Week 25 ISP
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Category Archives: ISP
ISP 16
- Write 10 of your own short critical reviews – use website/magazine/newspaper publications as the source of these quotes.
- A fantastic experience and soon to be favourite
- Masterful
- The musical of the decade
- I left feeling buoyant
- A must see for film fans
- Exceeds the boundaries of a musical
- Wonderful from start to finish, worthy of praise
- A necessary watch for everyone
- Beautiful… an exquisite film
- Effortlessly perfect
2. Go to www.dafont.com. Select five possible font styles for the title of your production pieces.
3) Go to https://www.dafont.com/sf-movie-poster.font and download the font. Use this font to write a credit block for your own film, using the directors and actors you identified in your Treatment, as well as researching casting, producers etc to use too.
ISP 11: Vogue Magazine Covers
- October 2018
The Vogue October 2018 issue’s front cover stars Lady Gaga, a well known celebrity. Putting celebrities on magazine covers was a trend started by Vogue, specifically Anna Wintour, and links to the functions of the magazine cover as the use of a star encourages sales. Vogue has a distinctive masthead which is clear in this front cover as the main image, or more specifically Lady Gaga, is blocking part of the text (‘Vogue’) but everyone still knows what it says.This could make the magazine stand out from its competitors, especially lesser known ones, as the statement of being a well known brand encourages people to buy as people naturally have more faith in them. This could link to Psychographic Profiling, specifically mainstreamers, as they like trusted brands which and a distinctive masthead tells the reader they are a distinctive brand. The target audience is people interested in fashion. Hence, the cover line, ‘DRESSING FOR THE REAL WORLD’ being centralised, capitalised and in large, easy to read font – they are targeting their audience by making their genre clear and who they are targeting. The genre is also clear from the use of high key lighting which is a common feature of fashion magazines. Moreover, the intended audience could also be women. For example, one of the cover lines says ‘THE UNITED STATES OF WOMEN’. Plus, there colour scheme partially focuses on pink which is stereotypically linked to women. This therefore could be an example of demographic profiling.
In terms of the language choices, there is use of play on words in, ‘A STAR REBORN’, as it’s an obvious link to Lady Gaga’s latest movie, ‘A Star Is Born’ (2018). It’s also a way of encouraging sales because this paired with, “THERE HAS BEEN A GALAXY OF CHANGE” makes readers want to find out what Lady Gaga has to say, and they only way of doing that is purchasing the magazine. Anna Wintour has been a very influential figure on Vogue. One of the things she is known for, is moving the focus from just women’s face to their body. In this central image of Lady Gaga her body and face is very clearly the focus. It could be argued that this extreme focus on Lady Gaga’s body, especially when acknowledged that a large amount of focus is on her chest due to her physical positioning and her chest being in the center of the front page, could be a sexualisation of Lady Gaga and the female body. This links to Hall’s representation theory. Hall argues that all representations are constructed through signs and codes that are understood by the audience. He asserts that stereotyping reduces people and social groups to a few simple characteristics that are recognisable to audiences because they are reinforced over time. The sexualisation of women has in a way become a stereotype, as it reduces women into the stereotype of sexual objects which is why this example fits with the theory. As the codes (the focus being on her body, specifically her chest) link to a stereotype that reduces women to a few characteristics.
