Representation Analysis

The Tide commercial illustrated women as the stereotypical role of a sophisticated and innocent housewife. For instance, the Tide commercial had the mother wear pink to represent what society deems as feminine and proper, while the daughter contrasted the mother by wearing cargo pants and a camouflage t-shirt. Along with the costuming, the femininity of the mother was further supported by the living room both characters were surrounded by, which was decorated in pink. By combining the colors used within the set design, along with the attitude of the mother, the commercial argues that it is important for young girls and women to dress properly and accordingly. Therefore, if someone were to purchase Tide, then being clean would define them as the "ideal woman", while dressing more masculine is "dirty". In contrast to the Tide commercial, the H and M advertisement argues clothing is a form of expression, and that there is no definition of what is considered masculine or feminine.  For example, the H and M commercial depicts women wearing mens clothes, such as blazers or suits, and men wearing women's clothing, such as a skirt. 

In contrast to the Tide ad, the Axe commercial depicted women as sexual beings who crave the attention of men. The women presented in this ad were dressed in red bikinis and the shots throughout the advertisement were placed specifically to demonstrate their body parts, such as the boobs. By continuing to sexualize these women, Axe is establishing that using their product will guarantee women to surround men only for sexual desire, rather than actual connection. Through a combination of different long shots and high angles to depict the sea of women and the specific close up shot paired with a high angle for the single man, Axe continues to argue that men are significantly more dominant than women. In this particular case, the power that men have over women is sex, which is through the smell of Axe's new product. However, the H and M commercial debunks Axe's argument by presenting the idea that women and men are equal. By combining people of all ages and various backgrounds, H and M highlights that no matter what any man or woman wears, whether it is meant to be sexual or casual, no person is more dominant than the other, rather that each individual is unique to themselves and answers for themselves. 

Any form of media, whether it be a commercial or a film, can impact the way a person views their surroundings and the world. The Tide and Axe commercial both offer views that are outdated and harmful to society because they promote a redundant stereotype over women. If the media continues to portray women only through sexual or weak means, then society will never advance or progress to a world of inclusion. The H and M commercial, however, highlights different races, such as the Asian and Black community, those who are LGBTQ+, and people of different sizes. By expanding and presenting the types of individuals representing their brand, H and M is arguing for a progressive change in society by deeming that anyone can wear their clothing, and that there is no limit to expression or creativity. If the way in which media is produced can progress towards being positively inclusive, than those watching can take those extra steps to do the same. 

I'm A Theatre Kid: The Musical

 

Ever since the third grade geography musical where I sang about the history of Plymouth Rock, my passion for musical theatre began to grow into a dominating personality trait. Test me on my musical theatre knowledge, I dare you. Do you know what the longest song in Hamilton is? No, you don’t, but I do, it's Non-Stop. Who was the mastermind behind many classic musical productions including Cats and Phantom of the Opera? Easy. Andrew Lloyd Webber. While I could continue to talk about musical theatre for an endless amount of time, the ability to capture and recreate a musical cinematically is all the more fascinating. 

The musical genre utilizes the art of dance, song, and music to demonstrate and portray a story. While most musical films are adapted by their theatre counterparts, the genre’s origin in film dates back to 1927 with the release of The Jazz Singer, which was directed by Alan Crosland. Due to the film’s inclusion of synchronized sound, it revolutionized the use of sound for future productions, especially MGM Studios’ The Broadway Melody, which received the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1929. Continuing into the 1930’s until the 1950’s, the musical genre became an absolute success amongst audiences, naming this era of film, “The Golden Age of The Musical”. This era included a multitude of classic Hollywood films, such as Singin’ in the Rain (Donen 1952), The Wizard of Oz (Flemming, Cukor, LeRoy 1939), and 42nd Street (Bacon 1933). 

Target Audience/Marketing

The main drive behind the success of musical films are due to the audience in which they attract. Most musical films tend to appeal towards a younger audience (ages 8-16), such as High School Musical (Ortega 2006) or Descendants (2015) due to, as Gary Marsh explained to the New York Times regarding High School Musical’s immediate success, “[having] basic DNA of who we are and the themes we represent”. The similarity between the two examples mentioned are not only their relation in genre, but in the company that produced them: Disney. Disney’s main strategy when marketing their musical productions is through social media. When High School Musical aired back in 2006, the songs featured in the movie were released on music streaming platforms at the time, such as the IPod, and on RadioDisney, along with fifteen other stations.  Through this distribution tactic, Disney was able to give the production more recognition and it eventually gained over twenty-four million viewers at the time of its release. Along with social media, Disney tends to focus on nostalgia when promoting musical live action reboots of the original film, such as 2017’s remake of Beauty and The Beast or 2019’s reboot of Aladdin. The musical reboots contain the original music and plot with minor alterations, thus gravitating audiences of all ages, whether it is someone who is first introduced to the classic story, or an adult who wants to relive a tale as old as time. 

