too much 2 handal: November 2020

Representation is a very important part of the media. This demonstrated the way that the media creator chooses to show his aspect of reality. Through representation, they show their side of people, ethnicity, communities, genre, sexuality, or events in the world.

#1- Axe

- In this commercial, they are representing one heterosexual white guy, who is spraying the Axe perfume. He is starting to get surrounded by many heterosexual women wearing a bikini. The women are both portraying and demonstrating the standards of beauty physically in the face and body. These women are all from different races. In this commercial, they are trying to engage the men to uses this body spray because it will attract all the women they desire just with one spray.

- The way they represent this and what it means to the audience is fairly simple. The main target audience is young adults who are men. This commercial is trying to make him interpret that by using this body spray he will become the most desirable, handsome, confident guy in the world and that all women will fight over him. On the other hand, the women are presented more as savage and aggressive, also they show that their only goal is to find this man.

Man will probably portray this commercial as feeding their egos since it will get them to believe that with one spray they will become the most desirable man. This commercial also in some way objectifies women portraying them mostly for their face and body, because the way they are acting is non-proper and they are acting as if their only goal is to discover this man. They are acting as if they are not intelligent like they have no brains only bodies. It also shows as the women just keep multiplying and it's trying to imply that the more women you have the better you should feel about yourself. The men watching may find this commercial boosting their egos but in the wrong way.

The women watching this probably, on the other hand, might make them feel more insecure since the commercial is trying to portray an image of probably what a perfect woman should look like. It is also showing them the idea that their only desire in life should be to find a man. This commercial might make them believe that they have to be perfect to find a man. Also, this commercial also portrays the idea of how women should compete for men's attention and fight for them because it should be their most valuable and important goal in life.

This commercial might have given the wrong image to many people who believe in different things. Now people nowadays, in this case especially women try to fight for their value and commercials like this devalue the image of women since it shows them as just a body or an object that is only worth for how they look. Also, people from higher classes especially women might not like this commercial cause it degrades women.

#2- H&M

- This commercial includes the representation of a variety of different genres, races, sexualities, and communities. It shows the event of people going against society's rules and what people know as basic fashion.

- This commercial interprets all social groups in an equal social way to the viewers. The target audience, in this case, are all younger adults, and the message they would portray when watching this is that all humans are equal and that people can be different that they do not have to follow what society states that they can create their own fashion.

This would probably inspire a lot of people and set a positive impact. On the other hand, more conservative people might consider this commercial to be out of place since it goes against what is stated to be a specific rule in society as for example; men wearing skirts. Either way, this commercial still sets a very positive image since it expresses freedom allowing people to follow what they believe and s

Is Romance all Cliche?

The romance genre is based mostly on an emotional, passionate, and devoted love story between two characters usually the main ones. This is a journey that takes the viewer through a storyline that consumes them into the characters' worlds. It makes the audience portray and feel what each and every character is feeling. The center of attention surrounds their love story and the difficulties the characters go through to achieve their happy ever after. Romantic films usually produce an emotional and passionate storyline of how to characters find love and usually happiness.

Content:

The romance genre is usually portrayed with a storyline of boy-meets-girl, and through the movie, it continues to grow and develop their relationship and shows character development.

Sky, Fun, Happy, Photography, Gesture, Smile,

EX: The Titanic is a love story between Jack and Rose who are the main characters of the story. This film demonstrates a perfect plotline of boy-meet-girl and they fall in love. It is a development of their love story as well as all the challenges they have to face.

Something important that many romance movies try to incorporate is the use of a creative approach. Due to the fact that romance films have been around for a long time, the creators have to make sure to keep their movie filled with different spectrums of the romance genre. This genre has to make sure to bring a new perspective to the table and have different approaches to the situation; making sure to change something from the cliche storyline, even if it means just changing the location to the more unusual surroundings.

