A textual analysis of Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation season 2 episode 1: 'Pawnee Zoo'

Representation - what groups are represented, how are they represented, and why?

Gay people 

Positively and stereotypically. Confident, loud, and motivated by partying. In The Bulge , a tightly packed group of gay men excitedly chant Leslie's name, which constructs gay men as over enthusiastic, loud, proud and confident. Exclusively gay men. Use of Lady Gaga as a gay icon reinforces stereotypical representations of gay men. However, this episode arguably perpetuates a simplistic and straightforward stereotype of gay men, which can cause issues for gay men in real life, as it constructs an idea, standard, and stereotype. Gay men in this episode are an accessory and a function rather than being a fully fleshed character attribute. The gay best friend stereotype. Thingy is represented as feminine for the purposes of comedy, which also represents stereotypes surrounding gay people

Middle-aged women 

Awkward and cringy. This also reinforces a stereotypical representation of middle aged women. Lacks knowledge on current life, on LGBT+ lifestyles, is clueless, ditzy, scatty, and barely competent.

Young people 

[The homeless] - creepy, stalker-y, but also, really funny. Homelessness is a joke in this narrative. The MES of the pit in his former garden is a ridiculously over the top aspect MES. The serious issue of homelessness is so unrelatable to working class audiences that it is treated as straightforward.

Media language - close textual analysis

Genre - what genre is this show and what are the conventions that make it?

Genre - comedy

Subgenres and styles - situation comedy, mockumentary

Conventions of the mocumentary -  handheld camera, single camera setup, long take, shakeycam, low production values 

This Country, Modern Family, The Office, Brooklyn 99 (borderline!), Trailer Park Boys, Always Sunny

Generic fluidity - how genres change over time. Genres will evolve to appeal to the tastes of the public

Comedy elements - foolish characters for the audience to identify with, fast paced punchy editing, the use of reaction shots, use of song, dance and movement, use of colour constructing a positive atmosphere

Audience - how does this product appeal to multiple audiences?

Uses and gratifications -the ways in which audiences use and take pleasure from a media product

Uses and pleasures of Parks and Rec - themes of the show provide escapism for the target audiences. The characters provide an escapist fantasy, through being relatable. They make mistakes, but then they solve them by the end of the episode. This is in stark opposition to real life, where being threatened with forced resignation and having to go on local news to defend your job would of course be highly stressful and upsetting.

First year: THREE HOURS OF POWER

Rules

1. You can do these questions in ANY ORDER
2. You might do a few in significant detail, or you might complete them all in brief detail
3. There are no 'right answers' to these questions, but you should all use examples from the print edition of these newspapers
4. For each and every heading, you must find EXPLICIT EXAMPLES from the print editions of The Mirror and The Times you have been set. Basically, you could get a question like

(b) Explain how social and cultural circumstances affect audience interpretations of newspaper content. Refer to a print edition of the Daily Mirror to support your points. [10] 

or

a) Explore how newspapers are shaped by the financial implications that surround the producer. Refer to a print edition of the Times to support your points. [12] 

 

You can find the print editions by clicking here.

Questions and study prompts

Bias through selection, bias through omission 

• Outline examples of bias in the two newspapers. 
• How does the selection or omission of stories reflect the ideological perspective of the producer? 
• And why?

Specialised forms of production

• Newspapers are a specialised medium. They do one thing, and they do it differently to every other media product. 
• So find examples of how this newspaper is most definitely a newspaper, and not, for example, a magazine! 
• HINT: check out the layout...

The Mirror is a product of a horizontally integrated organisation

• What are some examples of The Mirror being produced and published by an organisation that essentially just makes loads and loads of newspapers?

The Times is a product of a vertically and horizontally integrated conglomerate 

• Same question again, but The Times is also vertically integrated. 
• Any examples?

Issues with regulation

IPSO specifically STRONGLY SUGGEST that newspapers should not do the following: 

1. intrude in to the private lives of private citizens
2. intrude in to grief
3. cause harm and/or offense through their reporting

what examples can you find which might go against IPSO's guidelines?

Aspects of digital convergence

• If print is dead, no one told the newspaper industry. 
• However, what references to digital media are their in these newspapers? 
• How and why could they get the audience to explore the website, for example?

How does the Mirror appeal to a working class, left leaning audience?

• Remember: left wing BROADLY means collectivistic policies such as higher taxation, a focus on public ownership, the support of a welfare state etc. 
• However, remember that these ideas might be very broadly or vaguely alluded to in the newspaper you are studying!

How does the Times appeal to a middle class, right wing audience?

• Remember: right wing BROADLY means individualistic policies that favour personal freedoms, lower taxation, a focus on private ownership, and less government intervention etc. 
• However, remember that these ideas might be very broadly or vaguely alluded to in the newspaper you are studying!

Ideologies, and how they are encoded and cultivated

• Ideologies are the messages and values of the producer. 
• So what are the beliefs of the newspapers in front of you? 
• And how do you know? 
• Here's a TOP TIP: if in doubt, just guess! This entire subject (and, by extension, life) is all about educated guesses!

Uses and gratifications

How do audiences use or take pleasure form the news stories in front of you? Here are some suggestions:

1. SOCIAL INTERACTION - audience can use the newspaper to make friends 'in real life', for example having a chat at the office (so-called 'watercooler moments'...)
2. INFORMATION - the newspaper tells us things we didn't know about previously. We can then use this information in a variety of circumstances
3. PERSONAL IDENTITY - we identify a viewpoint we already have. For example, you may find right leaning ideologies in the Times, which may reinforce the audience's viewpoints, and make them feel safe. Or angry. This is pretty similar to Gauntlet's theory of identity 
4. SEXUAL GRATIFICATION - we find people attractive. This is a creepier way of saying 'sex sells'
5. SIMILAR LIFESTYLE - We identify with people who are just like us, FR. For example, what working class identities do we see in The Mirror?

Bonus - alternatives to mainstream news

• Clearly, physical print newspapers are not how a lot of people get their news. In fact, you lot get your news in an increasingly digitally convergent hodgepodge of different sources.
• Find and research some 'alternative news' sources. This is really broad, and given that you may be using social media, it can be accomplished on your phone, maybe
• What issues and complications are bought up by using digitally convergent distribution practices to distribute news media?

Audience responses to Les Revenants

Cultivation theory - the idea that being repeatedly exposed to an ideological perspective or representation will cultivate or grow an ideological perspective in the audience.

What stereotypical representations does Les Revs perpetuate?

• Stereotypical representations of French women. For example, the representation of Adelle being hegemonically attractive and stylish from  a French perspective.
• Stereotypical representations of teenagers. Obsessed with sex, socialising, and rebelliously defying their parents
• Stereotypical representations of children. Victor is represented as confused, but ultimately creepy, which is a representation of children that is cultivated time and time again in the horror genre. It is uncanny to see a small person doing things that they should not do, for example standing in the garden in the middle of the night, or taking the bus by himself 

Conclusion: the representations in Les Revenants are highly stereotypical to present a simple and straightforward ideology to the target audience. While the narrative may be complicated and confusing, at it's heart, the ideological messages of this shows are very simple indeed!

