18

How does Woman and Adbusters construct their audiences?

• Audiences are consumers of a media product.
• Audience construction is making the target audience, through the producer telling the audience to appeal to men, wear makeup, fix their kitchen.
• In constructing a target audience the producer reinforces female stereotypes.
• By reinforcing stereotypes, the producer ensure the same women buy the magazine.
• The producers of Woman construct a clear and rigid TA for their magazine, to ensure the same TA buy the magazine weekly to avoid missing out. Adbusters however makes no attempt at constructing a target audience and instead adopts a deliberate confusing mode of address.
• Adbusters is counter-cultural.
• Reception theory - audiences can respond to the ideologies of the producer in different ways - negotiated, preferred - agree with the ideologies of wearing makeup and being a housewife, oppositional.
• Identity theory
• MES - Front page of Woman conventional and feminine with a friendly mode of address.
• MES - Front cover of Adbusters unconventional and aggressive with a confusing mode of address.
• Cultivation theory
• Anchorage
• Close-up shot of woman's face on front cover reinforces the hegemonic and conventional type of beauty the audience should aspire to have and the TA being women.
• Colours are pink and feminine 
• Direct mode of address
• Fandom - social interaction with friends, interact with website Adbusters, write a letter
• Adbusters uncomfortable mode of address.
• Price of Woman is cheap - w/c 
• Adbusters is £10.99 - m/c
• Adbusters isn't targeting a clear audience - no coverlines unconventional, has no hint to what is inside the magazine. No barcode, no price unconventional. 'Post-West' - deliberately confusing mode of address, coverline isn't clear, hermenuetic code. Aggressive mode of address - mid shot of main image, no direct eye contact, proairetic code of a fist.
• Deliberately confusing, Adbusters is targeting an educated audience. Origin of image isn't clear, we don't know who he is. Sparse layout.
• Dirt connotation of war, death, violence with camo clothes - war. Conflict symbolic code - reminds the target audience we live in a world filled with conflict, dirt over masthead.
• Niche, not for profit - doesn't need to construct an audience like Woman because the product exists to make a profit.
• Woman Breeze advert - sexualised main image of a woman, the producer's ideologies are reinforced to the TA patriarchal hegemony. 'because you're a woman' lexis, the audience can only be a woman through using the product. Aspirational image for women, secondary audience of heterosexual men - objectifying, the producer is reinforcing and constructing the audience to accept. Young and hegemonically/conventionally attractive. Cultivation. 'You're' direct mode address to directly communicate to the audience. Lexis, 'darling' reinforces patriarchal hegemony - man or husband, polysemy. Exploiting insecurities of women - e.g. soap. Lexis reinforces the hegemonic belief that women are sensitive and gentle. Constructing an audience who are weak through manipulation.
• Throughout Woman magazine the ideology is cultivated that in order to be attractive, women should be young and conventionally attractive, which helps to construct a target audience - makes TA insecure as the TA are middle-aged who want to look young and find a man.

17

• Large masthead at the top of the page, in large and bold.
• Image of model with direct address through direct eye contact - close up of smiling woman.
• Coverlines
• Price - 7d, 80p - w/c women.
• Weekly magazine
• Conventional of women's lifestyle with coverlines with stereotypical topics e.g makeup and kitchen.
• Magazine front cover's purpose is to sell it.
• IPC published Woman and other magazines similar to control the market. 
• Vogue - m/c women, Woman - w/c women.
• Specific brand identity. Conventional and straightforward women who want to live up to the standard of men.
• Selling a lifestyle, aspirational - young model - TA is middle-aged. 'A-Level Beauty' coverline for makeup to look younger.
• Conventional of the 60s.
• Strapline.
• Feminine background colour and colours.
• Friendly mode of address.
• Conventionally/hegemonically attractive.

Explore the extent to which regulatory factors have influenced the magazines that you have studied. Make reference to Woman and Adbusters.

Regulation is the rules and restrictions that media products follow.

Magazines in the UK are largely unregulated.

Regulation has had very little effect on either magazine we have studied. However, there are some elements of Adbusters which have legal grey areas. Woman at the time would have not been controversial at the time but would be considered controversial now. 

• Regulation theory - regulation is impossible due to digitally convergent technology.
• Adbusters is considered controversial because it is atypical.
• Woman magazine is not controversial at the time of circulation as it is conventional but is in the current.
• Self-regulation - Woman magazine targets a conservative audience, the magazine chooses what they want to include.
• Woman reinforces patriarchal ideologies, potentially affecting the body image of the female target audience.
• Society creates its own regulations through hegemony of what is considered acceptable or not. Woman magazine in particular lives up to hegemony.
• Slander/libel, Adbusters criticises brands directly through mockery in placing adverts in a new context - culture jamming.
• Adbusters is a big independent magazine but small enough to go under the radar.
• Being independent allows Adbusters to get away with things larger magazines could not get away with.
• Power in the media industries - Adbusters subverts as it isn't for profit.

16

Woman is conventional and Adbusters is unconventional.

