I, Daniel Blake: key facts
- Box office of $15 million vs an ESTIMATED budget of $1-5 million. A low budget, independent film
- Social realist film dealing with a hard hitting and intrinsically British issue. Clearly identifiable genre for white, middle class target audience
- HOWEVER: the niche and fragmentary nature of the audience of independent films means that this film also appeals to a diverse, working class target audience; the 'true' audience as Loach doubtless sees it
- Innovative marketing campaign saw ‘guerrilla’ screenings in town halls and projections of the trailer in public spaces
- Funded by a range of sources, including French premium TV network Canal+, Film 4 and the National Lottery
- Contradicts Curran and Seaton’s notion that media only exists for power and profit… or does it? Film was comparatively extremely financially successful, and saw international critical acclaim, winning a Palme D’or at Cannes
Boiling down theory
- Power and media industries - Curran and Seaton
- Regulation - Sonia Livingstone and Peter Lunt
- Cultural industries - David Hesmondhalgh
Take the above three theories, and re-write them in a way that even an eleven year old would be able to understand it!
Check out this video, which briefly sums up every media theory!
Comparing ideology and audience
Black Panther clip
- What is the dominant ideology ('message') of this scene?
- What genre conventions (superhero/social realist) does this clip encode?
- Who is the target audience for this product? How do you know?
- In what ways are the target audience positioned through these scenes?
- In what ways can this clip appeal to local and global audiences?
Regulation contexts
Search for both Black Panther and I, Daniel Blake on the BBFC website, and copy paste the information in to your blog. Why did these films get the BBFC certificate they did? Check out the 'parents guides' for these films on IMDB for a step by step guide to their content. Is this in line for a film with this certificate? What certificate did these films get in other countries? Does this surprise you?
Comparing reviews and comparing ideologies
This task serves as a sort of introduction to the newspaper industry, which you will be starting next lesson!
Guardian review
Daily Mail review
Read the two above reviews of I, Daniel Blake and answer the following questions:
- In what ways did the critical reception of I, Daniel Blake differ?
- How do these reviews reflect the two newspaper's political ideologies? Make sure you read the comments, which are a great way of assessing the ideology of the target audience! Click around both The Guardian website and The Daily Mail (Mail Online) websites to support your assertion