'Deadz' Presidentz

The music video ‘Deadz’ by Migos is a song from their latest album “Culture”. Migos, a rap group from North Atlanta, consists of three members; Quavo (Quavious Marshall), Takeoff (Kirshnik Ball) and Offset (Kiari Cephus). In just two weeks, the music video has become a viral sensation and racked up over 8 million views. The popularity of the rap group and its recent video demonstrates the ability of Migos to broadcast their ideas in a unique manner. The group accomplishes this through the demonstration of symbolism, socio-economic status, and cultural stereotypes.  

            Migos excellently employs the use of symbolism through various avenues. First and foremost, the title of the track, ‘Deadz’, symbolizes money. More specifically, the title intends to reference the dead presidents that grace the front of dollar bills. This is illuminated through the hook, in which artist Quavo raps, “Uh, ooh, fresh out the bed, uh, ooh, count up the dead.” Although there are many different denominations in the United States currency, it can be insinuated that the group is referencing three of the most influential figures in American history: George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Benjamin Franklin. It is in this way that both Migos and Quavo are referencing the one, five, and one hundred dollar bills, respectively. Although the one and five dollar bills typically do not carry much weight for individuals that have reached a certain level of wealth, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are the men portrayed in caskets in the ‘Deadz’ music video. This is indicative of the fact that the target audience for this music video is individuals in society that do not have the same economic liberties and faculties as the public. Later in the music video, Takeoff contradicts this aspect by saying, “no twenties or fifties, just Benjamin Franklin’s.” Prior to this line, Quavo also references the group’s large sums of money when he raps, “…my money long like anaconda.” As it is, anacondas are the largest snakes in the world, averaging anywhere from ten to fifteen feet long, but can grow up to 30 feet under certain circumstances (Genius). It is in understanding this reference to anacondas that Quavo effectively communicates to his target audience that, in spite of prior statements about monetary struggles, there is never truly any significant shortage of money. Additionally, Quavo, Takeoff, and Offset continuously brag about their current financial situation, a fact that is justified due to the trio’s socio-economic standing.

            At another point in the song, Quavo states, “…no cap, I keep a sack like Sapp…” This is a direct reference to the Hall of Fame defensive football player, Warren Sapp. Throughout his career, Sapp became notorious for sacking the opposing quarterback, hence the musical reference in the present case. However, the genius behind this line is that the word “sack” carries multiple meanings. In the example noted above, “sack” is representative of a football play, one in which the noted Hall of Fame player was known for. This adds a certain weight to the statistic. Continuing this idea, “sack” refers to a significant portion, an amount that must be Hall-of-Fame worthy. As such, this line by Quavo means that the trio is wealthy enough to carry around a sack full of money; they have no cap, no limit to how much money they can or will spend. Despite how impressive this may seem, the fact remains that this contributes to the broader hip-hop stereotype – fast cars, flashy jewelry, and stacks of cash, all of which are short-lived.

            In conclusion, Migos successfully utilizes symbolism, socio-economic status, and cultural stereotypes to convey their ideas to the public. With ‘Deadz’ becoming a viral sensation, Migos has the unique opportunity to use their platform to bring light to social issues. That being said, Migos is still confined to the restrictions of the hip-hop stereotype, chains that they themselves reinforce.

Everybody Has a "Castle on the Hill"

The music video for the incredible song “Castle on the Hill” by Ed Sheeran depicts scenes of the famous Framlingham Castle in Framlingham, Suffolk (Sheeran’s hometown). It also includes various scenes portraying the life of a teenager Sheeran with his friends. The music video incorporates scenes of Ed Sheeran singing his song while reminiscing moments in his early life that are triggered by the sight of the castle on the hill.

At a young age of 26, Ed Sheeran has become one of the many successful singer/songwriters in the music industry. He has won numerous awards for his music and collaborated with other well-known artists such as Taylor Swift. Ed Sheeran is known for performing his meaningful songs to sold-out crowds around the world. As an artist, he has also achieved to break multiple records in a number of countries.

