Prelim Task: Prezi

Prelim Task

Representation

Representation is the way in which people, events and ideas are presented to the audience.
The media breaks it down and takes something that is already there and represents it to us in they way which they choose. e.g. Stereotypes are an example of this.


Stereotypes - Media Institutions use stereotypes because the audience will instantly understand them. They are 'visual shortcuts' and there repeated so often that we assume they are normal or 'true'.

Archetypes - This is the 'ultimate' stereotype. For example a French man wear a bureau and has red wine.

Countertype - A representation that challenges tradition stereotypical associations of groups, people or places.

Producers - Representations are created by the producers(anyone who makes a media text) of media texts. This is then controlled by Gatekeepers.

Gatekeepers - is any person involved in a media production with the power to make a decision about something the audience are allowed to read, hear or see or not get to see due to the gatekeepers having the power to overide.

Moguls - these have the overall power to let the article be shown or not, the person who owns the newspaper. e.g.Rupert Murdoch who is one of the most powerful people in the world.

  

Media consumers are given the news to us and they give us a version of the world and this is strongly influenced by gatekeepers decisions. They can make a person given in a good light or bad light.
Richard Dyer argues that how we are seen dterminds how we are treated and how we see them. This comes from our representation of them. This comes down to Power, from people such as Rupert Murdoch he has the power to create someone that comes across as good or bad.

The Male Gaze (Laura Mulvey)

The cinema puts the audience in a male's position with the women on screen seen as an object of desire.  Mulvey suggests two distinct modes, "voyeuristic" (women as whores) and fetishitic (women as unreachable madonnas). Howeber recently this has been changing e.g. with the new James Bond movie.

The Bechdal Test

1. It has to have at least two (named women in it)
2. who have a conversation with eachother
3. about something besides a man

Myths (Roland Barthes)
The media often gives us mythic representations or a fairtytal- like portrayal or a particulatr place or person.

Institution Task

Narrative

 

Valdimir Propp:
Key Characters always are present in the form of:

• Hero
• Helper
• Villain
• Princess/damsel

Todorov:
There is always an obstacle that someone will need to overcome:

The life will ultimately change from the start to end.

Levi- Strauss: Binary Oppositions:

• Good Vs Evil
• Black Vs White
• Exterior VS interior
• Male Vs Female
• Dog Vs Cats

Roland Barthes:

• Symbolic
• Action- what they do
• Enigma- Questions that its asking the audience to ask itself

Narrative Barthes Theory: Analysis of The Prestige

Narrative Barthes theory to Opening sequence of The Prestige:

Symbolic:

• Top hats shows magic
• Clothing signifies different eras era
• Suit shows someone being rich, successful
• Dark, gloomy lighting shows sadness, mysterious
• Electricity shows danger
• Bright colours show happiness
• So many top hats means death
• Little girl is innocence
• Water is shown to be deadly as its surrounding the helpless person although it is usually seen as something which is good for you.

Action:

• The old man crashes the bird cage
• The magician takes he jacket off
• The tank locking the man inside
• The audience member attempts to rescue this person
• The audience man wanted to behind stage as he already knew and he runs down there
• The man behind stage takes no action to help

Enigma:

• Why is there so many hats?
• What is with the birds?
• Does the magician die?
• Where is there 3 stages?
• Why is there contrast between a girl who shows innocence and then there's death?
• Why is the girl with the old man?
• How comes the old man knows so much about these stages?

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