WMST 205
9/22/2018
Blog #1
Prompt 1
The cultural artifact that I choose for my blog post is a
picture of the most interesting man in the world in a dos equis beer
advertisement. In the photo it is obvious that dos equis is promoting their
different beers, the green (lager) and brown (amber) bottles. Although in the
picture the beers are just on the table, it is what’s around the beers that is
sending the message. The world’s most interesting man, who is perceived as
masculine and successful since he’s wearing a suit and is surrounded by two
beautiful women. The advertisement is sending the message that if you drink dos
equis beer you too will be like the world’s most interesting man.
Prompt 2
My cultural artifact states which gender is the center of
attention which in this case is the man. He is presented as the dominate man in
the photo. His nice suit and beard are definite signs of masculinity. Wearing a
suit, a lot of times symbolize success so being a successful older gentleman clearly
defines he is the masculine in the photo. The women in the photo are
represented as “eye candy”. They are eye candy because of their beautiful
looks, nice dresses, and expensive jewelry they have on. By the looks of the
photo, the women are hanging on to his every word. They are so attracted and
into the man which reinforces the idea that women are just around to please the
man. Another way it reinforces the traditional ideas of femininity is their
posture. Both of the women are tilted towards the man as he is the point of
reference.
Prompt 3
I feel this specific requirement of gender in pop culture
has impacted me in my own gender identity. It has impacted me because it has reinforced
the idea that drinking beer and having beautiful women around is “manly”. It
makes you seem this way to the outside world, in my case my friends and family
members. The advertisement presents the image that a good-looking man drinking
beer gets girls attracted to him.
Prompt 4
The cultural artifact that I choose is an advertisement photo
of dos equis. The social world that the dos equis advertisement exists and acts
in is for beer drinkers around the world specifically in the United States. The
creators/ producers of the advertisement are the dos equis brand and their marketing
team. The intended audience/ receivers are straight men who like to drink beer.
