MEDIA KOTV CONTEXT AND ANALYSIS

When was the poster produced and therefore what do you have to especially consider when analysing the context of the KOTV print text?

The poster was produced in 1963 - so you need to consider what was happening at the time - especially in relation to the role of women in society.

What did the 1960’s introduce for women and what did that allow them to be? What was the response of advertisers?

The 1960s introduced more jobs that were available for single, young, women - allowing them to be something other than a mother or wife. Advertisements celebrated women’s new freedom - making bids for their cash

What did many women go into? - statistics

What did this give them and how did it change them when they emerged?

Many women went into higher education. In 1962 there were over 26000 girls at university. Living away from home they experienced intellectual and economic freedom, many emerged with greater expectations

What did Elizabeth Sidney so about Education and Suppression?

‘If you want to supress women, you really mustn’t educate them’

What were advertisements criticised for in the 1960s?

Many advertisements came under heavy criticism for offering a limited view of what women could achieve

What did Betty Friedan say in relation to a women’s role?

‘Women are seen solely as a man’s wife, mother, love object, dishwasher and cleaner, never as people’

When did the Women’s Liberation Movement appear and what were some responses?

Towards the end of the 1960’s women’s rights were hot news. Women were mobilised. The Women’s Liberation Movement was born.

To many their actions seemed shocking or extreme.

Some of their demands struck a chord with ordinary women, in particular the demand for equal pay and opportunities.The Women’s Movement emphasized unfair treatment at home and in the workplace - unequal pay for example

Advertisers were unsure how to react to the Women’s Movement. Some thought that Women’s Liberation was okay as long as they were home in time for their husbands

What are 2 social and political contextual points?

1. The 1960s were seen as the start of the Women’s sexual Liberation, aided by events such as the introduction of the contraceptive pill in the 1960s.

2. More women than ever were joining the paid workforce and sixties feminists were campaigning for equal pay rights, an end to sexual harassment and more equality between men and women in wider society - In America Equal Pay Legislation was passed in 1963!!!

What 2 stereotypes are both encoded in this film poster?

The ‘older’ stereotype of women as passive victims of men’s violence and the more modern ‘male fears’ of women challenging male dominance are both seen to be encoded in this film poster

What 3 other things contextually happened in the 1960s causing it to be a decade of great change in British society?

1. austerity

2. growth

3. movements

1. Following a post-war period of austerity (a period of economic difficulty created by the government to reduce public spending), the economy was growing and employment rates were high.

2. This led to a growth in the consumer goods market, an increase in the number of people travelling abroad and an explosion of popular culture

3. Socially, traditional boundaries of social class and gender were shifting and the feminist and civil rights movements had a significant impact on British Society

What did Betty Friedan say in her book ‘The Feminine Mystique’?

“The images of women that emerges from this big, pretty magazine are young and frivolous, almost childlike, fluffy and feminine, passive, gaily content in the world of the bedroom and kitchen, babies, sex, home. Surely the magazine does not leave out sex. The only passion; the only pursuit; the only goal a women is permitted is the pursuit of a man. It is crammed full of food, clothing, cosmetics, furniture and the physical bodies of young women. But where is the world of thought and ideas, the life of the mind and spirit? In the magazine images, women do no work except housework, work to keep their bodies beautiful and to get and keep a man” Betty Friedan

Why did Betty Friedan write this book? In response to what?

Betty Friedan wrote this in response to the expectation that caring for children and husbands was enough to make a women happy. She specifically called out women’s magazines and advertising for narrow representations of women.

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS: What is the function of the Capitalised, Serif font of the title?

The capitalised, Serif font of the tile creates connotations linked to that of the vampire film genre with its ‘wooden’ styling - referencing the vampire’s coffin or the stake needed to kill him perhaps - and the blood dripping from the letter V’s fang

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS: What is the function of the ‘painted’ main image?

The use of a ‘painted’ main image is conventional of the films of the period and also links to Christopher Lee’s vampire but the fact that it’s in colour - anchored by the text ‘In Eastman Colour’ - connotes that this is a modern telling of an older story

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS: What is the function of the gloomy colour palette?

The gloomy grey, black and brown colour palette reinforces the film’s dark and scary conventions while the red highlight colour draws attention to the attacking bats, the vampire and the blood -all key visual signifiers for the genre

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS: The conventionally listed stars:

Conventionally, the stars are listed with the most highly paid male actor first, and then in order of fame.

