Slumdog Millionaire Official Posters

The debut issue of LOVE magazine features Beth Ditto as their cover girl and main feature. This is a magazine that aims to break the expected conventions of a women's magazine, Beth Dillon breaks all the 'rules' of what a cover girl should be, she is a 170lbs american singer with tattoos and is very outspoken about her beliefs - this contrasts between the image of a cover girl we would see on another fashion magazine such as Vogue or Elle magazine. The slogan for the magazine that is featured on every issue is 'Fashion and fame.' This gives us context as to what the magazine is about, we know that it is a magazine centralised on the fashion industry, and will therefore feature models and likely have articles on clothing and beauty. We also know that there will be a number of elite persons included in every issue of the magazine which will appeal to it's target audience.

From the cover, we can see the people who are going to be featured in the magazine alongside Beth, who is referred to as one of the 'icons of our generation' by the magazine. All of the elite persons that are listed alongside the image of Beth Ditto are all female bar one, Iggy Pop. Although there is only one article about a male, there are many advertisements through out featuring males.
With traditional women's magazines, they tend to feature a lot of male models and male celebrities to appeal to the target audience of heterosexual women.

Daniel chandler – Notes on ‘The Gaze’

‘To gaze implies more than to look at’

‘Women look into the camera more than men’

‘Where the female model typically averts her eyes, expressing modesty, patience, and a lack of interest in anything else, the male model looks either off or up.’

‘American teenagers have chosen to be portrayed differently in their high-school yearbooks – the focus of their eyes has shifted from a straightforward, open look to a sideways glance resembling glamour poses in fashion magazines.’

‘Looking at someone using a camera (or looking at images thus produced) is clearly different from looking at the same person directly.’

‘The camera turns the depicted person into an object, distancing viewer and viewed.’

‘Viewing such recorded images gives the viewers gaze a voyeuristic dimension.’

‘Those who are culturally defined by the West as weak – women, children, people of colour, the poor, the tribal rather than the modern, those without technology – are more likely to face the camera, the more powerful to be represented looking elsewhere.’

‘Male pin-ups more often than not do not look at the viewer.’

‘Stereotypical notions of masculinity are strongly orientated towards the active.’

‘The male model feels bound to avoid the ‘femininity’ of being posed as the passive object of an active gaze.’

‘The amount of gaze can be related to status or dominance.’

‘The camera can reflect a ‘controlling gaze’’

http://www.theoryhead.com/gender/more.htm

‘More is a British magazine aimed at older teenagers and twentysomething women.’

‘International viewers might think of an even more youthful and zesty version of Cosmopolitan, with even more emphasis on sex and enthusiastic discussion of how you can make men submit to your sexual will.’

‘A woman has the right to look and dress however she likes, for her own pleasure; and that a woman has the right to demand satisfaction in sex, in work, and in every other area of life.’

‘It is emphatically heterosexual (in a way that is not really undermined by the occasional feature on the joys of lesbianism).’

‘The magazines reduce women to sex-obsessed predators, and objectify men as 'eye candy'

‘this is a blatant reversal of the traditional 'male gaze'’

‘They may promote an ideal of attractiveness which readers may be unable or unwilling to attain.’

‘Magazines may not exactly reflect feminist ideals, but points out that, as far as many young women are concerned, academic feminism is part of the world of middle-aged authority figures’

‘Cosmo do promote the kinds of confidence, self-awareness and assertiveness that feminism was always calling for’

Cosmopolitan Magazine - Textual Analysis

The July 2015 issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine has a target audience of heterosexual women, we know this because the headlines featured on the front cover are predominantly centralised around females. For example, 'How it feels to give birth', 'The women drinking themselves out of a job' and 'Love yourself, Love your body, Love your man.' These are all subject matters that would mainly strike an interest with females, although there will also be some males who will like women, take the preferred reading to this media text. 

We can straightaway see that this magazine values appearance and looking good, and we can see that the encoders of the magazine think it is important. We are also presented with the ideology that all women should want to impress men and receive attention from them and make them happy, a person taking a preferred reading to this would agree with these ideologies and want to learn how to keep a man happy, whereas someone taking an oppositional reading such as a heterosexual female, or a woman with very strong feminist views, would reject these ideologies. Another ideology which we are presented with is that, fashion and clothing are important aspects of a female's life. We know this because one of the few headlines that have been selected to be on the front cover of the magazine is 'Summer fashion sorted! From beachwear to workwear.' This suggests that this magazine has the answers to any fashion problems that the consumers of this text may have, it offers the audience with a choice of two styles 'beachwear' and 'workwear' suggesting that whatever style you need, this magazine has the answer. 

There is also an aspect of realism featured on this front cover as one of the headlines reads "I escaped death by seconds. he pointed his gun at me... and then it jammed.' This story is shocking and enticing for that matter, but due to the fact that it has come from presumably a consumer of this media text, it will create a sense of relatability and empathy amongst its audience. 

The layout of the page itself reflects the image of a woman's life. The page has some structure to it, however the use of different typography, font sizes and colour, could some way mirror the chaotic life of a female. The main, and only image that is used on the front cover of the magazine features elite person Paloma Faith, who is an extremely famous and well respected singer/songwriter. The image has been shot by using a medium shot, this allows us to see her outfit and her make up clearly, which again reinforces the ideology that fashion, make up and looking good are important in this society. The image of Paloma that has been selected is of her smiling and laughing creates a sense of friendliness and closeness. The headline that is associated with Paloma is a quote from herself from an interview that can be read later on in the magazine which says "I've fired people for not being kind." This portrays the empowering woman dominating and powerful aspect of this magazine which will create a bond between the audience and the encoders. 

