DOOM First Person - Contains gore and Horror

Kick Ass - First Person

Kick Ass Essay - Representation and Texual Analysis

How Kick Ass relate to the 7 key areas of representations

And the 4 key areas of textual analysis

Kick relates to every to every key area of representation. One of the biggest things in Kick Ass that goes against 2 different representation stereo types is the character Hit Girl. Hit girl goes against the stereotypes of Age and Gender, as the stereotypical portrayal of a girl is often a ‘Damsel in distress’, especially in Superhero like films, such as Kick Ass, Spiderman and Blade. Girls are stereotyped as weaker, both physically and emotionally, not into fighting other people and less able than a man is. However, in Kick Ass, Hit Girl is the most dangerous hero in the film, killing most of the people in the film. Hit Girl always has to save Kick Ass from danger, which is the complete opposite to how most films work, and is more physically able than him when it comes to fighting. Hit Girls age also makes these things stand out more as she is only around 10 years old, whereas Kick Ass is about 17 or 18, but she seems a lot more grown up and knows just about everything about every weapon, and is not into typical 10 year old girly things such as dolls and ponies.

When it comes to the representation of disability, Kick Ass follows the stereotype of a superhero film, where the hero has some sort of different disability that makes them a hero. In Blade, the hero is half vampire and half human, making him stronger and faster, but human part allows him to walk in daylight, and in Spiderman the hero is bitten by a genetically engineered spider, altering his DNA giving him spider abilities, such as wall climbing and web slinging. Kick Ass was beaten and stabbed whilst trying to stop a crime and this in turn damaged his nervous system enabling him to take harder hits without feeling any pain from it. This gives Kick Ass an advantage making it possible for him to do a better job at being a superhero.

Kick Ass also relates to the representation of sexuality, as the girl of his dreams believes that he is gay, and befriends him as her gay best friend. Kick Ass, wanting to be closer to her, plays along, and the starts doing what a stereotypical gay best friend does, by going shopping with her, discussing her problems, and helping her do a self tan.

The two criminals that mug Kick Ass at the start relate to ethnicity, social class and regional identity. One of the thugs is black, and people believe black people to be more criminal like than white people. Both of the thugs appear to be lower class, or ‘Trailer Trash’, due to their scruffy and torn clothing that is normally worn by lower class teenagers. They both also speak with black American accents, similar to the way most rap artists like, Eminem and 50 Cent, speak like. This is normally due to where about they were brought up. Both Eminem and 50 Cent grew up in rundown, poor areas of America.

The camera work in Kick Ass is very much similar to the way marvel shoots their films, with use of a lot of short fast scenes during battles and chase scenes, as well as close-ups in really emotional parts, such as when Kick Ass is rushed to the hospital or when Big Daddy dies. But they also use another type of camera shot. They use a first person scene, similar to the one that is used in DOOM (see YouTube clips on blog). This technique is uncommon in films and is more popular amongst games, such as Halo or COD. In my opinion, this makes the audience feel more involved in the film during this part, like they do when playing a first person game, and makes them more aware of what’s happening in the scene.

Kick Ass uses music very cleverly in the film. During Kick Ass’s fight with the gang, The Prodigy’s Omen is playing, making the scene seem faster and more aggressive. The word Omen also seems to foreshadow dark things happening further on in the film, namely Red Mist’s deception to lure Kick Ass and Hit Girl to his father’s bodyguards. Also when Kick Ass and Hit Girl infiltrate the main bad guy’s penthouse, spaghetti western music is being played, symbolising, in my opinion, the final showdown between the god guys and the bad guys, much like in a western film.

So in conclusion, Kick Ass relates to a variety of different representations, whether they follow the stereotype or not, as well as the key areas of textual analysis to make this film much more enjoyable for the audience to watch.

What is the impact of new technologies on the film industry?

