Friday 9 May 2014
Monday 5 May 2014
Audience Analysis
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Who is the audience? Be specific
The audience would be fans of the comic book franchise, but also fans of the original Amazing Spider-Man film. Comic book fans as well would be the main audience as they have a interest and love for comic books from the Marvel & DC Universe. People between the ages of of 16-35 may also take an interest due to the younger cast and rebooted storyline, but also due to the action in the film an chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone.
Who would take a Preferred/Oppositional/Negotiated reading? Why?
Preferred: The fans of the franchise and comic books as they would be loyal to the franchise in the efforts that it does well commercially but to also ensure future films and series. Generally males in the ages of 13-18 as they would be more inclined to watch the film, however as the comic series is historic, then older, loyal fans would still watch it despite their ages.
Oppositional: People (Mainly females) above the ages of 40-65 would perhaps take an oppositional reading due to not understanding or liking the franchise or comic books, they may also feel that the Superhero sub-genre is not their preferred genre, but more geared towards a younger audience. People who perhaps prefer DC to Marvel films may also take an opposed style of reading towards The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Negotiated: People (Typically male) around the ages of 25-40 may take a negotiated reading to the film as they may know a basic knowledge of the films and comic book series but maybe attracted to the film due to the action. Other audience members may watch the film purely for the cast, Although I am an avid fan of the franchise, I also am a loyal fan to Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, therefore I would watch the film regardless of how I thought about the comics.
What is the main use or gratification for the audience? Why?
The main use and gratification would be entertainment and escapism as it is a film tailored to allow the audience to escape to another world filled with crime and a superhero saviour. It is entertaining to the audience due to the action and storyline. Social integration may also play a huge role in the films success as people may go view the film therefore they can have an involvement in conversations.
Sunday 27 April 2014
Events & Issues Representation
Amanda Bynes' Meltdown
In 2013 American actress Amanda Bynes was targeted by the media for a series or outlandish behaviour including; throwing a bong out of her NYC apartment window, being arrested for a DUI but also for setting fire to a driveway and spilling gasoline on her dog. The media often compared her erratic behaviour to other notorious child stars turned bad, such as; Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan. However the only difference was that although she was considered to be following the trend of spiralling out of control, it eventually progressed into a revelation about her mental health and why she was acting so erratically. The first signal of that Bynes was following the trend of Hollywood starlets acting out, was that she was arrested for a DUI and a hit and run - of which she tweeted the Obama's asking to let her off her driving tickets. As her mental health slowly deteriorated she began acting out more bizarrely whether it be a series of Twitter arguments with fellow celebrities - including calling stars like Zac Efron, The Obama's and Miley Cyrus ugly as well as having a love/hate online relationship with rapper Drake - of which she tweeted 'I want @Drake to murder my vagina'. The media often suggested that Amanda Bynes was on drugs or acting out like her other child star peers, however it surfaced that she had an mental illness, which was seen when she was placed on a 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold for her behaviour and was examined closely by doctors which determined that she has bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Sunday 30 March 2014
Ethnicity Representation/Regional Identity
Music Video
Negative Representation
The video for Iggy Azalea's single 'Bounce' represents the Indian culture in a negative way as it predominantly shows the slums of India, mainly showcasing poverty. It suggests that India is a poor country and perhaps the children are running wild, resulting in adding to the 'mess'. This seen when Iggy is rapping outside the market and the children begin to throw the powder paint around and at the camera. It could have the connotations that there is no order in India and that everyone is running with no order, the video has also been under criticism to be exploiting Indian culture in which Iggy has defended and referred it as 'celebrating the culture'. She is seen to be dancing in traditional Indian clothing, interestingly the main dancers are women dancing for men, which could have the suggestion that women are below men.
Positive Representation
The video for Waka Waka (Time For Africa) represents all world cultures in a positive way, more specifically the African culture. The African culture is represented extremely positively as it is celebrated for it's beauty - the African theme deriving from the World Cup in 2010. Shakira is a bilingual artist and a positive role model to people as she is proud of her culture and past. The lyrics read 'We're all Africa' which creates the idea of unity, which is complemented by the different countries stood with Shakira holding traditional items, eg. The Chinese dragon. The song and video create the impression that the world is equal and everyone should come together and celebrate their heritage - the African theme could also symbolise one idea that everyone originated from Africa.
