Visual Rhetorical Analysis
2020 will be known in history as the year when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak, resulting in massive lockdowns of the population all around the world. In almost every country, people were forced to stay at home for indefinite amounts of time, and from that, frustration grew exponentially. Being denied the possibility of going out to work, traveling, visiting friends, or just taking a walk, families had to adjust to the new reality where they had to stay together every hour of every day. As the atmosphere of danger and limitations set up by the pandemic and lockdowns did not exactly promote positive emotions, people needed some good experiences to support their familial relations. Cooking – both together and separately – became one of these experiences, and the “Coca-Cola: The Great Meal” (2020) commercial video depicts that well.
Video Description
The video portrays many people of different genders, races, nations, and cultural backgrounds, all united by a newfound passion – cooking for their loved ones. This theme connects the images and motives throughout the whole video and is highlighted by different aspects of cultures and traditions. The visuals are filmed in warm colors, emphasizing the warm and positive emotions that familial bonding brings. According to Scholes (2019), “filters and other devices cause us to see the world through jaundiced or rose-colored optics, coloring events with emotion more effectively than pathetic verbal fallacy and less obtrusively” (para. 1). A special place in the visual narrative is given to food – various meals of different nations are showcased, complete with some of the specifics of preparing them. It climaxes in the scenes of families eating together, laughing, chatting, and expressing their love for each other.
In such scenes, Coca-Cola is subtly hinted at as the ingredient that completes a good meal. The narrator is backed by a well-known Brazilian song, “Sabali” written and performed by Amadou and Mariam. Together with a brilliant text narrated in a soft female voice, it creates an association with unity, peace, and love that is strongly supported by the visual scenes of people joining together for a meal.
Underlying Values, Ideas, or Beliefs
While the “Coca-Cola: The Great Meal” (2020) commercial video is aimed at promoting the drink as a companion to a good family dinner, it supports other underlying values. First of all, the narrative emphasizes how important it is to connect with one’s family, especially during times of crisis, that is a pandemic. Schole (2019) suggests that “in processing a narrative text, we actually construct the story, bringing a vast repertory of cultural knowledge to bear upon the text that we are contemplating” (para. 5). 2020 was the harshest year in terms of lockdowns and COVID-19-related limitations, and people all around the world suffered greatly from it. The commercial shows that, by doing something simple as preparing and eating meals together, families everywhere, no matter race or culture, supported their inner relations and affection for each other.
This theme is especially important nowadays, as the fast rhythm of life that has become a necessity for people of modern society does not facilitate well family ties and spending time together. Youngsters are often busy with school, middle-aged people have to work to support themselves and their children and/or parents, and elderly people often feel neglected due to it all. Whereas food holds a lot of cultural and national legacy – special recipes, methods of cooking, specific spices, and other aspects are carefully held and passed down from generation to generation. Thus, by portraying the joy and overwhelming emotions of bonding of different generations, the commercial promotes the importance of family and its crucial place as the main pillar of support for a person.
Moreover, the way the commercial portrays people of different nationalities and their traditional meals communicates cultural diversity as a natural way of coexistence. Multiculturalism is, in its essence, a driving force that brings together the differences that make us who we are and tries to establish peace between many variables of human nature. The multitude of aspects in which lies the self-identification of any group that is bound by its own set of rules, practices, rituals, and legacy contains the concept of culture as we know it. Cheon (2018) facilitates that “heritage cultures serve critical psychological functions by providing guides and normative standards for behavior, acting as markers that facilitate differentiation of in-group members from those of outgroups” (93). In an ever-going globalization of the world, a person is constantly at the border of many cultures, be it because of their birth and growing up circumstances, traveling, or family setting. A human’s identity is shaped by the cultural experiences we have had, and each of us can represent many different cultures at once.
Personal Impression
All of the concepts mentioned earlier are showcased well in the video as it seamlessly shifts from one family to another, showing joy and positivity from their bonding in each separate case. The commercial does not draw attention to the differences between cultures but hints at the notion that, while we are indeed different, love for family and good food unites us all. Respect for various cultures and traditions is balanced out by the implication that, as people, we all have the same core values at heart. Schole (2019) adds that “cultural reinforcement is the process through which video texts confirm viewers in their ideological positions and reassure them as to their membership in a collective cultural body” (para. 2). This point might not be easily perceived at first glance, but when I started to analyze the video, it became rather clear. I think it is an important aspect to highlight, as during the time of the pandemic, it became crucial to uniting not only in the boundaries of one family, nation, or country but as a whole. Overcoming such a crisis took a toll on everyone, and as the world recovers gradually, emphasizing our similarities is as necessary as respecting our differences.
Analyzing this video prompted me to reflect on the correlation of cultural diversity and familial relations and how it resonates with the current situation in the world. The COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented issue for modern society, and it left a significant impact on our everyday lives. In some parts of the world, the struggle is not over – for example, China is currently suffering from another outbreak. Thus, it seems to me that now, people especially need positivity and support in their lives, and family is the first instance that can provide it. Traditions and rituals that are upheld by generations can bring people peace of mind as they offer comfort in their familiarity and meaning. I believe that the “Coca Cola: The Great Meal” (2020) commercial video shows that idea beautifully by linking it to such a universal concept as food.
Works Cited
Cheon, Bobby K. “The Diversity of Cultural Diversity: Psychological Consequences of Different Patterns of Intercultural Contact and Mixing.” Asian Journal of Social Psychology, vol. 22, no. 1, 2018, pp. 93–105.
Coca-Cola. “Coca-Cola: The Great Meal.” YouTube, 2020.
Scholes, Robert. “On Reading a Video Text.” Center for Media Literacy, 2019.