Over the last few years, technology has advanced dramatically, causing a huge impact on almost everything we know. One industry that has had the biggest impact is the filming industry. As technology had advanced, so have the techniques that film industries use, making films more enjoyable and realistic for the audience.

One of the newest technologies that is causing the most changes in filming and viewing is the use of 3D in films. 3D films have been around for a many years now with the first ever 3D film being The Power of Love in 1922, but its not until recently that 3D has become increasingly popular. This is because of the technology for 3D has massively improved making it easier to make 3D films and also make it look better quality. However,this technology is extremely expensive and is quite often poor quality still because the 3D is edited into the film after recording, whereas films like James Camerons Avatar and Resident Evil: Afterlife, two of Hollywoods most recently released 3D films, were actually recorded in 3D making the quality of the 3D a whole lot more realistic. Working Title has only just started using 3D in their new film Nanny McPhee 2. This is because Working Title started off as a independant company, so had a low budget, much like Warp films does at the moment, so could not afford to have 3D in their films. Whereas there has been many 3D films released from hollywood as hollywood companies have a higher budget than companies like Working Title and Warp Films.

Another new technology that is creating a huge impact on the filming industry is the use of CGI or  Computer Generated Image. By using CGI, film editors can create fictional characters, items and even entire worlds, altering the mise en scene on the screen, creating different effects that would not be possible to create any other way. CGI is also an expensive technology that has been around for a while, first used in Westworld 1973 then in 1977 in Star Wars. Workikng Title uses CGI in some of their films such as Hot Fuzz, where they blow up a house, and in Nanny McPhee to create the effects of the spells. Hollywood uses CGI in almost every film, and some films like Toy Story are completely made using CGI. Warp Films is still to use CGI because of their low budget.

So in conclusion, many new technologies are being created and are causing a huge impact on the filming industry, changing the way that films are made and viewed today.

Working title Timeline

Working title development - Thursday 9th December

Working Title has produced many popular films, as well as undergoes some new developments, whether it is their technology or the way in which they make the films. When Working Title was first created by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe, it was originally an independent company, and because of this, they had a small budget to spend on making films. They started with films such as ‘The Man Who Shot Christmas’ and ‘Wish you were here’. These films were social realism genre, meaning that they needed less budget than an action film would need.Working title had to get their funding from government grants and the UK film council. Warp Films, another independent British film institution, also creates social realism films, such as ‘This is England’, because they also have a limited funding and have to get the funding the same way. However, in 1992 Polygram became the corperate backer of working title, and as polygram was already rather successful already, Working Title gained a slightly bigger budget for films allowing Working title is a British filming Industry that has been around since 1983. Over the last 27 years, for better films such as ‘Four weddings and a funeral’ which is one of Working title’s most famous films and really made Working Title what it is today. Then in 1999, Working Title was bought by Universal, one of the most well known and successful filming industries. Because of this, Working Title got a big increase in its budget allowing films more like Hollywood action films such as ‘Hot Fuzz’ and ‘The boat that rocked’. Because of this, Working title has worked its way up into the successful industry that know today.

Advantages of Investment:

-          Allows for a bigger budgeting

-          If the investor is a well known company then you become more well known by the public

Disadvantages of Investment:

-          The company becomes less and less your own and Is controlled by someone else

-          If the investor backs out you’re left with very little funding

Targets for when writing an Essay

I need to make sure that i focus more on using British film industry example, such as working Title, and only use Hollywood and Warp films as comparisons.

I need to always refer back to the question, give points and explain them rather than describe, and use more terminology.

