Revision materials for half term

Television Comedy

Benidorm

·        First aired on February 1^st, 2007 (a Thursday). Repeats go out on ITV 2 and ITV 2+1 at 9pm (right on the Watershed). Must be broadcast after the watershed because of language and sexual references.

·        Aimed at a working class audience and is an alternative to ‘safer’ middle class comedies such as My Family.

·        Set in the Spanish resort town of Benidorm, where thousands of British tourists go every year for cheap holidays in the sun.

·        Shot almost entirely with hand held cameras on location with no laughter track, so in this sense reflects more modern, edgy comedies like I’m Alan Partridge and The Office, although in terms of the content, has more in common with the ’80s sitcom Hi-de-Hi!, which was set in a fictional Butlins-style holiday camp.

·        Audience pleasure comes from situations which people who take holidays in resorts can relate to, like avoiding paying for things and parents using foul language around their children. 

Have I Got News For You

·        The original panel show, first aired in 1990 on BBC 2. Switched to BBC 1 in 2000 due to its popularity (BBC 2 is generally for programmes with smaller audiences). Now goes out at 9pm on Friday nights and old episodes are repeated on the Dave channel, which specialises in programmes aimed at men (hence the name). The show must be broadcast after the watershed because of language, although because of the style of humour (political satire), does not generally appeal to children anyway.

·        Has a fairly broad appeal, reflected in the range of guests such as Reginald D. Hunter, a black American comedian, Grayson Perry, a male cross-dressing artist, and Germaine Greer, a female writer and broadcaster famous for her feminist politics.

·        The regular team captains, Paul Merton and Ian Hislop, represent contrasting sections of society. Hislop, whose day job is to edit the satirical newspaper Private Eye, was educated in a private boys’ school and always wears a suit, therefore representing the middle and upper classes. Merton, by contrast, is from a working-class background and spent many years on the stand-up comedy circuit before moving into television.

·        Audience pleasure comes from seemingly improvised jokes about topical events, although some are prepared before the show is recorded.

Would I Lie to You?

·        A panel show originally broadcast in 2007 and still going. Goes out on BBC 1 at 8.30pm on Fridays (just before Have I Got News For You).

·        Hosted by Rob Brydon, a Welsh comedian and actor who also appears in Gavin and Stacey. He is famous for his impressions, which he frequently does on Would I Lie to You, even though it does not really fit in with the format of the programme, but appeals to people who watch the show specifically because of him.

·        The team captains are Lee Mack, a stand-up comedian who also appears in the sitcom Not Going Out, and David Mitchell, a comedy actor who appears in the sitcom Peep Show and the sketch show That Mitchell and Webb Look.

·        Based on the guests telling stories about themselves, and the other guests trying to work out if they are telling the truth by asking them questions about the story.

·        Due to its timeslot, there is no swearing and the humour is generally light.

·        It is one of a host of panel shows which have been inspired by Have I Got News For You, including Mock the Week and 8 Out of 10 Cats.

My Family

·        Originally ran from 2000 to 2011, and was one of the BBC’s most successful ever sitcoms. Currently goes out on the BBC Entertainment channel at various times of day, including mornings.

·        Filmed in front of a live studio audience and, like many American sitcoms, used a team of writers, rather than one or two.

·        Starred Robert Lindsey and Zoe Wannamaker, two established and popular British actors.

·        Focussed on a supposedly dysfunctional family and the disputes they had with each other, although they were very stereotypically middle class. Unlike The Simpsons or Family Guy, the jokes were very clean and based on situations which were not that implausible.

·        Designed to be watched by parents and children as young as around ten. 

Christmas holiday homework!

Here it is: all the key words and terms you need to know for Media Studies. Unfortunately, the pictures didn't copy across for some reason, but you've got them on the paper copy that went home in your holiday envelopes. Your homework is to make sure you know what each of these terms means and how to spell them by the time you come back in January. You will not be tested on them, but you will need to be able to use them in your controlled assessment and any exam preparation work we do. 

Merry Christmas!

MEDIA STUDIES KEY TERMS MEGALIST!!!

Antagonist

The character in a story who makes life difficult for the protagonist. Usually, but not always, a villain, e.g. Bane in The Dark Knight Rises.

Camerawork

The positioning and movement of the camera in a film or television programme, usually referred to in terms of shots, e.g. long shot, close-up, etc.

Countertype

The opposite of a stereotype, i.e. a character who is somehow different from what we expect, e.g. Lara Croft, because she is a female action hero.

Editing

The cutting between shots in a film or television programme. Generally speaking, in action sequences, the shots get shorter as the action builds up so it feels like things are happening more quickly.

Ethnicity

This refers to whether a character is white, black, Chinese, etc.

Gender

This refers to whether a person is male or female.

Generic convention

Something we expect to see in a particular genre, e.g. explosions in an action adventure or love in a romance.

Genre

This word refers to types of film/game/TV programme, e.g. action, sci-fi, rom-com, etc.

Mise en scene

Everything we can see in a scene, e.g. costume, scenery, props, etc.

