Easter

Learn:

All theories (all seven)
All terminology (sound, editing, mise-en-scene, camerawork)
All brit and Hollywood facts

Regional Identity Theory

Regional Identity

Andrew Higson (1998) – “Identity is generally understood to be the shared identity of naturalised inhabitants of a particular political-geographic space – this can be a particular nation of region”

Medhurst (1997) – “They’re awful because they’re not like us”

Every area has a certain stereotype.

Colloquial Dialect. (How people speak in a certain place – “ALRIGHT ME LOVER? I’ll get me pasty and do it dreckly” “geeeezzzaaaaa” “G’day mate”)

Semantic fields.

Class Theory

Marxist View

“The media is controlled by the ruling classes and they use it to support their power.” (social grade B and C – middle class white straight men.)

Medhurst 1997 – “They are awful because they’re not like us.”

They take the piss out of everybody that doesn’t fit into their little world.

Richard Butsch (1992) – Working class males in the media are presented as “incompetent, and ineffectual, often a buffoon, well-intentioned but dumb. In almost all working class series, the male is flawed, some more than others.

Keith Gandall (2007) – “Whenever you have a narrative with upper class, middle class and lower class, there is often social ruin.” “Sentimental rags-to-riches story” (eg poor boy meets rich girl)

Gender Theory

“As erotic objects of desire for the characters within the story, and as erotic objects of desire for the spectator.”  (Mulvey, 1975).

How is gender portrayed in this extract?

 

In 1975, Laura Mulvey said that females are used “As erotic objects of desire for the characters within the story, and as erotic objects of desire for the spectator.” This theory is relevant to this video and probably doesn’t break it considering and I will be analyzing how it does this with regards to the cinematography, editing, mise-en-scene and sound.

 

The clip starts with a close up in a bird’s eye angle of the feet of two characters, seemingly of a male and a female, in a position where it looks like the two characters are lying down together and the male has his legs over the female’s legs. The man seems to be well dressed and female looks like she isn’t wearing much clothing. This follows Mulvey’s male gaze theory by indication that this woman is being used as an erotic object for the fully dressed male. This becomes clearer when a jump cut is used to go into a bird’s eye, close up of the top half a their bodies which shows that the male is fully dressed and the female has no clothes on at all. At this point some non-diegetic music plays and acts as a sound bridge throughout the remainder of the video. The music is very upbeat and happy which connotes that the contents of the extract will be positive and this supports Mulvey’s theory because it shows that the way these men look at these women is a positive thing, using them as objects of erotic desire. It is also clear at this point that the video is made in continuity editing, used to make the video feel comfortable to the viewer and also normalize this kind of behavior towards women. In terms of CGI, “#THICKE” is displayed on the screen at the start, as it is several times throughout the video which both connotes that the video is stupid and also that the makers want the video to be seen by people across social media, which supports Mulvey’s theory through the desire for other women to see how the women in the video are being treated as erotic objects. The other words that are displayed throughout the video are “#BLURREDLINES” which works the same way as “#THICKE.” Further to this, the colour of these CGI words is red which connotes desire which agrees with Mulvey’s theory of females being objects of desire. This is the same with the colour of the props used throughout the video eg the car, the bike, and the red and white dice.

 

Through the next part of the video, the mise-en-scene is very important when it comes to Laura Mulvey’s theory because all of the female characters are wearing very little clothing and are wearing a lot of make-up and this remains constant for the remainder of the video. Furthermore, the males in the video are nearly always looking at either the females or the camera, and when they are looking at the females it is clear that their eye line goes down from the eye and back up, indicating that they ‘want’ the women in a sexual nature. At one part of the video, a male is smoking a cigarette and then blows the smoke into a female’s face. This follows Mulvey’s theory because it degrades the female and lot, and you can tell from her facial expression at this point that she in uncomfortable. The theory works not only in the way the camera works to sexualize females but also to see how the males look at the females and how other females see this happen. So, for all the females watching the video, it is clear that the male is using this female and thus it conforms to the theory. 

