Wednesday, 5 March 2014
Wednesday, 29 January 2014
Audience Response: Mad Men
How have audiences responded to Mad Men?
- Mad men has received widespread critical acclaim, particularly for its historical authenticity, visual style, costume design, acting, writing, and directing.
- Won many awards: fifteen Emmy's and four Golden Globes.
- Season 2 of Mad men had 1.75 million viewers and has continued to increase over the following seasons.
- Critical reception: The american film institute selected it as one of the best 10 television series of 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012. It was named the best television show of 2007 by the Television Critics Association and several national publications, including Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Time Magazine etc.
- In promotion for the series, AMC aired commercials and a behind the scenes making of Mad Men before its premiere. The documentary, in addition to trailers and sneak peeks of upcoming episodes, were released on the AMC official website.
- Mad men was made available on iTunes, in 2007 along with the "making of" documentary.
- For the second series, AMC undertook the largest marketing campaign it had ever launched, intending to reflect the "cinematic quality" of the series. Shuttle buses were decorated with life-size posters of John Hamm as Don Draper and quotes from the first season.
- Groups of people dressed in period clothing would hand out business cards to promote the July 27 season premiere.
Wednesday, 22 January 2014
Lost
"Most media texts target a wide range of different audiences" How true is this of your chosen text?
J. J Abrams' 'Lost' targets a mainstream, wide audience. Passive and active audiences can be gratified by it and has been encoded to be inclusive. Lost appeals to both an advanced and simplistic audience through the use of particular conventions.
The use of an ensemble cast attracts a mainstream audience, and allows flexibility for writers to focus on different characters for the audience to identify with one or more of the characters and narrative issues of different cultural and society groups. A wide variety of characters are used to appeal to a wide range of audience that has a character for each person to relate to,whether that be through age, gender, race, nationality etc. This is shown through the father son relationship of Walt and Michael and how they have a conflicted relationship, this may be a relatable situation for several audience members. Regional accents and stereotyped characteristics are also used to go with the use of an ensemble cast relatable to the audience.
Another convention used by J. J Abrams is the use of enigma codes throughout the first episode of Lost. Various mysteries are portrayed, for example when Walt discovers the handcuffs on the island. The camera zooms into the handcuffs and then is quickly cut and the screen turns black for a commercial. The use of score in the background supports the sense of tension and danger. This creates an enigma code for the audience as they begin to question why they are there leaving the audience in suspense and keeping them hooked to return to watch in order to follow the enigma codes later revealed in the narrative. Todorov's narrative theory can be applied to this scene as the audience can identify something bad is going to happen, disrupting the equilibrium through the use of non diegetic sound which supports this, which helps the audience to feel the same emotion as a character at a particular time in the episode.
Mainstream narrative devices are also obvious within this episode, which attracts a mainstream audience. The use of the non linear narrative and flashbacks/flash forwards provide relatable issues and plots that provide alternative gratifications to an audience, which is common in a lot of mainstream texts. A common convention of the hybrid genre in TV is the use of binary opposition proposed by Strauss. Lost follows this as it addresses the difference between western and eastern culture. As Lost is set on a tropical island, it looks like an ideal place to be, but instead is full of hidden mysteries which keeps the audience entertained to appeal to the widest range of mass audiences. The producers of 'Lost' understand their target audiences and understand what their fans want and can apply it to the episodes to gratify an audience.
J. J Abrams' 'Lost' targets a mainstream, wide audience. Passive and active audiences can be gratified by it and has been encoded to be inclusive. Lost appeals to both an advanced and simplistic audience through the use of particular conventions.
The use of an ensemble cast attracts a mainstream audience, and allows flexibility for writers to focus on different characters for the audience to identify with one or more of the characters and narrative issues of different cultural and society groups. A wide variety of characters are used to appeal to a wide range of audience that has a character for each person to relate to,whether that be through age, gender, race, nationality etc. This is shown through the father son relationship of Walt and Michael and how they have a conflicted relationship, this may be a relatable situation for several audience members. Regional accents and stereotyped characteristics are also used to go with the use of an ensemble cast relatable to the audience.
Another convention used by J. J Abrams is the use of enigma codes throughout the first episode of Lost. Various mysteries are portrayed, for example when Walt discovers the handcuffs on the island. The camera zooms into the handcuffs and then is quickly cut and the screen turns black for a commercial. The use of score in the background supports the sense of tension and danger. This creates an enigma code for the audience as they begin to question why they are there leaving the audience in suspense and keeping them hooked to return to watch in order to follow the enigma codes later revealed in the narrative. Todorov's narrative theory can be applied to this scene as the audience can identify something bad is going to happen, disrupting the equilibrium through the use of non diegetic sound which supports this, which helps the audience to feel the same emotion as a character at a particular time in the episode.
