Narrative

1) Give an example from film or television that uses Todorov's narrative structure of equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium. 

Jurassic Park uses this theory. First the Equilibrium when the characters arrive at the park and then the disequilibrium when the dinosaurs break out and start eating people. The new equilibrium is when the dinosaurs are killed and the T Rex is eaten by the veloci raptors. 


2) Complete the activity on page 1 of the Factsheet: find a clip on YouTube of the opening of a new TV drama series (season 1, episode 1). Embed the clip in your blog and write an analysis of the narrative markers that help establish setting, character and plot.

D83 OPENING

The man who is telling the spy on what to do is sort of the guy who is very controlling. The audience is led to believe that this man will be controlling or too strict in later episodes. The setting is West Germany which is an alien setting for the protagonist who is not used to the western surroundings. The plot is revealed in the opening scene to be him posing as a Western soldier and he will get inside info from NATO. 


3) Provide three different examples from film or television of characters that fit Propp's hero character role.

Superman
Jason Bourne
Flint Lockwood from Cloudy with a chance of meatballs 

4) Give an example of a binary opposition.

When the terrorists in White House Down fight with Channing Tatum and then they all eventually get killed or arrested.

5) What example is provided in the Factsheet for the way narratives can emphasise dominant ideologies and values?

When the girl wins the heart of the guy in a romantic comedy the
values of heterosexual relationships and monogamy are reinforced.
In conventional texts crime doesn’t usually pay and the guy most

often gets the girl.

6) Why do enigma and action codes (Barthes) offer gratifications for audiences?

Enigma codes create suspense and mystery for the audience and if they are coupled with action codes make the viewer almost guess and predict what will happen in the next few scenes which offer gratification when they guess correctly.

7) Write a one-sentence summary of the four different types of TV narrative:

• Episodic narrative (the series)

When mini narratives are introduced and solved within one episode.

• Overarching narrative (the serial)

A central idea that runs throughout the whole series such as breaking bad.

• Mixed narrative

When overarching and episodic narratives are combined to create an interesting experience such as Friends

• Multi-strand overlapping narrative (soap narrative)

This is when there are no final resolutions for the text, each episode includes different and new characters.

8) How does the Factsheet suggest adverts use narrative?  

Media LR

Reflect on your work in A Level Media so far. 

What is your strongest piece of work? 

I think that my strongest piece of work is the 'reading an image' blog post. I feel that I pushed the limits of my analysis of the adverts and that I used expert level terminology when describing certain media techniques.

What is your weakest?

I feel that my 'reception theory' blog post was my weakest as I think I could have pushed my analyis of the images and the different theories.

What specific skills or knowledge do you need to develop over the rest of the course?

 I think I just need to have good paragraph stamina because I have a lot of ideas and I sometimes try to cram them into a few sentences which does not really reflect my true ability to creatively extend an idea that has some substance to it.

Genre Analysis

General

1) Why did you choose the text you are analysing?

I chose D83 because it is quite simply my favourite TV series of all time and I always talk about it as it taught me a lot of the conversational German language.

2) In what context did you encounter it?

Mr Halsey recommended it to me as I was keen about German culture. I then was obsessed from the very first 5 minutes of the episode.

3) What influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the text?

I immediately though that it would have a lot of media conventions as a Media teacher recommended it to me! I thought it would be about war and life in the trenches but I ended up enjoying it even more.4) To what genre did you initially assign the text?

I would've said that it was a Post Modernism film

5) What is your experience of this genre?

I have not watched anything in this genre so I did not know what to expect. I did expect a certain sense of danger plus some tension.

6) What subject matter and basic themes is the text concerned with?

It focuses on the divide between East and West Germany with showing differences in language and customs, something the undercover spy cannot understand. It also has a lot of betrayal and trust in the film. 

7) How typical of the genre is this text in terms of content?

It is everything I expected a film about German history to be like as well as incorporating retro 80's references. 

8) What expectations do you have about texts in this genre?

I thought it would be very serious and at most times it is but sometimes it is very comedic and therefore the actors as well as the creators know that they can make fun of these German customs.

9) Have you found any formal generic labels for this particular text (where)?

Lots of people say this is a thriller but I say that this is also drama. I found this out from general conversations with teachers and other people who have watched the film. 

10) What generic labels have others given the same text?

They say that this is a comedy drama or a thriller, not much that I personally agree with.

11) Which conventions of the genre do you recognise in the text?

The use of colour in the East shows how modern they are as they use duller colours. The agents in the East also wear rather outdated and old fashioned clothes (tweed suits), showing how out of touch the East was with modern life in the early 80's. The use of music and 'modern' German shows that the modern side of Germany is completely different to the East. 

12) To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre?

It takes the idea of post modernism to an acceptable extent. It accurately emphasises the divide between East and West as well as the way people spoke in the East compared to the modern conversations of the West. They do try to add some comedy and jokes to separate it from other monotonous Post Modernism films.

 13) Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre?

The way the actors speak and the certain uses of music in the East make it apparent that it was made in the 21st century. The quality of the film is also a giveaway of the time of production. Other than that, the era depiction is highly accurate.

14) Which conventions seem more like those of a different genre (and which genre(s))?