2) May 2018
Vogue’s May 2018 cover instantly stands out from their regular front covers as they have diversity in their fashion models. Moreover, Vogue famously started the use of a celebrity on the front of magazines which they usually utilise as a way of encouraging sales, but this front cover is different in that department as well. Despite these differences, they have still stuck to the convention and functions of magazine covers. For example, they have their distinctive masthead (‘VOGUE’), which is partially covered up by the models as they know potential buyers still know what it says because their name is so well known. Plus, the genre of the magazine is clearly indicated, therefore targeting it’s specific audience. For example, the use of high key lighting is a conventional tool in the fashion industry for their magazines. Plus, the central image displays an array of different outfits across the models. There are also plenty cover lines which are written in an easy to read font. Plus, ‘NEW FRONTIERS’ is particularly large drawing the readers eyes to it first. It’s referencing the diverse choice in models as for this cover they haven’t just chosen white, tall and very skinny women. This is reinforced with the line underneath reading, ‘The models changing the face of fashion’. This text is also written in white, along with the rest of it bar the title, which is a common colour choice for Vogue. In terms of language choice, they frequently use short sentences to get their point across quickly and easily to encourage sales due to created intrigue, like, ‘The models changing the face of fashion’ and ‘Gowns get fierce’. The positive representation in this magazine cover links to Gerbner’s cultivation theory as he stated that exposure to repeated patterns of representation over long periods of time can shape and influence the way in which people perceive the world around them. This magazine is displaying an accurate way for people to perceive the world around them, everyone is different. Whereas, most of their magazines display one type of person which could lead some people to want to be like them and/or think more people look like them than what is actually correct, and they display edited human beings that some people may perceive to be natural. This is something I assume to be criticised, Vogue lack of diversity and representation, and so maybe a reason why they chose this for their stand out piece was to make more be happy and encourage sales. However, there is a still a stereotypical Vogue middle in the centre of the front cover and touching the distinctive masthead which could suggest Vogue are still trying to pull focus to this form of representation. Linking on from this, the centre image includes five models and normally Vogue and other fashion magazines just have one. Not only was this a way to have diversity and positive representation but it also links into the function of magazine front covers as it’s a way that it stands out from its competitors. Standing out from your competitors is important as this encourages sales if people are more attracted to that particular magazine.
3) November 1965
Vogue’s November 1965 front cover has clear difference to it’s modern covers. Not only in terms of fashion and makeup displayed in the main image, but also the conventions and functions of magazine covers. For example, Vogue now is very aware of its distinctive masthead and usually covers up part of it with the model or celebrity on the front cover. However in this front cover the ‘VOGUE’ heading is placed over the image. Moreover, the language choices are different. On modern Vogue covers, there’s lots of use of short sentences that get the point across quickly and little to no use of techniques, but in this there is. Such as the use of repetition, ‘Night people… night places’ and the use of ellipsis. This is all a way of encouraging sales as this encourages attention and intrigue. When this magazine was for sale it would have been sold solely through physical copies contrasting to now when lots of digital copies are sold. This means aesthetically standing out from its competitors is very important, as people could physically see them together and Vogue want to stand out so people buy the magazine. This could be a reason why the link colour scheme was chosen (used in the main image and for the distinctive masthead) as it makes the front cover stand out. This in terms of Curran and Seaton’s power and media industry theory would be favourable to today’s online purchasing. Because, when Vogue and other fashion magazines where only available in physical print they had less control than nowadays when they also have things like social media and Curran and Seaton believe that media concentration generally limits or inhabits variety, creativity and quality. The genre of the magazine is clearly gotten across as the main image/center image is a close up of a woman in which the clothing and makeup is very much the center piece, therefore identifying to the audience that it’s a fashion magazine which helps to target its audience. However, it’s interesting that a fashion magazine is focusing in on the face rather than the fashion. This is because Vogue’s front covers didn’t start to focus on the models bodies until Anna Wintour got involved and started influencing the company. There’s also use of high key lighting which is a common feature of fashion magazines. Moreover the cover line includes the word ‘fashion’, ‘lights-on fashion’ therefore indicating that it’s a fashion magazine. The use of bold font makes this stand out as well as the large font size, therefore attracting the reader’s attention so that they can identify to the reader what the genre of the magazine is. You could argue that this is an example of demographic profiling as in the 60’s gender stereotypes were far more prominent than they are now in the 21st century, and so having pink as a dominant colour in the colour scheme could be a way of targeting a female demographic as pink is stereotypically associated with women.
