Media Assessment 3: Learner Response

 WWW- Good subject knowledge of how adverts reflect social, historical and cultural contexts with references to OMO.

EBI- How does narrative theory reflect the key message about the product.

Total Mark: 17/32

Grade: 5

Q1:

Q2: • ads in the 1950s reinforced dominant patriarchal values and beliefs e.g. women were judged

          by the ability to be ‘house-proud’ including the cleanliness of laundry

       • many women worked in full-time paid employment during the war years and immediately

         afterwards. As men replaced women in these jobs, advertising reconciled women to losing

         their jobs and transferring to unpaid domestic work

       • adverts would be taken at face value in the 1950s and believed to be true.

Q3: • Black female scientists shown towards end of advert subverts typical stereotypes of

          race/ethnicity in the media.

       • Chuka Umunna in suit with Houses of Parliament behind him subverts stereotypes of black

          men in the media. Again, camera shot and mise-en-scene creates a powerful representation

          that is notably different to what we usually see in the media.

        • Other elements of the advert (perhaps inadvertently) reinforce traditional stereotypes of

           race and ethnicity: many of the celebrities are from sporting or performance-based

           backgrounds (e.g. Nicola Adams – Olympic boxer plus football, dance, fashion, drama). This

           arguably reinforces traditional stereotypes of even successful black role models tending to

           be celebrated for their performances or physical capabilities.

Q4:  • The narrative structure follows Todorov’s theory of equilibrium – the bus is stuck due to the

           fruit stall crash (disruption or disequilibrium). The arrival of the Gregory Peck character

           offers Audrey Hepburn a solution which she then turns into a new equilibrium by making

           Peck her Chauffeur and travelling on in luxury with her Galaxy chocolate. This reinforces the

           product’s key message regarding ‘silk’ and the audience rewarding themselves with a

            luxurious moment of pleasure.

        • Propp’s theory of character types can also be applied to the advert but here it deviates from

          the traditional roles of the 1950s and applies modern gender stereotypes that subvert

          audience expectations. Initially, Audrey Hepburn is presented as a damsel in distress and

          Gregory Peck as the hero. However, when she takes the bus driver’s hat (making him the

          donor) she turns Peck into a mere sidekick or helper and establishes herself as the hero. This

           also helps to reinforce an empowering message to the (perhaps majority female) audience

           in terms of the rewards of Galaxy chocolate and the luxurious moments it can help create.

        • Intertextual references to Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffany’s help to create the

          Hollywood glamour that Galaxy are trying to communicate through the CGI Audrey Hepburn.

          The ‘chauffeur’ looking similar to Gregory Peck also reinforces this.