Representation Analysis

Axe Bodyspray commercial

 

The Axe bodyspray commercial is an underwhelming view of representation and places a certain gender community to be seen in a negative light. In other words, this commercial over sexualizes women and overgeneralizes exactly what women look like.  The first point I would like to talk about is the harmful view that the Axe commercial is placing on females. As seen in the video, the premise of the commercial is to show a group of "savage" and animalistic women chasing after a man who is spraying the Bodyspray. This clearly makes it seem that all women want is a man and that we are chasing towards them. Notably, this does not include any representation of the LGBTQ+ community and makes women seem like objects. Another point I would like to include is the lack of body representation in this commercial. As we can tell, the video shows women with thin bodies and a "perfect" example of what women are supposed to look like. This can be detrimental towards anyone who has body image issues or a young person growing up, causing psychological harm towards anyone. Additionally, another point is the lack of race/ ethnic representation in the video. Clearly, all the women in the video are white, completely disregarding people of color. The Axe Bodyspray commercial is a great example of a lack of representation in the advertising world and in race/ethnic, gender, sexuality and differing body type communities.

H&M "close the loop" Ad

In the H&M Ad, we can see a completely different and diverse view on representation and instead sheds a positive light on certain communities. First off, we do see more modern 21st century views on many different ideas and narrations of things that may seem like "breaking the rules" in the fashion world. The first community that is seen represented well in this commercial is the gender community, as males can be seen wearing skirts, makeup, etc. which many people may relate to, especially in this day and age. We also can see women dressing up in "men's clothes" and vice verse. This is extremely beneficial towards the gender community, as most of the time, these people are never well represented, such as in the Axe commercial. Not only is the gender community represented, but so is the minority ethnic/ race group, as well as religion. We see many diverse groups of people of color and other race groups. Additionally, the commercial is much more body representative of people, ranging from all body types. This also can be helpful as people may feel more confident in themselves and feel like they are being portrayed well. Finally, the commercial ends showing that we must recycle our clothes, which can be seen as a representation of people who do indeed care about our planet, which should be portraying all of us. The H&M commercial does a very good job of showing a range of diverse groups and communities, which is exactly what the world is like. 

Drama

Drama

 Stating that Drama is anyone's favorite movie genre is a widespread and universal statement. The Drama genre consists of a huge spectrum going all the way from "Historical Dramas" to "Romantic Dramas." Typically, the main target audience for Dramas are younger and older viewers typically consisting of females, due to its broadness. The main reason why I personally enjoy and love this genre is that it can depict anyone's life perfectly or similarly. 

 Although the genre is very broad, there are many ways or conventions that allow viewers to understand that it is in fact, a drama movie. The first primary technique derives from the content, such as creating characters that are relatable that the audience will show sympathy for. For example, the character, Christine, from Lady Bird  (Greta Gerwig) which many teenagers may relate to. Another important content technique is having the Character go through ups and downs, with some climaxes and "anti-climaxes", which is seen in La La Land (Damien Chazelle) in which the two main characters go through a rollercoaster of emotions in their relationship. 

 The Drama genre also uses production techniques such as lighting which sets a tone for the audience,  The use of a color palette, typically cool hues (blues, purples, etc.), and the scores and music typically alternative or mood genres. 

However, even if these techniques are all set in stone in a drama production, mainly what attracts a viewer is the use of a marketing team. Clearly, movie trailers, famous actors promoting their movie through the press and using an appealing movie poster is a huge factor in the marketing aspect, but particularly what is seen in drama movie marketing is the use of " Based on a True Story" or " Based on the famous novel " such as the movie Beautiful Boy ( Felix van Groeningen). 

La La Land 

The film La La land ( Damien Chazelle) beautifully embodies the essence of what the romantic drama genre is. In the first few scenes, the two main characters Mia, an ambitious actor, and Sebastian, a jazz player, meet when they get stuck in LA traffic ( realistic setting). The movie's love story begins when the two main characters see each other at a "1980s pop" party, where they begin to have chemistry. A few months go by and Mia and Sebastian have moved in together but have heated arguments. Five years later, Mia has married another man and she sees Sebastian at his own club, imagining what life would have been like if she would have stayed with him. The specific drama techniques that are used in the movie are the Character ups and downs ( Moving in together, getting into arguments, not ending up together), the color palette such as cool hues ( Blues expressing their sadness, and violet expressing inspiration with both of their aspiring dreams) and the classic marketing technique of the catchy "City of Stars" soundtrack. 

Good will hunting

The film Good Will Hunting ( Gus Van Sant) is a fantastic film that also demonstrates the drama genre in a beautiful way. The premise of the film is about a young boy by the name of Will Hunting ( Matt Damon), a genius who works as a janitor at MIT. A teacher by the name of Professor Lambeau challenges his students with a difficult math question and Will anonymously answers the difficult problem. Eventually, the professor catches him and acts as a mentor for him, and helps Will with a psych therapist named Sean, who will forever change his life. This movie can be interpreted by many as something they can possibly relate to and talks about mental health, which many enjoy and usually occurs in the drama genre. The tone of the movie progressively grows and the color palette is neutrals expressing sadness. 

Roma ( Alfonso Cuaron)

The devil wears Prada (David Frankel)

Once upon a time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino)

Love, Rosie ( Christian Ditter)

Bohemian Rhapsody ( Bryan Singer)