Film
Negative Representation
Positive Representation
The Help is an 2011 American drama film adapted from the novel by Kathryn Stockett, it depicts civil rights in early 1960's America. The film is an incredibly positive representation for African American women as all of the women are seen to be caring and loving, despite their treatment. The positive representation also stems from the victimisation of the black women, seen specifically when Yule Mae is arrested for being framed, showing inferiority. Certain white characters in the film are represented extremely negatively, for example the incredibly racist Hilly Holbrook - who is seen as the antagonist for her racism and champions segregation. However other white characters are represented positively, like Skeeter Pheelan who tells the story of the racism in Mississippi who fights for change. Celia & Jonnie Foote also are represented incredibly positively as they do not follow the racism and value their maid as a person as opposed to a job - seen in the scene where they throw Minnie their maid a feast for there gratitude, but also seen in Celia's ignorance to segregation.
TV Soaps
Negative Representation
Positive Representation
Negative Representation
The video for Iggy Azalea's single 'Bounce' represents the Indian culture in a negative way as it predominantly shows the slums of India, mainly showcasing poverty. It suggests that India is a poor country and perhaps the children are running wild, resulting in adding to the 'mess'. This seen when Iggy is rapping outside the market and the children begin to throw the powder paint around and at the camera. It could have the connotations that there is no order in India and that everyone is running with no order, the video has also been under criticism to be exploiting Indian culture in which Iggy has defended and referred it as 'celebrating the culture'. She is seen to be dancing in traditional Indian clothing, interestingly the main dancers are women dancing for men, which could have the suggestion that women are below men.
Positive Representation
The video for Waka Waka (Time For Africa) represents all world cultures in a positive way, more specifically the African culture. The African culture is represented extremely positively as it is celebrated for it's beauty - the African theme deriving from the World Cup in 2010. Shakira is a bilingual artist and a positive role model to people as she is proud of her culture and past. The lyrics read 'We're all Africa' which creates the idea of unity, which is complemented by the different countries stood with Shakira holding traditional items, eg. The Chinese dragon. The song and video create the impression that the world is equal and everyone should come together and celebrate their heritage - the African theme could also symbolise one idea that everyone originated from Africa.
Film
Negative Representation
A Haunted House is a 2013 parody film created by and also starring Marlon Wayans. The film is a negative representation of the African American heritage as a vast majority of the characters are involved in a gang, and also play up to the 'ghetto' stereotype. However generally, the film represents black and white people negatively as both ethnicities are made out to be stupid and naive. Generally the film does target black people more negatively as it brings up gang related stereotypes, but also plays up to stereotypical African American names, to again add humour by exaggerating stereotypes.
Positive Representation
The Help is an 2011 American drama film adapted from the novel by Kathryn Stockett, it depicts civil rights in early 1960's America. The film is an incredibly positive representation for African American women as all of the women are seen to be caring and loving, despite their treatment. The positive representation also stems from the victimisation of the black women, seen specifically when Yule Mae is arrested for being framed, showing inferiority. Certain white characters in the film are represented extremely negatively, for example the incredibly racist Hilly Holbrook - who is seen as the antagonist for her racism and champions segregation. However other white characters are represented positively, like Skeeter Pheelan who tells the story of the racism in Mississippi who fights for change. Celia & Jonnie Foote also are represented incredibly positively as they do not follow the racism and value their maid as a person as opposed to a job - seen in the scene where they throw Minnie their maid a feast for there gratitude, but also seen in Celia's ignorance to segregation.
TV Soaps
Negative Representation
The Only Way Essex is a semi scripted reality show following the lives of a group of friends from Essex as they manage to balance careers, socialising and drama. The show represents Essex in a negative way as a lot of the cast are considered to be obnoxiously stupid and unintelligent. The show glamorises the stereotype that Essex people are all stupid and produces celebrities like Joey Essex and Amy Childs who although capitalise on being stupid, both stars have being incredibly successful since being on the show. However generally, the show has given Essex a bad name as the cast play up to the stupid persona and have full blown arguments/physical fights in order to get ratings - this working as it is on its 11th season.
Positive Representation
'Eastenders' is a soap opera based upon the lives are a diverse group of people living in the infamous Albert Square in London. The show is a positive representation of different ethnicities as it celebrates their cultures and portrays a multicultural society. Seen specifically in the episode where muslim 'couple' Syed and Amira marry and the whole Square attends and the religion is greatly celebrated - seen as the family proudly show their religion whilst parading round the Square. Albert Square has also had a range of different religions and enthnicites during its 29 year broadcast, each with a different backstory, but all of their heritages celebrated and accepted by the other civilians of Albert Square - suggesting that more people need to be open minded about other cultures.
