AS Media Studies Assignment
AS Media Studies Assignment

Week 2, Task, page 15 (Genre)

Description of Law and order
In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses such as rape, torture, pedophilia and child-abuse are dealt with in New York City, by a special unit of detectives of the police department known as the Special Victims Unit. These crimes are then passed on to the courtroom for prosecution.
Description of Law and order
In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses such as rape, torture, pedophilia and child-abuse are dealt with in New York City, by a special unit of detectives of the police department known as the Special Victims Unit. These crimes are then passed on to the courtroom for prosecution.
Law and order is a crime-based drama, with a mixture of ‘court-room’ and ‘detective’, TV series, mainly shown on channel five. By reading the description of the show, I immediately realised that this is a show that is based around the world of crime and how the crime is dealt with within the city of New York. It starts from finding who the criminal is and then we follow the story up to the prosecution in the court room. Words such as ‘courtroom, ‘rape’, ‘victim’, ‘detective’ immediately grabs the reader’s attention, giving us the impression of the type of genre this TV series is. The picture that accompanies the description also shows that the genre of this series is crime as the main detective is pulling out her police badge and is what the audience see’s first when looking at the image.

From observing the TV schedules I have noticed that different genres have different schedule times. For example, genres like Game shows, Animation and children tend to have early daytime TV scheduling. In comparison to genres like Horror, Crime and soap operas, which are shown during the evening mainly past 8pm.

Genres such as children are almost all the time shown during the morning and early afternoon. The main audience for children shows are as you guessed children, from ages 1-12. This is why they are regularly on during the morning and early afternoon for when they arrive from school. Most children will be asleep early and therefore will also not be shown during the evening as most will be asleep instead of watching TV.

On BBC 1 and 2 there is almost always a time period that consists of zoning of the children genre which is from 2pm to 4pm. They consist of mainly children shows with a small portion of the time for news updates around 10 minutes long.

Channel 4 devotes around one hour of airtime during the week at 6 o’clock for soap operas such as hollyoaks. But this is also found on BBC 1 but at 7 o’clock instead of 6, the show however is a soap opera called EastEnders and is shown throughout the whole week.

Week 2. Task, page 16. (Genre)
Week 2. Task, page 16. (Genre)

Justin Bieber and Taylor swift both have very similar cd covers when it comes to image work. Both of them are the focal point for each of their albums they are both at the centre and take up most of the room, however Taylor swift is seen with more scenery whereas Bieber is surrounded by a standard background with a small flash of light in one corner. The imagery on the back of the cover is also similar, both are to the side however Taylor swift is keeping in tune with scenery from the front whereas Bieber is playing an instrument on a different coloured background. Both CD’s also have a very positive aspect and that shows that the songs are ‘feel good’ songs rather than depressing songs with a negative vibe. This convention of having the artist be the central point is what you normally see in all CD covers.

A CD cover that doesn’t use these conventions is an album from immortal technique. It has no image of the artist and is in black and white with a red coloured font giving out a dark negative vibe and feel to the album.

GENRE | CHARACTERS | NARRATIVE PLOT SITUATIONS | ICONOGRAPHY | AUDIENCE/APPEAL RESPONSE | TV news | Anchor | Breaking news/Major Headlines | Suits | Expert | Reality TV | Presenter | Stories | Guests | Interaction | Action film | Heroes and villains | Car chase | Explosion, Guns | People of all ages | Crime drama | Pathologist | Robbery, murder | Police cars, courtroom | Adults | Gossip Magazines | Celebrities | ‘Uncovered’ | FashionSocial life | Celebrity interest. Teenage girls |

Week 2. Task, page 17. (Genre)
Week 2. Task, page 17. (Genre)

Certain crime dramas use character types more regularly. For example, in law and order, the majority of the time there is always a police, a doctor who find the cause and time of death and a lawyer and DA, In CSI there is also a police, a detective and a doctor who looks for the cause and time of death.

