I, Daniel Blake

Year of release: 2016

Director: Ken Loach

Writer: Paul Laverty

Cast: Dave Johns (Daniel), Hayley Squires (Katie), Kate Rutter (Ann)

Production companies: Sixteen Films, Why Not Productions (in association with the British Film Institute and the BBC)

Budget: approx. £3.5 million

Box Office: $12.5 million

Major awards

BAFTA (British equivalent of the Oscars

Won – Outstanding British Film

British Independent Film Awards

Won – Most Promising British Newcomer (Hayley Squires)

Cannes Film Fextival

Won – Palme D’Or

Synopsis

Widower Daniel Blake, a 59-year-old joiner from Newcastle, has had a heart attack. Though his cardiologist has not allowed him to return to work, Daniel is deemed fit to do so after a work capability assessment and denied employment and support allowance. He is frustrated to learn that his doctor was not contacted about the decision, and applies for an appeal, a process he finds difficult because he must complete forms online and is not computer literate.

Daniel befriends single mother Katie after she is sanctioned for arriving late for a Jobcentre appointment. Katie and her children have just moved to Newcastle from a London homeless shelter, as there is no affordable accommodation in London. Daniel helps the family by repairing objects, teaching them how to heat rooms without electricity, and crafting wooden toys for the children.

During a visit to a food bank, Katie is overcome by hunger and breaks down. After she is caught shoplifting at a supermarket, a security guard offers her work as a prostitute. Daniel surprises her at the brothel, where he begs her to give up the job, but she tearfully insists she has no other way to feed her children.

As a condition for receiving jobseeker’s allowance, Daniel must keep looking for work. He refuses a job at a garden centre because his doctor will not allow him to work yet. When Daniel’s work coach tells him he must work harder to find a job or be sanctioned, Daniel spray paints “I, Daniel Blake, demand my appeal date before I starve” on the building. He earns the support of passers-by, including other benefits claimants, but is arrested and cautioned by the police. Daniel sells most of his belongings and becomes withdrawn.

On the day of Daniel’s appeal, Katie accompanies him to court. A welfare adviser tells Daniel that his case looks sound. On glimpsing the judge and doctor who will decide his case, Daniel becomes anxious and visits the lavatory, where he suffers a heart attack and dies. At his public health funeral, Katie reads the eulogy, including the speech Daniel had intended to read at his appeal. The speech describes his feelings about how the welfare system failed him by treating him like a dog instead of a man proud to have paid his dues to society.

Production and Release

I, Daniel Blake was filmed in and around Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in the North East of England, and was shot over a period of six weeks.

The film is a co-production between Sixteen Productions (Ken Loach’s own production company) and France’s Why Not Productions, and was made with the support of the British Film Institute (the BFI) and BBC Films. The film’s budget was £3.5 million.

After a premier at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2016, IDB was released worldwide throughout late 2016 and early 2017. A platform release pattern was used, which means the number of cinemas offering the film increased over its ‘lifetime’ (the period in which it was screened in cinemas).

In its opening weekend in the UK, the film started off in 94 cinemas, before growing to 273 cinemas. However, this was supplemented by screenings in more unusual locations – see the section on Marketing.

The film has taken $12.45 million worldwide, including the following:-

• $4.27m in the UK (£3.3m)
• $6.4m in France
• $1.4m in Italy
• $0.48m in Australia
• $0.2m in the USA

ACTIVITY – Why might there be relatively low box office takings, particularly in Australia and the USA?

There might be relatively low box office takings in these parts of the world because it is an Independent British film and therefore would unlikely promote worldwide and focus more on Europe.

MARKETING

ACTIVITY – You are part of the marketing team for this film. Due to the limited advertising budget which would you think would be the most audience effective and cost effective ways of promoting I, Daniel Blake?

‘Above the line’ marketing techniques

Put the following seven methods of marketing and promotion into order of preference – remember, you need to consider the very limited financial aspect. The overall budget for the film is £3.5 million, so you need to be creative with money, while making the audience aware of the film

Trailer for television- Reaches a wide range of audiences, particularly the target audience when played on the correct networks and time.

Trailer for the cinema- Regular cinema goers and supporters of more niche and independent cinema would want to see the latest films

Social Media- As once they are aware of the film, they can head to the websites and release dates to stay up to date with the release.

