Exam Notes

 Component 1:

Section A

• 2 mins per mark 

Kiss of the Vampire comparison with unseen film poster 

• Media Language 
• Representation 

Woman Magazine

Lexis of 'simmering passion' has explicit sexual connotations thar reinforces sexist, hegemonic ideologies

The midshot of Alfred Hitchocks emphasises his status as being unhegemonically unattractive. However his image is repeated a total of 5 times on the page which reinforces his superiority. His highly offensive and discriminatory comments are given top billing in a magazine for working class audience. In doing so, reinforces patriarchal ideologial perspectives and cultivates a hierarchy where women are given opportunity to act how they wish. 

Revision: Back to Basics

 Basic media terms:

• mise en scene
• Binary Oppositions 
• Camera angles 
• Lexis
• Editing (fast paced/slow paced)
• Lighting (high and low key)
• Anchorage  (how meaning is reinforced or weighed down for the viewer)
•  Shot types (CU, MS, LS)
• Sound (diegetic (in the world of narrative) and non-diegetic (outside the world of the narrative)
• Codes (proairetic, symbolic, hermeneutic) 
• Genre (type of show)    
• Narrative - unconventional 
• Setting - unconventional representation of France

To what extent are representations in Les Revenants typical of the show's genre 

• The low key lighting of whenever the mum is in the shot and the high key lighting of whenever Camille is in the shot is a representation of their different mindsets in that situation, Claire being stunned and fearing of what she is seeing, Camille treating it as a normal situation whilst doing mundane tasks such as making a sandwich and having a shower.     

Knee jerk reaction - highly atypical representations 

The scene in which Camille returns is notable for simultaneously being both typical and atypical. This provides a confusing and highly alienating mode of address for the target audience. 

The use of the non diegetic soundtrack is dark and eerie, yet it never becomes extreme. It remains quiet in the background of the scene. This constructs n eerie and even frustrating atmosphere for the target audience.

The countershot editing which constructs a relationship between Camille and her mother 

Alternates between low key lighting for Claire and high key lighting for Claire, representing the opposition of their frames of mind in the scene. However, this subverts the expectations of the audience, and also subverts the expectations of the horror genre as well.  

Use of low key, darkness and chiaroscuro/high contrast lighting create a clear divide between the mother and daughter   

Claire's reaction to seeing Camille return is highly complicated. Initially, she is extremely calm, which is anchored through the MS of her understated performance. However, she quickly becomes highly anxious , and frantically tidies up to the accompaniment of a stereotypical horror soundtrack. This binary opposition between calm and panic constructs Claire as a highly complex character, and makes her reaction far more relatable to the target audience. This reaction is also highly typical of the horror genre as it subvert the stereotype of the hysterical screaming, insane woman.

Varied shots of Claire going through different stages of grief reinforces one of the key themes of this show: death and how we deal with it. This complicated idea means that Les Reva is clearly targeting a niche audience

Claire is. stereitypical middle class french woman, and is represented through the MES of her plain and understated clothing. Additionally, the action is situated in a conventional, highly stylish and very french middle class home. This is anchored through a clean white wall, the high rise ceiligs and the fashionable floors to ceiling windows. 

Les Revs key theme :

• Horror and the horror genre 
• Migration and immigration and discrimination 
• Death and grief 
• Sex

Humans Target Audience:

• middle aged white british family 
• fans of sci fi (Henry Jenkins Fandom theory)

Anita's performance is very robotic whih would appeal to sci fans 

Stereotypical setting of a white middle class sitting togethr would apeal to a middle class audience 

Family behaviour is relaxed and rude towards each other 

Shows the dark side of the AI symbolised through Anita's glitchy performance 

Diagetic sound of her laughing 

Argument between Laura and Matty is highly relatable to the middle class target audience 

Mention of slaves 

                                                                        

Judith Butler

 Gender performativity refers to how our performance of gender affects the world around us  

Julie is highly subversive of the male gaze theory through the outfits she's wearing and not being represented as a character who gets chased around by men 

Simon is represented as an emotional character which is subversive as men are thought to not be emotional 

Liesbet Van Zoomen agues that representation of men and women are constructed through media language, and that representations reflect the ideology of the producer. Evaluate this feminist theory of representation. Make reference to Les Revenants in your answer 

Knee Jerk Reaction:

In general, there are clear differentiations between men and women in Les Revenants. However, Van Zoonens theory is often basic and straightforward, and the representations of gender in Les Revs is far more complex. 

