How does the film’s much celebrated diversity challenge Curran and Seaton’s idea that domination by a small number of media institutions limits creativity and variety?

The film challenges Curran and Seaton’s ideology that domination by a small number of media institutions limits creativity and variety by having a cast diverse and a cast varied from the other casts the small number of media institutions have. The film ‘Black Panther’ has a predominantly African-American cast with a very limited amount of Caucasian people involved which differs from other Marvel movies such as ‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ where the cast is predominantly Caucasian and there are two African-American actors. This doesn’t however limit creativity as the production team of ‘Black Panther’ is also predominantly if not all African-American which allows culture and innovation within the film and shows that it can vary from the 17 other Marvel films before it. ‘Black Panther’ also shows the creativity and diversity since being introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2016 in the film ‘Captain America: Civil War’ as it collectively brings together the African-American community by giving them a superhero they can look up to rather than having to look up to a superhero that is Caucasian and it shows representation on the big screen. The film grossed over $1 billion at the box office for Marvel and shows how it got more people going to the cinema to watch the film.

How could the conglomerate model (Marvel as a separate brand to Disney) offer a more complex pattern of ownership than Curran and Seaton describe?

Marvel and Disney are the are a small number of companies; Marvel being a subsidiary of Disney which shows that the creativity must’ve come from Marvel rather than Disney for the film ‘Black Panther’. Black Panther was definitely marketed differently compared to other Marvel films such as being shown teaser trailers between NBA games and a special by Lexus cars at the Superbowl. This helped to distribute and market the film as it would give the film a range of audiences along with the 360 degree consumer experience which showed Black Panther wherever the consumer i.e. the audience looked. It utilize historical events such as Britain and Europe’s colonialism of Africa by showing that ‘Wakanda’ is free from colonialism by both parties and that it has advanced technology in their hands such as ‘Vibranium’ which would’ve been utilized by Europe and Britain had they got their hands on it. This deals with the events of colonialism as it is, in the film, the only African country to evade colonialism. Marvel had to be careful with marketing as to not get it wrong as they were taking a huge risk commercially in fronting the film being Afrocentric; making it a risk in places outside of the USA and Africa; however the film proved to smash in the box office like the other Marvel films.

To what extent does the dominance of Marvel in the sci-fi/superhero genre limit the opportunities for alternative, riskier independent films in these genres?

The dominance Marvel has over the superhero genre limits the opportunities for alternative, riskier independent films in the same said genre because audiences are most likely to go see a film where they know will be successful and will have the same rousing plot as the other films in the category (such as the MCU) rather than see an independent film which doesn’t have that big of a budget and more focuses on the narrative rather than how big the film will be and how much money it will make. In 2008, it was a risk for Marvel to take to release Iron Man however once they found that the movies were doing well commercially; they practically started making them every year sometimes even three films in one year (2009 and 2020 being the only years without a Marvel movie). This makes it harder for independent films to jump and risk making a superhero movie which doesn’t follow the same pattern or doesn’t conform to how Marvel makes a superhero movie and therefore they have more chance of being a failure rather than a success because Marvel dominate the genre. It makes it harder for independent filmmakers to want to try the superhero/sci-fi genre because Marvel have already topped the genre and the films will be compared to those exact ones Marvel make that follow the same narrative.

Black Lives Matter

Black Lives Matter is an international human rights movement, originating from within the African-American community, which campaigns against violence and systemic racism towards black people. Black Lives Matter can and will hold protests, speaking out on police brutality, the killing of black people by police, however they also broach on wider subjects such as racial profiling and racial inequlity in the United States criminal justice system.

Black Lives Matter began with the movement of the hashtag ‘#BlackLivesMatter’ on Twitter and social media after the shooting and death of an African-American teenager Trayvon Martin in February 2012. The movement became nationally recognised for street demonstrations following the deaths of two African-Americans: Michael Brown and Eric Garner. 

Black Lives Matter can also be simplified to BLM.

George Floyd

George Floyd was a 46 year old man. On May 25th, 2020, George Floyd was killed by Derek Chauvin in downtown Minneapolis. He was arrested for allegedly using a forged $20 bill and Floyd was also unarmed.

As Floyd was handcuffed, Derek Chauvin; whom was a white Minneapolis police officer, knelt on the right side of Floyd’s neck for over 8 minutes. During this Floyd repeatedly states that “I [he] couldn’t breathe” and also called out for his mother. Chauvin dismissed these calls and didn’t stop kneeling on Floyd’s neck. For 2 minutes and 53 seconds, George Floyd became unresponsive and therefore lead to his death and murder.

Videos of this incident then circled around on social media, showing Floyd laying face-down on the ground with Chauvin’s knee on his neck – along with three other officers around. The video shows Floyd’s last words, and then on social media the hashtag ‘#JusticeForGeorgeFloyd’ started trending. 

Due to the video trending, along with the hashtag, people all over America started protesting – starting with Minneapolis. They protested in support for Black Lives Matter and that racial inequality and racial profiling was wrong.

