Are females constructed in an unrealistic manner in order to help boost sales? Playing particular attention to the J'adore Dior perfume campaign and the Daisy Perfume by Marc Jacobs.


The representation of women is constructed with in advertising products, specifically perfume campaigns, and within this women's representation differs within this element of the media. I intend to prove this with examples of J'adore Dior and Daisy Perfume by Marc Jacobs perfume campaigns. My aim is to see what ideologies brands attach to their products, as through brands attaching specific images and aspirations to their products this therefore help sell their products. In J’adore Dior’s advert Charlize Theron very sexualised and objectified, as well as selling aspirations of her being powerful, sexy and womanly, which is appealing to bother women and men. However Marc Jacobs, Daisy Perfume advert represents young, youthful women and sells the aspirations of being young, cute, pure and innocent, which influences majority of teenage girls age 15-19 to buy this product, however it may also appeal to older women who aspire to once again be young. I will also analyse whether females are always objectified and if this appeals not only to the women who buy the product, but also the men, which the Dior campaign as well as how successful the campaigns were, in terms of how well the campaigns were received and sold. To do this I will investigate how successful the sales of the perfumes were,  as well as the successes of the adverts alone. I will also apply specific theories, which will be, Laura Mulvey's theory on the 'male gaze', and how the objectification of women is therefore appealing to men, as well as women, who may view this as aspiring. Another theory i will apply is uses in gratifications, where i will explain and analyse the reasons people are engaged in these adverts and therefore what gratifications they gain from this, plus the hyper reality strand of post modernism, in which these adverts give a sense of false reality.     

Ideology is a where a set of beliefs and values, that are shared within society, are used to construct a character to a typical representation of certain people in society. The representation of these characters in the media are not always a realistic representation. In the Dior advert the ideology of Charlize Theron is that she is a powerful, sexy woman, which is shown through the advert, through the powerful strut, gold accessories which she crushes and the naked silhouette of her at the end. However it is a unrealistic representation of most women in society, therefore it is aspirational for many women who watch the advert, therefore meaning this perfume sells, as it leads women to believe that by purchasing the J’adore Dior perfume, they too will become powerful, and sexy, and also appear more attractive to men, as through the ideology the campaign is also appealing to men, as through Charlize Theron being sexualized and objectified, men are able to gain gratifications from this, such as entertainment, as through this entertainment they main gain sexual arousal, however women would gain gratifications through personal identity, such as finding models of behavior.  

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

Sin City hybrid genre of Film noir and comic book. There a several things within this that a typical to its genre.

In Sin City all the protagonist are seen wearing trenched coats. However these trench coats are used to represent cloaks, typical of a comic book genre, as the super hero is usually seen wearing a cloak. This is also stereotypical of film noir, which was typically set in the 1940s-1950s, which sometimes involved this icon coats being worn, as protagonist in film noir films were often detective. Marv is seen wearing this coat, as well as the other protagonists, and during a scene where he beats up to 'messengers' to find out where the man who killed Goldie was he removes he's coat, showing that this goes against the serotype of a superhero, however when running through the streets, you see his coats flapping in the background, stereotypical of a superhero, and a comic book genre.

Also the femme fatale is stereotypical to a film noir genre, as throughout they use their sexuality to gain there power in return for his protection, however they are also seen as naïve and reliant on men, which is stereotypical to comic book genre, as they're saved by their superhero protagonist male. Goldie uses her sexuality to gain Marv's love and affection therefore gaining power over him in order to get protection, however she is killed, but this then goes on to be the reason Marv risks everything for her, linking with film noir genre, as in this time period, people saw life as insignificant due to the threat of the cold war.

A convention which is also typical to comic book genre is the use of silhouettes. This is used a times throughout the film, and example being when John Hartigan shoots himself at the end, we see it in a silhouette, relating with the original genre of the comic book genre. Also through the use of a voice over, which all protagonists also use, typical to film noir genre, we are able to gain insight to floors, John Haritigans being a heart problem, and old age, which is reflected through 'come on old man, prove you're still a damn.' Also through the voice over we gain context to the time period, as Hartigan say 'An old man dies. A little girl lives. Fair trade.', this being he values Nancy's life more than his own, which was typical during the 1940/50s due to the threat of the cold war, also being typical of a protagonist putting his femme fatale first, typical of the film noir convention.






 

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

The text 'Fish Tank' is both typical of the genre social realism.
Ways in which the text is is through the use of camera shots. Throughout the film, the vast majority of camera shots is through a hand held camera. Through the use of this it enable the audience to feel empathy towards the characters in the text, as this enables them to be part of their reality, typical of the genre text. An example of a scene in which this is used is during the scene with Mia and Connor's daughter on the beach. During this scene on the edge of a rock, Mia and Connor's daughter are fighting, and random shots and aimed around, creating disorientation for the audience, as well as Mia and Connor's daughter. This allows the audience to feel empathy towards them, through the use of the camera work, as it then means they feel involved within the the piece, and therefore feeling empathy for them.

Another feature of the text that is typical of social realist genre is diegetic sound, as during in this text no non-diegetic sound is used. The use of diegetic sound helps create the real atmosphere. An example of this is in the scene after Connor has left, and Mia is walking along the road trying to call Connor. During this scene their is noises of cars driving past Mia, as she tires to shout over the noise of the cars, this helping to create a realistic,