                                  

Misogyny/misogynist

A misogynist society is one where people believe that men should work and earn money while women stay at home cleaning the house and looking after the children. Similar to sexism.

Objectify

To objectify someone is to view them as an object and quite often involves men viewing women as sex objects.

Protagonist

The main character in a story, around which everything happens, e.g. without the character of Superman, there would be no storyline in the Superman films. Usually, but not always, the hero.

Soundtrack

Everything you hear in a film/TV programme/game. Can be divided into:

·      Diagetic: everything the characters can hear, e.g. gunshots, talking, a door slamming, etc.

·      Non-diagetic: everything we can hear which the characters can’t, e.g. the music (unless it is coming out of a radio in the scene) and voiceover, i.e. a narrator explaining what is happening or one of the characters thinking.

Stereotype

A character who looks and behaves exactly as we expect them to, based on their gender, ethnicity and/or job. A Mexican man who speaks with a strong accent, is covered in tattoos and deals drugs for a living is an ethnic and gender stereotype.

Submissive

When someone is being controlled by someone else, e.g. a female following instructions given to her by a male, they are in a submissive position.

Subvert

When you take a common idea and reverse it, e.g. a female action hero subverts the stereotypical idea of the action hero as a male.

Homework, 12th November, 2014

Hi,

You are all still working on the poster/cover analysis task I set over half term. To help you with this, I have given you an example of the kind of thing I would like you to do (which I can't copy and paste into here because the formatting is too complicated). 

Therefore, at home this week, you can work on your own analysis, using the example I have given you. Make sure you bring any work you do at home into school on a memory stick, or email it to yourself. 

Half term homework

Hi,

After half term you will continue working on the first part of your controlled assessment (the essay). Over the holiday, I would like you to do some preparation for the next part, which will involve creating either a movie poster, computer game cover or album cover, depending on what type of media text you have chosen to study. 

Before you start creating, however, you need to do some research. This means finding examples of posters/covers to analyse when we come back, so copy and paste ten images from the internet into a Word document or PowerPoint presentation and bring it in on a memory stick after half term, or email them to your school email address. Make sure the images portray gender in either a stereotypical or countertypical way. 

Here are some examples of the kind of thing I am looking for:








Have a nice holiday!

Homework: 15th October, 2014

Hi,

For this homework, you need to get three or four screenshots from your films/videos/games and copy them into your essay. 

If you are analysing films, the best thing to do would be to play the DVD on a computer, pause it in the correct place, then use the snipping tool. 

If you are analysing games, the best thing to do would be to use a walkthrough video on YouTube.

If you are analysing music videos, again, use YouTube.  

You then need to copy the images into your essay, and use text boxes to analyse them, remembering all the tips I gave you in the lesson. 

Remember: we are focusing on gender representation, so use shots that show males and females either in a stereotypical or counter-stereotypical way. 

If this is all too tricky, don't worry, I can help you in school, but it's quicker and easier for you to do it yourself!

Due: Friday, 17th October

Homework: Wednesday, 8th October

Hi,

This week I would like you to read the example essay I have put below. It is based on the two films we have watched. You will have to write something similar for your controlled assessment, based on the two media texts you chose last week. 

Compare and contrast the representation of gender in the films Sherlock Holmes and Slumdog Millionaire

Over the years, the portrayal of gender in the world of film has changed. In the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s, it was common for women to be portrayed as the weaker sex, represented as housewives, secretaries, or modern representations of the helpless fairy-tale princess, imprisoned, waiting to be rescued by a handsome prince. It was also common for women to be portrayed as sex objects, whose main purpose was to be the object of men’s desire. By contrast, men, whether they were heroes or villains, tended to be shown as physically strong, mentally superior and not afraid to put women in their place. One example of this is in the James Bond film Goldfinger, in which Bond pats a girl on the backside, telling her to leave him and another male character  alone for ‘man talk’. In a later Bond film, The Man With the Golden Gun, he has to rescue his colleague, Goodnight, from the clutches of the evil Scaramanga. Although Goodnight is actually a secret agent herself, she is still very much the stereotypical helpless female: blonde, physically attractive, not especially bright and in need of saving by a male. 

Whilst the portrayal of men has stayed largely the same in the twenty-first century (Daniel Craig’s Bond is as stereotypically macho as ever and Sylvester Stallone’s interpretation of male heroes in The Expendables franchise plays on eighties ideas of muscle-bound masculinity), women have gradually begun to take control of their own destinies. Perhaps the best examples of this are in the Lara Croft Tomb Raider films, in which Angelina Jolie essentially portrays a female version of Indiana Jones and in the Hunger Games films, where Jennifer Lawrence’s Katniss has to survive in an arena of death and bloodshed.

This essay will focus on the representation of gender in the films Sherlock Holmes (2009) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008). Although both are contemporary films, the male characters in Slumdog Millionaire have very old fashioned attitudes towards the main female character, Latika, whereas Irene in Sherlock Holmes, is an altogether more independent and physically able character.

