Component 2

 

1 hours 45 minutes/ 90 marks/ 35% qualification

Q1) Television in the Global Age- Life on Mars

Q2) Magazines- Mainstream and alternative media- Vogue

Q3) Media in the Online Age- Zoella

 

Television:

Life on Mars (2006) BBC 1, 9pm slot (during watershed)

Media language: Camera shots/ angles/ editing/ sound /mise en scene

• Start with close up shot of the police car- starts in the midst of action
• There is the diegetic sound of the police car sirens and shouting, with the non diegetic music that makes the scene tense.
• There is unnatural LED light in the police office showing it has no warmth but is modern
• Slow panning
• The camera shots show Sam the protagonist as higher than the criminal
• there is a long shot to establish the position of Sam in the road when he is hit by the car
• It is initially set in 2006 but they then go back to the 70s
• Life on Mars the song by David Bowie is played when he is sent back to the past
• Over shoulder shot to show conversation
• You can see the difference in the times, with more sexism and low key tones
• The decor is more dated and the lighting is sepia toned
• Use nick names: Skirts, Gov, Love, Fairy Boy
• When Annie saves him from jumping there is a close up of their hands intertwined lit by the sun this shows the good that she has and the literal light shining on the situation.

Context:

• British Crime drama starring John Simm and Philip Glenister produced by Kudos Film and Television for BBC Wales, distributed by BBC Worldwide. Set in Manchester
• It uses all the typical stock characters of a historical crime drama: The detective, females officer, love interest, damsel in distress and detective chief inspectors
• Publicly funded as its on the BBC
• The posters of the show were made in old school style, with BBC 1 colour on them, with the headline “Back in the nick of time”
• Ashes to ashes spin off
• Regulated by OFCOM

Audience:

• The audience for Life on Mars is fans of the crime drama genre with an interest in the sci-fi subgenre.
• They will be aged 25-45
• and be NRS grading C-D.
• This is because as the show was set in the 70s but released in 2006 so therefore the older audience can remember the 70s and enjoy reliving their childhoods.
• On the other hand the more modern sci-fi element may intrigue a younger audience making the show perfect for family viewing.
• But due to the dark intent of the murderer and the treatment of the women it will not be aimed at young children 13 and below as it could teach them bad habits or scare them. Also it is post watershed.

Media Language- Narratology (Todorov): He thinks that every film goes through the same steps: there is an Equilibrium (normal), disruption (threat to normal), recognition of disruption, attempt to repair damage, a new equilibrium is created.

• The Equilibrium: Sam living in 2006 as a DCI of his department, he has Maya his girlfriend and they are looking for the killer
• Disruption: Maya goes missing when she goes looking for the murderer, Sam is then hit by a car and sent back in time
• Recognition: Sam realises that he is no longer in 2006 and feels like it is a prank, he tried to wake up and believes everything is a dream
• Repair: He tries to solve the case because he doesn’t know what else to do, and it will also help him in the future. He gets overwhelmed and tries to jump off a building
• New equilibrium: Annie convinces him not to jump as there must be a reason he is there, he has solved the case and will continue living in the 70s until he wakes up naturally.

Media Language- Genre (Neale): The idea that genres may be dominated by repetition, but are also marked by difference variation and change. The idea that genres change develop and vary as they borrow from and overlap with one another. The idea that genres exist within specific economic institutional and industrial contexts

• It is a crime genre, this is enforced through the iconography of the police cars, tap, station, officers, cells, reports and murders.
• It is a historical programme, this is enforced by the sepia lighting, use of old iconography like cars, vinyl shops, brown clothes, flared clothing and sexism
• these are similar to other shows of the genre like Sherlock which is a modern crime show.
• The show is differentiated from other crime shows with its sci-fi element of travelling in time, this will appeal to a new target market.
• Enigma codes, we are kept guessing who the criminal is until the end and how they did it also we still don’t know if it is a dream or reality about living in the 70s making us watch the next episode, this creates a story arc,

Media Audiences- Reception theory (Hall): The idea that there are three hypothetical positions from which messages and meanings may be decoded.

