June 28, 2022 • by Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive updates from Your Next Shoes. This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our disclosure for more details. Coming as a shock to absolutely no one, Amazon has come under fire for yet another bad business decision. Surprisingly, this time it’s not for treating its many employees like chattel, but for an Amazon Prime commercial that the internet thinks is pretty sexist. Let’s unpack this. The commercial, called “Medusa Makes Friends,” features Jesi Le Rae as Medusa. Though she looks stunning as the legendary Greek Gorgon—even while accidentally turning an unsuspecting woman, played by Lindsey Pearlman, into stone—the narrator explains, “Medusa lived with a hideous curse.” We’re already off to a bad start. While Medusa is often described as horrifying or ugly in traditional mythology, the Gorgon has become a symbol of empowerment for many victims of sexual assault. The Greek mythological figure is also Versace’s logo.  Instead of being “cursed” with snakes for hair and the ability to turn mortals to stone as punishment for an “illicit affair”—Medusa had been raped by Poseidon in the goddess Athena’s temple—modern analyses assert that this was actually a gift from the goddess. With Athena’s gift, Medusa would no longer be looked upon with lustful eyes and could protect herself. Ignoring the fact that Medusa is an important symbol for survivors of sexual assault, the commercial continues to twist the narrative. Feeling lonely, this Medusa has the brilliant idea to buy a pair of sunglasses from Amazon Prime. The glasses solve all of her problems—no more turning people to stone on accident—and the next scene shows Medusa strutting through a Grecian nightclub and joining her friends for a girl’s night out as Nicki Minaj’s “Chun Li” blares in the background. At this point, we could almost (…almost) forgive Amazon’s desecration of Medusa as an important symbol of hope and strength. Until the commercial takes a dark turn for the worse. As Medusa and her pals are chatting, a man (portrayed by fitness model Diego Sebastian) winks at the Gorgon from behind the bar. Medusa scowls (understandable, no one likes to have their GNO interrupted) and then proceeds to lower her sunglasses and turn the poor winking man into stone. Definitely a harsh reaction over a single, flirty wink, but after all, it’s a commercial—why take it seriously? Then, the narrator says these shocking words: “Well, he was asking for it.” WHAT?! Needless to say, the internet was up in arms. “It’s essentially the equivalent of saying a woman dressed sl*tty so she deserves to be raped,” one viewer wrote. “That sh*t would never fly in today’s world, but apparently it’s okay to have double standards.” Unfortunately, in typical Reddit fashion, many commenters chose to focus on how the commercial was “man-shaming/man-hating” and that the “girl being flirted with should be so lucky”. Ew. The commercial is sexist—Amazon would be losing business if a female actor was said to be “asking for it”—but what many commenters fail to grasp is that the implications of “asking for it” are extremely damaging and quite frankly, unforgivable. It has a phrase that has been used against an innumerable number of victims of sexual assault, yet the commercial makes light of it. No one—of any gender—is “asking” to be assaulted, or in this case, turned to stone. Some of those Reddit users owe the actresses an apology, but Amazon owes the public an apology for this commercial for its sexist and tone-deaf themes.
Curr Cat
As the online cyber-colossus bestriding the world where basically anything on planet Earth can be found, assessed, clicked, and delivered to your front door in one day (two at the most), Amazon needs no introduction — but hey, this article needed a lead-in. So, in the company's latest commercials, apparently produced for that one guy somewhere who's unaware of what Amazon is or does, the company seems to have commanded its marketing minions to tap into the timeless appeal of the past as a sure-fire advertising hook. To date in Amazon's historically-minded ad campaign, viewers have been treated to Cleopatra ordering stuff from Amazon to make her subjects' desert life more delightful, Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte regaling his troops with stand-up comedy via an Amazon-sourced mic, and more. The most recent entry in the company's throwback commercial outings features the all-time favorite, reptile-coiffed Medusa. After ordering eye-shielding dark glasses from Amazon Prime, she makes new friends by not turning them to stone and is revealed to be a hoot at parties. And while anyone who paid attention in their Classical Greek Mythology 101 course is familiar with the unpleasant consequences of meeting this Greek femme fatale's gaze, at parties or elsewhere, viewers may be less familiar with the actress who plays Medusa's new friend in the spot.
While she may be tough to recognize under the Greek-inspired makeover, viewers may know Lindsey Pearlman from her appearances in a number of high-profile TV shows. After acting in Chicago theatrical productions for a number of years (per IMDb), Pearlman broke into TV back in 2015 with a small part in "Empire." She then landed a recurring role as Joy Fletcher in producer Dick Wolf's short-lived "One Chicago" legal procedural "Chicago Justice." Pearlman's next small-screen roles included a flurry of one-off appearances in 2019 portraying a hotel clerk in "Sneaky Pete," the character Beth in "Signal to Noise," Eve in "American Housewife," and Linda in "The Purge." More substantial roles started coming the actress' way in 2021. That year saw Pearlman landing parts in numerous TV series including the character of Maggie McMorris in the iconic soap opera "General Hospital," Diane Warren in "Selena: The Series," Martha in "The Ms. Pat Show," and the recurring role of Karen in "Vicious." Aside from her many acting accomplishments, Pearlman's online bio on IMDb points out that she's also an activist for animal welfare causes, and clearly the ideal pick to play the snake-haired Medusa's friend in Amazon's new commercial. |
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