12

Reception theory

- Preferred reading - Audience understands and agrees with the producer's ideology.

- Negotiated reading - Audience picks parts of the media text and may only agree with some parts of the producer's ideology.

- Oppositional reading - Audience disagrees with ever part of the producer's ideologies.

Fandom theory

- A motivated audience of a particular media text, they actively participate in the construction and circulation of textual meanings. They construct their social and cultural identities through borrowing and utilising the media text.

Humans uses reception theory through the preferred reading of those who enjoy the Sci-fi genre.

Humans uses fandom theory by appealing to a cult audience through the use of their marketing such as the spot advert and being unconventional by advertising 'Synthetics' which is the company who make the synths. 

Target audience 

Audience appeal

11

In what ways can the television industry uniquely convey issues, events and representations? Make reference to Humans in your answer.

• TV is a specialised industry that uses digitally convergent technology for production, distribution and consumption. The industry is globalised and international transnational conglomerates and TV shows are now co-produced by international companies, increase in narrowcasters and the consumption of shows are now diverse with the type of technology they are watching on, either binge-watching or catch-up and the increase in popularity of streaming services such as Netflix. 
• Power and media - profit and power - TV industry is specialised for profit and power by large conglomerates. 
• Target audiences for different things such as representation, genre, soundtrack, issues etc. The more audiences they target through different ways such as marketing or featuring a well-known cast, the more profit that is made. Minimising risk and maximising profit.
• Humans used unconventional marketing to target a cult/niche audience.
• Humans was produced by Channel4 and AMC (British and American) attracts a wider audience apart from only a British audience, to maximise profit.

10

Compare how media language constructs representations in the trailer to series three of Top Boy and the video to Formation by Beyoncé

Make reference to

• How representations make claims about reality
• The role of stereotypes (positive and negative)
• How representations may position audiences

• Representation of black working class people
• Representation theory
• Post colonial theory
• MES
• Setting
• Stereotypes
• Camera work
• Editing
• Sound
• Semiotics
• Binary oppositions
• Ideology
• Hegemony

Representation is the re-presentation of an individual or group that reflects the ideologies of the producer, media language helps construct these ideologies. Producers use representations to help re-construct reality as a formula easy for them to produce and position the audience to easily recognise and as well as target the preferred reading. The music video, Formation, is by Beyoncé which was released in 2016, set in New Orleans that has referential references to the treatment of black people in the New Orleans floods and historical context of racism and slavery in America. Top Boy is set in London and has generic conventions of a crime drama by featuring violence and aspects of running away from other gangs or police.

The music video, Formation by Beyoncé features 

Compare how media language creates meaning in the first two minutes to the video to Everlong by Foo Fighters, and the video to Riptide by Vance Joy.

Make reference to

• How intertextuality constructs meaning
• The use of polysemy
• How media language positions audiences

 

Media Revision 9 - Print Newspaper Analysis

Explore the ways in which representations are encoded through media language in the front page of this edition of The Daily Mail.

• Representation of the royal family
• Representation of women
• Feminist theory
• Postcolonial theory
• Representation theory
• Binary opposition
• Reception theory - Preferred reading - Pick and mix (Identity) theory
• Semiotic codes
• Layout
• Imagery
• Headline
• Masthead
• Skyline

DAC

Representation is the re-presentation of the producer's ideology which is reflected within a media text or product. Producers use representation to help target the target audience and preferred reading by creating re-presentations of individuals and groups which the readers will recognise through the use of recognisable faces as star appeal. The Daily Mail is a British tabloid newspaper, which therefore includes many articles and stories of celebrities and well-recognised people that target the preferred reading by representing these groups as highly respectable.

PEA

On the front cover of the tabloid, Daily Mail, it represents the royal family in a positive light in which reflects the hegemonic ideology of the producer of that the royal family are highly respectable through the use of star appeal. This attracts the preferred reading of those who are patriotic and respect the royal family, the target audience of this newspaper front cover are white British people this also links to the identity theory of the reader to choose to be patriotic and sad about the death of Prince Phillip. There is a large bold serif headline, 'One last moment with her prince', this represents the royal family to be that of a fairytale through the use of lexis, this main headline anchors the skyline, 'Queen's poignant farewell', reflects the hegemonic ideology of the Queen not being able to live without her true love, the feminist theory represents that she cannot live without a man and that she needs to spend every last minute with him. Through representation formed by the use of emotional lexis, it reflects the ideology of the producer to be that the British public should be saddened by the death and targets a reader who are strongly patriotic and like the star appeal of the royal family, this hegemonic ideology reflects the wider British public which links to the post-colonial theory by representing that the royal family are to be respected, despite the long history of colonisation by the British Empire.

Another way in which representation is encoded through media language which again represents the royal family in a positive way which reflects the hegemonic ideology of the producer and of the target reader to be ...

Formation Representation Revision

 How do the representations in Formation reflect the ideology of the producer?