Mainstream narrative devices are also obvious within this episode, which attracts a mainstream audience. The use of the non linear narrative and flashbacks/flash forwards provide relatable issues and plots that provide alternative gratifications to an audience, which is common in a lot of mainstream texts. A common convention of the hybrid genre in TV is the use of binary opposition proposed by Strauss. Lost follows this as it addresses the difference between western and eastern culture. As Lost is set on a tropical island, it looks like an ideal place to be, but instead is full of hidden mysteries which keeps the audience entertained to appeal to the widest range of mass audiences. The producers of 'Lost' understand their target audiences and understand what their fans want and can apply it to the episodes to gratify an audience.
Wednesday, 11 December 2013
Fish Tank Clip 3 Analysis
How typical is your chosen text of its genre?
The purpose of the social realism genre is to make the audience empathise with the under-represented and focuses upon a hard, realistic look at contemporary Britain. Character roles within this film are shown as the following; the main protagonist is usually a typical working class hero that strives for an improved life. The moral of social realist films are often based around a non nuclear, dysfunctional broken family. This is shown through various technical codes and narrative themes throughout this film. Conventions of the social realism genre often include a negative representation of females which 'Fish Tank' conforms too. This film addresses family issues and plays on the ideology of escapism throughout.
As this film tries to gain empathy from the audience the main protagonist Mia is represented as 'trapped' and alone. Throughout the whole of this film we see rap music videos being shown on the TV's in the houses, as Mia is subjected to this behaviour everyday she believes that she should imitate their actions and aspires to be a dancer in order to attract male attention or could be argued that she uses it as a method of escapism from the outside world.
The purpose of the social realism genre is to make the audience empathise with the under-represented and focuses upon a hard, realistic look at contemporary Britain. Character roles within this film are shown as the following; the main protagonist is usually a typical working class hero that strives for an improved life. The moral of social realist films are often based around a non nuclear, dysfunctional broken family. This is shown through various technical codes and narrative themes throughout this film. Conventions of the social realism genre often include a negative representation of females which 'Fish Tank' conforms too. This film addresses family issues and plays on the ideology of escapism throughout.
As this film tries to gain empathy from the audience the main protagonist Mia is represented as 'trapped' and alone. Throughout the whole of this film we see rap music videos being shown on the TV's in the houses, as Mia is subjected to this behaviour everyday she believes that she should imitate their actions and aspires to be a dancer in order to attract male attention or could be argued that she uses it as a method of escapism from the outside world.
Monday, 2 December 2013
District 9 Exam Response
'Most texts today mix genres' How true is this of your three main texts? [30]
District 9 conforms to this statement as it is a hybrid. District 9 is a post modernist text and can be considered as a hybrid as the text mixes the science fiction genre and has documentary style conventions included. The concept of genre relates and fits within the post modernist theory which is similar with District 9. This text has re-accuring conventions recognisable of the science fiction genre, common conventions and themes running throughout the sci- fi genre including alien species, psychological/biological changes to man brought about by scientific changes and often questions the difference between human and alien. This film focuses on the apartheid that was occurring in Johannesburg at the time and addresses this through the use of human vs alien.
Typical genre conventions portrayed in District 9 are shown through the use of transformation and body horror. The main protagonist Wikus represents the issue of body horror through transformation from human to alien. The transformation occurs when Wikus comes into contact with 'alien black fluid' and shows the different stages of his transformation. The audience can easily identify the genre of this text as there are obvious conventions used throughout district 9 such as the use of interviews at the beginning of the film to introduce characters and stock footage such as news companies reporting issues in District 9 which conform to the documentary style. Most science fiction texts today address the issue of capitalism and power and show human life to be unimportant, which is shown throughout this film as Wikus is considered as an experimental object when his transformation begins. This text conveys a distopian view of society and shows an imperfect world where people in positions of power tend to abuse this and many issues/people are corrupt. When Wikus' transformation begins to take place in the restaurant, the technical codes represent the issue of horror. The camera angle in this scene is at eye level in order for the audience to empathise with Wikus through the portrayal of body horror and psychical discomfort as the audience can clearly see the transformation beginning to take place represented by the black nose bleed which is similar to alien species. The camera movement is shaky throughout this scene which could be argued represent Wikus' emotions when he realises his change, the use of diegetic sound portrays the issue of body horror through the use of typical horror conventional music in order to address something bad is happening. These conventions all link and pay homage to the science fiction genre.
