The Jeremy Kyle Show (Thursday 15th 2018)

The following is a collection of notes on the episode we are studying, and come from Michael's notes when watching the show and various student suggestions. Please remember that it's in note form, but it should be great for revision. Please let Jack or Michael know if you have anything that needs to be elaborated. 

Regulation

• ITV Hub's regulatory framework is limited to say the least. A self declaration is required to watch The Jeremy Kyle Show, to 'prove' the user is over 18, despite the fact that such a regulation is over the top, especially as the programme was broadcast at 09:25, way before the watershed. This clearly suggests a desire to escape litigation.

Sponsorship

• Sponsored by 'Slingo', a low rent Bingo app targeted specifically at a working class, middle aged female audience. Slingo advert actively parodies the JK show!!!

Advertising

• Dreameez - cat food
• Some biscuit
• A malteasers advert targeting working class women
• Thomas Cooke family resort holidays
• Seat mid range car advert Seat
• Cleaning products - bloo toilet cleaner, stereotypically female audience
• British heart charity advert
• Nivea men shaving range
• A BMW advert - surpring considering the core target demographic, though presumably a middle class secondary audience?
• Oven chips - Mcain - particularly working class mode of address with regional accent
• Vodaphone broadband
• Jaguar
• Mcvitties
• A financial scam awareness advert with a celebrity businessperson (that guy from The Apprentice)

"I blame my dad for my brother being beheaded"

• It's a big day for Shona, she's on the Jeremy Kyle show" - establishment of Jeremy Kyle show as essentially an important and valid metanarrative, and a potential way of seeking real world justice
• Kyle emerges in low angle shot, playfully slapping camera
• Consistent and regular audience reactions
• Ominous non-diegetic note played over grainy CCTV footage
• "He had been decapitated"
• Stereotypical working class representation, MES reinforcing these stereotypes includes obesity, lack of teeth and stereotypically working class clothing
• Kyle's body language is relaxed and welcoming,
• "Ee 'ad no 'ead"c- a statement possibly more suited to a police interrogation, complete with diegetic audience sighs and shocked noises.
• Why on earth is this show 'investigating' an unsolved murder? Is this ethical or even LEGAL?
• "I blame my dad for my brother being beheaded" - alarmist and hyperbolic lexis presented in a constant anchoring graphic at the bottom of the screen
• Awkward monologue is rewarded with a round of applause
• "If you don't do that, cracks start to appeal [sic]"
• [hand on knee] "I think you're amazing by the way"
• Kyle - "it's very difficult for me", placing him in the centre of the narrative
• Range of audience reaction shots emphasis the gravity of the situation. "I think you're amazing by the way"kyle intones, further anchoring the audience in to the position that she is the faultless protagonist
• Kyle "were you a good father" - blunt, interrogative mode of address
• Editing - dramatic music and a pale filter over the 'coming up' montage, and each segment starts with a 'best of' montage
• MES of leather furniture - quality and professionalism
• "she's your daughter, mate"..."I don't think you know her at all"
• Kyle's lexis is approachable yet more sophisticated than who he is hosting. words such as "polarised" "ironically" "heinous", though occasionally slips to a working class lexis, eg "slag her off", "mate", "pal"
• "Your daughter is next to you pal [she's crying], do something about it!" - manipulative of both audience and performers
• Awkward, conflicted mode of address. Audience are invited to laugh, hate, cringe and emphasise. A simultaneous dual mode of address
• "we can't talk about people who aren't here" a blatant manipulation of narrative, all the while fulfilling regulatory guidelines
• "she is your daughter pal" becomes this narrative's catchphrase
• What on earth is a cold fish?
• "everyone behind me is going to agree", inferring a totality of consent
• Audience applause off screen promted and manipulated by
• I was left more cold by the answers, but we'll let you know how that goes" explicit suggestion that narrative will be concluded in a subsequent episode

"Stop accusing me of animal cruelty - I love my dog!"

• "Look at this my friends" - direct and inclusive mode of address to the audience. His tone completely changed, his voice now substantially more fast paced.
• "if you think I'm going any where near that wolf!" Now the audience are laughing frequently.
• Editing, series of freeze frames of obese woman entering stage, middle finger blurred in post-production
• Mode of address "do you think you're being lied to" requests audience to send in footage etc
• Previously montage
• "a jealous manipulative prostitute" [wooooooo!]
• Second section decidedly more comedic, Kyle's performance becomes more casual, sarcastic
• Clearly these characters are audience favourites, and have been bought back in in order to continue a narrative. Therefore is The Jeremy Kyle Show essentially an open continuous narrative, continually self-perpetuating, much like a soap opera?
• Kyle's long winded joke prompts rapturous audience response. The speed of his delivery increases significantly. Delivered with his hand on the shoulder of one of the guests. Personable, relatable, even fatherly.
• Anchorage of bassy rock music prompts repulsion as overweight 'antagonist' enters
• Consistent reference to relatable aspects like Facebook messaging
• Kyle is now say on the steps of the stage, in a carefully choreographed display of relatability and casual approachability
• "She says you're a prostitute" - again, manipulation of performers, construction of narrative
• Grainy, cut in video footage of dog licking woman's frace, grotesquery anchored and emphasised through windowed reaction shots of audience clutching faces in horror
• A dog is bought on stage to applause and ahhhhhs.
• "He's got a big pair of balls doesn't he", causual and racy lexis, even more oppositional to the first narrative. "even the dog's got two and I've only got one", reference to Kyle's testicular cancer.
• Dog starts barking, cameraman is bought in to the narrative, aruably a postmodern deconstruction of the limitations of the medium of television
• Continual close-ups of dog loungiging, barking
• It is difficult, with the constant cutaways and distractions, to make sense of the narrative
• "have you sold your body for sex? Have you ever sold your body for sex?"

