Sin City

How do your chosen texts use genre conventions?

The genre of Sin City is film noir with elements of comic book and the horror genre. We see this through iconography and typical conventions of these genres. Right from the first scene of the film we see it in black and white, with red being the only colour of her lips. Connotations of this colour would be passion and danger, which indicates femme fatales. Femme fatales are a typical feature of this style of films, and because of the threat of war people lived in fear and mistrust of everyone in this time period. This meant that even the women were dangerous and using the colour red on her lips instantly gives us a sense of a femme fatale character in this film. This use of unnatural colours is also an element of the comic book genre.
Another convention of film noir is the use of highly contrasted shadows and low key lighting. A lot of split lighting is used, particularly on the protagonists faces, which gives a reference to good and evil. This can link to both genres of the film, the hero and villain side of the comic book genre, as well as the idea of mistrust in the film noir genre we are unaware if these characters are good or not through the use of split lighting. The low key lighting we see throughout the film is a convention of the film noir genre and gives us an idea of the dark and gloomy time that the film was supposedly set about.

A typical convention of the comic book genre is shown in the scene where Hartigan is crouched down near the beginning of the film after being injured. We then see him stand up in a heroic fashion, with his long trench coat flowing out behind him, which resembles a superheroes cape. This is iconography of the comic book genre, and also the use of low angle shots on him as he stands indicates his power and strength, that of a hero figure.

Elements that we see of the horror genre are in the scene in the forest where Kevin is tied against a tree by Hartigan and eaten by his dog. This scene alone has the disturbing feel of a horror, however the typical conventions and iconography we see in this scene is the lightning in the back ground and even the location of a dark forest can be seen as a generic feature of many horror films. In this scene it quickly switches to the comic book genre and we see an animated version of him getting attacked by a dog, which by no means is realistic. It also turns a grotesque event into a more light hearted view, which could be seen as a comic book convention, highly stylised and not taking anything too seriously.

Fish Tank

The genre of Fish Tank is social realism, which explores issues in society in a realistic way. The producers aim of this genre is to represent the underrepresented, in this case the underclass. We are given an insight and information into a world we may not be so educated about. It is shown to us in a realistic way so we feel as though we're getting a reliable insight. We see this through the use of hand held camera, non diegetic sound and shallow depth of field which are all elements that we see as realistic, a natural way for us of seeing the world. The sounds we hear are also features that relate it back to the genres concept. We hear traffic and dogs barking, children screaming in the tower block, we get a real sense of unsettled and run down locations. We see tracking shots of Mia walking through the estates, and at the start of the film we see her going to see the horse a lot.
This initial scene with the horse relates to the character and the conventions of the genre. We see close ups of her trying to break the chain its attached to, and releasing the horse. It could relate to her life, she's trying to get away from the cycle of an unloving mother, no education and false aspirations. She's trying to free the horse like she wants someone to come and free her from her life. Through the mise en scene we see the area she's in with the horse, a poorly kept field surrounded by the noise of the road, and gates around the edge of the field. This furthers the location of a run down area and no getting away, a daily struggle which is a convention of this genre.
The only real time we see no sense of struggle or unsettlement is the first time the family are together with Connor in the car. This could confirm a stereotype that women do need men. We see this through the camera angles, we mostly see through Mia's point of view, from the back of the car with Connor in the front, almost as if she's looking towards him for guidance or security. The family are happy when there is a man around. Connor acts as almost a father figure initially, but in the scene where he sleeps with Mia while her mothers drunk and sleeping, changes his character role to the false hero. Throughout the start of the film he has been grooming Mia, although we've seen him as saving the family's relationships, and it isn't until this specific scene that we realise and change our perception of Connor and his role.
The rest of the time we see no connection between the family. We see many scenes where Mia's mother is swearing at her, and drinking in front of her. She also hits Mia, which can relate to one of the very first scenes we see, where the girls are dancing outside of the tower block. We see Mia headbutt one of the girls and shout abuse at one of their fathers. This represents the lower class upbringing that she's had, and how her mothers attitude towards her has effected the way she acts. This again is a convention of the social realism genre, there is no sense of security in her life at all, its a daily struggle and she never lets her guard down unless there is a man around, and even that doesn't last.

Mainstream and Niche

Mainstream tv shows such as Hollyoaks are scheduled to be shown in the evening, when there is the most viewing figures. Channel 4 is also a mainstream tv channel which is seen by a lot of people. It is advertised and broadcasted on this channel, therefore gaining the most awareness and viewing figures they can, and the most money can be made.
The content of Hollyoaks can be relatable to a wide range of audiences as there is an ensemble cast and issues that many of the viewers could of been through. This could mean there is quite a few uses of gratification for a wide audience. For an older audience however it may be less popular than shows such as Eastenders because the target audience of Hollyoaks is a younger one, however they could get some gratification from watching it such as filling time.
The mode of address would be more familiar rather than formal, its easy to watch and get into and anyone could understand it, instead of formal and specialist where you have to have some initial knowledge before watching it.

