Firstly, black males in hip hop music videos represented as violence and gang relation. However in this video challenges this ideology and this is signified by the lyrics of the song that oppose these things. The music is an alternative representation as it lacks hip hop music video iconographies such as guns and weapons that would signify violence and gang culture. On the other hand, it could be argued that the text almost parodies the gang crime with the artists: a group of people enforcing their beliefs to wider audiences, however their message is positive instead of a dominant message enforcing capitalism for example.
Secondly, the idea of money and getting “rich quick” is another ideology represented in the hip hop genre as a positive. In contrast, this text doesn’t even bring up the subject of money which instantly signifies it is an alternative representation of the hip hop culture.
Texts from the hip hop genre rely heavily on black stereotypes which are usually negative. Similarly, this text reinforces black stereotypes such as clothing- hoodies, caps and big glasses- and crime which is signified by one of the members of the group getting chased and caught by the police. However, it could be argued that the clothing is used as a way of engaging a hip hop audience, as it is associated with the genre, but then uses this stereotype to challenge other links and associations that come with it, such as violence and sexism. Therefore they represent black people and the genre as having a good side signified by them helping the community in the text.
Male characters in the hip hop genre are presented in negative ways such has: sexist, misogynistic, promiscuous, authoritative, arrogant and narcissistic. In contrast none of these stereotypes are shown, but challenged in the text through the use of the song. This is signified through the equal treatment of the male and female gender in particular the group itself that has a female artist in it. On the other hand, it could be argued that the group represent themselves as authoritative as they have control as an inspirational group with a positive- they could be regarded as leaders in this text instead of followers.
Wednesday, 27 October 2010
How are dominant ideologies of Hip Hop Music videos challeneged in alternative texts?
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
How has Mulvey's Male Gaze Theory been constructed in Sin City?
One of the conventions adopted is low key lighting. The lighting in this shot focuses on the character
On the other hand it could be suggested she is objectified through the use of film elements: throughout this clip, many shots of 
dancing on the bar. For example a medium shot focuses on her hips and bum, which fetishises parts of her body, which again reinforces the male gaze theory. Another is the use of slow motion while the camera pans up her body, which is voyeuristic and objectifies her which reflects the intended male audience.
Another convention of noir is the femme fatale which translates deadly woman. Though
One of the props that
A particular shot of 
hting is focused on her body. The combination of the shot with the lighting could signify her god-like or divine quality in a sexually tempting way. This voyeuristic element adds to the Male Gaze theory too. Also the low angle shot could signify her sexual dominance over the male gazers that the audience are intended to identify with.
In binary opposition to this, a high angle shot of three men in a row drinking beer at the same time. This could signify the intended male gazing audience for Nancy’s character and the film itself. This again is reflected with the zoom on another male character which could signify he is the intended male audience of the film. However, if the film is suggesting females hold sexual power over males it could suggest the zoom signifies women target males as sexual predators, again reinforcing the femme fatale convention of film noir.
In conclusion, the film mainly reinforces the male gaze theory, through reinforcing some of the ideologies and conventions of the noir era. This makes the text a post modern film and possibly uses retro sexism to exploit female representation and sexuality from the past. The film uses the mise en scene to present females as sexual objects such as lighting and props and editing effects such a slow motion. However it is arguable wheather they are sexually objectified or self objectified, either way it is all for the male gaze.
Saturday, 23 October 2010
Perfecting your production work.
How to get the most out of your practical projects.
Research
Look at real examples
Record evidence
Research every angle
Conventions, audience and institutions
Planning
Record planning- visuals
Show process of your journey
Plan for what could go wrong- criticise idea
Blogging
Evidence
Storyboarding
Any visuals
Begin with a 25 word pitch- to aviod complexity
Feedback- Teachers and peers
Read it, respond to it
Relevant websites
http://www.artofthetitle.com/
http://petesmediablog.blogspot.com/
Online media, Cleggmania, and the Cowell Factor.
How do online media and convergence impact on the ways audiences and producers use and create media?
There are links between online media, reality TV and democracy.
Web 2.0 interativity allowed more public freedom of speech- more democracy?
David Gauntlett (Not the same video, but still relevant!)
"The changing place of media in everyday life: traditional media consumption compared with the more creative and flexible uses of media which are becoming more common today. At under seven minutes, this is the compact, fast version of a one-hour lecture. This version has more interesting visuals and some other tweaks to make it better."
Relevant Authors:
Don Gillmar
David Gauntlett
Sonia Livingstone
David Buckingham
Annette Hill (Reality TV)
Micheal Wesch
Henry Jenkins
Graeme Turner
Chewing gum for the brain: Why do people talk such rubbish about Media Studies?
