Representation Flashcards
(28 cards)
What was the primary market for technologies and products developed for the home in the 1950s?
Women were the primary market for these technologies and products.
What representations were linked to the advertising of home technologies in the 1950s?
Stereotypical representations of domestic perfection, caring for the family, and servitude to the ‘man of the house’.
What modern needs were associated with the representations in 1950s advertising?
A need for speed, convenience, and a better standard of living than women experienced in the pre-war era.
How did dress codes in 1950s advertisements reflect media language constructs of gender?
The main female character’s dress code included a stereotypical 1950s hairstyle and practical elements like headbands or scarves.
What practical catalyst influenced women’s shorter hair during the 1950s?
Long hair was hazardous for women working with machinery on farms or in factories during the war.
What does the headband or scarf worn by women in adverts signify?
It connotes that the woman is focused on her work, contrasting with her full makeup.
What is Stuart Hall’s theory of representation?
It suggests that images of domesticity form part of a ‘shared conceptual road map’ that gives meaning to the advert’s world.
What does David Gauntlett’s theory of identity propose about women in adverts?
Women represented in the advert act as role models of domestic perfection for the audience.
What role were women encouraged to take on in post-war America?
Women were encouraged to be consumers, managing household goods as part of their role.
How does advertising link femininity with consumerism?
The ad links femininity with product loyalty, making Tide a symbol of ideal womanhood.
What is the gendered aspect of consumerism in this context?
Consumerism is gendered as female.
What is Stuart Hall’s Representation Theory?
Hall argued that representation is the production of meaning through language, and that media texts don’t just reflect reality but actively construct it through signs and codes.
How does the Tide advert apply Stuart Hall’s Representation Theory?
The Tide advert constructs a representation of the ideal 1950s housewife - cheerful, domestic, and devoted to cleanliness.
What does Stuart Hall’s theory link to in terms of representation?
This shows how women were encoded as homemakers and how these roles were naturalized in advertising through repetitive messaging and symbolic language (e.g., hearts, exclamations, smiles).
What is Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory?
Originally used for film, it suggests how women are often objectified or idealized for a male or societal gaze.
How does the Tide advert apply Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory?
In the Tide advert, the woman isn’t objectified sexually, but she is idealized as the perfect wife, serving the domestic ideal - shaped to suit post-war gender expectations.
