media - representation advertising teacher notes

Media - Representation 1

Media - RepresentationAdvertising Teacher Notes

Representations – Advertising, Video games and Newspapers

This set of resources has been created to support the teaching of Unit 1, Section A of the GCSE Media Studies qualification. In the external assessment unit, students will be expected to display their knowledge and understanding of how gender and events are represented in media texts in the areas of Advertising, Video Games and Newspapers.

Students must consider carefully how representations reflect the viewpoint, message, values and beliefs held by the creator of the text. The resource will allow students to develop the skills they need to assess and evaluate the hidden messages of texts and assess whether they uphold or challenge established representations.

There is a historical element to the resource that will support students in understanding established representations. The contemporary texts are used to provide material for students to make comparisons.

1. Representation of Women in Advertising

Available as printable student notes.

Background

Women in advertising have been represented in the role of the wife and the mother since the early days of advertising. This was, somewhat, affected by the changing role of women in the Second World War when women were encouraged to move outside of the realm of the home and support the war effort. When the war ended women were encouraged to return to the home. This was reflected in the advertising of the time.

Women were again linked to domesticity and if adverts did show women in the workplace it was only as employees, such as secretaries.

The women’s movement had existed since the 1800s but gained momentum in the 1960s when women began to demand equal pay and opportunity. Media representation was much discussed and criticised by women across America and Europe.



Body Image and Sexual Objectification

The use of the female figure to sell products was employed by adverts in as early as the 1930s. Fair skin and a curvy figure were the traits associated with wealth and fertility and this formed the ultimate image of beauty. Advertising reinforced this body image.

Over the following decades the ideal body image altered to become slimmer and taller but the use of the female form to sell products has only gathered momentum. Advertisers have continued to believe that sex sells and that the female body is integral to promoting this.

The images used in advertising and magazines have had a substantial influence on society’s view on what should be considered as beautiful. With modern technology and computer generated images (CGI) advertisers are now able to create images of beauty that are unattainable by the audiences that view them. This creates a narrow stereotype of what is ‘beautiful’. Naomi Watts argues in her book ‘The Beauty Myth’ that the image advertisers present is said to be universal, eternal, healthy and sexual but it is ultimately a lie and doesn’t exist.

Watch Naomi Watts discuss her theory:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJh8GEU2qik

Laura Mulvey’s The Male Gaze

In the 1975 essay ‘Visual pleasure and Narrative Cinema’, British writer, Laura Mulvey first coined the phrase ‘Male Gaze’ which is still applicable to media texts today. Mulvey claimed that because the camera in the media is often controlled by a man, the audience only see women from a male’s perspective. This viewpoint looks at women in a way that reflects masculine desires. Women are often dismembered by camera, with a focus on her body parts and therefore the woman is objectified.

Find out more here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl2Eh8swrEs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJh8GEU2qik

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yl2Eh8swrEs



Who is gazing at the female in the following adverts? Give reasons for your answer.

https://jackhusseyyy.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/dolce-gabbana-scarlett-johansson-02.jpg

https://katyflanaganphotography.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/male-gaze-womens-mag.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ch4rQcRG1ko/Vf_bhTgJQSI/AAAAAAAAGjM/zvJ76L4VOH4/s1600/lynx%2Badvert.png



Historical Advert Analysis

Available as printable student notes

Images of women in advert 1940s/50s

This Advert is for the American beer company, Schlitz. Meaning is created through the mise en scène of the 1950s kitchen. The advert uses a medium long shot to show interaction between characters. The dress codes of the characters signify a housewife and husband. She wears a striped apron to fit the stereotype of domesticity. He wears a black suit and tie to signify power and importance. The body language and facial expression code show the woman’s distress and her husband’s attempt to comfort her. The object codes of the smoking pan and the white handkerchief reveal that she is crying because she’s burnt something. This clearly symbolizes who holds the power in the relationship.

The slogan is a direct quote from the husband. He uses the term ‘Darling’ affectionately but it also emphasises the woman’s inferiority as he has to comfort her distress.

The viewpoint promotes the idea that men and women have different status. Women are inferior to men, prone to fits of emotion and let their husbands down by not being able to do the simplest

tasks.