Official Website

Press kit

Theatrical poster campaign

Teaser poster campaign

MARKETING AND USER TARGETING

Apart from the usual ‘above the line’ marketing techniques, a number of more unconventional marketing strategies were employed.

Rather than London, the film’s UK premiere took place in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the film’s setting, and involved a number of local people and organisations who had contributed to the making of the film. It did, however, receive a London premiere a week later, which was attended by Jeremy Corbyn.

The marketing company, Kommando, was hired to promote the film and came up with an innovative campaign

A ‘guerrilla’ projection campaign saw quotes from the film beamed onto buildings in cities such as Newcastle, as well as the Houses of Parliament, grabbing the attention of the news media & passers-by.

eOne, the film’s UK distributor, organised a ‘grassroots’ marketing campaign.

eOne advertised for regional marketing officers to promote the film across the Midlands, North of England and parts of Scotland. The role of the marketer was to arrange and promote preview screenings and talks about the film in the weeks prior to its official release date, building up word of mouth and visibility in regional communities. Those who attended were a source of marketing content such as vox pops.

eOne also secured the services of the Trinity Mirror group as a marketing partner.

Trinity Mirror was the largest publisher of newspapers, magazines and digital news/features content in the UK. It owned 260 national and regional titles, including ‘red-top’ tabloid The Mirror (national), Western Mail (Wales), Daily Record (Scotland), the Birmingham Mail and the Bristol Post. The Mirror has supported the Labour Party since 1945. It has since been taken over by Reach PLC

Trinity Mirror described the challenge of marketing the film as ‘to get [the audience] to see & pay for a film that isn’t an action packed blockbuster. However, we also know that our audience are socially & culturally conscious & want to change things for the better. 60% believe we should actively strive for equality for all; behind this is the belief that it’s everyone’s responsibility to be well informed & to do the right thing. Therefore, the story of I, Daniel Blake would resonate strongly with our audience’s strong & passionate belief’.

The Trinity Mirror group implemented their campaign in the following ways:-

• Giving away 10,000 free tickets to the regional screenings mentioned previously.
• Prominent appeals from the film’s protagonist used on the mastheads and the front covers of their newspaper titles.
• Banner advertising.
• An editorial ‘written by’ Daniel within an October 2016 issue of the Mirror.
• Disruptive display advertising across the group’s digital newspapers.
• Articles promoting the film, which were retweeted by Ken Loach.  Social and political issues and debatesUnite the Union, Britain’s biggest trade union which stands up for ‘equality for all’, promoted the film on its website, using it as a way to promote awareness the impacts of government cuts to the welfare system, and encourage people to get in touch with their MPs. Users of the website were encouraged to share the hashtag #WeAreAllDanielBlake on social media.        
• The issues raised by the film were contentious and drew a range of responses from political figures, organisations and critics, all of which served to increase visibility for the film.

Representation

bell hooks (spelt with lowercase) Feminist Theory

theory states that:

• Feminism is a struggle to end sexist/patriarchal oppression and the ideology of domination
• Feminism is a political commitment rather than a lifestyle choice
• race and class as well as sex, determine the extent to which individuals are exploited, discriminated against or oppressed

patriarchy- A male-dominated society

“Feminism as a political commitment, NOT a lifestyle choice”

Does Beyonce fit this model?

• She headed a campaign in 2013 called ‘Chime for a Change’ which aimed to spread female empowerment
• Celebration of black femininity in visual album Lemonade-references to feminist film Daughters of the Dust

Is she using this political movement for lifestyle reasons and to construct a more complex star persona?

People from different cultures are more oppressed, such as Claudia from the Wateraid advert. Women are still doing the domestic chores. The roles that are often represented if at all are white middle class women.

What texts should I apply this to?

Component 1:

• Advertising: Tide, Wateraid
• Music Videos- Beyonce Formation, Vance Joy- Riptide

Component 2: 

• Television: Life on Mars, The Bridge
• Magazine: Vogue, The Big Issue

Questions to ask yourself when applying hooks theory

• Does the text represent a patriarchal society?
• Does the text demonstrate any evidence of people challenging patriarchy and fighting for equality
• If so, you could argue that these features would support this theory and the text may be considered ‘feminist’
• Does the text reinforce or challenge the idea that women should be objectified? Give examples
• Does this imbalance of power also reflect racial aspects or social class, as well as gender?