 

In terms of camera work, for the most part of the video, after the first few seconds, it is very simple, mostly just consisting of medium, medium close, close and full shots. The angle of the camera is mainly just at eye level and the camera doesn’t move very much although it seems like it is handheld, possibly to show the excitement of the males characters and it occasionally zooms in and out, tilts up and down and tracks the movement of a character. In terms of Mulvey’s theory, there are only certain specific bits that really conform to it because in nearly all of the camera shots there isn’t a specific focus on the female body apart from shoulders up. However, in the second half of the video there is a clear close up of a female’s genital region which very clearer conforms to Mulvey’s theory by showing an obvious desire for sex.

 

As for the sound, the upbeat music continues for the whole video, but the dialogue, in the form of song lyrics, comes in a little later. The lyrics for the song are very complementary to the visuals of the video, saying things like “I know you want it,” “you’re a good girl,” and “you the hottest bitch in this place” which all conform to Mulvey’s theory of using females as objects of sexual desire because all of the lyrics are meant in a sexual way. Furthermore, all of the dialogue comes from the three males and none of the females, indicating that they are the ones using the females.

 

Towards the end of the video, balloons are used as a prop to spell out a sentence on the wall that says “Robin Thicke has a big d,” furthering the clarity of the video being about sexual desire. Furthermore, it is shown that the males start drinking alcohol, and in conjunction with the lyrics and the other visuals, this has connotations of drunken sexual desire where the men would force themselves onto the females in a drunken state. Also, one of the males starts handling money which gives connotations of prostitution. These last two points give very negative views of sex and with regards to Mulvey’s theory it indicates that the females being used as erotic objects for sexual desire is a very negative thing and this relates to the theory even more.

 

In conclusion, this video conforms to Laura Mulvey’s male gaze theory by showing the women as erotic object for sexual desire throughout the video, often with negative connotations, and therefore it is clear for the audience viewing the video as well.

Age Theory

OLD AGE

It is seriously worth noting that theory concerning disability can be applied to the elderly with ease. According to Evans (1998):

“Old people in our culture are also segregated and treated as though they are waiting to die. There are close associations between dependency, illness, dying and death. It seems that increasingly in our culture there are pressures that encourage a reversion to infantile feelings which have to be madly defended against.”

 

 

 

 

How is Age Represented in the extract?

 

In 1904, Stanley Hall argued that all young people are “inherently a time of storm & stress when all young people go through some degree of emotional and behavioural upheaval, before establishing a more stable equilibrium at adulthood." The media language in the extract supports Hall’s theory in a number of ways but also opposes it by conforming to Osgerby (1988) and Hebdige’s (1998) theories concerning the mixed metaphors of “Youth as trouble and youth as fun.”

 

The clip starts with the opening sequence displaying a montage edit of various shots that conform to Stanley Hall’s youth theory (1904). The editing is fast paced with lots of medium to medium close shots of youth participating in activities that relate to teenagers being depressed, criminals and needing excitement through drugs, drinking and sex, as the theory states. Specifically, the content of these shots includes youth smoking, wearing minimum clothing, kissing and also participating in fun activities like trampolining. However, the montage also includes shot of characters participating in activities that have higher reputations that oppose Hall’s youth theory for example playing instruments. In this sequence, the sound is in the form of non-diegetic music that using Ronan Bathes’ theory of binary opposition to  create a juxtaposition of sound and image, making the youth being represented look rebellious, emotionally unstable and stereotypically bad behaved, however also happy and  fun through the jolly, upbeat music. This conforms to Osgerby (1998) and Hebdige’s (1988) you theory of “Youth as fun” and “Youth as trouble maker.” Finally, the opening sequence contains a lot of CGI in the form of abstract shapes in different colours and the montage is put together with dissolves and faces to and from black. This also follows the Osgerby and Hebdige youth theory because it shows “youth as fun” due to the different colours and more modern technology, of which the younger generation are often related with.

