Uses and Gratifications Theory

Skins could be watched because of personal identity, it is a show about teenagers that deal with issues such as drugs, alcohol, sex, pregnancy, broken relationships and also college/university. This would allow teenagers and young adults to associated themselves with the programme and some of the characters because they deal with real life issues in the show. Skins is also entertaining so many teenagers would watch the programme for the storyline and the drama that happens in the show. Teenagers and young adults would take a prefferd reading to skins as we can relate to the characters and the issues. However, some teenagers may take a negtotaited reading because they may understand the issues that the show deals with but they may not be interested in the show. Adults would take an oppositonal reading to the show because they could view it as inappropriate.

The Disappearance of Alice Creed

The first shot seen in the film is an establishing shot, which is the most common shot for the beginning of films as it establishing the setting of the scene. The mise en scene of the cars shows that it is a car park and the non diegetic sound of aeroplanes means that is it an airport car park. The leading lines of the cars draws the audience into the shot and the low key, natural lighting gives the scene an dark feel and would make the audience feel uncomfortable. 

At 15 minutes 30 seconds there is a close up shot of Gemma Arterton's face, this shows the emotion on her face, this type of shot lets the audience know how a character is feeling, and in this case allows them to feel sympathy for her because she is crying. The mise en scene shows that she has been kidnapped because she has a belt in her mouth to prevent her from talking and she is handcuffed to a bed, this shows that she has no power in the situation. The clothes she is wearing suggest that she isn't from a wealthy background and she doesn't have a lot of skin on show which suggests that she isn't supposed to be seen as a sex object. 

Female representation in the media

Advertisements:American Apparel

American Apparel adverts are good examples of the objectification of women in the media, women are often seen as sex objects by showing individual body parts for male pleasure. This is known as the male gaze. Although American Apparel sell women's clothes, the adverts are aimed at men, this is because the female models are being sexualised to sell clothes. This model is lying on a bed with her legs in the air, this has sexual connotations because it looks like she is inviting someone to have sex with her. She is also wearing very little clothing which suggest the same thing, it is very ironic that the company is selling clothes but the model is wearing very little clothing. The American Apparel logo that covers some of her body stops the photo from being pornographic, however she is showing a lot of skin and looks very alluring which means she is still being objectifided in this advert.  

This Girl Can

The "This Girl Can' campaign is a promotional video to try and encourage women to get involved with sport, to stay healthy and not to loose weight. However, this video challenges the stereotype of women usually seen in magazines and adverts as it shows women of all shapes, sizes, race and age. Women are often sexualised in the media but this video doesn't sexualise women because the environment means that the women in the video do not need to be sexualised to sell or promote something.

Usually scenes like this that have a camera shot of her bum would be sexualised because she is wearing little clothing, but she is at a swimming pool which shows that she is there to exercise and not sell a product, which is seen in the David Beckham H&M advert.
The background music (Missy Elliott "Get ur freak on') is used to inspire and motivate women watching this video, because it suggests that women should not be embarrassed and self conscious when playing sport or working out because you should enjoy what you're doing even if you 'jiggle'