Exam Question Practise | Fish Tank

How typical of your chosen text of it's genre?

Fish Tank includes many typical conventions of its genre, social realism. There are typical social realism technical conventions that are common in the film Fish Tank, one in particular being the use of natural lighting. No extra use of lighting occurs in the movie unless it wouldn't already be there in the scene in real life. One particular scene that shows this technical convention well is when Mia is waiting for someone to bring her some alcohol. Mia is waiting in the shade watching a boy do back flips of a wall and Mia and the boy are both unlit as they are in the shade and no extra lighting is used to light their face. To show the contrast the teenagers playing football in the sun are lit fully like they would be in real life. Another scene that shows the use of natural lighting is when Mia is dancing in a room of an empty flat. The only light source within the room is coming from the daylight from the window. When Mia is dancing she is moving her body in and out of the shade and the direct sun light. At one point Mia is bending down so that her whole body has no direct sunlight on her or shadows, and then when she lifts her body up she has a bright line across her face when the sun is directly on her and shadows occur from where it is not. This has purposely been left this way instead of being fixed to show the realism of the film. This could not be fixed in real life so therefore they are not fixing it within the film. You are viewing the film as if you are there with them in real life so using the natural lighting and shadows helps create this.

The typical female character role in films for mothers are usually domestic, loves her children and treats them correctly and looks after appearance. However the typical character role of the mother in Fish Tank is opposite. She doesn't look after the children correctly and doesnt treat then nicely. Instead she looks after herself and cares more about her own love interest Connor. One particular scene that shows this occurring is when Mia arrives home and her mum immediatley starts shouting and swearing at her telling her the police have been over looking for her and pushes her over. Mia and her mum then start arguing with each other and treating each other badly. This behaviour does not conform to the typical stereotype of a mother. 

Exam Question Practise | District 9

'Most texts today mix their genres'. How true is this of your chosen texts?

District 9 adheres to the statement 'most texts today mix their genres'. It includes conventions from the sci-fi genre and documentary style genres. As the text is a hybrid of both of these genres, it would appeal to a larger variety of people as it includes aspects from both genres which they might enjoy. 

One particular science fiction convention that 'district 9' conforms to is that it covers political and social issues. The city of Johannesburg is largely controlled by cooperations, specifically MNU. When the aliens arrived there, MNU immediately took charge and put them in a compound called 'District 9' in which they are not allowed to leave unless they are under supervision. One particular example of the cooperations taking charger and controlling the situation is when it is revealed that Wikus is transforming into an alien. MNU immediately take him to the science lab to be experimented on. The first shot we see of Wikus being taken to the lab on a hospital trolley he is in a body bag which shows that he is trapped and has lost control of his body. In this shot we also see who it is that is controlling him by the MNU logo being printed on the uniform of the MNU staff. The next shot is a low camera angle looking up towards the MNU staff from the perspective of Wickus, which shows that they have power over him with a following high angle shot looking down on Wikus, showing he is the weaker human in the situation. A few shots later there is a shot of wickus with a breathing mask on, showing he has even lost control of breathing while MNU cuts into his arm. This issue they are covering in 'District 9' relates to how cooperations take over in the real world. 

One particular science fiction convention that 'District 9' conforms to is characters being transformed t o something else. In the case of 'District 9' Wickus goes through the transformation from human to alien after he is accidentally exposed to liquid from the aliens. This is shown to the audience in various parts throughout the film. When

Characters | Fish Tank, Sin City and District 9

Fish Tank

Mia: Represents young people in the lower class. 

- She is defensive and violent
- She doesn't express feelings as no-one expresses them to her









Connor: Represents white middle aged male in power. 

- He abuses his power as a father figure/love interest to Joanne and Mia.
- He leaves them when they are vulnerable






Joanne: Subverts typical stereotype of a mother. 

- She cares more about her love interest than her own family
- Doesn't show any love to Mia and her sister which affects them. 






Sin City 


John Hartigan: Represents typical protagonist in film noir and comic book.

- He is trying to save someone/be with his love interest.
- Gets framed for something he didn't do by corrupt characters. 
- He is super strong and seems invincible.
- Tires to kill the real villain.

  
Marv: Represents protagonist in film noir and comic book. 

- He is super strong (comic book).
- He is being framed/attacked for something that he didn't do. 
- Tries to find out the truth about what happened.
- Tries to kill the real villain.



Nancy: Love Interest

- represents Post Modernism and she is a mixture of femme fatal and normal love interest.
- She doesn't purposely use the men for her own gain however she is objectified throughout the film. 





Senator Rourke: Represents white middle aged male. 

