How Women Are Portrayed in Lynx and Cosmo Essay

‘Men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at’ – John Berger, ‘Ways of seeing’. For my research investigation I intend to explore to what extent specific media products use similar representations of women to appeal to their target audiences. The examples I have chosen to focus on are the iconic, international women’s fashion and lifestyle magazine ‘Cosmopolitan’ and Lynx’s controversial ‘beach campaign’. I will therefore be exploring what similarities and differences they embed due to their oppositional target audiences and content. Throughout my research the main theory I will be linking to my texts is that of Laura Mulvey, her theory explores ideas of sexism and male gaze within the media industry. Hearst the publisher of Cosmopolitan describes the magazine’s target audience as ‘Fun, Fearless Females’, the alliteration of the ‘F’ sound connotes a sense of attitude and fierce behaviour. Alongside the brand proposition ‘celebrates†¦a passion for life and inspires young women to be the best they can be’ consciously supporting women by portraying a sense of empowerment and ambition. In contrast, Unilever, owners of the Lynx brand state their brand prospect is that all their products are ‘designed to give our customers the edge in the mating game’ establishing itself as ‘UK’s leading male grooming brand!’. Cosmopolitan are iconic for telling their audience about two main topics; lifestyle and sex. Just by looking at the magazine covers, it is clear that these two topics dominate. I researched the April 2012 cover of Cosmopolitan, it follows the generic conventions of a typical magazine format for a women’s fashion and lifestyle magazine. In terms of the colour scheme – the pink fonts and neutral clothing convey a sense of femininity and perhaps the everyday domestic lifestyle of women, although the lifestyle aspect of the magazine seems overpowered by the topic of sex. The cover features an attractive women – in this case the iconic Megan Fox, posing some mildly alluring body language, showing a lot of skin, all whilst looking directly at the camera (audience) with a sexy, serious facial expression with the eyebrow promiscuously raised, and suggestive parted lips. Although the model is simply posing the latest fashion, the low cut, tightly fitting dress connotes an over sexualised view of the celebrity who is universally known as a sex symbol in the media world, taking her place in FHM’s sexiest women each year and continuously playing the role of the sexy female in various popular films. It is clear that Cosmopolitan use bold sexual connotations surrounding women, although argue that their intentions are in fact to empower women through their sexuality. Notice the models strong body language , the hand on hip look used alongside taglines such as ‘Naughty or nice? You decide†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, and sexual puns are even added in regarding none sexual subjects such as career advice ‘You on top’, these are bold sexual connotations implying that woman should dominate to get what they want, mostly regarding the topic of sex. Perhaps fighting the controversial debate of sexism towards women in media by surprisingly embracing La ura Mulvey’s theory of ‘male gaze’. Cosmo put across the idea that if men find women attractive then it should accredit them by making them feel good about themselves, knowing that they look sexy and attractive. The magazine are conscious to do this in a sophisticated manor, opposed to other trashy and over sexualised magazines. Mediaknowall.com state that ‘Women’s magazines have moved on and offer visions of independence and confidence as well as beauty and domestic concerns, yet women are still encouraged to look good’. Body image and size have become a growing issue in society in result of magazine content. The overuse of petite, photo shopped models throughout magazines has resulted in these images becoming the dominant ideology. Over the years images printed in women’s magazines have contributed to this universal feeling to look good and be a certain size. Lynx are known for their voyeuristic product advertisement, this element of the company is what attracts their buyers, yet is also their downfall. Lynx have been publicly criticized for their overuse of objectifying women, using sexualized and provocative imagery and overall blunt sexism. The BBC news state that ‘in 2011 six of Lynx’s advertising campaigns were banned after mass numbers of complains were made’ they added that ‘the 113 complaints said it was sexually suggestive and demeaning to women’. I researched Lynx’s recent TV advertisement and accompanying print advert titled ‘The cleaner you are, the dirtier you get’. Although I believe this is one of Lynx’s milder sexualised adverts even the title itself contains a sexual pun, suggesting the promise of sex if you shower with the product. The girl on the print advertisement is no doubt an attractive young female, fitting the iconic ‘blonde bombshell’ look. The girl’s enticing facial expression creates the impression she is inviting the audience (male) into the shower with her. Although the girl’s expressions look confident, there is a contrast between this and her body language. For example the way she has to cup her bikini top to stop it from falling. This vulnerability of the woman standing half nude for a male audience completely visually depicting her as a female, making her a passive object of male visual pleasure. A comment by Jean Killbourne (a popular media activist) backs up my point by stating that ‘women’s bodies are often dismembered into legs, breasts or thighs, reinforcing the message that women are objects rather than whole human beings’. Killbourne suggests that women have become dehumanised into erotic objects for male pleasure. One element of Lynx’s campaigns which continues throughout is the idea of fake portrayal. In each advert the male role is played by your everyday, not overly-attractive man, contrasted with the female role being a desirable, young beauty. In an everyday world the changes of the male role attracting that type of woman are very slim. Despite this the main message that Lynx put across to their audience throughout their advertisements is that if men wear the product – women will find them irresistible – False portrayal. Of course this element adds humour to the advertisements, although all at the expense of objectifying women in the process and promoting the gender role of the dominant male. Bibliography Websites: www.mediaknowall.com Hearst, http.//www.hearst.co.uk/magazines/Cosmpolitan/5-about.htm Cosmopolitan, http://www.cosmopolitan.com/celebrity/exclusive/megan-fox-april-cover-cosmopolitan Exploring the media: representations and responses

