Question 1:
Text 1 uses
stereotypes and zoomorphism to depict women. The opening sentence to the extract
says ‘women are programmed’. This objectifies them and disconnects any human
qualities from them. This is also done later in the text when women are
described as likely to have a ‘cat-fight’.
Zoomorphism over-exaggerates any animal behaviour to display a clear image of
the idea that the author is trying to put across. This is also done for comedy
purposes and to lightly mock females; and since the audience is men between the
ages of 18 and 30, it is likely they will find this entertaining and be able to
relate to the opinions stated in the book.
The register
of this text is fairly formal but also conversational at the same time. The
mode of the text is written but the use of parenthesis to add comments
contributes to a more relaxed and chatty tone. In relation to the audience and genre,
the book is to give advice to young men and the informal comments give off the
impression that the writer is friends with the reader and is just trying to
give them advice man to man. This makes the reader have faith in the text as
they find it relatable and trust that the author understands the situation they
are in.
As well as representing women stereo-typically, the target audience of males are also portrayed as archetypal men who enjoy 'having a pint' and actively dislike shopping. We get this impression through the list of activities listed that men would rather do but also through the the structure of the text. The majority of this extract is written using short sentences featuring imperatives or declarative statements. For example 'be confident', 'you need to' and 'it takes men five minutes to make a decision on an item of clothing' all display imperatives or are written with the implication that it is a fact. This is done to give the author power in the situation and give the impression that they hold knowledge that must be obeyed; thus making the audience instantly 'do what they're told'.
The text disputes Deborah Tannen's difference theory on many occasions. Throughout the text women are described as the ones holding power and status over the men and the men appear to cower behind them and come to compromises to please them. This links to the conflict vs compromise aspect of the theory as in the situations described in the text the men are the antithesis of conflict creators and are coming up with ways to get out of shopping like 'enlisting a fellow couple'. This would entertain any female readers as they are being represented as powerful and you have to tiptoe around them in regards to shopping.
Overall, the text creates representations by using stereotypes mainly, although they dispute main gender theories.
As well as representing women stereo-typically, the target audience of males are also portrayed as archetypal men who enjoy 'having a pint' and actively dislike shopping. We get this impression through the list of activities listed that men would rather do but also through the the structure of the text. The majority of this extract is written using short sentences featuring imperatives or declarative statements. For example 'be confident', 'you need to' and 'it takes men five minutes to make a decision on an item of clothing' all display imperatives or are written with the implication that it is a fact. This is done to give the author power in the situation and give the impression that they hold knowledge that must be obeyed; thus making the audience instantly 'do what they're told'.
The text disputes Deborah Tannen's difference theory on many occasions. Throughout the text women are described as the ones holding power and status over the men and the men appear to cower behind them and come to compromises to please them. This links to the conflict vs compromise aspect of the theory as in the situations described in the text the men are the antithesis of conflict creators and are coming up with ways to get out of shopping like 'enlisting a fellow couple'. This would entertain any female readers as they are being represented as powerful and you have to tiptoe around them in regards to shopping.
Overall, the text creates representations by using stereotypes mainly, although they dispute main gender theories.
Text 2:
Text 2 portrays women negatively by making
them seem loud and only caring about men. This is evident in the narrative of
the text as the women are distracted from what they were talking about when a
young male walks past. The use of shock speech balloons also gives us this
impression as they are typically used in conjunction with onomatopoeia to
symbolise a loud noise. As this is an advert that seems to be geared more
towards males the females acting in this way and being drawn like they are is a
technique to attract men. This agrees with the male gaze theory that adverts
show women in a way that will appeal to men to draw them in.
The dialogue
in the next is written phonetically in the style of a Geordie accent. For
example sounds such as ‘aye’, ‘eeh’ and phrases like ‘ah’d give me right arm
for a stottie’ feature throughout the text. By featuring colloquialisms within
the text it implies the target audience is younger as they are the ones coming
up with new sayings and renaming things. As the advert is for a leisure complex
in Newcastle, the consumers of this ad would be local people that would find
this very entertaining. But it also appeals to those who don’t speak with that
accent as it is interesting to see how it is phonetically written and when
spoken aloud it sounds Geordie.
In terms of meanings, the text works as an advert by representing those that are at the leisure complex as young and fun. They do this through how they are actually drawn physically but also through their use of slang. As mentioned previously, those featured in the cartoon are Geordie therefore they use Geordie slang but they are also young and it's known that typically young people use slang.