Look at this 1960s advert for Hoover. In pairs or groups consider the following questions:

• How has the representation been constructed?

• Is a stereotype created?

• What viewpoint is being communicated?

http://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uuuploads/vintage-ads-that-would-be-banned-today/vintage-ads-that-would-be-banned-today-21.jpg

http://mgb1967.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Christmas-morning-shell-be-happier-with-a-Hoover.jpg



1970s

Despite the growing power of the women’s movement in the 1960s and the new equalities women enjoyed, advertising had failed to get the message. Indeed, it contradicted this ideology.

This advert for Weyenberg Massagic Shoes was published in Playboy in 1974. The brand claimed that it was taking a stand against women’s liberation.

As the female is naked the gaze is immediately the gaze is focused on her body. Her body language and facial expression suggests that she is entranced by man’s shoes.

The Slogan introduces a misogynistic message to the representation. ‘Keep her where she belongs’ suggests to the audience that women belong at the feet of men.

Objectification and the Male gaze are evident.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/wam4wy2HLDc/URY4J8A35uI/AAAAAAAAABg/5aLlkYtbzno/s1600/very_sexist_ads_640_17.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/wam4wy2HLDc/URY4J8A35uI/AAAAAAAAABg/5aLlkYtbzno/s1600/very_sexist_ads_640_17.jpg



1980s/90sSexism was still prevalent in the 80s, 90s and 00s. Advertising was increasingly objectifying women to sell products. Women were often dismembered, putting the focus solely on their bodies.

http://designcrowd.s3.amazonaws.com/common/blogs/100YearsOfPrintAds/100YearsPrintAds_37.jpg

https://smediacacheak0.pinimg.com/564x/fd/f5/42/fdf542d685f1a746814f701efd4cba9f.jpg



2000s

http://adturds.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/article-2064946-0EE612E800000578-799_634x928.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/a8/db/b9/a8dbb9196a5a4a975399de21750a659a.jpg



Key codes and conventions Meaning and Connotations Viewpoint/Ideology

1950s/60s

1970s

1980s/90s

2000s

Changing Nature of Representation



2. Men in Advertising

From the early days of advertising, the representations of men have conveyed strength, power and virility. Stereotypes emerged of men as leaders, breadwinners and warriors.

Use the digital resource 2a. Madmen

Watch the trailer for Madmen and make notes on the following points:

• Deconstruct how men are represented.

• Define the roles of men compared to the roles of women.

Trailer for Madmen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7NChV93LBw

Historical Advert AnalysisThis is available as a printable student sheet.

Up until the late 1980s adverts used the male stereotype of appearing powerful and cultured. When men and women were featured together then the woman would always be portrayed as the fragile, emotional and unintelligent one.

Products advertised solely by men were usually luxury items, alcohol or tobacco.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8287/7599551764_46416408e9.jpg



http://www.atticpaper.com/prodimages/life1964/heublein_pigeon.jpg

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-awtMCXIs0PI/Vr9LI-4GBXI/AAAAAAAAKwE/qFYr8xEbWwk/s1600/2266088362_8162b07116_o.jpg



Advert Deconstruction of Representation Stereotype Created Ideology

Ivory Soap

Domestic setting, mise en scène suggests suburban home. Father is the breadwinner in a shirt and tie. The men play sports - shown by object codes of baseball bat and ball. Body language and gesture codes show that the male character finds his over emotional wife amusing.

Women are housewives and mothers who do all the cleaning. Men are superior and have to tolerate the hysterical outbursts when they come home.

Pep Vit

Stereotype of a typical housewife. Male is shown as breadwinner, in control.

Heublein

Men are sophisticated and cultured. Superior knowledge.

Camel

Complete the following table:



1950s V The New Men

The sexist attitude of the 1950s started to be challenged from 1980s on. There was the emergence of ‘The New Man’ stereotype. This was a man who was happy to change nappies and wash dishes. The media celebrated the new generation that wanted to be different from their fathers.

These ‘New’ men transformed into the ‘metrosexual’ men of the 2000s. Men who were confident in their masculinity. They groomed using beauty products, tanned and followed the latest fashions. Celebrities such as David Beckham and Brad Pitt became synonyms with this movement.

