On & Off Screen Representation

On && Off Screen Representation Linked To My Critical Investigation && Linked Production. . .

On and off screen representation is something which would affect the way in which the audience is shown certain things. This will be an issue that I will need to consider when looking at my critical investigation and linked production. While focusing on my critical investigation, I will need to see whether the representation of teenagers is being affected because of off screen representation. For example, if black teenagers are being represented in a ngeative way, it could mean that the producers of the film may be white which would connote that the representation of the other will be taking place. This means that if the producers are white, they will be setting up a negative image of black or asian teenagers to the public. For my critical investigation, I will also need to see whether the producers of the film are mainly males. This connotes that if males are producing Hollywood films, they will be giving their prospective and how they feel that teenagers are which is most likely to be negative. This means that while looking at my critical investigation, I will need to see if mainly men are producing texts which will mean that they are giving their personal opinion on teenagers to the audience. This would mean that the on screen representation shown to the audience wil be related to how the producers think about teenagers which will be eventually what the audience will also think.

Theory That Links To My Critical Investigation & Linked Production

Audience Theory . . .

* Audience theory is a basic point which needs to be considered when constructing a text or analysing it as this theory is based on what audience will be attracted to the text and how they will be targeted. This is a important point to be considered as when producing a text, the producers will need to know who they are intending to target and how they will do this. This theory links to my linked production and critical investigation as I will need to consider what type of audience is being attracted in the linked production and how they will be attracted. There are different audience theories that relate to my critical investigation and linked production.

1. 'The Hypodermic Needle Model'

- The Hypodermic Needle Model is a theory which believes that ideas and views are being injected in to the audiences mind as they are being persuaded to believe a certain view or idea. This theory was introduced in 1920's when the mass media was still fairly new and advertising had just been discovered to communicate with the audience.

- This theory relates to my critical investigation and linked production as I will be looking at the representation of teenagers in Hollywood productions, exploring how and why this representation has changed over the years which means that the representation has changed over the years as the audience has been injected different views on teenagers through the use of media. For example, teenagers are now stereotyped as trouble makers and immature which was not the case over the years as now teenagers are being represented negatively in films too. This connotes that the public is being injected ideas about teenagers which has caused teenagers to be stereotyped as a threat in the publics view.

2. 'Two Step Flow'

- 'Two Step Flow' is a theory that precisely explaining the relationship between the audience and the text. This theory is from Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson and Hazer Gaudet and their finding suggest that the information does not flow directly from the text into the minds of its audience straight away but is filters through "opinion leaders" and they then communicate it to their less active associates over who they have influence. The audience then mediate the information received directly from the media with the ideas and thoughts expressed by the opinion leaders which means that the audience is not being influenced by a direct process but a two step flow.

- This theory will link to my critical investigation and linked production as when researching for my critical investigation I will need to research different Hollywood productions which will involve looking at the way in which the audience is gaining the information and whether it is directly influencing the audience or if there is 'Two Step Flow'. This will involve me analysing how in different texts, the audience are getting the information and if they understand it instantly or they have to go through the 'Two Step Flow' theory.

New Critical Investigation & Linked Production

Critical Investigation . . .

For my Critical Investigation, "I am going to be looking at the representation of teenagers in Hollywood productions, exploring how and why this representation has changed over the years." For this, I will be analyzing contemporary media texts such as Step Up (Anne Fletcher, 2006), Mean Girls (Mark Waters, 2004) and Juno (Jason Reitman, 2007), referring back to representations in slightly older movies such as The Hole (Nick Hamm, 2001), She’s All That (Robert Iscove, 1999) and 10 Things I Hate About You (Gil Junger, 1999).

Linked Production . . .

As a Linked Production to this investigation, my partners (Aqeel Ali and Gurpreet Sihat) and I will "be creating a front cover of a magzine, a contents page and features for a teen magazine." This will look at teenagers and how they are being represented.

MIGRAIN Analysis . . .

* Media Language:
- I will be analyzing the different types of camera angles used throughout teenage movies in order to see who in the world of teenagers is superior and who is inferior. This will perhaps allow me to create some sort of hierarchy in schools and will help me to understand stereotypes of teenagers in schools.
- Lighting is also going to be analyzed in each of the movies I watch. High key lighting or low key lighting on specific people or objects will show which ones have importance and which don’t.
Sound is also an important aspect to be considered when looking at movies such as High School Musical (Kenny Ortega, 2006) as the lyrics used in certain songs will help me to understand the characters and their position in schools and/or life.

* Institution:
- I will be looking into which institution produces each movie to see if I find a pattern in their work. I believe that institutions such as Walt Disney will produce more positive images of teenagers, whereas other institutions may produce a rather negative view of teenagers.

