Mrs Doubtfire Assessment with corrections:

The long shot of Mrs Doubtfire on the bus creates humour; this is humorous because the bus driver is checking out Mrs Doubtfire and ironic for the audience as we already know that she is a man.  The next shot is again a long shot of Mrs Doubtfire playing football with her son, there is also use of tracking shot as the camera follows her while playing, this would force us to identify and remember that Mrs Doubtfire is actually a man. The sound bridge of the non-diegetic song Dude Looks Like A Lady by Aerosmith is parallel to this shot as it also forces the audience to focus on the fact that Daniel and Mrs Doubtfire are the same people. Throughout all of the shots Mrs Doubtfire/Daniel is position in the centre of the shot which would focus on the fact that he is the centre of attention in the text.
There is then an extreme long shot of Mrs Doubfire and the children on bikes in the park which connotes the whole ideal family bonding scene. The shot of Mrs Doubtfire dancing while she is cleaning with the vacuum, broom etc. would follow the conventional themes of a family comedy. Although Daniel is inside his own house with the Doubtfire costume and mask on the table he still seems to be focussing on being Mrs Doubtfire as he is taking notes on a cooking show; this would show the serious change that the protagonist is going through. The medium shot of Mrs Doubtfire reading to Natalie tilts to show both of the characters which would again connote family bonding which would promote positive values of family life. The setting of Daniel’s home is stereotypical for men as it is untidy, he is drinking beer with his dirty feet on the table. The setting in which we see Mrs Doubtfire in the Hillards home is tidy and quite which is the opposite to Mrs Doubtfire’s personality; the fact that everything else in the shot is furniture and not moving draws our attention towards Mrs Doubtfire dancing. 
The transition between every shot is a straight cut which is parallel to the fast paced rock and roll style music.  The lighting of the shots indoors of Mrs Doubtfire dancing is high-key lighting to appear as if the light is realistic in the scene and also emphasises the happy and fun mood for the audience too.There is a point of view shot where we see Miranda and Stuart back from a date; in the shot reverse shot Mrs Doubtfire waves at Stuart however decides to stick up her middle finger straight after, the use of this action code clearly shows us the negativity that Stuart has as Daniel still believes that Stuart is the reason that his family is drifting apart from him which is ironic as it was his own immaturity that is the reason behind the problems.
There is use of graphic matching as we see in the extreme long shot of the building panning downwards which then jumps to a tracking shot of Mrs Doubtfire on that same road; the building and Mrs Doubtfire would put emphasise on the ‘Dude looks like a lady’ as both have the shape of a woman’s figure.  Throughout the different shots we see Mrs Doubtfire's facial expression is mostly happy or frustrated which would connote the confusion between the two extreme characters and the extreme emotions.  Although in the shots we see Mrs Doubtfire, we actually see Daniel's body language being portrayed; for example the swearing in the meduim shot of Mrs Doubtfire. Mrs Doubtfire's costume is tidy and age - appropriate which would connote maturity and responsibility; however Daniel's costume is a mess which would reflect his chaotic state of mind as he has two identities.  

The scene is successful as it achieves the humour and irony of the two characters being shown at the same time; this would appeal to the target audience of the text as they would be interested in the transition between Daniel being the immature, flamboyant character to the sensitive and mature character through the use of Mrs Doubtfire’s identity.

www: Impressive analysis, Sonam! You write in a fluent style, incorporating media language & concepts well.

ebi: You included a conclusion- summarising key point, include one last my or one, and an evaluation ( how successful) of the scene.

Self - Evaluation

a: Comment on each of the following, giving yourself a grade with an explanation outlining why:

• Attainment = 2 - I feel as though I have achieved a good grade in my essay and hopefully that will count towards my interim.
• Effort = 3 - I haven't exactly put the effort that I should have as I have been concentrating on my other subjects too much.
• Punctuality = 2 - Usually I don't miss lessons but because of my recent illness I missed nearly a week of school which I know could effect my understanding in lesson.
• Submission and quality of homework = 3 Sometimes my quality of homework is not as good as it was when I first started off, again due to the fact I've been paying attention to my other subjects.
• Ability to work independently = 2 - I can work independently, once I actually understand my work.
• Quality of writing = 2 - I'm hoping that my quality of writing is good.
• Organisation of blog = 3 - I am really bad at organisation, honestly.
• Oral contributions in class = 3 - Sometimes I don't contribute as much as I used to.

b. Make a list of three achievements (www) and three targets/areas for improvement (ebi) over the next half-term.

www:

1: I have been able to remember and actually understand the work in lessons, usually this is not the case.

2: I am better at constructing my answer for essays, other questions etc.

3: I have better concentration is class.

ebi: 

1: If I put more effort in to the production of my work 

2: If I would try to contribute in lessons more often

3: If I used more terminology in my writing and phrased it correctly.