Many romance films focus on two main characters so it's important that the characters are likable and have that on-screen chemistry that makes the audience so attached and engaged in the plot story. If the characters do not have that chemistry on the camera it creates a more boring and dull experience, making the audience lose interest; but on the other hand, if the characters have an amazing connection it makes the audience more fascinated and fed up with what they are watching. This is vital for the context of the movie to have since this can define the difference between a bad and good romance film.

In romance, an important factor is a love and the emotional devotion that is transmitted through the movie. The effect of a consuming love story that guides the characters crazy in love is what keeps the audience on edge. The trauma and the struggle to achieve their happiness every after is intriguing since the audience wants the love interest together but they do not know what is going to accrue. Love is what makes the people watching feel such a big connection with the movie since so many people have felt that amazing love that makes them feel like they are in a movie.

Production Technique:

Most romance films commence with establishing a setting which is usually the location of where the love interests meet. For example, in Grease, they use an establishing shot to show the school where is the location where most of the love story develops.

The sound that is used in these films is usually correlated around the mood of the film or the scene happening. Usually, when the character is going through a sad or depressed episode the music is usually played only by one instrument which helps set the feeling to a lonely and unhappy environment. Soft lyrics are another sound used to set that alone and isolated environment. On the other hand, in many romance films when the characters are going through a good time they usually play out a cheerful or upbeat sound to match the energy the characters are feeling.

EX: In Twilight there is a scene where Bella one of the main character and love interest is going through a rough depression episode and in this scene, the sound is soft lyrics which helps set the mood and helps the audience feel what Bella is going through.

Other types of sound techniques used are diegetic and non-diegetic sounds. Musical instruments can be non-diegetic and diegetic and are used to set the mood. For example, in The Fault in our Stars, a guitar is used in a scene where the main character is feeling down and in a bad mood and they use the guitar to show how the support worker is trying to lift her mood, this is an example of a diegetic sound. Then a non-diegetic sound is used over a scene to demonstrate and portray what the character is feeling. An example of this is the iconic scene in the Titanic where Jack is holding Rose at the edge of the boat this is a very romantic scene and the mood is set by the music playing over the scene.

A lot of props are used a lot in romantic films since there are many objects that represent love. A variety of props are utilized depending on the plot story, such as roses, rings, boxes of chocolates, jewelry, etc.

The costumes used in the romance genre are mostly correlated to everyday clothes, but when characters go out on dates or to special events the men are more likely to be wearing a tux and the women to be wearing a nice elegant dress. When the characters are in a happy period in their lives they are usually shown wearing bright colors to represent their feelings.

EX: In the movie Me Before You in the scene Will invites Louise to a wedding so that he would not have to go alone it shows how the characters are going on a sort of "date" so they both dress up nicer. They change from their everyday clothes and Louise is wearing a lovely dress and Will is wearing a tux.

Marketing:

Romance movies are usually aimed at target audiences of females from the age of 13-18 years old and sometimes older. These movies are made for anyone to watch but are usually aimed more towards the female rather than the male due to the fact that women are stereotypically the ones that like all the romantic and mélancolique stuff that usually don't appeal to men that much.

Most romance movie posters usually show the two main characters or the love interests looking at each other. They try to show the connection and the love of the two characters making the audience fall in love with the romance the two are showing and making them engaged with what the story will develop to show. The posters try to portray the happy, beautiful couple together smiling facing each other. They try to demonstrate to the public that they are going in to watch a heartwarming movie that is going to fill them up with love. Sometimes the characters are shown in a dramatic position showing that their love story is intense and consuming which also attracts various audiences.

