Intro to Media theory

Tuesday 5th September 2023

Media Theory: The Power Of The Media

LO: to identify examples of the media's power. To discuss how the media can influence the audience

What interests you?

video games

music

some TV

social media (mainly youtube)

Wrestling - AEW

What media do you like?

Youtube videos

music

games

What media do you watch?

youtubers (8bitryan, Bazisnotreal, Dawko,  Razzbowski)

Wrestling on FITE tv - AEW

horror games

What Music do you listen to?

Mainly Rock, Hard Rock and Metal but sometimes a range of genres.

Where do you get your news from?

Social Media

Friends/family

Tweet:

Through drinking Fuldi's blodapelsin drink, I immediately felt the pure Swedish craftman ship flooding through my veins.

Monday 11th September 2023

Media Theory: Stranger Things

L/O: to analyse using the theoretical framework; To critically apply the theoretical framework to texts

Media Language:

The way the media communicates meaning through Mise-En-Scene; Camera Work, Editing, Sound

Typography, Colour Palette, layout, etc.

Media Industry:

The processes gone through to create a piece of media.

Media Audiences:

The target audience of a piece of media.

Media Representations:

How different groups of people are represented in the media. I.e under/over represented; represented positively or negatively; Represented poorly or represented well.

Contexts:

Stranger Things:

Media Language:

Darker environment with flashing lights: scary/unsettling, don't know what could be there. plays into fears of the dark

Sound: Quiet, broken by sudden loud sounds. Silence builds tension

Mise-En-Scene: 80's clothing, decor and music, Setting = sci-fi horror

Representations:

One black character, majority white characters, all male. -80's social context

Police chief: high in power, dismissive to will being missing.

Police: Smoking, Lazy, unsupportive

Bias to lgbtq+ - "He's missing", father used to call him "queer"

Joyce -single mom.

Audience:

younger/teenage protagonists - younger/teenage audience

Industry:

High production value - good actors, believable 80's set.

Contexts:

Social: society views police department as powerful in 1980's - Political

Men in control - Patriarchy - 80's social contexts

Tuesday 12th September 2023

Bricolage: do-it-yourself tinkering process where something new is made out of other things.

Lack of verisimilitude: lack of similarity to the truth

Fragmented Narrative: A narrative that has been broken into pieces.

Self-Reflexivity: A process that makes the audience aware of the film making process.

Society is built around 'representations' of itself, and these representations control how we think and act.

Reality - Police being unsupportive, 

Is postmodern

Features:

Bricolage, Fragmented Narrative,

One narrative is realistic: Will going missing, Distraught single mother, dismissive police

Other is a simulacra: Government Lab experiments, Sci-Fi creatures + slime.

Hyperreal: everything, as it isn't real and is actually a film set.

Parody of a police station: donuts, lazy officers.

Stranger things is an example of a post-modern text. We can see this through the use of a Fragmented Narrative, which shows both a simulacra of reality and a realistic representation of reality. The first narrative shows us the story of Will Byers going missing, which shows how horrible life in the 80's was. We see Will's distraught mother, who is represented as a single mother, struggling to hold herself together as she convinces the police to help her find her son. We see a Parody of a police station, with lazy police officers, a dismissive and biased police chief and objects which are representations of these things, such as hot drinks, donuts and cigarettes. However, in the second narrative, we see a simulacra of a reality where the government are experimenting on a young girl (11) and are creating sci-fi creatures. However, both of these narratives support Baudrillard's theories, as neither are real, but are representations of conspiracy theories/the reality.

HOMEWORK:

Baudrillard's Theory:

Spiderman No-Way-Home:

Reality: School/Normal Life

Simulacra: Superheroes/Supervillains

-Loss Of Reality

-Lack Of Versimilitude

-Intertextual References:

past Spiderman movies: character lines & Characters

Monday 18th September 2023

Media Theory:  Music as protest: Hip Hop and Beyond

L/O: to investigate the principles behind theories; to discuss various theories; to critically apply theory to texts.

