Quiz 2- Part 1

In the chapter “Patriarchy Gets Funky,” Klein discusses the idea of Gen-Xers. The “acceptance of alternative lifestyles will become even stronger and more widespread as Xers grow up and take over the reins of power, and become the dominant buying group in the consumer marketplace...” “Diversity in all of its forms-culteral, political, sexual, racial, social- is a hallmark of this generation” (p.111). The Gen-xers believe that if the types of images and language use were to change within the media then so would the reality. The two advertisements I chose to examine are a Levi Jeans and a Pepsi Max video.

The video above portrays a male figure in his bedroom pulling up a pair of Levi Jeans. While doing so, the ground erupts and another male figure appears from the ground in a phone booth giving him a rather sexual grin. The man pulling up his jeans lowers the jeans back down to his feet until finally pulling up his pants completely, breaking through into new street side scenery as well as the man in the phone booth. The two then walk side by side down the street together in their Levi Jeans.

This next “Pepsi Max” advertisement portrays homosexuality in a more comical way. In the video, two men are trying to convince their third friend that he is being “checked out” by someone standing at the bar. The clip then shows a woman with glasses starring at him. As the two men urge him to get up and go talk to her, he is given a Pepsi Max and immediately gathers the courage to head to the bar. While we think he is heading for the girl in the former clip, he continues to move past her to an even more sexualized woman standing at the bar. While it is clear that this woman wants to talk to him, he moves past her as well and ends up at the end of the bar talking to a handsome man. The video then turns to his friend’s baffled faces and the clip ends. While each of these two videos seems to portray homosexuality completely differently, they are also somewhat similar. In the first clip, it is clear that the Levi Jeans give him the confidence to break free from his dark apartment and walk down the lighted streets with another man. The Pepsi Max commercial does this as well. Although the whole time we assume he is going for the stereotypical ‘hot’ female figures at the bar, he ends up talking to the guy instead. This type of bold action was only possible after the energy given by the Pepsi drink. Each video breaks away from typical social norms and explores a sense of diversity. While each of these ads portray both positives and negatives, they each stir a reaction from us that allows the brand to be recognized. As Klein states, “If diversity is what we wanted, the brands seemed to be saying, then diversity was exactly what we would get” (p.111).