Research Investigation Draft

How do magazine advertisements represent women in order to sell products focusing on advertisements in Vogue and Look magazine?

The representation of women in advertising tends to vary depending on the product being sold and who the audience for the product is. I will investigate how women are represented in order to sell products focusing on the October 2013 issue of Vogue and the November 2013 issue of Look magazine. In order to sell a particular product, women are sold a set of ideologies in which they can aspire to, whether it be looks, or appeal to men. This is evidenced as "Advertisements -- also known as ads -- are the vehicle in which companies and the advertising industry drive their message to consumers. The goal is to motivate consumers through ads to buy goods or services, change their thinking or create excitement. " [1] These values in the advertisements appear to sell products successfully as women aspire to be like the flawless women they see in the adverts. Firstly, I will investigate how women are represented in advertisements and whether they reflect women in reality or what Jean Baudrillard called a hyper reality. I will also analyse how the use of ideologies and constructed representations can sell products in magazines. Often, it seems that it is not the product being sold but the attributes of the women selling the products. Lastly, I will look at the effects of representing women in a particular way and whether it could lead to a false ideology and expectations from both men and women of what a woman should look and act like. Jean Kilbourne says "The ideal image of beauty is becoming more extreme and impossible than ever before"[], is this adding to the pressure to conform to the beauty ideal? I will investigate these aims by applying different theories such as Laura Mulveys - The Male Gaze where women are objectified for mens pleasure, Postmodern and Feminist theory and the Hypodermic Needle Theory. 

Some areas of advertising are becoming increasingly more constructed therefore meaning females are being represented inaccurately more and more. Could this be down to the shocking reality that "Women hold only 5% of clout positions in mainstream media. -Men hold 95% of high up positions in mainstream media meaning they have the mist control about what information is fed into the audience and how constructed the images we see are."[2] As a result of the overwhelming proportion of men that edit and publish media, there is a higher chance that the audience is being fed images of women that men prefer to see. Men are likely to construct images of their 'ideal woman', an ideal that women can aspire to, rather that representing women in a way that they are viewed in reality. Women are often represented as domestic or are objectified for men's viewing pleasure. Often, In advertising we see an overwhelming representation of women as sex objects. Wolfs view is that "the images of women used by the media present women as sex objects to be consumed by what Mulvey calls the male gaze"[] and Kilbourne says that "the media presents women as mannequins: tall and thin, often US size zero, with very long legs, perfect teeth and skin without a blemish in sight."[3] This is evident through my chosen texts Vogue and Look magazine. They conform to the ideal that women should be skinny and flawless and adored by men. By looking through the advertisements in Vogue, I found that the majority of them included women with a petite body shape, shiny hair, nice teeth and airbrushed skin, a social desire for many women in todays society. Most of the women in Look are also depicted as desirable to readers through the use of the latest fashion and make up. An advertisement on the back page of look magazine for Paco Rabanne perfume shows an objectified female looking very suggestive. She is a young, skinny, flawless woman wearing a low cut dress clicking her fingers as if she is ordering someone to come to her. This shows dominance, a trait traditionally associated with men as they are seen as holding the power and taking on the traditional masculine gender role. However, we could apply Laura Mulveys male gaze theory here as by objectifying this woman the man will gain viewing pleasure or 'scopophilia' from looking at her and even women will take on the viewpoint of the male and view her from a males perspective. By objectifying a woman it devalues her and removes her humanity, she simply just exists as an object that is to be enjoyed. Mulvey would say that this reflects patriarchal society where men construct the ideal visions and have dominance over women. A passive audience may try to copy this representation of women, resulting in an inaccurate representation of women in society. By representing these women as 'perfect' and 'desirable' it creates aspiration for many women to look and behave this way, it could also inflict mens opinions that women should look like this and if they don't then they aren't attractive. 

