Blog Post #4

When reading media through the lens of Marxism, some of the main things to be looked at are social class (or the idea of there being a social hierarchy of some sort) and the balance of power. A main focus of Marxism is to look at power structures in society. The "ruling class" tends to be the people who have more economic and/or social power or people who seem to set the societal "norms", while those who are not in that class have less and must follow the norms. Oftentimes, social class plays into how much power a certain group has, so looking at media through a marxist lens, one may look at what the norms are in a society. Conformity (as well as nonconformity) is something to keep in mind when analyzing media through a marxist lens. Who sets the norms? Who demonstrates more power in a relationship? These are things to keep in mind when looking at power structures. A main focus of Marxism is to look at who is in power, who is not, and how that, in turn, shapes our society.

Media reflects a society's ideology and norms based on how they portray different characters in TV shows as well as how they present information in programs such as the news, so Marxism allows us to analyze these things that we might not otherwise notice because we are so used to seeing them.

Blog Post #2

In the first episode of Sherlock, viewers find John Watson, a retired war veteran, sitting in his therapist's office. He's unhappy and angry about his situation in life, and the opening scene closes with Watson stating, "Nothing ever happens to me." It was clearly foreshadowing the fact that it was not actually going to be the case; personally, I found it to be a bit humorous and ironic.

The episode then goes on to introduce its titular character, Sherlock Holmes, and it's easy to see from the get-go that he's quite the interesting man. He's clearly not well-versed in social norms and comes across as rude and unapologetic (such as when he unknowingly snubs Molly when she asks him if he'd be interested in getting coffee, or when he presumes that John would agree to be his roommate). Despite this, it's established that Sherlock is extraordinary in that he has a knack for making deductions. The audience almost comes to expect them; one could argue that a signifier in the series is the "scheming" music that comes on whenever Sherlock is about to make a deduction or gets an idea.

Paradigmatic analysis also comes into play in this series; the first episode of Sherlock establishes Sherlock and the cab driver (the main antagonist in this particular episode) as opposing forces. Similarities can be drawn between the two characters, as both of them are quite bright. The cab driver explicitly makes this comparison himself, saying that he and Sherlock are not that different. Both of them are geniuses living in a world full of "ordinary" people, implying that those two are on the same level while everyone else is not. In the scene where Sherlock confronts the cab driver and the two are about to "play" a game, the camera is angled in such a way that the table is in the center of the shot, and Sherlock and the cab driver are on opposite sides, almost mirror images of each other.

Another interesting thing I noticed was Watson's cane; he uses it as both a literal and figurative crutch. I saw it as a symbol of his unhappiness over his current circumstances. He is not ready to face life after being injured in the war, and at first, viewers may be led to assume that he is simply struggling to move on from the trauma of war. However, his real internal struggle becomes clear when Sherlock's brother Mycroft tells him, "You're not haunted by the war, Dr. Watson, you miss it".

Watson strikes me as someone who can't stand sitting around watching his life pass him by, and he sees his cane as something to resent. It symbolizes his inability to live his life the way he wants, as well as his dependence. It's also worth noting that when Sherlock and Watson chase after the cab, Watson ends up leaving his cane behind, implying that his main struggle is internal.

Blog Post #1

This particular print advertisement was part of Mini's Halloween inspired ad campaign and is very much in line with the Mini brand; Mini ads tend to be minimalistic and bold, relying on few words (more often than not in a playful, lighthearted tone) and a Mini car in front of a black backdrop with a strong, solid-colored border. The Mini is an iconic car so simplicity works in their favor; the car really speaks for itself. However, they still manage to frame the Mini in such a way that it is seen as a fun, playful, youthful product.

In this ad, we see that the black backdrop is still used, but this time it is used in two different ways: one, to keep in line with how Mini has branded themselves, and two, to signify nighttime (which would match the text saying that they "only come out at night"). The wording itself can be seen as a play on the tradition of Halloween, during which trick-or-treating occurs at night.

"Night" can also hint at a certain kind of lifestyle (the late-night partygoers, for one). Mini has aimed their product at a younger demographic, and with the word "night", one could argue that they are seeking a certain kind of youth: those that seek to have fun.

Finally, the image of the car is upside-down, which not only seems a bit jarring at first glance, but is also eye-catching (despite the fact that it is a black car in front of a black backdrop and therefore doesn't seem to "pop" the way other Mini ads might, one rarely sees cars upside-down, so this would still likely make you look twice).

The car being upside-down connotes playfulness and seems to hint that the car has a personality of its own (which might then lead one to believe that if the car has a personality of its own, it is nonconforming and truly one-of-a-kind). A "serious" car would surely be right-side up?

But arguably, the most obvious thing to denote from the car being upside-down and black-colored on a Halloween-themed advertisement would be that the car is a bat. It's almost like the car is playing pretend in much the same way that children play pretend by dressing up as someone else on Halloween.

Mini doesn't go as far as to literally dress the car up as a bat—no fake fur and fangs can be seen here—but it really isn't necessary; one could argue that adding anything extra would actually detract from the car itself. It doesn't take much of a leap to make the connection between the car and a bat with the way the car is presented in the ad. The simplicity of it all almost serves to make the ad playful without being too much. All of these elements work together to present the car as a playful and youthful product while still staying true to Mini's image.