During an interview with BBC Radio 1, Ed Sheeren referred to this song as a “love song for Suffolk ‘cause I don’t think anyone’s ever done that”. The music video was inspired by his hometown and his childhood experiences of growing up. “Castle on the Hill” is to provide fans with insight into the community that Ed Sheeran grew up in and gives credit for influencing who he is today. The message of the music video is to express that regardless of where/who you are now, there is always going to be an iconic place or landmark that you can call home and remind you of your life growing up. The purpose of the message is to connect to listeners through the universal concept of growing up.

A major concept supporting the message of the music video is the use of semiotics. According to the Danesi text, semiotics is the science of physical and interpretative meanings of signs. The most important signifier is the castle on the hill (thus the reason for the title of the song). This would make the signified to be the literal and inferred meaning of the castle and how it further relates to the message of always having a place to call home. The castle on the hill denotes a famous building in a community. According to the text by Danesi, “connotations allow humans to expand the application of signs creatively”. A possible connotation that can be inferred from the semiotic that this building is the most important landmark of the city and that it represents the city. The goal of using the scenes of the castle as a symbol is to connote a recognizable landmark that represents and serves as a reminder of your hometown.

As “Castle on the Hill” is filled with different illustrations of semiotics, other important signifiers are the scenes of drinking beers and smoking cigarettes. These signifiers associate to the typical stages of growing up as a person. In connection to the music video, these scenes can be interpreted as signs of glamorizing aspects of his early life. On a literal level, these specific signifiers can be denoted as a general day or party action to relieve stress. A potential connotation of showing scenes of drinking beer and smoking cigarettes with friends could be actions involved in everyday social lives. On a more cultural level, these scenes can further be connoted as experimentation and getting into trouble at a young age. These scenes correspond to the lyrics “Fifteen years old and smoking hand rolled cigarettes…and getting drunk with my friends” relates to the concept that even though the experience was not formative, at least it is still memorable. This relates to the message that when you are reminded of home, you are also reminded of the memories of growing up into the person you have become today. 

“Castle on the Hill” is the perfect way for Ed Sheeran to share memories of him growing up in his hometown with the audience. This song by Ed Sheeran is a great way to melodically honor his hometown and think about the memories of growing up. It is evident that the main concept of semiotics is used to portray the message of the music video. The use of the castle on the hill as the most important semiotic is a great way of representing the message, which is that a person will always have something symbolically iconic to remind them of their hometown and their childhood. Using scenes of drinking beer and smoking cigarettes is an effective method of representing the experimenting phase of growing up. Overall, this music video portrays an important message for listeners to connect to, which is remembering there is always something to remind us of home and the universal concept of growing up.

Always #LikeAGirl

“You throw like a girl”. “Stop being such a girl”. “Stop being such a drama queen”. How would you react if someone told you any one of those phrases? Some people, women included, would be offended.

Always, is one of the world’s largest and leading producers of feminine care products. Its company motto is “Always is dedicated to helping women embrace womanhood positively- from the beginning of puberty through their adult lives.". The ad debuted during the biggest football game of the year,

the super bowl. In the ad, we are shown how different people view the phrase “like a girl”. Always hoped to help change the conversation about what it means to be a girl, especially in relation to how females run, throw or do any other activity. The “like a girl” ad helped boost awareness, confidence and self-esteem, and also helped the brand win mass accolades for changing the narrative about women.

    

This ad brought attention that it is not only men who have this sexist perspective, but it affects both genders. From this ad, and our daily experiences, we get the idea that doing something like a girl has a negative connation to it, like doing something in less passionate, weak and wrong way. The aim of this commercial is to encourage young girls, and everyone else, to reexamine the bias we have and encourage women and girls that they are just as capable, strong and to keep doing what they are doing and not let stereotypes diminish their confidence. It encourages all genders to challenge the ideologies of society.

I think one of the best moment in the commercial is when we see the group of young girls being asked, “When did doing something ‘like a girl’ become an insult?” One of the young girls says, “I’m not sure if it’s a bad thing or a good thing. It sounds like a bad thing.” Then the original cast realizes the underlying sexism of what they have done, and encourage young girls to keep with their passions.