Mrs Doubtfire essay

The long shot of Mrs Doubtfire on the bus creates humour; this is humorous because the bus driver is checking out Mrs Doubtfire and irony for the audience as we already know that she is a man.  The next shot is again a long shot of Mrs Doubtfire playing football with her son, there is also use of tracking shot as the camera follows her while playing, this would force us to identify and remember that Mrs Doubtfire is actually a man. The sound bridge of the non-digetic song Dude Looks Like A Lady by Aerosmith is parallel to this shot as it also forces the audience to focus on the fact that Daniel and Mrs Doubtfire are the same people. Throughout all of the shots Mrs Doubtfire/Daniel is position in the centre of the shot which would focus on the fact that he is the centre of attention in the text.

There is then an extreme long shot of Mrs Doubfire and the children on bikes in the park which connotes the whole ideal family bonding scene. The shot of Mrs Doubtfire dancing while she is cleaning with the vacuum, broom etc. would follow the conventional themes of a family comedy. Although Daniel is inside his own house with the Doubtfire costume and mask on the table he still seems to be focussing on being Mrs Doubtfire as he is taking notes on a cooking show; this would show the serious change that the protagonist is going through. The medium shot of Mrs Doubtfire reading to Natalie tilts to show both of the characters which would again connote family bonding which would promote positive values of family life. The setting of Daniel’s home is stereotypical for men as it is untidy, he is drinking beer with his dirty feet on the table. The setting in which we see Mrs Doubtfire in the Hillards home is tidy and quite which is the opposite to Mrs Doubtfire’s personality; the fact that everything else in the shot is furniture and not moving draws our attention towards Mrs Doubtfire dancing. 

The transition between every shot is a straight cut which is parallel to the fast paced rock and roll style music.  The lighting of the shots indoors of Mrs Doubtfire dancing is high-key lighting to appear as if the light is realistic in the scene and also emphasises the happy and fun mood for the audience too.There is a point of view shot where we see Miranda and Stuart back from a date; in the verse reverse shot Mrs Doubtfire waves at Stuart however decides to stick up her middle finger straight after, the use of this action code clearly shows us the negativity that Stuart has as Daniel still believes that Stuart is the reason that his family is drifting apart from him which is ironic as it was his own immaturity that is the reason behind the problems.

There is use of graphic matching as we see in the extreme long shot of the building panning downwards which then jumps to a tracking shot of Mrs Doubtfire on that same road; the building and Mrs Doubtfire would put emphasise on the ‘Dude looks like a lady’ as both have the shape of a woman’s figure.  Throughout the different shots we see Mrs Doubtfire's facial expression is mostly happy or frustrated which would connote the confusion between the two extreme characters and the extreme emotions.  Although in the shots we see Mrs Doubtfire, we actually see Daniel's body language being portrayed; for example the swearing in the meduim shot of Mrs Doubtfire. Mrs Doubtfire's costume is tidy and age - appropriate which would connote maturity and responsibility; however Daniel's costume is a mess which would reflect his chaotic state of mind as he has two identities.  

London to Brighton Trailer Analysis

1:  Media Forms- How does the trailer use media language to establish the film's genre?

The use of media language in the trailer establishes the film’s genre as being a raw thriller as it shows a young innocent girl who is forced into prostitution for her survival. The long shot at the beginning of the trailer shows the protagonist homeless inside a tube station; this would connote to the target audience that the protagonist has already led a troubled life at home which she is clearly trying to escape from (the text begins with Todorov’s theory of disequilibrium). Here we see the train being used as an action code for the characters desperation for escape. The protagonist meets a prostitute who is concerned about her condition while smoking a cigarette; the smoke in this shot follows the conventional theme of thriller as there is already some sort of mystery being created through the use of the enigma code of the smoke. The young girl accepts an offer of money in return for some work, there is use of irony in the text as the audience would know that the girl is being lured into prostitution however the innocent protagonist is oblivious to this, considering that she is with a hooker and a pimp. As the medium shot of the girl entering the hotel room the audience see her facial expression as being terrified and the use of an enigma code of her red lipstick which connotes lust, which is obliviously something that the young girl cannot understand as she is not aware of these signs. There is a juxtaposition of the beginning, with the long shot of London and then eventually the tracking shot of the gritty, run down areas of Brighton; this would reflect the protagonist’s transition between the location and lifestyle that she leads. The use of the voice over which says “How often did you get my dad a girl?” “Couple of times, three, four.” “How young?” “She was about 12.” This voice over would also follow the conventional theme thriller as there has been a death which involves the protagonist; the non-digetic sound of the gunshot signifies violence and death. The medium shot of the protagonist and the prostitute being beaten also connotes the violence of the text. When both of the female characters are in the train the young girl asks “Are we going to jail?” and then the close up of the prostitute in low-key lighting connotes deception as there are shadows created around her eyes.