Representation is how a particular person/group of people/ideas etc. are presented/portrayed in the media.

Represented as threatening and wealthy.

This is shown by their serious expressions, dark clothing and heavy chains ("bling") and branded clothing.

Rose:

Rap music criticises Racial injustice in society, however it maintains misogynistic views of women, specifically black women.

Whodini - escape (I need a break)

Talking about being mistreated in the workplace

Not only talking about racism, "if your girl or man ain't treating you right" - Abusive relationships, abuse from both men and women.

Most Rap songs talk about sex, coming from a lower class background and relationships.

1) TX2

3) Challenges the American system - Homophobia, Religious Trauma/Abuse from religions, Older people discussing things they don't fully understand.

4) 

5)

6)

Tuesday 19th September 2023

Media Theory: RuPaul and Identity:

L/O: to investigate the theoretical framework in a text

1) Identity is who or what you feel like you are.

2) A person's identity can be made up of their sexuality, gender, sex, race, personality etc.

3) An audience are the people who consume media.

Gauntlett:

Representations of our identity are broader in our current society.

Butler:

Gender 'norms' are harmful for those in society who do not fit the fixed, old fashioned ideas of the roles of each sex.

RuPaul shows fluidity through presenting as more masculine backstage with a lack of hair and fashionable dress and then presenting as feminine through wearing long dresses and extravagant wigs

Gender Stereotypes are both reinforced and subverted in RuPaul's Drag race. Stereotypes are subverted, as they are AMAB and wearing stereotypically feminine items. However it implies that these are the things you have to do to be feminine

The drag artists are free to represent themselves and their identities through their clothing and make-up. The audience are also able to express themselves through watching it.

Monday 25th September 2023

Media Theory: Gender and Bond

L/O: to investigate the theoretical framework in a set text; To discuss various theories; to critically apply theory to texts

Mise-en-Scene:

Suit - wealthy, formal, important

Dim-Lighting - Secretive, suspicious

Sparkly two-piece dress? - sexual/intimate, revealing, shows a lot of skin

objectifies the dancer, makes james bond look respectable 

Camerawork:

Low angle - power, authorative, James Bond is powerful.

Female- Body shot, shows her body, objectifies her.

Hand-held camera in fight scene, seems realistic

Editing:

jump cuts to other men staring at the dancer, objectifies her and makes her seem like a sexual objwect/prize rather than a person

Sound:

traditional music played in background, sets scene of traditional pub, Room is quiet as the men stare at the dancer. music turns romantic when the dancer is alone with bonds

Dialogue: talks about her previous partners, makes her seem like she is only worth something if she is used in a sexual/romantic manner. Exotic, French accent

Representation:

Objectifies the dancer, stereotypically feminine. Fearful during the fight. Used in a sexual/romantic way.

1970's stereotypes for women. Helpless, provocative. forgets name of previous partner - unintelligent/sleeps around a lot. Marginalised to exotic women.

Van Zoonen:

Van Zoonen applies as the dancer is portrayed as a sexual prize. She is not given a name and is displayed in a provocative manner - wearing sexual clothing that shows a lot of skin.

Laura Mulvey:

Kaplan: 1983 Women and film:

Smelik:

In James Bond: The Man With The Golden Gun, women are presented in a sexual, objectified manner. We can see this in the belly dancer scene, where the woman is seen wearing provocative clothing, and portrayed as a sexual prize.she is not given a name, and is simply known as the dancer, which implies that she is only useful for her body and the information she has. The provocative clothing barely covers the dancer, leaving her skin exposed for the gaze of the onlooking men. Her dancing also presents her as an object, as she seems to be making sexual advances towards Bond. Furthermore, the music changes to a slow, sensual son when she is alone & kissing Bond. Whilst she is in the scene, the camera shots tend to focus on her body, and cut out her head, making her body seem like the most important part of her in the scene. This establishes gender roles presented in the 1970's, as it infers that women are meant to be viewed as objects for men. This supports Van Zoonen's theory, as she is emphasised in a stereotypically feminine way for a woman in the context of the 1970's. This also supports Mulvey's theory as she is positioned in favour of the male gaze, as she is weak and has no power/control over the situation, and is shown as an exotic woman. 

