Revision pyramid

Black Panther and the film industry

Explain what you believe the term distribution to mean [2]

Distribution refers to the ways in which a media product is made accessible to an audience by the producer. For example, the film black Panther has been distributed through digital streaming on Disney +, through theatrical distribution in cinemas and physical distribution, for example through DVD and BD sales. 

To what extent is Black Panther typical of a mainstream film? [6]

Underline the key terms

To what extent is Black Panther typical of a mainstream film? [6]

Knee jerk reaction

Black Panther is typical of mainstream cinema in almost every single way

Plan

Conglomerate

High production values

200 million dollars

1.6 billion dollars revenue 

Michael B Jordan - established actor 

Kilgore 

CGI

150 million spent on marketing

Producer - marvel studios

Distributer - Disney studios

Clear genre conventions

Action

Superhero

Minimise risk and maximise profit - Hesmondhalgh 

Synergy with other brands eg Toyota

Product placement

Pre-sold audience 

Curran and Seaton - power and profit

Buying out competition

Vertically and horizontally integrated

Ryan coogler director - established director 

Distributed through Netflix

The through Disney +

Merchandise 

Introduction

DAC - definition, argument, context

Mainstream or major cinema refers to films created by vast conglomerates that are motivated by profit and power. In this essay I shall argue that BP is typical of mainstream film production. Black Panther (2018) is a big budget blockbuster superhero film that appeals to a wide audience.

Content

• One way in which BP is typical of mainstream cinema can be seen through it’s high production values. The film is fixated on a series of extremely expensive and visually stunning scenes that are only made possible through extensive use of CGI, showcasing very high production values. It is essential for superhero films to demonstrate their high production values and massive budget in order to engage and appeal to a mass global audience. Black Panther was popular in its home market of America, yet was also highly successful in the UK, China , and France .

• Another way in which BP is typical of mainstream cinema is through the use of established actors

• Michael B Jordan established actor famous from Creed

• As part of the Marvel cinematic universe, BP had the advantage of a pre sold audience, and would appeal to existing fans

• A largely black cast allows the producers to target an audience who may not previously have been engaged with the MCU. Released around the same time of the BLM movement, Black Panther captured the zeitgeist of political movements at the time, and the phrase ‘Wakanda forever’ became associated with the BLM movement. This widespread exposure is typical of mainstream 

• Steve Neale - repetition and difference: the representation of black people becomes a marketing technique for the producer, allowing the film to target black audiences

• Black Panther was distributed in a variety of different ways to minimise risk and to maximise profit. These methods included digital distribution, theatrical distribution and physical distribution. Such mass distribution is only possible through the involvement of a mainstream, major conglomerate

• The themes of the film: simple and straightforward

To what extent has black panther been affected by regulatory frameworks? [10]

• Regulation refers to the rules and restrictions a media industry must follow. The film industry in the UK is regulated by the BBFC, who principally regulate films through a system of age certification. I shall argue that that Black Panther has been significantly

• + affected by regulatory frameworks, in order to ensure the film receives a 12A certificate and can therefore minimise risk and maximise profit

• The BBFC primarily exists to reduce the risk of harm and offence that may occur if someone too young were to watch a certain film. In order to mitigate this risk and to be seen by as many many people as possible, BP is edited in such a way as to reduce the impact of the violence. The BBFC is concerned with the detail of violence, with explicit violence being potentially harmful to younger audiences. To mitigate this, Black Panther does not focus on injury detail. With explicit injury detail, the film may be a 15 certificate, and therefore exclusionary to younger audiences.

• Disney and other major conglomerates aggressively target younger teenage audiences. Younger audiences typically have more time to watch films, and also have expendable income which is highly desirable to producers. While the fight scenes of BP are brutal, the editing will cut away before any explicit injury detail.

I Daniel Blake and the film industry

Explain what you understand the term ‘regulation’ to mean [2]

Regulation refers to the rules and restrictions that different media industries must follow. One example of a regulatory framework is the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) which regulates films and videogames in The UK through a system of age ratings.