The target audience in this ad is mainly young women, especially those aged 8-16 as they are at an age where they are easily susceptible to sociocultural factors seem to start influencing. But the ad could also be said to be targeted to the men, and again mainly young men, as a wakeup call to be more aware of the way they are helping, whether knowingly or unknowingly, encourage women to be ashamed of themselves.

In addition, the use of color is arguably among the most powerful communication tools in any media design. The use of blank blue background throughout the commercial is an intentional ploy of the director to evoke sincerity, as all the attention is on the cast. The color blue gives us a feeling of stability and quality, and doesn’t attract attention on the surroundings but emphasizes the content.

This ad takes a reception and experience approach to feminist work on popular culture. The Always advertisement represents values that are often inherent in feminist thinking, through the ad we are challenged to think about what kinds of images are presented and what do those images reveal about women’s position in the culture; and what are the consequences of those images. We see the social construct that “boys are better than girls.” Women are assumed to be inferior to men in many aspects of life, including work performance, athletic ability, and intelligence. Always challenges these power structures by illustrating a different, more realistic picture, one in which girls are just as capable and strong as their male peers. In the scene at the end of the ad where the older girls are shown playing their sports, Always shows that girls have untapped potential that would go undiscovered due to a socially constructed weakness that girls supposedly have.

 The ad did induce strong sentiments about what it means to be a woman in this patriarchal society. However, assuming one had no knowledge about the Always brand you would think that they were some sort of feminist organization, and not a manufacturer of feminine products.  While their calculative choice to not use a product-orientated approach paid off, as they managed to improve their brand image and use emotion to coax consumers into thinking about buying their products, it does make me question their motive. As discussed in her article, journalist Emily Shire argues that the campaign is emotionally exploitative, If Always is going to attach a message about self-confidence without any actual mention of the product they sell or menstruation in the commercial, it seems somewhat deceptive.

While I commend Always for taking a stance on such a trivial and important matter, and using rather sophisticated and tactful marketing in doing so. But at the end of the day, their motive is profit. I think that it is odd and suspicious that they don’t mention how their products will help empower girls, they didn’t release a statement that they will donate to a girl’s fund or help create more opportunity for women. Essentially it was just another hyped campaign in which people will forget about after a while. However, as shown by some studies, the impact that the campaign had on Always’ market share was undeniable.

Always isn’t the first company accused of using the guise of women empowerment to further their agenda, Dove’s “real beauty” campaign always faced great criticism about the sincerity of their ads and whether it was just another clever marketing trick to get us to buy more of their products or whether they actually care about empowering women.

Was I moved by the like a girl campaign? Yes. Did it make me more likely to buy an Always product next time I go shopping? Not really.

Father John Misty: Narcissism Becoming Self Loathing

Father John Misty sheds his pseudonym on the track "The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apartment," a song from his most recent album, inspired by feelings he was having after a hookup. Upon first listen, the lyrics initially come off cruel, at times humorous, but overall mean-spirited. Upon multiple listens, and especially after the music video was released, it became clear that these feelings were not rooted in his feeling towards this stereotype he makes up, but instead they exist just as strongly towards himself.

Father John Misty, who is Josh Tillman in real life, talks of a type of girl in the opening lines, “I just love the kind of woman who can walk over a man.” It starts promising, but throughout the song, he cuttingly remarks all of his least favorite qualities of hers. It really does begin to seem that he actually doesn't like the girl at all, insulting her self-centered worldview and her intelligence again and again. It doesn't take long for him to begin coming off as a jerk to the listener. Upon listening closer, however, it becomes clear that it might be intentional.

For example, early in the song he makes fun of the girl's misuse of the word "literally," calling it a "malapropism," saying, "I wonder if she even knows what that word means." The irony comes in that while the narrator sees himself a linguistic expert, her use of literally is technically not a malapropism, showing he's guilty of the same crime and ultimately doesn't have the right to act like an intellectual and dismiss her. Many of his complaints are rooted in the idea that she doesn't know what she's talking about, that she's been told by too many men that she's wise beyond her years. Once it becomes clear that he is just as narcissistic and self righteous as she is, many of these complaints lose their footing completely.

