News Values

The Guardian - Tories reveal plans for green tax hike on air travel
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/politics/story/0,,2031199,00.html
Consance: readers who are on a more right-wing side of politics would take an interest in this story.
Continuity: this story could go on and develop
Threshold: the event is big as it affects people who fly and particularly frequent air flyer's.

The Mirror - EXCLUSIVE: THE BIG BROTHER COVER-UP
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/tm_headline=exclusive%2D-the-big-brother-cover%2Dup%26method=full%26objectid=18732760%26siteid=89520-name_page.html
Threshold: at the time the event was huge, was channel 4 right to show this "bullying" in order to gain more audience figures? was Shetty actually bullied?
Continuity: This article suggests this is the end of the Big Brother racism, however, this news has been on-going since the incident.
Reference to elite persons: the news is about Jade Goody, who's claim to fame was in fact Big Brother....good for her.

The Independent - Blair is called to account over abandoned troops
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article2347521.ece
Personalisation: The article suggests that it is Blair's fault soldiers who suffer from a mental illness after being in Iraq are not getting any help
Reference to elite persons: Blair..its his fault, or so they say.
Composition: the journalist is making Blair look bad.

The Sun - Poor at gates of Liz wedding
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007110503,00.html
Reference to elite persons: Its celeb gossip news, Liz Hurley's wedding.
Consonacne: The news is from a tabloid paper which therefore will appeal to the target audience.
Continuity: "The epic week-long wedding", it was probably reported all week.
Personalisation: refers to Liz Hurley's wedding to Arjun Nayar.

The News of the World - "I just cant wait until i never have to see your face again" (Paul's phone rants at Heather)
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/story_pages/news/news1.shtml
Reference to elite persons: the news is about celebrity couple who are in the middle of a divorce.
Threshold: In a way the even is big as Heather backs out of her "bitter divorce battle" and is settling for money and property.
Conconance: The article is written in a soap-opera way, which appeals to the working class readers of the paper.
Continuity: The story has been reported since the divorce began, it lost its appeal as it dragged on, but the settlement has made it something to report once again.

Postmodernism
"The theory of rejecting theories." Tony Cliff

Postmodernism rejects high and low culture and emphasises the pastiche, parody, bricolage, irony and playfulness within genre. Postmodern texts also reject conventions and conventional forms.

Key ways to identify a postmodern text:

• Intertextuality - a text deliberately includes references to another text in the narrative
• Bricolage
• Parody - 'Scary Movie' is a postmodern text as it mocks other slasher films
• Pastiche - a text copys a certain style for example 'Sin City' copys the film noir style

Module 1 Revision
Advert - Citroen C2

The form and purpose of this advert is to advertise the car to a young target audience aged between 21-25; who are able to drive and afford an ‘urban-sports car’.

The advert has a simple, yet sophisticated colour theme of black, red and yellow and the composition of it all is simple. The main image of a car is dominated by text and the two are the main images caught by the eye. The car is the only and dominate image on the advert and is shown to be smaller than the text, the car is clearly represented as the product that is being advertised. The car itself is black; a classy colour within cars and clashes with the black background yet at the same time showing some continuity within the advert, however, the whiteness/silver of the car makes it stand out.

The text that is used on the advert is dominating over the whole advert and is written in a red and bold font. The text reads ‘It’s got a feminine side.” which subverts the patriarch society and the ideologies that a car is a man vehicle. However, the smaller part of the text reads ‘The passenger seat.’ reinforcing a patriarch society and the advert has no representative nature of femininity; the colours of black and red don’t have many connotations of females. The dominant black can be seen as a colour for men and although the red often connotes love; against the black if also has connotations of death and dark imagery that is not very lady-like. The ideology of patriarchal society reflects the male audience that is being targeted by the advertisers.

As cars manufacturers often have similar ways of making cars, the company logo is place on the top right of the advert, however, as it is in white is stands out against the black background. The colour theme of red and white conveys the Citroen logo and creates a sense of continuity. The smaller text gives the audience a chance to find out more about the car; through a website or a free number and the price is also shown below; to give the audience an idea of how much the product costs. The smaller print at the bottom of the page is a conventional text that is used in car adverts and shows the ‘official government fuel consumptions figures’ that also represent the topical issue of the rising in CO2 emissions.

Furthermore the simple style of the advert is conventional for car adverts, as the car is the main focus of the text. The use of dark colours appeal to the younger audience and so does the simple composition on the whole advert. The patriarchal jokes also appeals to the male audience and gives the car a masculine association and reinforces a patriarchal society. The theme of red and white shows continuity with the advert and the cars company logo. Finally, the image of the car is clearly shown to promote the product that is being advertised.

