This is a commerical for Tide laundry detergent. When watching the advertisement pay attention to the mother's attitude toward her daughter, the contrast in attire between the mother and the child, and the background. What does the mother's attitude say about female gender expectations?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9LTRbWsGOI
The mother is made to be the, "dream stay at home mom" or "trophy wife". The mom seems really mad about her daughter choosing to not dress like her. The mother is not happy that the girl likes to play with cars and blocks rather than dolls. I feel like the mother feels embarrassed by this. The background of the living room looks very organized and very normal as one would say. The living room is modeled after a room that you would see in a person house that has things together. Although the mother feels that way about her daughter she still uses tide detergent, and she explains how good it is based on the fact that it saved the little girl's cloths. Even though she wanted her daughters cloths to be ruined. The little girl should be able to make her own choice without her mom being mad or upset.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Aaron the mother seems disappointed in the fact that her young daughter does not play with dolls or have fantasies about being a princess like society sees and accepts with young girls. Instead she is seen as a tomboy who plays with blocks cars dresses in boy clothes such as army camouflage hoodies cargo shorts and not pink dresses or cute little outfits that every mom wants their young daughter to wear. The mother does not accept this because it seems she wants her daughter to follow in her footsteps. It seems that the mom wanted her daughters clothes ruined but tide saved them, because the little girl does not wear the same kind of clothes she think is acceptable for girls to wear and not boys clothing. The mom should accept the little girls choices and not try to pick the way she thinks her daughter should live her life.
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DeleteI do agree with Billy that the mother is wanting her daughter to dress more like her. This commercial reminds me of some scene out of the 1950’s. The mother in this commercial is trying to portray a perfect pink feminine world for her daughter. She obviously has an obsession with the color pink. By having all this pink throughout her living room, does she think this will somehow influence her daughter of what is somehow what a feminine gender norm is? She has pink curtains; pink throws a pink sweater and those big pink topiaries? The girl seems quite content playing with her blocks and looks to be dressed comfortably. The mother clearly shows her disappointment in her daughters’ choices of clothing, but who bought these clothes for her daughter? She seems to be happy with her choice of Tide laundry detergent. But on the other hand she was hoping that the crayons would have ruin her daughters clothing, that in moms eyes are clearly is not acceptable for a little girl.
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with Juanita that the mother in this commercial is tryin to portray a perfect pink feminine world for he daughter. The mother is very obsessed with feminine. This shows the gender stereotype that girls should like the color of clothes of pink rhather cargo pants. But the mother says that the detergent "tide" makes her happy because it washes the clothes very clearly, so she is more happy with tide than she is obsessed with feminine "pink"
DeleteThese are all very good observations. Some other aspects of the commercial that could be taken into account include the mother’s apparent disappointment in her daughter’s choices in dress and mannerisms. As Juanita pointed out, who bought these clothes for her daughter that she seems so disappointed about? Also the subtle nod the mother gives her daughter near the end of the commercial might be something to think about. What does this nod imply?
ReplyDeleteThe first thing I thought about when I saw the commercial was how it related to the article we read in class about girls being applauded for being tomboys as this commercial definitely contradicts that. The mother doesn't approve of her daughter's fashion choices. I dont think that the house is decorated in pink just to influence her daughter though. That just seems like the decorations the mother would use because of her girly personality. I also don't think the nod at the end of the video means anything significant. It looks like she just nodded while she was talking
ReplyDeleteI think that the woman in this video represents the stereotypical housewife who is very “feminine” and fulfills her role as a mother and caretaker. This video definitely brings up the issue that it’s not normal for a little girl to want to wear camouflage hoodies and cargo shorts because those things would be considered “masculine.” This is especially brought out in the obvious sarcastic tone of her voice when she says she is happy that Tide got all the stains out of her daughter’s clothes. I think the reason behind her being sarcastic is to not only show that the product actually works on the toughest of stains, but also to emphasize the fact that the daughter doesn’t fulfill what society is pressuring her to be. The fact that she says “this is my tide story, what’s yours” makes me think that Tide is trying to reach out to other mothers who are in this exact same situation. By having them relate to this situation, it can ultimately sell the product. This “story” is definitely unique for most Tide commercials and brings up the issues that many parents have to deal with today regarding gender-variant children.
ReplyDeleteThe mother in this commercial tries to dress her daughter like “the girl” should be dressed like. However, her daughter only wants to dress boys-like hoodies and shorts. I don’t think it suggest that the little girl in the commercial don’t want to dress feminine; it seems that mother chose her daughter’s clothes based on how will it looks like, while the little chose her own clothes based on whether it is comfortable or not. Thus, the director of this commercial uses the mother’s disappointment of the hoodies can be saved by Tide detergent to sell their products.
ReplyDeleteNearly everyone has hit on the main points of this commercial. Some things to think about (which have been touched on): How do the mother's opening remarks ("Well we tried the whole pink thing. Nope, all she wants to wear is hoodies and cargo shorts") and the background relate? Also, what does the mothers sarcasm say about what she believes to be an "ideal" daughter?
