A close textual analysis on the various devices used by Donnie Darko (2001) as a means of exploring themes

Introduction
The progression of alternative narrative systems in film has soared over the last 30-40 years, as the appeal to make films all the more engaging has been hugely successful and has established a position in mainstream production. Examples of this are seen to come into fruition in films such as Reservoir Dogs (1992), The Usual Suspects (1995) and more recently in films such as The Butterfly Effect (2004) and Inception (2010). If this theme of movie has become such a recurrence with directors such as Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Nolan, then what causes them to be of such an appealing nature? Jonathan Eig, a teacher of screenwriting and film history in Washington DC believes these appeals to be of "3 characteristics": First, in these films the character with the surprise invariably is the protagonist, as opposed to a supporting character who affects a more “normal” hero. The next two characteristics work in tandem. The hero in question does not know the true nature of his identity and so is not simply keeping a secret from us. And the audience does not know the backstory either. We are not let in on a secret the hero does not know. A sudden boomlet of movies intentionally lie to the audience and manipulate viewers’ emotional investment in the heroes." Consequent emotional investment in a character of shared intelligence of the audience propels themes and ideology embedded in the film, in expectancy of the audience to mimic the characters thought process and to be of likeness. Director Richard Kelly's debut film, Donnie Darko (2001) possesses several outstanding elements, ranging from technical to thematic issues, all consequent of a use of alternative narrative.

Part 1

Kelly establishes that the film will be an different narrative than audiences will be used to within the first few scenes of the movie. Audience are positioned to the same level of intelligence as Donnie almost instantly as we are first introduced to Donnie in a wide shot, clearly asleep on some kind of isolated road, in quite a rural setting.









according to Annette Kuhn, "characterisation is the cornerstone of any narrative, who's human agents are represented as motivated by personality traits or individual psychology"; and the fact that Kelly first presents Donnie like this, initially levels Donnie par with the audience, as he appears as confused as viewers upon waking followed by a dry smile. The smile is soon after explained as we learn Donnie suffers from schizophrenia and has episodes of sleep walking, Donnie could be interpreted as disadvantaged and undeveloped due to his condition, connoting any stunt of character growth Donnie undergoes, will at the same rate of the audience, leaving them also with the same positioned vulnerability as Donnie also. So, when Donnie is lured out of bed by Frank in another possible sleep walking episode, and the jet engine crashes through the Darko's house, we are as impressionable as Donnie when posed with his objective in the yet discovered "tangent universe".  This aforementioned "emotional investment" in Donnie is key to understanding that each character from that moment forward is either


Part 2

Spatial and Temporal Verisimilitude


Part 3

A high degree of narrative closure

Part 4

Centrality of a psychologically rounded narrative agent

Conclusions
























[1] http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/jc46.2003/eig.mindfilms/

The "Mind Fuck" Structure of Narrative and Donnie Darko

The article analysed is of Jonathan Eig, a teacher of screenwriting and film history in Washington DC; the article appears on "ejumpcut.org"Eig attempts to deconstruct the evolution of what he calls "identity surprises" in modern cinema, using Toto pulling the cover from the Wizard in the "Wizard of Oz" and the unmasking of Norman Bates in "Psycho" as instances of such complexity in narrative. 

Such twists however, are subject to what Eig calls "3 characteristics": First, in these films the character with the surprise invariably is the protagonist, as opposed to a supporting character who affects a more “normal” hero. The next two characteristics work in tandem. The hero in question does not know the true nature of his identity and so is not simply keeping a secret from us. And the audience does not know the backstory either. We are not let in on a secret the hero does not know. A sudden boomlet of movies intentionally lie to the audience and manipulate viewers’ emotional investment in the heroes." This emotional investment of the audience into the protagonist, due to the fact they are both of the same subsequent wavelength, open the door for the "manipulation of audiences", and what critics David Lynch and David Fincher name: "Mind Fucks".

Eig admits that the birth of the "Mind Fuck" narrative derives from Spanish writer and director Luis Bunel, 

Sport and Television

This article was written by Jason Mazzocchi, Head of Media at Acland Burghley School, London and first appeared in MediaMagazine 18.

The article discusses several arguments such as how the relationship between sport and British media operates, how sport and TV schedules correspond to each other and ultimately what the relationship between media and sports means for fans/audiences.

