Order of the Simulacra (from Baudrillard) The representational image-sign goes through 4 key stages; Stage 1) It is a reflection of a basic reality.
Stage 2) it masks & perverts a basic reality.
Stage 3) it marks the absence of a basic reality.
​Stage 4) it bears no relation to any reality whatever.

I looked over the text with a peer of mine and we analysed it together. 

What I found interesting when we were asked to analyse this story was all the different and 'deep' interpretations people had of the story. Some argued it had sexist undertones, the tiger was actually a 'bad' figure, a metaphor for something...the list could go on. However, when I read this story, I simply see a children's book that serves to elevate children's imagination with its fantasy element. I think that it is an innocent story with no hidden meanings, it is there to entertain children, it's a fun and imaginative story, nothing more. Even the author herself reveals that there are no deep hidden meanings in it: 

These magazines contents are viewed in society as appealing to one gender only, GQ for men and Cosmo for women. I don't see how this is a problem, I think that having a mens magazine and a womens magazine is great, and if I found something I wanted to read in a mens magazine, nothing is stopping me from picking it up and reading it, similarly there's nothing stopping a man from picking up a 'womens' magazine and reading it. We all like different things, women like different things to men and vice versa, sometimes we like the same things, sometimes what someone likes as a girl or what someone likes as a boy is considered strange in societies view. All of these things are down to personal preference. 

A magazine has a target audience it needs to appeal to in terms of content, it doesn't necessarily have to be in terms of gender. The only reason we view them as being targeted towards a specific gender is because generally women will want to look at hair, fashion and makeup tips more than men will want to look at something like that. If the magazine wasn't selling well, I'm sure it would change its content, however it has been like this for years which shows that its general audience is satisfied with it. 

Mulvey’s essay seems to be heavily influenced by the theories of Freud (throwback to A-LEVEL) and Lacan. From what I can gather the essay explains how women are always placed as a position of ‘desire’ in classical Hollywood cinema; going further to say that the classic Hollywood cinema more-or-less always assumes that the viewer is male. This brings us the idea of the male gaze and how it is prevalent throughout cinematic history.
 
The essay explores how filming strategies in Hollywood cinema are a result of the male-centric Hollywood, eg. Women as objects of desire, close shots of the legs, women viewed in an erotic way, fetishism etc. She argues that this provides a ‘narrative pleasure’ for men and men alone.
I was rather confused by this essay to begin with, however towards the end I kinda got it all. It is true that women are usually hyper-sexualised in film, and if they do not reach the societal norms of what is considered sexual and attractive, they are often the ‘joke’ of the film. It is evident from this essay that many women are treated merely as objects for example within the essay the notion of female characters are first coded as castrated, or merely as those that do not possess the male sex organ is explored. Women are merely an object of eroticism for the male characters.

What is a subculture? 
​A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, political, and sexual matters.

this article goes on to explore Japanese subculture: https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/intro-to-japanese-subculture/0/steps/23560

Post visual examples of cultural capital (fashion, graphics … etc) for a subculture of your choice.
I think that Drag is a subculture of the our culture today. One of the biggest traits, or behaviors, that this group has that differs from the culture-in-general is that they dress and act in a way that deconstructs our understanding of gender. They create and perform personas, through their dress and actions, that demonstrate the fluidity of gender. This stands out against the culture-in-general, as gender has been socially constructed to be in a binary state, one of these binary's being men and the other women. 

​The exchange between the mother and Tony is a subject transition, as it shows a shift between the two characters. When Tony gets out of bed to look out of his window, it's an action transition. When he notices movement out of the window it is a moment transition as there is very little time between the two panels, he is half way through his sentence when the panel moves on. There is a subject transition as it shows the monster climbing out of the hole and there are two more subject changes in the next two panels as tension builds between the two characters. ​

Myth
‘myth’ refers to . . . sites in mainstream culture which;
• reflect societal norms or dominant ways of thinking about people or places.
• are structured to send/propagate message which may be ideological (politically motivated) - or serve the interests of select groups in society.

