Representation analysis

 

What is representation in media?

The representations in media are the manners by which the media depicts specific gatherings, networks, encounters, thoughts, or themes from a specific philosophical or worth point of view. Instead of inspecting media representations as just reflecting or reflecting reality. We analyze how media representations serve to represent or to really make another person/groups' reality.

The Axe commercial

One of the two commercials that are presented try to promote an Axe body spray. The commercial is based on a big group of women coming from everywhere towards a man since he was spraying Axe on his body. To start up, the commercial has significant problems in both how the way women are shown and the representation of races. Throughout the whole commercial, the main message that is represented is that as more spray you use, more women you get. This message, diminishes women due to the fact that they are represented as objects, this by making them seem as if they are just numbers for men. On the other side, the race representation throughout the piece. Throughout the commercial, the main race of women shown, are white, which are not minorities. Axe, by putting more white women than any other minority, approaches the message that white women are the most attractive to society.

The Tide commercial

The second commercial that was shown, was the Tide commercial. This commercial is based on a woman talking to the camera about how her daughter dresses and how she desires that Tide wouldn't work so she could put her daughter's clothes in the trash. The main issue with this commercial is that the woman represents the generalization of women needing to dress with skirts and lighter colors and not with hoodies and cargo shorts. In addition, the way the woman talks to her daughter represents her disliking; yet, by what she says, the approbation of her clothing since, as she said, she already tried changing her way of dressing. To close up, the ad represents a good point, in a way, and a bad point. Obviously the bad point is that the ad represents that, first of all, clothes have a gender, and second of all, the stereotype of the women's clothing. On the other hand, the "good point" of the ad is that in a way, the woman understands that no matter what she tries, that is the way her daughter likes to dress, bringing up to the table the representation of acceptation towards her daughter's likes countering her likes and views.