Comparison of Setting in Hamlet and Trifles

William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet written in 1600 is about the protagonist Hamlet, prince of Denmark who is grieving after the loss of his father, King Hamlet. The ghost of his father visits young Hamlet and orders him to seek revenge on his uncle Claudius, the man who seized his throne and married his widowed wife. Trifles, a play by Susan Glaspell written in 1916, is a play about the search for evidence of the murder of Mr. Wright. The entire play takes place in the Wright’s kitchen in which two women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters discover that the murderer was none other than his wife Minnie Wright. Both of these plays consist of similar themes such as grief, memory of loved ones, death and murder. This paper will argue that how the setting of the graveyard in Hamlet and the setting of the kitchen in Trifles contribute to the characters and themes in each play. Specifically, it will look at examples from Hamlet and Trifles and show how memory and grief pertain to both Hamlet and Mrs. Wright with contribution from each of the settings. Although Mrs. Wright may be the protagonist of the play, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters are almost as significant. All three women had dominating husbands who expected their women to carry out house chores, take care of the farm and raise their children; what was expected of a woman in that era. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters accepted their roles as women, and carried out their duties as expected. Mrs. Wright on the other hand was unhappy in her home and with her life, and from Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters comments about her dreariness we learn that it is more likely she murdered her husband. For example, Mrs. Hale talks about how she was 30 years ago, â€Å"She used to wear pretty clothes and be lively, when she was Minnie Foster, one of the town girls singing in the choir† (791). However, once she became Minnie Wright and was expected to be a wife, keep her house clean and do chores, she did not enjoy it and hence did not make an effort in it. This is all evident in the state her kitchen is in, as at that time a woman’s main pride was in the way she kept her kitchen. From the setting of the kitchen, we notice how grief is significantly present in the surroundings, which cause memories from Mrs. Wright’s past to be brought up. Due to the fact that the entire play takes place in this specific setting shows that even though Mrs. Wright is not present, she is s till the protagonist. The kitchen is cold, dirty, and very still which shows that a death has just occurred in this house. It adds to the tense atmosphere of the play. Evidence to support the fact that she murdered her husband is discovered by the two women, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters in this very kitchen. This shows that Mrs. Wright spent most of her time in the kitchen, as she was expected to as a housewife, and evidently did not enjoy it. Likewise, from the play we discover that the kitchen was dirty, messy and not taken care of. For example, the county attorney points this out by exclaiming â€Å"Dirty towels! Not much of a housekeeper, would you say, ladies? † (790). As the play goes on the women then discover Mrs. Wright’s most recent disheveled knitting. Both these examples from the setting of the kitchen show us that Mrs. Wright was in a nervous state of mind, and significantly distracted in the days leading up to the murder of her husband. Finally, the most prominent event in the play is the discovery of the dead bird amongst her sewing things, which is the main evidence that Mrs. Wright did murder her husband. Upon discovering this evidence however, both the women choose to keep it to themselves, in order to protect one of their own. The narration of the memory of Minnie Foster creates a sense of grief for the women towards Mrs. Wright and what she was going through. It is tragic because Mrs. Wright transformed from a happy, choir singing, jolly independent woman, to a quiet housewife who knits and keeps to herself most of the time. For example, Mrs. Hale compares her to a bird to describe her character thirty years ago when she says â€Å"- come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself – real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and – fluttery. How – she – did – change† (795). All this talk of who Mrs. Wright used to before she got married shows the audience what kind of woman she used to be, to what she had become. They also discuss how Mr. Wright was a hard man, and the thought of spending the day with him was horrifying. These memories of the Wright couple as individuals result in the women grieving for Mrs. Wright. This is a possible reason why they kept the evidence a secret from the sheriff and county attorney. They understand Mrs. Wright’s state of mind, and what she was going through and hence wanted to protect her as she had enough courage to act upon her misery. Although there has been a death, their grieving is for a different reason: one tha t only a woman can understand. Similarly, the setting of the graveyard in Hamlet represents the idea of death, sorrow, and grief. It is a cold place, dark at night and very quiet and one is surrounded by death. It is a prominent setting in Hamlet as it is the place in which Hamlet discovers through the ghost that it was his