Strippers

Audience:

·      Males 16 and upward: sexualised representation of women, which would appeal to a male audience because they’d find them attractive.

·      Females 18-30 – information use and gratification.

·      Entertainment use and gratification.

·      Preferred reading: male gender.

·      Oppositional reading: young people (under 14) and the older generation (above 60).

·      Negotiated reading: female gender – may watch the show to become more informed about strippers – interested in their life and the job itself. May personally identify with the strippers because they understand themselves what it’s like to need extra money.

·      Socio-economic group: B, however appeals to a wider audience due to the curiosity element of the documentary.

Representation:

·      Gender: females are being represented in a sexualised manner, because although the programme aims to give the audience an insight into the life of a stripper, when the strippers are being interviewed, they’re still in little clothing. This shows that the audience are still being reminded that they’re strippers and it’s come to define a part of who they are.

Beginning of the show:

#strippers – social integration

Extreme long shot – sets the location

Close ups and extreme close ups of their eyes, bums & boobs – sexualising: close up of the eyes – alluring, trying to connect with the audience

Pan up and down the strippers bodies – also sexualising – cuts from one poledancing scene to a lap dance scene, etc.

Further into the show:

The strippers are seen fully dressed in their own homes and their back/life stories are given. It’s showing the audience that although they are sexualised and strip to make extra money, they’re just normal people who live their lives day-to-day.

The aim of the documentary is to open the audience’s eyes to this aspect of the sex industry.

Voice-over: shows it’s a documentary: information gratification. 

Dove 'Deeply Nourishing' TV ad: representation and analysis

http://www.tellyads.com/show_movie.php?filename=TA16783

In this Dove 'Deeply Nourising' advertisement, it goes against controversial representation and stereotypes of women. This is because women are usually seen as either sexualised objects to be lusted over, domestic housewives or weak, co-dependent individuals who need a male figure to be happy.

In this advertisement, the women are seen in dressing gowns embracing their natural beauty. They haven't had any fancy makeup applied to them, nor have they had their hair done especially for the advert. This is showing that they're not being sexualised and instead are being empowered, because they're showing that women don't need to be sexualised and 'done up' to be considered beautiful or attractive. The women in the advert appear comfortable in their own bodies and therefore aren't allowing themselves to be objectified under The Male Gaze which may empower other women and enable them to be comfortable in their own skins, too. This would appeal to a female audience aged 18+ as this is when females would generally become interested in cosmetics and when they'd develop a desire to take care of their bodies more. It'd also appeal to an older audience as the women presented in the advertisement are of an older age and therefore too young an audience would find it harder to personally identify with them.

The preferred reading of Dove 'Deeply Nourishing' is older women aged 21+ because it features women of this age and with the advertisement using regular, everyday women, it provides this particular audience with the need for personal identification. This would ultimately make this target audience feel more confident about themselves as they'd see regular women on television being happy and comfortable with themselves and it'd inspire them to feel good about themselves also.

The oppositional reading is males. Beauty products are primarily seen as an interest for women rather than men, therefore men wouldn't be able to relate to the Dove advertisement; especially as it centres around females throughout.

The negotiated reading is young women 16 and over.

The aim of the advertisement is to show women that with body image being such a big issue in the media and with pressure to conform and adhere to society's body image ideal, that they should be comfortable in their own skin. Dove have done many beauty campaigns to research the influence of media on a woman's perception of beauty and themselves. They found in one of their most recent campaigns that 90% of all women worldwide (15-64) want to change at least one aspect of their physical appearance, with body weight ranking the highest. With Dove using everyday women who juxtapose the ideal of slim being perfect, it's showing women that they're beautiful regardless of their body image and it's promoting taking good care of themselves to feel good for themselves and not as a way to appear attractive for anyone else.

NTS: Remember to get statistics for how well Dove products have sold since using everyday women in their advertisements.

http://psucomm473.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/dove-campaign-for-real-beauty-case.html

Strippers Presentation

Young People Representation in the Media

http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/childrens-research-centre/files/crc-pr/file/ecms/web-content/clarke.pdf

In this article, it provides a lot of information for how young people are represented in the media. For example, research into young people representation has found that:

• The majority of media stories involving young people are negative
• The most common stories are predominantly about crime/violence, gangs, education and social exclusion
• The media doesn't always portray true reality
• Many young people believe the media represents them as anti-social and a group to be feared

Research was conducted where newspaper coverage of young people was monitored during a specific week each year, and this research found that the highest percentage of coverage was negative. This would then inflict a negative opinion of young people on the audience who viewed that specific media text and their own belief would be formed around what they're viewing.

