Search results

Testing boundaries in the context of encountering horror representations have long been of interest to cultural studies scholars. There have been rich cultural accounts of how audiences negotiate with what is frightening or disgusting on screen (Hill, 2005) not just in general but also in what concerns specific social groups as well (e.g. children, Buckingham, 2000). Horror, disgust and the emotion of fear have not been examined in the Greek context so far and it is our aim to attempt a first investigation of how certain groups of viewers engage with the horror genre. We draw upon the argument that fear from encountering horror is a socially based emotion through which people do not just test their own boundaries but also their boundaries within a group of peers (Hill, 2005). Given that women are stereotypically thought to be more afraid than men, we are particularly interested to see how women aged between 20 and 35 in Greece engage with fear or disgust in the mainstreamed context of the horror offered by American Horror Story. We are particularly interested in the ways they perceive horror but also deadly women or female villains. Our interest in this particular series lies not only in its popularity across the world but also because of its nature as a representative series of the horror genre and because all different narratives it offers are mostly based on female characters primarily as villains. Also, as a text available across different cultures, it could probably allow us to engage with cross-cultural research in the future. Therefore we wish to conduct an online survey with women aged 20–35 in Greece, followed by focus groups with women of the same age group in an attempt to provide both a mapping and a further investigation of the topic.

The purpose of this study is three‐fold: to provide recent evidence in the UK on the frequency of appearance of female role portrayals in print advertisements; to compare female role stereotypes across magazine types; and to explore the interface between female role stereotypes and product categories.

An integrative approach to content analysis was used in order to analyze advertising communication in print media. The sample consisted of n=3,830 advertisements published in ten high circulation UK magazines.

The study indicates that women in UK magazine advertisements are mainly portrayed in decorative roles; and that female role stereotypes vary significantly across magazine types. The findings also suggest that there is an association between product categories and female role stereotypes.

The study highlights the need for the advertising industry in the UK to adjust its communication practices to the changing role of women in society.

The study extends research in the area of female role stereotypes in print advertising by considering the frequency of female role portrayals across different magazine types; and investigating the association between product categories and female role stereotypes.

The portrayal of female superheroes is not a new phenomenon. To this day Lynda Carter's portrayal of Wonder Woman (1975–1979) is venerated (Hanley, 2014) as one of the first portrayals of a ‘super’ female character swathed in popularity and renowned in comic book lore. More recently, several superhero narratives, with women at the helm, have been adapted for the series format including Supergirl, Batwoman and Jessica Jones.

However, until the introduction of Wonder Woman (Jenkins, 2017), film narratives with a female superhero at the centre have been non-existent. In 2019, Captain Marvel was released as part of the Marvel cinematic universe (MCU). Due to its connection to the MCU and the successful Avengers film franchise, the character Captain Marvel, played by Brie Larson, has a built-in familiarity with audiences.

From its first introduction, it is evident that there is a definitive feminist slant to the character and the narrative of Captain Marvel. Therefore, this chapter analyses the comment threads of three fan-made YouTube videos on Captain Marvel. These videos specifically address the feminist overtone as depicted. Specifically, the chapter considers fan reactions to the representation of feminism. The data are analysed through discourse analysis under the guise of Jacques Lacan's mirror theory and Henry Jenkins's participatory culture. Jenkins further notes the connection between, amongst other aspects, the interpretation and the meaningful participation (2015, p. 2) in the specific fandom. The concept of ‘suspension of disbelief’ will also be used as part of the analysis, as well as Henry Jenkins' participatory culture.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of advertisements with different female role portrayals in a second-tier city with “first-class opportunities.” Chinese girls and women represent a huge market for personal as well as household goods.

An experimental study was conducted using a convenience sample of 216 male and female participants aged 17-21 years in Changchun, China. Participants were asked to respond to print advertisements using traditional and modern female images including housewife, cute female, female with classical beauty, sporty, career-minded and neutral (tomboy).

Results revealed that female participants responded more favorably toward advertisements using female images than male participants. There was no difference in the responses to the six different female images among both male and female participants.

Young consumers in China are not sensitive to the different female images used in the print advertisements. Advertisers can, therefore, enjoy flexibility in the selection of female gender roles for advertisements.

Little is known about how marketers and advertisements can best communicate with young consumers in China using advertisements with different female images. This study fills this literature gap.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how Chinese adolescent girls and boys construct their own ideal female images in response to gendered advertisements based on Arnett’s (1995) theory of self-socialization and Hirschman and Thompson’s (1997) three interpretive strategies. A qualitative interview study was conducted for this purpose.

Altogether, 32 adolescents aged 15-19 living in 16 different provinces in China were recruited for a face-to-face interview. Three advertisements were shown depicting an elegant woman, an urban sophisticated female and a strong woman, and interviewees were asked to describe the appearance, the personality and the work and family life of the female character in each advertisement. They were asked to choose one of them as most closely representing their ideal female image.

The interviewees constructed their ideal female images from the advertisement that best suited their ideal appearance, personality and work and family life. Female interviewees aspired to be like the elegant woman, identified with the urban sophisticated female and rejected the strong woman in the ads. Male interviewees appreciated the urban sophisticated female but rejected the strong woman.

With just 32 interviewees, the generalizability of the findings is limited.

Female central characters in advertisements should be pilot-tested among the target audience to maximize levels of aspiration and identification.

This is the first study to examine ideal female images from gendered advertisements among adolescent boys and girls in China.