In Sherlock Holmes, there are three main male characters, Holmes, Watson and Lord Blackwood and one main female character, Irene. In some ways, Holmes and Watson are very stereotypical male characters: they are both white, roughly in their thirties or forties and are both physically attractive with full heads of hair, even features, and in good shape. They are played by Robert Downey Junior and Jude Law respectively, who are both considered to be Hollywood sex symbols and were both cast probably because they were likely to attract as many female viewers as male. Holmes also has something in common with the eighties macho stereotype in that he likes to fight. In an early scene, we see him, shirt off, engaging in a fist fight with another man. He does not rely merely on brute force, however, to defeat his opponent, but rather, thinks about every move before he makes it. In this way, he is both upholding and subverting ideas of masculinity all in one go.

Another way in which Holmes subverts ideas of masculinity is through his relationship with Watson. Their relationship is slightly different from that of stereotypical male characters, particularly in eighties action films such as Predator or Rambo. In these movies, the male characters think of themselves as brothers who look out for each other, often giving each other high fives and rarely showing any emotion other than anger or satisfaction at a job well done, whereas Holmes and Watson, with their constant bickering, are more like an old married couple. There is even the possibility that Holmes might actually be attracted to Watson, hence the difficulty he has dealing with the idea of Watson getting married and spending less time with him, and this certainly challenges the conventions of gender and sexuality in Hollywood.

Unlike the stereotypical fairy-tale princess, Irene is a strong character, both physically and intellectually, who quite often takes control of situations. Her physical strength is highlighted in a scene early on in the film where two men attempt to attack her, but she uses her physical prowess to overpower them. There is another scene later on where she asserts her control over Holmes using both her brains and her body. The scene begins with her discovering him hiding in a cupboard in her room, then tricking him into drinking some wine which she has drugged. She interrupts her chain of thought by stripping naked in front of him before disappearing behind a screen, then re-emerging. Holmes is actually there to warn her of an impending danger and that she should leave London, but she refuses, claiming that she can look after herself. The framing of some of the shots is significant in this scene because they show the shift in power; there is a shot in the middle of the scene which features the two characters, with Holmes physically higher than Irene because he is taller, but by the end of the scene he has drunk the poison and collapsed into her arms.

Despite Irene’s early successes, the climactic scene towards the end of the film in which Holmes finally defeats the evil Lord Blackwood reverts to a very stereotypical portrayal of gender. She is knocked off the top of Tower Bridge by Blackwood, leaving him to fight Holmes, only to be defeated. Holmes then discovers Irene lying on a platform we did not originally see, and she comes to with her head on his lap in a complete reversal of the earlier scene in which she poisons him.

The representation of gender in Slumdog Millionaire is in some ways different from Sherlock Holmes, but also in some ways similar. The protagonist, Jamal, is very much a subversion of more traditional ideas of masculinity: he is relatively young, very scrawny, and has to use his brain to navigate his way through a quiz and win the heart of Latika, the girl he loves. In this regard, there is a parallel to be drawn between himself and Holmes, who also uses his intellect to save the day, but Jamal possesses none of his Victorian counterpart’s physical attributes. At the start of the film he also finds himself being held for questioning by police who can’t believe that someone from the slums could have got as far as he did on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and is completely unable to overpower his captors and escape. Like most of the other male characters in the movie, however, his older brother, Salim, is more of a stereotype: he is a gangster who dies in a gunfight after setting the captive Latika free.

In one respect, Latika, the female love interest in the story, is similar to Irene: she is young, attractive, and we get the sense that, if she were given the chance, she could make something of her life. Unfortunately for her, however, she never gets the chance as, at no point in the film does she have any control over her own destiny and is completely at the mercy of the men in the film. In one scene, Jamal and Salim have to rescue her from a brothel where she is being made to dance for men, and in a later scene she finds herself ticking all the boxes of the female stereotype: she is held captive in the house of the gang leader who has taken a liking to her, and when he comes home from work and demands a sandwich, she has to go into the kitchen and make it for him. Here she is both the fairy-tale princess waiting for her handsome prince to come and rescue her, and the 1960s housewife as portrayed in Mad Men, staying in, waiting for her male partner to come home.

In conclusion, the two films represent gender in ways which are both similar and different. Holmes and Jamal are both smart, but one is physically strong, the other weak. Irene and Latika are both attractive and the object of men’s desires, but while one is feisty and independent, the other never has the opportunity to be anything other than completely dependent on the men around her.

Due: Friday, 10th October

Homework: Wednesday, 1st October

Hi!

I hope you had a nice Founders' Day weekend!

Now that you have chosen your media texts, you need to write a paragraph explaining why you have chosen those texts and what kinds of things you can comment on in your essay.

Example:

For this assignment I have chosen to compare the films Slumdog Millionaire and Sherlock Holmes. I chose these two films because they have slightly different portrayals of gender: in Sherlock Holmes, the two main male characters are quite stereotypical, however, Holmes also uses his brain more than a classic action hero would. The main female character Irene is also strong and can look after herself. Slumdog Millionaire shows the female as the classic fairy tale princess trapped in a metaphorical tower and has to be rescued by Jamal, who not a classic male stereotype as he is skinny and prefers to use his brain to solve problems. 

Due: Wednesday, 8th October