Fish Tank - Clip 2

Fish Tank - Clip 2

The text fish tank holds connotations, narrative themes, technical conventions and character roles of a social realism film. The text demonstrates various techniques that help the audience to draw into the narrative and gain feeling as if this the text is real life. the producer of the text achieves this by using the camera and lighting as if you were in person looking at the circumstances yourself,

At the point the text mia has broken into the run down, abandoned flat, which is iconic for a social realist text, we view an establishing shot form the back whilst she is dancing. The miss en scene used within the shot is iconic of social realism. the cider on the window sill looking out at the council houses, this shot very much establishes the texts title fish tank. Mia is stuck in a community that consists of the under class and cheap alcohol that she can not escape. The fact she dances looking out of this window is a constant reminder that she is bound to this life style. The natural lighting with in the shot gives the audience a sense of realism as it allows you to view the shot as if you were there. This also links to the consist digetic sound through the text, however more importantly the  diegetic sound f breathing and the music with in this shot which also allows the audience to become part of the shot. The digetic sound and natural lighting are typical technical conventions of a social realism film.

There are various shots of hand held camera work whilst the protagonist Mia is walking. in this particular shot Mia is walking down the isle of flats after she walks out of her home. The long shot helps us to establish the poor conditions she lives in and allows to view her circumstances allowing the audience to have empathy for her. Th shadow depth field used at the point when she is watching the male doing tricks in a park allows us to view what she is viewing exactly how she is and exactly how the human eye would.

The Hunger games- sci- fi conventions

The Hunger games- Sci- fi conventions

The narrative theme of anti- establishment ideology is present in The Hunger games. This is seen in a particular scene when a military like force are surrounding district 12 moving them into the reaping. This scene shows the children of district 12 lining up waiting to be picked, it shows the wealthier district in a negative light as they choose these children to fight until the death, punishing them as they tried to rebel against the wealthier district thus linking to the concept of Hegeomy. A hegemonic society is shown within the text as we view the binary opposition between the poor people of district 12 and the wealthy people, dressed in nice clothes, from the ruling district. The hegemonic attitude is shown through the fact that the ruling district is overpowering the poor by fear. This shown through the use of camera shots as the close ups of the children's faces from district 12 portray fear during the reaping. Primrose, the younger sister of Katniss who is the protagonist in the text, is a strong example of being ruled by fear of the wealthy district as she gets emotional over the reaping and fears what is going to happen.

A technical convention which frequently occurs in the sci-fi genre is quick cuts this occurs in the Hunger Games.

Noir conventions in Drive

         Noir conventions promenant in "Drive" 

2011's film "Drive" holds various conventions of the film noir. The conventions are demonstrated through the narrative structure, technical conventions and character roles. As the text is modern, set in a sunny city with fast modern cars, the text doesn't hold the mise en scene conventions of a typical noir film. 

In the first scene we viewed of the text we witness a family at a dinner table with the fathers friend present. At this particular point the mother and father are talking about how they met in which is a positive subject. However a binary opposition is made due to the use of the non diegetic sound of sinister music. This is a convention of a noir film as the themes usually base around fear, violence and paranoia which conjures  up these feelings due to the music. This binary opposition is created to foreshadow the sinister events later to come in the text. During the same scene the camera pans on to the fathers friend, the protagonist, who is shown in a low key lighting. the low key lighting allows a shadow to form on his face which shows half of his face lit and the other half not lit up. This is conventional of a noir film as the low key lighting highlights the themes of depression and sadness that are usually present in noir film. The lighting used in this scene also portrays the good side and the bad side of the cynical protagonist present in the text. The use of the low camera angle facing up to the protagonist gives the character a sense of power and shows his importance in the text as this is the first low camera angle we see. 

In oir film the protagonist is usually very cynical with a fatal flaw. In the next scene we very the protagonist breaking into a car in the city whilst people are around, this gives the audience a sense of not caring. This is shown in noir film as at the time when noir film was set it was the time of the cold war 1950's, people started to care less as they felt they were going to die anyway.The fact that the character was breaking into a car, therefore showing he is a criminal, it becomes his fatal flaw in the text. The noir film themes are also shown in this text through the narrative. After the male dies, when he and the woman attempt to rob a shop, the protagonist questions whether woman did the right thing by walking out in the other male. This raises the themes of paranoia and mistrust in the text. 

INVESTIGATION

Investigation

How women are represented in Men’s fragrance advertisements to sell their fragrance?

