Using oppositional gaze to critic the Glo ad.

 

The oppositional gaze makes us to understand that critical look of women recovers agency. It is like a conscious look intentionally developed by the black, especially black women. This lens was developed by Bell hooks in (1992). Well before this lens came about there was a history that had been said that there was historical prohibition for looking, meaning that enslaved people were punished for looking not just looking but looking eye to eye. So, this lens help us to understand why specific gaze are given by the black women. We could say that this conscious look, yes, it is a conscious look, it is an act of rebellion and recovery of who they are.
Also, using the oppositional gaze to critic this videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tss6Y9TOG00 , the video shows us that the Glo Christmas ad is colorful, lively, and full of music and dancing. It shows Nigerian people singing “Feliz Navidad,” decorating homes, and celebrating Christmas in what looks like a happy, united way. But when we look at it with an oppositional gaze, we ask; what kind of look those the scene ask us the viewers to look. While looking at that we would be exploring ways this video depicts an oppositional gaze.

Firstly, does this video show the presence of black women or not? In the Glo advert, Black women are present, but we must ask: are they truly visible or just placed as decoration? Yes, we see women smiling, dancing, and participating in the festive setting. Also, singing and leading the songs that was sang at the party. Also, What Is the Dominant Gaze at Play? The dominant gaze here is commercial, global, and “exotic friendly.” It reflects what bell hooks describes as what the media that shows African culture in a way that’s pleasing to outsiders rather than authentic to insiders. The use of “Feliz Navidad”, a Spanish song in a Nigerian context, shows how global or Western tastes dominate the representation. The Black woman is included, but on the terms of this gaze, not her own. So, the dominant gaze controls how we see joy, culture, and even Black femininity—it’s safe, beautiful, colorful, but not real or deep. This would make us to interpret the Glo ad video as a way of showing love and celebrating Christmas in Nigeria and they used that song just because it is a Christmas song.  So, the name initiation we would give this ad would be. Joyful and celebration.

Additionally, using the oppositional gaze it tell us that when a gaze is identified how do we refuse it?  How Does the Oppositional Gaze Push Back? When we view this ad through the oppositional gaze, we refuse to accept what we are shown at face value. We ask Why can’t Nigerian women lead this story? Why is local music replaced by a global sound? Why are our celebrations shaped like a postcard rather than a true cultural story? This refusal is an act of resistance. Instead of enjoying the surface, the oppositional gaze looks underneath. It asks us to challenge, question, and speak up when our stories are being controlled by outsiders. How does the agency look like when we change it what form, or composition would change the female agency. How will it affect how we see women. What if this advert showed Black women leading the celebration, telling us what Christmas means in their families, their languages, their traditions? Here is what I mean A Nigerian mother waking up her children with joyful singing. Local Christmas dishes being prepared by grandmothers and daughters. Black women not just dancing, but telling their own story, in their own voice. And so on. This story board would give the female agency a new construction and change our perspective of the blacks, this version gives them agency, not just visibility. It lets them own the narrative and represent Nigerian joy on their own terms.

Before we close this chapter, let’s look at how Is This Resistance Part of Real Social Struggles? This is more than an ad. It reflects the real-world struggle of African women to be seen and heard: In global media, African women are often used as symbols—colorful, strong, beautiful, but not given space to speak. In social activism, Nigerian women are leading protests (#EndSARS, #BringBackOurGirls), yet media often sidelines them. In film, politics, business, their stories are told by others or not told at all. It relates to the world struggles of how women are sidelined, but they carry more power in their voices, not only their voices.

In conclusion, bell hooks' oppositional gaze reminds us that resisting how we're shown in media is part of a larger fight: for representation, dignity, and truth. This gaze is not just a way to watch differently; it’s a way to live and fight differently. If bell hooks were watching this ad, she would likely say: “Look deeper.” She would tell us to ask: who made this ad, who is it for, and whose story is really being told? While the ad is fun and looks good, it doesn’t give Nigerians a real voice. It sells culture, but it doesn’t celebrate it in a meaningful way. Using oppositional gaze helps us not just watch but understand media, and it helps us take back control of how we are seen and heard in the world.

 

 

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