Media: ISP 10
‘If I were a Boy’ (2009) consists of both positive and negative representations of gender, which is interesting, as its aim is to be a feminist song and video. To tackle gender stereotypes and stereotypical gender roles the video has to take on said stereotypes. Throughout the majority of the video, Beyonce stands in as the typical male, and the male stands in as the typical female both in work and within their relationship, which relates to the fact that the song is a ballad. For example, the male is shown as the emotional one during the relationship, and the one who gets hurt by Beyonce’s cruel actions. Meanwhile, Beyonce flirts with other men, and has a job as a police officer. These examples all go against gender stereotypes which I believe is the point of the video. As well as, when paired with the lyrics, ‘If I were a boy’, possibly suggesting that her life regarding work and relationships would be easier for Beyonce if she were male when looking at stereotypes. However, it’s not all positive representation. The use of stereotypes could be seen as reinforcement of them, as it’s easy to cross the line. Plus it was interesting that Beyonce was typically sexualised and not the male. For example, through the mise-en-scene. Beyonce’s police outfit had a v neck line showing some of her chest, and there was also a shot of her topless. The male did not have similar shots or outfits. This all links into Stuart Hall’s representation theory. He asserts that stereotyping reduces people and social groups to a few simple characteristics that are recognisable to audiences because they are reinforced over time. He also argues that stereotypes tend to occur when there are inequalities of power. The use of stereotypes in this video are used to emphasise the inequality of power, such as how being a policeman is typically viewed as a male job rather than a female and how women are stereotypically thought of the emotional and weak ones in the relationship. There is a flip in the narrative towards the end of the video. The music stops and only diegetic noise can be heard emphasising the emotional side to the scene. In this moment, the video acknowledges the gender flip that has been happening and reverts to the stereotypes. This reinforces the exploration of stereotypes as negative, and how women suffer as a consequence. ‘If I Were a Boy’ technically links in with the social context and history for women and the unequalness for women in society. It tackles what are resumed to be male careers and personality traits which revolve around strength and power, while women are emotional and helpless ones. The video criticises these stereotypes.
Similarly, ‘Apesh*t’ (2018) also tackles representation of women. To compare possible sexualisation, in ‘If I Were a Boy’ the sexualisation feels more uncomfortable, but in Apesh*t, it’s done in a completely different way and Beyonce feels more in control of how she is presented. Such as, even though her neckline is even lower in this video, it feels like a personal choice that doesn’t objectify her unlike in the other music video. This could be due to the time the videos were made. From 2009 to 2018 there has been many social movements and changes regarding women which would have affected the representation of women in her videos, especially since Beyonce is so politically and socially aware. A difference between the two videos though in terms of representation is that ‘Apesh*t’ focus on ethnicity in terms of representation. The camera is almost always moving apart from when it focuses on a piece of art. More often than not, the art close up is of a black person which we can link to representation. Moreover, it can be perceived that the decision to have the video take place in the Louvre is used as an embodiment of an intervention of Western Art. This could link to Gauntlett’s representation theory. As Gauntlett asserts that the media provide us with the ‘tools’ or resources that we use to construct our own identities. Advertising offers us ‘role models’; he suggests that they then ‘pick and mix’ which aspects of these products they want to use in the construction of their own identities. It’s entirely possible that a response to this video could relate to this which in this case is a good thing as the representation is positive. However, Gauntlett’s theory can be argued against. As you could argue that people are already confident enough in themselves to start changing who they are according to media.
A difference between the two videos is the use of colour, or the lack of colour. In ‘If I Were a Boy’ the entire video is in black and white which would have been a directorial choice. It links in with Barthe’s semiotic theory as the black and white has connotations of the past and timelessness, possibly suggesting that the gender stereotypes represented started long ago and sadly continue. To contrast, the pastelle colour palette in ‘Apesh*t’ contrasts Beyonce’s music videos from the past and connotes a sense of maturity in her, her music and her videos as it’s perfectly coordinated and mature; this is part of the representation of herself in the video. The representation of herself also link in with the lyrics, as she sings, “I can’t believe we made it’ which could be a reference to her career or her relationship with Jay-z. The genre being hip hop/rap also contrasts her past work, providing a sign of development in her music. In ‘If I Were a Boy’, the representations of herself are linked in with the representation of women. Such as, the police outfit she wears connotes power and a high position job which the video displays women should be just as much as men. She also shows herself as emotional, as one close up shows a tear on her face. This contrasts to ‘Apesh*t’ when it’s all pure confidence. The mise en scene of the art is a large presence in the video. This could link to historical context, as I’m sure they stood and danced in front of specific art for specific reasons. Plus, “The video opens with a shot of a man wearing angel wings, kneeling in front of the museum, something Thomas says could be a reference to the film, Looking for Langston.“The film shows black people with large wings that somewhat replicate that sculpture. An Essex Hemphill poem in it talks about falling angels that connect to the history of black life and death, which is something that Beyoncé has dealt with in her work as well,” she said.”
