We have now looked at a range of documentaries, articles, theories and adverts. The key to doing well in Section B of this exam is being able to put all of this information together and create an answer which shows you can apply knowledge and understanding when analysing media products and processes to show how meanings and responses are created.
You should have a good understanding of the key concepts, semiotics, types of readings (preferred, negotiated, oppositional), theorists (Barthes, Propp, Todorov, Levi-Strauss) and also theories such as Uses & Gratifications, Hypodermic Needle and Reception Theory. If you need to re-cap on any of these then read through your notes again, use google or come and find one of your teachers and we will explain it again.
Theory you should know:
Barthes came up with the theory of sign, signifiers and icons
‘If the text is analysed according to Barthes theory of signs, the audience could read the red cloak as a symbol of anger and conflict.’
Hall came up with denotation, connotation, encoding and readings.
‘Using Hall’s theory of readings, it seems that the preferred reading of the text is….. However, it could also be argued that an oppositional reading would see the More Four sequence as highly sexist.’
Todorov came up with the theory of narrative structure of equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium.
‘The narrative structure of the sequence shows the pattern of Todorov’s disequilibrium and new equilibrium.’
Levi-Strauss came up with binary opposition in characters and narrative (e.g good vs evil, rich vs poor)
‘Katie Price is clearly positioned as Andre’s opposite, in terms of Levi Strauss’ theory of character types’.
Propp came up with a more detailed theory of character types.
‘the female stuck in her car is presented like one of Propp’s character types, the princess or damsel needing rescue’
Barthes also came up with the theory of narrative codes including the enigma code.
‘the trailer strongly suggests a Barthes narrative enigma leaving the audience wanting to solve the mystery of the murders’.
For your homework, I would like you to answer the following question in 45 minutes:
Due on Tuesday 19th
http://susiebeckmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/to-what-extent-do-media-products-in.html i got a bit confused and did the essay as a cross-media study but i hope this has enough information to answer the question.
ReplyDeleteJessica Platts
ReplyDeletei didnt really understand it either but i had a go at it anyway
A documentary is a factual piece of work made for the purpose of entertaining and informing the audience, based on real life experiences and shown through the media. Documentaries are manipulated in present day by the institutions which create and show them in order to please the audience. Therefore they may be manipulated to do more than just entertain their audiences.
My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding, shown on channel 4, is a fly-on-the-wall documentary series that is a mix of Reflexive Mode and Performative Mode and has a narrative of following travellers as they prepare for their weddings or as they go through other stressful, but entertaining for the audience, ordeals such as jail or divorce. It is aimed at a young adult audience such as teenagers and is able to be shown to the audience using all three media platforms as replays and special clips are on channel 4’s website and it is advertised using print and shown on TV.
This series is mainly made to entertain the audience as it often shows moments that are deemed amusing by the audience and allows the audience to compare their life with that of what they see (uses and gratification theory), however, the fact it is based on an ethnic group that people often don’t know a lot about suggests that it has been made to inform the public of their lifestyle and to try and eliminate some of the stereotypes and prejudices that surround the group. But, saying this, many of the print based products used to advertise the series contain pictures of girls in a sexualised way as they are wearing provocative clothing and one even contained a young boy looking aggressively into the camera. This would in fact enforce the surrounding stereotypes and it would make the audience feel like travellers are nothing but aggressive and desperate to show off their bodies. This has led to complaints being made about the advertisement, with the Daily Mail calling Channel 4 ‘morally bankrupt.’ This may have been intentional of the institution though as, by using controversial pictures, Channel 4 have been able to create a ‘buzz’ around the programme, therefore increasing their ratings.
this is the rest of mine
ReplyDeleteThis idea of the series being made to entertain and inform is emphasised by the slogan in bold white font, so it stands out, across the print adverts. It says ‘Bigger. Fatter. Gypsier.’ The words ‘bigger’ and ‘fatter’ highlight the fact that the documentary is entertaining but the word ‘gypsier’ suggests that you get to have a more detailed look into the ethnic group’s lifestyle. This idea of looking into the slogan in a way that the institution may not have wished for it to be portrayed follows Hall’s theory as you could either interpret the slogan as stated above or you could just see it as saying the series is going to be more entertaining than the first. At the start of each episode a hashtag is shown on screen that says ‘#bigfatgypsyweddings’ this allows the audience to become active as they can state their opinions and thoughts on what they are watching on twitter and the hashtag allows them to pass them on therefore this follows the two step flow model theory as it means the audience become opinion leaders, passing content and their opinions of it onto passive followers.
