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Critical Media Analysis Essay Example

The Koff Beer commercial is classical example of the gender stereotypical issues advanced by the media in North America. In the commercial, a group of three men are having beers at night next to a bone fire and a couple of horses. They are nodding rhythmically without any music when one of them suddenly starts talking about the quiet night and the expected changes. Through jhoozing, this image combines numerous cultural elements and assigns them a higher class status (Sender, 2006). A woman later passes near them and proceeds to feed the horses. They all look at her and orders her to bring another round of beers. The conversation is translated using subtitles. As explored below, the gender role constructs as seen in this commercial are a major cause of appropriation, gender biases, and violence against native Indian women.

The above commercial has been produced to bring out the masculine and dominant nature of men. Published by Koff for the Indian beer brand and appearing on YouTube, the entailed setting encompasses an open space and the Rocky Mountains, which creates an image of male conquest of nature (Mora, 2007). As well, the presence of horses is supposed to depict a picture of nature, wildness, and power by men. There is no music or background sounds, which is intended to make the environment more serene.

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The overall image created by the commercial helps advance numerous values among the audience. These values explore the expected demeanor among women and men and their respective place in the society. The commercial creates a gender role based Indian society, where men and women have distinctive roles, duties, and responsibilities.

Further, the commercial advances different types of lifestyles for the Indian societies. It is clear that men in this society are encouraged to be carefree and indulgent. The carefree lifestyle is advanced through the environment created in the advert. Despite being outside, the commercial at the end implies that the men were jovial because they were having the “bar feeling”. This portrays Indians as wild and carefree. As well, it advances a lifestyle of drunkenness and irresponsibility among men. All the three men in the commercial are gathered together to enjoy a beer. This portrays Indian men as drunkards, which as noted in the podcast “The ReMatriate Interview”, is a major appropriation problem in the media. It is arguable that it portrays all native Indian men as drunkards. This is inaccurately attribution.

In line with observations made in the podcast “The ReMatriate Interview” (The Red Man Laughing, 2015), the commercial makes numerous stereotypes about the Indian societies that are quite wrong. Clearly, it is implied that women are content with their servitude and inferior positions in the society, and that men do have the will or responsibility to contribute to domestic wellbeing. This stereotype is evident where the woman in the commercial is busy working while men are engaging in leisure activities. When men ask her to bring more beer when she is feeding the horses, she looks at them and consents with a smile. In this, men are depicted as dominating upon women. It is expected that women should be nurturing and submissive. It is also apparent that the commercial prioritizes the needs of men over those of women and other domestic demands. This is a wrong depiction of both how women react to male domination and men’s attitudes towards work and domestic duties.

In the commercial, leaving out various issues has resulted into inaccurate picture about alcoholism and the Indian societies. One of such issues includes the serious impact of drunkenness among the native Indians. Per se, these societies have been a victim of the alcohol menace. A significant number of their men and women are addicts, which has been associated with innumerous accidents and deaths. The other issue touches on alcoholism and gender based violence. In line with arguments advanced by (McDonnell, n.d.), this commercial neglects to acknowledge the fact that native Indian women have suffered unending abuse, assault, and murder at the hands of drunk native Indian men and white men. It is quite confusing to advocate for drunkenness among men in the presence of sober Indian women. In doing so, the commercial has failed to show the negative side of alcoholism.

In conclusion, the Koff Beer commercial successfully advances numerous stereotypes about the native Indian societies. This is achieved through the entailed setting, characters’ behaviors and interactions, and themes being advanced. Further, it advocates for irresponsible lifestyles, where men in particular are encouraged to be carefree and indulge in alcohol. It also advances some stereotypes about these societies. Such stereotypes include the appropriations that Indian women have accepted their servitude and inferior positions in the society, and that men cannot perform domestic duties. Unfortunately, the commercial has failed to highlight some of key issues related to the product under promotion. These issues involve the fact that alcoholism is a major problem among the native Indian societies, where it has been associated with deaths among abusers and extreme violence against women.

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References
McDonnell, A. (n.d.). Gender Celebrity Gossip. Reading Celebrity Gossip Magazines.
Mora, R. (2007). Rick Mora in Koff Beer Commercial. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BEBgvzJvSE
Sender, K. (2006). Queens for a Day: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and the Neoliberal Project. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 23(2), 131-151.
The Red Man Laughing. (2015). “The ReMatriate Interview.” Retrieved from http://redmanlaughingpodcast.libsyn.com/archive