Explore the ways that films can be affected by regulatory frameworks. Make reference to I Daniel Blake to support your answer [10]

Knee jerk reaction

I Daniel Blake has been affected by regulation

Plan

Age rating

Livingstone and Lunt

Ineffective regulation

Digital distribution

F___ and C___

(strong language) 

Regional differences 

Regulation

Harm and offence

Sex references

Themes of prostitution 

Other Loach Films (Sweet Sixteen) 

Strict regulation

Introduction

DAC - definition, argument, context

Regulation is important to the film industry because it provides a framework of suggestions to parents to allow them to decide what is appropriate to their children. However, despite being heavily regulated, the regulation of films in the UK (achieved through age certificates) is ineffective. To explore this point I shall refer to Ken Loach’s indie social realist film that achieved significant critical success.

Paragraphs

PEA - Point, evidence, argument 

Paragraph examples/discussion/etc here

• IDB was rated 15 in the UK by the BBFC. It was rated 15 primarily due to its use of strong and very strong language. In England, certain words are considered particularly offensive, and the use of ‘the C word’ in particular may be considered to cause harm or offence. This is in direct opposition to the producer, who intended for the film to be a 12A in order to be seen by as many audiences as possible and therefore to share the message of the film. This is an excellent example of the conflict between the producer’s ideology and the strictness of UK regulation, which stands in stark opposition to other countries like France which have a far more liberal attitude to regulation.

• However, the regulation of films in the UK may be strict, but it is largely ineffective. Livingstone and Lunt argue that regulations are ineffective due to digitally convergent technologies and digital methods of distribution. Despite I Daniel Blake’s highly political mode of address, the film is distributed on Disney Plus in the UK, which not only allows the producers to target a wider audience, it also allows younger audiences to circumvent regulation by simply watching the film online. Therefore despite it’s adult content, IDB can be viewed by Children

• Films are typically regulated to prevent harm and offence. However, it could be argued that IDB has nothing that would harm or offend audiences in the first place. While the film contains strong language, these words can be interpreted differently in different parts of the country. An excellent example of this can be found in Loaches Sweet 16 which was rated 18 purely for its very strong language despite the language being commonplace in Glasgow. Additionally, while IDB deals with themes pf prostitution, it is not dealt with in an explicit way. 

• Finally, it can be argued IDB did not deserve a 15 rating as the political themes of the film are too important to be regulated. However, the blunt regulation of films in the UK stopped the film from being viewed purely for its strong language.

Explore how independent films are shaped by their context of production. Make reference to IDB

Curran and Seaton argue that the film industry is completely based on the ideas of power and profit. How IDB has been made to spread a political message to a niche audience. This has completely influenced the production of this film and shaped the very nature of it.

• Low production values, including north of England setting, and stereotypical representation of people who live there

• Low budget - 3.5million (Black Panther cost 200m…)

• Casting of unknown and non hegemonically attractive actors

• Simple, straightforward editing and cinematography connotative of poverty and highly typical of the genre

• Documentary style 

• Lack of special effects

• Lack of CGI 

• Lack of post production editing techniques

• Variety of production companies typical of an indie film to minimise risk 

• Niche, depressing theme

• Primarily targeting a British audience

• Won the Palme D’or award at Cannes

Compare how audiences can respond to and interpret the representations in the WaterAid advert you have studied and the Barnardo's print advert you have been provided with

Underline the key terms

Compare how audiences can respond to and interpret the representations in the WaterAid advert you have studied and the Barnardo's print advert you have been provided with 

Knee jerk reaction

Both charity adverts use stereotypically vulnerable representations to create a sympathetic mode of address

Plan

MES

Binary oppositions

Editing

Postcolonial theory 

Cultivation 

Sound

Non-diegetic

Diegetic

Lighting

Polysemic

Lexis

Visual/audio codes 

Stereotypical

Representation

Identity

CU

MS

Tracking shot

Establishing shot

Zimbabwe

High angle

Stuart hall

Van zoonen 

Lexis 

Graphics

Anchorage

Reinforce

Colour palette 

Gauntlett

Pick and mix

Butler - gender performativity 

Introduction

DAC - definition, argument, context

Representation is the way in which something is re-presented by the producer for the purpose of demonstrating their ideology. Audiences can interpret these representations in a variety of different ways depending on their own identity. Producers will typically use representations to minimise and maximise profit. In this essay I shall argue that charity adverts in particular use vulnerable and emotionally manipulative representations to garner sympathy from the audience, and to encourage them to donate money. In order to explore this idea, I shall refer to the ‘Claudia’ WaterAid advert, which provides an atypical representation, and the Barnardos advert, which presents a stereotypical representation. 

Paragraphs

PEA - Point, evidence, argument 

One way in which both adverts use stereotypically vulnerable representations is through…. 

