Media Studies Induction Blog

In the 1950s Tide print advert, we see a clear representation of women.   Firstly, we see that the Tide advert has lots of red fonts as well as a distinctive theme throughout the advert. The colour red in colour psychology suggests power and dominance. Here we can clearly see that although the colour red may be associated with females and feminine adverts, it may also suggest the dominating nature of the product and its superiority. The product is shown being hugged by a woman happily smiling which may represent the regressive attitude that a woman loves household chores and will continue to fulfil domestic duties.  Secondly, we see that the tide advert personifies the product as a man. We see that the product is specifically personified as a man as the bold red font reads “Tide’s got what women want”. Here it is evident that the advert is using the characteristics of the man such as power and dominance (hence the colour red) to persuade the readers of the print adver...

Narrative Theory Narrative is created to appeal the audience. It entices the audience.  Most themes are consistent in old folk stories even if they are from different cultures.  Vladamir Propp studied Russian folk stories and discovered 31 character functions.  Propp discovered that there are 7 character types in most folk stories :  The Hero  The Villain (struggles against the hero)  The donor/enabler (prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object) The helper (helps the hero in the quest) The Princess (often sought for during the narrative)  The false hero (perceived as good character in beginning but emerges as evil) The dispatcher (character who sends the hero off)  Todorov discovered that narratives are created in 5 stages :  Equilibrium → Disruption of equilibrium → Recognition → Repair → New equilibrium Levi-Strauss : Binary Opposition Narrative always has a conflict (Good and Evil) and will usu...

In the Bollywood film Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003) we see that in Aman Mathur’s (Shah Rukh Khan) entry scene there are a variety of continuity editing techniques used to create a strong entry scene and build up Aman as a character.   The scene starts off with 2 parallel tracks which are continued throughout the 3-minute run. We see  Jennifer Kapur (Jaya Bachaan), Naina’s mother with her two children crying and praying for an angel to come. This is then cut to a shot of Aman standing on a boat near a river. The following set of shots enforce the message that Aman will be the children’s “Angel” in some way. The shots are from various angles and only show the back portion of Aman. This creates a sense of mystery and keeps the audiences hooked as they want to know more about Aman as a character. There is a use of a tilt from the top to the bottom of Aman to further create mystery as well as a pan. These two camera techniques highlight that Man will be an important character in the pl...

Class and status are presented in four key ways within Downton Abbey.   Firstly, through camera shots and techniques we see a number of effects created in the 4-minute sequence. The most important shot will have to be the panning shot in the first 2 seconds which changes focus from the cyclist to the wide shot of the building. This hints at class and status as we first assume the cyclist to be the protagonist, however, there is more to it as the building makes him seem insignificant. This enforces the idea that everything is insignificant to the building and that the building and materialistic concepts are much more important within the frame so class and status are presented in this way.  Another use of camera techniques is when the rich male walks down the stairs. We see that the camera is focusing on him the whole time with the exception of the dog. At first, we assume that the man may be a personal assistant to the rich people as he is in a formal suit. However, t...

In both Bollywood films Ra.One and Dishoom we see a clear binary opposite between the protagonists and antagonist which hold certain values that fortify their roles.   Firstly, although Ra.One and Dishoom are of different genres they both conform to the Todorov structure of narrative and hence the villains in these films cause disequilibrium. The villain Ra.One in the film Ra.One has many layers and shades as a character. The name itself is an informal spelling of the Hindu mythical demon Ravan who holds great importance in Hindu mythology, hence naming the villain Ravan creates a highly powerful villain. Like Ravaan in Hindu Mythology, Ra. One is capable of shapeshifting. The sci-fi genre of the films allows this to be acceptable and so the character makes full use of the context in which he is presented in. He is scheming, cunning and extremely vitriolic despite being a character within a game. Wagah, in dishoom is a different type of villain in a sense that firstly he is re...

Todorov Structure Todorov’s narrative theory states that most stories or plots follow the same pattern. There are 5 steps within the pattern.  1. Equilibrium  The first part of the story will show equilibrium through a happy start as all characters are content and the order of things is normal.  2. Disruption The second part of the story will cause disequilibrium in the story by disrupting the contentment of the characters.  3. Realisation The third part of the story will be the characters realising the problem which will cause chaos. 4. Restored Order The fourth part of the story is when the characters attempt to restore order and repair the damage.  5. Equilibrium again The final part of the story is the problem is resolved and equilibrium is achieved which will mean normality can resume again.  In these stages, narrative isn't seen as a linear structure but a circular one. This is because the narrative is driven by ...

In the music video, we clearly see a constantly reoccurring theme of domination, oppression, and freedom run throughout the video.   Firstly, Beyoncé is shown to be riding on a horse and dressed in white. Although the horse is larger than her in size and at first it may, therefore, suggest that it is superior to her, this is not the case. In fact, Beyoncé is shown to be riding on the horse which shows her superiority over the animal. She is clearly breaking the stereotypical characteristics of how women should portray themselves in society. Furthermore, not only is the horse used as a tool to portray her power but also her position in society, horses are associated with upper-class citizens and therefore Beyoncé sitting on top of it shows that she is wealthy. Wealth is a key theme in the frame. Due to the fact that there is no male presence in the frame, it may suggest that she doesn’t require a male in her life to get her to a high and wealthy position in society.  I...