Media Theory- Feminism: Are these Christmas TV Adverts Sexist?

When you think about it, most of the adverts on TV are aimed at women. Seeing as women are still more likely to do the weekly shop than men, everything from toilet cleaner to painkillers is aimed at them. Adverts aimed at women used to look like this:
Since then TV advertising has evolved, though not necessarily become less sexist. Adverts for Flash started to feature men doing the cleaning, but the overall message was that cleaning is actually easy and can be done during half time of a football match, which is untrue. Some adverts swung too far in the other direction, like the Oven Pride advert with the tagline: 'so easy, even a man can do it!'

Christmas adverts are always full of stereotypes and therefore often accused of sexism. Even M&S hasn't escaped criticism, with a male actor referring to 'a nice stuffed bird' before the camera cut to a model in underwear. This year, it's the supermarkets who have offended.

First up, Morrisons:




Some praise the advert for representing Christmas as it 'really is'. The thing which seems to make it work is the magical realism - the realistic nature of the woman's grey, tired skin juxtaposed with a boxing turkey and a never-ending cupboard. This suggests the advert is supposed to be funny and it's also quite clever. However, there's something depressing about it. She looks knackered. She sounds like she barely has the energy to speak. And yet, when she finally makes it to Christmas day, she admits she 'wouldn't have it any other way.' So it's fine that she's on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She loves it really. The ASA have received complaints about this advert but they won't be investigating it any further. The main concern actually seems to be more to do with the representation of men - they are lazy and useless, and contribute nothing to Christmas. The useless man stereotype is very common in advertising.

Next in the firing line, ASDA. This advert is being investigated as there were many complaints to the ASA. It has a very similar theme to the Morrisons one - exhausted mother runs around doing everything - preparing the house for visitors, shopping, wrapping, cooking - whilst men look on uselessly. Nobody helps her. This one isn't as depressing or realistic as the Morrisons advert - the mum looks genuinely happy throughout, and the moment when she presents the turkey to her family seems to be the only thing she's ever lived for. Again, there are bits which make me squirm. The mum doesn't even get a proper seat at the table, she has to perch on an inflatable. When she finally goes to sit down her imbecile of a husband asks 'What's for tea, love?' I'm probably supposed to laugh - what are men like, eh?! But I actually want to punch him. Again, the biggest criticism was not so much about the representation of women, but more about the tagline: 'Behind every great Christmas, there's a mum.' What about people who don't have a mum? What about the role of the dad?




What do you think? Are people being over-sensitive? Read more about the adverts here:
Independent article
This article also discusses the Barclaycard toyshop advert:
Marketing Week article

Audience theory

Audience theory powerpoint 

Key moments from the Leveson enquiry

It's Christmas TV Advert Season Again!

With only 47 more sleep to Christmas, high street shops are already adorned with fairy light, pumping mulled wine air freshener through their air conditioning systems and playing Wham! on repeat. As another major store, Comet, finds itself in trouble, it's clearer than ever that the likes of M&S and Argos need to capitalise on Christmas more than ever. And there's no better way to encourage this than rolling out a massive Christmas advertising campaign.

There's one advert we're all looking forward to. Who could forget the little boy who couldn't wait for Christmas? With a poignant cover of The Smiths 'Let Me Get What I Want' (which caused controversy and outrage in itself) as its soundtrack, the advert follows the young boy's frustration as Christmas day just refuses to hurry up and come. We assume it's because he's been promised the latest games console or iPod (obviously purchased by his parents from a certain middle class department store). But we're wrong! His frustration is simply due to the fact that he can't wait to give his mum and dad a badly wrapped present! Awwwww! We never find out what's within the wrapping paper, but it's sure to be cute.

This year, said department store has gone one better by creating...an advert for its advert! There was also, allegedly, hot competition amongst channels to premiere it. For a situation to occur where broadcasters are actually fighting over who will show a TV advert is very unusual. My money would have been on Saturday night X Factor's first advert break, but the winner of the coveted prize was channel 4, and they are so excited they are even going to add teaser trailers to advert breaks this week. That's right, a trailer for a TV advert.

 If you want a sneak peak at some images from the advert (or if you still haven't worked out whose ad it is!), read this excellent article from the Telegraph which sums up all of this year's Christmas adverts. It also discusses the role of technology and how this has changed advertising - useful stuff for you, Mr Higham, and for the case study into the impact of digital technology which we'll be doing for the exam.