2: Media Representations- How is gender represented in the trailer?

There is a clear division between genders in the trailer as the women are shown to have no real value as humans and the men are shown to be superior through the use of the low angle shots. The males are dominant in the trailer as the pimp decided where the young girl has to provide her service in exchange for money but in the end of the trailer the man seems to be arresting the two females as they have gone against the men’s orders. However the women are not treated with the same respect as the men as they are beaten by the men in the low-key long shot which shows that the men are able to enforce their power over the young girl and the prostitute. The women are represented as inferior as they do not retaliate in the dark scene; this would put emphasise on their position in society being low compared to the men. The young girl is represented as innocent and naïve when she is inside the shady car; in this medium shot there is top lighting on her face which would connote purity as the car is completely dark. The prostitute is portrayed as a caring mother figure towards the protagonist as her facial expression is worried when the girl is forced to have sex with the old man.

The pimp in the trailer is portrayed to be insensitive as he happily offers the protagonist money for sex, later on in the trailer he is shown to still be selfish as he only cares about the money he makes from the women as he can’t even remember how old the girl is. 

Cinematography - Extension Tasks:

1st extract: Pollyanna (1960)

The camera framing of the text consists of Long shots and Medium shots; the long shots are used to connote the difference between the period in which the text is set, 1913, and the time period in which the text was produced, 1960. In the text the medium shot focuses on the way each character reacts to each of the other characters entrance; for example when the Mayor asks Nancy "Nancy what are you staring at?" the use of the medium shot shows her reaction to the other man and the Mayor's questioning. 

The text uses camera movements such as tilt and tracking; the tracking is used in the opening of the text as the children are playing and the young boy makes his way to the train station. This is foreshadowing the fact that this young boy is an important character in the text as the camera focuses purely on his actions and journey within the first 3 minutes. The tilt camera movement is used when the protagonist of the text, Pollyanna, marvels at her new home, this connotes wealth and authority as the manor house is quite grand compared to what the protagonist as been raised in. 

2nd extract: Mrs Doubtfire (1993)

The text uses many different camera framings for example the long shot of when Mrs Doubtfire is dancing whilst cleaning, the medium shot of when she swears through the window and the medium shot of when the protagonist is cooking; these shots all focus on the change that the protagonist has gone throught while he/she has been his own children's nanny. It also focuses on the alternative representation of men being able to nuture their children although the irony is in this extract the children are unaware of the real identity of Mrs Doubtfire. We as the audience still see 'Mrs Doubtfire' behave as a man as well as doing all the supposedly female jobs this is also emphasised with the non-digetic sound of the Aerosmith song "Dude Looks Like a Lady". 

The camera movements in the text are mainly tracking shot (the cycling, crossing the road, cooking); this would again connote the difference in the wild personality that the protagonist was in the beginning to being less insane. The tracking shot creates humour as Mrs Doubtfire still behaves like a man  in the cooking scene and crossing the road scene as he appears to be a weak old lady but still behaves like the crazy man that he is.  

Comparison: The difference in the time periods are shown as Mrs Doubtfire consists of more complex camera framing whereas Pollyanna uses at least two different types of shots which is due to the different technologies available during these two different eras.  The camera movements of both of the texts are less complicated in Pollyanna but there is mostly use of shot/reverse shot as the point of view in the text changes, Nancy then Pollyanna. Although the camera movements in Mrs Doubtfire extract are also hardly used there is a consistent sound bridge throughout the scenes which connotes the same behaviour of the protagonist in the different scenes; however Pollyanna does not do this as the behaviour of the character is the same throughout the opening of the text. 

Four Film Stills

Gremlins:

The meduim shot of Gizmo focuses on his face and the top lighting connotes the fact that he is misunderstood and is actually as innocent character. The camera angle in this still image is at eye-level with the character which connotes that Gizmo is considered to be equal with the target audience. 

Gone With the Wind:

The long shot of the still image draws attention to the manor house in the setting which connotes wealth and power; and the costume that young girl is wearing connotes innocence and shows her to be importance. However the fact that the camera angle is at a slight tilt there could be a change in authority through the text. 

Billy Madison:

The camera angle in this still image is from above which is from the point of view of the teacher which connotes the authority and control that the teacher has over the children and Billy. The costume of the protagonist is similar to the children around him which connotes immaturity. The medium shot of the classroom show all the children sitting and waiting for their class to start while Billy Madison focuses on the teacher being a "Jackpot", this also emphasises his immaturity. 

Wild Child:

The long shot of the protagonist shows a jutxaposition between the character, a rich and spoilt American girl, and the setting, a solitary boarding school in the middle of fields and forests in England. The costume of the protagonist connotes luxury.

