However, there is potential to criticise this process. Skyfall exists to entertain it's audience, and does so in a variety of ways, from familiar genre conventions, an agreeable representation of masculinity, and many exciting (and extremely expensive) action scenes that will allow audiences the gratification of social interaction through discussing their favourite parts long after leaving the cinema.
Read below, however, and you will see that Q block A2 media questioned the exploitative, even fetishistic representation of women. Severin being shot dead, all while wearing a very low cut dress, is presented as entertainment to the audience, and this assumes that even in death, the only purpose of female characters in media texts is for the object of a heterosexual male gaze.
Brave does things very differently, with Princess Merrida remaining unsexualised, which is unconventional of Disney princess films. The entertainment in the archery scene comes from the pleasure at seeing action and comedy conventions combined, with the dominant reading suggesting that young girls can challenge gender stereotypes.
It can be good to conclude your essay with a 'however' paragraph. which conflicts with your argument. As detailed below, The Selfish Giant is certainly not traditionally entertaining. In fact, it's lack of non-diegetic sound and often confusing use of dialect and handheld cinematography means it can be a tough watch. We can argue that Clio Barnard is coming from a very different ideological perspective, and is positioning the audience in such a way that they feel resentment for the institutions that have neglected the main characters. However, we can argue that this lack of entertainment value comes at a price: The Selfish Giant was the only one of the three films we have studied to have lost money... and this is despite it having by far the lowest production costs.
Introduction
Definition - Audience refers to the people that consume, use, or take pleasure from a media text. Audiences are essential to producers, as they allow producers to profit from well marketed media texts. However, in order to make money, the media text must entertain its audience.
Argument - I will be arguing that the main function of the film texts I have studied is to entertain their audiences, in order to make as much money as possible. Producers often use exploitative ways to get reactions from audiences. However, there are many different audience categories, who may or may not find particular films entertaining. And some producers will deliberately create films which are not entertaining, perhaps to inform the audience.
Context - I will be analysing Skyfall, an action film released in 2012 and directed by Sam Mendes as the 24th film in the James Bond series, Brave, a 2012 animated fantasy/comedy/action adventure film produced by Disney Pixar, as the 13th Pixar film and The Selfish, a social realist drama, directed by Clio Barnard in October 2013.
Skyfall - key scene - the shot glass scene
- Characters, representation - Bond girls are a convention of the Bond film. Severin provides the heterosexual male audience sexual gratification. Mise-en-scene, tight red dress, tied up, both sexualised and fetishised.
- Props - guns, conventions of the action genre, providing audiences the gratification of escapism, and the pleasure of seeing repeated genre conventions. The use of POV positions/anchors the audience as James Bond, emphasising the dominance of Bond's protagonist.
- Celebrities - Both Daniel Craig and Javier Bardem and instantly recognisable for their roles in other films, for example Biutiful and No Country For Old Men.
- Representation - Severene dying is a key dramatic plot point. Suspense, gun held up in action code. The preferred response is to feel upset and appalled by her death, but also sexually attracted towards her. Therefore the death of women is presented as entertainment.
Brave - key scene - the archery contest
- Ideology - rejecting parental hegemony. Provides escapism to target audience of young girls. Merrida ignores the will of her mother, wields a bow and arrow and challenging gender stereotypes, and tearing her dress, conveying that she rejects gender stereotypes. Positive representation of women.
- Comedy conventions - Old man flashes bum, mildly rude, example of childish humour. Genre hybridity allows many different audiences to be entertained.
- Editing - Use of fast paced editing and match on action shots confirm this film as a fast paced comedy, contrasting with slow motion shot. Pace of editing changes throughout scene
- Music - Traditional Scottish music establishes setting to younger audience, providing the audience with escapism, and Scottish audiences can identify with the setting.
However...
The selfish Giant - key scene - dinner time at Swifty's house
- Mise en scene - Flat is unlit and filled with a range of very young children, handheld camera emphasises chaotic atmosphere. Intense diegetic sound of children crying connotes misery, unhappiness and neglect. Swifty's dad uses authoritative, angry tone of voice, "oi, geddinere now".
- Representation of women - "you're bloody useless" Preferred response is to feel anger, sadness. Domestic roles, stereotypical representation of women .
- Representation of Arbour - a product of his upbringing. However, moments of compassion, eg Arbour rubs Swifty's brother's head. A young, working class hero.
- Lack of non-diegetic sound - Adds verisimilitude to scene, raw, less artificial, and less entertaining.