ShmoopTube

00:01

We speak student!

00:05

Media Literacy

00:07

Behind the Ads

00:09

a la Shmoop

00:12

So, Deb, what is subtext? This is stuff below the text, right?

00:16

That's exactly what it is.

00:18

Subtext is basically the implied meaning of a text,

00:22

instead of the literal meaning.

00:24

Give us an example.

00:25

So in advertising,

00:30

a woman eats a Dove chocolate

00:34

and then suddenly her hair starts blowing in the wind

00:37

and she leans back and men are looking at her.

00:40

[ wolf whistle ]

00:41

Chocolate's an aphrodisiac, right?

00:43

- It's got oysters in it. - That's the subtext.

00:46

The subtext is that

00:48

Dove chocolate will make you more attractive and men will want to date you.

00:52

The text is this woman ate chocolate

00:55

and then her hair started blowing in the wind.

00:56

That's the text.

00:58

The subtext is it makes you more attractive.

01:01

So basically, it's anything that's implied by the text.

01:05

And texts can be actual written text,

01:07

or it can be an image. It can be a show, anything.

01:11

But it's anything that's implied.

01:12

It's that -- When we read between the lines,

01:15

what we're reading is subtext.

01:17

[ ohh ]

01:19

Can advertisers use subtext to lie?

01:23

There was a time when we didn't know

01:25

that cigarette smoke was bad for you.

01:27

Newports Fresh Menthol

01:30

keeps it that way. Smoother...

01:33

Now we know and that's why there are

01:36

things plastered all over it saying, "This is gonna kill you."

01:38

Like, literally those words.

01:40

So that's what subtext is all about.

01:45

Advertisers are not allowed to lie. They can't lie.

01:49

They can mislead all they want,

01:52

but they can not lie.

01:53

And that's why subtext is there.

01:55

You can't say...

01:57

That's like the Oreo tagline

02:02

used to be, "America's Favorite Cookie."

02:04

And they had to change it to "Milk's Favorite Cookie"

02:06

because there was no study done saying that Americans

02:10

liked Oreos the best. So, things like that.

02:12

You can not make stuff up.

02:14

- So you couldn't -- - I wanna know who the fifth dentist is

02:16

- who doesn't recommend Colgate. - Exactly.

02:19

[ eww ]

02:21

Yeah, I mean, you can't say -- Going back to that Dove commercial.

02:24

You can not say, "If you eat this Dove chocolate,

02:28

men will love you."

02:30

Because that is not true.

02:31

But you can imply that it's true.

02:33

So that's where the line is drawn.

02:35

You're allowed to mislead; you're allowed to imply,

02:37

but you're not allowed to lie to the audience.

02:39

And that's why you'll see tons and tons of fine print.

02:43

Try Folger's. The mountain grown coffee.

02:46

Mountain grown for better flavor.

02:49

[ dramatic music ]

02:53

- Yeah, it's like a game of chicken with the law. - Right. Exactly.

02:55

Definitely. Oh, yeah.

02:56

If anyone is butting up against the law every second, it's advertisements.

03:00

[ siren ]

03:04

[ whoop ]

03:05

What is subtext?

03:07

Can advertisers use subtext to lie?

03:13

[ aww ]

Full Transcript