Stuart Hall - Reception theory - how the audience receive ideology encoded in the media product by the producer

The ideology of the producer isn’t completely clear, and the result is that Les Revs presents a complicated, confusing, yet potentially rewarding set of messages which will polarise audiences.

Preferred - audience agrees with the ideology - the audience would understand that Les Revs is an atypical horror show, and would take pleasure from the horror conventions, and the way the show subverts them. The audience will take pleasure with how confusing the show is, and the use of hermeneutic codes. The show is emotionally involved, and says something about our own lives. The characters are highly relatable and appeal to many target audiences. Audiences will take pleasure in the intellectual combination of sex and death. They will also take pleasure in the symbolic encoding of adolescent problems. The unconventional characters may delight audiences. The show also presents a complex representation of teenagers, who are usually not represented at all in TV shows. the audience agrees with the ideology of the producer. The show has a highly confusing atmosphere, and some audiences may find this compelling. The show is completely constructed from hermeneutic codes, which can be compelling. Additionally the audience should feel highly unnerved by what they are seeing. In order to find this show creepy, the audience must accept the narrative, and must accept the reactions of the characters that something impossible has happened. However, the show focuses on the characters and their personal lives, which infers we are supposed to find the characters relatable. Audiences might also relate to the narrative, and may be able to empathise with certain events, for example, sneaking off to the pub, or the death of a loved one.

Oppositional - the audience disagrees with the ideology - the show is boring, it makes no sense, it is frustrating to watch, and it is smug and pretentious. It’s too slow, and not exciting enough. The characters lack any emotion that makes them relatable. Audiences may find the combination of sex and death disgusting, confusing, and just plain offensive. the audience disagrees with the ideology of the producer. The audience may find the show confusing in an unsatisfactory and distracting way, which means they miss out on the show’s creepy atmosphere. Audiences may not relate to any of the characters in this show. This is especially true of children, and working class audience. Audiences may not find the show unnerving because is subverts genre expectations, which the audience may not understand. Audiences might also be put off by the melodramatic performances, which take them out of the narrative

Negotiated: a combination of agreeing and disagreeing with the producer:

• Intrigued by the mystery but hate all the characters
• Really like the characters but hate the supernatural elements 
• May feel conflicted about certain characters, eg Mr Costa
• May enjoy horror conventions, but absolutely are not scared by the show…

Issues with representation

Argument: Les Revenants is highly progressive in many ways, especially in its representation of age and gender. However, it is also extremely lacking in other regards.

• There is an almost total lack of representation of people of colour. France is an ethnically diverse country. Some parts of France are more diverse than others, however, it is unlikely to find an area which is exclusively white. This is almost certainly an attempt to appeal exclusively to a perceived white and middle class audience. We could argue that this approach is highly short sighted, and means Les Revenants is not only missing an opportunity to present atypical representations of POC, but also to appeal to wider audiences. Almost every character in the show is white, which presents a narrow and straightforward representation of ethnicity. This is an example of something that George Gerbner refers to as ‘symbolic annihilation’ 
• It could also be an attempt to represent an area that is predominantly white. 
• Additionally, the producer was clearly making a horror TV show, and has chosen to deliberately not tackle racial issues
• For every positive representation of women, there is also a highly stereotypical one. Two women are murdered in this first episode, in both cases by men. In the scene with the bartender who is murdered in the underpass, the use of low key lighting constructs a stereotypical and threatening mode of address, that reinforces the ideology that women should not walk home alone at night. The POV shot of the murderer stalking the bartender down the ally is an explicit reference to the slasher genre, and once more reinforces and ideological perspective where women are vulnerable. The hooded jacket of the killer symbolically encodes a world in which powerful men attack women. This reinforces stereotypical and patriarchal hierarchies of power. Finally the setting of the abandoned underpass constructs a stereotypical representation of poor and working class areas. The sexualisation of teenage girls. Lena is hegemonically sexually attractive, and by being represented as overtly sexually available, she reinforces a patriarchal hegemonic stereotype, and appeal to a heterosexual male fantasy.
• The show is targeting and almost universally represents a middle class audience. The show asks the audience to not only identify with the middle class characters, but also assumes a certain level of intelligence and education. It assumes a certain knowledge of French culture, French geography, horror film conventions, and the conventions of art films.
• There are a number of stereotypical representations of gender. For example, Claire is a stereotypical gendered representation of a caring mother. Additionally, two women die in this first episode, in both cases at the hands of a male character!

Representations of age and gender: Lena and Simon walk home

Representation is where the producer presents someone or something again, to show their ideas, beliefs and ideology. 

Van Zoonen - feminist theory - women are sexualised through representation for the pleasure of a heterosexual male audience. The male gaze theory 

Hall - representation theory  - representations are constructed through media language, and make heavy use of stereotypes. Representations construct reality. The way in which we see the world effectively comes from media 

Butler - gender performativity - the ways in which we perform our gender has an effect on the world around us

Lena - young woman 

Simon - young man

 

Key scene one - the Lake Pub

• The low key lighting of the bar creates a friendly and welcoming mode of address for the teenage secondary audience
• The low key lighting is red, which has connotations of love and passion, which is further anchored through Lena’s flirtatious performance 
• Lena bargains with Simon: “I’ll only tell you if you buy me a drink”. Her performance is very forward and highly assertive. This is further anchored through Lena keeping constant eye contact with Simon, and she is happily drunk and smiling 
• Lena is clearly trying to seduce Simon
• This representation is in many ways highly atypical. Lena is actively flirting with Simon, which subverts stereotypical expectations of gender performance
• A subversion of the stereotype that that men are interested in sex and women are not is presented 
• A binary opposition
• Lena is young and stereotypically hegemonically attractive woman. She’s wearing a dress, which is symbolically connotative of femininity. However, this forms a binary opposition with her scruffy denim jacket, which has connotations of masculinity. This binary opposition constructs a complicated representation of gender
• Lena is clearly sexually active, yet she is not presented in a negative way, which may be atypical
• The representation of Lena constructs a range of polysemic interpretations. Audiences may appreciate and identify with her demonstration of sexual freedom, yet others may be critical of her over drinking and her reckless behaviour
• Immediately before this scene, we see a shot of Julie on an empty bus, which constructs a vulnerable and bleak atmosphere. The scene immediately after is set in the Seurat family house, which presents an aspirational mode of address to the middle class French audience. French media, for example films and TV shows are far more likely to feature wealthy characters and aspirational upper middle class settings. These two scenes also forma a diegetic binary opposition to Simon and Lena’s night.
• The Lake Pub is lively, exciting, and inviting, and positions the target audience in an exciting mode of address. This mode of address is constructed. The MES of pool tables function as a proairetic code for social interaction and fun. The low key orange lighting presents a warm and inviting colour palette, that suggests the potential of a welcoming atmosphere. The MES of bottles of alcohol form a proairetic code, for drinking, fun and excitement. Finally, the clientele of the pub are young and hegemonically attractive people, which constructs a symbolic atmosphere of sexual potential. 
• Lena makes constant eye contact with Simon, which connotes her desire to seduce him. Her body language indicates her interest in him, by moving in close towards him. She asks Simón to “buy me a drink”, which indicates her interest in him. 
• Lena’s assertion is potentially stereotypically masculine. By actively picking up a man at a pub, and demonstrating her sexual interest, the producer of Les Revenants is actively contradicting Liesbet’s Van Zoonen’s feminist theory, and is potentially presenting an atypical, and even feminist ideology. By reinforcing the atypical representation of women being sexually active, Les Revenants challenges hegemonic norms and values that exist around women 
• Simon acts in a grumpy, impatient and even desperate manner. He clearly has no sexual interest in Lena, which is encoded through his complete lack of dialogue, and the short terse delivery of his questions. Simon almost seems surprised and even uncomfortable with Lena’s assertiveness. Simon’s uninterested approach here presents an extremely atypical representation of men, and challenges the stereotypical expectation that men are motivated by sex. In short, this scene constructs a highly complex representation of gender norms for a niche audience
• David Guantlett- pick and mix - audiences can pick and mix different elements of a TV show to construct their own identity