This is contrasted by the representation of Bond/the other men in the scene. Bond is clean shaven and is completely covered up in a suit. He is presented in a well respected a manner, and is portrayed as wealthy, formal and important. When he is in shot, a low angle shot is used, implying that he is powerful and in control.

In James Bond: The Man With The Golden Gun, women are presented in an objectified manner. We can see this in the scene when Miss Anders is asking Bond to kill someone in return for her body/ anything else he requires. This portrays her as an offering/sex prize. This establishes gender roles in the 1970's, as it infers that women are objects for men. This supports Smeliks theory, as she betrays her boyfriend, who is a villain, and joins Bond in a romantic way. This also supports Kaplan's theory, as she loses her femininity when she is tlaking with Bond.

Tuesday 26th September 2023

Media Theory: Gender and Bond Beyond

L/O: to investigate the theoretical framework in particular representation in media texts; to discuss various gender theories and critically apply theory to texts

Bell Hooks:

Oppression is not only contributed to by gender, but by sexuality, race and class etc.

Scene 1:

Bond in control/dominant. Female character weak, following Bond.

Female character: stereotypically feminine, wearing dress and make-up. Sexual object to Bond. Dress: not a costume, presents her sexually.

Bond: Suited up in seconds, Confident, In Control. Suit - Smart, Wealthy, Controlling.

Performance: Bond: Strong, Leader, Patriarchal-ideology. Female: Follows bond - patriarchal-ideology. Weak, Stereotypically feminine.

Leader/Follower

Low Angle shot of Bond, presents him as dominant & In control.

Dialogue: she depends on him.

Scene 2:

Describes vehicle as "she" - controlling women.

Vehicles in scene are stereotypically masculine vehicles. Grey/Blue colours - masculine.

Mostly male characters, men in control.

Intimidates the widow

Uses her sexually for information - objectification.

Leaves her when he gets what he needs.

Performance: Widow is weaker than Bond, submits to him easily. Bond: Dominant, in control Patriarchal ideology.

Mise-En-Scene: Cars, Suits, Gadgets - Rich, masculine.

Dress, Corset: stereotypically feminine, revealing.

Widow: Covered face shows that her face is not important to Bond. Lack of emotion: Cold

Gender Performance in this text portrays men as powerful and dominant. This is seen when Bond is in the underground bunker with his cars and gadgets. He, as well as the other males in the scene, is wearing a suit. This infers that he is wealthy, powerful and well respected. The darker colour of the suit is stereotypically masculine, further supporting these inferences. In addition, the Vehicles in this scene are stereotypically masculine-aligned. The Grey/Blue paint is stereotypically masculine and when paired with the brand of the car implies that Bond is rich and powerful. Furthermore, Bond taps in to Patriarchal Ideology in order to support these portrayals. 

Monday 2nd October 2023

Media Theory: Race

L/O: to investigate the stereotypes of race in texts; to discuss the race theories and to critically apply theory to texts

The characters are presented as intimidating and almost tribal. Traditional African Clothing. Matching Armour, Weapons, colours, shaved heads. Prepared for a fight. Presented as powerful 

Accurate to Tribal African Clothing. Corsets, traditional dress. Traditional face/body paint. Piercings. Presented as Powerful. Music and Dancing. Traditional spears/weapons. Embracing Culture. Community presented as close and welcoming. Loving society of people. Traditional chants/music.

Women presented as equal. Positive representation.

Negative:

Spears- primitive, violent

Tribal Costume - mixed cultures

Not all Africans are represented

Accents: hybrid of accents, not from a specific country, from the entirety of the continent.

Women and children being taken- Negative view of militia and women + children as victims - child soldiers

Inaccurate representation of African land - no cities other than the Wakandan metropolis.

