We have been studying various Media theorists and the genre concepts that they enforce. Rick Altman, Edward Buscombe, Richard Maltby, Ian Craven and John Fiske are all influential Media theorists, and it is of the utmost importance to understand their theories and apply them to my own project.
Richard Altman, the writer of A Theory of Narrative, believes that genre is negative, it restricts space for thought and discovery and turns viewers into passive voyeurs- taking in everything the Media feeds them. However, the main point of this theory is that genre doesn't acknowledged the hybrid- and every film or genre of music draws from various other genres, so it is ignorant just to put things into one box. John Fiske, a media scholar, shares the belief of Altman, that there are a variety of characteristics within each genre, but the viewer needs to decide what genre is the 'main' genre- where most of the icons within that genre are present. In terms of Dora and I's music video for 'Pumpkin Soup' by Kate Nash, the female solo artist genre is strongly apparent by the styling of the music video, the song we've used and a few scenes that have been influenced by singers like Gwen Stefani and Beyonce (a 'studio' scene cut with juxtaposed with situational scenes) - however, indie-pop subgenres are very influential as the styling has a 'kooky' edge and we've tried to incorperate humour into the situational scenes.
Edward Buscombe, an editor at the British Film Institute believes that iconology is the best way to achieve generic definitions- and this also comes under the umbrella of auteur theory, where symbolism within the Media is so distinct that you can tell who made the film- not just what genre it is. In basic terms of genre- the symbols of money, guns, New York accents and suits are common attribute of gangster films like Goodfellas. In regards to auteur theory- camera shots from a car boot, close ups of women's feet, characters framed in doorways and the phrase 'Bingo!' are all trademarks of the auteur Quentin Tarantino. We have tried to use iconology within our project to try and present the indie-pop edge to the audience via the forms of retro dresses and make up as well a kind of sillyness and 'not taking yourself too seriously' mindset that comes with singers like Katy Perry and Kate Nash.
Richard Maltby & Ian Craven strongly hold the belief that the success of Hollywood relies on predictable elements with a slight variation- as audiences like to pre-read texts and know exactly what they're watching before they go in to see a film. We have tried to go against this by creating a very unique storyline and look to our music video.
A2 Research and Practical Production
Showing posts with label Media Theories. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Media Theories. Show all posts
Friday, 12 November 2010
Friday, 15 October 2010
Representation within our music video
What different groups of people do you have in your genre?
Within our music video, we are using a variety of stereotypes to add a touch of light humour to our music video. The majority of the stereotypical representation comes in the form of the 3 men who are infatuated with the protaganist, to show the diversity between her partners and that she'd happily go out with anyone. We have 'The Geek', 'The Hunk' and 'The Bohemian' all chasing after a realitively new stereotype of women which we have referred to as 'Indie Girl'. In recent years, singers like Adele, Amy Winehouse, Kate Nash and Florence + The Machine have rose to success without ever portraying themselves as sex objects- they are still attractive and dress femininely, but play instruments as opposed to dancing scantily clad and portray a sassy and feisty attitude.
What are the common stereotypes?
'The Hunk':
Cocky, muscley, stylishly dressed but slightly dim-witted. He is going to be featured in a gym scene where the protaganist is spotting him as he lifts weights.
'The Geek':
Shy, nervous, cute, bow tie + glasses. He is going to be having a romantic picnic with the protaganist, and perhaps on a country bike ride. She gets bored by him in the end and cycles of to meet up with another guy.
'The Bohemian':
Alternatively dressed, an artist, sensitive. He will be painting a picture of the protaganist whilst she poses.
'Indie Girl':
Kooky dress sense, big hair, sassy, witty, fun.
Are they traditional or modern representations?
'The Geek', 'The Bohemian' and 'Indie Girl' are all modern representations as they go against the traditional grain that states that men are big and strong, and women are meek sex objects.
What changes have there been in society which have impacted on the representations of your groups?
As I stated earlier, the popularity of female indie-pop artists have influenced a generation of girls who can be seen shopping at Urban Outfitters with big backcombed hair. Rising numbers of people going to university have caused the 'The Geek' to be even more apparent in young society, with characters like Will from The Inbetweeners or the entire male cast of The Big Bang Theory. Metrosexual fashion has influenced more males to embrace their feminine side, with celebrities like Russell Brand popularizing a bohemian look. LAD culture of binge drinking, clubbing and fashionable clothes has also had a huge impact on 'The Hunk' within our music video.
Within our music video, we are using a variety of stereotypes to add a touch of light humour to our music video. The majority of the stereotypical representation comes in the form of the 3 men who are infatuated with the protaganist, to show the diversity between her partners and that she'd happily go out with anyone. We have 'The Geek', 'The Hunk' and 'The Bohemian' all chasing after a realitively new stereotype of women which we have referred to as 'Indie Girl'. In recent years, singers like Adele, Amy Winehouse, Kate Nash and Florence + The Machine have rose to success without ever portraying themselves as sex objects- they are still attractive and dress femininely, but play instruments as opposed to dancing scantily clad and portray a sassy and feisty attitude.
