AD ANALYSIS/ADBUST - ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS - Due Tues 9/23 (5 points)

In American society (and increasingly in other Western and non-Western countries), children and adults alike are being socialized by the mass media as well as by parents, peers, schools, and other institutions. Media and advertising are particularly interesting mediums because they are meant to turn a profit. Large amounts of money are spent to induce you, the consumer, to have certain emotions and to feel certain needs, which persuade you to buy (and be) certain identities. Advertisements can be viewed as very effective tools of socialization that suggest the statuses that are available within a society. They can also give insight into the values of a society. Check About-Face.org as a resource for further reading on this topic.



!!! For this assignment you are asked to critically examine an advertisement in a popular magazine, a scene from a music video, commercial, film or TV show). If you choose to analyze a print ad or to create an adbust, scan it (or come to my office hours Tuesday 1 - 2:30pm to scan) and post to the blog. If you choose a scene, take image grabs of relevant shots (still frames), and post the images with your analysis. POST BY 2:30PM on Tuesday, 9/23!

Consider the following questions and write a 300 (or more) word post, OR, create (and post or bring to class) an ADBUSTER (with 150+ word analysis) using the prompts below:

Questions to consider for your short analysis post:
1) What magazines (or video or show) did you examine? At what audience is each directed? How can you tell?

2) What roles in society are defined by these ads (video, program)? Are they represented in any way that defines who (i.e., race, class, gender, age, ethnicity) should be in these roles?

3) What emotions are being elicited by these ads (video, program)?

4) How is beauty portrayed in these ads (video, program)?

5) What do these ads (video, program) have to say about gender? What gendered norms are reinforced by these ads (video, program)?

6) How might these ads (video, program) be different from ads (images) of the past? For example, can you see changing attitudes about men and women's work? Have ideas of beauty shifted—even in your lifetime?

7) Do you think these images contribute to the gendered "problems" of eating disorders, sexual victimization, or cosmetic surgery? What would today's author have to say about what you found?

ADBUSTING EXAMPLES:





Here are some other examples:
- Adbusters spoof ads
- an Intro course called "Gender, Power and Everyday Life" from the U
- Feministing has some in "Fun with Feminist Flickr" category, check it out

SHOT BY SHOT ANALYSIS EXAMPLE:



In Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty, this video clip clearly shows....


[insert analysis here]


[insert analysis here]


[insert analysis here]


[insert analysis here]


[insert analysis here]


[insert analysis here]


[insert analysis here]



(TECHNICAL NOTES:

* When you upload images using this blog, the code is automatically put at the top of your post. You can cut and paste code anywhere you'd like image to appear in your post!)

* Mac Users, use the FREEWARE widget, Screenshot Plus and PC users can try Screenshot Pilot *MAKE SURE YOU RUN ANTI-VIRUS WHEN YOU DOWNLOAD SOFTWARE!]

Here are examples of the way a Feminist Film Studies class analyzed film scenes shot by shot (look at these for form, rather than content, meaning they are using key terms/concepts of film, rather then the 7 questions I've posed above).