Articles
Gove's plans send out an anti-education message
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/apr/13/gove-education-plans
Students were studying The Simpsons as basic means of understanding the subject
Tories to tackle Media Studies Menace
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/tories-to-tackle-the-media-studies-menace-1772933.html
The ideas that media studies is a "soft" subject (pratical and vocational subject) were making schools in league tables appear better than they are.
Wothless qualifications give false hope to state students
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/jan/22/deceive-children-worthless-qualifications
The idea that high achieving state school students do "soft" subjects and give them false hope.
Arguments against Media Studies:
"Dons despair as students spurn science inferior of Media Studies"
Argues tha media studies isnt a real subject
"Studens Misled over jobs in the media"
Argues it isn't easy to get jobs
Is it academic? Is it a soft option? Does it provide jobs?
History of Media studies:
Matthew Arnold, Frank and Queenie Leavis used Media studies for new generations to criticise popular culture, to better society- help them get better job, improve civilisation.
Saturday, 16 October 2010
Post- feminism and Popular Culture in Chick Lit
"scenarios and dilemmas facing the young women characters in the narratives of contemporary popular culture (especially so-called chick lit)."
"Individuals must now choose the kind of life they want to live. Girls must have a lifeplan. They must become more reflexive in regard to every aspect of their lives, from making the right choice in marriage, to taking responsibility for their own working lives,and not being dependent on a job for life or on the stable and reliable operations of a large-scale bureaucracy which in the past would have allocated its employees specific,and possibly unchanging, roles."
Post- feminism and Popular Culture in Lads Mags
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-481677/Women-blame-lads-mags-sexual-exploitation--just-guilty.html
An article discussing sexual objectifcation and self objectification of women
"If we turn attention to some of the participatory dynamics in leisure and everyday
life which see young women endorse (or else refuse to condemn) the ironic normalisation of pornography, where they indicate their approval of and desire to be pin up girls for the centrefolds of the soft porn “lad mags"
"we are witness to a hyper-culture of commercial sexuality, one aspect of which is the repudiation of a feminism invoked only to be summarily dismissed (see also Rosalind Gill 2003)"
Post- feminism and Popular Culture in Car Advert
"This advert appears to suggest that yes, this is a self-consciously “sexist ad,” feminist critiques of it are deliberately evoked."
"Feminism is “taken into account,” but only to be shown to be no longer necessary. Why? Because there is no exploitation here, there is nothing remotely naıve about this striptease. She seems to be doing it out of choice, and for her own enjoyment; the advert works on the basis of its audience knowing Claudia to be one of the world’s most famous and highly paid supermodels."
"Once again, the shadow of disapproval is introduced (the striptease as site of female exploitation), only instantly to be dismissed as belonging to the past, to a time when feminists used to object to such imagery. "
Post-feminism and Popular Culture: Wonderbra Advert
"The Wonderbra advert showing the model Eva Herzigova looking down admiringly at her substantial cleavage enhanced by the lacy pyrotechnics of the Wonderbra, was through the mid-1990s positioned in major high street locations in the UK on full size billboards."
"The composition of the image had such a textbook “sexist ad” dimension that one could be forgiven for supposing some familiarity with both cultural studies and with feministcritiques of advertising (Judith Williamson 1987)."
"It was, in a sense, taking feminism into account by showing it to be a thing of the past, by provocatively “enacting sexism” while at the same time playing with those debates in film theory about women as the object of the gaze (Laura Mulvey 1975) and even with female desire (Rosalind Coward 1984;Teresa de Lauretis 1988)."
Post- feminism and Popular Culture in Bridget Jones' Diary
"My argument is that post-feminism positively draws on and invokes feminism as that which can be taken into account, to suggest that equality is achieved...""This is a movement detectable across popular culture, a site where “power … is remade at various junctures within everyday life"
"the shrill championing of young women as a “metaphor for social change” on the pages of the right wing press in the UK, in particular the Daily Mail."
The Four Concepts of Post-Feminism
From what I have read about Post-feminism, it is the idea that we have reached equality against men, and this era moves on from that gender war.
2. Post-feminism as a colloquialism:
It's a similar idea to the "moving on from feminism". Though the movement has been controversial, it's still lingering around in society by announcing we are in its post era.
3. The ambiguity of the prefix “post”:
It's not clear what post feminism is- is it that we have reached equality and now we are moving on, or is it that the feminist era has died and equality hasn't been achieved and probably won't be?
4. A more positive look at post-feminism:
As society has often looked down at the idea of of feminism, post- feminism almost encourages a positive look on feminism saying "we've got what we wanted now, it's over" to society.
