Sociological Images: Seeing Is Believing: nationalism/patriotism

Showing posts with label nationalism/patriotism. Show all posts

Absolut Vodka Mexican Ad Sparks Controversy in U.S.

This Absolut vodka ad (found here), which ran in Mexico, has caused quite the stir here in the U.S., since it implies than in a perfect world much of the U.S. would still be part of Mexico. A number of groups in the U.S. are boycotting Absolut. This is one of those cases where an ad aimed at once audience (Mexicans) is noticed by another audience it was never meant for.

Similarly, though I could be wrong, I bet most straight male Miller Light drinkers aren't aware of these ads and wouldn't be thrilled with them.

Blatent racism and sexism: is one more acceptable than the other?

While we're on the topic of the current presidential campaign...

I've noticed something interesting about the images and phrases used to criticize Clinton and Obama. Why does the majority of anti-Clinton rhetoric use sexist images and language? And how prevelant is the (expected?) matching racism in the anti-Obama rhetoric and images? Why, instead, does Obama's national allegiance and patriotism come into question? I think this would make for a great class discussion on intersectionality, an what prejudices are perceived to be "socially acceptable."

Some possible questions for discussion:

Is it more socially acceptable to be overtly sexist than overtly racist? Why?
Why might it seem to be more okay to question someone's patriotism/nationalism than to be overtly racist? What is the difference?
What is really racist that doesn't immediately appear racist?

And the images-- again these come from Facebook groups with tens of thousands of members. See also previous images of Hillary Clinton here and here.

above "stop mad cow"

And now for Obama...

And here are some attacking Barack Obama's nationality and patriotism:

And the infamous image above (more info from snopes.com)

Fonts And Power

This is a really interesting comparative analysis of the Kerry and Bush logos from the most recent presidential election. Notice how gender and class operate in the design and analysis.

Richard also pointed me to this slide show, also from the New York Times, commenting on logos for the candidates in the current primaries.

Army Families Army Strong...For How Long?

Here are some divorce stats that call into question the Army Strong ads which trumpet the Army's support of military families.

The Homefront: Army Strong

These "Army Strong" commercials would be a great way to start a class discussion about how the military relies on a certain kind of homefront support during war time.

Some discussion question ideas-- Why would the military need support from the homefront? Why make commercials like these that appeal to military families? Why target the parents of soldiers in commercials? What do these commercials say about the role families play during war? What kind of ideas about gender relations are mobilized in these commercials (mothers, wives, husbands, fathers etc.) and why? What do the families look like-- when is "diversity" displayed? Why are ideas about "sacrifice," "protection," and becoming "confident" and "strength" conveyed?