Representation Theories

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The Male Gaze – Laura Mulvey – Feminist Theory

Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema – Written in 1975
The cinema apparatus of Hollywood cinema puts the audience in a masculine subject position with the woman on the screen seen as an object of desire. Film and cinematography are structures upon ideas. Protagonists tended to be men. Mulvey suggests two distinct modes of male gaze – “voyeuristic (women as whores) and fetishistic – women as unreachable madonnas”. (Also narcissistic – women watching film see themselves reflected on the screen). (Film texts: Alien, Jackie Brown).

People who criticise her ideas say that she is ignoring the fact that all genders – male and female want to feel dominated and overwhelmed by the cinema experience. Also, she ignores the fact that men are capable of ‘metaphoric transvestism’ whereby they are able to view the film from the perspective of a woman. (Thelma and Louise, The Piano, Knocked Up, Brick Lane).

Scoop.it

Creative Advertising Techniques

 Advertising is a form of communication used to encourage or persuade an audience (viewers, readers or listeners; sometimes a specific group of people) to continue or take some new action.Read more...

Means-End Theory
This approach suggests that an advertisement should contain a message or means that leads the consumer to a desired end state.

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Cultivation Theory
Unlike social cognitive and priming effects, the cultivation effects analysed by American communications George Gerbner are honed through much longer exposure to the media. Gerbner and his colleagues carried out longitudinal surveys of people’s opinions on certain subjects- the key variable being how much TV they watched. Variations in opinions held by those who watched lots of TV compared with those who did not were measured to compare the ‘cultivation differential’. In practice, this means that those viewers who watch lots of TV are found to have different opinions about the world outside of t heir front doors than those who watch less TV. So TV cultivates the opinions of people who watch several hours of it each day, every day.


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Lacan – Psychoanalysis and ‘The Mirror’

Unlike social cognitive and priming effects, the cultivation effects analysed by American communications George Gerbner are honed through much longer exposure to the media. Gerbner and his colleagues carried out longitudinal surveys of people’s opinions on certain subjects- the key variable being how much TV they watched. Variations in opinions held by those who watched lots of TV compared with those who did not were measured to compare the ‘cultivation differential’. In practice, this means that those viewers who watch lots of TV are found to have different opinions about the world outside of t heir front doors than those who watch less TV. So TV cultivates the opinions of people who watch several hours of it each day, every day.

Theories

Laura Mulvey - Male gaze

Cultivation Theory

Hyper-reality

Feminism/Post-feminism

Lacan - Mirror Sage

Uses and Gratifications

Bechdel Test

Muller Mullerlicious Corner (Nicole Scherzinger) Advertising Campaign

Special K Advertising Campaign

A1. To what extent are your chosen texts typical of their genre?

The text I have chosen is 'Fish Tank' and is typical of its genre of social realism because of the technical elements which are used. For example, a held camera shot is used when Mia is running through the walkway outside of the flats when she is chasing after Connor. The jostling of the camera as it follows Mia creates a sense of realism as it makes the audience feel involved within the scene and this therefore creates empathy towards Mia. It also creates a faster and more intense pace which adds to the the context of the scene because the audience then feel the sense of urgency and panic for Mia to find Connor.

Another feature that makes the text typical to its genre is the use of natural lighting. For example, it's dark at night time when Mia is running through the field after she has kidnapped Connor's daughter and he is now the chasing her. The dark, low-key lighting reflects the dark nature of the scene and creates suspense for the audience as the lighting makes the scene poorly visible so it's harder to see the commotion. The causes the audience to feel panic towards Mia as the dark lighting makes the scene feel unsafe. Also, because the text uses natural light this emphasises social realism as it shows a real-life day.

Also, it shows a common representation of females as being naive. For example, Mia sees an advertisement for a dance audition, however she doesn't realise that the audition was for a strip club. Mia remains unaware of the matter until she watches the girl that auditions before her and when Mia is on the podium in the strip club and is asked if she has any hot pants. This highlights that Mia is still a child and is unable to make her own decisions and again shows the social realism genre by showing the harsh reality of Mia's life.

How typical is 'Sin City' of its genre?

Sin City is a hybrid as it mixes two classic genres together to create a new, post-modern text. It is a combination of Film Noir conventions and Comic Book conventions.

Features typical to Film Noir include: use of voice overs; use of low key lighting; certain character roles and a non-linear narrative structure. The text proves typical of the Noir genre as it a voice over after John Hartigan has just been shot. The voice over allows the audience to know of his inner thoughts and feelings, in this instance, he is expressing the pain he is in and is trying to motivate himself to carry on and complete the mission.

A feature which shows that the film is a hybrid of Film Noir and Comic Book is the use of the trench coat. The trench coat is worn by Marv when he goes to complete a mission. This is true of the Film Noir genre as the coat gives a high end, business-like appearance of men from the 1940's. However, it is also true to the Comic Book genre as the trench coat is used to represent the stereotypical cape worn by a superhero. As Marv walks and runs through the city, the coat flaps in the wind causing it to look like cape. Also, to maintain the hero-like attitudes, Marv removes the cape every time he hurts or kills something and puts it back on when his actions have benefited his mission. This is done so not to taint the character of the hero.

Also, the film follows typical character roles from the Film Noir genre. A femme fatale uses their sexuality to gain power and then is often killed due to their own actions. This is shown through the representation of Cecile. Cecile is first shown as the camera lingers on a full length shot of her naked body. This shows features of Mulvey's Male Gaze as she is objectified and sexualised. Later in the film, she tries to take control of the mission by surrendering Marv's weapon to the police officers, however they are corrupt cops (also typical of the Film Noir genre). By doing this, she gets herself killed. This shows the women of the film as being naive and in need of a man.

Revised Coursework Question

 How are females represented in a carefully constructed way in order to sell products?