One couple which represents a clear gender binary in Les Revs is Simon and Adele. In the scene where Simon returns to Adele, a clear binary opposition is constructed between male and female characters. Simon is dressed prominently in a black suit, with connotations of death and masculinity, while Adele is dressed in a white nightgown, which here has connotations of innocence of the wedding day they could never expereince. Simon is situated outside in the pitch black, while Adele is positioned in soft, low key lighting. Finally, while Simon shouts in a detached and perhaps stereotypically masculine, Adele shouts in an emotional and again stereotypically emotional way. The ideology of the producer here is clear: there are clear differences between men and women. By depicting men and women in stereotypically different ways, it can be argued that a stereotypical and sexist ideology is cultivated for thetarget audience. Yet, as we shall see, the representation of gender in Les Revenants tends to be far more complicated.  

However, many of the representations of gender in Les Revs are highly unconventional. Perhaps the most unconventional is Julie. Julie is introduced an establishing shot of her apartment where she is sprawled out on the sofa watching the horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Her flat is clutteed but not dirty, and is stuffed with stacks of books. Wearing her oversized jumper and shirt, Julie is constructed in a stereotypically masculine and therefore highly atypical manner. Julie's manner and performance is cold, which performs a binary opposition with her flirtatious  and clearly sexualised neighbour. And unlike Adele is completely unfazed by the appearace of the stereotypical terrifying child who stalks her home through her housing estate at night, which is a clear subversion of how women oftem react in horror film. The character of Julie is highly subversive and reflects the subversive ideology of the producer. While Julie may be a subversive character challening stereotypical rpresentations of how women tpically function in horror movies, the character of Julie will be far more appealing to certain audiences, and may be far more relaible to feminist audiences too. In this way, Les Revenants challenegs women's straigjtofward theory.

Another woman who subverts typical expectations of women is Lena. While Lenia is stereotypcally attractive and perhapsstereotypically flirtaitous, her representation is subtly unconvential. Lena's appearasnce is stylish but scruffy. Her oversized jacket is widly at odds with her small dress and her tights, which means her performance of gender is rather 

Les Revenants

 Stuart Hall argues that representation in media products will always make claims about realism. To what extent do you agree with this statement? Make reference to Les Revenants in your answer

Representation refers to the re-presentation of a place, a group of people or an event by the producer for the purpose of reflecting their ideology. In this essay, I shall argue that the producer of Les Revenants is presenting atypical and subversive representation in order to challenge the niche and specialised target audience of the show. I shall also argue that while the representation of gender in particular in Les Revenants is subversive, it also makes big statements about men and women are treated in real life. Les Revenants is a niche horror tv show set in rural France and produced by Canal+.

Hypereality refers to a representation that is more realistic and more relatable than the thing it is representing in real life. Typically film and media products are constructed through hyperreal representations. However, these representations typically do not portray real life, but instead represent a 'perfect' reality. Julie isa. character in Les revenants that challenges a number of stereotypical representations and expectations of how women should behave. For example, in the scene where she is followed by creepy child Victor (a typical horror film convention!), Julie is coded as not being hegemonically attractive. The MES of Julies oversized baggy clothing is subversive in the sense that it clearly does not sexualise her. Under her jumper she is wearing an oversized shirt, which has stereotypical connotations of masculinity. She is wearing no visible makeup, and her hair is messy and unkempt. By being coded this way, Julie is interestingly subversing the concept of the male gaze, and challening the idea that women serve a voyeuristic purpose for the assumed hetereosexual male audience. Julie's lack ofsexualisation is reinforced through the binary opposition constructed through her neighbour, who is represented in a stereotypically sexualised manner.  By challenging sexist representation of women, Julie provides the niche target audience an alternative to straightforward sexulised representations of women, and creates a more compelling and relatable reoprersentation to an educated and feminist audience. By appealing to a specific and niche audience, this help Les Rev ,inimise risk and maximise profit. 

Julie Personality:

• cold
• deep voice 
• enjoys horror films (Texas Chainsaw, The Exorcist)

USP: something different, appeal to a different audience 

(Les Revenants is a multi strand narrative)

The character Lena also subverts typical representations of gender, though she so in a completely different way. Lena is clearly cast because she is hegemonically attractive, though her dress andf personality are in many ways subversive.

Flirtatious and sexually motivated. Subversive and atypical representation. Clearly subverts sexist hegemonic values 

Lena is aggressive and assertive eg de rien connard! (thanks for nothing, dickhead!). Subverts stereotypical representations of women and expectations of women 

Lena reflects quite a significant changing values since the 1960s. Her brash and over the top manner would have been unthinkable, and she better reflects reality than many sexist, straightforward representations of women 

Scruffy and punky, yet also stereotypically feminine as well. Her representation is both atypical and stereotypical at the same time. which makes her representation complicated and challenging 

She's a highly relatable character 

Humans and audience

 How can audiences respond/interact/be fans of/to Humans?

