Analysis of Material Girls Trailer

The trailer starts with camera shots of the two main characters of the film, ava and tanzie. From these shots cuts are used to show both characters, however also highlighting the close relationship the two sister have with each other. The camera cuts through both characters showing to the audience what there lives are about and also giving meaning to why the film is called material girls. The lighting at the beginning of the trailer is bright and the two characters are both wearing white highlighting that even though they may appear as being uncaring and focused on looks and the material things in life it nay also link to the purity that the both girls have.
The text is likely to be aimed towards young girls aimed between the ages of 12 to 15. The genre of the film is drama, comedy, however the film has been heavily critised to not having believable acting from both of the sisters however they do show to have a close onscreen relationship.
The institution of the film is Metro Goldwyn Mayer. In a way throughtout the trailer the two girls arr reinforcing the sterotype of young blondes as being independent and dizzy as they are unable to complete simple tasks, or decide to take any responsiblity for helping out with their fathers business. The representation of young upper class females are shown in this film. As they are called material girls they link to the representation of this throughout the film as they both enjoy the material things in life. There representation of both females links to the self fulfilling prochecy as this means when people are given a label they instantly act to the label in which they have been given. This label is constantly reinforced throughout the whole trailer.
The narrative of the film shows the lives of two material girls ava and tanzie enjoying the material things in life which include shopping and dating without taking any responsiblity in the running of the family business until they have to defend it against fabiella who aims to help the girls by buying the business of them. Through this the girls realise that it is time for them to start looking after themselves and decide to take more responsiblity for helping the business to become successfull.

Film Reviews:

http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=12242&s=Reviews

"A few funny lines spool out intermittently, but it's the inane-ness of Material Girls that grates. While Hollywood sisters Haylie and Hilary Duff tell each other money doesn't bring happiness, their actions speak otherwise"

http://www.ericdsnider.com/movies/material-girls

"This has been a bad year for movies starring teen queens, with Amanda Bynes' "She's the Man" and Lindsay Lohan's "Just My Luck" having already desecrated cinemas with their senseless plots and inane comedy antics. And now Hilary and Haylie Duff's "Material Girls" has arrived to make the trifecta complete."

Assessment Objectives

AO1-Key Concepts. These consist of..
. Media Language
. Representation
. Genre
. Narrative
. Values and Ideology
. Media Institution

AO2-Knowledge of wider contexts,social historical, economic and political
For this assessment objective I would be required to write about contexts and knowledge of why the text is why it is.
Target:research my topic in more detail using the internet and by reading more books.

AO3i-Issues and Debates
For this assessment objective I would be required to show knowledge and application of ideas, theories, debates and information which would be relevant to the text which I am studying.
Target:Research all the theorists that are relevant to my topic in detail.

AO3ii-Comparing similarities of texts
For this assessment objective I would be required to be able to compare the similarities within texts.
Target:To be able to do this i will have to research my topic in great detail to ensure that i would be able to compare the similarities between the text

AO5-Research techniques
For this assessment objective I would be required to use the appropriate investigative and research techniques.
Target:Make sure that the research i am doing is relevant to my topic.

Analysis of Stills from the film

This image shows the two characters of the film sisters Ava and Tanzie played by hilary and haylie duff. The title of the film is material girls and this still from the film gives more meaning to why they are given this name. The characters enjoy the material things in life which include dating and looking good as they are always in the public eye. The picture also shows the close relationship they both have with each other.



This image shows the to girls tanzie and ava being pampered. The girls are presented as being gilrs who enjoy the material things in life which includes looking good. The man holding the tray seems to be providing the service for the women and also shows how much dominance they have at this point as the man is doing things for them. Both the sisters are shown sitting together wearing the same colour gown which may highlight the close relationship that they both have with each other. Fabiella, the women sitting in the middle of the picture also highlights her dominance not only because she is the center image but she is the businesses main rival. Her character contrasts with the girls as her main aim throughout the film is to be successful. From the gown in which she is also wearing it may suggest she has different attitudes to life than the girls. Her gown is white which suggests purity however she is constantly referred to throughout the film as there worst enemy as she wants to buy the company of them.

Material Girls Trailer

Synopsis

For Ava and Tanzie Marchetta, life is a rollercoaster ride of fun parties, cute guys and gorgeous clothes and makeup. Celebutantes who have inherited their father's multi-million-dollar cosmetics industry, Ava and Tanzie only have to show up at the occasional board meeting and let the grownups do the rest. But when an awful scandal takes away their house, their car and all their money, Ava and Tanzie have to learn how to live in the real world… and have the opportunity to discover what they're made of and realize the potential they never knew they had. Hilary and Haylie Duff star in Material Girls, a comedy about love, money and the right exfoliant from the director of Valley Girl, Martha Coolidge.



