Wednesday 8 June 2011

Lego Harry Potter and The Social Network exam practice!!

How do the texts show changes in the ways the audience relates to and uses the media? (8marks)

Both of the texts show different ways in which the audience uses the media, the first text connotes the changes in the way the audience relates to the media through the use of, music. The soundtrack is the same as the theme music from the Harry Potter movies, the music is therefore recognised, and a link can be made between the movie and the Lego building blocks. The language used within the advertisement is very specific, the repetition of the personal pronoun 'you' and 'your' engages the audience, (audience interaction). Also there is an option where the player can play on their own or with a friend, this is widening the audience for the game.
The age certificate for the Harry Potter films are 12A, and therefore children under the age of 12 can not see the film without and 'A'dult present with them. This is contrasted to the certificate for the lego game for Harry Potter which is for 10+, this emphasises that the game is more suitable and relevant for younger children compared to the actual film.
The second text

Classwork!!

Media representations rarely challenge the dominant values of society nor do they give a voice to those with little power. To what extent is this true for the group or place you have studied? Why?


Within the ‘Heat of the night’ (1967) the black character is often misjudged. An example being when he gets verbally abused and arrested by the white police officers, merely because he has too much money in his wallet. However, when the white police man finds out that the black male is a police officer in a different state, he does not challenge him. In conclusion the representation of African Americans is rarely challenged. The white police officer assumed that he was of an higher economical status compared to the African American and therefore, thought that he had more power. This is a stereotypical view that white people have more economical power compared to African American’s. (James Monaco, Racism pervades American film because it is a basic stain in American history.


Stereotypes have changed dramatically since earlier films, such as Gone with the Wind (1939), where societies were segregated by race, Hattie McDaniels who won an Oscar for the best supporting actress was not allowed to go to the premiere of the film due to the state being segregated by race. This is outdated, because recent films such as Monsters Ball (2001) where Halle Berry won an Oscar for the best supporting actress. Within her acceptance speech Halle Berry states : “It's for the women that stand beside me.....it's for every nameless, faceless woman of colour that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened. This connotes that she is proud of her roots and also it is made obvious that the sequence of events have changed, because black women within the 1930’s were not allowed to go to certain places. Hattie McDaniels quotes back from the 1930’s : " I am certain that my broad smile could never be termed an inane grin. Are we to forgo all comedy parts because we are Negroes? " Although Hattie McDaniel’s is talking about receiving a role within the comedy industry. the quote denotes that she is being discriminated against due to the colour of her skin.


In conclusion one could say African American’s rarely challenge the dominant ideologies of society, this is made clear through the use contemporary and early black hollywood cinema, therefore this is a binary opposition.

Wednesday 11 May 2011

Representations of teenagers within 'Skins'

The episode starts off with Tony lying in his bed., with two bodies on his duvet cover, one of which is a man and one which is a woman. They are both naked. Tony is the focal/main character and protagonist within Skins and this is emphasised through the opening sequence.

What about Tony's parents - What are their representations like?
Tony's father is a stereotypical representation, he is a 'normal' view of how a father would act with children like his.
- daughter who doesn't come home at all, and who expects her brother to cover for her whilst she gets changed and acts like she's done nothing wrong.
- A son who will go to stupid extents in order to get attention. Also he will do anything to wind his dad up. The son is rebellious and immature : encouraging his friends to have sex.

What do you think Tony's representation is? Think about camera shots and his behaviour?
Tony is represented to be a clever and smart teenager but a very rebellious and trouble making one at that. This connotes that he is in control of how he acts, and is not influenced by his friends (he influences his friends).

Think about stereotypes, counter types?

What do you think Tony's representation fit in to the genre?

What is the genre? How does Tony's representation fit in to the genre?

Can we tell how the narrative will unfold?

There is hegemony within the narrative of skins, the main example being : Tony is the leader of his friend group, he is the individual organising the 'event' where one of his friends is going to lose their virginity. Tony is very open about this topic and this connotes that he has dominance, he talks openly on the bus about his friends 'virginity'. He is telling his friend, who and when he is going to have sex, this signifies that his friends are recessive which contrasts him, this also shows that he is confident and again he conforms to the stereotypical view of teenagers. Whilst talking on the phone on the bus, we see the two women sitting behind Tony, (medium shot) so we see the exact facial expressions and therefore there reactions to the topic of which Tony is talking about relatively loudly.

Skins also contains and tackles a few moral panics, for example the moral panic about 'the parents not knowing what their children are getting up to'. The daughter/ Tony's little sister is represented to be BINARY OPPOSITIONS

Wednesday 23 March 2011

S.M.A.R.T targets

Critical Investigation: Do more research into other specific magazine industries, also research more into the institution of Bauer. Create a bibliography!

Linked Production: Get all of the studio shots taken today, in order for me too start editing them, also have all the exterior shots taken before next weekend.