Key scene two - Lena and Simon walk home 

• While Simon is in many ways stereotypically masculine, including through his terse and grumpy performance, he also subverts these gender expectations by not running off to sleep with the hegemonically attractive and sexually available Lena 
• Simon walks much faster than Lena, and completely ignores her, which visibly upsets her. His terse and blunt manner is simultaneously highly typical and atypical
• Lena is convinced that her hegemonically attractive looks and assertive manner can ‘turn’ Simon. However, he is clearly not interested in her, which subverts not only gender stereotypes. Simon is completely uninterested in her gender performance, which subverts the idea of gender performativity, or rather reinforces a complex representation of gender
• Lena shouts ‘de rien connard’, which is vulgar and angry, and presents a subversive and non-stereotypical representation of women

Subverting representations of women - Julie

Les Revenants = 'the returned'

In the exam, Les Revenants will be referred to as The Returned. But we refer to it as Les Revenants.

Why?

• It’s more authentic and more academic
• It sounds more sophisticated 
• The Returned is a wildly unpopular American remake of Les Revenants. The less we talk about this, the better

Recap

Last time we explored the representation of teenage girls. The French for ‘orgasm’ is ‘le petit mort’, which is a reference to the fact that every time we make love, we are one step closer to death . Life and death is the ultimate binary opposition, and is a fascinating and philosophical contradiction. This difficult and problematic binary opposition presents teenage girls as rebellious, irrational. To be a teenager is exciting, scary, and terrifying. 

What other groups are represented in Les Revs?

• Mothers (Claire)
• Middle aged women (Claire)
• Middle aged men (Camille’s dad)
• Teenage boys (hat guy)
• Young children - Victor
• Parents - The Suerats 
• Elderly people - Mr Costa 
• Women - Julie

What Makes Le Revs 'French'

This is a bit weird to try and say, but Les Revs is really really French. It presents a stereotypical French mode of address for a French audience. This is highly similar to how Humans uses stereotypically British characters, dialogue and settings to appeal to a British audience, and how Real Humans uses Swedish stereotypes to engage a Swedish audience. But what makes Les Revs 'French'?

• French Setting 
• Set in the French Alps, a setting that would only be relevant to French audiences 
• In French
• Dark, dismal moody setting 
• Themes: death, depression, philosophy 
• Stereotypically French actors 
• Architecture: the Seurat family’s house has an Alpine feel

Explore how the TV shows you have studied construct representations of gender. Make reference to Humans and Les Revenants in your response

Gender performativity - Judith Butler - gender is a social construct, and the way in which we perform gender constructs the world around us

Stuart Hall - theories of representation: stereotypes and their function

Liesbet van Zoonen  - representation of women - women in media products have a completely different function to men, often for pure sex appeal

Introducing Julie - how is Julie’s representation constructed through media language?

• Establishing shot of Julies flat shows that she lives in social housing, and is therefore working class
• The setting of Julie’s flat is run down and empty. 
• The use of low key lighting constructs ideologies of loneliness and isolation
• This is further anchored through the cluttered, messy mise en scene of her apartment, which is typified by stacks pf books, magazines, and other objects
• The cluttered nature of the apartment represents Julie as disorganised and untidy, which is a highly unconventional representation of women
• The MES of books also functions as a symbolic code for Julie being an intellectual character
• Julie’s costume is baggy, casual and understated. Dressed in dark colours she is rather atypical in her representation.
• Julie, through her hair and costume and lack of makeup, is not coded as being  hegemonically attractive
• Julie is watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, an intertextual reference to a notoriously violent slasher film. This constructs Julie as being edgy, fearless, and different from stereotypical women 
• Julie is a highly complicated representation of women! While her representation is highly relatable and even ‘realistic’, it is not a commonly seen representation in commercial TV
• External establishing long shot of a gritty, concrete apartment block. This has a symbolic connotation, connotations of crime, danger, violence. Julie clearly is a rough and dangerous 
• Julie is stereotypically working class. She lives in a social housing block, which forms a stark binary opposition to the Seurat family 
• The Mise en scene of the set design of Julie’s apartment is lit through low key lighting , and her apartment is littered with stacks of books . This symbolically encodes that julie is educated, and messy
• Julie’s costume comprises of a baggy jumper and baggy jeans, and has connotations of comfiness and relaxation. 
• Despite her costume being highly realtle to the target audience, it is in fact a subversive representation of women . It completely contrasts with Liesbet Van Zoonen’s theory that women in media products are presented purely for the purpose of sexualisation
• Julie is watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a violent slasher horror film that features the torture and torment of many female characters. Julie’s bored reaction to this extremely violent film constructs a highly atypical representation. Not only does Julie not subscribe to gender norms and genre norms are also broken