Tuesday 3rd October 2023

Hall:

• Representation in media shows both true and false representations of reality.
• media uses representation to show their view of reality and present different stereotypes in order to present their own ideologies.
• Not one true meaning - everything looks different depending on how you look at it.

Levi Strauss:

Strauss:

Feminine vs Masculine: Gamora in revealing, tight clothes with long coloured hair vs Peter Quill covered up with short stereotypically masculine hair. Gamora is sexualised whilst Peter Quill, Drax and Groot are portrayed as the strong, muscular hero. Rocket Raccoon portrayed as violent

Good in foreground vs bad in background: Good in bright colours, determined heroic expressions. Bad in dark colours, cant see expressions. Good portrayed as strong, brave heroes using weapons whilst villains are cowardly for not showing their faces and using advanced technology

Hall:

Stereotypes

Women as feminine and beautiful, men as muscular and strong. Rocket - male: seems violent

Alvarado's Theory:

Ethnic Minority characters are portrayed in 4 different ways:

To be pitied:

To be feared:

As Exotic/Different:

For Comedic Value:

Black Panther presents ethnic minority characters as Exotic/Different. This supports Alvarado's theory that ethnic minorities are only ever presented in 4 different ways. We can see this through the Mise-En-Scene, as the characters are seen wearing traditional African clothing, with body/face paint and piercings. The tribal costumes + traditional weapons (spears) imply that they are primitive and violent, unlike the stereotypical "civilised" society. Black Panther takes place in 2016, which implies that the Wakandan society has not moved forward from their traditional past. Furthermore, the traditional chants and dances seen when T'Challa is crowned king portray the stereotypes of a tribal society.

Black Panther portrays both Good and Bad. This supports Levi Strauss' theory of meaning being dependant on binary opposition. The villain characters are white/light skinned, which portrays the racial bias in 2016, as white people were depicted as racist and dangerous to black people.

Monday 9th October 2023

Media Theory: Ideologies.

L/O: to investigate how representation can produce ideologies; to discuss various theories; to critically apply theory to texts.

1) Military, War, Fighting, Natural/Cool Colour Palette - army camouflage colours.

2) man has an action packed past, excited 

Todorov's Theory - Narratology:

Key elements to a narrative:

-Equilibrium

-Disruption

-Recognition of Disruption

-Attempt to solve

-New Equilibrium.

faded combination of both clips: shows that the war is always present with him

Fan -> Helicopter + sound of helicopter + fan: makes it seem like he cannot escape the war even when he is home.

Shows all the negative effects that the war had on the man - screaming in pain, punching mirror, expecting to wake up in the forest - makes the war seem bad. He has PTSD, he is prone to violent outbursts, drinks alcohol, smokes, drug usage.

Repeated motif of fire & explosions - war - fire always shown in his head, his mind is full of war and fear. PTSD

Lost his marriage with his wife - Photo - burns it with the cigarette, Letter - implies regret, hatred

Mentally he is in two worlds - PTSD, losing control, can't escape the war

Apocalypse Now:

Dominant reading: war is bad, harmful and damaging to people, causes PTSD

Negotiated reading: war is bad, but sometimes it has to happen

Oppositional reading: war is good, people with PTSD enjoyed the war.

Fish Tank:

Stereotyped: Angry, British Teenager, mad at her mom, blames everyone but herself, Casual Sports clothing,

Living on a council estate.

Male controlling her, stereotypical, cannot control herself

Stereotypical Low Socio-Economic Group in Britain

Mom - messy, cigarette addiction, clothing. Sleeping around.