• Woman magazine is a women's lifestyle magazine.
• Woman is published by IPC.
• August 1964. Weekly.
• 3.5 million copies a week is circulated.
• Mass audience. Target audience is heterosexual, white, w/c, middle-aged women housewives.
• Woman magazine presents a simple and straightforward ideology to its mass target audience.
• Woman magazine uses hegemonic ideologies with hegemonic representations of women.
• Layout of the magazine is conventional with a large bold masthead with a main image featuring a model with direct address, coverlines of stereotypical interests of women. Targets its audience - 
• Context - drugs, hippies, second-wave feminism, contraceptive pill. Woman magazine does not reference this because of its target audience are conservative and traditional.
• Reinforcing patriarchal hegemonic ideologies.
• Example of patriarchy in the Max Factor advert - women should wear makeup to look attractive to men and for men. Alfred Hitchcock interview - targets women but the main article features a man talking about the appearance of women.
• Example of hegemony - article - interview, Grace Kelly is hegemonically attractive, article - present for your kitchen hegemonic for women to be housewives.
• Ideologies presents patriarchal hegemonies  - cultivates to the target audience.

How Woman magazine is conventional.

• Max Factor Creme puff.
• It has hegemonic patriarchal representations that reflect the ideologies of the producer which cultivates to the target audience and preferred reading of the magazine:
• The woman is putting make-up on, midshot - MES - skirt and jewelry with nice hair.
• Setting - a lobby in perhaps an office waiting for her husband, she is making herself presentable for him.
• The man is the breadwinner, she is a housewife. The man is expected to work, he is looking at her.
• The woman is the focal point of the advert as the man is in the background, however the advert is targeted towards women but still features a man - the ideology of women needing male approval.
• Conventional of an advert, with imagery of the main model and product that is selling the lifestyle of being the hegemonic woman.
• 'be sure of your beauty always', lexis of guaranteed beauty, patriarchal hegemonic ideology of women having to be attractive and beautiful always.
• 'Beauty at a moment's notice' - objectification of women, Feminist theory and male gaze theory - man is looking at the woman comparative of being a statue, women are to be looked at and women should make themselves attractive for men. Large serif.
• May also target a heterosexual man by featuring a conventionally hegemonically attractive woman, as housewives are dependent of men financially, as men are expected to be the breadwinner.
• Z-line and anchorage with the series of images.

15

Postmodernism - When the media product deliberately break rules and challenge the audience. 

Hyperreality - Representations of reality being more perfect. 

Postmodernism is an impossible theory to define.

Anita is perfect because she doesn't exist. She does whatever you want, she cooks and cleans.

To what extent can the set episodes of Humans and Les Revenants be seen as postmodern?

• Anita is a binary opposition; the Hawkins family are normal with stereotypes such as Joe, their house is messy, nuclear family - stereotypical white m/c British family. The sci-fi genre is presented in Anita being wheeled into the shop (postmodern) switch of genre - sudden shift positions the target audience in a confusing mode of address. Warm tones of the family to cold tones and synth music - use of shopping centre setting is stereotypically consumerist, relatable. Signing a document - reflects Anita to be like a car or phone - exciting mode of address reflecting the culture of consumerism. Sophie - 'What if she's not pretty?' objectifying - Anita is like a doll. Anita is revealed to the audience through a montage of close-up shot, objectifying and sexualising - the audience also wonders this - stereotypically attractive. Symmetrical face, no skin imperfections, perfect hair it is long, perfect figure. Sophie has her mouth open in delight with excitable body language, Joe is eyeing Anita. Anita lives up to the stereotypes of East Asian women being obedient. Anita looks like she doesn't belong with glowing eyes and is standing and staring. Sophie - 'That means she's ours now' - allegory of Anita being a slave. Character of Anita with a hyperreal representation deliberately challenges the audience's perceptions of humanity. 
• Humans is a deeply complex and controversial TV show that targets a niche audience, to maximise profit.

Mise-en-scene

• Dark dim colours, muted and desaturated.
• No focus of faces.
• Binary opposition - girl playing in an abandoned area (horror). People kissing in by a grave of two people - alive and dead. Cross symbolism of death. Show is about sex and death - When Lena has sex, (orgasm - le petite mour (?) little death) Camille dies. Sex is creation, death is end. Complicated relationship of the themes targets a niche audience.
• MES of a dead dear suspended in a lake.
• Opening credits are highly conventional of the horror genre.
• Jumpscare of killer, pops up from the dark tunnel. Horror.
• Opening credits music is both typical with contrapuntal chill music, atypical as it has chill music. Atypical for a rock band, Mogwai, to create a soundtrack for a horror show.
• Repetition and difference.

14

David Gauntlet argues that audiences can use TV shows to reflect their own identity. To what extent does this theory of identity apply to the TV shows you have studied?

Audiences pick and choose their own identities using the media texts' ideologies. A way in which audiences can choose their identity is through the opportunity of identifying with characters that may specifically target a particular audience through that character. Audiences can take a variety of identities and interpretations for the TV shows that I have studied, to allow them to appeal to a range of target audiences. 

