Peaky Blinders scene response

' Explore the different ways your 3 main texts target their audiences'

Peaky Blinders was directed by Steven Knight and was broadcasted on BBC2 at 9pm. The series follows the life of a post-war family in 1919, in the industrial city Birmingham. I specifically focused on series 1 episode 2.

The text provides in-depth historical content, which specifically appeals and is suited to an Active Audience. This is shown within the scene where Cillian Murphy and Sam Neil are having a private conversation. Within the miss en scene, they are sat within an upper class hotel dining suite- with embroidered furniture and grand paintings. This signifies the upper class lifestyle after World War 1. Through dialogue, Cillian says "Why would i shake the hand of a man who didn't go and fight for his country?" The constant reference to the War is encoded to provide an Active Audience an educational gratification- from the Blumer and Katz Uses and Gratification Theory. 

B4- How global is the appeal of your three main texts? (30)

            I have studied the success of three alternative artists being; Nirvana, Radiohead and Lady Gaga.

            Nirvana first came to the scene with their first studio album ‘Bleach’ , released in 1989 by the independent label ‘Sub Pop’. However, this album failed to chart in America as it didn’t have the financial support to promote and globalise the bands success. Their music genre then was more ‘rock and metal’ based which was very diverse from the mainstream. In 1991, the band diluted their alternative heavier sound to more popular music and signed to a huge record label ‘ Geffen’. Geffen is owned by Universal and has large marketing budgets, enabling the band to be promoted all over the world, in order to gain more profits.

            In the 90s, the Internet was not available to advertise and expand a bands fame and reputation. However, to be the mainstream and gain their fans they combined the genres; punk, rock and pop to create the genre ‘ Grunge’. To promote the band and their new studio album ‘Nevermind’, Geffen were heavily reliant on magazines and TV appearances to gain more of a secure fan base. They appeared on Top of the Pops in December 1991, performing their new single ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’. As the songs played on the programme were pre-recorded, Nirvana chose to mime their instruments sarcastically and the lead singer- Kurt Cobain- sang an octave lower and very little articulation. This then allowed their performance to become a global phenomenon by ‘ word of mouth’, which was another thing Nirvana relied on for publicity. This album was first released by ‘DGG Records’ in September 24^th 1991, with an optimistic expectation of 250,000 sales. However, 30 million copies were sold worldwide, and the increasing demand for the album kept increasing.

            ‘Nirvana’ continue their fame through all generations. This is due to re-releases such as Nevermind, 20 years after Kurt Cobain’s death. This prolongs their success and keeps the band alive for more people to listen to and enjoy.

A2 Media, Television industry- Audience homework

Section 1

1a) Identify the main targeted audience of Mad Men

Mad Men was the first television series produced by AMC, which expected viewers to subscribe to their channel to be able to watch the shows they broadcasted. This relates to the specific target audience suitable for Mad Men, as people have to pay to be able to watch this programme. This also eliminates a mass and mainstream audience, as it is not available for all viewers. A niche audience is the most suited to Mad Men, as the text is not completely publicised and broadcasted on a channel such as ITV1. Due to its historical context and the era it is representing, a more active audience is suited in order to successfully decode the text.

1b) Identify one way the text has been encoded to appeal to that type of audience.

The focus on historical context and how characters are represented in certain ways to make them more representative of that specific era e.g. Joan representing the Marilyn Monroe figure.

1c) Justify how that point/technique/convention would gratify your previously identified type of audience. 

By the audience being more active they would appreciate and understand the influential figures of that time, which is the 1950 and 60s. Marilyn Monroe was seen as the most beautiful woman in the world and was an iconic figure in art and fashion. Her curves and flamboyant behaviour was seen as attractive whereas a passive and mainstream audience would not understand this convention as they are used to finding slim, tanned females attractive.

1d) Describe a narrative sequence where this point/technique/convention is present. 

This is specifically shown with the female protagonist- Joan. While in her office, she is being made to sleep with a business partner in order for the company to succeed and gain more profits. Her body is being sold and used for the males gain, showing common narrative themes and issues of sexism. She is wearing a tight, navy dress showing off her curves and her hair is of a red head. Her voice is very light and flamboyant similarly to Marilyn Monroe.


