Representation Analysis

One of the most significant effects that media has is the ability to represent the reality in which we live in. The ways in which particular groups, communities, and cultures are portrayed in the media atmosphere is known as representation. As time progresses, the need for accurate representation has been continuously called for and numerous attempts have been both accepted and criticized. A few examples of groups that are often misrepresented are women, LGBTQ+, people of color, elderly, and adolescents.

One such attempt was H&M's "close the loop" advertisements. The ad was a part of a recycling clothes campaign by featuring a diverse group of people from different genders, social class, ages, races, sexualities, and sizes. The voice over brings up fashion stereotypical fashion rules to follow but also contradicting ideas.  By selecting a pantheon of different subjects and ways in which to wear the fashion as a form of personal expression for the ad, it seems to want to create a sense of relatedness with the audience; to make everyone watching identify with some aspect of the project to make them feel included. By having this level of appeal, the company is able to relay the message of recycling clothes more to a large demographic. However, the use of diversity does not seem as something inclusive, but rather as a tool to bring people's attention. I find this to be the case as there is a heavy use of race and gender stereotypes and exaggerated representations of the roles of each in our society.

Furthermore, men's company AXE has recently been found using stereotypical gender representation in a 2006 advertisements. The commercial, which is for the company's body spray, depicts a stampede of bikini-clad women running toward a single man who is applying the product to his body. The ad is constructed in such a way that the women are portrayed is animalistic as they are all mindlessly running in the same bikini towards the man like a wild animal towards its prey. This portrayal of gender roles plays with the stereotypical paternal setting; a masculine man (masculine by using the body spray) attracting the woman (servant).

The Ventures of Adventure films

The Ventures of Adventure Films

Genre
“BAM!” “POW!” Another blockbuster adventure movie has hit the silver screen. The genre of adventure has been a category of cinema that has been loved for as long as the art of movie has been itself. Stories of the lone protagonist stepping out of their comfort zone to venture out into the unknown for the resolution of the plot.


Genre Conventions-Content
The main form of content that is demonstrated in this production is showing a progression of story that is out of the ordinary. Back to the Future follows a protagonist, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), where throughout the movie it shows the story of a teenager going from his simple life in 1985 to time travelling back in time 30 years where he learns more about his family and life. The aspect of time travel being thrown into the typical "Hero's Journey"
develops a level of grandeur as it is not something where the events taking place are at all realistic. The events begin with the act of going back to the setting of the past where the hero, Marty, is thrown into. As the movie progresses, Marty begins to run into many obstacles that through time he overcomes to prevent them from interfering with his goal of him returning to his time unscathed and with the timeline intact.

Other common aspects in adventure stories include physical action and courageous heroes who save others from danger or impending doom. The adventure genre of fiction is fast-paced and usually centers on a protagonist in a dangerous or risky situation (James Bond or Mission Impossible). This style of story telling overlaps others, such as romance, spy thrillers, military adventures, Westerns, and even science fiction. 

Genre Conventions-Production
With adventure being one of the more popular styles of film making in recent memory, there are often many techniques at work. One of the more common are in the use of concept. All adventure movies are centered around the principle of a journey and whatever can be done to make the journey more interesting, will be done. Studios may see how well a hero does in an average setting and for the sequel completely switch everything up in order to keep things exciting for audiences. A good example of this technique is how Marvel handled the character of Spider-man. Spider-man is a classic superhero that has been shown in the same typical story lines, such as his origin story, and in the same setting of New York City. Marvel knew this and skipped the origin story by introducing him in Captain America: Civil War as an already established superhero. Furthermore, Marvel Studios wanted to maintain a level of unpredictability with the stories they will tell with this newly-developing character, which is where Spider-man: Far from Home comes into play. By having the setting be across various international countries creates anticipation in how this never before seen setting interacts with an already familiar character that will draw audiences in and make for a more enticing story.

Marketing
The genre of adventure movies is most often heavily marketed to all kinds of age groups ranging from young adult to adult. When it comes to how word for the film travels, it is heavily dependent on an excitement factor. The marketing on films where the adventure of the plot has been anticipated by fans will often be incredibly nuanced in how much of plot events they will release. For example, Avengers: Endgame kept a majority of their plot line incredibly vague to the public by releasing movie trailers where they created an idea for the story line through the format of the trailer, only to have the movie undergo unexpected events (ie. Thanos dying and having Avengers time travel) not hinted at in trailers or marketing campaigns. Promotional material will also be incredibly large, such as the poster showing numerous main characters all posing in exciting ways.

Recommended film list:
1. Avengers
2. Mad Max
3. Star Wars
4. Logan
5. The Incredibles
6. Wall E

A Brief Introduction

Hello world! My name is Oliver and I am posting this blog to give the world progress on my journey through the world of media studies. I am a big fan of learning and studying everything media, film, or TV related and I hope one day I will be able to make an impact on that world one day.