All of this is reinforced by the music video, in which Josh Tillman meets himself at a bar, follows himself back to his apartment to do drugs, swim in the pool, and hook up with himself. All to leave himself in the morning sporting his doppelgangers hat. He remarks, "Special thanks to my body double Tyler, who I had to kiss no fewer than two dozen times and whose breath I can still smell in my mind's eye."

The message he is trying to push with this imagery is pretty clear, and affirms the suspicions that he was entirely intending to come off as a jerk. In the end, he is no different from the person who he is hooking up with in this story, and therefore has no right to be saying such things. But these comments also stem from this hatred for himself, as he's playing both parts in the music video, all of his comments are actually directed at himself. Josh Tillman remarks ,"This video is partially inspired by the LeBron James quote, 'It is precisely the superficial differences between people who are otherwise alike that inform the hostilities between them.'

"It's your male impotent rage. It's a portrait of wounded narcissism," he elaborates in a quote from an interview in Uncut Magazine. It explains how he can have such an attraction to himself, but feel loathing for it at the same time. It also serves to break the narrator's view of the gendered stereotypes, as he's calling himself out as a sexist. "It's not so much about this girl or this episode so much as it is about my self- hatred. But it is the darker aspects of my experience that inspire me to write. I think it's sort of a bait and switch, because maybe at first listen it just appears to be this indignant, self-righteous dressing down of this girl. But on repeated listens, you realize it's a narrator here who is this total asshole. I was in the low place, trying to bolster my esteem. It's a despicable song!"

"The a--hole in that song is me," Tillman admitted in an interview with Q Magazine. "I left that experience feeling like a f--king worthless human being. It's a destructive song and it's definitely one that I will not perform after this album cycle." 

His own aversion to the song proves the shame he feels for having written those words, but I think it's valuable that he was ultimately able to own up to that arrogant, narcissistic, self destructive side of himself. It is a sad thing when someone needs to use someone else to affirm themselves in such a selfish way, and the song addresses that feeling quite bluntly.

Knock, Knock, Cut!

Mac Miller is a young rap artist who derives his fame from witty one-line lyrics, good rhythm, and an eccentric view of his life. His song Knock Knock is both a biography, and a feel-good tune that you can immediately tell Mac resonates very closely with. To relay how surreal his experience has been with his early high school fame in rap music, Miller and his crew employ two crucial elements in their film choices to enhance this feeling of euphoria and thrill of the song and its lyrics.

The creators of the video selected very short sequences of film and numerous jump cuts to convey a sense of speed and tempo to the video. Furthermore, they heavily emphasized a shift in tone in the music video to clearly show the contrast between the society around Mac Miller, and his own view on life.

Throughout the video, the editors make ample use of the jump cut, cutting within the same second sometimes to entirely unrelated spaces. This effect creates a flurry of sequences that are almost jarring to the eye, hitting the viewer relentlessly one after the other. The cuts jump back and forth between Miller and his crew dressed in hoodies and jeans to a group of young women dressed very conservatively.

The disparity of the characters in the jump cuts help to further Mac Miller’s claim of being unique. It switches from him and his friends, dressed far differently from everyone else, to a group of people who fit the societal norm. By employing the cuts this way, the creators are able to create not only physical separation between Miller and those around him, but also a metaphorical separation between himself and a representative of the society around him.

This makes sense though. Miller didn’t have the normal lifestyle that his peers would have had. He openly admits to having smoked marijuana and consumed alcohol as early as eleven years-old, and he has been recording since he was in high school. While it has caused some ups and downs, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk3U20a7Tik), this all comes with the support of his parents, so it is unsurprising that he thinks his life plays out differently than that of the society around him.

Beyond their use of these jump cuts, the creators used the medium and closeup shot almost exclusively, focusing for the most part on the people and not the atmosphere around them. This choice not only makes the video more intimate between viewer and actor, but it also enhances the ability for viewers to relate to the lyrics of the song. Rather than place the video in time or place, the creators opted to leave it ambiguous, using these closer shots to connect their viewers to the emotions of the video.