• New Orleans - setting
• Representation of black women
• Representation of the working class
• Mise-en-scene - 
• Costumes - Antebellum dresses, jeans
• Lighting - 
• Hair - various hairstyles to reflect black culture
• Atypical and subversive song for Beyoncé 
• The music video both typical and subversive
• Binary opposition of old vhs effect and modern high quality cinematography.
• Working class settings.
• Establishing shot montages of the beginning of the video.
• The antebellum dress symbolises slavery, Beyoncé is reclaiming and re appropriating - taking the power from white people. 
• Gospel church setting, wig shop, 
• News footage of Hurricane Katrina
• Proairetic code of violence against black people: binary opposition of riot police vs little child
• Choreography associated with afro culture, e.g twerking - bounce music originating from New Orleans - scene of a documentary
• MES of Beyoncé sinking in to the water on top of police car
• Referential code.
• Bricolage - combination of different forms of media to create a complex and confusing representation.

Knee Jerk: Representations of working class black people to draw attention to underrepresented issues. 

• Establishing shots of flooding, Beyoncé is sat on top of a police car long shot to emphasise the New Orleans police car and flooded houses, a referential code of Hurricane Katrina and floods in New Orleans and the lack of help and resources that was given to predominately black areas, an underrepresented issue reflecting racism still being a large issue.
• Binary opposition of Beyoncé inside and around a previous slave-owner's house and with establishing shots of flooded houses and run down houses - symbolism of poverty.
• The setting of the abandoned swimming pool is symbolic of the black community drowning under the influence of poverty and racism. Connotes poverty, rundown and isolated. Negative stereotype of black people being not able to swim (segregation of public pools).
• Mid shot of MES of graffiti 'stop shooting us', drawing the audience's attention to the significant issue faced by the black community in America  - graffiti symbolic of black culture. 
• MES hoodie is stereotypical in the way in which young African American boys are represented as troublemakers or criminals.
• Gilroy - postcolonial theory - black people and white people are represented differently.
• Black people are powerful, vulnerable, victims of police and natural disasters.

Print Advert Analysis

"Explore how audiences are positioned by the representations in this advert"

Representation is the re-presentation that reflects the ideologies of the producers of the media product. Positioning refers to how the media product places the target audience formed by the producers, the target audience is positioned in a direct form of address. The print advert is attempting to make the target audience join the army through direct mode of address. 

• Anchorage of text and image.
• Bold, sans-serif type - red and black - targeting an informal audience
• Hierarchy of information 'Me Me Me Millennials' and 'Your Army Needs YOU'.
• Lexis - you and your - direct mode of address
• Target audience are young people, millennials and specifically women and BAME through representation.
• Direct mode of address, main image is positioned in the centre, she is looking back with direct eye contact with a serious expression.
• This serious expression is anchored through the use of confrontational lexis, almost through mocking in the use of a stereotype of millennials being self-centred 'me me me', and through joining the army you will become selfless.
• The poster is in an illustrative style, intertextual reference to old army recruitment posters in the war, 'Your Country Needs YOU' well recognised propaganda poster. A far more gentle mode of address than of original.
• MES She is wearing her uniform, connoting professionalism - mid shot - we see her serious facial expression and her body language looking back further suggesting she has already joined - a hegemonic ideology of the producer that joining the army is important.
• Anchored 
• She is positioned in a way she is looking down on the audience with the symbolic connotation of superiority. 
• Professional camouflage and Union Jack flag with symbolism of patriotism and professionalism.
• Connotations of black text of seriousness forming a binary opposition of bright red text.

Film Trailer Analysis

Analyse the genre conventions of this trailer, and explore how have they changed over time

- Generic paradigms

Nobody (2021)

• Crime thriller, action with elements of comedy and romance. Genre Hybridity.
• Generic paradigms of action with scenes including fighting and shooting and weapons.
• Crime - proairetic codes of appearing like a retired agent.
• Romance - the voiceover, he wanted to start a family and looks at a picture with him and his wife lovingly.

• A highly conventional crime/action with some unconventional elements.
• Binary opposition of a mundane man with the gang of the bus.
• Bus symbolises - w/c and poverty.
• Mid shot of actor emphasises star appeal.
• Mise-en-scene of guns, crime and action. Proairetic code - gun signifies action.
• Binary opposition of family and crime.
• Neale - genre theory - repetition and difference - producers reflects the action genre with guns and fighting but difference is it is an older family man as protagonist.
• Conventional - the protagonist always wins the fight.
• Lexis - 'fuck' - older target audience - adult audience - male, straight, m/c. Escapism.
• Lowkey lighting, night setting, grey and bland colours.
• Editing is conventional and is fast-paced.
• Intertextual reference - the actor.

Genre conventions refer to the typical elements found in a particular genre in media products. Nobody is a highly conventional crime/action film that fulfils many generic conventions. This is a film trailer, it helps to advertise the film and target its audience before release.

The film trailer is conventional of the generic hybridity of crime and action with some elements of unconventional elements. There is a scene that has a setting of a rundown bus with graffitied walls connoting and symbolising crime with a group of young men with a close up shot of a knife being flicked forming a proairetic code of a fight or action, the man drops bullets out of his gun suggesting he doesn't need a gun to fight, provides a form of escapism for the target audience of older, middle class men who will relate to the older family guy which is portrayed by the protagonist through the use of costume and appearance, this forms a binary opposition of the character with the setting making this type of character being on a rundown bus highly unconventional. There is a hegemonic representation of a young woman who appears vulnerable to the gang, this reflects the ideology of the producer that violence is okay in this situation as the woman needs to be protected by the protagonist.