LO6 Essay

The product I will be writing about in this essay is a film based product called 'The Interview.' This product was released in 2014, starring James Franco and Seth Rogen, two very well known comedic actors. These actors had been in many highly rated adult films for example 'Bad Neighbours' in 2014. This gives the idea that the target audience is around the same age for this film product I am writing about. I am writing this essay about this media product because it had some highly negative and positive reviews from various people because of similar controversial reasons.

A theory that can link to this media product is the negative effects on a passive audience. This theory connotes that if a person engages with a media product so much that in time the person will allow the media product to adapt the persons personality. An example of this would be the case of a 13 year old boy shooting his dad because he was so influenced by the game Grand Theft Auto he let it adapt his behaviour and allow him to shoot his own parents mercilessly. In the my product 'The Interview' it may adapt peoples feelings on the main character Kim Jung Un. Kim is portrayed as a fun person however with a sense of evil as he has all this power, This could influence people to go along with the politics with different mindsets of North Korea. Or start an uprising with the North Korean Dictator that could ultimately end in conflict. This could lead to a negative impact on the world and for the government as people may have their own drastic opinions and may decide to act on them as they will have adapted their behaviour to the media product.

A theory that this media product can link to is the Hypodermic Syringe theory. This theory implies that media has a negative impact on people claiming that we believe what we see and hear. In this media products case it points out very current and bias issues in the world mostly revolving around Kim Jun Un and his dictatorship or North Korea. Throughout the film we see two Americans point of view of the character Kim Jung Un. However the Character of the dictator is scripted from an American producer thus implying that it will be bias towards the USA as they have had controversy with Kim in the past. This could have a negative impact as people may believe all these exaggerated things mentioned in the film. for example it is shown that Kim goes around in his own tank everyday for fun. This not true however people who have engaged with the so much may eventually believe it.

The Moral Panic theory is very prominent in my product as it demonises a certain group throughout the film. The Moral panic theory was created by Stanley Cohen in 1972. He claims that when the media demonise groups then it becomes a threat to society values. This theory is used a lot for this film as it brought up a lot of controversy. In the film very stereotypical comedy against Asian people and their leader Kim Jung Un. These constant slightly racist references were so severe that the film was banned in Korea as Kim believed it was highly offensive to him and his country. This led to the US government being fearful that Kim may retaliate by the use of his weapons, that he highly shows off. Multiple news outlets blamed the film for causing what was going to be another civil war. However Kim never retaliated and saw the film as a comedic film and not a severe offence. The film had a negative impact on the USA as it was scared of Kim starting conflict. This going against their society values. However nothing came of this that was severely traumatising.

Another theory that can be seen throughout the film is the active audience theory by Stuart Hall where he claims that media goes through stages of encoding and decoding. Encoding and Decoding is the way the TV transfers their message to their target audience. In my media product 'The Interview' the message being transferred to the people watching it is that Kim Jung Un is a harsh dictator and there is elements to mock him. This can lead to the public mocking him and not taking him so seriously. This may have negative impact in a political way as this could count as libel and persuade Kim to engage in conflict or it may be positive and give the people a bit more enjoyment in current affairs.

In conclusion 'The interview' had a negative impact on the target audience as its bias political views could influence them as their age is at the point where they can be easily manipulated. This linking to the hypodermic syringe theory as it has a highly negative impact on the target audience.

LO6: active audience

other school of thought- we are able to filter and adapt to content in media (Gauntlett, 1995)
We have uses and gratifications(McQuail, 1972)

• escapism
• surveillance
• personal relations 
• personal identity 

preferred reading - accept the most transparent 

negotiated reading - partially agrees with meaning, make their own opinion

oppositional reading - meaning understood but don't agree and think opposite 

encode - to put in

decode - to understand

1. woman fragile and man strong 
2. the way she is dressed
3. the background is high class city
4. model is thin and attractive can be seen as materialist

considered materialist

 

The interview negative/positive impacts

Products used for a negative impact on there audience about different groups

1. Used slightly racist jokes throughout the film towards Asians and only Asians. This can be considered as only targeting the asians as no jokes were made to any other race.
2. It is topically racist as at the time of release, North Korean leader Kim Jun Un was showing off his nukes and being quite controversial.
3. The film was banned in North Korea as Kim found the film offensive to himself and because he rules what North Korea sees, no Korean saw this film as it was like the film was ever created.
4. The film also created tension in the USA as they were fearful for what Kim might do in retaliation as he was known to retaliate.   
5. Nuclear war was slightly edged closer because of this films content.

Positive

1. It engaged political people to see the brighter side of Kim as there is positives in the film of Kim.
2. Throughout the controversy. The reviews for The Interview were mainly positive as the comedy was in some good taste and relatable.  

