Introduction
The Coca-Cola commercial from 2014, titled “It’s Beautiful,” has stirred controversy due to the misinterpretation of the scenes. The commercial features households of diverse backgrounds singing in various languages, “America the Beautiful” (Amalina 57). This advertisement faced criticism within and outside of the US due to the appearance of a gay couple and the singing in foreign languages.
Discussion
Even though the advertisement’s meaning is straightforward, it caused great controversy. The producers of the ad wanted to emphasize that America is the land that unites numerous nationalities and accepts everyone for their true selves. However, one may argue that the presence of a gay couple was not an adequate representation of the LGBT community. Some were agitated due to the supposed “inability of immigrants to speak English” (Amalina 57). This hate towards immigrants reflected the political situation in the US during Trump’s inauguration, hence the appearance of the 2014 ad in 2017. Coca-Cola wanted to emphasize the need to embrace diversity by demonstrating the core value of the country, which is diversity.
The second visual argument is social media, particularly Instagram. This platform is centered around the visual aspect since users post photos of themselves or anything they enjoy. Over the years, Instagram has caused several controversies as many people post altered pictures of themselves and therefore affecting the perception of a healthy body image. As a response, this social media launched several features that allow people to see which photos posted in stories were created using filters. As a visual medium, Instagram and other social media are excellent opportunities for people to share photos or drawings. Moreover, a lot of communication happens on social media, which makes these platforms important for the day-to-day life of people and their artistic expression.
The third visual argument is a drawing by İnci Eviner with the title “Untitled.” The artist presented this work in 2010, and it features black-and-white images of people and animals (Delagrange). Eviner is a Turkish woman who studied painting at the Istanbul Academy of Fine Arts but has always utilized sketching as her primary medium. She was born in Ankara in 1956 and currently lives and works in Istanbul (Delagrange). Her tremendous body of work created over four decades is the consequence of her continual investigation of the subject as a dynamic organism. Her captivating yet delicate networks of images and mark-making navigate the imminence of death while simultaneously assuming an intimate examination of the female body (Delagrange). Moreover, she incorporates modern media into her artworks to recreate the tangled world that people live in at the moment.
Conclusion
In summary, this paper discussed three visual arguments, the Coca-Cola advertisement, İnci Eviner’s “Untitled” drawing, and social media. The advertisement’s message is clear, but it nonetheless generated a lot of debate. The ad’s creators wanted to underline that America is the country that brings people of all different nations together and embraces them for who they truly are. Due to the ad’s misinterpretation, the Coca-Cola “It’s Beautiful” commercial from 2014 has generated controversy. Since people often upload images of themselves on social media, the second visual argument is focused on the aesthetic component. Instagram is a social networking site where users may upload images and edit them to make stories. Finally, İnci Eviner’s “Untitled” drawing represents people and their daily life and offers an overlook of the artist’s creative expression of modern life.
Work Cited
Amalina, Benita. “Representation of Coca Cola as American Multicultural Icon in the TV Advertisement America is Beautiful.” Rubikon: Journal of Transnational American Studies, vol. 1, no. 2, 2014, pp. 57-67.
Delagrange, Julien. “Top 12 Contemporary Drawing Artists You Need To Know.” Contemporary Art Issue. Web.