But, the most blatant film choice they used was choosing to link the sequences of the video overall by rhythm and tone. The video opens in a monochromatic color scheme. The music begins slow and generic, showing a few longer sequences of people wandering around a little aimlessly. After a bit of time, however, these two groups find themselves in the same place, and the rhythm changes dramatically. The tempo picks up rapidly and we see Miller and his crew dance towards the group of women to which they enthusiastically respond.

This rhythm change energizes the environment, and sparks the next major visual change, a burst of color. As the groups collide, the world lights up with vibrant colors, obliterating the dreary, boring emotions that just a moment before dominated the video. This choice of a dramatic switch allowed the creators to energize the song violently, as though drawing a few average people into the wild world in with Mac Miller lives, if only for a few musical minutes.

The jump cuts and short sequences create a sense of speed and energy and enthusiasm that excites the lyrics and rhymes that Miller puts together in quick succession. The color creates an apparent contrast with the monochrome to tell the audience that life is no fun, unless you live it the way you want to, like Mac does. Bringing it all together, we get a fast-paced, energetic song that inspires us to live life our way and never conform to the dull, monochrome shape that society tries to mold us into.

I Just Ride

            In the music video to her song Ride, Lana Del Rey utilizes many film and spacing techniques to tell her story. The video aims to explain an imaginary 3 year period of her life where she was searching for fulfillment. During this time, it is evident that Lana struggled with maintaining healthy romantic relationships and with her own mental stability. She rhythm, montage, and tone to communicate the emotion in this part of her life. Lana incorporates iconography by borrowing many Americana symbols like the open road, motorcycle gangs, the American flag, denim, and the American West. These objects are reminiscent of “The Good Old Days” and a time of pioneering and grit and most importantly freedom. The latter being what Lana is ultimately chasing after in the video. Freedom from herself, her past, and her present state.

              The entire video is driven by the use of montage. Lana’s story is told through her interactions with men and her career as an aspiring singer. The different situations Lana found herself in are strung together with differing lengths and detail. The sequence and rhythm of these scenes add to the depth and sincerity of the video. All the experiences she undergoes are directly referenced in the lyrics of the song which is ultimately what directs the video. This could be considered a type of linear sequencing since the images shown are more or less matched with what she is saying. Overall, the various scenes are explored separately, but are still similar enough in their nature to create the overarching theme of searching for one’s self in another person. Some of the clips of her and the different men are oriented with a fairly quick rhythm to express the desperation and loneliness that she felt at that time. The clips with shorter rhythm also seem to focus primarily on her and her image whereas the longer ones focus on the relationship and their various actions. Overall, the clips paint a very tragic picture. However, when the individual clips are expanded to include more context the viewer sees that, although her behavior is unhealthy, she is happy.

Lana singing career is also central in the video. There are multiple clips of her onstage performing and of her name on box offices. These scenes directly incorporate the lyrics from the present about this imaginary period of her life. As mentioned above, the lyrics direct the video and the shots of her performing allow that to happen. The transitions between her onstage and her living the situation are woven in with each other by way of color blending and association. Consecutive scenes have similar color schemes or share a common object. For example, Lana’s feet are used throughout the video to transition between scenes. Going back to her performances, the scenes of her singing incorporate tone. When she is alone on stage the tone is very dark, but once she starts singing the tone becomes much brighter making her look empowered. The use of tone as juxtaposition is seen with other clips too. When Lana is shown by herself, for example, at the convenience store and gas station, she is in the shadows and looks physically uncomfortable. The scenes are very dark and mysterious, but when she is with the company of men and her “people” the tone completely changes to be much warmer and cheerful. This technique is used to show the loneliness Lana felt during this time and how she used other people to help fill that void. Lana is acting as a damsel in distress, but the evil she is running from is herself. She is ultimately using the men in her life to make her happy.

There is a curious feminist message within the video as well. In the post-feminist world there is a certain discrepancy when it comes to the role of women in power and how they are able to attain power. In many ways a women can use her body and beauty to attain relevance. However, sexuality has come to be a double edged sword in the sense that women have fought against being solely defined as a sex object, but women who take charge of their sex life are seen as powerful and strong. In the video, Lana is definitely taking charge of her sexuality and reveling in her beauty and using it to her advantage. As the viewer can infer that she has seduced all the men so was involved with. The images of her with the men themselves walk the line between “sexual liberation and self-exploitation”.  However, her behavior in these moment can be characterized as very submissive and dependent to the point of neuroticism. It is hard to identify the person in control of the relationship. But the warm tone and montage of symbols of freedom seems to convey that Lana is satisfied with this lifestyle.

