MEDIA TEXT OF CALVIN KLEIN (ADVERT)

ANALYSED BY NMEZI ONYEDIKACHI UZOZIE

1ST JANUARY, 2014

The use of semiotic and ideological critique, an approach used by R.Gill is attempted in the course of analyzing this media text .Empirical studies of analyzing text principles were also cited and reflected to broaden more knowledge of the gender in media analysis of the Calvin Klein advert.
MEDIA TEXT
A media text just like the Calvin Klein advert is a message given out by the media allowing the audience, viewers or readers to read meaning into it and understand the message being sent out. The receptivity of the media text is presented based on common peculiarities of encoding and decoding mainstreams. To get the encoding messages, one needs to get a coherent explanation of the message, although we cannot escape the reality in our mind constructively what the meaning is all about. It could only be examined by our mind functioning within objectivity of signs and symbols. However, it is like a musical cords that needs connections to produce meanings.
While words are signs of a meaning all the meanings of signs and colours used in this advert attract the minds of the people, the minds of the people are strongly referred to as the consumer audiences.
In the advert proper, a visual compelling message is represented, promoted and shared by relationship. Because the media is a social market where you can sell the audiences, like the representation in the picture and the products as well.
The media is producing culture in society; this media culture is a market in body image representation. The models are happy in what they are doing and perhaps, because they were paid by the firms.
According to Gerbner, in media cultivation theory, ‘the media maintains and propagates the same cultures of the people’’ as in love, sex, and violence in media. While the media reproduces what we have in mind therefore, the text generates meaning through signifying practices. (Gerbner 1976:P.26)
The media representation of gender has always come in between social reality and media constructions of femininity and sexuality .From the feminist point of view, critiquing mainstream content of the media text in terms of under –representation and misrepresentation has always change in time and space. (Studymode.com 2005:09) while media content changes dominant discourses about masculinities and femininity, it goes ahead to mirror image realities of gender identities in a social world. (Devereux 2003 p. 131)
THE PRODUCTION AND RECEPTION OF THE ADVERT
A look at the advert sells the viewers and there is something valuable in it than just underwear. The sexuality depiction, relationship, the bra and the pant, relates constructively with the words on the advert seductive and comfort. The models expression reproduces and represents an imagined perception or a sense of felt physical form of desire.
The advert creates meaning to the product making it extremely important. Consumers at setting their eyes on the logo on the pant will immediately recognize the Calvin Klein logo which instantly generates values such as quality, comfort ability and style.
The potential consumers are afraid of media’s pervasiveness into privacy yet, one escapes and does what she wishes without worrying the ethics of social implications and these has been an old approach , the desire to be free, channeled through ad features can only be realized if the person first understands the constraints which society places on it .One may not be free from such representations if one knows not of the controlled means .The entire image is sensual in its intentions -a sexual connotation. The promotional tactics of using super models donning its signatures bras, panties and ‘sleep wears’ in print advertising may have worked over the years for Calvin Klein which has made a reputable brand name the world over both in sales and profit. A look at the advert will seemingly reveal the target customers of the fashion company and it is believed that the targeted customers are young, fashionable lads and that’s why they chooses ‘’young and fun’’ imageries. However, the lady in the text has been carefully constructed revealing meanings across different platforms.
Representation is a key concept in media education and understanding the difference between what is real and what is represented is vital to our understanding of the advert. It needs to be viewed in the sense of a viable vehicle, for values, beliefs and attitude which are reinforced or challenged by the audience. (www.godnose.com.uk) because representation is not an easy concept to define in a simplistic way, it goes with a number of senses.
Richard Dyer suggests four variations of media representations in selective, typical representative and meanings or messages represented for audiences. In his work representation of media text, he asks ‘’ what do readers bring to messages which affects how they interpret them and what actual sense is made when particular message is understood? (Richard Dyer 1983). Adverts are representations of stereotypes due to their belief, appearance and characterization. It simplifies, exaggerates both negative and positive point of views. It conveys ideas in a way that producers are convenient with (Tessa Perkins 1979)
When people take a look at such stereotypes some will say that’s my chick baby so cute while others will say professional prostitute you stay naked because you want to make money and sell bra and panties. But because of this kind of misinterpretations, Hall in approaches to representation has this to say ’‘representations deals with a view of or meaning about social reality which is somewhere out there, it is reflexive, intentional and constructionist’’ which a unit shell is the meaning of the text, views of the creator creating the text and the concern of language through visual codes. (Hall 1997)
The Calvin Klein media text stimulates desire in other to sell bra and the panties which is connected with beauty or any product. The creators of the advertisement are trying to generate some kind of an effect or emotional response, so one will notice its fantasy and be induced. The signifying terms of seductive and comfort embossed on the advert and the woman’s face which comes in because what is been sold is magic. First, it catches our attention because when we look at the face it’s erotically sexy of enjoying the pleasurability of the under wears.
Visualization will be the attraction of the purchasers of the product due to its connectivity with desire and sexuality. According to Arthur Asa Berger, if we substitute ‘advertisement’ for ‘dreams’ we can understand why and how we are affected so profoundly by images and words(1991:p.120).
The advertisers associates the text with simplicity spaciousness and formal structure with ‘’class’’ and dream –like states. The advertiser did it also to strike the appropriate responsive chord. Here, the signified are the passion, love, romance that we feel from the advert. While Tony Schwartz in his ‘’the responsive chord’’ as cited by Asa Berger (1991) , in the media analysis technique, states ‘’ the critical task is to design our package of stimuli so that it resonates with information already stored with the individual and thereby induces the stimuli put into our communication to evoke meaning in a listener or viewer .That which we put into communication has no meaning in itself , the meaning of our communication is what a listener or viewer gets out of his experience with the communicators stimulus ‘’(P.123) and Judith Williamson detailed also that, adverts, films posters, music texts created draw heavily on myths – they use cultural signifiers to represent qualities which can be realized through the consumption of the product ( J. Williams 1978).
The gender representation is nothing but a portrayal of meaning and power relationships.

REFERENCES:
Richard Dyer (1983) The matter of images essays in representations Rutledge London
Stuart Hall (1997) Cultural Representation and Signifying Practices: Open University press London
Tessa Perkins (1979) Critical perspectives in media: Theoretical Evaluation of Production
Gerbner .G & Gross .L (1976) living with television: the violence profile Journal of Communication
Eoin Devereux (2003) understanding the media: Sage publications London, New Delhi
Judith Williamson (1978) Decoding advertisement: Ideology meaning Marion Boyars London
Arthur Asa Berger (1991) Media analysis technique: the sage publications inc. Newbury Park California
Rosalind Gill (2007) Analyzing Gender in Media Texts Polity Press Bridge Street Cambridge Uk
Schwartz Tony (1974) The Responsive Chord: Garden City N.Y Doubleday. Media text analysis – studymode.com retrieved 09, 2005 from http/www.studymode.com www.godnose.com.uk 27/12/2012.