Julie and Victor come home 

• The non diegetic soundtrack is creepy, eerie, and highly typical of horror films
• This entire montage is highly conventional of the slasher genre
• Slow, POV MS of her face as she gets off the bus positions the audience with julie , and allows the audience to  to see things from Julie’s perspective
• MES of extreme low key lighting throughout these scene connotes mystery and loneliness 
• The light is yellow, dull, menacing and artificial, which has symbolic connotations of fear and misery
• This is further anchored through the completely empty, run down suburban setting, concrete blocks of flats and overgrown weeds is symbolic of crime and danger. This highly stereotypical mode of address will resonate with audiences 
• Julie’s performance is highly atypical. Rather than being scared of her isolation, she appears to be bored. Additionally, by not being attacked, julie breaks this stereotype of women being vulnerable 
• The character Julie presents a highly complex representation of women that demonstrates the ideological perspective of the producer. She is represented most effectively in the montage of scenes that introducts
• Victor is establishes through a series of highly isolating shots. A high angled extreme long shot of victor is presented from Julie’s perspective, which positions the audience with Julie. This action reinforces Julie’s caring persona, and the idea that she is secretly protective of those around her
• The low key used throughout this montage is highly stereotypical of the horror genre, which positions Julie is a dangerous and threatening situation. 
• The lighting is low key, and comes from a lonely bus the light from the bus shelter. This artificial light take s on a sickly yellow quality, which gives the light a cheap, nasty, and threatening quality. This reinforces the stereotypical danger than Julie faces
• Julie’s actions reinforce however that she is clearly unafraid of this situation. This constructs a highly atypical representation of women for the target audience. This confusing and atypical subversion of genre expectations may make the target audience feel uncomfortable and even creeped out. Why is isn’t Julie more scared, and why isn't she behaving like women stereotypically would in this situation???
• However, the soundtrack, which combines a thrumming bass noise with eerie sound effects, which is highly typical of the horror genre. Additionally, the iconography of a creepy child all by himself 

Considering the representation of Camille and Lena

In what ways is age represented in the TV shows that you have studied?

In what ways does this scene construct an uncomfortable mode of address, and what message does this construct about teenage girls?

Les Revenants uses fantasy and horror conventions to emphasise and to allegorically draw attention to the issues that young women may face

Representation refers to how something is re-presented by the producer of a media product using media language to reflect their own ideology. Therefore, when a producer choses to re-present middle class teenage girls, they are not strictly re-creating reality, but instead are reinforcing and re-presenting certain ideologies about teenage girls. This process is extremely complicated, and must be analysed in detail. 

Representations construct reality. They reinforce and communicate to audiences what something ‘should’ look like, or how someone ‘should’ behave’. 

One way in which teenage girls is represented in Les Revenants is through the deliberately uncomfortable and potentially problematic final sex/death scene. 

• A close up birds eye view shot is shown for an extended period of time, deliberately positioning the audience not as a casual observer, but in the bedroom, right next to the couple as they have sex. This uncomfortable mode of address is anchored through the lack of musical/non-diegetic soundtrack, forcing the audience to confront the sounds of the couple. This is further emphasised through the characters whispering loudly, again positioning the target audience in an intrusive and intimate mode of address. Finally, this is yet further anchored through the deeply off-putting dialogue from Lena, as she discusses her resemblance to her twin sister during sex. 
• Awkward performance
• The MES of the hat...

What message about teenagers is being constructed through media language in this scene?

While the scene is highly uncomfortable and highly atypical in terms of how it represents sex, it arguably represents teenagers in a stereotypical way. Lena is represented as being rebellious and independent. We are positioned with her rather than her lover in this scene, which is highly relatable to the secondary teenage female audience. It reinforces a not often seen stereotype that sex is often awkward, especially if it's for the first time. 

However, it also reinforces a further ideological perspective, that sex is dangerous as has hidden implications. Throughout this scene, we cross cut from the Sexually active, rebellious Lena to the stereotypically innocent Camille. 

In cross cutting between this two highly dichotomous scenes, a binary opposition in constructed between life and death. Sex is typically symbolic of reproduction, as in creating new life. However, this scene presents an ironic symbolic code, where sex instead is symbolic of death. A symbolic bond is constructed between these two sisters which constructs a highly confusing and upsetting mode of address for the target audience, which reinforces a stereotypical representation of the confusion and upsetting nature of being a teenager

How does this scene position it’s audiences? What is the intended response? 

• The sex scene positions the audience in a deeply uncomfortable mode of address. This is constructed through a variety of different ways:
• The apparent age of the characters is very young. Lena (the character) is 14 years old, which may mean that some audiences may feel uncomfortable by this. 
• The use of close up BEV shots position the audience literally on top of the young couple as they have sex, which again is a deliberately uncomfortable mode of address
• A highly voyeuristic mode of address, where the audience are essentially seeing something that they shouldn’t see
• The MES of the duvet completely obscures the audiences vision, and heightens the voyeuristic mode of address. Additionally the performance is very innocent, awkward and naïve 
• Lena makes explicit reference to her own sister in bed, which is highly innapropriate, and a little creepy
• The pleonastic sound of the characters whispering construct a deeply voyeuristic, intimate and off putting mode of address for the target audience. 
• Ultimately this sex scene is potentially relatable for teenage audiences, who may be going through similar things
• Lena loses her virginity in this scene. To loose one’s virginity is symbolic of losing one’s innocence, and in this scene, this is symbolically occurring with both Lena and Camille.
• Le petit mort - the little death. This oxymoronic term is confusing considering one ‘function’ of sex is to create life. It could refer to the death of one’s childhood and innocence, and the vulnerability that one has in such in a situation. 
• However, Camille, experiencing what her sister experiences, has a violent panic attack in confusion, and ultimately this Camille and all her friends. 
• This scene makes a profound and symbolic comment on what it is like to be a teenager. It is uncomfortable, strange, awkward, scary, terrifying and confusing 

An analysis of the Daily Mirror set edition double page spread

This article has been compiled from the responses of three separate classes, and therefore contains some repetition. Repeat, revise, remember!

