Representation

Female Representations

• Victimised Women- tied to trees, dragged under bed, tortured at the dentists
• Parallels to the way in which women are represented in the media
• Woman tied to tree escapes- capable of saving themselves
• High-camera angle to make women look small
• Terrified facial expressions
• Long- uncomfortable takes of woman singing the words wrong.
• Connotes a message- shouldn’t objectify the woman in question- makes the audience uncomfortable to see these bruises and blood
• Woman at the microphone- Spotlight on her with the makeup and hair done, the cuts back to the woman. Her eyes glance off camera- create a tense and scary atmosphere. Make the audience feel scared for her- and why she has been assaulted. Shes viewed as important
• Sexualisation? Seeing their legs and feet
• Some images of violence- stabbing and guns. The violence against women. The sexualised pictures of women alongside violent.
• Video invites the audience to interpret the text
• bell hooks- end oppression- is the video trying to reinforce/challenge this?

Men Representations

• See men as voyers- watcher and spying on women
• Shots of men in reasonably powerful positions
• Typical patriarchal views of men on society

Vance Joy

• Indie genre-unconventional approach to these representations and shock factor
• Vance Joy wanted to break into the American market with this video- links to American dollars
• Shocking-Viral publicity?

riptide pdf document:

riptide

Riptide scene-by-scene analysis Sheet

Riptide – Analysis

Task 1: Pre-1950s Print Advertising  – Look at some of these other media products from the time. 200-250 Words

The target audience for the domestic and beauty-related products would be aimed at the female figures in the house whilst male audiences would be targeted with industry related products such as cars. They please the audience by promoting products that would suit their needs and desires. I think that the reason they were popular at the time is because the audiences weren’t aware of other social concepts and therefore agreed to the attitudes and beliefs exhibited. Furthermore, this change in society was triggered by the movement in roles from WW2. The values about gender share the same concept with the set product through displaying this sense of women having limited hobbies which are restricted by society, with women being perceived as passive in many media texts. Furthermore, this idea that women in the media always represented certain factors associated with home, beauty, family and to benefit their husbands. This ideology was changed by the world war which consequently moved all the roles round for the women to complete, therefore changing and becoming socially aware of the imbalance.

Task 2: Viewing and Analysis Task (200-250 words)

Film: His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940) – clip

The audience would have taken away from this different viewpoints based on their gender, the male viewers would have sympathised with the man whilst female viewers sympathised with the female. The film was popular at the time as it produced a middle-ground of society’s progression to equal rights. The viewpoint on divorce being condemned whilst the film providing insight on the personal difficulties a marriage can have. This ideology would have been projected by the changing roles with world war 2 and housewives showing their independence through taking on chores and stereotypes which were different than typically depicted. Furthermore, the video shows traditional beliefs and progressive beliefs becoming a middle-ground for future discussion. The male perspective on divorce was represented by the character whilst the woman is dressed extremely similar to the male, almost connoting that women weren’t capable of having their own fashion sense. The man also belittled her, showing him clearly not listening to her perspective. Whilst the female presents progressive attitudes with the woman having an opinion of her own and the divorce actually taking place. This is highlighted by the woman created mockery of the man, something which would not have taken place before.

Task 3: Viewing and Analysis Task (200-250 words) – Watch this clip from the TV show Mad Men. Though made recently, it portrays American society in the early 1960s.

The perception on the way in which men and women behave are outdated, women are represented as only caring about the lipsticks and nothing else, they are viewed as inferior to the men. The men mock the women and their intelligence, with the men physically spying on the women, and calling the women “morons”. The women are viewed as passive, and being incredibly childish about the situation as well as being sexualised. There is a presence of mockery and humiliation surrounding the one woman who challenged the man, with the other women taking the mans side. This would be considered inappropriate in todays workplace as it is seen as sexist, but implying that all women would be amazed by the lipsticks. The way in which men and women are expected to behave has rapidly changed since the 60s because of the feminism movements and laws being created in order to protect both genders against discrimination.

Task: Comparison to Set Text: Tide Print Advert (100-150 words)

These representations are similar in my set product as the women are seen as incredibly passive and domestic-based, the woman is depicted as physically hugging the tide product as she is so impressed by its performance. It also shows that women are easily impressed by products. The continuous use of “women” show that the product is intended and targeted towards this demographic. Men are represented as incredibly absent from the domestic product market with there being little mention of men’s contribution to the product. Contexts such as repeated patterns of representations throughout all of the media (television and films) create a sense of social norm and standards in terms of product advertisement.