2nd aim) It could be argued that the ideologies and constructed representations in the adverts can encourage people to buy the product being advertised by the magazine. Although the advertisements in Vogue and Look differ; as the companies will advertise different products, do they both conform to the idea that by representing females in a certain way can sell products? The November issue of Look magazine has 124 pages with 45 of these pages being adverts. This means approximately 36% of the magazine is advertisements and 64% are articles. The October issue of Vogue magazine has () pages with () being advertisements. This means approximately ( )% of Vogue is advertisements compared to Look magazine that is only made up of 36% advertising. 11,265,000 people are estimated to read Vogue magazine worldwide with 88% of these being female at an average age of 38. [] It is astonishing that Vogue has such a large amount of people buy Vogue and yet it is ( )% advertisements. We can see from this that people continue to buy the magazine each month not because of the articles but the sheer amount of advertisements which must be successful as the amount of consumers is as lot higher than other magazines such as Look. Less people tend to buy into Look magazine and yet it has a lower proportion of advertisements. Does this mean that consumers enjoy seeing females represented in particular ways? "The goal is to motivate consumers through ads to buy goods or services, change their thinking or create excitement." [] The adverts in Vogue and Look appear to conform to this statement as they both 'motivate' and 'entice' the consumer through the images and ideals they feed them in their advertisements. They sell lifestyles and looks that many women dream to have, either to feel confident in themselves or to attract the attention of a male. This is evident through the advert for Paco Rabanne in Look magazine.

3rd aim) Some may also say that by representing women in a particular way, it can lead to false expectations of what women in society should look like. Women that are fed this information could be led to believe that this is a social norm and that women should in fact look like the ones in the magazines. Maybe this is down to how women are represented in advertisements. "The developments in media allow consumers to reflect back to the world the gender stereotypes they've been exposed to." [] 


Bibliography
[1] http://smallbusiness.chron.com/differences-between-advertisements-commercials-10353.html
[2] http://www.missrepresentation.org/resources/
[3] http://revisionworld.co.uk/a2-level-level-revision/sociology/mass-media-0/media-representations-age-social-class-ethnicity-gender-sexuality-and-disability
[]http://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/boysgirlsandmediamessages_commonsensemedia_spring2013.pdf

Research Investigation Sources

Many of the women in vogue are skinny, flawless and some are adored by men. 

• Many women hold this ideology of being young, skinny and attractive and when they see other women behaving in this way they want to replicate it. 

• Look magazine has a different audience and will therefore use different techniques to sell their products. Their brands aren't as high end and less stigma is attached to the product and the people buying into the brand. 

http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2013/jul/05/vogue-truth-size-zero-kirstie-clements
"It cannot be denied that visually, clothes fall better on a slimmer frame, but there is slim, and then there is scary skinny."http://www.missrepresentation.org/resources/
Women hold only 5% of clout positions in mainstream media. -Men hold 95% of high up positions in mainstream media meaning they have the mist control about what information is fed into the audience and how constructed the images we see are. More likely to use the male gaze as it is what men prefer to see and how they aspire to see women. Advertising is a deeply pervasive part of all lives lived in consumerist economies. The average individual in Western society is bombarded with several hundred adverts per day Advertising is a deeply pervasive part of all lives lived in consumerist economies. The average individual in Western society is bombarded with several hundred adverts per day http://psp.sagepub.com/content/25/8/1049.abstract

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2011/02/15/the-psychology-of-advertising/http://www.fastcocreate.com/3020948/watch-photoshop-turn-a-woman-into-a-completely-different-womanProves we are not seeing reality, only a hyper reality which we are then trying to reflect in society.The key finding is that the girls and undergrads who viewed the sexualised athlete images tended to say they admired or were jealous of the athletes' bodies, they commented on the athletes' sexiness, and they evaluated their own bodies negatively. Some also said they found the images inappropriate. The participants who viewed the bikini-clad glamour models responded similarly, except they rarely commented on the inappropriateness of the images, as if they'd come to accept the portrayal of women in that way. Daniels said that sexy images of female athletes "are no more likely to prompt viewers to reflect on their own physical activity involvement or appreciation of sport than sexualised model images."