How can producers target/construct/position their audiences?

Humans Fact file:

Genre: science fiction 

Conventions: robots, robot freedom, speculative ethics, themes of robots vs humanity, AI, green eyes of the synths, the word 'synth'

Produced by: Channel 4 and AMC. US UK coproduction. Allows targeting of an international audience 

Channel 4: famous for edgy, alternative TV shows such as Inbetweeners, Fresh Meat, My Mad Fat Diary, Skins, Misfits

AMC: Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Mad Men, Preacher

Target audience: Niche audience, diverse audience 

To what extent does Humans target a niche audience? 

Knee Jerk Reaction:

Humans targets a niche audience to a massive degree 

Plan:

• Reference to Bladerunner, close up shot eye panning out 
• Actual intro depicts robot evolution from clearly metallic beings to 'synths' 
•  Theme of Robot pretending to be regular human 
• Theme of wanting to be human and wanting to 'feel'
• Synthetic soundtrack - usually used for robots
• Reception theory 
• Fandom 
• Complicated representations 
• Complicated themes
• USP - What is humanity?
• Flickering lights in intro
• Intertextual reference to other sci fi
• Dark themes 
• Low key lighting 
• Challenging themes 
• Chess - themes of games 
• High key lighting 
• Low key lighting of brothel 
• Use of red as symbolic code 
• Polysemic
• Different audience responses 
• Diverse synth representation 
• Themes of vulnerability and sexual exploitation 
• Allegory: where a media product uses narrative to draw attention to a real social issue
• Allegorical issues: racism, sex work, gender inequality, segregation, slavery, sexual slavery, immigration
• Complex issues, complex audiences 

Introduction:

DAC

Niche audience refers to a small, targeted yet more enthusiastic and involved audience. In this essay, I shall argue that Humans deliberately targets a range of niche audiences in order to maximise profit and minimise risk. Humans is an sci fi tv show co produced by AMC and Channel 4, and first broadcast in 2015. 

One way in which Humans targets a niche audience is through numerous intertextual references to other sci fi media products most notably the film 1982 blade runner. For example, the very first shot of Humans s an extreme close up shot of an eye, which almost exactly the same as reoccurring shot used in Blade runner. Another theme which is taken from Blade runner is the theme of robot prostitution, with the character Nishka who also seeks to be released from sexual slavery.Intertextuality is important to target. niche audience, as it targets a pre-existing who are not only familiar with the themes and ideas of the robot sub-genre, but are also already interested and excited by those ideas.

Another way in which Humans deliberately targets a niche audience is through its use of uncomfortable, challenging and adult themes. One thee which is extensively deal with in an uncomfortable way is female objectification, sexualisation and the sex industry. The preferred response of the brothel scene is clearly for he audience to feel uncomfortable which challenges our conceptions of how the sex industry works. In the brothel scene the audience are positioned with Leo. This is accomplished through a slow and deliberately tracking shot, that winds through the brothel. The feeling of discomfort is emphasised through the eerie synthesised soundtrack, and the emphasised bass, which has symbolic connotations of danger and aggression. A montage of POV shots shows a range of highly sexualised representations of women clearly coded as prostitutes, and this is anchored through the aggressive sexualised delivery of the phrase: "come over here the big boy", positions the audience as a user of prostitutes and places them in a deliberately and deeply uncomfortable position. These elements of media language combined presents a clear ideology to the target audience: that prostitution is wrong, unethical and deeply dangerous to the women involved in it. This is an example of an allegory...

Use of science fiction conventions, synth soundtrack, Mise en Scene of green eyes, themes of humanity

Themes of humanity "I was born to feel pain"

Mysterious and confusing narrative 

To what extent can audiences use Humans in a variety of ways to reflect their identity?