• identity theory
• mise-en-scene - costume, lighting
• camera work
• reception theory
• power and profit in the media industry
• audience
• fandom theory
• ideologies
• dramatic and upsetting storylines - narrative
• Les Rev- themes of death
• nuclear normal hegemonic family 
• close up shots of Camille looking awkward, relatability to younger teenagers
• wide angle shot of the family's house appeals to middle class audience
• mes - breakfast scene
• Camille opening the fridge wide angle shot - contrapuntal sound - mogwai - targets an existing audience
• tracking shot of Leo walking through brothel positions audience - allegory - ethics of prostitution - audiences will have different opinions
• post-colonial theory - separation of different characters of costume with controversial perspective on racism in the UK

- establishing shot - block of flats, w/c, 

- slow tracking shot

- small, cluttered - reflects the character of Julie being slightly all over the place

- mes - pile of books - she's intelligent 

- horror - texas chainsaw massacre - generic paradigm diegetic sounds of screams and music

- answering the phone - she is blunt

- lives by herself because no one else is there

- costume - baggy jumper and jeans, 

- Les Rev asks the audience what they would do if someone came back to life

- appeal to horror fans - generic convention - a woman by herself at a bus stop at night, raining - lowkey lighting, non-diegetic music

- the bus - colour is dull and washed out reflects Julie to have depression and is tired

- audience can identify with Julie

- representation of women

- representation of men

- Leo

- non-diegetic bassy music creates an uncomfortable ode of address - audience can identify with Leo's discomfort 

- Leo's mes costume, he is tough with scrappy clothes and body language is aggressive

- Stereotypical heterosexual young man, perhaps atypical representation of his behaviour in a brothel.

- controversial scene - taboo topic of sex work

- audiences may either identify with Leo or going to a brothel

- reception theory - preferred - uncomfortable; oppositional - allured.

- lighting - red symbolising - sex and danger

- Victor - he is silent and creepy

- Murderer, scenes of murder - purposefully pushes the audience away.

13

Humans - Breakfast scene

• Many mid and over-the-shoulder shots, reflects an intimate family scene.
• Close-up shots of Anita cleaning the table - feminist theory.
• Hyperreality - Large hotel-style breakfast, maid.
• Stereotypical middle-class, white British family - targets audience by including this type. of family for relatability with the aspect of hyperreality/escapism.
• Binary opposition of costumes - laid back pjs v professional maid uniform.
• Binary opposition - m/c white human v w/c East Asian synths.
• Lighting - highkey lighting v lowkey lighting where Anita is typically seen.
• American-British co-production Channel 4 and AMC.
• Setting location - near London - South England - appeal to a wider audience.
• Ensemble cast - appeal to a wider range of audience - maximising profit.
• Post-colonial theory - hierarchies of culture - Anita is represented as a slave through the use of a contrasting costume of the Hawkins family - bland and blue, practical.
• Allegory of slavery - Anita being represented differently and as an 'other'. 
• Hawkins family are hegemonic and stereotypically white m/c.
• Mattie - moody, swears, aggressive - stereotypical representation of a teenager. 'Tom Boy' not stereotypical.
• Toby - stereotypical teenage boy, sexually motivated and awkward.
• Joe - stereotypical dad, tells bad jokes.
• Laura - stressed out, stereotypical mum.
• Setting - dining room stereotypical of middle class.
• Use of natural colours connotating everyday life and sophisticated home-life of a middle-class household.
• Luxurious wide-spread of food indicates that the family are well-off.
• MES - artwork on the walls connotes wealth and sophistication.
• Nuclear family - hegemonically and conventionally 'perfect' family. 
• Binary opposition to Anita who cannot have children.
• Star appeal - Gemma Chan, Katherine Parkinson - reinforces a widespread appeal to different audiences.
• Anita wants a mother-daughter relationship especially with Sophie, plays the 'mother' role but without the positives. Anita does stereotypical 'maternal' tasks of cleaning and cooking. She is too perfect and annoys Laura - hyperreal.
• Anita offers the Hawkins family a hyperreal version of life, a perfect world that wouldn't be practical although mundane. 

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.

Media Revision 6

Midsommar Film Poster Analysis (2019)

Explore how codes and conventions are used to construct meaning in the theatrical poster for the horror film 'Midsommar'. (2019)

- Codes and conventions are typical things we expect to find in a media product.

- Directors may feel that audiences have become bored with the conventions of horror films, and seek to offer them something different. This is for purely financial reasons, as it allows the producer to potentially target new audiences. This conforms to the genre theory. Films must strike a balance between repetition and difference, this explains why the poster looks unconventional.

- Media language.

Midsommar

• Uses unconventional colours for a horror film - generic conventions are dark use of colours, the imagery of flowers are positioned at the top of the poster are a symbol of life and forms a binary opposition of the horror genre typically feturing death.
• Close-up shot - facial expressions - she looks distressed as we can see from her face and her crying - conventional of horror - young vulnerable woman crying who is hegemonically attractive.
• Anchorage of the crying eye to the centre text to the film title - heirarchy of information - forms hermeneutic codes to the audience - 'Why is she crying?'
• 'Midsommar' and clothes makes an intertextual reference to Midsummer's day, a holiday commonly observed in Austria (suggests setting).
• Lexis - 'Let the festivities begin' similar to the phrase of 'Let the games begin', perhaps the film includes a competiton of who will stay alive, this is a generic convention of the horror genre.