ISP 9
Childish Gambino – This is America
I used this website: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/05/07/this-is-america-breaking-down-childish-gambinos-powerful-new-music-video/?noredirect=on
‘This Is America’ is a song by Donald Glover’s alter ego Childish Gambino. The music video is packed with visual references to racism and related violent crimes in US. The opening screen features a man playing a guitar in a warehouse. He is a representation of Calvin the Second who is a LA based artist. The camera then moves on to Glover. “He stands behind Calvin the Second, whose head has been covered with a bag, and shoots him with a gun pulled out of his back pocket. As several have pointed out on Twitter, his stance while holding the weapon mimics that of the minstrel character Jim Crow, the origin of the term used to describe pre-Civil rights-era segregation laws.”. The choreographed dancing distracts the watcher from everything that’s taking place in the background – this seems purposeful. His expressions and “his movements further the connection to minstrel shows, a form of entertainment popularised in the early 1800s that mocked black people in the United States. The stock characters were usually played by white people in blackface, though some all-black groups performed under white directors.” Moreover, “Glover’s character who appears to represent how white American culture oppresses black people, periodically kills innocent performers.” Such as, when he shoots the choir members after being passed a gun. This imagery is contextually linked to the 2015 Charleston church massacre.
” The Post and Courier spoke to Charleston locals about their mixed reactions to the depicted violence. One criticized Glover for contributing to the overuse of “traumatic violence against black people in order to convey an artistic message,” but Rev. Sharon Risher, the daughter of shooting victim Ethel Lance, said the video speaks to how death is normalized.”
The attention is drawn onto Glover. But in the background people are “chased by cops. A police car is parked in the viewers’ line of sight, and orange glares suggest fires burning throughout the warehouse. The camera quickly glides past young people with their phones out as Glover says, “This a celly, that’s a tool.” Cellphones have been used to record police officers shooting or choking black people in the past few years.”
” Calvin the Second plays his guitar with the bag on his head as Glover climbs atop a parked car. All the cars pictured — including the one SZA sits on, in a surprise cameo — are from the 1980s and 1990s,in contrast with the new, luxury vehicles often depicted in today’s music videos. Some Twitter users theorized that the cars’ age represents the “stalled socioeconomic and political mobility” of black Americans. Others pointed to images of vehicles during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, which began after a jury acquitted police officers of using excessive force while arresting (and beating) Rodney King.”
” The video ends with Glover chased down a dark hallway, and some point to the darkness behind him as a physical representation of the Sunken Place, a mental prison where the Armitage family matriarch sends black people in Jordan Peele’s “Get Out.”
Lily Allen – Hard Out Here
I used this website: https://jezebel.com/lily-allens-its-hard-out-here-is-scathing-pop-cultu-1463035628
Lily Allen’s ‘Hard Out Here’ explicitly expresses the issue of sexual double standards regarding women and men, the sexualisation of women in media and by some individuals as well as the unrealistic body images that are set up for women.
The video begins Lily Allen lying on an operating table “getting liposuction while talking to an old white male music executive, who tells her that how David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel have rejected her from their shows. It then segues into her filming a stereotypical music video filled with bootyshaking backup dancers (the music exec tries to teach them all the right way to shake it), money everywhere and gold jewelry”. This is without question done ironically and with sarcasm, the music video is design to identify flaws in society regarding the representation and expectations of women and the video explores this without holding back as are the lyrics themselves. Not only does the explicitness of the video make it obvious that it’s all a satire and made through sarcasm, but the lyrics even specify the use of sarcasm.
” In the video, Allen does some clear call-outs to recent controversial pop culture videos, including some licking of a Beats Pill ala Miley Cyrus, and some fun with balloons ala Robin Thicke”
” Allen’s critique of a sexist music world feels a bit like Jewel’s video “Intuition” did in 2003, but it’s far more explicit and nuanced. Though Jewel’s video called out sexism in pop culture, the song fell flat. “Follow your heart, your intuition/It will lead you in the right direction” is a great sentiment and all, but not particularly interesting or funny, two things that Allen has managed to combine in this release. Allen’s also trying to turn this into a conversation, encouraging people to talk about the song and video on Twitter using the hashtags #HOH and #Bitches.”
” Allen’s video is bound to be criticized by for her own use of mostly black backup dancers twerking, but the key difference here is that this is satire, however difficult that can be to pull off.”
From start to finish the music video expresses a feminist viewpoint on the representation of treatment of women in media and by some people, in this case a specific male who plays the music producer and teaches the dancers including Lily Allen to be more provocative in the making of the music video. All of which is a comment on society along with the songs lyrics. This is not unusual for Lily Allen as an artist who is known for caring deeply for her lyrics. In fact when she releases a song with lyrics she doesn’t feel mean enough she’s vocal about it.