Extension task- exam practice

a) Name the media organisation that owns The Daily Mirror

Reach plc

b) Identify two ways in which newspapers are distributed

Print and Online

c)  Briefly explain an advantage of one of these ways

An advantage of online distribution means that audiences can access the content from anywhere, saving time and money whilst staying up to date.

d) Explain how political contexts affect the newspaper industry, refer to the Daily Mirror to support your points

Political contexts in regard to The Daily Mirror include representations reflecting the social and political viewpoints of the reader. The Daily Mirror is a left-wing newspaper aimed at supporters of the labour party in the UK, and therefore the attitudes of this audience must strongly reflect in the newspaper in order to keep the same demographic. Furthermore, news stories surrounding political figures that represent other parties such as the Conservatives (UK) and Republicans (US), are right-wing therefore meaning that these representations are depicted as wrong and outdated by left-wing media sources. The depiction of Donald Trumps 2016 election win shows this well, with the iconic statue of liberty landmark represented as disappointed following the text “What have they done?”, this therefore showing that the election result as negative through directly addressing the audience.

NOTETAKING TASK

How did consumerism change in the 1950s

• Consumerist culture is understood as composed of the commonly understood symbols, language, values, beliefs and norms of a society.
• Consumer Culture is a large part of what you do, what you value and how you are defined.
• The spread of British and American consumerism in the 50s impacted various stages of society. Industrial production levels led to an increase in goods and services. Furthermore, the mass consumerism led to social changes, demonstrated heavily by the youth during this time period.
• The 1950s saw a period of massive economic expansion in the United States as well as the UK, which lead to the development and growth of suburbs.
• Consumerism is in regards to the period of time whereby there was a marked increase in the consumption and variety of luxury goods and products by individuals from different economic and social backgrounds. Therefore the post-war period is essential to this as families began to have more disposable incomes to spend on more luxury items as the economy recovered.

Post-war economic boom

• The post-World War 2 economic expansion, also known as the golden age of capitalism and the postwar economic boom was a broad period of worldwide economic expansion beginning after WW2 and ending with the 1973-1975 recession.
• America and England both saw periods of the post-war boom, with disposable incomes allowing families to spend on luxury items such as cars, which they may not have been able to afford beforehand.
• There was also a continued government funding for research into areas such as innovations into technology, aerospace industry and scientific research.
• As newly trained scientists, business leaders and workers turned their attention to producing new inventions. (primarily televisions and radios)
• Sales ensured that corporations grew bigger and more profitable.
• New technologies allowed for factories to employ less workers
• Increase amounts of people working in offices
• Farmers also benefited, as there were the production of new machines, chemical fertilizers and pesticides revolutionising agriculture.

Increase in Feminist Ideologies

• Feminism is a range of social movements, political movements and ideologies that aim to define, establish and achieve the political, economic and personal and social equality of the sexes. This mainly focuses on the equal rights for women

3 Waves of Feminism

• The first wave promoted equal contract and property rights for women, opposing ownership of married women by their husbands. By the late 19^th century, feminist activism was primarily focused on the right to vote. American first-wave feminism ended with passage of the 19^th Amendement to the US Consitution in 1919, granting womens voting rights.
• 21 November 1918- the Parliament (Qualification of Women) Act 1918 was passed, allowing women to be elected into parliament.
• The women’s sufferage in the UK was a movement to fight for women’s right to vote. It finally succeeded through two laws in 1918 and 1928.
• Second-wave feminism during the 1960s-80s focused on the issues of equality and discrimination. The slogan “The personal is political” identified womens cultural and political inequalities as inextricable linked and encouraged women to understand how their personal lives reflected sexist power structures. Betty Friedan was a key player in second-wave feminism.
• Third-wave feminism began in the early 1990s, responding to the perceived failures of the second wave and to the backlash against the seond-wave initiatives. This ideology seeks to challenge the definition of femininity that grew out of the idea of the second-wave, arguing that the second-wave over-emphasized experiences of upper-middle class white women. It examines issues related to women’s lives on an international basis.

Second-Wave feminism

• A wave of feminism in the United States and UK came as a delayed reaction against the renewed domesticity of women after WW2: the late 40s boom, which was an era characterised by an unprecedented economic growth, a baby boom and a move to family-oriented suburbs.

