From: Jamie
Who do you think would win an ultimate battle? The Barbie
doll or the Action figure? If you asked a child this question, most would say
the action figure. Why? The only characteristic the child knows of these two
toys is their branded name. What the children don’t know is the Barbie is a WWE
doll, and the action figure is the Coyote from Coyote and the Road Runner
skits. Knowing this information now might influence one’s decision for who they
pick. The importance of that question was to display the gender-based
differences in toys for adolescents. The photo I took represents multiple
messages in the concept of this. I used creative techniques to help display the
Gender scripts and messages that come from children’s toys and address the gender-based
differences in how they are advertised.
Before taking my photo, I had
to understand what gender-based differences among toys was. I read the reading
“The Two Cultures of Childhood” which explains the basics of gender scripts when
it comes to how children act, who they play with, and what toys they reach for.
An influence for the concept of my photo was an example used in the reading.
The author began talking about toy preferences and the theme that is associated
with different toys. The author stated, “boys’ toys are rougher, and girls’
toys are sweeter, boys’ toys are hard and sharp, whereas girls’ toys are soft
and smooth” (2). This is a perfect example as to how a simple toy labels boys play
as being more tough, active, and girls play as softer, or nicer. My photo
focuses on this, and the different characteristics of toys. I used many
different creative techniques to emphasize the message in my photo. My photo is
side by side comparison of a boy’s toy and a girl’s toy. The first creative
technique I used was the camera angle, I took the photo of Jessie at a higher
angle and Buzz Lightyear at a lower angle. The higher angle makes Jessie look
inferior and not as powerful, but the lower angle made Buzz Lightyear look
superior more powerful and strong. The second creative technique I used is
framing/space, when I took the photo of Jessie, I took it from farther away making
her look smaller and weaker. Whereas for Buzz Lightyear I took the photo close,
he took up most of the frame and this made him look big and tougher. The third
creative technique I used was color, I decided to put both my photos in black
and white to point out the fact that even though the dolls are the same color,
same plastic, and same brand. A child can still point to which character is
meant for little girls or little boys. Why? The differences in the two dolls
features show which one is meant for boys and which one is meant for girls. In
the first photo you can see that Jessie is wearing eyeliner, sitting down, and
waving. The makeup shows she’s a girl, since she is sitting down and waving
this gives the impression that she is nice, kind, and loving. In the second
photo Buzz is standing straight up, with his chest puffed out and his fist
clenched. This stance makes him look powerful, strong and masculine, the
clenching of his fist makes him look tough and ready to fight. All these creative techniques and more are
used in the advertisement, toys, and television that young children watch. They
learn the gender scripts through the shows they watch, school, peers, and many
more influences.
Citations
The "Two
Cultures" of Childhood.
file:///C:/Users/jlwoo/AppData/Local/Packages/Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe/TempState/Downloads/The
_Two Cultures_ of Childhood (3).pdf.
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