Headline, centre spread image etc

• Front line workers are constructed through the MES of the hospital setting and the MES of surgical masks. These elements of media language construct the enormous pressure that frontline workers are under, and constructs a message that frontline workers are heroic and hard working
• However, a binary opposition is constructed between the heroic frontline workers and Boris Johnson. Johnson is pictured with the MES of a glass of prosecco in his hands, which has connotations of wealth, fun, and relaxation. This damning representation is further anchored through the lack of MES of a mask, the MES of his suit and his smug facial expression
• The lexis of the headline reinforces an ideology that Boris Johnson does not care about Britain or frontline workers. The word ‘shame’ in particular has connotations of not caring, but it also accuses Johnson of being guilty of something, in this case a potentially serious crime 
• This story would resonate with nurses and other medical professionals, as well as the general public, who would be aware of viral campaigns by NHS workers discussing the pain and discomfort of wearing masks for long shifts 
• Caption: rule breaking Boris Johnson took us for fools’. Caption reinforces the ideology that Johnson has fooled the public. The use of the term ‘us’ is more intimate, and it allows the audience to identify not only as those being exploited, but also it reinforces the ideology that the Mirror is ‘one of us’ 
• A binary opposition is formed between the picture of Johnson and the picture of the NHS workers. 
• The Mis en scene of Johnson’s alcoholic beverage as connotations of wealth and status. Champagne is a stereotypically wealthy drink, and it has symbolic connotations of celebration
• However, immediately to the left of this picture, the surgical setting and the MES of surgical masks and eye shield has connotations of suffering, death and danger. Clealry, these two images are a strong contradiction
• The facemasks present a highly relatable mode of address to the target audience, as the vast majority of the audience would have experience of wearing a a facemask. 
• However, Johnson is not wearing a mask, which could be symbolic of carelessness, superiority and a sense of social hierarchy. Johnson is wearing a suit, which is symbolic of superiority. The tone of his shirt is similar to that of the key workers, yet they are clearly from different parts of society. The use of a mis shot here does not create intimacy, but instead positions him too close to the audience, indicating that he is not ‘social distancing’ 
• Lexis: ‘man’ connotes that Johnson is a human like anyone else, and it is highly hypocritical that he is getting special treatment. ‘Man’ here suggests he is a man like any other, and should bare responsibility for his crime.
• Man with no shame is a (weak) pun, and symbolically encodes that johnsons crimes are a joke and ridiculous. The word ‘shame’ clearly has significant negative connotation. The shadows on his face, along with his smug and sarcastic facial expression even have connotations of villainy and ‘evil’
• Lexis of headline, in particular the word ‘shame’ has connotations of a negative nature. It heavily insinuates that Boris Jophnson is guilty of something
• The layout is busy and exciting with a big emphaiss of the colour blue. This has connotations of cold, death, misery and a hospital setting
• The mise en scene of Johnson’s cheeky smirk forms a symbolic code of villainy and guilt. This is confirmed and anchored through the lexis of the enormous word ‘shame’ hanging above his head. This combination of media language confirms a negative perspective of Johnson. 
• The caption immediately beneath Johnson reinforces the ideological perspective that Johnson’s presence is negative. “rule- breaker”, which clearly demonstrates the newspaper’s opinion
• The MES of the champagne flute has symbolic connotations, parties, wealth, and celebration. It’s presence forms a powerful binary opposition with the hospital setting immediately to the left, where the MES of machinery, the chaotic arrangement of people, and the MES of surgical masks all construct a stressful and exhausting mode of address
• The chaotic and frantic nature of the hospital scene positions us in an up close and personal mode of address
• An unflattering image of Johnson holding a champagne flute is selected, which constructs a highly biased representation of the former PM. By constructing him almost as a Bind villain, the producer is making intertextual reference to James Bond films

Body text - Keir Starmer addresses Mirror readers

• The ‘dear mirror readers’ first sentence is in larger font, and is in italic, which has connotations of handwriting, and has the connotation of it being more personal and relatable to the target audience
• Use of emotive language, including lexis such as ‘missing funerals’ has the effect of remind the target audience of what they suffered. Sacrifices…
• An informal mode of address is adopted, which might be surprising given the status of ‘sir kier starmer’. He uses contractions such as i’ts’, and uses emotive speech, a direct mode of address, and the use of the word ‘we’ suggests a collective response that both we (the audience) and he (stramer) were involved in. His language heavily infers that we all (he included) were as affected as one another!
• Letter singed off as ‘yours, Kier Starmer’ 
• The mug shot of Starmer’s face leaning over and directly addressing the audience has connotations aof a friendly pub like setting, where he is enjoying a pint with us. His lack of tie has connotations of infomrality, which allow the audience to relate to him more effectively
• The colour red has connotations of love, affection, power, and is also the colour of the labour party, and therefore the colour of revolution
• Use f ‘the British people’ evokes patriotism, pride in Britain. The use of the lexis ‘we’ symbolically constructs a sense of togetherness, the country 
• Missing off the ‘sir’ is more informal, but makes him more relatable
• The italic (comic sans?) font has connotations of handwriting, constructing an informal mode of address
• Starmer’s mugshot seems candid, caught off guard, and relatable for the target audience. He is slouched, and directly addressing the audience in an informal and welcoming way. 
• By referring to the audience’s intelligence, he is flattering the audience, and the use of the term sacrifice infers that the target audience have followed the rules. this is highly emotive language, and infers that the entire audience (and British public) are all in this together
• Italic, serif font of ‘Dear Mirror Readers has connotations of being handwritten. This clearly presents a relatable mode of address to the target audience of working class labour voters. 
• Starmer’s serious facial expression is further anchored through his relaxed yet firm body language,that positions us in a serious, yet friendly mode of address. His lack of tie is symbolic of his casual laid back nature
• Use of definite language constructs a mode of address which is clear and precise to the target audience. The use of language is appropriate to an audience with little or no education.
• “He insulted your intelligence” suggests the target audience are intelligent, and presents a flattering mode of address
• The word ‘sacrafice’ is highly emotive, and constructs a sense of unity and togetherness

Editorial: voice of the Daily Mirror

• Lexis ‘voice of the’ suggests that this newspaper is a spokesperson for ‘the people’ the general public, which heavily infers a sense of consent from the general public. If we disagree with the ideology of the daily mirror, then we are clearly on the same level as Johnson, the ‘villain’ of this narrative
• The use of patriotic language ‘our great nation positions the audience as British and proud and powerful. However, Boris Johnson is represented as an other, as different, and as destructive to the British way of life
• The word stain has connotations of being messy, disgusting, corrupt, and hard to get out. This reinforces the ideological perspective that essentially Boris Johnson is less than human. He is a traitor to our country. Clearly the Mirror does not say this explicitly, but it heavily infers this
• The lexis ‘charlatan’ is an old fashioned word with connotations of being upper class and well spoken, which presents an authentic and compelling mode of address
• Patriotic mode of address is constructed through the lexis ‘our great nation’ that positions the working class target audience as British, proud, and patriotic
• The symbolic connotations of the word stain include being dirty, and less than human. This is an aggressive and insulting mode of address

Political cartoon

• A satirical joke is one that criticises stupidity of those in power 
• Political cartoon humorously infers than Johnson is actually worse than Putin. Satirical comedy is often very harsh, and draws attention to public figures and political figure’s idiocy 
• The joke is heavy handed, and clearly argues that Boris Johnson is worse than Vladimir Putin!

Negotiating Humans

The common consensus regarding 'the media' and how audiences are affected through media, is that media 'brainwashes' us. This idea is what we refer to as a passive model of audience interaction. When someone is passive, they go with the flow, and agree with whatever they are shown. However, in media studies, we generally argue that things are a lot more complicated than this. Stuart Hall's reception theory helps us to explore this idea. 

Stuart hall - reception theory

Reception theory refers to the many different ways that audiences can decode, or make sense of a message within a media product.

Every media product has an ideology, message of belief encoded in it by the producer. However, audiences can decode this meaning in many different ways. This process can be referred to as audience negotiation. In other words, a compromise is reached.