In 'Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents', this represents young people as party animals who are interested in nothing more than alcohol and sex. This portrays a negative view of young people because it's imposing a view that the audience who view it would be generalising to the entire youth population. It means that they wouldn't see young people as having aspirations, dreams and trying to achieve good and do good with their lives, however they'd be more interested in getting drunk and having sex. Whilst the latter is true for some teenagers, referring that to the entire population shines a negative light overall.

Another example of young people representation in the media is 'Kidulthood' as well as 'Adulthood'. 'Adulthood' is the sequel to 'Kidulthood' and both represent gang culture and violence as being a dominant part of the younger generation. It portrays the message that all teenagers and young people participate in violence and this is another negative portrayal of young people.

The Cultivation Theory

http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20Clusters/Media,%20Culture%20and%20Society/Cultivation_Theory-1/Cultivation_Theory-1-1.png

The Cultivation Theory is the idea that a person's perception of the world around them is altered by mass exposure to various forms of media (e.g. television, internet, newspaper). The theory suggests that television and media play a small but significant influence on the attitudes and beliefs of society about society.

An example of this is the fact that due to programs such as Crimewatch, more exposure would influence the viewers who watch it more so and may impact them subconsciously to fear danger if out at night and it's dark. They may anticipate because of what they've seen in the media that they could get mugged, murdered, raped, etc. because this is what they've been cultivated to believe by exposure to this form of media text.

http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/pictures/636xAny/7/3/5/1115735_skins_050210.jpg

Skins is an example of how young people are cultivated to be perceived as disrespectful drug fiends who do little more than party and have sex. In many of the series, they are also seen engaging in violent behaviour towards each other or to other people, such as drug dealers or aggressive men in pubs/clubs. This is a negative portrayal of young people and an older generation may be cultivated to believe that all of the younger generation are like this, inflicting a negative impression of youth culture in their heads. Not only that, the majority of the attention that the younger generation receive in the media (e.g. newspapers and news reports) is negative. This reinforces the idea of young people being disrespectful, lazy and in some instances, violent.

Male and Female Representation in the Media

Female Representation in the Media

1. Sexualised/objectified female example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C97G0On8OnY

In this advertisement, the main actress who's demonstrating the product is being sexualised because she's seen in the shower and also appears naked in nothing more than a bath of pink water and flower petals. From this the audience get the impression that to be considered attractive and to be wanted by the opposite gender, a female must appear in this way and present herself in a sexual way for that to be achieved. At the end of the advertisement, it's clear that her partner is suddenly more interested because he finds her more attractive, reinforcing this point of to be found attractive, a woman must be sexualised. This meets Laura Mulvey's theory that was proposed in 1975 of Sexual Objectification and the Male Gaze because the actress in this advertisement is there solely for display purposes and is appealing to 'the male gaze'. The actress, however, isn't trying to fight this sexuality, she instead adorns it.

2. Domestic woman:

 Cinderella is an example of a domestic woman because she's constantly dressed in ragged clothing and caters to the ugly step-sisters and evil step-mother's needs. She is always pictured cleaning, cooking, doing washing, etc. This shows she's domesticated because these are stereotypes of a domestic woman. Cinderella initially isn't considered to be beautiful, however after she transforms for the ball, she is fawned over by a prince. This reinforces the idea of The Male Gaze because when Cinderella is considered attractive, she is suddenly wanted by a male, whereas she never received that type of appreciation when she was merely cleaning. This representation shows women as not only there to satisfy other people but also there as an object to be looked at.

Another example of a domestic woman is Marge Simpson. The purpose of  Marge in The Simpsons is the play the role of the housewife, meaning she cooks, cleans and caters to Homer's needs. This is a prime example of a domestic woman, with Marge not working and staying home, taking care of the children and keeping the house intact.