Social media has played a big part in the George Floyd case and the Black Lives Matter movement. It shows people fighting for justice – not only for George Floyd – but for every black person who has experienced inequality, police brutality and racism. Social media is useful in getting information across quickly. Twitter started threads on about how people can help – usually signing petitions and donating to fundraisers. Petitions help to get justice and unite communities from all over the world to get the justice needed. Social media has been really helpful and supportive in showing the world what has happened.

After the tragic death of George Floyd, many celebrities spoke out on the current situation and even joined protests. They, the celebrities, have a much wider audience and can help people to encourage them to sign petitions and they can help spread awareness of what is going on. 

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Other issues raised by BLM & George Floyd

There have been other issues raised following the death of George Floyd that Black Lives Matter is there to raise awareness for the minority that is in need of a voice and let their experiences be heard. People showed their respect for the BLM movement by having the hashtag ‘#blackouttuesday’ where people would post black squares on Instagram – however some people within the black community said this did not help and it was ‘performative’ and it would rather be helpful to share links to petitions instead. Another issue raised was that Derek Chauvin, the police officer who knelt on Floyd’s neck was not being charged or held accountable for his actions. Later he was charged with third-degree murder however the hashtag ‘#RaiseTheDegree’ trended on Twitter primarily and then his charge got moved up to second-degree murder. The three other officers at the scene have also been charged.

After seeing what the tweets and the trends can do, along with petitions there were petitions to open another case where a murderer walked free. Breonna Taylor was an EMT who was shot 8 times after police broke down the door to her house in an attempted drugs bust, and the murderer walked away free however the petitions allowed the closed case to be reopened and investigated by the FBI.

Along with this, protests which are peaceful have been disrupted by police who have decided to use police brutality to stop the protests. Many people have been shot with rubber bullets, arrested, tear gassed, and more. Police have also been starting riots and maced a young girl who was not a part of the protests. President Donald Trump responded to this on Twitter by saying “When the looting starts the shooting starts” basically allowing police officers around the USA to shoot anyone who is caught looting. 

Along with this, protests which are peaceful have been disrupted by police who have decided to use police brutality to stop the protests. Many people have been shot with rubber bullets, arrested, tear gassed, and more. Police have also been starting riots and maced a young girl who was not a part of the protests. President Donald Trump responded to this on Twitter by saying “When the looting starts the shooting starts” basically allowing police officers around the USA to shoot anyone who is caught looting. 

A statement that trended and sometimes does continue to trend is the hashtag ‘#AllLivesMatter’. This is a racist statement as it is brought up to damage the Black Lives Matter movement. All lives matter, yes however all lives do not have to fight for basic human rights and all lives aren’t oppressed. The phrase ‘All Lives Can’t Matter until Black Lives Matter’ is also brought into the subject. Along with the ‘#AllLivesMatter’ statement, another one trended: ACAB. There is a lot of controversy surrounding ACAB – meaning ‘All Cops Are Bastards’, as some people agree with it and others say that there are good cops / cops who aren’t corrupt. There is also a numerical code for this: ‘1312’. 

Media Outlets

Different media outlets have different views on how to share news. Vox News spoke out about it and stated “Minnesota, has sparked protests across the country” on the death and killing of George Floyd. This enables people to see that one action can cause effect elsewhere and can change a whole country. Vox also stated that the protests are peaceful however “some have turned violent” and how some cities in America are violent when the police turn up and raid the peaceful protests. The protests are civil and peaceful until the police show up, therefore getting violent by the authoritarian officers using tear gas (which was declared illegal to use in the battlefield in 1925 by the Geneva Protocol, shortly after World War I) and rubber bullets. However people responded to this by burning buildings and police cars, and looting. 

How it links to my media work

This can link to the Beyonce music video for ‘Formation’ where police are holding guns and raid masks towards a young African-American child who is just dancing on the street. This is indicating a notion towards racial inequality. This shows no matter what age someone is, an African-American will experience racial inequality.

My opinion

In my opinion, I will never face any kind of racial inequality or racism because I am white and I am not oppressed. I learn a lot about the BLM movement from Twitter and I educated myself on the topic to learn as much as I can. I helped in many ways, such as signing every petition I came across, and sharing all the necessary information to the relevant places. I feel that the world should come together as a whole and take a stride in the right direction because it’s 2020 and people are now only just realising that people shouldn’t be oppressed by the colour of their skin – or even for their sexuality. However with all the work that’s going on, I feel that this world will change and the young teenagers and young adults will have more of an impact on society rather than the old people – as young people have a chance to stand up for what they believe in and have a chance to fight for what they do believe in.

Ken Loach

Ken Loach is English filmmaker, he originally worked as an actor in regional theatre companies and then became a director for BBC Television. His 10 contributions to the BBC’s Wednesday play anthology series includes the docudramas Up the Junction, Cathy Come Home and In Two Minds. They portray working-class people in conflict with the authorities above them.

Loach is a member of the Labour party, in 2015 he endorsed Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour leadership campaign and in 2016; Loach’s one hour documentary ‘In Conversation with Jeremy Corbyn’ was released during the second leadership election.

