You've got male

Smart white guy. AP PhotoFor the last thirty years -- at least -- it has been nearly impossible to find a smart white man on television or in commercials.

It's been all about how brilliant and liberated women are, and how clueless are the neanderthal males they're forced to tolerate.

An example of the phenomenon is a commercial I have despised in recent months: for Cheerios.

In the ad, a man has the misfortune to be married to a woman who is both unsightly and patronizing.

They are in the kitchen. She is munching on MultiGrain Cheerios and he is able to put only his foot in his mouth. 

After several attempts at conversation for which he earns only the disdain of his wife, "Steve" concedes that the cereal box is telling him to "shut up."

His gaze is quasi-clairvoyant.

Reinforcing what we already know: if a woman is present, with all of her innate wisdom and discernment and uncompromising mettle, a male is at best superfluous.

That's all changed now … have you noticed?

Now the man gets to be smart … as long as he's dark-skinned.

(Do you think General Mills really wanted a middle-eastern fellow but settled on Indian, figuring that to be as close as it was prudent to get? Or am I seeing Bolsheviks under beds where there are none?)

Either way ... the dark guy is markedly calm, cool, and collected. His gravitas is compelling; his gaze is quasi-clairvoyant.

Although nobody would accuse him of being rude, he deems it appropriate to constantly interrupt.

After all, he's practically godlike in his cognitive and intuitive powers.

And this time a slightly disheveled (white) woman is left holding the cereal box, flummoxed, a look of awed confusion on her face.

Yeah ... Swami knew she'd take a box. Wonder if he knows whether she'll take a fresh one or the one she's been eating out of?

Comments

[Debbie]

I hadn't really thought about men and women in commercials. I'll have to be more observant.

In reality we don't watch many commercials. All the shows we watch are recorded on Direct TV DVR and when we watch them we FF through the commercials.

[Jennifer]

@ Debbie ... watching the occasional commercial is a great way to keep your finger on the pulse of what libs and progs are doing to America. The advertisers have it figured out. And if 30 seconds of nonsense is all you can take, this is your vehicle! Personally I favor the mute button whenever possible.

[kev]

Yep, yep and yep. I dubbed this phenomenon "Everybody Loves Raymond-itis" in a blog post I wrote a while back. (Yes, I shamelessly plug my own work.) Please allow myself to quote...myself:

"Raymond is just one example of an assembly line of television shows and movies in the past decade or two where a weak and/or inexplicably stupid man is dating or married to a strong and/or inexplicably intelligent woman. It’s little wonder why I see men in clothing stores holding purses and men in video stores carrying some random chick flick."

And you're absolutely right... now it's shifted to where men can be smart again, but only if they're not white.

Yep, being a young, white male in America is a sweet gig.

[Mari]

You are so right! I am so sick of every man on tv being made to look like an idiot. I hadn't noticed this new trend. I'm going to have to pay more attention!

[Audrey]

You are most definitely correct on all points. They've moved on to dark swarthy males being made out to look fantastic these days haven't they! Great observations. I've seen this commercial but hadn't picked up on that.

[Jennifer]

@ Kev ... Everybody Loves Raymond is another great example of this sickening practice! One thing I've noticed: it's okay to be smart if you're a white guy and your demographic is staunch capitalists. Think Sam Waterston!

@ Mari ... now that your consciousness has been raised to this, you'll see it more and more!

@ Audrey ... the message is subtle but it's there nonetheless. Liberals and progressives have been working hard for decades to get us to this point.