• Positive: People will enjoy they show, they are likely to have been born in the pre 70s era and will enjoy seeing the world as it was in their time. They will also enjoy the action and crime as they are fans of the genre
• Negotiated: They may not be the intended audience ie younger, but they still enjoy the program having to imagine what it was like in the 70s rather than knowing 1st hand, they will identify more with the modern Sam Tyler than anyone else
• Oppositional: They are not fans of the crime history genre and dislike the negative stereotypes, failing to see they are accurate of the time and not intended to be brought back into fashion now.

Representation- Theories of representation (Hall): Representations are constructed through signs and codes understood by the audience. Stereotypes reduce people to a few characteristics as they are reinforced over time.

• Dated stereotypes
• Women are reduced to sexual beings, who are assumes to be just a pretty face. Maya and Annie are the exception as they are educated police women who help Sam find the victim even if they were doubted by everyone else.
• Nelson- tries to fit with the exotic stereotype by putting on an accent this shows how they are still not accepted and how people in the 70s were more comfortable with stereotypes rather than being unique, he is a token character
• Men are hagemonic and powerful, they fight for dominance and are very authoritative, names DCI Gene. Shown through his loud voice, tall stature and manipulative nature.
• We see Sam as an exception as he represents modern men who are more accepting and also less about showing their status.
• The audience can identify with Sam as he is from the present time, he allows us to use him as an audience surrogate, showing what we would feel or think if we were in his place.
• Good cop Bad cop
• Shows realistic representations of the corrupt police in the 70s.
• Women are also under-represented

Magazines:

Vogue (July 1965) Conde Nast

Media language: Camera shots/ angles/mise en scene

• Front cover with Sophia Loren- Blue connotes luxury and the sea, linking with the travel segment of the magazine.
• Her face is covered in makeup showing her grace and elegance
• Her beauty is not subtle with her sharp jaw line and dark makeup, showing how she is making a point of being there.
• She has direct eye contact with the camera, this signifies the brand identity of women empowerment and the change for women from submissive roles in the 60s
• The harsh high key lighting gives her an intimidating presence
• The masthead of VOGUE is distinctive and is on top of Loren showing its importance and the superiority of the brand.
• The taglines are all grouped at the bottom of the page in a synergistic blue. They use alliteration of words that convey a sense of the tropics to appeal to their audience who are ready for summer “Sand swim sea”
• The contents page is very informative it contains a list of content, an advert for shoes which is drawn showing the dated nature of it.
• It also says when the next issue will be out alluding to a series of magazines that their readers can look forward to.
• The finance section is only text, this shows that it is more serious and is informative.
• The inclusion of this spread suggests that women empowerment is coming and that women are become more self reliant and intelligence is seen as fashionable
• The language used is formal and fits the context of the 60s, sounding dated now.
• The Revlon advert is completely whitewashed, this makes the products (eye shadow) stand out, but it also reduced the model to her synthetic features and not natural colours, the product looks heavily edited so it is unlikely to really look as it does in the picture, this is a link to the context as better editing techniques had not been invented yet.
• the products mentioned are shown on the advert and it is described how to use them, this allows the readers to see the actual product and if they are likely to use it.
• The Cutex lipstick advert sexualises the model
• She wears no clothes and has very accentuated features, her beauty is highlighted by the makeup and not completely transformed, this shows how the product is “natural”
• The “bare essentials” tagline creates a pun with the image of the naked model
• The picnics segment with Sophia Loren shows women as more free and empowered as she is on holiday, this appeals to the rich TA
• She is accompanied by a man in every image suggesting she is not entirely free
• Her feature is accompanied with Picnics throughout the ages, they advertise clothes and lifestyles for the reader. This shows the elegance and
• Besides the front cover the adverts are the only pages printed in colour, this shows how expensive it was to colour print linking to the context.
• The Imperial Leather advert shows a mum drying her son this shows her as domestic
• The heatwave section of the magazines has the most sexualised image of women, this is due to their extreme makeup, curled hair and their positioning in the post.
• One of the images show a women staring directly into the camera while lying in bed, this causes her to be sexualised and seen as nothing but a 2D symbol of beauty