Media, Gender and Identity - David Gauntlett.

'Modern media has little time or respect for tradition.'

'Magazines, bought on one level for a quick fix of glossy entertainment, promote self-confidence (even if they partly undermine it, for some readers, at the same time) and provide information about sex, relationships and lifestyles which can be put to a variety of uses. '

'The mass media is a force for change. The traditional view of a woman as a housewife or low-status worker has been kick-boxed out of the picture by the feisty, successful 'girl power' icons.'

'Meanwhile the masculine ideals of absolute toughness, stubborn self-reliance and emotional silence have been shaken by a new emphasis on men's emotions, need for advice, and the problems of masculinity.'

'We cannot help but notice, of course, that older people are also unlikely to be consumers of magazines like Cosmopolitan, More or FHM, and are not a key audience for today's pop music sensations. '

'things change, and are changing. Media formats and contents change all the time. Audiences change too, albeit more slowly. Views of gender and sexuality, masculinity and femininity, identity and selfhood, are all in slow but steady processes of change and transformation.'

'Role models serve as navigation points as individuals steer their own personal routes through life.'

'Magazines for young women are emphatic in their determination that women must do their own thing, be themselves, and/or be as outrageously sassy and sexy as possible'

‘lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people are still under-represented in much of the mainstream media.’

‘today, nothing about identity is clear’

Representation of women in advertising

This print based advert, which is for Covergirl make up, featuring the image of actress Sofia Vergara, specifically targets women. In this advertisement we can see a young, woman with flawless looking skin, with an image of the make up placed over her hands. The target audience would naturally be women, as the brand is being represented by a woman, and it is most often women who wear make up. This advert has the features of a typical make up or skincare ad, it features a young, attractive woman, with perfect teeth, sin and hair which would be the main image of the ad. The brand is shown in writing and an image of the product is also shown.

This advert is following the stereotype that all women wear make up, and want to have flawless skin and look like the woman shown in the ad. The advert includes text which says; 'introducing a longwear that will keep you fabulous from 9-5.' This is referring to the stereotypical job time for a woman, working the hours of nine to five. For most women this is clearly not the case, as their hours will mostly be longer. This advert portrays the ideology that women want to wear make up and they want it to say perfect through out the day.

Another ideology is that women want to be seen as attractive, beautiful and desirable. The text on the advert also states that the actress representing this brand is wearing the make up featured, however they are leaving out the fact that the image has also been photoshopped and airbrushed. Women are being presented with the idea that if they wear this foundation they too can have a flawless looking complexion like Sophie Vergara, however it may be the case that some women don't desire this. It is a well known stereotype that a woman's appearance is what matters the most to her and that they are obsessive about make up and fashion. This advert tells us that this is what being feminine and a typical woman should look like, that women should wear make up and want to look pretty - although this factor may be true for many women, this is not the case for the entire female population.

The audience of this advert would be women, from the ages of around fifteen and above as this is the ages that some women become interested in make up. As this is a print based advert, it is likely that it would be featured in a magazine or on a billboard.

Narrative devices in Alfred Hitchcock's: Psycho

The film ‘Psycho’ directed by Alfred Hitchcock, is one of the most famous movies in the film and media industry. There are various techniques used in the film that makes it so powerful and have such a great impact on its audience.  To move the story forwards, Hitchcock uses different narrative codes, an example of this is; enigma and action, these are used throughout the film.  The first action code that really gets the story going is when main character Marion Crane steals the $40,000; this sets the story and makes the audience think that the rest of the film is going to be about Marion and the stolen money.  However I think that this could also be an enigma code, maybe the audience have the question of why she has chosen to steal the money and where she is going now. This also leaves us to somewhat question her personality, as we identify with Marion, and she doesn't look like a typical criminal or a bad person.  Another enigma code would be about Norman’s mother. From the moment Norman Bates mentions ‘mother’ we spend the rest of the film wondering who this mysterious woman could be.  Up until the point where Sam and Lila talk to the local Sheriff, we as an audience are lead to believe that Normans mother is simply a bitter and mean old lady who lives in the house alone. After the conversation with the sheriff questions are raised once we discover that she is said to be dead.

The camera is used really effectively during the whole film to manipulate the audience’s point of view, from the beginning of the film; the audience is forced to identify with Marion. We see Marion throughout the film in every scene, up until just after she has been murdered. If we don’t see Marion then it is because we are seeing things through her eyes, reinforcing the sense of identification we have with her. When we see Marion driving away from her home town, a close up shot is used to show an emphasis on her emotions – particularly her eyes, she has very innocent and almost doe like eyes. We can see the worry and guilt she is feeling without her even saying anything or hearing her thoughts.  There is a scene in the film where Norman is being interrogated by Arbogast, here the camera angle changes very discretely and positions us from a medium close up, to being underneath him at a low angle shot. This makes us feel slightly scared of and intimidated by Norman, it feels as if he is standing over us and going to do something bad. The lighting in this scene also emphasizes the contrast between light and dark, this also creates the shadows we see in the scene. This presents us with the ideology that Norman has two sides to him, and him having a split personality – himself and ‘mother’.