Paul Gilroy’s Postcolonialism

Gilroy is a cultural theorist who studies colonial influences and the way it impacts race and ethnicity today. His theory states that:

• ….Colonial discourses continue to inform contemporary attitudes to race and ethnicity in the post colonial era
• ….Civilisations construct their own racial hierarchies and sets up binary opposition based on notions of otherness- ‘us’ and ‘them’

Context to theory: Colonialisation

• Colonialism: Taking over another country/state to run and exploit it
• The British Empire is often seen as nostalgic concept but has negative connotations

Examples-

• The Boer concentration camps 1899-1902
• Famines in India (between 12-29 million people died)

Gilroy believes that you can see the effect of colonisation in the media, even now

He believes that ethnic minorities are often dehumanised, marginalised and seen as the ‘other’

Links to Alvarado’s theory- can you remember what the four categories were? (humorous, exotic, dangerous, pitied)

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/17/the-crown-tv-brexit-britain

Gilroy applied to Formation-Beyonce

1. How does the music video subvert/challenge racial hierarchy?

She tries to challenge typical stereotypes surrounding African Americans. She wears a dress worn by slave owners wives during the civil war. (antebellum clothing) hierarchical element of Gender

subverting expectation

2. How does the music video reinforce traditional racial hierarchy?

White police and brutality, (black vs white narratives) ‘us’ vs ‘them’

Judith Butler’s Gender Performativity

Butler is a theorist who is focused upon gender identity

Her theory states:

• …Identity is performatively constructed by the very ‘expressions’ that are said to be its results (it is manufactured through a set of acts)
• …that there is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender
• …that performativity is not a singular act, but a repetition and a ritual.

Sex=biological .    Gender=Constructed identity

“..that there is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender”

Gender is just a social construct, you dont get born with gender, you perform gender. There is no innate feminine identity.

In short Butler is saying that there is nothing genetic/biological to make our gender roles happen. Use of makeup, keeping long hair etc are expectations for a woman

Butler explained:

Culture and influences

How to apply-

Does this person have stereotypical gender traits- does a male/female behave in a typical ‘masculine’/’feminine’ manner? do they subvert these typical behaviours? use examples

Example- Zoella

content reinforces gender stereotypes. Butler would say she performs femininity in a conventional way. Example- She films herself without makeup but then ‘performs’ femininity by putting on makeup

Media Language

Claude Levi-Strauss Structuralism

It is focused upon the underlying systems and structures through which meanings are produced

Theory States that:

• …texts can be best understood through an examination of their underlying structure- i.e. their most basic elements
• …meaning is dependent upon (and produced through) pairs of oppositions
• …the way in which binary oppositions are resolved can have particular ideological significance

Traditional Binary Opposites

• Good vs Evil
• Black vs White
• Young vs Old
• Feminine and Masculine
• Confidence vs Fear
• Protagonist vs Antagonist
• Strong vs Weak
• Blue vs Pink
• Rich vs Poor
• Man vs Machine
• Day vs Night
• East vs West
• Modern vs Traditional
• Nature vs Nurture
• Dark vs Light
• Fast vs Slow
• Smart vs Stupid

Refer to possible Stereotypes

Theory is often used to create conflict, drama and make things entertaining. Many communicate meaning

Tide= represented in binary opposition to all other washing products, to compare tide and the other products- ‘Tide is better’

Kiss of the Vampire= Female vampire and male, more intrigued [audience] through conflict within the two characters

Water Aid= Raining in Britain and Dry Africa- binary oppositions through location

Jean Baudrillard’s Post Modernism

Theory states that:

• …in postmodern culture the boundaries between the ‘real’ world and the world of the media have collapsed and that it is no longer possible to distinguish between reality and simulation
• …in postmodern age of simulacra we are immersed in a world of images which no longer refer to anything ‘real’
• …media images have come to seem more ‘real’ than the reality they supposedly represent (hyper-reality)
• Simulacra=an image or representation of someone or something (an imitation of something which is real)
• Based on Former representation- unless you do research

Postmodern Features

Irony

Examples:

• A fire station burns down
• A marriage counsellor files for divorce
• The police station gets robbed
• A post on Snapchat complaining how useless Snapchat is

Media texts’ use of irony demonstrates self-awareness- the media text is aware of itself and will have an ‘in-joke’ with its audience.

