For my post I have recycled an artifact from a previous blog post. I feel as though this commercial delivers a powerful message that ties in well with pedantic criticism, and can serve as a strong selection for my second critical essay. The artifact is a commercial from the company P&G called, “P&G Thank You, Mom | The Winter Olympics 2018 | #LoveOverBias”
Act: Several things go on in this commercial. Each child featured is different, and experiences different struggles. What brings them all together, however, is the way each other their mothers look at them, and this commercial shows the progression how each child overcomes their various obstacles through their mother’s love and support.
Agency: The agency is the hashtag #LoveOverBias, which promotes perceiving people equally, instead of from a bias and prejudice perspective.
Agent: Because there are several kids featured in this commercial, I focused on one in particular for the agent. Therefore, the agent is the first girl we see, who jumps on her bed admiring the Olympic skiers pictured on her bedroom wall. At the end of the commercial we see her again as a young woman, competing and finishing her race in the Olympics for skiing.
Purpose: The purpose of this commercial is to show the audience what a world without judgement looks like. A mother’s love is unconditional and free of judgement, despite what others have to say. The commercial brings to viewer’s attention the importance of seeing past small things that separate people from one another, in order to bring society together. It also shows how bias opinions of others prevents people from living up to their full potential.
Scene: There are also several different scenes that take place during this commercial, however, the most prevalent scene is the Olympics. At the beginning of the commercial, the agent is a young girl dreaming of becoming an Olympic skier. At the end, she makes it to the Olympics, and wins, where we see her #1 fan, her mother.
Ratio/Dominant Term: Sonja Foss explains that “Ratios are used to discover the dominant pentadic element.” (Foss 361). Therefore, the ratio I discovered is purpose-act. Purpose is the dominant term because it delivers the most important effect of the commercial. Without the purpose of the act, we cannot understand the significance of the commercial.