1) In Apocalypse Now, we see the ideology of a stereotypical man who has returned from war. This is shown through the Mise-En-Scene. He has tanned skin from being out in the sun, and is prone to aggressive outbursts, addiction, and other symptoms of PTSD. Through the man punching a mirror and screaming in pain, we can see that he commonly has aggressive outbursts. We can also see that he acts in an a manic and sporadic way, as we see him 'dancing' alongside his aggressive bouts. We see a clip of him burning a picture of his ex-wife with a cigarette, implying that he shows regret and anger towards his past marriage, perhaps because of it happening after the war or for other marriage problems. The editing used also shows his unstable mentality. The faded combination of the clips showing his face alongside the clips showing the war in the forest shows that the war is always present with him. The clips of fire and explosion are almost always shown alongside his face, implying that the fire and war is always inside his head, almost controlling his life. This supports Hall's theory, as he is presented in an almost harmful, stereotypical way. 

Tuesday 10th October 2023

Media Theory: Masculinity:

L/O: to investigate how representations of masculinity differ; to discuss various theories of masculinity; to critically apply theory to texts and explore the impact of the representations.

Representations:

Stereotypes for men - muscular build, engaging in dangerous activities such as hanging off a cliff.

Masculinity is defined as having a strong, muscular body and through acting in a daring way, such as hanging off a cliff

Implies that the audience expects all men to be daring, brave and strong. Being outside, down to earth, traditional.

Masculinity is presented as dominating, violent and disciplinary in the 1960's advertisements. We can see this through the image of the man hitting the woman. This implies that men had to be in control of their partner in order to be a "real man", it also implies that women were meant to submit to their partners, and had to be hurt if they did not do as they were asked to do.

In the diet coke advertisement, masculinity is presented in a satirical way, through reversing the roles of men and women. The man is objectified by the women, as he is only looked at for his body - which is extremely muscular and slim (which is helped by the product). Furthermore, the women are also quite thin, implying that both genders are meant to be slim.

The camera angles imply that the women are better than the men.  They are looked at in high angles, implying that they are powerful and important. The men are looked at with low angles, implying that they are weaker, less intelligent and unimportant. This is supported through the jobs allocated to each gender. The women are working in an office job, implying that they are the intelligent breadwinners, and the men are working in a construction site, implying that they are unintelligent. This supports Barthes theory. The denotations of workers on  a construction site would be workers with heavy object and tools. The connotations would be that the workers are muscular, likely male, but not as intelligent. This creates the myth of an ideological meaning that the men are hard workers who lift heavy objects.

Barthes - Semiology:

men presented as muscular. Tattoos - connotes him to be threatening.

Strong: holding the trophy up with one hand - demonstrating his strength.

Cleanly waxed - organised, clean

Men represented as champions/winners

Shirtless - showing off muscles/strength

Clouds in the background - heavenly implications, he is like a god. Above everyone else.

Silver, Black, Blue colour palette - Masculine colours.

Hall's theory - stereotypes. Identity: men presented as muscular, strong.

Monday 30th October 2023

Media Theory: Assessment

L/O: to demonstrate knowledge of media theories; to apply media theory to texts; to critically explore a text using media theory.

Stranger Things E1

Notes:

Representation:

Younger characters - represented as reckless - racing on bikes

Older Police Chief - represented as lazy/careless - half dressed, smoking a cigarette

Police force - represented as Lazy, not doing their jobs properly. "mornings are for coffee and contemplation"

Bullies - stereotypical, making fun of appearance.

Nancy - Older, well educated

Steve - stereotypically strong jock type character

Media Lang:

Mise-En-Scene - clothes: Will is young, wearing teens clothes

Industry:

Audience:

younger audience - younger characters, kids toys - bikes

Intertextual reference - ET bikes

Context: police force disliked by many

Barthes theory:

Police uniform -

Denotation: work uniform

Connotation: stereotypically masculine job

Myth: not all police officers are male

Levi Strauss:

Hall:

 Nancy presented as

1)

I believe that representations of certain character types (such as age, gender, profession and class)  are able to be interpreted Quite differently.