uncle who murdered his father. In addition it is where he finds out that his one true love Ophelia has committed suicide. He has discovered that he has lost two of the most loved people in his life. For example, in Act 1 Scene 5 the ghost says, â€Å"The serpent that did sting thy father’s life, Now wears his crown† (968). Also, when Hamlet discovers that it is Ophelia who has died, he comes forward and confesses how much he had loved her â€Å"I lov’d Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers Could not with all their quantity love make up my sum† (1043). All this contributes to Hamlet’s distressed, suicidal character. He suffered significantly after the loss of important people in his life and became depressed due to this. Shakespeare’s plays main themes are revenge, grief, depression and death. The setting of the graveyard incorporates all these themes, more specifically memory and grief, hence the reason why it is a significant setting. As mentioned earlier, throughout the play Hamlet is grieving for numerous reasons. From the beginning of the play, it was for the loss of his father, and then in his first soliloquy he talks of how fast time is moving and how his mother has wedded so fast. As the play progresses, Hamlet learns from the ghost that his very own uncle murdered his father, and that the love of his life, Ophelia has committed suicide. Due to the fact that unfortunate events are recurring so close together, Hamlet’s state of mind is evident through his words, that he is suicidal. For example, in his first soliloquy in Act one scene two, he expresses â€Å"O that this too too sallied flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself in a dew! Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d His canon ‘gainst [self-]slaughter! † (956). In this line, he wishes for his flesh to melt and that God had not made suicide a sin. His thoughts recur in his â€Å"To be or not to be† soliloquy. Hamlet discovers the skull of the Yorick, the old court jester from Hamlet’s childhoo d. Upon discovery of this skull, he is reminded of a fond memory from his childhood that is from so long ago, that he has forgotten how it feels. However, the discovery of this skull also makes Hamlet realize that no matter who you are, we will all die one day and return to dust. This memory makes Hamlet realize that he needs to come to terms with losses in his life, and take revenge for his father’s death. We have seen throughout this paper how the setting of the graveyard in Hamlet and the setting of the kitchen in Trifles have contributed to the characters and themes of each play. It specifically looked at how memory and grief pertain to the characters and themes. Examples from Hamlet have shown the theme of grief, and depression of the play due to the loss of loved ones. The graveyard emphasizes these themes, as well as Hamlet’s character and his actions due to his unsettled state of mind. The memory of his father causes him to grieve to a further extent, however with the memory of Yorick he realizes that even Alexander the Great, and Julius Caesar all returned to dust eventually. The kitchen in cold, dirty kitchen of Trifles represents Mrs. Wright’s state of mind leading up to the murder of her husband. Also, the memory of Minnie Foster narrated by Mrs. Hale shows how drastically her character transitioned. The women grieve for the fact that she had to take such drastic measures to claim her freedom, and hence hide their discovery of the bird.

Peer review Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Peer review - Article Example The broader goal of public health officials is to ensure health information is communicated in a way that various individuals and the society at large, easily interpret it (Kass, 2001). The health departments as well as the state public health agencies, have customarily disseminated their findings, especially those that threaten the public health, and surveillance data through reviewed public journals and reports. The particular study has focused on establishing a basic foundation of academic knowledge that relates the extent to which public health officials are effective to promote health information among the community and thereby, improve community’s welfare. With the help of this literature foundation, the researcher will get in depth knowledge in enhancing research area and will be able to understand critical perspective as well. According to (Goodman et al. 1994), public health communication is a technique of influencing, informing and motivating public audience about the important health issues and sufficient solution. The IOM defines public health as â€Å"what we, as a society, do collectively to assure the condign in which people can live a healthy life†. Further, Arendt (2008) opined that, public health communication is a scientific approach that provides strategic dissemination and critical evaluation to communicate health related information. Public health communication includes numerous disciplines such as, mass speech communication, public relation, informatics and ecological perspective. Public health officials, in exploiting there communication roles, can also act participate in advocacy and persuasion efforts. The officials have compelling responsibilities within their various jurisdictions to involve in bureaucratic activities that guarantees public safety and health. In addition to advocacy, public health officials are mandated with the task of promoting and