Ken Loach is a notable filmmaker because in his films he discusses real and hard hitting subjects that occur in everyday life for example he focuses on portray the problems faced by lower/working class people.

Loach’s film Kes was voted the seventh greatest British film of the 20th century in a poll by the British Film Institute.

He is also a social campaigner for most of his career, believes the current criteria for claiming benefits in the UK is a situation designed to frustrate and humiliate the claimant to such an extent that they drop out of the system and stop pursuing their right to ask for support if necessary. His films are mainly to show ordinary people and their dilemmas.

I, Daniel Blake

I, Daniel Blake is a 2016 drama film directed by Ken Loach and by Paul Laverty. The film I, Daniel Blake is about the main character Daniel Blake and the film follows the story and struggle of Blake after he is denied employment and support allowance despite his doctor finding him unfit for work.

What issues does the film challenge?

I, Daniel Blake challenges many issues however mainly focuses on the toxic climate of the British welfare and benefit system. The issue is challenged by showing the difficulty and struggle people have while on benefits, while also showing the toxic nature that occurs when people are rejected benefits after seeming unfit for them which may not be the case or reason such as Daniel Blake he is refused support allowance and is told to go find a job however is doctors inform him that is ill -suited or unable to work . The film also dives in on the effect it can have on people after being refused their benefits this is shown through the character Katie who is a single mother Daniel be-friends. The film challenges more issues through the character Katie as she is a single mother who has recently moved to Newcastle from a homeless shelter in London, she meets Daniel Blake after she is sanctioned after arriving late to her job centre appointment, later in the film we she the she goes through after she is caught shoplifting from a supermarket and is offered a job as a prostitute which she accepts.

What group of people does the film represent?

The film represents lower-class people in conflict with the authorities above them. The film deepens in the representation of the most vulnerable and the poorest people and how they are treated by our government with brutality that is considered disgraceful; the film itself reflects the destructive environment that has built up around the welfare system in recent years and reviles the awful realities of the country’s benefit system.

How does the film show ideologies?

I, Daniel Blake has many ideologies for example the film deepens within his struggle with the Department for work and Pensions as they decide and reject his appeal for sickness benefits after having a heart attack. The film reveals the ideologies of the toxic climate that has developed around the welfare system as Daniel Blake’s job seekers allowance is stopped, after the DWP tell him to look for jobs however his doctors have said he is unfit for work. The film also shows the struggle of Daniel Blake’s appeal against DWP.

What is meant by the term ‘austerity’?

The term Austerity stands for difficult economic conditions that are created by the government measures to reduce public expenditure. It also stands for severity of attitude.

How is ‘austerity’ relevant to the film?

Austerity is relevant to the film because it stands for difficult economic conditions that are created by government measures to reduce public expenditure, and I, Daniel Blake has the theme of difficult economic conditions that have been placed by the government. The film talks and shows the struggle and difficulty people have with the benefit system which is run by the government, the film dives into a person’s life and their own struggle after their job seeker’s allowance is stopped. Over all the film exposes the truth about the ‘welfare’ system and how difficult the government can make certain situations.

A range of different newspapers are every day in the UK, these include national, local and Sunday editions. In the past, newspapers were mainly categorised by their size – tabloids and broadsheets – however, although these terms are still used, they are no longer accurate, as newspapers over the years have experimented with different sizes and designs in order to attract a diminishing readership and to address’ needs.

Tabloid newspapers used to be the popular press and broadsheets were quality newspapers – referring to the style of news they carried. Newspapers can now be divided into three groups:

Quality Newspapers – previously known as broadsheets, for example the Guardian and The Times.

Middle market tabloids – made up of the Daily Mail and the Express.

Red tops – named such as their mastheads are presented in red – for example the Sun.

Who owns the press?

It is important to be aware of the significance of patterns of ownership and their impact upon the production and distribution of your set newspaper. The biggest player in the newspaper industry is News Corporation owned by Rupert Murdoch. His media empire owns the Sun,  The Times, The Sunday Times, and the Sun on Sunday. Other main newspapers are owned by:

The i: Alexander Lebedev’s Independent Print Limited 

The Guardian and the Observer: Scott Trust Limited 

The Daily Mirror, the Sunday Mirror and the People: Trinity Mirror

Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star, Daily Star on Sunday: Richard Desmond’s Northern and Shell

Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Telegraph: Press Holdings owned by the Barclay Brothers

The Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday: Lord Rothermere’s Daily Mail and General Trust plc

The newspaper industry is very powerful and as you can see, is largely in the hands of a few powerful media groups and individuals. Although sales of print newspapers are falling, the front page of a newspaper is still an important vehicle to target messages to audiences.

Newspaper Ownership

Owen Jones

Owen Jones, a journalist and political activist, said the press is: 

‘Largely run by a very small group of very right wing media moguls who defend the status quo of which they are a part. If you are on the left and want to change society, the media will always come and get you.’ (Yougov.co.uk)

Newspaper: Politics

The political associations of a newspaper will affect how they present particular stories and in turn will influence what their readers think and believe. YouGov conducted a survey into readers’ perceptions of the political leaning of specific newspapers. Out of eight newspapers, five were seen to be predominantly right wing and two, including the Daily Mirror were perceived to be centre to left wing.