I need to focus my essay on audience and institutions as these are the 2 main areas i have studied, and i need to use the term Audience rather than 'people' or 'you/us'

Spooks (Danny's Death)

How is the representation of ethinicity constructed in this clip?
In this clip, the representation of ethinicty is constructed in different ways. The main character of this clip, Danny, is a black MI5 agent who's been captured by a terrorist along with a white woman. In terms of stereotypes its unusual for a black man to have such a high and powerful job as they are usually seen lower in society, however, all the other characters are white, and appear to have higher jobs than Danny. All the white characters are safe, apart from the kidnapped woman who has blood on her face, which can show how black people are 'victimised' by the media. The terrorist appears to be an Arab, which also fits with the stereotype set by the media as people know that some Arabic people's religion leads them to believe by doing these sort of things, they will go to heaven and live in paradise with 72 virgins. To backup this idea of the terrorist being Arab, the music played in the background sounds like the Call to Prayer (Mvezzin). This music also makes it seem more like that Danny pray's before speaking to the terrorist, as well as during, showing him to be a religious man.

In my opinion, the mise en scene foreshadows Danny's death in this scene. The scene is extremely dark, representing the death, but then there is some light showing through in a 'heavenly' manner. Also all the characters are dressed smartly, like people do when going to a funeral. And at the start of the clip, the music sounds like drums being hit, like when someone is about to be executed. The scene uses a lot of close up shots, which maintains the tension, keeping the heartbeat of the audience up and keeping them on the edge of they're seat.

Stereotypes of Race (Ethnicity)

Race (Ethnicity): Black and White

Stereotypes of White people in the media:

-          More posh

-          Law abiding

-          Blonde/Big boobs

-          Drink Alcohol – Wine/Beer

-          Different classes – Low, Middle, Upper

-          Stressful/Worry

-          Talk about the weather a lot

-          Trailer trash/Hillbillies/White Trash

-          Educated

-          Nerdy

-          Eloquent

-          Uptight

-          Stiff (upper lip)

-          Stupid characters are usually white e.g. Neil from Inbetweeners

-          Usually play the bad guys (especially British actors)

-          Bitchy

-          Size Zero

-          Different Hair Colours

-          White men can’t Jump

-          Can’t run very fast

-          Protestant/Christian

-          More sarcasm

-          Nearly all rock stars are White, very rarely black

Stereotypes of Black people in the media:

-          ‘Big Booty’

-          Gangsters

-          Cool

-          Calm/Laid Back

-          Can’t Swim

-          Well Hung

-          Black guys always Dies

-          Rappers

-          Crime

-          Relaxed

-          Power Hungry

-          Black people can dance better

-          More muscular

-          More musical

-          Big Lips/Nose

-          Rhythmatic

-          Always mentioned as black in the news

-          Big, loud and Friendly (Caribbean)

-          Attitude

-          Slang/Own Lingo

-          Terrible Fathers

-          Pimps

-          Mischievous

-          Single Parent Families

-          Focused on religion/money

-          Gospel Evangelical

-          Big families/Small houses

-          Often paired with disability

-          Strange names

-          Laugh louder

Stereotype of a young (20 years old) Black, British Man:

-          Parties

-          Cool

-          Criminal

-          Drugs

-          Guns

-          Slang

-          Into musical

Spooks – Danny’s Death

-          Bars on window

-          Dark clothing

-          Little light from one side

-          Shadows

-          Religious music Call to prayer

-          He’s against terrorist

-          Ominous music

-          Praying?

-          Whale music

Representation of Age - The Moleman

Audience theory

Audience – OCR G325 Question 1b

In covering this topic you need to be aware of a broad shift from a perception of a ‘mass audience’ to one which recognises that, whatever the size of audience, it is made up of individuals. Along with this altered view is a shift in emphasis from what the media do to the audience to an acceptance that audiences bring many different approaches to the media with which they engage.

In its earliest form audience theory believed that an audience was a mass, Blumer set out 4 stages

First, its membership may come from all walks of life, and from all distinguishable social strata; it may include people of different class position, of different vocation, of different cultural attainment, and of different wealth. .....

Secondly, the mass is an anonymous group, or more exactly is composed of anonymous individuals [Blumer means anonymous in the sense that unlike the citizens of earlier communities, the people who are members of the mass audience for the media do not know each other].

