Kick Ass Essay

Kickass Essay

Representation of Ethnicity.

Stereotypes in the Media.


Stereotypes of white people;

• Law abiding?
• Drink alcohol- Wine/Beer.
• Class Structure- Upper, Middle, Working.
• Stressed/Uptight.
• Trailer Trash/Hillbillies/White Trash.
• Educated.
• More Academic.
• Eloquent.
• Nerdy.
• Stiff (upper lip)
• Often play stupid characters.
• Often play the villain.
• Bitchy.
• Size zero.
• Different hair colours.
• Dry/Sarcastic sense of humour.

Stereotypes of Black people;

• Big booty.
• Gangsters/rappers.
• Crime.
• Can't swim.
• Well hung.
• Black guy always dies.
• Relaxed/ Laid back.
• Power hungry.
• Cooler than white people.
• Muscular.
• Big lips.
• Big Noses.
• Colour 'black' is always mentioned when reported on the news.
• Loud.
• Friendly.
• Bubbly.
• Attitude.
• Swagger.
• Speak in slang/lingo.
• Black men don't make good fathers.
• More focused on religion.
• Gospel.
• Big families.
• Small house.
• Unusual names. 

Representation of Age- Presentation

Representations of age

View more presentations from emmajolliffe.

Notes on stereotypes of Age.

Young - (0-25) 
Includes children, teenagers and young adults.
Some stereotypes of the young can include;

• Gangs
• Crime
• Parties/Clubbing.
• Lazy.
• Rude
• Modern
• Loud/noisy
• Drugs
• Sexual
• Immature
• Rely on parents
• Teenage pregnancy
• Moody
• Argumentative

Some sub cultures of young people ; 

• Chavs
• Emos
• Goths
• Townies
• Geeks
• Grebs

The media often focuses on the negatives of the young rather than the positives, this is because young people are seen by the media to be easy targets.


Old- (60-65+) 
This can depend on the profession that the person does as a footballer aged 40 is classed as old whereas, a Politician that is 40 may be seen as 'young' - and may be seen to lack seriousness or experience (or both)
Some stereotypes of the old are;

• Grumpy
• Awkward
• Stubborn
• Smell
• Dependant
• Moany
• Traditional
• Narrow Minded
• Hard of hearing
• Hunchbacked
• Anti-youth
• Racist
• Prefer things how they used to be.
• Set in their ways
• Sleep all the time
• Hobbies
• Lonely
• Have their own little community
• Wrinkly. 

Disbility - Dr. House.

Dr. House

Representation- Disability

Some Views people may have of disabled people;

• Depends on the type of disability.
• They are Brave.
• People with disabilities should have equal opportunities.
• Some people feel awkward when around them.
• Have sympathy for them but don't want to patronise them. 
• Rely on other people a lot.
• Some people may try and avoid people with disabilities.
• They are easier to poke fun at rather than empathise with.
• Some people with a disability embrace it and others make you well aware of it.
• They might be bitter about their disability.
• Most disabled people can't help being that way.
• When seeing people in wheelchairs, you don't know where to look.
• Most people tend to be more comfortable around physically disabled people rather than someone that is mentally disabled.
• You don't know how to behave/act around disabled people.

Some Celebrities with Disabilities;

• Stephen Hawking- Wheelchair, motor neurone.
• Heather Mills- one leg
• Gordon Brown- One eye
• Stevie Wonder- Blind
• Verne Troyer- Dwarf.
• Mohammed Ali - Parkinson's Disease.
• Michael J Fox- Parkinson's Disease.
• Gary Coleman- Dwarf.
• Albert Einstein- Autism.
• Leonardo Davinci-Autism.
• Ian Dury- Polio.
• Mozart- Deaf.

Characters in Film-

• Rainman- Dustin Hoffman.
• Forest Gump - Tom Hanks.
• My Left Foot- Daniel Day Lewis.
• I Am Sam- Sean Penn.
• Born on the 4th July- Tom Cruise.
• Waterboy- Adam Sandler.
• The Ringer- Johnny Knoxville.
• The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button- Brad Pitt.
• Unbreakable- Samuel L.Jackson.
• I Robot- Will Smith.
• Million Dollar Baby- Hillary Swank.
• Avatar- Sam Worthington.

