George Washington Dodge Commercial

In my first blog post, I will be discussing how I perceived the George Washington Dodge Commercial because I feel the commercial did an excellent job of showing the role that socialization plays within the American culture.

After watching the commercial, I felt that Dodge is trying to convey the message that their vehicles are "All- American" therefore, Americans should feel proud when driving their vehicles.  Americans are often associated with the idea of winning and winning against other countries and this commercial from Dodge just reiterates this idea.  They chose to use George Washington as the main character because he is seen by many Americans as a trustworthy figure. His character also represents leadership, which makes George Washington an ideal representation of how the Dodge company wants both their vehicles as well as America as a whole to be viewed.  The company wants their vehicles to be associated with these characteristics because this is what they believe will generate the most profit. There are all sorts of stereotypes about America and with this commercial, Dodge is attempting to take what they believe are the best qualities of America and associate them with their product.  It is also clear that gender is certainly a factor in this commercial. It is directed towards men because it is an American stereotype that men are more interested in cars than women. This is something that we as Americans have been socialized to believe.

This all reminds me of an experience that I had when I went to purchase my first car at about 16 years old and knew absolutely nothing about cars.  I decided that it would be a good idea to bring my father and older brother along with me since they knew far more about cars than I did. As we browsed the car dealership lot, we were approached by a man who immediately began speaking to my father.  He automatically assumed that we all came to purchase a car for my brother so he began to ask him questions about what kind of car he was looking for. The man was surprised  to find that I was the one actually looking for a car and began to show me cars that I believe he thought were considered "more girly."

This story goes to show that we as Americans have been socialized to believe many stereotypical behaviors, and this commercial reinforces these behaviors.

Is this commercial really an accurate representation of America?  How do individuals from other countries view this commercial?