Module 1 Revision
Film Poster
'Little Miss Sunshine' (2006)
A family on the verge of a breakdown



The purpose of a film poster is to reach the target audience and engage them, making them want to watch the film that is being advertised. In the case of ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ the film poster appeals to an art-house/independent audience; which is often a white, middle class audience.

The genre of the film is art-house as the poster shows the film was selected in the Sundance Film Festival and this therefore reinforces the appeal to an art-house audience. The institution of the film further has suggestions of being independent as is it produced by ‘Fox Searchlights’ and also the actors used are not famous Hollywood actors; and listing the main actors name on the poster is conventional for art-house films posters and has been used on posters like ‘I Heart Huckabees’.

The film poster has a colour theme of yellow and this reinforces the title ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ as the colour yellow connotes sunshine; the van is also yellow and this already shows continuity. The title has a suggestion of challenging the patriarch society as the ‘Miss’ suggests the main protagonist is a female and in the male dominated cast the ‘Little Miss’ can be seen on the little girl running and most of the male characters are focused on her. The male dominated cast reinforces a patriarchal society but the main protagonist being female challenges this; also there is a white dominated cast and shows no ethnic minority representation.

The main image shows a very long shot of a family, one member is pushing the van, another two are sitting in the van and the ‘mother’ and ‘father’ are running behind a little girl that seems to be enjoying a jog. The main image shows family values and the tagline further reinforces these family values. Although the family are on a ‘verge of a breakdown’ the poster suggests that the film is based around this one family and the image also shows a happy family that are working together.

The film poster doesn’t give much away of the narrative leaving an enigma, however, the review quotations help to solve the enigma. The quotations suggest the film is about ‘winning, losing’ and has part of a road-trip element. The ideology of competition can be interpreted in the film poster. The little girl is represented as training and the idea of ‘winning’ is reinforced by the image.

The film poster for ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ is simple and sophisticated. There is a colour theme of black font and yellow; the yellow reinforces the diction ‘sunshine’ in the title. The male dominated cast reinforces a patriarch society; however, the main protagonist is female and therefore challenges those ideologies and values. Other values that are evident on the poster is the idea of family that is conveyed through the image and the tagline, also the idea of competition is shown through the image of the little girl and the review quotations. Finally, the poster is clearly targeted at the niche art-house audience as the film was selected for the Sundance Film Festival and the use of unknown actors/actresses reinforces this and also the simplicity of the poster appeals to a sophisticated middle class audience.

Module 1 Revision
Empire - September 2006

The cover of a magazine is to attract the consumers eye and to appeal to a dominant audience who enjoy watching films that are both classic and new (Star Wars and ‘Spidey 3’)

The cover has a plain white background that emphasises the rest of the colours used on the magazine cover. There is a dominate theme of red, white and blue which is used for the headings, the colours altogether connote the union jack suggesting patriotic values. As Bond is British the ideas of patriotism is further reinforced.

The dominant image is of Daniel Craig as the new Bond, the angle of the photograph is from a high angle; giving Bond more authority over the audience as he is looking down at the camera. Bond is giving direct eye contact, involving the reader and audience. He has a casual stance however the gun in his right hand can be seen as a phallic object; again giving Bond more authority over the reader/audience.

The image of Bond slightly covers the masthead, the magazine are able to position the image like this knowing that the bright, bold red font is conventional for the ‘Empire’ masthead and the audience can always recognise this masthead. The masthead automatically conveys the genre of the magazine, ‘Empire’ being the name of a cinema connotes that the magazine’s genre will be about film.

Over the heading “Bond” there is a stamp image, giving the cover a secret file look; still continuing the theme of secrecy and agents that James Bond is associated with. “World Exclusive” suggests that only ‘Empire’ have this information and this would appeal to movie goers, it also gives the audience the idea that they are being let into a secret that is for their eyes only. This theme of secrecy is further reinforced with the heading at the bottom “Secrets of…”

Targeting a secondary audience ‘Empire’ also has a ‘Star Wars Memories…’ feature that would appeal to a more sci-fi audience. There is also a secondary image of a scene from Star Wars, characters that the audience can easily identify. As well as targeting a sci-fi audience. The pug targets a film audience who want to be in front of the camera. The “Free Complete Guide to Acting” appeals to actors who don’t want to pay for acting school; however, this could also be a mocking pug this enigma of the pug makes the audience want to buy the magazine to find out what this free item really is.

