Media Studies Key Assesement 4

1.Music videos - MEDIA LANGUAGE

Explore how the combination of media language creates meaning for the audience in the video to Riptide [15]

• Abstract montage imagery of objectified victimised women through body language, expressions, etc. -

•  Stereotypical views of women unable to fend for themselves are put in place to make the viewer feel uncomfortable and be against what the visuals are displaying. Not approving of.

• Enigma codes throughout, why is X happening?

• Quick-paced Intertextual references to 1980s horror films through the imagery of women being dragged into dark locations, captured or restrained by external force etc- and are displayed as independent, rescuing themselves in some of these scenes- emphasising women as not simple damsels in distress.

• Some shots display only women’s legs, body parts - dehumanises them to objectify them as things to be admired.

• Singing lady- hegemonically attractive and made to appear powerful via her dress, make-up, spotlight upon her as she sings but we gradually see her look more and more damaged- with the enigma code presented as to how or why this is the case. - The onscreen lyrics break the fourth wall and coincide with the woman’s fear/distress.

• Imagery depicting violence, knife to hand, the gun being drawn- speaks as to the rising frequent violence towards women in particular, victimises them.

• Is the imagery at hand there a poor attempt to inform or is it there to entertain?

• Abstract, montage, ‘artistic depictions of the lyrics’ - leads to an emphasis on the spectator having to put together an opinion or theory on what they see on screen.

• Men and women presented diversely.

• Men as presented as voyeurs, in positions of power over women in many such cases. (directors, camera men- etc.)

The arguably postmodernist music video for Australian musician Vance Joy’s song, ‘Riptide’ released back in April of 2013 uses a combination of media language to create a semantic field of women in danger, and in many cases attempting escapism from such, through an array of intertextual references to iconography we’d associate with the Horror film genre back in the 1980s and overall objectification in its female representation. Though it is debatable if such is in place purely for aesthetic style over substance, the entertainment of the viewer, or if the metanarrative of the music video is in there to speak a genuine commentary on our contemporary world.

The sequences within this music video are in many cases single disconnected shots all with the same throughline I mentioned previously of women attempting escapism from what theorist Van Zoonen would call patriarchal hegemony, with males in the video juxtaposed in representation with voyeuristic qualities and pursuit of the women.

Meaning is created for the audience primarily through the music video’s mise-en-scene, there are props such as ropes, dental equipment, hypnotism devices, that all thematically revolve around the theme of restriction or control of whoever they are used upon, in every such case here it is a range of diversely cast, albeit hegemonically attractive women with distressed body language and facial expression, enigma codes are woven into the sequences of which are all left open-ended and up to viewer interpretation of how the scenario at hand came about, though some do incorporate an escape for female characters, these additional representations illustrative to the viewer that women are not damsels in distress but are independent. The scene that plays during the chorus of the song features a singer, who though the mise-en-scene dresses up as powerful via her dress, make-up, professional look, we see this gradually disappear every time the sequence is returned to, the only running narrative continuity in the music video, there is a meta fourth-wall break in which the onscreen lyrics are switched from their original wording to coincide with the depicted continued damage of the singer and emphasise towards the spectator just how negative the connotations of what they’ve viewed are. It is also an example of rule-breaking of standard music video rules, indicating the text’s usage of postmodernism. 

The aspect of objectification of women is prominent in the music video, with the cinematography’s framing often honing in on the female model’s body parts, their legs, backsides, as opposed to anything distinctive like their facial features. This is where the intertextual references to horror films of the 1980s are in place, women are tugged under beds, ouija boards and other supernatural elements are all incorporated, the nod in place as a reminder to how those pieces of pop culture commonly objectified their female cast to the viewer’s entertainment.  I’d argue the preferred reading of the text was intended to be that viewers would take the visuals dehumanising and objectifying women and disagree with them; Especially intended as impactful to what one can assume to be the vastly heterosexual male audience of the artist. 