Different genre conventions elicit different responses from different audiences. This is because a certain TV show may be geared towards a particular audience, and they would interpret it differently to someone of a different audience that is viewing the same thing. For example, male’s watching ‘Match of the day’ would see the show in a whole different limelight compared to females watching it, this is because Match of the day is a TV show geared towards the male audience as it is a sports based program that’s shows highlights of football matches. In the same way reality shows have a much larger female audience than a male one. Shows such as Teen mom are geared towards females as it shows the love and social life of the mothers as well as their struggle of being pregnant at the age of 16.

Week 2. Task, page 18 (Genre)

Week 2. Task, page 18 (Genre)

New police series character:

Name: Craig Henderson
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Birthplace: London
Nationality: White
Occupation: Detective

The detective is tall and slim, and is always wearing a long black coat and Hat. He has a long bushy moustache. He is very smart and cunning, and is almost never nervous. He can catch when people lie and has a keen attention to detail. He is the go to man when the police are outsmarted by the criminal. His most important trait however is that he is almost never wrong, and when it looks like the criminal is about to get away with the crime Detective Henderson will not only say who the criminal is but also prove it.

Craig Henderson is highly intelligent but also outgoing, sociable and very charming. He is a single man and is not afraid to flirt with characters that appear on the show, but is also very polite and well-mannered and will always keep his flirtatious antics civilized. He is loved by most characters but you will always get those who are jealous of his charm and fame.

(Similar Characters in real police dramas: Hercules Poirot from Agatha Christie’s Poirot and Horatio Kane from CSI: Miami)

Week 3. Task, page 31 (Narrative)

The two images are both striking and powerful but in their own way. One is of a migrant mother and the other is of the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake in January 2010. The narrative behind these two images is to show the audience the struggle that many people across the global are going through on a daily basis, whether its risking your life to go to another country or surviving a natural disaster both are extremely difficult and many people need to take the time to both respect and acknowledge these two different types of struggles. It wants the person looking at these images to feel sad and emotional.

These images tell the reader many things. It shows them the struggle, the toughness and the hard life that the people in both images have. The image of the migrant mother shows us someone that is poor and in need of some real help. She looks depressed, fed up but also very pensative, she is looking to the distance thinking about what is going to come next for her and her children in this cruel world. The other picture is after an earthquake, and it shows the destruction that it has caused, and how the Haitian people are helping each other out of the rubble. They all look dirty and dusty as if they have just come out of a battle.

The image on the left is in black and white. This gives the reader a clue that the image is historical, apart from this there is not much more the reader can use to decode the image apart from the facial expression of the mother and the fact her children are looking away from the camera. The image on the right is different however. The image shows the reader what the narrative is. It shows the ruins of destroyed buildings on the ground, as two men are carrying an injured lady to safety. The rubble on the ground is the clue that tells the reader that a natural disaster has occurred.

Week 3. Task, page 32. (Narrative)

The narrative conveyed through the text on the covers is clear and easy to identify for one of the covers the other however looks a lot more difficult to decode. The illustration conveyed, on the ‘Call of Duty: World at War’ cover is very specific and goes straight to the point, the image is enough to show the reader what the game is about. A soldier aiming a sniper whilst in full camouflage suggests to the reader that this is a first person shooter (FPS) game during a war. There are also tanks and other soldiers in the background suggesting that this game will involve a historic real-life war.

Bullet Boy on the other hand is much harder to analyse and see what genre it’s gearing towards. This is due to the fact the imagery doesn’t give us specifically if this will be an action, thriller or just a drama with a small element of action. The title however does help slightly in showing us that this film is not going to be a happy feel-good movie with a comedic element within it.

The images can be analysed using visual codes as we naturally look at images over words. You understand what type of genre the ‘Call of Duty’ game is, just by looking at the image plastered on the cover. Bullet boy isn’t as clear however.