Dave – Question Time
I used this website: https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/8x8jek/dave-question-time-politics-new-ep-game-over
Dave is a rapper from South London that has recently turned to political commentary. ‘Question Time’ consists of lyrics expressing the current state of our politics and political system and ultimately our country, ” and it totally puts to bed any ideas that millennials don’t understand politics, or that we’re apathetic or unengaged.”
Dave tackles issues from Syria (“The irony is, we have no business in Syria / but kids are getting killed for all the business in Syria”) to the the government’s treatment of NHS nurses, of which he has personal experience, via his mum. Speaking clearly and plainly, he voices his frustration with the status quo: “I just find it fucked that the government is struggling / to care for a person that cares for a person.” These are incredibly important messages that need to be expressed and heard in today society. Dave expresses these problems plainly and clearly and encourage others to also stand up for what they believe in.
“He levels criticism at the largely wealthy and upper class make-up of parliament, talking about how weird it is that the country is run by “people who can’t ever understand what it’s like to live life like you and me.” This leads, pretty grimly – but necessarily – onto a description of the class problems highlighted by the Grenfell Tower fire, specifically by the fact that the Prime Minister refused to meet victims of the blaze after the fact. In a cutting but actually really refreshing section, he says, “At Grenfell Tower your response was ridiculous / You hid like a coward behind your five million / Dodged responsibility and acted like you’re innocent.” And, honestly, he’s not wrong.” He didn’t shy away from discussing things like class in politics which is important in today society to do.
“And though the rightwing Tories are an obvious target for the vitriol of the young, Dave also addresses leftwing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. Corbyn is highly popular amongst millennials, and it’s been a habit for many to view him as though he’s somehow above criticism. But, he’s a politician, so that can never be the case. Dave takes him to task, too, and also in doing so, he also invokes the memories of Edson Da Costa and Rashan Charles, two young black men while being detained by police in London: “Everybody’s great until you get them into office / And then guys start forgetting things / Prove to us you’re different / Go and get justice for Rashan Charles and Edson.”” He doesn’t only criticise one side of politics but both left and right wing. Discussing how both the Conservatives and Labour have made some mistakes.
M.I.A – Borders
I used this website: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/11/mia-borders-video-refugees-migration-appropriation/418017/
” Maya Arulpragasam is a famous rapper, singer, designer, producer, and refugee. When she was 9, her mother and siblings fled violence in Sri Lanka and came to London, and the experience was formative for her art. As she explained to The Guardian in 2005 after the release of her debut Arular, “I was a refugee because of war and now I have a voice in a time when war is the most invested thing on the planet. What I thought I should do with this record is make every refugee kid that came over after me have something to feel good about. Take everybody’s bad bits and say, ‘Actually, they’re good bits. Now whatcha gonna do?’””
” That goal—to glorify people and practices that the developed world marginalizes—has been a constant in her career. Her new music video tackles it in a particularly literal and urgent way, not only by showing solidarity with refugees at a moment when they’re extremely controversial in the West, but also by posing a simple question to listeners: Whose lives do you value?” She uses visual symbolism to express these topics.
The lyrics and music video for ‘Borders’ ” features images recalling all sorts of migrations from the developing world—there are people crossing deserts, fences, and bodies of water. Though much of M.I.A.’s work has been about women and children, this video is filled with brown men: the ultimate bogeyman for many in the West, stereotyped as terrorists, criminals, and job-takers.”
The video uses “shots of the men’s faces, clear reminders of their individual humanity. But for the most part, M.I.A. (who directed the video) is interested in them as a mass. She has them climb a fence and spell out “LIFE.” She has them lay on their backs on the roof of a jampacked ship, silent and bored-seeming. She has them form into a human sculpture in the image of a boat. As one point, their watercraft crowd like an armada.” This is all used as symbolism and visual metaphors to get across the political points that she wants to address..
