The use of racism in the media and in advertising.

Intentional or not?

Written and presented by Rachel Harrison

Racism: examples used in advertising and the media.

My four examples: 1. Interview between Paul

Henry and John Key,2. Intel Advertisement,3. Ice Cream

Advertisement, 4. Toothpaste commercial.

What is racism?

• “a social system of domination, that is, of a specific kind of power of one group over another group ”

(Van Dijk, 2005, pp. 1-2)

Example One:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqAEvkNtJ6A&feature=player_embedded

First example: Interview with Paul Henry

• Paul Henry (host of TVNZ Breakfast show)in 2010, made racist remarks against the current Governor-General, Sir Anand Satyanand who is of Fiji-Indian descent.

• In an interview with Prime Minister John Key, Henry asked who would be selected as the new Governor-General and whether they will look and sound more like a New Zealander.

• Is he "even a New Zealander".

Example Two:

http://www.adsavvy.org/25-most-racist-advertisements-and-commercials/

Example two: Advertisement for Intel

• Intel launched a national campaign in 2007.

• The advertisement consisted of a white manager (master?) who stands over six African American athletes who bow in perfect symmetry before him.

Example three:

Example three: Advertisement for Ice Cream

• My third example is an advertisement for a new ice cream flavour.

• Made to advertise that they have come up with a new ice cream flavor that has chocolate inside the vanilla, represented by Obama living inside the White House.

Example four:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRboyW0BruY

Example four: Commerical for toothpaste.

• Advertisement suggesting that people are hesitant about darker colours, whether it is skin colour or toothpaste.

• Organization suggests that consumers will also be hesitant about using brown coloured toothpaste.

Linguistic elements

1st example:• “... are we going to go for someone

who is more like a New Zealander this time?”

• a) more- as if to say that someone can look more New Zealand than the Governor General.

• b) this time- implies that the Governor General does not look or sound like a New Zealander.

• Shows syntactic choice

Linguistic elements

2nd example:• Ambiguity/ pun:a) “multiply

performance”- six male sprinters.

b) “maximize power”- white man standing above men looking powerful with his arms crossed as they bow down.

Linguistic elements

3rd example- • Mitigation used to ease any

idea of racism. • Made humorous by making

it a cartoon and giving Obama a ridiculously huge smile and surrounding him with rainbows and stars.

Linguistic elements

4th example- • The use of over-lexicalization • They have used the word

“appearance” because it is inappropriate to say that “’Black’ can be deceiving”

• Even though it make look ‘different’ or you may be hesitant about trying it, it could in fact be nice

Interrelationship between language, discourse and power.

• Implies that Caucasian or white people hold more power over non-Caucasian people.

• relates to the idea of language discourse and power, because it has been the language by Paul Henry that has made racist remarks and it is the discourse of that language that has implied the remaining racism in the advertising.

For markers only:• Gillian, I hope that you can see the

difference between my assignments three and five and hopefully you can see the improvements I have made.

Thank youRachel Harrison

References • www.adsavvy.org• www.adsoftheworld.com• www.youtube.com• Reisigl & Wodak, 2001, p. 10 (class

readings)• www.tvnz.co.nz/national-news• Van Dijk, 2005, pp.1-2 (class

readings)