A case put forwards as to why sport is now a "multi-milion pound industry with an intimate relationship with the British media" is the increasing supply and demand correspondence between the sporting industry and it's fans. The argued medium that can satisfy this relationship is the media. 
These official statistics are a reinforcement of the latter, as it portrays that during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, TV and media broadcasting incorporated more income than any other department of income.

Mazzocchi then proceeds to explain how such a relationship between sports media and it's audience has become so intimate, heralding the medias use of hyperextending the point that "the pleasure of the sport event itself is a ritual", and that there is now a developed tradition of pre-match anticipation; as exemplified in the like of Sky Sports "Monday Night Football", where analysis of the upcoming event can provoke audiences needs, encouraging social interaction of which modern media is so heavily dependant on due to the rapid expansion of social media.

This extract of the aforementioned "Monday Night Football" presents this extension of the "ritual of sports", with the use of elite persons also being a reason of uses and gratifications for the audience of sporting media.

Finally, Mazzocchi ends on the sour note that consequently, the media exposure of sport has led to a "privatisation of sport".

With most probably the most high key example of this is since the introduction of Sky Sports and the Premier League in 1991, all preexisting accomplishment and sentiment seems to have been sucked out of the sport of football, replacing the working mans game with the corporate playground. Leaving genuine sports fans to ponder if the PPV events, which are expanding, for example with boxing, will effect their sport.

Dead Island trailer

Dead Island Trailer

The Dead Island trailer instantly evokes an enigma code, leaving the audience to be curious of the extreme close up of the girl; questioning is she okay? and why is she on the floor? Whilst the camera pans out, audience are they hit with an emotionally disturbing shot of the thick blood (which juxtaposes her hyper-feminine and child like pink top), and the unidentifiable person engulfed in flames panicking in the background. As this is played in reversed order in slow motion, the following scenes emphasise the inevitable tragedy to the audience, heightening their need to nurture, which is a desired encoded reading of the entire text. The girl then proceeds to ascend through the air while a slow paced pianist instrumental is non-diegetically heard. We are given a quick change of scene to a chronologically running narrative, where the very same girl is running away from following zombies in a closeup. Conventional of survival horror games, and the horror genre itself; dark narrow corridors and deep and heavy breathing of the girl, which could not be diegetically heard at first, can now be traced to the girl herself. We are then taken back to the reversal running shots of the ascending girl who finds herself making her way through a window and onto a bleeding mans back. This is an unfolding action code in itself, and enigma codes such as why is the man bleeding filter in.

London 2012- Twenty Twelve

London Olympics 2012- "Twenty Twelve"

Trailer

Instantly, it can be gathered that the following content will be a humerus critique of British stereotype as classic images of the Olympic torch are replaced by bullish and fumbling images of Mayor of London of Boris Johnson. The edited black screen of the informal header 

This "Hope against cancer" advert focuses on the triumphant side of overcoming cancer as opposed opting to utilise shock tactics. The choice of using a male protagonist in a male dominated area of a football pitch, in a sense holds cancer and it's devastating potential to a more relatable level of a male audience, of which is a local football pitch. The direct mode of address to the camera by the protagonist along with the quoted speech: "NOW I CAN JOIN IN", caters to a niche audience of which, like the man in the frame, play sunday/lower league football, this makes this more specific population of the audience: "What if I couldn't join in?". Leading to a sense of

Eminem- When I'm Gone music video

The video conforms Todorov's structure of narrative theory instantly as a setting is established in an addiction rehab group, during the opening frames, a man is seen and heard in a medium close up closing his speech to the rest of the group, the fact that the man is shown at the centre at the attention before the music begins infers that any actions following will be under scrutiny. The next few frames focus in Eminem in a medium shot type; despite the fact we know the camera is focused on Eminem it is clear he is not meant to be seen as any different to the rest of the group. This will relate to the viewing audience as they gather this is a domestic scale issue which such an iconic man is dealing with amongst others that Eminem sees himself no different to. Eminem then volunteers to speak, an out of focus, obscured PoV camera angle emphasises the nervousness of Eminem to speak, the camera then clears and cuts to Eminem in the same frame as the man prior to him. The non-diegetic background music then cuts in while Eminem beings to speak, the lyrics appearing to be what he is saying to the group. The scene then changes to Eminem using a direct mode of address in a more comfortable room showing the tattoo of his daughter on his arm in correlation to the lyrics "have you ever loved someone so much, you'd give an arm for". Later introducing a little girl meant to be representative of his daughter Hailie. He dismisses playing with Hailie as, as quoted: the "song isn't going to write itself". Ironically, written words are appearing on the page whilst he says this, portraying to the audience, that Eminem is blind to matters that should come before his music. As Hailie walks away, disappointed, it is evident that Eminem is distressed about shunning his daughter and would rather not hurt her. This is not typical to modern music videos, specifically that of the rap and hip-hop, as instead of relishing in his work like the generic rap music video; Eminem shows a clear disgruntled attitude towards his work and lifestyle