During my investigation I am to going analyse, using primary and secondary data, how females are represented in fragrances advertisements with a male target audience in order to help sell their products. The texts I will be investigating are Dolce&Gabbana's men’s fragrance Light Blue campaign (2013) and Calvin Klein’s men’s fragrance Eternity campaign; both have contrasting representations of females. To do this successfully I will assist my investigation by applying various theories: Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze, the Cultivation theory and post modernism.

Firstly I will explore if the female in Dolce and Gabbana's campaign light blue is stereotypically represented. Furthermore I will be questioning if female objectification occurs and does it gratify to its intended audience? I will also study what the brands sell apart from the product and in addition to this is it essential to sell a hyper reality and aspiration to successfully promote. I will then go on to explore Calvin Klein’s eternity campaign, applying the same aims.

Due to primary analysis I have discovered to help sell the products within the Light Blues campaign (2013) the producers have attached a narrative, which contains, a love story between the male protagonist, in the advertisement and the objectified woman. In advertisements, one could argue, woman can be represented as sexually objectified to a male to help sell the product as by creating a hyper reality through editing photos, men feel if they purchase a fragrance they will gain a woman who looks flawless. “She represents the Dolce&Gabbana woman: a self-assured beauty who her lover cannot resist" (1). The producers of the text are suggesting that the male cannot resist her due to sexual appeal rather than other intellectual assets a woman may have. Therefore degrades the woman as she  must use her sexuality to gain a male. The sexually objectification towards a female is expressed through the mise en scene and technical conventions, her facial expression is considered sexual as her mouth is open, her eyes portray a sense of power as she is scowling though only possess power due to sexual objectification. The fact that she leans on the male, with her head on his shoulder, creates connotations of reliance and need linking to the fact that that women require a man. The quote reflects how the role of women is to gain a males attention. Though this primary data reflects prominent stereotypes of women being passive towards men the text also reflects the male

gaze theory.  “97% of everything you know about yourself, your country and your world comes from a male perspective as only 3% of clout positions in advertising are women" (8). As suggested in this quote majority of advertisements we see are from a males view therefore we are cultivated to believe what we see is how the world actually is, and that this is what women are. This is reflected through the the technical conventions in Dolce&Gabbanas (2013) light blue video campaign as the camera emphasises the females body parts due to the use of close ups on her specific parts that high lights sexuality. “The camera becomes the mechanism for producing an illusion of Renaissance space, flowing movements compatible with the human eye, an ideology of representation” (11). The fact that the camera pans up her body gives her a sense of power, again, through sexuality as she stands over the man as he is getting out of the water.  In addition to this, this reflects the quotation “Brunettes represent exotic, sexual desires” (2) by putting women into a category like this, they are able to over power them.  The fact that the text is a television commercial means women also have to view the text as well, as the text highlights women’s sexuality, women view the text as men do. Meaning they are viewing themselves as sexual objects. One could also argue that years of cultivation and post modernism has created a prominent ideology that women have to look a certain way to conform to their role, Expressed in advertisements such as these. This has created controversy in the world of feminism. Due to the theory of the male gaze it exaggerates women do not get to view women from their perspective as very few women control media we endure: “Females own 5.8% of all TV and 6% of radio” (8).

 The text uses subliminal technical and visual codes to gratify their selected audience
due to the repetitive connotations of women being portrayed as sexual objects, it cultivates people to believe that women are simply sexual objects. “There are 22 ESPN sports channels” and “fox news corp, a board 16, 1 of are 16 are women” (8). This emphasises the fact our opinion leaders who are cultivating are beliefs are men as the majority of what we see is male dominated. This is demonstrated in this particular text as the female is represented in a sexual way and the male is seen as masculine, which the majority of men aspire to be.  Cultural hegemony describes domination of a culturally diverse society by the ruling class. The ruling class are the upper/middle class, men and white (9). Feminists have even theorised this into hegemonic masculinity: “why, in specific social formations, do certain ways of being male predominate, and particular sorts of men rule?" They do this as by degrading women, it suggests they keep women below them therefore have no competition. This links to the fact that the ruling class do this as an attempt to control the masses beliefs. As society is a big viewer for the media such as television, film and advertisements, the ruling class use the media to portray their views therefore control the masses(9).