Coursework Research for Brief One

Silver Lining Productions -  new TV show for E4

This is the hardest brief this year (in my opinion!) because you can't make a trailer or write for an existing magazine.

If you choose to make print products, you have the option to produce materials for an advertising campaign to be published in the magazines your target audience read. There are some examples below:

The basic features to note are the tagline, the fact that main characters and their personalities are being established, and the background which introduces the 'geek' theme of the show. However, you would need to add the channel your show will be on and some links to your online advertising campaign.

This advert for 'The Valleys' makes the start time and genre of the show clear. The juxtaposition of the very dressed up characters with the rain clouds and sheep makes it clear that though 'the valleys' are in Wales, the show isn't going to stereotypically 'Welsh.'

This clever advert for 'True Blood' was part of their wider viral advertising campaign. It deliberately deceives the reader into thinking it's some kind of drink advert.

If you type 'TV Show print adverts' into Google, you will find lots of examples but it would also be worth your while finding the original advert. Have a look through magazines like 'More' and 'Heat'.

The second option is to produce the front cover for a specialist souvenir magazine to promote the show. You should still use the house style and layout of an existing magazine as a guide. Here's the front cover of X Factor magazine to give you an idea:

For broadcast, you can choose from creating opening scenes, viral adverts or a radio show appearance. It will be easy to find examples of the opening scenes of existing shows - make sure you look at the first episode. The first episode of Skins, for example, is on YouTube: Skins episode 1
The challenge here is to get everything into 2 minutes - you must establish location, character and narrative themes. If you include a titles sequence you might find you have more scope to do this. you're also going to need some decent actors.

The second option is viral advertising. This must not be a trailer. The key with viral adverts is to trick the viewer into believing they're not really watching an advert. They usually fit in with wider campaigns like fake websites and print advertising. Twitter is also used to promote virla campaigns and get the audience involved in them through Hashtags. This viral video was made to promote 'True Blood:'



Viral videos for TV shows are quite tricky to find, so if you're struggling, campaigns to promote films would do. Look at the viral marketing campaigns for The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield and Super 8.

Finally there is the option to record part of a radio show. You would need a decent microphone to record with and you would also need to be creative - a simple recording of an interview isn't going to show off many technical skills.

How to use Google effectively!

A brilliant infographic on Mashable explains how to make the most of a Google search and find what you are looking for quickly. 

Click HERE to get to Mashable and read the information - it will help you!

Time lapse videos

Most airbrushed celebrity covers

Interesting DVD covers

Lynx - Even angels will fall

This has been set as a homework due to my computer failure during the lesson. We will talk through it on Tuesday.

Each of you need to write a comment on the following post showing how you would analyse this Lynx moving image advert.

Use semiotics (written codes, technical codes, symbolic codes) and also discuss the use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound for effect. Make sure you are also able to use MIGRAIN in your analysis.

I am not going to give you a model answer this time because I want to see how you do it on your own. Aim to write between 600-1000 words of analysis and post in the comments box below.

Due Tuesday 16th October.

Photoshop tips and tricks

If you want to learn how to make a .GIF document (a succession of pictures that make a mini  animation) then follow this tutorial to learn how to do it on Photoshop. This skill can obviously only be shown on the internet but there's plenty to learn for print skills!

You will need to start thinking about Photoshop skills for your production work so try downloading a free trial and experimenting at home so that you feel more confident with it.

You might also find this video tutorial helpful for making something look like an authentic newspaper.


Here's a magazine front cover tutorial:

Dove Campaign for Real Beauty homework

Year 12 homework -

 

Write an essay of between 1 - 2 A4 pages answering the following question:

 

How does Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty try to challenge today’s stereotypical representation of beauty in the media?

Is it successful?

Compare with another advert.

 

Use your notes from the lesson, visit the Dove website and find yourself a stereotypical beauty advert to compare Dove with.

 

Here are a few reminders of what we looked at and considered:

 

          Shanel Lu: I love the thought of being a part of an ad that would potentially touch many young girls to tell them that it is all right to be unique and everyone is beautiful in their own skin.

Julie Arko: Being a woman is beautiful. Waking up every morning and living a happy, healthy life is beautiful.

Lindsey Stokes: Young girls need to see real women like themselves in print ads or on TV.

Sigrid Sutter: Truth is beauty.

Gina Crisanti: It [the campaign] encourages the viewer to let go of society's narrow fantastical idea of beauty, and embrace beautiful reality.

Staci Nadeau: It's time that all women felt beautiful in their own skin.

 

• Only two percentof women describe themselves as beautiful.

