As I was leafing through a LIFE oversize periodical of magazines from 1955, I came across an advertistment for Aunt Jemima's pancake mix. The advertisment was disturbing to me, because it reminded me of the film "The Confederate States of America" about the stereotypes and issues of racism. The film ends by stating that America hasn't entirely abandoned the stereotype of the smiling, happy African-American servant... "Just ask Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben." Prior to watching this film I had never thought of products such as Aunt Jemima's maple syrup as having a racist beginning.
This particular advertisment depicts aunt Jemima attired with a stripped bandanna, and matching apron happily serving two gentlemen their pancakes. With a quote underneath:
"When guests of colonel Higbee asked aunt Jemima how she made pancakes so light and full of flavor, she just smiled and answered- ("thats my own secret. you just eat' em.") Always she kept that secret"
It is hard to ignore the racist undertones of this advertisment. The image of Aunt Jemima is always kind of erie to me- her over fake smile, happily going about her work, or better said- her secret. It doesn't matter how much labor, hard work, suffering that goes into pleasing guests, it matters that she is smiling and not complaining about it. It was probably common in the early 1950's for rich families to have servants or buttlers, but this advertisment appears to be set earlier to the time of publish. The pancakes in this advertisment are in the least being linked to servantry or more extremly to slavery. Why would advertisers think that consumers would want to buy pancakes when they saw the image of a servant serving them? Maybe because it reminds them of a simplier time, they take comfort in being waited on. Regardless of the exact motives behind this advertisment, I find it disturbing and somewhat racist.
For More racism in the media check out:
Strausbaugh, John. Black like you : blackface, whiteface, insult & imitation in American popular culture. New York: Penguin, 2006.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I could not agree more with your comments on the racial undertones in old advertisements. I have seen the same series of adds as I was searching through the old magazines though I also have vivid flash backs of that advertising campaign from my childhood as well. The racial undertone has lightened over the years yet is still a huge problem today. I wonder how it is possible to escape these undertones all together. It seems as though someone could always be steryotyped against depending on the topic.
Post a Comment