Friday, 24 April 2015
Representation of National Identity
The Pride (2014) trailer represents Welsh people in the 1980s to be very close-minded, at first, with shots of them being in pubs and talking to each other in a very sort of friendly way. The shot of the town shows it to be quite small, and a sort of "everyone knows everyone" community which is conveyed through the mise en scene of the friendly expressions, body language and actions they take to each other in the pub scene. The stereotype of it being a small town is furthered when the LGBT group arrive in the town, and its shown that a lot of them are close/small-minded and a bit against either the movement in general, or just of change, though it also reflects how other Welsh people might be or act, reinforced when one of the older locals says "I've got a question about lesbians..." and is then quickly shut down by one of the leaders of the group. The stereotype is changed to very unwelcoming and harsh, as it was in the 1980s for LGBT groups, with a particular scene where one of the Welsh women says that the gays are "Here to further their own agenda" which discredits the help they've been doing up to this point, though not without reaction from one of the LGBT leaders. This stereotype is later challenged when it's shown that the miners accept them shown through the mise en scene of one of the LGBT activists and one of the miners shaking hands.
Rihanna's music for the song "American Oxygen" shows a compilation of very important events to America, such as the MLK speeches, his death, the Ferguson shootings, 9/11, the numerous riots that have taken place, police brutality, and the KKK and more. It helps to show the American dream, with scenes of people winning baseball, or of Barack Obama, the first black president, but it also shows the underbelly, with the Ferguson shootings, and the macing of peaceful protesters. The use of the quick camera chang
Friday, 17 April 2015
Debate/Election
The Mode of Address is formal, since the Daily Mail are trying to post a slam article against Labour, if it was informal, it wouldn't be taken as seriously. By using formal language, they stress the importance of the subject, even though the Labour Activist isn't important enough of a supporter, or integral to the campaign to be named in the headline, like an MEP or other Labour supporters might be.
The people in control of the messages and values in the text are the writers, and editors, Chris Greenwood and David Williams, though they are biased in favour of the Tories. The ideologies and messages don't directly support the Conservative party, but they make the other parties look worse, making themselves look like the lesser of two evils.
Wednesday, 25 March 2015
Definition
Target: The main recipients of the media text are the "Target Audience". These are the people intended to consume the text, and are catered specifically around them. This doesn't make them the only audience, and other audiences may still consume the text.
Appeal/Attract: Adverts and other media texts try to appeal to an audience through insecurities or personal vices to persuade the audience to consume the product. Some products use pressure to make people buy a product and make them feel 'left behind', while others could try and persuade the viewer that they have a problem the product fixes.
Position: The position is where the audience is placed within a text, and almost told how to feel. From this position, it could be sympathetic to a character, it could demonise them, etc. The position is made through a combined use of audio and visual codes.
Respond:
Encode and Decode:
Pick and Mix Theory: David Gauntlett's pick and mix theory dismisses a few other theories before it, like the cultivation theory, and states that audiences are more sophisticated, and just take what they need from a text and ignore the rest of it. Someone might take gossip from a magazine, but not the fashion, or vice-versa. This theory challenges the fact that people are affected by what they read, that violent themes don't make someone violent, or beautiful images make people feel inadequate.
Values, Attitudes and Lifestyles(VALs): Audiences are defined by their values, attitudes and lifestyles to categorise them the main groups of these are:
Mainstreamers - The average person is a mainstreamer, and they make up 40% of the population, they like security, known brands, value for money, and aren't likely to take risks.
Aspirers - People who want status and success, who want designer brands to show their status. They can be persuaded by celebrity endorsement.
Explorers -
Succeeders - People who are successful, have status and money, are Succeeders. They need big brands that are serious and reliable for them.
Reformers - Social activists, people who are concerned with animals, the environment and other social issues are usually reformers, they aren't materialistic and prefer brands that are good for the environment or healthy.
Appeal/Attract: Adverts and other media texts try to appeal to an audience through insecurities or personal vices to persuade the audience to consume the product. Some products use pressure to make people buy a product and make them feel 'left behind', while others could try and persuade the viewer that they have a problem the product fixes.
Position: The position is where the audience is placed within a text, and almost told how to feel. From this position, it could be sympathetic to a character, it could demonise them, etc. The position is made through a combined use of audio and visual codes.
Respond:
Encode and Decode:
Pick and Mix Theory: David Gauntlett's pick and mix theory dismisses a few other theories before it, like the cultivation theory, and states that audiences are more sophisticated, and just take what they need from a text and ignore the rest of it. Someone might take gossip from a magazine, but not the fashion, or vice-versa. This theory challenges the fact that people are affected by what they read, that violent themes don't make someone violent, or beautiful images make people feel inadequate.
Values, Attitudes and Lifestyles(VALs): Audiences are defined by their values, attitudes and lifestyles to categorise them the main groups of these are:
Mainstreamers - The average person is a mainstreamer, and they make up 40% of the population, they like security, known brands, value for money, and aren't likely to take risks.
Aspirers - People who want status and success, who want designer brands to show their status. They can be persuaded by celebrity endorsement.
Explorers -
Succeeders - People who are successful, have status and money, are Succeeders. They need big brands that are serious and reliable for them.
Reformers - Social activists, people who are concerned with animals, the environment and other social issues are usually reformers, they aren't materialistic and prefer brands that are good for the environment or healthy.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Target Audience: The Man from UNCLE is very similar to the "James Bond" style of films, and as such, has a similar target audience, from around 14-30.