Material Girls Film

PART 1- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EluLkxPX3VM&feature=related
PART 2 -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6aLWpVzDV4&feature=related
PART 3 -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzW4wcoM8uk&feature=related
PART 4 -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWzeWQsmx64&feature=related
PART 5 -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiUyivbnYxk&feature=related
PART 6 -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWsUIz7Q3JU&feature=related
PART 7 -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE1y7sSBOzE&feature=related
PART 8 -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN5itVoN1NY&feature=related
PART 9 -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Im6TNKI1g5c&feature=related

Material Girls Review

When celebutant heiresses, Ava (Haylie Duff) and Tanzie (Hilary Duff) Marchetta find out that their deceased father's cosmetics company is sinking, the girls' material world disintegrates like the mansion they accidentally ignite. Renounced by the young Hollywood set, the Marchetta sisters seek refuge at the modest walkup apartment (in Jimmy Choos, no less!) of former family maid, Inez (Maria Conchita Alonso). However, the biggest challenge becomes thwarting Fabiella (Angelica Huston), their father's make-up arch rival, and her curiously possible corporate takeover. Thanks to the help of "hottie" chemist Rick (Marcus Coloma) who the girls mistake for a valet, and Henry Baines (Lucas Haas), a "Men's Wearhouse" pro bono attorney, the girls set out to achieve the implausible.

It is hard to say what demographic this movie is geared towards. Although costuming and dialogue are mostly consistent with lifestyle icons like the Hiltons, or Olson twins, the film makes many inappropriate choices for a "Tween" audience. Inez, the Hispanic maid, explains that post 9/11 immigration laws prevent her daughters from emigrating. A "weird" situation is judged on a "Courtney Love" scale, and Tanzie warns Ava that people "pee" on bus seats. Tanzie also lands in jail when she attempts to mirror the Julia Roberts' Erin Brokovitch namesake and dons a bustier to seduce a man for access to a file room. In jail, she fends off advances by cellmates, and then uses sand caught between one of the convicts toes to teach the women about exfoliation. In awe of the girls, a Marchetta intern (Reagan Dale Nies) changes her nose to mirror Tanzie's and her hair to look like Ava's. The message is that to be wealthy and beautiful, you must become someone else.

The riches-to-rags-to riches Duff powder puff concludes with the Marchetta moguls in love and changing the world, one affordable cosmetic at a time, but the only chemistry here is in the make-up lab. Material Girls lacks…material.

Analysis of movie review

This movie critic heavily critises the film as in the article it is evident that they don't believe that the film itself is not as good as it should be. Within the film its got alot of glamour however it has a huge amount of sterotyping in it. The film also is critised for not having great diagioue and teh acting is not believable enough for the audience to realate to the characters even though it appears that Hilary and her older sister Haylie appear to make a good on screen partnership.

Other texts which I could relate to..

Mean Girls Trailer



Legally Blonde Trailer

Key Concepts

Media Representations


Throughout Material Girls the plots main focus is on the Marchetta sisters Tanzie played by Hilary Duff and Ava played by her older sister Haylie Duff. The characters represent two young women who are rich, spoiled and people who enjoy material things such as shopping and dating. However when the girls find out that their assets are frozen they must adjust to life without their fortune. Throughout the film the girls are represented as women who enjoy the luxuries of the good life and don't place much importance on the running of their fathers business. However in a turn of events they decide to take control of the business as Ava states that they have to take care of themselves from now on. This states that the girls finally realise that the have to take control and want to be more involved in the buisness rather than being material girls.
The men in the film are represented to support the male gaze as Tanzie and Ava take much pleasure in dating and the film is mainly centered around the lives of the Marchetta sisters. Compared to the women in the film the men still have more control over the women as it is seen throughout the film that it is a man who tells them they should find a job and also they work for their dads company which highlights the dominance the males have in this film.
Compared to the other women in the film the Marchetta sister differ from them as they are not so heavily influenced in getting the material things in life. This is evident from the character Fabiella. In the film Fabiella is the companies biggest competitor and wants to buy the business of them. She is described by Tanzie in the film as being their "worst enemy". Fabiella in the film is represented as being a strong and independent women which contrasts with the marchetta sisters as fabiella is not so influced by the material things but money and power.

