Chasing After Wind: What Is Fantasy?

Chasing After Wind: What is Fantasy?

Flipping through my two most current issues of Teen Vogue, I noticed that virtually all of the advertisements featured only women as the focal point. Only two (out of the five hundred plus pages featuring over one hundred ads) incorporated males, and still there were women somewhere in the picture; a few ads also featured products by themselves. Every female-oriented ad had an element of sensuality or sex appeal. Typically, young people in America grow up thinking that young men respond to such tactics. However, the majority of Teen Vogue's readers are girls and young women. So why are Penthouse-worthy images permeating every commercial venue, regardless of who is viewing them?

Maybe it is because that in most people's eyes, Penthouse-worthy images are commonplace. In most porn magazines, there are certain themes and fantasies dictating the direction of the photo. Some like the cheerleader; others prefer a sexy librarian. The same can be said for most advertisements now found throughout all venues. The new clothing line, the new fragrance, the new makeup collection has a certain premise, and will appeal to a certain demographic. So marketers, fashion photographers, ad agencies, and designers categorize, compartmentalize, and create stereotypes that each age group, ethnic group, and region will identify with, appreciate, and will most likely buy the product sold.

I started to select ads that spoke to me, starting out with quite a few with either purple or, conversely, metallic color themes. As I pared the vast assortment down, I continued developing a theme that centered on common fantasies. The pictures I found and really felt compelled to continue analyzing do not encompass all fantasies readily available, but incorporate many that I have been told about or exposed to myself. They include (with nicknames I assigned): Chicago-esque Sex Slave, Forties Fast Forward, Burlesque S&M Vamp, Grown-up Disney Princess, Goth, and Haute Couture.

Keira Knightley sits in a metal room wearing nothing but a men's dress shirt draped over her legs and a hat redolent of Charlie Chaplin cupped over her breast. Her eyes smolder at the camera as two spotlights shine back at her - she sells Coco Mademoiselle perfume for Chanel Paris. She looks as though she has been caught in some "unmentionable" act (e.g., sex) and she is trying to cover up. The shirt and hat could support this - obviously, a man was there. The spots of light behind her - like a car's high beams - make me think of the proverbial deer in headlights. To me, the image is a sexed-up version of Chicago, where Roxie and Velma perform their last act together using guns and hats in addition to their flapper costumes. It also ties into the Chicago theme with the background suggesting a prison cell. I also equated it with a still frame of a sex scene on the set of a psychological thriller flick. Throughout all these thought processes, however, I could not ignore the sophistication of the image. This ad, depicting the "Chicago-esque Sex Slave" fantasy, would most likely appeal to a wealthier demographic with a hidden dark side.

Another ad that upper-class consumers might find interesting was one I dubbed "Forties Fast Forward," because if the model were removed, the image would give off a retro vibe reminiscent of the nineteen forties. She brings color to the otherwise black and white themed background, with her yellow hair, red nails and lipstick, and blue jeans - the point of the ad. The men sitting behind her with old-fashioned cameras all glance at her with drugged expressions bordering on predatory. Another reason as to why it might appeal more to the "rich" is that it is for a line of jeans from YMI called Royalty.

Fascination with darkness and the occult is growing ever stronger, what with TV shows like Ghost Whisperer and Moonlight, movies such as 30 Days of Night and The Craft, and books like the Harry Potter series, Twilight, and the up-and-coming author Laurie Faria Stolarz. The fantasy termed "Burlesque S&M Vamp" echoes this. An ad soliciting the consumption of MAC Viva Glam Vi lipstick, lip-gloss, and lip glass in order to support the company's foundation for HIV and AIDS sells the product by placing a sexily dressed woman - a stripper of sorts that reminds one of a burlesque cabaret - on a glittery chair. There is not much of a connection between the medium and the merchandise. Her all-black attire consisting of a very low bustier, a garter belt, both covered in sparkly beads and sequins, and arm-length gloves, combined with the shadowy maroon atmosphere definitely conjures images of vampires, dark magic, alleyways, and the night life. Also enticing the reader is her posture as she bites the finger of her glove, vainly suggesting that she is innocent.

Another captures a woman riding a swan in a very short, very revealing gold sequined mini-dress. Not only is her attire questionable, but her posture against the swan - somewhat scandalous and suggestive - hints at a little something more. Maybe the advertisers were not intending the image to send such a message, but inquiring,