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Documentary Analysis
film notes
exploitation of young girls
-trying to appeal directly to the consumer, taking photos of clothes customers and workers are wearing to replicate
-sending them on work trips to china and italy
-the brand is built on the idea of a specific lifestyle more than a brand identity and marketing strategies (marketing is very minimal mainly happening on instagram) the idea of the perfect brandy girl is a blonde skinny california beachy girl
one of the only brands to make the customer feel they need to prove themselves as worthy of the brand
the one size fits all=the universal size being small
-predatory of young girls
-intentional or not shows the parallels between how we value harm on first world citizens vs third world. objectively the environmental and labour toll of how their product is actually produced is far more harmful overall than the issues within the store but because fast fashion is so out of sight out of mind it seems to still take less precedence in this documentary
-It continued expanding its market, particularly in China. There, the company uses, somehow, even smaller measurements on its “one size fits most” model, perpetuating the same, if not worse, standards on Chinese teenagers. Some are even participating in a viral “BM challenge,” essentially trying to lose enough weight to fit into a tiny skirt from Brandy Melville
-deceptive marketing techniques, made in italy on tags promotes the idea of sustainability however the manufacturing used just as exploitative tactics as a sweatshop
-teenage and young adult employees being required to send full body outfit photos everyday to higher management, stephan would require these photos so he could terminate those who he felt did not subscribe to the look he was going for (whether than be facial features, style, weight, or race) being hired purely based on their appearance when coming into the store, these photos put a heavy pressure on teenage employees to maintain a consistent weight and style leading to the development of eating disorders
while he felt asian employees suited the look of the store he felt black and other poc deterred customers and took away from the brand
2020 closure of brandy melville yorkdale, stephan didn’t like the audience he was receiving at this toronto location stating it was too ghetto, a discrimination lawsuit was filed upon the closure
despite widespread awareness of the issues discussed in this expose documentary brandy melville will never die
cognitive dissonance having to engage with a company
the use of firsthand experiences of employees and young girls
stephen marsan vs manufacturing
Documentary Film Analysis
1. What is the main conflict/problem in the film? How do know? How/was it/can it be resolved?
The issues surrounding the brand of brandy melville are practically endless however the roots seem to all stem from the exploitive ceo and owner stephan masan. When the store expanded out of italy and opened its american locations the slim blonde california dream girl brandy girl was born. This was the first time a fast fashion store created an ideal customer, unlike brands like h&m and zara whose entire schtick is proving that they are up to date and with the trends brandy melville became the trend. They created a culture among young girls that made brandy melville a place of idealization, a place where being an employee was a sign of beauty. To keep this idea of a brandy girl owner stephan masan was meticulous through the hiring process making sure to recruit any customer who had the body he thought would suit the company most. When a customer entered the store they were supposed to be welcomed by the epitome of what brandy should look like, in his opinion having poc on the floor did not align with the perfect brandy melville aesthetic.
I think the main issue of this documentary is how consumerism erodes our sense of moral values. As we follow all the atrocious things stephen marsan and the brandy melville company has done, a one size fits all sizing system that caused a whole generation of young girls body image issues, promoting eating disorders, racism within the workplace, antisemitism, unethical manufacturing processes, environmental harm, and sexual harassment, we realize that brandy melville will never truly die, if it could it wouldve already. We can see in the personal testimonies and influencer videos shown throughout the documentary the speakers are often still wearing the brand even as they describe the deep issues with the company. This is because finding products we find appealing will always trump the conditions where they come from, that is why fast fashion despite being widely known as a highly unethical business model remains as the most common way t
What values and voices are being promoted in the film? What values and voices are left out?
What knowledge, information and social gaps are being explored/exposed in the film that would otherwise go unnoticed?
Throughout the documentary the film makers break down many social and class disparities that m
Why did the creator make this documentary? How do images and messages help you understand the filmmakers attitude/bias towards the subject?
How do economics/social justice issues affect the content of this film? What makes this a piece of media that is about economic/social justice?
Are there stereotypes in this film? Are they ultimately upheld or broken down?
Where does the film use:
LOGOS:
PATHOS:
ETHOS: By getting former employees and executive testimonies against the company the viewer has a level of trust in the narrative since we know we are listening to opinions based off of first hand experiences with stephen and brandy melville rather than an opinion from someone on the outside
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The Task: Select and view a documentary about a topic that you think matters. The documentary must be at least 60 minutes in length and of high production value. Please seek approval of your selection PRIOR to beginning work. Take detailed notes with focus on the questions we have been exploring in class (7 questions for analyzing documentaries – see attached).
You are NOT limited to this list of options and the documentary can be in any language. Please make sure that your choice is grounded in social justice issues and that it lends itself to the questions you need to respond to.
As always, your selection should be a new experience for you (not a doc you have seen or studied before). There are documentaries on almost every streaming platform – make sure that you have access to yours before you select. Watch the trailer before you commit. FYI – True Crime Docs do not lend themselves very well to this task.
Your write up should include: (use notes, and articles about the documentary for insight)
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/brandy-hellville-documentary-allegations-bombshells-hbo-max-1235004131/
Your notes on the doc (these should be taken as you watch)
a THESIS STATEMENT for the documentary
Respond to the questions in proper paragraph format (see exemplar) with depth of thought, analysis and detail.
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