Critical & Linked Production . . .

Critical Investigation . . .

My critical investigation is to "investigate into female teenagers, looking at how far stereotypes in movies are true in today's media." This will involve looking at teenage films such as Mean Girls and others to find out how far stereotypes of females in movies are true.

Linked Production . . .

My linked production is to produce "the start of a documentary exploring teenage life at High School." This will involve seeing how teenagers behave and whether stereotypes in the media of teenagers are true.

MIGRAIN analysis on my critical investigation && linked production . . .

* Media Language:

- Close up/long shots of teenage females when wearing revealing clothing? This will connote whether females are being used as sexual objects to attract a wider audience such as males rather than just females. For this I can look at Superbad (2007) and Mean Girls (2004).

- Is there a use of high key lighting on females or low key lighting? This will show whether females do have a importance in the movie or not and is this a common pattern or not?

- The use of sound when females appear in movies, is it villain type music or soft music?This will show what roles females are usually given and if they are usually villains in teenage films or the princess that needs to be rescued.

* Ideology:

- The ideology that females are mainly used in films for sexual objects to attract a male audience and that is the role that females are mainly given in movies?. This will involve looking at teenage films such as High School Musical (2006), Mean Girls (2004) and 10 Things I Hate About You (2009).

- Females have a less importance in movies? Are they given the less important roles that involve being rescued by the heroes? This would create the ideology that females always need rescuing and are vulnerable and this will mean looking at movies and seeing whether females are rescued by the heroes in the movie.

- The ideology that female teenagers are shown as bimbos in movies and are not interested in anything else other than fashion and do not have an interest in education but want to look good. This will mean looking at teenage films such as 17 Again (2009).

* Genre:

- One of the genre of this critical investigation will be looking at films with the genre of high school and looking at how females are represented within high schools and what their roles usually involve in this genre of films. For example, I can look at 17 Again, Mean Girls ans Superbad (2007).

- Another genre of this critical investigation can be romance as I can look at teenage films and see how romance is shown in teenage films and then compare it to adult films and see the difference in how females are represented in different ages. For example, I can look at Superbad as a teenage film and then Just Like Heaven (2005) as a adult film.

- For this critical investigation, I can look at the genre drama and see whether females are involved in a lot of drama or if they are given a less important role. For example, a teenage film may have a drama of the teenage female becoming pregnant which I can look at in 17 Again.

* Representation:

- Are teenage females represented as sexual objects? This can be seen through the use of teenage females clothing in movies and whether they are mainly used as having the attractive role in the film to attract teenage males. For example, Mean Girls and Superbad.

- Are teenage females represented as needing to be rescued and need someone to rescue them at all times? I can look at if teenage females are being rescued and if this is a common pattern in teenage films.

- Are teenage females represented as not having an interest in education? Do females only care about looking good and being popular in school? For this I can look at the films Mean Girls and High School Musical and see whether females are being represented as not having an interest.

* Audience:

- A mass audience can be attracted which will mainly happen if females are shown as sexual objects as a teenage high school film does not mainly apply to males such as Mean Girls would not apply to males whereas a film such as Superbad will. The audience can be both males and females depending on the genre of the film.

- A primary audience from the ages 12 - 16. This will apply to films such as Mean Girls and High School Musical as it is more comedy and based on attracting a young audience. The secondary audience of teenage films will be 17 - 21 as this will apply to students who are either in college or university. For example, Superbad will attract this audience and so will American Pie: Band Camp (2005).

- The socio-economic class that will be attracted to these kind of films will be students mainly who can be unemployed and can b employed too. This connotes that mainly students may be attracted due to the film being related to them.

* Institution:

- Many different institutions will be looked at in order to find out this point and see whether females are being stereotyped negatively or not.

- The institutions that can be looked at are Walt Disney, Columbia Pictures and many more. This will help me compare the way that different institutions are representing teenage females.

