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.