Section 2

2) Does Lost target a passive audience? Justify answer

Lost does target a passive audience as the dialogue throughout includes a lot of exposition, which allows the audience to know whats going on throughout the episode. This meaning that they don't need to work anything out for themselves compared to an active audience which are more likely to decode a text more successfully.

3) Identify how Lost is encoded to gratify a passive audience

By the use of the score while creating an enigma, a passive audience are able to decode this information to know something is either going to happen or the audience is going to find something out. This will gratify a passive audience as it will keep them informed and intrigued within the text.

4) Justify one point/technique/convention that would force Mad Men's audience to decode the text actively in order to gain gratifications.

By the lack of the score convention, there is a lack of awareness as to when something is going to happen and the creation of an enigma. By a performance decoding the text actively they will be able to understand the narrative effectively.

5) Explain and justify how Peaky Blinders has been encoded to gratify both passive and active audience.

A passive audience would enjoy the use of soundtracks from the White Stripes, as using modernised music the audience are able to relate to the text more. An active audience would appreciate the professional use of cinematography, that the text has been complimented on frequently. Both of these conventions are used within the first 3 minutes of episode 2. A fight between the three Shelby boys and other men breaks out, the scene is filmed in slow motion and the soundtrack is reversed. This would gratify both a passive and an active audience as it is entertaining and interesting to both audiences.

6) Justify the statement 'Lost is encoded to be inclusive'.



7) Why does the use of a score appeal to a more passive audience?

The score appeals to more of  a passive audience as it indicates them when an enigma is occurring and something is going to happen or told to the audience. This means they don't need to decode the text by themselves or work something out that isn't given to them directly, this is what an active audience is able to do.

"Discuss the audience appeal of your three main texts."

The way an audience may react or read a text varies,  according to Stuart Hall's theory of ' The Encoding and Decoding Model' in 1980,  as all texts are polysemic. The way an audience may decode/encode a text may be because of factors such as age, gender, culture and knowledge; which are all different according to each individual. This is relevant to my chosen television texts.

Lost is made by the American television company; ABC, which creates mainstream texts to target a vast audience throughout the United States. The director, JJ Abrams is famous for his work in the genre of sci-fi and in films such as Star Trek. His pilot of the new series reached 18.6 million views and the first series had an average of 17.6 million views. It is typical of a mainstream text and its preferred audience would be that of a passive audience, due to the conventions used throughout.The series follows the story of a group of people who have crashed onto a desert island, somewhere between America and Australia. There are a variety of ethnicities, ages and genders which are relevant to the mainstream genre convention being an 'ensemble cast'. This allows a passive audience to be able to relate to at least one character within their text which is more likely to encourage them to be intrigued within the narrative. This is specifically shown with the character Sun, who is a female of an Asian ethnicity,within her 30s. Her body is always covered up and her husband does not allow her to expose any part of her body which could be shown as 'intimate'. This is relevant to a specific culture, which some people of the same ethnicity may be able to relate to.

Lost is based on the 1950's series 'The Twilight Zone', as it shows similar framing and slow zooming effects in order to create enigmas. These technical codes are frequently used within episode 2 of Lost, usually before a commercial break in order to keep their audience watching. An example of this is shown when there is a slow zoom towards the face of Charlie, which results into an extreme close up. The use of score is also used in the background in order to create tension and an enigma. The close up lasts for at least 6 seconds, focusing on his facial expression which is shown to be 'fear'. This exaggerated close up creates more tension as the audience are questioning what the character is thinking about. This is how the director intends for the audience to feel, which is relevant to the Hypodermic Model, as a passive audience accepts what the director is intending for them to feel and react to a certain scene within a text. However an Oppositional reading from an active audience could be that the text is too obvious read, as this creation of an enigma is obvious that something is going to happen.

Kate is the female protagonist within the second episode, along with Jack, who are both seen to be the 'heroes' within the narrative structure. Kate has similarities to the fictional character 'Lara Croft', being that she is strong, brave, beautiful and heroic. She has been constructed to be wearing very little clothing, she is slim and toned and has long brown hair. She is what every girl wants to be and look like, which encourages a female passive audience interested in her character due to her similarities with the famous Lara Croft. This also giving an audience the gratification of entertainment and pleasure with what they are seeing.