- The institution will hold a important factor in the way that teenage females are represented due to different institutions portraying teenage females differently. For example, Walt Disney may represent teenage females as innocent whereas Columbia Pictures may represent teenage females as bimbos which shows that it depends on the institution.

* Narrative:

- Teenage films will mainly have a narrative of teenage drama so for example, this may involve teenage pregnancy, teenagers taking drugs and teenage gangs. This will look at how teenage females are being represented today which will reflect in movies.

- The narrative can also be looking at females trying to become popular within school and not have an interest in education. This will also relate to females today because of this being the case with some females today. This connotes that females are more interested in making themselves look good and become popular rather than focusing on education. For example, Mean Girls.

- Another narrative can be looking at females being sexual objects and interested in gaining a boyfriend and losing their virginity to boast to friends to gain popularity which can be shown in some movies.

How my critical investigation && linked production links to SHEP . . .

* Social - This will be a sociable point as this will be something that will be popular in the media as if there is a lot of negative stereotypes of teenage females in movies and newspapers it will relate to a moral panic and relate to people becoming worried about female teenagers.

* Historical -This will be a historical factor as it is not something that has been present in the past as there was not many underage pregnancies in the past which shows that attitudes and beliefs have changed over time as female teenagers are a issue now.

* Economical - This will be a economical factor as this is based on how it will be funded and distributed and we will be producing a documentary that is low budget and will be using low budget areas and equipment.

* Political - This will be a political factor as it is quite a important issue as if for example there are more underage pregnancies, it will result to there being underage parents which will make it a political factor.

The issues and debates that relate to my critical investigation && linked production . . .

*Representation - This is because I will be looking at how female teenagers are represented in movies and whether they are represented negatively of positively and whether the representation is realistic or not.

* News and different realities - This relates to my critical investigation as I will be able to look at newspapers in comparison to movies and see whether teenagers are being represented in the same way as in movies.

* Who controls the media: audience or producers - This issue and debate will relate to my critical investigation as it will involve looking at if female teenagers are beginning to behave the way that they are represented in movies. For example, if they are stereotyped as getting involved in teenage pregnancy, is it happening in reality which will mean that the producers are controlling the media.

The media theories that relate to my critical investigation && linked production . . .

* Gender theory - This relates to my critical investigation as I will be looking at only females and I will be able to see how females are in movies according to the gender theory. This relates to my critical investigation as is is based on theory and I will be looking at one gender.

* Audience theory - This will relate to my critical investigation as I will need to see how the audience is attracted to watch teenage female movies and whether it is because of a specific audience theory.

* Semiotics - This theory relates to my critical investigation as it involves studying the codes or languages and the signs from which they are made. This theory will relate to my critical investigation as I will need to see whether the codes shown connote something about teenage females. For example, portraying them negatively.

* Feminism and Post feminism - This theory relates to my critical investigation as I will be able to see whether females have progressed in movies and are now being given a better role and a importance in movies. This will mean that I will need to see whether feminism is taking place or post feminism.

This study fits into the contemporary media landscape because it is an issue which is recent as there is a lot of negative representation taking place in the media on teenage females such as teenage pregnancy, drug taking and etc. This would relate to many theories as it is something that is taking place now and is based on whether females are moving on from their past stereotypes and progressing in to becoming more individual and intelligent. This will make the study contemporary as it will mean that I will be looking at recent news on female teenagers and looking at how females are being stereotyped in movies.

Gender Theory

Gender theory is based on the different theories on how the genders work. Judith Butler is a gender theorist who believes that "Gender is a performative. It is a doing that makes gender what it claims it is. We are not a gender, we do or perform a gender." This connotes that this theorist believes that the attitudes, beliefs and values on gender are made by the gender itself as this is what that particular gender makes it to be. This means that the representation of each gender is come up through what the specific gender makes it to be for example, females represented as weak is put across through the way females behave and they are then stereotyped as weaker compared to men because females are representing themselves to do more delicate activities such as shopping.