LO6: Negative Effects Case Study

Xbox TV Advert(2002)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2028725.stm

This advert was put on the UK advert reel in 2002. This meaning that it was seen by a large sum of people, because of its publicity as it was a massive brand named Xbox and the fact it was advertised between large sum of channels, the TV advert was shortly banned. The advert contained a women giving birth and her son being seen shooting out of her in a quite aggressive fashion. Throughout the advert the flying son grew older very quickly whilst still sawing in the air naked, then the child takes a massive violent crash into his grave and it the advert claims at the end that "life is too short" This whole advert caused outrage leading to 136 complaints towards the ITC(Independent Television  Company). These complains inevitably caused the advert to be banned and taken off air. Due to the pregnant theme in the advert the outrage came mostly from pregnant women claiming the advert distressed them and saw it as in bad taste. Microsoft's reaction to these claims did not help the situation as they demanded it to be reshown and said it gave a "positive look on life" However Microsoft may not have got their advert back on TV but it was still to be shown in film trailers and internet adverts. Overall this TV advert is a bad mark on Microsoft's reputation as it caused distress to hundreds of people and forced the advert to be axed. This must have caused a dip in there sales at the time but however not in the long run as Microsoft and Xbox are worth Billions still, 16 years on.

Grand Theft Auto 5 (Game) Inspired Murder(2014)
https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/gta-5-14-year-old-boy-kills-father-brother-inspired-by-violent-character-trevor-1442418

Grand Theft Auto 5 is a game released in summer 2013 created by Rockstar. The game involves 3 characters in a Los Angeles setting committing serious crimes for personal gain. In result of its violent nature and its serious popularity it took effect to many people thus leading to unrelating violence in inspiration of the game. Although the game is PEGI rated 18 many under the required age played this game, thus leading to younger more shocking crimes. In 2014  Eldon Samuel III shot his brother and his father in a GTA inspired murder. After confessing to this heartless crime he claimed he was "inspired by Trevor" Trevor being a character in Grand Theft Auto. This character being well known as a unstable mad man that kills passionately. This being a playable character in the game giving Eldon and other kids the sick satisfaction of killing. This game was later shown to take effect on him as detectives tested the murderer and stated that the 14 year old boy had no remorse. This putting Rockstar into a negative spotlight as they can be seen as murderer, because they created this game thus creating the boys choice to kill. This putting the whole mental aspect into light of violent games in general. However with multiple cases including this rather disgusting one, Rockstar still are a multiple billion dollar company and still produces GTA style games.  As for the game, it is still in shops and is cheaper than ever, being the most popular game in gaming history for years and years.


Mumble Rap Growing Criminals(2018)

https://studybreaks.com/thoughts/mumble-rap-abuse/

Mumble rap has taken the world by storm as rappers from America  are bringing in millions of followers and recognition. Multiple rappers under the age of 24 are creating movements with their enticing music around similar subjects e.g sex,drugs and money. Through all this exposure and all these young rappers are also seen as criminals  as many have been revealed to be abusers of a sexual and physical nature. An example of this is rapper "6ix9nine" who is a influencer of the rap community for his unique appearance and unusual attitude was recently revealed to have negotiated  sexual relations with a 13 year old girl. This leading to him being arrested and released from prison. Because his high relevance mothers are scared that their child might think its okay to do illegal actions like this one as they look up to the rapper, this creating bad publicity for the rapper. However through this controversy he is still worth millions and is selling out shows with young audiences. Another example would be Xxxtentacion, a well known rapper which could be considered to be the face of this genre of music. He again was revealed to be a criminal, unlike 6ix9nine he was a creator of physical abuse this being shown by X's ex girlfriend showing multiple bruises that were from him. A few weeks later he was shot dead. Similar to 6ix9nine he was a massive influencer and had a young fan base thus meaning he could influence them and make them think abuse is right, this brainwashing kids. In my opinion the references of this genre are yes explicit and bad to show kids but it can make people happy and relatable in a mental way. However these people who are world famous have terrible pasts and more of these mumble rappers are being created and all being exposed for their pasts thus having a negative effect on the world as their fans will think this sort of behaviour is right.

LO6:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11570090

The main point of this article is that violent games are having a negative impact on kids


mediation - the media manipulating the product so the public see what the creators want them to see
passive theory - allowing the media to adapt someones behaviour.

The hypodermic syringe theory - implies the media has a negative impact. we believe what we see and hear.

Vance Packard - He believed the media are making people to want products - 1957
Craig Anderson - exposure of negative products thus dampening emotional responses - 2007
desensitisation
Chris Ferguson - found no link long term 2012

copycat crime  - james Bulger crime

George Gerbner and Larry Gross - Cultivation theory: the more time people watch tv the more time they believe its real. - 1979

mean world syndrome - the world more violent on tv, then it should be.