Mid-20^th century baby boom

• The middle of the 20^th century was marked by a significant and persistent increase in fertility rates in many countries across the world, especially in the west, resulting in the famous baby boomer generation.

Persil 2006 Advert

The Persil 2006 advertisement includes the positioning of having two babies in the centre, this therefore highlights the main focal point of the advertisement. Furthermore, including two babies implies a domestic and nurturing element to the product, potentially aiming at parents viewing the adverts. This may provoke a sense of reaction from the audience with the children looking at each other curiously. The light and basic colour scheme of the advert reflects this sense of cleanliness in the products which the babies are wearing, whilst also making sure to highlight the two children in the centre through the use of high-key lighting in the background. The text reinforces what the print is advertising and the font “Nothings kinder and nothings cleaner” allows the audience to trust the product, this is further demonstrated by the child-like font, therefore suggesting that the product is so gentle that babies can wear it. The inclusion of having multi-race children highlights the words “kinder” reflecting society’s attitudes and beliefs changing and people becoming more considerate at a younger age. Due to the domestic connotations the product has, it could be viewed as targeting a specific audience of mothers.

Coca Cola 60s Advert

This 60s advertisement highlights the change in societies attitudes, the inclusion of a woman with the large text associating her with “home and hospitality” highlights the viewpoint of women being seen as the provider to her family, this is also reciprocated by the image depicting a woman shopping along with the lines “for the family…”. This advertisement is aimed at middle-class white women of the time period in order to make them purchase coca cola alongside their usually shop, this is shown through the contradiction of neutral toned colours that the woman is wearing in comparison to the strong brand associated red coca cola bottles. The woman is depicted as happy and therefore satisfied with the product, insinuating that the coca cola should be bought rather than other drink products. The product is placed in a large section of the image shot, with the slogan being visible reading “delicious and refreshing”.  The smaller image reinforces this iconography of the coca cola bottles to represent to the audience that this is the advertisement for the product, it also has a patronising nature to the advert through it instructing the audience to put the bottles in the fridge “and serve ice-cold”, implying that consumers have to be given instructions.

Exam Question

Zoella: Explain how representations of identify are constructed in blogs and vlogs

Zoella is a 29 year old social media influencer and YouTuber, she creates videos on YouTube for her audience and currently has over 10 million subscribers. In recent years her main channel consists of more professional style filming including sets whereas she has a second channel where many of her vlogs are based. The style of editing in the videos are primarily pink and pastel colours to go along with her girly theme. Zoe aims at a teenage female audience as they are most likely to watch makeup related videos and blogs as well as read articles on her blog. The female audience of Zoella’s YouTube channel are also able to interact with her on social media with Q&A’s that she posts, allowing fans to feel more welcomed and invited by her.

Zoe’s blog includes handwritten style fonts and decorative images, the articles on the blog cover topics such as ‘Out top vegan spots in Brighton’, making her life personalised with the reader and providing readers with suggestions which they can then decide to do. Her YouTube channel is similar to this, with videos such as ‘My everyday makeup routine’ giving viewers the tools and resources to mimic her lifestyle whilst receiving tips and instructions on how to recreate the look. This strong use of makeup and fashion is apparent on her YouTube channel, blogs and social media. Halls’ theory states that the media language connotes that Zoella is instructing her audience as she holds an impressionable influence on her audience, especially when they are teenagers as they are only starting to construct their own identities.

There is a strong appeal throughout her online media towards female fashion, self-care and makeup. This is also shown in her brand where she sells bath and body products, which in its launch, according to the Metro was the biggest beauty launch of the year. She promotes her brand through her YouTube and social media, which on average appeals to the young female generation. However, it could be argued that this target towards a feminine audience is more of a social construct rather than fact. Users of her blog are able to construct their own identities by following her tutorials, reviews and copying her fashion style. This fashion style is represented in her blog, with links to purchase the outfits displayed and promoted. Gauntlett’s theory of identity includes this allowance of audiences replicating Zoella’s fashion style, whilst also giving Zoella her own ‘brand’ of style. Fans of Zoella are also able to mimic her social media pages, with her new creation of ‘Template’, an app that provides users with designs and templates that they can use to ‘spice’ up their Instagrams, whilst also promoting Zoellas style and making it become a ‘trend’ with teenage female social media pages.

