James Bond Die Another Day

The James Bond franchise is a clear example of films objectifying females and forcing the audience to view females via the male gaze. The scene within 'die another day' when James Bond meets the character Jinx demonstrates my previous statement by the camera taking on the form of the male gaze.


The 'vignette' shot used on the camera shows a constructed representation of reality, Bond is holding binoculars and through the use of this we see the world through a masculine voyeuristic position and forces females to view the scene through the eyes of a male, it also makes the audience involved as it signifies the way he sees the world, therefore the audience watching sees it too. There are close up shots of her body which show fragmentation and objectification. The non diegetic sound played in the clip forces us to believe that she is over exaggerated and more attractive than she actually is. This is used for scopophilia and shows a patriarchal society.
The dialogue used in this scene also shows demonstrates this when she says 'i'm here until dawn' which suggests that she is trying to be seductive towards Bond and suggesting sexual undertones. At the end of the clip she also says 'now thats a mouthful' this also shows a clear sexual undertone and also creates hyper reality of conversation between the male and female.
The post production of this film has edited hyper reality by using slow motion as she walks out of the water. This makes the camera linger on her body longer for visual pleasure and shows us the way that males ideally view females through objectification. When she comes out of the water her makeup is still perfectly in place which is a false representation of what females look like. When she walks up to Bond she exaggerates her hip movements deliberately in order to try and attract his attention which creates a hyper reality as nobody walks that way. Mulvey's theory of 'visual pleasure' also supports this scene as women are being used as an erotic object for the characters in the film and for the spectators to view. The male audience watching this would get gratification whereas women would only watch the film through a secondary perspective and only be able to see themselves through a males eyes, therefore may learn models of behaviour from this scene that creates hyper reality.

Mulvey: American Beauty

Laura Mulvey's theory is shown through this clip of American Beauty as females are objectified. At the beginning of the clip we see the girls wearing revealing outfits which signifies that they are seen as objectified females. The camera zooms in on the male that's viewing the girl and uses a wide shot to show that he is fantasizing about her as there is nobody else there but him and the girl. This shows scopophilia through the males perspective. We can identify that this is an example of hyper reality as the female is not actually acting the way the male is viewing her therefore creating hyper reality as its through a masculine voyeuristic position which is in most cases the way women are expected to act. The camera uses extreme close ups on different parts of her body to show objectification and fragmentation and also follows tilts down the girls body as she undoes her zip. This supports Mulvey's theory that female characters are passive and are there to be looked at and for visual pleasure. As the girl opens her zip we see roses spilling out of her jacket, this signifies seduction as red gives connotations of love and lust. Mulvey suggests that the female character has no real importance herself, she is only there for how she makes the male feel, which is significant in this clip as the close up shots used on the males eyes and mouth addresses that the female is only there for scopophilia. This scene in the film also shows us a patriarchal society as the male is fantasising about the 'ideal vision' of the way women should act.

Narrative, Genre & Representation In James Bond Skyfall

Skyfall

In this clip of Skyfall there are repeated genre conventions that help identify that the film is a spy/action film. We can tell this by the mise en scene used, e.g. the clothing that Daniel Craig is wearing such as the black suit and the dark glasses indicates that he is a spy and gives a sense of mystery. The genre conventions used repeatedly throughout these type of films also help the audience to identify the genre and may gain gratification from this. Strauss's binary opposition can be easily identified in this clip as there is a rivalry between the hero (James Bond) and the villain (Raoul Silva). We can tell that James Bond is the hero because he tries to save the Princess (Severine) and that Raoul Silva is the villain because of the actions that he carries out. There are 3 of the 7 characters that Propp identified in narrative. The dialogue used also helps us establish who the hero and the villain is. The music that is continually used  through the 007 films is repeated in the clip to help the audience recognise and label him as the hero. The low camera angles that are used in this clip also help the audience to identify that Daniel Craig is the hero as the camera is looking up onto him, therefore giving him power and authority. Iconography is symbolised throughout this clip by the use of the guns, as they give repeated expectations of the type of genre. Todorov's theory could also be applied to this clip as there is an equilibrium (when James Bond and Silva are talking), the clip then moves to the disruption( Severine getting shot) which is the non equilibrium then the equilibrium is restored when James Bond becomes the hero and tries to shoot Silva. We know that the storyline of the clip will be linked to the narrative of action films because the repeated expectations that we see on screen help the audience identify certain features that they know they will see throughout watching the film.The narrative of this clip may be why certain people would be watching, e.g. for entertainment, escapism etc. This clip may also create enigma codes to the audience as to why and how certain events are happening to then be answered later on in the film which may also be why the audience may gain an interest in the film as they keep watching to find out what happens later on. James Bond is also being represented as the alpha male which is often a common stereotype of 'hero's' in films as they are expected to be brave and strong.