Exam Preparation: Write up all my notes and class work again neatly, and read over them, also focus on one specific representation for the exam.

Monday 21 March 2011

Essay questions answered

Compare and contrast the two texts with reference to the representation of conflict (8marks)
Both of the media texts have similar topics, such as the military and conflict. Conflict within the website is represented to be very brutal and bloody, therefore the images are 'raw', this symbolises that the images are not specifically taken for entertainment purposes. In
The shots are user generated content (UGC), this connotes
Moreover the institution CNN is represented by the website. This could lead to a wider audience demographic hence more money for the makers of the website. The wesite represents conflict to be very violent therefore this is reflecting the army lifestyle, this is kind of contrasted to the representation within the movie trailer, where the footage is seen to look 'cool', although still violent. Although the movie release date is this year, the issues tackled are contemporary and past issues, for example the it reflects the issues taking place in Libya.
Moreover the second media text represents the military as a whole to be fearless and this is emphasised by the soldiers fighting against aliens in order to save their country. All of the iconography used denotes the military and therefore connotes blood, violence, conflict and danger. The iconography consists of: weapons, vehicles, explosions and fighting these are all negative factors and are interrelated to the topic of conflict and destruction.
Within the second media text, a mix of diegetic and non diegetic music has been used this is used to create different effects. For example, when the non diegetic music get louder and faster, the audience know that the 'conflict' is going to become more brutal. This is contrasted with the videos in the first medai text, where the majority of the music is diegetic sounds which creates an atmosphere for the audience and one could say it emphasis the conflict and actions taking place.

Explore the view that the entertainment media feeds upon moral panic in the west as a result of terrorism post 9/11
You may refer to other media products to support your answer (12marks)
media texts entertainment are based on moral panics?
Moral panics are caused by status threatening issues and therefore, the 9/11 trauma caused a lot of moral panics within the American society. Although it is unclear of who was responsible for the 9/11 bombings Americas was affectly greatly because it it is the first attack for a very long time, and they were not expecting it. The entertainment media feeds upon moral panics by creating texts based on 'terrorism' , for example the Indian film based in The united States of America 'My Name is Khan', the film is about a muslim man living in America who meets a Hindu woman and her song son from a previous marriage. They both live together and start a relationship. However the family start experienceing post 9/11 prejudice in their community and even the son starts too turn against him. Whilst at school there is an argument among a group of people at school and the son is involved, he gets very badly hurt, the reason behind the conflict is because he is half muslim.
This film feeds upon 9/11 bombings, and the moral panics based around the bombings. However it is quite ironic how they have created a film based on the bombings however, there is no proof that it was a muslim/islamic attack on the americans, hence the film is presenting 'false consciouness'. But this is what the audience are interested in: conflict, these film raised A LOT of money and broke records for their representations.

What are the advantages and disadvantages for the military as an institution using the internet as a marketing tool?
You should refer to other media products to support your answer (12marks)

There are a variety of advantages and disadvantages for the military using the internet as a marketing tool. For example and advantage would be that the internet is free to anyone who has an internet connection (broadband or dial up), also the internet is a tool which is fast and easy to access. Websites can now be viewed on mobile phones and therefore, the niche audiences can keep updated when they want to, they are in control. One could say that the audience does not have control and that the makers and directors of the website determine what the audience view, not the audience choosing what to view. (Marxism and Hegemony) They want to make money and in order to do so they have too publish articles that the target audience demographic want to read, therefore they are choosing what the audience is exposed too, this could insinuate that the audience have no control. Anyone can use and access the webpage and hence is it an efficient way of marketing. Also the E-media is a viral platform which can lead too more and more people looking at the site and this may lead to more people joining the military. It is also easy for people who have any queries about the information on the website or job information to contact the military directly via email, and get a response relatively quickly (customer service).
Another disadvantage to the military using the internet as a marking platform is that the business person is isolated, and therefore there is no human contact between the customer/viewer and the maker, one could say that this could lead to lying and deception.
The internet exposes people to their websites globally therefore the majority of people.

A disadvantage of using the internet as a marketing tool is the shear competition between website owners because they all want their pages to get seen and moreover, be successful.
Also because the E-media platform is very popular and therefore in demand, website makers need to be very accurate in their presentation and their information which gets shared. Plus the site needs to be easy to locate, because if the site is hard to find the viewer may go through loads of sites and not even find yours.

Three essay questions

1. How do the two media products represent men in the military industry? 8marks

2. How and why do the websites such as military news network appeal to their niche audiences
(You may also refer to other media products to support your answer) 12marks

3.What are the advantages and disadvantages of the military as an institution using the internet as a marketing tool?
(You should also refer to other media products to support your answer) 12marks

Wednesday 16 March 2011

Analysis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKC_ORM0vpo&feature=list_related&playnext=1&list=SP92E98CE6141C509D