• blue and white colour palette, less colour diverse to riptide

Vance Joy ‘Fire and the Flood’ compared to Riptide

Similarities

• Use of closeups
• Invisible edits
• Two abstract aspects of the videos, just riptide has it all the way throughout

Differences

• Location: set in one setting
• Editing: Riptide Montage
• tracking shots- long takes
• Riptide had less literal/metaphorical meanings
• FATF- Narrative based, non-linear narrative
• Riptide: fragmented narratives
• Performance: star persona, showing his face in this video compared to riptide.

Intertextuality: the way in which texts gain meaning through their referencing or evocation of other texts.

Meanings can be produced/implied through intertextuality.

Parody: Mimicry of an established concept, idea or a person with deliberate exaggeration for comedic effect.

Satire: humour that stands for a social or political change. It depicts an anger of frustration while trying to make the subject palatable. Its mockery but not mimicry. Trying to make society to think about an issue whilst parody does not.

Pastiche: A work that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists as a form of celebration or tribute to the original.  Known as the concept of music being replicated by other artists. “Great artists steal”

How riptide uses intertextuality

Western Iconography- Not a whole meaning other than to reference the literal meanings of the film

Reference to the horror film “Don’t look now” – blonde woman wearing red.- Reference to the horror element in feminine features in riptide

Cinematography References:

• Wes Anderson
• Roger Deakins
• David Lynch

Reference to Wes Anderson’s ‘Hipster’ films- Reflects the style of riptide, symmetrical shots and costume and colour grading. The effect of having something visually central creates a focus point

Reference to The Assassination of Jesse James (2008), a Roger Deakins style of having a silhouette on a dark background

Reference to David Lynch’s film ‘Blue velvet’, the singer that is pictured ‘singing the words wrong.’

Hipster Culture

Hipsters are a subculture of men and women typically in their 20s and 30s that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, as appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence and witty banter.

They are pioneers and leaders of the latest cultural trends and ideals. Hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often seen wearing vintage and thrift store inspired fashions.

Surrealism

Is a 20th century movement in art and literature which sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images.

Avant-garde: experimental

To what extent can Riptide be classified as a surrealist piece of art?

• Many shots of women running away- as if they dont know they are being filmed
• Possible reference to abuse through the smeared makeup
• Women looking from a balcony- independence

Use of weapons- bondage

Why have these images been used in the music bifeo and could they be interpreted as trivialising or normalising violence?

The video construct a range of different stimuli that the audience are invited to interpret

The video rejects singular, straightforward messages and instead invites a variety of different responses and interpretations.

Women as objects

Revisiting the video again, identity shots where women are presented as ‘objects’.

Consider whether these images of women are sexualised and offered to audiences for their pleasure (Mulvey GCSE theory)

• Domestic violence
• Uncomfortable- “lump in my throat”
• Stereotypes- interpret either positive or negative in regards to beauty
• Exploited women- highkey lighting and vulnerability and harsh.
• Lyrics- the subtitles are wrong, shes being humiliated by singing the words wrong
• Subversion of beauty
• Highkey to lowkey, represents society as hushing violence

• Vance Joy is an Australian singer-songwriter signed to Atlantic Records (a subsidiary of major label, Warner). His music can be categorised as fitting into indie folk-pop genre.
• Riptide was Vance Joy’s first single to be released in the USA (2013) following his debut EP “God loves you when you’re dancing”. It became a platinum selling single.
• The video was directed by Dimitri Basil and Laura Gorun and has more than 350 million views.

Bathes Semiotics Theory

The pile of dollar bills which accompanies the line “oh, all my friends are turning green”, connotations of the colour green in relation to both money and envy. This example of polysemy could be interpreted in a variety of ways e.g. is it implying that friends (possibly in other bands) have ‘sold out’ by giving into money? Or might these friends be turning green with envy at the success of Vance Joy.

Connotations-

Increasingly darker lighting throughout the scenes of the woman getting the lyrics wrong.

“dark side”, reference to ghosts and demons.

Denotations-

“and they come unstuck”, with the shot of lolipop stuck together

This cowboys running from himself

Genre-

Anchorage-

Anchorage is when a piece of media uses another piece of media to reduce the amount of connotations in the first, therefore allowing the audience to interpret much more easily.

Editing-

Quick camera movements

Jump cuts-

Montage editing is used in an overt way- a wide range of contrasting shots

Juxtaposed (often through hard jump cuts) to convey a large amount of information:

• The editing together of seemingly disparate images invites audience interpretation and candidates could consider Einstein’s concept of “intellectual montage” where new ideas emerge from the collision of images and generate new meanings that might not otherwise exist.
• Many of these cuts also have a link to the lyrics themselves and you should explore the visual metaphors and possible significance of these edits in relation to the lyrics.