Games are rapidly becoming a site where cultural ideas are explored and consumed and have recently become an arena for debate around representations of gender. This chapter draws attention to key debates occurring in the field of video games that are also applicable to film studies. This interdisciplinary approach demonstrates the relevance to game studies of a rich vein of scholarship on the gendered action body in film studies. Drawing on research by Yvonne Tasker (1993, 2015), Lisa Purse (2011) and Jeffrey Brown (2011), this chapter seeks to unpick the tensions around gender and violence in the reception of The Last of Us Part II (Naughty Dog, 2020), particularly regarding the surprisingly vehement backlash against the unconventionally muscular deuteragonist Abby.

This chapter asks what happens when the ‘spectacular’ and ‘hard’ bodies of the action heroine enter the soft virtual world of the video game. A focus on whether Abby's body is realistic in the reception of the game leads to a discussion of the ontological status of games as a virtual medium. I argue that the process of motion capture and the real-world reference of CrossFit athlete Colleen Fotsch trouble the conventional dichotomy that understands the medium of games as virtual and film as indexical. Throughout, I use the more ambiguous and ambivalent historical reception of the body of Lara Croft as a useful point of contrast. I argue that the obsessive, hysterical response to Abby's muscular body is indicative of larger tensions between conservative ‘hardcore’ fandoms and the industry's recent drive for progressive change. By denying Abby's authenticity such players also deny female access to traditional masculine pursuits and identities, whether that be bodybuilding or gaming. This is because virtual female action stars, just as much as their real-world counterparts such as Linda Hamilton, trouble the gendered norms that underpin both second-wave feminist accounts of muscular women and the audience of hardcore video game players. As Fron, Fullerton, Morie, and Pearce (2007) critique in their article ‘The Hegemony of Play’, a double standard therefore exists in which such women must justify the reality of their musculature through a kind of ‘proof of process’. Ultimately, I conclude that a similar demand is made of the emergent female audience of gamers, who are continuously made to justify their right to play in a traditionally male space.

The purpose of this study is to examine how Chinese adolescent girls and boys interpret female images in gendered advertisements based on Tobin et al.’s (2010) gender self-socialization model (GSSM).

In total, 48 Hong Kong adolescents studying in high schools or university year one participated in a focus group study. Four advertisements with different types of female images were presented. Interviewees were asked to discuss the appearance, the personality and the work and family life of the female characters in the advertisements. Interviewers then asked them to select the one most closely representing their ideal female image.

Most of the interviewees chose an urban sophisticate as the character closest to their ideal female image. Female interviewees identified with the urban sophisticate and aspired to the cultured nurturer image. However, they rejected the strong woman and the “flower vase” female images.

The generalizability of the findings was limited because of the small sample size and non-probability sampling.

When targeting adolescents, advertisers should consider using female images displaying a personality that is neither too strong nor too weak.

This is the first study to investigate how Hong Kong adolescents interpret female images from gendered advertisements. This study also clarifies the gender concepts to explain how adolescents perceive gendered advertisements.

This study aims to explore the determinants of behavioral intentions during the previsit stage by investigating the influence of audience involvement with the audiovisual product and the mediating role played by place attachment.

Structural equation modeling was employed to verify the hypothesized relationships using the AMOS 24.0 program to assess the proposed model. A total of 564 young Chinese audiences who had watched the Thai television (TV) series “I Told Sunset About You” but had not previously visited Phuket, Thailand, were collected using the online survey as participants.

The findings indicate that audience involvement has a significant positive effect on place attachment and behavioral intentions during the previsit stage. Place attachment significantly influences behavioral intentions. Moreover, the result suggests that place attachment significantly mediates the relationship between audience involvement and behavioral intentions.

This study contributes to film tourism research by revealing the crucial role of audience involvement in enhancing place attachment and fostering behavioral intentions toward depicted destinations among potential tourists.

This study suggests that destination marketers should be aware of the soft power of films and TV series to promote destination and attract prospective tourists.

This study provides a distinctive perspective on the interrelationships between audience involvement, place attachment, and previsit behavioral intentions. Additionally, it sheds light on the underlying mechanisms influencing potential tourists' behaviors in the context of film tourism.

Reports on a study designed to analyse the effectiveness of real and created spokespersons in advertisements. Compares male and female spokespersons′ effectiveness by audience gender. Concludes that celebrities can be used to gain attention and maintain sales, while created spokespersons′ effectiveness is in establishing a lifelong link with the product.

The overall purpose of this study is to investigate and gain a better understanding of perceptions of source credibility and consumer motivation to view live-stream broadcasts. Of particular interest is gender differences based on the gender of the broadcaster and viewer.

Data were collected using an online survey from 998 respondents. As the preliminary examination technique, t-tests were used.

There are significant differences based on whether a viewer of a live broadcast is watching a source of the same gender or a different gender in source credibility. Viewing same vs opposite sex broadcasters may indicate motivation to engage with the live-video content. There are significant gender differences outcome variables of interest to live broadcasters.

The context investigated was a single live-streaming provider.

The findings provide a start to understanding the differences in perceptions and motivations for watching live-stream broadcasters. This will aid marketers and broadcasters using live-stream formats on a variety of platforms in developing better content and building a more engaged viewing community. This research represents an important step in quantifying unexplored differences in gender perceptions of the source of live broadcasts that ultimately could impact not only the success of the broadcaster but also brands endorsed by these broadcasters.

This research is among the first to explore source effects and motivation in the live video context.