Gender in Advertising
Before the 1970's women were represented in magazines as people who did unpaid work, or worked in very stereotypical jobs such as hairdresseres. On the TV, women were represent as housewives, usually shown within the house, advertising household objects, however the housewife stereotype had declined in the 50's. This was dominating the media as it was reflecting the patriarchal society that existed before the feminist era.
2. How did the advertising of the 1970’s continue to perpetuate the stereotype of women, despite depicting women in a greater range of roles?
Though jobs for women were increasing, the media still stereotyped men and women's roles as housewives and businessmen. Men were the authoritative ones who did the voice overs, still reinforcing this patriarchal society.
3. Can Gaye Tuchman’s quote regarding under-representation and the ‘symbolic annihilation of women’ still be applied in 21st Century advertising? If so, how?
Symbolic annihilation of women can still be applied to today. Though there is a bigger range of representations of women in the media compared to the pre-70's, there are still particular representations and stereotypes of women that dominate- mainly women as sexual objects, and still the maternal and domestic women (cleaning and kids toys advert: Women are still the main sex in them). This means society still subordinates women into these roles, and means women who challenge that aren't taken seriously. On the other hand, some may think that women aren't symbolically annihilated, as they choose to sexually objectify themselves instead of the media forcing it apon them.
4. Do you agree that adverts, such as those for the 1990’s Boots No. 7, ‘It’s not make-up. It’s ammunition.’ campaign, are post-feminist (thereby representing women as better than men?). Explain your answer.
5. Is the representation of women by the media accountable for the results of a survey in which ‘women were up to ten times more likely than men to be unhappy with their body image’?
Due to the dominant representation of females as sex object, I would think this causes women to feel there is a "certain way" they should look. The media constructs ideal women for the male gaze, and not only puts pressure on women, but also makes males believe that women should also be this ideal woman.
6. Is the contemporary representation of men in advertising perhaps also a negative one where they too are treated as sex objects?
Though feminists would believe this is proving more equality of men and women, I think it would create similar problems that it has with women. This could cause men to become unhappy with their body image too.
Monday, 11 October 2010
Post-feminist Advert
Though this text fetishieses the female body, you don't get a sense of male gaze (mulvey), but rather a female audience, due to the female target audience the product being advertised. The women in the text are not subordinated but they have objectified themselves, which is a dominant representation, though they haven't done it in a sexualised way. I would therefore say this is a positive representation. However, some may argue this is misrepresentation of women, as we still like in a relevativly patriarchal society.
Shampoo Advert 1950's- Historical Representation of Men
D&G Advert- Representation and Sexual Objectification of Men
The advert begins with 2 shots of the male before a shot of the female. This connotes the text is male gaze (Mulvey) but interestingly for male and female audiences. This sexually objectifies the male which is an alternative expectation, challenging the stereotype of males. Another example of this is a medium shot of the male character, fetishising his genital area. Though it is covered up, you can still inmterpret the ideologies of the text- male, not objectifcation .
Tommy Hilfiger- Contemporary Representations of Men
This contemporary text reinforces some traditional stereotypes of men, but also presenting some new stereotypes. The traditional stereotypes are the womanising male character, seen in this text. Flashbacks of the protagonist (who is a celebrity), shows him sexually engaging with a women, who if fetishied instead of the protagonist, reinforcing the male gaze theory (Mulvey). The new representation of men, is the glamourous, celebrity male, who is intrested in body image which is a stereotype of women, suggesting an androgynous male who embodies both male and female traits. This is signified by the stroung use of lighting, such as top lighting of the male and female charater which is very glamourous. Also the prop-the plane in the background- strongly connotes wealth and glamour. This texts could be suggesting the users of the product will be treated like celebrities, especially by women.
Ford Advert 1950's - Dominant Representation of Women
This advert strongly reinforces a patriarchal society and the female expectations that go with it. The protgaonist is a housewife which is a female stereotype, signified through the setting of a kitchen and costume. Feminists would say the text is a negative or restricting representation of women as they are restricted to the kitchen and their stereotypes in society. Though she is "good looking", she represents the Angel of the Angel Whore character, so she is not sexually objectified. This could suggest the text is a positive representation of women, because she is not reduced to an object of male gaze (Mulvey).
Cigarette Advert 1950's- Positive Representation of Women
This is a more positive representation of women as they are equalised to men. Not only does the woman smoke the cigarette like the man, she does the physical sporting activities too. The female smoking the cigarette could be considered as a phallic symbol signifying her female dominance or equivalence. Sporting and physical activities are a male stereotype, however the female is engaging in these activities too. This challenges female expectations and gender roles and female stereotypes, particularly in the 1950’s, would be housewives and mothers and therefore challenges the subordination of women and a patriarchal society.