The magazine has a simple and sophisticated union jack theme of red, blue and white connoting a patriotic theme. The patriotic theme links with the James Bond British feel and the classic association of Bond being manly is also reinforced with the phallic object in his hand, his gun. As Bond is a secret agent there is also a secrecy theme that can be seen on the magazine cover. Furthermore, the magazine also targets a secondary audience who enjoy classic films especially Star Wars as there is a feature of that too; actors are also targeted by the pug of the cover.
Overall, the James Bond association of Britain, secret agents and phallic objects is clearly presented on this cover, as well as having articles that target other audiences “Spidey 3, Pirates 3 and James Cameron’s 3-D”.

Audience Theory

Uses and Gratification - assumes an active audience, the audience chooses how and when they consume thier choosen media text. Denis McQuail suggests a detailed breakdown of audiences motivation to watch media texts...for information, learning, personal identity, integration and social interaction and final for entertainment.

Effects Theory - A passive audience, ideologies and values are easily injected into the audience (hypodermic needle). The Frankfurt School saw the rise of 'culture industry' the cause of increased standardization in society.

Reception Theory - is how a media text is read, the audience is both passive (if they accept a preferred reading) and active; they get to choose which text to consume.
David Morley sees the media as a routine of people’s lives and that audience's read texts in different ways. The reading of a text can often depend upon expectations and even the environment the audience sees the text in.

Laura Mulvey
My understanding:
The objectification of females in the media through the male gaze. The male-gaze is when a female is represented in a way a man would like to see her.
The male-gaze forces the audience to identify with the protagonist, who is likely to be male; this is done through point of view shots through the males point of view. The female in the media is there "to-be-looked-at" or as Mulvey would say, she would have the quailty of "to-be-looked-at-ness"

Do i believe in the theory?
I think that Mulvey's theory is true, in any media text the theory of male-gaze and female objectification can easily and always be found. But media texts are trying to chage this, however, there will always be 'male-gaze' and 'objectification'; especially as most directors are male.

Pluralism
Question: Look at the TV schedules of this week. How might a pluralist interpret the range of programmes on offer? What evidence is there of the media acting as the fourth estate during this week?

Newsnight - allows people to discuss current affairs in the news. The media is acting as the fourth estate as it is keeping the public informed about what is happening in the other three estates (Church of England, House of Commons and House of Lords)

The Culture Show - the show keeps the audience informed of the best art and culture stories of the week. This does not show the media acting as the fourth estate, but it gives the passive audience a choice of watching the program.

The Somme - a docudrama about The Somme. This show allows the audience a choice of a historical program to watch, one that will inform them about a historical event that is even now remembered.

Channel 4 Racing from Cheltenham and Wetherby - this is a show that would appeal to a high culture audience, but also reaches a wider audience who may not often consume such a show. The audience have a choice of watching the 'high cultured' show.

The Sky At Night - a science program is also available for selective consumers. This program does not show the media acting as the fourth estate, but it does allow the individual the freedom of choice.

Overall, through-out the day there are a variety of shows on all five TV channels. Many of the BBC shows can be seen as acting as the fourth estate, such as Newsnight. The other channels shows a variety of shows that the audience can choose to watch, some are aimed at selective consumers and most give the individual the freedom of choice.

Mazda 2 - Can women park cars?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wAgX6EZVO8
This advert shows a woman that can park a car into a small space, even though two men doubt her. She is shown to be successful at it and just as good as a man.

Lynx - Pied Piper
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXkY-FDfqcs
The women in this advert are objectified and are there for a male gaze. The outfits worn are very provocative and promiscuous and then women are shown to be effected by just a spray.

Decimal Coin Change
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfZZ_rUQfew
The 1970s advert conveys a woman who is confused about the new decimal coin change. Her 'confusion' portrays her as a not very smart person, and the fact that the voice-over says "remember this when you’re our shopping" suggests this advert is aimed at women; reinforcing the patriarchal society.

Marxism - is a political and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx

Marxist Ideologies
Capitalism is based on the profit motive and exploits workers.

The capitalist society can be divided into two social classes:
Proletariat (working class) – who sell their labour and don’t own production
Bourgeoisie – who own production and employ the proletariat.
Bourgeoisie is further divided
Wealthy bourgeoisie – do not need to work
Petty bourgeoisie – employ others and also work themselves.