There are three broad ways to interpret a media product:

• The preferred reading - where the audience agrees with the ideology of the producer, and decodes the product in the way they 'should do' 
• The oppositional reading - where the audience disagrees with the ideology of the producer
• The negotiated reading -where the audience agree to some extent, but disagree with other elements of the producer's ideologies

Audiences can negotiate a media product in almost infinite ways. This can be mediated through the audience's

• Morals
• Personality 
• Social groups
• Social class (working class, middle class)
• Upbringing 
• Influence of others 
• Body type 
• Age
• Gender identity 
• Sexual preference
• Ethnicity 
• Race
• Religion 
• Level of education

Applying reception theory to the final montage sequence of Humans

The ending montage of humans constructs a highly inviting and highly polysemic mode of address to it's many target audiences, encouraging a range of wildly different negotiations

• East Asian audiences may have a complicated reaction to the character of Anita. these audieces may take exception to Anita's stereotypical representation as an emotionless sex slave, which frankly reinforces racist stereotypes that exist regarding East Asian women. However, Anita is the protagonist, and East Asian audiences may simultaniously take pleasure from seeing an East Asian Brit in the main role, as she increases visibility. 
• Themes of remembering may be both compelling and deeply stressful to older audiences, as it will bring up themes of dementia and aging
• Audiences who have grown in non-traditional household, for example without a mo0ther figure, may find the character Anita as compelling. Additionally, families who are unable to have children may find Anita's desire to have a child compelling and relatable
• Leo has lost Mia/Anita, and is desperate to find her, which calso could be a relatable situation for the audience
• Exclusive representation of heterosexal relationships may of course appeal to heterosexual audiences, but may also alioenbce gay audiences
• Gemma Chan's casting as Anita is clearly becuase she is a hegemonically attractive woman, and many audience memebers, will find her attractive
• The character of Mattie is encoded as hegemonically attractive, and may appeal to teenage audiences in particular. This idea of Mattie being a relatable character is anchored through the MES of her staring into her device in bed, which may connote inteleigence, seriousness, but also ecodes her as a stereotypical teenager. She represents teenage girls, and may appeal to a teenage secondary audience who would not engage with this show otherwise
• The man who visits the brothel is represented as a stereotypical working class man. His appearance is highly stereotypical, being a bald, hegemonically unattractive white man in a tracksuit, all of which reinforce a highly leading and stereotypical representation of working class men. His costume has connotations of blue collar manual work. Working class people may react negatively to this scene, and be angry at the use of stereotyping. However the middle class target audience may simply have their worldview reinforced
• The representation of the scientist is also potentially problematic. He is a stereotypically nerdy east Asian man, who is presented in this context to be as easily identifiable to audiences as possible. East Asian audiences may take offense at this straightforward and lazy stereotype. Even positive stereotypes can be problematic, and arguably even this apparently straightforward scene can be decoded as racist and highly alienating

Applying postmodern theory to Humans

Jean Baudrillard – theories surrounding postmodernism

Odi is a hyperreal construct. To George, he is far more real than anything else in his life. But is this in spite of, or because of how irreparably broken he is? Does Odi and George's intense and subversive relationship reflect a breakdown in societal values? Why does George love Odi so much? What is real, and does it matter?

This 'theory' is extremely difficult to define, as it's an 'anti-theory' theory. So things are going to get very complicated very quickly. Luckily, postmodernism as a critical approach is often applied in a loose way, so don't worry too much about how you apply it in your written work. 

Concept one – it is impossible to objectively define what is real. Therefore, there is no such thing as reality

Concept two – we live in an age where there is more and more information, and less and less meaning

Concept three – Since all forms of meaning have collapsed, media products reflect ideologies and messages that have never even existed in the first place

Hyperreality

Hyperreality - where the representation is more real that the thing that is represented 

Baudrillard argued that we are increasingly unable to differentiate between what is real and what is not, but this does not matter, as there is no quantifiable, objective reality

Examples of hyperreality 

• Instagram accounts of famous models, for example Kylie Jenner and Bella Hadid generally feature highly editing, 'perfect' reconstructions of reality, that are far more interesting than how they actually live their lives. Audiences are absolutely aware that Jenner is a hyperreal construct, and is 'fake' or not real... but we don't care! This is because the world is so complicated that we have absolutely no idea what is actually going on anymore, and it is preferable to simply accept the surface value of representations. The fake is BETTER than reality.
• News headlines and reportage of big stories, often reduce difficult situations to more easily digestible examples
• Advertisements: chocolate bars, for example Lindt chocolate sell an exciting sexual lifestyle that goes beyond the simple act of eating chocolate 
• Makeup, clothing, brands, products, all promise to transform us in to something completely different 

What examples of hyperreality are evident in the breakfast scene?

Sophie - "is this a party?"
Joe - "No Soph, this is what breakfast is supposed to be like!"

But what is breakfast 'supposed' to look like? For one thing, the whole family are eating together 

The family are surrounded by a number of different options, including the MES of teapots, a range of cutlery, toast in a toast rack, and little pots of jam and milk. It resembles a breakfast at a hotel rather than a 'real' breakfast at home. When Joe says 'this is what breakfast is supposed to be like', he is making reference to breakfast scenes on TV and in adverts.

The Hawkins family themselves are a stereotypical ,hyperreal and traditional white middle class family. They resemble other stereotypical white middle class groups, such as in Friends, Home Alone, Modern Family, My Family, Outnumbered, and many more examples. They fulfil every hegemonic norm and expectation. Even if you are from a white, middle class, nuclear family, it is frankly very unlikely you live in a similar manner to the Hawkins family. Yet, despite not resembling the vast majority of even white middle class families, they still seem more real through their familiarity. The audience not only suspend their disbelief, but simply accept this contradiction. 

Anita as a hyperreal construct

Anita herself is a hyperreal representation. She is absolutely perfect. What makes her perfect?

• Symmetrical facial features
• Well spoken 
• She is very tall
• Her movements are soft and graceful
• She is emotionless
• She laughs when she is told to 
• She is controllable
• She does what you tell her
• She is subservient 
• She is submissive
• She is conservative
• She doesn't need to eat or drink

But these ideas of 'perfection' are highly problematic! Anita resembles a hyperreal hegemonic approximation not of a real woman, but of a simulacrum of a 1950s British housewife 

The collapse of meaning

Baudrillard argued that we live in a world with more and more information and less and less meaning. This is a concept that has become more apparent since his death. 

The news cycle is engineered to be highly stressful and extremely confusing, with a number of highly contradictory stories. On any given day, themes of nuclear annihilation, economic collapse, and political manipulation are combined with stories about football, celebrity gameshows, and how thin Bela Hadid is. This extremely confusing mode of address instigate feeling of depression, misery, anxiety, resignation and confusion. The news cycle could be argued to be a form of social control. By presenting such a confusing, misleading and highly inflammatory set of contradictory narratives, audiences are simply so confused that they slip in to other media products, and escape in to less stressful situations. The world in which we live in has been structured in such a way that it is impossible to understand. 

The main news headlines from The Mail Online, 16th November 2022. A highly confusing and contradictory mess of information is presented to the audience

How are themes of confusion, anxiety and paranoia encoded in Humans?

