representation Flashcards
how are typical representations of people in charity adverts (especially those from ethnic minorities) shown?
- lots of charity adverts tend to represent people In quite a vulnerable, weak, sympathetic manner (especially when based within Africa)
- represent them in negative terms
- living in poverty
- suffering from famine/ drought
why is WA challenging conventional/ stereotypical charity adverts, and Gilroy postcolonial theory?
- WA discovered that audiences had become desensitised to typical representations of people in need
- decided to represent C and her community differently through positive representations
how is C and her community represented positively (ML)?
what camera shots are used?
- various close up shots of her smiling and laughing
- long shots of her and her community all together encouraging us to view them as a happy community
- visual codes of facial expressions and body language shows that they’re having fun together as part of a team
how is C represented negatively (ML)?
how does she tie into stereotypical representations?
- establishing shots of C walking alone, looks small within the frame
- represents her as isolated and alone
- ties in to typical representations of people from African third world countries
- ties into stereotypical representations of women as vulnerable and weak
- ties into representations of age, she is supposed to be a child so this establishing shot makes her look small and vulnerable within frame
how are representations of age shown in WA?
- younger children are observed as playing on swings, having fun, laughing
- then cut to shots of C walking past these children, she’s going to collect water
- connotes that in this country the young children are growing up fast, they are expected to start adult work and responsibilities
how is C and her community represented as stereotypically feminine?
what does it link into?
- wearing a skirt and pink top
- women portrayed doing laundry, cooking, childcare
- links into old fashioned gender stereotypes
how is C and her community represented as stereotypically feminine?
how does this reflect Van Zoonens ideas that women are often shown as being domestic?
- wearing a skirt and pink top
- women portrayed doing laundry, cooking, childcare
- links into old fashioned gender stereotypes
what would Bell Hooks say about C and her community being represented in this domestic way?
- might say that the reason Claudia and her female friends are represented in this domestic way, is not because of her gender, but also because of her ethnicity
- represented in a country within Africa where women are expected to do domestic chores whilst men do manual labour
how does WA challenge Van Zoonens idea that women are often shown as being domestic?
why does the camera track C?
- women viewed as strong, carrying heavy water buckets on their heads
- women are pumping water which looks physically demanding
- camera is tracking alongside C following her in her journey, suggests that women are important to this community, play a vital role in collecting water for the village
how is C represented as strong and empowered? (ML)
- close ups of C face dominate the frame, adds to her sense of importance
- visual codes are shown having confident facial expressions and body language, makes her seem independent and powerful young woman
how is Africa represented in WA?
is it stereotypically represented?
- ties into stereotypical representations of places within Africa
- dusty roads, fields in distance, dry landscape with very little greenery
- harsh environment
- people are isolated
- warm colour palette
why is Africa represented stereotypically? (Hall)
-used stereotypical representations to allow audiences to easily identify the location due to the shared conceptual roadmap of dusty African roads/ fields
why was it effective to use C name in marketing materials?
- the use of her name on the YouTube video and WA twitter pages adds to the sense of realism
- connotes to audience she is a real person
- makes representations feel as real as possible
- engages the ta to be more likely to donate money
how would Gauntlett view C?
what would it encourage audiences to do?
- C may be seen as a positive role model by some audiences who can identify with her
- view her as aspirational due to her capability to overcome a difficult background, to be able to provide for herself and her family
- this independent powerful representation might be a way of encouraging the audience to see what could happen if they donated their money
what factors will affect how audiences respond to WA?
-way audiences respond or read the advert will depend on factors such as their gender, age, ethnicity, cultural background, historical background