However the second text I have studied subverts from this archetype of female representation, although at times still represents a negative stereotype of women being domesticated and viewed as carers.  My texts preferred target audience is males, though the text suggests it is for an older male who is most likely to have started a family. As we still view in from a male perspective women are domesticated and therefore viewed as carers in advertisement: “56% of women in adverts were shown as domestic housewives and only eighteen different occupations were shown for women, in comparison to forty three for men”(11) . A Hegemonic attitude is also applied here as the male is being represented as dominant and the woman is represented as the carer, which is how men view women in some cases. Calvin Kleins Eternity campaign conforms to the concept that women are domesticated and therefore certain stereotypical gender roles as the woman is not viewed sexually as we cannot see her body, but however with children therefore represented as a mother. The fact she has her head on the child shows elements of being possessive over the child. Her face does not show any expression of sexism, on the other hand she is looking down at both the children and male therefore showing her devotion to being the stereotypical mother/house wife.  Although the man also looks domesticated being around children, he represents dominance as his family crowd him as if he is most important. The fact they are leaning on him creates connotations that they rely on him, again suggesting the woman especially is domesticated.  This differs from my first text “Dolce&Gabbanna Light Blue” as the first text subverts this stereotype. However conforms the fact that women are sexualized in advertisements for men.

The text subverts from the typical sexual objectification of women that some would argue is most prominent in certain narratives:  “Traditionally, the woman displayed has functioned on two levels: as erotic object for the characters within the screen story, and as erotic object for the spectator within the auditorium” (11). Mulvey suggest that in most cases the woman is represented as the meaningless sexual object that has no significance (11) which is implied through the visual pleasure in narrative cinema.  This subverts this stereotype and takes a different approach by still expressing male perspectives as males also view women as the domesticated carer they have power over due to the archetype that has been created. Calvin Klien’s Eternity Camaign still has connotations in common with the first text as men are in power, so still represents women as the weaker sex. Hegemony also applies here as both texts suggests cultivation of men influencing our beliefs has become prominent. The text shows how as it is 97% of men that control the media (8), we seeing their perspectives which is to create a weaker image of women for them to be most powerful: “we replicate the world we grow up in” (8).
One could argue that the norm is men are most dominant and in charge, and this shines through in advertisements and the media as men dominant not only their family and the business world, but also the media itself. “70% - 85% Men also dominate the production side of television, so it is hardly surprising then, that the masculine or patriarchal ideology is presented as the norm”. To a certain extent this advertisement adheres to this ideology though female and children are smiling and not looking directly into the camera, the male has the controls as he looks into the camera implying he has an identity and the woman/children are just part of the male. The fact the male isn’t smiling also indicates sexuality which reflects the patriarchal society that we live in and that the male are the ruling sex. Whereas the women are the secondary sex that are represented in a derogative way or seen as nothing but a wife and carer.
Through this research I have discovered our society is male dominated which is demonstrated through the Media. Women have been become objects of sex to be able to sell products, if they are not sex objects they have become part of the ideology that they are simply just mothers/wifes. This is due years of cultivation from men ruling our beliefs and perspectives as we view their personal views through the media, this is through fact that it is mostly men that work in the media. Especially my two chosen texts are male dominated due to the fact the products were made by them, therefore we view the world through a male perspective. However what helps sells these male fragrances is a hyper reality of perfectly structured women, for my first text, and the idea of a perfect good looking family where the male dominates everything. Which in a modern day society may not apply, so this again has created a hyper reality.

REVIEW ON CLAVIN KLIEN ETERNITY

CALVIN KLIEN- ETERNITY

BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR COURSE WORK

(1) http://www.dolcegabbana.com/dg/beauty/perfumes-fragrances/light-blue/notes/ - LIGHT BLUE CAMPAIGN

(2) http://baker45.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/analysis-of-dolce-gabbana-ad/ - REVIEW


 (3) http://keca2media.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/laura-mulvey-male-gaze.html- MEDIA BLOG FOR MALE GAZE BY LAURA MULVEY 

(4) http://keca2media.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/cultivation-theory-television-shapes.html- MEDIA BLOG FOR CULTIVATION THEORY 

(5) http://keca2media.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/post-modernism-theory.html- MEDIA BLOG FOR POST MODERNISM 


(6) //www.dolcegabbana.com/beauty/perfumes/light-blue/ - DOLCE AND GABBANA CAMPAIGN 



(7) http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yUGpvXJe9NAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=post+feminism&hl=en&sa=X&ei=LZhmUq7pHYejhgeAlIG4DQ&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=post%20feminism&f=false - POST FEMINISM 

(8) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKqF0wcGhIE- miss representation


(9)http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1149&context=artspapers&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.uk%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj%26q%3Dhegemony%2520feminist%2520theory%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D5%26ved%3D0CFoQFjAE%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fro.uow.edu.au%252Fcgi%252Fviewcontent.cgi%253Farticle%253D1149%2526context%253Dartspapers%26ei%3D4mt7UoTVCsqb0AWBhIHwAg%26usg%3DAFQjCNGEwBt13MvulAEzrnLUUxPIW4YyOw%26sig2%3DzFq1cG-6JBVKNYdnMc-ITA#search=%22hegemony%20feminist%20theory%22- hegemonic masculinity

