I have always been interested in how advertisements decide what image to attach to their product, especially when it is an intangible product such as a computer processor. While surfing the internet last week, I came upon this advertisement for Intel Core 2 processor that was released in 2007.
The focal point of the advertisement is the white male, most likely the manager. He is standing in the center of the office wearing high quality white clothing, in a casual yet all-powerful pose. Surrounding him are two symmetrical lines of black males, who are dressed as athletes. These men are all bowing down to the white manager, in a way of saying they are not worthy of his presence. The black men are very athletic and muscular, yet their faces remain mostly hidden, as they are only anonymous members of the office place.
My body’s reaction to this image is very negative. The first time I saw the advertisement, I stared at it for less than five seconds, then muttered “geez” to myself and moved on to another advertisement. The racism is overwhelming throughout the image, and it is very upsetting to look at. My thoughts immediately went to slavery in the past, where the muscular yet anonymous black slaves were forced to bow down to their white master, and work tirelessly for his comfort. This image has very negative connotations attached to it, and I am surprised no one at the Intel company realized it until after the image was released.
Unfortunately, the politics of representation in this image are very negative. The image is basically telling the viewer that black men should all bow down and submit to the white man. While the advertisement may have meant to relate to the employee-manager relationship, the techniques used dove into a deeper, subconsciously unsettling commentary on race relationships.
It almost seems like the black men are runners at a starting line right before a very "powerful performance" in a marathon or something...I actually find it hilarious that this ad was even issued! What was Intel thinking? However, it is a bit ironic that this image was SO offensive. It's not very different from most advertisements. It played upon stereotypical notions (in this case, a stereotypically athletic African runner being a "powerhouse") but Intel somehow missed the balancing act that most companies perform when selling their goods: it was a little too blatant.
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ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree, that the racism in the picture is overwhelmingly racist(though intel may not have intended it to be so). I particularly like your observation of the black mens faces being hidden. I think it robs them of their identity and objectifies them into being mere tools for labor. It is especially seen in the title "maximize the power of your employees", once again degrading the black men to just a means of obtaining wealth.
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