U.S. war posters from the First and Second World Wars, Library of Congress. Retrieved from https://streetsofsalem.com/tag/joan-of-arc/ The first image that caught my eye, was the dual posters from the first and second world wars respectively. The poster on the left shows a beautiful young woman clad in armor with a sword raised high against a…
Latest from the Identity & Corporate Branding Design category
Cowboy Tropes in the Media
The western genre was one of the most popular genres in the 1900s. Movies, books, television shows, games, and other forms of media were capitalizing on the western lifestyle. The most recognizable image in the genre is the cowboy. The cowboy is the most important aspect of any frontier piece of media. When one thinks…
Tropes in the Media: Hero
The hero trope has been used in various forms of media in order to portray a character with the ideals that society typically strives for. The hero trope aims to cater to the sense of morality that many people crave and aim for. The rebel trope includes characters or situations that are challenging yet inspire…
Tropes In the Media: Lady Justice
Lady Justice: Lady Justice is depicted as a confident figure who holds a sword in one hand and a scale in the other, with one foot propped up on a book. She is commonly known as “Justitia,” which dates back to Greek mythology as the personification of the goddess Themis, the goddess of divine law…
Chinese Tropes in the Media
Kungfu, Chinese dragons, and the Giant Panda are the typical things that come to people’s minds when they think about China. The Great Wall and the Forbidden City appeared in many movies that contain Chinese elements. If you have seen the posters on campus lately or like Chinese food, you probably also know that the…
Damsel in Distress
The “Damsel in Distress” trope has been used consistently all over the globe. It’s been used so consistently that it has become a staple in nostalgia and even in advertising. Only recently have been shed a light on the problematic nature of using weak women and strong men as a trope. The imagery further solidifies…
LGBT Tropes and Stereotypes
Although there has been great strides within the United States in progressing the rights of LGBTQ persons, various tropes within the media still exist today. This isn’t to generalize the idea that “tropes” as a concept are always bad, but however they can become harmful when generalizing a group of people. I’ve compiled three different…
Sidekick Trope
The trope of “sidekick” is widely known as a character that is secondary to the story. The sidekick is known for comedic relief and usually gets themselves in trouble for the “hero” of the story to save. In most cases, the sidekick is less than the main character, in intelligence, strength, or purpose. Each sidekick…
Nerd/Geek trope in media
Alter “better” ego: In the Spider-Man comics, the main character, Peter Parker, is described as a shy and timid scientific genius. Once he was bit by a spider, he gained super strength, the ability to crawl on walls, and became a popular superhero. In the new Spider-Man movies now more than ever, this depiction of…
Asian Stereotypes Tropes
As a successful example of immigrating to the United States in the last century, while Asians immersed in the collective sense of honor of being able to create a good life in a foreign country, they were also experienced bursting backlash by being accused of the prototype of a racial idealogy, the “Yellow Peril.” Here…
Lions as a Media Trope
Lions are a common trope in the media. Often, they represent regality, royalty, and power, but they can also represent aggression and violence, or be used to subvert the expectations of the trope to great effect. In this poster, we see Aslan depicted as a regal, powerful figure, one who confers royalty. He stands upon…
The Big Apple Idea
I chose to explore the tropes revolving around the Apple (Malus). In an ordinary context, the apple is known merely as a delicious red, most of the time, fruit. The apple is one of the most common fruits eaten all around the world. Apples grow on trees, often in orchards, and are used to cook a…
The Couch Trope in Sitcoms
In these images below, the trope is tv sitcom couches and the trope represents a sense of belonging and being with friends. This trope is designed to pull someone in and make them feel like they are hanging out with their own friends, having adventures with them. In the first image we have the season…
Women and the Color Pink
The trope I wanted to focus on was women and their connection to the color pink. Whether it be in women’s fashion choices, the color of their room, or their car, women are commonly tied to the color pink not only in media but in products in everyday life. In many of these circumstances the…
African American Tropes
The movie and comic character Heimdall from the Marvel universe is a very good example of the “magical negro” trope that popular in current media. The magical negro trope is defined by a black (sometimes elder) side character that is wise and often leads the white protagonist on a journey of fulfillment. These…