The new Megan Fox.

 Shia Labouf talks Megan Fox.

The new transformers movie is going to come out this summer, but this time the lead female role and love interest will no longer be played by the beloved by men Megan Fox.  This time around, director Michael Bay has chosen Victoria's secret model Rosie Hunington-Whitely-a tall blond-as Megan Fox's replacement.  This New York Times article features an interview with Shia Labouf about the departure of Megan Fox from the third Transformers installment, and he speaks of Fox's insecurities of being put in the spotlight essentially through one film series and subsequently being perceived as the sexiest woman in America.  He talks about how she was uncomfortable with Michael Bay's demands for the role, which didn't involve a lot of lines, but rather sexy poses and a lot plain old "looking hot."  This article perfectly ties into the idea of the male gaze and the fetishistic perception of an ideal woman being portrayed through a camera lens.  Since Fox no longer felt comfortable doing the same thing for three films in a row, he ended up hiring an alternate that happens to be a Victoria Secret model; obviously sexy poses are what she does for a living so this acting job would not be much of an insecurity issue for her.  It is fascinating to see how directors will use woman in order to make money, because for example, this is Rosie's first acting job.  It proves that the image of a woman's body is the ideal way of making profit of a big Hollywood Blockbuster in America.

Because we really needed a fifth one...

During the weekend I went to go see the recently released film of Fast Five staring big time action stars such as Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson best known among the media as “The Rock”. The film has had four previous films and even though I was pretty sure of what I was going to be viewing, I still nonetheless decided to partake in the viewing of the film. As expected, the film was drenched with male gaze and dominance in the film. I found it a bit entertaining that I could pin point certain concepts such as the way the camera would linger in one of the female characters. The slow motion gaze of up and down in her body as she dropped a towel and made her way up a male character or when she makes her entrance in the film she slowly gets off the motorcycle that she arrives in and once again the camera rolls up and down. Although, targeted to a male audience of course by action packed and adrenaline pumping through 90% of the scenes the visual pleasure for men is undeniable in the film. Even though, somewhat entertaining for about two hours, my boyfriend seemed to take a far more pleasure in the film of course than myself.

Touch the "SKYY"

This ad clearly entails the ideology that we are living in a male centric society. The angle at which the male is placed in the advertisement is crucial to decoding the meaning. It can be inferred that since the man is in a tailored suit he is of upper class. His authoritative role is further emphasized since he is towering directly over the woman with the bodacious physique. Since the male’s face is not showcased to consumers, it provides an “it could be you” fantasy to male consumers. If the man’s face had been shown, then his race or ethnicity would become valuable to the decoding the meaning of the advertisement. I also firmly believe that the man’s face was not shown because men from all walks of life have the ability to control a woman. SKYY Vodka doesn’t just want to target one particular audience or race for this matter because it wants to create a sense of commonality between the man in the illustration and the average Joe or upper class man.

In addition, the woman’s flawless physique provokes to-be-looked-at-ness. The Caucasian female is the desire rather than the beverage. The viewer is automatically drawn to the woman’s cleavage; it is the main attraction in the SKYY Vodka advertisement. The advertisement uses the ideal of a perfect female body that many women strive for. This body involves the ideal of a flat stomach and is perfectly proportioned with an extremely large bust. The woman’s muscular shoulders suggest that she occupies her time with exercising and maintaining her appearance. This “perfect body” operates as a metaphor for culture. For example, it is of no surprise that a Caucasian female with straight blonde hair and a flawless tan is the symbol of beauty. Especially in contemporary society because people pay to look a couple shades darker; natural pasty skin, which was once of great significance during the Jim Crow era is no longer, considered to be beautiful.

If photography were used to capture this exact moment instead of an illustration, it would evoke different reactions from the general public. For example, it might be taken more seriously because some could find it be rather offensive. Although one could still question the company’s motive, the illustration makes it a light topic or entertaining to some rather than problematic. Therefore, the art medium becomes significant because it has the power to alter the meaning of the advertisement.