We are lead to believe that the plot of the film is going to be based on the money and Marion's quest to be with Sam, however this is not the case. From the moment she steals the money tension is created. when Marion goes home from work, the camera zooms in repeatedly on the money and pans across to a suitcase she has packed, in this scene we see her getting changed, it has now been made clear that she is going to take the money and run away. When we see Marion driving in the car, we are able to hear her thoughts, we can hear Sam's voice so we know that is where/ who she is planning to go to. 
When she sees her boss when she is driving away, tension is created. We can see this by her shocked facial expression and the use of dramatic violins playing. There are other moments of tension we experience with Marion before she get's to the motel, such as; the police want to see her licence and then follows her to the car dealership, he just stands there across the road watching her, making the audience wonder why he is doing so and if she is going to get into any trouble.  

The narrative used in the film is both omniscient and restricted at different points throughout, up until Marion dies, the narration is restricted; this is due to the fact that we are seeing everything from her point of view. Therefore we know as much as she does, it is only after she is killed that we find out the whole story and we know more than the other characters – meaning the narration becomes omniscient.  When Marion dies, it builds tension because we don’t have all of the information at this point. The narrative is omniscient after she dies because we then know that she is dead; we also know where her body and the money is. As an audience, we also discover that Arbogast has been killed too, and at this point, the other characters still don’t know the truth.

Todorov’s stages of narrative can be applied to any film, including Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’. As the film is set from Marion’s point of view, we are lead to believe that it is her story so the stages of narrative will be  based around her, however in this story, this is not the case. Marion’s equilibrium would be that Marion wants to leave her life behind and live with Sam, the money becomes the disruption, the recognition of the disruption would be her stealing he money, then her leaving Phoenix to get to Sam as the attempt to repair – however this theory is interrupted as she is murdered by Norman. In this film, Hitchcock has been clever with the use of the stages of narrative. When we look at the narrative as a whole, we can see that the equilibrium is Norman and his mother essentially living in the same body… more so Norman’s mind. The disruption is Marion’s arrival to the motel; her murder is the recognition of the disruption. This happens because the mother side of Norman’s mind is jealous of Norman’s feelings for Marion.  The attempt to repair the disruption then becomes everything Norman has to do to get back to his normal life. We find that this doesn't work, which results in the story finishes with a New Equilibrium.

I think that throughout the whole film Hitchcock challenges our expectations and surprises the audience in regards to the character types. In regards to Propp’s character types, I think that is clear for the film Psycho, who fits into which category.  Norman Bates is the evil villain; this is obvious because he is a bad person and a murderer… which is a bad person in itself! Marion is the princess of the narrative, we can see this because she is the person whom the hero wants to marry but there is an obstacle preventing this from happening. The hero in psycho is Sam, as he wants to marry her and he tries to find her, it could also be said that either Arbogast or Lila are the helper character.  Hitchcock challenges the expectations of the audience as straight away we are able to identify with Marion as a range of techniques are used to help us do this, such as a voice over to hear her thoughts, which is extremely personal, close up shots to see her emotions, we even in two scenes follow her into the bathroom. We identify with her for 47 minutes of the film, and then without a slight hint, she is taken away from us, then as an audience we are shocked and surprised by this, we want justice for her killing. We feel lost and confused about this event, but we need someone else to identify with. Although we may not necessarily want to, but for the next few scenes, we are forced to identify with Norman Bates who disposes of her body. We then align with Arbogast, until he too is murdered.

One of the main binary oppositions in the film would be Norman vs his other personality (mother). This is a constant reoccurring opposition during the film; it creates a tense clash between the two sides of Norman. We know that he doesn't want to be feeling like this, and he tries to suppress this dark side that is ‘mother’ but no matter how hard he tries, he cannot seem to contain himself which eventually leads to his downfall. This binary opposition is probably the most important because it is always in the audience’s minds, we are constantly wondering who mother is, when we will actually see her, and sometimes is she even real? The opposition of right vs wrong is another clear opposition shown in the film. We know that Norman is clearly in the wrong because he murders Marion, however, it could also be suggested that Marion too is in the wrong, as she steals a great deal of money from Cassidy. Although, it is arguable that she is right for doing that, as what we see of Cassidy isn't a very nice side, and she needs the money so she can be with Sam – something we as an audience really want her to achieve, even if it is morally wrong the way she is going about it.

The overall visual impact of the film is quite remarkable, as camera and editing are used very well to fit in with the genre of a thriller. I think that the film psycho is unlike many thrillers of today, but in many ways I think it is better, as the events that happened, for me were unpredictable. The shower scene was incredible! This scene is one of the most famous scenes in film history, this is for many reasons. This scene was filmed using a shocking 52 shots; there is a juxtaposition of slow pace, to becoming very fast and then slow again, when we don’t know what will happen. The editing used in this scene is full of jump cuts, these are two or more shots which don’t have a smooth transition, this can be extremely disorientating for the audience, as it breaks the narrative flow.  The camera shots used move from being medium shots to extreme close ups, this presents us with shots of Marion’s face whilst she is being attacked. The music used in this scene, but also any time in the film that anything dramatic happens, is the unsettling and very high pitched violin shrieks, this sound is discordant and very repetitive. Marion’s screams of terror in this scene are prolonged and loud, they almost blend in with the high pitch screams of the violin. The killer is only shown as a silhouette, therefore we don’t get to see their identity, this is also our first moment away from Marion – this is where the omniscient narration begins. As Marion is taking a shower, she is at the most vulnerable position she can be in. she is naked and defenseless, the only thing she has to protect herself with is her bare hands, this makes us as an audience feel more sympathy towards her.