Another gender theorist is Mary Hawkesworth who has a few assumptions about gender. This theorist believes the following:
1. There are two and only two genders.
2. Gender is invariant.
3. Genitals are the essential signs of gender.
4. Being masculine of feminine is natural and not a matter of choice.
This shows that this theorist is completly different to Judith Butler as this theorist believes that being masculine of feminine is something that comes naturally and is not something that the genders can decide on. For example, a female being caring and vulnerable is something that comes naturally and they will not be able to change it and they will then be stereotyped as this too whereas Judith Butler believes the way a gender behaves is how they will be represented and stereotyped. This theorist also believes that there are only two genders so there cannot be a male who considers himself as both feminine and masculine. This connotes that as being masculine or feminine is natural, it connotes that this would come from family values that have been given through the family the gender has been bought up in to. For example, as childhood if the female is given dolls and "girly" things, she would then grow up to be feminine which is considered in this theory.

Another theorist that I looked at for gender theories is Oyeronke Oyewumi who has a Western view on gender and believes that bodies are superior than others. For example, men being more superior than women and this will be the case where men vs women. This connotes that this theorist states that there is a difference between male and females because males are seen as superior whereas females are not. This would include feminism as females are now trying to overcome this stereotypical view and trying to prove themselves equivalant to males and better which would overcome this theorists view. This theorist also involves looking at gender consumption as it is based on how the gender effects the consumption of the audience. For example, if males are always shown as superior and the heroes in the film, this would then be what the audience would think in reality which shows that media texts would change the audiences opinion on genders.

Critical Investigation & Linked Production Piece

From the activity that the class took part in lesson, I have chosen two post it notes which has other peoples ideas on it.

Critical Investigation . . .

The critical investigation that I have chosen from someone else's idea is research on magazines. This can involve researching a females lifestyle magazine which would involve looking at how females are represented in these magazines. For example, in these magazines females may be represented as always keeping fit and always having the perfect weight which is not reality. This would involve research on a range of different females lifestyle magazines to see whether females are stereotyped and represented in this way in all magazines.

Five words that relate to this Critical Investigation from the A-Z . . .

* Advertorial - This is a advertisement in a magazine presented as an editorial, which attracts a large amount of attention from readers who might not realise that it is paid for which then means that it lacks objectivity.

This word links to the critical investigation as it is specifically about a magazine which means that when analysing different magazines, I will be able to use this term to refer to the advertisements in the magazine and how they are being portrayed to the readers. This shows that this word will help in researching similar magazines to females lifestyles and deciding whether this is shown in the magazines that I research.

* Anchor - This is a caption that is written below a image to give the image meaning and direct the reader in to thinking what the editor has said about the image.

This word will link to the critical investigation of looking at magazines as in many magazines there would be images which would have an anchor. This means that for this critical investigation, I will be able to see whether the magazines are using a anchor that is influencing the readers opinion on the image. This would be present in many images shown in newspapers and magazines as the readers thinking will be influenced and they will begin to think what is written in the anchorage.

* Exclusive - This is when there is as story line in a newspaper or magazine that is unique to a particular broadcaster of publication.

This word will link to the critical investigation as this critical investigation will involve looking at the different story lines mentioned in magazines. This will mean that I will need to look at whether the storyline of the magazines mentioned is a unique storyline that would be unique to a particular publication of the magazine. This will involve comparing different magazines and looking at whether they have a exclusive storyline.

* Gutter Press - This word is used to describe the tabloid press as they build up stories around the worst aspects of humans.

This word will link to the critical investigation as many newspapers and magazines exaggerate on certain story lines which means that I will have to see in this critical investigation if the story lines of females are being exaggerated. For example, if females weight is being overly exaggerated to create a moral panic in the media which will make females conscious on their weight. This means that I will need to compare different females lifestyle magazines and see if gutter press is taking place in the story lines.

