POWER AND GENDER: A SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS OF PAKISTANI TELEVISION COMMERCIALS
Shumaila MPhila, Marya Sarwarb, Atif Saleem Tahirc, Ijaz Ahmadd
- aScholar, Department of English, University of Okara, Pakistan
- bLecturer in English, Department of English, University of Okara, Pakistan
- cPhD Scholar, School of English, Minhaj University Lahore, Pakistan
- dMPhil Scholar, Department of English, University of Okara, Pakistan
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Abstract
The aim of this study is to examine the gender and power portrayal in some selected television commercials of Pakistan with the perspective of Roland Barthes' semiotic theory. This study is designed to analyze the denotative and connotative meanings in the advertising discourse, construction of gender identities and the power relation representation. One qualitative research design was used and 15 TV commercials of different brands from different product categories were selected purposefully. The study reveals that ads are cultural texts which reflect and generate the values of the society in Barthes' terms of denotation, connotation, and myth. The results confirm that traditional gender-based stereotypes are still present in many commercials, and certain commercials present images of women as powerful, independent and socially active. In addition, there are several measures of power, such as control, technology, authority, care taking and personal empowerment. The study emphasizes the construction and negotiation of gender and power within current Pakistan, through the lens of advertising.