Key Words

Mise-en-scène - This refers to everything that is seen in the frame or camera and it's arrangement, including, Lighting, colour, angle, set, make-up, casting, costume, props and positioning.

Denotation - A literal meaning of the word or facts you can see.

Conotation - An association to which the word implies.

            Example: 'Woman', 'Bird' and 'chick' have the denotation of 'female adult', however 'chick' and 'bird' are both negative connotations whilst 'women' is neutral.

Ideologies - Ideas and Beliefs

Anchorage - Words or Images to aid in creating meaning to pull the audience in.

Representation - The view of how things are shown.

The Audience of the Simpsons

The Simpson's- The Audience

(From Left to Right)

Mr Burns - As you can see from the Social Gradings below, Mr Burns would come under class A, due to him being the manager of the Power Plant in Springfield. He is very wealthy and lives in luxury with his massive mansion. This also indicates that he is a succeeder as he is on top of the social ladder because of his wealth. Looking at Maslow's Herarchy of Needs, he would be placed on Self-Actualisation as he mostly acts to the best of his abilities but rather prefers to relax with his well but also be commanding over his butler Smithers. Therefore he doesn't go onto the next class of transcendence.

Moe - Moe on the other hand is completely different to Mr Burns as he would come under the class of C2/B as he is the owner of his bar 'Moe's Tavern'. He comes under both as I believe him owning the bar shows some managerial ability however he is also working all the time and is skilled in what he does, so I believe he fits in both. Moe is definitely a Social Climber as he seeks wealth and love in his life.  I believe that Moe needs  the Understanding and Aesthetic needs as  he is respected by bar members such as Homer, Barney, Lenny and Carl which means he already has Esteem needs and the ones before it. Moe needs to explore and understand the world more instead of being stuck in his bar so he is able to understand love and life, so he is able to succeed and climb the social ladder.

Bart - As Bart is only a teenager and doesn't work he comes into the class of E. Later in life he may come up to class D/C2 depending on what job he does. Bart would also come under the Social Value Group as a Social Climber and Individuals as Bart always dreams and believes that he will be famous and wealthy, however he has mischievous and rebellious characteristics which does make him individual and stand out from most Mainstreamer kids at his school. Similar to Moe he respected by his friends at school and mostly loved by his family which clears him of the Esteem and other groups. Moreover he needs to understand the world and life more to be able to go up Maslow's Herarchy of Needs, this for Bart will come in time as he grows up.

Marge - Marge would go under two classes of E/D as she depends on Homer do bring in the income, but she has had jobs previous  before and is experienced. Now she is a housewife and falls more into the E class. Personally, I think Marge fits into the Social Value Groups of Mainstreamer as she like to be secure within in the family, however she is moralistic and well meaning which could also pull her into the Reformers category as she does want to make things in life better. Referring back to Maslow's Heerarchy of Needs I believe that she has most of the needs up to Aesthetic at times as her relationship with Homer can be intimate and loving. She also has a good understanding of the world which would clear her of the Need to Know and Understanding needs as well. Finally I don't think she has found the best of abilities and the great person that she can strive to be.

Maslow's Herarchy of Needs

Maslow's Herarchy of needs is typically shown as a pyramid and is divided into layers. The most fundamental level of needs is at the bottom and it goes to Transcendence at the top. The bottom layer consists of four which is usually named the deficiency needs. Here are the definitions for each section:

Physiological - These are literally the requirements for human survival, for instance, air, water and food.

Safety - Safety is the next key needs which gives us security and comfort. Safety and Security is narrowed down into groups which include personal, financial, health and accidents.

Love and Belongingness - Safety is mostly overridden by the feeling of belongingness and love in your social life. Love and Belonging is shared everywhere but generally into three groups, Friendship, Family and Intimacy.

Esteem - Esteem gives the human desire to be accepted, respected and valued by others. Therefore when you receive this you gain self-esteem and self-respect.

The Need to Know and Understand - Cognitive needs (as it's also known as) is the expression that humans need to explore, discover and create to get a better understanding of the world around them.

Aesthetic - Humans need beauty or something new which is aesthetically pleasing to continue up the pyramid. Humans often do this by refreshing themselves in the presence of beauty in the world, such as nature.

Self-actualisation - It is the initiative of the human to make the most of their abilities and strive to the best that they can be. 'What a man can be,he must be' sums this category up.

Transcendence - To go above and beyond of the level of being. Transcendence in Latin means climbing or going beyond. This is sometimes referred to as Spiritual needs.

Comparing Cosmetic Adverts

Both of these pictures are cosmetic adverts, which are selling to both men and women as you can tell by the two different bottles of cosmetics. However, both of these adverts have a gender domination in them. The Hugo Boss advert seems very powerful, demanding and fighting as the position of the man and women is directly in the centre which suggests that are fighting over control. The lights also show this divide with one side being dark and the other light, furthermore the boxing ring in the background illustrates the fighting for control over each other. Overall, I believe that the women in this picture has more dominance because of her hold on the man and the stern look on her face.

The David Beckham advert is similar to the Hugo Boss advert as the couple is placed centre and your attention is drawn to them due to the symetrey of the logo and the lights either side. However the impression you get from this photo is lust, romance and passion. This is due to the darkness of the photo as well as the pose of the couple which is very romantic. In my opinion this is different to the Hugo Boss advert as I feel that the man has more domination in the advert as David Beckham has wrapped himself around her.

Breaking the Rule of Thirds

Many eye catching and professional photos have been taken  by using the Rule of Thirds technique, however, just as many have been taken by breaking the Rule of Thirds. Instead of lining up the elements in the photo in which you want to draw attention to along the vertical and horizontal lines, you can simply place your subject in the centre in which striking and powerful images can be produced. This is especially used in portraits or in a scene with symmetry.

There are many way in which you can break the Rule of Thirds. For instance in the picture on the left, you can centre the image as well as having symmetry with the two archways. In the picture on the right, centring the image is called a bulls-eye, as well as using repetition and a shallow depth of field draw instantly attracts your attention to the middle. Besides, who said rules were made to be broken!

Representation of Gender

How is Kermit represented as a male?

In the centre picture of Kermit it is very difficult to determine whether he is male or female. From this picture only, Kermit could be taken as male due to him being green, moreover the ideology of the colour green represents male. However frogs are green anyway so this denies this suggestion. His jagged collar illustrates he is male and a female frog would probably not wear that around their neck. His posture is also very strong and masculine but polite with his hands behind his back. Another Ideology is that in many stories and film, frogs are seen as males for example Princess and the Frog, therefore we take Kermit as being male.

In the office picture on the left, the anchorage creates the image of Kermit being male due to him at work and being in a panicked state. The ideologies nowadays of working in the office could either be seen as male or female. As you can see in the last picture, the anchorage of Kermit being in a suit and hugging Miss Piggy certainly represents Kermit being male. Finally the most obvious give away is that his name is Kermit but that's only if you knew his name!!

Rule of Thirds

In this other picture the vertical rule of thirds split the road clearly so your attention is drawn down to the mountain in the centre square. The lines also show the trees continuing up into the sky. This like the previous is also very chilled but adventurous.

Rule of Thirds

In this Picture the Rule of Thirds shows that the bottom horizontal line gives us the edge of the beach, and the top horizontal gives the edge of the clouds to the sky which helps to emphasise the sea in the middle with the clouds. Our attention is also drawn to the heart which is in the bottom right corner. This illustrates the peaceful and romantic setting of the scene.