 

After the opening sequence, the camera begins in a close up shot in a bird’s eye angle and then zoom’s out with a zoom that could be considered the Hitchcock zoom to a full shot, still at the bird’s eye angle. The lighting in this shot conforms to Ronan Barthes’ binary opposition theory, demonstrating the good and the bad of the way teenagers are represented with chiaroscuro.  All of this is done in the opening five seconds so that the viewer instantly forms a judgement of the character, with the high angle indicating that the character has a lower social status, which as the camera zoom’s out conforms to Hall’s theory of the youth being “prone to sought in sex” due to the mise-en-scene, specifically the character’s bed cover. However, from this bird’s eye angle you can also see that the mise-en-scene also opposes Hall’s youth theory because the bedroom is shown to be very tidy, which goes against the stereotypes of teenagers having very messy and unorganised bedrooms. In terms of sound, you can hear church bells until an alarm goes off. This alarm tells the viewer that this character was awake before their alarm, another stereotype opposition due to teenagers usually being expected to be lazy and not wake up with their alarms in the morning, let alone before they go off. The editing of the extract from the end of the opening sequence becomes continuity editing to show the narrative of the program.

 

After the alarm goes off, there is a cut away to the stereo button and the scene picks up pace in editing, sound and action. The stereo is turned on and some upbeat, sexualized hip-hop music begins to play as a sound bridge throughout the characters work out routine. This music conforms to Stanley Hall’s theory of youth being “prone to sought in sex” due to the sexual nature of the song lyrics, for example “I like the way you look in those pants.” This is also shown through the visuals, with the action in the scene a work out which is shown by the camera with a range of shots and angles, for example medium and full shots and high and low angles. This gives the viewer different impressions that the character, with the angles giving the character different levels of status, although the fact that he is working out conforms to Stanley Hall’s youth theory in that youth’s like to look good, which connotes sex. This is furthered through the mise-en-scene, where the character is just wearing his underwear, a sex connoting visual. This part of the clip ends with the character looking at his self in the mirror, with the camera in an over-the-shoulder shot. The fact that he is admiring his own appearance conforms to Hall’s theory, as mentioned before, of the youth wanting to look good and sexually desirable.

 

At this point, the music continues and some parallel editing takes place, following the movement of another young character walking down the street. This is shown through a tracking shot from behind a hedge to the pavement and then a full, long shot to show her movement towards the camera. From here is it clear that character conforms to a lot more teenage stereotypes in terms of the mise-en-scene due to the character’s lack of clothing, messy hair and running make up. This connotes that she has been partying, drinking and having sex during the night and thus conforms exactly to Hall’s theory. Then we go back to the bedroom where you can hear another alarm go off, this time coming from the character’s watch. His movement to the window and the indicates that this alarm could be for the female character’s return, however the eye line match across the street to another female character who is nude in a bedroom across the street make it look like the alarm could also be for perving across the street at this female every morning which conforms to Hall’s theory of youth being “prone to sought in sex.” Furthermore, the naked woman across the street indicates that the old generations are no better than the younger ones due to her obvious awareness of the male character’s gaze being in her direction and thus she is seen to be “egging him on” and purposely making him sexual frustrated, of which you can see from his facial expression. The use of different heights, and thus alternate high and low camera angles, shows the different levels of status between the two young characters in the scene, the male have the most status and the female have little status.

 

Once the young female character finally gets the male’s attention, it is clear that they have some sort of plan. The male change’s the music to heavy rock music and turns it up to maximum volume. This creates a distraction and the female enters the house, whilst some dialogue begins to take place through an adult male’s shouting from outside of the room and then an eye line match to the door is used as an action code, connoting that the shouting is going to come into the room. Then eye line matches are used to form the dialogue between these to characters. The dialogue shows the man shouting things like “TONY!” and “EVERY FUCKING MORNING” which indicates again that the older generations are no better than the younger ones at all. This is furthered through the mise-en-scene with the character wearing the same clothing as Tony.