Dear John- trailer analysis

Straight away there is an implied action code by Channing Tatum's character, John, as he dives into the sea to rescue the bag belonging to Amanda Seyfried's character, Savannah, of whom appears to fit the character type of a damsel in distress, who's hero is inevitably Channing Tatum. His hero status is encoded to the audience before we even hear him speak in the trailer by the wide shot of him rising back up to the surface of the water with the bag in hand. These frames are edited to emphasise the light blue colour of the sea and his comparable purity. This ideology of character purity is continued as when the actors and directors of the film are shown on film, it is against a slowly rippling blue background. The role of a hero to a damsel in distress is commonly associated to actor Channing Tatum in films such as The Vow, another popular film of the romance genre. Additionally, in the opening frames of the film, a frame shows the audience that Dear John was written by the same author as The Notebook. A hugely popular, and successful romance film with a subplot of the hero being sent off to war whilst letters are exchanged. This would greatly appeal to Rubicam and Young's mainstream classified audiences uses and gratifications as the sense of knowing what will happen next will be rewarded.

Levi Strauss' binary opposition theory is heavily utilised in the trailer as binary oppositions are encoded throughout the plot of the film and it's subplots. It is evident that John and Savannah have a strong, compassionate bond, even from such a distance, whereas John and his father have grave difficulty conveying such emotions at ease despite the close physical distance between the pair. This gives the binary opposition of short v long distance relationships of which an empathetic mainstream audience would entertain and challenge. Another theory within the trailer is Todorov's structural theory. The equilibrium of the lives of the two main characters is shown in a montage of their first dates and their comfortable manner around each other. The disruption of this equilibrium is informed by (Propp's character type deemed) stock character of who seems to not only inform the audience of John's military leave, but Savannah. Whilst this scene is portrayed, the audience positioning is from the PoV camera frame of Savannah, making the feeling of shock correlate to that of hers. The non-diegetic acoustic guitar track that plays throughout the duration of the trailer is commonly associated with the romance genre as it connotes stronger emotions than a pop soundtrack, it also connotes to a acoustic take on a ballad or love song. There is also a short frame of Savannah playing a guitar, which decodes the audience positioning closer to her and her emotions, that that of John and his. Also, it creates the idea of Savannah playing the non-diegetic guitar sound further emphasising the audiences closer connection to the damsel, a common theme of the romance genre, as if the audience was closer to John, the genre of the film would be skewered arguably leading to less appeal, thus, less success.

There is a iconography of letters throughout the trailer, another common theme of the romance genre, for example The Notebook and P.S I Love You. This is conveyed by alternating narration between John an Savannah during a montage of receiving letters (action code), saying simply what number of letters they have exchanged: "letter 8/letter 33" shows that the high frequency in exchanged letters is over a duration of time as shown by the montage, which editing purpose is to portray activity over a long period of time, quoted as "12 months" by Savannah to conclude the trailer.     

Michael kills Sollozzo- The Godfather

Before entering the restaurant, there is a beginning tracking shot of the car Michael arrives in, with the restaurant visible in the background; the entire shot is dark, with the only form of lighting coming from the name of the restaurant, lit in the window, the restaurant is also specified as Italian; this indicates that following scenes will be shot inside this restaurant. Along with only being Michael's form of light, inferring that Michael's way forward is to carry out his intended actions of killing the Italian decent, Sollozzo and arrogant McClucksy. The diegetic sound of the train passing over head symbolises a reminder that Michael must not lose sight of his intentions and that he will be continually reminded of this by the consistence of the overhead trains passing.

There are alternating medium close ups of Michael and Sollozzo throughout the earlier stages of the meeting, the audience is intended to view the scenario from Michael's emotional and physical point of view and this is exemplified as Michael is the only one of the men subject to a close up to push emphasis of his feeling of isolated and nervy consciousness. The back and forth speech is on going throughout the changes of shot, and Michael's eyes appear very fixed on Sollozzo, representing his inner detest of Sollozzo, which the audience recognise is not in the nature of Michael as he is rather alienated to the family business. 