Mad Men was created by an American satellite and cable channel called 'AMC', who also then came make Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead. AMC stands for; American Movie Classics, and by the year 2013: 97,699,000 American households subscribed to this channel for their televisions. The programme was aired on Sky Atlantic within the UK, which again is a channel that audiences have to subscribe for to be able to watch. Mad Men was the first television series they created as they wanted to show the world something new. It was the first TV drama series to win an Emmy award consecutively; this proving that it was a huge success. It specifically targets an active audience as the text is more niche than mainstream. Throughout the series there are very complex character representations, focusing on life within 1960 America and how sexism was a common force within the work place. This again affecting how an audience might view the text whether positively or negatively. A passive audience may take an Oppositional reading as they may not understand all of the themes throughout the text as it is not a modernised text. Don Draper, is the male protagonist within the text who runs a high end business within the city of New York. His wife Megan Draper wants to excel within her acting career, his secretary Peggy has had enough of how he treats her, and Joan who uses her beauty in order to gain success within his business. Television critics commented on the specific episode I have studied being Series 5: Episode 11 'The Other Woman' as: ' a top notch episode, full of closed door talks and identity politics.'

Marilyn Monroe, was the main beauty icon with the 1950s and 60s, as her curves and famous smile made her the ideal woman of that era. Joan takes the role of Monroe within the series as she is similar in the way she looks, her body shape, what she wears and how she speaks. This could make an active audience be able to relate the two people together and want to carry on watching the series. Also, audiences with retrophilia- an obsession with the past- may also enjoy the programme a lot more as it gives an audience a real life representation of how life would have been within the 50s and 60s. Mad Men has created a large cultural phenomenon being within the fashion industry and inspirations for other shows and films such as the new television drama ' Suits'. A passive audience may take an Oppositional reading as they may not find Joan's character attractive as females who are classed as attractive in modern day are ' skinny, toned, tanned' etc. They may not understand why people find this character physically attractive.

Sexism between genders in the work place is a common theme within the narrative of Mad Men, which also exaggerates how it has evolved over time due to force of Feminism. We see that Joan is a strong sexual character who is available for the pleasure of men. She abuses her state of power, as she achieves it through sleeping with someone. Her sexuality is also enthused through the technical conventions and camera movements. An extreme close up of her chest while taking off a necklace, makes a strong focus on her cleavage and neck. This again relating her to intimate themes within the narrative. However, we see a change in sexism when Peggy finally stands up for herself infront of Don. She is standing above him while he is sat down in an arm chair within his office. This makes Don look less powerful and dominant over Peggy as we have seen previously. This is showing the ways of Feminism being present and that women are beginning to fight back against the oppression of men. An active audience would appreciate this fact and how the world has evolved since then to more equality  within opportunities.

Peaky Blinders was first premiered in the Edinburgh Film Festival in June 2013, showing episodes 1 and 2 back to back. It received outstanding reviews and was a truly magnificent piece. It is set in Birmingham in 1919 after soldiers have come back WW1. It shows the struggle with mental health and alcohol abuse that the war has had on the community and also the poverty throughout the city. It follows a criminal gang featuring Cillian Murphy and Helen McCroy, who are famous film stars. The director Steven Knights is a big fan of Cillian and his work within the film business. By the feature of these famous actors attracted a variety of audiences being passive and active. The series was aired on BBC2 in the Autumn of 2013, which broadcasts programmes of the arts, culture, drama and comedy. An Oppositional Response of the series is from Jim Shelley, a Daily Mail critic: " i felt that the series was rushed with characters and plots often rushed and under developed and lacked complexity." This could be argued as the series was only 6 episodes long, it is a lot information to get into 6 hours. A passive audience may also find this hard to keep on top of the narrative.

