Saturday, May 4, 2013

Media Moment: Comedians

I see this ad on the uptown side of the 6 train in the 86th street station. 
This is such a perfect example of the women in comedy that we were speaking of the other week. Before even looking at the visual aspect of the ad, we can look at the shows title.  "Inside Amy Schumer" is so blatantly sexual, it's ridiculous.  I think there is already an assumed  female audience becasue women will want to see her since there are so few female comics.  Their main goal is to bring males to watch, hence the title.  "Inside" insinuated the believed ideal place a man would want to be, inside a woman.  Now that we look at the image, we see her in what appears to be a dress.  The dress itself shows the advertisers playing up her femininity.  Obviously the only way she'll be given any attention is if she's feminine.  The dress is also comedically lower than it should be.  It is unclear as to whether she is aware of this or not in the context of the ad.      If we read it as she is unaware of it, it helps equates females with ignorance and being dumb and unaware of their surroundings.  If she does know about her neckline, it shows how willing she is to flaunt her sexuality and use it to attract men.  Every part of this ad places females, particularly female comics, in a position below men.

1 comment:

  1. I've seen this ad as well and thought it was a great example of what we've been talking about in class. She is sexualized to the max, in her demeanor, her dress, and as you mentioned the title of the show. It's sad to see that women have to use these antics to break through in comedy and in many other mediums. And since this is the only way it seems like they can make it, they keep doing it and keep perpetuating this idea that in order to be a successful woman comedian you have to use your sexuality.

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