Women in Ads



The clip above is an advertisement of cigerettes in the 1950's, the product is promoted by a female celebrity. This enhances the ideologies of celebrification as society and the target audience are depicted as passive. Moreover the celebrity connotes that some women are independant also the cigerette in her hand portrays her as a sexual object also seen as a mystic femme fatale.



The advert above is from the 21st century it proves that men are also being looked at as well and women, this proves Cortese's theory " todays man has pumped his pecs and shoulders and exhibits well defined abs" also the clip also links to " Baudrillird...[stating] that only women are seducers, but empirical evidence on advertising suggests otherwise. Men, too, are seducers - a male version of the perfect provocateur. This shows that men as well as women are depicted in a provocative way. However the tight revealing clothes and the need of a women to take a drink from the male outline the idea of male dependancy and as a male patriarchal society as they are fed by men.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=fKl0IWTWtes

Unfortunately the clip cannot be embeded, the advertisement is about toothpaste, the female character is portrayed as a young sexual object of the male character as she is continuously showing her affection and love, this portrays the sexual objectification of women in the 70's. The Clip also reflects on society as women need to look good as well as thier teeth being taken car of.



The advertisement makes use of celebrifications as well as stereotyping the women's roles in society as Karry Katona undertakes a nurturer role subverting from the feminist independant ideologies of women in contemporary society. According to Gunter's 'Media, Gender and identity' "women were twice as likely to be seen inside the home" undertaking domestic roles enforcing the patriarchal ideologies of women as nurturers and carers whereas males as the breadwinners.



The females in this lynx advertisement are depicted as primative and shown as sexual objects of the male desire. The clothing emphasises the male gaze, as women are on the screen to fulfill male pleasures and portrayed as fetishists. Moreover the advertisement enforces Cortese's theory of women as the "seducer and provocateur".

Gender in Advertising by David Gauntlett

· Friedan’s (1963) critique of women’s magazines runs alongside a similar assessment of advertising; the stereotypes reproduced by the housewife’s journals were the same as those exploited by advertisers.

· Tuchman’s (1978) argument about ‘the symbolic annihilation’ of women is based on an analysis of advertising as well as other media.

· Gunter’s (1995) studies show that women in magazine adverts prior to the 1970’s were rarely shown to be in paid work, when they were the depicted a stereotypical role e.g. a smiling secretary.

· The number of ‘housewife’ images began to decline slowly after the 1950’s but were still common in the 60’s and 70’s.

· Advertisement’s in the 1970’s found evidence of stereotyping of all ads featuring women; three quarters were for kitchen and bathroom products.

· Gunter (1995) studies found strong similarities in gender representation from country to country, and particular sexism in adverts aimed at children.

· Mcdonald (1995) advertisers generally lagged behind women’s magazines in the cultivation of new modes of address, even when the evidence suggested that commercial advantages could be gained from modernising their approach.

· Mcdonald (1995) – believing both that feminism’s battles had been won, and that its ideology was now harmless by virtue of being out of date, advertisers invented ‘postfeminism’ as a utopia where women could do whatever they pleased, provided they had sufficient will and enthusiasm.

· Greer - Thirty years ago it was enough to look beautiful; now a woman has to have a tight, toned body. (ibid).

· Baudrillard states that only women are seducers, but empirical evidence suggests otherwise. Men too are seducers – a male version of the perfect provocateur. The ideal man in ads is young, handsome, clean-cut, perfect and sexually alluring.

Keywords

Femininty - Feminsim fight for their rights and are against male dominance and the patriarchal society. The film of my text follows the theme of femininty.

Censorship – the practise exercised by elite groups in authority, of monitoring and controlling the media content by removing, suppressing or classifying elements deemed offensive or subversive for moral, political, religious or in this case social. As in this case The Sopranos has some censored scenes however the show depicts horrific scenes, acts of sexual assaults and death is portrayed.

Post-Feminism - Part of the postmodern perspective that takes the achievements of feminism for granted and views it as ineffective due to current condition of women and identity choices they face.

Biopic – a film/TV show based on the life story or the biography of a real person, this links to The Sopranos as the show is based on real gangsters in New Jersey.