Sound - Extension Task

Development of Sound in Hollywood 1920's:

During the 1920's when Hollywood first grew popular sound was introduced as the film was also recorded along with the sounds at the same time these became known as the 'talkies'. This was perhaps a major progression from the over exaggerated silent films from the early 1900's as it enabled the directors to concentrate more on things like enigma codes and dialogue rather than the acting in the text. On the set of the film there would be an orchestra behind in the background parallel to the scene itself.  It was not until the mid-1920's that a software was introduced to enable the directors to add soundtracks behind.

Collages:

Film Noir Task

Research on Film Noir:

Film Noir was most popular during the 1930’s and 1940’s which was most famous for the low – key lighting and obviously black and white film. Many of these texts were associated with crime, mystery and coded romance; perhaps these types of movies were so popular during this era because of the Depression that had struck the USA with problems with the government, economy and the citizens. These different genres were shown through the use of the low-key lighting that highlights certain features of the frame; for example in the film Fallen Angel (1945) there is use of low- key top lighting when the character Stella enters the room, which highlights her features in the shot. 

This is a clear example of a coded sexual romance that Stella was trying to evoke with the men in the text this character fits the characteristics of a femme fatale which was common in most film noir movies. Other typical characters that are shown in Film Noir movies are the Dumb Blond character (which is also shown in the Fallen Angel as the protagonist, Stanton, marries the oblivious blond June for her wealth), the Innocent Man (which is usually mislead by the femme fatale into doing as she pleases). The Dumb Blond shown in the Fallen Angel, June, is shown with high-key lighting and filler lights to appear as the innocent character and fit the stereotype of a dumb blonde this creates empathy for the character as there is foreshadowing that the character will be going through emotional pain. 

The Lighting can also effect the setting, during the text when there is a crime scene there is use of low-key and back lighting which would create a mysterious, cynical setting; for romantic texts there is also use of low-key lighting and filler light to project exaggerated shadows and to add intensity to the emotions portrayed in the shots. 

Still Image: Fallen Angel (1945)

The low-key lighting and the key light shows the character Stella eyes in this shot as dark which connotes the fact that she is a deceptive woman in the film. The key light is used to highlight her figure as she is shown to be the most attractive woman in her town. The shadows created in the still image are all behind Stella which shows the audience that she is the main focus throughout the film. In the film Linda Darnell plays the role of a typical femme fatale and as we see in this shot the position of Darnell shows that she is self-centred as she expects men to be sympathising with her and only paying attention to her.

Short extract: Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)

This extract is from a neo-noir film based on the media during the 1950's which showed the length at which the American journalists were willing to go to in order for there to be justice in the country. The low-key lighting and top lighting in this extract draws the attention to the actor's, David Strathairn, speech and emotion as he is determined for the justice in the U.S. this creates a moving atmosphere as the innocent man tries to show mercy on the citizens that were being publicly bullied by Joseph McCarthy. The exaggerated shadows created in the extract connote tension not only between the character of Edward R. Murrow but between the people sitting down and listening to his speech. 

Mise-en-scene:

Kiss of the Dragon:

The mise-en-scene of this shot clearly shows that the movie is an action movie as all of the men are fighting with Jet Li, there is a martial arts practising mat connoting the fact that these men are training to fight others and harm others. All of the actors in the shots are holding batons and are beating one another with  a baton which connotes that there is a lot of discipline involved in the training of the men in there martial art uniform. The fact that all the men being beaten up in the martial arts uniform shows their unimportance to the scene and that Jet Li is the most important individual in the shot as he is in a black outfit.

The long shot shows the audience the violence as we see that one man is knocked out on the floor and the other men are clearly about to be knocked out. The lighting of the shot is focussed upon Jet Li mostly as he is the protagonist of the movie and to show him in the form of Propp's theory of a hero.

Three extracts:

The Wedding Planner:

There are typical codes and conventions of a Romantic Chick Flick as there dolls and a doll house in the opening of this movie; connoting the fact that the girl is very romantic character and she seems to take an interest in the theme of marriage. Here we see 'The Wedding Planner' as a little girl controlling the dolls 'marriage' which shows us that the protagonist is going to be a perfectionist.


Billy Madison:



The scene is set in a typical elementary classroom as there are tables, chairs and students; but Adam Sandler does not fit into the stereotypical setting of a classroom as he is too old to be an elementary student and he questions what they learn showing the protagonist's immaturity but when he says 'Jackpot!' as soon as the teacher walks in there is a change in the innocence of the setting to being sexual, through the use the teacher entering the room. This follows the typical codes and conventions of a comedy as the representation of the classroom is altered.

