News and online media

News and online media

Brexit
EU laws override UK laws

Tabloid newspaper front cover

Left wing - Labour, equality, socialism
Right wing - Conservatives, less tax, less benefits 

•Curran and Seaton.  - The idea that the media is controlled by a small number of companies primarily driven by the logic of profit and power. ... - The idea that more socially diverse patterns of ownership help to create the conditions for more varied and adventurous media production

•Media Moguls include Rupert Murdoch

The telegraph has a lot more right wing voters so it is likely they support the Conservatives party. This could mean there views are similar of one another and they may be biased in what they broadcast.

Barthes:     enigma code, connotation and denotation associated with a sign, open and closed narrative…

Todorov: theory of narrative disruption.

The Telegraph Headline and Splash (UK Internet Laws will be the toughest in the world)  the contents of the article discusses the harmful affects of the internet on children :  discuss using Todorov’s theory how the story links to disequilibrium and an attempt to restore equilibrium.

Levi Strauss:   Binary oppositions

 Task look at the Daily Mail Main Headline:   Discuss the Binary Opposition of the headline “Betrayal of the Brave” how is the Newspaper trying to influence the reader?

Neale: Genre theory: (page 16 revision notes)  covered previously and relates to a shared code linked to a genre (e.g. genre conventions of Broadsheet and Tabloid Newspapers)  However Neale insisted that the genre conventions are constantly changing therefore the Guardian’s transformation to Tabloid format with more human interest stories (page 9 revision notes)  is a clear example of hybridisation)  

Media Language and Media Contexts 

Society has changed over time therefore some knowledge of the context in which media exists is important with reference to Britain/Western Culture.

Consumerism.   The ideology that we should judge ourselves and others based on our material possessions.    The colourful nature of newspapers, the presence of advertisements in the Telegraph) points towards a consumerist society

Celebrity Culture. high-volume perpetuation of celebrities' personal lives on a global scale.

Multiculturalism. Assumes the equality of different cultures and pays equal respect to diverse cultures.   The absence of content linked to multiculturalism in both the Telegraph and the Mirror tends to suggest an ethnology-centrist ideology

Feminism.  Assumes the equality of women.    As a movement there is an ongoing struggle to fight against patriarchal views.   The Telegraph headline “Hey Presto women magician’s teaching men a trick or two” could be interpreted as patronising as there is no reason why women should not be as skilled in magic as men

p.s. in your exam you are expected to decode the Media Contexts /ideologies liked to articles where possible.

Individualism - Independence and the ability to self sustain.

Patriarchy  - Leadership, government: male dominated society.

Feminism -  bel hooks. 

Essay task

Covers a range of stories linked to celebrities, soft news, human interest

“discuss the difference between Broadsheet and Tabloid papers through a comparison of the Telegraph and Mail”

Use examples provided within the Power Point dated the 8th of April for both newspapers and discuss how different groups/issues are represented.

House of Cards 2

House of Cards 2

How Long form dramas came into being.

Terrestial TV

Schedule content was fixed (reliant on analogue (radio wave technology as pre the internet)

Viewing experience was communal (families watched the same/similar content) as content was transmitted via Radio waves.

Dramas developed to encourage regular viewing

Program content with high audience numbers secured revenue via advertising.

Advertising revenue or PSB income (TV license) pays for drama for e.g. a typical Eastenders episode costs £141,000

Historical cultural and economic contexts.

•HOC belongs to a genre called Long form television drama. (LFTVD)

•LFTVD (Game of Thrones, HOC, etc.)  are characterised by high production values.

•Series one and 2 of the HOC costs an estimated  $100 Million for the first two series (26 episodes) to produce.

•By comparison Eastender’s costs  £29.9 million a year for 212 episodes. (source:)

•Referring to the revision notes page 146, the cost of production of this High end Drama (HOC) is linked to

–Sourcing highly skilled actors

Kevin Spacey

–Cinematic styling camera work

Wide shot

-Lighting and editing

Low-key

Stop motion

Time lapse

-Complex narratives (multi-stranded) (Barthes)

Many subplots

-Composed music

Task spend some time in reflecting on the drama and identify examples of the above linked to the HOC.

