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Is Television Picking on White Guys? Part 2
emnmnme
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Many moons ago, I started a D+D thread pointing out a pattern I noticed during primetime American TV: when a commercial calls for a fool or a butt of a joke and the cast of that commercial is interracial, a white guy will usually fill that role. This isn't a malicious conspiracy to bring down Whitey; this is just the ad makers understandably following a path of least resistance. Using a white actor who takes a light-hearted jab on the chin to sell a joke is the ad makers' way of avoiding offending minorities by sidestepping decades-old negative stereotypes. It is my observation that, when a commercial's cast is interracial and the commercial is meant to be funny, a pattern follows where a white guy will be that commercial's fool/thief/awkward nerd/blowhard/etc.
That was the gist of the old thread. Discussions followed claiming that because there are more white actors in ads, we see more white male fools than non-whites. This newer thread is me wanting to see how things have changed in American advertising in the past three years. This is just something I noticed while watching TV. There's no goal or 'call for change' or any of that nonsense - if television is picking on white guys, so what?
If you want to add an example commercial to see if the pattern holds true (or doesn't), feel free. Just keep them recent. International examples are okay, too.
White fools:
An amateur dance performer ruins a surprise.
A friend is caught snoring in public. How embarrassing!
Two soccer Moms chat during practice.
This guy has a creepy tortilla chip obsession.
Another guy with a tortilla chip obsession tries to snag a few chips.
An office worker is mildly startled by her moronic co-workers' shenanigans.
Low blood sugar causes crankiness.
A picky couple shops for a new refrigerator.
A clown accidentally terrifies all the kids.
A loudmouth breaks a robot's heart.
Sasquatch gives a bully his just desserts.
An older commercial where a celebrity comedian chats up a celebrity athlete while driving.
Granted, comedians will always play the fool in commercials.They're typecast that way.
Outsourced customer service causes nothing but headaches.
An office drone can't find China on a map.
White and non-white fools together:
A clever fireman outwits his rookie teammates.
Everyone except the wife is insanely enthusiastic for this beer.
Two students check out girls below the ankles.
I'm not sure where this one goes. Ghosts? Fast food? I don't get it.
Two Moms talk about corn syrup. There are no winners here.
Non-white fools:
A jogger is accidentally beaned by a soda can thrown by a jealous wife.
A crafty office guy sneaks out right under the boss' nose.
That was the gist of the old thread. Discussions followed claiming that because there are more white actors in ads, we see more white male fools than non-whites. This newer thread is me wanting to see how things have changed in American advertising in the past three years. This is just something I noticed while watching TV. There's no goal or 'call for change' or any of that nonsense - if television is picking on white guys, so what?
If you want to add an example commercial to see if the pattern holds true (or doesn't), feel free. Just keep them recent. International examples are okay, too.
White fools:
An amateur dance performer ruins a surprise.
A friend is caught snoring in public. How embarrassing!
Two soccer Moms chat during practice.
This guy has a creepy tortilla chip obsession.
Another guy with a tortilla chip obsession tries to snag a few chips.
An office worker is mildly startled by her moronic co-workers' shenanigans.
Low blood sugar causes crankiness.
A picky couple shops for a new refrigerator.
A clown accidentally terrifies all the kids.
A loudmouth breaks a robot's heart.
Sasquatch gives a bully his just desserts.
An older commercial where a celebrity comedian chats up a celebrity athlete while driving.
Granted, comedians will always play the fool in commercials.They're typecast that way.
Outsourced customer service causes nothing but headaches.
An office drone can't find China on a map.
White and non-white fools together:
A clever fireman outwits his rookie teammates.
Everyone except the wife is insanely enthusiastic for this beer.
Two students check out girls below the ankles.
I'm not sure where this one goes. Ghosts? Fast food? I don't get it.
Two Moms talk about corn syrup. There are no winners here.
Non-white fools:
A jogger is accidentally beaned by a soda can thrown by a jealous wife.
A crafty office guy sneaks out right under the boss' nose.
emnmnme on
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This discussion has been closed.
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the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Debate and Discourse
The only thing I'd add is that white men are the "default" so they get to be the patsy most of the time when nothing else about the patsy matters and that making a white male the patsy means you don't run afoul of anyone crying racism/sexism/etc.
(Although that's technically just debate 'or' discourse, since 'or' shouldn't imply exclusivity on its own. /nerd)
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
I can't say it really bugs me either since more often than not it's going to be a white guy saving the day with maybe a plucky minority helping them.
This post is going to attract a dozen links to Louis CK videos, won't it?
News flash here, white guys are portrayed as EVERYTHING on television.
Better just fire up youtube now.
I don't get the sense that he's bitching. Just observing.
Anyway, I think shryke nailed it:
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Rigorous Scholarship
This. I've been so much happier since I stopped watching comercials.
By how will I be manipulated by increasingly sophisticated psychological techniques for other's profit if I don't?
How are you going to know how awesome Honey Nut Cheerios cereal is without a cartoon bee telling you about it? :bz
Yes, TV commercials are generally dumb flashes of light and sound to attract eyeballs. Yes, they appeal to a low, low common denominator. Compelling reasons for why they should be ignored - but Americans love their TVs and they do watch these ads. Joe American can recognize the Geico Gecko or Ronald McDonald but can he name his representative in Congress? I am very sure these ads must hold a powerful influence over us.
Okay. Do you consider the prevalence of white actors in these influential commercials to be detrimental, beneficial, or uneventful to society?
is like this couple:
and this couple:
and this couple:
and this couple:
and this couple:
because advertisers have a very short time to tap into an image that you are familiar with.
Rigorous Scholarship
YouTube link here (it's about an hour long):
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
People will have a slightly lower opinion of chubby balding white men in real life after being exposed to sitcoms and fool commercials for years. When I see the first three seconds of a commercial starring a chubby white male, I expect some kind of misfortune will befall him before the end of the commercial. I don't know if this is extreme enough to be considered conditioning.
EDIT: You've never seen this commercial before but you immediately recognize the setup. What will happen to this chubby Dad? Something good?
technically, you are my LARP character
You feel bad for the kids in those commercials, since dad is a moron and mom is a twat.
Rigorous Scholarship
Everyone knows women hate fun and you enjoying yourself - so getting into a relationship or getting married is a surefire recipe for no longer being able to do fun things with the guys.
I mean jeez.
Shit, I thought everything but the animation is pictures of ads.
The taco cart guy is a great example, poor guy with foot in mouth disease, or the very successful All-State commercial guy, who feels so safe and fatherly I'd let him watch my children.
I mean clearly there's plenty of subtle negative crap out there, but getting better is definitely a good thing. And I think it improves society. It helps young people grow up thinking of more a more integratedsocial and economyc society as just the way things should be.
--LeVar Burton
God this shit is getting old.
Ad companies are typical ten to twenty years behind on trends, depending on the age of the company.
Also, if you're trying to be culturally "edgy," making the dominant group in society the butt of your joke makes sense.
a white guy will also usually fill every other role
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
not really
cultural "trends" are usually 10-20 years ahead of the people with all the buying power, which is who advertisers are actually targeting
that's why we call it the struggle, you're supposed to sweat
It's nothing malicious. It's just the biz, baby.
I tried very hard to pick from a wide range of everyday products, purchased by both men and women for the under 30 crowd.
How long have you been waiting for an appropriate setup to use that in context? :P
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197970666737/
Unfortunately, the end result is that white men get a lot more variety of roles than anyone else, so they become seen as the default human being.
It turns out TV is full of white people. What do you want you to know? Whether TV's white people are portrayed as something or the other? They are. You're welcome.