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/boysgirlsandmediamessages_commonsensemedia_spring2013.pdf

As media consumers and creators, kids and teens may mirror these kinds of gender stereotypes (and more) in the digital world – while taking photos, posting comments, texting, or crafting their online image. When kids are exposed to rigid ideas about boys’ and girls’ roles through their peers – both online and offline – it can be difficult to convince them to not adopt those ideas.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/17996975

The number of cosmetic surgical procedures performed on youth 18 or younger more than tripled from 1997 to 2007.
Among youth 18 and younger, liposuctions nearly quadrupled between 1997 and 2007 and breast augmentations increased nearly six-fold in the same 10-year period.

http://www.ipcadvertising.com/ipc-brands/look

http://www.condenast.com/brands/vogue/media-kit/print

This is evident as in Miss Representation they say "The exploitation of female bodies sell products". [4] "The average individual in Western society is bombarded with several hundred adverts per day" [5] As we can see from this we consume a large amount of adverts each day and the content in this is bound to have a knock on effect in society.

Advertising is a major mode of socialization, telling us how to think and feel (what's hip, what's sexy, what's normal), and what problems we need to worry about (lack of the latest e-gadget, insufficiently white teeth, mammary magnitude, etc.).
http://culturalpolitics.net/popular_culture/advertising

Advertisements -- also known as ads -- are the vehicle in which companies and the advertising industry drive their message to consumers. The goal is to motivate consumers through ads to buy goods or services, change their thinking or create excitement. 
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/differences-between-advertisements-commercials-10353.html

·      We replicate the world we grow up in – Film Director
  In the 1990’s studies found a steady increase in explicitly sexual images in advertising
The exploitation of female bodies sell products

As Ludy Benjamin and David Baker write in From Séance to Science: A History of the Profession of Psychology in America,Watson’s “…ads sold toothpaste, not because of its dental hygiene benefits, but because whiter teeth would presumably increase an individual’s sex appeal” (p. 121).

Watson also believed in doing market research, which meant that he applied objective, scientific approaches to advertising. For instance, according to C. James Goodwin in A History of Modern Psychology, Watson used “demographic data to target certain consumers” (p. 316). And, as stated above, Watson promoted the use of celebrity endorsements.

Wolf (1990) suggests that the images of women used by the media present women as sex objects to be consumed by what Mulvey calls the male gaze. According to Kilbourne (1995), this media representation presents women as mannequins: tall and thin, often US size zero, with very long legs, perfect teeth and hair, and skin without a blemish in sight. Wolf notes that the media encourage women to view their bodies as a project in constant need of improvement. 
http://revisionworld.co.uk/a2-level-level-revision/sociology/mass-media-0/media-representations-age-social-class-ethnicity-gender-sexuality-and-disability

http://bps-research-digest.blogspot.fr/2012/03/how-do-women-and-girls-feel-when-they.html


One study found that more than 50% of ads in womens magazines portrayed women as objects.
"Heavy exposure to media alters the viewers perception of social reality in a way that matches the media world" Levin and Kilbourne

“It would be really nice to see what the world actually looks like and have that recreated,” Casper said. “Yeah, give us the idealized version, give us our best selves, but give us ourselves.” 

-Researchers report that women’s magazines have 10.5 times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than men’s magazines do, and over 75% of women’s magazine covers include at least one article title about how to change a woman’s body by diet, exercise, or cosmetic surgery. -

 See more at: http://arbiteronline.com/2013/11/11/advertising-identity-part-1-objectification-gender-roles-society/#sthash.ThluO51y.dpuf

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2514658/fashion-branch-porn-industry-says-CARYN-FRANKLIN.html




In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its phantasy on to the female form which is styled accordingly. In their traditional exhibitionist role women are simultaneously looked at and displayed, with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness. Woman displayed as sexual object is the leit-motif of erotic spectacle: from pin-ups to striptease, from Ziegfeld to Busby Berkeley, she holds the look, plays to and signifies male desire.    