Monday 17 March 2014
Different Representations of Enthnicity
Exotic - Shah's of Sunset
Shah's of Sunset is an American reality television show following the lives of a group of friends as they live in Beverly Hills. The cast of friends are all Iranian American and the show follows the friends as they try to balance socialising, breakout careers but also the ties to their families and traditions. The show has been criticized for the way the cast is represented as materialistic and vapid, however all of the cast are shown as proud of their heritage. The show does bring together a clash of different civilisations, showing the difference/similarities between Western and Middle Eastern civilisations. Reza (middle male) is openly gay and joined the show to show a positive message as suicide rate in teenagers was rising, by having an openly gay cast member of the Persian/Iranian heritage it conflicts with the traditional values of the country/civilisation.
Dangerous - O'ren Ishii (Kill Bill)
The Real Housewives shows have turned into a multi million dollar franchise, with shows featured in 7 states as well as international spin offs. The Atlanta edition of the show features all of the women being of African-American heritage, with the only white cast member Kim Zolciak leaving half way through season 5. The show has created a negative impression of African-American women as the show heavily focusses on the on screen drama and cat fights between the women and husbands. As it is a reality TV show, all of the women are real however some of the scenes are edited to be constructed in a certain way, only the most dramatic and entertaining scenes make the final cut. The females on the show are criticised for being bitchy, spoilt and backstabbers - they have also been criticised for playing up to the 'ghetto' stereotype. On the other hand the show has created a seemingly ignored positive representation for the women as all of the women are at a high level of success (some earned more than others) but all the women are also proud of their heritage.
Humorous - The Mindy Project
Shah's of Sunset is an American reality television show following the lives of a group of friends as they live in Beverly Hills. The cast of friends are all Iranian American and the show follows the friends as they try to balance socialising, breakout careers but also the ties to their families and traditions. The show has been criticized for the way the cast is represented as materialistic and vapid, however all of the cast are shown as proud of their heritage. The show does bring together a clash of different civilisations, showing the difference/similarities between Western and Middle Eastern civilisations. Reza (middle male) is openly gay and joined the show to show a positive message as suicide rate in teenagers was rising, by having an openly gay cast member of the Persian/Iranian heritage it conflicts with the traditional values of the country/civilisation.
Dangerous - O'ren Ishii (Kill Bill)
Kill Bill has become a cult classic in cinema, Quentin Tarantino created the notorious action/thriller created a line of characters, each as deadly as the last. In Kill Bill Vol. 1 you are introduced to O'ren Ishii, the deadly assassin is of Chinese-Japanese-American heritage and is the leader of the largest crime organisation in Tokyo. The film represents Asian people in a negative way as a lot of the asian characters are antagonists with stereotypical qualities - like being experts in karate. The predominant negative representation creates the impression that people of the Chinese/Japanese decent are crime lords and are incredibly dangerous/deadly. The film tells the story of the ultimate revenge, with characters like O'ren as a deadly reminder of the past. O'ren is the leader of the Crazy 88 and her bodyguard Gogo Yubari who again are all of Asian decent and all pose a threat for Beatrix (Uma Thurman). O'ren is played by American actress Lucy Liu.
Pitted - Real Housewives of Atlanta
Humorous - The Mindy Project
The Mindy Project is an American sitcom created by Mindy Kaling, the show focusses around a group of doctors trying to balance their personal lives with their professional lives - with the main protagonist Mindy basing her life around romantic comedies. The show features a range of diverse ethnicities each represented positively, the main protagonist Mindy is an established, successful OB/GYN which is an incredibly positive representation for the Indian heritage, as Mindy is put in a high and well respected job as well as being driven for success. The receptionist Shauna is hispanic and offered Mindy relationship advice as well as being an independent and driven character - being a positive representation for the Hispanic ethnicity. The male doctor Jeremy is white British and generally lacks in common sense which could be a negative representation of British people, however his job contrasts with this. The show has been praised for its portrayal of different ethnicities as opposed to stereotyping certain characters based on their ethnicity.
Sexualised - Rihanna - Pour It Up
Rihanna has undoubtedly become one of the biggest artists on the planet with a songbook of number one hits from 'Umbrella' to 'S&M', her mark on the pop industry is a force to be reckoned with. The controversial music video for 'Pour it Up' featured Rihanna on a throne whilst she was surrounded by videos of pole dancers and people twerking. Rihanna heavily uses sex to sell her music as a vast majority of her videos feature the artist dancing provocatively, dressed suggestively (if wearing anything) and singing lyrics with sexually aggressive meanings. She is originally from Barbados and creates a negative representation for Barbados and women as she uses her body in order to market herself, it also creates the impression that Barbados perhaps has an apt for creating people with low morals, or sex driven women. On the other hand Rihanna has become a global icon and is again proud of her routes therefore a positive representation is viewed as Rihanna is a massively successful person and is driven to succeed - qualities which a good role model has.
