- Don't use my/I
- Titles: capitals/inverted commas
- Intro - change structure + link together
: start with deviant youth representation
: include moral panics/Cohen
: use questions keywords (including stereotyped)
: include quotes
Wednesday 16 December 2015
Wednesday 2 December 2015
Feedback
Bibliography
- add website + viedos etc.
- alphabetical (order)
Historical text
- Scum (1979)
- Watch 'the best scene from scum'
- add website + viedos etc.
- alphabetical (order)
Historical text
- Scum (1979)
- Watch 'the best scene from scum'
Critical Investigation Task #3
Historical text analysis and research
Research a historical text that you can use to compare with your contemporary, primary text.
By 'historical' we mean anything pre-2000 but the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s or even 80s might be more fruitful because they pre-date many of the important changes that have occurred more recently (such as the gains for women as a result of feminism; or greater equality for ethnic minorities now that we are - arguably - a more inclusive and multi-cultural society; or the ground-breaking developments in new media/digital technology).
The purpose here is to be able to demonstrate...
- how society and the issue you are investigating has changedover the years and how these changes are reflected in different media texts, or - to put it another way...
- how popular culture reflects the 'spirit of the age' or zeitgeist
Ideally, you will watch at least one film/TV programme/video game/music video from the past, make notes on it and research it in Media/Film Studies textbooks and on the internet. The best option is to watch/play the whole text on DVD/online or otherwise you might be able to see extracts on YouTube. Answer the following questions:
- How is it similar/different to your main text?
- How does this show how the genre/society/issue has changed?
Through this you will become aware of developments in the genre you are researching. This task is designed to make sure you have a range of texts to refer to in your critical investigation essay (you'll need at least five including your main text and the historical text you analyse in this task). Remember: you should be able to link them to the wider contextsthat were/are present at the time. It's also worth noting that you will be rewarded for considering your topic across different platforms.
This text is similar to my main text as the youth
of Brixton started the 1981 riots. 1943 stop and searches in
four days and those were predominately young, black men - fought police,
attacked buildings and set fire to vehicles. This is similar to my text as
they had a riot scene and the youth of London acted in the same way as they were breaking and
entering and damaging properties. The way it links to my text is that the youth
take control and act in their own way to express their
feeling. Another similarity between both texts are that the police hold power our the youth as they are attached behind closed doors. An ex police officer told us that they used to plant evidence so that people had no chance of proving that they're innocent. This happens in the 21st century but people fight back (legally) due to modern day technology and equal right.
The differences between this text and my main text is that the youth had an option to choose their pathways in life but in 1981 the 'black youth' had very little options as they were harassed by police and were limited to do life changing opportunities. They believed that police had something against them "institutional racism" this had an impact between the public and the police as none of them trusted each other. The issue hasn't changed since 1981 riots as they are acting the same way. The 1981 riots and the 2011 riots in London are similar as black youth are the ones starting it. This connects my text and the 1981 riots as the youth were uneducated, unemployed and live in poverty. The changes since then are that the youth have changes to make difference as we now live in an equal society.
The differences between this text and my main text is that the youth had an option to choose their pathways in life but in 1981 the 'black youth' had very little options as they were harassed by police and were limited to do life changing opportunities. They believed that police had something against them "institutional racism" this had an impact between the public and the police as none of them trusted each other. The issue hasn't changed since 1981 riots as they are acting the same way. The 1981 riots and the 2011 riots in London are similar as black youth are the ones starting it. This connects my text and the 1981 riots as the youth were uneducated, unemployed and live in poverty. The changes since then are that the youth have changes to make difference as we now live in an equal society.
