This week we're revising the basics, and that means media language. We're not focusing on a particular industry just yet, but these sessions are great in preparation for the unseen element of your media studies assessment!
Watch this - Open That Coca-Cola (Music by Tyler, The Creator)
Question: How does media language combine to create meaning in [this advert]?
Underline key terms
How does media language combine to create meaning in [this advert]?
Knee jerk reaction
Media language combines to create an eccentric and strange advert that reinforces the ideology that drinking coke is a fun, exciting and rewarding experience
Plan
Vibrant colours
Synchronised dancing
C/U of main character's face
Over Exaggerated facial expressions
B/EV shot of community dancing
Themes of fun, leisure, hobbies
Range of diverse lifestyles
Significant range of racial representation
Mainly city/urban setting
Uncomfortable, awkward soundtrack initially
Coke energises your life!
Psychedelic! Druggy! colourful!
Controversial message?
Binary opposition between before coke and after coke
Escapism
Repetition
Stuart Hall: representation of ethnicity
Smooth editing, smooth camera movements
Pans, tracks, shock zoom
"Ooooh!"
Content
- Mid shot/ low angle shot of an Asian, black and white teens is connotative and symbolic of ethnic diversity. An ideological focus on ethnic diversity reinforces one of Coke's primary ideologies: that drinking Coke brings us together, no matter who you are.
- Also, with diversity, urbanisation, social issues becoming more important for young people around the world. This allows Coke to tap in to this dominant ideology, which allows it to sell to a diverse audience
- C/U of gamer girl drinking coke (reaction shot) reinforces a symbolic code that drinking coke is an exciting and happy experience. Immediately afterwards, we cut the gamer girls dancing in a slow zoom, M/S wide shot, which emphasises the notion that Coke is part of an active and exciting lifestyle. This also highly unconventional representation of those who play games
- Hyperreal representation of coke, where the representation of coke is clearly better than the reality
- Vibrancy of the colours is clearly symbolic of fun, energy and excitement. In particular red is emphasised and saturated throughout, which reinforces the brand identity of coca cola
- Absolutely no representation of obese people or non-hegemonically attractive people within the advert. Selling a lifestyle of activity, glamour and excitement to the target audience
- Symbolic annihilation is the complete removal of a group of people from a media product.
- Advert concludes with a shock zoom in to the back of the corner shop, where the elderly black janitor is holding a coke. C/U of face, Janitor makes a pleonastic 'mmmmm' sound', before flicking shoulders and dancing at a professional level. This constructs a humorous and unexpected binary opposition for the target audience, where our exceptions of the older black man are simultaneously challenged and also reinforced. This reinforces a stereotype that black people are naturally good at dancing
- M/S of three older women, dressed in 1950's dresses, potentially allowing the advert to tar a secondary or event tertiary audience of older women
- Middle class, middle aged white couple B/EV shot lying in a bed in the setting of a luxurious spa which reinforces a heteronormative and hegemonic ideological perspective on our society. Their representation and inclusion allows Coke to target a completely different audience than who have previously been featured in this advert
- 2 minute long advert: longer version of a 30 second advert?
- Primarily constructed to be viewed on Youtube