Audience response to media representations

The lifestyle being sold in the Breeze advert is that of an attractive actress/model.

• This advert presents a highly invasive mode of address. (voyeurism)
• There is a symbolic annihilation of gay people, as despite the woman being mostly naked, it is not targeted towards women who find other women attractive. She is a spectacle and an object. 
• She is supposed to be the object of male fantasies and is constructed to attract men.
• The advert assumes women are concerned about feeling fresh, smelling fresh, being treated 'kindly' (dependent), feeling 'feminine' - making decisions about which soap to buy, but not necessarily about more important issues
• 'Because you're a woman' - assumes men would not be concerned about these things
• Female is naked, clothed only in soap suds - conforms to stereotypical notions of female beauty - slender, perfectly made-up.

To what extent is audience response to media representations influenced by social, cultural and historical circumstances?

• There is a man approaching behind, and because he likes how she looks, he is coming to talk to her. This shows the audience that she is viewed as attractive to a hegemonic perspective, and therefore sells the life-style of looking like her in order to attract men. 
• The mise-en-scene of their costumes, which are smart and formal, combined with the setting, suggests that the two models are in a formal location. Their outfits look expensive. This can show that buy using the Max Factor product, you will be attractive and rich men will like you. Position of status in society. This creates a hierarchy. They are hierarchically more powerful than other people and the target audience.
• It presents the ideological perspective of the producer to be, that good looks get you money and help you climb the social ladder.
• There is a fantasy narrative created, as it is a stereotypical event seen in books/films of the time where lovers meet at parties and fall in love.
• It has a condescending, direct mode of address. 'Now you can be sure of your beauty always... it's so easy!' This shows how women are treated differently to men, because it shows how things need to be made easier to them. The lexis of 'easy', is condescending and presumes a woman has no intelligence, as everything needs to be made simpler.
• By making women feel as if they need to wear makeup in order to attract rich men and fulfil the fantasy narrative, it allows men to keep their power and authority over women. 
• She has to wear makeup in order to be seen at a hegemonic standard
• It is a mid-shot, which allows the audience to see the mise-en-scene of their outfit, informing the audience of their social class and status.
• This advert focuses strongly on innocent beauty, opposed to the Breeze advert, as the woman is fully clothed and smartly dressed. This shows how a patriarchal hegemonic society forces women to dress a certain way in order to be viewed as acceptable.
• The audience are positioned within the scene, in front of them. Just like in a movie, this creates a fantasy narrative.
• The product itself is not focused on in the image, as her hand covers the logo of the products name 'creme puff', this shows that the producer is trying to sell the lifestyle rather than the product.
• The dominant ideology of the time period was to look good, and that being rich made you superior. This advert combines these ideological perspectives, by showing that by looking attractive, you will attract rich men and therefore climb the social ladder.
• The setting could be a shopping mall, train-station or hotel because there is a butler in the background. We do not quite know where it is. But we know one thing, she is definitely not at home. She is out. This might not be shocking now, but back then, this would've been quite shocking. In this whole magazine, we have not seen a woman outside. It looks reasonably exciting. By wearing makeup, you're attractive, so you have more opportunity.
• The lexis of the title, 'beauty', in the headline 'beauty at a moment's notice', there is a clear connection between makeup and beauty. If you do not wear makeup, you are not beautiful.
• She is the only woman in the room, this could suggest and imply that she is applying makeup for the man. Although this could have polysemic readings, as some would believe that she is wearing makeup for her own self gain, the dominant ideology of the time period would suggest that she is doing it to please a man, because of the patriarchal society.
• Because she is the only woman, it can show that she is after attention. Or, a polysemic reading of this can be that a woman leaving the house is a rare sight.
• Voyeurism is the process of watching someone when they do not know they are being looked at. The woman is placed in a voyeuristic position.
• The three images at the top are representative of a film strip. It connotes film and acts as symbolic coding, as it is symbolic of her being a movie star. It is reinforcing the idea that she is a movie star, even though she is not. By purchasing creme puff you can look like one too! This would've been very desirable of the time period.
• Intra-diegetic gaze, the way characters look at each other in a media product. It is very important in this image. He is looking at her. She is looking at herself through the mirror on the creme puff product. This advert is polysemic. Is she looking at herself in the mirror? Is she looking at him in the mirror? The notion of the intra-diegetic gaze enforces that the only purpose of a woman in a media product is to function as a spectacle for the heterosexual male audience.
• The way that he is looking at her without her knowing is very perv and creepy. There is a creepiness to this image. However, this is not the preferred reading. The dominant ideology of the time is that this is perfectly acceptable behaviour.
• The mise-en-scene of his facial expression shows that he is attracted to her. He is smiling. He is nervous. As she continues to apply the image in the sequence of photos, he moves closer.
• The audience are positioned with them, and we are looking straight at them. We are in this like a movie. This presents elements of the romantic comedy genre, because they clearly like each-other and are smiling. This is anchored by the lexis, 'special someone', showing us that they like each-other. 

If you get a question with the word 'representation' reference stereotypes!! It is the easiest term to apply, and will get marks.

Are there any positive aspects to stereotyping?

• To the people doing the stereotyping, it helps them to maintain power and authority over a certain group. Although this isn't positive overall, it is for them.
• Some stereotypes are nice, such as Irish people being friendly.
• Stereotypes, can never, by their definition be true. As not everyone in a certain group will be a certain way.
• If someone doesn't fit into a stereotype it is boring. Like in educating Essex, they don't focus on the people who do not fit the stereotype because they are boring. 
• Stereotypes are bad though, because they limit people's expectations on the world.
• Stereotypes exist to get an understanding of people.
• Stereotypes form a shortcut for the audience, as they can identify things about a character without needing to be told it by the producer.
• For women reading woman magazine, stereotypes can be aspirational, and it can tell women to turn into someone who is cooking and cleaning. This gives everyone a role in society.
• Stereotypes change over time.

Brand Identity - what the brand is known as. Brand identity is how a business presents itself to, and wants to be perceived by it's consumers. Woman magazine has a specific brand identity.