Good Burger:



The opening of this extract is futuristic

Movie Poster Analysis

Juice:

The fact that the title of the movie is written in the colour red and the name is juice connotes that there will be a lot of violence throughout the text. The words 'power' and 'respect' are highlighted above the film name in the colour white as it contrasts with the mysterious background, these words reflect the key themes of the film. Below the title is a rhetorical question asking 'How far will you go to get it?', this connotes the journey of the protagonist wanting to gain 'power' and 'respect'. The primary target audience would be young male adults between the ages of 14-25 as the characters in the film are of that age and the secondary target audience would be fans of Tupac Shakur as he was at the time (and still today) a popular artist. 

The poster's mise-en-scene shows the protagonist, Tupac Shakur, holding a gun to the side of himself also connotes the fact that the movie is about violence, death and power. The lighting in the background of the poster is dimly lit but from the back there is some sort of glowing light coming from behind the men. All the characters on the poster are wearing street clothing which is clearly associated with thug life; Tupac seems to be wearing an expensive watch which connotes wealth, suggesting that he gets wealth but not honestly. 

The main actor in this movie is the artist Tupac Shakur who is shown at the front of the poster and whose image takes up half of the poster showing that he is the protagonist of the film and the most famous. The protagonist is in an awkward position as he seems to be looking directly at the people standing behind (which connotes the fact that they cannot be trusted) and is holding his gun towards the side of his face as if ready to shoot the men behind; this would show audiences that the men behind are False Hero's according to Propp's theory. 

There are uses of the dominant representation of young black males being rough, thugs and dangerous as all the men in the poster seem to show this representation in one way or another. There are two very young teenage boys in the corner shows that Tupac's actions in the movie not only effect him but effects the younger people too. 

The Beverly Hillbillies:

The title of the film is in gold which shows that there is wealth and money involved in the movie and the tagline at the top shows that there is a contrast between the characters and the setting. The poster's mise-en-scene shows the characters all sitting on an old car, with their dog (who has shades on) and the trees behind, the contrast between the old car and modern background connotes the change that takes place with these 'hillbillies' as we can see that they become rich. Below the title of the film it says "From the Director of Wayne's World." which adds credibility to the film; if people enjoyed the movie Wayne's World then they would be the secondary target audience for the text, the primary target audience obviously being those who have watched the series of The Beverly Hillbillies.

Another way of there being some kind of change in the film in the costumes of the characters in the poster, the Hillbillies are all in casual clothing compared to the 'up-scale' people on either side who are dressed as businesspeople. The Hillbillies expressions all seem eager and happy (which is mirrored in the background as it is bright and sunny) whereas the snobby Californians seem to be annoyed by the Hillbillies. The mise-en-scene of the guns, held carelessly by Granny and Jed, connotes the fact that the movie clearly consists of the dominant representation of Hillbillies being stupid and unintelligent. The lighting of the poster is natural and all the characters faces are shown, which connotes that they are good characters. Again in this posters the two Californians appear to be according to Propp's theory the False Hero's as they seem to have an evil smirk which usually suggests that the characters are bad.

From the name of the film it is clear that the film is a comedy as there is a juxtaposition of 'Beverly', being the posh, rich 'up-scale' part of California that is stereotypically associated with people of a higher class and 'Hillbillies' being the poor, stupid and are stereotypically associated with people of a lower class. Just in the title itself there is a clash between the higher and lower class. 

Media Conference Summaries

Chewing Gum for the brain?:

According to a man called Mr Reynolds watching the Simpsons supposedly 'dumbing down' children in English lessons when they should be studying real literature like Shakespeare; this complaint sparked a lot of controversy as he felt that his children's education is at stake. This shows a clear example of the negativity of Media Studies on people who may have never studied the subject or understand it.

"Tories tackle Media Studies menace" - The Independent, or in other words they believe Media Studies is a 'soft subject'; meaning students can easily pass the subject and it does not require much effort on the students side. Appearently Media Studies helps schools grades to be boosted in the league table suggesting that the schools teaching Media Studies are giving other people a false hope of their grades.

According to many broadsheet newspapers Media Studies is an 'End of Civilisation'; e.g " 'Worthless' qualifications give false hope to state pupils says Harrow Head" - The Guardian, basically deprived students will not get far in life because Media Studies is not a serious subject. This is false because most Maths, Law and even Cooking graduates from university do not a get jobs immediately compared to Media Studies students as they have a higher demand is our media-driven society.

Media Studies is a serious subject as it teaches students about history, roles, different aspects of culture.

Online Media: Cleggmore and The Cowell Factor.

Online Media, Reality TV, Talent TV all link to politics as the consumers now have the power to express their views on each of these and the presenters/judges have more influence than politicians do now.

People like Simon Cowell is thought to have as much power as politicians.

We have converged media all around us, older people will notice the change between the popularity of the different platforms over the years. For example Web 2.0 allows us to share and collabrate more than ever!

Does this not make us democratic? In my own opinion we have become more democratic, which allows consumers to think more.