Identity refers to the sense of belonging that audience members have. Identity can refer to cultures, interests, sexuality, gender and many more aspects.  The science fiction community has long had a strong identity, and Humans is clearly targeting this audience. There are many opportunities for audiences to use and to respond to humans, which I will identify in this essay. Humans is a sci-fi/drama released in 2015 on Channel 4 and AMC

One way in which Humans cultivates a sense of identity in its target and secondary audience through its innovative advertising campaign. The Persona Synthetics trailer. The advert positions the audience in the world of the TV series. In this sense, it can be argued that the situates the audience diagetically. Crucially and bafflingly, this trailer makes directly no reference to the TV show Humans, but instead makes reference to a robot one  can buy to help them out. However the advert is a hoax. This style of advertising is completely submersive, and positions the audience directly into the world of the TV series. It appeals in particular to fans and particpatory audiences, who may go online to see the show and to speculate on what it is about. Finally, fans may also share the video on social media platforms allowing it to go naturally viral 

Additionally, the Persona Synthetics trailer intriguingly raises many key themes that will later be raised to the TV show, constructing a compelling and multimedia narrative. One theme that is introduced is the idea of robots invading parental responsibility. The alarming closeup of a synth's emotionless face functions as a proairetic code, suggesting the idea that synths can revolt against their owners. Another theme which is introduced is the idea dependancy on technology. A shot of a crying child is followed by a closeup on an unconcerned mother, followed by a surprising low angle shot of a synth leading the child upstairs to bed. This idea is allegorical of the concept of using technology to shut children up when in bed, and draws attention to real world events and issues. By using complex and engaging ideology, this trailer challenges the identity of the audience, and challenges the need for instant gratification. 

Another way in which Humans appals to the identity of its target audience is through the use of a stereotypical white, middle class, British family. The Hawkins family are constructed through their regular and relatable clothing, as well as their daark har and their middle class home. While in the original swedish version everyone is dressed up and blonde, in the British version, the Hawkins family are a hyperreal representation of British life. Because this so relatable, it means it will engage a wider audience, and appeal to lots of different identities. It also reinforces that the target audience for this TV show are predominantly white and middle class. 

A final way in which audiences can reflect their ideology through humans is through the use of science fiction  conventions. For example, the MES of Anita, the synth can appeal to fans of the sci fi genre. Anita represents the perfect woman, through being both a housewife and also hegemonically attractive. Once more, this raises an important and fascinating themes for the target audience, the representation of women and their expectations in society

Wateraid revision

 reception theory:

how the audience decodes the ideology of the producer. Encoding/decoding model. The audience can choose to receive the ideology of a media product in many different ways 

• preferred reading - agree with producer 
• negotiated reading - agrees but also disagrees with certain bits 
• oppositional reading - disagree with producer 

Wateraid advert:

• 90 sec adverts are expensive so midday is the cheapest slot to show it 
• Unconvential charity advert 
• Wateraid dominant ideology - water is essential to life and happiness. We the audience are responsible for Claudia's happiness
• Wateraid preferred reading - The audiences will agree with the ideology and will either donate or intend to donate money. We believe donating money is the right thing to do, and is an efficient way of making people's like Claudia's life better. We are in a better position than 'them', and must use our advantage to help 'them'. 
• Wateraid negotiated reading - Donating money to charity may help people, but we actually don't know exactly how our money will be spent. The advert was clearly expensive, so perhaps this was too extravagant. Helping people is good, but some audiences may not be in a position to regularly donate money, which may mean the advert is upsetting and guilt tripping. Finally, some audiences may agree with the charity but might see the representation of 'Africa'  as being broad and offensive. Some audiences may also find the advert annoying 
• Wateraid oppositional reading - The audience may believe that Claudia is not entitled to help. she clearly already has water and therefore doesn't need help. Audiences may also believe that this is not their problem and that again she is not entitled to help. 

Explore how different audiences can respond to the wateraid advert? (12)

knee jerk reaction:

Some audiences may agree with the dominant ideology, while other audiences may disagree

DAC introduction:

Audience refers to the people who engage or consume a media product. Audiences are absolutely essential because they essentially financially the media product. The producers must therefore ensure audiences engage with and consume a media product. In this essay, I shall argue that by and large, most audience members will confirm the preferred reading of the ideology, while some audiences will reject this ideology. To back this up, I shall be looking at the Wateraid Claudia advert, which is an atypical charity advert. 

One way which an audience can respond to the advert is a sense of responsibility and a duty to donate money. this idea encoded through the frequent use of binary oppositions. The initial establishing shot features the MES of rain and a boring radio voiceover, which positions the target audience in the UK in winter. However, we immediately cut to a dry sandy location, presumably 'Africa'. This binary opposition symbolically communicates a sense of British privilege and even guilt to the target audience. The intended response is clearly to donate money. 

One of the key target demographics for charity adverts includes stay at home mothers.  Typically working class, this group may well have a sense of empathy towards young children. The producer has cast a young woman in this advert with a british name, and she is also singing clear English. This may allow the audience to identify with the character of Claudia far more effectively than the anonymous representation of starving africans often seen in this kind of advert. 

How and why does Wateraid use stereotypes?

