Critical Literacy Analysis
ANALYTICAL ESSAY
A SAMPLE
Givenchy ‘Pour Homme’ Advertisement
Year 11, 2010
Through discourse and representation the media constructs texts to be read or viewed in a certain way by a specific audience. The text which will be analysed within this essay is the Givenchy Advertisement for the men’s fragrance ‘Pour Homme’. Through the discourse of gender, this advertisement represents women as submissive and sexual objects whose only purpose is to seduce men, and in doing so it privileges traditional masculine views of femininity whilst marginalising women. Through various gaps and silences the advertisement only includes certain aspects so that it is viewed in a certain way, and portrays certain values and meanings.
The purpose of the text is to promote and sell the men’s ‘Pour Homme’ fragrance by Givenchy to a target audience of wealthy, unmarried men of around 19 to 30 years of age. The message which the composer has included in this text is that men should act as gentlemen because if they do, and are chivalrous to women, they will be rewarded by women possibly with sexual favours. Therefore it says that if men purchase the product they will become gentlemen and win the affections of women. By placing this message in the text the composer assumes that the viewer can associate themselves with old-school or traditional views of gender roles that act within a relationship. The composer also assumes that the viewer holds worldly values, as opposed to Christian or religious ones, in that they aren’t against sex before marriage and sexual promiscuity, but also that they see a heterosexual relationship as normal.
This text is in the interest of men and men hold the primary benefit from this text, because they are represented through it in a positive way. However, women also hold some benefit from the text, particularly if they are women who want to be romanced by men and hold a submissive position to them. In order to understand this text the viewer needs to
A SAMPLE
Givenchy ‘Pour Homme’ Advertisement
Year 11, 2010
Through discourse and representation the media constructs texts to be read or viewed in a certain way by a specific audience. The text which will be analysed within this essay is the Givenchy Advertisement for the men’s fragrance ‘Pour Homme’. Through the discourse of gender, this advertisement represents women as submissive and sexual objects whose only purpose is to seduce men, and in doing so it privileges traditional masculine views of femininity whilst marginalising women. Through various gaps and silences the advertisement only includes certain aspects so that it is viewed in a certain way, and portrays certain values and meanings.
The purpose of the text is to promote and sell the men’s ‘Pour Homme’ fragrance by Givenchy to a target audience of wealthy, unmarried men of around 19 to 30 years of age. The message which the composer has included in this text is that men should act as gentlemen because if they do, and are chivalrous to women, they will be rewarded by women possibly with sexual favours. Therefore it says that if men purchase the product they will become gentlemen and win the affections of women. By placing this message in the text the composer assumes that the viewer can associate themselves with old-school or traditional views of gender roles that act within a relationship. The composer also assumes that the viewer holds worldly values, as opposed to Christian or religious ones, in that they aren’t against sex before marriage and sexual promiscuity, but also that they see a heterosexual relationship as normal.
This text is in the interest of men and men hold the primary benefit from this text, because they are represented through it in a positive way. However, women also hold some benefit from the text, particularly if they are women who want to be romanced by men and hold a submissive position to them. In order to understand this text the viewer needs to