Mock exam question - How is representation addressed in my media product?

How is representation addressed in my media product?
The media product that I have created for use in this essay is my music video for singer/songwriter/rock act Abandoning Sunday's song "Real Talk". In the music video, I not only conform to and challenge conventional representations to do with gender, but also those ideas about representation proposed by various theorists, which I will go on to detail.

Firstly, due to the absence of the actual performer in the video, it should be stated that the band are still represented through the media product- the product is associated with them and hence aims to represent certain ideologies through the lyrics of the song, with the actors creating a "star motif" which I will highlight later. The topic of the lyrics, focusing mainly on themes of  "la douleur exquise" , hopelessness in relationships and depression contrasted with uplifting themes of hope, perseverance and friendship. My product takes a perhaps descriptive, pluralist approach regarding theories behind representation, in that most gender stereotypes proposed by the media through perhaps Marxist ideologies are challenged to give an ulterior viewpoint.

Regarding gender, my product is a narrative video that focuses on the lives of two young male characters and have put them "in the shoes", by some means, of the artist, in that the lyrics could becoming direct from their lives in the video. A media stereotype of young males is that they are reckless, dangerous and inconsiderate, one that has come about through media categorization of many years; the media are quick to blame certain things on young people in moral panics, which could perhaps be a relevant example of one of Barthes' Myths. In my product, I challenge this notion, by representing my characters as sensitive individuals, that most young people will be able to relate to. The first is one who experiences self-depreciation and is in a relationship where he thinks he is the problem, and begins to question his faith. The second is an isolated character that is often alone, and when he is with his friends he doesn't feel as though they want him there. However, the end of the video sees these issues resolved, pertinent to Todorov's Narrative theory of equilibrium - disruption - equilibrium. This representation challenges the prescribed views by presenting the male characters as vulnerable, challenging the stereotypical view. I also did this with my piece at AS level, where I portrayed the main protagonist in a manner that challenged conventional forms regarding gender.

Another way of looking at my product is in fact through voyeurism and the way in which my product utilises "looking" to construct representation. Freud's theory of scopophilia is applicable here as in my video we look at and follow the two main protagonists throughout the course of the video, and enjoy doing so. Dyer (1979), proposed the idea of a "star motif", and although the "star" (artist) is not in the video, the motif is still created - the characters lives are exaggerated through their role to create an image that is relevant to my audience as it symbolises the type of person they may be/share interests with (audience research). This has been done through intertextuality, i.e. the usage of band posters that my audience may be familiar with, CDs in the room, all down to what the characters are wearing, it aids to depict an aspect of the lifestyle of my audience. Close up shots of the main characters are relevant to the notion of looking as stated by Goodwin, and aid representation in my video in a subtle manner- the artist is not present and focuses on two characters that nobody actually knows, portraying them as the "star", meaning that everyday people's stories and lives are significant, and important, reinforcing the image of a sensitive youth- the "looking" creates a sense of identity.

One thing that is not in my video much is the gender representation of women that sexualises them, as stated in Mulvey's Male Gaze, as the video focuses on the lives of the males and portrays them using conventional forms to represent women. However there are some shots in my video that do focus directly on the female character,  Mulvey states that the Male Gaze is directed at physcially desirable, sexually sumbmissive characters. Although close up shots are indicative that she is desirable to the character, she is not portrayed as submissive, as in modern society gender equality is a prominent issue. I portrayed the girl as vulnerable in both my product last year and this, but not sexually submissive. Instead, I feel Winship's idea about how women see themselves in the way culture has defined them more relevant, as the video briefly touches on how she is also sad and conscious of herself, both as a person and in the relationship.

To conclude, I feel that my product challenges many conventional representations put forward by both the media and theories, but also conforms to some where I feel it is relevant to utilise a form that my audience can relate to and identify themselves with.

Quadrophenia and Moral Panic

What Happens in Quadrophenia?

Quadropenia follows the life of character Jimmy set in 1960s London. Jimmy hates his job in a company's mailing division and hates his parents, and only feels free and accepted when he's out with his friends on his scooter as part of a drug-induced Mod clique that lives for the night. On August Bank Holiday, the group of Mods head down to Brighton, where both Mods and Rockers converge, resulting in a large brawl as a result of the rivalry between the groups, and Jimmy hopes to make it with crush Steph. However, after he is hauled off by the police during the brawl and the weekend passes, reality sets in and Jimmy descends into a downward spiral of paranoia, isolation and disappointment. Steph is no longer interested in him, so he ditches the Mods, and when he returns to Brighton he finds out his idol Ace isn't what he thought he was, so he steals his scooter and launches it off of the cliffs.

