REPRESENTATION
Compare how these adverts construct versions of reality. In your answer you must:
- consider the choices media producers make when constructing versions of reality
- consider the similarities and differences in the representations
- make judgements and draw conclusions about how far the representations relate to relevant media contexts. [30]
Knee jerk reaction
The KOTV advert constructs wildly different versions of reality to construct an entertaining experience for the contemporary audience who may have had completely different expectations and stereotypical assumptions
Plan
Postmodernism
Ideology
Media language
Theory
Historical context
Myths
Vampires
Gender performativity
MES
Composition
Conventional
Iconography
Genre conventions
Horror
Colour
Font
Enigma/hermeneutic codes
Feminism
Van zoonen
Gilroy
Gauntlet - constructing identities
Anchorage
Lighting
Low key
Stuart Hall
Stereotypes
Binary oppositions
Encoding and decoding
DAC - definition, argument, context
Representation refers to how something is presented again by the producer of a media product, using media language in order to construct a specific ideology. Audiences can decode these ideologies depending on their social and cultural contexts. In this essay I shall argue that the poster for KOTV constructs a reality where women wield power over men, in a way that could be considered feminist. However, I shall also argue that women are strongly sexualised in a number of ways, which is typical of representations of women in media products. The poster for KOTV is an advert for the 1963 horror film of the same name, produced by Hammer in the UK. The film contains a number of stereotypical and sexist representations typical of the time it came out.
Paragraphs - point, evidence, analysis
- one way in which this advert constructs a version of reality is through the distinctive MES of costume
- Another way in which reality is constructed in a highly leading way =is through the extremely blunt use of binary oppositions
- Yet another way that reality is constructed is through the highly suggestive use of composition, and in particular where the main characters are standing
- Another way in which reality is constructed is through the very title of the film, and the distinctive and highly conventional use of font
- A final way in which reality is constructed is through the use of highly typical genre conventions, that inform the audience that this film is a highly typical vampire film.
Evidence - reference to the poster and in particular media language
Analysis - textual analysis, the deeper meaning, key words like ideology and stereotypes, and theories
A final way in which reality is constructed is through the use of highly typical genre conventions, that inform the audience that this film is a highly typical vampire film. KOTV is clearly a highly conventional vampire film, with vampire being a sub genre of the horror genre. Examples of horror iconography are used throughout the poster. The MES of the bats are not only conventional of the horror genre, but also highly conventional of gothic horror, a genre still highly popular in the 1960s. Furthermore, the MES of blood dripping from the V of vampire constructs a polysemic mode of address, and could signify both a vampire’s tooth and a stake through the heart. However, even more interestingly, we have the distinct iconography of the female vampire in the foreground. In a highly atypical representation, the main female vampire is represented as both dominant and powerful, which is constructed through her stature and pose, and reinforced through the anchorage of her violent and aggressive expression. By pulling an aggressive and unflattering facial expression, the main female vampire here subverts hegemonic expectations of women. Here the producers have represented women not only as submissive and powerless, but also terrifying and powerful, constructing a fearful and enticing mode of address for the target male audience. Additionally, this subversive representation may also link to the context of second wave feminism, with women's rights and protests being very much in the news at this stage. Therefore, contemporary female audiences may be enticed and may identify with the representation of strong and powerful and scary women. This highly complicated representation would interest and engage contemporary audiences who may be sick of conventional and boring horror films.
Bonus
Setting - the dark MES of the bleak fields and the dark castle constructs a stereotypical mode of address for the target audience and suggests that foreign countries are scary and dangerous.. Paul Gilroy argued that non-white and non-British people are often othered, which is highly typical of horror films, and ties ion to fears of foreignness and of those who are different.