Counter Culture – a subculture that rejects the mainstream values of a society and offers a parallel, alternative way of life. This can be seen in The Sopranos as the gangster families are seen as subculture society that makes its own values and beliefs, gangsters being “Made”.

Elite – a small select group in a society which claims leadership privileges as a result of expertise, in terms of knowledge or skill, in a particular field. This relates to the text of my study as the Sopranos crime family are considered or portrayed as the elite in their society as they are feared and empowering.

Folk devil – a descriptive term used by sociologist Stan Cohen to describe groups in society which are targeted or demonised by the media as presenting a moral threat and are therefore the focus of moral panic. The whole idea of gangsters as folk devil in America has been introduced for many a years, The Soprano family are portrayed as folk devil in their community as they enforce death and other criminal activities enforcing fear.

Gangster - gangster movies represent the myth of America, where the conflict between good and evil is played out in the slums of big cities. The aspirational dreams of gangsters relate to lives of poor.

- Concerns about the positive representation of gangsters as ‘folk’ or ‘tragic heroes’ troubled the Hays office, after 1934 studios were forced to insert moral pronouncements condemning the behaviour of gangsters featured in films. However, gangsters remain ‘folk heroes’, particularly within the family saga tradition, e.g. the ‘supportive’ Italian/US extended family of the ‘Goodfather’ trilogy.

Women In “The Sopranos” and Tony’s affairs

http://www.answers.com/carmela%20soprano
“Carmela's own efforts to become financially independent have been less successful”... “Carmela's materialistic nature, however, is never far from the surface”.

http://www.answers.com/topic/tony-soprano
“Tony is frequently unfaithful to his wife. His affairs and one-night stands and his inability to be faithful have been an ongoing source of conflict between Tony and Carmela, leading to a year-long separation. Affairs have included Mercedes saleswoman Gloria Trillo and Russian dancer Irina Peltsin. Tony lets his hedonistic pursuit’s conflict with his business. He had sex with Svetlana Kirilenko, Uncle Junior's nurse and Irina's cousin.” Tony’s numerous affairs symbolise the male backlash in society and the objectification of women.

http://www.answers.com/topic/meadow-soprano
“She attended Columbia University, performed well in her classes after poor first-year performance and volunteered regularly at the South Bronx Law Center. Since her graduation, Meadow has been studying for medical school as she is interested in being a pediatrician, but is having second thoughts and considering a career in the legal profession”. The character role portrays women’s independence, intelligence in society and pursuing a professional career, conflicted the portrayal of women depend on men in “The Sopranos”.

http://www.answers.com/dr%20melfi
“Tony Soprano has been able to confide in Melfi many things that he has told no one else... not his associates and certainly not his wife, Carmela”... “He inwardly fears Melfi prying into his life during their sessions, but he also fears the results from not dealing with the problem”. Dr Melfi is depicted as a saviour or a sort of salvation for Tony Soprano, she is contradicts the stereotypical representation of women in society and in the drama.

Other Websites

http://www.answers.com/topic/the-sopranos?cat=technology
This site displays the main idea of the show, themes and characters. The site has seven other links that will help me with my study.

http://www.ape-connections.org/exorcisingpatriarchy.htm
“The Death Hold of Patriarchy. Women have made a few advances, a few inroads in the system of patriarchy but so far the system has been able to absorb these advances and often turn the women against ourselves. This is almost inevitable since women are in so few positions of power. The patriarchal system has its “tokens” and “queen bees” and it is learning how to utilize the talents of women (not just the labor) to keep other women in check”. The site is useful to my case study as it explains the theory of the patriarchal society and has in depth information of feminism.

http://www.answers.com/topic/masculism
The website focuses on masculinity portrayed in the media as well information of the male backlash theory and the wave of feminism affecting traditional society and values.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_causes_someone_to_become_an_abuser
Abuse is bound to be found in patriarchal, narcissistic, or misogynistic collectives. Many societies exhibit cross sections of these three traits. Thus, most patriarchal groups are also misogynistic, either overtly and ideologically so - or covertly and in denial. The site is an article of sexual violence in the media, this relates to my study as women are sexually assaulted.

http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article443.html
This website also focuses on sexual violence displayed in the media; the article focuses mediums such as pornography and advertisements.

http://www.answers.com/topic/sexual-objectification
“...the sexual objectification of women as one of the main ways in which women are subordinated in a sexist society”. The website focuses on the theory of sexual objectification and effect of it. However the site also focuses on the objectification of men this shows a contrast in contemporary films from the past.

