Image Analysis
The example above is an advertisement for Obsession by Calvin Klein, a cologne product for men. However, Calvin Klein manipulates both male and female audiences through the use of sexuality, female exploitation and male dominance.
These connotations can be identified through several signifiers used to manipulate both genders. The first is the use of the model. The female is positioned in a seductive manner which implies she's sexually available allowing the male to examine the female form. In her essay 'The Look', Rosalind Coward states, 'Women, in the flesh, often feel embarrassed, irritated or downright angered by men's persistent gaze. But not wanting to risk male attention turning to male aggression, women avert their eyes and hurry on their way. Those women on the billboards, though; they look back. Those fantasy women stare off the walls with a look of urgent availability.' (2000), p34. This can be clearly seen by the way the model is looking directly at the camera, seducing the viewer into a false sense of hope. 'The camera in contemporary media has been put to use as an extension of the male gaze at women on the streets. Here, men can and do stare at women; men assess, judge and make advantages on the basis of these visual impressions. The ability to scrutinise is premised on power.' (2000), p33. The idea of male dominance is reinforced here and the ideologies of women being the property of men, objectifying women and turning them into a sex symbol. The text above the model 'Obsession for men', implies that attractive females should be the normal 'obsession' for heterosexual men, again suggesting the idea of women being objects, there to satisfy the needs of men and thus turning them into the property of man. 'The saturation of society with images of women has nothing to do with men's natural appreciation of objective beauty, their aesthetic appreciation, and everything to do with an obsessive recording and use of women's images in ways which make men comfortable.' (2000), p34. The advertisement is for men however, there is no man in the image but instead a naked woman, presented in a sexually suggestive manner. Her expression of willingness and delicate positioning suggests that females are passive and are of the weaker sex needing to be nurtured. The implies female submission to comfort men and assert male dominance.
'Women like looking at glamorous and highly sexualised images of other women because these images are meant to function like a mirror. The image like a mirror reflects back to women their own fascination with their own image.' (2000), p37. Another reading is the representation of femininity. The way the model is presented reflects feelings about self image and how women think they should be perceived. The models body is slender, sexy and delicate, suggesting this is what men find appealing. 'Women's experience of sexuality rarely strays far from ideologies and feelings about self-image. there's a preoccupation with the visual image- of self and others- and a concomitant anxiety about how these images measure up to a socially prescribed ideal.' (2000) p33. The dark background is used in conjunction with the lighter tones of the model to define her figure and create a smooth, flawless shimmer to her skin. This creates disapproval of ones self and makes the female long for the perfect appearance, which is unrealistic. 'True though it is that women, especially young women, are deeply concerned with their own images, it is radically incorrect to liken women's relation with media images to the happy state of Narcissus. Women's relation to their own self image is much more likely to be dominated by discontent.' (2000), p37.
After analysing the advertisement it is clear to see the politics behind the advert are about sexuality, female exploitation and male dominance. Calvin Klein uses signifiers to target both male and females to manipulate their self worth. Male viewers may identify themselves as being active, the stronger sex, whilst women, are left preoccupied with their self image and how they think they should be perceived.
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