The parts where something bad happens like a death or an explosion make it seem like a thriller or the fighting scenes make it seem like an action film. The killing scenes also make it look like a horror film sometimes.

15) What familiar motifs or images are used?

The idea of cameras are used a lot as Martin, the spy, has to take pictures of a top secret NATO report with a spy camera. This is also pushed when photos are taken of people to blackmail them as well as photos taken to expose the generals sons mischievous activities. The idea of trees is also used to show secrecy as not everything is revealed in this series, more and more images are revealed in the next instalment of the series such as the cameras and the trees. 

Mode of address

1) What sort of audience did you feel that the text was aimed at (and how typical was this of the genre)?

I feel that this was aimed at non-German speakers that have an interest in the modern history of Germany. I think that it is not typical of this genre as it is usually older people who enjoy older times.

2) How does the text address you?

As this was released in 2015, the viewer would be used to seeing a united Germany rather than a country that is divided into two. The film is seen as a historical record which places the audience as a citizen of East and West Germany through which we see the differences in culture, language and even food.

3) What sort of person does it assume you are?

 It assumes that we have never seen a divided Germany. Some viewers may have lived through this experience and therefore they have a more cultured and potentially influenced opinion on the matter of division between the East and West.

4) What assumptions seem to be made about your class, age, gender and ethnicity?

The film is of course intended for those who are in their young adult years and are maybe not white. In white history, this is quite significant as the divide in Germany may have not been taught in other cultures in other countries. This might be intended for middle/lower class people as this doesnt exactly have connotations poshness. 

5) What interests does it assume you have?

It assumes we have a base level interest of German history and a deep fascination of spy dramas. It may be right to assume that we are interested in tense situations. 


Relationship to other texts

1) What intertextual references are there in the text you are analysing (and to what other texts)?

I think there is some reference to the uprising of technology as it s clear that the East has less developed technology compared to the West. The protagonist also finds interesting and 'new' tech such as a Sony Walkman which wouldn't normally be sold in his part of the country. 

2) Generically, which other texts does the text you are analysing resemble most closely?

I would say that 'Inglorious Basterds' is the closest thing as it pretended to signify a time where war was causing distress in countries that were in conflict with German forces.

3) What key features are shared by these texts?

They incorporate post modernsim to an extent to which we start to believe we are in the 20th century with them. They also have an element of comedy with them as they try to lift the mood in D83 and IB is generally a comedy film as well as a film about war. 

4) What major differences do you notice between them?

As mentioned above, the uses of comedy is rather significant as D83 uses it to show the difference between East and West. IB uses it to force a reaction from the audience to laugh at a rather discomforting event. Other key difference include the languages spoken and the use of violence.

Media Factsheets

SHEET 003

1) What example is provided of why visual iconographies are so important?

TV Broadcasting. If someone is sat behind a desk and there are multiple set lights as well as a screen and if they are in a suit, it gives the impression of a news channel. Deep space automatically connotes sci-fi however.

2) What examples are provided of the importance of narrative in identifying genre?

Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow 

3) What is the difference between character representation in action movies and disaster movies?

In Action, the hero is isolated from other people whereas in Disaster movies, the hero is usually with a group of people.

4) What are the different ways films can be categorised according to Bordwell? 

Period or Country

• Director 

• Technical Process, 

• Style

• Series

• Audience

5) List three ways genre is used by audiences.

They use their past experiences to judge whether they will enjoy this film or not.

They try to compare it with something they have already seen. They would describe the genre to someone who hasn't seen it before.

They also use their knowledge of genre to reject a film, they use characteristics of that film to see 

6) List three ways genre is used by institutions or producers.

Production- they use an existing genre to build their idea upon.

Attracting an Audience- The producers use a certain star to gain a loyal fanbase. That way people will ALWAYS go to see their work if it has that same element. An example of this is the Marvel franchise.

7) What film genre is used as an example of how genres evolve? What films and conventions are mentioned?

Gangster genre- Power struggles, conflict, killing.

hybrid genres

SHEET 126

1) List five films the factsheet discusses with regards to the Superhero genre.

Avengers Assemble

Scott Pilgrim

Superman

Batman and Robin

Spiderman
2) What examples are provided of how the Superhero genre has reflected the changing values, ideologies and world events of the last 70 years?

Superman had to adapt to the certain times of the eras of when it was released in. 

During WW2, Superman had to fight off European baddies due to the rise of German and other enemies from Europe.

He also had to fight rich people, Lex Luther. This was during the 30's and 70's where America faced huge economic losses.

The Dark Knight showed how he was a rich billionaire as well as a simple hero who helped others. This was a nod to the various protests about the inequality of income. Particularly, the 1% rich and 99% worse off argument.

3) How can Schatz's theory of genre cycles be applied to the Superhero genre?

Innovation: genre codes are established
Classical: conventions are repeated
Parody: codes become clichéd and are mocked
Deconstruction: the genre is experimented with to establish new or different conventions

This cycle shows that Superhero movies were created and then like like the 'superhero' movie' released in 2009, it was cliched. Producers then began deconstructing and innovating with things like the 'Avengers' in 2013. A strong example of Schatz's theory.