In conclusion, I’d argue the video certainly attempts to make commentary upon the objectification and over-sexualisation of women through the male gaze, with its ironic usage of these elements when trying to poke holes in these patriarchal hegemonies, though ultimately misses its mark in favour of its various shifting visual aesthetics and style over substance in many cases.

2. Video Game industry - INDUSTRY

In what ways has ownership shaped the media products you have studied? Make reference to the Assassin’s Creed franchise [15]

 

Knee jerk:  The specialised industry of video games’ additional layers of immersive interactivity with the media text (Assassin’s Creed) lead to higher consumer investment, and therefore, ownership of the franchise. This leads to Ubisoft minimising risk and maximising profit by shaping their later instalments to the taste of their generated fandom by keeping their games familiar as opposed to subverting from  their USP- It also leads companies like Ubisoft to performing vertical integrations such as the creation of the ‘Assassin’s Creed’ live-action film released in 2016,

 

Plan:

Fandom

Pick n mix theory

Video games demand participation - a specialised industry

That interactivity demands many hours of investment in exchange for a high-quality experience.

Triple-A

Higher RRP = higher quality expectancy

Steve Neale - "genres are instances of repetition and difference" (1980).

David Hesmanhalgh - Minimise risk, maximise profit

Curran and Seaton - Power and profit

Ubisoft

Vertical Integration -  The ‘Assassin’s Creed’ movie in 2016

Assassin's Creed: Valhalla

 

With the additional level of interactivity provided by the specialised industry of video games, the factor of higher player interactivity and immersion leads to the media text, in this case, the Assassin’s Creed franchise of games feeling more personal, and leading to a greater sense of ownership from the series’ fandom. From this, Ubisoft has minimised their risk by examining patterns as to which parts of the products resonate most prominently with their fans, and by doing so are confidently able to release similarly favourable content to their audience’s taste, maximising their profit.

 

We can see a pattern through the Assassin’s Creed franchise, as well as the brand’s marketing. Each game holding the unique selling point of taking place in a different historical period, while the game mechanics and formula have had minimal adaptation over the years simply due to the player base’s fondness of it. So as Steve Neale would say, the producers are reliant upon their players finding enjoyment through this ‘repetition and difference’. Ubisoft seeks out different generic conventions for each instalment to follow by simply seeing what appeals to other audiences that are perhaps currently not purchasing before Assassin’s  Creed games. A good example of Ubisoft doing so would be their tradition of using a cinematic CGI trailer to announce the releases that are stylised with a simple use of Todorov’s narrative structure in mind, and playout as feature film trailers would. This is no different with the trailer for ‘Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla’ that incorporates generic conventions of other recently popular properties like video games that have seen hefty amounts of audience ownership such as ‘The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’ or ‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’ or perhaps tv shows like ‘Game Of Thrones’ or ‘Vikings’, regardless of whichever it is, the purpose of generating this familiarity to appeal towards the mass general audiences, while still retaining what the current audience likes of the franchise. 

 

Ubisoft has expressed vertical integration in the form of their film production studio, and the creation of a live-action ‘Assassin’s Creed’ feature film in 2016, starring Michael Fassbender. In the hopes that their pre-existing fandom that takes such large ownership over the games would act as a confirmed audience for the film, maximise their profit.  But it turned to be a misjudgement, in that the film lacks the draw of why audiences took initial ownership of the franchise, the interactivity. Underperforming in the box office with a minor profit gain for the company. A harsh reminder as to what engages fans of the series. 

 

In conclusion, despite consistently as theorists Curran and Seaton would mention holding ‘an increasing lack of variety, creativity and quality’, Ubisoft has manufactured a product that is shaped by fandom ownership through ‘repetitive’ mechanics that have seen the best response in interactivity and engagement, while drip-feeding just enough ‘difference’ as to garner continued interest from returning fans, a common tactic used by the cultural industries, as uttered by theorist Steve Neale, all done in the service of what David Hesmondhalgh would call  ‘minimising risk and maximising profit’ via appealing to potential new supporters in the process.