Moral Panic

when the mass media demonise groups, people or products that they believe become a threat to society values and interests it is called 'moral panic'(Stanley Cohen, 1972)

The group/products are referred to as 'folk devils'

people like:

• religion
• foreigners
• extremists
• youth - gangs
• bad behaviour
• white chavs

media bias - media only shown in one representation
sensationalist - top stories exaggerated to make money

All representations are mediated(Hall, 1980)

this man is represented as rude and trashy as he is putting his middle finger up

KTA 5 feedback

did pretty good

LO4 why people engage or use different media

Uses and gratification - Denis McQual (1972)
gratify - enjoying something

• Surveillance - information
• personal identity - style, interests and hobbies and lifestyles form certain things
• personal relationships - media texts builds social skills 
• escapism - entertainment, a break from reality  

Venom

• Surveillance
• personal identity - interests of science fiction and supernatural animals
• personal relationships - can talk to people about the ending e.g Carnage being back
• escapism - be engaged with Eddies unnatural story and see if they beat Drake.

Mock questions

1a
Demographic data is data that is towards the target audience, this includes lifestyle, gender and age.
1b I

• The social grade of people who read the Daily Express is ABC1
• The age of people who read this newspaper is 35+

1b ii

The Daily telegraph has a higher ABC1 social grade of readers

1c
readership is how many people bought the newspaper
circulation is how far the newspaper is going around


2a
One interpretation I can make from the data in fig 2 is that people are reading newspapers on mobiles as mobiles has become more common to be a digital native, this being down to digital convergence.

2b
One reason why more people will access the guardian via a mobile device is because the guardian has a demographic of ABC1 thus implying they have more disposable income to spend on mobile devices

Another reason why is the fact that the social grade that is linked with the guardian are more interested in politics and will more likely pick there phone up to view this information

2c
Radio 1 has a large target audience as it has a mainstream genre of music where the younger generation will instead of radio 4 where it is mostly about the news and current affairs that does not effect them.
Another difference is the people involved with these radio stations. The people at radio 1 are younger and more famous compared to the people seen on radio 4 thus making it more appealing.

LO4 Different Newspapers

Daily Star
C2DE
35+

Daily Mail
ABC1
35+

The Sun
C2DE
35+

The Guardian
ABC1
35+

Terminology

Print and publishing terminology
circulation - how many copies purchased
readership - how many copies read
audience reach - How many people access/read/engage with a product

TV Industry terminology
Viewership - How many people watched a programme or broadcast
DTV - Digital television
video or on demand channel - catch up or streaming services

Radio industry terminology
Listenership - how many people listen to radio programme, podcast or particular station
DAB - digital audio broadcast
Analogue - non digital broadcast

LO5

• Target Audiences
• Data Analysis - organisations that analyse audience consumption
• why audiences enjoy/consume/interact with the product

• men enjoy The Sun most liked because of the Page 3 Model(scantily clad) and the Large sport section. This is because the model is attractive and appeals to heterosexual men, as does sport. (The sun is the most popular newspaper in the country)
• The most popular magazine from this table is Take A break. It is most popular because it is drama filled magazine that can incise both genders.
• The least popular print product is the guardian. This is because the guardian only has a small target audience meaning their words are changed for their target market.
• Least popular magazine was Nuts because the internet had free content like Nuts that is easier to access. 

Tabloid - the sun - gossip

broadsheet - The Times - politics

Target audience

Demographic - Target audience for a product

look at:

• Gender
• Age
• Interests
• Location
• Social Grade
• Occupation

1B)

Publication 1 - The Sun

Justification -

A free holiday would be advertised in The Sun because the demographic of this newspaper are aged between 15-44 and have the most people at this age. Also their demographic are also male and female and a free holiday appeals to any gender.

Publication 2 -





Social Grade - Amount of disposable income a person has to spend on products


PAMCo - The Published Audience Measurement Company(formal the NRS) (online publishing and print publishing media)

BARB - Broadcasters Audience Joint Research
RAJAR - Radio Audience Joint Research
MiDIA - Analysing of online music streaming and use of technologies, video and sports


Timeshiftimg - when we watch a programme later then it was broadcasted.
change in culture
more devices
more services

infographic - information in a picture

LO3: Pre-Production documents and forms

• Shows the person for each role in a production
• to plan organised photoshoots or film sessions 
• informs cast and crew 
• need contingency

• The form that allows the company to use the land for their use
• legal contract - been signed

• Allows the company to use the model and distribute it.
• sign it to agree to be in your product 
• sign it to allow to be distributed

Consent Form:

1. Signatures from both parties  
2. Terms and Conditions
3. Details

The model and people involved would sign it

must be signed to make it legal

must be written down so it is remembered 

making sure everyone is okay with it

make sure people are prepped 

could sue for defamation if detail is wrong 

similarities between consent and location form 

• terms need to be agreed 
• need to be signed
• legal documents
• gaining consent or permission 

who should sign this?

• building managers
• land owner

call sheet used for

• photoshoots 
• films
• all productions
• sound effects for games
• used by cast and crew
• know what they are doing and when