- Hermenutic Code
- Proairetic Code
- Symbolic Code
Briefly define 'modes of address' [1]
Modes of address is the way in which a media product "speaks" to it's audience
Briefly define 'lexis' [1]
- Lexis is the vocabulary of language.
Which two theoretical perspectives have we studied that can be 'credited' to Stuart Hall? [2]
Stuart Hall created the Reception theory and the theory of encoding and decoding.
Media language
How can media language communicate multiple meanings? Make reference to at least two of the following; the Tide print advertisement (1950's), the WaterAid audiovisual advertisement (2016) and the Kiss of the Vampire (1963) film poster.
In your answer you must:
- Consider how genre conventions create meaning
- Consider how audiences can respond to media language
- Consider how media language incorporates various viewpoints and ideologies [30]
I believe that media language can very easily be used to communicate multiple meanings to an audience, through the use of many different genre conventions, ideologies and also the audience's readings of the media language. Different audiences can have very different ideas to eachother, therefore there is never going to be one strict interpretation of a media product that every single person can agree on. In this essay I will be exploring how these multiple meanings can be communicated in the "Kiss of the Vampire" film poster as well as the " Tide " print advert.
In addition to this, meaning is created in the "Tide" print advert through the use of the slogan "Tides got what women want". This slogan conveys popular beliefs of the 1950s, that women belonged in the home, therefore it targets women in particular, creating the meaning that this is what women need and the only thing they desire. As well as this the advert uses symbolic code, as the "Housewife" is shown to have a odd, loving relationship with the product. This symbolises how much one adores this cleaning product. Once more, other audience could read this advert completely differently and believe that the advert is not telling women to clean but to focus more on the idea of women being submissive and not very intelligent as the Housewife in this advert is suggested to live her life for cleaning and nothing else.
The "Tide" print advert has a target audience of women, specifically middle aged women who are married and home bound, otherwise known as housewives. Colloquial language is used to target these women and create an informal, friendly atmosphere, common phrases such as " suddsing wizz" shows how the advert is trying to almost chat to the audience in order to persuade them to buy the product. The use of the word "women" builds a sense of community, further emphasising these ideas of a product that is perfect for the average housewife. In addition to this, the mid shot of the two female characters used also emphasise this idea of community further as it shows two women chatting whilst doing washing, showing that cleaning is an activity which all women should take part in. This also alienates some women who perhaps don't enjoy cleaning, as they are told by this advert that it is something as all women take part in, and if you don't then you are an outcast. Alternatively, some audiences could perceive the language used in the advert to be evocative of racism. For example, the words "whitest" and "brightest" can convey common racist beliefs of the 1950s, which in tale that white people were more superior to black people.
On the other hand, in the "Kiss of the Vampire" film poster the title turns something sweet into something bad, as the two images of a kiss and a vampire create a narrative and almost a contrast between good and bad. Other audiences could read the title as a play on words to suggest that the kiss of a vampire is actually a bite.
In the "Kiss of the Vampire" film poster, we are presented with various ideologies and viewpoints, created by the producer as well as stereotypes of the time. For example, it was common belief of the time that women were weak and supposed to be submissive to men. Binary oppositions are used to challenge these stereotypes of women as we see beautiful women in white with aggressive expressions and gestures leading to an opposition of what we expect versus what we get. On the other hand, the man vampire on the right follows dominant ideology of the time that men are powerful, as his carries a women in his arm, almost protecting her through his stance. Furthermore this female character being carried is almost being sexualised, as she wears clothes that can be viewed as underwear or possibly seen as normal dress. Personally, I believe that the costume of this character is quite flimsy and she is depicted to be showing a lot of skin, which woulds have been frowned upon at the time and deemed very sexually suggestive.
As well as this, in the "Tide" advert, patriarchal ideology is presented to the audience, through the imagery of the love hearts in the advert. This creates the feel that The advert is very happy and jolly. The Housewife's face and body language shows how much she loves Tide. As well as this, the slogan is red and slanted, so this adds to the idea.
In conclusion, I believe that media language can be used to create multiple meanings which depend on the audience, or the individual themselves. I also believe that how you read these products, depends on factors such as your social status, gender, when you are presented initially with the product and much more.
Representation
In the WaterAid advert, the audience is positioned in a way that makes them feel empathy for the people in need. In this care the target audience is British people, which we see through the obvious binary opposition in the very beginning of the advert. In the first clip we see the location of a rainy country through the window of a relatively typical house, cutting suddenly to a very dry and barren country. The mise-en-scene here is supposed to make the audience take a look at their position and empathise with others in need such as major parts of Africa. The lighting in this shot is very bright, which evokes the idea that we, the audience need to recognise this problem and effectively make light of it. As well as this, the young girl, the main character of the advert, is shown to be wearing grubby hand me downs. This also makes the audience take another look at themselves and notice how privileged we are and how easily we can make a change for a young girl like this character. Later on in the advert, more young girls dressed like "Claudia" join, showing the audience how massive the scale of this problem is, as there are so many children that walk for miles for water everyday across the whole continent. Therefore the audience is positioned clearly as an on looker through the use of mise-en-scene throughout the advert.
The song sang in this advert is in English. This creates a more relatable atmosphere for the targeted British audience, which effectively makes the audience release that these characters are just like everybody else, with the same basic human needs but with a clear struggle. However this almost romanticises the whole idea of poverty, as in reality, the majority of Africa can hardly speak any English, let alone sing an English song. This idea is developed as the advert ends on a very positive note where the children do get water, which completely avoids the fact that companies like WaterAid have been running for many years on end and as the advert says " 650 million people still don't have access to drinking water" .
- Codes and conventions
- Camera work – framing, shot types, angle, position, movement
- Editing – pace, type of edits, continuity/montage Structure/narrative
- Sound – music/dialogue/voiceover
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