This image is a high fashion ad (Dolce & Gabbana) that displays a gender powered and is focused on white, wealthy males as their audience. It looks like the man is about to beat the woman with the other men intently watching, almost like it interests/amuses them. This ad offers the assumption that the woman is about to be the target of a form of violence or assault. This is representative to American society and the abuse that men inhibit on women. I feel like this ad is suggesting that rich, while males can get away with criminal acts (such as raping a women). Society knows this is going on but tends to stand back, not doing or saying too much about it. Today in the media there are many images that express a double meaning. Yes, Dolce and Gabbana’s models are wearing their clothes, but what the models are doing expresses a much more deeper meaning. I feel that men inhibiting violence upon women has become such a common topic that people are immune to the effects it has. At the beginning of the evolution of images in the American media, sex was mainly what sold to it’s audience. The wetness of their bodies can be tied with part of the male fantasy world. Sexual images still do sell, however, violent sexual images have become incorporated in the media more so today. In a number of the ads women are portrayed as weak and fearful.
This image portrays the stereotype that whites are what make up the upper class in American society, and therefore, this ads focus group is upper class white people. The purpose of this image is to attract people to this expensive and high class jewelry item, suggesting that if they have this then they will look even more sophisticated and wealthy. It is easy to assume that the ad designers imagine those who would buy this item as people of elegance, sophistication, wealth and that are white. Just by owning this device, a person reinforces ideas about elegance and wealth. Also due to the fact that Audry Hepburn, an American icon who just so happens to be an upper class, white women, is juxtaposed to an expensive jewelry item symbolically ties there two images together. 
This image portrays racial power. The position of the white male in the center of black males bowing before him, which clearly suggests the white males power and superiority over them. This image’s audience is the white race and it ensures their upper class position as well as their executive positions within the workforce. It shows just how split American’s are racially. It almost seems that Intel is showing America that race does matter within their workforce. Posing blacks as slaves has been long engrained into the people of America, that seeing this image does not stray too far from America has already seen.
The image portrays the ideal body of a woman and only that. In American society this ideal body type as well as the racey clothes brought about by the male fantasy world (underwear and tights), make up the majority of media images. Ignoring the women’s face and only focusing on her backside just goes to show that that’s what American culture tends to focus on today. Disregarding her face represents a lack of respect for women and what men truly have accustomed pay attention to, which is women’s bodies sexual manner. Women are used as sexual objects and thus this portrayal of them is carried over into American society. According to the video Dream Worlds II, 90% of media images constructed my men are their personal sexual dreamlands. The caption in this ad “It’s the lifestyle” indicates the American lifestyle is a more sexual one with women being easy contorted to male fantasies. It is outrageous to think that this image that is advertising hair products only shows the women’s backside, it does not even show her hair. With this in mind, we can see what catches people’s attention today.
I'm going to have to respectfully disagree that the first picture is directed towards wealthy, white males. I think that the conflict with this picture is largely due to the fact that the line between sexual fantasy and gang rape are blurred. I think that the ad is directed towards women since the shoes and dress are in the foreground of the picture. If this is the case, then the sweaty men surrounding her are supposed to exude sexuality; she is essentially getting her pick of all of them.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand though, the somber expression on her face as well as the emphasis on the man's muscles perhaps suggests that he is asserting his physical dominance over her, while the men around them simply choose to watch.
I do think that this serves as an interesting metaphor for rape however. Like you mentioned in your analysis, our society largely chooses to look away from this kind of crime (referring to rape). Perhaps the men surrounding the woman are simply choosing to look and refusing to do anything about the act of violence happening before them.
Caitlin,
ReplyDeleteEach of these analysis are clear, sharp and hit issues directly--good eye! I like the way you directly speak to the intersectionality of gender, race, class and historical periods that are being mimicked and echoed in each of these ads.
Have you considered the possibility of what kinds of 'work' do the fusion of gender-race-class 'do' in terms of training cultures of consumers? How do old ideologies get re-generated among younger generations who do not have a good grounding (yet) in alternative versions of the nationally-prescribed history/narratives?
These are great posts; take time to proof them a little more closely for syntax, spelling, punctuation to put your best foot forward, as the saying goes. Your thinking and analysis is strong, and can be foregrounded ever more firmly with refinements at the sentence level.
M.Tamez