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Man as Hero
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 <Background:
So many of the ads with which we are confronted offer limited
representations of both female and male gender. The common dichotomy of
male as independent/female as dependent is realized in the ad trope of the
man as hero. The ads below depicting rugged men and fragile women offer a
clear illustration of this trope, but a narrative description of an
analysis of advertisements for Dakota cigarettes speaks very clearly of
this problematic area of contemporary advertising: “The female Dakota
smoker is shown to be ‘leaning on a taller male companion, whose arm is
around her neck.’ This is a subtle indication of her dependency…her
clothes, long hair, and ‘cool’ sunglasses signal that the Dakota woman is
the female counterpart to the rugged Marlboro man, but her own personal
identity comes from her very close ties to men…the Dakota woman is the
opposite of the self-reliant and independent Marlboro Man. Individualistic
femininity means vulnerability—the need for protection, dependence on, and
subordination to men” (Benokraitis and Feagin 1995:28; Stern 1993).
The
Ads:
What do these ads suggest about the contemporary roles offer to men and
women in advertising? Many of these ads reflect popular tropes of the
heroic male, such as exhibited in classic Western films and images (images
3, 34). Others include the knight or warrior (images 13, 21, 28, 32, 33,
36), or the explorer (image 29). More contemporary images place the woman
in a position of subjugation, such as in images 10, 15, 17, 19, or in a
dependent position (image 2). Questions:
(1) How is heroism created in the following images? What activities or
situations characterize heroism? (2) Throughout time, how has heroism been
connected to gender? In what contexts are men judged to be heroes? In what
contexts are women judged to be heroes? In what contexts are gay, lesbian,
and transgendered people judged to be heroes? (3) Do you believe that the
cultural notions of heroism are now changing? >
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<presented by Scott A.
Lukas, Ph.D.>
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