This advert consisted of many representations such as sexuality, gender, race and marketing strategy. Maybelline’s usual adverts include only women advertising products, but in this advert it uses their first ever male to represent their products.

Manny MUA, who is a social media makeup influencer is one of two main characters in this advert, there is a constructed reality of him being extremely high pitched and ‘feminine’, illustrates a selective representation of the ‘gay male’ and how the advert wants the audience to see ‘gay’ men. This both could be positive and negative representation of sexuality and the dominant ideology of the gay male as it represents men in the makeup industry which has been formally dominated by women.

Both of the influencers in this advert were chosen due to their big audiences and fan bases not only promoting them and their brand but Maybellines brand and the makeup fans that follow the influencers.

The shot of the actors in the advert using the mascara informs the audience how the mascara is applied and the result of it. When it is applied it seems to also apply a sense of luxury and beauty to the buyer, for example the transition from not wearing the mascara and being dressed ‘casual’ then to putting the mascara on and looking beautiful and ready for the red carpet.

The diversity of gender and race furthermore shines a lights and ticks a box if you will on this advert and product not being directed at one specific group or type of person. As in the previous advert we focused on ‘score’ it was focused on middle class, straight white men. In comparison with this product which is for everyone.

Maybelle is known for their cheesy taglines/straplines this adverts strapline ‘big shot lash like a boss’ is purposely cringe to be memorable to the audience, as something boring would not be remembered in a consumers head.

At the beginning of the advert the characters are dressed in ‘plain’ ‘regular’ clothing, and as the advert progresses and the product which is like a boss mascara is revealed their outfits become grand and eye-catching. The gold glitter represents importance and fun. The gold outfits also remain in the audiences mind and therefore brings more attention to the product. The gold colour scheme again remind the buyers of a luxury and expensive aesthetic.

The mise-en-scene contributes the theme of male hierarchy and power over females, due to the position of the women looking like they are worshiping him. Their revealing outfits suggest that the male wants them exposed for his pleasure.

The trees and cheetah print referee to them being in a jungle. The sort of stretcher he is on also links with male heirarchy. The advert slowly tells a story with a beginning middle and end, and that before he used the product he was ‘greasy’ and smelt bad also not getting any attention from women and after buying and using the product, he is now transformed and he’s loved by women and worshipped which men want.

This advert communicates a negative view and opinion of sexuality, the tag line ”let what you’ve always wanted”, translates that the product only attracts women, this is demonstrated when the women are overjoyed when the mans hair is perfect as a result of using the product. The advert informs the gay community that this product only attracts women and it would be pointless to use it. The main aim of this product is not to look good to yourself but to the opposite sex, which for the LGBTQ community is useless.

The products reactionary representation of men and women link to the male hierarchy over women in the media and daily life. The date of this advert, 1963 explains the sexist reasoning behind it. The ideology of women being stay at home mothers and the stereotypical women cook and clean was still very much distinctive. Therefore advertising a product that shows women working hard to please the man, ie, holding him up on the stretcher teases the men that the product brings this. The distrigarding focus on women shows them in a negative and gullible light, and that we would do anything for them as long as they are happy. The only aspects of women that the advert show are those that are favourable to men are their bodies and their submissive tendencies, illustrating the voyeuristic tendencies of the patriarchy. 

Furthermore less obvious aspects of representation are lack of the racial variety, there are no asian or black actors in the advert. This creates a message that the product is not for them and only for white people. The racist and lack of black representation was highly problematic in the time this advert was made. The cultural appropriation is highlighted by the exotic setting which reflects the colonialism when white people exploited and stole land from the black natives once again reinforcing the white supremacy idea.

In conclusion the variety of negative and morally wrong representations to the public in this advert shows that time have changed since 1963. The advert highly celebrates male patriarchy and the disregard for women and that their only meaning is to please and assist. The lack of representation for sexuality and race effectively creates a box for a desired human/person, white, straight and arian.

In this essay I will be discussing the reactionary representation of the video games, Tomb Raider and Metroid. I wish to apply a semiotic analysis to both games and thereby present the study of signs and their impact on how we consume the games, characters and their actions.  