The series has been complimented for its high production values and cinematography; things that an active audience would strongly appreciate. Also for its historical context which is a niche convention and an active audience gratification. An example of high quality cinematography within episode 2 is the fight scene within the first 5 minutes. The scene is shown in slow motion, with the soundtrack of the White Stripes reversed. High angle shots are shown of the men lying on the floor when looking up at the three Shelby's who have beaten them up. This creates a sense that they are more dominant and powerful characters and that they are set above anyone else. An active audience would appreciate this careful and detailed cinematography, compared a passive audience may not understand why it is in slow motion and that the soundtrack has been reversed. However a passive audience would find the use of modern soundtracks from the White Stripes entertaining how they are used within a different era of drama.

The use of the old fashioned car relates to historical context and how this family was wealthy enough to actually own a car compared to the rest of their community. A niche and mainstream audience would appreciate the feature of an old car as they can relate it to how technology has evolved over time within 100 years. Aunt Polly shows authority and power over the rest of the Shelby family, which shows that she had gained power and independence while the men were at War. The men respect her and audiences would respect this fact as it was rare for women to be the dominant figures aswell as men.

Mad Men

Primetime Emmy Awards:
WON 2008
WON 2009
WON 2010
WON 2011

LOST- ' Most media texts target a range of different audiences'. How true is this for your chosen texts?

The series of Lost targets a wide mainstream audience. The director JJ Abrams used carefully constructed conventions to attract a variety of passive and active readers, to make the programme a success.

The use of an ensemble cast enables readers to relate to the text as it has been encoded that a range of readers would have someone within the cast they are able to relate to. There is a variety of nationalities, race', ages, genders and stereotypical representations present within the text. A difference in nationality is specifically shown when the Korean female ' Sun' and the White American ' Kate'. There is a strong language barrier between them as they both speak different languages, which shows elements of the Binary Opposition Narrative theory; as both characters have been forced together due to the situation they are currently in. Also there are two stereotypical representations shown with the two women. Kate is shown to be half naked, exposing most of her body while Sun is completely covered up. This shows the difference in their ethnicities and how they have been socialised to act in a certain way. This evidently has been constructed by JJ Abrams to focus on a variety of ethnicities, to enable people nationally relate themselves to a specific character. 

' Most texts today are mixed genres ' How true is this of your three main texts? ( 30 )

Representation and Genre


The Post Modernist theory suggests that there is no longer such thing as an 'original' text. District 9 conforms to this theory as it has elements of both a Sci-Fi genre and documentary stylistic conventions. This supporting the statement that most texts today adhere to the fact that they are mixed genres.

Within the scene, when the protagonist Wikus is lay within a plastic bag on an operating table. The high camera angle, looks down on him, this showing that the people who are above him, have the power and dominance. This is relevant to the Sci-Fi genre, as Wikus is being treated like he is not the same race and species as the humans, he is now inferior and does not have any control. By him being placed within a plastic bag, he is being associated with the ' dead'. Showing that they have no consideration for his life and to try and save him. This is also relevant to the social issues focused on within the film, that the humans treat the aliens how black people were treated and segregated from society in South Africa. Although Wikus is still human, he has began the transformation into an alien, the humans have no care for his life or what he wants. The image has a vague effect of a subtle green colour, showing a sense of illness and decomposition, which is relevant to the transformation Wikus has begun into an alien. The high key lighting is coming from the ceiling, that Wikus is lying and staring at. It could suggest that he is praying to be let free or to die and to be taken to heaven, from him staring at the bright lights above. This is also relevant to the Sci-Fi genre as elements of religion are focused on subtly throughout, this could be relevant to the social issues as people tend to turn to religion when all else has gone.

Research Investigation Official

Q1: How is the female representation constructed to sell products? Focusing on advertisements such as Gucci Guilty and Paco Rabanne's Lady Million.

 

In my investigation I will analyse the representation of women in the media, specifically focusing on perfume advertising campaigns Yves Saint Laurent’s “Cinema” and Paco Rabanne's “Lady Million”. I will specifically analyse billboard and advertisements within popular magazines to see how women are objectified to sell products.  

 

Women are often objectified in the media and the audience is frequently given the role of the male gaze.