- He is in power and has authority, however he abuses his power
- He frames John for something that his son did. 
- As he has power he is believed by others. 



The Yellow Bastard/ Rourke Jr: VillIan

- Tries to make the protagonists unhappy/ tries to hurt the ones he cares about. 
- Yellow - shows illness/weakness
- Protagonist eventually kills him. 


Cardinal Rourke: Represents white middle aged male.

- He is in power and has authority, however he abuses his power. 







Kevin: Villain



























District 9 

How do your chosen texts use genre conventions? | Sin City

Sin City use many conventions of the films genres, which are film noir and comic book. One convention shown in the film is the character roles within the film. Protagonists are typical character roles within the film noir genre and they are included in Sin City. There are three main protagonists within the film who the narrative is developed around. Each of the protagonists have an origin and back story which is a typical convention of the comic book genre. They are physically tough and driven by their past, however they are lonely and each of them have faults which include appearance and health problems. An example of this is shown in the 3rd story when dwight is driving to get rid of the police that they killed. He imagines that Jack is talking to him and that the police are going to come after him. Other character roles often shown in the film are femme fatales and corrupt cops. This is shown in the scene where jack and his friends drive to basin city and the women living there trick them. After the women trick the men, they find out that they are cops. This shows that even the authority figures in the film are distrustful. Propps character roles are also present throughout the film, which is a comic book convention. An example of this would be when Nancy is taken and Hartigan (the first protagonist) tries to save her. These two character would be the princess and the hero in Propps character roles.

Another convention of the film noir genre is the lighting in the film. When you meet a character for the first time half of their face is lit and half is unlit. This is showing us that half of the character is good and half the character is bad and mysterious. Film noir films are also shot in black and white with the occasionally colour added into them such as red in love and lust scenes and green when a character is jealous. This helps the audience have a further understanding of the characters feelings and also emphasises the comic book genre as it helps replicate an actual comic book. Another comic book convention presented in the film is over exaggerated actions and effects. For example when Marv is getting approached by the police he manages to jump down multiple flights of stairs at the same time as being shot at and he still survives. Another example is when Hartigan is shot several times in the first story and again still manages to survive and is able to talk. This shows the 'superhero' characteristics that the protagonists have, where they are able to survive such events.  The film Noir genre is also typical of having voiceovers added into the narrative explaining a protagonists past and helps the audience understand more about the character. Voiceovers appear many times during the film when the protagonists are explaining their thoughts, such as when Hartigan was in jail and was talking about his letters from Nancy.

There are many typical Film Noir and Comic Book conventions shown in the film Sin City.

Fish Tank | Narrative, Representation & Genre

Narrative

When Mia takes Connor's daughter away it represents her trying to prove that there can't be a fairy tale ending. In Propps theory, the princess often gets saved by the hero and they all have a happy ending, whereas in Fish Tank Connors daughter is the princess and Mia doesn't want to let her have a happy ending with her dad, instead Mia wants to be saved by Connor. The audience can tell that Connor's daughter is meant to represent the princess by the clothes that she is wearing. She is wearing an all pink dress which is stereotypically what a 'princess' wears. Mia, who is wearing all black, also represents the villain in a way, as the villain always tries to disrupt the happy ending and that is exactly what Mia is trying to do.

Representation

Mias family is made up of her, her mum and her sister. Her mum never treats her right in the movie and is always shouting and swearing at her and occasionally hitting her and pinching her. This shows us that she doesn't care about her family and instead pays more attention to her love interest, Connor. This goes against the stereotypical view of a women as being caring and loving towards her family. Connor begins the film being her mum's love interest and a father figure for the two girls. The first scene in the film that shows the family actually being happy and getting along is when all four of them are in the car together. They are singing and laughing and it shows Mia actually looking happy for the first time. Mia is also shown enjoying herself when they get to the location and is joking around with Connor. This shows that a family needs a father figure to hold them together and that the girls are reliant on having a man in the family.

Genre

When the family are in the car, hand held camera work makes it more realistic and as if you are actually in the car with them. This is a typical convention for the Social Realism genre to make the audience feel like they are there following the characters around to make it seem more real. In the car scene they also use point of view shots, where the camera is placed in the position of the character looking at another character in the car. This again makes it seem more real so that you can get a glimpse of what the character is seeing and therefore understanding how the characters are feeling towards the other characters in the film. These handheld and point of view shots are common in social realism films.