In ‘Lara Croft- Tomb Raider’, the dominant signifier, Lara Croft’s image on the front cover directly determines the way the audience will interoperate her. Her reactionary body shape communicates a highly sexualized design to appeal to straight men, who statistically are most likely to play games that include a sexualized female lead. The implication of voyeurism in games including exposed and venerable female characters, rockets product sales. Laura Mulvey said “The ‘male gaze’ is something that sexualizes women by empowering men and objectifying women. It could be argued that Lara Croft defies these stereotypes by embracing the main hero in this storyline but the use of her tight, radical outfit accentuating her thin figure could further empower men in believing they can dominate and overpower a female physically, furthermore, advancing the ideal of negative misogyny. Ferdinand De Saussure’s ideology is still portrayed in today’s world with the idea of the signifier, being the object itself and signified, being the meaning of the object, relates with her depiction of the guns she holds, which is Linking previously to the topic of the dominant signifier herself, contradicting the radical proposition of women being inferior and venerable, as she’s positioned holding guns ‘ready for attack’, Which is not conventionally the image a women would withhold in a game that involves dangerous situations without a male to come and save her. She is not in the usual ‘damsel in distress’ circumstance, she is the ‘hero’. Linking to the ideology of Propp’s theory. The fact she is the main signifier to a male dominated played game is radical as it goes against the patriarchal society, but equally argues that she is used in a dismissive and sexist manner in order to make the game more enjoyable to straight men.  

In addition, from the patriarchal depiction that Lara croft implies, the age rating of this game, which is 12, can be discussed in a range of opinions. The unrealistic rendition of the character holding and using guns regularly implies a violent aesthetic to the game, which means that the young video game players who are an impressionable demographic, are exposed to the usage of guns, which could harm these susceptible youth gamers. The reality of depicting a female in this way which is radical and sexualized additionally progresses a stereotypical and unconventional picture in young players minds giving them a damaging and sexist image of a women.  

Metroid translates a positive depiction of femininity. The first interpretation of Metroid the cover is generally stereotypically targeted towards boys, but under further research the dominant signifier appears as a female, which positively reveals that the game makers are promoting a non-gender specific target audience. 

   The Metroid cover contains a dominant signifier, main image of a female character who is Samus Aran disguised as a robotic figure Metroid, links to themes of science fiction, robotics and combat. The symbolic signifier of the white, smoke-like effect paired with Metroid, the dominant signifier, connotes an aesthetic of independence the character has on her own. The Metroid character is commonly most associated with more masculine themes and would stereotypically be depicted as a male. Evidently, this character counteracts this stereotypical representation, demonstrating a radical presentation. Toril Moi’s analysis of the distinction between female, feminine, feminist categories of representation in 1987 as the build of the protagonist appears muscular and broad which are characteristics which have been collectively recognized as masculine. The subject of Countertypes not reflecting the real world, this reflects the quote – “what often gets lost in the exhausting, furious online discourse around representation is real-world experience” from an article: ‘Why diversity matters in the modern video games industry’. Along with representation of gender, the concept can relate to a lack of representation of different identities such as someone’s race, sexuality, ethnicity and personal background.  The industry’s lack of realistic representation of women, it also lacks diversity. However, at the end of the game, Samus Aran is revealed to be wearing a blue body suit, in which her body is majorly exaggerated and enhanced, linking to the radical representation of Lara croft, furthermore, representing the sexualization of women in the video game industry.  Presenting an idealistic and non-realistic body type. This refreshing presentation of a women with an alter ego of this male dominated and stereotypical robot is snatched away and the game, linking into the archaic ways of appealing to the Male Gaze as a sales strategy.   

To conclude the summaries of both ‘Lara Croft, Tomb Raider’ and ‘Metroid’ both include signifiers relating to power, strength, misogyny and masculinity which are juxtaposed using two female characters. Even though these characters create a strong, independent figure for Younger female players to aspire to, the radical representations of their bodies represents the characters as sexual objects for male pleasure which is not a positive aspiration.The common utilization of women in media being included as profit-makers, according to Jean Kilbourne on her observations of women in advertising does not ‘directly cause violence against women but they normalize a dangerous attitude’ which births the problems of gender discrimination- Quote from her TED X conversation. The overall image of females and their body in media specifically the video game Industry is negative and needs to be improved due to the unrealistic portrayal of the female body, which negatively encourages and teachers young impressionable girls what their body should look like, and how they should present themselves to please Men.