“The determining male gaze projects its phantasy on to the female form which is styled accordingly. (1)

Firstly I will investigate if this is the case in my specific texts and will support this study by applying Mulvey’s theory of the Male Gaze.

I will secondly question what these products are selling apart from a smell. I will analyse what ideologies the products attached to themselves in order to make them appealing to consumers. Finally I will investigate if this type of advertising links to the contribution of a patriarchal society.

 

Paco Rabanne:

It is often dictated that female objectification assists in selling products to a specific targeted audience. I will now analyse if my two texts conform or subvert to this method of selling products. Within the Paco Rabanne, Lady Million advertisement, the image is a long shot, with the model placed directly in the center. The model is presented with her cleavage revealed directly to the camera with her being the main focus of the advertisement as she is shown to be alone. By parts of her body being revealed, she is shown to be glamorous and attractive to the male audience. The audience is able to feel that they are taking the role of a heterosexual male, seeing what they want to see in a woman. By interpreting the Male Gaze theory, this point can be established as we look at females the way men want to see them.

Quote from Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory:

‘In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness.’ (4)

By them being sexualized for a male’s pleasure, we are able to see what we must look like to be classed as the “ideal woman”. This encourages the targeted audience to purchase the product so they subconsciously feel that they are taking the role of the model in the campaign. This showing that this advert conforms to the objectification of the female to be able to sell the product. Also, an active male audience, could achieve elements of the Uses and Gratification principle, that they receive physical pleasure by the article as they are looking at a beautiful woman. They could get this from the hand gesture she is positioned with, that could show her to be inviting a male into her attention. The image also shows, that she is showing a side to a woman that is not often shown through advertising. It’s a side to every woman that they tend to not show in the public view. It could be the confident and playful woman who shows they are available and should be desirable. Most women don’t like to act like this so this shows that men want women to be more outrageous and lustful. Evidence to this is a study as to what men want to see in a woman, the top of the list is confidence.

‘Nothing is sexier than a woman who's comfortable in her own skin.’ (5)

 

By her doing this, this audience would want to purchase the product, as they could want the female in their reality to behave in this way towards them. This could also encourage a passive female audience to purchase the product as they

 

Image (6)

Girls are socialized to feel that the way they look is very important as to get attention off others and specifically males. This is supported in a quote from Miss Representation:

Girls learn from a very early age, the most important thing is how they look. (2)  

The female shown is being specifically represented as the ideal woman, as the audience is judging her from a male perspective. The audience is able to see this by many connotations displayed that are relevant to a perfume advertisement. The advert is in black and white, apart from the golden diamond shaped perfume bottle and the glistening golden text across the centre. The golden diamond bottle is relevant to the connotations involved with the word ‘million’. Such connotations involved could be wealth, power, glamour and luxury. Diamonds are specifically relevant to these connotations, as they are the most expensive jewel to purchase. This layout is typical of the conventions associated with perfume advertising; the bottle is always featured along with a model for an extra meaning. An active audience would see this as the model is also being sold as well as the fragrance itself. This is what makes consumers purchase such products. You are unable to smell a perfume through an advertisement, so by attaching these ideologies a passive audience is able to believe that by purchasing the fragrance, they will feel that they have all of these connotations.

 Jean Kilbourne quoted that: “ Girls learn to see themselves as objects”. (3) By females realizing this is how they should portray themselves, they make this ideology their reality, which could lead to insecurities. Images like the above (6) from a Men’s Health magazine, show the ideal parts of a woman, put into one picture. The fragmented parts of the woman’s body show what a man tends to focus on in a woman to class them as perfect. Females are constantly made to see themselves as not the ideal image for what a man truly wants. This is relevant to the image (7), as a female audience are made to see what a man really wants in a woman; to have blonde hair, large breasts, confidence and a sense of sexiness about them. This relates to the Male Gaze theory as once again, the female audience is made to see things in life through a male’s perspective.