Life of Mars examples:

The series frequently uses dramatic irony, in the form of jokes about a future the audience already knows, but which the historical characters do not. For example Gene Hunt declares:

“There will never be a woman prime minister as long as i have a hole in my arse.”

Demonstrating that the TV show is self-aware and conscious

• Intertextuality- Texts which reference other texts, in some cases, to create a sense of meaning
• Homage- To pay respect to a media text through an intertextual reference
• Parody- To mock a genre, style, person or text
• Bricolage- Sampling and using older media products in your own

EXAMPLES:

1. Intertextual reference on TIDE is from the ‘WE CAN DO IT’ Poster for the war.
2. Homage reference on FORMATION is from the The holy Mountain (1973)
3. Parody reference on DAILY MIRROR is from the statue of liberty
4. Bricolage reference on LIFE ON MARS is (test card F is a test card that was created by the BBC and used on television in the United Kingdom and in countries elsewhere in the world for more than four decades.) Like other test cards, it was usually shown to indicate that no programmes were being broadcast. In the very last shot from Life on Mars a girl dressed as the Test card F turns off the screen to indicate the story has reached the end

Reality vs Artificiality

• Where the real world and the ‘hyper-reality’ (the media construction) collide to the point that we can no longer tell whats real and whats not.
• Zoella- is her online persona real
• Life on Mars- Is Sam Taylors 70s life real or not

THE ORANGE METAPHOR

• Orange is reality (metaphor)
• Loss of the reality and now we are in is a world of artificial reality (Orange juice)
• Society starts evolving
• The reality is now heightened [version]
• Still links to the real reality
• Then we have simulacra (artificial copy) something that is the copy of the reality (Fanta)
• Left with simulacra copies and audience find it difficult to differentiate from whats real and not.
• A simulacra is a copy of something with very little link to reality (Chocolate orange)
• Whereby the audience begin to prefer the simulacra rather than the real world
• At this point it is a hyper reality, where we can’t tell the difference

Baudrillard applied to Life on Mars

• The 70s world of Gene Hunt is a hyper reality- it is the 70s represented from a mediated perspective. Consider how this is constructed
• Is Same Tylers 21st Century world also hyper real? based on our cultural perception of an institution (the police force) that is itself constructed rather than experienced first hand. How do we know that the police force is like this? Is it base primarily on the way it is re-presented to us through the media
• It may be argued that the series itself is a comment on the attractions of the hyperreal over the real- Sam Tyler creates his own “hyper-real” (the gene hunt world), based on his views on that time period

Audience Theories

Henry Jenkins Fandom

Jenkin’s work is focused upon participation culture in the 21st media. His theories states that:

• …fans are actively participants in the construction and circulation of textual meanings- they have a key role
• …fans appropriate texts and read them in ways that are not fully authorised by the media producers (‘textual poaching’)
• …fans construct their social and cultural identities through borrowing and inflecting mas culture images, and are part of a participatory culture that has a vital social dimension.

some ways in which fans interact with their audience

• Purchasing something in a digital or physical format
• merchandise
• fanart
• cosplay
• fandom
• reviews or video essays

Can fan feedback influence media products?

Such as the Sonic the Hedgehog change

Textual poaching

Jenkins research in Textual Poachers showed how fans construct their own culture by appropriating and remixing ‘poaching’-content from mass culture. Through this ‘poaching’, the fans carried out such creative cultural activities as rethinking personal identity issues such as gender and sexuality; writing stories to shift focus onto a media ‘storyworld’s’ secondary characters;producing content to expand of the timelines of a storyworld; or filling in missing scenes in the storyworlds official narratives order to better satisfy the fan community.