 

 

3.Advertising - AUDIENCE

Explore how the WaterAid advert you have studied appeals to its target audience(s) [15]

 

Plan:

• WaterAid target audience is said to be of the following qualities: British, disposable income, comfortable living, aged 30-50, parents, socially aware, Interested in charity.

• The placement of the advert on Youtube, with uses of hashtags, etc- points to WaterAid seeking out the reasonably technically savvy to donate.

-The usage of an intertextual reference to the pop song ‘Sunshine on a rainy day’ by Zoe from 1991 helps to engage with those around 35+ in their target audience.

- The usage of ‘Claudia’ as a specific name, helps to make the advert feel all the more real.

- The video doesn’t inherently try to make you feel sympathetic for the African characters that it represents, rather it shows them in a more positive light. It challenges more cynical theorists like Paul Gilroy and their views upon postcolonialism.

-Some might identify with Claudia, or certain parents of children might be able to relate to the narrative, and not wanting the same for their children, are implored to donate. 

-Stands out above other charity ads of the time, in that WaterAid found research to reveal audiences had become desensitised with what had come before. - Thus, the advert is a breath of fresh air to the viewer that assumingly frequents seeing other charity pleas.

-The advert highlights the LIC characters as a united community via their body language, facial expressions, etc.

-young people, particularly girls, emphasised to have to be growing up fast at a very young age to do isolating, mundane jobs, like water-carrying while the men attend to manual labour elsewhere. Reflective of theorist Van Zoonen’s theory of women often being shown as ‘domestic’ could be considered relevant here.

-bel hooks would argue that it is also reflective of their ethnicity, and their portrayal as such might come down to their representation of being low-income rural Black people.

-The WaterAid advert works to manipulate the potential donatee through pulling focus on the juxtaposition between England and low-income countries.  I.E. displays copious amounts of unused or acknowledged rainfall in the UK to the barrenly dry water that is sought after desperately in the LIC. Tries to enforce the fact that the viewer is overtly privileged in comparison and could easily provide help. The contrast through this binary opposition of rainy versus dry adds to the shock value of the viewer.

-The advert uses language like ‘still’ to try to implore the spectator to feel like their often tiny donation provided can make a difference. ‘Reach’ ‘more people like’ 

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WaterAid’s ‘Claudia sings Sunshine On A Rainy Day’ video immediately appeals towards its target audience both through the usage of subversion of trends of the expected standard charity advertisement’s codes and conventions. The advertisement’s choice in intertextual references is also furtherly indicative as to who the target audiences are that it is attempting to garner proceeds from.

 

We can immediately tell the advertisement in its broadest strokes is trying to be relatable towards homeowners, those that are living comfortably, through the mise-en-scene in the first short scene being composed of a simple radio upon a windowsill, alongside this there is the inclusion of rainfall, blurred in the background of the shot, which in cohesion with the diegetic dialogue of a hegemonic sounding British radio presenter emphasises the video is sought after those who are British. To note, externally, the video is presented upon Youtube, and makes usage of hashtags, implying WaterAid is sought after by those that are relatively tech-savvy. 

 

The next shot occupying the advert of which takes place in a wheat field, its dryness emphasised by the use of extra desaturated colour grading, uses what theorist Levi Strauss would call ‘binary opposition’ for shock value here. The juxtaposition of wet versus dry, inside as opposed to outside, technology is gone, and the ambience of rainfall and radio hosts is replaced with cricket croaking. We come to realise more particularly as to who the video is targeting when the character of ‘Claudia’ enters, the very fact that the construct created to represent the LIC (Low Income Country)’s people in the situation without water holds a name immediately helps to invoke a level of realism to the advert, these are real people, a young girl; and though her age isn’t specified, it could be left up to the spectator’s imagination that this girl is about the age of perhaps one of their children, it furthers the relatability of the advert to its target audience.  Claudia begins to sing the pop song ‘Sunshine on Rainy Day’ by the artist ‘Zoe’, which was at the height of its popularity in 1991. This intertextual reference is inherently specifically relatable to those in their mid-thirties and upwards, more specifically, parents, from what we’ve gathered from the mise-en-scene. The advert weaponized the nostalgia of this song to its advantage to garner interest from its target audience, as well as all of the previously mentioned reasons.