At the very end of the narrative, graphic match is used, this is where two shots are edited together which resemble one another visually. This happens very quickly where Norman is sitting in the prison cell, and we see his face merged with the skull of his dead mother.As this happens so quickly, the audience are left wondering if we really did see the skull and his ace merge into one. The scene before this happens is very creepy, there is a very unusual use of voice over as opposed to the use of VO in previous scenes where we hear Marion's paranoid thoughts. We hear Norman's mother's thoughts inside his head, they are her thoughts but not his voice. Norman breaks the fourth wall which is not a common technique used in films as it is hard to do and in this case quite unsettling, the text here is addressing the audience, Norman stares at the camera with a very eerie looking expression on his face, reinforcing the idea that he is mentally ill. 

Genre Essay

The film trailer that I have chosen to analyse is John Green's 'The Fault In Our Stars.'

The genre of The fault in our stars (TFIOS) can be classed as being three different types; romance, comedy and drama.

Plot: the plot of  The fault in our stars is; that seventeen year old Hazel Grace Lancaster has been forced to attend a support group for people like her who have cancer. She reluctantly goes to the support group meetings and catches the eye of another teenage boy called Augustus Waters - who is there to support his best friend Isaac. Augustus does not have cancer anymore, however he used to but is now in remission. After the meeting, he confronts Hazel and tells her that she looks beautiful. The two go back to his house and watch a movie and share their stories of their cancer, we find out that Augustus had to have one of his legs amputated. The pair get to know each other and agree to read the other's favourite book, Later on in the trailer we see their friendship turn into something else, as their intense feelings of love become clear as he brings her flowers, takes her to dinner and declares his love for her in a beautiful speech whilst in an expensive restaurant in Amsterdam. after this we see a fast paced series of clips where we see the two experience a vast array of emotions. the trailer ends as it begun, with Hazel laying down on the floor looking up at the stars and talking to the audience, 

Iconography: used in a romance film is that they are commonly set in parks, a restaurant or romantic cities, such as Amsterdam. Kissing is also a feature of iconography in a romantic comedy film, the two main characters end up kissing after a big build-up of romantic tension and often happens at the perfect time – in this case, at the top of the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam.  Another common feature of iconography in romantic films are flowers, in the trailer we see main character Augustus Waters walking behind Hazel carrying a bunch of red flowers, red also being the colour associated with love.  A key element of the drama genre in iconography is real life issues being used, in the trailer we see a young teenage girl and boy falling for each other, whilst dealing with one of the most heart breaking illnesses – cancer. This element of realness makes it easier to identify and relate to the protagonists. Most dramas have a set structure in which everything is alright and positive, then something goes wrong and there is a huge disturbance, then finally everything is either alright or ends in disaster. In the trailer we see both Hazel and Gus start of alright, then towards the end we see shots of them crying. The genre of comedy is shown by one of the characters throwing eggs at a car, which is a classic device used in comedy films.

Mise-en-scene:  the costume worn by the characters is casual and informal throughout most of the trailer, apart from when they are dressed formally in a restaurant. We see Hazel with an oxygen tube attached to her due to her illness, this also suggests how strong their romantic feelings towards each other are, as we see them in an intimate scene where she s in her underwear and has her oxygen tube on, showing her vulnerability, and the fact that he still looks at her with a vast amount of love. The lighting used in the trailer is bright and colourful to signify romance and happiness; there is however, an exception to this. The trailer opens with a close up shot of Hazel, here the lighting is dark, she is outside and it is presumably night time due to the lighting being so dark and not illuminated. The use of a close up shot helps us to see the emotion on her face, this also helps us to see her true feelings when talking to Augustus as we cans see the look of love on her face, which is classic in most romance films. Over the shoulder shots are used when the two main characters are having a conversation, this helps us to establish a feel of empathy and relatability with Hazel, as we are looking over her shoulder, this also helps us to see the same distance and view what she is seeing.  Reverse shots are used to show a conversation between the characters in most scenes.  Despite her illness, we see Hazel out and about like normal teenagers would be, this shows us that the illness doesn’t prevent her from having a normal, and happy life.  Flashbacks are used in the form of a montage to create the  trailer, we are being told the story of Hazel and Augustus, also, the trailer begins and ends with the same equilibrium of Hazel lying on the floor outside talking to the audience

Setting: as the trailer is done in the form of a montage, we see different clips of the film, meaning that we see different settings. The main settings for this film are; the hospital, home, Amsterdam, garden, and the restaurant. The setting is very important when it comes to analyzing drama as we wouldn't expect to see for example a sci-fi movie taking place on a beach. The garden, and restaurant connote with the genre of romance. whereas the scenes that take place in the home of either Gus or Hazel, or the hospital, are extremely dramatic and a lot of fast paced shots and close ups are used to portray high aspects of emotion and drama. 