Textual Poaching Examples;

• The Babadook and the gay community
• Voldemort origin: fan made film

Jenkins applied to fan engagement with videogames: Assassins creed Liberation

• Relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement- YouTube makes it quick and simple to upload fan made videos
• Strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations with others- YouTube channels that have subscription and comments
• Some type of informal mentorship in which the most experienced members of the game pass along their knowledge to novices- Fans videos can act as ‘guide books’ to the game, the comment can act as a help forum.
• Members who believe their contributions matter- videos can be endorsed by ‘thumbs-up’ and comments
• Members who feel some degree of social connection with one another and care about other members’ opinions and contributions- Comments can have replies and become conversations. The commentary can use direct mode of address, the fan can make and post more videos based on comments
• Fans on forums petitioned by Ubisoft to make the HD versions (moving away from PS Vita) and release on PS3 and they did

Clay Shirky’s ‘End of Audience’ Theory

Shirky’s theory states that:

• ..that the internet and digital technologies have had a profound effect on the relations between media and individuals
• …the argument that audience members are passive consumers of mass media is no longer relevant in the age of the internet, as media consumers have now become producers who ‘speak back’ to the media in various ways, as well as creating and sharing content with one another.

Summary

• The fact that people can now talk back to networks and interact with one another via social media
• People can produce, consume and share

Shirky believes that there are no longer passive audiences and that 21st century audiences interact with the media. This change in behaviour may be due to the advances in technology- YouTube, Twitch, social media etc. Give-and-take reaction unlike declining media like newspapers and magazines. Audiences prefer to ‘speak back’ to products. Audience feel more empowered

Zoella

Zoella seized the opportunity to create user generated content in 2008 when the then-little known YouTube peer video sharing service became a viable prospect after the widespread rollout of broadband in the UK.

Accelerated data upload and download speeds allowed a wide spectrum of users to produce experimental content on YouTube that could be shared with like-minded users.

Zoella’s first upload of just four minutes was, like so many other amateur videos of the period, marked by an amateur aesthetic and a nervous presentation style-appealed to the audience.

Applying Shirky to Zoella

• Amateur aesthetic to blogs or vlogs- a sense of authenticity that content is unmediated
• Filming at home, ‘real’ mise en scene. YouTubers construct as relatable, ‘real’ people rather than distant stars
• Regular posts and updates keep the content fresh and current- sense of spontaneous

Industry theories

Sonia Livingstone and Peter Lunt’s Regulation theory

• …there is an underline struggle in the recent UK regulation policy between the need to further the interests of citizens (by offering protection from harmful or offensive material) and the need to further the interests of consumers  (by ensuring choice, value for money and market competition)
• …the increasing power of global media corporations, together with the rise of convergent media technologies and transformations in the production, distribution and marketing of digital media, have placed traditional approaches to media regulation at risk
• Key question: Who is the regulation really for? Is it now about protecting the industry rather than the audience?

Notes

-hard to decipher the guidelines between offensive and suitable content

-Regulation have to try and balance protecting people with offering them a choice

-Technology has made regulation difficult- downloading, streaming, piracy, YouTube etc means people can bypass control like age certificates

-The vast nature of the internet, the amounts of videos make it difficult to control

-Powerful companies can avoid regulation

Why would Netflix want to have their content rated by the BBFC?

The BBFC are a trusted organisation so its giving Netflix that authenticity. Also age ratings forms an audience as it can be appropriate for an audience.

Applied- Magazines and Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO)

• Largely self-regulated
• Concerns about how the industry is regulated have not changed  much since the 1960s- Leveson report
• IPSO does, however, have an Editor’s Code and companies that have signed up report complaints every 12 months
• Complaints process is convoluted
• Technology allows for digital manipulation of images, Is this ethical?
• Does a company like Conde Nast own too many publications?
• Do Convergent platforms make regulation difficult? Who regulates which industry if the product is diversified- magazine content online, for example

David Hesmondhalgh’s Cultural Industries theory

theory states that:

• MAIN POINT…cultural industry companies try to minimise the risk and maximise audiences through vertical and horizontal integration, and by formatting their cultural products (e.g. through the use of stars, genres and serials)
• …the largest companies or conglomentes now operate across a number of different cultural industries
• …the radical potential of the internet has been contained to some extent by its partial incorporation into a large, profit-oriented set of cultural industries.