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• The main image is a close-up shot of a woman crying, which is a conventional hermeneutic code of the horror genre as it creates tension for the audience and makes them ask questions. This is anchored by the tagline "let the festivities begin", which further builds tension as the binary opposition between the innocuous phrase compared to the distressing image makes it more sinister.
• Text displays the lexis 'let the festivities begin' a seemingly non-threatening and positive phrase, this is anchored through the bright and cheerful colour scheme and warm high-key lighting. However the facial expression the woman makes her look distraught and in pain, providing binary-opposition and making the overall tone of the poster sinister. This sinister mode of address directly asks the audience a number of hermeneutic questions, and may appeal to audiences who are not even fans of the horror genre.
• The representation of women --> the woman on the poster is hegemonically attractive, and arguably this is a stereotypical representation of women as often women are portrayed as very emotional, which is reflected through the MES of her tears. However the expression on her face surpasses just unnecessary emotion, and it comes across as one of extreme trauma. It is not just a 'dainty' tear rolling down the side of her face as we see in most depictions of women crying, but instead her mouth is open and pulled down, her eyes are scrunched and tearful and her brows are furrowed, implying extreme emotion. This is a highly unconventional representation of women.
• Contradictory - Colours used are not the stereotypical colours of a horror film (blacks, dark blues, reds etc.), but the image of the crying girl tells the audience that something is wrong in the image/film - the bright colours cannot hide her fear. A clear binary opposition between the symbolically happy blue background, and the symbolically miserable crying woman. Once more, this functions as a proairetic code, suggesting violence and bloodshed ahead.
• The white serif font implies a sense of purity, goodness and sophistication. This reinforces that this film is in stark juxtaposition to pre-existing films within the horror genre, and may appeal to an older more sophisticated horror audience
• The poster is immediately unconventional due to its colour palette choice. It's lack thereof conventional horror poster elements such as black or red.
• Simple, elegant design frames half of star Florence Pugh’s face in warm, saturated tones, drawing out the yellow flowers in her hair against the bright, marine-blue background.
• Relatable choice of actor allows target younger audience to identify with her, thus heightening the tension and the horror.
• The mise-en-scene of the bright, primary colours is unconventional to the horror genre as it connotes peace and tranquillity, as well as summer time. This is anchored by the Title of the film being a play on the word midsummer.
• The colourful, brightly lit image and aesthetic of the piece stands in stark binary opposition to the dark and dreary conventional horror poster. This reinforces to the viewer that the contents of this film will catch them off guard.
• The A24 logo may resonate with the producer's niche fandom (Henry Jenkins), with the studio having been known to produce and distribute unique indie/ lower budget horror films to great success in past.
• Where many horror movie posters typically use darker themed lighting and color scheming in order to convey horror, this poster is atypical and uses high-key lighting with a vibrant colour scheme, combined with the distressed facial expression of the woman creates a binary opposition which intrigues audiences that have been used to the conventional tropes that within the horror genre.
• the lexis of the slogan "let the festivities begin" is ominous and has connotations of fear - a convention of the genre - and the layout of the slogan in the centre of the poster with large line gaps can be read as it is written, which adds to the ominous feeling of the lexis
• The film poster is unconventional which is portrayed through the colour pallet used. Conventionally, horror films are set during the night; The film poster background is bright blue, therefore establishing that the film is set during the day.
• The layout and design is simple and not overcrowded, it is a close up shot that fills the frame and then text running down the centre of the image with the name of the film in larger font at the bottom.
• MES - Vignette around the image, going from a dark colour surrounding the edges to a slight warm light outlining Florence Pugh. The light, coupled with the wreath headband has religious connotations (mainly Pagan religions), which are often tropes of horror films.
• a hermeneutic code is used in the hegemonically attractive woman crying, which reminds us of of the damsel in distress, a common convention of the horror genre. the symbolic code used in the costume of the flower crown she is wearing adds to this, giving her a hyper feminine image.

Theories List

Media Language theories:

• Barthes - Semiotics:
• Hermeneutic codes - questions audiences have.
• Proairetic codes - action codes, suggests something is going to happen e.g cracking knuckles.
• Symbolic codes - deeper meaning, symbols have different meanings in different contexts.
• Referential codes - intertextuality.
• Myths - ways we look at the world.
• Todorov - Narratology:
• All narratives moves from one state of equilibrium to another.
• Disequilibrium.
• Neale - Genre:
• Repetition and difference.
• Hybridity.
• Levi-Strauss - Structuralism:
• Binary oppositions.
• Baudrillard - Postmodernism:
• Hyperreality is a representation that is more real than what is being represented, impossible to differentiate between what is real and what isn't.

