What TV commercials teach us
What TV commercials teach us
JAKARTA (JP): If you want to practice medicine in this era of
modernization and globalization (I hope you haven't got tired of
these words), you don't have go to a university and risk your
life in a student orientation program. Neither do you have to
spend years in medical school slaughtering frogs and other
innocent creatures for so-called training.
No. All you need to do is win the position as the neighborhood
chief (Ketua RT). Sick people will come to you and ask for
medicine. You don't believe it. Neither did I until I saw a
television commercial about wonder pills to that cure colds,
coughs and other sickness. Instead of seeing a doctor, the
sickies went to Pak RT, who seemingly practices medicine. The
message is loud and clear.
Much has been said about the wrong ideas television
commercials foster, yet no one does anything about it.
Commercials finance television stations. Without ads television
stations go under. The state television station TVRI is a good
example. Had it not been for the contributions collected from
television owners, most of who don't watch TVRI, and the fees it
collects from private stations, it would have been history a long
time ago.
Some commercials are enjoyable, but in some cases the effects
have caused insecurity.
Mamat, a young CEO, felt uncomfortable when talking to his
client at a business lunch. Every time he talked, he turned his
head or covered his mouth with his hand, worrying that the man he
was talking to would faint because of his breath. He forgot to
use his oral spray (advertised on TV) before meeting the client.
Actually, Mamat has no problem with his breath as he brushes
his teeth three times a day. He doesn't smoke and never touches
liquor, but commercials tell him that keeping his mouth clean is
not enough. He must use additional fresheners, either candy,
gargles or sprays, to prevent bad breath. Now his oral spray is
just like a credit card, he never leaves home without it.
Commercials have taught us a lot. We used to believe that
nothing was as natural as the smell of fresh roses, but to win
the attention of a beautiful girl these days, a rose must be
sprayed with an ozone-destroying aerosol to make it smell more
natural.
People do not generally talk openly about menstruation because
it has a very close relationship with the very personal part of a
woman's body. Just a mention of the natural cycle makes
Indonesian girls blush. Women mention it only if they really have
to, and then disguise the word. Datang bulan (the arrival of the
moon) is the most popular expression in Indonesian. In certain
parts of Sumatra, a menstruating woman says she is with "the
guest".
"I'm having that," a woman replies when asked why she is not
fasting during Ramadhan. Rarely do Indonesian women say "I'm
having the period." In commercials, though, girls discuss
menstruation as though they were talking about clothes -- loud
and clear.
"TV commercials bring a lot of bad effect to children," says a
psychologist.
He isn't joking. Somewhere a baby girl could get burned
because her older brother has spilled a bowl of porridge on her
face. Just like on TV.
-- Carl Chairul