For the Daily Mirror, 76% of those asked thought it was to the left of centre, 11% thought it was ‘very left wing’, second to the Guardian in being the most left wing. The Daily Mail was perceived to be the most right wing newspaper. As this is the best selling daily newspaper, it may be influential in how their readers perceive events and issues.

Newspapers & Technology Change

Newspapers have had to adapt to changes in technology and the needs of their readers. All national and many local newspapers now have an online presence and their news content is also available on other social media platforms and through apps. This allows newspapers to broaden their audience reach in terms of production, distribution and circulation.

Just like the magazine industry, the newspaper industry is facing a drop in circulation figures as the readership diminishes. This reflects sociological changes related to the ways in which readers want to access their news. With advances in digital technology, news can be more immediate and a new generation of consumers who are used to receiving information in bite sized chunks, are much less likely to pick up a newspaper. 

Newspapers have downsized and begun to produce online versions in order to target a new audience.

The digital revolution has also had an impact on how news is gathered. Frequently, news channels use citizen journalism, information from the general public rather than their own journalists, as the advances in technology mean that they now have the means to record images and send information immediately. This is particularly true when the story is unexpected such as a terrorist attack.

Online Newspaper

Advantages

They are immediate and up to date. When something happens users can access the news and get regular updates.

They offer more immediate interactive opportunities, for example, there is access to audio visual clips and opportunities to blog their opinions. The Daily Mail, which has a high percentage of female readers, has had particular success with its online version of ‘Femail’ with its diet of fashion and gossip.

Apps for several newspapers are available for mobile phones and ipads.

Archive facilities so that readers can access back issues. 

The navigation tool allows users to quickly select the news and features that interest them.

News Values

News values are the criteria that will influence the decisions made by those who run the newspaper industry, including the owners, editors and journalists, about which stories will appear in their newspaper. These decisions are made everyday by gatekeepers who decide how the news is selected and constructed for the audience.

News Terminology

Threshold: the bigger the story the more likely it is to get onto the news agenda. 

Negativity: bad news is more exciting and interesting than good news. 

Unexpectedness: an event that is a shock or out of the ordinary for example ‘Lockdown’ of ‘Brexit’. These types of events will push other news stories off the news agenda and changes to the front page may be made at the last minute.

Unambiguity: events that are easy to report and not too complex will be higher up the agenda of some newspapers. Modern wars are often too difficult and are avoided by tabloid newspapers.

Personalisation: News stories that have a human interest angle are more likely to appear in some newspapers. Readers are interested in celebrities, and news stories have more meaning if they are personalised. 

Proximity: The closer to home the story is, the more interested the reader. Tabloid and local newspapers tend to be more ethnocentric than quality newspapers. 

Elite nations/People: stories about important people and powerful nations for example the USA will be further up the news agenda.

Continuity/currency: Stories that are already in the news continue to run and are updated as new aspects of the story appear. For example Donald trump.

Newspaper: Industry

The newspaper industry used to be regulated by the Press Complaints Commission (PCC). However, the PCC was severely criticised in the Leveson Inquiry conducted by Lord Leveson, which in 2012 investigated the culture, practice and ethics of the British press in the light of the phone hacking scandal and other issues related to the intrusion of privacy by the press. The PCC was seen to be ineffectual in regulating the newspaper industry. 

Lord Leveson recommended for a new regulatory to replace the PCC.

The Leveson Inquiry

He also stated that there would be further sanctions for those newspapers that were deemed to have broken the law, including substantial fines. Newspapers at the time were concerned that this would be set up by Royal Charter and therefore the self regulatory system would be governed by legislation. The press industry was unhappy about these regulations becoming a legal requirement.

Those against the reform wanted newspapers to still have some regarding self regulation in order to protect the freedom of the press.

IPSO

The new regulatory body is the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), whose stated aim is to uphold professional standards in journalism. The role of IPSO involves: 

• The regulation of over 1500 print and 1100 online titles.
• Dealing with complaints about possible breaches of the Editors Code of Practice.
• Giving help with unwanted press attention or harassment issues.
• Giving advice to to editors and journalists.

Key Theories

Curran and Seaton: Power and Media Industries

The main points of this theory are:

• Media producers are controlled by a small number of companies primarily driven by the logic of profit and power. 
• The idea that media concentration generally limits or inhibits variety, creativity and quality. 
• The idea that more socially diverse patterns of ownership help to create the conditions for more varied and adventurous patterns of ownership.

Consider this theory and how you would use it to analyse the set radio product, Including:

• The importance of the BBC as a major deliver or radio and television programmes.
• The role of the BBC as a public service broadcaster and its freedom from commercial pressures. The scope to target niche and diverse audiences of which LNWH is a good example.
• The ethos of the BBC and its values.
• The idea that BBC stations and channels have distinct styles and appeal to different audiences.