Blog Bud Meeting

Over this week me and Saz discussed our independent studies and how they relate. we both are focsuing on gender roles in the media and the hollywood/American meda industry. The books that we both found helpful to each others studies were "violence in the media" and "film thoery", focusing on sexual crimes, objectification of women in the media. furthermore. "Film theory" has a section on "the feminist intervention" and includes many thoeries and theorists, Laura Mulvey, Male Gaze and also displays in depth information of marxism and hierarchical gendered social relataions-patrichal society.

Books exchanged and Studied

I have given Saz the "film Theory" book by Robert Stam as it provides a detailed insoght into feminism and male dominance and male backlash. The book we studied together was "violence in the media" as both our texts focus and crimes against women and their portrayal of sexual objects. Pages 114 to 116 and 127. The book i was given by saz was "the monsterous feminine" the book give indformation of the feminism movement and thoery of specific film texts, this will help me as it shows how women were portrayed in past films.

Representations of gender today

· During the 1990’s and into the new century, gender roles on television became increasingly equal and non-stereotyped, although the majority of lead characters were still made.

· In 1992- 1993, men took 61 percent of the total number f speaking roles, women have the other 39 percent.

· Studies show that small number of the major characters were female – just 18 percent.

· A significant decrease from the 1970’s; only 3 percent of women were represented as housewives as their main occupation.

· Women were free from family and work place pressures (Elasmar, Hasegawa and Brain, 1999:33).

· Some shows put successful professional women at the forefront, and are focused on their quests for sex, pleasures and romantic love, e.g. sex and the city.

· Buffy the vampire slayer; the character is more powerful and heroic, Buffy is more confident and assertive, depicting women in society.

· Representations of gender on TV have changed considerably within the past decades, today female and male characters are likely to be as intelligent, talented and resourceful, and there is equality.

· Nevertheless, many conventions of masculinity and femininity remain; men continue to dominate certain areas e.g. BBC’s coverage of the 2001 general election was led by authoritative, middle aged white male.

· Maggie Humm – Film... often anxiously envisions women stereotypically as ‘good’ mother or ‘bad’, hysterical careerists, (1997).

· There are many films that depict ‘girl power’ and female heroes, X-Men, The Matrix, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Tomb Raider.

Gender and Identity

Representation Of Gender In The Past – Key points

Men and Women on TV

· In the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s, there were only 35 percent of female character roles on TV

· Mid 1980’s there was a substantial increase of women in leading roles; however there were twice as many men on screen.

· In 1975, Miles found out that comedy situations had equal proportions of men and women, although the gender roles and the humour could still be traditional and sexist.

· Furthermore, in 1987 a study found female characters to be most common in comedy programmes (43 percent).

· Despite these statistical parity – whereas in action adventure shows, only 15 percent of the leading character where women.

· A study by McNeil (1975) concluded that women’s movement had been largely ignored by television. With married housewives being the main female role portrayed.

· Further more studies in the 1970’s found that men to be the dominant characters and the decision makers on TV.

· Women were more likely to be passive; men were more likely to be adventurous, active and victorious, whereas women were more frequently portrayed as weak, ineffectual, victimised, supportive and laughable.

Women and Men in Movies

· In the 1950’s films “Angry Men” almost always focused on male heroes, men typically made the decisions which led the story and narrative, they were also assertive and dominant.

· However women had roles that were likely to depict them as frightened, in need of protection and direction.

· In the 70’s the there was a backlash at the typical representation of women as Leia from Star Wars is depicted as a princess, top of the social hierarchy.

· 1990’s – Kathi Maio noted ‘strong, victorious women exist in film, just not often enough, and generally not in movies that get much play’. Susan Faludi went a step further by saying women were being ‘reduced to mute and incidental characters or banished altogether’, with particular reference to Predator (1987) and Lethal Weapon (1987).