 

Simultaneously to this, you see the young female coming into the house, leaving the door open, climbing the stairs, checking the argument between the males and then entering her bedroom and getting ready for school. To convey this, the camera angle uses a high angle from the top of the stairs as she walks through the front door to make the audience think of the character as having a low social class, however when she is in her room the camera is at a low angle to show the change in class that the audience is meant to think of her due to the plan succeeding. All of this follows Hall’s and Osgerby and Hebdige’s youth theories of youth being rebellious trouble makers. Furthermore, you can clearly see the messy make up on her face and you can see that her room is really dark which connotes Hall’s theory of youth being depressed.

 

The last part of the extract sees the end of the argument between Tony and his dad, with his dad storming out of the room and Tony successfully turning off the stereo after knowing that the plan had been completed. This is shown through a finally eye level, over the shoulder shot to see the adult leave the room and then a medium shot from near the door to see Tony, an extreme close of Tony turning off the stereo. This follows Hall’s theory of youth seeking exciting activities. The clip finished with Tony picking out a t-shirt via a high angle shot looking down at his drawer of shirts, which goes against the youth theories mentioned because it shows Tony to be smart and tidy as opposed to messy and unorganised. The sound at this point is just foley, diegetic sound, for example Tony opening the drawer.

 

To conclude, youth in this extract is represented as mostly conforming to the youth theories of Stanley Hall, Osgerby, Hebdige and Ronan Barthes, however at times opposing them. This shows that the stereotypes that are put on young people as whole are not entirely true. Furthermore, it is indicated that the adults are no better than the younger generation, showing that all stereotypes put on adults as being responsible and more intelligent is compromised and that the contrast in behavior between the young and old is actually a lot less of a contrast than it is shown to be. That said, this extract is fictional and therefore cannot completely represent everyone in these age groups.



Disability Theory

PSYCHOANALYSIS (FREUD) AND DISABILITY

EVANS (1998), drawing on the works of Freud and other psychoanalysis, states:

“Disable people are seen as childish, dependant and underdeveloped and are regarding as ‘other’ and are punished by being excluded from ordinary life. Thus popular images and rhetoric of disabled people abound which comfort us with people who are imperfect, helpless, disgusting, shitty, dribbling – a threat to rigid ego boundaries."

"During the socio-developmental process of infancy, a range of strict rules of decorum involving standards of privacy, decency and dignity effect a representation of these activities as taboo…therefore images of disability which cause unpleasure to the self simply be representing that expelling as already complete. We become literally alienated from (and cannot identify with) the object/person we observe.”

 

 

 

 

How is disability represented in the extract?

After looking at the work of Freud, in 1998 Evans stated that “Disable people are seen as childish, dependant and underdeveloped and are regarding as ‘other’ and are punished by being excluded from ordinary life. Thus popular images and rhetoric of disabled people abound which comfort us with people who are imperfect, helpless, disgusting, shitty, dribbling – a threat to rigid ego boundaries." The extract I have studies both conforms to and breaks this theory.

The extract starts with a full shot of the three characters that are featured in the scene and then the camera tilts down to out the disabled character into full view. This conforms to Evans’ theory because it shows disabled people as underdeveloped and imperfect. This is furthered when the camera tilts back up to look at the man standing behind the wheelchair which makes the audience think that this character is more important, which is not necessarily the case. From the off it is made clear that the young man is disabled by the use of a wheelchair used to aid him. The feature of mise-en-scene makes it clear for the audience to identify which character is disabled  which follows on from before with the character being made to look childish, dependant and underdeveloped, as stated in Evans’ theory, as well as the fact that he is with his dad when it becomes clear why they’re at this woman’s apartment. It is clear from the start that the extract uses continuity editing to make the shots change smoothly, abiding to the 180 degree rule, which makes the audience feel comfortable watching the scene. This breaks the theory by making all of the characters seem equal.  The sound at this point is just the door opening and the dialogue which opposes the theory by making everything seem normal, something or which disabled people are said to not be.

