Stereotypes

From the class blog, I have learnt the definition of a stereotype which is something along the lines of an oversimplified representation of a particular group of people. For example, a stereotypical Frenchmen may carry around a baguette and some garlic with him. There are also such things as anti-stereotypes which are the opposite, such as an old lady (as seen in Hot Fuzz) who keeps guns in the basket on her bike, instead of sandwiches and other items which OAP's tend to carry around on a bike with them. Stereotypes can often be taken as offensive but they are also useful as they help us easily understand different characters.

A comparison of how women are represented in fragrance advertisements from the 1920’s, 1970’s and 2012

I chose a 1920’s advert, a 1970’s advert, and a 2010 advert.

Mavis, Vivaudou (1920, Print, French)

The representation of the woman in Mavis is very much a product of its time in that the whole advertisement is in Art Nouveau style: the sensual organic curves, the oriental costume and the theatrical setting.

Unlike both of the other fragrances that I am comparing, this one is a painting, as opposed to a real life photo. It is done in an exotic manor with lots of curves and free flowing shapes. The woman in this poster also seems to be floating away as she is lifted up by a man that is dancing with her. This, combined with the curves which are all over this advertisement, represents the woman in this poster as being free, calm, light and relaxed.

The woman is also constructed as being exotic and free, wearing exotic, flowing clothing, and exotic jewellery. The way in which she is floating away, and her exotic clothes and surroundings, constructs her as almost dream-like, and surreal. The shapes and colours also seem very organic, as if they are of oriental origin, which is also very exotic, and the orient is a place where few people would have travelled to in that era.

She is being lifted up by another man, which represents her as being so attractive that every man in the world will want to dance with her and lift her up into the air.

The tagline at the bottom of the poster is “Irresistible”, which then represents the woman as being just that. It is saying that if you wear this fragrance, you will become irresistible to everything else that can breath. She is pale, slim, and seems well kept, which is what most women aspired to be like in the 1920’s.

Charlie, Revlon (1970s print)

The representation of the face of Charlie is very different from that of Mavis: the woman is alone, which represents her independence, she is in movement and her eyes meet the audience’s confidently. Her hair is also down and flowing which represents her as young and free.  Instead of the studied, highly stylized and elegantly sophisticated.

The representation of a woman wearing traditionally masculine clothes clothing (Trousers, and a jacket) shows her confidence that she can be feminine without resorting to traditionally feminine clothes. Her outfit is smart-casual, which would be fit to wear to work. This is different to the advert from the 1920’s, when  women tended not to work as much, however in this advertisement, the model looks very ready to boldly stride into the office and work. She is wearing a fashionable and sophisticated outfit and her pose constructs her as being free, in control, and confident.

The tagline is “The gorgeous, sexy-young fragrance.” Unsurprisingly, this constructs the woman as being gorgeous, and young, and sexy.  This is in contrast with the advert from the 1920’s, when women were more reserved, and less sexualised. Her hair is down and flowing which represents her as being young and free. She is also smiling which suggests that she is happy and laid back about life.

The background consists of trees, in a fresh, open-air garden, suggesting that the woman herself is also fresh, and clear-headed and calm.

This advert differs from the first advert as this one is a real photo, as opposed to a painting.

Gucci, Gucci, 2012 (moving image)

As this is a moving image advertisement and it is impossible to put a moving image onto paper, is shall analyse this using three screenshots from the advertisement.

The first screenshot from this advert represents the model as being very rich, wealthy, and powerful. The advert uses celebrity endorsement by starring Blake Lively, a well known model, to help connote power and riches.  The colour of gold is highly present in the city lights, and also her dress and her hair. Gold connotes riches and power. The view from the window which she is looking out of is also spectacular and only very high class, successful people would be in a place with such a stunning view.

Her pose is also open which suggests availability and confidence, which again fits in with the theme of her success and riches.

This advertisment is more similar to the 1920’s advert than the 1970’s advert, as this one seems somewhat surreal and out of the ordinary, something that “normal” people would never be able to achieve, and only this powerful, successful beautiful woman is able to have such a nice apartment with such a nice view and such a nice dress.  

Similarly to the advertisement for Charlie, her hair is hanging down loose, which also connotes, freedom, youth, and openness.

In this still, the model, Blake Lively, is walking through the desert and towards a large fan, on a photo shoot as she is a model. She is constructed as being very successful once more, as low-key, barely known models are not usually flown out to the desert just for a photo shoot. She is also very sexualised with her dress flowing backwards behind her, revealing her legs. Again, her hair is down and flowing.