The Best Scene From Scum (1979)
The way the character was introduced in this scene was by him walking into the games area. He had his hands in his pocket and looked like he didn't fit in with the other inmates. He then walks up to two inmates playing pool and takes two balls and puts them inside a sock. This is known for injuring other inmates as they can't get hold of other weapons without getting caught. The camera angles used that lead to this scene was medium shot. This is effective as the audience mainly focuses on the main character. He then moved to a room where the inmates were sitting down. We as the audience din't know his intention but we knew that he was going to do something. He then attacked another character which played out as the 'top dog'. The reason why he done this was to claim the 'top dog' status as we find out later on when he assaulted another inmate. This links top my main text 'offender' this film was also a prison based film and the main character also attacked the 'top dog' in their wing. Both main characters have different reasons for attacking other inmates. The differences are that the inmates in the film scum are that majority of the characters are white males whereas the film offender has a diverse prison.
Tuesday 1 December 2015
Bibliography
Books:
1.. Bloom, C. (2012). Riot city: Protest and rebellion in the capital. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
2. Briggs, D. (2012). The English riots of 2011 a summer of discontent. Hook, UK: Waterside Press.
3. Casey, B. (2002). Television studies: The key concepts. London: Routledge.
4. Ferguson, R. (1998). Representing "race": Ideology, identity, and the media. London: Arnold.
7. Lacey, N. (1998). Image and representation: Key concepts in media studies. New York: St. Martin's Press.
10. Wheatley, S. (2010). Don't call me urban: The time of grime. Newcastle upon Tyne: Northumbria University Press.
Websites:
1. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2015, from http://www.theguardian.com/society/2009/apr/15/stereotypes-young-people
13. Offender. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2015, from http://www.timeout.com/london/film/offender
16. What is wrong with British youth? (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2015, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/yourview/1558584/What-is-wrong-with-British-youth.html
Academic research and bibliography
Task #2 is to pull this information together in an updated blog posting of all your notes and quotes so far INCLUDING a complete bibliography of your research so far. Make sure you include the following:
Jones, O. (2011). Chavs: The demonization of the working class. London: Verso.
- Author-Year-Title-Place-Publisher info;
- Quotes (+ Page References) from the book that can be linked to your study;
- A short explanation of each one explaining how it is relevant to you/your topic.
- Finally, post up on your blog a Complete Bibliography (so far) to include ALL the books you currently have quotes from. It MUST contain at least TEN different academic books or journalsas well as all your online and Media Magazine sources.
- Note: your FINAL bibliography will be much more extensivethan this - we are simply looking for a minimum of 10 academic sources from your research so far.
Jones, O. (2011). Chavs: The demonization of the working class. London: Verso.
Politicians Vs Chavs
page 73
"Glasgow has twice as many people out of work as the national average."
"More than half of the city's children live in poverty."
This quote supports my case study as the youth are seen as troubled and are stereotyped by classes higher than them. The quote tells us more than half of the city's children live in poverty and when they grow up to become teenagers and young adults they're seen to be dangerous and educated.
page 73
"Glasgow has twice as many people out of work as the national average."
"More than half of the city's children live in poverty."
This quote supports my case study as the youth are seen as troubled and are stereotyped by classes higher than them. The quote tells us more than half of the city's children live in poverty and when they grow up to become teenagers and young adults they're seen to be dangerous and educated.
page 74
"But David Cameron was more interested in reinforcing middle-class predjudice than in boosting the Tory vote in an unwinnable seat"
"We if these things---obesity, alcohol abuse, drug addiction---are purely external events, like a plague, or bad weather."
2.
MacDonald, R. (1997). Youth, the 'underclass' and social exclusion. London: Routledge.
Chapter 1
"The idea that Britain and other late capitalist societies are witnessing the rise of an 'underclass' of people at the bottom of the social heap"
This is relevant to my case study as I am looking at the representation of the youth in Britain. The quote above the amount of
3.
Malik, S. (2002). Representing black Britain a history of black and Asian images on British television. London: SAGE Publications.
"Britain is constantly engaged in debates about race, racism and national identity."
This supports my case study as I'll be looking at the way the youth are represented in Britain.
"The unprovoked murder of Black British teenager, Stephen Lawrence, in 1993)"
4.