The dialogue in the next part furthers the audience’s view on the female as seeing Blake as an equal, although it is shown physically that he is disabled. Something that happens a lot through the dialogue is the use of high and low camera angles where the camera looks up to look at the two able bodied and down to look at Blake. This conforms to Evans’ theory because it is condescending to Blake, showing him as childish and underdeveloped. This is furthered when the female asks for the “formalities” and Blake asks his dad to get the envelope out of his bag. This up tilt to the man makes him look superior to Blake and this makes Blake look childish and dependant. The woman then says “Make yourself comfortable” which could be seen as talking down to Blake, treating him like a child, however I think it is her treating him like an equal, as something she would say to all of her clients, which opposes the theory. When she leaves the room, Blake rolls over to the step, where he asks his dad for help to get up the steps. This conforms to Evans’ theory by showing that Blake is dependent on him for mobility, for example when going up steps which he can’t roll up in his wheel chair. Then, his dad goes over and carries him onto a bed, which furthers this childish, dependant nature that he is stuck with and also clarifies the reason for their visit. Once in the bedroom, the dialogue continues with Blake and his father, where Blake asks his dad to undo his dungarees a bit so it is clear that they are not wearing the same t-shirt. This makes Blake seems childish, like the theory states, because it shows him not wanting to look too much like his father, which is something a lot of young people don’t want to do. From a long a shot you can see that the woman is looking at them from around the corner, showing her as uncomfortable which follows Evans’ theory because it make Blake appear like an ‘other’ as Evans stated. We then have an eye line match as we see the males from her perspective before she enters the room and we see her talk to the men. To say goodbye to Blake, his father kisses him on the forehead, which we see from a medium lose shot, which follows Evans’ theory by showing Blake as childish. Then Blake’s dad goes to leave and we see a medium shot of the female shutting and going to lock the door due to an obvious discomfort, before deciding not to lock the door. This could be an action code for something that will happen later in the episode. The camera doesn’t move around, it jumps from location to location around the apartment and this jump cutting makes the viewer feel slightly uncomfortable which could be used to express the representation of disabled people as ‘other’ as said by Evans. Once they are both in the bedroom, she offers to get Blake a drink, and most the action form this room is now seen from a fixed camera (handheld?), showing the action in a medium shot of the two characters and abiding by the 180 degree rule entirely.

Then the clip uses parallel editing to follow what is happening in the bedroom and also with Blake’s dad after his return to their vehicle. The scene at the van begins with a low angle eye line match looking up at the apartment where Blake and the female are, indicating that they are of higher status than Blake’s father at this point, and then uses jump cuts to show a passing of time as different things happen in the vehicle such as the window going up and down, the radio being turned on and the horn being pressed accidentally. Furthermore, in terms of sound you hear some diegetic noise consisting of classical music when the radio is turned on, the window going up and down and the horn being pressed. This shows the viewer that people who are able-bodied are no better than people who are not; they are all equal, due to the childish behaviour that the man is carrying out.

When the narrative goes back up to the apartment, the camera is still abiding by the 180 degree rule and stays in the same area for the remainder of the clip. From here, non-diegetic music is played until the end of the extract with some dialogue over it. This dialogue includes discussion of Blake not being used to being touched other than for help with moving. This demonstrates Evans’ theory by implying that Blake is excluded from ordinary life because of his disability. Then, in terms of mise en scene, the female takes Blake’s t-shirt off, as shown with a series of perspective changes, a low angle looking up at the female (making her look more important than Blake due to her being the one to take his shirt off due to him being unable to) and a pan and tilt from the camera back to its original position, and it becomes clearer that Blake’s disability is a result of his spinal structure due to the appearance of his body. This follows Evans’ theory because it shows him as imperfect and underdeveloped.

In conclusion, in the extract some parts of Evans’ disability theory is proven to apply to the representation of disabled people in tv dramas, however, most of it isn’t relevant to this extract, for example disabled people being “helpless, disgusting, shitty, dribbling – a threat to rigid ego boundaries.”