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ROLES OF THE ARNP AND THE NEED FOR EVIDENCE BASE NURSING - Research Paper Example Their knowledge and expertise are critical in many areas of practice. They operate as nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse anaesthetist and certified nurse-midwife (Statements, 2013). Evidence-based nursing research is important as a tool for practice and professional development. It has been found to be important in assisting nursing care achieve the best quality and positive patients outcomes such as in a reduction of catheter-related urinary tract infections (Howie & Dutton, 2012). The use of research evidence in practice has also been associated to a reduction in healthcare costs as those practices that are found not to be beneficial to health care. Research evidence has also been associated through research to an increase in the healthcare provider empowerment and the feeling of confidence and autonomy on the side of the practitioner (Soong et al., 2013). Further, when this happens, the nurse practitioners are more satisfied in their work, there is less healthcare provider turnover. In addition, research-based practice increases the availability of knowledge and development of the nursing profession. This is important in reducing geographical variations in care delivery as the evidence can be replicated in multiple (Rincon, 2012). Soong, C., Daub, S., Lee, J., Majewski, C., Musing, E., Nord, P., †¦ Bell, C. M. (2013). Development of a checklist of safe discharge practices for hospital patients. Journal of Hospital Medicine, 8, 444–449. doi:10.1002/jhm.2032 Statements, P. (2013). Guidelines about the role of physician assistants and advanced practice registered nurses in the emergency department. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 62, 442–3.

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Journal ad - Essay Example o the importance of the journal, its outspoken authority among world economy contributors who use the journal to reach the world in various economic topics makes it a popular tool on the shelf, table and mailbox in different publication formats. Its editorial environment has a consistent theme that captures the business world as a rare spectacle worth a keen following. This journal has a consistent package of features in terms of its coverage which is mainly focused on business and economy. However, a number of topics presented in the journal are highly varied. To illustrate this point, the above advert contained in the Wall Street Journal aims at reaching the properties market for possible buyers of the property named therein. Property market is a discrete segment with a highly competitive environment, perhaps making the reason why the advert features in a leading journal in the US and world market. In this advert, the reader is convinced to consider buying the house with a brightened exterior, indoor pool, good floors and space at only $639,000. In the wall Street journal, there are a number of related offers worth looking at for comparison since it is a competitive platform. It is a good investment by the owners since it has captured the market in a significant way across the globe. Cheema, Sushil â€Å"House of the Day: Massachusetts Colonial Holliston, MA† Wall Street Journal, 9 July 2011. Web. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904537404576554651535585940.html?mod=WSJ_RealEstate_LEADTopNews (accessed 8 September

Simulation and design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Simulation and design - Essay Example The crucial aspect of the aspect is to emphasis the position of the audience. For a project to succeed, the outcomes will influence the decision. An accurate and detailed simulation model, eye grabbing data, and robust statistical analysis need to be delivered to the correct person. The paper therefore, creates the process simulation of a wiki. Wikis have great way in communicating and working on a project with other audience. First, it is important signing an account with Google before a wiki is created with the Google site. After creating the Google account, a create site button to begin creating the Wiki. Specify a term that describes the purpose of the wiki. We can make an engaging Wiki with a choice of themes. Google gives the option to share the Wiki publicly with people that we work with. Adding the members and collaborator in the Wiki is simple. Select the â€Å"Share Site† from the dropdown actions and input the email addresses of the collaborators. People can be invited to collaborate on the Wiki through email invitations. We can give varied permissions to every person who is invited to edit the Wiki. Many customization can be done with the Wiki. Begin by accessing the management editor by selecting the Manage Site menu. The site editor customises the theme, color, fonts, and site layout. The site background, font colors, image, and header can be changed by clicking the color and fonts. Keying in other Page parameters; Google sites are tightly integrated with variousGoogle products like spreadsheet, presentation, document, and Picasa. To start inserting the elements into the Wiki, start by clicking the button named Edit page or Create page. Click the insert button and select the Google product that is found favorable to incorporate into the Wiki (Banks, 2007). The good thing about the site is that the Google documents can be put into any site

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