Textual analysis of a case study

CRIMSON PEAK
Visual codes: The woman in the foreground is wearing white connoting to purity but in contrast is surrounded by blood stains on the snow around her. In the background there is a gothic looking house. This use of iconography means that the audience automatically makes the connection to the horror genre. The mise-en-scene of the weather in the background connotes to the horror genre as well because it shows a storm. However the fact that it is a snow storm reflects the isolation that the woman in the foreground - judging by her facial expression - feels. The mise-en-scene of the snow storm and the gothic house means that the colour scheme of this film poster matches that of those in the horror genre. The use of 'Rule of Thirds' in this film oater means that the viewers eye is drawn firstly to the figure, then to the mansion in the background, and finally to the title of the film, this sets up a number of enigma codes for the audience: 'Where is she?', 'Why is she on her own?'  and 'Why is she surrounded by blood?'. 
This film poster also shows connotation to danger, not only through the reds and dark colours, but also through the spikes that are visible on the gateway/archway. On the archway we can see the only other signs of life that are in the film poster, moths cover the spikes and the metal. There is, in addition, a small butterfly on the left side of the archway, this could connote to the fact that the woman is the only pure thing in the area. The font used n this film poster also shows the genre of the film as the gothic theme that we see through out the poster is evident in the font.

Analysis of Pride trailer Representation of National Identity (Wales)

Within the first 8 seconds of the trailer, there are already numerous establishing shots of the Welsh mountains and valleys, meaning that the audience makes an association to the country. The non-diegetic overlay of choir singing furthers the association to the country as they have a past that is known for choir singing/singers. The opening writing (cuts from the film with descriptions on) also contains connotations to Wales, saying things such as 'deep in the valleys' and 'in a small welsh mining village' aiding the audience to establish where the film is set and some of the background to the area.

As soon as the 'gays' are introduced, the non-diegetic choir music stops and there is a silence at which point there is a shot-reverse-shot showing the facial expressions of the group of homosexuals and then of an elderly lady. This gives the audience an impression of the attitude that the locals have towards the group and consequently, the shot-reverse-shot also shows the devision that there is between the locals and the 'gays'.

Upon the silence being broken by the women calling to someone out of camera shot to tell him that the "gays have arrived", the non-diegetic sound changes a more upbeat track - 'Frankie goes to Hollywood - which is usually associated with homosexuality. In addition, the songs lyrics talk about 2 tribes fighting against each other, trying to get recognition. As this non-diegetic sound continues for the rest of the trailer the scenes start to change from the 'gays and the locals tolerating each other, to a hand full of locals fully accepting them whilst the others turn against the 'gays' stating that they are only fighting for recognition of the miners so that they can get recognition or themselves.

This film trailer reveals that the film battles the issue of homophobia in a miners village in Wales acting as a microcosm of the rest of the world. It shows how different people feel about it and react to it, for example, an elderly woman at the beginning of the film begins to ask one of the lesbians a question but is cut off halfway though asking it because one of the men from the village tells her that it is inappropriate to asks them questions about their sexuality to which one of the lesbians in the group rolls their eyes.

Ethnicity represented in the music industry

Last Friday Night - Katy Perry
In this music video, it stereotypes the ethnic group of white americans - in particular teenagers and young adults. It does this by showing numerous shots of people dancing and drinking (an example of this representation is at 1:18 of the video), this is confirming the stereotype and creating a negative representation of the ethnic group and age group. The representation of gender in this music video is also negative, this is because it shows the women as feeling that they need to be sexualised to be seen as attractive to the males (this is particularly shown at 3:05-3:08 in the video, when the woman - Katy Perry - is walking down the stairs after having a 'transformation' into her more sexualised form).

This ain't a scene, its an arms race - Fall Out Boy
In this music video, there is a group of black men who are with the rapper in the video (0:36). The stereotype in the video of these men is that they are violent and aggressive, this is shown at 1:23 when one of the band members accidentally knocks a alcoholic drink out of another's hand and the man then starts to lash out at him, starting a fight. The representation of the ethnic group in this music video is negative because it is showing them as aggressive and violent. This video also show the sexualisation of women (shown at 1:38) when they are in  room and the women are wearing revealing garments and later on (at 2:16) when they are in bikini's in a hot tub.

Audience Theories: Uses and Gratification model

 PERSONAL IDENTITY:
The tv show Sirens shown on the USA channel in America, is a program that I personally identify with. This is because it deals with Asexuality as an real thing and, as an asexual myself, I can relate to it. The program is mainly for entertainment purposes and the Preferred audience is between 15 - 25. The Negotiated audience would be of older or younger people who laugh at the silliness but don't necessarily understand the jokes. The Oppositional audience of the series would be people who don't enjoy ambulance or police comedies.

