Angel.With.E
Activity 1
J.Cole- She
Knows
The audience is introduced to the storyline within the music video by a montage of a colonial suburban town. The multiple straight cuts are used to display the many different parts of the town setting, the denotations of the suburban town connotes an expected domestic nature to the main character while giving a dismal, gloomy mood that could possibly foreshadow the life of the main character. The use of straight cuts instead of transitions, makes the setting look dry and boring to the audience, possibly establishing that the main character is discontent with their surroundings to the audience.
At 0:20 seconds within the video, a mid shot of a male character searching through a drawer is presented. The denotations of the male character being the first character to be presented within the music video connotes that they are possibly the main character and will hold great importance within the storyline of the music video. The use of hand-held camera movement causes the shot a jerky effect, accompanied by the quick cuts from kyle to the character walking in the hall
Twilight
Within the movie poster, the denotations of the female character is she is latched loosely to the man. This connotes that she is dependant on him within the movie and is reinforcing the stereotypical damsel in distress character usually applied to females.
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Furthermore, the denotations of the nvc of the male characters brooding face connotes that he is mysterious and dangerous. This is often used in media to make the man look superior and intriguing which is stereotypical for men within the media industry as it makes them seem more important to women
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The denotations of the formatting of the male hunching over the female make her appear as if she is smaller in frame and he is much larger. The connotations of the man having a larger frame constructs him to appear more intimidating and dangerous to the audience, this stance shapes it to seem as though he is protecting the female as his frame towers over her and blocks her from the screen. This fits the stereotypical observation that men are meant to protect females and be Heroes.
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ACO
Within the Game cover , the women is presented holding swords in both of her hands. The connotations of swords are typically linked to death and danger; being more of a 'masculine trait'. A woman holding swords subverts the stereotype that women are weak and fragile, this subversion would entice women who do not fit within the gender stereotype to buy the game.
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Additionally, the denotation of the arrows, shields and ships connotes that the background is a war setting. Stereotypically, video games with violence always have men on the front cover especially if the setting is the middle of a war. Having a female character within a war setting subverts the stereotype of women being damsels in distress who are dependant on a man to save them, the cover promotes the message of women. being able to fend for themselves and possessing more masculine traits such as strength in order to fight within a war.
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Finally, the denotation of the female characters confident, straight stance connotes that she is well trained and unafraid to fight. The use of this nvc subverts the typical view of women being too vulnerable and emotional to fight , instead the nvc promotes women appearing as leaders who are heroic, traits stereotypically applied to men.
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Activity: Positively influenced
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Innocent uses platforms such as Youtube and Newspaper companies to advertise their promotion on healthy living. Innocent is a smoothie company that uses natural ingredients in their smoothies that have long and short term health benefits, they encourage better health by promoting their smoothies along side showing how purchasing their smoothies helps other people environmentally. The dominant message of innocent is that their smoothies are healthy and good for you, this is denoted through their numerous post of the benefits the smoothies have from innocent itself and purchasers of the smoothie brand. The oppositional reading to the Innocent message would be that drinking their smoothies means you dont have to drink water or eat fruits as they are already contained within the smoothie, therefore you are not in need of water or fruits.
Activity: Gaming Representations
Elena-Ultra Street Fighters
Within the game, Elena is a fighter of kenyan decent with blue eyes and white hair. The denotation of her lighter physical features connotes to the stereotype that having more western socially acceptable features makes you more attractive than having ethnic features. The complexion of Elena's skin and colour of her eyes and hair are deliberately used to make her look exotic but still fit within the stereotypical norms of arian beauty standards. Furthermore, the costume design of the female character consists of multiple blue, red and yellow bangals and a wrap around white two-piece bikini. The description given of Elena, describes her to be 'the most revealingly dressed character within the game' denotation of her costume connotes to the common sexualisation of ethnic characters within video games, which constantly depicts these characters wearing close to nothing. The bands worn by the character are the only denotation of her exact ethnic background, this is counter-stereotypical as commonly within video games, more representation is used for ethnic characters to fit the stereotype of ethnic people being rich in culture.
Cross Cultural Consumer Characterisation
4c's theory by Young & Rubicam
Strugglers
Bingo would be targeted towards strugglers because they are more likely to want to play it in order to make large sums of money quickly
Mainstream
Marvel is more likely to target mainstreamers as it is a veery well known successful brand and is meant for children. As mainstreamers are very family friendly and possibly have family of their own, they would be consumers of the Marvel product.