            Some people may believe that we live within a patriarchal society, meaning that society is male led. We are made to believe things through the perspective of a male for example: ‘97% of publishing companies are owned by Males’(8)

This shows that advertising could be biased towards males desires from  an  image and how the model could be constructed to pose in a specific way. This could show that advertising is to please the desires of a male audience as well as a female. The model featured  in the image (7), has messy and wild hair, which could show elements of sexual desire and  lust. This makes the model desirable to a male as she is showing a sign of sexual pleasure. These connotations are attached to advertising purely to be able to sell a product and it seems to work. Evidence of this is shown in an essay called: Sensuality and Erotism: Advertisement Strategies for Perfumes Consumption

‘The biggest sex appeals expression in modern advertisement is found in products and services directly connected to sensorial perception, the five basic senses: vision, audition, tact, smell and palate.’(9)

The audience is unable to smell the perfume from an advertisement, so they attach connotations associated with it such as sex appeal to be able to sell it. With an essence of sex present within this particular advertisement image, it follows the typical use of sexual desire to be able to sell the product. This specifically targeting a males uses and gratifications, when it is in fact a fragrance for women.

 

 

Yves Saint Laurent “Cinema”:                                                                         image (10)

 

Within this particular advertisement (10), the male gaze theory is happening within the image itself. The female within the image is shown to be surrounded by intrigued males who look at her with desire, lust, and love. She is also the light within the image and the males are within the shadows within low key lighting. By her being highlighted with high key lighting, she is shown to stand out and that all audience attention is instantly drawn to her. By the producer making the image in this way, a female passive audience would believe that this perfume attracts many of the opposite sex and they then become a desirable figure.  This is relevent to the male gaze theory by Laura Mulvey, as the audience is able to take the role of another male featured within the campaign, who is also focused on the female. This showing that even though it is an advertisement for a female perfume, it needs to have features that are what a male would want to see. However, the female is not objectified by the males view, she is honored and gazed upon, making males feel extremely attracted to her. The woman see’s herself as desirable and high maintenance as she doesn’t show any eye contact with either male and embraces the attention.

 

An example is from an analysis of the perfume campaign:

“Obtaining its positioning through the female superiority archetype, Yves Saint-Laurent conquers its target-public through its identification with these attitudes, in other words, the woman who approves (through experience or observation) using beauty, womanliness and demonstration of superiority to keep men under control.”(11)

By the female seducing all the males within the image, she is able to gain their full attention.

These connotations of sex, beauty and power are typical genre conventions of perfume advertisements, as they are also shown in my other campaign Lady Million. Attaching these ideologies, the audience is more likely to consume the product as they feel they are gaining more things other than a nice scent.

 “As such, women wearing these types of perfumes instill greater sexual desire in the men surrounding them, and in return, boosting her own self-esteem as her feelings of being attractive and adorned grows.”(12)

This is evident that perfume enhances the sexual desire from the opposite sex. Fragrances often stimulate hormones in our body which can make us feel more aroused and alive, or relaxed and sedated.

“The natural chemicals in essential oils, released through scent, are the ones that actually trigger our emotional and physical responses.”(13)

Pheromones are scent triggered hormones which enhance sexual arousal. These can be triggered by the scent of female perfumes especially. By perfume attaching these conventions, they are able to be seen within advertisement images portraying males desire over beautiful and confident women.

However, on the other hand, the female focused on within the image can be viewed as a sexual object to the male eye. This showing elements of Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory and that society is in fact patriarchal. We are able to see this in the image as the males surrounding her sees her as an object as they are intrigued with her beauty. They do not look into her as a person or her personality, all that can be shown in an image is how someone looks and how beautiful they are.

Similarly to the Lady Million advertisement, the perfume bottle is highlighted in gold. This colour is associated with connotations of wealth, luxury, beauty and desire.  This is also a common feature and convention of perfume advertisements, with the fragrance pictured bottom right of the image. A passive female audience could feel that by purchasing the perfume, they can feel wealthy, as the bottle is golden.  A Quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“The desire of gold is not for gold. It is for the means of freedom and benefit.”    

            This showing that people have a strong desire for gold because it can give them power, status and self benefit. By the perfume bottle edited in gold, makes it look more expensive and a desirable piece of treasure.