“The video may prove controversial for reasons beyond the fact that it seems to want to assert of the dignity and beauty of people who are often denied those things… As is often the case in M.I.A.’s career, some may argue she’s using people as props, aestheticizing poverty for her own gain, and mixing cultural signifiers in ways that could feed stereotypes about the developing world as an undifferentiated mass. This is a dynamic she’s well aware of; last year, she tweeted that her label censored a video of hers because of “cultural appropriation,” and she didn’t so much protest the decision as ask for a wider discussion of it. But you can defend her by pointing to the fact of who she is—here, a refugee speaking for refugees—as well as to the intent of her music.”
She uses popular pop music tropes and common used phrases and words in her music videos but in a different way to convey the messages that she wants to get across which are largely about politics and refugees.
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis – Same Love
I used this website: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/sep/30/macklemore-to-donate-proceeds-from-same-love-to-marriage-equality-campaign
“American rapper, Macklemore, has pledged to donate the Australian proceeds from his track, Same Love, to the marriage equality campaign.” His video not only voiced the need of equality, but financially helps too.
The song goes against homophobia and supports the necessity of LGBTQ+ rights. It specifically mentions the right for people of the same sex to marry (instead of just a civil partnership).
“Macklemore’s pledge was welcomed by the equality campaign. Alex Greenwich, co-chair of Australian Marriage Equality, said the donations would come at a crucial time.“We are grateful for this much needed support and thank Macklemore for enregising our campaign with his song and support,” Greenwich said.”
“But its performance at the grand final has drawn the ire of conservatives, who have launched attacks described by some of their Liberal colleagues as “bizarre”. The criticism has been led by former prime minister, Tony Abbott, and Liberal senator, Eric Abetz. Ironically, the controversy helped the track move to the top of the iTunes chart in Australia this week.” The song reaching the top of the charts only emphasised that love was winning as it should do, and that many members of society agree with LGBTQ+ rights.
Specific backlash that Macklemore addressed: “Prior to arriving in Sydney on Saturday, Macklemore said he had been receiving “a lot of tweets from angry old white men” about his planned performance.That, he said, made him want to “go harder” when performing the song. He said on Saturday music had the power to start conversations and bring people together. “I think that is what music has the power to do, is not divide people, but create an environment where people can start a debate, can have a conversation,” he said.”
His song came out at a time where there was vote regarding marriage rights for same sex couples (?). The money maid from the music went towards a related campaign. His videos and lyric messages is important in today’s society which gave him lots of praise and support but sadly also criticism and back lash.
ISP 8
Tide:
Kiss of the Vampire:
WaterAid:
Psychographic Profiling could be applied to all three advertisements in terms of advertising to the main category – mainstreamers. They like security, tried and trusted brands and like to think they belong to a group of like-minded people. The use of logo’s whether this be the WaterAid logo or a film company’s logo or the Tide logo provides a sense of security and trust of the product in the readers/audiences mind.
Intertexuality – Tide – Uses indirect intertexuality with the ‘We can do it’ poster. It has inspired influence and can be a comment on gender representation.
ISP 7
Part One:
McDonald’s 2018 Advert: Teenager. They used a female ‘protagonist’ but it’s advertising to everyone not just a specific gender. It’s targeting people with social hobbies, as the ad is based around a group of teenagers who spend time together and how the app was used by one person for someone else. The ad could be aimed at working class people, but it’s hard to know.
Gala Bingo 2018 Advert: Older person. There’s a strong reference to Coronation street, and soaps stereo-typically get mainly watched by the elder generation rather than the young. However, we know it must be aimed at someone at least 18 or over due to what it’s advertising. It wasn’t gender specific and occupation is also hard to judge. However, they did have a driver and building workers so possibly subtly hinting towards manual labour workers?
Barclays Life Skills Interviews (not available on Moodle so I used Youtube): Everyone and anyone. The advert targeted people of any gender, age, occupation, region with any hobbies and interests. I just think that maybe not upper class people as they were not featured in the advert? But other social classes like working class and possibly middle class were represented and could therefore be the target audience/audience profile.
Fairy 2018 advert: Mainly female audience profile as they were most represented (but not the only gender to be represented). In terms of age, 20’s-30’s mainly, but older people were also shown too which could change the audience profile in terms of age. Hobbies it’s impossible to tell but people who have enough time to shake things clean. Not upper class as stereo typically they are more likely to have someone wash up for them.
