This ad evokes a lot of angry emotions from me for several reasons. First there is only one woman surrounded by 4 men with one of them laying on top of her. She has on a short black dress with stelletto heels. It seems as though she is being pinned down be the male on top of her who has no shirt on. The men surrounding her are either topless as well or have shirts on that are open so that you are able to see their chest. I feel that the owm is being take advantage of by these men and it seem as though the as is supporting activity such as gang rape. I feel this way about this as because of the position of the males and the female herself. It seems as though the female is forced down by the male on top of her with her dress pulled up above her thighs. The other males are surrounding her and watching while the male on top of her forces her to stay down.
There are many issues of gang rape in the world. This ad is very controversial because it seems as though that is what is about to take place. It seems that the female is being forced down against her will and will be taken advantage of by all of the men in the photo. The ones surrounding her wait their turn to have their chance with her. The photo just does not seem right at all. The message it sends it very wrong. It just screams male dominance.
The compositionist has chosen to place the female in this particular position and the males surrounding her. The compositionist I am sure is faced with the issue of the photo being very controversial. It could be worse. The female could be completely naked with the male positioned on top of her closer to her body. Even though this does not occur in the photo, it is clear that this advertisement is still racy and very controversial.
3 comments:
I understand that the article can evoke strong emotions for the viewer. However, promoting gang rape is a little far fetched. The ad is quite eccentric, but ALL of Dolce & Gabbana’s are that way. Most of them will include some shirtless men, scantily clad women, and weird scenery. If we are really going to dissect this ad, maybe she was drowning and that guy saved her, maybe she is a criminal and he and his friends are undercover policemen. All I am saying is that gang rape is just as feasible. Now I understand the sexual overtones are strong, the dude is over her, the other guys are watching, she seems to be enjoying it more so than fighting it; yes, there is no shortage of promiscuity. I do think that ads have a few main purposes. One is to show their products. Second, and I think more importantly, is to make the viewer remember their name. This ad has accomplished that through its use of eccentricity. Over the line? maybe. Offensive? in my opinion, no.
I can't say I totally agree with you on the gang rape idea. I can definitely understand how you can see that, but the woman doesn't look like she is displeased with the situation. I think that all of the masculenity you spoke of still holds true but the men are being sexualized also it makes them seem desperate for this woman like men are dependent on sex. It makes the women seem like she is a sexual object and the the men are adicted to this object as if it were a drug. In the eyes of people who care about these ads and think that they actaully make a differennce in the minds of anyone who is half way eduacated, this ad is horibly sexist and is corrupting the minds of anyone who sees it. I just don't care, I feel that people who buy Dolce Gabbana do want to look like that and that these ads are responsible. It doesnt matter though that just means that they did a good job putting the ad together. If someones mind is weak enough to be so overcome by a simple advertisement that has no true meaning other than buy our clothes, no value to it, then the sadest thing is not that these ads exist but that people are this uneducated.
My arguments aside your review of this ad is structured very well. I think you might have missed some of the graphic design of it. You seem to hit very well on the way that the ad makes you feel though.
I have to say that I also think that the gang rape aspect of the ad is stretching it a little bit. The other men are all standing away from the girl and angled that that they aren't in a position to move immediately to the girl. That being said I also am unhappy with the ad. I understand that in today's society there are certain things defined as sexy, such as men who are in great shape and little clothing, and I understand that whether it's good or not, sex does sell. I am unhappy with the fact that it's a clothes ad and you can't even see the clothes. It's dolce and gabbana, they are fashion icons, when I see their ads I want to see their fashion, not just a bunch of half naked people!
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