Woman Aug 1964/ Adbusters 2016

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 Woman Magazine ( August 1964)

Adbusters (2016)

Woman is wholly conventional to it's time of release whereas Adbusters is wholly unconventional.

  • Media language (Barthes and Levi-Strauss)
  • Representation (Hall, Gauntlett, Van Zoonen, hooks, Gilroy)
  • Industry (Curran & Seaton, Livingstone & Lunt, Hesmondhalgh)
  • Audience (Gerbner, Hall)

Woman:

Woman's lifestyle magazine was published by IPC 

Weekly release schedule (3.5 Million copies every week.)

Mass audience 

Heterosexual, white, working class housewives (40+), middle-aged.  --> Sounds niche, but isnt. 

Woman magazine presents a simple, straightforward and basic ideology to it's mass audience. 

context:

2nd wave feminism is immensely popular.

End of the baby boomer generation

LSD/ Cannabis --> Hippies, sex. -->  The Pill. 

Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, Psychedelia Movement. 

Civil Rights Movement in the US

Important to recognise absolutely none of this is represented within Woman magazine's text. 

Woman magazine profits by having a very particular target audience (house wives- Middle aged women that cook, clean, look after their husband and children.)  --> Conservatism. --> Woman wants the world to stay the same, not challenge it's audience in any meaningful way.

Reinforcing patriarchal hegemonic ideologies. --> Dominant ideology based around male leadership.

Patriarchy -> Society led by men, the breadwinners, money earners, hard workers. 

Exemplary in the Crème puff advertisement which reinforces that women should wear make-up, and look good in order to look attractive to men. 

Alfred Hitchcock article -> Hitchcock article nearly entirely reinforces the objectification of women, oversexualises them.  -> 'Unravels the mystery of British Women' --> Represents women as what men decide them to be. 

'A present for your kitchen' advertisement deeply reinforces Women's role of belonging as housewives, to the kitchen. Domestic.  --> Looking after children, cleaning, focused on improving their household. 

By being constantly subjective to the ideologies reinforced in the magazine, they are cultivated. 


MES: Female model is hegemonically attractive, aspirational image of a younger women appeals to the target audience of older middle-aged housewives. -> Reinforcement from the producer of what the ideal woman /should/ look, and act like. 

modest, sophisticated outfit, light colours -> binary opposite darks worn by men in ad -> connotations of softness, goodly behaviour. 

MES:  the hegemonically attractive male model's black suit, white undershirt and tie are a stereotypical symbol of masculinity, business, as well as richness. This reinforces the conservative, patriarchal hegemonic ideology of Women's producers that they in turn are trying to cultivate. 


'Beauty at a moment's notice' with anchorage to the imagery of the male model affectionately looking towards the female model above it,  links the statement to patriarchal ideology,  the target audience is implored to look good for the male gaze. --> Proairetic code -> If you buy Creme Puff, men will care for you. 

The visuals of the series of photos of the male model approaching, reinforce men as active, and on the ball, this acting as a binary opposite to the female in the advertisement who is constructed as idle and passive. Doesn't change positions.

The actual creme puff product is hardly anchored as the focus of the advertisement, but rather it is selling the lifestyle, and the interaction between the man/ woman. -> 

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