I, Daniel Blake pack

Explain what you understand by intertexuality. Refer to the set episode of Life On Mars to support your response.

Life On Mars is a British crime drama, the television show subverts from typical themes by implementing the science-fiction genre into the show, giving it a unique selling point to the viewer. The dynamic of the genre is shown in the show through Steve Neale’s genre theory. The use of police uniforms, cars and stations apply directly to the genre. However, it subverts from stereotypical police programs by having a 2006 show set in the 70s. Life On Mars has adapted from taking elements from both genres and combining it together.

Whilst Life On Mars could be viewed as a conventional police procedural, these stereotypical conventions are challenged when Sam is hit by a car and travels back in time. The mise-en-scene completely changes highlighting the change in time period and characters reflecting the disruption from conventional police procedural. The show mimics the 70s show The Sweeney, creating a nostalgia for the audience whilst contradicting some of these attitudes to suit a modern-day audience. Therefore the attitudes and opinions were vastly different to 2006. For example, the character of Gene Hunt being represented as a toughened cop, directly reflecting the character of Jack Regan. Sam Tyler, from the era of 2006, alongside the modern-day audience are able to recognise comments made by Gene Hunt and therefore highlight the change in societies attitudes towards gender and race. Gilroy’s Postmodernism theory shows the difference in police work alongside the persona of 70s police officers vs modern police officers. Furthermore, the postmodern culture is rarely represented in mainstream media in present day, therefore most audiences would never of experienced The Sweeney in its prime. Police work is also extremely different, with the juxtaposition of the 70s high-speed dramatic car chases against the modern office work of the police. The character of Sam Tyler is there to produce insight and influence on the other characters, showing that society is capable of changing.

Media Language – Analysis Beyonce

• How and why will you use media language in your cross=media production?

I am going to implement Neale’s Genre theory with my crime-drama through the use of police costumes and crime scene props, displaying typical mainstream genre conventions. I included a deep-toned colour palette in order to illustrate the dark themed nature of the film. The inclusion of a white middle class male in a position of power in conflict with a black female character subverts from this as the policeman is revealed as the antagonist. This subversion in characters is inspired by the crime TV show ‘Killing Eve’, whereby there is a sense of a strong female concept.

• How and why will you construct representations of individuals groups and issues\events?

The construction of my main character involves Stuart Hall’s Representation theory, with the inclusion of the white middle-aged policeman and the idea of

• How will you target your intended Audience?

The intended target audience are 30-49 year olds, this is targeted by the use of middle aged characters in the film therefore relating to the audience directly. The film subverts itself from Bandura’s Media Effects theory with themes of police and government corruption being rarely explored through all types of mainstream media texts. It also subverts from Gerbner’s Cultivation theory through the anti-establishment message and introducing issues on climate change to the older audiences.

• How will your production conform to its industry context?

My film will conform to its industry context by being a part of vertical integration through Sony’s merge with Columbia Pictures thus allowing for the film to be created within Columbia’s control. Furthermore, it would be a part of horizontal integration with Sony music releasing a single by ARTIST in order to promote the film. The film will also be marketed through the merged game created by Sony for PlayStation platforms, with the film being a modern-LA Noire style detective game.

• How will your Cross-Media production demonstrate Digital Convergence?

The film demonstrates Hesmondhalgh’s cultural industries theory through the use of vertical and horizontal integration in the media products.

kiss of the vampire powerpoint

Set Products- Water Aid Audio-visual Advert

Media Industries

Hollywood vs British film industry

Hollywood (Straight Outta Compton)

Money

Hollywood makes a profit on the films they have created, to create new films they use leftover money in order to do this. Hollywood is one of the largest film industries, showing its wealth and power. With this wealth, they are capable of affording the best equipment and people for their films. For just one blockbuster film in Hollywood, the average budget is £110 million.

Genres/Themes

To ensure their films go global, Hollywood sticks to certain themes that consist of; lost of action, lack of dialogue, CGI and Universal themes that potentially relate to everyone.

Production/Distribution

Hollywood films are produced and distributed by the ‘Big 6’, including companies such as Disney, Universal and 20th Century Fox. These companies produce between 10-20 films each year. They will advertise their release dates early on and try to release it all at the same time in each country. They also have big premiers bringing lots of money with each company part of the ‘big 6’ keeping 100% of the profits.