 

Conclusion:

 

To conclude my research investigation, I found that women are continuously looked at through a males perspective. They are judged on their beauty, their confidence, what they wear and evidently the fragrance they wear. As an audience, we take the role of the male gaze and see women through a fantasy of a male. However, this concluded my research as I was able to fully understand that perfume attaches many other connotations to be able to sell a scent through a poster, billboard or magazine advertisement. Perfume has connotations of sex, wealth and desire, which every woman seeks to achieve. Women are led to believe that perfume attracts the opposite sex and makes them more desirable, by how women are portrayed when featured in an image. Therefore I can answer that not only the perfume is being sold, that the ‘ideal woman’ is also metaphorically being sold to give women more self-confidence. I have also been able to see how images are constructed to also please the views of a male for his entertainment and pleasure (uses and gratifications). The females I have analysed are shown to be objects to the males eye as we are only able to see what they look like not what their personality is like. Beauty is what sells products, and beauty is what females are made to compare themselves to.

 

 

Bibliography

 

(1)   Quote from Laura Mulvey’s essay on Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema

(2)   Quote from Miss Representation

(3)   Jean Kilbourne quote

(4)   Quote from Laura Mulvey’s essay on Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema

(5)   Article of what men like to see in women: http://magazine.foxnews.com/love/top-10-qualities-men-are-secretly-looking-women

(6)   Image – Mens Health Magazine of Ideal Woman

(7)   Image- Paco Rabanne Lady Million Google Images

(8)   Statistic from Miss Representation

(9)   Sensuality and Erotism – perfume consumption http://www.aijcrnet.com/journals/Vol_2_No_10_October_2012/18.pdf

(10)                       Image Yvez Saint Laurent Cinema perfume- google images

(11)                       Sensuality and Erotism – perfume consumption http://www.aijcrnet.com/journals/Vol_2_No_10_October_2012/18.pdf

(12)                       Article “Why do people wear perfumes and other fragrances?”

http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/42733/cosmetics/why_people_wear_perfumes_and_other_fragrances.html

(13)                       The effects of natural oils http://www.canaryclub.org/component/content/article/152-cat-feeling-ffff/1133--hormones-and-emotions-scents-essential-oils-.html

(14)                        

 

 

 

District 9 Characters

District 9 Main Characters:

Wikus van de merwe - Protagonist ( genre )

Christopher Johnson (alien) ( representation and genre ) 

Colonel KoobusVenter ( genre relating to social issues)

Piet Smit ( father in law ) ( genre of being corrupt) 

Sin City Characters

Sin City Main Characters:

John Hartigan ( Bruce Willis)     ( genre - sacrificing himself to protect the femme fatal )

Marv ( Mickey Rourke )      ( genre, heroic, superhero ) 

Wendy ( Goldie Twin )  ( representation ) ( genre femme fatal ) 

Nancy ( Jessica Alba )   ( representation ) 

Fish Tank Characters

Fish Tank Characters:

Mia  - Protagonist    ( genre and representation ) 

Connor   ( genre of being corrupt )

Coursework Essay Draft

Q1: How is the female representation constructed to sell products? Focusing on advertisements such as Gucci Guilty and Paco Rabanne's Lady Million.

Bibliography:
1: Gucci Guilty advertisement- google images
2: Paco Rabanne Lady Million advetisement - google images
3: Male Gaze theory: Laura Mulvey's essay ' Visual pleasure and narrative cinema'
4: Image of Gucci Guilty- Google images
5: Image of Paco Rabanne 'lady million'- Google images 

6: Gucci Guilty review- http://www.examiner.com/review/gucci-guilty-eau-de-toilette-review Quote 1
7: Hegemony by Antonio Gramsci = http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/marxism/marxism10.html Quote 2)
8: Objectification of women of the lower class in the media ( feminist theory ) Quote 3= http://disabledfeminists.com/2010/02/28/feminism-objectifies-women/ 

In my coursework I intend to focus on the representation of women in the media, specifically focusing on perfume advertisment posters and magazines. Women are objectified and sexualised in the media by their body and appearance and the audience is frequently given the role of the male gaze, focusing on intimate and sexual parts of a womans body. Firstly i will focus on how the Male Gaze theory by Laura Mulvey (3) is used to explain how women are viewed and sexualised in the media; by the title of advertisements and images. Secondly the connotations related to perfume and colour schemes and also how marketing and design can connect other reasons why consumers want to purchase the product. Finally i will investigate into theories such as Hegemony (7) and Feminist theories and how they relate to the representation of women in perfume advertisements. 