Ms Wigelys cover work

Media Ownership Research Task for 1/11/10 and 2/11/10 and HW:

LO: To investigate the ownership of media institutions and consider the role of public service broadcasting in an increasingly commercial & globalised media environment.

Read this sheet and answer the questions (in italics) on your blog by Thursday 4 November. Look up any words you don’t know in a dictionary or online. Then complete the research task below.

Media texts are profit motivated. Consider this in the light of TV news. What issues does this raise?

‘Conspiracy theory’ in Media Studies suggests that a small group of multimedia tycoons are busy trying to take over or amalgamate with every other media company available, so that in the end this group will end up with more power to control what we know about the world, with all that this implies politically & socially.

The media texts are profit motivated as they would try to converge as much of the media texts as possible ( e.g. through the internet, television channels, newspapers and magazines.) so that they are the dominant producers in the market therefore becoming more powerful and influential over what we, as the audience, would consume. For example Rupert Murdoch, the owner of News Corporation  who then own 132 newspapers, 20th Century Fox, Fox News and British Sky Broadcasting etc. these different media texts show how much influence Rupert Murdoch alone has in the media market. 

In my opinion this 'conspiracy theory' of multimedia tycoons using convergence of media texts to gain more power could perhaps be true, as each of these small groups control the large media texts that we see in our everyday lives; we could potentially be continuously watching, reading or hearing what these media tycoons choose for us to know therefore getting a lot of power and influence without consumers possibly realising.  

The possible issues that this could raise is that people will become narrow minded to different opinions from other media producers or views based on the consumers; people won’t bother to become active consumers of the media but will be imposed to become passive consumers of media as they are simply being ‘spoon fed’ the information without considering another aspect. This could also make people think negatively about what the media texts present; for example the countless stories of children being enslaved into prostitution from around the world particularly in India and Thailand, which would persuade people not to visit these countries but it is intriguing that companies like BSkyB (owned by Rupert Murdoch) would then advertise their sponsors, the Emirates airline, and travel companies after showing these disturbing events happening abroad. 

Which media companies do you think could be accused of having too much power and control in our society?

There are no hard and fast rules that can be applied to the media anywhere in the world, although it is the case that in many countries the government owns or controls the mass media. In situations like this the media are often used purely for propaganda and informational purposes. (Think about the furore surrounding the Beijing Olympics and freedom of information. Research this if you did not hear about it). When public uprisings or military coups occur in such countries one of the first targets for protesters is radio and television stations – which demonstrates how important control of the media can be. One of the issues that must be addressed in Media Studies is that much of the media is largely in the hands of a small number of multinational companies.

Media can be accused of having too much power and control in our society as they can change the views of how people would approach an event or change in society e.g. 

Task: First answer the 2 questions above in as much detail as possible on your blog. Then research the following 5 media institutions and post all your findings to your blog. Use pictures to illustrate your findings. Then create a 10 minute powerpoint presentation summarising your findings for all 5 institutions (2 minutes on each institution). Be ready to present to the class. All work is due on your blog by 4/11/10.

• Time Warner

• News Corporation

• Viacom

• Sony

• Vivendi

Find out:

• Which brands/products are owned by these 5 media institutions?

TIME-WARNER TBS - AOL (donated 1.6 million to GW's 2000 campaign)

America Online (AOL) acquired Time Warner–the largest merger in corporate history.

Television Holdings:

* CNN, HBO, Cinemax, TBS Superstation, Turner Network Television, Turner Classic Movies, Warner Brothers Television, Cartoon Network, Sega Channel, TNT, Comedy Central (50%), E! (49%), Court TV (50%).

* Largest owner of cable systems in the US with an estimated 13 million subscribers.

Media Holdings:

* HBO Independent Productions, Warner Home Video, New Line Cinema, Castle Rock, Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera.

* Music: Atlantic, Elektra, Rhino, Sire, Warner Bros. Records, EMI, WEA, Sub Pop (distribution) = the world’s largest music company.

* 33 magazines including Time, Sports Illustrated, People, In Style, Fortune, Book of the Month Club, Entertainment Weekly, Life, DC Comics (50%), and MAD Magazine.

Other Holdings:

* Sports: The Atlanta Braves, The Atlanta Hawks, World Championship Wrestling.

NEWS CORPORATION LTD. / FOX NETWORKS (Rupert Murdoch) (donations see bottom note)

Television Holdings:

* Fox Television: includes 22 stations, 50% of US households.

* Fox International: extensive worldwide cable and satellite networks include British Sky Broadcasting (40%); VOX, Germany (49.9%); Canal Fox, Latin America; FOXTEL, Australia (50%); STAR TV, Asia; IskyB, India; Bahasa Programming Ltd., Indonesia (50%); and News Broadcasting, Japan (80%).

* The Golf Channel (33%).

MEDIA HOLDINGS:

* Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Searchlight.