Genre Conventions

Musicals do not have a specified theme that they all follow, but most incorporate plots that force the character to need something, or struggle to conquer that want or desire. For instance, musicals such as Wet Side Story (Wise, Robbins 1969) or Moulin Rouge (Luhrmann 2001) display a love story between two characters, and the desire of these characters are usually each other. Into the Woods (Marshall 2014) follows the story of multiple characters in search of four main items: the cow as white as milk, the cape as red as blood, the hair as yellow as corn, and the slipper as gold. However, the most crucial aspect of a musical film that makes it unique from other film genres is the elaborate choreography. The smash Broadway musical Chicago was adapted to film in 2003, and due to Rob Marshall’s  elaborate choreography resembling the dark, edgy, and jazzy aesthetic of the 1920’s, it received the 2003 Academy Award for best picture. More recently, the 2017 musical production of La La Land (Chazelle 2017), which was choreographed by Mandy Moore, pulled inspiration from classic musical films such as Guys and Dolls and Bandwagon to create the head-to-toe choreography shot throughout the film. Since musical productions rely on music to tell the story, the different ballots and dance sequences tend to follow the mood of the scene or overall movie. Disney Channel’s Teen Beach Movie (Hornaday 2013) tends to utilize more percussion when a character from the surfer side is performing, and strings to resemble a rock and roll theme when a biker character is present. 

SAMPLES

The Greatest Showman: Directed by Michael Gracey 

    First premiering in 2017, the Greatest Showman is based on the true story of P.T Barnum, a showman who discovers a group of individuals with different physical appearances, and inspires them to be confident in themselves no matter who's watching. With the use of choreography and musical numbers, the film not only fits into the musical genre, but it is able to display the theme behind the story. For example, the film uses a multitude of long shots to demonstrate the ensemble of circus performers in order to depict their unity and growth of confidence despite the judgemental crowds that come to see their shows, as well as present their different dance breaks, most notably during songs such as This is Me and From Now On. Although, the unique aspect about this particular musical is the fast pace at which it is performed. Through the use of whip pan shots and various jump cuts, the energy of the actors as well as the choreography is amped, further aiding that joyful and hopeful atmosphere. Since the production is meant to mimic that of a musical theatre performance, lighting is an important aspect of the production, mainly when it is used as backlighting to copy a spotlight. While this is a musical film, it is based on true events, so the costuming, specifically Barnum’s top hat, or the 1800’s style dresses that the women wear in the movie aid in transporting the audience into the time period that this story takes place.

Hairspray: Directed by Adam Shankman

    Hairspray first premiered in the Neil Simon Theatre in 2002, and the musical film adaptation premiered in 2007. The musical delves into the segregated 1960’s where the protagonist, Tracy Turnblad, auditions to be a part of the Corny Collins Show, only to uncover the racist attitudes directed towards the black people as a part of the show. In order to accurately portray this period of time, the construction of the set, which includes the depiction of white classrooms, which are kept clean and well organized, and colored classrooms, which are isolated and not as well managed. Along with the environment that the students are surrounded by, the clothing differences between the white and black children match the circumstances that the two races face. The white children tend to have lighter and more colorful clothing, further insinuating their wealth against the black students, who tend to wear neutrally colored clothing, such as brown vests or kakki pants, which argues that they have less money than the white kids. Since the genre of this production is a musical, the accompanying music does resemble the social differences between the white and black people. For instance, in the number, The New Girl in Town, the tempo at which the music is played between the white performers and the black performers varies. When Amber and her friends perform, the tempo and style in which the song is performed is toned down, and has minimal choreography. When the scene switches to the black performers, the tempo sped up, and there was elaborate choreography. The tone in which the black performers sang also changed, mainly being inspired by jazz music or the blues. 

Mamma Mia: 2008

Rocketman: 2019

Sound of Music: 1965

Grease: 1978

Moana: 2016

Sources:

https://observer.com/2017/02/secret-behind-la-la-land-scene-stealing-choreography/

https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/11/movies/oscars/chicago-leads-oscar-nominees.html

https://www.palladium-media.com/2020/11/06/how-disney-uses-digital-marketing-strategy-successfully/

https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/arts/television/a-musical-for-tweens-captures-its-audience.html

http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Independent-Film-Road-Movies/Musicals-THE-RISE-OF-THE-FILM-MUSICAL.html

http://www.cinemablography.org/blog/the-musical-film-genre-capturing-the-magic-of-the-stage-on-the-screen

About Me!

Hi! My name is Sophia and this the blog where I will be discussing all things media! The most important aspect I want highlighted in this blog is the personal connection I want to make with the readers. As I share my opinion and information I find on certain topics, I want to make sure that both opposing sides of the argument are heard. 

Besides talking about media, today's post will be an introductory to me! So, hi, I'm Sophia and I love to watch TV....a lot of TV. Some my favorite TV shows are The Office, Boy Meets World, The Originals, The Vampire Diaries, and Legacies. While I do enjoy a variety of TV shows, I don't really have a specific movie that I would consider my all-time favorite, but I am a huge fan of the Harry Potter franchise (by the way, I'm a Hufflepuff, which is the most superior house).