Friday 7 March 2014
Group Task on Representation - Baby Faced Brides
Baby Faced Brides
The show falls under the information category as is it a documentary showing the lives of teenage brides. It documents the transition of childhood to adulthood and the idea of modern marriage in British society. The target audience for this program would be women between the ages of 25-40 as it is a documentary and teenagers would be less willing to watch it, but also as marriage is typically viewed as a 'female' activity.
Age
As the show is called 'Baby Faced Brides', the people on the show are within the teenage age range, predominantly 17-19. The show uses close ups of the casts faces to emphasise their youth and show imperfections like acne that is a common sign of puberty, the braces again common at the teenage age gap which again emphasises the casts youth. The first couple are seen raising a child, however the male fiance is not the babies father which has the suggestion that the mother is not responsible or perhaps mature enough to make adult decisions - as she would have been categorised as a teenage mother, but also by having the baby it would have greatly effected her education. The first couple fit the stereotypical teenage couple as they have a child and seem to disregard society and contrast with the ideal suburban family. The audience could make the assumption that both teenagers are on benefits and have an underclass background as a job is not mentioned - but also as the male took a ring previously owned by his mother as opposed to spending money on an engagement. The way the male explains the proposal also emphasises the stereotype that teenagers are reckless as he proposed whilst drunk - suggesting that it perhaps wasn't in the right state to make justified decisions. The male in the first couple has the contrast with the female as he shows that he doesn't perhaps care as much as she does about the wedding. The second couple contrast with the stereotypical teenage couple as they appear to be more mature and think more rationally than the first couple. They also appear to take more pride in their appearance, the show features a heavy amount of two shots to show the couple together and how close they are - with the hugging and kissing emphasising the romantic aspect of the show. The third bride chooses to get married in her prom dress which again shows a clear sign of how young she is and the financial struggles at a young age.
Gender
The females in the show are represented as the ones that want to take control of the wedding planning as it would be considered to be a 'feminine' activity. Whereas the males are represented as going along with what the bride decides, as if the male doesn't care about the planning aspect of the wedding - as typically planning a wedding isn't considered to be a male task. The females on their wedding day all wear a dress which is predominantly traditional attire for females at a wedding. The males all wore suits which again is a traditional garment for males at a wedding. White symbolises purity, which would contrast with the first bride as she has had a baby, therefore there was a traditional element in the wedding, this generally being the only traditional aspect of the ceremony.
Ethnicity
The Ethnicity in the program is White British. They are represented in a negative way, this could reflect on their class as well as they are all of an underclass nature. They try to save money where they can, for example one couple have recycled a ring used by the groom's mother. The audience could judge them in different ways, for example as they are underclass and obviously have to keep to a tight budget. The audience could assume that both of them are to lazy to get a job and pay for themselves, this is a stereotype of young British people. However, the girl with pink hair had a child at 15, now the child is 2 years of age, she doesn't really have much choice to get a job as she has to look after her child. This would also lead to audience to judge her and they would have thoughts involving her not being mature enough and making a big mistake. This could open another debate, that stereotypically young, underclass white British tend to be on low-pay jobs or take advantage of the welfare system. A statistic from the NHS in 2010 about teenage pregnancy said that white British girls aged between 13-19 had the highest rate of birth (57.4%) compared to other ethnicities such as Black British which accounts for Caribbean and African (49.1%) or Asian British and other, which accounts for Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian etc. (8.3%). This is is reflected in the program as the girl with pink hair has had a child at 15. This looks poorly on the white British ethnicity.
The show falls under the information category as is it a documentary showing the lives of teenage brides. It documents the transition of childhood to adulthood and the idea of modern marriage in British society. The target audience for this program would be women between the ages of 25-40 as it is a documentary and teenagers would be less willing to watch it, but also as marriage is typically viewed as a 'female' activity.
Age
As the show is called 'Baby Faced Brides', the people on the show are within the teenage age range, predominantly 17-19. The show uses close ups of the casts faces to emphasise their youth and show imperfections like acne that is a common sign of puberty, the braces again common at the teenage age gap which again emphasises the casts youth. The first couple are seen raising a child, however the male fiance is not the babies father which has the suggestion that the mother is not responsible or perhaps mature enough to make adult decisions - as she would have been categorised as a teenage mother, but also by having the baby it would have greatly effected her education. The first couple fit the stereotypical teenage couple as they have a child and seem to disregard society and contrast with the ideal suburban family. The audience could make the assumption that both teenagers are on benefits and have an underclass background as a job is not mentioned - but also as the male took a ring previously owned by his mother as opposed to spending money on an engagement. The way the male explains the proposal also emphasises the stereotype that teenagers are reckless as he proposed whilst drunk - suggesting that it perhaps wasn't in the right state to make justified decisions. The male in the first couple has the contrast with the female as he shows that he doesn't perhaps care as much as she does about the wedding. The second couple contrast with the stereotypical teenage couple as they appear to be more mature and think more rationally than the first couple. They also appear to take more pride in their appearance, the show features a heavy amount of two shots to show the couple together and how close they are - with the hugging and kissing emphasising the romantic aspect of the show. The third bride chooses to get married in her prom dress which again shows a clear sign of how young she is and the financial struggles at a young age.