 

The scenes of Claudia at first use framing to make her isolated within the frame, but for the vast majority, the cinematography is composed of more intimate extreme close-up to middle shots. As the video continues and Claudia enters her village the desaturated colours I mentioned earlier slowly begin to saturate and make the setting feel somewhat warmer, and inviting, as opposed to simply dry. The characters that inhabit the world of the advertisement are seemingly indifferent or happy about their situation, which we can tell both from body language and expression. This is one of the driving appeals of this advert, in particular, these people are shown in a positive light, as opposed to being represented as most charity adverts do, as overly sympathetic to the point where they no longer feel visceral, disconnected. The target audience is invited to be uplifted rather than guilty or saddened by what they see on screen. The advert stands opposed to more cynical theorists such as Paul Gilroy with his views upon postcolonialism still have deeply-seeded effects on many of the media texts we consume today.

 

 We see the further rejection of postcolonialism theory by the end of the advert in which two panels of text arrive, one after the other. The language incorporated doesn’t incorporate buzzwords like ‘just’ as a means of communicating why the viewer should donate, to give implication as it would free them of any lingering guilt they feel like a hegemonic charity advert, but instead avoids using manipulative lexis.  It simply states the fact that ‘650 million people still don’t have access to clean drinking water.’ then implores the viewer to ‘give £3 to reach more people like Claudia.’ Notice the usage of ‘still’, it is a reminder that WaterAid’s mission is to provide everybody with water. There is still that potential for helping. I’d also like to point out the choice in using ‘People’ twice amongst these sentences, it is purposely vague in which people it is referring to in the hopes of a final reinforcement of this idea that those living in LICs are just the same as the viewer watching the video, it could just have easily been them, or their children ‘like Claudia’ in such a scenario.

 

In conclusion, the WaterAid ‘Sunshine On A Rainy Day’ advertisement finds great success in its rejection and difference from regular charity adverts that their target audience more than likely were viewing in past, by incorporating uplifting elements, and realism. The representations of those it is sought to garner donations for are put on the same level as the viewer rather than beneath them. All of this leads the advert to act as a breath of fresh air for potential donors and an overall more memorable media text.

 

4.Magazines - REPRESENTATION

Liesbet van Zoonen argues that representations of gender are encoded through media language to position audiences and to reinforce dominant ideological perspectives. In what ways do the producers of Woman use representations to position their audiences? [15]

 

PLAN:

 -Van Zoonen’s theory of women often being shown as ‘domestic’ could be considered relevant here.

-  The content of the August 24th 1964 issue of  ‘Woman’ represents how women should be hegemonically obedient to patriarchal values.

-feminist theory Liesbet Van Zoonen ‘Gender is constructed through codes and conventions of media products, and the idea of what is male and what is female changes over time.’--’ Women’s bodies are used in media products as a spectacle for heterosexual male audiences, which reinforces patriarchal hegemony’

-Claude Levi Strauss - Structuralism, binary gender roles.

- mise-en-scene: Hegemonically attractive woman, mid to late 30s, modest flower-like dress, wide smile, well-trimmed hair cut, positive open body language, direct address via eye contact /w camera-

- Modest representation of the woman upon the cover speaks as to the domestic, motherly, housewife mould that women were prominently expected to abide by within the 1950s to 60s.

- The image is overtly sexualised, it is traditional. 

-The 1960s as a sexual revolution for women, with the contraceptive pill, changes in equality as well as divorce/abortion laws, the lexis of headline article by Alfred Hitchcock greater represents women as increasingly becoming both ‘seductive’ while all still being needed to perform functions as housewives. - The fact that is the very largest advertised article in the publication speaks as to the POV of the producers of ‘Woman’

-Enigma codes used to imply inclusivity to any female who reads the magazine.