The Godfather (1972 trailer)

The Godfather trailer is considered of a hallmark standard, characterising the crime genre in typical fashion. A convention of which is explicit to the genre and of which is used in the trailer emphatically is the iconography of a suit and tie garments. This is bolstered through the whole duration of the trailer as the only male characters seen without a luxurious suit on, are police officers, of whom are seen in a scene attacking Michael Corleone, who’s only actions towards the officers was addressing them with his concern for his father’s safety. This also brings in a vital binary opposition to any film of the crime genre, crime (family) vs corrupt law force. This is also demonstrated by the police’s dark, and regimented uniforms opposed to the bright, and traditional suits worn by members of the Corleone family. Additionally, the iconography of suit and ties are stretched even further through Sonny’s attempt to deter Michael from entering the family “business”, by exclaiming: “You wanna get mixed up in the family business? You gotta get up close like this and badda-bing, you got their brains all over your nice Ivy League suit.” This directly signifies the pride of which a crime family carries in their suit and tie overalls, of which can also be noted in other crime films such as Once Upon a Time in America, Reservoir Dogs and Donnie Brasco.

Another key motif of specifically a family crime film, is protagonist aspiring to become someway involved with “family business”, of which is always a more sensitive term derived from the family’s criminal activity. This is shown during a key narrative development in which there is a dispute between hot-headed Sonny Corleone against a calm and educated Tom Hagen. Sonny bitterly exclaiming “they (Tattaglia family) shot my father” to which Hagen replies: “the reason to shooting your father was business, not personal!”. The binary opposition business v personal vendetta is also a key ideology of the crime genre and is highlighted in instances such as Heat, Casino and Scarface.  Often the pursuit of a personal vendetta provides the downfall of a character; in the Godfather’s case, Sonny. His hatred towards Carlo, who assaults his sister, spirals towards Carlo’s assistance of the Tattaglia family in setting a trap for Sonny.



Sonny's impulsive character is often a recurring character in crime films as this character's need to satisfy their own desires lead to a form of friction within the main group/family; whether that be a stage of bereavement or internal problems. This signifies that within the crime genre it is often a game of subtleness and calculated movement. Hot headedness will lead to the impending disorder, likening to the demise a section (or entire) of the group. Actor's of who play these roles are often renown for their inner fire, such as, and possibly the most acknowledged to play this role, Joe Pesci (Goodfellas, Casino).


Another correlation to movies in the crime genre shown intelligently in this trailer is the battle on 2 fronts, one being crime family the other being biological. The protagonist balancing this is often shown to be unsuccessful, and we gather Michael is no different, the camera and editing of the trailer cuts from a door being shut to a close up of Michael's wife, Kate. The fact it is not Michael shutting the door signifies this is not a choice Michael wishes to make but reluctantly accepts it is a necessary in order to protect him, the family and Kate herself. The slow fade of black on her face suggests this is an extremely hard decision which Michael must cooperate with. This ideology is portrayed in a larger scale in specifically, A Bronx Tale.

NSPPC Abuse Advertisements Analysis

Advert 1

The advertisement contains a medium close-up framing of 2 coat hangers in top middle of the image in a pink room, with several heart stickers placed on the wall. Hung on the first hook is what appears to be a school tie; on the second hook, a strung up mask imitating the almost robotic, subtle smile of a girl, who's age could range from 11-15. The bold text "If you've been sexually abused, you don't have to hide it anymore."

The heart shaped hooks connotates that before she walks out into the public eye, she must mould to the social conception of a schoolgirl, stereotyped as a innocent, loving and conformative; whilst still clinging to preferences of youth, such as the heart stickers and pink painted walls, which also associate with the outside social expectations of girls in their youth. The school tie, hints at the NSPCC's intended target audience, inferring it is not only aimed at the victims of sexual abuse, but those they interact with, such as fellow pupils, parents and teachers- appealing to their need to nurture once they discover school is almost a completely other life this girl needs to front with a "masked" smile. Another encoded meaning of the tie is that people of responsibility work with young people, many of whom do not emphasise with youth potentially as much as they should. The fact that that the mask is hung up shows her life is seemingly on a hook with no sense of comfort; and she may be on the brink of emotionally snapping, resulting in a dark consequence, which may be encoded on the heavy shadowing behind the mask, with another connotation of her social persona being the only thing intervening between her "dark secret" of being a sexual abuse victim. The facial expression is intelligently specific, as the enhancement of blue within her eyes, and dry smile, appear forced; and the more they are looked at: a doll-like cry for help, entrapped within a lie she craves to escape: thus appealing to the escaper and struggler of Young and Rubicams 4Cs. The language included in the footer of the image opens the target audience to the actual victims, with a more direct, personal approach with several uses of the word "you". The text is also appropriately sensitive as it is very  patient towards the potential victim with instances such as "If" and "you don't have to hide it any more"- along with "when you're ready,". With this compassionate approach, the NSPCC come across as very compassionate and understanding of the taboo of sexual assault, and how a "social mask" is worn by victims to literally hide deeper emotions and inner turmoil. 