Book Bibliography

1) Reading The Sopranos (2007) by David Lavery - This book explores how "The Sopranos" has rewritten the rules of television drama and changed attitudes about television itself. Contributors present fresh perspectives on psychotherapy and dreams; racism and the Italian-American community; Carmela and post-feminism. the book will be useful to my study as there is a section thatfocuses on women representations and thier power.

2) Violence an the Media (2003) by Cynthia Carter, C.Kay Weaver - "Violence and the Media" is a introduction to current issues about media violence and its potential influence on audiences. Carter and Weaver engage with a host of pressing issues around violence in different media contexts - including news, film, television, pornography, advertising and cyberspace. Also it coverskey points such as desensitization and victims of violence such as women.

3) Film Thoery An Introduction (1999) by Robert Stam -It examines issues common to both subjects such as realism, narration, point of view, style, semiotics, Feminism and The Feminist Intervention and multiculturalism. It also includes coverage of theorists common to both, Barthes, Lacan and Bakhtin among others such as Laura Mulvey and thoeries such as the Male Gaze.

4) Feminist Theorists (1983) by by Dale Spender - The book focuses on theory and thoerists around the 80's and even back to the late 1600's E.g. Mary Astell. This will aid my study as this book focuses on the historical side of SHEP.

5) The meaning of wife(2004) by Anne Kingston - Canadian journalist and social commentator Anne Kingston provides a fresh perspective on the role and how it affects the perception of women. This book: Explains the alternating currents of 'wifelash' and 'wifelust' Introduces the concept of the 'wife gap' that emerged in the wake of the twentieth-century women's movement Analyses the married woman's relationship to female power, sexuality and worth. The book will greatly coinside with my study as i will be looking at the representation of houswives such as Carmela as well as fetishists. It will outline the representation of houswives and the social issues.

6) Race and Gender (1985) by Madeleine Arno - The book outlines the representations of women as well as racial issues, additionally it contains theories. The book is the contains indepth on these to key social issues in society; coveing one aspect of SHEP.

7) Media Studies: The Essential Introduction (2001) by Phillip Rayner, Peter Wall and Steohen - Krugar - Explains the media concepts, cultural terms and theoretical perspectives. The book offers deeper insights to representation and gender also it looks in more depth with media theories and debates.

8) The Media Student's Book (2003) by Gill Branston, Roy Stafford - The chapters of the book are supported by case studies which cover every key topic in the area. The book is divided into four parts studying key concepts; media practices; media debates; and provides resources in the final reference section also definitions, references and thoeries. This will help my study as it focuses on representations and stereotypes also it contains many theories and key terms.

9) Media, Gender and Identity: An Introduction (2002) by David Gauntlett - It provides an in depth look into the different ways in which gender and identity and focuses on the media's influence on gender and sexuality. David Gauntlett explores the gender of contemporary media and draws on recent theories of gender and identity. This is one book in particular is relevant to my study as it outlines key theorists and theories and looks into SHEP.

Blog Buddy

Vivek's study is on "female representation in football"-www.sportsrep-vivek.blogspot.com

Vivek's and my independent study are both very similar as we both are researching and writing about female reperesentation within the media. Therefore we are likely to talk about similar issues, theories and look at similar ideologies. We both hence are likely to look at similar research and can discuss our findings with eachother.

Vivek's blog incorperates good delicious tags in his blog and useful keywords relating to representation of women in the media, additionally we can both learn more about the way women are represented in the media from each others blogs, thorugh textual analysis.


Saz's study is on the Representation of Women in "Sin City"- http://sincity666.blogspot.com/

Saz's independant study is similar to my study as we are both research on the representation, additionally i think that the character roles of the women in boh of our texts are pretty similar (The Sopranos - strippers and whores wnforcing male gaze and mulvey's theory) (Sin City - Prostitutes and Pimps). Therefore i think we will work good together as we are researching same or silmilar thoerists meaning it will benefit us both if one of us finds some interesting research.

An interesting point we both will hope to overcome in our studies are that of the 'Madonna Vs. Whore' debate. Women are not always portrayed to the audience as "eye candy" or "Fetsist", in both our texts there is evidence of both Madonnas and Fetishists which enforce the issues of a patriachal society and the male backlash however some female charatcer roles counter act this debate.

Moreoever Saz has good textual analysis on his blog and also his delicioustags are relevant to my study.