Advertising & Myth

• Ads are particular to time & place  and reflect current political ideas/social ideals/cultural trends.
• Ads reinforce particular cultural myths which are often presented as ‘natural’ - but represent a cultural norm or dominant ideology​

Aspirational selling
• will reflect a target consumer
• plant the ‘seed of need’
• upwardly mobile associations
• link status > consumption

Concealment
• hide/do not show production or economic structure 

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. From the bottom of the hierarchy upwards, the needs are: physiological (food and clothing), safety (job security), love and belonging needs (friendship), esteem, and self-actualization.
Needs lower down in the hierarchy must be satisfied before individuals can attend to needs higher up.
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. From the bottom of the hierarchy upwards, the needs are: physiological (food and clothing), safety (job security), love and belonging needs (friendship), esteem, and self-actualization.
Needs lower down in the hierarchy must be satisfied before individuals can attend to needs higher up.

Barthes argues that magazine ads are a mix of linguistic and image signs that form these messages 
i) Linguistic Message ​

• non coded (literal reading of linguistic signs)
  
• coded (connotations of linguistic signs) 
  

ii) Image Message

•  non coded (denotative reading of image signs)
  
• coded (symbolic/connotative reading of image signs) and that a close analysis of the ‘coded’ messages will reveal any myths contained within.

ANCHORAGE- The words that accompany an image (still or moving) give the meaning associated with that image. If the caption or voiceover is changed, then so may be the way in which the audience interprets the image. An image with an anchor is a closed text; the audience are given a preferred reading

INTERTEXTUALITY- the relationship between texts, especially literary ones.

The Treachery of Images is a painting of a pipe with the words, 'Ceci n'est pas une pipe' written beneath it; this translates into This is not a pipe. 

One of our tasks was to make a copy of the famous painting. Here is my attempt below; it was done using Procreate on my iPad.

During the lecture with Nick we were asked to watch a clip on a wrestling match from 1981 (shown below) and think about how semiotics is relevant to this video.

 1. How is the role/character of each wrestler defined and communicated to the audience? 
When the wrestlers are announced you could argue there is a slight bias towards them. For example Big Daddy is presented as a 'famous' TV Personality whereas Giant Haystacks is presented with just his, height, weight and name. Now, I think both of them are dressed hideously however looking past that, Big Daddy (you could argue) is presented a lot better than Giant Haystacks, eg. BD to begin with has a red sparkly cloak and golden hat and underneath is wearing a white costume, whereas GH is scruffy looking with his hair and maroon costume. Furthermore, BD waves and smiles at the audience and GH ignores them and sneers therefore you could argue that this displays a hero and villain dynamic. 

​2. What is the role played by the commentator?
The commentator acts enthusiastic and puts things into context; he narrates the 'story' and the events that unfold during the wrestling match. 

3. What about the role of the referee? 
In this clip, the referee seems to be there more for comedic purposes as opposed to the kind of referee you'd see in a rugby match for example. He seems to add more 'drama' and indirectly engages the audience when he's knocked over and replaced with another referee. However I think, within the narrative of the wrestling match, he does act as someone that tries to ensure that the fight is fair and that the rules are being adhered to.  

4. Crowd Response- is the action in the ring clear to follow? If so, how is this made possible?
I find that the gestures of the wrestlers are greatly exaggerated in order for the audience to clearly see what is happening in the fight. The cheers and boos coming from the audience denote how they feel towards the wrestlers and the actions of the fight itself. 
 
5. Based on observation- would you classify wrestling as a sport? 
​I don't really think that you can classify wrestling a a sport. To me, it's more of a performance art. The theatrics are clearly rehearsed beforehand and therefore the outcome of the match is predetermined. I think for it to be a sport, there has to be an element of competition and not knowing who the winner would be. There's no doubt that wrestlers are in themselves athletes, personally I think that they train hard to ensure that the story they have to act out is done so safely and professionally. But I wouldn't classify this as a sport, it's more of an act.