Week 3. Task, page 34. (Narrative)

A film that would fit into Todorov’s frame of linear narrative is star wars commonly known today as Star wars Episode 4: A new hope. The narrative would start with the introduction of the main character, Luke skywalker and how his life is in the dessert planet he lives in. the action disturbing the equilibrium is Luke meeting princess Leia and the bounty Han solo and the Jedi master Obi Wan Kenobi where he is told about the dark empire and his apprentice Darth Vader plan to destroy planets using a Death star and also about how he takes the princess as a hostage. They set out to get the princess back from the Sith Lord. The climax of the film occurs when the princess is saved and the planning and attempt to destroy the empire’s Death star takes place. The equilibrium is then restored when Luke shoots at the heart of the death star destroying it and they all return to Luke’s plant happily.

Linear narrative offers the audience a simple timeline, which allows the audience to have an easier and simple experience as they won’t need to think and try and understand the story, they can just sit back, relax and enjoy the story unfold.

The film will start off by explaining the characters and building them up, it will include a family and show how they act towards each other and within their community in the city of New York. The main character is the youngest child who is 15 years of age and the action that disrupts the equilibrium is him finding a letter with tickets two tickets to Africa.

The young boys goes with his friend to Africa and they find themselves lost in the jungle being hunted by animals, to restore the equilibrium they seek help from a man who lives in a small hut within the hearty of the jungle and that one day dreams of going to America.

The narrative then moves to a climax, this climax consists of the two boys and man finding their way out of the jungle and meet a rich man who gives the man from the jungle a ticket to America. The equilibrium is then restored once they arrive to America as the man gets given a job by the father of the boy and the boys go back to their normal lives.

Week 3. Task, page 35. (Narrative) The TV programme is horror based filled with loads of different narrative strands. In the opening episodes of the walking dead there are multiple narrative strand created. Narrative strands are the different stories that are being told, and how they are constructed throughout the show.
The first narrative strand we see is that zombies have taken over and everyone who was once human has too turned into a zombie, this does not included the few survivors that are left that are not zombies. The zombies seem to have gone out of control and all they want to do is hunt for humans to feed on. The second narrative strand includes the main character ‘Rick’ we are first introduced to him where we see him waking up from a comma. He soon finds out about the zombies and becomes in trouble very quickly. He meets a man and his soon who rescue him from the zombies and what they now have to do is escape from the zombies without being attacked by finding somewhere safe to go.

These strands are created by a plot situation were a virus was leaked which in effected humans only and turned everyone that got bitten into a zombie. However, the setting location is what allows the second strand to happen, if rick didn’t meet the two new people then he could have had died and the story would have been different. Both these strands will be able to appeal to regular and new audiences because as you watch the first episode the story is not only being shown to us it is also being spoken to us when the characters speak. So even if you were part we audience and you have never seen any of the other episodes before you’d still be able to identify the stories being told.

Week 3. Task, page 35 (Narrative)

The trailer of Crash (2004) challenges Todorov’s suggestion that narratives are linear as it doesn’t follow his structure. There isn’t a clear beginning, middle or end. Its structure is irregular. There is no equilibrium in the trailer at any point. No sense of balance and calm. There is disequilibrium throughout, and when something seems to calm down, a major incident disturbs the balance.

Week 4. Task, page 47(Representation and Responses)

The beheadings in the Middle East by ISIS has been shown on the news and newspapers in a very serious matter. The two texts have looked down upon the actions of the ISIS militants and targeted their ‘Islamic beliefs’ as the main cause for their despicable actions.
The only ideas and values expressed through this representation of the event is that of the writer. He/she writes about what the majority of the public want to hear about, so they only get a mediated version of the real thing.

It is quite simple for such event, for the papers to express a single minded point of view which most people will go with as it seems logical. The audience are encouraged to react in the same way as they have read/watched a mediated version of the real thing so will just go along with what the person reporting/writing about the event has to say.

Different audiences will react differently to this event. For example, the majority of people will blame Islam for their acts as that is what ISIS has said fuelled them to do these horrible acts. But Muslims will see it differently. They will agree that the actions are horrendous, but they will say that religion doesn’t play any part in their actions, and they are just mentally disturbed. They wouldn’t want to fall under the same bracket as ISIS, and would like to distance themselves away from them.