Briggs, D. (2012). The English riots of 2011 a summer of discontent. Hook, UK: Waterside Press.
Page 10
"These people frowned on the defective people and their actions, and agreed that the state should punish them as harshly as possible."
"From 2,019 adults aged 18+ 88 per cent believed that the sentences on the 'rioters' and 'looters' were not tough enough, two thirds (69 per cent) felt that organized 'gangs' were the cause of unrest"
page 11
"According to David Cameron, the English 'rioter' and 'looter' are of the same breed; namely of the feral underclass type. These people, as Cameron would have it, are foreign to the hard-working, regular citizen and it is through poor life choices and like of meritocratic initiative that they find themselves clinging to the margin of society."
The reason I've picked this quote is because this comes from a politician point of view. Also its suggested that for those who joined the riots are foreign to the hard working lifestyle and the youth are the ones who are making poor life choices.
5.
Hodkinson, P. (2007). Youth cultures: Scenes, subcultures and tribes. New York: Routledge.
8.
Casey, B. (2002). Television studies: The key concepts. London: Routledge.
Chapter 1
"The idea that Britain and other late capitalist societies are witnessing the rise of an 'underclass' of people at the bottom of the social heap"
This is relevant to my case study as I am looking at the representation of the youth in Britain. The quote above the amount of
3.
Malik, S. (2002). Representing black Britain a history of black and Asian images on British television. London: SAGE Publications.
"Britain is constantly engaged in debates about race, racism and national identity."
This supports my case study as I'll be looking at the way the youth are represented in Britain.
"The unprovoked murder of Black British teenager, Stephen Lawrence, in 1993)"
4.
Briggs, D. (2012). The English riots of 2011 a summer of discontent. Hook, UK: Waterside Press.
Page 10
"These people frowned on the defective people and their actions, and agreed that the state should punish them as harshly as possible."
"From 2,019 adults aged 18+ 88 per cent believed that the sentences on the 'rioters' and 'looters' were not tough enough, two thirds (69 per cent) felt that organized 'gangs' were the cause of unrest"
page 11
"According to David Cameron, the English 'rioter' and 'looter' are of the same breed; namely of the feral underclass type. These people, as Cameron would have it, are foreign to the hard-working, regular citizen and it is through poor life choices and like of meritocratic initiative that they find themselves clinging to the margin of society."
The reason I've picked this quote is because this comes from a politician point of view. Also its suggested that for those who joined the riots are foreign to the hard working lifestyle and the youth are the ones who are making poor life choices.
5.
Hodkinson, P. (2007). Youth cultures: Scenes, subcultures and tribes. New York: Routledge.
Youth culture 3
"An ethnographic research tradition originating at University of Chicago became famous for its attempts to explain deviant activities such as drug taking, petty crime and gang membership as collective normative behavior associated with distinct urban social regions, each with their pwn divergent more codes (park 1925)."
6.
Bloom, C. (2012). Riot city: Protest and rebellion in the capital. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
Page 1
"Since 2000 we have seen unprecedented levels of unrest in London. The capital has become the battleground for a host of new demands and new ideological standpoints, so much so that protesters and authority alike have had to invent new tactics to protest was relativity rare."
7.
Lacey, N. (1998). Image and representation: Key concepts in media studies. New York: St. Martin's Press.
8.
Casey, B. (2002). Television studies: The key concepts. London: Routledge.
9.
Ferguson, R. (1998). Representing "race": Ideology, identity, and the media. London: Arnold.
10.
Wheatley, S. (2010). Don't call me urban: The time of grime. Newcastle upon Tyne: Northumbria University Press.
Wednesday 18 November 2015
TEXTUAL ANALYSIS
OFFENDER Interrogation Scene
The officer in this scene had to deal
with 3 suspect linked to attacking their probationer officer and linked to an
armed robbery. The three suspects are
acting like they weren’t involved with any charging facing them. The narrative
in this scene is straight forward and it’s similar to other interrogation scene. The police officer keeps on
raising his voice to get the suspects angry and say something they might
regret.
