AuDiEnCe ThEoRy...

...Uses and Gratification...

We all have different uses for the media and we make choices over what we want to watch. In other words, when we encounter a media text, it is not just some kind of mindless entertainment- we are expecting to get something from it: some kind of gratification...
Information
Personal Identity
Social Interaction
Entertainment

...Reception Theory...
The way individuals received and interpreted a text, and how their individual circumstances (gender, class, age and ethnicity) affects their reading...
David Morley sees the media as a routine of people’s lives and that audience's read texts in different ways. The reading of a text can often depend upon expectations and even the environment the audience sees the text in...
Using recognised codes and conventions, and drawing upon audience expectations relating to aspects such as genre and use of stars, the producers can position the audience and therefore create a certain amount of agreement on what the code means. This is known as a preferred reading...

...Effects theory...
The effects theory was founded bythe Frankfurt School...it argues that the audience is passive and that they are manipulated by hegemonic values..
It looks at the hypodermic needle which is a term used to descbribe when values and ideologies are being injected into a specific audience..

xXx

MuLvEy...

'ThE MaLe GaZe'

Laura Mulvey

As my independent study is studying the representation of women I now have a greater knowlege of laura mulvey's theory - ' The Male Gaze'. Her theory looks at the way in which men look at women in the media. She dicusses the way male audiences look upon women as sexual objects who are there to satisfy their needs, there perpose is to-be-looked-at or as laura mulvey states "has the quality to-be-looked-at-ness". Films are often shot in a males point of veiw ecouraging men to look at women in this desirable way...

I agree with what laura mulvey is trying to say...

Women are ofetn objectified in the media and it is obvious that their perpose is to satisfy a mans desires. The reaon why many films do objectify women and are often shot in a males point of veiw is because the majority of successful directors are male. In most cases this would lead the women in the film to be represented as the perfect woman in a mans eyes therefore causing them to be looked upon as objects which furfill the male audeince desires. However there are more women in films that could be argued as strong, independent and active characters which goes against Mulveys theory but not often seen.

MaRxIsM...

..MaRxIsM MaRxIsM MaRxIsM MaRxIsM..

Two social classes

Proletariat (working class) – who sell their labour and don’t own production

Bourgeoisie – who own production and employ the proletariat.

------->Wealthy bourgeoisie – do not need to work

------->Petty bourgeoisie – employ others and also work themselves.

Marxism and The Media

Media producers maintain the status quo

Culture industries are profit motivated and often dumb down texts

Mass media is entertainment for the proletariats and often drip feeds them ideologies and beliefs which is also known as the hypodermic needle

Althusser

ISA works alongside the Repressive State Apparatuses to maintain the bourgeois ideologies of:

Religion

Education

Family values

Legal and political system

Political system

Cultural and communication systems

Eisenstein and montage
Eisenstein took a structurelist approach, arguing that cinema is designed to make the audience believe in capitalist propaganda and ideologies. Therefore in his films the narrative is shown through the montage.

Williams

Low culture...suitable for workers e.g. films, TV

High culture...for the bourgeoisie, e.g. ballet, opera, theatre

channel 5...

Channel 5 is Britain's last analogue, terrestrial network and has been on air since Easter 1997. It's available to nearly 80% of the population.

It was presented by spicegirls as they were a big hit at the time.

The Broadcasting Act of 1990 required the ITC (Independent Television Commission) to establish a fifth terrestrial channel in the UK. The ITC were required to award the Channel 5 licence on the basis of a competitive tender.

It as also nthe first terrestrial station also available on satellite.

Here are the estimated annual budgets of Britain's commercial network channels:

ITV-£800m

Channel 4-£280m

Channel 5-£110m

Therefore is cheaper to run than other terestrial channels...

PsYcHoLoGiCaL StAtE oF cHaRaCtErS...

...GoThIkA...

The film that I have chosen to analyse is titled 'Gothika', featuring Halle Berry. Its a film about a Psychologist who finds herself to be a patient in the institue she once worked in and for the brutal yet forgoten murder of her husband.

I have taken a scene where Halle Berry is being confined in a small cell in one of the psychiatric wards she once worked in.

She suddenly jumps out of her sleep, telling the audience that something has woken her up and put her ina state of shock. We can see this by the way her eyes are open wide, shes sweating and breating heavily; which usually means someones in shock or scared. A close up is used on her face in order to make her emotion (state of mind) clear to the audeince as it plays a big part in building up tension in the scene. When she gets up from her bed her body language tells the audeince alot about what is going on in her mind. She moves slowly and is constantly moving her eyes from one side of the room to the other, this suggests thats shes confused, scared and also cautious of the situation. When somthing shocks her she begins to panick and shows the audince a sence of paranoia and fear. This is backed up with the non-diegetic sound (eerie music), as it becomes more intence, she becomes more worked up and scared.