Week 4. Task, page 50 (Representations and Responses)

Young people generally have a bad image in today’s generation. An example of a bad representation of young people in newspapers is when a black teenager stabs another or a teenager dies overdosing at an illegal rave. Immediately people come to the conclusion all teenagers are gang-members, hoodlums or thugs that have no appreciation towards society and the community in which they live in.

However you can still come across some positive articles where young people are portrayed positively for example one article expresses the courage a boy had to save his brother from a dog trying to eat him. These acts of bravery restore hope in the community.

Vivid and powerful vocabulary is used when writers are writing about teenager’s stabbings and murders. They want to bring across the message instantly and make the reader shocked and intrigued to continue to read on.

I feel that anchorage is used to give the image a meaning because the reader will want to see visual codes so they can imagine what happened. So the writer puts in a lot of time to find that right image that will draw attention to his/her article.

I think there is a message that the writer wants to give off to the reader. They want to assure the reader that the next generation of youngsters aren’t what you thing they are, and are actually well disciplined and brave (in a positive representation). But they also tell the reader to keep their wits about themselves and not to stay out late at night (in a negative representation).

Week 4. Task, page 68 (Representations and Responses)

This image can be read in many different ways. For example, someone could say that Kelly Holmes is celebrating a win in athletic by flying the union jack over her head. However, some people can further analyse this image and see it as a black sportswomen celebrating a win and being proud to call herself British, despite the colour of her skin or background. Others may see it as her being proud to be black and British, and showing other British people with a different ethnicity that anything is possible as long as you put in the effort.

Black sportsmen and women are represented in a good way by the media. Racist people look down upon black people and see them as a type of race that should not be competing in a sport with other white competitors. But media shows black sportsmen in a great way. Many athletes like: Mo Farah and Usain Bolt are idolized by many and the media doesn’t distort the truth about them, and infact praises them just like the general public does. They are role models for the next generation. The ‘race card’ isn’t seen when it comes to sport, all that is seen is the hours of time and work put in by the said athletes.

Week 4. Task, page 72(Representations and Responses)

The ethnicities represented in these images are quite stereotypical. For instance, the Asian man is in a typical stance ready to fight, wearing what a shaolin warrior would wear. The image opposite is also representing something very stereotypical as it represents domestic abuse within a black household. The black people in Africa is also a stereotypical representation as the ad is asking for aid and help, and many people refer to West Africa when they talk about an underdeveloped continent.

Week 5. Task, page 74. (Audience responses)

Teen gossip magazine:
Teenage girls will have a dominant view of this type of magazine as teenage girls like to read and hear about the latest news and gossip about the celebrities they look up to. They are interested in their love lives and what they have been up to recently, which is what the magazine would cover. It will also give the reader tips on how to look after their appearance and dress like these celebrities, something girls would typically like to read about.

An old man viewing this type of media text would have an oppositional view as they wouldn’t understand the attention it gets given. The slang terms used will confuse them and stop them from reading on.

A teenage boy would have a negotiated view on this topic. All the ‘fashion talk’ and weekly female trends will not interest them one bit. However, they would understand as to why other people (particularly teenage females) would enjoy it as they would understand that this is what interest’s females in their age group.

Football match on TV:
Adults have a negotiated view on watching football. They may not be totally in love with it but they would understand why it is the most popular sport in the world and why many people enjoy watching it.

Teenage boys love football and would have a dominant view on this topic. Most would go to school the following day and talk about highlights of the match, whether a player played good or bad or if it should have not been a penalty kick for one team.

A Female on the other hand may have an oppositional state of mind on this as they would have no clue why anyone would find viewing 22 men kicking a ball together on grass, ‘enjoyable to watch’, they will find it dull and boring.

Documentary
A child watching this would have a strong oppositional view on this topic as they would be extremely bored of watching it and would strongly argue as to why anyone takes any interest in it.