Marxism and the media
Media producers maintain the status quo
Culture industries are profit motivated and often dumb down texts
Mass media is entertainment for the proletariats (workers) and often drip feeds them ideologies and beliefs (hypodermic needle)

Althusser
Ideological State Apparatuses (ISA) works alongside the Repressive State Apparatuses to maintain the bourgeois ideologies of:
Religion
Education
Family values
Legal and political system
Political system
Cultural and communication systems

Gramsci
Concept of hegemony, by maintaining certain ideologies that become ‘common sense’ allows the ruling classes to retain hegemonic control.

Eisenstein and Montage
Segei Eisenstein shunned the Hollywood narrative structure so the audience could not emotionally engage with his montage films. Instead the audience would watch something which is real.

Williams
Low culture, suitable for workers e.g. films, TV
High culture for the bourgeoisie, e.g. ballet, opera, theatre

Globalisation
How much of the media you consume is global?

I don't think most of the media I consume is global. TV wise some of the programmes I watch are 'Lost' which is a US show, 'Neighbours' that is Australian and 'Eastenders' which is British, this shows I consume a wide variety of media. However, most channels do have US based shows such as channel five showing 'Prison Break', 'CSI' etc, the new Five US channel is dedicated to these kinds of US shows.
When using the internet most of the sites I use are American, but I am often unaware of this unless using 'Google', but the internet has mostly US sites. Overall, most of the media that people consume is often global and US based, and its becoming hard to avoid it as globalisation continues.

Universal Pictures Films:

Some of the films produced by Universal

Phantom of the Opera (1943)
Dracula (1979)
E.T (1982)
Scarface (1983)
The Grinch (2000)
Shaun of the Dead (British) (2004)
King Kong (2005)
The Black Dahlia (2006)
Children of Men (British) (2006)

http://www.universalpictures.com/

Universal Music Group:
Record labels which include: Barclay, Interscope Geffen A&M, Geffen Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, Machete Music, Mercury Records, Polydor Records, Universal Motown Records Group, Universal Music Classics Group (which includes Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Philips and ECM), Universal Music Latino, Universal Music Group Nashville (which includes Lost Highway, MCA Nashville and Mercury Nashville), and Verve Music Group.

Artists signed vary from The Killers to Eminem, Kaiser Chiefs to Girls Aloud and even Latin American artists such as Enrique Iglesias and also Asia Pacific artists.
http://new.umusic.com/Overview.aspx

Universal Studios

The founder of Universal, Carl Laemmle.
1915: Universal City officially opens. Thomas Edison, founder of GE, dedicates Universal's state-of-the-art electric studio.
1928: Universal opens its first "talking picture," Melody of Love.1931: Dracula and Frankenstein are released, beginning Universal's leadership in horror genre.
1964: Universal Studios Tour opens for business. MCA acquires Alfred Hitchcock's Shamley Productions, including rights to Psycho and all his television work.
1983: E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial takes over domestic and international box office.
1990: Universal Studios Florida opens in Orlando.
1996: MCA, Inc. renamed Universal Studios, Inc.
1999: Islands of Adventure, the Portofino Resort, and Universal CityWalk open in Orlando, Florida.

2000: Vivendi, Canal+, and parent Seagram Company form strategic business combination, creating Vivendi Universal.

2001: Universal Studios Japan stages grand opening and shatters attendance records worldwide. Universal gains USA Network assets including USA Films, later renamed Focus Features.2003: Universal becomes first studio with five summer releases breaking $100 million mark.

May 12, 2004: Day One of the new NBC Universal
http://www.nbcuni.com/About_NBC_Universal/Company_Overview/overview10.shtml

Corporate Partners
Volkswagen
Nestle Waters
Kodak
Coca-cola
MasterCard
PowerAde
Chase
Minute Maid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6kdPKlfRsQ&mode=related&search=
Divine Intervention – Pulp Fiction (1994)

The scene from Quentin Tarantino’s ‘Pulp Fiction’(1994) that I have chosen to analyse is good for psychoanalysis as it shows many characters conveying the feeling of fear, but the use of media language for each character is different.

The first character that the audience sees is shown to be hiding in a toilet. This character is one of the first to represent the feeling of fear; he is shown to the audience through close-ups and the rigid camerawork allows the audience to focus on just the character in the toilet. He is shown to be sweating and mumbling to himself saying, “Oh god, please, I don’t wanna die” this clearly connotes fear as the character is scared of being killed. Samuel L. Jackson’s character, Jules, can be heard in the toilet as he is shouting in another room to a different character.

The character of Jules psychological state shows him to be confident and also represents the emotion of anger. The framing is an off center composition and is shows Jules through a close-up of his face. His eyes are wide open and as he recites a passage from the bible he raises his voice. Jules eyes and voice show his angry state and his confidence is represented by the way he is standing up. Jules is standing up while another character is sitting on a chair below him representing the feeling of fear. The character on the chair is huddled up, is tense and is sobbing while Jules holding up a gun. Jules standing up also represents him with more authority.