AuTeUr...?

...TiM BuRtOn...

***known for his off-beat and quirky style***

Tim Burton began his life in Burbank, California, a suburban town where many a movie and television studios can be found. He was born on the 25th August 1958 the son of Bill and Jean Burton.

"Tim Burton has created some of the most outstanding dark, strange and stimulating creative visions in filmmaking history. His dark and evocative dreams come to life on film revealing an imagination lush with originality and atmosphere. He has an ingenious talent for creating haunting landscapes that come alive with an intensity and beauty rarely seen. His characters are inventive and inspiring and yet often on the edge of society."

His work includes:
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...2005
Big Fish...2003
Planet of the Apes...2001
Edward Scissorhands 1990
Batman...1989
beetlejuice...1988

A Few of Tim Burtons trademarks:
His movies always opens with a personal version of the studio's logo and in many films the beginning credits sequence has the camera going through something or following something.
Many of his films often include dead dogs, scarecrows and clowns which may be because his films often have a Gothic feel to them, including Christmas or Halloween scenes.
Plots often focuses around a misunderstood outcast and he often looks into the main character's past through a series of flashbacks (i.e. in Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Burton

ThE fOuR C'z...

Mainstreamers- i think i associate myself most with mainstreamers as i often purchase brand names such as nice and coca-cola, eat from mainsteam fast food restaurants (Mc D'z, Burger King, KFC etc.) i also watch alot of mainsteam T.V (eg. eastenders)

Aspirers- in some ways i see myself as an aspirer as when i can affort it i buy well established brands however most of the time its because i like a particular item of clothing rather than wanting it because it holds a high status

Suceeders- I wouldn't really class myself as a suceeder however this may chnage at a later stage of my life.

Reformers- I'm not much of a reformer either apart from buying the occational product from the body shop or buying organic food.

ArTiCLe?

The article discusses the impact that x-factor has had on itv1's viewer ratings. ITV1's popularity had gone into decline over summer 2006 however x-factor has began to pull up ratings attracting 8.8 million viewers and a 43% share between 7.20pm and 8.20pm with the last of the audition episodes.

..ArTiCLe..

X Factor gives ITV Saturday lift

The X Factor and Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway have given ITV1 a firm grip on the Saturday night ratings battle.

ITV1's hit reality talent show led the way at the weekend, attracting 8.8 million viewers and a 43% share between 7.20pm and 8.20pm with the last of the audition episodes, according to unofficial overnights.

The X Factor was up against Noel Edmonds' one-off return to BBC1 with The National Lottery - Everyone's a Winner.

Everyone's a Winner, a one-off special to tie in with National Lottery Day, attracted 4.2 million viewers and a 21% share.

Earlier, Saturday Night Takeaway drew 5.1 million viewers and a 31% share between 6.05pm and 7.20pm.

BBC1 is marking time with movie repeats in the early evening on Saturdays ahead of the launch of Robin Hood and the return of Strictly Come Dancing.

On Saturday Men in Black attracted just 2.9 million viewers and an 18% share against Saturday Night Takeaway between 5.50pm and 7.20pm.

Later in the evening, Casualty returned to BBC1 after its summer break with 6.3 million viewers and a 28% share between 8.20pm and 9.10pm.

Casualty got into a hard-fought ratings tussle with ITV1's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, which attracted 6.1 million viewers over an hour from 8.20pm.

Then the second part of The National Lottery - Everyone's a Winner drew 5.3 million viewers and a 25% share on BBC1 between 9.10pm and 9.50pm.

Edmonds' lottery show was up against ITV1's paranormal drama Afterlife, which drew 4 million viewers and a 19% share.

The return of The X Factor and Saturday Night Takeaway has helped to refloat ITV1's Saturday night schedule, which was in danger of sinking without trace over the summer, and lift the network's overall share.

In the seven days to Sunday September 24, ITV1 attracted a weekly share of more than 20% for the first time in two and a half months, since the end of the World Cup in early July.

However, the year-on-year comparisons are less flattering - ITV1 last week attracted a share of just under 21%, compared with 24% in the equivalent week of 2005.

BLoG TiTLe...

...WiDeR CoNtExT...