Documentary style conventions are also shown throughout this text through the use of stock footage. One particular use of stock footage in District 9 is the use of CCTV, this is used deliberately in order to suggest to the audience that Wikus is trapped in a distopian world, as Wikus is filmed everywhere he goes the audience can identify documentary style conventions. Wikus is even being watched in his office in the MNU which is shown by CCTV footage. The mise en scene shows Wikus sitting at his desk and later his fingernails begin to fall off. The high camera angle used suggests dominance over Wikus and the idea that he is always being watched and controlled by the MNU. The low key lighting is another convention of the horror genre, and similar conventions are shown through the sci-fi genre to again represent body horror. The use of diegetic sound from Wikus shouting in pain also conforms to the representation of body horror and transformation, in this case when his fingernails begin to fall off.
The use of dialogue in this text also represents the issue of 'Apartheid' that was happening in 1982. There is a specific line in the text which says "this is our land, you must go now" this is a clear representation of black and whites shown through human and alien. Themes of racism and xenophobia are shown through the use of the alien species in District 9 and the evacuation of aliens from their home to be separated from humans. Regardless of this, Wikus transformation shows the similarity between the black and white and plays on the ideology that they feel the same emotion regardless of their race/species.
District 9 conforms to this statement as it is a hybrid. District 9 is a post modernist text and can be considered as a hybrid as the text mixes the science fiction genre and has documentary style conventions included. The concept of genre relates and fits within the post modernist theory which is similar with District 9. This text has re-accuring conventions recognisable of the science fiction genre, common conventions and themes running throughout the sci- fi genre including alien species, psychological/biological changes to man brought about by scientific changes and often questions the difference between human and alien. This film focuses on the apartheid that was occurring in Johannesburg at the time and addresses this through the use of human vs alien.
Typical genre conventions portrayed in District 9 are shown through the use of transformation and body horror. The main protagonist Wikus represents the issue of body horror through transformation from human to alien. The transformation occurs when Wikus comes into contact with 'alien black fluid' and shows the different stages of his transformation. The audience can easily identify the genre of this text as there are obvious conventions used throughout district 9 such as the use of interviews at the beginning of the film to introduce characters and stock footage such as news companies reporting issues in District 9 which conform to the documentary style. Most science fiction texts today address the issue of capitalism and power and show human life to be unimportant, which is shown throughout this film as Wikus is considered as an experimental object when his transformation begins. This text conveys a distopian view of society and shows an imperfect world where people in positions of power tend to abuse this and many issues/people are corrupt. When Wikus' transformation begins to take place in the restaurant, the technical codes represent the issue of horror. The camera angle in this scene is at eye level in order for the audience to empathise with Wikus through the portrayal of body horror and psychical discomfort as the audience can clearly see the transformation beginning to take place represented by the black nose bleed which is similar to alien species. The camera movement is shaky throughout this scene which could be argued represent Wikus' emotions when he realises his change, the use of diegetic sound portrays the issue of body horror through the use of typical horror conventional music in order to address something bad is happening. These conventions all link and pay homage to the science fiction genre.
Documentary style conventions are also shown throughout this text through the use of stock footage. One particular use of stock footage in District 9 is the use of CCTV, this is used deliberately in order to suggest to the audience that Wikus is trapped in a distopian world, as Wikus is filmed everywhere he goes the audience can identify documentary style conventions. Wikus is even being watched in his office in the MNU which is shown by CCTV footage. The mise en scene shows Wikus sitting at his desk and later his fingernails begin to fall off. The high camera angle used suggests dominance over Wikus and the idea that he is always being watched and controlled by the MNU. The low key lighting is another convention of the horror genre, and similar conventions are shown through the sci-fi genre to again represent body horror. The use of diegetic sound from Wikus shouting in pain also conforms to the representation of body horror and transformation, in this case when his fingernails begin to fall off.
The use of dialogue in this text also represents the issue of 'Apartheid' that was happening in 1982. There is a specific line in the text which says "this is our land, you must go now" this is a clear representation of black and whites shown through human and alien. Themes of racism and xenophobia are shown through the use of the alien species in District 9 and the evacuation of aliens from their home to be separated from humans. Regardless of this, Wikus transformation shows the similarity between the black and white and plays on the ideology that they feel the same emotion regardless of their race/species.
Wednesday, 27 November 2013
District 9
District 9
Main Protagonist- Wikus
Tania Smit- Wikus' wife, Piet Smit's daughter
Main Protagonist- Wikus
Genre Conventions:
- Transformation/Body Horror- Transformation of human to alien. Enables the audience to question their own humanity. Empathise with protagonist through the portrayal of body horror- loss of teeth and fingernails helps the audience to empathise with Wikus through the use of psychical discomfort. Humans and aliens co existing.
