Representation - Men

Men's Health

Film Poster

Kraft Dressings: Let's Get

Zesty

Advert

Towie Joey Essex

TV

Grand Theft Auto 5 (Mission

25: By the Book)

Computer Games

Skyfall James Bond

Film

Old Spice UK | Smell like a man,

man.

Advert (too old)

Top Boy/ 2

TV trailer

Alan Sugar: The Apprentice

 Demonstrates that representations of

masculinity has a tendency to
change over time
This leaves us with a rather mixed
bag of the features of masculinity in
the media!

Case Study: 1
Alternative Representation of
men the Metrosexual man
(heterosexual men with feminine
characteristics)
Gavin and Joey Essex Makeover
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q
qdcd6Af6EY

Gavin and Joey Essex

Makeover
How has the subject been
represented? Is this a traditional
representation of masculinity? What
camera shots are used? Consider use
of language, mise en scene, use of
non diegetic sound
Why has the subject been
represented in this way? Who is the
target audience? What about the
narrative structure? Is it

Analysing Representations:
The main consideration when you are
analysing the representations of men
and masculinity, will be regarding the
issues of fairness and accuracy and
what the representation is actually
saying to the audience

Representation of Men in reality TV

Geordie Shore, Made in Chelsea and
the Only Way is Essex.
Geordie Shore, The Only Way is Essex and
Made in Chelsea represent our generation's
"time capsule" for the future. That's how the
people of 2042 will think we look, spoke and
behaved. Which is a shame because they're not
supposed to be representative. They're supposed
to be different from "normal people". They're
walking caricatured receptacles for spite. Their
job is to make absolutely everyone who tunes in
hate them. Instantly hate them. Hate them so
much they can't take their eyes off them. Charlie

Changes over time

Although it is clear that representations
of masculinity have changed over time,
the dominant representation of
masculinity still focuses on:
Body image
Physical strength
Sexual attractiveness and relationships
with women
Power and independence

Alternative Representation of
Men Lifestyle Magazines
One media area that has developed
dramatically is mens lifestyle
magazines.
Aspirational role models
Concentrating on representing body
image the perfect body!
Images manipulated
Magazines refer to sex rather than
relationships

Case Study 2: Representation

of Men in magazines

Mens Health
Visual codes
Layout
Language
How are
men
represented
here?

Mens Health
Image medium/long shot
Celebrity endorsement
Direct mode of address connotes seductive like
approach to a female audience.
Text reflects conventional language of womens
magazine 28 Day Abs, the hidden health risk,
reflecting interest in body image/appearance
Sex rather than relationship - If you understand her
needs you will get what you want
Target audience 25-40
Colour code Colour, although sometimes in
grey/black
Female gaze? David Gauntlett argues that men are
presented as beautiful and positioned in such
magazines.

Kerrang
Image medium long shot
Niche music magazine with celebrity
endorsement on front cover
Direct mode of address- group shot
Masthead is not all visible covered by image.
Representing the strength of identification with
the brand
Images and captions clearly relate to genre of
magazine. Not specifically related to
sex/dating/relationships
Bold typography fits with genre of magazine
Target audience - Attracting a young male
audience (18-25), aspiring musicians, interested

GTA 5

 Michael is a liar, cheat, murderer, traitor and terrible father

and husband.
Trevor is a psychopath who would have little issue with
abducting a hitchhiker and eating them.
Franklin he starts contract killing to make various stock
prices go up and down.
In short, neither gender comes off terribly well in
Rockstars San Andreas. This is a universe of
stereotypes and very bad people.
With three lead characters, why couldnt Rockstar made
one of them a woman? (under representation of Women)
Looking back across the entirety of the Grand Theft Auto,
Red Dead and Max Payne series, Rockstar has never had
a female lead in those games (though that may be tricky in
the last case when their game is named after the hero). It is
worth examining though, should Rockstar have
switched it up and at leasttried to have a woman as
one of their three new leads in GTA V?

Gamers dont want to play as female characters,

right?

At least, thats the popular marketing

theory. Over the course of this
generation the console market has
been awash with muscle-bound
blokes shooting things. There are three main
playableCharactersi
nGrand Theft Auto V;
Michael, Franklin Trevor
ALL MEN!

Official Xbox Magazine asked Chris

Parma
Apparently, games that star women
just dont sell.
Official Xbox Magazine asked Chris
Parma, the art director at Epic
Games, if a lady could ever be the
star in its Gears of War series. He
said: If you look at what sells,
its tough to justify that.

TOUGH GUISE
(Earp & Katz, 1999)

Relationship between
males & violence in the
media
THE MEDIA HELP TO CONSTRUCT
VIOLENT MASCULINITY AS A CULTURAL
NORM (EARP AND KATZ, 1999)

The study into male

representations in the media
reveal:
A WIDESPREAD & DISTURBING EQUATION OF
MASCULINITY WITH PATHOLOGICAL CONTROL & VIOLENCE
Media is responsible for a
Steady stream of images which define manhood as
connected with dominance, violence & control.

Common Masculine
Representations In The
Media:
The Action Hero
Strong, often angry, aggressive in the
extreme & engages in violent behaviour

Skyfall James Bond

Opening sequence
How are women and men
represented?
How? Evidence? Why? (What was
different about this Bond Film/ Genre/
Target Audience?)

WHY?
To make an interesting narrative or story (humour/intensity)
or to appeal to the audiences needs and desires (to make the
product desirable).
To comfort the audience by reinforcing their view of the world,
providing a sense of security or continuity
To promote or reinforce a particular view or ideology
To reinforce or challenge hegemony* (e.g. a male hegemony)
* - Power
To enable audiences to relate to the characters
To challenge audiences by offering an alternative perspective

Naomie Harris Skyfall (2012)

MoneyPenny

Moneypenny
At the beginning of the film, Moneypenny (Eve) is Bonds
partner on a mission to recover the stolen hard drive.
M instructs Moneypenny to shoot at Patrice on the train, yet
Moneypenny is hesitant and instead hits Bond with her bullet. It
could be argued this suggests Moneypenny is an incompetent
agent.
Moneypenny only appears a few more times in the film; as a
potential seductress for Bond, rather than assisting him with
his mission.
At the end of the film, Moneypenny decides to retire as a field
agent and instead work for Mallory as his secretary.

Debate: Gender power

Which character is represented as
being more dominant; M or Bond?

M & bond
M may hold the highest position of power as the head of the Foreign
Intelligence Wing, but she constantly makes poor decisions that cost
numerous people their lives.
For example, Silva holds her responsible for being tortured by the Chinese
and plans a cyber attack against her and MI6. M is also forced to go on
trial to defend the competency of her programme.
M is asked to retire from her position, being informed she has become too
old to handle matters properly. Her position is then filled by a presumably
more capable man, Gareth Mallory.
Silva: Youre smaller than I remembered
Bond both kidnaps and recues M. This is surprising given M is Bonds
boss and in a superior position of power and authority.

The Representation of bond & Men

Representation of bond &

Men
How are men represented in SkyFall?
Through Bond, hegemonic masculinity (the dominant position of
men and the subordination of women) is reinforced throughout the
film.
In contrast to the representation of women, the male characters,
were made to be heroes and masterminds.
When Bond is questioned on M, he replies bitch, when stating the
first word that comes into his head.
Gamman & Marshment (1988) argued that men can also be
positioned as sexualised objects for the pleasure of the female gaze.

Alan Sugar: The Apprentice