This is an advertisement for Intel’s 2007 core 2 duo processor that says that it will “multiply computing performance, and maximize the power of your employees.” In this picture we have six African American male athletes bowing to their Caucasian employer in an office setting. My initial reaction upon seeing this advertisement was that I definitely cringed; I thought it was very odd that all of the men bowing were African American and they were bowing and appearing subservient.
This advertisement made me think of the days of slavery, the way that the African American men seemed beneath their Caucasian boss who’s standing proudly above his workers. I’m sure that it wasn’t the intent of the creators of this ad to offend anyone or even to subtly hint at the stereotype of the African Americans working for the White man, but the fact that it wasn’t even considered until it had already been released sends the statement that to all the people that had approved this ad subconsciously thought that there was nothing wrong with the way it was staged.
As soon as I saw this post I knew I had to comment on it. It's amazing how we as students of cultural studies can notice these inequalities in body representation. This is a great example of how body posture can be read as a sign to tell power and position. The white man has a strong, confident posture with his arms crossed, this sends the message that he is the master of his domain, he dominates the space and he is also the focal point of the image. The black runners are on all fours, kind of like animals, and their heads are down, which does not send a message of confidence or power, despite the fact that they have well toned bodies. They may have the physical bodies of masculine men but they do not have the power that white men have. This is just like what we talked about in class how the non-white people are portrayed as animalistic (like here) and/or feminized. This was a great find!
ReplyDeleteI was completely taken back when seeing this photo--good find for this blog. My initial reaction was obviously towards the black men bowing to the white man, as depicted and practiced in recent history. After thinking a little about the picture, I was almost taken back not only by the men bowing, but also there incredible physical condition. Like I said, my initial reaction, as I'm sure most others', was to the men bowing, but I thought that this ad also enveloped in itself the stereotype that black males are all incredible athletes. I understand the message this ad is trying to get across, but I am surprised that they were able to post this ad without any sort of uproar in the marketing department.
ReplyDeleteChris said it perfectly when he mentioned the black bodies take an animal-like stance. As in, the black bodies are not human bodies, they are animal bodies and therefore not as important, equal, or capable as the white body.
ReplyDeleteIt seems a little strange that a company would put out this ad in 2007, doesn't it? So recent yet so blatantly creating a hierarchy of races? It would have been one issue to make all seven bodies pictured as one race, or make every person of different skins, but this just reinforces two classes and their ranks comparatively.
Cool ad, though! I have never seen this before.
When I saw this add my instant reaction was shock. I couldn't believe that this image was actually used as a campaign. So much could have been done to balance the "bodies" in this picture, yet it is still an average upper class male caucasian, surrounded by athletic bowing black bodies. The separation between cultures is so obvious its disturbing. So many ideas can be drawn from this image, and they all lead to the idea of a complete separation and class system between people and cultures. This was a very good example of what we've been discussing in class though , I agree very good find!
ReplyDeleteI don't think this ad should be read as being as blatantly racist as the above posters seem to think. First, the sprinter isn't bowing to the white man, that's just the starting position for a sprinter. Secondly, it doesn't contain six different black sprinters, but rather one sprinter "multiplied" to fit with the ad's analogy. I think attempts to compare this to slavery are a bit of a reach.
ReplyDeleteWhat I do think can be taken away from this ad is that the roles are filled by a stereotypical person. The boss role is a confident white man while the sprinter is an athletic black man. I think most people would look at that and think "yep, that seems about right." I find it interesting that these bodies have very specific roles that they fulfill in our heads. If the people were reversed in this ad, it would probably strike many as odd, but instead most see this ad and probably don't give it a second thought.