In the reading, "Ideological Analysis and Television," by Mimi White, she suggests that television is not monolithic, but a heterogeneous system, full of a complex web of meanings and contradictions. She discusses the theory of the ideological problematic, a complexity of representations and issues broadcast on television and the subsequent inclusion or exclusion of certain representations—either implicitly or explicitly. She argues that an ideological analysis of television needs to recognize this problematic and not attempt to find one specific message but rather recognize the complexity of messages and why certain messages are more dominant than others.
This theory can also be used for the analysis of female-orientated magazines. Magazines, like television, are a complex tapestry of representations that, on the surface, provide information, but when looked at closer show many contradictions—in this case, the implicit exclusion of female sexual pleasure. Cosmo magazine, for instance, is geared towards 17 to 25 year-old women and features many articles about sex. These articles regularly ignore female-oriented pleasure but rather describe male sexuality, offering tips on how to pleasure him. Titles like "Cosmo's map to top male pleasure," and "Three kinds of sex all men crave" are but two examples. On the surface, these articles seem like they are providing information about sex for women but more implicitly they actually provide instruction for a very specific kind of sex: heterosexual, male-dominated sexual activity with the woman as a submissive participant. Furthermore, in magazines such as Women’s World or Good House Keeping, women are exposed to a plethora of contradictions within one issue. These contradictions include the juxtaposition of articles on fast weight loss solutions beside articles on recipes for ridiculously fat-filled goodies. This implicitly sends a message to women to be thin while still maintaining a diet of fatty foods. It also reinforces the belief that a women’s place is that of a homemaker.
-S
Mr. Pickles
I think it's time we redefine success
Links
About Me
- Sare
- Man, isn't Women's Studies fun? Blogging and technology, oh my! About me: I don't know what to say except in the words of Annie Lennox and Arethra Franklin: "Sisters are doin' it for themselves."
1 comment:
Your comment seems to directly address the concept of tension that Mimi White talked about in her article. I believe the concept can be roughly defined as two polar opposites being held together in tension by interdependence. In your example of the beauty magazine, there is a tension of woman being presented as an ideal, and the dependence of the reader, who will never reach such an ideal. You also state that this tension leaves the reader with mixed messages such as, ‘stay slim, but eat fat’. But this account presupposes the reader as a mindless sponge. Mimi White mentions Althusser’s idea of subjectivity as part of the “social formation”, whereby an identity is formed using all areas of human experience. Therefore, in your example of the fashion magazine, an examination of ideology, based on the reader as subjectivity formed by social formation, might ask whether it was the magazine that caused the readers confusion, or whether it was the reader’s interpretation of the magazine as such.
Post a Comment