The last character the audience sees is Marvin. He also represents the psychological state of fear. When Jules shoots at the character on the chair there is a close up of Marvin falling down against a wall. He is huddled up in a corner and he screams as the guns go off. The shot shows a close-up of his face as he is mumbling to himself and his hand is on his head. In the one scene Tarantino has represented the psychological state of fear, confidence and anger using only four characters and he has conveyed their feelings mainly using close-ups on their faces and using their body language in a particular way.

Auteur Theory
Tim Burton http://www.timburtoncollective.com/

The roots of his creative genius lie in the obvious: the work of stop-motion animation pioneer Ray Harryhausen and the Hammer Horror films starring such cinematic legends as Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, to schlock-y matinee escapades featuring Vincent Price, and the not so obvious: from the early works of Walt Disney to the films of cinematic auteur Federico Fellini. Unlike some filmmakers who merely to steal from the greats, Burton uses his inspirations more as a canvas onto which he creates his incredible sights for all to behold.
Much like Walt Disney, Burton respects both the adult and child audience that goes to his pictures by telling a story that can be enjoyed by anyone of any age. He gives us something old, something familiar, and something completely unexpected.

A few of his trademarks: - Frequently uses the name Edward
- Visual style and themes heavily influenced by Gothic horror films of the twenties and thirties, especially those of James Whale and F.W. Murnau, along with the films of German Expressionism. The illustrations of Edward Gorey are another major influence.
- Frequently shows dead dogs, clowns, sheep, twisted trees, jack-o'-lanterns, scarecrows, butterflies, and redheads in his films.
- His films frequently have dinner table scenes.
- His films often have gothic subtexts.
- Personalizes the production logo in the beginning of his films.
- Opening credits usually utilize a tracking shot. They also tend to go either on, through, or into something.
- His long standing collaboration with Danny Elfman, who scored all his films since Pee-wee's Big Adventure,
- He often uses an uplifting ending theme for his theatrical trailers by Danny Elfman but is never used for the films.
- His artwork, and lots of his films are notoriously influenced by the artist Edward Gorey, and his pen and ink drawings.
- Often uses shadows for a scary, ominous effect.
- His main characters tend to be outsiders, and are usually shy, with a pale complexion and unruly black hair, similar to his own.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Burton

Repeated actors: Johnny Depp
Jeffrey Jones
Michael Keaton
Martin Landau
Lisa Marie
Jack Nicholson
Christopher Walken
Newest additions: Lisa Marie and Glenn Shadix

Films: BELIEVE IT OR NOT (postponed)
SWEENEY TODD (2008)
CORPSE BRIDE (2005)
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (2005)
BIG FISH (2003)PLANET OF THE APES (2001)
SLEEPY HOLLOW (1999)
MARS ATTACKS! (1996)
ED WOOD (1994)
THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1993)
BATMAN RETURNS (1992)
EDWARD SCISSORHANDS (1990)
BATMAN (1989)
BEETLEJUICE (1988)
PEE-WEE's BIG ADVENTURE (1985)

Four C's

Its hard to say that you fall under only one of the characteristsics. I see myself as a mainstreamer as i buy brands like coca-cola, watch mainstream telly like Eastenders and even listen to mainstream radio, Radio1. I'm not much of an aspirer, you might catch me wearing some high status brand, maybe. Succeeder isn't for me, not just yet. I feel that sometimes i am a reformer trying to buy animal friendly products and fair trade.

Students given free MP3 players
College students are to be given free iPods so they can catch up on missed lectures in their own time.

Free iPods probably won't be coming to our sixth form anytime soon, but South Kent College in Dover has invested £25,000 in 250iPod Nano's (not even the classic iPod...or even the shuffle...but that NANO!!) so that students can catch up with missed lectures.

Personally i think its not a bad idea, now days everyone owns an iPod or any sort of MP3 player and new media is the way forward what with all the myspaces, online blogs etc etc. On the other hand you're probably likely to get robbed for your iPod and someone will have your lecture as well as your music playlist!
And then there is also the point that if it is sucessful, lessons in a classroom wont be so popular and asking questions about the work would be harder, infact you probably wouldnt need to go to school! it would be like greenford high having its own podcast! and then you could just email your homework to your teacher! and you'll spend most of your life sitting infront of a computer with your iPod in one hand and typing with the other!
Maybe it wont become that popular and turn into that....i don't know

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/5319258.stm