An example of a niche text would be the film 'Joy', which has been shown at film festivals such as Edinburgh Film Festival. It was shown early evening but when more mainstream films were also shown. 'Joy' is a greek film and the whole dialog was Greek with English subtitles, which again would attract a more specialist audience.
The subject content would be seen as quite disturbing to an audience who prefers a mainstream text and almost boring as there is no generic use of event at the beginning middle and there is no happy ending, which is typical of a niche text.
The mode of address used is by no means familiar, because of the Greek dialog, it could be seen as hard to get into or relate with and the content of the film it does not address the audience.                                                                                                 

Die another Day

The James Bond franchise is a clear example of film objectifying females and forcing the audience to view females the via the male gaze. The scene within 'Die Another Day' when James Bond meets the character Jinx demonstrates my previous statement by the use of post production editing right from the beginning of the scene. We see the first shot with the use of vignette, which makes it look like we are looking through the binoculars, giving us the view of James Bond. Straight away, even a female audience is having to see through the eyes of the male. The vignette is then used again when we see Jinx coming up out of the water. As well as this effect, slow motion is used along with it, which exaggerates the shot and gives the audience more time to look at her for visual pleasure. Its also a constructed representation of reality, nobody sees the world like that.
Through this use of editing, us as the audience are made to objectify the woman, we are made to see her how the males do. This is again a false representation of reality, her character has been coded. Her movements are exaggerated and unnatural for a reason. When she walks, she exaggerates swinging her hips, she has a full face of make up despite just getting out of the water, its a false representation of females. The producers have constructed the character purely for scopophilia. This again makes the audience objectify her, her initial role in the scene is to be looked at. This is further confirmed through James Bonds dialog when she walks towards the bar. He says 'magnificent view', although clearly talking about her and not the landscape, implying that he is only there to look at the women. She then agrees when saying 'it is isn't it', which is again a false representation of females, most are modest and self conscious whereas she is craving for attention.

Representations -The Sweeney trailer

The first time we see some of the cast in the Sweeney trailer is when they are together as the police force in action on the start of a mission. Right from the very start we get a sense of power from the males. There are five people from the force in the shot, and only one of them is a woman. Also, it's made clear to us that the four men have guns and hers, if there is one, isn't seen clearly in the shot. This could confirm a stereotype of men being overpowering of women, and its in their role, especially in this genre of film, to be the heroes, while the women are the princess' or damsels in distress. Also, when we are shown this shot in the trailer, we first see the men, as they are the most emphasised and then the woman is slightly more in the background. The oldest character is leading the others, he also walks with the most confidence and his body language is fairly relaxed compared to the younger members in the cast, this could represent age as the older is more experienced and shows guidance whereas the younger roles portray more naivety and vulnerability. Therefore even in the first 8 seconds of the trailer we get an initial sense of the representations they are portraying.

A few shots after that we see an armed robbery taking place, one where only males are involved which represents men as violent, and also with a sense of greed. This representation is later confirmed when Ben Drew, or George Carter in the film, is running round with a baseball bat and shown punching another man, which although he is seen as the hero, it shows a violent side of males. This is already a stereotype of men in society, so the producers of this film could be confirming it instead of contradicting it.

One of the other few times we see a woman in this trailer is when a jeweller was shot in another armed robbery. This does represent women as vulnerable and as the victim, rather than the opposite so that the men are still seen as more powerful over women. One of the few times we do see a woman overpower a man throughout the whole trailer is in the bar when she hits a guy, although this was after she was objectified by the man as a sexual object, and only through his tone and use of dialog do we see this. This does represent men as derogatory and women as sexualised.

Narrative - Skyfall

James Bond - Skyfall

For this scene in Skyfall, Propp's theory of character roles can straight away be applied. The villain, Raoul Silva, is easily identified as an extravagant character from the first time we see him in the scene, by how he dresses in a white jacket with bleach blond hair, he stands out immediately compared to James Bond, the hero. Bond is in a slick black suit with dark sunglasses, which is his identity in all of the films. We see him as a hero through the use of straight on shots and low angle shots, showing a sense of power. Also the way in which they use dialog can help us define the hero and the villain, Bond has the more familiar accent so we automatically assume his role in the film.

Strauss' binary opposition can also be applied. There is a sense of good and evil between Bond and Silva, we can relate this to how we indentified the character roles by how they dress and talk. Also there is a shot of their faces in the same frame, which we compare good and evil. As well as this opposition, there could also be powerful and vulnerable. Severine is the princess in the scene, she has no power at all compared to Silva. We can tell this through her body language, especially in the shot of him kissing her she looks resistant and uncomfortable, but cannot do anything about it. Long shots of her also make her look small and vulnerable, whereas there are more close ups on Silva which show his emotions and his power, he laughs in the situation but close ups on her show her crying.

There are a few conventions of genre that we see in this clip. Close up shots of guns and focusing of the barrel while he points it at Severine, shows that there will be some action and it is also specific of the spy genre. Bond's  attire also portrays this genre, a black suit and dark sunglasses is another convention of this specific style of film. Also the music cuts out when the scene gets tense, which leaves our focus purely on whether she will get shot or not, an enigma code.

Induction Task - Opening Paragraph

How realistic are the representations of young people in the media, particularly Skins and Sun Sex and Suspicious Parents?

 

I will be exploring the representation of young people in the media and how realistic the representations are.

In particular I will be looking at Skins which in general show both positive and negative representations and to a certain extent are quite fabricated. I will also be looking at Sun Sex and Suspicious Parents which does show an extreme of behavior in young people. To do this I will be applying particular theories, such as the hypodermic needle theory as these programmes could make people feel a certain way and stereotype young people in general.

I will be exploring Skins series 2, and a few of the episodes of Sun Sex and Suspicious Parents which will show the differences in behavior and morals of different gender and ages of the young people shown.