Reformers
Reformers are more likely to be targeted by national geographic channel as it is a show about the wild life and changes in the planet. As reformers like to help the environment, national geographic will give them information about how they can do so.
Aspirers
VOGUE would be more likely to target aspirers as they are a fashion magazine that talks about new and upcoming trends and celebrities and their everyday lives and events
Explorers
Explorers are more likely to be interested in these types of magazines as they are very interested in media that targets health benefits and fitness
Succeeders
Succeeders are more likely to watch the show suits as it would relate to their 'hard work = reward' mindset. As succeeders are very professional and successful they would see themselves and be able to relate to many of the characters within the show .
Resigned
The resigned have old fashioned views and tend to not like change. For this reason they are more likely to listen to music from their time rather than modern more contemporary pieces. Radio stations such as '80s classic hits' would target resigned audiences as they are more likely to respond to their product positively.
Friday 19th November 2021
HW: REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN
Within the magazine, the woman is situated at the centre of the page putting ample focus on her and the costume she is wearing. Her costume consists of a low cut top and white booty shorts, both articles of clothing connoting towards the stereotype of women only being needed to sexually gratify male viewers. The placement of the female further connoting towards this stereotype. This links to Mulvey's male gaze theory as both the females costume and placement are stereotypical ways in which the media presents women to overly sexualise them from a males perspective.
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Furthermore, the magazine uses language such as 'hot, sexy, gorgeous' instantly internalizing the societal norm that women have to look and dress like the model in the magazine in order to be classified as 'hot, sexy, gorgeous'. While this is a dominant reading of the magazine, the oppositional reading would be that the magazine does not force women to dress or look the way they do but it is their own nature that does so. This reading could be inferred from the stereotype of women liking gossip and fashion; this can be connoted from the phrases such as '24/7 hot looks' or 'why guys pull away'.
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Finally, the woman is sitting in a position that exposes her cleavage and puts emphasis and attention on her revealed skin. The denotation of her posture makes it quite clear that she was positioned from a males vantage point, the way in which she is sitting makes her look very uncomfortable and slightly unnatural within the magazine cover.
The clip uses the editing technique of quick cutting when displaying a different shot. Quick cutting is when a shot transitions between shots at a fast pace. The denotation of the quick cut editing connotes to the fast pace in which the scene is moving, keeping the sense of tension and thrill in the scene and the audience wondering 'what will happen next'. Furthermore, this is very stereotypical within the action genre as they are fast pace and need a fast pace transition.
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The clip also uses the non-diegetic sound of a score whilst the characters fight each other. The score further adds tension to the scene and makes the scene look exciting while also keeping a sense of seriousness. This keeps the audiences interested as it connotes a feeling of exhilaration and adrenaline which will keep them on their toes throughout the scene.
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Lastly, the clip uses match on action within the scene when punches are thrown or weapons are used. The denotation of the match on action editing makes the scene more realistic as the sound you expect to hear when an action is performed is the sound you hear. Furthermore, this lets the audience maintain focus on the happenings of the scene without being taken from the scene.
When watching the clip without sound, i saw visuals of a man on a boat and people on the shore staring at him. This made me question, why the man is on the boat and what they are saying to him; as the video progresses further, quick shot is used to close up frame a girl on the verge of tears and the man on the boat, this denotation made me connote that the man and the girl have a relationship. Seeing the police at the dock immediately made me tense as police are only present when something bad is happening or about to happen. At 1.24 when the boat exploded, though i did not hear the explosion, i was able to feel the impact as i slightly jolted as if i was actually there. This made me feel sad as the man on the boat had died and the girl had broken down crying.
Similarly, when listening to the clip with sound, this impact did not feel the same as without song. This is because of the different diegetic and non-diegetic sounds being used within the clip at the same time for example, the soundtrack used. While the soundtrack added a sense of sadness to the clip and amplified the pain felt by the characters, it also made the scene slightly less serious as it distracted from the scene. Contrasting to this, would be the voice over of the girl crying; this made my heart weep for the young lady which, according to halls reception theory would be the dominant reading of the clip. Alternatively, the oppositional reading would be that it didn't add to the scene and only served as noise to fill the silence