* Genre:
- As part of both my critical investigation and linked production, I will be looking at school movies such as 17 Again (Burr Steers, 2009), St. Trinian’s (Parker and Thompson, 2007) and Van Wilder (Walt Becker, 2002).
I will also be looking at drama/action movies such as Kidulthood (Menhaj Huda, 2006), Adulthood (Noel Clarke, 2008) and Bullet Boy (Saul Dibb, 2004).
Another genre I would look into is chick flicks. For this genre I would look at movies such as Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (Gurinder Chadha, 2008), Step Up (Anne Fletcher, 2006) and She’s All That (Robert Iscove, 1999).

* Representation:
- I will be looking at how stereotypes in teenage movies are shown to see whether teenagers are all represented the same or if (like adults) they are stereotyped by their ethnicity, culture and social status.
I will be looking at whether teenage females are represented as stereotypical sexual objects, and if males are represented as stereotypical thugs and whether this is the same in other aspects of the media or if it’s just in Hollywood productions.

* Audience:
- For our linked production, we will have an active audience view, which means that as an institution, we will become passive in the relationship between audience and institution. Although we will be giving information to the audience, we will have little to no control over how the audience reads the meaning from the text.
- In my critical investigation, I will be looking from the mass audience’s point of view. Teenagers may have view of Hollywood productions, and adults a very different view. The linked production will also be aimed at a mass audience as both adults will want to see whether or not stereotypes have been found true or false and teenagers will want to watch it as they are the centre of attention in this particular documentary.
- People of all social backgrounds and economic classes will be interested in our linked production as we will be exploring ALL stereotypes whether the teenager in the movie is wealthy or poor.

* Ideology:
- I will be looking into the explicit and implicit ideologies of the institution as part of my critical investigation. Newspapers may have a particular political affiliation which will make some of their articles biased to a particular view of teenagers, making their ideology explicit. However, visual representations of stereotypes of teenagers in a typical Hollywood film will be implicit.
- Patriarchy is a dominant ideology which could be promoted through Hollywood films and is therefore something I will be looking into as it’s an influence structure of practices and ideologies which favour masculine over feminine.

* Narrative:
- Throughout both my critical investigation and linked production, I will be looking into Rolande Barthe’s enigma code theory. Some movies use loads of unanswered enigma codes in order to show that a certain group of people are enigmas to society. I will be looking into whether enigma codes in Hollywood movies about teenagers are unanswered or answered and whether this has an impact on the moral panics involved with teenagers.
- I will also be looking at whether characters in teen movies follow the roles of Propp’s Spheres of Action (the hero, villain, donor, dispatcher, false hero, helper, princess and father). Deconstructing a text in this way may help lead to the discussion of ideology in the text or to think about the audience’s relationship with the text and its characters.
- Lévi-Strauss’ theory of binary oppositions will also be something I will look into when analyzing movies. The ideas of friend or foe, rich or poor and innocence or ‘experience’ are all stereotypical binary oppositions connected to teenagers. Are these true or false?

Current Issues and Debates . . .

As part of both my critical investigation and linked production, I will be looking into Staley Cohen’s concept of moral panics as teenagers are stereotypically associated with gangs, violence and crime. Moral panics usually an act or problem which is widely reported on in the media. Studying the representation of teenagers in movies along with making a documentary will show why these moral panics occur and whether or not teenagers are truly an issue to create moral panic.

My critical investigation will be looking into representation of teenagers and will look into whether the representation is reflective (a true reflection of society) or constructionist (a construction of the media).

Gultung and Ruge’s news values will also be a current issue/debate which I will be looking into. Certain stories have importance over others as they are more negative, personal or have shock value etc. This is important when thinking about whether or not the representations in movies are true as I will mainly be focusing on the news to find society’s representation of teenagers.

Media Theories . . .

Audience Theory is key when looking into the representation of teenagers in movies for my critical investigation. I will be looking into all types of audience theory including the Uses and Gratifications theory, Reception theory, Hypodermic Needle Model and the Two-Step Flow Theory. One of the main things to look at will be whether the audience of each movie I analyze is active or passive.

Semiotics is also a theory that I will be looking into as it involves me looking into the deeper meanings in teenage movies to really understand each character. A passive audience will only notice the denotations in the movie, but if the audience is active, the connotations in the movie will play a very influential part.

Gender theory will also play a crucial part in both my critical investigation and linked production as it involves looking into male gaze, feminism and post-feminism and queer theories. I predict that although teenage girls are shown to be objects of male gaze, their role in society will be the complete opposite.

This study fits into the contemporary media landscape as it covers an issue which is important in both society and the media. Looking into the representations of teenagers in movies and how they truly are will either help us to understand that moral panics are correct or that they aren’t.

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