Drop It Like Its Hot?

        I'd like to talk about a new phenomenon that is sweeping televisions all across America, the Sun Drop commercials! Oh the enthusiasm, the spunk, the comedy! The 30 second commercials are undoubtedly hilarious. Why? Because there is a white girl dressed up like she’s living in the 80s dancing to Snoop Dog’s drop it like it’s hot. She is “dropping it like its hot” during a hot summers day but because she is drinking a Sun Drop she is not pestered by the heat.  But the commercial raises a serious question. Do amusing commercials induce Americans to buy the product? 

        Let us take the Sun Drop commercial for example. I’ve seen the commercial and love it but I never once actually thought about drinking the product they are cleverly trying to sell. Now in my case, I’m not sure that if I was ever presented with the soda I would or would not try it, but the point is that I, even after really enjoying the commercial I would not just get up and buy it. Does that make the commercial incompetent? I guess that depends on their goal. If it was to get the name out, and induce a little laughter, I’d say definitely not. I myself pulled up the commercial on you tube the other day to show a friend.

 

         I wonder, what is a commercials purpose when using outrageous humor? Is the hope that because we enjoy the ad so much we will associate our happy feeling with the product? Is It just so that we know the name of the brand? Are commercials comical instead of convincing us with a strong tone that we need the product for a reason? I’m not sure. But if you enjoy this commercial, I would suggest searching for the newest one, There is too much booty in the pants, too much booty in the pants!

"Black Woman in Hindsight"

 
     As I lay in bed the other night, keeping up with my normal routine of watching an episode of Family Guy before bed with a close friend, I was caught off guard by a completely justified comment that she made about the show. A show that is not only my favorite, but one of hers as well. She laughs and says “Wow this show is so racist!” Prior to her comment, I had never really thought of what it was that most captivated me about this show, making me laugh to the point of tears nearly every episode. I realized that I am humored because of its ability to ruthlessly make fun of real current events, significant figures, and stereotypes, much like the show South Park, in a way that some could easily find outrageously offensive. 
      
       The clip from the show presented above is nothing out of the shows norm. You hear Brian (the dog) say “you’re like a black woman in hindsight” and the next 20 seconds encompasses what many would characterize as the stereotypical black woman. Two women are sitting in a beauty shop, with big hoop earrings, talking at a volume that clearly shows no respect for anyone else surrounding them. As the heavy set woman talks, sharing with her friend that she “told her so”, in an outrageously uneducated and ignorant way, she shakes her head profusely from one side to another. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find this clip to be somewhat funny, but the fact that this woman is supposed to depict what most black women act like is quite disheartening. While some of us can fit the stereotype, just like any other race, every black woman is not loud, ignorant, and uneducated. Black women prove every day to be just as intelligent and talented as a woman from any other race, with as much potential imaginable.