A Level Test Paper Questions

How do the representations in Figure 1 position the audience to desire the Patek Phillipe watch?

Figure 1 is a poster which advertises the Patek Phillipe watch. First of all, when looking at the colour scheme used, it is simple and not colourful or vivid. The colour palette chosen is unusual as the image of the poster itself is in black and white with the only other colours being gold for the logo and brown for the banner which has the watch in silver and blue-grey. This colour scheme could have been chosen to make the audience focus on the watch which is in colour and stands out as well as the black and white image of the man and his son which is the main focus. The logo and text is in gold which normally symbolises wealth or something expensive and luxurious which in this instance is the watch. The brown banner gives the feeling of old and antique however with the gold text, it gives the audience the impression that it should be kept in good condition to maintain its value over time.

The black and white image is of a father and his son which is what grabs the audience's attention. The black and white choice may remind the audience of old movies which were not in colour. The vintage choice to this poster further supports the idea of the brown and gold text symbolising vintage luxury. The picture is of them on a yacht in the middle of sea which could symbolise liberty and luxury that they can afford. They seem to be tying a knot to the boat which could symbolise masculinity as the father is teaching the son to do physical work which is stereotypical of men to do. It further enforces masculinity as the mother is not there which could either mean women could buy the watch as a gift for their husbands or that the target audience is for men only. However it could also be because the father is wearing the watch itself which is the point of the advert.

How are representations of masculinity shaped by cultural and historical contexts?

The Patek Phillipe advert visually shows masculinity through the father teaching his son to tie a knot which is a physical job. The action of the father teaching the son physical work from a young age stereotypically represents that doing physical work is masculine. The stereotype of men having to do hard physical work has been around and spread in the media for a long time. The media portrays adverts such as for cars, watches, sport and beer products to generally feature men rather than women in them. The target audience of these adverts is directed towards men who are meant to accept these norms of what masculinity is desired by women and therefore buy products like the Patek Phillipe watch to feel more masculine.

The Score Hair Cream advert is similar to the way the Patek Phillipe poster enforces men to act masculine by purchasing watches to make them stand out to women. This can be seen by a group of women who are carrying a man with a rifle in his hands. The man is meant to represent how women will treat men is they wear the Score hair cream product as the women seem to desire the man because he is wearing the product. The background contains large green leaves and the man is sitting on a leopard print stretcher and carrying a rifle which could show he is a hunter in an African Sahara biome where similarly to the watch advert he is doing a 'tough' job of hunting animals. The women are also dressed provocatively and so can be seen as objects and sexualised. The slogan 'Get what you've always wanted' is aimed towards men to encourage them to buy the hair cream so that they could represent the man who is receiving sexual attention from women.

The hair cream advert is from 1967 which was around a time where many adverts would be heavy on the stereotypes of genders. Contextually, women were seen as the ones who would care for the children and clean the house whilst the man was to do physical jobs and to earn money for the household. Adverts such as this around the time, would shine a light on the norms of men and women's roles and how the media demands they should act. Here, not only is heterosexuality encouraged but also that women should look after men whilst they do the paid work. Despite the Patek Phillipe advert in 2014 still sending the message of masculinity, it is not as enforced as the 1960s. The watch advert does not feature any women to necessarily enforce masculinity through them, but hints at masculine stereotypes still playing a role even in modern times.