An oppositional reading to traditional charity adverts is that they are extremely exploitive and manipulative. In older wateraid adverts, children are shown drinking dirty water in a way that surely hurts them. The justification is that this raises awareness, but all audience members wil agree. The claudia advert takes a deliberately  different perspective, and is able to engage viewers more effectively.

Use of Lexis: text 'SUNNY'. Use of language is overwhelmingly positive, and positions audience in a positive, helpful and power position 

MES of group of smiling villagers around the waterpump reinforces the ideology that water is a source of happiness. This emphasises the idea of positivity and helpfulness for target audience 

Sunny, blissful setting is emphasis through high key lighting filtering through trees. This functions as a symbolic code, suggesting freedom happiness and autonomy

MES of colour becomes brighter and more saturated as advert continues. This is symbolic of the impact of water on the community of villagers 

Claudia sings in an African tinged version of a 90s pop song. This song will appeal in particular to middle aged and older audiences who may have more expendable income or money to spend on charity campaigns. The song itself positive, uplifting, and also sung in english.

By singing in English, Claudia is more relatable to the target audience. Claudia is hardworking, is interested in the same ancient pop songs as the target audience and is wearing bright optimistic colours. Claudia is a relatable name that is easy to pronounce, and speaks clear, easy to understand english 

In what ways can audiences use the Wateraid advert, and how does this reflect their identity?

In this advert, the audience are positioned in a position of privilege. They are positioned in a way that they have mans and the finances to donate money. Therefore, the Wateraid advert sells a lifestyle of being a good and charitable person

The wateraid advert deliberately uses a process of othering to position the target audience in a position of privellge, but more importantly, to position 'African' people as vulnernable and in need of cahrity. This is a highly stereotypical representation 

The claudia advert uses stereotypical, postcolonial representations of Africa in order to create sympathy for its target audience 

Claudia and other villagers are represented as stereotypically poor/ Claudia is establishes through an establishing montage that shows her walking down a hot and dusty path to collect water. This is a slightly stereotypical 

Dry and dusty MES, and in particular the red sand is highly stereotypical of representations of Africa 

Claudia's shoes are extremely important, and are established in a close up, low angle tracking shot. As the audience are posistioned 'in her shoes', we are also confronted with another stereotype. Claudia's footwear is cheap and flimsy looking, which emphasises that she is poor

The advert makes use of extensive binary oppositions. We are intially positioned in a stereotypical representation of the uk. It is raining, and the desaturated colours connote that it is cold and miserable. 

  

kiss of Vampire Recap

  atypical - unexpected characteristics, out of the norms, challenging and subversive, complex 

subversive - disrupting an established system

analysis 

• typical representation of vampires. Mise en scene of pointy teeth and blood is a referential code to vampires 
• dark, lowkey background and clouds construct idea of night time. Night connotes fear and danger which reflects theme of vampires 
• exposed chest and arms sexualises the women, which refers to van zoonens feminist theory arguing women's bodies are used for male gaze 
• Flying bats is a referential code to themes of horror, which connotes vampires 
• binary opposition of exposed women and male in a full suit suggest that women are sexualised, conforming male gaze theory, typical lo stereotypes of gender
• Full moon refers to night, referential code as confirms to ideology of vampires dying in the day time
• mise-en-scene of trees, dark clouds and unconscious 
• san serif title is white and sharp which is referential to vampires teeth. Blood on the letter v suggests action code of biting 
• eastman color is cheaper than techno colour , suggests its a mid budget film. the fact its boasting about the film to be in colour suggests its exciting to be a coloured film
• representation of women is constructed through inclusion of costume, for example the4 female victims heels. Heels are symbolic to being wealth and sexual nature. This appeals to male audiences which argues she is a spectacle for a heterosexual audience 
• repeated colour of red is a symbolic code for blood, suggesting death and polysemanticaly sex and tension
• night dress reference to sex, exposure of low cut dresses emphasis cleavage
• explicit representations of sexuality are against legislation and would shock audiences due to regulation of BBFC. Costumes are fully clothed but heavily sexualised
• conventional painted film poster, reflecting time post was made
• Typical film poster conventions, including the names of the actors to sell the film to a pre-sold audience
• facial expression of female vampire is aggressive suggesting she is in power, subversive
•  hegemonic expectations of female attractiveness 
• mise en scene of hand gripping waist, proairetic code for sex
• vampires symbolic of rape and sexual assault
• face of male vampire is scared and confused, which is an atypical representation of men. this functions as a hermeneutic code, encouraging audiences to watch and find out what the film is about
• female audience might find subversive representation of women as exciting