The prime contexts influencing medium language in television dram may be ideologies such as:

•

•Individualism: e.g. focusing a drama on an individual protagonist

•Consumerism: e.g. judging characters on their possessions or desirability of their lifestyles

•Patriarchal: power and the challenge to this by feminism e.g. using or refusing to use women’s bodies as objects, or narratives that present a male, female or gender neutral perspective

•Racism and ethnocentrism and the challenge to those from multiculturalism and internationalism, e.g. narratives that present a mono cultural, multicultural or minority perspective

(page 156 OCR revision notes)

Task Identify the ideologies underpinning the media language in the house of cards.

Create an essay Analysing the main characters

•

•Frank Underwood

•Clare Underwood

•Peter Russo

•Zoe Barnes

•

Apply theory/academic arguments showing how the characters are represented.

Discuss the underlying ideologies which apply to the House of cards and the characters

Identify specific examples (of media language) which support your arguments

Use appropriate terminologies in discussing the media language 

House of card's is a political drama set in modern day Washington. The main characters Frank, Clare, Peter, Zoe all are represented in various different ways using media language and different theories relating to the plot.

Frank Underwood, is an cold and calculated upper class politician fighting his way to clime up the ranks to gain more power. from the first scene we see him in he is presented as someone of concern but ruthless nature. He uses a car crash on a dog as a metaphor for his views and idealisms, stating that 'there no point for useless pain', this already shows he's willing to do what it takes if he thinks its the right thing to do. Frank sees himself a the 'plumber' of congress, we know this through his own personal monologue through out the episode, his aim is to progress In power. There is a juxtapositional, scene goes from Frank at a opera theatre then cuts straight to him playing shooting game, goes from elegance to abrupt violence shows contrast in Franks mixed personalities.

Claire Underwood is Franks wife. I believe she is used in this episode to subvert expectations of female stereotypes which is that females are usually emotionally weak and are only used for sex appeal and interest. She is seen to have a lot of mental power over her husband as she is the catalysis for Franks greatness, there a team. Claire is also seen to have a ruthless nature as she unapologetically decides to cut off half her staff for the grater good, willing to do what it takes just like her husband.

Zoe Barns is represented in her first scenes as a reporter that desires to be taken more seriously as a female reporter and set on more serous assignments, this is a similar mindset to Frank as they both wish to progress in there respective fields. She also uses Van Zoonen's theory ,that women's body's are looked at as sexual objects in western culture, to her advantage by trying to control Frank by wearing revealing clothing when she meets him. Eventually her and Frank decide to work together to better both there careers

Peter Russo is presented already as someone who is irresponsible and shows a lot of unprofessionalism as he is in a meeting but is flirting on the phone to his partner. Throughout the episode he is seen getting drunk and having sexual affairs and getting into legal problem with the law due to drunk driving despite his high valued job. Due to his mistakes he gets blackmailed by Frank forcing him to become a pawn in his plan, in the scene the camera pans up wards to show Frank standing over Peter which visually displays his vulnerability in this situation showing Frank to have power over him as he demands for his 'unquestioning loyalty'.

House of Cards

House Of Cards

Language

Industry

Audience

Representation

Task 4.  Watch series 1 episode 1 of the 2013 House of cards

•Identify the main character(s)

•Identify the sub-genre(s) of the drama

•Discuss the genre conventions of this type of drama

Synopsis

• Set in present-day Washington, D.C., House of Cards is the story of Frank Underwood a Democrat who, after getting passed over for appointment as Secretary of State, decides to exact his revenge on those who betrayed him.
• This show is a political drama that realistically depicts and details the lives that politicians go through and how ruthless they can be just to achieve there goals.
• The opening scene is dark and straight away shows a dog being killed. The use of an insignificant death automatically sets up a very dramatic tone and establishes Frank as a cold hearted person.

• Adult theme 
• Politically based
• Strong Language
• Nudity; sexually explicit scenes
• Drink and drug use

Characters

Zoe Barnes attempts to use her sexuality to control man; flipping expectations

Conventions of a Thriller

The Thriller Genre ►What are the codes and conventions of Thrillers? ►Why is genre so important? ►What films do I know about? ►What directors do I know about?