Music/sound:  the music in the trailer is, ‘what I wouldn't do –what I wouldn't do’ by Serena Ryder, and ‘is that what you wanted’ by One Republic’.  The song ‘what I wouldn't do is a very slow paced song which fits the romantic feel to the trailer perfectly. The song changes into ‘is that what you wanted’ after Hazel says the words “Gus I’m a grenade.”  The second song used is much more dramatic and fits with the dramatic speech made by Augustus and the intense montage of shots shown.  The trailer opens with a voice over from Hazel; we get this throughout the trailer, but mostly at the beginning when she is explaining about herself and her life. This immediately gives us a bond with the main character as not only is she the first person we are introduced to, but we get to hear her thoughts, which no one else does.  

Stars and directors: the two main characters in this film are Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort. Shailene was more well-known than Ansel before TFIOS, however the two have become increasingly popular since the film was released. They have also acted alongside each other in previous film ‘Divergent’ so they have chemistry and act well together. The director of this film, is Josh Boone, he isn't well known and this is only his second film that he has directed. It can be said that the director is the most important person in a film. This can be said for many different reasons such as; they help the actors deliver their performance, they use camera angle and editing to emphasize something.

Media diary – week 6

Guilty Pleasures

As much as I don’t want to admit this, for as long as I can remember, I have had an embarrassing obsession with the spice girls… when I was 7 or 8, my mum was having a clear out of all her old videos, and she found the video recording of the spice girls concert live in Istanbul. As awkward and embarrassing as this is, every night without fail until I was about 10, I would watch this video recording of the concert and backstage footage and interviews. To this day I still know every lyric and dance move to all of their songs. Eventually I grew out of this phase, mainly due to embarrassment but partially due to the fact that DVDs came into fashion and my trusty video player broke, so I had no way of watching my beloved spice girls video.  But last Christmas, my childhood obsession returned, as on Christmas day, I opened a present which became my favourite one that year despite getting an iPhone… I’m sure you can guess what it was! A DVD version of the concert! I actually can’t believe that I’m writing about this, I can feel myself going red…

The general target audience would be mostly people who were fans of the Spice Girls during their rise to becoming Britain’s number one girl band, or people like me who were brought up in a very musical family and were influenced by the music around them. This isn’t a media text that I would usually consume as the spice girls haven’t been making music for some time now, and they are not seen as being popular in the current music charts. The style of music that is popular now, is not the same as what was popular in the 90’s, as music has changed. Although my music taste is completely different to the spice girls, I have to admit, I do have their albums hidden away on my phone.

Seeing as I have consumed this media text from a very young age, and considering the way in which I responded to it, I think that it is safe to say that I have taken the preferred reading to the text. The DVD’s main purpose was to provide the audience with a positive insight into the 5 girl’s life and make it easier to view them as being regular people as well as being famous. 

Media diary – week 5

Uses and gratification

I have recently listened to The Fault in Our Stars soundtrack a lot! As I do with most albums that I listen too, I do it as a form as escapism, this is a very common reason as to why people listen to music. I use this as a form of escapism as I have enjoyed both reading and watching the book and film version of John Green’s TFIOS; I found the storyline extremely gripping and informative as it explained that living with cancer is not always a negative experience, but also gave an insight into cancer patients live, thoroughly explaining the ins and outs. When it comes to the soundtrack from the film, there is a mixture of both happy and sad songs; there is also a wide variety of artists which I enjoyed because there are both mainstream and less well known artists featured on the album. This gave me a chance to indulge in other people’s music that I would not usually choose to listen to.  The songs featured on the album are quite emotional, I think the main reason I enjoy the album so much is because I associate it with the film, and also who I went to see the film with, meaning that it affects me on a more personal level.  Both the book, film, and soundtrack have been a popular topic of conversation for many people around my age group as it was a bestseller worldwide. For months it was the main topic on social networking sites for thousands of people. This also resulted in the author John Green becoming more famous and his other books becoming popular and well known.

Another media text that I have consumed over the past week is the TV series Skins that used to be aired on channel 4, but is now only available to watch on demand or by purchasing the DVD boxset. I watch this series for quite a few reasons but mainly for personal identity and entertainment.  I identify with this media text mainly because the programme is based on a group of teenagers and their two years at sixth form, so the problems and dramas they encounter are realistic and relatable to me. Another thing that I can identify with is the fact that the writers of the series are teenagers/young adults, meaning they understand what the audience will respond well too.  There is a very humorous element to the show making it entertaining to watch, as there is an intriguing storyline throughout the series and each episode is new and exciting. I wouldn’t personally say that this media text falls into the social interaction category, due to the fact that it is not currently being aired on television anymore, so it is not usually a hot topic of conversation, and when people do talk about it, it is usually in a nostalgic manor. 

Media Diary - Week 4

The text that changed my life: Demi Lovato Stay Strong documentary (2012)

This media text is definitely the one that has had the biggest impact on my life so far. This text is about my idol Demi Lovato and her journey through recovering from mental illness whilst going on her first tour, since she went into rehab. This documentary gives the audience a very personal insight to Demi’s life, with unseen footage and interviews with the star.  As a massive fan of Demi, it was very emotional for me to watch her speak so openly and passionately about her struggles, so that she can help others going through the same things.  I think that for many people, when we look up to someone, it is very easy for us to believe what they say, so when she is giving us her story and showing us the right way to go about dealing with things – even if it isn’t what we want to here, we feel more compelled to believe that it is true. Demi also lets the MTV audience witness first-hand her on-going evolution as an artist - as she grows from her Disney past and tries on a new persona as confessional singer-songwriter, and performs a deeply personal and emotional album in front of thousands of people for the first time.