•Sixty-three percent strongly agree that society expects women to enhance their physical attractiveness. Forty-five percent of women feel women who are more beautiful have greater opportunities in life.

•More than two-thirds (68%) of women strongly agree that "the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that most woman can't ever achieve."

•The majority (76%) wish female beauty was portrayed in the media as being made up of more than just physical attractiveness.

•Seventy-five percentwent on to say that they wish the media did a better job of portraying women of diverse physical attractiveness, including age, shape and size.

 

•Why do you think there is so much focus in our society on body image?

•Where does our notion of an "ideal" body come from?

•Why do we think we should look a certain way?

•How does the ideal image of a woman's body differ in other cultures? In other historic times? How does this compare to the ideal image of a man's body?

•Who controls what images we see?

•Do you think teenage girls are especially vulnerable to these ideas? Do teenage boys feel similar pressures?

Homework is due on Monday 

 

 

 

Work for Thursday 27th

In my absence I'd like you to do some research, ready for our next lesson which is on Friday.

We are moving on to look at media institutions next and I'd like you to research OFCOM.

You need to find out answers to the following. Write your answers down ready to show me:

• What do OFCOM do?
• Find out about three of the rules they suggest in their code
• Find out about two complaints which have been made to OFCOM, and what the outcome of each was

The OFCOM website will be useful but the information is quite dense. Don't be put off - you don't need to know all of it.

Have your research ready for Friday's lesson please.

Semiotics homework - moving image

Your homework is to write a semiotic analysis of a moving image text. This can be a music video or a film trailer of your choice. Use the notes you made in class aswell as your yellow booklet if you need help on any of the codes. Don't worry about commenting on sound in detail at the moment - we are yet to do this!

Alternatively, you can click Here for a previous blog post I have written on the codes you need to know.

Post your homework in the comments box below and include a link to your chosen video (which must be accessible via Youtube).

Here is an example of the type of thing I am looking for:

Music video: Example - Changed the way you kissed me



The narrative of this music video shows Example preparing for a gig, performing on a large stage and then winding down afterwards. It is filmed entirely in black and white, perhaps indicating that this is a more serious video showing the two sides of performance. It could also indicate that Example feels passionate about his music (as shown by various close ups) and that he feels he doesn't even need colour to show this.

At the beginning of the video we see a variety of close ups to show how Example is feeling before he goes on stage. These occasionally cut to aerial views of the crowd to show what might be in the back of his mind. As the music speeds up, the cuts between shots get faster to match the beat and mostly high angle shots are used to look down on the crowd. At 1.06 the camera pans across the crowd at eye level to show how excited they are about the gig. This is followed by low angle shots of Example as he sings, suggesting that he is the person with the power and the one that the crowd look up to.

The quick cuts and changes between angles reflect the chaos and atmosphere of a gig and the use of lighting also adds to this party atmosphere. At 1.30 there are close up shots of crowd members to further highlight their passion for the music and make the audience (viewing the music video) wish to be there. At 1.42 the music begins to slow down, as does the camera when it tilts up towards Example's face to show his tired expression after jumping around on stage. More high angle and aerial shots follow as Example crowd surfs and the camera pans across the crowd to show just how many people are there. At 2.00 Example is shown through a low angle shot in which he is held in the air bathed in light. This gives the impression that he is the most important person in the room and someone to aspire to.

As the music slows down again there are close up shots of Example interacting with the crowd to show how friendly and down to earth he is before the music quickly builds up and the cuts are fast paced and mostly focussed on action. An over the shoulder shot is used towards the end of the song to give us the same view as Example before it quickly cuts to a 'behind the scenes' shot of him winding down afterwards.

Post your video and analysis in the comments box at the bottom of this page. 

Virgin Media - Your airline's either got it or it hasn't

Theory: Feminism

As a perspective for looking at media texts, feminists would see most media output as being the product of a patriarchal or male dominated order aimed at disempowering women.

Feminism was the response to society’s assumptions that women should be subservient to men. Until the emergence of feminism women were treated almost as objects, passive agents in a male world.

The roots of the feminist movement extend to the eighteenth century but run through the Suffragette movement which fought for the vote for women in the early part of the twentieth century and the land girls and other women who moved into many male occupations during the Second World War.

The waves of feminism

•First Wave – early 1900s – political/social

•Second Wave – 1960s-70s – equal rights at work, abortion rights…

•Third Wave – 1980s – tackling negative stereotypes, pressure on female body image etc

•Post feminism – celebrates idea of powerful woman – no need for ‘movements’

Below are a few print adverts we looked at. Don't forget to be looking at the media critically from now onwards!