* Leader - This is the leading editorial article in a newspaper which means it is the most important.

This word links to the critical investigation as in every magazine there is a main article which means that if I look at magazines related to females lifestyle, I will need to see what the main articles are in the film which I will be able to call the Leader.

Linked Production . . .

The linked production that I have chosen from the post it notes is a mock up on a magazine which is someone elses idea. In order to link this to the critical investigation, it would have to be a mock up on females lifestyle magazine which would link to the critical investigation as in the investigation there will be research on females lifestyle magazine. By this the production will be linked to the critical investigation and will get an opportunity to produce a mock up of a magazine.

Five words that are related to the Linked Production from the A-Z . . .

* Knocking Copy - This word describes a journalistic shorthand for newspaper articles that seek out negative, unflattering or embarrassing events in order to criticise individuals and institutions in the public eye.

This word will related to the linked production as in the linked production there can be articles used that are knocking copy. For example, if in the magazine mock up there is a article based on females weight negatively then the magazine can be using knocking copy in the article as females who are too skinny may be represented negatively or females over weight.

* Leak - This is when a unofficial and restricted release happens of a secret is in a magazine or newspaper which reveals gossip to the readers or leaks embarrassing news.

This word relates to a magazine mock up as if there is a leak in a article in the magazine mock up, it will be referred to as a "leak". This specific word will help the article in the magazine be more persuasive as the readers will be interested in finding out what is the leaked news. This word can be used in the magazine mock up to make it more persuasive and attract the readers.

* Masthead - This is the title of a newspaper or magazine as shown at the top of the front page.

This word will relate to the linked production as for the magazine mock up on females lifestyle, there will need to be a masthead for the magazine as then readers will not know what the magazine is called which means that having a masthead will be important for any magazine or newspaper. When referring to the magazine mock up, the term masthead can be used which is why this word is linked.

* Typography - This term means the art or process of composing type and printing from it.

This term will relate to the linked production as in the magazine mock up the typography will need to be considered as the typography will need to be suitable for the magazine and will need to be suitable for readers to read clearly. This term will be used as the magazine articles typography will be a important factor that will need to go with the theme of the magazine. For example, if it is a magazine based on the theme of horror, the typography is likely to be related to horror such as red and blood dripping down the font. However, this will not be suitable for a females lifestyle magazine so the typography will be important.

* White Space - This is when there are deliberate blank spaces on printed pages of a magazine or newspaper which is designed as the overall appearance and design of the magazine.

This word will link to the linked production as in the females lifestyle magazine, there may be white spaces as it may be the overall design of the magazine. This term will be used if my magazine does use white spaces which is likely in a females lifestyle magazine.

Self Evaluation of Presentation (Confessions of a Shopaholic)

WWW . . .

From the feedback I received from the class, I found that the things that went well with my presentation were that mainly all the topics were mentioned well and I had analysed the film closely as I had a lot of information on the film. This showed that one of the strong points about my presentation was that I had studied the film closely to ensure that I know everything I need to about the film. Another WWW I found in my research was that I used a lot of media terminology such as Todorov's theory, Uses and Gratifications theory, protagonist, catharsis and tag line. In my presentation, I had mainly images on the slides which meant that I was not reading off the board and was able to interest the audience with the use of images rather than making the audience read of the board. The colour scheme of my film was another thing that was good about my presentation as it went with the film.

EBI . . .

The things that I could have done better in my presentation was that I was reading too much of the paper which meant that there was not a lot of eye contact with the audience. I also need to improve on the representation of the film as I could have mentioned much more on the representation of the film which I did not do. Another thing that could have been better about my presentation was the introduction as I could of explained the introduction properly to the audience to ensure they have a more insight on the film. Also, in my presentation I mentioned economical factors which I could have elaborated on so that the audience was more aware of the issue.

Feedback from the Class . . .

Significance - 1

Structure - 2

Simplicity - 2

Rehearsal - 3