with their appearance coded for strong visual and erotic impact so that they can be said to connote to-be-looked-at-ness. 

http://imlportfolio.usc.edu/ctcs505/mulveyVisualPleasureNarrativeCinema.pdf 


The features each month are very similar, and based around fashion, which is what appeals to its audience and is what the magazine is renowned for.
Many of the women who read Vogue, particularly those perhaps who are not regular readers may buy Vogue for aspiration and distraction purposes. Although not being able to afford the clothes and products being advertised, it gives the reader something to aspire towards to, or perhaps give an insight into that lifestyle. While reading the magazine, the reader can feel as if they have more money, or live the model lifestyle, reading about the lives of Kate Moss, Sienna Miller, Lily Cole and other models, is in December 2007’s issue.
The feature content of Vogue is spread amongst its adverts. If advertisements were all in one place the reader would be able to avoid reading them, which would not be attractive to advertisers, therefore Vogue would lose vast amounts of money. By having content advertised at the beginning, the reader needs to read or peruse through the magazine to find the content they wish to read.
All of the advertising is very suited to the magazine, complying with the context, and many of the audience. The companies and products being advertised are high market, particular the opening few pages of the magazine, with top end designer labels choosing to place their advertisements there; in December 2007’s issue the first twelve pages are taken up with advertisements for Ralph Lauren (which have a six page spread), Gucci and Estee Lauder. Advertising exclusively makes up the opening pages, before any other content or editorial. It is a highly desirable place in the magazine as it is the first pages readers view. Later on in the magazines, readers may skim through, missing many advertisements.
http://journalism.winchester.ac.uk/?page=254

How typical is 'Sin City' to its genre(s)?

Sin City is a hybrid of two main genres: Film Noir and Comic Book. Film Noir tends to have themes of fear, despair and bleakness and the story lines tend to reflect the 'chilly' cold war period when the threat of annihilation was ever-present in society. The genre tends to reflect the time and society in which it was created, the cold war in 1950-90's. Typical Film Noir conventions are; typical character roles such as the cynical protagonist, femme fatale and corrupt cops, themes of mistrust and paranoia, low key lighting, a non linear narrative and use of voice over. Typical Comic Book conventions are; classic Propp character roles, tragic back stories of characters, protagonist tends to have a side kick/arch nemesis and finally in comic book films there tends to be high usage of special effects and over exaggerated sounds. Sin City is very typical of its genre although some classic conventions of the Film Noir genre have been diluted and toned down slightly.

We can instantly see that the characters in Sin City fit the typical film noir character roles. We have the Protagonists (John Hartigan, Marv and Dwight), The Femme Fatales (Goldie, Shelley, Gail and Nancy) and finally the corrupt cops (Senator Roarke, Cardinal Roarke and Bob). Noir Protagonists are usually a hard-hearted male character who's encountered a seductive femme fatale. They are usually driven by their past and have some form of physical/mental scar that hinders them. Hartigan says "an old man dies, a little girl lives", showing his typical protagonist personality, a who is willing to put himself at risk, valuing others lives more than his own. "I'll die laughing if I know I've done one thing right" is said by Marv, showing he is determined to do anything to get to Roarke, determination typical trait of a protagonist. The traditional Femme Fatale uses her femininity to manipulate the male protagonists and in the end are usually killed due to their own actions. We see this when Cecile takes charge, but ends up getting killed, showing her naivety. Here we see that women need men to do their dirty work, Cecile wouldn't have known the police were corrupt without Marv. Marv doesn't trust women to take charge of the situation and feels the need to step in, once again showing the typical masculine trait of a male protagonist in Film Noir. Marv also fulfills the typical male protagonist role as his current actions are hindered by an event in his past. His looks are a 'flaw' and he has health issues. At one point he see's a car and imagines Goldie driving it. He is confused and wonders if it is reality as he has forgotten to take his pills. "I have a condition, I get confused" shows he doubts his ability and really questions if he is imagining the events happening in front of him. As he says this the lighting changes and his his face is covered by even more darkness. The shadow on half of the face makes us question if the characters are good or bad or maybe Frank Miller (director and writer) is trying to tells there is some good and bad in everybody. Low Key lighting is a typical Film Noir convention and reflects the dark themes in the plot and society at the time in which it was based. 