Content

• Heavy use of key key lighting with lots of shadows  in the Baranrdos advert constructs symbolic connotations of poverty and sadness, This is further anchored through the MES of cracks that run through the boy’s face, which emphasise the idea that he is poor and vulnerable. The MES of the key light on his face draws attention to his downtrodden facial expression, and the blackness of the background symbolically encoded ideas of innocence and victimhood through the binary constructed between light and dark. 
• However, a complex representation of vulnerability is constructed in the wateraid advert. Claudia is a girl and is constructed in a feminine way throughout the advert.  The use of slow paced tracking shots, in combination with the use of long takes constructs a stereotypical representation of femininity, which may be appealing to the target audience
• While she may be stereotypically feminine in some ways, XClaudia arguably presents an atypical representation of teenage girls which may appeal to the British Working class and middle aged target audience. Claudia’s atypical representation is constructed through a montage of extreme close up establishing shots that emphasise her lack of makeup and her hardworking feet. In combination with the MES of the bucket on her head, which not only polysemically encodes her hard work, but also constructs a stereotypical representation of African people. By being constructed as hardworking, a more sympathetic representation is constructed for the British audience, who may feel that their donation money is being spent on a worthy cause
• The highly engaging use of the diegetic sound of Claudia’s voice presents a soft, gentle and alluring mode of address to the target audience. Claudia is not only singing a British pop song from the early 90s, but is singing in reasonably clear English, which constructs a relatable and pleasing representation for the target audience to identify with. This is very similar to the stereotypically Irish representation of the young boy in the Barnardos
• A hyperreal representation of Africa is constructed through the stereotypical MES
• Through the generic representation of ‘Africa’, Claudia is consistently othered, and is represented through her difference to the stereotypical British representation a the start of the advert

Compare how representations reflect the time in which adverts are made. Refer to the Tide print advert you have studied and the Dove advert you have been provided with

Underline the key terms

Compare how representations reflect the time in which adverts are made. Refer to the Tide print advert you have studied and the Dove advert you have been provided with

Knee jerk reaction

The representation of women in advertising has changed dramatically over time, in terms of representations of ethnicity, sexualisation, and the idea of hegemonic attractiveness 

Plan

Layout

Pick and mix identity

Stuart Hall

Stereotypes 

Postcolonialism 

Van Zoonen

Feminism 

Bell Hooks

Male gaze

Intersectional feminism 

Judith Butler 

Gender performativity 

Dress codes

Sexualisation 

Genre

Conventions 

Representation

Parasocial relationships

Lexis

Hyperreality

Polysemy

Modes of address

Mise en scene

Intertextuality 

Comic 

Romance

Cultivation

Uses and grats

Slogan

Target audience 

The Z line rule

Direct mode of address

Sans serif font

Mid shot

Older vs younger audiences

Race

Diversity

Diverse target audience

International audience

White backgrounds

Binary oppositions

Introduction

DAC - definition, argument, context

Representation refers to the re-presentation of an event, issues, places, or a group of people. Representations reconstruct reality, and representations always reflect the ideology of the producer. Producers will encode their ideology in representations to position them in a variety of different ways. In this essay, I shall argue that the representation of women have dramatically changed over time, from the stereotypical , simple and straightforward representations of the 1950s to the more complex and perhaps empowering representations of now. I shall also argue that representations demonstrate inequalities of power, and that women in many ways are still represented as subordinate. In order to explore this idea, I shall be referring to The Tide Advert, produced by Procter and Gamble in the 1950s in America, and the Dove Soap advert. 

Paragraphs

PEA - Point, evidence, argument 

Paragraph examples/discussion/etc here

• Sexualisation ‘ one way in which the representation of women have completely changed over time is through the respective difference in sexualisation in these adverts

• Postcolonialism and the use of the colour white

• Hegemonic representations of female beauty 

• Lexis and genre conventions 

Examples

• The MES of the white costumes constructs a binary opposition between clothing and the women themselves. This reinforces exactly how revealing these costumes are, and constructs not only a highly sexualised representation of women, but also constructs a fetishistic mode of address. This sexualisation is a classic example of the male gaze, and confirms that sex and hegemonically attractive women have always been used to sell products

• The MES of costume in each advert is radically different, and constructs wholly different representations of women . For example in the Tide advert, the housewife is wearing the MES of a stereotypically girly, feminine white dress. This costume is stereotypical of 1950s house wives, and is symbolic of the hegemonically clean and pristine image that was seen as being desirable. Anchored with the MES of her heavy makeup and the iconography of her practical yet stylish haircut, a highly conservative representative representation of women is constructed. This straightforward representation would appeal to the 50s American target audience, by cultivating certain ideological perspectives.