Stuart Hall: Reception Theory

Hall asserted that communication is a process involving encoding by producers and decoding by audiences. He said that there are three ways in which messages and meanings may be decoded by audiences. 

• The dominant position: the audience accepts the intended meaning of the encoded in the product.
• The negotiated reading: the audience acknowledges some of the messages encoded by the producers of the product but may question or adapt the message to be more relatable to their own experiences.
• The oppositional reading: the encoder’s message is understood, but the decoder disagrees with it.

George Gerbner: Cultivation Theory

The work of Gerbner explores the way in which the media can influence people’s perceptions of social reality. The main principles of cultivation theory are: 

• The idea that exposure to repeated patterns of representation over long periods of time can shape and influence the way in which people perceive the world around them. (i.e. cultivating particular views and opinions) 
• The idea that cultivation reinforces mainstream values. (dominant ideologies)

Images I would like to emulate for my brief.

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High Concept Film

What is a ‘mainstream’ high concept film?

This is a model for a film and is used to describe the concept of the Hollywood mainstream, ‘big budget’ film. It originally consisted of a ten point formula that ensured the film conformed to the high concept model.

The criteria for a high concept film includes:

Clearly defined characters, often recognisable in terms of stereotypes and archetypes 

A simple narrative with universal themes. This can often be summarised in a single sentence or image that makes it easier to market. 

High production values evident in the cinematography, costumes, settings and special effects. 

Elements that are easy to market and promote, for example iconic repeatable images, a recognisable soundtrack and potential for merchandising. 

High profile stars often related to the film’s genre

‘Larger’ than life protagonists

Visual appeal, including lavish sets and expensive action scenes

Highly dramatic and hyperbolic plot situations 

High Concept Film Case Study

No Time To Die

No Time to Die is the twenty-fifth instalment of the James film series produced by Eon Productions. No Time To Die features Daniel Craig in his fifth and final performance as MI6 Agent, James Bond.

James Bond is a clearly defined character within the James Bond film series as there is twenty five instalments. Bond is a fictional MI6 Agent from the James Bond series and at the start of the film No Time To Die, Bond is compared to a ‘wounded animal’ by director Cary Joji Fukunaga.

James Bond is a British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by Ian Fleming who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections.

The short synopsis for the film No Time To Die is available for the public to see, stating that: ‘James Bond has left active service. His peace is short-lived when Felix Leiter, an old friend from the CIA, turns up asking for help, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology’.

The synopsis is short, being only two sentences. One short sentence and one long sentence separated by lots of commas. It helps give an overview of what the movie is all about to entice an audience.

IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2382320/

The film was shot in several locations, the most prominent ones being Italy, Jamaica, Norway and London in addition to Pinewood Studios. This creates the idea that when filming in those places Bond is actually there or it is being dubbed for places they cannot film.

The film is the first in the series to have sequences shot with 65mm IMAX film cameras. Fukunaga and Sandgren pushed for using film over digital to enhance the look of the film.

The costumes of the film were made by costume designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb. N Peal worked with Larlarb to develop a piece.

“We wanted to give Bond a unique look in specific scenes of the film,” begins Larlarb, “And yet the piece had to be action-ready. It needed to be a strong silhouette, something that harks back to his military past and which also had a timeless quality to it as well.”

There are several cars in the No Time To Die film, which Aston Martin confirmed that the Aston Martin V8 Vantage would feature along with the DB5, DBS Superleggera and Valhalla models would feature in the film.

There are many things that make James Bond recognisable. For starters the figure ‘007’ is often well referred to when talking about the MI6 Agent. Bond also likes his martini cocktail ‘shaken not stirred’.

However the most recognisable thing about James Bond is the theme song. For the film No Time To Die, Billie Eilish performs the song of the same name and her brother Finneas O’Connell co-wore the song as well as being the producer of the track.

Along with performing the song, Eilish is the youngest person to ever sing the Bond theme at just eighteen years old.

The song is the main theme of the film written under the same name which Eilish will perform at various award shows such as the Brits. Eilish can perform the song and people will recognise it as the theme from No Time To Die.

Billie Eilish Song Review: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/billie-eilish-no-time-to-die/

No Time To Die released character posters to show case the new stars joining the Bond franchise as well as detailing what the characters might look like within the film. The character posters were released on February 10, 2020 so that fans may get a look at the characters.

Since Bond is a well known franchise, casting directors will be able to get high ranking stars to join the film – or may be able to add new talent to the film so that they get recognised else where.

Daniel Craig stars as Bond and is joined by Rami Malek, Léa Seydoux, Lahana Lynch, Ben Whishaw, Naomie Harris, Jeffery Wright, Christopher Waltz, Ralph Fiennes, Ana de Armas, Rory Kinnear, Dali Benssalah, David Dencik and Billy Magnussen.

Malek is famous for playing Eillot Alderson in the TV show Mr Robot and also for playing Freddy Mercury in biopic Bohemian Rhapsody.

Seydoux has been in films such as Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Midnight In Paris and Robin Hood.

