Daily Archives: October 31, 2021

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Advertising, Representation

Advert Style Models – Perfume

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Dior

  1. Textual Analysis : The iconic sign shown is the brand Dior which is presenting a perfume to sell to women.
  2. Semiotic Analysis : Within the two images, the dominant signifier is the perfume being shown, one being advertised in a red circular bottle and another in a clear glass rectangular bottle. Additionally, the aimed audience for this product is women.
  3. Representational Analysis : The two adverts are reactionary due to the feminine style used, for example, the flower/s displayed on both digital prints assist in the stereotype of women and feminine products being ‘girly’. As well as giving the purchaser a floral scent.

Chanel

  1. Textual Analysis : The brand being shown is Chanel with their well know product, perfume for women.
  2. Semiotic Analysis : The clear dominant signifier is the celebrity known as Keira Knightly signifying women who purchase this product have the chance to be irresistible and luxury.
  3. Representational Analysis : The magazine type print is also a reactionary idea, from the slim, attractive young woman who holds the perfume. This gives the belief that the scent will provide an inviting, sensual feeling to the purchaser.

Gucci

  1. Textual Analysis : Gucci, the lavish, valuable and luxury brand is advertising their feminine perfume.
  2. Semiotic Analysis : The dominant signifiers are Evan Rachel Wood and Chris Evans. This is a radical idea as the woman is in a dominant position over the man, opposing the idea that men are the superior and powerful gender.
  3. Representational Analysis : In the ad, Gucci presents their actors in a seductive and submission manner to present an attractive smelling product that seduces men for women.

Calvin Klein

  1. Textual Analysis : Calvin Klein, the famous clothing and cologne brand shows their new 2021 aftershave for men.
  2. Semiotic Analysis : Here the dominant signifier is actor, Richard Madden, presenting the reactionary ideal position and gestures for men.
  3. Representational Analysis : The digital print displays Madden in a masculine and vigorous manner, to advertise the opportunity for men to show their masculinity off. As well, due to Calvin Klein choosing good-looking models, this gives the sense that women will be charmed by the smell of the cologne.
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semiotic analysis essay

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In this essay I am going to apply a semiotic analysis to both Tomb Raider and the  Metroid’s video games covers, I will argue that the representation female protagonists is radical in comparison to the reactionary representation of a male protagonist.

The cover of Tomb Raider provides a dominant signifier of the main protagonist Lara Croft who is being presented as overly feminine. This corresponds to Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze which is, a feminist view that in almost all forms of media the representation of women is altered to appeal to the average male consumer. However despite being represented as very feminine there is also some radical elements in this front cover, such as the inclusion of guns. This is radical because it shows that the female protagonist can protect herself without the need of a male protagonist, this radical representation also juxtaposes the idea of “The Damsel In Distress” which says that women in media are simply used as plot devices that the male protagonist needs to rescue to satisfy the story. This creates a positive representation of women as, contradictory to most games, Lara Croft does not need to rely of the help of a male protagonist, This also creates a positive impression on the gaming community as a whole because it shows that female protagonists can still be strong and independent without a male protagonist and that it does not impact enjoyment of the game as a whole.

Even though the representation on the front cover of tomb raider may provide a brief break from the normal representation of women it is not without flaws. The main example of this is Lara Crofts clothing the use of skimpy and revealing clothing could be harmful to younger audiences as it provides unrealistic standards for people to aspire to, it may also have been used to appeal to the average male gamer, this would have been done because males take up the majority of the gaming industry in terms of both creation and consumerism therefore appealing to the male audience provides the biggest profit margin. The paradigm of tight clothing ,provocative stance and a seductive facial expression makes up an objectified persona, this reflects upon Laura Mulvey’s notion on the male gaze in that the dominant signifier is designed in such a way that she appears sexualised. In other words the character is designed so that it appears sexual and erotic in order to appeal to the sexual and erotic standards for women in the video game industry. By dressing Lara Croft in this revealing and skin tight clothing the game developers are taking away from the representation of Lara being able to defend herself without the help of a male protagonist. With that you can argue that this is a reactionary representation of women in video games.

