Have you seen my glasses?
Have you seen the Dish ad with the couple where he is looking for something and she is using her voice remote to find a movie she wants to watch? He raises up and asks her “Have you seen my glasses? We see his glasses are on the top of his head. She replies, “They’re around somewhere.”
I am going to scream about this degradation of older men. Do you know why the two actors’ roles were not reversed? I believe it is because the advertising agency would have lost much of their business if they were viewed as making fun of a woman.
Another question I have is why isn’t this couple mixed race? That seems to be the way most commercials are cast. Wouldn’t it be just as cute, if it was a white woman that said, “They’re around somewhere.” I’m sure the agency did not want to deal with the fallout from possible racism.
It is acceptable to make fun of men. Color or Race means nothing if the man is considered elderly. The idea of a forgetful old man is always a good laugh. Don’t make fun of a young black man. You’ll be called a bigot.
Another problem with this commercial is that it is making fun of those of us that do not have very good memories. Yes, I am in my sixties, and I have heard the story that when you get older there are three things that happen. The first is you lose your memory and the person telling the joke can’t remember the other two.
To prove my poor memory is not caused by aging, I will tell you the other two. You go to the bathroom a lot more and your breakfast consists of about two dozen pills. My memory started to go when I was in my twenties. When in grade school, high school, and even college I was praised for my ability to memorize scripture, statistics, poetry, speeches, and vocabulary words for four languages.
One of the things you learn when your brain does not recall things as easily as it once did, is to compensate. I began carrying a notebook in my pocket when I was in journalism. I still carry it. Everything I need to remember is in there. Phone numbers, ideas for articles and books, and even things I need to pick up at stores.
I have worn glasses since I was in the third grade. They are always on my face. I now wear a strap on them since I had cataracts removed and the new lens gave me the vision to read clearly. I still need glasses for everything else. They are always on my eyes, my chest, or the nightstand.
While many of you think this commercial is humorous, I hope you understand why it distresses me. One thing I assume is that the woman is his wife. If I am wrong about this and she is his sister, then I understand. So as Rose Ann Rosanna Danna would say, “never mind.”
©Copyright 2022 by Charles Kensinger
Charles (Chuck) Kensinger 