Archive for November 13, 2008

Gender as a Spectacle

  • Representation of women in the 1950s and 60s in magazines stereotyped women as ‘homemakers‘ with limited interests and power.
  • Feminist Gillian Murphey argues the media exert a strong influence on the gender related behaviour of teenagers.
  • Laura Mulvey’s theory of the ‘Male Gaze’ says women in the media are seen from a male perspective in either a voyuerisitc or fetishistic way.
  • After a quickly comparing gender presented through advertising I have found all women to be slim, young, attractive, usually blonde, and not defined as having a job. However, where men were displayed there was a wider age range, most men were established as having an office job, and although attractiveness is still an issue here I feel not as important.
  • Women tend to be judged more than males in todays media. Modern magazines such as ‘Cosmopolitian‘ ‘More‘ and ‘Glamour‘ have articles about how to improve your appearance (for mens benefit), about how to multitask being the perfect wife/mother/collegue. Whereas men’s magazines tend to use women for visual and sexual gratification.

FASHION-ITALY-HEALTH-ADVERTISING-ANOREXIA

Women are under constant pressure to be thin, beautiful and successful. This anorexic woman was used in a public advertising and health awareness campaign. I think this sends out the wrong message, although I understand the power the image holds, I believe the media should be promoting healthy eating among men and women. This will reflect on what image I want to portray in my final image.

Start at the beginning…

Like an idiot, I began this assignment in a workbook hence the delayed start on this blogging lark, but some-one once told me half the battle is starting, so apparently it’s nearly over already. I am a member of the spectacular group 2, currently studying ‘Spectacle‘ coincidentally.

I want to explore ’spectacle’ in as many ways as possible; I am going to research gender and forms of media as a spectacle primarily. By creating a piece crowded with hidden meanings, I can encourage my audience to annotate it to see my intended message, it will communicate with them both consciously and unconsciously and force them to register the media as an intended spectacle.