(10) http://www.detnovel.com/FemmeFatale.html


(11) visual pleasure in narrative cinema

 (12)http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/hzi9401.html- how women are viewed in television


(13)
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/perfume-advertisement-strategies-45134.html

(14) http://www.thefreedictionary.com/hyperreality

REVIEWS ON LIGHT BLUE- DOLCE AND GABBANA

DOLCE AND GABBANA - LIGHT BLUE REVIEW

LIGHT BLUE CAMPAIGN:
http://www.dolcegabbana.com/dg/beauty/perfumes-fragrances/light-blue/notes/

review on first advertisment with a woman with dark hair-
For the purpose of this assignment, I chose to use the semiotic analysis method on a Dolce & Gabbana advertisement.  According to Berger, semiotics is defined as the science of signs.  It is how the advertisement or commercial gets their message across to the viewing public.  If you take a look at almost any Dolce & Gabbana advertisement, one word comes to mind:  domination.  We live in a male dominated society and that is clearly evident in this advertisement.  Going along with Saussure’s system for analyzing signs, there are many signifiers and signifieds within this ad. 

The way the young man is holding down the woman’s arms as if she is trying to get up, but he isn’t allowing her reinforces the idea of our male dominated society.  She is appears to be struggling to get up but his body is placed above hers, giving her no option of getting up.  This is also a prime example of femininity and masculinity.  It shows off femininity because it represents all of the main characteristics of being a female.  For example, the woman in this ad is demonstrating passivity.  She is not in control of the situation and is giving off social/facial cues that she is not happy about it.  On the other hand, this ad also is a great example of masculinity.  The man placed above the woman is showing obvious physical strength and is in a dominant position, as I mentioned earlier. 

You can also see the apparent sexual desire within this advertisement.  The man placed above the woman clearly wants her sexually and is very adamant about it.  The body language and clothing worn by all parties in this ad suggests sexual desire.  Every model has oil on their bodies to increase this desire and want.  The woman is wearing minimal, tight clothing and her male counterpart is shirtless. 

Another visible sign is the woman’s dark hair.  As Berger mentions, dark hair signifies sexuality as opposed to blonde hair.  Blonde hair represents innocence and submissiveness.  Brunettes represent exotic, sexual desires.  As you can see, there are four men to one woman in this advertisement.  This has really caught my attention.  All four of the men are carefully placed about the woman.  They are all even looking down upon her.  I think this says a lot about our society and the gender roles present.  All men are dominant and controlling while the woman lies helpless and passive, unable to do anything about her current situation.  None of the men in the ad are trying to help this woman.  They are just looking down on her seeming to be content, while her facial expressions display completely discontent. 

The last sign that I noticed in this advertisement is the setting.  The lighting is high and there are light, fluffy clouds in the background.  From a feminist point of view, this ad is very demeaning towards women.  Therefore, one would think that this ad should be dark and “unhappy”, but that isn’t the case at all.  Perhaps the ad is suggesting the gender roles are heteronormative?  Maybe society believes the man should “always be on top” and women should always be submissive to a man. 

Heteronormative/heteronormativity: Cultural bias in favor of opposite-sex relationships of a sexual nature, and against same-sex relationships of a sexual nature. Because the former are viewed as normal and the latter are not, lesbian and gay relationships are subject to a heteronormative bias.

Femininity: qualities and characteristics conventionally understood to be associated with the female human, such as passivity, emotiveness, and nurturance.  In gender studies this is to be understood through social expression and is not limited to the female human, but is expressed by all humans.

Desire: A want/wish for something, a sexual attraction, a craving.  Associated with structuralist theory through discourses on

Masculinity: qualities and characteristics conventionally understood to be associated with the male human, such as physical strength, courage, and emotional distance.  In gender studies this is to be understood through social expression and is not limited to the male human, but is expressed by female humans as well.

review on advertisment with the light haired woman in it-

Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue

J Gorman's view

As a group, we had very mixed emotions about the advert. We initially thought it was a very aesthetically pleasing advert with all the bright colours of the ocean and the bright white of the clothing on the models. The operatic music also helps to add to the sense of beauty about the advert and gives a sense of "the finer things in life". Although it is also quite sinister too with the woman being submissive and being dominated by the male in the advert there are hints towards sexism. We were also quite confused about the clapperboard at the end of the advert and exactly what it signified in terms of the advert.