I chose to use this artifact because I think it shows the state of our popular culture and what kind of values and norms are being displayed in media. It was an interesting artifact because it focuses a lot on convincing a man that masculinity is found in his muscle strength and sex-drive/performance. I found through rhetorically analyzing this artifact that a lot of the rhetorical tools Ageless Male uses reflect and promote traditional views of masculinity and gender norms. As we discussed in class about how society is largely patriarchal, my eyes were opened to this reality through analyzing this artifact. In my analysis, I make that argument that Ageless Male's focus on a male's muscle strength and sex drive/performance reifies traditional gender norms and views of masculinity, and it diminishes the role of women and femininity by focusing on testosterone saying that the effects of high testosterone are desirable and useful for becoming the best you can be. I go on to argue that we need to be aware of the negative effects that Ageless Male's marketing techniques can have on our society. Its focus on muscle strength and sex drive/performance as the independent variable to the dependent variable of high quality of life encourages men to slip into traditional gender norms and expect traditional gender norms/roles from females as well.
Discussion Questions:
What does Ageless Male's use of Kairos as a rhetorical tool say about the views and values of our society?
How can buying into the views on masculinity portrayed in this video negatively effect our culture?
I completely agree with your argument-- the entire commercial sends the message of what it means to be a "real man." All a guy has to do is lift some weights, have a lot of sex, and hike in the mountains to be what our culture constitutes as a "manly man." I think this commercial shows how our culture is so focused on fearing the aging process. With more and more male celebrities who are seen as sex symbols above the age of 40, non-famous men strive to reach this false state of being. The ideas of masculinity in this commercial have definite negative effects on our culture. Overall I think this commercial is insulting to men because it shows the typical stereotypes of how men should behave and look. This essentialist view of men shows that our culture is still deeply rooted in paternalistic views and ideals.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, there are currently more commercials on television portraying men with more "feminine-like" traits. For example, the Pampers commercials that shows fathers and their babies who wear "father-tested" diapers. While these commercials are seen as strange and going against the norm, I think this is a good start to changing current gender norms in our culture.
The Ageless Male commercial plays into stereotypes that everyone in society is familiar with. Men are supposed to have muscle tone and endless sex drive, and if they don't then they are getting older and therefore less masculine, or as the commercial felt the need to say several times, "losing their edge". These stereotypes of men are old and engrained within society, but I thought what was particularly interesting about the kairos element of this ad was that performance on the job was left out of the list of manly ideals. Being a provider goes back to ancient roots for men, so it's noteworthy that Ageless Male skipped over this facet of manhood. The most likely cause for this omission is the economic downturn. While the economy is now recovering, there were losses that families are still feeling the effects from. When the provider role was taken from men as the economy slowed, advertisers were able to use the other traditional masculine attributes to drive sales of male enhancers. This would not have been the case before the decline, which is why the kairos of this ad is interesting to me.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thoughts about how this video is interpellating for a strong manly man. This commercial does use kairos to influence their male audience. Currently as a society were have been going through hard economic times which causes for changes within households. We are seeing a shift in more men making the decision to be the stay at home parents while mothers become the primary bread winner. This isn't a bad thing but it is something that is new for our culture. I think that because of this shift men are looking to other things to fill their missing gap (such as this supplement) of not being the bread winner.
ReplyDeleteThis supplement causes one to look at the male body through a materialist perspective by reducing what a "man" is done to three characteristics: muscle strength, sexual drive, and performance. This isn't the only supplement that is out on the market to "improve men's bodies by increasing their true T level" Since we live in a society that is always looking for a quick fix, this just another supplement that can sit on the shelf next to other male enhancing supplements such as PowerMax XXL, VigRX Plus, and Male Extra.
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ReplyDeleteThe Ageless Male advertisement not only focuses on the gender stereotypes expected of men in our society but, also brings to light how obsessed our culture is with eternal youth. Testosterone supplements to "fix abnormal conditions" that occur with age, increased advertising of plastic surgery, Botox injections, and the list goes on for treatments to combat the natural process of aging. Society has placed beauty and youth on a pedestal and are masked by new found medical conditions.
ReplyDeleteMen are expected to be muscular, fit, strong, and able to take care of a family. However, with age men become weaker, they slowly are unable to do everything expected of them. The medicalization of aging is beginning to reinforce the gender stereotypes of society.
I completely agree with the argument you make here. Male supplement commercials all seem to put men down about aging, even though it is a completely natural process. However, the advertisement employs kairos because more and more we see male celebrities age 40 and over being classified as "sex symbols" and being praised for staying in shape at an older age. The media is comprised of showing these images and talking about these men, and the commercial plays off that, in hopes of men wanting to be like these celebrities. I think this is a bit degrading to men; making them feel like they are losing strength, performance, and sex drive as they get older and that they need to fix it-- even though it's completely normal. All of us change as we get older. I know some people have personal issues with staying in shape or in their romantic relationships, but supplements made for a man that may just POSSIBLY think his workout routines are coming less challenging and so on are discouraging. Even the name of the supplement infers that it's trying to do something unnatural to your body-- make it ageless. Supplements that try and make men become more masculine just feed into our gender stereotypes and allow them to continue.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your argument that the artifact sends messages that masculinity is defined by strength and sex/drive performance. I also agree that it works to reflect and promote traditional gender roles in our society too. I think it is very interesting how many rhetorical techniques the artifact uses to send their messages. The character choice, the imagery, the doctor, and everything; it uses so many different ways to send the message I think you are arguing about. It is quite interesting to consider the potential effects of messages like this on our society. The artifact promotes their product as if their ideas about what a man ought to be are undeniable and what every man should embody, or at least should desire to embody. I think the artifact's ability to promote their product is completely dependent on the kairos of the situation. The artifact does not do much to convince viewers that the men in the commercial and the opportunities from Ageless Man are how men ought to be.
ReplyDeleteMachismo has such negative effects today, it's appalling. Men are basically trained to abuse their responsibilities. Yes, they have responsibilities, but intrinsic in the potential that men have are negative effects. This ad certainly condones that kind of bad behavior. Idealizing a manly man in an ad is simply double abuse. It's abusing the fact that power is abused by men. This happens in other realms, too. Women are idealized and cosmetic companies abuse the wrongly fangled skinny ideal woman. This kind of advertising is basically useless and ought not be. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteGender roles and stereotypes are used in this "ageless male" advertisement. Men are being told they do not need to age and need to look a certain way when they are aging. Kairos has a lot to do with what the advertisement is trying to enforce. Men are supposed to look and feel sexy when they get older, not actually age. The misconception in our culture about what males and females should look and feel like is unreal. Advertisements are constantly reinforcing the idea that people shouldn't age. Plastic surgery advertisements are very common for men as well as women in our society and it is becoming to norm to be taking something that makes you feel and look younger.
ReplyDeleteI compare this artifact to our discussion of how reproduction and fertilization is told, and the underlying metaphors and themes that are incorporated into the artifact. Past rhetoric and cultural ideals have embedded themselves in the rhetoric of today. This concept of a man being judged on his strength and sex drive is not new. It dates back centuries to ancient times. It is taking advantage of the classical concept of where men derive their confidence and power from.
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