Several bloggers, myself included, have been accused of overreacting to the KFC commercial (featuring a fatherless black family) that we discussed a few posts ago. I don’t think that expressing concern about potentially negative images in the media is overreacting, especially since white folk, black folk, single folk, and of course all kinds of parents have chimed in wondering what the fried chicken folk were trying to get at. Plez and Chelle have called for boycotts in the comments they left, but both for different valid reasons. Clearly at the very least some of us do not want our social commentary to come from commercials.
The question is: What do we expect from the media? I personally don’t mind commercials that tell me about a product that I may have interest in using. What I don’t need is the extras. The only time I feel like I’m on the beach drinking a beer is when I’m on the beach drinking a beer. Don’t tell me I’ll get the same feeling when I’m plopped in front of the TV in the dead of winter in NYC. If the car is safe, tell me it’s safe. I don’t need to know that I’ll be the envy of other families because of it’s stylish new design – that simply isn’t an issue when you’re buying a minivan, or a Hyundai. And stop telling me it’s the best whatever ever, because the competition is saying the same thing and they all are annoying me and coming off as liars.
I also don’t need arguably negative black images in prime time or in commercials. Let’s be real, don’t we get enough negativity from the morning news, the 12:00 news, the 5:00 news, the 6:00 news, the 10:00 news, the 11:00 news and COPS? Do I really need it broad