Gender
The females in the show are represented as the ones that want to take control of the wedding planning as it would be considered to be a 'feminine' activity. Whereas the males are represented as going along with what the bride decides, as if the male doesn't care about the planning aspect of the wedding - as typically planning a wedding isn't considered to be a male task. The females on their wedding day all wear a dress which is predominantly traditional attire for females at a wedding. The males all wore suits which again is a traditional garment for males at a wedding. White symbolises purity, which would contrast with the first bride as she has had a baby, therefore there was a traditional element in the wedding, this generally being the only traditional aspect of the ceremony.
Ethnicity
The Ethnicity in the program is White British. They are represented in a negative way, this could reflect on their class as well as they are all of an underclass nature. They try to save money where they can, for example one couple have recycled a ring used by the groom's mother. The audience could judge them in different ways, for example as they are underclass and obviously have to keep to a tight budget. The audience could assume that both of them are to lazy to get a job and pay for themselves, this is a stereotype of young British people. However, the girl with pink hair had a child at 15, now the child is 2 years of age, she doesn't really have much choice to get a job as she has to look after her child. This would also lead to audience to judge her and they would have thoughts involving her not being mature enough and making a big mistake. This could open another debate, that stereotypically young, underclass white British tend to be on low-pay jobs or take advantage of the welfare system. A statistic from the NHS in 2010 about teenage pregnancy said that white British girls aged between 13-19 had the highest rate of birth (57.4%) compared to other ethnicities such as Black British which accounts for Caribbean and African (49.1%) or Asian British and other, which accounts for Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Indian etc. (8.3%). This is is reflected in the program as the girl with pink hair has had a child at 15. This looks poorly on the white British ethnicity.
Saturday 1 March 2014
Group Analysis of Men in Media
GQ magazine aims towards men due to the content and title being an acronym for 'Gentleman's Quarterly', the magazine aims to bring men the latest information in fashion for men and sex/relationship advice. The coverlines are specifically male orientated for example; 'Sex meet the man whose paid to turn women on' and 'The Hawaiian shirt, a style epiphany'. Andrew Garfield is a well established actor who shows a balance of street style and sophistication - which suggests that the reader can achieve his look after reading the magazine. By featuring the coverline 'Fly guy, Andrew Garfield is Spider-man just way cooler' which suggests that he is the average guy, but a cool guy who men would aspire to be. He fits the stereotypical male model appearance as he has a element of sophistication intertwined with his masculinity. The coverlines are a maroon and gold colour which has the connotations of luxury which suggests that the magazine is a must have item of wealth. The high key lighting creates the impression that he is the star and centre of attention, but also makes the suits colour more dominant. The coverline at the bottom of the cover 'She won't like GQ's Agony Uncle Rod Liddle, but you will' again showing the predominant audience is males. The masthead is in a gold colour again suggesting that it is a luxury magazine, Andrews eyes are directly in line with the masthead to engage the audience.
Mens Health is the dominating mens fitness magazine, it specialises in mens health and fitness. The main image features internationally known football player/celebrity David Beckham who is now categorised as a 'new man' due to his strong paternal role. The masthead indicates who the magazine is aimed at, with the cover lines which support the male dominated audience; '27 flat belly power-foods' and 'Sculpted abs made easy?'. By having David Beckham on the cover it gives an idea of the desired man who 'has it all', the cover model always appears either shirtless, or in a tight t shirt to emphasise their physique, linking to the body building aspect of the magazine. The white t shirt suggests purity and cleanliness which contrasts with the jet black tattoos on his arms, suggesting that you can be masculine and feminine. The coverlines are red and black which are simplistic yet straight to the point and are considered to be 'masculine', the capitals make the language seem more of a command or like it's being shouted - '5 RED HOT SEX SECRETS' and 'GET BACK INTO SHAPE'. The high key lighting again shows a very clean image, suggesting that this magazine will offer the reader a fresh start, but also contrasts with the black tattoos. Davids eyes are directly aligned with the masthead again to engage the audience to buy the magazine.
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