The camera angles used in this scene
is medium close up and close-up shots. This is because it allows the audiences
to examine the characters facial expression and keeps the audiences focused on
the characters as they could only see the characters and nothing else. As the
first two characters were asked about being in the stolen car they stopped shouting
and looked like they were making up an excuse as they the stop. We know this as the
second character rolled his eyes left and right before answering the question.
The third characters interrogation cinematography
was medium close up. This was useful as we could see that he tried to play out
calm as the officer question him. We couldn’t tell by his facial reaction that
he wasn’t guilty as the other characters were moving shifty and his tone was
the same throughout till the end of the interrogation.
The police officer is dressed formal
as he is the one leading the interrogation. This is to show that he is more supreme than the
suspects. The three suspects are dressed in black jackets and black jumpers.
They look like they fit the description by seeing their clothing. Moving on, the main lighting is right above
the table this makes the rest of the room dark and it placing the suspects is a
spot where they’re uncomfortable. Also the windows are little and are placed
high up the wall to show that there’s no escaping this room if you’re guilty.
Also it infers that this going to be a similar surrounding if they’re found
guilty. In addition, the actors are all male in this scene. The actors are
mainly black Africans with only one expectation. The other character is seen to
have adapted the attitude of black males. The stereotypes of black people are
generally dangerous, criminals, gangs, drug etc. This scene supported and also
challenged this stereotype by showing black male character in both roles such
as black police man and black suspects. Furthermore, the setting was a police interrogation room as the officer was trying to get information out of the suspects. The light was directly above the table making that the main focus in the room. Also we know that this is an interrogation room as we could see the mirror placed on the wall. This allows other officers to examine the interrogation and it allows them to do so without being detected.
Offender – first 2:05 mins
The
main character is walking through an alleyway. The camera shots used were a
long shot than a medium close up right at the start. This was effect due to the
editing as we couldn’t recognize the characters face. The edit used to make
this effective was a cut as he was walking at the start of the alleyway the cut
effect allowed us to visualize the character. The medium close up allows the
audiences to analyse his facial expression. The sound used at the start was a
non-diegetic. The music playing built up tension as the police siren got
louder. The way they’ve introduced the main character is interesting as he was
made out to be the villain at the start of the film. Also the character seemed
pleased with him assaulting the police officer. We know this as he smiled whist
getting sentenced. This is an unusual way of starting a film as it started off
with violence. The assault scene has created some enigma codes
(Barthes) as this scene made audiences question themselves as they didn’t know
why the main character attacked the officers.
Friday 13 November 2015
Icons in the hood - how working-class youths became chavs – Media
Magazine
https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/media-magazine/articles/16872
Is this the beginning of the end for
the word 'chav'? British rapper Plan B has criticised the label for being 'a
derogatory phrase no different to the ones concerning race or sex'. But some
argue being a 'chav' is about attitude and behaviour, not race, sex, class or
education. Pete Turner looks at recent representations of modern youth's
controversial icons.
·
“The typical
representation of contemporary young people in Britain is the iconic image of
the 'chav'. The chav has become a symbol of David Cameron's 'broken Britain'
and a cultural movement of young people that is easy to recognise.”
– The representation of modern young people
comes from the upper class and middle class. They are the ones labelling people
socially beneath them. The youths that are been called ‘chavs’ have no choice
and act in the way the media represents them. They could be the ones showing
‘the people with power’ that they are wrong to call the youths ‘chavs’. Also
the quote above says that “The chav has become a symbol of David Cameron's
'broken Britain'” This shows that even their leader has lost hope and placing the
youths of today in a position where they’re limited in life.
·
“Hooded,
tattooed and often anonymous due to a covered face, 'chavs' wear tracksuits and
trainers and often sport some dazzling golden jewellery, commonly referred to
as 'bling'.”
