Man Cold!

I forgot to post this link after last week's class.. this is a British commercial called "The Man Cold." And it's pretty obvious, but just in case - 999 is their equivalent of our 911 and Lemsip is their equivalent of our Airborne or Cold-Eeze.

The commercial is very funny - and very true. What really strikes me in watching it after our discussion is how complex the concepts of masculinity and femininity actually are. Though the typical masculine male that we outlined is tough and rugged, the commercial depicts a man helpless after catching a cold. It is funny not because it plays against the ideal of masculinity, but because it somehow plays into it. And unlike the helpless feminine woman we are used to seeing and describing, it is the female that is told to toughen up and get over her sickness. These depictions seem to reject how we characterized the polarities of masculinity and femininity - however, I think they actually support them.

The terms masculinity and femininity - even at the poles - change depending on the situation. While a masculine male must be tough at work or (in John Wayne's case) out in the wild, he is at the same time subservient to the woman when it comes to areas of domesticity. Similarly, while the women is meek and vulnerable in the world, she gains a powerful role once she steps into the house. This idea is strengthened when looking at traditional 1950s sitcoms that we discussed. It is Ricky Ricardo, Jim Anderson, and Ward Cleaver that seem to have control, yet Lucy, Margaret, and June ultimately have power in their homes. And that's where the comedic tension lies. So though it seems that the "Man Cold" challenges typical depictions, it is actually the domestic setting that continues to reinforce the ideas..

And without further adu, the "Man Cold" commercial:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=rXLHWmjA5IE&feature=related