Louis Theroux is a BBC television presenter who is known for making documentaries that investigate unusual and fascinating lifestyles. His series ‘Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends’ provides an insight into a world which others may not have known about and even if they did know about it, they would be unlikely to have much knowledge on the subject matter such as porn stars. By doing this, he not only entertains his audience, especially with his informative style and ability to make himself appear less intelligent and informed than he really is, but also informs the audience on something that may appear as completely different to them. This would allow them to compare their lifestyle with what they see, Uses and Gratifications Theory.
Rihanna made a documentary which followed her and her team around as she toured and then it followed her to her home. By doing this it gave Rihanna’s fans and the audience a chance to get an insight into her life and so even though it was made primarily for the purpose of entertainment it did inform the audience about her and allowed them to feel closer to her. The fact that many of the shots were hand held and the voices unclear made the audience feel as if they were really there, being allowed to see something others hadn’t. This would once again increase the personal feel to the documentary and allow the audience to relate to Rihanna.
The documentary ‘Secrets of the Pickpockets’ which is broadcast on Channel 4 is made less for the purpose of entertainment and more for the purpose of informing because it allows the audience to have an insight on how pickpockets work therefore allowing them to feel like they can protect themselves from becoming victims of them. In order to do this hidden camera footage and footage from security cameras are often used in order to show real life footage and avoid them having to stage the events. However, it still has to hold an eliminate of entertainment so that people will want to watch it and so music is used to add a dramatic and intense feel to the documentary.
By looking at these documentaries in my cross media study I have been able to see that documentaries are not made purely to entertain, but also to inform, allow the audience to become active opinion leaders and to allow the audience to relate to what they see.
Excellent answer! Very detailed examples from moving image and print adverts. Try to see if you can find more examples of e-media as you should be more independent now. Great use of media theory to support your points - you show a very thorough understanding and confidence when applying them. The uses and gratifications theory in the Louis Theroux section could be more fluent. A range of examples shown with sound use of media terminology. Keep up the good work :)
Deleteroughly timed 45 minutes and this is all I wrote because it took me a while to understand the question and I'm still unsure now but did what I could http://jackstaples.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/mest-1-documentary-cross-media-study.html
ReplyDeletehttp://rebeccarowntree.blogspot.co.uk
ReplyDeleteTo what extent do the media products in your case study do more than just entertain their audience(s)?
ReplyDeleteA documentary is a factual program containing information that is aimed to entertain and inform its audience. For part of my case study I viewed a range of different documentaries, two of which included ‘My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding’ and ‘Sun sex and suspicious parents’.
‘My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding’ is broadcasted on channel four and is a fly on the wall documentary. It focuses on the gypsy lifestyle and mainly the weddings and parties that are held in the gypsy community. Channel four gets away with pushing things to their limits when showing this documentary. The program can be considered racist as you wouldn’t see someone advertising a program about black people as ‘Bigger Fatter Blacker’. The documentary ‘My Big Fat Gypsy Weddings’ does more than just to entertain the audience as it shows all of the hassle and stress that can go with planning a wedding. The audience can relate to this therefore this applies the uses and gratifications theory.
The main ideology behind the documentary is to entertain the audience, but can influence the way that people viewing the program perceive Gypsies to be. Channel four chose to have a young child on an advertising campaign, with a very aggressive look on his face. This gives the audience an idea that all Gypsies are violent from a young age and could give off the wrong impression and more of a stereotypical one. As well as the use of this, they also chose to show a young Gypsy girl in a sexual manner. She was wearing revealing clothing and channel four did this purposely to also give the idea that all gypsies are obsessed about how they look and sex. This again is a very stereotypical view, and the documentary reinforces this stereotype.
On a lot of the adverts for the documentary, and at the beginning of every episode there is text saying ‘#bigfatgypsyweddings’ this allows the audience to use twitter to talk about the program, and say their own views using the hash tag. This enables the audience to have a sense of involvement and feel that they contribute to the way the program comes across to the public. This is also a very good way for channel four to get free advertising, as if this hash tag gets trending, more people will hopefully watch the program helping them reach a wider target audience base.
‘Sun Sex And Suspicious Parents’ is a documentary showing teenagers on their first clubbing holiday. The catch in the program is that the parents spy on their children, and most of the time watch their children doing very embarrassing things due to the alcohol. The documentary is very entertaining and lets the audience relate to the holidays and party like atmospheres, uses and gratifications theory.
The documentary is shown on BBC three which aims at more of a younger audience (around 14-25 years of age.) This is because watching people partying excites this age group stereotypically, and creates excitement.
The documentary uses fly on the wall shots to make it feel as if you are spying, almost as if you are one of the parents. This creates tension for the audience and gives a sense of realism. As well as ‘My Big Fat Gypsy Weddings’ ‘Sun Sex And Suspicious Parents’ also uses the hash tag method. At the start of every program they show the text ‘#SSASP’ This again enables the audience to get involved.