Advert 2

This advertisement's content shows the extreme close-up frame of a black, teenage (15-18) girl, with her physical features such as eyes and nose, distinct and dominant within the picture- helped by the intensely exposing lighting on one half of her face, which arguably emphasises how subdued the lips are made to appear by  green  mute symbol covering them. White, contrasting text at the bottom of the image reads "When you can't talk about abuse, talk to us."A small paragraph then follow, then returning to the bold white text of above "Talking helps it stop. FULL STOP." leading to the NSPCC logo.

The extreme close up angle and framing conotes

A Media Text that Changed My Life

 

The media text that I feel has largely changed my life is Eminem's 2004 album Encore. This was the first explicit album I ever had full access to and listened. The album, as every other Eminem album, is very raw and openly addresses world issues. Despite not being the favourite of his albums, I feel this had the earliest influence on me as it was the first time in my life I had ever experienced personal and interpersonal taboos openly highlighted in the form of music. Not only did the album engage me with the genre of hip-hop; Encore (and Eminem in general) formed my more analytical perspective on life and it's many topics. Despite being his 5th album individual, it opened the metaphorical door to his past albums such as The Marshall Mathers LP and The Eminem Show (these being the two I would class as my 2 favourite productions), allowing me to further my then naïve knowledge of Eminem and his lyrical genius. Each song, whether presented in a comical or serious way, contains two sided opinions; regardless of the spin or bitterness, more than one account of the issue confronted is given, further emphasising the intellectual intelligence of Eminem as not only an artist, but as a person. This was a factor which heavily endeared to me when I was young as it highlighted to me a role model is not always flawless and being a well experienced and rounded person with brutal honesty is as good a quality as any. Depite his well covered controversy. I still view as Eminem as a good role-model to has as his stand-out attitude and rise to fame is extremely infective- and exposed to the right people will develop the emotional engagement of a society who I think have become extremely narcotised with media to the extent I believe it is flattening individuality in numerous ways; nullifying the amount of what Young and Rubicam's 4 Cs deemed as Succeeders, Reformers and Explorers.

 

The encoding (Stuart Hall 1980) within this album is one on a very personal level to Eminem as Mathers intends to confront his own personal views, with those who take an inspiration from this a bonus. He also explains that he does not purposely influence people who take a preferred reading; and that he only wants to inspire people who solely related to his struggles or views and does not manipulate any audience who try to forge personal identity through his music. Critics who adopt a negotiated reading to albums such as Encore will often be Mainstreamers and Reformers who are often in professions of power such as government figures and key role players in a capitalist society as these are the type of people Eminem digresses within content. They will understand he opposes the harsh reality within society and class hierarchy however, disregard it as they believe they are fully competent and individually comfortable within their position; refusing to level with the struggle people encounter, addressed in Encore. Ultimately, someone who takes an oppositional reading to Eminem and his albums will be the similar type of person to one who takes a negotiated reading, however will be disgusted at how Eminem feels it acceptable to confront a social taboo in such a violent and abrupt manor, seeing his releases as a form of intoxication to those of whom lap it up, such as children.

 

Finally, this type of album, utilizing the uses and gratifications model, will predominantly be used by someone who seeks personal identity. However, Encore at the time of release was such a phenomenon it could also had been purchased by audience seeking information on modern society, escape into a "world" where your personal views on life are conformed and agreed with and social interaction; a key factor on which makes Eminem so unique; the bomb of which his work  society and provokes social interaction whether that be between 2 children hearing this music for the first time, or a governmental discussion on whether his work is too explicit and raw to openly allow to be released to the public.