What is a Moral Panic?
Simply, a Moral Panic is an intense feeling, emotion or notion expressed in a population about an issue that threatens social order. They often involve social tension and arguments and disagreement as often the crux of the argument is a taboo subject. The media often instigate a moral panic by reporting facts that generate concern, anxiety, or panic itself. Major moral panics of recent times include AIDS, drugs, knife and gun crime, paedophilia and Satanism.
The government sometimes intervenes to prevent moral panics through censorships- during the World Wars, letters were censored to prevent harsh realities of war from reaching the people, and nowadays in China many websites are blocked and things regulated to prevent the people from seeing things that are anti-governmental, for instance "Tienanmen Square" is strictly policed. Famously in the 1950s, Elvis Presley's live performances were censored from the waist down. But censorship itself creates the moral panic of freedom of speech, creating further debate,

How can the theory of Moral Panic be applied to Quadrophenia?
A study by Stan Cohen looked at moral panics related to the two youth subcultures in the 1960's, the Mods and Rockers, which is what the film is based around. In a moral panic, Cohen states that "a condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests; it's nature is presented in a stylised and stereotypical fashion by the mass media" - essentially, the media report on the problem (The conflict, i.e. the Beach brawl at Brighton) making use of stereotypes, partiuclary those geared towards youths, creating a social reaction (negative opinions, i.e. Jimmy's parents attitudes towards the Mods are very negative) which creates new laws, tougher policing and so on. The media hyped up the situation by not reporting on the incident but construct a social reaction of deviance by exaggerating the level of violence and disruption, with dramatic headlines, and they also exaggerated the difference between the two groups which indirecult stirred up more conflict.

Production Update (1.12.14)

With the Christmas break approaching I have a few weeks to produce a rough cut of my video to "Real Talk". As a result from the last update, the storyboards have been changed in that the character that would represent the artist is now not going to appear and the video will focus on the narrative aspect of the two characters.

Character 1 is played by Elliott Doyle. Most of his sections are now filmed, all that is left is the Church sequence where I need to film Elliott on his own in Taverham Church as this is the local church, and film some shots of him to portray how he is questioning his faith, pertinent to the lyrics of hope and believing in the song. I also need to film him with the female who will be his partner in the video, and I know who can play this role. On the same shoot I will get some shots of them to integrate alongside the shots of Elliott looking distressed.

Character 2 is played by Tom Seago and again the majority of the shots I need for his section have been shot, uploaded and edited, which include the forest and beach sections. All that is left now is for him to be re-united with his friends and to be shown having a good time with them. I should be able to film parts of this whenever throughout the next couple of weeks before the break, notably this coming Sunday and the next few Sundays as well as at a few other times.

Once these sections are filmed, I should be able to just put these straight into Final Cut, as whilst I'm filming sections I am simultaneously editing my video. I have completed about 1/2 of the video with a few things to put in here and there to make it more coherent. I've done the intro and first verse, end of the second verse, and then the instrumental to the last chorus. I am happy with the current progress I am making and how it is coming towards the finished rough cut. 

Filming Update

Regarding production thus far, I have successfully filmed about 2/3 of the shots I require and transferred them onto the Macs where they have been sorted and assembled in Final Cut to begin editing. 

However, I have encountered some issues. As I work weekends, filming shots is now difficult. I have decided to scrap the original concept of having one character on the cliff as I felt that it portrayed an actor as the artist, which I did not think would work, and also because logistically, it was difficult to achieve. Instead, I'm going to focus more on the narrative aspect of the lives of the two characters. I hope to film a few more sections with each actor and their respective groups soon, whilst editing the existing clips at the same time.

I've settled on the ending for the Character who felt uncomfortable around his friends, in that he will leave the beach and his friends will be waiting for him, and they will then be shown to be having a good time. I'm not certain how the story for the Character in the relationship will end at the moment, bar the fact that the issues will be resolved. I hope that the more I film the more this will become apparent.