3. Post-feminism:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBmMU_iwe6U

Run The World by Beyonce represents post-feminism because the song is about women ruling the world, showing how they aim to surpass men in every aspect and become more dominant than the male species. This is a key characteristic of the post-feminism movement. During the video, Beyonce appears in minimal clothing occasionally and also provocative, however classy clothing; this shows that the singer is asserting her right to be sexually attractive and not be objectified for that. She is showing that just because a woman appears to be sexually attractive, it doesn't mean that that should be glorified to the extent of objectifying, and that there are much more to women than their appearance. This is the message Beyonce is trying to portray, however I believe that equal rights should be empowering for every individual who feels oppressed, not just women in particular. I believe that in order for Beyonce to better educate her audience, they must become more aware of the situation and whilst Beyonce is trying to assert her power as a woman in this video, the way it's portrayed lacks the education the audience needs.

Male Representation in the Media:

1. Dominant/aggressive male

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we9jeU76Y9E

In this music video by Chase and Status, it represents the view that males are dominant and aggressive. It holds the stereotype that they're physically superior than women and they hold more control and power over them than women do over men. This is portrayed in 'Time' because the man is seen to be slapping his wife, showing how he holds disrespect for her but also holds himself in a higher regard due to overpowering her. The woman is seen to be weaker than the man, and cowers down to him. At the end of the video, he is seen to be pushing the woman down the stairs, further emphasising the fact that men are more dominant, controlling and aggressive - a stereotype that is widely recognised in today's society.

2. Male stereotype, such as: geek, jock, action hero, joker (tv show/film)

In Superbad, there are many stereotypes that are represented. In conjunction to the dominant/aggressive male, there is also the stereotype of boys being geeks/jocks; both stereotypes of which appear in this movie. The geeks are seen to be of lower social standard than the jocks, who are held in a higher regard. This is usually due to them being considered more attractive and having a bigger hold over other people due to this. The geeks in Superbad try and build a reputation that deems them to be 'cool', by buying alcohol for people they're attending a party with, and buying a fake I.D.

The jocks in the movie are the ones who are seen to be constantly consumed with female attention, whilst the geeks are trying to figure out how to attract them. This shows the difference in the social classes of geeks and jocks, and that a lot can be determined or pre-judged by a person due to the stereotype they're categorised them into.

3. Metrosexual/new man

On this magazine cover, it's photographed Will Smith and his son, Jaden Smith, together. This represents the stereotype of the 'new man' because it's showing that Will is taking an active part in raising Jaden whereas it was considered many years ago that it was always the woman's role to rear their children. This was because there was the stereotype of the man being the breadwinner, who went out to work and provided for the family whilst the mother stayed home, looked after the children, cleaned and cooked. The 'new man' is showing a detachment from this stereotype and many images of Will Smith feature his son with him. This represents Will as a father figure, showing that men are taking a bigger stance in their role as father and encouraging other men to, too.

It's also showing a detachment from the stereotype of the 'domestic woman', because men are now portraying a more active role.

Old People Stereotype in the Media: Challenged

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2550800/Record-number-pensioners-seeking-help-drug-additions.html

In this article, the stereotype of younger people being drug fiends is challenged as it's showing that older people are suffering more and more from substance abuse and drug addiction.

Drugs are usually associated with a younger population and the fact that it's relating it to an older population juxtaposes with the stereotype of young people.

Old People Representation in the Media

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2550670/Over-50s-unhappy-sex-life-34-underwhelmed-bedroom-half-dont-want-discuss-problems.html

In this article, it represents the stereotype that old people either stop or begin having less regular sex. It's portrayed in the media that old people lose interest as they get older and are less likely to maintain a sex life past their 50s. According to this article, 4% of the people surveyed believed that having sex was of "paramount importance" reinforcing the stereotype because it is evidence of older people losing interest. Many of the people surveyed believed that being affectionate and loving towards their partner constituted for sex and it became of less importance.

Exam: How To Improve

Audience Question

• Be more confident with the use of theories.
• Expand on the point I'm trying to make and ensure I've justified each point I've made.
• Deepen understanding and knowledge of visual codes and how to apply them so I can better analyse media text.
• Case studies.

Representation Question

• Be more confident with the use of theories and include them in my work.
• Widen knowledge of how the various representations of men and women differ and how they apply to certain people.
• Include stereotypes in my representation answers and be specific with who they apply to and how.
• Give own detailed examples and research case studies.

Revision and Study

• Make a revision and study guide so that I do enough hours of revision a week.
• Find a way to revise effectively (e.g. visual mnemonics, hierarchy, etc.)

Coursework

• Always work to the best of my ability.
• Collect draft and receive feedback on it.