Media Language and Forms

The title of the film being Material Girls shows a range of different denotative and connotative meanings. The words material girls implies that the main focus of the film is going to be about girls who enjoy the material things in life, such as shopping and dating. Also in the title in the word material instead of the letter i it is replaced with lipstick, which also implies that the girls live a very stylish lifestyle, possibly highlighting that the way the look is very important. The lifestyles of the two girls connotes the high status that they appear to have in society, as they are the daughters of a wealthy businessman. This links to the idea of the male being the main breadwinner of the family as his main responsibility is to look after his family by providing the essentials for them in life. However this may also suggest that there is a patriarchal ideology in this film, because the girl get there wealth from there successful father and his business.
In Material Girls the non-verbal structures of meaning such as the girls clothing and props and the way they speak present to the audience what the characters are like. The clothing that the characters wear are fashionable as the girls place much importance on the way they look as they are always in the public eye.
The settings of the film reflect the type of lifestyle that a young women would have, going to parties, shopping, meeting boys, making sure they look good and spending much of their parents money. The girls are pictured at the beginning of the material girls trailer as being A list celebrities as everyone wants to take their pictures.
When the trailer begins we hear the song material girls and see shots of the two girls being pampered after we are given a brief introduction to who they are. We then get shot of a billboard with the Marchetta sisters on them which suggests that they are of somewhat celebrities. However it could be argued that the only reason that they are seen as celebrities is because of their fathers business.

Narrative

The major themes that are so often used in the narrative of Material Girls include comedy, drama, relationships, family, money and conflict with rival businesses. One of the main values and ideologies that it embodies is that for the main characters is that the good characters would always beat the bad ones. For example the marchetta sisters work together to put the business back on track and don't have to sell it to Fabiella.
Heroes and Villains are created throughout the film as there roles become familiar to the audience. The marchetta sisters become the heroes as they take more responsibility and decide to work and stop the business being sold.

Genre

The film itself covers a wide range of different genres, the main ones being comedy, family sister relationships. In films that cover the same genre as Material Girls the major generic conventions that come from within the text may include romance, conflict with other girls possibly over boys or fear competition from other girls, dating and shopping. There is also a way in which the girls speak and act in different situations which makes them appear as being dim however this is very common in films like mean girls and legally blonde. The material girls film is often reffered to as a "Tween" genre. This may be the case because of the films poor dialogue and as its acting is said by critics to being unbeliveable and not as convincing to the audience. The sterotype of blondes being independent refelcts why the film is reffered to as the tween genere as the film is not suitable for teenagers but for girls of an even younger age.
The major iconographic features of the text are the photo shoots they are involved in, the family business owned by their father, shopping, dates and parties.
The major generic themes consist of sister relationship, dating, shopping, family business and conflict with another business rival.
The audience generic expectations of the film is fulfilled through the main characters of the film. The Marchetta sisters represent young women, as in the title who enjoy the material things in life. It involves spending vast amounts of money in which they inherit from their fathers successful business.
Hillary Duff stars in this movie along side her older sister Haylie. Hilary is well known for being an actress and a pop singer. She gained fame for playing the title role in the television series Lizzie McGuire.

Media Values and Ideology

In the film Material Girls the assumptions that are created within in the text are that the marchetta sisters ate spolit on the riches of their fathers business and they don't do anythin to derserve it. It is shown to the audience that all the girls appear to do in the film is spend money on shopping and going to parties. The audience would be made to believe at the beginnig of the film that it is going to be typical of them to have to follow the two girls looking for boys and asking stupid questions, however it is very typical of this genre to have at least one girl who is like that. One of the values of material girls is that good will always defeat evil as the girls finally realise that it is time for them to look after themselves and be more invloved in the running of the business and decide that it is right for them to take more responsibilty as they don't want to have to end up selling the business to Fabiella.

Media Audiences

Material girls is targeted at a family audiennce howevers its primary audeince may be female teemagers between the ages of 13 and 16 as they amy enjoy the humour throughout the film. As the film itself is often refered to as the Tween genre it may suggest to the audience that the film may only be targeted to young teenage girls.
The assumptions about the audiences characteristics is that they may enjoy watching films like these which may include mean girls, where humour is created through the way in which the characters act in different situations.
As an audience member you would have to question the attiude of the girls and if the film gives an accurate representation of what they would be like.

Information

Laura Mulvey:

http://www.answers.com/topic/laura-mulvey

Feminist film theory:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminist_film_theory