The Gaze

Freddie Ljunberg

We looked at two images this lesson, the reasoning behind this was to asses why companies pick the models that they do, and how they use the image of the model to sell there product

 The first 'Model' we looked at was Freddie Ljunberg, he was a highly famous footballer who played for both Arsenal and Sweden. This first point to make about Freddie is his haircut, it is cut short to make him look more masculine because the known stereotype is that men with shorter hair are more manly and strong. His short hair also looks tidy and neat, which shows that he pays attention to his appearance. The next aspect is his face, it is well chiseled, with a structured jaw line, again adding to his masculine image. Next we moved onto his lips, they are slightly pouted which could be seen as an invitational gesture, the other thing to note about his lips is that they do not look very manly. His eyes look stern, but we also noticed that he had a seducting gaze and he is breaking the 4th wall by looking directly at the camera and engaging with the audience. The next point is the background colour, it is a deep red which could mean many things, for example it could relate to his current football team at the time, Arsenal. Red is also seen as a very sexual colour which could relate to the invitational and seductive feel of the whole advert. The bar at the top is also not placed there by accident, it could be there to show off his Bicep, also his body is covered in sweat/oil so the bar could be the reason for this, it also indicates strength as his Bicep is clearly on show. His hand is placed suggestivly on the boxers, this could be there because it draws attention to the brand name on the rim of the boxers, but it is also seen as being quite cheeky as he looks like he is pulling down his boxers. This brings us on too his pubic region that is semi on show, it appears to be shaven; this could indicate a sence of cleanliness. The final aspect of the image we looked at is the tatoo on his left hip this is a sign of his perhaps rebellious nature.

 Eva Mendes

The next model we looked at was Eva Mendes who is a famous actress and presenter. This picture is from the Calvin Klein 2009 ad campain. The facial expression that she is pulling is one of lust and attraction, she was evidently told to do this face to make the male viewer attracted to it. The next point me made was the stance she is doing, it is a powerfull stance which could be used for an authoritive. This advert agrees with Laura Mulvey's theory that the woman is often the 'image', whilst the man is the 'bearer of the look'. The unusual point we picked up for this advert is that she is wearing heels with lingeria which is unusual to find outside pornography. This could be to highten the voyeuristic and fetishistic view of the advert from the male perspective. Although this advert could be seen to mainly appeal to men, it could also appeal to women as they are the ones that, most of the time, are going to buying the Lingerie and they also look upon this image with desire as they want to look like Eva and be as attractive as her. She also has a very wet looking skin, this could be seen as being take after a shower, or post coital, which again draws the attention of the Male Gaze.