Representation theories:

• Hall - Representation:
• Re-presentation.
• Reconstruction of reality and inform reality constructed through media language.
• Gauntlet - Identity:
• Audiences can construct their own identities through media products.
• Zoonen - Feminist:
• Media products encode men and women's bodies differently.
• Women's bodies are used as a spectacle to sell media products.
• hooks - Feminist:
• Feminism is for everyone, including men.
• Feminism is a struggle to end patriarchal hegemony.
• Race, class, ethnicity, gender, sexuality all affect how an individual is represented.
• Butler - Gender Performativity:
• Gender is a performance.
• Performance is shaped through hegemonic expectations.
• Sex and gender are different.
• Gender performance influences and shapes the world around us.
• Gilroy - Ethnicity and post-colonialism:
• After colonialism, UK is in a state of anxiety.
• Subtle and not so subtle racial prejudices in our society, deeply rooted in colonial past.
• Media products of white and non-white people are depicted as binary, 'same' and 'other'.

Industry theories:

• Curran and Seaton - Power and media:
• Media is controlled by a small number of companies and primarily driven through profit and power.
• Inferior and repetitive product.
• Livingstone and Lunt - Regulation:
• Due to digitally convergent technologies made possible by the internet, now impossible to regulate any media idustry.
• Audiences, producers and conglomerates break this. Large media conglomerates in particular will actively avoid forms of regulation.
• Hesmondhalgh - Cultural Industries:
• Every media industy is specialised, structured to minimise risk and maximise profit.
• Media conglomerates - vertical, horizontal and multimedia intergration.
• Media producers use well known stars (star appeal), franchising and genre in order to maximise audience reach and appeal - maximise profit.

Audience theories:

• Bandura - Media effects:
• Audiences are directly influenced by what we see in media products, this theory isn't necessarily true but could be used for young children or vulnerable groups.
• Passive.
• Gerbner - Cultivation:
• Through prolonged exposure, media products gradually cultivate and reinforce dominant hegemonic ideologies.
• Passive.
• Hall - Reception:
• Preferred, negotiated, oppositional readings.
• Every media product reflects the dominant ideology of the producer, but the audience are able to negotiate or mediate it according to their own lives and experiences.
• Active.
• Jenkins - Fandom:
• Fans are different from audiences, fans are active consumers whereas audiences are passive consumers.
• Fans are heavily invested in and motivated by media products, they are able to use media products in a variety of ways.
• Active.
• Shirky - 'End of audience':
• Audiences are no longer passive, they interact with media products in a variety of ways.
• Audiences can now use digitally convergent technology to create media, audiences and producers are becomming increasingly irrelevant.

Media Revision 5

How does media language combine to create meaning in the KFC and Walkers advert?

• Media language combines to specifically target a young, urban ethnically diverse audience. It does so by constructing an edgy, exciting and absolutely working class setting.
• The setting is of a city (London) at night.
• The camera movement speed isn't constant, usually zooming, close up shot, into the product. Whip-pan.
• News Agents, bus stop, barber shop, alleyways(?)
• Lowkey lighting, artificial lighting of street lights and neon lights.
• Celebrity Endorsement.
• Intertextuality, branding and franchising.
• Graffiti wall.
• Informal lexis used by the narrator/voiceover, 'get 2 for one deal, mad'.
• Binary opposition of dark alleyway and halogen lighting.
• Ethnically diverse.
• Post-colonialism - black people are represented differently in media products, because of UK's colonial past.
• Lineker is a binary opposition and the urban working class setting.
• Intertextual reference to grime videos.

• Branding, with intertextual reference of KFC, mid shot of the reflection of Lineker in a suit shop window looks like the Colonel, reference to the KFC branding, the voiceover, 'It makes sense' is anchored with the bus in the reflection. The position of the crips is also anchored in the centre. Cross-promotion, allows Walkers to target an existing consumer of KFC.
• Advert is selling the lifestyle of
• The mise-en-scene of the lighting, glowing arrows combines with the camera movement. Guiding the eyes of the audience towards the most important parts of the screen, the brand is an important final destination.
• Whip-pan shot into the barber shop, 'Max Cuts', close-up of the TV showing a Walkers Max advert and a KFC advert and also a football game, they are foods that you usually eat.
• The mise-en-scene of the costume of the women at the bus stop, wearing red, white and yellow - whip-pan camera, close-up of Walkers and KFC. Representation of young black women, bell hooks Feminist theory.
• Symbolic annihilation of the pandemic, presented to the audience, it allows the advert to target its audiences more effectively as we can see their faces - optimistic connotation.
• Fast based editing in mise-en-scene of bright neon lights is a clear reference and iconography of grime music videos, allows Walkers to target a pre-existing young ethnically diverse urban audience who like this genre, reference reinforced through the south London setting.
• Modern notion of Britishness is shown through a range of stereotypically British iconography. The hegemony of football is constructed through the mise-en-scene of a football match being shown in the barber shop. Typical London bus stop, iconic red bus anchors and situates the audience within a relatable mode of address. 
• Audience identity theory - can help us understand how audiences can relate to and take identity from the video, from a stereotypical perspective, a young black audience may relate to the inner-city setting, mise-en-scene of the barber shop and relatable setting of the takeaway , yet a stereotypical white British audience may relate to Gary Lineker.

Media Revision 4

Media Revision 4

How does media language combine to create meaning in the Adobe advert?