Lad Culture

The ideology of sexism and male aggression had not gone away. The late 90s saw the emergence of a counter ‘Lad’ culture. Publications such as ‘Loaded’ and “FHM’ featured scantily clad female models and encouraged men to bond over sport and ‘booze’. This culture was embraced by other industries such as TV – ‘Men Behaving Badly’ and Films such as ‘Snatch’. The Lad culture phenomenon went from strength to strength in the 2000s, supported online by websites such as ‘ Ladbible’ and ‘UNiLAD’.

Use the Digital resource 2c. The Inbetweeners

Watch the following trailer for the Movie ‘The Inbetweeners’. Make a note on the following points:

• What themes emerge from the narrative?

• How are men represented?

• How are women represented?

• Is the ideology misogynistic? (Discriminates against women)

Trailer: http://www.film4.com/whats-on/the-inbetweeners-movie-on-film4



Consider the stereotypes in the following adverts:

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02627/David_2627882a.jpg

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/b5/76/8f/b5768ff91ab618c2b0e133239a3d0b6c.jpg

https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/files/2011/11/23.png



3. Contemporary Case StudiesThis is available as a printable student sheet.

Introduction:

The boys and girls of the 21st Century are bending gender labels as they grow up. Those under thirty are more likely to have a less traditional gender than those over thirty. This is starting to be reflected in the media. Advertisers are expanding traditional narrow representations to appeal to the changing nature of modern audiences.

The stereotypes still exist but now there is an increasing political and public debate on issues of equality. The Chief Executive of the ASA (Advertising Standards Agency UK) commented:

“We’re serious about making sure we’re alive to changing attitudes and behaviours. That’s why we’ve already been taking action to ban ads that we believe reinforce gender stereotypes and that are likely to cause serious and widespread offence, or harm.”

This Girl Can AdvertContext

The ‘This Girl Can’ campaign was a multiplatform response to research by the public group ‘Sport England’. The group found that there was a gender gap of 2 million between the men and women participating in sport.

Research suggested that the primary reason women didn’t take part was a fear of being judged on their appearance. The campaign aimed to encourage more women to take up exercise.

The first wave of the 10 million pound campaign launched in 2015. It was created by the agency FCB Inferno. It included online social media activity using the hashtag #ThisGirlCan, a poster campaign and TV advert. Any women who tweeted about exercise or the gym was sent an encouraging tweet by a special algorithm.

The campaign was heralded as a huge success with 37 million views of the online advert. The success was attributed to the street casting of real women in real settings telling their stories with no Photoshop. The advertising has inspired 1.6 million women to exercise.

The second wave launched in January 2017, targeting a wider demographic of women between 14 and 65.

Use the digital resource 3a. This Girl Can.



Prompt questions:

• Who is the target audience of this advert?

• What is the mode of address? Why is it used?

• How is the female character represented?

• Does it uphold or challenge stereotypes?

• What ideology does the advert support?

Watch the TV advert for ‘This Girl Can’. How does it reinforce the values and beliefs in the poster?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toH4GcPQXpc

https://www.sportengland.org/media/1278/i-swim-because-i-love-my-body-swim.jpg

This advert is used for critical analysis under the fair dealings policy



Lynx AdvertContext

• Axe, or Lynx in some countries, is a men’s grooming brand owned by Unilever. It was launched over 30 years ago and has enjoyed consistent high sales.

• The ideology behind its early marketing campaigns in the 1990s was that the Axe products helped men to attract women.

• The adverts often featured male stereotypes that could be considered ‘nerds’ or ‘geeks’ while the females that the men attracted fitted into the ideal beauty.

• The brand has been heavily criticised for gender stereotyping, objectifying women and promoting promiscuity.

• Six of its adverts were banned by the ASA for causing widespread offence for being demeaning to women.

Find Your Magic Campaign

• Launched in March 2016

• Aimed to appeal to a wider demographic of men beyond the adolescent bracket.

• Brand wanted to appeal to contemporary notions of masculinity and celebrate individuality.



Comparison Task

Use the Venn diagram to compare the two representations of men and women in the adverts. Identify the similarities and differences.

https://s3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/centaur-wp/creativereview/prod/content/uploads/2016/01/axe3.jpg

http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/print/2011/4/axe_pat_down.jpg

media - representation advertising teacher notes

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