Sunday, February 20, 2011

We're all trying too hard, here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y09z8lwOEYA

I feel like as a whole people tend to look to hard for things in media. A lot of people just search for something to deem as offensive and raise trouble about. Unfortunately, doing so tends to ruin the fun of things. For example, clearly this Pepsi Max commercial is full of racial stereotypes, however; this is not done so in any sort of offensive manner. The commercial is done in such a way that only humor should be taken from this. Consider the audience that the commercial has been made for. This commercial debuted during the Super Bowl, a time that commercials almost have to be funny. That is the entire point of Super Bowl commercials, to be funny. Of course, these stereotypes could be seen as offensive if they are taken out of context. The controlling wife, the guy that just wants a healthy snack, the blonde bimbo, and finally the African-Americans running away after knocking out the white girl. Yes, these could all be offensive; but again, only if you take them out of context. Just like when stand-up comedians use these stereotypes, Pepsi is blatantly using stereotypes for the sake of humor. Why? Because stereotypes are funny and poking fun at them is fun. The commercial is turning many negative stereotypes into something to laugh about. If anything, Pepsi has provided our culture with a step forward. The best way to get past differences is to laugh about them, not take them so seriously. Clearly Pepsi has just figured it out before all the people that want to cry over nothing.

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