On the 27th of May, AJ+ shared on social media a
Chinese advertisement for washing detergent that sparked controversy all over
the internet.
Upon first seeing this on my Facebook timeline I through it
was going to be an ad that embraced girl power because of the way that the
women sits on top of the washing machine, but as the advert processed I was
sadly mistaken. From what I was hoping to be a sexually progress advert from
China only confirmed that racism is handled differently in other countries, if
not at all.
There are two main issues I have with this advert. First one
being racism within China and Qiaobi’s response to all the backlash. The second
one being the ethics behind taking the acting role of the black man.
It is clear that the black male is portrayed as a black
buck, seen as sexual and muscular. This stereotype has been normalised and
naturalised over years and year of media saying that the black body is
naturally more sexual and raw. This type of stereotyping is common all over the
world, hyper sexualising the black body however many could argue that this is archaic.
So what has caused this Chinese advertisement to use the stereotype of the
black buck in its campaign? As discussed in theRacist Chinese Detergent Advert Goes Viral! Video by the YouTube
channel Learn Chinese Now, They
explain that a white skin complexion is desirable in China. This is not due to
a fascination with Westerns, but more social class. In China if you are of a
darker skin tone, it implies that you work outside in jobs such as farming or
heavy lifting labor. These jobs are seen as low class while upper class
members have the luxury to work indoor thus having a lighter skin tone. This
whiteness is highly sort after leading Asian cosmetic company to manufacture products
that work to lighten the skin.
Articles from The Guardian
and Aljazeera discuss the lack of
controversy sparked within China as compared to the rest of the world. The Guardian expresses that within
China, this advert did not get much view time and that majority of people
within China would not classify this as racist. Media like this that demonstrate
that social issues and equality is not homogeneous all around the world. While
this lack of care for racism within China does not excuse adverts like this
being made, it does express that not all countries are as progressive as they
may seem. From Learn Chinese Now,
they express that since China is become very powerful in the economic circle,
they might want to pay more attention to their attitude on racism.
The second point is a thought that was running through my
mind while watching this advert. I want to question how much the black actor
knew about the advert before taking the role. Did he know that he would be “transformed”
into an Asian male by the end of it? By taking this acting role he is a victim
of the burden of representation. Many would argue that if racism is such an
issue why would the actor take the role in the first place? In his defense, we
don’t know how much he knew about the advert before accepting the role, also at
the end of the day it is a paying job (hopefully). I would like to focus more
on the fact that the company had the audacity to create this ad and market it,
rather than bash any of the actors for accepting work. The burden of
representation also backlashes onto the female actor. Who is to assume she is
Chinese? She represents a nation which is now deemed racism due to her doing
her job. This is just an example of how simplistic images of races on media can
have negative effects on entire nation or ethic group. When at the end of the
day, they are just actors trying to get their big break.
From a Western view point, this advert is overtly racist
with a response from the companies as being casually racist. They claim that if
they did not make this advert, their product would not stand out. The excuse of
marketing creative freedom at the expenses of ethnic groups its unacceptable,
however any news is good news, and this company probably got a lot more
attention than they anticipated.
Bonus fact: Did
you know that Qiaobi’s advert is actually a rip off of an Italian ad of the
same nature?
Colouria’s advert for washing detergent has a skinny while
male approaching the female, only to be shoved into a washing machine and
turned into a muscular black man. While the advert is still racist and
stereotypical, it at least as a more positive portrait of colour and empowers
women.
The parallels drawn between the two adverts, as demonstrated
by Racist Chinese Detergent Advert Goes
Viral! Video by the YouTube channel Learn
Chinese Now, are that style of the women’s top, the way she
calls the man over, shoving him into the washing machine with a close up on the
product and EVEN the music is the same. C'mon..
RELATED CONTENT
Colouria advert: https://youtu.be/_dntfod-Cbo
Learn Chinese Now (YT): https://youtu.be/e2lEv3ySGMo
Qiaobi advert: https://youtu.be/oc7Rd4JOKZk
Very interesting read.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think about how the black male in the ad is reminiscent of the idea of the 'black buck' but now that you bring it up, I can't unsee it. It reminds me of King Kong, which is the first film that I read about when studying the idea of the 'black buck'. It's interesting how the black buck is portrayed as something undesirable in the Chinese ad, and yet it is something that is better and more desirable in the Italian one.
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ReplyDeleteSuch a good read! The first video honestly really shocked me because you would think that racism so obvious in an advertisement shouldn't be allowed on air. It just goes to show how easily racism and stereotyping makes its way onto mainstream media, which obviously has a huge effect on the way audiences from all over the world view these negative and misleading ideas of the represented cultures.
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