INFORMATION:
The tv broadcasts of BBC News shown on all the BBC channels, is a program that I watch to gain information. This is because it is both shown at convenient times for me and also that it is my primary source knowledge on what's going on in country and the rest of the world. Its main purpose is to inform and the Preferred audience is between 15 - 60. The Negotiated audience would be younger children who are more intelligent or are more interested in the world around them, but also  people who have turned to tv on and just watch the first thing they see (with no real interest). The Oppositional audience would be young children who have no interest in what's going on in the world around them.

ENTERTAINMENT:
The tv show Supernatural shown on the CW channel in America, is a program that I watch for entertainment. This is because its a good method of escapism and has humour that is relevant to me and that I understand. The program is mainly for entertainment purposes and the Preferred audience is between 15 - 30. The Negotiated audience is adults who were around in the era that most of the music used comes from. The Oppositional audience would be people who are not interested in the paranormal or that are scared by it.

SOCIAL INTEGRATION:
The tv show The 100 shown on E4, is a program that I watch for social integration. This is because my sister and some of my friends watch it.The show is for entertainment purposes and the Preferred audiences is between 15 - 25. The Negotiated audience is people who are older that like the plot. The Oppositional audience would be people who don't like this kind of program or dislike the actors in it.

Textually analysing films

00:31  -  this is a long shot, it is showing the miss-en-scene of an office type room, presumably and interrogation, this is backed up by the presence of a video camera pointing at person A - giving the impression that he is the one being interrogated. Though it is a long shot it is also from the point of view of a security camera, this is because of the high/position the shot has been taken from and also the fact that it is in black and white rather than colour. There are also _____________________ which state that this scene is taking place in "Ostford police" sand that it is "A few days before Christmas". The miss-en-scene of body language shown in the scene from the two characters is that person A is leaning forward in his chair, suggesting that he is slightly panicked or stressed, whereas person B is leaning back in his chair and appears to be more relaxed.

00:35  -  this is a two shot/mid shot. It shows the surroundings of the two characters as well as showing, in the miss-en-scene, the emotions they are showing. The style of the scene is in colour, this shows that we are now out of the view of the security camera and are now in the room with the characters. The lighting is now revealed to us clearer as well as, behind person A, we can see windows - giving the effect of natural light.

00:42  -  a shot reverse shot has been used in this scene to show the characters facial expressions while person A is being interrogated. The miss-en-scene of this particular shot is focusing of the clothing of each of the people in the scene. Person A is covered in red stains, blood, this give the impression that when they arrested him they gave him no chance to change his clothes or shower. It also reveals to the audience that he has committed murder or some kind of violent criminal act which resulted in his present state. In this situation person A is the underdog and person B, whom we see wearing a suit and sitting in a more relaxed position in his chair - showing power -, is the alpha male.

Representation of women in the media

Women are constantly objectified in the media, and as a result of 'the male gaze'* they are repeatedly exploited - being used to sell products through sex. Outside of the media, women tend to be looked upon as being maternal and domestic, but as shown in this Dolce & Gabbana perfume advert the media sexualises them to promote the product and encourage people (mostly men) to buy it.
The technical codes of this image are that buying the product - the Dolce & Gabbana perfumes - will cause attractive members of the opposite text to find you desirable and that your sex life will increase.


*'The male gaze' is an idea formulated by Laura Mulvey in 1975 it states that women are turned into sex objects because of how they are portrayed in the media. Only certain body parts are shown for male pleasure. This is fragmentation which leads to objectification.

'This Girl Can' video analysis

This video contains numerous connotations to the idea that women don't have to be skinny to exercise, they can be any shape or size because exercise is about being healthy and having fun not trying to stay really slim. Throughout the video, women of all ages were shown to be having fun and having some body fat 'jiggle' when they were running or exercising, giving contrast to the rest of the media who constantly sexualise women and objectify them - mostly for the entertainment and pleasure of the male audience.
 Along with the mise-en-scene of each of the shots, there were also a range of different camera shots used to sow the different figures and body images that the women had. The close ups mostly showed how the women weren't perfectly skinny like most people expect them to be, having the areas of body fat, as well as showing the emotions on their faces - determination, exhaustion and happiness/amusement.
 The music used for the promotional video, gave it a more motivational theme as the beat was quick and one that you would imagine people to listen to while they were exercising. The editing of the video followed suit with the music, having quick edited scenes while the beat was fast but also using slowed down scenes when the rhythm of the music was more relaxed and slower. The writing that flashed over the video at points was also of a motivational theme, this gave the promotional video a much more powerful impact and message.