Alton Towers 2018 ad: Audience profile is more than likely a child, teenager at the oldest. They are the only ones featured in the advert, or at least very much the centre of attention. Hobbies and/or interests would include going to theme parks and trying out new rides (maybe also interest in the film? But I don’t think it’s actually related). Class it’s difficult to know. People/someone who leaves decently close to Alton Towers and actually has access to the theme park and therefore the advertised Wicker Man ride.
Nike London 2018 Advert: Someone from London. Typically the audience profile would be a teenager due to the people/cast that is used in the advert as well as the music choices as well as the humour choices. Hobbies and interests surrounding sport (it covered a large range of sport in the advert from football to running to tennis). In terms of class it’s hard to know, maybe working or middle class.
Aviva 2011 Advert: An adult due to what the advertisement is encouraging the audience member to spend money on, aimed specifically at a family member but could really be anyone. Working class maybe. Occupation could be anything really, it isn’t touched upon in the advert so it’s hard to know. Maybe something that doesn’t provide as much money as you’d want and so life insurance is a necessity?
Emirates 2018 advert: Someone who likes to travel for a hobby/interest. Possibly a middle class individual or upper class due to stereotypes regarding the way that they final man was dressed in comparison to the rest of the cast/people shown and how he went with a fancy airline meanwhile the others struggled to get a free upgrade. It’s hard to say in terms of gender, region and occupation. An adult as a child wouldn’t be buying a plane ticket.
Part Two:
What are some of the issues related to audience profiling?
One of the main issues regarding the idea of audience profiling is that, as a concept, it largely if not entirely relies on stereotypes regarding region, gender, occupation, class etc. Which, as a society we should try to avoid due to them being just that, stereotypes. Another issue is it’s hard to understand the exact type of person the advert is aimed at as the advert doesn’t touch on all of those areas all of the time; this is because of the fact that in many occasions it doesn’t need to. Plus, as an advertiser you wouldn’t want to be to limiting as to who your audience profile is as well as knowing that some labels aren’t necessary e.g. gender. You want your audience to be people who buy the product, not limit it to a very specific type of person based off of stereotypes and assumptions. It’s based on generalising as well as being based on assumptions which can be considered a outdated version of advertising that just supports stereotyping that can have a negative effect on society/individuals. It won’t always work. A common example is that a football ad would have a male audience profile, missing anyone else who is interested in sport but not included in the advert die to stereotypes.
ISP 6 – Part Two
This audio-visual advertisement uses celebrity endorsement to encourage sales of its product. Celebrity endorsement not only encourages sales, but it creates more hype around the advert allowing more people to see it. In this case, they have used a humorous use of getting Robert De Niro, and making references to his famous film ‘Goodfellas’ by using ‘Goodbagels’. The advert uses comedy in terms of De Niro such as with the red lighting, and the ‘no I’m not’ in reply to ‘Robert De Niro’ as waiting as it falls in line with some of his characters. Utilising humour is a good way to encourage sales. In terms of representation, it’s showing men as powerful business owners, but this is because of the De Niro story line. In terms of connotations, there is use of serious connotations like the red lighting, but it’s used sarcastically/ironically to encourage humour. It doesn’t really use a demonstrative action technique as no one eats the bagels. However, there is lots of mention of the bagels and sight of the bagels which is suggestive of a demonstrative technique; we know what the advert is selling us right from the very beginning. There is a shot drenched in yellow, from De Niro’s suit to the bagels surrounding him. Yellow can have positive connotations, and so using this colour excessively is applying positive connotations to the brand. As well as the shot being memorable, which adverts want to be as it helps them to earn money through sales of the product.
This audio-visual advert is selling BT sport by showing a young girl imagining herself dominating in sport as she runs down the street and goes to school. The sport’s channel is shown right from the very beginning when the girl is engrossed in the television screen (which is a way of advertising the greatness of the product), but we don’t know that it’s BT sport until the end of the advert when it says ‘Take them all on’ with the BT sport logo which shows officiality. This lack of demonstrative action allows the advert to explore the representation of females (gender) as well as children (age) as it’s defying social stereotypes and showing a young girl not only extremely passionate about sport but good at it. This positive representation will encourage buys as people will be happy with the company for doing this. The connotation of purple (BT sign) can be luxury, power, ambition, devotion and more which are all good things, and therefore using purple in relation to the company is a way of attaching positive connotations from one thing to the company. As the young girl goes through the street, she encounters tennis players, football players, motorcyclists and more. This range of sportsmen shows the vastness of the BT sports channels, again encouraging people to spend their money and sign up to it due to it’s wide range of sport that it shows. The advert also uses celebrity endorsement with the famous sportsmen. This encourages people to talk about the advert, meaning more people see it, and therefore there is more chances of people signing up to BT sport, as well as encouraging people to sign up in the first place.