Context:

• Primarily focused of fashion and style- beauty and design, also cultural focuses (theatre, books, etc).
• The 60s was a time of empowerment and the rise of equal rights
• Civil rights for black Americans was making progress and women protested for equal rights.
• The contraceptive pill was created in the 60s creating sexual liberation for women.
• Margret Thatcher became prime minister
• Due to regulation it is not allowed to heavily edit and Photoshop pictures as it misleads the audiences.
• After the war there was a rise in consumerism this would make the purchasing of magazines more affordable and likely
• Married women had more financial independence, as mentioned in the financial feature, they had to have their husbands sign the paperwork.
• effected by the Leverson enquiry
• Regulated by the IPSO

Audience:

• Affluent, fashion and style conscious females aged 30-45.
• Vogue defined themselves as: stylish, influential and a luxury item to consumers.
• Their NRS social grades are therefore likely to be in the category of ABC1.
• This magazine would appeal to aspirers or succeeders
• High proportion of fashion features and style and beauty, appeal to the target audience of stylish affluent females with an interest in designer clothing and a concern for their image.
• The travel features reinforce the notion of affluence and suggest the audience is interested in new and original experiences.
• Features about successful female designers suggests that the audience is interested in design, will find these women inspiring and aspirational, and is independent and business/ career-minded.

Media Language- Semiotics (Barthes): Study of signs and their meaning.

• Header- gives the reader knowledge about who made the magazine, this will link to the brand identity
• The use of makeup- connotes femininity and suggests that’s what all women should aspire to look like
• The child in the Imperial Leather advert is assumed to belong to the adult holding them, this suggests that the soap is a family brand and is soft and suitable for children
• in the picnic segment the man is seen to be lying around while the woman pours him tea this suggests that times haven’t changed and women are still seen as domestic beings.

Media Industries- Power and media industries (Curran and Seaton): The idea that media is controlled by a small number of companies primarily driven by the logic of profit and power. This generally limits variety, creativity and quality. More socially diverse patterns of ownership help to create the conditions for more varied and adventurous media products.

• The limited variety in magazines at the time limited representations and reinforced stereotypes this is due to the smaller number of distributers
• Vogue is part of Conde Nast a conglomerate who publish a variety of different magazines from Vogue to GQ and LOVE.
• This inhibits variety and minimises beauty standards as they reuse the same models and styles throughout their magazines, just catered to slightly different audiences.

Media Audiences- Cultivation theory (Gerbner): The idea that we are influenced by the media we constantly consume, and it shapes our thoughts.

• The limited variety in magazines at the time limited representations and reinforced stereotypes
• women were associated with the home and parenting
• They were also sexualised
• The models are used for their bodies and beauty
• Peoples conceptions of what beauty is is highlighted in the magazine: white and skinny
• Women exist not only in the domestic sphere
• These cause anxieties among young women.

Media Audience- Reception theory (Hall): The idea that there are three hypothetical positions from which messages and meanings may be decoded.

• Positive: The reader fully enjoys the text, they like the pretty pictures of the women and enjoy the slight empowerment they are given from Sophia Loren and the financial segment.
• Negotiated: The reader enjoys the material that is given to them but they would prefer a representation more similar to their selves personally.
• Opposed: The stereotypes are offensive, this is likely from a newly empowered woman who doesn’t like the backward way of thinking from the company

Representation- Theories of identity (Gauntlett): he suggests that the media present us with tools that we can use to build our own identities. We can pick and mix which aspects we want to use, he thinks that unlike in the past we have now been offered a more diverse range of stars from whom we may pick and mix.