             The video is an ode to the American spirit, but also recognizes the pains associated with embarking on the journey to finding one’s freedom. Lana’s tragic story resonates with the natural restlessness all humans have. She wants to be free but she is trapped within herself and her desires. In an attempt to feel alive Lana engages in wild and reckless adventures that only highlight her instability. This message would not be nearly as well received without the use of tone and montage to engage the viewer and display the rawness of Lana and her men. 

Citations:

Vigier, Catherine. "The Meaning of Lana Del Rey." Zeteo: The Journal of Interdisciplinary Writing (2012): 1-16.

A Boost in Confidence

By: Alexis Carreno

Being nominated for MTV Best Rock Music Video award, “Victorious” was a good hit from Panic! at the Disco’s newest album released in 2015. The video features Brendon Urie, lead vocalist, going through different scenarios where he becomes the victor. Despite the montage of exaggerated scenes, they make the theme of the music video and song clear which is boosting confidence.

The video starts with the Brandon in a boxing ring getting ready to fight another boxer who looks stronger and more intimidating. Despite the difference in body strength, Brandon knocks him out and is given a championship belt followed by confetti falling from the sky and girls with champagne approaching him. Here semiotics, a sign that represent another meaning other than itself, is used because those are signs of celebration; when someone receives a title belt it is because they are a champion while confetti and champagne are items associated with parties (Danesi 2004). On the next scene, Brandon receives a note that his girlfriend is breaking up with him which leads him to crying and sobbing. He then gets a call from her and as much as he would like to answer the phone he does not. Can you guess what happens next? The repetition of the confetti and girls with champagne bottles occurs signifying he is the victorious for staying strong. The montage continues with the same sequence, having a task to do, accomplishing it then and over exaggerating celebration occurs.

An important part of the music video is that instead of being one single scene it is like a montage of many scenes that range in difficulty; from surviving a break up to helping a lady cross the street before the light turns red. This allows the theme of the video to reach a larger audience because more people can relate with the simpler tasks. Furthermore, the simple but exaggerated scenes give the viewers a humorous vibe and makes them feel like they can do the same tasks and feel great.

The theme of boosting confidence in the music video is very clear and the lyrics only further establish this victorious feeling. However, there is a hidden meaning behind this video that viewers will not see unless they are aware of the bands history. According to Wikipedia, the band formed in 2004 and composed of Brandon and 3 other members. After 2 years, one of the member, Brent Wilson, was kicked out of the band for the lack or responsibility and replaced. Then after their second album, their style of music started changing and since Brandon and Smith wanted to make further changes, the other two members left and formed their own band. Furthermore, in 2015 Smith left the band due to health issues and left Brandon as the only member of the official lineup.  

Original 4 Members of the Band

With this said, we start to get a better understanding of the hidden meaning of the music video. Brandon has gone through a lot with the band these past 12 years; he witnesses the band coming together and then saw the members slowly leave making him to be the only original member. This is a difficult thing to go through because a band is like a family, a team and to see members leave brings a sense of discouragement. It can get to some people head and destroy them from the inside, yet Brandon is still going strong with the band taking it to the next level as their new album dropped in 2015, Death of a Bachelor. The first song on the album is no other than “Victorious” which makes perfect sense because he is expressing himself. As an artist, he is full of confidence with high self-esteem and is ready to continue with the band taking it in the direction he envisions as well as make his fans happy.

According to an article by Stumme, Brandon explained on Genius.com “…It’s about having that confidence and being like 'Yeah, I could be the greatest, I just have to push myself to do it.' I just kept chanting 'S-P-O-R-T-S' the whole time in the studio. It was fun." He the artist summarizes the point of the music video because after watching it the viewer are left with this feeling of being energized. The best part is that it does not have to be about a certain thing but just in general, makes us feel more… Victorious!