What is a Thriller? ► Uses suspense, tension and excitement as the main elements ► Includes many sub genres: Mystery, Crime, Psychological, Political and Paranoid. ► Atmosphere of menace, violence, crime and murder. ► Society is seen as dark corrupt and dangerous ► Literary devices like plot twist, red herrings, and cliff hangers 4

Politcal drama conventions; A lot of dialog, family and relationship conflicts, a hero who does the same thing.

Subverts stereotypes; Women are smart and strong on the show rather than sexualised and clueless.

Theres no good and bad people its a grey line.

a MILLION reasons. lady gaga

1M reasons Lady Gaga

Stereotypes of women
Pink
Attitude
Caring
Weak
Bad drivers

Young

Slim

Overwhelmingly white

Conforming to our image of ideal beauty (perfect skin, hair and alluring gaze).

Representations of women across all media tend to

highlight the following:

•beauty (within narrow conventions)

•size/physique (again, within narrow conventions)

•sexuality (as expressed by the above)

•emotional (as opposed to intellectual) dealings

•relationships (as opposed to independence/

  freedom).

Stereotype production is based on...

• Simplification
• Exaggeration or distortion
• Generalisation
• Presentation of cultural attributes as being 'natural'

Why is Lady Gaga an influential figure?

• Iconic pop star
• Unique (stands out)
• Treats music like art
• She has evolved as a musician

Context

-Her body language - negative, worn out  

-She's sad/worn out - has to go to work although she's going through stuff, tried to hide

emotions & stay strong in front of dressing table but screen turns B&W showing emotions

which she's actually feeling

-Many biblical/religious references 

-When her friends pick her up she puts on her hat&glasses back on - picks herself back up

and pretends she's fine - has to be strong for fans - shows her fans she cares.

-Emotionally transparent & vulnerable 

• Just broke up with fiance - had been together for 5 years - rumors of him having an affair
• Has people who care.
• The music video was directed by 2 females
• The people who came to her were her crew - does the crew really care or are they just there to get on with the show so they can get paid - do they really care about her mental state?
• Doesn't portray a traditional love narrative, rather focuses on Gaga's own team
• Gaga is emotionally transparent.

Analysis of the music video

0:15 

• mid shot
• lying on her back, eyes closed, with sun against her in the desert
• music is soft and sombre like a dream like state before changing into stressful sound (contrast).
• slow pan downwards from the sun to her face before zooming into a mid shot

0:25-0:30

• dressed in all black with black shades and hat, in a black car going along a dark road leading to know where; death, evil, and mystery. Black is a mysterious colour associated with fear and the unknown.

0:50

• Colour is complex and has many layers to it.
• Black and white; simple - raw - easy to understand

1:12

• when introduced to this colourful, pink, bold leader she looks confident and strong - direct mode of address.

Analysing lyrics:

"your giving me a million reasons to let you go" a failed relationship and she cant take it

anymore.

"i would run for the hills" if she found a way out of the relationship easily she would just

leave.

"If you could find a dry way, I'd forever be still," but she seems to be saying that if he

could figure his life out, she wouldn't complain anymore.

"cut through all this worn out leather," which seems to be a reference to toughened

emotional walls that keep her or him from being honest.

"Head stuck in a cycle. I look off, and I stare." highlighting her own emotional emptiness

and hopelessness. 

 "I've stopped breathing," but she's "completely aware" as she watches her life descend

into chaos seemingly beyond her control.

"And if you say something that you might even mean / It's hard to even fathom which

parts I should believe." He's lied so many times that she simply can't trust anything that he

says.

"Baby, I'm bleedin' / Can't you give me what I'm needin'?" Despite his many lies she

loves him and is still giving him the chance to fix things

"Every heartbreak makes it hard to keep the faith," to show how his actions have made

it hard for her to believe that he can fix things, but she claims that she needs only "one

good [reason]" to stay with him.

Liesbet van Zoonen: Feminist theory

- Suggests gender is constructed through discourse, and that its meaning varies according to cultural and historical context.

- Advocates that the very presentation of women’s bodies as objects to be looked at is a core element of western patriarchal culture.

