Blog Week 7
In the Kenwood ad, there are definitely some direct and subliminal messages being portrayed. Judging by the woman’s hair and makeup, it looks like this may have come from the 60s/70s era. She is very done up and pristine, and of course she’s wearing a wedding ring because she is a “perfect� image. The man, too, is well-dressed and business-like because he is a “perfect� husband. The way they are positioned, too, is very telling about how a perfect relationship should be (for the sophisticated, upper-class white couple). She has her hand on his shoulder and leans into him affectionately from behind, like she needs him for support and leadership. At the same time, it says that she will support him from a submissive standpoint, because, as the wife, she does the actual cooking. Her body language and expression almost says “Thank you for the Kenwood Chef, Honey! Now I can be a better cook for you!� I think the ad is directed at men because it says “I’m giving my wife a Kenwood Chef.� It’s like the next line should be “…and so should you!� The man even has an expression that is just short of a wink toward the other men looking at the ad. All that it takes for someone to have a perfect wife like his is to buy her a cooking instrument. It puts her back in the kitchen, and not only does she love you for it, she loves her role as your personal cook.
The Moschino ad also conveys a message about submissive women, but in a much more sexualized way. The woman is very dark-skinned, and her hair and clothing are used to play up her ethnicity. She is made to look more exotic, sexual, and animalistic in this way. Her body position, with an arched back and spread legs, also are used to personify sex. She is bound to the wall, like the sunglasses, and like them is just something to behold and own. Holistically, the model is just sexually objectified. Her being tied and sexual also asserts the submissive nature a woman (should) have toward her male, dominant counterpart. Her race and the bondage being used on her also implies slavery to me. The ad makes it ok to look at a modern black woman still as an object. The clothing line is even described as “cheap and chic�—does this mean the black woman is beautiful/sexy and easily attainable as well? I couldn’t even say what item in this ad is being sold, unlike in the Kenwood. Clearly, the only thing a person should come away with is “Moschino� and “Sex.