·
“These are
supposedly the youth of British streets; uneducated, poor but covered in labels
and logos, and above all aggressive, most likely waving gun and gang signs
around, hands stuffed down the front of their trousers just like Ryan Florence
did behind David Cameron's back.”
·
“However, many have criticised the label 'chav', and particularly
its use by the mainstream media. Tom Hampson of the Fabian Society argues:”
·
“71% of articles from a range of
tabloid, broadsheet and local papers involving young people were negative in
tone, and a third were crime-oriented.
Heath, 2011”
Heath, 2011”
Odd Future, Stranger Past -
Issues of Representation in Contemporary Hip-Hop- Media
Magazine
·
“The landscape of contemporary music is changing. The use of the
internet as a tool for both distribution and marketing has resulted in an
explosion of new artists, fragmenting audiences and causing shifts in every
aspect of the industry, from genre to production to image construction.”
·
“Whichever topics you are working on, representation is certain to
be central to your response, and being able to write convincingly and with
sophistication about how an artist's image utilises existing stereotypes and
how technical codes and mise-en-scène contribute to this construction will have
a huge impact on your grade”
There’s a riot going on - Media Magazine
·
“In August of this year, a wave of civil disturbances spread
across Britain's inner cities. Following a peaceful demonstration against the
death of a black man, Mark Duggan, at the hands of the police in Tottenham in
North London, police officers beat a teenage protester on the street.”
·
“The disorder that ensued subsequently spread to other areas of
the capital and thence to several of England's major cities. Newspapers, TV
screens and the internet were flooded with reports and images of crowds
rampaging through the streets, setting buildings and vehicles alight, fighting
with police and smashing and looting from shops.”
·
“In particular, it's interesting to look at how the participants
were described. In most of the tabloid media coverage, the rioters were
consistently and repeatedly identified as young people. These were the 'feral
youth', the 'hoodies' and 'yobs' who apparently rampage uncontrolled in our
cities, bent simply on destruction for its own sake.”
·
“In fact, many of the people ultimately convicted for crimes
during the rioting were by no means young. Youth offending, youth detention and
reoffending have declined in recent years. Meanwhile, just a few weeks later,
young people achieved record passes in their GCSE and A Level exams. Those
involved in the disturbances were obviously a small minority. Yet in much of
the media coverage, they came to stand for Young People - or particular
categories of young people - in general.”
Is it Cos I is British?! Issues Around Black Britishness – Media
Magazine https://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/media-magazine/articles/16890
What does it mean to be Black British? Why
has it taken so long for us to see representations of and by black British
artists, producers and creatives as more than just 'issues'? Jennifer G
Robinson explores the diversity and range of the Olympic Opening Ceremony, and
wonders how far it reflects the media's role in constructing black British
identity.
·
“Part
of the problem when analysing black culture in the UK today arises from our
dependence upon American popular culture as a model for critiquing representational
issues.”
·
“Brick Lane (2007) and Small Island (2009) all discuss these writers'
experiences through immigration, inter-racial love and racism. However, these
adaptations still posit a representation of 'otherness' which must continually
explain itself. It is anchored in pain, struggle for identity and a demand for
acknowledgement of presence. These adaptations appear as updated versions of
earlier 'race' films such as Borderline (1930), Sapphire (1959) and Flame in
the Streets (1961). With all the other narratives documenting black and Asian
life, which mirror universal human experiences,”
Black Ink - Black Press in Britain - Media Magazine
- "Black is a loaded word. It may work on some level politically, but less so culturally; what exactly is Black and more insidiously 'Black culture'? Using this terminology to define people with a little colour plays into the idea that they are from one homogenous jelly-mould with no variation in language, customs and traditions."
- "This is certainly a large area to cover and one which can only be touched on here. It is important to investigate the contextual issues that this complex subject area presents. This article will primarily focus on the discussion of people of African/Caribbean, British-born descent. In this overview of the titles which dominate what is a niche market, we'll try to examine some of the history of Black publications"
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