Alegra's Media Blog

  Dizzee Rascal  –  Dream  –   Music Video Analysis 2004    Narrative  The music video talks about Dizzee’s rise to success; the video is autobiographical. The song falls into the pop/grime/garage genre. Dream is constructed by two worlds – a 1950s room that is a direct reference to “Muffin the Mule”, and a contemporary city setting. The narrative is linear, featuring disruptions and a resolution that reflects the dominant message of triumph over adversity through commitment to a dream.   The video opens with the elderly white female pianist introducing Dizzee and singing a few lines of Happy Talk; she acts as a narrator and has an expected reaction to the rap music. Dizzee uses puppets for his other characters in order to recreate his storyline.                                                    Representation   The opening shot of the video shows an elderly white female pianist who is also middle class, reflects the 1950s Britain when people in positions of power tended to belong to

Representation in Tide Dress code, hairstyle, fashion, make-up -   The woman in the advert is wearing a polka dot dress and red apron. by doing this, Tide represents their users as fashionable and aspirational figures, and therefore people would like to buy their product in order to fit in and become their aspirational figures. She also has her hair tied back, which is quite practical and shows that she is prepared to do her housework and take care of the children. She is also wearing red lipstick, which connotes love, but it's also seen as sexual. by adding elements of love, they not only uphold the stereotype of women having a loving and caring nature, but it could reinforce the misogynistic idea that women enjoy the domestic work and are only adequate for that.                                           Intertextuality to famous  (think Hollywood) women of  the time! The red lipstick that the character is wearing could be an intertextual reference to Marilyn Monroe as she was al

    Stuart Hall   What stereotypes, or ‘basic traits’, does Tide portray? It portrays the idea of women being housewives and  enjoying doing domestic work What inequalities could have led to the creation of this stereotype? The fact that women were expected to stay at home and look after the children led men to consider women as inferior and inadequate out of the house  How do the images of domestic life form part of the “shared conceptual road map” that give meaning to the “world” of the advert?     David Gauntlett   Does the Tide advertisement support Gauntlett’s claim that in the past media representations offered singular straightforward messages about male and female identities? Yes, as the only representation for females that is being offered in Tide is the one of the housewife. To what extent does the representation of women in the

 Key Text Summary: Water Aid “Rain for Good” General conventions The purpose of the advert is to raise money for people who don’t have access to water. The use of the main characters name “Claudia” evokes more empathy from the audience and it seems that they now know the girl on a personal level. The advert also gives us facts about the cause “650 million people still don’t have access to clean water”, the information could guilt the audience into donating money as it’s putting the responsibility on them. Strauss’ theory of Binary Oppositions could apply as there is a big contrast between the representation of the UK and Africa; The UK could be the antagonist as they are represented as ungrateful for the water they have.  How is the UK represented in the advert? In the “Rain for good” advert the UK is represented as the antagonist of the storyline for being ungrateful for their access to water. At the opening shot, the audience sees the inside window of a middle-class house; the advert

  Code Connotations   The gesture code of the woman hugging the Tide product. This has connotations of love and relationships and presents the product as having an important role in her life.    The use of superlatives, for example in ‘World’s cleanest wash’  This has connotations of superiority and conveys a sense of excitement.  Using the colour red and hearts throughout the advert.  The colour red has connotations of love, and so do the hearts above her head. Due to these connotations, the stereotype of women enjoying housework is being upheld.    The women having a happy expression while using Tide.  This further perpetuates the 1950s stereotype of women only being adequate enough to do the domestic work.  The character's hair is tied back and kept neat.  Her hairstyle is more practical and shows that she is ready to do the domestic work she

  Charity Advert Analysis 1   Most Shocking second a day   General conventions   The campaign’s name is “Save Syria’s Children” and its purpose is to raise money and also raise awareness around the issue. In this advert, Strauss’s theory of Binary Oppositions could apply as the little girl and her family are the victims and maybe even the protagonists of the story, and the attackers are the antagonists. The advert is meant to evoke empathy towards the people of Syria and refugees, and maybe even guilt the audience into donating to the cause.     Use of Camera and Editing   The advert starts with a close up shot of the girl blowing her candles on her birthday, creating empathy as it shows her emotions; the girl is happy and celebrates her birthday with her family and friends, which later contrasts her next birthday that’s her and her mother only. The following shots show the girl living an ordinary life – she’s shown eating, sleeping and playing in a safe place. She