Pepsi Advert 1960's- Negative Representation of Women
I picked this Pepsi advert to reflect a negative representation of women, due to the way they are presented. Firstly, lots of close up shots of their faces are used, signifying their sexual objectification through vouyerism rather than self objectification, also representing women as a passive gender. Later in the text, it could be argued that the straws are phallic symbols, again suggesting women are sexual objects. There is a shot that zooms into the face of a woman drinking from the straw, highlighting a women's sexual objectification. Another close up shot of a woman drinking from a straw, shows her facial expressions to be happy, signifying women are easily pleased-by a cup of pepsi. This text therefore subordinates women as passive sexual objects.
Friday, 8 October 2010
What are the different representations of women in adverts and how are they signified?
Firstly the Gucci advert is in widescreen which connotes a dramatic cinematic experience to engage its audience. More attention is gained by the female character first seen in the text and her protagonist is signified through this. The protagonist has female dominance which is signified through the use of colour- everything is in black and white while her hair is gold/blonde. This colour connotes gold, power and divinity signifying her importance in the text.
The use of intertextuality in this text will appeal to a particular audience. The film references a great deal to the neo film noir Sin City, with the use of colour and the female dominant femme fatale character. Sin City appeals to a male audience due to the action genre, this trailer could also appeal to the same audience due to the intertextuality. In terms of the Uses and Gratifications theory, a female audience might realise and accept the protagonist in the text is a form of escapism and also a male gaze, by theorist Mulvey, and therefore might aspire, from Young and Rubicam's 4Cs, to be the object of male gaze too.
Though the protagonist is an object of male gaze, it could be suggested that she sexually objectifies herself to tease the audience. The protagonist puts her leg into the frame of the shot. As she puts into the frame, it signifies self objectification, allowing the audience to fetishise her body. Another shot, a high angle, of their sexual activities signifies CCTV and spying which is voyeuristic. The fact she is on top signifies her control of the situation for both the male character and the audience.
Not only does the protagonist exert her feminity through self objectification she also presents herself as an anarchic character signified by adopting male stereotypes. The advert begins with a long shot of an unknown character speeding down the motorway, which stereotypically would be expected to be a male character. However, the audience's expectations are challenged when a medium shot of the driver shows to be a female.
In contrast, women are negatively represented in the Stella Artois text. The most obvious editing technique used in the advert is the split screen: one side shows the female getting dressed and the other side is of the beer getting "prepared". This use of split screen signifies that neither the beer nor the woman know they have been placed side by side. This puts the audience in position of control as they can voyeur the woman, in a socially acceptable way. Audiences may identify this control as patriarchy, and also identify with the unknown male character whose presence is felt within the text. This text then reinforces the idea of a patriarchal society and that women are subordinated by men.
Not only does the female share the screen with the beer, but the screen is split equally between the two "objects" which connotes the woman is equally objectified to the status of beer. It is suggested the audience is male due to the female and beer subject. Though the advert is targeted at men, it also negatively stereotypes men as people who have little respect for women which however is a dominant representation.
A range of close up shots of the female are used to fetishise her body. There is a close up shot of the female's leg slowly and elegantly rising from the bath tub. On one hand this could signify femininity and her control over it which is the oppositional reading. However, the more dominant reading is that her legs are an important part of the female body and connotes a male audience who can voyeur her body.
The text near the beginning of the trailer says "the preparation" which is an enigma code as the audience question "what event is the preparation for?". It is signified through the shots that the woman and beer preparation is for the male through the use of action codes. Action codes of both the preparation of the woman and the glass of beer are the same.
Women are represented as people who prioritise their looks and appearance, and this ad reinforces this ideology. Action codes including close ups of her: brushing her hair, doing her make up and putting on heels strongly represent women as image conscious. It could be said that the advert reinforces this representation, which is always seen in the media. Funnily enough, it could also be said that the media itself is the cause of this representation as this ideal, perfect woman is always represented in the media, and women feel they have to aspire to it.
In conclusion, both texts females are the protagonists and are sexually objectified for male audiences to fetishise and vouyer their bodies. However, while Gucci’s advert’s protagonist controls her sexuality through self objectification, the Stella Artois’ protagonist is objectified by an unknown but present male character.
In the Gucci’s ad, there are many examples in the text that signify the protagonist’s female dominance, but it is arguable whether this could be seen as a positive representation. The dominant reading is that the protagonist exerts her female dominance over the male challenging the historical patriarchal society and even subordinating males as easily manipulated and easily tempted by women and sex and this would favour feminism. However the oppositional reading which would favour the ideologies of the Stella Artois advert, might be that females can control their sexuality, but it is still for the male gaze and male dominant society.