From the guided analysis feedback, the main issue I took away was paying equal attention to the visual and written text and being more deliberate and specific when making links of what I see with what the brand aims to promote. I think I focused more on the visual text which made the written text less thought out and elaborate.
In my analysis of the written text, I did not unpack “Hostess Unafraid!” which was the most noticeable part of the written text. Although an analysis was attempted, (“In this context… family.”) the explanation was half-baked – the style of the language itself and the unpacking what it means to be a hostess could have strengthened my argument.
Additionally, I also could have done the following:
- Think more deeply about the context the ad was produced in: The Great Depression
- Kept in mind what was missing from the text: Lack of textual references to non-white Americans; racial segregation/ ethnic division.
- Lack of representation?
- Are these texts then encoding certain values or pedalling existing values?
- The characterisation of the woman
- Heavily focused on objectifying her as a facade of beauty
- ‘Hostess’ – Transmuting economic anxiety into a social one
- Social anxiety
- Social judgement
- Character in itself
Points to remember:
- Avoid being vague/ ambiguity in writing
- Answer ‘so what?’ questions
- Pay attention to visual and written text equally (style of the language)
- Always link back to what the brand wants to sell us + what assumptions are producers making of their consumers? Why?