In comparison the front cover of Metroid provides dominant signifying image of a robotic suit , presumably the main character, and is presented as masculine even though it is never stated whether or not they are male or not, the protagonist is presented to be muscular and broad which are characteristics that have been universally recognised as masculine. This creates a reaction representation of men in video games this is because the front cover displays a stereotypical representation of a male hero which is presented as strong and powerful so that they can complete their goal which is normally defeating a big evil and saving a damsel in distress. The inclusion of a large gun attached to the robotic suit implies that there will be themes of violence and combat, this further portrays the male character as fearless and a warrior. This juxtaposes the idea that the sexualisation of women is always used as the main selling point of video games, This also avoids the theory of the male gaze as it does not include any sexualisation towards women. The representation on the front cover of Metroid also shows that games can have extreme success without the sexualisation of women on the front cover.

In conclusion, both Metroid and Tomb Raider portray two rather similar representations of their respective gendered protagonists this is because they are both presented as radical due to their either exaggerated features or their stereotypical features, this is not a good theme as it provides unrealistic body standards for both genders and could possibly be harmful to younger peoples mental health.

Production

PRODUCTION – ADVERT STYLE MODELS

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  • Style Model 1
  • Style Model 2
  • Style Model 3
  • Style Model 4
  • Style Model 5
Style Model Textual Analysis Semiotic AnalysisRepresentational Analysis
1.– Branding (Brand name and logo)
– Images of products
– Main image
– Trademark
– Additional information in smaller font
– Brand slogan
– Campaign slogan ‘curious cat’		– Dominant signifier of a woman using the product
-Anchorage, the brand slogan (‘evolution of smooth’) sets out the products purpose
– Iconic sign – Lip balm product
– Indexical sign – The bracelet the woman wears is the same pattern as the product
– Paradigm of signs that revolve around the product being promoted		– Reactionary representation – Women are often the face of skincare/beauty advertisements
– Stereotypical representation – The woman on the advert is of an idealistic beauty standard. The brand has selectively represented her to promote sales
– The audience is positioned to believe the statements the brand is making because they are viewing them as factual truth.
– The beauty of the woman could appeal to the male gaze.
– ‘Get noticed’ – Implies that the only reason for using the product is for gaining romantic attention, rather than it benefitting your lips.
2.– Main image of man using product being promoted
-Image and name of product
-Name of campaign (‘The Show’)
– Background image of a curtain
– Name of celebrity to increase sales.
– Magazine title		– Dominant signifier of the man using the product
– Iconic sign – Lipstick product
– Indexical Sign – The man is wearing other makeup products
– Symbolic sign – The red lipstick shade links to the colour of the curtains. The shade has connotations of luxury.		– Radical representation : Men who wear makeup, or take care over their appearance are not often represented in the media, more specifically adverts for makeup products
– Countertypical representation : Goes against the societal norm and counteracts the idea that only women should wear makeup
– The audience are positioned to accept and celebrate this representation
– Could be seen as a representation of the LGBTQ+ community
– Counteracts the hegemony that females hold in the beauty industry.
3.– Image of the product being promoted
– Brand name and logo
– Brand tag line/slogan
– Hard lines to section off the different sections of the advertisement ‘without it. A kiss is just a kiss’
– Additional smaller text 		– Dominant signifier of the two people about to kiss on the top left corner
– Iconic sign – Chapstick/image of the product
– Iconic sign – Image of lips on the packaging. Linking to the message of the advert
– Anchorage – Smaller text relates to the purpose of the product
– Symbolic sign – Red pattern as background links to love and romance

