Textual analysis – Iconic sign is the perfume, dominant signifier is the two models
Semiotic analysis – The advert shows a reactionary representation around masculinity, with the dominant signifier appearing confident and happy, appealing to the idea of the “Cool Man”.
Representational analysis – The models in the advert relate to the idea of patriarchy due to the man being above the woman representing the stereotype of men being better. The advert seems to target younger men and woman that want to be confident with themselves by using this perfume.
Calvin Klein Eternity advert:
Textual analysis – iconic sign is the perfume, dominant signifies are the two models that seem to be together
Semiotic analysis – the advert shows the dominant signifies who try to represent that when the perfume is used you can attract a partner easier. The two models both seem confident and happy which represents what this perfume is presented to do.
Representational analysis – The advert is reactionary in that it follows the stereotype of men using cosmetic products in order to appear more positive and powerful than they are in reality.
Dyson Vacuum advert:
Textual analysis – iconic sign and dominant signifier is the vacuum. A slogan is seen saying “Our vacuums suck but in a good way” in a basic font.
Semiotic analysis – the advert presents the dominant signifier (vacuum) through a very basic advert which could mean to the customers that the vacuum and very easy and understandable to use. The use of the slogan could prevent customers from buying he product due to it sounding slightly sexual to some viewers.
IN THIS ESSAY I AM GOING TO APPLY A SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS TO BOTH THE TOMB RAIDER AND METROID VIDEO GAME COVERS. THIS WILL INCLUDE THE ANALYSIS OF THE SYMBOLIC AND REPRESENTATION OF THE GAMES COVERS.
I will argue that the games cover of Metroid and Tomb Raider have different effects towards the gaming community. For example on the cover of Metroid, gamers who have never seen the game will presume that the robotic character is male underneath the suit, however the character is a girl. On the games cover of Tomb Raider viewers can easily tell that the character is a girl and that she is over-sexualised.
On my games cover (Widow), you can easily identify that my character is male due to the appearance and the ‘male like clothing’. In my production there is a clear focus on masculinity which is presented through the character having a muscular body type and being ‘buff’. The clothes used on my character heavily signify about: war, action and aggression which is a typical masculine stereotype. Also, on the back over the cover my character can be seen holding a large sword which also signifies, aggression and fighting. In some ways this links to this quote, “As a girl growing up playing games I was always like, why do I have to play as a boy?” because of the typical masculine stereotype which is thought that “men are natural leaders and woman are natural nurturers” which is presented in many other video games such as Super Mario through the use of the ‘danzel in distress’ , being Princess Peach.
Nevertheless I believe, it has always been expected that men are more aggressive and dangerous than woman who are believed to be ‘innocent’ and safe to be around, which I don’t believe is 100% true.
If you haven’t played the game Metroid you would expect from the games cover that the main character is male due to the stereotype of men being the main protagonist and the fact that they are wearing a robotic, fighting suit. However the main protagonist is a female who is very sexualised when the robotic suit is removed, with her wearing skin tight clothing to easily reveal her butt and her body. This links to a study found by MartinaAngelica which states “Boys believe female characters are treated too often as sex objects” which I strongly agree with. This shows that even men believe that woman in video games are over-sexualised and think that woman should be less sexualised by games companies using clothing on woman to be less tight and less revealing. Summed up, Metroids front cover for the video game can radical as it goes against the patriarchal society.
In the game Tomb Raider (Lara Croft) the main protagonist is clearly visible as a woman but is very over-sexualised even on the main cover of the game with ‘Lara Croft’ wearing skin tight, tiny shorts to reveal her body. “Since Lara Croft blew up gaming culture in 1996 with the first instalment of Tomb Raider, her character has been so predominantly defined by her sex appeal.” As shown in this quote it is clear many viewers believe that Lara Croft is defined and judged through her body and looks that are made from pixels.
This is a gif of the evolution of Tomb Raider
In conclusion I believe game designers and companies need to re-evaluate the way woman and male characters are made in video games to prevent woman being sexualised by hetero-sexual men.
Male gaze – the perspective of a notionally typical heterosexual man considered as embodied in the audience or intended audience for films and other visual media, characterized by a tendency to objectify or sexualize women.
Voyeurism – an interest in observing unsuspecting people while they undress, are naked, or engage in sexual activities.
Patriarchy – a system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it.
Positive and negative stereotypes – a positive stereotype refers to a subjectively favourable belief held about a social group. A negative stereotype represent negative expectations about the out-group.
Counter-types – a positive stereotype and emphasizes the positive features about a person.
Misrepresentation – the action or offence of giving a false or misleading account of the nature of something.
Selective representation – when some groups of people are represented more in government than others.
Dominant ideology – denotes the attitudes, beliefs, values, and morals shared by the majority of the people in a given society.
Constructed reality – that people shape their experiences through social interaction.
Hegemony – leadership or dominance, especially by one state or social group over others.
Audience positioning – the techniques used by the creator of a text to try to get the audience to understand the ideology of the text.
Fluidity of identity – having the ability to change how you see yourself, the world, and your actions.
Constructed identity – when you have developed a clear and unique view of yourself and your identity.
Negotiated identity – when people reach agreements of “who is who” in their relationships.
Collective identity – the shared sense of belonging to a group.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10439457/tombraider.gif)