Lynch is famous for playing Rosaline Capulet in the ABC period drama series Still Star-Crosed and fighter pilot Maria Rambeau in Captain Marvel.

De Armas rose to prominence with her roles in Blade Runner 2049 and murder mystery drama Knives Out.

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James Bond is considered a ‘larger’ than life protagonist since he is always getting into situations that he should die in but always comes back out alive. This shows that he is larger than life and larger than anything thrown at him in his previous films but anything can happen in No Time To Die.

Independent Article: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/james-bond-should-have-died-within-7-minutes-of-skyfall-medical-experts-conclude-10162108.html

The No Time To Die trailer starts with James Bond and Dr Madeleine Swann driving in a car being chased by whom seem to be the antagonists of the film. Bond also looks quite dirty like he’s just been in an explosion of some sort.

Sometime later in the trailer, Bond enters what looks like either a prison or a bank and says the line of: “the name’s Bond. James Bond.” This is iconic to the 007 franchise so will be included in the films.

There is a line in the trailer: “when her secret finds it’s way out, it’ll be the death of you,” could foreshadow what will come in the film and could foreshadow Bond’s death. It could imply that when Swann’s secret get’s out, Bond will end up losing his life. It could also foreshadow the film’s title ‘No Time To Die.’

At the end of the trailer, it shows Bond and Swann in the car again, reflecting on the start of the trailer, being surrounded by the antagonists and ending up shooting at them with the car.

No Time To Die should’ve been released on April 10, 2020 but due to the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) the film was pushed back to November 2020.

The new UK release date for No Time To Die is November 12, 2020 and the new US release date is November 25, 2020.

Radio Stations

BBC is a Public Broadcasting Service which is funded by a license fee and does not air commercials. BBC Radio is both national and regional; there are over 40 local/regional stations attracting more than nine million listeners each week.

National commercial radio: there are three of these stations; Classic FM, Talk sport and Absolute Radio.

National Brands: these are regional stations which have been collected into network, sharing some programmes and syndicate outputs. There are: Global Radio; Heart, Galaxy, Gold and Radio X. Bauer Group; Kiss and Magic. Guardian Media Group; Real Radio.

Talk sport: https://talksport.com/

Heart: https://www.heart.co.uk/

Kiss: https://planetradio.co.uk/kiss/

Independent local radio: these are regional commercial stations. They are specific to a certain area of the country and not part of a network.

Community radio: this is a different format from public service and commercial stations. Community stations serve their local areas and produce content of interest to local people. The stations are non profit making and are usually funded by the local community.

Hospital radio: there are hundreds of these radio stations based in hospitals and staffed by volunteers, broadcasting in the UK. Many radio presenters started out in hospital or community radio.

Late Night Woman’s Hour

Who is Lauren Laverne?

Lauren Fisher, professionally known as Lauren Laverne is an English radio DJ, model, television presenter, author, singer and comedian. Laverne is from Sunderland in the North East of England.

What does she do?

Laverne presents television programmes such as 10 O’clock Live for Channel 4, and The Culture Show. She also does coverage of Glastonbury Festival for BBC. In Radio, Laverne guest edited Woman’s Hour and then later in 2015 she hosted Late Night Woman’s Hour, a spinoff series. Laverne took over Desert Island Discs in September 2018.

Late Night Woman’s Hour: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05nrmhm

Desert Island Discs: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qnmr

Why do you think she is a good choice to present a Radio 4 show?

She is a good choice to present a Radio 4 show because Radio 4 is a speech based radio station and it includes intellectual answers and uses discussions to create a variety of answers that listeners can respond to in an intellectual way. Laverne is a good choice because she isn’t necessarily from London and doesn’t talk like someone from London, so it is easy to draw attention to her. Laverne is also of the age that someone would listen to Radio 4, and she would be able to attract an audience to listen to her.

What is Late Night Woman’s Hour about?

Late Night Woman’s hour is a spinoff series from Woman’s Hour that was first broadcasted in 2015. Each episode of Late Night Woman’s Hour revolves around a theme and involves informal and in depth discussions. Some themes that have been included on the radio programme are female friendships, women in sport and anxiety.

How does Late Night Woman’s Hour appeal to audiences?

Lauren Laverne is of similar age to the target audience of Late Night Woman’s Hour which will allow audiences to connect with the presenter easier. Laverne also subverts the typical Radio 4 presenter with her northern accent which makes her more relatable to the audience. Although the language is still intelligent, it is aimed at a younger demographic and the mode of address is aimed at younger people rather than the older demographic, whom can also listen to the radio programme. Late Night Woman’s Hour appeals to a specific audience because of the time it is on with the stripped schedule because older people would usually not be awake at 10pm at night. The themes tackled in the programme are aimed for younger people to interact and have their opinions to be able to have discussions on the programme or with other listeners. Late Night Woman’s Hour is able to be reached on multiple platforms so it has a global target audience.

Episode of LNWH: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0801ql5

Ofcom

What is the Broadcasting Code?