* 132 newspapers (113 in Australia alone) including the New York Post, the London Times and The Australian.

* 25 magazines including TV Guide and The Weekly Standard.

* HarperCollins books.

OTHER HOLDINGS:

* Sports: LA Dodgers, LA Kings, LA Lakers, National Rugby League.

* Ansett Australia airlines, Ansett New Zealand airlines.

* Rupert Murdoch: Board of Directors, Philip Morris (USA).

*(Phillip Morris donated 2.9 million to George W Bush in 2000)*

VIACOM INTERNATIONAL INC.

Television Holdings:

* Paramount Television, Spelling Television, MTV, VH-1, Showtime, The Movie Channel, UPN (joint owner), Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Sundance Channel (joint owner), Flix.

* 20 major market US stations.

Media Holdings:

* Paramount Pictures, Paramount Home Video, Blockbuster Video, Famous Players Theatres, Paramount Parks.

* Simon & Schuster Publishing.

• Which media platforms (print, broadcasting, e-media) do the brands/products operate on?

• Which products is the media institution currently developing/promoting?

• Which alliances/mergers is the institution currently involved in? Why?

• What profits did the institution make in 2009? What this more or less than usual? Why?

• Who owns Fox News, Sky News and CNN News?

• As a result of your research, do you think it is important to have a public service broadcaster like the BBC to provide news? Why/Why not?

• Write a paragraph answering the following question: ‘Do you think media ownership should be regulated? Why/why not?’

Dominant and Alternative representations

Dominant Representation:

In the beginning of the advertisement there is a ladies academy which represents women's being posh and composed. However this dominant representation of women portrays them to be unintelligent as they are trying to calculate how to get cheaper car insurance, as stereotypically women are bad drivers therefore are suggesting that women are not capable of understanding anything about cars let alone something as simple as car insurance. The long shot in the frame is to show the bored expression of all the women in the room as they feel that the equation is too challenging to understand.

As the Go compare man runs into the shot changes to extreme long shot and the women turn behind as he is distracting them, with his singing, although the man appears to be stupid and weird the women get up and dance with him. This signifies the dominant representation of women being good for entertainment and follow after the man as they sing along to the song.

Then there is a medium shot of two main women in the advertisement, one who is puzzled and the other who seems to be attracted by the strange singing man, this again emphasises the point that women are only interested in sex and are easily confused about anything else.

Alternative Representation:

In this advertisement we see that Keira Knightly is coming out of the balcony in a shirt and bowler hat which are stereotypically men's clothing, she removes the clothing and decides to put on a red dress which connotes lust as her facial expression is seductive. This challenges the representation of women as throughout the advertisement she seems to be aware of her surroundings and is deep in thought, as if carefully planning out her actions, which would be an alternative representation of how women behave as they would be shown as oblivious, air headed bimbos. Whereas this representation of women portrays them to be secretive, alluring and classy. The close up of Keira Knightly's face shows her to be seductive and reflective, this however can be contradicted as this could simply show her beauty and a dominant representation of a vamp.

The product placement of the perfume is behind Knightly's back which could connote lust or could add further emphasise on the secretive. She then walkes through what seems to be a hallways of mirrors but the model appears to be more interested in finding someone rather than staring in the mirror as women are stereotypically narcassistic. The mirrors are used as an action code to show us, the audience, what the model is holding behind her back.

Media Awards Analysis

The two media texts that I found most effective are The Essex Fairytale and The Night has a Thousand Lies.

The Essex Fairytale:

The fact that the title of the text is The Essex Fairytale illustrates that the thug lifestyle is all the characters can aspire to be a part of. The text consisted of a non – linear narrative as there were continuous flashbacks of the protagonists past memories linking to the questions being asked in the opening of the text. There is a dominant ideology of the underworld being secretive and maintaining the status quo of each gangster in the text.

There is repetition of the action code of a gun being shown, this could foreshadow the death of a loved one, and this connotes the poverty and corruption that the protagonist lives in. Another action code used in the text is the stash of cocaine that is being divided into smaller packets; the characters are the dominant dealers in the text as they have the authority to decide who and where it goes. 

There is a form of a cliff hanger in the opening as we see that the protagonist has a family who has broken apart evoking empathy as we already know the protagonist is now left with nothing.  Furthermore we already see that the text begins with Tzvetan Todorov’s theory of disequilibrium as before in the flashbacks the main character was arguably in an existing form of harmony however we see that he is experiencing an unfortunate event.

In addition the text incorporates Vladimir Propp’s theory of the role of characters as the protagonist has a helper lures another man to abruptly kill him, the denotations of this are that there will be a continuation of violence throughout the movie. The angle of the camera is at a low angle, from the man’s point of view, we can infer that he is staring at the protagonist and the helper in shock of being attacked.