-  Intertextual reference to Hitchcock is significant as to him being famously known for ‘making womans film careers’ as so to speak.

- Laura Mulvey’s ‘Male Gaze’ theory, starts to act as reflective of the producers being predominantly male. It is a magazine produced through the eyes of men and what they believe is hegemonically aspirational content for women.

- Having a magazine titled ‘Women’ is suggestive as to whatever content is included within it is confidently representative as to what a woman should be.

As for the purposes of this answer, I’ll be referring to the August 24th 1964 issue of the publication ‘Woman’ magazine, and how its predominantly male producers take this as an opportunity to reinforce the hegemonic patriarchal ideology of the 1960s and the growing sexualisation of women over the period.

Immediately through titling the magazine ‘Woman’ the producers are leaving heavy implication as to the fact that the content of their magazine is verbatim as to how a woman of the times should aspire to be, the depicted representation of what they picture as ‘Woman’, in the case of this issue, the mise-en-scene features a photograph of a relatively modestly dressed hegemonically attractive woman, maybe around her mid-thirties with a positive broad smile and open body language, making direct address with the viewer via eye contact, adding an additional characteristic politeness to the model. Following Van Zoonen’s Feminist theory, this would be the ideal as to ‘what is female at the time’ according to the media text.

Important to mention is the inclusion of ‘seven-star improvements for your kitchen’ in a bold sans-serif typeface below the image of the model, upon a yellow strip. It consolidates the idealisation of a woman as happily domestic, with their interests primarily orbiting around housekeeping and all that is hegemonically associated alongside it with the standard patriarchal lifestyle of a Cis-gender marriage, a woman attending to their children, etc.

 The notion of woman as purely innocent from the magazine isn’t necessarily one hundred percent the case if we take a look into the headline article that is anchored beside the model’s face, an intertextual reference towards film director Alfred Hitchcock, a male, who was well known for supposedly helping jump-start the careers of many women in the industry by providing them starring roles in his pictures, the pull quote being that women have a ‘special magic’ to them. The lexis here implying women as these delicate, somewhat mythical, objects of sexuality and as theorist Claude Levi Strauss would mention binary opposites to their male counterparts, you are either this sharing of the traits and qualities of the clear-cut representation of a woman that the producers are displaying or you are incorrect. We see further sexualisation within the taglines below on the page, ‘lingerie goes lively’ even more blatantly informing the spectator as and the further incorporation of direct address via the enigma code in ‘Are you an A-level beauty?’ furthering emphasising what the producers believe the next priority for women should be aside from their domestic life.

Van Zoonen’s theory of women’s bodies being used in media products as ‘spectacle for heterosexual male audiences’ couldn’t be more relevant within the advertised interview with Alfred Hitchcock in which he goes over ‘The mystery of ‘British women’ and their ‘sex appeal’ while also giving mention to the fact that he is a ‘happily married man’ but ‘can still look at them objectively.’. This inclusion presents a double standard in views from the producers of ‘Woman’, as they’ve represented women as blatant monogamous house-wives, yet as Laura Mulvey’s ‘Male Gaze’ theory might suggest, men, are able to idly objectify and sexualise any women in passing as they see fit. It positions the viewer to actively condone this type of behaviour from men; Despite the irony of the 1960s also acting as a time of sexual revolution for women with the creation of contraceptive pills, amongst other fundamental status quo shifts in western culture. This might suggest that the producers of ‘Women’ magazine are desperate to have their cake and eat it, as so to speak. To attempt to maintain the clear-cut patriarchal hegemony that favours their again, primarily male creative team, as well as sexualise women as they please despite the looming changes in society that were actively destroying this ideology. Essentially, their more traditional representations of women within their media texts weren’t accurate as to how their viewership really acted at the time of publication.

In conclusion, the producers of ‘Women’ use representation to try to hold their audience aligned to their dying ideologies of patriarchal hegemony, by reinforcing codes and conventions in the magazine’s media language that attempt to subtly manipulate the reader into an agreement to share said views and ideologies.