              Society is run by males so females are used as commodities in media

- Also presents that in mainstream culture, the visual and narrative codes that are used to construct the male body are different from those used to objectify the female body Codes- a system of words, letters, Feminist theory: Males body are to be admired as they worked hard for it, whereas females bodys are seen as something they should just have.

•bell hooks: Feminist theory

–Propose that feminism is a struggle to end sexist/patriarchal oppression and the whole ideology of domination.

–Suggest the idea that feminism is a political commitment rather than a lifestyle choice

–Advocates that other factors, such as race and class, as well as sex, determine the extent to which individuals are exploited, discriminated against or oppressed

Steryotypes of cowboys why was it used

Essay

The song 'A million reasons' by Lady Gaga has gotten over 150 million views on Youtube. It is often said that the music video to this song pin points and contrast the idealism of stereotypes in the female music industry.

At 0:15 a mid shot is used as we see lying on her back, eyes closed, with the sun against her in the desert. The music in the background is soft and sombre like a dream like state before changing into stressful sound, this provides a contrast in themes at this moment possible referring to her current emotional state. There is a wide shot showing a desert environment before the camera slowly pans downwards from the sun to her face before zooming into a mid shot. The position of the camera at this moment makes her seem more vulnerable which feeds into the stereotype of women being emotionally and physically weaker and below men which offers to bel hooks theory of women being represented i media as being s
I interoperate this whole scene as symbolism as she feels like a lost soul and is still finding herself attempting to run away from her problems before her team finds her and attempts to comfort her. The people who came to her were her crew, this posses the question whether the crew really does care or if they are just there to get her to go to the show so they can get paid. This is important because as a pop star there is a lot of uncertainty of who really cares about you or if there intentions are corrupted by humanities lust for fame and fortune. 

the slow pan makes her seem more vulnerable - stereotype women are weak emotionally and physically

I believe this song counters the stereotype of being POP star in this day and age as instead of showing the fun life of partying and being famous it shows the negative side of being a massive pop star like Lady Gaga as she is seen showing a more depressed side of her life as a star, as shown in her reaction towards the beginning of the video, at 0:25 - 0:30, where she is either jumping out of a car or having a tantrum about her position, this is also shown by her looking upset and angry in the car on the way back from the desert. In this scene she is dressed in all black with black shades and hat, in a black car going along a dark road leading to know where, the frequent use of the colour black connotes death, evil, and mystery, which could represent her emotional and mental state at the time. Black is a mysterious colour associated with fear and the unknown.

When she finally gets back to the studio at 0:50 the colours used in this scene are vibrant and complex and has many layers to it before slowly going black and white as she stares at herself in the mirror, to symbolise her emotional state, which is empty. This perhaps relates to Liesbet van Zoonen feminist theory of women throughout history being represented as objects in comparison to males. The very presentation of women’s bodies as objects to be looked at is a core element of western patriarchal culture. Society is run by males so females are used as commodities in media which is why in this moment she may have felt objectified by society and media, hence the colour pallet change to 'black&white'.The black and white is simple and raw making it easy to understand. This is important as this shows that she does not want to be where she is, but she is being ignored and has to put up with it and pretends she's fine as she may feel she has to be strong for her fans showing her fans she cares as well as her emotional transparency & vulnerability, hence the line "million reasons to let you go", meaning that she wants to stop her job but she 'just needs one good reason to stay'.

fe4Head shot - often subvert van zoonen theory

The music video then takes an interesting shift in tone as at 1:12, we are introduced to Lady Gaga wearing a suit and hat which is colourful, pink and bold, this is an interesting choice of clothing as it counter contrast the stereotype of women in music videos. This again relates to 'bell hooks' feminist theory that advocates that other factors, such as race and class, as well as sex, determine the extent to which individuals are exploited, discriminated against or oppressed. Lady Gaga, being fully aware that she fits within the role of the traditional women which is being slim overwhelmingly white and pretty, decides to wear to wear this rendition of a cowboy outfit knowing there is less of a sex appeal and therefore money too be made. Lady Gaga uses the iconic representation of the cowboy as a counter type representation of femininity as the cowboy stereotype is often a symbol of America and male orientated 

–“Masculine  traits :powerful, strong Independent”

–Honest

 leader she looks confident and strong - direct mode of address.