Have a look at the video below for a good explanation on Feminism and the way women are often presented in the media. 

Have any of you seen any adverts or found any good examples recently where feminist theory could be applied?

of both patriarchy aHasnd citalism 
 

Help with your audience assignment

Year 12

Below is an example of what I'm looking for in your audiences assignment. 

Audience Assignment Example: Closer Magazine

The ‘audience’ is a term used to describe the people who consume media texts. Many theories have been devised which seek to explain why we consume certain media texts.  Other theories deal with how far the media can influence our opinions or behaviour (known as effects theories).

I am going to use audience theory to analyse the UK magazine ‘Closer’. It is a celebrity gossip magazine aimed at a young female target audience. It offers a number of gratifications but also could be seen to effect audiences in a negative way.

Maslow

Closer magazine does not fulfil any basic human needs. It does not enrich the mind as the language used is quite simplistic and the topics covered do not provide any kind of education or creative opportunities. This means it cannot provide any self-fulfilment needs.  However it could be argued that it provides esteem needs. Many of the stories are negative and focus on problems in the personal lives of celebrities or seek to pick out their flaws. It could be argued that these stories boost readers’ self esteem by making them feel better about their own lives. They may compare themselves to the celebrities in a positive way.

 

 For example, this front page features stories about celebrities’  love life issues and a story about a celebrity’s problems with diet pills. Knowing that these celebrities have problems may boost your own self esteem. Other common stories are ‘Stars without make-up’ and stories about celebrities having cellulite or gaining weight.

Uses and Gratifications

Magazines like Closer can generate discussion and this can be used to develop personal relationships, especially amongst females. It is common for young women to swap magazines or flick through them in social situations. In the same sense they are often a source of diversion,it provides lightweight reading material with a large image to text ratio. It offers the chance to escape into the celebrity world and forget reality. Readers may also identify with the celebrity stories. The stories are always about the personal lives of celebrities rather than professional, and people may identify with their personal problems and feel ‘they’re just like me.’ The personal identity strand of the theory also suggests we compare ourselves with celebrities and often aspire to be like them. Closer offers a chance to do this. Finally, the magazine offers surveillance in the chance to catch up with celebrities, however the magazine is only useful for surveillance in the celebrity world as it doesn’t cover current affairs.

Effects theories

It could be argued that the magazine tries to inject messages into its audience and affects them in a negative way. The stories tend to focus on celebrities’ bodies, what they eat and how their relationships are going. The weight gain and loss of celebrities is scrutinized – see below.

This image from ‘Closer’ is Claire Richards from Steps, whose weight gain and loss is frequently documented by the magazine. The details of extreme celebrity diets are given. Women above a size ten are described as having ‘curves’ which seems to be a nice word for ‘fat’ and the ideal size seems to be an 8 – celebrities below this size are reviled for being too skinny or gaunt.

The front cover on the left demonstrates this. TOWIE star Billie’s weight gain is pointed out whilst Big Brother star Josie’s weight loss is demonstrated in an obviously airbrushed bikini shot. The focus is on bodies and relationships in all of the stories.

If readers start to believe that size 12 is too fat and that having a good body and relationship are the most important things, it could be argued that the hypodermic needle theoryapplies. Female readers are being made to think a certain way without questioning what the magazine says.

Some of the celebrities in the magazine could be viewed as role models. Social learning theoryargues that audiences copy the behavi our of role models. If this is true, Closer readers may try extreme diets in order to look like celebrities and this could encourage eating disorders. However according to temperament theory this may only be the case if it is in the reader’s nature to be effected. It’s thought that extroverts, for example, detach themselves from what they see and don’t try to copy it. Finally, if read by young girls the magazine could have a desensitisingeffect, where readers are no longer shocked by images of skinny celebrities and begin to think that what they are being presented with is normal.

Many journalists and celebrities have criticised Closer magazine for influencing its readers in a negative way, presenting stories in a misleading way and obsessively covering diet and exercise. This article from the Guardian is an example: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/jun/29/closer-magazine

The article has been shared on Facebook and Twitter. The French edition of the magazine, published under a different licence, has been criticised by many opinion leaders for publishing topless photographs of Kate Middleton. However the magazine remains popular. This suggests that the 2 step flow model does not work in this case. The negative views of opinion leaders do not dissuade people from buying the magazine.