I remember sitting down and watching this for the first time in 2012, and just being so overwhelmed and emotional throughout the whole of the documentary. There was a single moment in the media text when I got so emotional and started crying – this was the point where Demi went back to visit her treatment centre to give a speech to the girls there who are suffering with the same things as she did/does.  Listening to her being so honest and giving such powerful advice, really struck a nerve for me and it felt so relatable and personal.

I think that this media text has influenced me a great deal, as it has had an effect on decisions I’ve made the past two years and even more so the months after watching it. There is a lot of useful advice within the documentary and I know that it has had the same effect on many other fans that have experienced the same things as she has.

I think that anyone would enjoy this documentary as most people enjoy finding out more about celebrities lives, however I think that it would mostly appeal to her fans and teenagers, as they would have more of an interest in Demi herself, as they will know of her past and her struggles and will look forward to seeing the recovered, happy healthy side to her. 

Media diary - week 3

Audience Classification – Doctor Who

For this week’s media diary, I have decided to write about (my favourite TV show ever!!!) the popular UK series that has been aired for many years (1963), Doctor Who.  There have also been shows related to this one such as The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood. Doctor Who is a British science fiction programme which depicts the adventures of the Doctor who is a Time Lord who time travels and explores the universe in his extremely well known iconic TARDIS. Every 3 or so series’ there is a new actor who takes the role of the Doctor, alongside new companions who join him in his world of mystery and drama. This programme is mainly aimed at teenagers and young people as the storylines are easy to follow, and the characters are appealing to people of this age group.

When it comes to the income and status model, I think that Doctor Who would in some way appeal to someone in each of the categories, due to the fact that it has been aired across many generations of people and on such a popular TV station, BBC. This TV show is viewed by children as it is aired on a family channel, at a child friendly time, and the evil characters featured in the programme aren't too scary. However, I think that it would mainly appeal to group C2, D and E, as this group of people will have a lot of time to watch shows like this. For example, students are a perfect example of this, as the age group of these people are those who still attend school and also, this programme is on weekly, and they will be able to watch it as it would be convenient for them. I believe that when writing this TV programme, the writers would have kept in mind the types of audiences, as most of the storylines clearly appeal to a certain type of people. This programme reaches out and appeals to both genders despite the fact that all of the Doctors are males, there are aspects in the show such as female companions to appeal to the women viewers. The show is British, however there are people of different nationalities frequently featured on the show, and it is not specifically set in one area of Britain, so there is a wide variety of an accent within all characters featured on the show.

For Young and Rubicam’s 4 C’s model, I would say that this targets the explorer, as their core need in life is for discovery and they seek out difference and something new. Doctor who would fit them perfectly as each episode is something new and different, as each week there is a brand new episode with a whole new storyline and adventure for them to watch and enjoy. Mainstreamers would also be a target audience for this programme because they respond to big established brand and names, and the BBC is a well-known, reliable family channel. They like familiarity, which suits Doctor Who as t is aired weekly with very little interruption and the time change is usually only by an hour and no later.

The lifestyle categories which Doctor Who would fit into would be the traditionalists, as these are a group of people who want things to stay the same, and although there is a brand new episode every week, the storylines are pretty similar and, the fact that it is on every week and the programme has been on television since 1963, would be suited to them as they don’t like change.  Contrasting to this, Doctor Who could appeal to the drop outs, as they don’t want to be committed. Although there is a consistent storyline throughout each series, it is very loose and easy to pick up at any point, meaning that it is not necessary o watch each and every episode to understand what is going on. 

When it comes to audience profiling, as media students we are aware that media producers see the audience as that of a mass and not just as individual people. The target audience for this programme would be mainly boys, however there are aspects that appeal to females too. This is also a programme enjoyed by families, as seen on the channel 4 show ‘Gogglebox’ I too enjoy watching the weekly episodes of Doctor Who with my parents, even if they don’t always know what’s going on and they ask the most annoyingly obvious questions throughout the episode. I would say that even though the series is sci-fi based, it does not just appeal to sci-fi fans. I myself would not say that I am a huge science fiction lover; however I have been a massive fan of Doctor Who since the first series in the 21^st century with Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor. There have been twelve different actors who have headlined the series as the Doctor, but only 4 of those are featured in the 21^st century which are the most popular, each actor portrays the Doctor in a different manner, they are essentially playing the same character and form part of the same storyline. 

Media diary week 2

Free choice – peroxide Nina Nesbitt 27/10/14 17:42

Peroxide is the first studio album released in February 2014, which was produced and written by 20 year old Scottish singer/songwriter Nina Nesbitt, this album  following her previous singles and EP’s released over the past few years. This is a big step for Nina as she had previously only released EP’s and singles, which did quite well in the charts which is very good considering the fact that she wasn't well known. Her single stay out reached number 21 in the UK singles charts in April 2013.  Nina became famous as when she was only 16, she was invited to be Ed Sheeran’s support act on tour, and from there she was able to headline her own tours.