 We can see this in Stranger Things through the representation of the police force. When they are first shown, we see the police chief "hopper". His home is messy, and he is presented as an extremely disorganised character. Through him waking up half dressed and immediately taking a cigarette out to smoke, we see that he is extremely lazy. This is reinforced by historical contexts, as the police department were not well liked or trusted at the time. We see him put on his complete work uniform, which has many different connotations. This supports Barthes Theory: the denotations of the police uniform are that the wearer is a part of the police force, whilst the connotations of police uniforms vary. One connotation of uniform implies that police officers are Lazy, and that the do not do their jobs properly; another connotation is that Police Officers are brave protectors of the public and the justice system. However, this creates myths, as not all officers are Hard workers, but not all officers are Lazy. This shows that audiences are able to interpret representations in different ways, as they may view the police department in different ways. This is also reinforced later in the episode, as we see the officers in the police station laying back with their feet on the tables and playing cards. During this scene, Hopper says the line "mornings are for coffee and contemplation", dismissing both his secretary and Joyce's problem. This piece of dialogue reinforces the connotation and stereotype that the police force are lazy and do not do their work. It also supports the 1980's contexts of men being the more dominant gender, ignoring the struggles of women in society.

In long form TV dramas such as Stranger Things, gender is presented in both a stereotypical and anti-stereotypical way. We can see this through the family dynamics of Will Byer's Family. Will's Older brother seems to take the motherly role in the family, as he is seen making breakfast in the kitchen as well as being the one designated the role of waking Will up. These are jobs usually given to the mother in traditional stereotypes. In contrast, Will's mother is the one working her job and bringing home money to keep the family going. This is a role usually given to the father in traditional stereotypes. This opposes 1980's stereotypes, as men were usually supposed to be the breadwinners of the family. However, later in the episode will's mother seems to slip back into a stereotypically feminine role, as she is distraught and emotional when trying to convince the police to find her son. This supports Levi Strauss' theory of binary opposition, shown through Masculinity/Femininity. The audience may interpret this representation in a positive way, as they may want to see this subversion of traditional stereotypes, however other audience members may be unhappy with the produces straying away form conformity in society.

In Stranger Things, Class is represented in contrasting ways. The lower class, such as Will's family, are shown to be struggling with a low income. We can see this when Will's brother takes up another shift whilst his mother is working because he "felt they needed the extra money". This shows that will's family are barely sufficing with the income they currently have. We can also see this through Mise-En-Scene, as their clothes seem informal and broken.

In Stranger Things, age is represented in a stereotypical way. The younger characters (Will, Lucas, Dustin) are represented as reckless teens. We see this when they are 'racing' home on their bikes. This will allow the teen audience to relate to these characters in particular, and the older audience will remember when they were that age. 

To conclude, representations in stranger things are able to be interpreted quite differently.

UNFINISHED

Monday 6th November 2023

DIRT

L/O: to reflect on areas to improve; to improve application of media theory; to improve critical exploration of a text using theoretical framework.

T: try to link the audience to the representations you are addressing and the contexts before moving on to the alternative interpretation that could be seen.

In Stranger Things, the representations vary significantly, which we can see through their representation of different classes. We can see this through the contrast of Will's working class family and Mike's middle class family. Firstly,Will's family are shown to be struggling financially. We can see this through the Mise-En-Scene of Will's Lower class, suburban, trailer-like house. We also hear through diegetic dialogue that Will's brother took up another shift because he felt they needed the "extra money". They are represented as a stereotypical lower class family, with a single mother who attempts to take on the father & mother figure, and an older brother who has to take on the motherly role. This does not line up with the stereotypical views of a family in the 80's, as many viewed a family to have both a father and a mother. In contrast, we see that Mike's family have a larger, more sustainable income as seen through the Mise-En-Scene of a stereotypical, dream American house. They are represented as a stereotypical nuclear family, with a mum, a dad and three children. This connotes that they have a large income and are able to care for themselves. This aligns with the stereotypical views of a family in the 1980's. The contrast in family types allows the audience to relate to different characters, as many will have different family dynamics. These link to Levi Strauss' theory of binary opposition, as both lower and middle classes are shown. This also links to Gauntlett's theory, as different identities are shown through lower and middle classes.

Media Language

Audience

Representation

Context

Theory