The Night has a Thousand Lies:

The setting of the text is in a dark alleyway connoting secrecy and danger which ties in with the title being  ‘...a Thousand Lies’; clearly there are secrets to that need the lies to cover it up. The text is all in black and white which is stereotypical of a typical thriller movie. 

 The text opens with disequilibrium two men come out of jail and then the protagonist is on the phone. As the girl is on the phone the camera pans upwards showing off her figure this connotes that she is the centre of sexual attention. This also builds up the tension as she tells the guy to meet her without letting them ask any questions; additionally this shows her power over the men.

The text consists of stereotypes of a seducing the male characters through the use of her clothing and behaviour towards them. The lighting on the woman’s face is dark at one point suggesting that she is a misleading, deceptive character that she could potentially be of harm to others.

According to Vladimir Propp’s theory the woman is stereotypically the Princess however we see that the girl is actually the Villain as she lures in men consequently framing them.

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure analysis

Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure:

In the beginning of the movie we see that both Bill and Ted are stereotyped as typical skater ‘dudes’ from California. Both Bill and Ted aspire to be a famous rock band called the ‘Wyld Sallions’ which contrasts with the fact that Ted’s father wants to send him to military school unless he passes his history test. Their band name (‘Wyld Sallions’) connotes how they as people are, wild, strange and dim as they can’t even spell their band name correctly. 

The narrative structure of the text begins with the equilibrium of Bill and Ted being at high school, having a good time and then rocking out to their songs. They are questioned about important figures in history which they stereotypically do not know about e.g. “Ted who is Joan of Arc?” “Errm Noah’s wife?” this put emphasise on the fact that they truly are quite dopey.

However we quickly see a disequilibrium; they’re struggle in the high school history report could lead them to not graduating high school and becoming separated thus breaking apart their dreams of being rock stars. This portrays the positive values of education, friendship and ambition in this text; although Bill and Ted are unintelligent they manage to find a man from the future called Rufus who helps them with their report, they remain as best friends and furthermore discover that in the future their music will influence the world. Throughout the movie there is an unclear foreshadowing as they repeatedly say “Most triumphant dude!” showing that Bill and Ted will be successful since they are aware of the consequences of not passing (this will be “bogus and uncool” according to them).

According to Propp's theory the villain in the text would be Ted’s father as he plans to separate Bill and Ted, which is where their mysterious friend from the future Rufus steps in as the danor and dispatches them by giving the time travelling booth which enables them to actually view these key events that they have been studying. While travelling in time they meet their princesses who are the King of England’s daughters but instead of saving them from their father, whom in this sub-plot is the villain, they decide to invite them to prom and call them “historical babes” which shows them failing to be the supposedly hero’s that they’re meant to be.

The text has a non-linear pattern as Bill and Ted repeatedly travel to many different time periods, changing the course of history which effects their present time, they also travel to the future where their music has a major influence on people, for example the enigma code of the air guitar when they say “Rock on dude” we at first believe this to be an action between the two of them as friend but in the future this message is revealed to be extremely important (ending poverty and starvation, and beginning of world peace). The action code of the text is the telephone booth which allows Bill and Ted to go back in time.

The new equilibrium of the media text is in the end when Bill and Ted present their history report in a school assembly using the real characters from the past, they pass therefore they can stay together and fulfil their dreams of being rock stars.  

E-media: Did You Know 4.0

6 facts from Did You Know 4.0 Video:

1. Well over 1,000,000 books are published worldwide every year.

2. A Google Book Search scanner can digitize 1,000 pages every hour.

3. 95% of all songs downloaded last year weren't paid for.

4. Ang Chuang Yang of Singapore: He typed a Guinness Book of World Records approved 160 character text on his cell phone in 41.52 seconds.

5. Twitter played an unprecedented role in sharing information during the 2009 Iranian presidential elections.

6. 47% of broadcast television viewers say they'd pay less of ad-less programming.

Devise a system for regulating the Internet:

1. The issues with images, words and ideas from around the world that are not regulated are that many people or even businesses can claim these as their own. For example if a major gossip site such as http://www.eonline.com/ were to use gossip, images, videos etc. from other minor sites there would be plagiarism issues and the minor site would need to regulate their content in order to prevent this in the future.

2. The owner of the website would be responsible for the regulation of their content as the Internet is not controlled by a sole organisation.

3. There are existing bodies who on their own site regulate the content according to their audience.

4. In my opinion there should be a new organisation as there has been an increase in the exposure of adult content to younger children and the fact that social networking sites need to be more secure for minors as there have been cases where they have been subjected to pedophiles without realising it.

5. They could use the information provided by internet service providers to show what people have been accessing.

6. The disadvantages of Internet regulation are that people won't be able to access many blogs that express their views on either current affairs or any other important topic and the so called 'freedom of expression' that we have on the internet will be lost.