Just one more thing...

I doubt many of you will read this before tomorrow's exam but I just saw this on MSN news and thought it would be worth knowing.

We've talked a lot about how the internet has changed the way we listen to music and also about how these changes could be damaging to the industry. Undeniably, the internet offers artists a range of ways to promote themselves and it allows a wider audience to enjoy their music; however this 'enjoyment' is rarely paid for and single sales have suffered as a result. We've looked at the ways in which artists have tried to combat this, but the 'success' of an artist is still judged by their position in the weekly single and album sales charts. Having a streaming chart changes this. The article says that Ed Sheeran was the most streamed artist of the year last year. Whilst he has had successful album sales, most people wouldn't compare him to artists like Lady Gaga or Beyonce in terms of influence - yet we are watching him more. A streaming chart could be a more accurate reflection of what we're actually listening to. It's a bit like the 'Pop Powerlist' compiled by T4, which didn't simply equate power to money but also considered things like followers on social networking sites. Surely, as the music industry changes to meet the demands of new technology, the way in which we measure the success of artists must change too?

Good luck tomorrow! :-)

Ashley Judd and feminism

Ashley Judd Slaps Media in the Face for Speculation Over Her ‘Puffy’ Appearance

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/04/09/ashley-judd-slaps-media-in-the-face-for-speculation-over-her-puffy-appearance.html?fb_ref=article&fb_source=profile_oneline

Easter Revision

Hope the Easter revision is going well - or that you at least have a plan to get revising soon - the exams will come around really quickly after the holidays.

Thought I'd put the task I've set you up here, mainly for the absentees on Friday.

I want you to produce a 45 minute response to the following question using your music case study:

'Audiences are becoming increasingly powerful in shaping media output.'

With reference to your case study, how far is this true?

- evaluate the roles of audiences in the creation of media products from your case study

- refer to examples from all three media platforms

The notes I gave you in class are here.

In addition, we looked at the following examples:
- use of 'FanCam' at o2 Faithless gig. Fans in different locations in the arena were given cameras to film the gig. The footage was then edited and the resulting music video was uploaded to YouTube.



- o2 Academy TV (check out the YouTube channel). Fans get to star in own music videos, submit questions for interviews with artists, and upload own 'FanCam' footage. Lots of power in hands of audience here.




Remember that you need to make your answer individual, do your own research so that you can prove you haven't just relied on the information I've given you.

When you've written it - use it! Reduce the key points onto revision cards and learn them. Test yourself on how many points you can make under each platform.

Happy Easter!
Ms Campbell

Music Videos

Music videos make an excellent focus for your case study because they are featured on both the broadcast and emedia platforms. By creating videos to go with their songs, artists are able to further establish themselves as a 'brand' and promote their music across a wider range of platforms like music channels on TV , and sites like YouTube and Vevo online.

You should have analysed at least three different videos before the exam - you will need to be able to talk about them in detail. In class, we found that the videos we studied:

• often objectified women (especially hip-hop videos)
• featured elements which were overtly sexual (desensitisation of young audience members)
• promoted patriarchal ideologies - men in positions of power
  
• have become more controversial in content (Katy Perry compared to the Spice Girls)
• use codes and conventions specific to the genre of music
• can be narrative, surreal or performance based

The videos we studied are below - but now you need to make your research independent by looking at another video for yourselves - this is required to get the top grades.

Notice how both videos come from the artists' official 'Vevo' channels.

Finally, thanks to Lottie for reminding me about literal music videos! As well as being funny, I like the way these videos break the images down into individual shots. They help you to consider the target audience and the way the artist wants to be represented. Check out Enrique's Hero video too (the literal version!).



Remember you should be bringing in your Twitter results next Tuesday!

Guardian: Open journalism

The Guardian have recently shown an advert about their concept of 'open journalism', the idea being that everyone has a say in current affairs and that news can be shared via social networking and other platforms in order to reach as vast an audience as possible. The advert is really interesting and gives you an insight into modern dilemmas within the media and how news stories can be treated. It raises lots of interesting questions in relation to recent events such as homeowners rights, press intrusion and the riots. The Guardian claim to give 'the whole picture' when reporting.

Here's a link to the article and video:

Guardian Open Journalism

What do you think about it? Will the idea of open journalism work? Will it mean there are more inaccuracies as people use social networking to discuss current affairs? 

Make sure you are always considering new and interesting things. You need to be reading and viewing various parts of the media in order to have an opinion and be able to relate your work to wider concepts and ideas.