The Male Gaze is a theory made by Laura Mulvey (3) , where she discusses how audiences are given a masculine role and see and interpret text in a males point of view.

I am specifically focusing on adverts such as Gucci (1) and Paco Rabanne (2) and how they show different representations of women. In the Gucci " Guilty" advertisement (1) , the woman is shown to be naked with a man about to kiss her neck. She gives full eye contact to the camera, making the audience feel victimised and specifically targeted. Also the image could show power that a woman may have over a man in a sexual and desirable way.

Whereas in the Paco Rabanne advertisment for " Lady Million" (2), the woman is wearing a low cut black dress, exploiting her chest to the camera. Her gesture of the hand shows a sign for money, which could suggest how women are seen as glamorous and on the hunt for wealth and fortune. This also relates to the stereotypical " Bond Girl ", wanting love, wealth and diamonds. She also looks very seductive, making her sexuality objectified to the audience.

In the Gucci advertisement (1) both a Man and a Woman are featured however the woman has full eye contact towards the camera showing that she is the main focus. Elements of the male gaze are shown within this image, portrayed by both the camera and the featured Male. The males focus is on the woman and only the woman. The male gaze theory(3) is that the media objectifies women by the way the male sees them. By his sexual facial expressions, he shows to want the woman for his lust and for her beauty. His full attention is on her body, which could show males interests in women and what their ambitions are. This portrays women as a sex object towards the audience and that Men want a woman who is beautiful to ful-fill their pleasures.

However the woman is also portrayed as to being superior to the Male. Her body is of a higher level than him and has her hands round his head. This shows that women can be dominant over a man and are able to seduce males into their sexual desires. Feminists would support this idea and that a woman can be independent and not necessarily need a male in her life.This contradicts the elements of the male gaze and that women are also able to take on the stereotypical roles of a male. However the perfume is called ' Gucci Guilty' which could suggest dishonesty and secrecy. The woman's eye contact is shown to be directly at the camera, not focusing on the male. Showing that she is looking out for something else to catch her attention. This could represent women to being sly and betraying a males love and trust; this is a negative representation.

In the Paco Rabanne advert for Lady Million (2), only a woman is featured within the image. Her body positioning is facing directly at the camera with a full length central shot. The colours of black and gold are used, which are associated with wealth, pleasure and luxuries. This is also relevant to her hand gestures as she is doing sign language for money. In both perfume advertisements, it is shown that purchasing perfume is a very feminine and sexy thing to do and that wearing perfume will attract males and wealth. Similarly to the Paco Rabanne Lady Million, colours of black and gold are also used to signify glamour and wealth, which is representing that all women who would associate with evening activities and expensive nights out are more likely to wear expensive perfume. They could suggest also ' dressed up' fashion which is relevant to evening wear. This could also signify the perfumes expense and that it should only be worn for special occasions. This is supported by a review made about the perfume on the internet:

"Gucci Guilty is the new eau de toilette from iconic fashion house Gucci. Gucci designs highly luxurious and trend setting fashions which are often sensual and appropriate for evening or special occasions." (6)

This relates to the theory of Hegemony by Antonio Gramsci. The term ' Hegemony' means that: "a specific class and social group have dominance over others." (7)

This is portrayed in the media by the way things are evolved around those of the upper class. These perfume advertisements have connotations of wealth, glamour, beauty and fortune; which all relate to those of the upper class. It represents that women of the upper class are the only ones focused on in the media and in real life. This objectifies women of the lower class, as they are deprived of such luxuries in their lives.

"It always comes from the perspective of a white, cisgendered, currently nondisabled, middle-to-upper-class, heteronormative, and otherwise socially privileged person." (8) 
This comes from the perspective of a feminist, that the media creates a biased representation of just the 'ideal woman'. However this still encourages people to purchase these products as they feel that they want to be seen like the ideal woman by others.