sample quiz essays
FAIR AND LOVELY ADVERTISEMENT
This advertisement represents the view of a somewhat superficial Pakistani society. By
portraying the fact that you must be fair to obtain success, (and not just any type of success, but
instant high grade success) they are passing the message along to the female youth of Pakistan
that they must lighten their skin and appear fairer than their competition. They are linking
fairness to beauty, which the commercial shows would ultimately result in inevitable success.
The profession chosen to show this triumph is that of show business, which further adds to the
superficiality of the society being represented. They could have chosen a more ‘worthwhile’
occupation to focus their advertisement on, such as a doctor or a businesswoman, but instead
they chose that line of work where women are expected to look good and attract attention to
themselves. This exemplifies the role of women as objects, to be looked upon and stared at by
the men in the society. Although the advertisement is pretty much absent of the opposite sex, it
still manages to portray the power that men have over the females in society, and shows the role
that women play in providing satisfaction to those very men in society.
Two classes of Pakistani society are represented here, that of the heroine and her mother who
belong to a middle/lower class, and that of the villainess who is from the higher/elite class. This
is clearly evident through the attire of the two women; the heroine is shown wearing simple,
worn out clothes, whereas the villainess is glimpsed sporting a more ‘glamorous’ ensemble.
Also, the heroine’s mother is shunned during the advertisement, where the villainess insults her
and tells her to go home and put makeup on her own daughter and daughter-in-laws. This is a
sign of her being shown her place-- behavior typical of that found in most upper middle class
homes where the maid/servant is subjected to similar verbal abuse. The commercial also shows a
modernist versus conservative comparison between the two women, where the heroine is the one
from an orthodox close knit family (shown again through the daughter-in-law comment) whereas
the villainess is portrayed as a more liberal, modern Pakistani woman.
The creators of the advertisement have employed the use of various techniques that help them
get their point of view across. For instance, when we first meet the villainess and the heroine’s
mother, and we see the latter being humiliated by the former, there is sad music playing in the
background. This is done purposefully and acts as a useful tool for generating sympathy from
the audience so that the viewer at once realizes who the ‘bad/good guy’ is in the story. Similarly,
when the heroine achieves success and her life is turning around, the melancholy music is
replaced by lively, upbeat music, done so as to create a feeling of happiness for the heroine in the
Specific camera angles are chosen so that the story is appreciated to the fullest. There is a close
up of the villainess’s face, which, according to John Fiske’s analysis in The Codes of Television,
is done so as to represent her ‘evilness’ as being ‘up in someone’s face’ is considered an invasion
of personal space as it portrays a threatening/hostile stance. Also, the heroine is given more
screen time, and plays more of a part in the overall story. We don’t get to hear the villainess’
side of the story at all, (perhaps she was having a bad day and that’s why she let out her anger on
the heroine’s mother?) and thus there is a biased point of view being presented. Also, since the
advertisement is for fairness creams, majority of the shots are those of the face.
The lighting in the heroine’s shots is dark initially. This, as well as the pounding rain, adds to
the gloomy, morose atmosphere being created. It also makes the villainess’s complexion appear
lighter than the heroine. But as the heroine emerges from her cocoon as a beautiful butterfly, she
seems to glow far brighter than the villainess. The lighting thus helps the audience focus all its
attention on this more ‘beautiful creature’.
The dialogues spoken by the heroine are chosen carefully so that the viewer feels sympathy
and affection towards her (seen through her emotional outburst in the beginning, and then by
her touching speech towards the end). The villainess on the other hand gets the dialogues that
generate negative feelings by the audience (seen when she shuns the old woman).
It is also interesting to note that when the heroine was a nobody, she was shown wearing a
simple shalwar qameez with a dupatta. But when she achieved success, her Pakistani dress
disappeared, and she was shown wearing a western gown, whereas the villainess is shown
wearing shalwar qameez both times. In my opinion this shows the more modern Pakistani
woman, with the freedom to wear whatever she does and does not want (hence the discarded
dupatta). However, it also shows how heavily influenced the Pakistani people are by the West,
and the fact that being successful is now being associated with being more western.
The overall view being presented through this advertisement is that a fair complexion equals
beauty, and beauty equal success. However it also brings out the positive aspects of Pakistani
society, that they are modest, humble and don’t forget their roots, as well as the importance of
mothers in Pakistani culture. (The heroine’s acceptance speech illustrates all this.) Also, the
commercial makes an attempt to reduce the superficiality by trying to focus on inner beauty;
although they do say that using their fairness cream will help bring this out. (They must sell their
product too!) This is a rather feeble attempt though, and it does nothing to remove the stereotype
that in Pakistan, fair women are considered beautiful, successful and worth paying attention to.