Facial Expressions

Marjorie Ferguson

• chocolate box - half or full-smile, lips together or slightly parted, teeth barely visible, full or three-quarter face to camera.
• invitational - emphasis on the eyes, mouth shut or with only a hint of a smile, head to one side or looking back to camera
• super smiler - full face, wide open toothy smile, head thrust forward or chin thrown back, hair often wind-blown
• romantic or sexual - a fourth and more general classification devised to include male and female ‘two-somes, or the dreamy, heavy-lidded, unsmiling big-heads, or the overtly sensual or sexual

Trevor Millum

• seductive - similar to the cool/level look in many respects - the eyes are less wide, perhaps shaded, the expression is less reserved but still self-sufficient and confident; milder versions may include a slight smile
• carefree - nymphlike, active, healthy, gay, vibrant, outdoor girl; long unrestrained outward-flowing hair, more outward-going than the above, often smiling or grinning
• practical - concentrating, engaged on the business in hand, mouth closed, eyes object-directed, sometimes a slight frown; hair often short or tied back
• comic - deliberately ridiculous, exaggerated, acting the fool, pulling faces for the benefit of a real or imaginary audience, sometimes close to a sort of archness
• catalogue - a neutral look as of a dummy, artificial, waxlike; features may be in any position, but most likely to be with eyes open wide and a smile, but the look remains vacant and empty; personality has been removed.

We picked the video 'Forget You' by Cee Lo Green because we thought about the variety of facial expressions it may have in it. Some of these included:

• chocolate box - the young boy looks at the girl for the first time and slighty smiles as she smiles back
• inviting - the young girl who looks back at the boy and smiles invitingly at him while talking to her mum
• inviting - the three backing singers introduce the video by inviting the viewers into the restaurant by smiling
• super smiler - the three backing singers smile widely while singing along in the restaurant
• carefree - the young girl sits looking around like she is not bothered still smiling and grinning.

Representations - Eva Mendes and Freddie Ljungberg

Freddie Ljungberg

Look- Looking at the camera, intense, inviting, intra diegetic, suggestive.

Face- Engaging audience, powerful, strong/ chiselled jawline, high cheekbones, looks determined. 

Lips- Pouting, shiny, feminine.

Stubble- Masculine, manly, rugged.

Bar- could be at the gym?, has a good grip on the bar.

Background colour- Red= sexual, hot, romantic, link to arsenal, danger, heat.

Abs- Toned.

Tattoo- in a 'sexual place', of an animal, shows he can take pain, rebellious?

Pubic area- shaven, tan lines, clean, appeals to women.

Underwear- Tight.

Hand- Placed in a suggestive place, in a fist, aggressive.

Body- Toned, muscular, sweaty, could have worked out or been in the shower, post coital.

Bicep- Tensed.

Necklace- Feminine, fashion, personal or religious, sensitive.

This advert is aimed at men as they want men to buy the underwear but it appeals to men, women and homosexuals.

Eva Mendes

Look- Tired, Distracted, Middle Distance, knows she looks good?, doesn't care.

Hair- Wet, messy, long, not styled, post coital, feminine, could have been sunbathing or in the shower.

Legs- Long, toned, open (invitational?)

Stance- Dominant, powerful, confident, arms on hips, standing her ground, strong arms, on her tip toes to make her legs look longer.

Arms- On her hips, Strong.

Body- Perfect, slim, fantastic legs, tiny waist, confident.

Lingerie- suggestive, all black.

Shoes/Feet- Wearing heels gives the illusion of longer legs.

Representations- The Gaze

The gaze is a technical term used in film theory in the 1970's to refer to the ways viewers look at images of people in any visual medium . Feminists refer to the male gaze to the way men look at women.

Forms of Gaze-

• Spectators Gaze.
• Intra-diegetic Gaze.
• The direct address to the viewer (extra-diegetic gaze)
• The look of the camera.
• The gaze of the bystander.
• The gaze of an audience within a text.

There is also something called 'The Fourth Wall' this is when an actor looks straight into the camera and makes talks/ makes a gesture to involve the audience. This shatters the illusion that it is real.

Direction of Gaze-

• Attention directed towards others.
• Attention directed towards an object.
• Attention directed to oneself.
• Attention directed towards the reader/camera.
• Attention directed towards middle distance.

Laura Mulvey - Key Theorist.

• Laura Mulvey wrote a book called ' Visual pleasure and narrative cinema' in 1975.
• She believed that Females are passive and Males are active.
• She also wrote that she thought women are the image and men are the 'bearer of the look'.
• Talked about Voyeuristic and Fetishistic looks.

Criticisms of Theory-

• Has failed to account for the female spectator.
• Hasn't considered about gay men.
• Since 1980 increasing display and sexualisation of the male body in TV, cinema and advertising.

Categorising  Facial Expressions-

Women-     

• Chocolate Box.
• Invitational.
• Super-smiler.
• Romantic or Sexual.

Marjorie Ferguson (1980) 

Men -

• Carefree.
• Practical.
• Seductive.
• Comic.
• Catalogue.

Trevor Millum (1975)