 

 

 

Humor- British Heart Foundation: “Vinnie Jones: Hard and Fast”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILxjxfB4zNk

The British Heart Foundation’s 2011 CPR Awareness advert is very ambiguous and humorous as it utilises former footballer and current English born actor Vinnie Jones in very stereotypical ways, tied to his “hard man” label as a footballer as part as Wimbledon’s “Crazy Gang” which also overlapped into his film career influencing the characteristics in his roles such as Bullettooth Tony in Snatch- the character more explicitly portrayed in the ad; through his rough, but expensive appearance, accompanied by 2 other men, also in a butch fashion. In an empty warehouse (with connotations of British criminal activity). The ad also capitalises on Jones’ cockney stereotype, through his use of language (such as “geezer” and “’andy”. The advert also has cross references to British shows such as Art Attack as Jones says “here’s one I made earlier”, with a touch of dark humour one of Jones’ presumed henchmen slides across a unconscious body as opposed to a piece of artwork. The advert is largely memorable as it includes popular Bee Gees song “Stayin’ Alive” whilst Jones is administering CPR to the body. This would but memorable for all ages as the song is used in modern media for many purposes, with this use being literal to the cause- as well as being a juxtaposition of Jones' and his henchman's hard image mocked by their disco-sque dancing.

Use of slogans- Adidas: "Be The Difference"

Adidas' "Be The Difference" advertisement campaign was deployed in the build up to the Champions League final in the summer of 2015. The ads ultimately promoted the new model boots of which would be replacing Adidas mainstays such as the Predator, F50, 11pro and Nitrocharge. The advert selected from the campaign presents a PoV framing of either a Juventus or Barcelona player both sporting the 2 new models produced by Adidas, the ACE15 and X, dangling their legs over an empty Olympiastadion in Berlin (the venue of the final) with the Adidas logo and "#BETHEDIFERENCE" spread across the length of the pitch. The PoV frame is extremely clever as it infers putting the audience in the players shoes; exactly the purpose of the advert. However, the imperative slogan #BETHEDIFFERENCE connotes there is a choice to whether you are the difference or not, thus the choice being which model of boot must you buy to become the difference. The fact that the slogan covers the bulk of the pitch implies it does not matter what position on the pitch you play, the choice is solely dependant on your boot.  The campaign was released during the off season, in the build up to the Champions League final; intended to provoke major anticipation of the event, with the first time the boots would be seen worn by professional players at the game. This makes it memorable for the target audience as it gives an exact time frame to remember when they arguably "Became The Difference". The # on the advert is also promoting there is a social community engaging with the movement, appealing to the need for affiliation or you will be left behind.

Shock Tactics-  Nike: "Wayne Rooney: Just Do It."

Nike's 2006 billboard poster is of Wayne Rooney drastically posed with his arms stretched out wide, with a thick, bloodlike liquid in the position of St. George's Cross across his bare torso. with "Just Do It" and the Nike logo being the only other visible component in the picture- in the bottom left corner. The advert has a intended controversial encoding. Initially, the ideology of Nike in this advert is to inspire patriotism from the specifically the English (not British) public; with deeper encodings of needs to aggress and dominate, specifically improving from England's performance in Euro 2004, getting one back on the Portuguese (ironically whom knocked them out again in 06 without Rooney, again.), this time with a fit and firing Wayne Rooney who missed the Portugal game in 04' through injury. However, MPs and Church groups condemned the ad as offensive and exploitative. Deeming the "war-crying" and blood drenched Rooney is pro-football violence, with the support of Nike, capitalising on his aggressive playing style and stereotypical, Scouse nature. This arguably inspired global debate over the advertisement. All the better for Nike, and England poster boy Wayne Rooney.

Stereotypes: Jean Paul Gaultier- "Le Male"

The Jean Paul Gaultier advert frames  a muscular, tattooed sailor, topless against a black backdrop. The Jean Paul Gaultier logo is placed in the top right hand corner of the image with a bottle of the "Le Male" aftershave in the bottom right hand corner, of which also sculpted to appear in a sailors striped top.
The advert utilizes a preexisting gay stereotype, and reflects in a positive light; hailing a member of the gay community as "Le Male" (the male). This satisfies the gay communities' need for prominence, as opposed to how homosexuality is usually exposed in the media, encoded with the need for guidance, escapism and need to feel safe. Thus leading the image to be a pivot representation of homosexuality in advertisement. However, those who may take a negotiated reading of the content, and not understand the encoded homosexual symbolism; may opt to the need for aesthetic sensation, deeming the defined man with thick hair and attractive looks, the beauty of which drives the audience to aspire to the product,






Intertextuallity: Direct Line- "Winston Wolf"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIuKofk4nnM

