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
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