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'
Monday, 29 November 2010
Thursday, 25 November 2010
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.
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.
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
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
Thursday, 18 November 2010
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)
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