Fresh Up

In this advert men are once again represented as sex objects. The whole reason for the male being in the advert is that he is there to promote the product by constantly showing his body therefore, representing him not only as promiscious but also as a sex object. Furthermore, the male is also a target of the female gaze as his sole purpose for being in the advert is to show his body.

Sexy Coke Advert

This advert is very similar to the diet coke advert as they both portray men as the sex objects. The male is seen with his top off which almost makes the female fall to her knees as she is aroused by his "perfect" body. She is seen slowly pulling her skirt up representing her as promiscious. This also brings up the ideology of a patriarchal society as the male has this sexual power of this woman due to his perfect looks. The male is also the subject of the female gaze as he is placed there for all woman to look at.

Subvertisements

Diet Coke Break

This commercial represents the male as the sex object as he is the subject of the female gaze. In the commercial all the women gather around one window to see the male take of his top while they are aroused by his body, this makes him the subject of the female gaze and puts men is a different light. On the contrary it could also be said that the male has this power over women and they fall to his feet because of his looks and his body raising the issue of a patriarchy society. It also brings up the issue of the perfect body as the advert is implying that by driking diet coke you can have a perfect body and get all the women like he does.

Flake

This advert portrays women in a different light and represents them as a sex object. The woman in the advert is dressed a skirt and shes seen unwrapping the Flake Chocolate almost in a sexual manner. The fact that the women is holding the Flake in such a sexual way makes it a phallic symbol. The women her self is an object of the male gaze therefore, she is represented as a sex object.

Flash

The Flash commercial is very similar to the Shake and Vac commercial as they both represent the female in the advertisement as a stereotypical housewife. The female promoting the product is seen wearing a typical housewife outfit consisting of an apron, a skirt etc. This represents the woman as a housewife not only isit the outfit that represents the woman as a stereotypical housewife its the domestic household tasks she is carrying out such as cleaning cupboard, cleaning windows etc. This all reinforces the idea that during that time period society expected women to fulfill these roles and take up the responsibility of a housewife leaving the male to work and allowing him to chase his dream.

Shake and Vac

At the beginning of the advert you can see the woman is dressed in a typical housewife outfit which instantly represents her as the housewife. The advert itself is promoting a cleaning product and with a woman promoting this cleaning product it brings up the ideology of a patriarchy society as males are not seen once in this advert therefore, it is seen as the males are the ones who are placing their women in the household making them clean. The woman is also seen carrying out domestic household tasks such as hoover once again representing her as the stereotypical housewife. This shows that womens place in society during that time did not change and they were there to please their husband, look after their children and make sure the house was clean. Society now expects much more women and these stereotypes attached to women are disposed of as women are more likely to go out and get a job.

Ways which female directors could improve

There is a lack of female directors in the film industry and this has to improve. There are various ways in which the number of female directors could improve:

• One of the ways which the number of female directors could improve is by the male sharing the household work with the female. There is the so called new man being formed but this needs to keep happening and improving in order for the females to have more free time and chase their dreams of directing. Women are currently having to take care of their young children which means they have no time to direct hence the low number of female directors. Therefore, it is seen that one of the ways in which the number of female directors could improve is by the male sharing household tasks with the women and also men sharing child rearing.

Female Directors

Sofia Coppola:
Born on May 14, 1972 in New York. Sofia Coppola has been one of the rare female directors to get recognition for her productions. She has won an Academy Award for being a screenwriter and is to be nominated for another Academy Award for directing. She is the daughter Francis Ford Coppola who directed the well known Godfather. She started off as an actor and is mostly known for her role in The Godfather as Mary Corleone but she later went on to directing. Her three most recognisable films are Lick the Star(1998), Virgin Suicide (1999) and Lost in Translation (2003) which won a Academy Award.
Filmography:
1996: Bed Bath and Beyond
1998: Lick the Star
1999: The Virgin Suicide
2003: Lost in Translation
2006:Mary Antoinette

Jane Campion:
Born on 30th of April, 1954 in Wellington, New Zealand, Jane Campion is a Academy Award winning screenwriter and has also been nominated for an Academy Award for directing. Jane Campion started off directing by making films at the Australian Film Telivision and Radio School. Her first short film, Peel won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. She later went on to direct many other films that won her international awards.
Filmography:
1989:Sweetie
1990:An Angel at My Table
1993: The Piano
1996:The Portrait of a Lady
1999: Holy Smoke
2003: In the Cut
2006: The Water Diary
2008: 8

Amy Heckerling:
Amy Heckerling was born on May 7 , 1954 in the Bronx. She ones of the few female directors to have multiple box office hits. Heckerling attended New York University where she studied film and then later went on to direct her first film, Fast Times at Ridgemont High. This movie was heavily praised and pathed a way for her success. She then produced another massive hit starring John Travolta titled Look Whos Talking. This movie was very successful that there was a sequel once again directed by Amy Heckerling titled Look Whos Talking Too. She then went on to produce another box office hit, Clueless. Her next few films were not as popular.
Filmography:
1977: Getting it Over With
1982: Fast Time at Ridgemont High
1984: Johnny Dangerously
1985: National Lampoons European Vacation
1989: Look Whos Talking
1990: Look Whos Talking Too
1995: Clueless
2000: Loser
2007: I Could Never Be Your Woman

Gurinder Chadha:
Gurinder Chadha was born on January 10 , 1960 in Nairobi, Kenya. She then moved to Southall, England when she was 2. She started off as a BBC Radio reporter until she made a documentary for Channel 4. She then went on to film production in 1993. Her main hits are, Bend it Like Beckham, Bride and Prejudice and Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging which is her latest film.
Filmography:
1992: Acting Our Age
1993: Bhaji on the Beach
1994: What do you can an Indian women whos funny?
1994: Nice Arrangement
2000: Whats Cooking
2002: Bend it like Beckham
2004: Bride and Prejudice
2008: Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging

Nora Ephron:
Nora Ephron May 19, 1941 in New York . She graduated from Wellesley College and then went on to be a reporter for the New York Post. She then went on to be a successful writer for the womens issue of Esquire. She later went on to film and directed box office hits such as Bewitched and Sleepless in Seattle.
Filmography:
1992:This is My Life
1993:Sleepless in Seattle
1994:Mixed Nuts
1996: Michael
1998: You've Got Mail
2005: Bewitched

Why women directors are such a rare sight

Media itself is generally dominated by males so a lack of women directors is not much of a suprise but actors themselves have wished to work with more women directors as it would be a change. So what are the reasons behind the lack of women directors:

• One reason is because of the prehistoric times when the men use to carry the equipment because it was too heavy for women. The equipment would of needed around 100 to 150 large men to carry therefore, a hierachy was built upon this and females were seen as useless. Although this weight of equipment is no longer a problem the hierachy still exists and women still find it difficult to break into directing.
• Another reason is womens role in a household. Women have to take care of their children while the men go off and work leaving women unable to direct. Although this is starting to change in society and males are sharing this role it has to continue in order for women to have that time to direct a film.
• Film itself is built by various levels and within each of these levels there are males making it a male dominated industry. This makes it very difficult for women to even get their ideas out let alone getting promoted and the industry is starting to become a "Who you know" industry which basically means that you have to know someone in a higher rank to even get your ideas out or get promoted.
• Having children also causes women to not succeed in the film industry and become directors. This is because directing asks for your all and expects you to give up all your time so that you can spend it on the project. Having a child makes it all the more difficult but this can also fixed by males taking on more a househusband role.
• The last and the most obvious reason is that men control the money in the world. Therefore, they are going to decide who to give the money to and unfortunately its not women hence the lack of female directors.