REPRESENTATION ANALYSIS: How does costume use in the poster reflect the representations of women?

Both women are wearing pale dresses made from light materials, this dress code serves to reinforce their femininity by highlighting the curves of their bodies and revealing the flesh of their upper chests and arms

REPRESENTATION ANALYSIS: How does the gesture codes of the two women differ and how does this effect the way they are represented? - two points

The gesture codes of the woman on the left are that of the stereotypical passive victim of ‘the monster’, his power is highlighted by the fact that he is holding her by just one arm.

Baring her teeth and with her arm raised almost fist-like as she is being bitten by the bat, the second women’s gesture codes are more aggressive and the submissive pose of her ‘male victim’ (including the way he is on his knees with his head back and throat exposed) represents her in a non-stereotypical dominant way.

REPRESENTATION ANALYSIS: How is suspense created surrounding the connoted relationships and death of the vampire fate?

Suspense is created through enigmas surrounding the relationship of the male and female vampire (emphasized by the ‘kiss’ in the title) and the fate of their two victims

REPRESENTATION ANALYSIS: How is the male vampire represented?

The vampire himself seems to be uncharacteristically fearful in his gesture codes, with his arm thrown across his body in a defensive gesture, perhaps protecting himself from the female vampire.

What is Gerbner’s Cultivation theory - in more detail - ?

What does cultivation reinforce?

The idea that exposure to repeated patterns of representation over a long period of time can shape and influence the way in which an audience perceives the world around them - i.e. cultivating particular views or opinions.

The idea that cultivation reinforces mainstream values - dominant ideology.

What are the stages of Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory?

Steady exposure to media violence

It cultivates a lack of feeling among viewers

Desensitisation - numbing

Overtime it can affect behaviour and attitudes

What is Mean World Syndrome

The more television people watch, the more negative and pessimistic their view of the world becomes

How can you challenge Hall’s theory in the KOTV poster?

The representations in the poster challenge Hall’s theory that stereotypes simplify the representations of groups of people by people in positions of power, as the representations of gender in this poster are more equal than that of previous texts - reflecting social change.

How can you challenge Gauntlett’s theory in the KOTV poster?

I feel that the KOTV poster rejects Gauntlett’s theory that older texts only represent simple representations of gender, because it offers some typical representations of women - as sexualized - but it also challenges the dominant ideology of woman as victims as both villains and victims are male and female.

What 4 theories can you apply to the KOTV poster?

1. Gauntlett’s theory of identity - we use the media to construct our identity and in the past representations were too simplistic to do this.

2. Gerbner’s cultivation theory - Repeated representations can affect how audiences view the world

3. Neale’s Genre Theory - Genres are marked by repetition and difference and change overtime to reflect social change

4. Hall’s theories - 1. Stereotypes often tend to occur when their are imbalances in power . 2. Audiences read texts in either a preferred, negotiated or oppositional way

Unseen Text Analysis - ‘Pearl’ and comparisons to KOTV: How are women represented? Does this challenge or reinforce dominant ideology?

Woman are represented as being capable of violent acts, mise en scene - the axe and the gestural codes of the female vampire. This challenges dominant ideology.

Unseen Text Analysis - ‘Pearl’ and comparisons to KOTV: How is costume used to represent women? Does this challenge or reinforce dominant ideology?

Stereotypical representation of femininity are represented in both. Pearl’s old fashioned costume and the bow in her hair and the silky, flowing dresses in KOTV. This reinforces dominant ideologies

Unseen Text Analysis - ‘Pearl’ and comparisons to KOTV: How are men represented? Does this challenge or reinforce dominant ideology?

Men are not represented as dominant in either, not present in Pearl and being attacked in KOTV. This challenges dominant ideology of masculinity.

Unseen Text Analysis - ‘Pearl’ and comparisons to KOTV: How might women be represented to reinforce beauty stereotypes?

Though both women are represented as violent protagonists, they are young and slim, conforming to beauty standards viewed as aspirational both in the 60s and in the present day.

Unseen Text Analysis - ‘Pearl’ and comparisons to KOTV: How can you apply Gerbner’s theory?

Therefore Gerbner’s theory can be applies as the key representation of what is an important part of being a women is reinforced - BEAUTY