Shelter’s 2025 Christmas Appeal

As part of my super curricular studies on the Shelter organisation, i watched a few of their videos and decided to write about the 2025 Christmas Appeal because it draws attention to the growing issue of homelessness during a time usually associated with family, comfort and celebration. By contrasting the warmth of Christmas with the harsh reality faced by thousands without a secure home, the campaign highlights the inequality of today’s society. 

Shelter’s video focuses on very realistic people, thus encouraging the audience to actively empathise with them rather than passively observing the problem which therefore encourages them to take on responsibility and do something to help. 

I think the appeal reflects altruism and pro-social behaviour because it invites people to help the cause with no personal reward. Through donations, volunteering and raising awareness, the campaign tells the audience to care and support those who are vulnerable. The advert shows how media can inspire not just attention, but real social change. 

Is Barbie a Feminist Film?

 

As part of my super curricular studies, i read the article “Is Barbie a feminist film?”. This article discussed how the Barbie movie attempts to critique the patriarchy through Barbie’s journey from an objectified, idealised doll to a human woman, yet still reinforces traditional beauty standards shaped by the influence of the male gaze and white Western ideals. 

It questions why Barbie chooses to leave Barbie Land, where she has all the power, for the real world, where she seems to have very little. Thus suggesting, that the narrative implies women must accept a world where they lack power in order to appear “real.” 

Although the film appears feminist, the article argues that it’s message is limited by commercial interests, , especially Mattel’s involvement, and that its feminist idea are simplified for mainstream audiences through humour. 

From this, i learned that feminist representation can sometimes reproduce the inequalities it tried to challenge, and that media texts balance social messages with commercial messages. 

I can link this to my studies through feminist theories such as Mulvey’s male gaze and bell hooks’ ideas on beauty standards, also through the complexity of representation showing how mainstream media can adhere to and critique traditional dominant power structures. 

BEAUTY ADVERT

 

This was my media advertisement I created in class in which we presented a pitch to try and sell our product. For my product I chose to use the Billie Eilish No.1 perfume using the slogan "Your Turn" to address the audience directly and encourage them to purchase the product.

I took the pictures at home on my iPhone 15 using an empty bottle of perfume which I chose because of the gold which I thought connoted luxury and sophistication. I then chose a background in my house that matched the colour of the bottle to further emphasise the luxury the perfume brings. I also chose a gold bracelet to wear to link in to the mine-en-scene.

I used tools on photoshop to increase the exposure, colour pick the text and use the magic eraser tool to get rid of any blemishes.

Overall, I am quite happy with the finished advert however in the future I think I would want to experiment with different layouts and take a few more photos so I have more options to choose from.