ReplyDeleteHer mother's sarcasm clearly shows she wants someone who is more in line with her beliefs and stylistic choices. Her mother's opening remarks show a sense of guidance for her daughter, but allowed her to make her own decisions, even if they weren't necessarily her own. It is definitely uncomfortable for her, but its commendable of her to give her daughter opportunities for her own character to develop.
DeleteI think the overall message being sent by the mother in this commercial is very poor. She obviously had a certain image in mind of how she wanted her daughter to be and her daughter rejected that image for “hoodies and cargo shorts” instead. The part where this reflects very negatively is that the mother’s position was to mold her daughter into a certain image regardless of how she felt about it. This is disturbing because the mother is showing zero respect for her daughter’s individuality. The one possible positive is that she does not continue to make her daughter wear certain clothes after her daughter has chosen how she wants to dress for herself. She still regrets the choices her daughter has made, but it seems she has at least come to terms with them. As for the background of the room in the commercial, I think it all plays into the image the mother has of things being perfect. She has an image of a “perfect” daughter wearing pink and the room goes along with that. Pink curtains, flowers and teacups are all noticeable in the background, which gives the room a very feminine touch that probably fits the mother’s idea of perfect. She crosses a line by not supporting her daughter’s choices just because they are not what she sees as “perfect.”
ReplyDeleteWhen I was first watching this video, it didn't really strike me as horribly close-minded. In it, we find a mother who is portrayed as very feminine, as shown in her attire (a pink pull-over sweater, flowy skirt, tidy haircut) and in her choice of decor for the house (the flowers on that couch are just, honestly, horrific). She obviously is uneasy about her daughter, who is wearing a camouflage jacket, playing with blocks, and doesn't want anything to do with traditional feminine toys such as dolls. It is very easy to see how some people might see this as a mother squashing her daughter's true desires, but I really don't think that is the case here. The mother doesn't try to hide the fact that she thinks it's not really normal that her daughter dresses and plays in this way, but has come to a (albeit uncertain) peace with her daughter's wishes. Maybe she shouldn't voice that uncertainty in front of her daughter, but I think the mother has handled this in an acceptable manner.
ReplyDeletei agree with David when he says that the mom handles the situation of her daughter being an obvious tom-boy in the commercial as acceptable because even though at first it seems like the mom did try to get her daughter to wear pink like other girls, she eventually just let her daughter wear whatever she wanted and play with toys made for boys. Obviously, the mom isn't extremely happy about her daughter wearing camouflage and building car garages from blocks, she still accepts her daughter the way she is.
DeleteI think most parents have a vision or fantasy of what their child will become as they grow. Obviously the frilly pink setting from a 1950's Leave it to Beaver setting paints a pretty obvious stereotype for the mother. But in that same vein, she is, albeit begrudgingly, encouraging to her child. Additionally, she could have completely gotten rid of those clothes and forced her into outfits that fit the mother's style more, but she is trying to do her best for her child regardless of if it fits her wants. It is really the audience who is showing prejudice, as we are the ones making the assumptions. We should all be so lucky to have the role models and parents in our lives to be able to look outside of themselves and their preconceived vision of what we should be, and allow us to be what we truly are.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with both Matt and David in the sense that the commercial and the mother aren't being portrayed in a stereotypical light. They commercial presented a mother that happened to constructed underneath what classifies as a stereotypical mother. As Matt pointed out, the mother obviously could have forcibly taken action in changing what her daughter wears. Being an understanding mother, she accepted who her daughter was as and is trying to grow used to it. Matt brought up an interesting point that the audience is making the commercial to be seen as stereotypical. I think that once we are given such clear cut examples of what is considered stereotypical, we neglected to view other perspectives of what the commercial is saying.
DeleteI think that this commercial serves as a good example for parents to let their children be their own person and develop their own personalities. Although the mom was hesitant about her child acting "boy-like," she still lets her daughter dress in camo and play with building blocks. I think this commercial is definitely aimed at mothers who have messy children, but while trying to sell detergent it still stereotypes boys and girls. The stereotypes it uses are that girls should ideally wear pink and be neat, while boys should be the ones wearing camo and playing with building blocks. I think the commercial reinforces the stereotype that girls should wear pink by having the mom not be fond of her daughter dressing like a tom boy and wanting to play with toys that she clearly thinks are not fit for a girl. This shows us that even though the mom is open-minded about her daughter dressing like a boy, she still wishes her daughter would conform to society and wear pink like many other little girls do. Although, I liked how the mom did let her daughter express herself and be an individual and not try to force her into wearing pink like other moms might try so that their children are seen as “acceptable” to society.
ReplyDeleteThe mom’s tone sounds pretty satire to me. “Another car garage?” It is obvious that the mom does like not like her girl to wear hoodies and cargo short. Although hoodies and cargo short are easier to clean. But the mom seems to believe the stereotype that a girl should wear like a girl. Those closes on the mom clearly is representing her believe what a girl should wear.
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