Tide advert and Kiss Of The Vampire
Compare and contrast the representations of gender in the Tide advert and the Kiss Of The Vampire poster. Aim for two well-developed paragraphs/main points (similarities or contrasts, encoded messages and how they are constructed, how audiences may receive them)
The Tide advert is aimed directly at women, assuming that women are the domestic cleaners in each household. This was a typical stereotype in the 1950s, as it was seen that wives should stay at home rather than work, as their husbands bring in the money. This would have little to no effect on the 1950s audience, especially regarding the men as it was seen as normal at the time. There is an element of romance in both texts, however, it is much more explicit and "realistic" in the "Kiss of the Vampire" poster. We are able to denote that there was seduction used in order to have a woman and man give themselves away to these two vampires. This is very conventional and is a common cliche in vampire movies. Although, the Tide advert's idea of romance is much more unorthodox and would, I assume, have a great variation of reactions. The advert shows that women are supposedly "in love" with the Tide product, this is very exaggerated and is perhaps showing that cleaning is of paramount importance to women, to the extent that they virtually fall in love with it. The Tide advert's further personification is shown in the Tide product, saying "Tide's got what women want"!" Almost as if it is a man with loving features.
This pressurised and ironically rose-tinted view of women in the 1950s is somewhat flipped in the 1963 "Kiss of the Vampire" poster. The idea of women only being good for one thing has been abolished, showing a fierce-looking countess standing in front of a more taciturn looking cliched male vampire. This is unequivocally due to the uprising of female power in the 1960s, and the obligation to show female power and early signs of a later-created Bechdel test. Since men would not be used to this instance of female power being introduced, there would be a backlash of showing that a woman has more power than a man, perhaps adding to the fear factor of the "Kiss of the Vampire" movie. There was definite improvement in how women are portrayed in the media in the 1960s compared to that of the 1950s.
The Tide advert is aimed directly at women, assuming that women are the domestic cleaners in each household. This was a typical stereotype in the 1950s, as it was seen that wives should stay at home rather than work, as their husbands bring in the money. This would have little to no effect on the 1950s audience, especially regarding the men as it was seen as normal at the time. There is an element of romance in both texts, however, it is much more explicit and "realistic" in the "Kiss of the Vampire" poster. We are able to denote that there was seduction used in order to have a woman and man give themselves away to these two vampires. This is very conventional and is a common cliche in vampire movies. Although, the Tide advert's idea of romance is much more unorthodox and would, I assume, have a great variation of reactions. The advert shows that women are supposedly "in love" with the Tide product, this is very exaggerated and is perhaps showing that cleaning is of paramount importance to women, to the extent that they virtually fall in love with it. The Tide advert's further personification is shown in the Tide product, saying "Tide's got what women want"!" Almost as if it is a man with loving features.
This pressurised and ironically rose-tinted view of women in the 1950s is somewhat flipped in the 1963 "Kiss of the Vampire" poster. The idea of women only being good for one thing has been abolished, showing a fierce-looking countess standing in front of a more taciturn looking cliched male vampire. This is unequivocally due to the uprising of female power in the 1960s, and the obligation to show female power and early signs of a later-created Bechdel test. Since men would not be used to this instance of female power being introduced, there would be a backlash of showing that a woman has more power than a man, perhaps adding to the fear factor of the "Kiss of the Vampire" movie. There was definite improvement in how women are portrayed in the media in the 1960s compared to that of the 1950s.
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