British Film Industry (I, Daniel Blake)

Money

British film industries use funds give by the National Lottery. Now it has 3 funds that consist of: New Cinema Fund, Development Fund and Production Fund. These 3 funds give money to approximately 25 films a year in the UK. They have a budget of about £6.2 million.

Genres/Themes

The UK’s film industry try to base their films on what the British people can relate most to (globalisation). Films created in the UK are usually based on class and other issues such as I, Daniel Blake. However, they make such broad films it is difficult to place them in a genre.

Production/Distribution

In the British film industry, films are not studio controlled. Usually there are several companies of similar production working together to co-produce films as well as working with British Broadcasters such as the BBC (Horizontal Integration). These films are never aimed for mainstream audiences so usually have small screen releases but will have a wider audience when it is out on DVD.

Maintaining Audiences

Straight Outta Compton– A controversial decision by Universal to promote the film to audiences, targeting different trailers to different people based on race, age and gender. They connected Dr Dre and Ice Cube as they were well known to the public and the ‘general population’.

I, Daniel Blake– As I, Daniel Blake is an independent film is therefore is unlikely to have a dedicated audience, the film was well received by left wing communities particularly living in Northern parts of England due to the message and portrayals in the film.

Marketing Methods

Straight Outta Compton

Straight Outta Compton used viral marketing as a way of promoting the film. Dr Dre’s association with Beats by Dre marketed the film. The ‘Straight Outta Somewhere’ campaign created by Beats allowed people to create their own version and share it on social media. This is inspiration from the N.W.A’s ‘Straight Outta Compton’ album cover, showing off how proud they were of being from Compton.

I,Daniel Blake

I, Daniel Blake used the ‘grassroots campaign’ in order to promote the film. Grassroots include targeting towards a more niche audience in the hope that the film would appeal to others more wide range. It also took on the role of promoting the film through projecting quotes and the film title onto famous British landmarks and buildings.

Global Reach

Straight Outta Compton

Though its controversies for the depictions and attitudes in the film, overall Straight Outta Compton was well received, becoming the highest grossing film from an African-American director. The film made $201.6 million in box office from a $50 million budget.

I, Daniel Blake

It was produced by British and French companies and branched out into Canada and Australia too. The film made £15.8 million in box office.

Media Contexts

Straight Outta Compton:

Release date: 28th August 2015

Producers: Ice Cube, Dr Dre, F. Gary Gray

Directors: F. Gary Gray

Studio: Legendary Entertainment, Universal Pictures

Budget: $50 million

Box Office: $201.6 million

Significance of Key Personnel

Dr Dre (producer)-

Dr Dre produced Straight Outta Compton alongside Ice Cube who were both part of the N.W.A in its prime. Therefore Dr Dre is very familiar with the types of themes and emotions that come up in the film as it was a part of his experience.

Dr Dre also owns the brand ‘Beats by Dre’, meaning that he was able to promote the film using a platform that he already has with a dedicated audience.

Regulatory Issues

Straight Outta Compton received a 15 rating by the BBFC for the following:

• Strong Language
• Sex
• Drug use
• Violence

The trailer was passed as a 12A with some references to violence and weapons. There is also an extended version of the film which is rates an 18.

I, Daniel Blake

Release date: 21st October 2016

Producers: Rebecca O’Brien

Directors: Ken Loach

Studio: Wild Bunch, Why not productions, BBC Films

Budget:-

Box Office: $15.8 million

Significance of Key Personnel

Ken Loach (director)-

He is an English filmmaker, known for his socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty, homelessness and labour rights.

Regulatory Issues

The BBFC rated I, Daniel Blake a 15 age rating uncut due to the following themes that come up in the film:

• Strong Language
• Sex References
• Prescription Drug Use
• Criminality

The trailer was passed as a U, and the entire film rated a 15. The BBFC received no complaints for the age rating on the film

Consider/apply power and media industries theory (Curran and Seaton), cultural industries theory (Hesmondhalgh) and regulation theory (Livingstone and Lunt).
(1 hour)

Applying Curran & Seaton to I, Daniel Blake

I, Daniel Blake challenges all points in the ‘Power and Media Industries’ theory. This is because the general marketing for the film is relatively low, and therefore the film would not have the intention to become ‘worldwide sensation’ and compete with mainstream cinema. The initial production of the film also contradicts this notion because the production costs are low, with the use of non-professional actors as well as a lot of the scenes being filmed in real places instead of sets.