– The product is over-sexualised and portrayed in a way only revolving around romance and love
-Stereotypical representation which implies that men only find women attractive when they use beauty products.
– Reactionary
– The inclusion of the definition of a ‘kiss’ reinforces the fact that the product is for the pleasure of the male
4.– Main image of a man using lip balm product
– Background : Gradient of yellow and orange		– Dominant signifier is of an ‘attractive’ man using a lip balm
– No anchorage
– Iconic sign of the lip balm stick 		– Countertype – This representation goes against the social stereotype which encapsulates the idea that to be masculine and ‘manly’ you must neglect self care and care for appearance, as it is seen as a much more feminine trait to hold.
5.– Main image
– Brand logo and brand graphics
– Image of product being advertised
– Brands slogan/ tag line 		– Iconic sign of the product
– Dominant signifier of the lower half of a woman’s face. Focused in on her lips which links to the products purpose
– Anchorage – Rhetorical question to directly communicate with the customer.
– Reactionary representation – Women are most likely to be featured in a beauty campaign because it fits with the social stereotype of the type of consumer who would use the product.
– Through the use of comparison of the product being advertised against other similar products, the audience is positioned to believe that this product is most beneficial.
Essays

semiotic analysis on tomb raider and metroid

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Semiotic analysis on Tomb Raider and Metroid

In this essay I am going to apply semiotic analysis to both Tomb Raider and Metroid games covers. I will argue that a representation of Tomb Raider presenting Lara Croft as a sexualised character of whom is created to please the male eye. From the first Tomb Raider game released in 1996, Lara has been designed with an appealing body type of which consists of a slim body type equipped with minimal clothing, an unrealistic choice of wardrobe for an occasion as adventurous as the one Lara embarks on. It is argued Lara is created to receive approval from the ‘male gaze’ an idea Laura Mulvey theorized, of which she describes ‘woman as visually positioned as an “object” of heterosexual male desire’. Using a female as a main character can be seen as an impression of female empowerment, due to the rumour that games in the study with male-only playable characters were said to have sold better than the ones that included women. In addition to this Tomb Raider has only been seen to use a female character known as ‘Lara Croft’.  As much as a positive light can be shown with Lara being female, the minimised clothing and creation for the male gaze dominates the feminist aspects of Lara Croft. Her unrealistic body type, designed by men, was announced to have been created ‘accidentally’ however ironically fits the beauty standard of the male gaze. In addition, the age rating of this game can be frowned upon. An age rating of 12, despite the use of weaponries creates a violent, approved aesthetic, almost suggesting the actions are realistic. 

Second to this Metroid’s main character Samus, disguised as a space defeater, is also female. In contrast with Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft is clothed in a large, protective suit of which defines no gender. In playing Metroid you are tasked with defeating the opposition without the male input. The ‘damsel in distress’ is the hero instead. Despite the empowerment Metroid brings, male players have been seen to dismiss this and complain. In the release of the game players were led to believe that the hero was a man – the game’s accompanying booklet referred to Samus as a “he”. However, those who completed the game were shocked to discover Samus revealing herself to be a woman. In 1986, to see a character be revealed to be a woman there had been minor female gaming characters before. Despite this movement of female empowerment for the gaming industry, the game could not escape criticism. When ending the game, the player is seen to be rewarded with the sight of Samus’s body dressed in red underwear. The creators of Metroid decided for an almost ‘nude’ viewing of the character, of which could have been easily avoidable. Those who question the game creator’s choice for this, ask ‘why dress her in that?’. Metroid could be suggested as radical representation as we assume that the use of the sexualised female body was used as a visual for the male gamer. A symbolic signifier of a smoky background suggests the empowerment and heroic display Samus withholds, allowing for a positive view of the creators of Metroid.

In conclusion both Metroid and Tomb raider can be seen to be of a radical representation due to the female protagonists of whom defeat and overcome challenges, the typical male main character would conduct. Both however contain visuals of the female body in a sexual way to please the assumed male, straight player.