Third, there exists little interaction or change of experience between members of the mass. They are usually physically separated from one another, and, being anonymous, do not have the opportunity to mill as do members of the crowd.

Fourth, the mass is very loosely organised and is not able to act with the unity of a crowd.

Task 1

1. Do you think the audiences for most media texts do come “from all walks of life” or do different kinds of people watch very different kinds of programme? Are there any examples of media texts that you can think of that do seem to have audiences of all kinds of people?

I think that most media texts do come ‘from all walks of life’ as most films are enjoyed by a variety of different people. For example films like ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Avatar’ are enjoyed by many different people from all around the world.  

2. How much of your media experience occurs when you are on your own and how much when you are with others?

Most of my media experience occurs when I’m on my own or with family, very little of my media experience happens around anyone else. This makes me more passive when watching the film because there is no one around who will keep me involved in the film by talking about it with me as it happens.

3. Think back to your genre work, how is your media experienced?

My media is experienced mainly by films and TV programmes. I mainly watch action/horror films such as the ‘Resident Evil’ films and ‘Doom’, and I tend to watch programmes like ‘Friends’, ‘Scrubs’ and ‘Simpsons’

4. Are there any ways in which you share your experiences of the media with other people who weren’t around when you experienced the text? List as many ways as you share experiences (e.g. msn etc)

- MSN

- Facebook Posts

- SMS/Phone call

The effects/hypodermic model

The original model for audience was the effects/hypodermic model which stressed the effects of the mass media on their audiences. This model owes much to the supposed power of the mass media - in particular film - to inject their audiences with ideas and meanings. Such was the thinking behind much of the Nazi propaganda that was evident in Triumph of the Will and similar films. It is worth noting that totalitarian states and dictatorships are similar in their desire to have complete control over the media, usually in the belief that strict regulation of the media will help in controlling entire populations. The effects model has several variants and despite the fact that it is an outdated model it continues to exert influence in present debates about censorship and control in the media.

Task 2

Can you think of any examples where the media have been seen to influence public behaviour or have been blamed for an individual’s behaviour?

The film ‘2012’ caused the public to start panicking and believing that the world was actually going end on December 2012. This was because loads of posters went up saying the world will end and people didn’t realise that it was just a poster for a film.

Is this influence always negative?

This kind of influence is not always negative, and can be used to influence the audience in a good way.

Stereotypes of Age

Young:

What we class as young:

-          0 -25

-          Includes children and teenagers and young adults

-          At 40 a politician is young, may be seen to lack seriousness or experience.

Stereotypes:

-          Antisocial behaviour (Teenagers)

-          Less experienced

-          Always going out to clubs and parties

-          Gangs

-          Lazy

-          Rude

-          Noisy

-          Modern (Technology)

-          Druggies

-          Outgoing

-          Crime

-          Sexual/Teenage pregnancy

-          Immature

-          Rely on other people a lot (Parents)

-          Violence

-          Moody (hormones)

-          Argumentative

Sub groups also exist

-          Emo

-          Goth

-          Townies

-          Geeks

-          Chavs

-          Grebs

-          Plastics

The media focuses more on all the negative points when it comes to teenagers. This is most likely because peole can blame the current economy on us as we're less able to argue back.

Old:

What we class as old:

-          Retired (60 – 65+)

-          At 40 a football player is old, he will have to retire or be considering retirement.

Stereotypes:

-          Grumpy

-          Less able (mobility)

-          Traditional

-          Narrow minded

-          Smell

-          Moany

-          Deaf

-          Walking stick

-          Racist

-          Anti youth (hate teenagers)

-          Prefer things how they used to be

-          Ill

-          Stubborn

-          Awkward/Set in their ways

-          Sleep all the time

-          Dress smartly

-          Little hobbies like knitting, chess

-          Dependant on children sometimes

-          Lonely

-          Old ladies have a lot of cats

-          Flat cap

-          Own little community

-          Wrinkly

The majority of the media is controlled by white middle class (middle aged)