See Through The Human Nature

By: Ted Shi

    The 1995 film "Seven" directed by David Fincher is one of the most popular crime thriller film around the world. It was well-received among audiences due to its unique dark style and surprising ending. In the movie, young Brad Pitt portrays David Mills, who is a young detective that just transferred to the new work place. By contrast, Morgan Freeman portrays an old detective named William Somerset, who is going to retire very soon. The movie basically tells a story of these two detectives tracking down a serial killer named John Doe, who used seven deadly sins as themes in his serial murders. One of the most important ideas that presented by this movie is that the world is a dark place, and all people have their weaknesses.  

    Pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth, these are the seven deadly sins that human commits in Christian's point of view. The murder John Doe is actually a devout religious man. Each victim he murdered falls into one of these sins, and their death positions perfectly reflect the sin they were committed. For example, in the "gluttony" case, the victim is a very fat man who eats a lot. When John murdered him, he was forced to sit at the table and keep eating until he is way overload and dead. John's technique seems cruel, but it fit his purpose: telling the world that people are committed to the seven deadly sins.

    One of the typical scenes I would like to talk about is the "box" scene towards the end of the movie. It is a surprising ending for audiences which perfectly shows the concept that "everyone in the world has weakness". At that time, John has already finished murdering people that refer to five different sins, and there are only two left. However, he voluntarily surrenders himself to the police. When David and William think they have caught the killer and everything is done, they receive a box which John sent earlier that day before he was caught.

    William opens the box and see the head of David' s wife, he is totally shocked. He knows that David will definitely shoot John if he knows the truth. However, things are already too late, John start to talk with David about what he did to his pregnant wife, and David eventually shoots him. Yet this is exactly what John wants. John himself falls into the sin of envy, that's why he destroyed David's happy family. While David also falls into the sin of wrath since he kills John in order to wreak, which he should not do as a detective. By doing all that, John achieved his ultimate goal. Since our main character, David, falls into his trap and helped him finish the whole plan.

    The director David Fincher applied lots of shot techniques in this final scene. He used different types of shots to present the scene. There are lots close-up shots which clearly show David's facial expressions. Brad Pitt did a good job portraying a chaotic
expression when he knows his wife was murdered and the killer is right under his pistol. Through that close-up shot, audiences can definitely see his heart and mind are conflicting towards whether he should kill John or not, and it obviously shows his weakness. Contrasting with the close-up shot, there are also some extreme long shot, from the view of a helicopter, showing a broad, panoramic view of what's happening. Those long shots add to the nervous atmosphere.

    Moreover, David Fincher did a good job using high-angle & low-angle shots. The helicopter view meanwhile is an example of high-angle shots. According to the theory, high-angle shots can make characters smaller, and therefore make them more vulnerable. In the scene, even though David and William totally controlled John, but showing them repetitively in a telescope view makes the situation seems dangerous, which according to the ending, is true. The use of low-angle shots is also fantastic. Low-angle shots usually suggest dominance and power. When William finds out that the head, he suddenly knows John's final purpose and realizes the current situation. Therefore, he said "John Doe has the upper hand" to people on the helicopter. Right after his words, the camera gives John a low-angle shots, with his head covers the sun. It clearly shows his dominance at that moment. Similarly, when David shoots John, the camera also gives him a low-angle shot, showing his strong power which comes from his wrath. Overall, these shots are very important in this climax scene since it greatly contribute to the theme of the movie--human weaknesses.

    The movie ends up with William's philosophical rich line: "Ernest Hemingway once wrote, 'The world is a fine place and worth fighting for.' I agree with the second part.", which, again, refers to the dark, cruel world. A good film is the combination of good director, good actors, and good script. "Seven" has all of them and there is no surprise it became a classic film.

           

An Ideal Body with Diet Pepsi

            Many people believe that advertisements are used to increase sales by promoting a product, however, these are also resources used to communicate different messages to society. In this critique I’ll analyze a Diet Pepsi advertisement that has actress Sofia Vergara has the main figure. This product was introduced by Pepsi in 2015 and it’s a no-calorie carbonated soft drink.