A teenage boy would have a negotiated view. They personally wouldn’t watch it in their free time but would understand why others find it interesting as they may be interested in that topic which the documentary covers and would like to learn more about it.
An historian however would absolutely love historical documentaries and would have a dominant view about it. This is because historians fantasise over history, and would constantly try and learn more about it whenever given the chance.

Week 5. Task, page 75 (Audience responses)

Males would like the layout and design of Men’s Health magazine as it is simple and easy to identify amongst other magazines. Females like the layout and design of ‘Closer’ as it has many different and eye catching pictures of female celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Niki Minaj.

Females also like the cover of ‘Closer’ as it has loads of standout pictures and gossip written in bold. They make them read on and find out the details and more of the gossip.

Men like the cover of Men’s Health as it inspires them to one day have the same body as the celebrity fronting the magazine. They buy the magazine as they want to read on and find out more about Kim K and Kanye, and the roumers surrounding the ICloud scandal.

Men will respond well with the representation they get in male magazines as it is a strong, muscular and manly image on the cover, which is what they aim for. However, most females won’t be impressed with their representation as they may think the stereotype for the perfect women is a load of Photoshop and faked images caked with make-up.

The image of the male in Men’s Health is one picture that takes up most of the cover. On ‘Closer’ they choose to have smaller pictures of a number of different celebrities in revealing apparel and stunning Versace dresses.

Week 5. Task, page 81 (Audience Responses)

For people watching television for information and education, I would recommend they watch the RT news as this is one of the least biased news programs TV has to offer, and Documentaries on the Discovery channel. This is because these programmes are best suited to that type of genre convention. If you view programmes for Personal Identity, I’d strongly recommend watching BBC documentaries/ a day in the life type of programme. This is because it will help compare your life with that of the characters situations in the documentary.

If you watch television purely for entertainment purposes, I would recommend watching programmes like: X factor, Celebrity Juice and football. But if you actually watch programmes so that you can relate and identify with characters, I would recommend you watching Soaps like East Enders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

Week 6. Task, page 84 (End Notes)

After watching the trailer for slum dog millionaire you are able to see different narrative codes, genre conventions and technical and audio codes. The first narrative code that we see about the boy playing the game. This is the main story of the movie which helps link in with everything else on his life. At the being it gives us four possibilities as to how he won the game show. Throughout the game show it tell us how he answered different questions and how he was able to get to where he is today. The story that they are trying to show is how him and his brother grew up and what they have and to go through in life.

One of the main genres in this movie is about a love story. It shows us how love between can be strong no matter what the consequences are, they would always come back together to be together. We don’t just see a romantic love but also a sibling love and a mother and son love. In the movie we see that the love the mum has for her children is really strong, so strong that she died to save their life’s rather than saving her own life.

Throughout the movie there are different technical and audio codes that are used. The person who is speaking throughout the trailer is the presenter of the TV show ‘who want to be a millionaire’. It tells us what the movie is about and the different stages of the boy’s life. However, in the actually movie it is the boy who is telling his own story and not the TV presenter The film showcases India as a country built on poverty. For example the boys would have to go to a certain area to go toilet as there is no place to do that in their house, and the people would have to go and wash their clothes in the same river that rubbish is thrown in.
Other film/documentaries show both sides of India: Rich and poor. But in Slumdog Millionaire the reader only gets too see the mediated version, that India is a poor undeveloped country, with dangers lurking in every direction.

Week 6. Task, page 85 (End Notes)

Different audience will either love or hate the film. If you are from India you will mostly likely love the film as it shows India as people tortured by other people who aren’t Indian. It also shows how India over the couple of few years has changed to allow it to become more independent and stronger as a whole. There are some characters in the film who aren’t Indian and come from other countries who are seen to be the bad guys and who want to cause violence and war. Other countries will then not like this movie because of what it is doing.

The producers overall, are able to get a different people to watch the movie as in the movie they speak a range of different languages that allow people to understand what is going on. The movie is set in India but it brings different cultures into the movie. For example the TV show that they are playing is an English TV show where they are completing to win.