Media Studies OCR Exam Blog - Kate Ovington

THE MIRROR: The Intelligent Tabloid The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper founded in 1903. It is owned by parent company, Reach PLC, one of Britain's biggest newspaper groups, publishing over 240 regional papers along with The Mirror. They merged with the regional newspaper group Trinity to form Trinity Mirror. The paper has consistently supported the Labour party since the 1945 general election. They call themselves 'the intelligent tabloid'. They seem to stand up for ordinary people. The TA of the daily Mirror is predominantly C2DE, over 35 and are working class Labour supporters.  THE SUN: Everything Under the Sun The Sun is a tabloid newspaper published in the UK and Republic of Ireland. As a broadsheet, it was founded in 1964 as a successor to the Daily Herald, and became a tabloid in 1969 after it was purchased by it's current owner. It is owned by News UK which is part of NewsCorp, founded by Rupert Murdoch. They have a right-wing con...

DOMINANT IDEOLOGIES IN THE KILLING: // Opening Scene - typically female victim wearing very little clothing. // Sarah Lund in a male pyjama top but still quite revealing. // Clearly male-dominated workforce. // Sarah Lund appears to 'put up' with a lot of sexual innuendos and banter at work. // Both candidates for the mayoral position are men, one of which is having an affair with his female assistant, presenting her as only an object for sex while he is clearly still hung up on his wife. // It is the father that goes out to search for Nana and not the mother, who stays to take care of the children. This puts the father in a position of power while on the phone ot the mother at the crime scene, because he is in the action and can see what's going on, whereas she is helpless at home. DOMINANT IDEOLOGIES CHALLENGED IN THE KILLING: // Sarah Lund walks through the rain and doesn't seem to care about her appearance. // She demonstrates both typically male and female characte...

  REPRESENTATION OF PLACE: // The question is, are small towns like Hawkins really safe? It's an argument of relativism, a place is 'safe' only when compared to another that is 'unsafe'. The perceivement of small town America to be quaint and unassuming stems from the assumption that Americans from one place are inherently kinder and better people than those who live elsewhere. // We are tempted by the simple-minded notion of small town goodness, them pull back the curtains on it's cruel practices and our naiveite in being surprised by them.  // The Duffer brothers are very self-aware about making a show in the present about a time in the past that many people still remember. // Racial and sexual stereotyping is avoided and Eleven is a present-day creation constructed by a present-day understanding of what young women are capable of. // Stranger Things unintentionally works off of the fear of what may be amassing just outside of the town limits of what we consid...

WHO MADE IT AND WHEN? // Created by Soren Sveistruep, a well known writer, screenwriter, and producer in Denmark. In the UK, he is best known for creating the 3 series of the Killing but has also produced shows that aired in Denmark. Last year his film, the Snowman, was released in the UK. // The Killing was produced by DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation). DR is a government-owned television and radio public broadcasting company. // Like the BBC, DR is funded by a licence fee that must be paid by all Danish households if they have a TV, smartphone, computer etc that will allow them access to the internet and therefore the ability to listen to or watch their products. (they are removing this in 2019 but it applied when the show was made in 2007) // DR was founded in 1925. // Other well-known TV shows created by DR included Borgen, The legacy, and The Bridge. The Borgen and The Bridge were created and aired in the UK due to the success of the Killing.  // ZDF helped produce th...

EQUILIBRIUM THEORY APPLICATION: The video tells the story of an inspector visiting a village, appearing a pastoral idyll, only to reveal the darkness that lies under the surface. The status quo, or what Todorov would term 'equilibrium', is established through a colourful mise-en-scene with close-ups of flowers, multi-coloured houses, trees and people. This is almost a visual of the Inspector's expectations of what he is coming to visit. The disruption, or initiating incident is revealed through  parallel  imagery, unfolding only once the Inspector actually arrives. The man once painting a postbox (British symbolism) is now painting a red X on a 'traitor's' door. The flowers on the pole are revealed to actually be on a noose. these, once close-up shots are now long/mid-shots, revealing darkness through the inspector's perspective. As the narrative builds towards the climax, more sinister elements are revealed through the use of changing time. The morning ...

HOW DOES THE BIG ISSUE PORTRAY EVENTS, ISSUES AND INDIVIDUALS ON THIS FRONT COVER? 10/15

ALBUM COVER: THE VIDEO: VIDEO LINK LYRICS: Stay in the shadows Cheer at the gallows This is a round up This is a low flying panic attack Sing a song on the jukebox that goes Burn the witch Burn the witch We know where you live Red crosses on wooden doors And if you float you burn Loose talk around tables Abandon all reason Avoid all eye contact Do not react Shoot the messengers This is a low flying panic attack Sing the song of sixpence that goes Burn the witch Burn the witch We know where you live We know where you live

SOCIAL + HISTORICAL CONTEXT: // Burn the Witch comes from Radiohead's 9th studio album, A Moon Shaped Pool.  It is the lead single on the album, i.e. it was released to coincide with the album: if you like the song, you will love the album. // It was released as a download on the 3rd of may 2016 on Radiohead's website, followed by 7-inch single released exclusively in independent record stores.  // Critics interpreted the lyrics and video as a warning against group-think and authoritarianism. // It was named one of the best songs of the year by Rolling Stone, Billboard, and the Village Voice,  and was nominated for best rock song at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards. It was one of the bestselling UK vinyl singles of 2016. // The lyrics direct the listeners to "Abandon all reason/avoid all eye contact/do not react/shoot the messengers/burn the witch". Yorke said the lyrics were inspired by the News of the World newspaper publishing the names and addresses of sex offen...