• Contemporary audiences would identify the genre conventions of propaganda, which are designed to encode a patriotic mode of address.

How does Formation explore complex representations of black identity?

 That B.E.A.T (2012)

Wider reading: this 2016 article explains some of the controversy that existed around Beyoncé's wholesale lifting of various elements from this documentary. While Formation is certainly a diverse and complex representation of marginalised black communities, the style and the aesthetic energy of the video are apparently far from original…

This documentary focuses on bounce music, a subgenre of hip-hip particularly popular in the deep south of America. Bounce music is characterised by a loud and noisy production, a heavy emphasis on samples, a very fast tempo, sexually explicit lyrics, a significant queer following and a large number of gay producers. Elements that are lifted from the documentary include the iconography of flooded buildings, footage of dancing, the sampled electronic drums and bass, and the rough and ready feel and exciting energy. 

However, the video to formation completely dispatches with any queer iconography. The sight of men dancing in a highly sexualised manner is not hegemonically conventional, and would be unfamiliar to those not familiar with gay clubs or queer cinema. This documentary therefore dismantles heteronormative notions about rap music. By completely excluding all queer themes from this video, it can be argued that this decision has been made to minimise risk and to maximise profit. However, in doing so, Beyoncé is not only reinforcing heteronormative hegemonic values, but is also symbolically annihilated black queer queer representation. 

Formation presents a powerful, diverse set of representations of black people, but it is not completely intersectional feminism. 

Iconography - visual symbolism 

How is meaning connoted through dance and gesture in formation

• The gesture of Beyoncé's fist functions as a proairetic code and suggests imminent violence and is symbolic of her power

• The MES of her outstretched arms is symbolic of B embracing her heritage

• The sudden, snappy dance movements are not only aggressive and surprising, but also are symbolic of the violent snares that are high in the song’s mix

• The aggressive whipping of her hair is symbolic of her assertiveness and control

• The adoption of a direct mode of address connotes power, assertiveness and aggression 

• A confrontational mode of address is adopted throughout

• Beyoncé frequently sits with her legs spread apart in the video, perhaps an example of ‘manspreading’, which has stereotypically masculine connotations. When anchored by her jerky, aggressive movements, Beyoncé constructs a complex and contradictory representation of gender

• In the master shot sitting on top of the police car, Beyoncé's facial expression is nonchalant, superior, and even bored, which creates an atypical representation of femininity, and again constructs a complex representation of gender

• Beyoncé rapidly bumps her head in time to the bass beat of the song, which connotes aggression and violence

How does the video to formation use mise en scene to construct a hyperreal bricolage to make reference to issues and events?

Wider reading: ‘Beyoncé’s ‘Formation’ is a defiant reclamation of blackness’ - a wonderful and in-depth analysis of the complex and challenging representations of black identity that are encoded in Formation

• The MES of antebellum era dresses are symbolic of slavery and of slave ownership. The dresses that Beyoncé and ‘her ladies’ wear in this video bear some resemblance to these dresses. Beyoncé's costume combines elements of antebellum era dress and that of a 19th century prostitute. By wearing the costume of an oppressor, not only does Beyoncé demonstrate her power, she also has destroyed this symbolic hierarchy, and presented a challenging mode of address to the target audience. By dressing as a prostitute, Beyoncé is empowering women at the bottom of society's hierarchy, and constructing a truly inclusive representation of women. This highly intertextual bricolage constructs a polysemic mode of address.

• The video to formation is set in the 19th century, yet it is also set in the modern day, and in the 80’s, 90s and 00’s. This complete dismissal of space and time infers that the issues of racism that existed over a century ago still exist today, and that the south of America still has the scars of slavery.

• Formation does not present a linear narrative. It presents a complex and fragmented narrative, a hyperreal bricolage that makes reference to antebellum era slave owners, slavery, revolution, and the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. By breaking down the boundaries of space and time, Beyoncé is suggesting that racism is like an endless loop. She controversially suggests that the same issues that affected black people in America in the 19th century still affect black Americans in the 21st century. This is a highly complex and diverse set of representations.