Appeal: The film itself has espionage, hints at comedy, gun fights, which all cater to a male, action oriented audience. There is a gratuitous amount of violence, in the mise en scene of the trailer, as well as having the same sort of style and class in the costumes that the Bond characters have, smartly dressed in suit and tie, witty, but still an action hero.
Attract: The film has quite a few well known names in the cast-list, such as Guy Ritchie as the writer and producer, but the cast list also has quite a few attractive members which might attract a wider audience. Henry Cavill, Hugh Grant and Armie Hammer might all bring in the less catered for, female audience, while Alicia Vikander, is playing the classic "Bond girl" trope, and adds to the stack of reasons that a male audience might view it, as per the Male Gaze theory.
Position: The audience is made to like both Armie Hammer and Henry Cavill's characters, as the main duo who work together throughout the film. The audience sort of knows that they have bad blood between them from the backstory of the film, but it's obvious they'll be paired together, and
Respond: A lot of the younger audience would probably enjoy the film at face value, being absorbed into the plot, the dialogue and the action scenes within it, while an older audience might watch it for the nostalgia of having watched the old TV series.
Appeal: The film itself has espionage, hints at comedy, gun fights, which all cater to a male, action oriented audience. There is a gratuitous amount of violence, in the mise en scene of the trailer, as well as having the same sort of style and class in the costumes that the Bond characters have, smartly dressed in suit and tie, witty, but still an action hero.
Attract: The film has quite a few well known names in the cast-list, such as Guy Ritchie as the writer and producer, but the cast list also has quite a few attractive members which might attract a wider audience. Henry Cavill, Hugh Grant and Armie Hammer might all bring in the less catered for, female audience, while Alicia Vikander, is playing the classic "Bond girl" trope, and adds to the stack of reasons that a male audience might view it, as per the Male Gaze theory.
Position: The audience is made to like both Armie Hammer and Henry Cavill's characters, as the main duo who work together throughout the film. The audience sort of knows that they have bad blood between them from the backstory of the film, but it's obvious they'll be paired together, and
Respond: A lot of the younger audience would probably enjoy the film at face value, being absorbed into the plot, the dialogue and the action scenes within it, while an older audience might watch it for the nostalgia of having watched the old TV series.
Friday, 6 March 2015
Alvarado Theory
Exotic - Death In Paradise.
A lot of the characters within Death in Paradise are exotic in comparison to a lot of other western media. Because the show is set in the Caribbean, a lot of the characters, and one of the main characters, Camille, have a very exotic look when compared to Richard Poole or Humphrey Goodman.
Dangerous - Breaking Bad Tuco
In Breaking Bad, many of the characters are criminals, due to the nature and setting of the show. Tuco is seen as being dangerous, since he's a drug lord, as well as a hardened criminal, who has been shown killing people, as well as brutalising them. He also exhibits a few mexican stereotypes, saying words like "ese" at the end of his sentences, and being
Pitied -
Humorous - Big Bang Theory Raj Koothrapali
Sexualised -
A lot of the characters within Death in Paradise are exotic in comparison to a lot of other western media. Because the show is set in the Caribbean, a lot of the characters, and one of the main characters, Camille, have a very exotic look when compared to Richard Poole or Humphrey Goodman.
Dangerous - Breaking Bad Tuco
In Breaking Bad, many of the characters are criminals, due to the nature and setting of the show. Tuco is seen as being dangerous, since he's a drug lord, as well as a hardened criminal, who has been shown killing people, as well as brutalising them. He also exhibits a few mexican stereotypes, saying words like "ese" at the end of his sentences, and being
Pitied -
Humorous - Big Bang Theory Raj Koothrapali
Sexualised -
Racial Representation, Good and Bad
In Breaking Bad, one of the antagonists, Tuco, is negatively represented in more ways than one. The character is of a mexican ethnicity, but is a major criminal, involved with organised crime, and is himself, a drug lord. This is a fairly common, negative representation of Mexicans, as it shows Tuco, as well as his friends to be dangerous criminals. Breaking Bad shows him to be insane, ruthless, a smuggler and a drug lord, all of which are demonising and criminal, and doesn't offer any counter-point, only showing this evil side to him.
In the Avengers, Nick Fury, played by Samuel L Jackson, is positively represented. He's a major character within the plot, and is shown to be a resourceful, devil-may-care, powerful figure. He's shown to be a strong and strategic leader, able to think of ways to fix situations in a pinch. He is in a high position of power, being the director of a top secret organisation (SHIELD), he's very patriotic, and believes in helping his country. Fury is shown to be a bit manipulative and a bit over the top sometimes, which are the only bad points shown in the films.
Friday, 13 February 2015
Analysing "Death In Paradise"
Death In Paradise S4 E6
First Shot
Mid shot to fit in all three figures, one male, two female. The miss-en-scene of their clothing, as well as the high key and soft lighting shows that they're probably in a very warm, if not tropical place. The women take up a lot of the shot, and are sexualised due to the fact that they're showing a lot of flesh, their age, also contributes to this, as they don't seem old enough to be mothers. The eye-level shot also helps to show their expressions, pensive and confused, this shows some sort of conflict or disagreement, especially from the male actors expression in the scene, showed to be a bit more angry or frustrated than the other two.
Second Shot
In this scene, another mid shot is used to include all four figures in the scene. The focus is taken off and is slightly blurred on the male figure to the right to show he's not speaking, with everyone turned or looking at the older male, who despite his age, is shown to be an alpha male, with straight posture and authority, with everyone around turning to listen to what he has to say. This is reinforced by the fact that the person next to him is almost his opposite, slouched and a bit of an underdog. The woman in the scene is dressed in very casual clothing, showing lots of skin in comparison to the other three in the shot, being heavily sexualised for the male gaze.
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