The Broadcasting Code is a set of rules that television, film and radio have to follow to have the programme on air without any complaints. The Broadcasting Code is split up into different sections: Protecting the under-eighteens; harm and offence; crime, disorder, hatred and abuse; religion; due impartiality and due accuracy; elections and referendums; fairness; privacy; commercial references on TV and commercial communications on radio.

Broadcasting Code: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-codes/broadcast-code

What is the Broadcasting Bulletin?

The Broadcast Bulletin is a place where Ofcom store all the complaints about TV and radio broadcasts.

Broadcasting Bulletin: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/bulletins/broadcast-bulletins

THEORIES

Stuart Hall’s Reception Theory

Hall asserted that communication is a process involving encoding by producers and decoding by audiences. He said there are three ways in which meanings and messages will be decoded by an audience:

Dominant Position: the audience accepts the intended meaning of the encoded product.

Negotiated Reading: the audience acknowledge some of the messages encoded by the producers of the product but may question or adapt to be more relatable in their own experiences.

Oppositional Reading: the encoders message is understood, but the decoder disagrees with it.

Curran and Seaton: Power and Media Industry

Main points of this theory are:

Media Producers are controlled by a small number of companies primarily driven by the logic of profit and power.

The idea that media concentration generally limits or inhibits variety, creativity and quality.

The idea that more socially diverse patterns of ownership help to create the conditions for more varied and adventurous patterns of ownership.

Audiences

In a world dominated by visual images many people wonder how radio has been able to survive and develop. Some reasons are:

Blind Medium: only involves a sense of hearing with no visual images and allows for a sense of imagination.

Companion Medium: radio provides a strong sense of personal communication for the audience. It is also interactive, audiences can phone or text the show and request music.

Intimate Medium: direct mode of address encourages intimacy with the listener.

Undemanding Medium: allows the audience to do other things with their time while listening to the radio.

The BBC Review

Radio 4 delivers the BBC public purpose to nearly eleven million listeners, who tune in on average for 11 hours each week. Our review found that Radio 4 sets the standards for high quality, intelligent speech radio programming. It is highly thought of by it’s audience and is regarded as a ‘National Institution’.

Late Night Woman’s Hour Case Study

The Guardian reviews Late Night Woman’s Hour as being a ‘niche hit’ with the listeners after being a spin off from Woman’s Hour. The difference between the two shows is the time they air and the idea that Late Night Woman’s Hour can delve into intimate topics and discussions that can’t happen on Woman’s Hour at 10am. The Guardian is fairly left wing and this is shown by the way it talks about Late Night Woman’s Hour with ‘praising it’s in depth discussions’ from the listeners and have said that it ‘provides a refreshing antidote to some of the BBC’s other content’.

The Guardian also talks about the f-bomb being dropped on the show after just ‘a week on air’. It talks about how the f-bomb would ‘make regular listeners choke on their breakfast tea’ if the listeners were from Woman’s Hour, listening to the newly aired show they would most likely be astounded by the discussions on the show.

The Guardian’s readers would probably have a negotiated reading position while reading through the article about Late Night Woman’s Hour where they can agree with some of the messages but can also change them to become more relevant to them.

The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/21/lauren-laverne-radio-4-late-night-womans-hour-bbc

Blog Reviews: https://chartable.com/podcasts/late-night-womans-hour/reviews

TAYLOR SWIFT – BAD BLOOD

Taylor Swift’s Bad Blood has an interesting example of genre, it is a mix between a performative and narrative elements embedded within the video.

Kill Bill Intertextuality

The music video is made to look like it is the opening scene of an action film which is using intertextuality of meanings within film. The intertextuality is in reference to action films which start with a fight scene and then progress later on in the film. The opening scene also shares conventions with Kill Bill – a film which Swift took ideas from and changed to use intertextuality within the music video she was creating. It allows viewers who are watching the video to see something the recognise within the music video. It can show things that the target audience could see and identify with.

Star Persona

The video has the women in the film portraying a strong female character – leaving their star persona behind while in the video to become entranced by their character. However the women in the video are wearing sexualised outfits and sexualised clothing for the male gaze. The male gaze is the theory by Laura Mulvie where men watch women and women watch other women being watched. The male audience use the theory of male gaze while looking at all the stars.

Tron Intertextuality

There are other intertextual references within the film such as the scene when Swift is on a bike – it is a reference to a Walt Disney production where the film uses bikes such as seen in the video to drive around.

Hunger Games Intertextuality

There are also references to The Hunger Games where the stars are in a training scene and the classing walking away from fire scene which is also seen in many other films where the protagonist walks away from films.

Narrative Elements

In the video the conflict that the protagonist has is with another woman which can link to Swift’s life and what was going on in Swift’s life at the time.

BEYONCE – FORMATION

Beyonce’s music video of Formation has many references to intertextuality explored.

Antebellum Dress

One of the first ones is that Beyonce is seen wearing a dress that was worn by white women in the south of America; the Antebellum dress. The iconography used in Beyonce’s music video shows that she is rich and that she is using cultural heritage throughout all of the video and not just when she’s just using the cultural heritage of the Antebellum dress. The women are wearing the dresses to reinforce a political point over the treatment of black people in America.