Within the first two minutes we see areas of mistrust and betrayal. The man and woman go onto a balcony looking over the City. The two share a kiss and he shoots her; she dies in his arms. Someone she thought she could trust/share something with suddenly betrays her and does a horrific thing. We see a cartoon silhouette of the two 'lovers' on the balcony before she is tragically shot, this pays homage to Sin City as a comic book written by Frank Miller and is also a traditional convention as it is how we would have seen the characters if it were in comic book form. The use of voice over for the mans dialogue replicates the comic book narrative and familiarizes the audience with the texts genre. We see comic book over exaggerated violence throughout the film. Marv breaks out of a room and smashes door with only one fist and on the docks Haritgan takes a bullet to the shoulder that doesn't hinder or kill him. Although this is a common comic book genre convention, once again we see traditional traits of the male protagonists that go to any lengths to be a hero. In the scene where Hartigan gets shot on the docks we discover that all the male protagonists wear leather trench coats. This aspect of mise en scene is something we would expect from a typical Film Noir film. Trench Coats were very typical post war and so its not unfamiliar that these characters are wearing them. As the characters run in the wind, the coats follow them almost like a cape. We see that there are two sides to each of them as one moment they are just ordinary men in coats and the next they transform into hero's with capes on some mission to achieve a goal. It becomes very clear at this point that Sin City is a hybrid of both genre's as the coat/cape can be very typical to each genre. 

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

A1. To what extent are your chosen texts typical of their genre? (30) 
Fish tank is a British social realism film that gives a very realistic portayal of british society. Social realism is a way of representing real life with all of its difficulties. Films within this genre are usually gritty, urban dramas demonstrating the struggle of every day life.

Fish tank is very typical of its genre as it uses conventions very common in this genre. These dramas use predominantly diegetic sound, handheld camera movements and narrow depth of field. The use of these technical codes reflects the concept of the film and makes it realistic. In the scene where Mia goes to find Connor the camera follows her with a hand held motion. It places the audience in her shoes and allows us to see the world as she sees it. This has been done to gain empathy from the audience as it almost seems like she is walking aimlessly, with little direction, almost like her life. She is alone, almost alienated from the rest of society and other social groups from the area. Alienation can be main theme of social realism films, also bringing up issues like homosexuality and relationship problems. When Mia Speaks to Connor we look at Mia from his point of view and the camera uses a shallow depth of field. This is when the foreground is in focus but the background is not.

Fish Tank Opening Scene

In the first scene we see natural lighting looking over a working class cityscape, full of terraced houses and blocks of flats towering high, instantly making the audience aware of the urban area and poverty that the drama will take place in. We are introduced to a young girl dressed in jogging bottoms, a tank top and trainers. She has a typical cockney accent. The audience then know that it is based in London and are given further clues about the location. You can tell the film fits into the social realist genre as within the first 2 minutes we are given a realistic portrayal of British society, some area's of England are truly like this. Already we can tell that the drama will represent this girls life and her difficulties, very typical to the social realist genre. The camera follows her around with a hand held movements, alienating her from the rest of the groups/characters in the scene. Social realist films predominantly use hand held camera movements, natural lighting and unknown actors as these all reflect the concept of it being 'real'. She is walking very fast as if she has some place to go but in actual fact she is going nowhere, just walking aimlessly with no direction. This could reflect her her life, no plans etc nothing to do but she masks it up with pretending she has some direction or aim. She swears and uses threatening language towards other characters, displaying her in a negative light. People tend to be products of their upbringing and environment and we soon learn that she has learnt to hit and swear off her mother, a stereotypical young working class mum that we soon learn drinks often and brings young men back frequently.