Q3 Q4

Contexts

The Killing

• Social events- Social attitudes to gender are shown with a contrast between male politicians vying for power versus an ambitious female protagonist; both highlight the attitudes regarding patriarchal power being challenged, Lund vs Meyer. Suggests westernized shift in attitudes to be more accepting of women in powerful roles.

Stranger Things

• 
  

Context	Why it is relevant	How it is shown in TK

You must

• Have good knowledge of both shows and CRAIL
• understand context is important
• Analyse products using academic theories
• Evaluate and make judgments

How to structure this question, 

• Intro- Start by answering the question in a clear sentence. then talk about macro and micro- industry as a whole and the differences between Netflix and DR
• Each paragraph as a area on CRAIL, always start with the area of CRAIL the question focuses on. Discuss ST, then the killing and come up with the an evaluated point answering the question. Link key concepts.
• Conclusion with final judgment.

PLAN

• Intro- Look at macro, talking about LFTVD as an industry and the difference between the two DR and Netflix
• Audience- Differences/ Millennials/gen z vs older ABC1 demographic 
• Industry- Formats, Netflix is bingable- DR weekly viewing
• Representation- Lund vs Meyer, kids vs adults, 2007 Denmark vs 1980s Small-town USA
• Theorists- Neale genre representation, Hesmondhalgh

Steve Neale argues that genres are not fixed and that they adapt and evolve as the codes and repetitions associate with the genre change and are introduced by other forms of media.

Barthes Semiology theory

use of signs and symbols and how they are used to convey meaning and shape the world around us. The signs become universally recognized and normally reflect dominant ideologies and values.

ST-Guns associated with violence, 

Bell Hooks Feminism theory 

ST-Eleven defies the gender norms of the times by not appearing as a typical feminine girl

TK-Sarah Lund being a sergeant in the police in a male dominant industry

Q4
Structure

• Outline theory
• How can we apply this theory to ST? are there any limitations
• How can we apply this theory to TK? are there any limitations
• Conclusion-where does this apply the most?

Barthes theory of semiology Implies that signs and symbols develop meaning overtime and can be instantly recognized, often reflecting of the dominates ideology of those that view them.

In Stranger things we are see many intertextual references to events of the time, for example the boys 

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

Curran and Seaton

• A small number of conglomerates control the media who are all about profit and power in production
• The dramatic sensationalist headlines and celebrity stories used by the Mail it maximize profit
• Use of advertising and their wild stories that people will retweet and share to show how outlandish it is
• Still small companies which are less about profit and are more about social awareness

Hesmondhalgh

• believes in minimal risk and maximal profit as the greatest way for success
• ensure that your company is vertically or horizontally integrated, no distribution of power, use of takeovers 
• control over development, production, distribution, marketing and all parts of the production process

Livingston and Lunt

• There must be some regulation on what the news can and cant say whilst not being so censored to the point of complete censorship seen in countries like Russia.
• IPSO and IMPRESS regulate the media (ineffectively) must walk the fine line between protection and censorship
• With the introduction of the internet has made this easier to access usually censored media such as 18+ games and movies
• IPSO and IMPRESS have no control online allowing these spaces to be care free and produce whatever they want

Macro online Info

• Due to the decline of print news papers are starting to move more online over the past 10 years 
• online advertising is now more lucrative than print
• The times and the telegraph now have paywalls in order to make you pay or sign up to read the rest, whilst the times and telegraph make their profit through advertising 
• The guardian and Mailonline have very similar online presences with similar audiences size and viewership 

question 1 and 2

• Only talking about the sources
• Q1=10 marks This question will ask you to analyze the media language or representation in two sources. The sources will be extracts   
• Q2=15 marks 
• Q3=10 marks 
• Q4=10 marks

You will be given two sources to analyze from either a newspaper, news website or print newspaper

Our trial exams will be based on online web sources and we will be given a media language theorist 

Media language conventions

• colour
• online layout, header, footer, margins, navigation bar, tabs, sidebar
• online functionality, links to social media, hyperlinks, embedded multimedia, interactivity
• Images
• Language: formal/informative, mode of address
• Typography: serif, san-serif
• Stand first- typical of a tabloid, no stand first, typical of a broadsheet
• House style

Newspapers: Media language theorist

• Barthes: Signifier and signified: denotation of connotation; anchorage: myth (ideological meaning)
• Todorov: narrative equilibrium/ disequilibrium and narrative disruption 
• Levi Strauss: binary opposite
• Baudrillard: hyper-reality and simulacra (fake news?) 
• Neale: genres are not fixed and change overtime-'tabloidization

Tabloid press tend to be much more critical of any form of restrictions

Sun language a lot less formal and sensationalist with titles like 'Santa Maybe' 

Representation and ideology theories

Hall: Representations are constructed and contested. They are not fixed. This might particularly apply to representations which go against dominant ideologies

Gilroy: Looks at the creation of a transatlantic black identity. Also focuses on the way the media "others" non-white representations.

Van Zoonan-gender is contextual and performative (in this sense she agrees with butler)

Example: The suns representations of Pistorius's case where they use a pick of the murdered woman in a bikini

Q1 

outline the stories that is being introduced eg omicron and the imposition of new restrictions or Meghan Markle

Introduce one of the theories of representation, we can see clear difference between how Meghan is represented in both sources.

give example of the theory being used by looking at language, images, font choices, world view of the newspaper and what they stand for eg the sun being right wing 

are there anyways of disproving it being balanced  or not airtight

conclude and go back to the question- how far are you willing to go and how much does it say about the question eg gender/ ethnicity/ social class

17 minutes on this question!