MINIMISE RISK ,MAXIMISE PROFIT

An advantage is more control of the production and not relying on other companies

“The largest companies or conglomerates now operate cross a number of different cultural indsutries”

Another way of minimising risk and maximising profit… take advantage of what is successful and popular- they replicate this

• Assassins Creed series
• ‘Ashes to Ashes’ spin off sequel from Life on Mars

Product may be released at the same time all around the world Advantage of this- Less chance of piracy affecting financial success of product.

Staggered releases also happened, sustain interest levels over longer period

Eloise: Todays guest on the show is Scott Rudin, welcome.

[Scott smiles]

Eloise: so your new movie ‘Killer Country’ premiered this weekend, you produced this film, what was this process like?

Scott: Well I wanted to have a main female protagonist which creates a new dynamic in the film industry. The whole narrative of having a female who is represented as strong yet deceiving is really interesting to me, I think there isn’t enough of that dynamic. I took a lot of inspiration from different TV series which does a similar thing such as Line of Duty. I also like the idea of subverting gender roles with the female undermining the male antagonist. Whilst also creating an important political context related to police and government corruption, both which are increasingly talked about lately.

Adding to the websites:

• Music- a piece of music for the website which relates to the genre or tone of the film. It must be royalty free music, unless you have permission to use copyrighted material.
• Social Media- the brief gives you the option to this but I would recommend doing these anyway- create Instagram, Twitter and Facebook pages and link these to the website.
• ‘get tickets’ button
• Audio visual background content

30-45 seconds of original audio or audio-visual material related to the topic embedded into one of the pages: either an interview with the producer, outlining the process of production or an audio/video blog by an actor

Recap of year one theories-

Barthes’ Semiotics

The idea that texts communicate their meanings through a process of signification.

Signs can function in two ways:

• Denotation: The ‘literal’ or common-sense meaning of the sign
• Connotation: the meanings associated with or suggested by the sign

applying the theory: Kiss of the Vampire

The film poster depicts a vampire holding two women in his arms. The use of colour in the image has strong connotations to death and blood which is two common themes with vampires. There is also the use of the letter ‘V’ acting like a stake. Furthermore the vampire is represented as powerful and strong as he is holding two women with little effort.

Neale’s Genre Theory

• The idea that genres may be dominated by repetition but are also marked by difference, variation and change.
• The idea that genres change, develop and vary as they borrow from and overlap with one another.
• The idea that genres exist within specific economic, institutional and industrial contexts.

Notes- for example sci-fis change and adapt from other genres. They must conform to some elements of a genre, however theres a change as audiences would get bored of seeing the same thing.

Dr. No (1962): camera tracking, highkey lighting, camera pan out, use of glamour, theme music in the background,

Casino Royale (2006): focus on the table, lighting is on the table, scatters of red, more yellow toned,violin to create tension

Conventions in Dr No and Casino Royale have similar conventions  in terms of there being a large focus on the casino table as well as the lighting to reduce distraction from other elements in the scene. The costumes in the scenes also include dark clothing with scatters of red particularly with women. The different conventions are seen in Casino Royale with more use of the violin to generate tension in the scene. There also more of a focus on the characters in Casino Royale with more close ups.

The pressures that force genres to adapt

• Social issues, reflects values of the time period
• Audience tired of the same thing
• Technological advances, effects
• Institutional changes, strikes,
• ociSbvhfnvjdnjvgbsjdfbnjvgdsjfvnksjIn

With Neale’s theory, you can discuss how the British cop drama went from the traditional 1970s TV shows like The Professionals and The Sweeney to the science-fiction-infused and more progressive Life On Mars.

Applying Todorovs Narrative Theory: Johnny English Strikes Again

Equilibrium: Johnny English is presented as a teacher in a boarding school

Disruption: Someone has hacked the MI6 database and revealed the identities of all the secret service agents

Recognition: Johnny English is called to serve as an agent and is sent out on a mission

Resolution: He discovers that the hacker was the same man working with the prime minister to shut down the internet. The hacker is arrested.

Re-Equilibrium: Goes back to normal life and he goes back to teaching at the boarding school.

The narrative does work as from the main characters point of view it is the equilibrium and then the disruption. However the plot is laid out to depict the disruption first.