In this video advertisement, an every day woman named Jennie has an accident in the kitchen whilst making cake, consequently damaging belongings such as her phone and child's toy rabbit. Winston Wolf makes an appearance to do what he is best at: solve problems, Wolf uses several lines identical to those in Pulp Fiction whilst promoting Direct Line and their cover.
The advertisement is a parody of 1994 blockbuster Pulp Fiction scene of which Wolf attends to the house of Jimmie Dimmick, where, Winston dictates how Jimmie, Vincent and Jules discuss in the kitchen, how to solve a problem. This is mimicked in the advert with humorous word play such as Jimmie and Jennie, Bonnie and Connie, 9:30 in the am and 3:30 in the pm, the 40 minute time orientation and "get the f**k out of dodge" and "get the fudge out of Rodge". This is comic relief but also triggers a sense of nostalgia within the appropriate audience old enough to identify with the similarities; a technique used to trigger memories of the past. Plus, since Pulp Fiction is widely regarded as one of the most successful movies of all time, it may lead the audience in to the need for affiliation and safety- believing Direct Line could be successful for them.


Elite persons: Nike- "Winner Stays On"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv09DRd4lsM

In this 2014 Nike ad, 2 teams of normal, football loving teens decide to play a "winner stays on" game on a run down pitch in a park. During the game, when they exclaim professional footballer's names, they have the ability to transform into their professional counterpart. The game ultimately concludes at the new look park, at which has transformed into a 50,000 seat stadium- where a normal appearing boy (not in the shape of any pro) takes the ball off Cristiano Ronaldo, much to the disgust of the audience; however, lobbing a hopeless Tim Howard, and celebrating the winning goal.
Nike have used the elite person element of advertisement exquisitely during this World Cup 2014 ad as not only does it reflect the endorsement of Nike by admired public figures such as: Neymar, Ibrahimovic, Higuain and Gotze to the more naive and gullible region of their audience (4-14)- but it triggers a sense of nostalgia to the older audience, decoding the childhood memories of screaming a professional players name to represent before apprehending the ball. Their are also many other comical factors to the advert such as: Ronaldo and Irina Shayak conversation, Iniesta/Iniesto confusion, Kobe Bryant inclusion, Jon Jones and Anderson Silva confrontation.


Reward and Punishment: Adidas- "Fast or Fail"

Adidas released the first Messi F50 boot in 2014, accompanied with a simplistic but effective advert of 2 halves, one of Lionel Messi taking the ball past an outstretched leg of a defender, the other a close up of Messi's new boots- with the text "fast or fail" over lapping both halves. "all in or nothing" is also quoted in the bottom left of the image.
Firstly it is worth extracting the point that Messi appears the only colour, along with his boots in a black and white image, with a trail of colour identical to the colour of his boots. This has a connotation of Adidas leaving a path behind them (reward), with the others, of whom are not visually wearing Adidas only seen in black and white with no path, or legacy behind their steps (punishment). This is also is represented in the text of the advert as the language "fast" (in colour), "or fail" (in a bland grey.); inferring Adidas will make you fast, with any other brand will fail you. Further emphasized by "all in or nothing". The use of "or" leaves a sense of choice with potential mistake, with Adidas using the persuasive technique of reward and punishment to lean you towards their products instead of competitors.

Advertising- Lines of Appeal: Nike "Take it to the Next Level"

The 2009 Nike Football advert focuses on appealing to a male based audience in the age bracket of 15-30 of a hetrosexual sexuality, as the advert promotes the lifestyle of a straight, male footballer who we see through a POV camera angle; in a "rags to riches" type story. This would endear to the target audience; as the person we embody for the duration of the advert starts his journey as a Sunday league player and is scouted- embarking his path as a pro. This is a vial stage of the advert as it may inspire to (someone of whom Young and Rubicam may classify as) an Aspirer/Egoist, who currently play Sunday league, to find the inner drive to promote themselves in a way "you" do in the advert. 