What are the common stereotypes?
'The Hunk':
Cocky, muscley, stylishly dressed but slightly dim-witted. He is going to be featured in a gym scene where the protaganist is spotting him as he lifts weights.
'The Geek':
Shy, nervous, cute, bow tie + glasses. He is going to be having a romantic picnic with the protaganist, and perhaps on a country bike ride. She gets bored by him in the end and cycles of to meet up with another guy.
'The Bohemian':
Alternatively dressed, an artist, sensitive. He will be painting a picture of the protaganist whilst she poses.
'Indie Girl':
Kooky dress sense, big hair, sassy, witty, fun.
Are they traditional or modern representations?
'The Geek', 'The Bohemian' and 'Indie Girl' are all modern representations as they go against the traditional grain that states that men are big and strong, and women are meek sex objects.
What changes have there been in society which have impacted on the representations of your groups?
As I stated earlier, the popularity of female indie-pop artists have influenced a generation of girls who can be seen shopping at Urban Outfitters with big backcombed hair. Rising numbers of people going to university have caused the 'The Geek' to be even more apparent in young society, with characters like Will from The Inbetweeners or the entire male cast of The Big Bang Theory. Metrosexual fashion has influenced more males to embrace their feminine side, with celebrities like Russell Brand popularizing a bohemian look. LAD culture of binge drinking, clubbing and fashionable clothes has also had a huge impact on 'The Hunk' within our music video.
Friday, 17 September 2010
The Culmination Theory
Because of the difficulty of proving the effects of individual media texts on their audience a theory. According to this, while any one media text does not have too much effect, years and years of watching more violence will make you less sensitive to violence, years and years of watching women being mistreated in soaps will make you less bothered about it in real life.
One difficulty with both of these ways of looking at the media is that they are very difficult to prove either way. Many people have a general sense that the media do affect our behaviour and advertisers certainly justify their fees by working on this assumption, but it can be extraordinarily difficult to actually prove how much effect if any a text might have on an audience. In fact researchers have spent enormous amounts of time and effort trying to prove the validity of the culmination theory with no success- this of course does not mean that there is no truth in it as an idea.
http://www.northallertoncoll.org.uk/media/audience.htm
One difficulty with both of these ways of looking at the media is that they are very difficult to prove either way. Many people have a general sense that the media do affect our behaviour and advertisers certainly justify their fees by working on this assumption, but it can be extraordinarily difficult to actually prove how much effect if any a text might have on an audience. In fact researchers have spent enormous amounts of time and effort trying to prove the validity of the culmination theory with no success- this of course does not mean that there is no truth in it as an idea.
http://www.northallertoncoll.org.uk/media/audience.htm
Friday, 10 September 2010
The Hyperdermic Syringe
This theory implies that the media has a direct impact on the audience:
- A child will play a arcade fighter video game, then attack his friend at school the next day.
- A man will see a woman washing up, and will assume that it is a woman's job to do the cleaning.
The Hyperdermic Syringe is thought of as quite a basic way to distinguish the distrubution of ideologies- but on a large scale, it seems to come together. For example; after the release of the uncut version of Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, in the years 1972-73 p,olice had linked several cases to the film that had been committed by teenagers after one of the ascused admitted to reading the book. As a result of this, Kubrick even attempted to get the film banned itself
However, the flaw in this theory is that people respond to the media in different ways. So Man A will believe that it is a woman's job to do the washing up after watching Bree Van de Kamp on an episode of Desperate Housewives- but Man B might think 'Hey, that's really awful that woman need to do all the housework- I'm going to do the ironing for my girlfriend when I get home'. The hyperdermic syringe theory sees all of the audience as a mass, and not as individuals.
- A child will play a arcade fighter video game, then attack his friend at school the next day.
- A man will see a woman washing up, and will assume that it is a woman's job to do the cleaning.
The Hyperdermic Syringe is thought of as quite a basic way to distinguish the distrubution of ideologies- but on a large scale, it seems to come together. For example; after the release of the uncut version of Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, in the years 1972-73 p,olice had linked several cases to the film that had been committed by teenagers after one of the ascused admitted to reading the book. As a result of this, Kubrick even attempted to get the film banned itself
However, the flaw in this theory is that people respond to the media in different ways. So Man A will believe that it is a woman's job to do the washing up after watching Bree Van de Kamp on an episode of Desperate Housewives- but Man B might think 'Hey, that's really awful that woman need to do all the housework- I'm going to do the ironing for my girlfriend when I get home'. The hyperdermic syringe theory sees all of the audience as a mass, and not as individuals.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)