• Adverts sell the audience a lifestyle.
• Media language combines to emphasise themes of creativity, colour, fun.
• Setting - Big city, subway further emphasise the themes.
• Fast tracking shots, as the camera moves.
• Binary opposition of the start.
• Audience is positioned with the woman.
• Mythical creatures.
• Centre shot - mid shot.
• Cartoon world.
• Lots of camera movement.
• Major key music.
• Lowkey lighting, artificial.
• One take shot, long take.
• Woman dressed casually.
• Speed of camera movement alternates.
• Bright primary colours.
• bell hooks, Van Zoonen - Feminist theory.
• Many mid and long shots.
• The setting is both interior and exterior.
• Proairetic code.

• It is in one continuous shot because it reflects the endless possibilities you can do on Photoshop.
• The subway has grass growing, low angle close up shot, creates a binary opposition. Allows producers to reinforce the ideology of Photoshop through contrasting the beautiful and mundane.
• The beginning is normal and regular which creates relatability with the audience but then transforms into a mystical world which is more exciting - a lifestyle.
• Extreme long shot, high key lighting, generic convention of Sci-fi. Dream like sequence is established with a mode of address, such as flying cars and a beautiful chrome city - reinforces the ideology that Photoshop can unlock imagination of the target audience.
• Genre hybridity - Allows producers to use elements of representation and difference in order to appeal to a diverse audience.
• Set in New York with connotations of excitement, international city - targets urban audiences - subway anchors this. 
• Sci-fi iconography is beat-matched to the music, emphasised by the chilled, instrumental passage of music, reinforcing the contrast and diverse range of art styles that Photoshop can do.
• Editing pace changes frequency, slowing down and speeding up, symbolic code and reference to the action genre, excitement of everyday life.
• Intertextual references throughout such as Kief Haring, a New York artist, known for pop art - symbolic theme of creativity emphasised.
• Advert arguably sells a false sense of reality of Photoshop being easy to use where in reality isn't easy to use and is boring and clunky to look at.
• The purpose of any media language it is to create revenue for the conglomerate which owns the product, high product value indicates Adobe is a huge multinational conglomerate.
• Representation of gender, selection of a young mixed race woman is a clear nod to equality and diversity, she is stereotypically wearing masculine clothes and minimal makeup - clearly unconventional representation of women.
• The passengers on the train are diverse - targeting a diverse and potentially mass audience, reflects Photoshop's ideology.

Media Revision 3

 

Media Revision 3

You Can't Stop Us | Nike

• The Nike promotional video uses representations to construct reality, Identity theory of the audience.
• Representations demonstrate the ideological perspectives and biases of the producer. Media products allow producers to use representations to reconstruct the world, and the Nike advert is now different. 
• Throughout the video we see two screens playing, edited into one - the relationship between shots link together through overlaying perhaps representing individuals uniting together as one. Representation, dominant ideology - Nike will help this.
• The music is uplifiting with conflict in the middle where it lowers but then rises back, forming a narrative in the video which the audience may easily relate to of getting knocked down but rising up again.
• This narrative is reflected with this music - however shows reflection of the pandemic and racial/social injustices 
• The voiceover 'We're never alone, and that is our strength because when we're doubted we'll play as one.' The tone of the narrator is motivating and inspiring, 'we' and 'our' - use of a collective lexis, the audience will feel like a part of it - direct mode of address.

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• Through split screen with smooth editing, Nike presents the audience with seemingly flowing world in which people are united and connected by sports - in reality, Nike are a brand who are known for sweatshop labor overseas.
• Lots of shots of teams --> symbolic code --> sense of community in pandemic ---> inspiring --> shots of people hugging and with their arms round eachother, montages.
• Inspirational soundtrack --> fast paced strings in a major key ascend and descend in a loop. However, when the pandemic is mentioned strings begin to play in a minor key --> symbolic of sadness.
• Celebrity endorsement - "You can't stop Megan Rapinoe, Serena Williams, or Lebron James. Just as you can't stop Naomi Osaka, Cristiano Ronaldo or Leo Baker.", as well as appearing on screen numerous times.
• The initial split mid-shot shows a white athlete and a black swimmer, both who are women. As a result this establishes the fact that this video has been produced in order to bring everyone in as one; no one is seen as superior as a result of their skin colour, which has been an issue in the past. As the audience carry on watching the video, it includes people of all ethnicity, disabilities, culture and gender in order to emphasis everyone matters and everyone is equal - this is the dominant ideology. In a time where most people feel alone, this video helps in order to bring everyone together and bring positivity into our lives.
• Message of inclusiveness and perseverance during 'trying times' (Power and media industries). 
• The syced up split-screen and parallels in cinematography between the shots on screen constructs a reality that the world is united and connected through sport, via its visuals. Mise-en-scene.
• Implications of the Nike brand's ethos as inclusive and ethical, by including many people of different genders, those with disabilities, ethnic groups. etc.
Uplifitng music for positivity. Works to construct an optimistic representation of the world through the covid-19 pandemic. Direct address, narrator using lexis like 'we' within the Nike manifesto during this ad.
- Adverts are there to sell a lifestyle to its audience.
• The miss-en-scene of the video is all Nike branded in order to establish that the video is created by Nike.
• Editing - Different types of athletes but shown mostly in a related environment that transitions in a synchronized and seamless fashion from one side to the other. This editing connotes the differences within humanity all the whilst still showing the similarities they share with sports, Ultimately, creating and destroying binary oppositions within the same few seconds. This can be seen as a contradictory message.
• Intertextual references to various speeches.
• Subverts stereotypical representations of gender --> women playing sports, being active. Although often the women are wearing more revealing clothes than the men (mise-en-scene) --> possibly appealing to the male gaze --> feminist theory, elements of sexualisation. 
• Commodity fetishism - The Nike logo, value of the product.