Mainstream storytelling mainly suits this structure(e.g. shrek, Alien, The Matrix, Kingsman)

Gauntlett’s theory of identity

Asserts that the media provide us with the tools and resources that we use to construct our own identities. Advertising offers us role models, he suggests that we then pick and mix the aspects of the products they want to use in construction of their own identities.

He also argues that the media today, unlike the past, offer a more diverse range of stars, icons and characters from whom we may pick and mix different ideas.

Questions to consider when applying Gauntlett:

• Does the set product support Gauntletts claim that, in the past, the media representations offered singular, straightforward messages about ideal types of male and female identities?
• To what extent do the representations in your set product differ from those found in similar products today

Gauntlett applied:

It almost counteracts the theory that audiences are affected by what they read/see. He suggests that audiences are active and use texts to satisfy their needs. They pick the bits of the text that are appropriate to them and their lives and ignore the others.

Hall’s Theory of Representation

Hall argues that all representations are constructed through signs and codes that are understood by the audience. He asserts that stereotyping reduces people and social groups to a few simple characteristics that are recognisable to audiences because they are reinforced over time.

He also argues that stereotypes tend to occur when there are inequalities of power.

https://www.dw.com/en/hollywood-movies-stereotypes-prejudice-data-analysis/a-47561660

Reinforce Stereotypes

Subvert Stereotypes

Both

Tide- Represents women being the stereotypical housewife and loving domestic products

WaterAid- Reinforces the general stereotype of African people being more vulnerable and oppressed. However it depicts her as optimistic

Kiss of the vampire- This reinforces stereotypes because it implements the dominant male character being very strong and powerful over the women. This is shown by him holding women in each arms.

Formation by Beyoncé- She tries to contradict the stereotypical image of the African American people in the video, however she also depicts these stereotypes in the music video.

What I remember from Audience theory from last year-

• Gerbner- cultivation theory:
• Halls- reception theory: how the decoder receives it (preferred, negotiated, oppositional)
• Bandura- Media Effect:(gaming/life on mars) How the audience copies behaviour from what they’ve learnt

Audience theories

Stuart Hall’s Reception Theory

Preferred:

• The audience accepts the messages contained within a product, as the producer intended.
• Usually the case if a product reflects the ideas and beliefs of the audience.

Negotiated:

Where the audiences accepts some of the products messages and disagrees with others.

Oppositional:

• Where the audience does not agree with the values, attitudes and beliefs of the product and its content.
• This may be related to the culture, gender, age or other factors affecting audience response.

Applying the theory- Im a celebrity get me out of here

Preferred

• Enjoyable- trials
• Challenging- motivational
• Celebrity- favourites- seeing human side of celebs
• Continuous- part of the day
• Funny, amusing (Ant and Dec)

Oppositional

• Animal Cruelty
• Representation of Australia
• Wealth- out of touch with the public
• Traumatic trials- mental health
• Waste of money
• Fake- not reality

Negotiated

Some elements of both and link them together

• The trials are fun, but there are elements of animal cruelty
• The trials look challenging however they can be very traumatic for celebs. Especially when its incorporating their biggest fears (claustrophobia, spiders etc)
• You see a more human side of celebs but it isn’t entirely real and some of it is fake.

Reception Theory applied- This is America music video

Apply reception theory to this music video in relation to the depiction of violence. Briefly discuss what factors may effect and or influence a viewers reception of the video.

Preferred

• Strong representation of African Americans in the video- diverse and seen as representing the violent crime in America and how it is ignored
• Contexts behind them- the innocent people being murdered

Negotiated

• Understand the context and story behind the video however it appears to be overly violent

Oppositional

• Extremely graphic and violent for a music video
• Without political context it can be seen as an unnecessarily violent video
• Aimed towards African American people- they understand the struggle. However to white audiences from other areas it may not be received the same
• Role Models? Donald Glover could be seen as glorifying violence

What effect and influence the reception of the video?

• Age- Older audiences are often less informed than younger ones on what is going on. Socially and politically
• Race-
• Ethnicity

Bandura’s Media Effects

Bandura’s ‘social learning theory’ suggested that audiences may learn aggressive behaviour from viewing others.

