Wednesday 28 October 2009

Zero

A real life, awakening story. The stereotypical protagonist girl finds herself to be too fat for the modelling agency. She explores the ways to lose the weight and become a model. Although, she is not brave enough to rethink her dream- despite it meaning that she may die.

I think this movie trailer is very powerful and is aimed at the youthful audience of 16-24 year old females. It aims to grab the female audiences attention by displaying how life can change so dramatically once you have your heart set on something, knowing it may end your life. It demonstrates pure passion and the evil that comes with it.

Who's Bad

The story itself show the life of the geek trying to get 'laid', despite his best efforts he makes no progress and gets teased by the masculine, alpha males.

This film focuses on the protagonist being a stereotypical geek. The audience targeted is 16-24 year old's both males and females, although it has a larger appeal to males as the protagonist is a male.

Sunday 25 October 2009

My progress

(Grading should again be 1-5: 1 = excellent, 2 = v. good, 3 = good/average, 4 = poor, 5 = v. poor)

Attainment- 2
Effort- 2
Punctuality- 2
Submission and quality of homework- 2
Ability to work independently- 1
Quality of writing- 2
Organisation of blog- 3
Oral contributions in class- 3

WWW:able to use correct media alnguage
understanding of integration
understanding of demographics/ physcographics

EBI:no single lessons of media were on the course
less homework was given
exam questions were given as homework, instead of writing reviews on the blog.

How well is the course organised? - 3
How interesting is the content that is covered? - 3
How useful are the handouts? -5
Have the lessons been well-paced?
What is the standard of the teachers’ presentation/subject knowledge? - 1
How well has the course met your expectations? - 2
Have the extra-curricular events been useful? (eg. Awards Eve.) - 1
Has the Macguffin Blog been useful? - 5

I think I have made steady progress through media studies. Although, it was not my first choice at A-level I am thoroughly enjoying it and hoping to excel. I have learnt many things including more vocabulary, the ownership of institutions, and the best way to write reviews. Through the course I hope to broaden my knowledge and I hope to achieve a 'B'.

Sunday 18 October 2009

Do images of skinny models have an impact?



Yes, they do. It engages the audience to feel catharsis, not engaging in violence but hatred and anger. These images demonstrate inhumane bodies with no fat, muscle or any benefit what so ever, apart from a job you risk your life for. But is a job were you risk your life everyday worth it?

Sensationalising from the tabloid newspapers does not take place, as this refers to exaggeration. When such a delicate subject is in the media spotlight no amount of attention can ever be enough. Models lives are in danger. This encourages moral panic, as the audience will know models, who are in this condition and are happy with it. This will lead to the audience urging the models to change their ways and to become healthier in order to live a normal, healthy life. their are no benefits of this lifestyle what so ever.

Media effects of this make the audience rebel and petition against this style of modeling. This can simply be done by not purchasing goods from a company who use 'anorexic' models. This will force the companny to change their models and listen to the audience.

Saturday 17 October 2009

Does watching violence produce violence?

In some cases catharsis takes place. There have been several cases in the world where youths have seen or played games aged 18+ which demonstrate strong violence. This has lead to the savage deaths of innocent people. For example, a 17 year old boy murdered a 14 year old because he wanted to re-in act what he did on a computer game. He battered the 14 year old to death for no reason, this has lead to the computer game 'Manhunt' - to be withdrawn from sale in the U.K.

Although, if the correctly aged audience are to witness this, the media effects would be minimal. We as society would have nothing to worry about. This would be because the audience will be smart enough, and be desensitised to what they have seen, they would know the obvious difference between right and wrong, this would lead them not to re-in act it. Secondly, playing or watching computer games like this fulfills the persons curiosity and makes them see the consequences without putting anybody at danger. Therefore, these types of games are not to blame, but are the people who watch/play them and commit the crimes.

Monday 12 October 2009

Harry Potter films analysis- Equilibrium, Disequilibrium and the new Equilibrium.

1. Harry Potter and the Philosophers' Stone


  • Equilibrium- Harry is able to go to Hogwarts wizardry school.
  • Disequilibrium- Harry's broom is taken over by evil, this forces him to believe that Snape is evil.
  • New Equilibrium- Harry defeats Voldermort.
2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets


  • Equilibrium- Dobby the house elf visits Harry, they both travel to Hogwarts.
  • Disequilibrium- The chamber of secrets has been opened and threatens to kill all pupils including Harry.
  • New Equilibrium- All of the pupils that had been taken over by the magic are given a potion, and returned to their normal selves.
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban


  • Equilibrium- Harry is rescued by the 'knight bus' and is again returned to Hogwarts.
  • Disequilibrium- Hippogriff is executed, Pettigrew turns into a rat and dies, also, the dementors are almost going to perform their kiss, when someone (believed to be Harry's father) stops it happening.
  • New Equilibrium- Harry gets a letter from Sirius telling him that Sirius is successfully hiding.
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire


  • Equilibrium- Harry is mysteriously chosen to play in the Goblet of Fire competition.
  • Disequilibrium- Harry's and Ronald's friendship suffers, Harry learns Barty Crouch, a death eater, was sentenced to the prison of Azkaban. Harry and Voldermort have a battle- in which Harry escapes.
  • New Equilibrium- Harry is crowned champion of the Triwizard Cup and receives 100 galleons.

The next film does not follow the traditional film structure, as it has no equilibrium.

5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
  • Disequilibrium- Harry and Dudley are attacked by dementors. The ministry of magic refuse to believe Harry, that Voldermort is back.
  • New Equilibrium- The Order of the Phoenix saves the pupils lives in Hogwarts, but Sirius Black (Harry's godfather) dies. Death eaters are captured and Voldermort is safely put in the 'magical world' again.

Thursday 8 October 2009

12C2 Cover Work

Hollyoaks Analysis



1) The programme is non linear, there is no resolution at the end. This is not typical of its genre, as it is a teenage drama the audience expect happiness, rather than a depressing end to have no good outcome.

2) The protagonist is Newt, an EMO style male character, he is communicated as a schizophrenic mad man. We identify the main character by his type of clothes and make up, also viewing his conversations with his imaginary friend.

3) The action codes included are shown in flashbacks and demonstrates an attack on a person who was not liked, and the protagonist is the accused, this connotes the reasoning for the protagonist to run away and be very cautious and dangerously schizophrenic.

4) The enigma codes are flashbacks from certain characters views, by using these enigma codes the audience are kept in suspense to see the possible outcome.

5) The equilibrium is practically non existent, it is again a flashback to when the accused was home and safe with his friend having a sneaky drink. The disequilibrium is shown when the main character is put back into reality by his imaginary friend, and the main character quickly snaps out of the trance he was under. The new equilibrium has not been exposed, as of yet.

Which character plays what part in Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone?

1) The villain is Voldermort. He is established in the books but is not payed by a character in this film, this is kept a secret to create some kind of a mystery for the audience.

2) The donor is Professor Dumbledore. He is constantly giving Harry advice on his school life and his private life. He is played by Richard Harris in this film.

3) The helpers in the book are Ronald Weasley played by Rupert Grint and Hermionie Granger played by Emma Watson. they pursue the adventures with Harry and also provide support and advice.

4) The dispatcher in the book is Harry himself as he chooses to take on the adventure. In the film he is played by Daniel Radcliffe.

5) The hero is also Harry as he always wins the battle against evil. He is always the under dog, but as soon as he is considered dead he comes back and shocks us all.

6) The false hero is Draco Malfoy. He sum how assures himself and his demented friends that he is the hero and just wishes he could be in harry's position- being popluar and good at everything, despite Harry's non existant, depressing childhood.