Hurricane Katrina

There are other issues of intertextuality when the Hurricane in New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Louisiana in August 2005 and ended up flooding New Orleans and causing catastrophic damage to the city. In Hurricane Katrina there were over 1,200 deaths. The Formation music video explores Hurricane Katrina and portrays Beyonce sat on top of a police car which is in water to show the effects of Hurricane Katrina and the catastrophic damage that the category 5 hurricane caused.

Police Brutality

Another intertextual reference in the music video is the political statements that allude to the treatment of Americans. A scene in the music video has graffiti which suggests that the treatment of people in America hasn’t changed and that the government isn’t doing anything to stop it. Police brutality is also shown in the music video when there is a little child dancing in front of police officers who are dressed in what seems to be tactical gear and then when dancing the child lifts their arms up to show the ‘don’t shoot’ move. It is a move commonly used when someone is being arrested and the police officers are repeating the move to show that they are being inclined to follow orders that they tell other people – a role reversal of sorts.

Black Lives Matter

It also references to ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement. Black Lives Matter is an international activist movement that campaigns to stop violence and systemic racism towards black people. Beyonce alludes to this with the graffiti and the police putting their arms up. Beyonce is standing up against police brutality with the gestures that they’re using within the video.

DAILY MIRROR

Picture – the picture on the image is clear that it is with the headline for the newspaper and it shows Prince Harry on the front page. It will draw viewers in because the news like to talk about the Royal Family badly and he and his wife, Meghan Markle are currently in the news. The photo being shown is clearly a paparazzi shot that doesn’t make Prince Harry pose in a certain way. The media portrayal of Harry is being shown as him clearly asking, or having a debate with someone about something – moreover the headline of the newspaper. The paparazzi have captured this shot with the intent of using it to draw in an audience to see what is new with the royal family.

Headline – the headline is directed at Prince Harry and the royal family and it is portraying them as both being in the wrong. It shows both Harry and the Palace having a ‘clash’ over money issues – which the royal family have a lot of – and the word ‘clash’ shows that it isn’t enough to be a big issue for everyone but it’s not that small of a problem for it to not make the news. It is a headline to bring in the audience to want to know more about the problems the royal family are having over Prince Harry and Meghan Markle – even if she isn’t directly stated in the newspaper. It is advertising to sell more newspapers to get people to wonder why Harry and the royal family are still in the news. The headline gives meaning to what is happening in the real world, and gives a reflection on it.

Pull quote – the pull quote is to draw attention to the article and to make attentive readers want to continue reading. It had an exclusive from the article on the front page so that when the readers begin to read the exclusive article, they’ll come to the end of the exclusive on the front page and it will make them want to read more onto the story so they’ll have to find the tagline to continue with the rest of the article.

DAILY MAIL

Headline – the headline is in big bold serif font to make readers and the audience who just glance at the newspaper as they’re walking by to stop and have a read of the bold writing that could possibly affect their day to day life. The headline also uses the word ‘killer’ to show that it is a potential threat and to show that the virus could be deadly. If people have been watching the news on tv or reading the news in other articles it can show that fear is common as the virus is actually very dangerous. It is using emotive language to create fear upon readers so that they’ll read on to know exactly what is happening.

Picture – the picture isn’t the central image on the page but it is the picture that gets the most attention because it is the biggest on the page. It links to the headline about the ‘Killer Virus’ to help the target audience know that it links with the big story. The picture shows a woman wearing a surgical mask to protect herself from germs to not catch the ‘killer virus’ going around and it also has a caption on the picture which gives the photo more context. It is showing a woman taking no chances within England about getting the virus and it shows her protecting herself which has been advised by doctors.

Advertisement – there is an advertisement in this newspaper in the top right hand corner however this breaks traditional standards of a newspaper as usually it would be in the top left hand corner so that the attention is drawn to it. It is stating that there are ways to get healthy and the newspaper is from January which notoriously is when people would want to start getting healthy because it’s right after Christmas and New Year and it could’ve been a New Year Resolution, a promotion to get people to look at it and decide they want to be healthy.

THE INDEPENDENT

Headline – the headline talks about the spread of the coronavirus but uses different wording that the Daily Mail uses. The Independent says Britain is ‘bracing’ for the spread of the coronavirus which is what would be used for when describing the weather. It is used to describe ‘bracing for a snowstorm’ or anything of that nature but is being used in terms of a virus and is entails to make the readers panic.

Picture – the picture is of two Asian people wearing face masks to protect themselves from any germs getting on themselves and it had been advised by doctors to wear masks to protect themselves. It has been medically advised that people do so, and the media could be portraying that knowledge that they have.

Subheadings – the newspaper front page has a subheading for the main article about the coronavirus to give people an understanding on what the article will focus on and who it is most likely to affect. It allows the reader to have more of an understanding rather than from the heading which is to draw attention to make the reader pick up the newspaper and want to know ore about the outbreak of the coronavirus.