlling. Their hands are around Lady Gaga and all of them are demanding sex from this only female.

Racism is not too obvious in this photo image. There are only white people, very homogeneous. However, let ‘s think about why there is no other race in this photo image. I wouldn’t get rid of the possibility that white people only care about white people. Why bother to tolerate other racial groups of people if they are not even dominant power?

Power hierarchies are also presented in this photo image. Males are masculine and represent a central dominant power. The only female there becomes weak and represents a victim of sexism. Males have every reason to get what they want until they get it. Female there can only use sex as a way to trade what they need. It ends up with this female is singing her misery to relieve her pain.

In Killing Us Softly, we are told that traditional advertising never ceases to stir our emotions by representing sexism. During sex, guys are always active and women are always passive. In the photo image I chose, males around Lady Gaga are so demanding of sex with her. On the other hand, Lady Gaga seems helpless and can only make this compromise in the middle of a group of masculine men. I think the goal of this ad is to attract audience and invite them to watch what is really inside this video. An alternative path I can suggest is to get rid of sex. Lady Gaga is beautiful and smart. Her performance is thrilling and spectacular enough. For her ad, I’d rather just show her helpless emotions by positioning her in a broad stage.

An alternative photo image I have found for this sexual ad is an animal ad which shows that the most inferior cat at the bottom is angry to death because of this power hierarchy. It is kind of thrilling and cute because they are cats rather than human beings. This photo image is also very impressive same as that of Lady Gaga except it doesn’t really give people too much imagination about sex. It is not that I am against traditional advertising or sexual activities, it is just that I think showing an impressive photo image as an ad is attractive enough because being sexy is not the only way to attract people.