Laura Mulvey | James Bond

The James Bond franchise is a clear example of film objectifying females and forcing the audience to view females via the male gaze. THe scene with, ‘Die Another Day’ When James Bond meets the character Jinx demonstrates my previous statement by James looking through binoculars at Jinx when she is coming out of the water. Vignette has been added in post production making it seem like the audience is viewing Jinx through James’ eyes. With the audience just being able to focus on Jinx with the vignette and a closeup of her it is objectifying Jinx and forcing the audience to view the female via the male gaze.

Slow motion has also been added post production which exaggerates her getting out of the water letting the camera stay on her longer leaving more time for the audience to look at her for scopophilia and objectification. Non-digetic music has also been used to suggest James’ fantasy in his head and therefore the audience’s fantasy as they are watching it through his eyes. 

Hegemonic behaviour is shown in the scene when James hands Jinx the glass of alcohol saying ‘you should try it’. He is being dominant and forceful towards Jinx pushing her into trying the drink. This is also shows the patriarchal society they are in. 

Jinx has been coded in a particular way to be noticed. She is in a small bikini, with large breasts and flawless makeup even after she has just left the water. This is a false view of reality. Jinx’s walk up to the bar is exaggerated, again objectifying her. 

Bond’s first words to her were ‘magnificent view’, to which she responds with ‘It is isn’t it, too bad it’s lost on everybody else’. This suggests that women only care about what other men think and they only act in a certain behaviour for men, which is a false representation of women. 

All of this has happened before the audience knows who she is and whether she carries an important role within the film. The film has focused on her appearance before her as a person. 

Laura Mulvey | American Beauty

I will be analysing a scene from the American Beauty. A girls parents are on their way to their daughters school to see her dance at a basket ball game. The dad doesn’t want to go and is being negative towards it. 

The dancing scene starts of with the camera being focused on their daughter and the dance group as a whole and then half way through they stand in the line and the camera focuses on the last girl in the line who you would have not noticed before hand. 

The camera then does a slow zoom of towards her and then cuts towards the dad in the audience staring at her and then keeps cutting back and forth between them un till the camera is zoomed close. 

Unfinished

Representation of Young People | The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

This film trailer is for the sequel to the original film The Hunger Games and is about Katniss and Peeta going back into the arena. 

The first time you see Katniss in the trailer is in the beginning where she is sat talking to her sister and comforting her. One of the first shots is of Katniss and Primrose hugging. This immediately shows the stereotypical representation of women being caring and loving towards other people especially her family. She says ‘I don’t want you to get hurt’, which shows that she acts in the best interest of her family. Katniss also appears quite motherly sat comforting her sister, which again is another stereotype towards females. 

Later on in the trailer Katniss is shown to be independent and brave when she is in a way threatened by the mayor of the country and stands up to protect her loved ones and put on a front for the public. Katniss is shown using a bow and arrow and diving into the water when she is in the arena. These are actions that typically a man would be shown to be doing in an action film however again she is opposite to the typical female stereotype of being incapable of doing these things. 

A love interest between Katniss, Peeta and Gale is also shown in the trailer, which supports the stereotypes of ‘young love’ and in many films including teenagers there is often a story in the film based around their love interests. When Katniss and Peeta are talking it shows confusion about what to do in their situation which shows vulnerability amongst teenage love. 

Gale and Katniss are shown talking about what they should do. Katniss suggests what she thinks but Gale has his own ideas which shows the representation that men often do what they want and do not get told what to do. Katniss again however shows opposites to what the stereotypical actions of what a women do which is to let the main take lead on what to do, but again she shows independence by doing the opposite. 

The typical love triangle included in this film is also stereotypical of young teenagers and are common in films involving young people. 

Primrose is Katniss’ younger sister and is shown scared and venerable in the trailer when Katniss is taken away which shows her age and is expected of someone so young. She also seems somewhat naive at the beginning of the trailer when suggesting theres hope with all the violence and killing of people, however supports the stereotype that children are often positive towards things when they don’t always see the bigger picture. 

Towards the end of the trailer young people are shown in the training centre getting ready to go into the arena. Teenagers are typically stereotyped as being lazy and waiting for things to happen instead of making them happen in this generation and this trailer shows them being motivated to get what they want to achieve, (even if they are training to kill people in an arena… )

Katniss shows multiple different roles and stereotypes, some opposite to what is usually expected, within the trailer as well as the other young characters involved. 

Genre and Narrative | Skyfall Anaylsis

Narrative:

In terms of Propp theory there are obvious characters within this scene of Skyfall. James Bond can be obviously identified as the hero in the film as he is wearing an all black sharp suit with black shades (which makes him identifiable as bond) with close ups of his face of him looking calm and composed when being forced to shoot towards the woman opposite him. There are long shots of Bond slightly looking up towards him which creates the feeling that he is powerful and brave while amongst the villains in the scene. The audience would know that Bond is the hero if they have watched previous James Bond films however if someone hadn’t seen him before they would know that he wasn’t bad as he did not shoot the girl and also when he kicks into typical ‘Bond mode’ when he starts to shoot the other villains an fight back.