Media Revision 2

Media Revision 2

How does media language and intertextuality create meaning in this video?

Blinding Lights by The Weeknd

• Mid shot - It is positioned with the audience, they both sway with him, diegetic sound of him panting heavy and non-diegetic sound of the music sounding suspenseful and links to the horror genre through this convention of sound, proairetic and hermeneutic code. He is wondering around aimlessly and looking for something, the swaying motion could have connotations of being drunk, the setting is a street with bright highkey lighting and neon signs, intertextual reference to Vegas or Hollywood.
• When the artist enters the car, the audience sees a variety of shots at a fast pace (montage) a close up of his foot on the pedal, shaking close up of the speed metre going at high speeds, fast close up of highkey neon lights that becomes a blur - symbolic code of being high.
• The music video gives pleasure to the audience through the use of intertextual references.
• It is a conventional music video in terms of singing, dancing and narrative of the romance between the man and woman.

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• Very fast paced editing --> connotations of tripping/cocaine --> speed up drug.
• Product placement - Mercedes-Benz recurring throughout video, with flashes of the logo occurring frequently.
• Fast paced montage editing, beat matched to the song
• The mise-en-scene of the red lighting and colour pallet that is constant throughout the video symbolises love and romance, which mirrors the lyrics.
• The lyrics reference 'Sin City' and the video is partly shot in Sin City (Las Vegas)
• A feeling of chaos and excitement is constructed through fast paced, beat-matched editing.
• There are a lot of intertextual references throughout the video, making reference to multiple movies like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas through the use of distorted cinematography and fast-paced editing, and other films like After Hours, Blade Runner, and Joker. The Mise-en-scene of the setting also creates intertextuality. Inside the club where The Weeknd becomes infatuated with the Asian singer, the patterning on the walls is an intertextual reference to the red room from Twin Peaks, mirroring the red colour pallet of the video. This intertextual reference could imply that the narrative of the video is a fantasy of the performer's. 
• The initial close up conforms to the hermeneutic code which is portrayed through the man in the clip having blood dripping down his face, looking like he’s been beaten up. His facial expression conveys agony and as a result makes the audience feel tense and feel empathetic towards him. The red jacket and blood symbolises danger which makes the audience want to protect the man; The audience carry on watching the music video in order to establish what has happened to the man . 
• Close up slow zooming in camera shot, flashy transition between the end of first shot and and black screen, high-key red neon lighting, dynamic and tracking shots facing and following weeknd, contrast of lowkey and highkey lighting, headshots, dolly shots, persistent colour of red throughout. 
• There is a birds-eye-view shot of The Weeknd dancing on a bridge and he is in the centre of the shot, reinforcing that he is the performer and the focus of the video.
• The binary opposition between low-key lit shots of a city at night and bright car headlights creates a sense of bewilderment/confusion, interpreting the lyrics “I’m blinded by the lights” in a literal sense 
• Video is a follow up to his latest music video 'heartless', as he is running a billboard behind him displays the title 'heartless' --> an example of intertextuality 
• The mise-on-scene is very closely linked to an older film called Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The location and costume are similar; the hallucinogenic editing is also very similar.
• Mid-way through the music video, the sound slows down and warps as the camera angle changes to a first person shot and bright, vibrant lights flash past, giving it more of a drug-like feel and makes the audience see what the performer's character is seeing. 
• The opening shot is an extreme close up, blood is coming from his mouth, his facial expression symbolises he is in pain which creates an hermeneutic code for the audience 
• Cherries - Common connotations of sex, further implied whilst slowly floating towards stereotypically attractive woman, who appears to be working (bell hooks, feminist theory) 
• The club setting, and simplistic narrative of 'getting the girl', paired with the generic leather-jacketed thugs fighting back against the red-suited, and glove adorning The Weekend. Makes the music video incredibly reminiscent of a Michael Jackson music video, this reference is reinforced by his dance moves within his performance, as well as the 80s adjacent setting.
• Another intetertexual reference: The 80s - Both via through the film grain filter, cinematic aspect ratio, as well as the mise-en-scene and heavy incorporation of synths within the song.
• Mise-en-scene --> the Asian woman is wearing a full face of make-up along with a silver dress, this implies she is glamorous and is an example of gender performativity --> she is presented as nothing more than a possible love interest. --> often east asian women are presented as accessories within media 
• The song is synth-pop and uses synthesisers, typically a futuristic type of music, and the futuristic, high-key lights in the video reflect this 
• The shot types change drastically, edited in a montage, going from close ups of faces to distant long shots of the erratic movements performed by the artist. Its inconsistent nature implies the instability of the artist, which is making reference to drug abuse. 
• 2/4 time music anchors the fast paced feel of the music video, heavy use of drum cements this 
• East Asian performer is established and represented through an establishing montage of close-up and mysterious mid shots, emphasizing her beautiful and exotic status to the audience. Presented as spectacle for a heterosexual male gaze, her mysterious 'power' is made evident through her ability to cause the performer to literally levitate off the ground. This digital special effect is also a clear intertextual reference to cartoons from the 1940's and further reinforces hegemonic gender stereotypes 
• Album is called After Hours.
• In the club; the singer dances on the table --> possible reference to pulp fiction.
• MES of film grain, providing a binary opposition to the harsh, neon digital shots elsewhere in video. Film grain here is connotative of a classic crime dramas and Hollywood cinema, and reinforces the notion that the song is classic and noteworthy.

