Sexual Symbols in Film, TV

& Advertising, or
Freud Goes to Hollywood
CST/JOU 1303 Intro to Mass Communication

[Click here to go to Korpi's Examples]

Introductory Examples
• Afternoon Delight
audio clip
• Gimme All Your Lovin
ZZ Top music video

Why This Topic?

• Symbolic sexual content very common in media
• No one is certain it works the way Freud said it does,
but
• Even if it is not effective in this way,
• Important because so many people go to so much
trouble to put it there
• If you do not know about this, you do not know very
 much about the media

What We Will Cover

• Why sexual content in media?
• Why use symbols?
• Freud's ideas about dreams & symbols
• Examples of Freudian symbols in media

Why Sex in the Media?

• Appeal to sexual appetite easy to make
• Visual media are voyeuristic
• Gain and hold audience attention
• Ads link product with sexual power
• Approach may differ for males or females

Examples
• Baywatch
• Adams
• Daddy
• GNC
• Jaipur
• Radio
• Prodigy
• Ultress
• Wilkes
• What is sexy?

Why Sexual Symbolism?

 • Symbols part of being human
• Symbols add texture
• Censorship encourages symbolic representations
• Attractive/interesting symbols may work subconsciously
• Symbols may tap into the unconscious
•
o Dream symbols
o Myth
• An inside joke

Freud on Dreams
• Interpretation of Dreams -- Freud's first major work,
published in 1900
• Brought him international attention and acclaim
• How the human mind works with symbols
•
o especially the unconcious mind
• Emphasis on sexual appetite and aggression

Freud on Dreams
• Humans driven by appetite/need
• Conscious/Unconscious dichotomy
• Some needs are gratified in dreams
• Dreams have both manifest (obvious) and latent
(disguised or symbolic) content

Freud on Dreams
• Dreams combine elements from memory to express
unconscious thoughts
• Dreams use symbols to disguise reprehensible
thoughts
 • Sex and aggression are principal needs gratified in
dreams
• Therefore, symbols are of genitals, intercourse,
masturbation, etc.

Example
• Psycho clip

Support for Freud's Ideas

• Carl Jung
• Dream research
• Sleep research

Carl Jung on Dreams

• A voice of nature -- involuntary and spontaneous
• Trying to tell us something important
• Expression of creativity
• Compensation mechanism
• Moderates Freud's emphasis on sex, but sexual images
still important and common

Dream Research
• Sex and aggression furnish the plots for many dreams
• Ongoing sexual gratification results in less sexual
symbolism in dreams
• General support for the idea of symbols being male or
female
Nature of Sleep
• We have many dreams every night
• Dreams occur mostly during REM sleep
• 4-6 REM periods per night(longer toward morning)
• About 25% of sleep is REM
• REM usually accompanied by the physiological signs
of sexual stimulation

Sexual Symbols -- Male

• Elongated objects
• Sticks
• Canes
• Poles
• The nose
• Neckties
• Items that expand
• Hats
• Drills

Examples
• Bijan
• L'Oreal
• Red
• Tall Buildings
• Tribu
• Versace
• Bangles
• I Love LA
• Madonna
• Olivia Newton-John
 • Rod Stewart
• ZZ Top
• Tori Amos

Examples
• Bonnie & Clyde
• Broken Arrow
• A Clockwork Orange
• Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
• Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
• Last Married Couple in America
• The Producers
• Psycho
• Brut
• Canning industry spot
• Lights
• Macintosh 1984
• Nina Ricci
• Pierre Cardin
• Stetson

Examples
• The Producers clip
• Tank Girl clip
• Apollo 13 clip

Sexual Symbols -- Female

• Flowers
 • Gardens
• Boxes
• Chests
• Luggage
• Containers
• Ships
• Rooms
• Caves
• Valleys

Examples
• Christian Dior
• Hole in bottle
• Lancome
• Narcisse
• Oscar de la Renta
• Bangles hallway
• Bangles keyhole/eye
• Bangles garden
• Deana Carter eye
• I Love LA mouth
• Express Yourself tube
• Express Yourself eye
• Soul Kiss mouth
• Soul Kiss eye
• Soul Kiss hallway
• Gimme All Your Lovin car
• Gimme All Your Lovin wheel
• Gimme All Your Lovin light/fender
• Gimme All Your Lovin exhaust
• Cherry Pie
• Tori Amos box
 • A Clockwork Orange mouth
• Psycho mouth
• Psycho drain
• Psycho eye
• Tank Girl mouth
• Tom Jones eating oysters
• Babe tunnel
• Lights flower
• Max Factor round window
• Max Factor flowers
• Max Factor lipstick flower
• Nina Ricci tower
• Pierre Cardin hallway

Sexual Symbols -- Masturbation

• Any regular hand motion that creates friction
•
o rubbing, polishing
• Rapid finger movement
•
o guitar, typewriter
o picking at something or fiddling with it
• In males, losing a tooth or pulling off something
• Playing with or beating a small child

Examples
• Georgiou
• Bangles yoyo
• Bangles guitar
• ZZ Top guitar
Sexual Symbols -- Intercourse
• Military victories
• Run over by a vehicle, or covered by something
• Rhythmic movement
•
o climbing stairs, ladders
o horseback riding
o crashing waves
• Eating tasty things

Examples
• Fabrikant carousel horse
• Obsession swing
• Peach and cream
• Bangles flashing light
• Bangles up and down
• Express Yourself cream
• Gimme All Your Lovin flashing lights

Examples
• Tom Jones clip
• Dragnet clip
• IQ clip

Examples -- Freudian Jokes

• North by Northwest
• Dr. Strangelove
• Broken Arrow
 • A Clockwork Orange clip
• Big Top Pee Wee clip

Examples
• North by Northwest
• Dr. Strangelove
• Broken Arrow

More Examples
• TV commercials, Stetson, Brut, Babe, Pierre Cardin
• The Bangles, "In Your Room"
• Madonna, "Express Yourself"

Conclusion
• Freud's ideas the most influential regarding dreams
and symbolism
• Much effort goes into the use of Freudian symbols in
entertainment & advertising
• Not sure if/how these symbols work
• Whether they work or not, they certainly are
commonplace