TOPIC 1: The regulation of global practices of production, distribution and circulation Net-Neutrality - ISPs must treat all internet communications equally, not discriminating or charging differently based on user, content, website, platform etc. 1// The FCC plans to end open internet protections because they are 'unnecessarily heavy-handed regulations'. They would require ISPs to be transparent so consumers can buy the plan that's best for them and small businesses would have the technical info they need to innovate. Netflix supports the strong net-neutrality rules and opposes the commissions proposal to roll back protections.​ 2// It seems that only top video streaming services will survive the Trump era. Netflix continues to amass subscribers to establish itself as a market share leader. With the new FCC chairman, replacing Tom Wheeler who brought in new net-neutrality rules, he may undermine Wheeler's choices. It is fatalistic for new services, but a good thi...

KEY IDEAS: // Power without responsibility. // Powerful media institutions project values, messages and ideas and have the power to shape people's ideologies. A positive value is shared in The Killing is that how women are just as capable at doing important jobs as men. One in Stranger Things would be that sometimes the people that seem crazy are actually telling the truth and big institutions shouldn't actually be trusted. We are likely to follow this projected ideology in The Killing, as it would have a positive impact on society, but Stranger Things would have a detrimental impact on the structure of society, so people take it in as a stereotype. DR can't do this because it isn't responsible 

THE JOB THAT MUSIC VIDEOS DO - THEIR PURPOSE: //Describe the star image or brand constructed for the artist. Include relevant info about the artist and their genre. //How does this video engage and entertain it's audience? //Does it explore big ideas and comment on society? //Who is it's core audience and how does it target them? //What elements of this video would encourage an audience to share and like it? THE METHODS - THE WAY THEY USE CODES + CONVENTIONS: //What is distinctive about the performance?   -1- Describe the camera angles, shots + movement used   -2- Describe the editing - changes in pace, cuts, transitions   -3- describe the MES - setting, costume, lighting etc. //How are close ups and other elements used to build the star image throughout the video? //How is MES used throughout the video to create style, branding and representation of people, places and ideas? //How do the music and lyrics work with the visuals - how does the...

KEY FACTS: // The series was first aired on Netflix on the 15th of July 2016 // There were only 8 episodes // Written and directed by the Duffer Brothers (Matt + Ross) WRITERS + DIRECTORS: the Duffer Brothers - born 1984 // They began making films in the third grade using a Hi8 video camera that was a gift from their parents. // They relocated to Orange, California to study film at Chapman University's Dodge College of Film and Media Arts where they graduated in 2007. // After writing and/or directing a number of short films, their script for a post-apocalyptic horror film, Hidden, was acquired by Warner Bros. Pictures in 2011. // The brothers directed the film in 2012 which was released in 2015. // Director M, Night, Shyamalan read the script and hired them as writers/producers on the Fox TV series Wayward Pines. THE IDEA: // After discussing the movie as a jumping-off point, the brothers began talking about what Matt describes as "bizarre experiments we had rea...

ALBUM COVER: VIDEO: VIDEO LINK LYRICS: Will you recognize me In those flashing lights? I try to keep my heart beat But I can't get it right Will you recognize me When I'm lying on my back? Somethings gone inside me And I can't get it back Oh heaven, oh heaven I wake with good intentions But the day, it always lasts too long Then I'm gone Oh heaven, oh heaven I wake with good intentions But the day, it always lasts too long Then I'm gone Then I'm gone Then I'm gone Then I'm gone Then I'm gone Then I'm gone Then I'm gone Then I'm gone Will you recognize me When I'm stealing from a car You're not gonna like me I'm nothing like before Will you recognize me When I lose another friend Will you learn to leave me Or give me one more try again Oh heaven, oh heaven I wake with good intentions But the day, it always lasts too long Then I'm gone Oh heaven, oh heaven I wake wi...

SOCIAL + CULTURAL CONTEXT: // In 2009, Sande featured on rapper Chipmunk's debut single, 'Diamond Rings' which gave them a first top 10 hit on the UK singles chart.  // In 2010, she appeared again on Wiley's 'Never be your Woman' which became another top 10 hit, and on 'Let Go', which was the closing track of Tinie Tempah's debut album. she also co-penned Alesha Dixon's single 'Radio'. // In 2010, she signed her first major record deal with Virgin Records before signing another deal with EMI in 2011. // Heaven was her first solo track - the key purpose of this video is to introduce her as her own entity, to take her out of the shadow of other artists she had collaborated with in the past. SOCIAL + HISTORICAL CONTEXT: // As the main purpose was to establish her as a solo artist, a performance-based music video was essential to build her star image.  // The video was uploaded to Sande's YouTube channel as a first platform - 21.7...