WaterAid representation

Question 1

Subverting stereotypes of charity adverts

Answer 1

• WaterAid said that it had ‘deliberately broken away from the traditional charity ad formula’ in response to the public’s desensitisation to traditional fundraising tactics.
• The stereotypical ‘victim’ is a charity ads archetype with which the audience would be familiar with in other charity adverts
• This advert gives a more positive representation of Claudia as a healthy, independent and musically talented woman to stand out to an audience who might otherwise have become immune to the emotive representations conventionally deployed by this advertising sub-genre

Question 2

Gender stereotypes

Answer 2

• The dress codes of the advert’s main female character includes a stereotypical knee-length skirt and a pink colour palette in both her top and shoes
• Her age is similar to age other women she walks past and those who join her at the water pump, this connotes that she perhaps had to ‘grow up too quickly’ due to the tough environment in which she lives.
• Subverting stereotypes with her independence displayed by through the wide-aged shot in which she is denoted on her own on a long empty dust road
• Men are seen doing more manual labour in the fields, relentlessly cutting down crops in the heat

Question 3

Theorists to apply: Stuart Hall’s representation theory

Answer 3

• The images of a dry, dusty African environment in which people may be struggling to survive form part of the ‘shared conceptual road map’ that gives meaning to the ‘world’ of the advert.
• The more positive audio codes then work to challenge these stereotypical representations, creating enigmas around why Claudia appears to be so positive. the solution to these enigmas is given to the audience once the water pump appears.

Question 4

Theorists to apply: Liesbet Van Zoonen’s feminist theory

Answer 4

• By assuming the stereotypically male roles of ‘protagonist’ and ‘providers’, Claudia is perhaps contributing to social change by representing women in non-traditional roles. The work involved in collecting the water is physically challenging (non-traditional for female roles) though the advert does reinforce stereotypes of women being associated with care of children.

Question 5

Theorists to apply: Paul Gilroy’s post colonialist theory

Answer 5

Paul Gilroy’s post colonialist theory consists of the idea that since the colonisation of countries by the British Empire we can still see evidence of this conversation within media products. This is where ethnic minorities are seen and presented as powerless, weak, the humanise, marginalised and “other”. Ethic minorities opposition to be victims in need of help where countries like England are put in a position of power. Within water right the advert opens with a British weather report highlighting is a plus amount of water that we get set in a modern household is in a medially cuts to this dry deserted area where Claudia is walking miles just a game water and then employs the audience at the end to donate to save these people this puts the audience in a position of power almost like a saviour victimising people from these areas almost ironically as they are not as fortunate and well off as countries such as England due to this colonisation in previous years.