The main intention of the film is not to make a large profit from the film, but it is to communicate socio-political messages. This is reinforced by the use of Ken Loach as the director of the film, with his work being known for challenging these messages and stereotypes in the British film industry. The film itself challenges more right-wing political perspectives and attitudes particularly displayed by the Conservative Government during 2016 when the film was made. However it has to be noted that the film is almost entirely biased, as it is written from the perspective of a left-wing working class disabled man.

I, Daniel Blake challenges the belief that “variety, creativity and quality is inhabited by media concentration”, with the perspective of a lower class character making the film extremely unique as it is, furthermore winning multiple film awards in Britain and France showing that it is possible within the contemporary film industry. The theory is supported by having the film funded by the BFI and well as the BBC and others.

Applying Cultural industries theory to Straight Outta Compton

Straight Outta Compton challenges this theory by having a whole new approach to mainstream media. The film tackles many different subjects and it is overall considered quite an ‘out there’ film compared to Universals normal approaches to creating films.

The themes in the film follow issues with police brutality and gang violence with African-American actors in the film, something which is not often done with the imbalance within the mainstream industry, with the 2020 BAFTA nominations being an example of this lack of representation.

Universal also want to promote and market the film as best they can, being a part of the ‘big 6’ enables them to have high budget promotion therefore causing more audiences to want to see the film. The Straight Outta Compton soundtrack was created alongside the film as well as Dr Dre’s social media campaign.

Universal wants to also appeal to audiences and therefore it could be argued that Universals approach to this film was to target ethnic minorities through this representation and attitudes. The film did not come without criticism, with its lack of important female roles in the film contradicting this argument. However, overall the film is a huge representation and example for the black community.

The film rating was a 15 due to the strong languages and prostitution references in the film, the film did not lose out on large financial gain as that is not what the film intended, furthermore the film is unlikely to have appealed to 12-14 year olds because of the political context behind it. There were also no complaints surrounding the age rating suggesting that it was the correct decision.

Exam Question

Section C: Online Media

Zoella: Explain how representations of identify are constructed in blogs and vlogs

Zoella is a 29 year old social media influencer and YouTuber, she creates videos on YouTube for her audience and currently has over 10 million subscribers. In recent years her main channel consists of more professional style filming including sets whereas she has a second channel where many of her vlogs are based. The style of editing in the videos are primarily pink and pastel colours to go along with her girly theme. Zoe aims at a teenage female audience as they are most likely to watch makeup related videos and blogs as well as read articles on her blog. The female audience of Zoella’s YouTube channel are also able to interact with her on social media with Q&A’s that she posts, allowing fans to feel more welcomed and invited by her.

Zoe’s blog includes handwritten style fonts and decorative images, the articles on the blog cover topics such as ‘Out top vegan spots in Brighton’, making her life personalised with the reader and providing readers with suggestions which they can then decide to do. Her YouTube channel is similar to this, with videos such as ‘My everyday makeup routine’ giving viewers the tools and resources to mimic her lifestyle whilst receiving tips and instructions on how to recreate the look. This strong use of makeup and fashion is apparent on her YouTube channel, blogs and social media. Halls’ theory states that the media language connotes that Zoella is instructing her audience as she holds an impressionable influence on her audience, especially when they are teenagers as they are only starting to construct their own identities.

There is a strong appeal throughout her online media towards female fashion, self-care and makeup. This is also shown in her brand where she sells bath and body products, which in its launch, according to the Metro was the biggest beauty launch of the year. She promotes her brand through her YouTube and social media, which on average appeals to the young female generation. However, it could be argued that this target towards a feminine audience is more of a social construct rather than fact. Users of her blog are able to construct their own identities by following her tutorials, reviews and copying her fashion style. This fashion style is represented in her blog, with links to purchase the outfits displayed and promoted. Gauntlett’s theory of identity includes this allowance of audiences replicating Zoella’s fashion style, whilst also giving Zoella her own ‘brand’ of style. Fans of Zoella are also able to mimic her social media pages, with her new creation of ‘Template’, an app that provides users with designs and templates that they can use to ‘spice’ up their Instagrams, whilst also promoting Zoellas style and making it become a ‘trend’ with teenage female social media pages.