Sunday, March 28, 2010

Andrew Wells, 3.29.10

Over the weekend while I was watching TV, a certain commercial caught my attention. I'm sure most of you have already seen it but I couldn't help but think of Barthes idea of filling in the gap.

Here is the link to the Commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqqqaUwgbGo

The commercial is about the product gum called Dentyne Ice. It does a great job in reenacting a condom commercial. In one scene a couple is seen in the back of a car during the night with the windows fogged up. The girl asks if he has protection and he responds by pulling out a pack of gum.

The reason why I thought immediately to Barthes was because by viewing this commercial the audience is filling in the gap of the situation. When the girl asks for protection the viewer immediately thinks of a condom. Barthes says we constantly rewrite texts and give them new meanings based on our own emotions because of this we like to have something that is not fully revealed so we can fill it in with our imagination.

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