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ENGLISH 12B GOOD MORNING! PLEASE TAKE OUT YOUR BINDER. . Image 1. Jenny’s Response.
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Jenny’s Response • Description: Shows Rebecca Romijn is almost naked in this skimpy white bikini. She is holding a glass of milk and has a milk mustache. I think she is in Times Square. The most obvious feature is her “ideal” body. This disgusts me because this is supposed to be an advertisement for milk. I think it is saying a little more than just “drink milk.” • Analysis: The message sent is that she looks good from milk (I highly doubt that). While milk should be the most important part of the advertisement, it is clearly looked over because she’s half-naked. I doubt that anyone is going to look at the glass of milk first. The purpose of this half naked body has to be to get the attention of the trendy magazine reader. • Conclusion: Unfortunately the “Barbie” look is still looked at as ideal for women. It also says that women have to use their bodies to sell something.
Laura’s Response • Description: I found a picture on the Victoria Secret website while browsing through the swimwear. As I was looking at the different swimsuits they have to offer I noticed something about every girl/picture. On each picture there would be a girl in her swimsuit, with oil on her body, making a sort of seductive look. • Analysis: Each girl on this entire website was extremely skinny. In order to sell their swimwear they got the skinniest and prettiest models. No where on their website, no one place is there an “average” sized or even “plus-sized” woman. This suggests the idea that if they would have an average or plus-sized model—their products would not sell. Victoria Secret is not the only place in the world that supports the message “skinny sells.” • Conclusion: In society today no major industry like Victoria Secret could sell their products using anything but skinny bodies. Today skinny is promoted by the media that it is the only was to look and it is the right way. Skinny gorgeous bodies are also used to get people looking at their websites and magazines and therefore seeing their products. Could Victoria Secret ever put a plus-sized model on their website or in their magazine? Or is it true that in our society only skinny sells.
Ashton’s Response • Description: There are four images, 2 or which are labeled “HIS”, and two are “HERS”. The “HIS” ones show a toilet sear left-up and a sloppily layed pair of muddy boots. The “HERS” pictures are of the same toilet, but the lid is down and a flower bouquet rests upon the top, and also a closet with numerous rows of neatly organized, spotless shoes. On the next page there is a picture of a Dodge Durango looking sleek and profound. Underneath it is the caption “Where capability and refinement come together.” • Analysis: The ad creates a large gap in characterizing men and women. Men are portrayed as sloppy, and women as neat and refined. Once the contrast has been made, the statement “ Where capability and refinement come together: appeals to a correspondence. If the women fill the “refinement” moiety, then men are deemed to possess the “capability.” Under feminist criticism, the labeling of women as refined and men as capable reinforces that sexual stereotype while simultaneously hoping to appeal to both sexes in order to get them to purchase the car. This attempt should not be appealing—it limits both genders by pigeonholing according to stereotypes. • Conclusion: The ad attempts to use stereotypes of men and women to sell their product as a means for the separate characteristics of men and women to meet. The established differences of men and women, however, work more to limit each sex than to overcome the division.
Jeremy’s Response • Description: The advertisement is for Dodge Durango. In the 2-page magazine ad the front page shows the “man’s” bathroom with the toilet seat up and the “man’s” closet w/ a pair of dirty boots. The “woman’s” bathroom has a vase w/ flowers on top of the toilet and the seat is down, and the “woman’s” closet has tons of shoes that are organized on racks. The second page of the advertisement describes the masculine and feminine features of a car encompassed into one vehicle, the Durango. • Analysis: When we look at the ad through the lens of the feminist critic, it is extremely apparent of the stereotype of the typical dirty, masculine, relatively unorganized guy. The ad uses this mindset to highlight the “hemi” engine, the heavy duty tranny and towing capacity. The ad portrays the woman as someone who would most likely be concerned with the practicality and the aesthetics of the vehicle, based on the picture of a clean bathroom and closet w/ shoe racks and other misc. storage. The ad highlights the stereotypical woman’s interest in the car’s seating capacity, air-bag features, stereo system and DVD player. • Conclusion: This ad clearly uses stereotypical sexism in order to highlight the broad appeal of this vehicle. Though only slightly humorous, it reflects a outdated society and while as an effective ad it just leaves you with a feeling that they could have conveyed the same meaning in a different way.
Matt’s Response • Description • After we talked about Social Class and Of Mice and Men, I was looking at the NY Times A section and saw these two items facing each other. There’s a long article about famine in Ethiopia—I didn’t copy it all. Then right across the page is this ad for diamond earrings. I thought it was ironic enough and then I saw the price of the earrings, $10,500! • Analysis • Capitalism can be found alive and well in every corner of this paper. The news alternates with ads for luxury goods. The Marxist lens makes me think about the haves and have-nots as represented by these two artifacts. Where is the middle class? • Conclusion • I found the ad obscene next to the famine article. I wonder if the editorial staff even notices this stuff. Are people who can afford to buy earrings interested in the famine article? Do people who care about famine in Ethiopia tolerate earring ads? The typical reader of the NY Times lives between the earrings and the famine.
Bridget’s Response • Description: This is a magazine advertisement. On one side it says “there’s digital” with a picture of a metal slide. On the other side it says “Then there’s canon digital” with a picture of a colorful rollercoaster. • Analysis: Looking at this test through the Social Class lens, it seems as though they are implying that the canon is only worthy of taking pictures of people at expensive amusement parks. The canon digital camera could never take a picture of a child playing on a simple slide. Therefore they are implying that if you cannot afford to take the family to an amusement park regularly then the canon digital camera is not for you. • Conclusion: This text implies that only those with a lot of money can afford the canon camera.
Sarah’s Response • Description: The ad is for fcuk perfume. The front has two people in a bed and the back shows two bottles of fcuk fragrances. • Analysis: I looked at this through reader response, which says meaning is found between the reader and the text. Since the front of the ad says “scent to bed” and the perfume is called fcuk (resembling another well known word) readers make mental connections. The ad intends to make people think about more than perfume. Thus inticing them to buy the product. The ad does not say anything provocative, but the reader finds such messages through reader response lenses. • Conclusion: The significance is that people can take advantage of your subconscious through advertisement. It must be read critically because it would be easy to be inticed by physical aspects when any other perfume may be just as good. You need to see through the immediate superficial appeal.
LITERARY CRITICISM IN ACTION Lil’ Wayne vs. 2 little girls http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/l/lil_wayne/single.html http://www.prefixmag.com/news/two-girls-rap-open-letter-to-lil-wayne/49929/ http://www.blackyouthproject.com/2011/08/did-these-3-little-girls-inspire-lil-waynes-how-to-love/
Group Work • You will each choose an ad from a magazine. • You will then find a partner • The two of you will discuss one ad and decide on a critical theory to use for analysis. • On the piece of paper provided, you will write the Description, Analysis, and Conclusion. • Switch to the other ad, and repeat.
