Transcript of Danielle Gumina CMC 100 Fall 2010 Semester Paper 2 Professor Gournelos November 4, 2010 A content...
- Slide 1
- Danielle Gumina CMC 100 Fall 2010 Semester Paper 2 Professor
Gournelos November 4, 2010 A content analysis on the construction
of the female fantasy in bridal and teen prom magazines.
- Slide 2
- Introduction/Thesis For my first paper, I did a textual
analysis on an ENZOANI ad in Martha Stewart Weddings fall 2010
issue. I examined the elements of this ad that constructed a
negative portrayal of the female fantasy of the perfect bride. I
argued that it opposed the medias contemporary vision of the
perfect bride (which is not necessarily representative of the
entire female population) by highlighting darkness in her attitude,
physical appearance, setting, and surroundings, thus delivering an
alternate vision of perfection. For this second paper, I will
concentrate on how each magazine (Martha Stewart Weddings, South
Asian Bride, and Teen Prom) portrays elements of race differently
in their ads and how each magazine constructs a different vision of
the female fantasy in order to touch upon their demographics. I
argue that these various views of race in each magazine exercise
different applications of emotion, body language, and setting with
regards to the female fantasy, which as a result, exemplifies
diversity in contemporary female fantasies.
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- What is the female fantasy? The medias definition or portrayal
of the female fantasy is fairytale perfection. (that does not
exist). Whiteness, bright lights, family, friends, laughter,
comfort coming from material goods, lots of detail, no conflicts,
no drama, and in many cases a rare romantic bond between a male and
female that conquers it all a scenario that is all too good to be
true. By emphasizing this kind of fairytale, the media makes people
want to believe that reality shares this possibility and that it is
achievable. So in that case, advertisers market their products so
that they are associated in some way with the fairytale like female
fantasy. This of course encourages more consumption.
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- Section 1: Demographics Martha Stewart Weddings = a VERY white
magazine targeting a higher class. South Asian Bride = a VERY
ethnic magazine also targeting a wealthier class but of middle
eastern/Asian groups. Teen Prom = a VERY young magazine targeting
teenagers of comfortable social statuses/middle class and up. **
Note: the ads that do include other races are pretty white for
their race so you have to look more closely to see the racial
difference, if its at all obvious. MS Weddings 6% SA Bride 65% TP
27%
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- Section 2 & 3: Emotion and Body Language 1. MSW out of the
9 ads that show a race other than white, 33% show positive emotion
happiness and smiling. 67% show depressed/ reserved emotion SAB out
of the 31 ads that show a race other than white, 68% show positive
emotion and 32% show serious emotion. TP out of the 22 ads that
show a race other than white, 64% show positive emotion and 36%
show serious emotion. 2. MSW no connection of body language with
happiness; out of the sad ads, all figures are standing (mannequin
like) with slight position of arms not significant and not
expressive, hence NOT sexual. SAB the happy ads show figures with
flexible movements but not too distracting. It can still almost act
as a mannequin;/slightly sexual because of clothing; out of the
serious ads (note: there is NO depiction of sadness in this
magazine) body language is stationary and sometimes clothing is
incorporated ex. Covering part of face to hide facial expression.
TP all 14 happy ads show figures interactive with others in groups,
very expressive with body; out of the serious ads, figures are
shown both stationary and expressive. 63% (5/8) are expressive and
37% (3/8) are stationary. there are some consistencies of sexuality
in the serious ads.
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- Section 3: Settings & So What? MSW no connection of
happiness with location; all sad ads have grey backgrounds = Dark
fantasy. SAB 57% of happy ads are located in elaborate environments
ex. Wedding reception. 14% are outdoors ex. Beach area. 29% are in
front of a warm detailed patterned background. 70% of serious ads
are placed in front of less detailed patterned backgrounds,
sometimes blurred, and usually not warm but cooler colored. 30% of
serious ads were also placed in certain locations like the outdoors
or the fashion runway. TP 54% of happy ads are surprisingly placed
in plain colored backgrounds, sometimes with animation icons but
look fun. 9% are placed outside in front of the city skyline or in
courtyard. 23% of serious ads are placed in plain backgrounds, 37%
are placed in various locations such as in front of a city skyline,
a residential area, or in a courtyard. So what? MSW portray darker
fantasies of marriage emphasizing whiteness, reserved/depressed
emotions, in dark dull settings with little to no body expression =
a dark fantasy and dress SAB portray typical female fantasy of
marriage emphasizing positive emotion, flexible/expressive body
language unique for culture, and tying that with an elaborate
setting. TP portray typical female fantasy of prom emphasizing
positive emotion, positive social interaction, in various fun
settings.