Media Revision 1

Media Revision 1

Component 1 - Media Products, Industries and Audiences 

Component 2 - Media Forms and Products in Depth

• Codes and conventions – performance/narrative/experimental features
• Camera work (framing – shot types, angle, position, movement)
• Editing – beat-matched?
• Elements of continuity/montage
• How does the video interpret the music and/or lyrics?
• Structure/narrative
• Intertextuality
• Sound
• Mise-en-scene – colour, lighting, location, costume/dress, hair/make-up 

Unseen Text:

Explore how audiences can respond to and interpret the video to 'This Is America' by Childish Gambino. Make reference to media language.

• The setting is an empty car park/garage.
• It begins with a long shot of a man playing the guitar which is tattered, his costume is plain and light and he is wearing no shoes.
• Single shot take with no cuts apart from the ending when he is running in lowkey lighting away from people.
• Beat match, he is dancing when the main verse of the song begins, he shoots the man in the head, 'This is America' - this has connotations of the gun problem in America.
• Connotations of costume of Childish Gambino, he has no shirt on and is wearing plain grey trousers (could link to the clothing of men in the period of slavery), yellow shoes, gold chains and a long beard and hair (black hair is a key part of identity).
• The mise en scene of the costume of the church choir, they are dancing and singing with a close up shot tracking to a long shot of Childish Gambino who then shoots at them - binary opposition of harmonious gospel and violence and rap.
• Halfway through the video we see lots of narratives in the background of the centre shot of Gambino and the school children dancing, creates a form of hermenutic codes to the audience, smoke, glowing red in the back with a police car, chaos is created through people running around this is a a symbolic code of riots, with costume of people wearing helmets linking to riot gear.

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• Mise-en-scene --> costume: Childish Gambino wears old confederate uniform trousers --> the southern confederacy reminds the audience of the history of black people in America such as slavery and segregation.
• Costume - backup dancers (implied kids) in uniforms, most low income area school districts in America establish a dress code with uniform.
• Genre of music of rap and gospel music forms binary opposition.
• Intertextual reference in performance - Childish Gambino takes samples of popular dances that derive from African culture and Hip Hop. This shows that popular pieces of culture lose their specificity over time.
• Pacing - 17 second gap silence for the Parkland school shooting in Florida.
• Costume - backup dancers (implied kids) in uniforms, most low income area school districts in America establish a dress code with uniform.
• Red mise-en-scene is used as a symbolic code for violence - Gambino shoots someone and the gun is placed in a red cloth and is carefully taken away. In contrast, the body of the person who has been shot is dragged carelessly out of the frame. This illustrates to the audience America’s value of protecting guns over human lives.
• Camera is positioned and centred on Glover, the audience are told to watch only him and ignore everything happening in the background - microcosm of America.
• American is represented entirely as a concrete jungle through the mise-en-scene set dressing and choice in location. There is no greenery at any given point in the video, we could infer from this an implication that nothing is natural about the situation in the US.
• Tracking shot at the end, the audience is positioned with him.
• Midshots of the performer means the audience becomes familiar with him and his character, making it more surprising to them when he fires the gun.
• White people are largely absent from the video until the end, when Childish Gambino smokes weed and he is chased by a mob of them, the editing of the video slows down perhaps reflecting the effect the drug has. This implies that white people are more worried about non-violent drug crime in the US, rather than gun violence. The lighting at the end is dark and low-key, with the white mob in shadow, suggesting that they are representative of white people as a whole and their values, since they are not personally identifiable.
• Performance --> the way Childish Gambino bends over to shoot the man with the guitar is an imitation of the Jim Crowe character as well as his exaggerated movements and expression, again a reference to African American history and the way they were mocked in minstrel shows --> intertextuality.
• Setting - Abandoned warehouse (similar to Detroit's car factories, now abandoned).
• Mise-en-scene --> when the choir is gunned down this is a reference to the racially motivated Charleston church shooting in 2015, a recent event which highlights the ongoing problem with racism in the US.
• As the man plays guitar we see Donald Glover appear he is positioned behind a post, this uses an hermenutic code to create an ominous feeling. As Donald Glover approaches he is standing and the man is sitting, making use of levels to present the unequal power dynamic between an armed and unarmed man, binary opposition.