By Malee Gunaratne | April 7, 2026
Over the weekend, I was sitting on the bench on my front porch, surrounded by a flowering vine draping itself over the trellis. The garden had just been cleaned up, and I found myself basking in this little slice of nature. The scent of the flowers settled over me like a warm blanket just out of the dryer. I couldn’t get enough!
Then it triggered a memory.
A while back, in a different space, I had a Baies candle by Diptyque with a similar scent. Whoosh! I was immediately immersed in the memory of that environment, that version of my life.
Spring has this effect. It’s a time for reflection. You sit there absorbing the textures of the elements around you, thinking about the last time you experienced it, mentally transported back to those spaces.
So I kept on this memory lane tangent and started thinking about just how different my life is right at this very moment. Different from last year, the year before that, and the year before. Essentially, this is an entirely new and unique view of my life from every perspective.
And in each of those versions of my life, one thing remained constant: my fascination with expression through the human condition.
Creature Comforts and Creative Expression
One thing I realized during this reflection: I really like my creature comforts. I’m not much of a trinkets or tchotchkes kind of person, but there are physical, material things I enjoy.
A memory that came up alongside that candle was a stack of gorgeous, decadent coffee table magazines that used to sit right next to it. The kind with a soft, buttery feel, thick paper that doesn’t bend easily, matte finish. It might sound odd, but I love those high-quality, single-edition, low-production, meticulously designed pieces of art.
That love is actually what led me to magazine and editorial design by way of the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon. The connection to media was from my specialization was in advertising.
Through this program, I learned about media in all its forms: history, style, language, and how it can be factual, succinct, straightforward, investigative (like journalism), or expressive, emotionally meaningful, storytelling – even manipulative.
That’s a narrative we’re all familiar with, no matter our personal beliefs.
Media as More Than a Vehicle
I typically see media portrayed as a vehicle for something else: the advancement of film as a technology, the rise of Hollywood culture parallel to cinema, adverts on TV or billboards, social media and all its effects on the human psyche.
But me? I’m obsessed with the concept of media as a whole.
From cave art to ancient hieroglyphics. Tablets to scrolls. Newspapers, paintings, graffiti, fashion. All of it is significant. All of it is an expression of the human condition, of being alive, of creativity and flow state.
Even innovative tools like the computer, the internet, the cloud – all those concepts had to be invented, created out of thin air. There are so many creative (albeit technical) minds that went into every “dumb boring thing” you could ever imagine.
And that’s just it – communication through media and therefore art is deeply embedded from the beginning of our existence.
A Chef’s Kiss Moment: The Ford Commercial
One commercial comes to mind that was just such an incredible chef’s kiss moment: Ford’s 2023 International Women’s Day commercial.
Some of you might think, “eh, been there, done that, seen it.” Some might say “yay women!” Others might think “ugh, not another feminist thing.” And while yes, it has a very specific message, let’s look at it as a whole piece of media.
The Setup
The film starts as a very typical generic video of a manly-trope SUV – dark colored, big and ambiguous, taking up space. The camera follows it through winding mountain roads and empty cityscapes. Standard car commercial fare. You’ve seen this a hundred times.
But all the heavy lifting is done by the narrator, Bryan Cranston of Breaking Bad. That was a stylistic choice. His voice carries authority: measured, deliberate, the kind of voice that sells trucks and performance vehicles.
The Reveal
The commercial introduces the “Ford Explorer Men’s Only Edition” – a completely reimagined vehicle. Cranston’s delivery is straight, earnest: “For the first time ever, we have completely reimagined the automobile.”
Then the list begins. As the Explorer continues its dramatic drive, Cranston reveals what this edition lacks:
- No windshield wipers (invented by Mary Anderson)
- No heater (invented by Margaret Wilcox)
- No turn signals and brake lights (pioneered by Florence Lawrence)
- No rearview mirror (created by Dorothy Levitt)
- No GPS (thanks to Dr. Gladys West)
The Choreographed Break
Here’s where the craft really shows. The narrator seems to go off-script: “Wait, no rearview mirror? No GPS, are you kidding?”
His tone shifts from authoritative announcer to genuine confusion, almost frustration. It feels spontaneous, like he’s just realized how absurd this “Men’s Only Edition” actually is.
But this reaction is the script. It’s a choreographed moment designed to mirror the audience’s own realization. The narrator becomes us, breaking the fourth wall, acknowledging the ridiculousness. It’s the pivot point from satire to revelation.
Then he lands it: “Ah, it’s missing all the parts created by women. Wow, whose great idea was that?”
The Shift
The music changes. What was subtle background score becomes something fuller, more emotional. Deep bass, inspirational tones. The kind of music that signals: pay attention, this matters.
The visuals shift too. No more winding roads and dramatic landscapes. Instead: a grid. Tiles of girls’ and women’s pictures subtly flashing in and out, too fast to identify any single person, but timed just right to give you a glimpse of vast diversity. Ages, races, contexts, expressions. The speed is intentional. You can’t focus on one face, so you absorb them all as a collective force.
The narrator’s tone has completely transformed to reverent, celebratory: “This Women’s History Month, Ford salutes the visionary automotive work by women – past, present, and future.”
The Craft
Every choice (the pacing, the timing, the music cues, the visual rhythm) is designed to make you feel something specific. First: familiarity (another car ad). Then: confusion (what is this missing?). Then: recognition (oh, women invented all of this). Then: awe (look at how many women have contributed).
It’s truly cinematic when you break it down to the individual components, and THIS is exactly what I mean when I say media is art, the craft and intention to build the production.
And this…
…is media.
It’s Ford making a social signal, appealing to a certain social group or class of people to indicate they are a safe space without explicitly stating it. The forethought and intention to come across a specific way is executed cinematically.
Whether that’s their true stance or their practices reflect those values is another conversation altogether. But as a piece of media? As an art form? It’s masterful.
Honoring What Fulfills Me
Taking a moment to enjoy the spring blooms brought me back to this memory, and I realized: I am NOT where I want to be.
This time of transition has been the most peaceful, productive, and restorative experience. But it’s made me realize I’m not spending enough time on the things that fulfill me. I’d been so focused on the business development side of my passion that I forgot to stop and smell the roses – enjoying media as art, its history, and how it’s this connected thread through time and through us, the people.
Spring is reminding me to come back to what matters. To the textures, the scents, the carefully crafted magazines, the cinematic storytelling hidden in 45-second commercials.
To the art of it all.