EX: The Casa Blanca poster EX: The La La Land poster

Samples:

The Notebook (2004) is one of the most classic romantic films ever. It has the main basic factor which is the storyline based on boy-meets-girl. This film is basically the story of an old man reading a book to an old lady that has Alzheimer's; he is telling her the story of two younger teens from different social classes that meet. The first encounter that they have is at a fair, where Noah Jr (Ryan Gosling) and Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams) meet. At first, Allie does not want to give Noah a chance to go out but later through the story he is able to make her fall in love with him. Their love story is a perfect example of a love story that consumes the audience but as always they have many challenges and difficulties they have to go through, such as; being separated by war, social differences, parents not approving, etc. Noah sends Allie letters one each day for a whole year (365 days) which works as a romantic prop, but unfortunately, Allie never receives it due to her mom keeping them away. Allie later meets a soldier when she is working at a war campus as a nurse, Noah is also enlisted but they do not cross paths. Later in the story, Noah makes the purchase of a house he had promised Allie he would buy and restore for her. When Allie sees that Noah bought this house she felt confused and torn between her first love (Noah) and her now fiance (Lon). There are many romantic factors such as on-screen chemistry. Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams did a great job at this. They transmitted their feelings to the audience and made them feel a greater connection to their relationship since the way Noah and Allie felt their love and connection was undeniably amazing and powerful. The poster of this film did great marketing since it shows the two characters dramatically holding on to each other about to kiss, which it demonstrates to the audience and makes them feel as if this is going to be one of those great love stories.

The iconic scene when the two characters kiss in a rain has extensive background music, dialogue, and sounds of nature, which performed to engage the audience. This scene starts with a soft background noise of a piano playing which sets the mood to feel calm since the characters are waiting to show each other how they feel. Late a sound of lighting is used to break the silence of the two characters. It starts to rain and the characters run to shore since they are riding a boat. In this, since the rain can be heavily heard but the characters are also talking, there is soft background music that helps intensify the kiss scene, which is an iconic scene since kissing in the rain is found to be a romantic thing to do.

10 Things I Hate About You (1999) is a romantic film that is based on Shakespeare's writing, "The Taming of the Shrew". It's basically a story about two sisters who are very different from one another. One sister, Bianca (Larisa Oleynik), is one of the most popular and pretty girls in school, when on the other hand her sister, Kat (Julia Stiles) is more closed and focused in school. Bianca has never had a boyfriend but she desires one badly when on the other side Kat considers boys a waste of time. One day Bianca gets asked out but when she asked for permission from her father he says that if Kat has a boyfriend first then she will be allowed to have one. Bianca tries to get her sister to start dating bad-boy, Patrick Verona. This is a more complex theme rather than a boy-meets-girl, it correlates to it but it has more factors involved since it is Joey Donner who tries to get them together with hopes of being able to date Bianca. The chemistry this to actors have is undeniable and it makes the story so much engaging and cuter. The marketing this film had is similar to the rest the difference is that the two love interests are not looking at each other and smiling all in love. The techniques in this production are very special. They use a very important prop which is the list, that is 10 things Kat hates about Patrick, she begins to read the list that is formatted as a poem since it was a school assignment this moment helps both characters realized how much they like each other, so it is very important to the movie. Another important prop is when Patrick buys Kat a guitar to apologize for what he did, this is used as a romantic gesture which guides the plot to help both characters find their happy ending together. This movie for costumes usually wears normal everyday clothes, except when they go to prom which is considered a date all the characters change, the boys are wearing tuxes and the girls are wearing elegant dresses.

There is a musical performance done as well in this film this just tops everything and makes their love story so much better. This is done as a romantic gesture which is what finally gets Kat to say yes to Patrick. After Patrick performs this scene is set to detention but escapes with the help of Kat. After they leave school they go on their first date. So the iconic scene of serenading a girl is used in this movie, which makes the movie way more romantic. In the iconic scene of both characters playing paintball, there is music playing to go along and set the mood. The music playing is Rock which helps make the audience feel the excitement Patrick and Kat were feeling when playing. The scene progresses and when the two characters have their first kiss. The music helps the audience feel the excitement that both characters are feeling, this scene helps people get engaged with this relationship since this scene was just so adorable.

Some Romance Movies to Consider: