SUBTEXT

1. SUBTEXT EXAMPLES

2. Subtext Examples (1) JIF Peanut Butter slogan "Choosy moms choose JIF"

3. Subtext Examples • “moms”: • moms, rather than mother, carries the connotation of loving, caring • SEXISM: relies upon a trite gender role of women as shoppers, caretakers of the family • Only women can shop? Men are too stupid to go grocery shopping? Men don’t care about their children? • Men work, women do only housework?

4. Subtext Examples • to “choose”: • to select, seek, discriminate, buy • “choosy”: • selective • conscientious • loving 

5. Subtext Examples • SUBTEXTS: • “Moms who care about/love their children will discriminately buy JIF.” • Only mothers who truly love their children will buy JIF. • Fathers/men don’t love their children—because they do not shop for groceries. If you do not buy this brand of peanut butter, then you do not love your children.

6. Subtext Examples (2) Shania Twain’s “She's Not Just a Pretty Face ”

7. (Oh na, na, na) She hosts a T.V. show--she rides the rodeo She plays the bass in a band She's an astronaut— A valet at the parking lot A farmer working the land She is a champion-- she gets the gold She's a ballerina-- the star of the show Chorus: She's -- not -- just a pretty face She's -- got -- everything it takes She has a fashion line – A journalist for Time Coaches a football team She's a geologist-- a romance novelist She is a mother of three She is a soldier-- she is a wife She is a surgeon-- she'll save your life Chorus: She's -- not -- just a pretty face She's -- got -- everything it takes She's -- mother -- of the human race She's -- not -- just a pretty face Oh, oh, yeah Oh na, na, na, na..... She is your waitress -- she is your judge – She is your teacher She is every woman in the world Oh, la, la, la She flies an airplane – She drives a subway train At night she pumps gasoline She's on the council-- she's on the board She's a politician-- she praises the Lord Repeat Second Chorus  No, she's (she's) not (not) --just a pretty face She's (she's) got (got) -- everything it takes She's -- not -- just a pretty face She's got everything it takes She's not just a pretty face (Written by Twain/Lange) Twain, Shania. “She’s Not Just a Pretty Face.” n.d. 14 Mar. 2009 <http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/ shaniatwain/shesnotjustaprettyface.html>. Subtext Examples

8. Subtext Examples FEMINISM: • Men are defined by their intellectual, physical, and sexual traits. • But Women are only defined by their sexual attributes. • Yet a woman is more than her “pretty face”—more than her physical traits, her appearance, more than her sexuality. Women can be defined beyond their sexuality, their appearances.

9. Subtext Examples FEMINISM: • A woman has intelligence, too. • Attractive women are not necessarily stupid. • To prove her point, she lists EXAMPLES of roles that women play that are NOT based upon gender. MULTICULTURALISM: • The women shown in the video are diverse • of various races and classes • (ages, ethnicity, religion).

10. Subtext Examples (3) Cartoon Pardon My Planet

11. Subtext Examples Pardon My Planet.14 Mar. 2009. 14 Mar. 2009 <http://www.seattlepi.com/fun/ineedhelp.asp?date=20090314>

12. Subtext Examples AUDIENCE: • children (cartoons) • mothers reading to children TARGET: • women, wives (unhappily married), divorced women SUBJECTS: • women, Caucasian women, middle-upper class, nice home & clothes, not working IRONY: • no rings on their fingers, nice home & clothes

13. Subtext Examples SUBTEXT: • men = dogs, animals, need to be trained, cleaned up after, kept on leashes • BUT then a strange event occurs: the subtext turns on the target audience, usually unintentionally -- • women = stereotypes: sit around all day (in nice clothes, in a nice home) drinking coffee & gossiping … while the “puppy” works “like a dog” • women = philogynists • lesbians are man-haters TOULMIN: • Claim: men = puppies • Grounds: none – stereotyping, overgeneralizing, male-bashing (philogyny), sexism • Warrant: claim is NOT warranted by the grounds

14. Subtext Examples (4) Goodyear Tire’s “G800 Supersteels Advertisement”

15. Subtext Examples

16. Subtext Examples • Text: • “After a 36,000-mile tune-up, • I hit the brakes at 50” • Image: • Car on a jetty, near the edge • Jetty has rubber barrier • discussed in Judith Williamson’s Decoding Advertisements (London: Marion Boyars, 1978)

17. Subtext Examples • SUBTEXT: • Jetty = Tire – • Jetty’s shape suggests tire’s shape • outside of the jetty resembles the outside of a tire • “the whole jetty is one big [tire]” • Jetty’s quality suggests the tire’s • jetty is tough, strong, formidable • withstands water’s punishment and withstands erosion or wear • hardy, durable, resilient qualities transferred to the tires • Jetty relationship to the car = tire’s to the car - • the jetty surrounds, encloses, & protects the car • the tire protects the car, driver • the part protecting the whole

18. Subtext Examples • SUBTEXT: • Logo Recognition – • brand name, emblem • recognize the name • associate certain traits with the brand • accept (even unconsciously) traits about its product • hold certain expectations for its products • Celebrity Endorsement – • famous race-car driver • transfer his authority in one area to another

19. Subtext Examples • SUBTEXT: • Too Far? – • A smallwhite car rushing out to the tip of the cylindrical jetty • that’s protruding from the body of land into a body of water and • that’s encircled by a rubber coating • Is prevented from going into the rippling water • Car = sperm • Jetty = a phallus • Rubber coating = prophylactic • Water = yoni • Jetty’s action = prophylactic, preventative, protective

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