This Is England Analysis - Cesco & Joe

How are youth represented in British Cinema?

How is Spaced (1999) different to Human Traffic? How are Youth represented?
Spaced is contemporary to Human Traffic, and bares both similarities and differences to Human Traffic. Firstly, it is similar in the fact that the characters in both films have a low work ethic - both characters in Spaced are unemployed, like Moff, and use obscene language (Daisy in the bar) in public to convey what they are feeling. They are both very easy going characters like the group in Human Traffic also. However, it is different to Human Traffic as the woman, Daisy, is looking for a job, whereas Moff refuses to get a job in Human Traffic, and the characters discuss getting the most out of what they do in their job, referencing their friend Mike who is an enthusiastic "lollypop man". The characters in Human Traffic hate work and cannot wait to get out of it.
The youth are represented in a slightly different light. Both are shown as easy going, who don't really care for what they're doing - a close up of Daisy slouched on the chair in the flat highlights this. However. in Spaced they are shown as proactive and willing to get a job, and can enjoy the aspects of working life, whereas in Human Traffic youth are shown as reckless and lazy, only wanting to go out at the weekend. Although Spaced may go on to highlight some issues of drug usage, youth are shown more positively in the extract.

Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner and If are Social Realist films. How are the youth and the Authority figures represented?
In "Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" (1962), there is a clear hierarchy of Authority. The Authority figures are shown to be commanding, through use of diegetic sound in speech ("Much higher than that Smith"), and the youth are following the orders of the one, older man. Close ups of Smith's face show that he is struggling to keep up with the orders of the trainer, showing the physical dominance of the instructor too, and the class all stop when he says to, showing respect. This is perhaps typical of the time, where youth have lots of respect for their elders and know that they will be punished if they step out of line, contrasting to Human Traffic. When Smith is addressed by his superior he responds with "Sir?" again showing respect. He is shown through a slight high angle shot here to show how he is below the superiors in the hierarchy. However, the Authority figures treat the youth with respect also, unlike in Human Traffic (Moff's Dad), saying that "If you play ball with us, we will play ball with you." Smith is shown to be humbled after the superior says he can do the usual run alone, and here the Social Realism can be taken into account- inside the gates, Smith follows orders, but when he is outside, he is free, and is shown to run around looking around him taking in his surroundings, accompanied with upbeat, non-digietic sounds in the form of the jazz soundtrack to connote his happiness and freedom.

Similarly, in "If", the youth follow the orders of the instructor, notably when Jute doesn't go for the jump straight away and has to be encouraged forcibly by the instructor. However, when the other adult is doing gymnastics, the low angle shot of Jute shows admiration for the gymnast, and that the children look up to the adults.

Authority Figures in Human Traffic

In Human Traffic, Authority figures, the characters parents, are portrayed through how they are viewed by their children- in this instance, Jip and Moff's Mum and Dad respectively.

Firstly, Jip's Mum is portrayed to have two sides. On the first part, she is stereotyped by gender and her role as a parent, she is shown to be loving and caring upon seeing Jip come home, and offers for him to stay for dinner. The audience reaction to this is that she fulfills a typical motherly role and hence are almost shocked when it is revealed her job is a prostitute. This contrasts the typical Mother role and says that the two characters have a strange relationship, that Jip hates the fact a "punter" could be home when he visits. In the shots, she is positioned at the same level as Jip, suggesting that there is no hierarchy there and perhaps that both characters are looking out for each other, Jip looking out for his Mum and his Mum fulfilling her role to Jip.

By contrast, Moff's Dad is perceived very negatively. He is shown to be assertive and a pest to Moff, yelling at him to get a job, quite a stereotypical dominant Father role that isn't as visibly caring as Jip's Mum. Moff argues back at him and swears at him, showing that their relationship is quite turbulent. As an Authoritative figure in the film, Moff's Dad tries to discipline his quite rebellious son, but Moff doesn't comply, quite representative of more modern youth, as the film illustrates throughout. Moff's Dad is stereotyped through his gender as Language Study says that Men use more assertive language and typically assume a dominant role. The audience reacts to this in a way that acknowledges how Moff's Dad is matching his stereotypical role as Father and that Moff is a young adult that wants to do what he wants and not live a monotonous life in job he does not enjoy like the rest of his friends.