social stereotypes

the character Moss from the IT crowd is a stereotypical science nerd. This is depicted through his RP accent, as well as the frizzy, unkempt hair, glasses, unusual dress sense and social awkwardness toward people. (He cannot speak to people, his only passion is science)

Mr Dawes from the film Mary Poppins is an extremely stereotypical working class English Victorian man. His clothes are dirty and ragged, he speaks in a (somewhat terrible) cockney accent and his face is dirty due to him being a chimney sweep

Colonel Dietrich from Raiders of the Lost Ark is an extremely stereotypical German Nazi in WW2 era Germany. This is depicted through his Aryan nature (blonde hair, blue eyes) His big, demanding posture and his emotionless and obedient tone.

Dr Evil from the Austin Powers trilogy is an extremely stereotypical antagonist (even though he is meant to be as it is a spoof film) This is signified through him being bald and scarred, having a notorious evil laugh, his main interest being "give me money or I will destroy the world" and most obviously, his name is "Dr Evil" for a reason

James Bond is a very stereotypical male protagonist and spy. He is strong, muscly, good looking and he towers over is enemies. He has slick back hair, he carries a gun around with him and he has an extremely good fashion sense, always being dressed for the occasion. This is a perfect example for a stereotypical suave superspy.

2nd advert analysis

The second advert I chose for my analysis is Charlie, by Revlon. (1973)The main thing that surprises me about this vintage advert is actually due to the feminist values that it portrays. This is not an advert of “if you wear this, it will make a man want you” or “this is a perfume to show you your place in society” (as seemed to be the common theme at the time) this advert broke past that social stereotype and did not try to over-exaggerate itself.

 The advert does not use some skinny, large breasted supermodel as its main focus, but uses someone who is just an ordinary woman walking down the street. There is no man staring at her and she is staring at no man, she is independent and free. She is at the centre of the camera, promoting the idea that she is no sex object and is a true, happy human being like everyone else.  Being at the centre of the camera signifies that she is important, and due to the normality of her character, Revlon is trying to explain that you are important.

The woman in this advert is wearing a hat, with long, flared trousers and what looks like a coat.  She is staring at the camera and smiling, symbolising that she is happy and also representing that if you wear Charlie, then you will be happy too. It is a counter stereotype to the idea that “a woman’s place is in the home” She is walking outside, away from the house which represents the fact that she is a free woman. She also walks with big, long strides, which suggests that she is confident and believes in herself, which I think is one of the other main messages of the advert. It is post-feminist, and it is trying to signify that you should be happy with yourself, and what better way to do that than to wear Charlie?

The actual text of the advert reads “Charlie is a sexy, gorgeous young smell and full of surprises, just like you”. This is significant because it further signifies the idea that this “Charlie” is a girl just like you. The likening of the attractive smell of the perfume to whoever is reading the advert is signifying that it doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like. You are an ordinary girl, and you are just like Charlie. It is “a most original fragrance”, which also signifies how modern the perfume really is. It is not following old values, it is original

It is interesting to see this advert compared to the Lynx Unleash the Chaos advert (2012) The lynx advert represents the power of love in a very extreme way, which means it still represents that “if you wear this perfume, women/men will fall for you” (whereas Charlie signifies that you should just be yourself) This is interesting because Charlie is a much older advert than Unleash the Chaos, and was created at a time of extreme sexism towards women, whereas when Unleash the Chaos was created, it is a time of much less sexism, but it still portrays the idea that wearing this perfume will make people fall in love with you, which is the opposite of the message of Charlie, whose message is essentially to "be yourself" and that you do not need a man to forfill your wildest imagination. If you wear the perfume, then you will be strong, independent and free to be yourself.

Analysis of Lynx Unleash The Chaos (2012)

The advert I will be looking at will be the lynx advert for Unleash The Chaos. (2012) This is a rather amusing advert, created to try to sell their latest deodorant Lynx Attract. (A clever play on words as ) The main narrative arc of the advert is that boy falls for girl or girl falls for boy, which results in a chain reaction of slapstick proportions.

In the past, Lynx advertisements  have offered sterotypical representations of masculinity and femininity (gender relations, in particular). This advert breaks the mould. Formerly,  the Ad executives at lynx have always faced controversy due to their usually stereotypical, sexual portrayals of women such as women being saved by a ‘knight in shining   armour’ or given an extremely miniature role of just being the ‘prize at the end of the road’. Whereas, in this advert the women is not showed in an extremely sexual manner or the prize of the man, as they are both treated equally in the advert. (I.e. they are both looking for each other) The men in the advert are not particularly commanding or depicted as physically strong, they are just, well, people, which is exactly like the women in the advert. One sex is not regarded as superior; they are both regarded as equal. This is further developed in the fact that in most of the shots where a duo is seduced by each other, you see both of them together, and both people are in the centre of the camera, outlining that they are both important, not just one of them.

The main message of the advert seems to be that lynx attract is so strong and incredible that it will make you completely lose your train of thought when you find someone wearing it, which may (or may not) result in the complete destruction of civilization and possibly mass manslaughter. (due to people forgetting what they are doing, eg driving) The deodorant will enchant your partner so much, that it will truly ‘unleash the chaos’. (which really isn’t an ideal message to be sending about your product, but hell that’s just me)

Overall, I think that this advert is essentially parodying the extremes of being attracted to someone, in this case one person falling for another leads to disaster as cars crash and trees set on fire for some reason. Lynx is essentially trying to reinvent themselves by using an idea that is totally unique and unlike anything they have done before to try and increase its target audience. (as an advert which has elements of humour, would be much more successful than one completely based on boy falling for girl) HOWEVER, despite the fact that they tried to shy away from their usual themes, there was a shot where young sporty women emerge from a bus wearing extremely tight and revealing red thermals, which gives off some form of sexuality of women due to the colour red usually being associated with love. Finally, to further promote their product, lynx includes logos of social networking websites, where people will be able to ‘follow’ the product and if necessary, find out more information about it.