She is striding towards the fan with incredibly confident, powerful body language which tells us that she is confident with herself, and she is in a position of power, instead of being treated as an inferior woman as many women were in earlier times.

The area around her is empty and a vast area, suggesting that she is clear headed, calm and collected. 

SPIDERMAN

One way in which the narrative fits the AA genre is that Peter Parker AKA Spiderman, is really just a normal person who happens to discover that he has insect-like powers. Whilst in pursuit of some villains, he discovers that he can shoot webs out of his hand and boldly decides to jump in at the deep end by swinging off the top of a very large building in order to find the evil people that he is trying to catch. This shows that our hero is very courageous and brave which is typical of the AA genre.

Another way in which the narrative is typical of the AA genre is that there is lots of suspense and jeopardy. Spiderman is still new to his powers and hasn't quite perfected his craft at this point, causing him to have many near misses. At one point he even jumps on top of a car which is participating in a high speed chase. This is usually dangerous as it's bad to even be in the car, and Spiderman, is standing on top of the speeding car. Traffic rushes as by as he is nearly thrown from the vehicle which creates a very tense situation with lots of jeopardy. Once more, this is typical of the action adventure genre which is to be expected in a Hollywood blockbuster such as this.

ASUKA - Analysis

• My model represents my ideal target audience: her pose is open and relaxed which shows her confidence and self esteem.  
• Her hair is down, hanging loose which connotes freedom and youth.
• The model stands in a snow-covered field wearing traditional Japanese clothing which does not look very warm. This implies that she is so' hot' that she does not need to wrap up warm to walk outside.
• The slogan 'Inflame Beauty' plays with the idea of fire and ice even more, 
• as well as the red text, and orange patterns on her outfit which also resemble flames. 

NOTE: I may change the fragrance bottle.

I also made the bottle smaller because it is too large in the first photo of this post. The new product looks like this:

Fragrance Advert Plans

For my Fragrance Advert, I was originally planning to do a futuristic looking picture, in a completely digitalised world, with a giant bottle of my fragrance in the middle. Either side of the bottle would be two, smartly dressed people, leaning against it, because that's how gigantic the fragrance bottle will be in the poster. I would create the entire environment in Photoshop/After Efffects, and just use a photo of a person which I would cut out using a mask, and place them on the photo.

However, the more I think about this idea, the more sceptical I am about how successful it will be. Therefore I may have to choose another idea.

Fragrance Advert

I created the so-called 'snow' by accident when I was playing around with colour correction.
I used a mask to stop Amber being affected by the effects. 'Asuka' can translate to 'Perfume' in Japanese.

HERO

In Hero, Jet Li is a Chinese assassin who takes on Donnie Yen, in a so-called 'chess courtyard'. I assume that this is where people go to play chess but I digress. We can tell that this is set in an oriental setting as every character in the film is dressed in traditional Asian-looking robes, for example Donnie Yen has a bright orange robe, which comes all the way down to his feet. He also has long, shoulder length hair which shows that this was probably a long time ago, and that he has power. Jet Li's character is dressed entirely in black which makes him look powerful and also a bit like a ninja, even though ninja's are actually Japanese.

The courtyard itself looks very oriental in its architecture, with very Chinese-looking shapes and patters to the buildings. There is also an old man playing an Asian-sounding instrument which somewhat resembles a guitar. The song he plays is very clearly Chinese in its sound, and adds to the feel and atmosphere of the whole scene, as well as reminding us that we are in China. The weapons which both warriors use look beautifully crafted, and also look as if they are of an Asian origin.

During the actual fight between Jet Li and Donnie Yen, the film changes to black and white. This could be to remind us that it is actually Jet Li recalling the story of what had happened, and that it had happened in the past as opposed to the present. It may also be a nod to the Asian martial arts films from long ago when films still used to be black and white.

There is lots of fast cuts during the battle which make every punch and kick feel more aggressive and sudden. There is lots of slow motion at the more intense parts of the fight so that you can see the battle in all of its glory. Slow motion also makes everything look more dramatic and creates spectacle. Both characters do a lot of out-of-the-ordinary jumps and flying kicks during the scene, and are on wires (which are taken out in post production of course). Wirework adds to the sense of power and supernatural skill that both characters have, and it also creates even more spectacle.

With every swing of an arm slice of a sword there is a whooshing sound, adding to the feel that both characters move with extreme speed and motion, incredibly quickly. The sound of blades rubbing against one another adds to the intensity of the battle and shows us how close the fight is, and how near both characters are to killing each other.