Representation Of Gender In James Bond Casino Royale

Representation Of Men:

In this trailer of James Bond men are represented as alpha males. They are shown to be strong and fearless as they participate in dangerous events, and are also shown to be violent and aggressive as there is various fighting scenes involving guns and weapons and also shows them destroying cars and killing people. They are portrayed as wealthy as all of the men in the trailer are dressed in suits and they all have expensive top brand cars. The trailer also suggests that men are gamblers as there is a scene that shows them in the casino playing poker, this is often a common stereotype of men, therefore gratifies the audiences beliefs. Daniel Craig is also sexualised in this trailer as the camera pans in on him walking out of the sea wearing swimming shorts, revealing his body. This goes against the norm as men are not often objectified in films and the media. He is also represented as a 'ladies man' and shows him in control of women and that he views them as vulnerable as he takes advantage to have sex with them, this is a very common trait that men are associated with by the public. Another uncommon representation of men in this trailer is that they are caring, there is a scene where Daniel Craig is protecting one of the women and hugging her whilst she cries, showing that he is caring towards her and not emotionless.

Representation Of Women:

Women are represented as intelligent and knowledgeable in this trailer as they are shown giving the spy's advice and information about the events that happen in this film, therefore making the men in this film able to do their job. They are also objectified as they are dressed in low cut dresses and are wearing red lipstick which gives connotations of love and seduction. This is widely expected and popular in films because of 'The Male Gaze' concluded by Laura Mulvey. They're also shown provocatively as they try to flirt with the men and view him as a sex object because of his body. However, women are also represented as glamorous as they are wearing formal long elegant dresses with expensive jewellery. The trailer also presents women as emotional and vulnerable as it shows they're fear and emotion towards the violence and also shows Daniel Craig to be in control of them and have power over them.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=xK7PbujRUOk

Niche and Mainstream Audiences

Describe Niche and Mainstream audiences with specific text examples.

Mainstream Texts

Mainstream texts are texts that have a large audience and are popular, they are often termed as 'broadcast'. Popular mainstream texts that have large viewing audiences are normally sit coms and soap operas etc. An example of a mainstream text is the News. This is broadcasted on channels such as ITV and BBC at peak times of the day, e.g. in the morning- 8pm before most viewers go to work, in the afternoon and at night,which most people have access too, therefore are able to watch. BBC can be classified as a mainstream channel because its not a specific channel you have to subscribe to in order to watch so is more likely to be popular with the audience.The News can be identified as a mainstream text because of the information that is being portrayed about events that are happening in the world, which a lot of people are curious about, therefore watch this programme to gratify their curiosity. The mode of address for the News is formal as its giving out information to the public about serious events that are happening, therefore has to have a formal register in order to satisfy the audience.

Niche Texts

Niche texts are texts that have limited/small audiences. The audiences that view niche texts can be influenced, dedicated and loyal. An example of a niche text is 'Science Britannica' which is shown on BBC Two. This programme is shown at 23:20-00:20, at which time most people are asleep.This text would gratify an audience that has an interest in science or could be students studying science at school/college etc. The people that would have an interest in this type of programme would either stay up to watch it as they have a personal interest in it or would record it. BBC Two choose to broadcast this programme late at night as they know this programme has a small/niche viewing audience, therefore would loose money if they were to show this at the prime of TV shows e.g. 7-8pm when most mainstream audiences would be watching TV. 

A2 Coursework Idea

Question: To what extent do the two different perfume campaigns Tom Ford and Chanel No5 differ according to the stereotypical representations of women in advertisements?

Induction Paragraph:
The representation of women through the use of perfume adverts can vary dependent on the audience of the advert. By looking at various theories that support this such as Laura Mulvey 'The Male Gaze' i will be researching this. The two adverts that i have chosen to look at both represent women in different ways, Tom Ford representing women as sexualised, exploited objects and Chanel No5 representing women as passionate and have the desire to be loved. The Tom Ford advertisement particularly focuses on women's body parts as there are many close up shots. This portrays that the audience should therefore identify her as a sex object, as she is being exposed. This particular advert uses sex to draw attention and desire to want to buy the product as the audience may actively believe that conforming to these actions and buying this product will attract the attention of males. However, the Chanel No5 advert addresses the idea that women are emotional yet glamorous as there are many shots of the woman in a pink expensive dress running away from the paparazzi. This advert focuses more on a woman's desire to be loved and to be looked after by the male, therefore focusing the advert around love and using the topic of love to sell the product to the audience. Both of these adverts are being used to the target audiences advantage to try and get the desired audience to buy the product. The theories that i will be using to support my research is Laura Mulvey 'The Male Gaze' and Gender Stereotypes. I will also be applying the hypodermic model while exploring this topic.