I proposed then my fiancee confessed to being a cheat! Lie detector results

• "You might recognise my next guest from a previous episode" - another sequel to a previous classic
• "I can't believe we're doing this"
• 'Protagonist' enters in a camo-shell suit and attempts to give Kyle an elaborate handshake. Audience are delighted, even ecstatic.
• Kyle declares him to be a doormat in a pretty brutal character assassination
• Yet more dog footage, yet more audience responses
• Grainy mobile phone shot of the reoccurring symbolic code of the 'reclining chair'
• Carol enters to boos and jeers. Kyle calls her a lying cow. Manipulative and mean spirited
• Strong Liverpudlian accents
• At this stage the episode has become exhausting
• Show ends with a teaser for a Kyle fronted show on gangs, which seems to be similarly exploitative

Shyer - Compliments music video premiere 26.03.18

If you're looking for inspiration for your upcoming music video, check out this upcoming event at the Blue Moon on Norfolk Street. By the way, we're hoping to have Rys, the director, come in to give a talk to you guys before you get stuck in to the production.

Music video analysis - Vance Joy - Riptide (2013) - initial analysis notes

Raw and unedited student responses. All credit goes to the students who made the comments.

Q block

Polysemic readings - metaphorical readings, the splitting ice cream could be symbolic of a broken relationship. Therefore the cheery mise en scene presents a creepy and troubling binary opposition

Horror film conventions - stereotypically attractive 'horror film victim' breaks free from being tied to a tree. Connotative of kidnapping and a violent threat. Contrapuntal imagery compared to the chirpy pop song

• Extremely postmodern video - use of distressing horror imagery deliberately positioning the audience in a confusing and distressing situation.
• Extremely strong link between lyrical content and on screen visuals - an explicit description, perhaps a binary opposition between a conventional and subversive music video
• On the word 'riptide' a L/S high angle establishing shot of the sea, connoting danger and death
• A montage of C/Us of everyday items establishes to the audience themes of travel and solidify the overarching theme of escapism
• Mixture of continuous and discontinuous editing - some shots lack cause cause and effect
• Much imagery seems to be conventional of occult horror - Blair Witch Project, Ouija, The Conjuring, The Omen
• Continual, reoccurring shots of female characters being dragged under beds etc. Gender emphasised through the connotations of costume, for example high heals, red lipstick and so on
• Lacks the conventional element of performance, subversively omitting the metanarrative of celebrity
• Lacks a coherent narrative
• Unconventional master shot of middle aged women lip syncing to the track. Lip syncing gradually deteriorates and gets less professional. MES of blood and smeared makeup could connote abuse, violence. Additionally the use of incorrect lyrics, signposted with the on-screen subtitles, might suggest a code word, further emphasising the themes of abuse and escape
• Fully polysemic, with absolutely meaning explicitly anchored by the producer. Is she drunk? Is she in danger?

U block

Mid/LS of feet being dragged under a bed, low angled shot, low key blue/purple lighting which connotes darkness, misery and threat

Voyeuristic M/S high-angled POV shot of young blonde woman removing a one-piece yellow swimsuit, slow zoom on to naked back, intertextual reference to early Bond films, even Baywatch!

• 
  General theme and narrative - montage of shots suggests themes of drowning, dying and death
• Alternative theme and narrative - an unpredictable and deliberately misleading montage of shots
• Deliberately invites polysemic interpretations 
• Emotional response - cold, confusing
• Montage consistently matches the themes of the lyrics, eg 'cowboy running' is matched with long shot, canted angle, symbolic of dual personalities, afraid of what he has become
• Intertextuality - the mise-en-scene suggests the conventions of an Western film, and therefore functions as a referential code
• Referential codes create audience appeal, as only certain audiences will understand the reference
• Additionally, the mid shot of the seance and the mise en scene of the ouija board is referential of horror cinema, in particular 70's horror film
• Mid shot of letter dated august 1974 anchors the audience in to a particular time period, because it's cool
• Denies the audience a definitive reading
• "techniques of photographing girls' heavily manicured female hand pushes red leather bound book in to frame in a manner which seems rehearsed, robotic and non-consensual 
• Positions the audience in a voyeuristic, even perverted perspective, forcing the audience to consider Van Zoonen's notion of a predatory male gaze

Media opportunity - act fast!

Check out the email below and talk to your media teacher ASAP if this is something you would like to get involved in. Remember, if you're looking for a career in the media industries, you will need as much experience as possible, and this would be an excellent place to start!

"I'm getting in touch on behalf of MediaCom, the UK's number one media agency, who have an amazing opportunity for creative, socially engaged and aware 16-19 year old students. 

MediaCom work with organisations such as Facebook, Coca Cola, Sky and PlayStation. They are looking for a fresh perspective on adverts aimed at teenagers and want to involve students. The students will do real work for huge organisations and develop ideas alongside a variety of advertising professionals.

In return for their insight and work, MediaCom will commit to supporting the students in areas such as CV writing, interview coaching and building work experience. Students who excel on the scheme will have the opportunity to apply for MediaCom's apprenticeship and get a full-time paid job in the media industry. 

MediaCom are hosting two open days in the Easter holidays (Wednesday 4th April and Friday 6th April) for students who are interested in this opportunity. Places are VERY LIMITED, so please let me know if you have any students in mind who would be a good fit for this opportunity and I will pass your contact details on to MediaCom who will work with you to select the students to attend."

Mess (U block countercultural magazine project)