• Laura is anxious and paranoid about being replaced as both a mother and a Lover, by Anita, a perfect, fake human. This could symbolise the collapse of the metanarrative of marriage, and traditional values that generally state we should remain with one partner
• Matty has completely lost all motivation, as traditional metanarratives of work and employment have been replaced. Increasingly, even highly skilled jobs can be carried out by robots and artificial intelligence. Traditional jobs, such as security guards, flight attendants, mail people, factory workers, media studies teachers, artists replaced with artificial intelligence
• Many of the human characters have found it hard to adjust to robots just existing. Laura refuses to get one, and inspector Drummond is highly critical of his wife's rehabilitation synth. 
• Laura gets very defensive: it's just a robot, she isn't your friend. "you're just a stupid machine, aren't you?" Constructs a 'them and us' situation
• George is highly critical of the police and the government for interfering with his private life with Odi. The MES of George's DON'T RING/NO VISITORS sign indicates his preference for isolation
• Leo has had his friends and lovers stolen from him, and he is desperately trying to get them back
• Leo is going through a significant identity crisis. He is not human. Or is he? He is half robot, and has essentially been bought back to life through technology. In many ways he should not exist, which adds to the confusing nature of the show
• The use of low key lighting throughout the show encodes a sense of paranoia
• Laura has a significant fear of being replaced by Anita. She is terrified of her role as a mother being replaced by Anita. Previously, she cleaned the house, read stories and cooked for her children. All these aspects have now been taken away from her.
• Themes of the singularity. Matty is absolutely dejected by the idea of the singularity. She has completely given up, because artificial intelligence will take any job that she applies for. Her future is completely uncertain, and frankly pointless

Key scene - breakfast

• While the breakfast scene may seem on the surface to be nothing but comic relief, the escapist hyperreal fantasy it offers presents deeply rooted themes of anxiety, distrust and depression, which are fundamental to the postmodern condition.
• The mid-shot reaction shot of Anita's laughing at Joe's performatively terrible joke anchors and emphasises the creepy and robotic nature of this laugh. This laugh has been digitally looped in post production to further emphasises her robotic nature, and the simple fact that she does not exist. This is further anchored through a montage of mid-shots of the increasingly confused reactions of the Hawkins family, followed by absolute silence, which constructs an awkward and uncomfortable binary opposition.
• Laura is clearly highly irritated by Anita's presence, at one stage shouting "for God's sake, that's already clean, just sit down'. This exasperated outburst is further anchored through the gesture of her hand being held up to her face in resignation 
• Joe's attempt at a joke is clearly an attempt to distract from a toxic situation 
• After referring to Anita as a 'dishwasher', Matty admonishes Toby with the line "because we can't guess why you like her so much , crusty sheets'. Matty realises and is disgusted by Toby's sexual desire for Anita, and by bringing up his masturbation in front of his family, is desperately trying to upset toby. This is symbolic of a collapse of the traditional nuclear family, and deliberately breaches sexual taboos 
  
  

Key scene - the brothel

• The montage of Leo walking down the narrow of the brothel draws attention to the MES of the building itself. The tight corridors function as a hermeneutic code, constructing a powerful sense of mystery and confusion for the target audience
• The gesture of Niska slapping Leo in the face is anchored through the use of a close-up reaction shot of Leo's confused face. This highly contradictory binary opposition further reinforces the themes of anxiety and confusions
• There is a huge contradiction formed between Leo walking in to the brothel, and Leo leaving Niska's room. Walking in to the brothel, Leo is constructed as a stereotypical, patriarchally dominant man. His sharp, dominant delivery of the line "keep walking" reinforces his dominant status as a hegemonically powerful man. However, this quickly unravels as he enter the brothel. A close up of his face as he rings the doorbell symbolises his nervousness, which stands in stark contrast to his earlier confidence. Through the use of POV shots, we as an audience are suddenly positioned as Leo himself. A close up reaction of his facial expression reveals a complicated polysemic mixture of disgust, confusion, paranoia and anxiety. This highly confusing and highly contradictory collection of emotions informs the audience that the world in which we live in is so completely complicated and contradictory that we have no hope of understanding
• The brothel itself is a hyperreal construction of a locations that audiences will be both highly familiar with, yet have no direct experience of. The MES of pink lighting, coupled with the uncomfortable MES of hegemonically attractive women dancing seductively behind glass makes intertextual reference to crime dramas. This contradictory and confusing mode of address positions the audience in a confusing way. 
• MES captured of panning shot of the already established brothel encodes women as a mere commodity, a highly dehumanising, anxiety inducing and emotionally distancing technique. It symbolises that prostitution is accepted or at least tolerated in a postmodern society, which forms a proairetic code, encoding the potential anxiety of the audience as they consider the outcome of sexualising women, which supports the postmodern theory that previously held metanarratives have been destroyed, and the audience must accept a confusing new world.
• "I was meant to feel pain". Niska defines her humanity through her ability to feel pain, and chooses to feel the pain of sexual exploitation even though she technically doesn't have to. This draws attention to uncomfortable and challenging themes surrounding sexualisation and objectification. 
• The character of Niska herself is particularly confusing. She is a cyborg. but she believes/knows that she is a human. She is also a prostitute, as encoded through the MES of her lingerie, and she is a friend, a murderer...

These elements underline and reinforce a powerful critique of the postmodern condition 

Distrust of metanarratives

Metanarrative: a way of understanding the world

• Examples of metanarratives include marriage, the nuclear family, traditional career paths, traditional gender roles, traditional sexuality, religion
• Postmodern theory not only disagree with these, but simply presents that they do not exist anymore. They never even existed in the first place...

Further examples of metanarratives include...

• Parenthood, with clearly defined gender boundaries as to what parents should do
• Sexuality - heteronormativity. Being heterosexual is 'normal', and being gay is tolerated, but generally seen as different, or 'abnormal'
• Capitalism! Getting money is important! You can buy stuff with it! Success in life can clearly be defined through earnings 
• Religion. Live a good life and receive an eternal reward

Simulacra and Simulation

This is the title of perhaps Baudrillard's most famous essay, which was published in a book of the same title. 

A Baudrillardian simulacra is a representation of something that never existed in the first place. It is a representation of a representation of a representation. An excellent example is Anita, who appears as a combination of a stereotypical 1950s housewife, a maid/butler and prostitute. Yet Anita is none of these things. She is not even Anita.

A simulation is a virtual world. Since we have ascertained that nothing is real, we all live in a simulation. Yep. Sorry. This isn’t real.

Negative criticisms of postmodernism 

• Theory is highly inconsistent, and has no sense of continuity
• Theory has no structure, and is completely unsubstantiated
• Self-destructive. How can a theory be 'anti-theory'?
• Postmodernism is arguably a metanarrative. It is a way of thinking about the world. However, it also argues that metanarrative do not exist. This is highly contradictory
• There is no objective accuracy, and we can never make definitive conclusions
• It's extremely confusing and difficult (impossible!) to understand 
• It is not a sustainable way to think about the world. Without some form of positivity, everything will collapse and no one will ever do anything
• Highly destructive, nihilistic, damaging to society
• It is a black hole of theory, it goes nowhere, and it contradicts
• It is extremely unpopular in academic circles 
• It's simply a cool and edgy theory, nothing more
• Postmodernism is yet another passive media theory. It argues that life sucks and we have no power
• Highly deterministic, absolutely lacking in nuance, it doesn't consider individual aspects

Mock preparation 1 - analysis of the Coca Cola 'Street' World Cup 2022 advertisement

How do audiences respond to and interpret the representations in this product?