- Distopian View- Imperfect picture, human life is not important. Humans used for experimental purposes. Corrupt society.
Representation of black and white through the use of human vs alien. Themes of racism and xenophobia are shown through the use of 'species'. Wikus' transformation shows the similarity between black and whites and that idea that they feel the same emotions regardless of race/species. The dialogue used in the film, for example "This is our land, you must go now" clearly references the apartheid that was happening in Johannesburg in 1982.
Protagonist's Father in Law- Piet Smit
 |
Christopher Johnson(Alien)
Obesandjo- Psychopathic Nigerian
 |
Tania Smit- Wikus' wife, Piet Smit's daughter
Monday, 4 November 2013
Research Links
Research Evidence Links
Miss Representation
1. Teenagers on average, spend 10 hours 45 minutes a day consuming Media.
2. 53% of 13 year old girls are unhappy with their bodies, by 17 the statistic is 78%
3. Girls learn from a very early age, the most important thing is how they look
4. The ideal image of beauty is becoming more extreme and impossible than ever before – Jean Kilbourne
5. 97% of publishing companies are owned by Males
6. In the 1990’s studies found a steady increase in explicitly sexual images in advertising
7. The exploitation of female bodies sell products
8. Females are not represent in the Media for doing something, they are represented for how they look
9. As a culture woman are brought up to be fundamentally insecure
10. A lot of advertising is based on making people feel anxious and insecure – Jean Kilbourne
Scoop It
Kilbourne (1995)- this media representation presents women as mannequins: tall and thin, often US size zero, with very long legs, perfect teeth and hair, and skin without a blemish in sight. Wolf notes that the media encourage women to view their bodies as a project in constant need of improvement.
'Everyday people are bombarded by visual advertisements that encourage them to buy a particular product. However, the images used also act as socializing agents that influence our attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviours (Lindner 2004).
'Moderate sexual content in advertising is rated by viewers attention- getting, engaging, appealing and interesting' (Reichert & Walker 2005)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaB2b1w52yE&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTlmho_RovY
http://www.advertisingcritic.com/nicole-kidman-ad-for-chanel-no-5-perfume/
http://www.aef.com/on_campus/classroom/book_excerpts/data/2476
Craig (1997) concluded that advertisers structure the gender images in their commercials to match the expectations and fantasies of their intended audience. (Chanel No5).
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&ved=0CHQQFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aber.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2FStudents%2Fdde0302.doc&ei=Vbx8Us_UF8e60QXRyYDgAw&usg=AFQjCNGerG1VIM4irupm-CoTGIf-a49Jmg&sig2=guD96hTKV0z5c_xb9FgqRw&bvm=bv.56146854,d.d2k
Taflinger - Women desire relationship and romance. Thus, the cycle of advertising follows the rule of attraction.
http://www.justluxe.com/fine-living/health/feature-1803733.php
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1872
http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/nsfall01/FinalArticles/TheNatureOfHumanAttractio.html
Radway claims that romantic fantasy is a form of regression in which the reader is imaginatively and emotionally transported to a time ‘when she was the center of a profoundly nurturant individual’s attention’- Cultural theory and popular culture.
http://introsociology.net/brittneyw/tag/objectification-of-women/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaB2b1w52yE&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTlmho_RovY
http://www.advertisingcritic.com/nicole-kidman-ad-for-chanel-no-5-perfume/
http://www.aef.com/on_campus/classroom/book_excerpts/data/2476
Craig (1997) concluded that advertisers structure the gender images in their commercials to match the expectations and fantasies of their intended audience. (Chanel No5).
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&ved=0CHQQFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aber.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2FStudents%2Fdde0302.doc&ei=Vbx8Us_UF8e60QXRyYDgAw&usg=AFQjCNGerG1VIM4irupm-CoTGIf-a49Jmg&sig2=guD96hTKV0z5c_xb9FgqRw&bvm=bv.56146854,d.d2k
Taflinger - Women desire relationship and romance. Thus, the cycle of advertising follows the rule of attraction.
http://www.justluxe.com/fine-living/health/feature-1803733.php
http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1872
http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/nsfall01/FinalArticles/TheNatureOfHumanAttractio.html
Radway claims that romantic fantasy is a form of regression in which the reader is imaginatively and emotionally transported to a time ‘when she was the center of a profoundly nurturant individual’s attention’- Cultural theory and popular culture.
http://introsociology.net/brittneyw/tag/objectification-of-women/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)