Her genre of music is described as acoustic, pop, rock, and she is signed at the label Universal Music Group. Nina writes her music to entertain her audience who have an interest in this style of music; however I would say that the main audience for this album is teenagers and young adults, as she writes about things that are relatable and relevant to people who are of a similar age to her, however I believe that most people would enjoy her music, as there is a mixed variety. She is also known for her cover of Fleetwood Mac’s song ‘Don’t stop’ which was used in the John Lewis advertising campaign.

There has only been one single so far from this album; the lead single ‘selfies’ from her album Peroxide reached number 40 in the UK singles chart, making it her second UK top  40 single.  There are two editions two the album, the single edition contains 13 tracks, and the deluxe edition contains 20.

Personally, I enjoy this album, as there is a song for pretty much every mood or situation I’m in. I have been a fan of Nina for quite some time now, and I have followed her music career, so I always look forward to seeing something new from her. This album is very personal, and some of the songs have been written years before the album was released. I think people will have mixed responses and opinions towards this album – you really do either love it or hate it. I think that some people would find it easy to find a song to relate to, however if someone is a huge fan o heavy metal music or classical music, there’s a high chance they might not enjoy the album as much as someone who listens to a similar genre of music to Nina’s would.

Nina is not a typical mainstream artist, and that is one to the things people like about her Nowadays pretty much everyone’s music sounds the same and there’s not much difference between artists, but when it comes to Nina this is not the case. Her songs are not often played on the radio, although a few o her songs have been played on the radio, she is not as famous as someone like Beyoncé or Ariana Grande, well at least not yet. For people to consume her music they would have to buy the album on iTunes or by a CD as it is not a commonly played album. ‘Peroxide’ is the perfect album to listen to when you’re doing work, and you need something to listen to in the background, yet it is also appropriate for listening to when you’re going through a break up, or you’re in a relationship, maybe I you’re in a bad mood, there’s something on this album for everyone. However people would have different responses to the album depending on their own personal preferences, however, it would not appeal to people such as the Mainstreamers as they like big established names, which is the opposite to what Nina is at the moment. The explorers would enjoy Nina’s music as they like to try new things, and this type of music is different to the social norms.

Media diary – week one

Review: Miranda TV series

The media text I am going to be writing about is the well-known UK TV series Miranda, which is aired on BBC. The programme has been running since the 9^th of November 2009, and is still ongoing. It is based around the award winning actor/comedian Miranda Heart’s life experiences – most of them extremely humorous. The main characters in the show are Miranda herself, her best friend Stevie, her love interest Garry, and annoying – yet witty mother penny. The target audience for this media text would be teenagers and adults of all ages, and could be categorised as being for the Mainstream group, as the channel it is streamed on (The BBC) is a well-known trusted family channel. The general premise of the show s the on and off flirtatious banter between her and the chef next door, and the unusual competitions and games between Miranda and her short, easily amused best friend/manager.

There have been 3 series’ so far and each episode is sadly only 30 minutes long! The show is written by and starring Miranda Heart, who, in the show, runs a joke shop with her best friend, is looking for love, and gets mocked by her mother over her weight! She is a 6ft one woman who often gets mistaken for a ‘sir’ and doesn't fit in with her posh friends from boarding school, as she is extremely socially awkward even more so around men! Miranda is a constant disappointment to her mother penny as she is desperate for her to have a ‘proper’ job as opposed to her joke shop which she loves, and get married. The show revolves around her mother’s desire for her to marry, Miranda’s lack of business knowledge and her childhood best friend having to run the shop, and her friend Garry Preston from university who works in the restaurant next door to her shop. At the end of each episode, everyone comes together and waves goodbye to the audience, which is different as we don’t normally see this in everyday programmes.

There are many ideologies explored in the programme, the main one is about not taking life to seriously. Miranda is certainty not afraid of making herself look stupid and having a laugh and a joke which is shown as she frequently falls over and walks into things. Another ideology explored is about doing what makes you happy, and not caring about what other people think of you. Miranda runs a joke shop with her friend Stevie, and to many people such as succeeder and aspirers this is not seen as being a ‘proper’ or a well-paid, high status job, but to Miranda what matters is being happy and being with people you love. Working in the joke shop proves to be difficult for her as she lacks business skills and is immature, which makes it even more hilarious to watch!  Most people will understand the ideologies presented in the show, however there will be some who will reject them and end up taking a negotiated reading. People might be too serious and not have a sense of humour, meaning they could find this series to be annoying and not able to find the meaning of the ideologies, and not be able to interpret what has been encoded.

The purpose of this media text is for entertainment, the characters are intended to be relatable, and as I’m sure we all have moments we make a fool out of ourselves, by lying in socially awkward situations to impress when we feel uncomfortable. Though they may not be quite as elaborate as Miranda’s awkward moments, as in the first episode, we see her lying to a friend she hasn't seen in years, by saying she is an Olympic gymnast in the ‘bustier’ category and that is why she is not seen on TV.  Soon after this, she ends up accidentally dressing up as a transvestite for her date after being mistaken for a man, there’s something about her character that we find lovable and relatable, as she is not afraid to make a fool of herself, so why should we be? Important lessons can be taken from Miranda heart, as I think she is a good role model to have, she is not a typical woman and she is not afraid to be herself. 

Lines of appeal

1. Find an advertising campaign that uses humour as its main persuasive device. Analyse the humour use and discuss who the target audience are using the audience classification methods we have studied.