Q2

Example: Source A and source B cover the same news event but are from two different newspapers. How has the combination of elements of media language created representations in the sources? in your answer you must:

• Explain how the connotations of elements of media language creates representations in websites.
• Analyse how media language has been used to construct meaning in the sources
• Make judgments and reach conclusions about how representations have influenced  meaning in the sources (15 makes)

Suggested structure frame for Q2

• Introduce The Sun/The Guardian and how they differ/ are similar. Consider genre (popular/quality), ownership, politics/ world view/ ideology of the paper, audience
• Unpick use of headlines, subheading , stand first, lack of and mode of address eg in the sun and guardian and sun how do they reflect their ideologies
• Analyse the sun and guardians choice, framing and placement of images and how do they contrast connotations of the papers ideologies
• Look at the use of language and the mode of address which differ from formal/informal
• Compare the page layout and use of space including proportion of image/ text, use of quotations, captions and other elements
• Draw conclusion about the differing representations to create meanings of the story: if you only saw one of these stories, how would your perception be swayed

15 marks= roughly 20 minutes, practicing of timing 

Sources A and B show the same event in different lenses Guardian is left leaning trust owned, mail is right winged plc

guardian focuses on the hospitals and the strain it is having on them, uses non emotive language and a causal title subheading is informative about case numbers and results no blame. Daily mail uses emotive language and a snappy title like 'Booster jab chaos'

The main stories of both shows use the ideologies of both websites, the wording used in source A is informal, snappy headlines 'Booster jab chaos' and can be used to incite panic. We can tell that source a is critical of the current government using unflattering imagery and wording to describe the current pm Boris Johnson. We also see the imagery as a way to be critical of the pandemic and shows more of an understanding of the papers representation.

source B, chooses to include a purely informative headline about the same story. Choosing to use much calmer imagery of hospital and focusing its main story on the affects on the NHS the new variant is having. The formal address gives an appearance of more broadsheet design as well as the layout being primarily print with small or unambiguous images shown on the page.

Narratology LFTVD

 Narratology- Todorov

• Todorov identifies the different stages of narrative, moving from the everyday life of the characters (equilibrium), the distribution to that (disequilibrium) and the resolution of that distribution into a new equilibrium
• The key use of Todorov's theory is in identifying the values and ideologies suggested by the narrative

Narratology 1

• S1/E1- initially a single stranded, closed narrative (looking for Nanna) but sub plots- importantly one whole series is one murder. Other are connected by a narrative arc.
• After S/1E1 multi stranded political narratives develop eg. the car Nanna was found in belonging to a mayoral candidate
• One hour/ one day makes intertextual references to 'real time' dramas like 24
• Three main narrative strands- the investigation ,the parents, the politicians

narratology 2

• Todorov can apply to S1/E1 with disruption being the abduction of Nanna and the new equilibrium being living after her death
• Using Levi-Strauss, narrative binary oppositions of the police v politicians is apparent in E1
• Narrative themes explored in the killing- from those connected with the crime and the wider problems in Sarah's life 

ST

• The equilibrium introduces the four boys playing inside a suburban family home- identified the social norms suggested by the narrative. This sequence focuses on the idea of the nuclear family living in suburbia is the norm, with responsible parent caring for their kids
• The disequilibrium is Will's disappearance- this suggests Will is more vulnerable as a latch key kid, reinforcing the social norms of a nuclear family
• There is no resolution at the end of episode one of the main narrative arc as Will is still missing until the final episode 

In episode 1, the character do not have any deterrence's about their friends being different, however many insensitivities are show in the episode as the bullies refer to Lucas as 'Midnight' as he is black, and Dustin as toothless and freak as he has a genetic disorder

the boys are ostracized 

Genre conventions

 Genre conventions depend on the repetition of codes and convention i8n media products

genre conventions are not fixed but rather evolve overtime as producers subvert established conventions, or use hybridity with other genres

genre codes are also established beyond media products themselves through sources such as reviews and marketing.

applying to ST

Stranger things blends genres, known as hybridity, where it demonstrates a range of generic conventions such as horror, sci-fi, romance, buddy and murder mystery to appeal to a mass audiences and make the most profit for its producers and distributors 21 laps and stranger things. Steve Neale's theory applies here as it identifies the use of genre and its influence on characters, narrative and representation. it also draws attention to the use of technique codes used and the importance of audience appeal when it comes to genre.

Nordic noire conventions

written from a police POV

dark bleak setting- significant night shooting 

Protagonists are complex and do not conform to any serotype- maverick representation

along with mise-en-scene the mood and tone 

challenging themes and social issues

limited dialog nothing unnecessary

long takes 

strong female representation, the central protagonist and is more like a 1940s detective from film noir

the carrying of burden- hatred, secrets hidden, exposes the underbelly of Scandinavian society

common tropes

The impressionistic use of light 

German expressionism of firm use of light to highlight dark and areas, the common one being the half-face which give a character a half shadowed face, highlighting visual turmoil or a multi-layer to their character 

This supports the trope of minimal dialoged and the story rather being carried by body language and the  actions of the characters

minimal dialoged used in the car on the phone

darkness only broken by car lights and flash lights

use of body language by Sarah Lund

scene shot at night 

hand held camera

shot of the victims legs/ violence

hybridized genre

standard police procedural conventions- narrative enigma

hybridized the thriller genre with the Nordic noire genre

Steve Neale's theory applies

Sarah Lund framed as taking responsibility

narrative tension builds as Sarah will not tell Theis until she is next to him

zoom out and intercutting shows greif