            The advertisement is made of three main elements. First, Sofia Vergara who is in a profile position on the left margin and we can only see the upper part of her body from her arms to her head. Next, we have the Diet Pepsi can with the company and the product logo; there is a straw that goes from Sofia’s lips into the can connecting these first two elements. Finally there is the text that says “the new skinny can” which is rotated up at the right margin of the poster.  The advertisement, in a broad level, promotes this beverage. However, at a deeper level, this print ad is targeted to woman and promotes a skinny lifestyle. This is obtained by using a very symmetrical design structure, portraying woman as an object, the use of different elements and colors with specific implications.

            First of all, the design used in the ad, primarily the alignment, is key to understand the deeper meaning of the ad. As it’s observed, the three elements in the poster are aligned symmetrically and vertically. The Pepsi can, is placed exactly in between the woman and the text, making this the centered object and therefore showing that this is the product being promoted. However, the fact that the three elements are vertically aligned gives a sense of strictness as if everything has to be perfectly positioned and nothing can be out of line. Consequently, it gives the poster the notion that it’s very well organized. This relates to the idea of diets and going on a diet since this means changing one’s eating habits and becoming extremely strict and careful with what they consume. All the elements in the poster do not take much space since it relates to the idea of thinness. Moreover, there’s also the word “skinny” in the text and the word “diet” on the can label. This urges women, who are the targeted audience, to become through diets and drinking this beverage that is sugar free.  

            Moreover, the way that the woman is portrayed in the advertisement uses the male gaze theory developed by Laura Mulvey in her essay entitled “Visual Pleasure andNarrative Cinema”. This theory suggests that the “woman as icon, [is] displayed for the gaze and enjoyment of men”. According to Mulvey, the male gaze relegates women to the status of objects to be admired only for their physical appearance which is what happens in this print advertisement. First, we can only see the actress’ fragmented body instead of her body as a whole. This reduces her to an object and suggests that the important part of the woman is her beauty and physical aspect instead of other more internal or intellectual qualities. Moreover, Sofia Vergara’s figure is highly sexualized. The straw from which she is drinking her Diet Pepsi has a very obvious sexual connotation which, once again, degrades her to a sexual object that’s used only to pleasure men. The red color of her lips also represents passion and sensuality.

Furthermore, in the poster, she is directing her sight to her right, which makes her a passive character since she isn’t interacting directly with the audience. The big blue hat she is wearing, covers part of her face and we can only barely see part of her eyes. We can observe she is wearing makeup thus promoting physical beauty and superficiality. Even though Sofia Vergara is admired for her curvy body, she looks extremely thin in this advertisement as a way to promote dieting and a thin body. Lana Rakow’s “The Images and Representation Approach” can be explicitly seen in the poster since it shows women being represented as sexual objects. As Rakow says, women are portrayed as “housewifely, passive, wholesome, and pretty”.

One may ask, if the poster uses the male gaze theory, then how or why is it targeted for women? Well, first the male gaze theory suggests that women are seen as objects in men’s perspective. Sofia Vergara represents this objectification of women and portrays the way that men want women to look like. However, this is directed towards women because they are the ones who must change in order to become desirable to men and one way to accomplish this is with sugar free products like the Diet Pepsi.

Moreover, there are other advertisements that Pepsi uses to promote their different products but these do not have the same targeted audience. For example, there’s an ad that uses former soccer player David Beckham, however this is an ad for regular Pepsi. The ad portrays David Beckham as a warrior. Unlike Sofia Vergara’s advertisement, David Beckham has direct contact with the audience making him an active character. These two examples show the difference between female and male advertisements. While Vergara’s ad promotes a light lifestyle and urges women to become thin, Beckham’s advertisement serves to portray male strength and power.  

            The creator of this Diet Pepsi print advertisement uses different elements to portray the way that the “ideal” woman should look like. The design used represents organization, symmetry and perfection which relates to the point previously made and to the idea of diets. The woman is represented as a passive character and also it’s portray as a sexual object. All these components form the poster and, at a deeper level, urges women to become thin because that’s the way men want them to be. Even though I disagree with the message that this ad gives, I believe it is a good example of an advertisement used as a tool not only to sell a product but to promote a lifestyle for women.