• The media implant ideas in the mind of the audience directly
• Audiences acquire attitudes, emotional responses and new ways of behaving through copying those they observe.

Criticised by many, including David Gauntlett, as being outdated and unhelpful as it assumes all audience members are passive and not actively engaging with the messages of media products.

Bandura in action:

• Donald Trump blames the internet and video games for atrocities
• Warner Bros responds to concerns about Joker inciting violence

Vue Cinemas and Blue Story Controversy

Gerbners’ Cultivation Theory

The idea that exposure to repeated patterns of representations over long periods of time can shape and influence the way in which people perceive the world around them.

The idea that cultivation reinforced often outdated values and stereotypes.

In other words, the more the media represents something, the more likely will believe in that representation.

Applying the theory- SpongeBob

Positions of power- Mr Krabs the wealth and rivalry between two males

Class power- SpongeBob is represented as more passive

Gerbner Applied:

Women are either sexualised or linked to the home

Set texts which reinforce this: Tide advert, Vogue

Set texts which challenge this: Life on Mars (Annie Cartright), Late Night Womens Hour, Assassins Creed Liberation

Curran and Seaton’s Power and media industries

• The idea that the media is controlled by a small number of companies primarily driven by the logic of profit and power.
• The idea that media concentration general limits or inhibits variety, creativity and quality.
• The idea that more socially diverse patterns of ownership help to create the conditions for more varied and adventurous media productions

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/03/disney-fox-merger-and-future-hollywood/585481/

Disney and Foxs Merge

The lack of competition- possible reduction of quality

Media Consolidation

The Illusion of choice, media has never been more consolidated. 6 media giants now control a staggering 90% of what we read, watch or listen to.

• GE owns Comcast, NBC, Universal Pictures, Focus Features
• Newscorp owns Fox, Wall-street journal, New York Post
• Disney owns ABC, ESPN, PIXAR, MIRAMAX, Marvel Studios
• Viacom owns MTV, Nick Jr, BET,CMT, paramount pictures
• Time Warner owns CNN, HBO, TIME, Warner Bros
• CBS owns Showtime, Smithsonian Channel, NFL.COM, Jeopardy, 60 Minutes

Point- a general discussion that demonstrates your knowledge. Either text/case study

Example- specific evidence from the products you have been asked to discuss

Explain- give reasons for the example you have chosen… connotations, contexts, potential audience responses

Theory- apply the theory and discuss how it is evident in the product

Answer the question- directly respond to what the question has asked of you

How do codes and conventions communicate viewpoints in this newspaper front page?

The Daily Mirror used the iconic famous American landmark the ‘statue of liberty’ to depict the statue as distraught, represented through the disastrous background and that the landmark has its head in its hands. The use of rhetorical questions “What have they done?” and ellipsis “How Trump triumphed…” reinforce this idea, making the situation appear more impactful and negative. The use of the landmark would be familiar to British audiences reading the paper and therefore they would understand the contexts in which surrounds the image. This is shown through Neale’s Semiotics theory, using negative imagery to influence the approach to the article, reporting on a more negative light to Donald Trumps election win and implementing a more left wing viewpoint to please their readers and connect meaning to the article.

Task One: Critic Reviews

• “A film like no other” – The Sun
• “Greatest film of the year” – The Guardian
• “A simply must-see” – The Times
• “Astounding performance by Kevin Bacon”– The Telegraph
• “A masterpiece of cinema” – Evening Standard
• “Fantastic Kevin Bacon” – Sight & Sound
• “Unique & Unforgettable, A sensational film that tackles many issues” – BBC
• “A truly thought provoking film, flawlessly written” – Empire
• “Performances by Viola Davis & Frances McDormand really bring the film together” – Total Film
• “Perfectly directed by Quentin Tarantino” – The Radio Times

Task Two: orginal titles fonts

Task Three:

Billing Block:

COLUMBIA PICTURES presents a SHANNON MURPHY film “KILLER COUNTRY” FRANCES MCDORMAND KEVIN BACON VIOLA DAVIS line producer DANNY BOYLE edited by TOM CROSS director of photography by JOHN LANDIS executive producers SHONDA RHIMES AARON SORKIN TOBY EMMERICH produced by DAVID MICHOD directed by JOHN LANDIS