The other character shown in the scene is the villain. The audience would be able to tell he was the villain as he forces Bond to shoot the girl in the scene and then goes onto to shooting her himself. He also has an entourage of people with him to ‘protect’ him if bond turns on him. The villain also dresses smartly and so you can tell he has money and power. The villain also speaks in an authoritative and patronising way towards Bond talking as if they are on the same side and they are trying to achieve the same thing, when in fact they are not. This shows the audience he is villain as they are usually quite cocky and think they are above everyone else.

Binary opposition is shown in the scene when Bond and the villain have a close up of them face to face showing good and evil. This also shows narrative to the story as it tells the audience that they are working against each other.

The girl in the clip is the Princess in the scene as she is shown to be in trouble and is being targeted by the villain. The villain places a shot glass on her head for him and bond to aim at. There is a long shot of the  girl showing her on her own opposite the men which makes her look vulnerable. The woman is wearing a red dress in the scene. Red is a connotation of love which could suggest that she is the love interest in the film or in the case of the Propp theory the ‘princess’. Red can also mean danger which she is in, in the scene that we watch as the men are getting ready to shoot her. This again could suggest the following narrative in the film.

Genre:

Some people that have previously watched bond films would know that the genre is spy and action, however for the people who have never watched Bond films before it is given away with particular elements of the film.Particular types of genre’s repeat certain narrative in many films so therefore the audience can predict what genre particular films are by the narrative of the film.

You would know that the film is action , as at the start of the clip the villain pulls out two guns which is iconography for what is about to happen. The guns represent that violence is going to occur making it fall into the action genre. Bond later then goes onto fighting back against the villains and shoots them, which again shows the action element to the film.

The audience would know that it is a spy film by the equipment that is shown e.g a tracker. Bond is also wearing a dark suit and dark shades which is a stereotype of what spies wear, so it implies to the audience that he is in fact a spy. You could also tell that it is a Bond movie as once Bond has fought back against the villains the typical Bond music is played which is repeated in each of the bond films and therefore is recognisable to the audience.

Niche and Mainstream

Describe Niche and Mainstream audiences with specific text examples.

A niche audience is small and specialised. Only this small audience of people are likely to be interested in this particular text. 

e.g Storage Hunters could be classed as having a niche audience. The channel it is on is DAVE which is not an extremely well known channel, therefore only certain people would tune into that channel to watch this particular programme. The show is also mainly shown in the day so not many people are at home, so if they wanted to watch that particular programme they would have to record it. However the show is shown multiple times throughout the day meaning there is a lot of access to it making it more mainstream. The content is also in some ways niche as it specialises in a specific interest which is buying and selling items, however it is a reality show which again is classed as being mainstream. This show therefore has aspects of both a niche audience and a mainstream audience. 

A Mainstream audience is a wider audience with the texts that they are interested in being well known and popular amongst a large amount of people. 

e.g X Factor is a mainstream text as it is shown on primetime TV to a wide audience. It is shown on primetime TV as because of the amount of people watching the show, the channels can make more money on advertisements as more viewers equals more money. The show is aired on TV every Saturday from September to December at 8:00pm making it a popular time for people to watch TV. The content is also well known and popular amongst many people. The audience can also easily access the TV show as it is on a main TV channel, ITV. The show is informal towards the audience with the presenter talking to the audience and the audience are able to get involved with the show. The show also has well known celebrities appearing on the show. This would appeal to a wider audience. Many people can also socialise over the show as it is a highly discussed topic with parts of the show being comedic making more people want to watch it so they do not feel like they are missing out. 

Coursework Question

To what extent do the tv shows, the Inbetweeners and Skins, challenge the teenage stereotypes, specifically looking at season 1 episode 1 in both programmes?  

Teenagers and young people are stereotyped in a particular way in the media. I am going to be analysing how they are represented in the TV programmes, Skins and The Inbetweeners. Skins portrays teenagers in a bad light associating them with drugs, alcohol, parties, sex and general violence, making these the main focus of each episode. In comparison, The Inbetweeners has a more comedic view of teenagers focusing on the more common and relatable characters and their unsuccessfulness with girls, embarrassing situations and them in general trying to transition into young men. I will be applying theories such as the ‘Male Gaze’ and the objectification of women. The uses and gratification theory is also important and whether the audience take a preferred, negotiated or oppositional reading.