This advert for Evian water uses a very unusual and almost impossible situation, in which there is a group of babies dancing in a park whilst wearing roller skates. The two situations would not usually be put together which creates a humorous effect. Due to this concept being almost impossible, Evian is portraying the idea that if you were to drink the water you too can do anything.

The target audience for this advert is the Mainstreamers from Young & Rubicam’s 4C’s model. The ideologies associated with this advert, both print and video, is to do with health and that sport should be an important part in your life. This could be why Evian have used babies to advertise their product, because if babies can do exercise and drink enough water when this is virtually impossible; then we should too. Another ideology is about being young and how we should stay young. The advert also plays on the slogan ‘Evian. Live young.’ This had been used in a humorous context, as the babies are the youngest form a person can be, and this also plays on the fact that they are free and have no responsibilities, suggesting that we could be as free as the babies if we drink Evian water.

2. Write down a slogan for a product recently advertised. Analyse the language devices used to say why it is an effective and memorable slogan - how does it speak to an audience?

‘Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline’

This is an extremely well known slogan, the words ‘maybe’ and ‘Maybelline’ sound very similar as they both contain the word ‘maybe’ which makes the slogan easy to remember. The word maybe also leaves us open to possibilities and questions as it is not a declarative statement. The word ‘it’ is used, however it is not made clear what ‘it’ is, meaning that it is open to interpretation and makes it more personal as ‘it’ may be different for each person. The text, whether it is in print form or in video form, is always written in black or white capital letters, with the brand name bigger and bolder than the first part of the slogan. The slogan includes the word ‘she’ which suggests that they are talking about someone, but is not made clear who. This leaves us open to the idea that they could be talking about you. This also suggests that if you yourself are not born with ‘it’ then there is something you can do in order to get ‘it’ which would be to use a Maybelline product.

3. Find an advertising campaign that uses shock tactics - analyse why an audience would find it so shocking?

This advert for the child protection campaign NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty Against Children) is seen as shocking as all of their advert uses regular children who are in poor living conditions and look upset. This advert challenges the need to nurture and protect those who are vulnerable, and in this case, young children are used, who are portrayed to be the most vulnerable as they are unable to look after themselves. This makes the audience feel responsible in some way and that they have to tale action to protect these children. This advert also challenges the need to feel safe, as it is made clear that the children shown in the advert are not safe and they are under threat so we feel obliged to act upon this.

The NSPCC logo is written in bold green lettering with a big green full stop after it, with the slogan ‘Cruelty to children must stop. FULL STOP.’ The full stop emphasises the fact that it is the end of the sentence, and also the fact that there is nothing more to say on the matter.

4. Find an advert which stereotypes a group of people, what stereotypes are there in the adver

There is a very happy and loving atmosphere in this advert, as this advert appeals to our love and belonging needs as it shows us a very happy and content family sitting down to eat a meal together. This text stereotypes Italians talking in a strong typical Italian accent, also the music playing in the background is 'traditional' Italian music, which reinforces the stereotype further. Another stereotype is that all families sit down together to eat meals and the idea that it is the woman/mother who is the one to do the cooking in the house.

5. Find an example of intertextuality used in an advert, how is it used - who will recognize the reference?

The GHD advert uses intertextuality, the advert is based around ‘Twisted Fairy tales and includes characters such as Rapunzel, Red Riding Hood and Cinderella. It has the strapline "You can do anything with your hair.” The advert is for the new GHD hair straighteners and would appeal to our need for attention, as we want to be desirable and noticed, products such as the GHD straighteners will help us do so. The characters used in the advert are from extremely well known Fairy tales which most people, if not everyone will be able to recognize. The use of fairy tales creates a feel of nostalgia which engages the audience and causes them to personally relate and identify with the text. The advert uses the intertextual reference from the actual story of Rapulzel by using the famous quote "Rapunzel, Rapunzel" however the quote is changed to be more fitting with the product. 

6. Find an example of elite persons being used in advertising. What do they represent to the audience, why have they been used?

Nicole Scherzinger has been used to advertise the different ranges of the Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner. Nicole is an iconic celebrity and is known for having radiant hair, therefore she possesses the qualities and ideologies in which Herbal Essences want to promote. The target audience for this advert would be the aspirers because image and appearance is important to them and the succeeders as they seek the best and prestige. Reinforcing the idea that if Nicole Scherzinger is using this brand then it must be good enough for them to use it too.  The advert has been filmed on an aeroplane, which Nicole is sharing with other passengers - which in real life would be highly unlikely due to her status. We see Nicole go into the bathroom and begin to wash her hair with the Herbal essences shampoo, however there is a humorous aspect to this advert, as she accidentally clicks the help button so everyone on board the aeroplane can hear her washing her hair in a very exaggerated manor.

7. Find an example of 'reward & punishment' persuasion in current campaigns. What ideologies are being rewarded and which punished?

This advert offers reward and punishment but mostly punishment. There is colourful child like handwriting on the advert written underneath the typed text, this is done to present the idea that when you do something, children will copy you. The punishment ideology used in this advert is that if you don't have good road safety habits, then your children will too, which could result in something bad happening to them as a result of your actions. There is however a reward offered which is that you can change your road safety issues and nothing bad will come of it. The 'Think' logo is located at the bottom of the advertisement which would be useful for any advice on road safety.