The advert largely utilises the need for guidance and need to achieve as it cleverly uses the POV angle to portray the character as the individual watching the advert (also entertaining the need for autonomy), emphasising that you already have your elite-self in you, you only need to "Just Do It". Also used is the need to aggress, as it shows the character struggling at the beginning of his career against household figures such as: Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ronaldinho, leading to the need to dominate, and recover the power the individual lacks highlighted in the early stages of the ad. Using the off field lifestyle of the footballer captivates the fantasies of the many who wish to experience such a luxurious life. It also touches upon the need for sex as the advert includes scenes of a mild sexual nature; encoding if you buy Nike, you have a successful career which will leave you desired by the opposite sex. The advertisement also triggers nostalgia as it features the POV character returning home to his middle class family and despite his fame, taking part in your average family activities such as drinking tea, an activity of which would relate to the middle class audience. Nostalgia is also deployed in the concluding frames of the advert as the character steps up to take a free-kick for his country (Holland), in a similar position to that of the free-kick took for his Sunday league side, only this time a sense of self-actualisation (Abram Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, 1954) hits the player, as Wesley Sneijder hands the ball over to you, allowing you to take the free-kick; this hints that the character is at his peak and has fulfilled his potential, as someone like Sneijder openly giving the character the ball reflects the respect the character has achieved, inferring you too could achieve this if you follow the path of your character (as easy as it is made to look).

Heat (1995)- Coffee Shop scene

The text contains a scene from the 1995 film, Heat. Lieutenant Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) has organised a casual meeting with criminal Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro); during the face to face encounter, Hanna tries to convince McCauley to abandon taking "scores" and lead a normal life, as there seems to be a mutual decency between the men. Despite fully acknowledging the similarities between the pair, McCauley refuses to stop what he feels he is best at, and encourages Hanna to continue his pursuit of criminals such as himself. The target audience of this text (and film) is 15+,  male; as females in the films are portrayed as WAGs, and are abandoned by the criminals in the film when they feel the heat around the corner and are ultimately disregarded instantly. The film intelligently utilises Young and Rubicam's Cross Cultural Consumer Characterisation. McCauley a symbol for the likes of Aspirers, Cowboys and Drop Outs, whereas Hanna reflects more the Mainstreamer, Succeeder and hinting on Resigned. The film on a whole however, may appeal to a Mainstreamer as Al Pacino and Robert De Niro are both arguably the best actors in the world, easily provoking a blockbuster for any film they star in.

The preferred reading of the text is expressing that despite conflicting values between 2 different types of people, they still may be able to hold a good relationship through the understanding of one another. This is reflected through the informality of the setting, as a coffee shop is often a place where friends would socialise. As meant by Director Michael Mann, this portrays that despite such contrasting (and rivalling) occupations of the 2 men; the only thing that is consciously between them is something as casual as a coffee table, brilliantly emphasised through a long shot in the scene where both men are framed at either end of the table with nothing but casual lifestyle objects between them. Exaggerating without the power of a badge, there is no difference between the pair.

 And oppositional reading to the scene may be possessed by someone with a hardened relationship with police or criminality. They may understand that the 2 are in some way"on the same page", however they may believe the men must stick to their professions and find it absurd they are so openly discussing matters, potentially leaving a oppositional viewer seeing either man as disgusting by arguably exposing their vulnerability until negotiations fail, portraying a glamorisation of crime, of which people in position of legal authority or of certain ideology would find abhorrent. For example, owning this type of film, of which fantasises crime success, would be punishable, with something as serious as death on the agenda.

A negotiated interpretation of this could be seen as the pair highlighting their differences; as the lifestyles are under the microscope, it becomes apparent that Hanna feels oppressed by his hectic family life, which is the opposite of McCauley, of whom reiterates he has the ability to walk away from his current life and start another at any given time, explaining he has learnt this through experience gained through the dangerous nature of his work. Arguably enforcing that both men crave the situation of the other- Hanna to escape the pressures of balancing work and family, and McCauley to settle down with Aidy, his girlfriend; both of which know they can't. This negotiated reading could be decoded by an Escapist; of whom is currently situated with a problematic life which they wish to escape their problems- who may draw a connection to this perhaps unintended encoding.

In regards to Blumer and Katz "Uses and Gratifications" model; the film could used for mainly 2 of the 4 categories included in the theory; firstly, audiences may watch this film as a form of entertainment; to escape the responsibilities of life and latch on to the indulging "cat and mouse" chase between 2 of the finest actors to grace a screen. The other category of which this film entertains is for the sake of personal identity. Someone may find themselves comparing their own life to De Niro or Pacino's intense counterparts- leading them to relate to either's individual problems and perspectives. The older audience members may relate to Vincent Hanna, as his constant drain of balancing life on so many different fronts is apparent. Whereas, the younger members of the audience population may find a connection to Neil McCauley, and his admiration to achieve the best, doing what he deems necessary, with impulse, disregarding any form of consequence or punishment.