• In the 60s there were not as many media outlets as there are today, this shows how the representations in the magazine may not have been relatable to the wide market, this is different from now.
• Black people have been largely neglected and celebrities like Beyonce and Michelle Obama have been seen as tokenistic in magazines.
• The audience of the time would have felt that they would need to look skinny to be perceived as pretty, and if they didn’t have a beauty regime.

 

Online Media:

Zoella

Media language: Camera shots/ angles/ editing/ sound /mise en scene

Context:

• The little editing and close ups create the illusion of face-to-face interaction allowing fans to feel friendly and connected to vloggers.

Audience:

Media Language- Semiotics (Barthes): Study of signs and their meaning.

• Hyperlinks- go to other pages, keep it all as one
• Colour scheme shows how feminine it is with the use of pastels and pinks
• The handwritten Zoella gives it a personal touch
• The layout of her blog is very simplistic and clear, this allows anyone to view it with ease opening her up to a wider audience.
• In her vlogs her posture and facial expressions are friendly and open, this allows views to see her as a friend or big sister

Representation- Theories of representation (Hall): Representations are constructed through signs and codes understood by the audience. Stereotypes reduce people to a few characteristics as they are reinforced over time.

• The use of pink and baking connotes femininity
• Her soft spoken tone also connotes femininity
• The stereotypes of social media stars are heavily edited so could be a persona, this isn’t the same case with long time creators like Zoella as she created videos before it was possible to make money from it showing her true intentions.
• Zoella does target a young audience due to her positive and non offensive material, as she shows beauty tutorials she is encouraging a young generation to use makeup, reinforcing the idea that females need makeup and beauty products to be seen as real women.

Representation- Theories of identity (Gauntlett): he suggests that the media present us with tools that we can use to build our own identities. We can pick and mix which aspects we want to use, he thinks that unlike in the past we have now been offered a more diverse range of stars from whom we may pick and mix.

• We have a huge variety of people to chose from, opposed to traditional media
• YouTube and vlogging allows up to communicate with people all over the world
• Subtitles open up the viewing of international celebrities and social media influencers so viewers are more internationally versed
• Influencers also open up, and are more transparent than traditional forms of media, they give personal accounts of stories and sometimes show visual means of illustrating their point (As seen with the illustrations in Dan Howells video “Basically I’m Gay”)

Media Audiences- Cultivation theory (Gerbner): The idea that we are influenced by the media we constantly consume, and it shapes our thoughts.

• Stereotypes are both challenged and reinforced with Web 2.0
• Zoella reinforces female stereotypes with her love for cooking, involvement around her boyfriend and love for being at home. But opposed to traditional media, she shows that it is not a negative thing, but instead what makes her her.
• Online stereotypes are challenged, due to the huge scale it is it is sort of impossible for all content created to fit under one stereotype.
• The stereotypes we had around men and women have transformed into stereotypes about niche audiences like members of the LGBTQ community, fans of certain genres of music or people belonging to certain fandoms.
• By viewing Zoella content alone you may feel that you need to look a certain way, she is your stereotypical “pretty” girl, she’s skinny, white with blue eyes. As she has become famous through popularity from the masses and not from being thrust into the spotlight as a model or actress shows how we as consumers still see her image as the most attractive or desirable.

Media Audiences- Reception Theory (Hall): The idea that there are three hypothetical positions from which messages and meanings may be decoded.

• Positive: The viewer loves her videos and posts, they find her work inspiring and motivating. They feel like friends more than fans.
• Negotiated: The viewers enjoy some of her content but find that they are not obsessed with her content, finding it hit or miss, this could lead to them preferring other social media influencers or not keeping up to date with everything she posts.
• Oppositional: Viewers may not like her happy and carefree attitude and prefer more action of hard hitting content that she does not show. They may also dislike her stereotypical beauty and prefer someone more similar to them.