I'd love to say that I am a devoted viewer of the Olympics but I would be lying to you. Don't get me wrong I take pride in my country, especially during the Olympics, but I always have something better to do. I love being Canadian, especially during the winter Olympics because we are so amazing at all the sports. Hockey is obviously the best part of the Olympics because that is our national sport and we always give the other countries a run for the gold. I love that womans hockey has won like what, the last 3 years of winter Olympics right? I love that! Especially since I am a woman and not only does it give our country pride, but it gives woman pride in our nation.
The advertisements for these winter Olympics are, in my opinion, pretty good but a little over the top. The "Believe" commercials all try to give the stereotypical Canadian feel but make it look magical and the athletes look heroic. The "Believe" commercials are funded by CTV which is the official broadcaster of the Olympics.
CTV wants Canada to take pride in our country and to show the rest of the world how amazing Canada is. CTV wants "Canada to embrace and fall in love with our Olympic heroes". CTV wants Canada to believe in our athletes and take pride in our country.
I watched Jan Judec http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEFmfgXtJ08&fmt=18, Melissa Hollingsworth http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b24IZi0lGBI&fmt=18, and Patrick Chan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MU1ICfPULY&fmt=18.
Each "Believe" commercial gives information about the athlete's life and why they are so amazing. These commercials try to make each athlete seem like a hero and that we should fall in love with Canada because they are Canadian athletes that are going to bring home the gold for Canada.
In Jan Judec's commercial, the narrator Donald Sutherland (a Canadian actor), tells the viewer of Judec's rough history and how his family escaped Chezklesavakia in a wooden boat. Judec says in the commercial "if I hadn't of come to Canada I wouldn't of had the same opportunities", giving the view a sense of how much better Canada is then other countries. Sutherland follows by telling the view how devoted Judec is to his athleticism since he trains 8 hours a day, 11 months out of the year. The viewer should take pride in his devotion and love him for being Canadian.
In Melissa Hollingsworth's commercial, it opens with Hollingsworth alone in a dressing room, representing the dedication and the specific mindset she has prepared herself in to win the first Canadian gold medal on Canadian soil. She walks out of the room with a strong and confident strut and Sutherland tells the viewers how dangerous her sport is. Sutherland describes the sport as being one of the fastest sports in the world where Hollingsworth with sled head first down a track of ice going 120km/hr with no steering wheel or brakes. The Canadian viewer should be honored to be Canadian with Hollingworth and have Hollingsworth fight for our gold medal. Hollingsworth is risking her life to be our hero in the Olympics.
In Patrick Chan's commercial, the focus is on his young age. Chan is 18 years old who still attends school. The commercial shows him studying in front of a piano, making him multitalented. Chan is a figure skater that combines athleticism with artistry. The viewer embraces his talents and falls in love with his dedication to the sport while he still goes to school.
All three of these commercials give symbolic imagery of Canadian but not in the stereotypical manner. The commercials want to viewer to take pride in being Canadian so the symbolic imagery is shown in a peaceful and heroic manner. And each athlete is shown as a hero. In Judec's commercial he is shown in the dark with a bright light shining behind him, with Hollingsworth she is shown doing her very dangerous sport, and Chan is shown figure skating one moment and studying the next.
I think these commercials do help Canadians "embrace and fall in love" with their country because they make the athletes look heroic and everyone wants a hero. These commercials are also a great tactic to get the viewer interested in watching the Olympics because they inform the viewer of information about the athletes that is never addressed during the Olympic games. These commercials give the viewer an opportunity to choose a favourite and watch that athlete throughout the Olympic games.
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