ISP 6 – Part One
This print advertisement is a multi-model text from sometime in the 20th century that advertises Coca-Cola. The advert relates a sense of homeliness and love to the Coca-Cola through the connotations of the setting that the family is in, in the central image. The fire suggests warmth and homeliness and the roses suggest love. It’s important for the brand to attach positive connotations to it’s product to encourage sales; after all the reason why, this advert exists is because it’s produced by makers of a consumable product and they are encouraging people to buy Coca-Cola. The advertisement utilises a demonstrative action technique as the Coca-Cola is in use, however it’s not actually being drunk. It utilises a soft sale technique, as it’s selling the lifestyle of a cosy environment and a happy family along with the drink itself. The Coca-Cola logo is also used, to show the officiality of the brand and the drink. In terms of representation of gender, it fits in with the time that the advert was created in that the woman is shown as the stay at home mum who looks after the children while the man is working by loading Coca-Cola. The advert makes use of many positive adjectives. Such as, ‘refreshing’, ‘happy’ and ‘sparkling’. This is because they are trying to sell the product and so they are describing it in a purely positive way. The mode of address is somewhat formal, as there’s no use of slang or colloquialisms, and there’s no direct involvement with the reader through pronouns. In terms of typography, it supports the more formal side to the advertisement, as well as being clear and easy to read which all adverts want.
This print advertisement is made up of almost purely the central image but is still multi-modal. It’s advertising Marlboro cigarettes to men (due to the image being of a man), with the intention of getting people to buy the product. It demonstrates a demonstrative action technique as the product is in use but in terms of soft sale technique it also appears to be selling a lifestyle. The casual pose that the actor is doing, and the cowboy theme is all part of the lifestyle that the advertisement is selling. This could link into the representation of gender, as its suggesting that men want a cool and laid-back lifestyle. The bold typography of ‘Come to where the flavour is’, could be considered a unique selling point as the company is suggesting that you should buy their cigarettes because it has good flavour. There’s also use of the colour red. The man is dressed in red, a part of the packet is red, and it even says, ‘Marlboro red’. This would have been done due to wanting to attach the connotations of red to the product in order to encourage sales. These connotations could be power, passion or something similar. There is no logo attached to the advertisement except for it being clearly visible on the image of the packet which is a way of demonstrating its officiality to the readers which would encourage sales due to making them seem more trustworthy. The mode of address is semi-formal. There’s no direct involvement with the reader through pro-nouns and there’s also no slang. But there’s limited sentence types used and it only uses simple language suggesting a slightly informal tone to the advert as well.
Research and write a 300-word summary of the political response to I, Daniel Blake during the time of the release of the film
The film’s message regarding benefits and the job centre systems naturally received a political response. It inspired criticisms about the systems, and most viewers if they had the preferred response would desire a drastic change to the system and quick. The director was the one who spread the word about the film, emphasising it’s political meaning in the process rather than the cast doing a press tour. The film was also available in pay what you can cinema’s so everyone could access it; it wasn’t made for the money. However, it did receive some backlash saying that the film focused on dedicated and hard working citizens rather than those who abuse the system; it was tailored to show only the bad, but this is the point which needed to be make, clearly. It’s also received criticism from the Conservative party which isn’t very surprising. For example, ” Former Conservative Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said I, Daniel Blake was unfair, criticising its portrayal of Jobcentre staff, saying: “This idea that everybody is out to crunch you, I think it has really hurt Jobcentre staff who don’t see themselves as that.”
Some people wrongly claim its unrealistic: ” But critics from a certain political bent have found it unpalatable. If the film causes discomfort, perhaps your political system should be the target of your ire rather than a director and the screen representation of thousands of near identical stories across the country. Sanctions are meted out constantly for ludicrous reasons; people are evicted from appalling housing simply for requesting basic repairs; families in hostels are moved far from home with no support; and many people have died shortly after being declared fit for work. It takes a special arrogance for people who have never sat in a foodbank or been near a job centre to proclaim that these cases are unrealistic.”
I quoted these websites:
Georgia Newman - Media Studies 