If we flesh this question out a bit, we get...

In what ways are representations used to appeal to a range of audiences? Make reference to the Coca Cola 'Street' World Cup 2022 advertisement. You may wish to make reference to:

• Cinematography

• Editing

• The use of MES
  
  

You can view the unseen advert by clicking here

How do we structure an introduction?

DAC

Definition, argument, context

Representation refers to how something is presented again by the producer for the purpose of profit, to secure power, and to construct meaning. In this essay, I shall argue that the Coca Cola 'Street' advert uses a range of complex representations to appeal to the widest target audience possible. This ensures that Coca Cola, a multinational conglomerate are able to maximise their potential profit. 

PEA

Point, evidence, argument

• One way in which the CC advert uses representations to appeal to a wide range of audiences is through the representation of football itself
• High key naturalistic and golden lighting reinforces a warm, sunny, enjoyable and wealthy atmosphere
• Another representation that is featured heavily in this commercial is that of a young, hegemonically attractive woman. She is constructed through
• MES of drum connotes a loud, exciting, carnival atmosphere
• The relatable setting of the small, local corner shop reinforces the ideology that football (and Coca Cola) is a part of everybody's life)
• Use of costume, football shirt and bell bottom jeans which construct a comfortable and relaxed representation of gender. Bell bottoms a symbolically connotative of the 1970s, which infers that Coca Cola is an established brand.
• Birds eye view mid shot of young woman and her male friend constructs women as being powerful and noteworthy. A binary opposition is constructed between the calm, relaxed and still girl, and the exciting chaos of the cityscape behind her, which reinforces a positive and exciting representation of women to the target audiences
• The girl's red top is connotative of both power and passion, which constructs polysemic range of meanings for the target audience. The passion here clearly refers to football, which subverts stereotypical and sexist representations of women. This clearly contradicts the male theory, as the main female character is not presented as a sexual  is further anchored through the MES of her natural hair, which once more presents a relaxed and less stereotypical representation of women
• A third and fascinating representation is the representation of Qatar. In this promotional film, Qatar is represented as a rich, vibrant and historically fascinating country. This is encoded through the sumptuous MES of warm golds and browns, which construct a range of symbolic messages of positivity and optimism. This is further explored and reinforced through the use of relatable settings, such as the run down corner shop, which forms a binary opposition with the resultant explosion of colour when the young woman open the coke (a gestures shown in a highly suggestive close -up). This diametric opposition constructs Qatar as a diverse, vibrant and exciting country where anything is possible, which positions the audience in an extremely inviting and positive mode of address. 

The function of independent cinema

In media studies, we quickly learn that every media product exists to make money. However, clearly a film about a middle-aged, disabled, working class man with a strong Geordie accent trying and failing to tackle to injustices of the UK benefits system is not going to have mainstream appeal. In fact, it doesn't sound like a very good way of making money at all. Why does it not include any fight sequences? 

The function of I, Daniel Blake, and all social realist cinema, is to spread awareness of particular issues. 

• The difficulty of accessing the benefits systems
• The uneven distribution of technology in our society 
• Poverty exists, and being poor makes absolutely difficult
• The existence of food banks to fill in the gaps of the failures of the befits system 
• The shame which exists with desperate poverty, and the difficulty in living a proud life 
• Criticism of the conservative government, limits the film's financial potential

Advertising and promoting independent cinema

Traditionally, mainstream cinema is promoted in part through actors and directors etc appearing on talk shows and news broadcasts around the world to promote the film. However, to promote I Daniel Blake, Loach went on to Channel 4 news, and engaged in an argument with conservative MP Kwasi Kwateng 

Chadwick Boseman gives an interview at a promotional event

Ken Loach criticises Kwasi Kwateng on a live Channel 4 news broadcast

Criticisms of I, Daniel Blake

While Blake certainly succeeds in promoting a clear political ideology, it arguably fails as a film. This is highly contentious, but the following are criticisms of this film:

• Dull, straightforward cinematography
• Unnecessarily long with lots of padding
• It doesn't suggest any meaningful changes, but instead is constant misery throughout 
• Blunt, unappealing dialogue 
• Some scenes are played out far too long 
• A number of subplots just don't go anywhere, or feel forced 
• Stereotypical caricatures of a feckless working class
• No shades of grey: every character is either completely good or completely bad
• Unrelenting misery throughout, which makes it hard to pick out individual scenes
• Poverty porn - where representations of deprivation, for example MES of council estates, graffiti and urban decay are used to appeal to predominantly middle class audiences. Top Boy is an excellent example of this!
  
  

Awards 

While Blake didn't make anyone rich, it was extremely critically successful, and even won the Palme d'Or, perhaps the most prestigious award in all of cinema. The following is a neat snapshot of awards that Blake has received and been nominated for. For a smaller, independent film, film awards can give an otherwise forgettable film a prestigious status, which can allow it to more effectively target an enthusiastic, niche audience. 

Production and distribution

Blake was produced by many smaller production companies and supporting organisations, including 

• Sundance Selects
• BBC Films
• Wild Bunch
• Sixteen Films
• eOne Films
• Why Not Productions
• Canal +
• Cine +
• BFI
• National Lottery

There are many different producers and distributors for I, Daniel Blake, which is typical of a film of this nature and this budget. This is a complicated method of distribution and funding, which independent films must rely on.

Marketing

eOne, the UK distributors of the film utilised a range of guerrilla marketing techniques, such as projecting quotes from the film on to buildings in Newcastle, and even projecting the name of the film on the houses of parliament. These marketing techniques occupy a legal grey area, and reinforces the radical political ideologies of the film. These marketing techniques reflect the themes presented in the film. 

• Twitter hashtags were used to raise issues online using a form of viral marketing 
• Approached local newspapers with 'buy one get one free' offers, appealing to a working class audience. Also 'pay what you can screenings', often screened in places like function halls and village halls, and community centres, which allows access to working class audiences 
• These methods work, as the film has a radical socialist political message. They clearly would not work for a mainstream big budget film

International distribution

Blake received a limited theatrical release in many countries, for example Japan, France, Germany and Spain. This was largely due to winning the Palme d'Or. It is fascinating to think of how audiences in Japan, for example, responded to such a British film! Clearly the film has limited international appeal.

Regulatory context

Click here to read the story of how Blake received a UK BBFC 15 certificate, straight from the horse's mouth

Gender performativity, Humans and cyborgs

Donna Harraway - we are all cyborgs. We are all reliant on technology, and ultimately, we all define ourselves through technology. And the thing that makes us fundamentally human is not simply our species, but the ways in which we are totally reliant on technology

The opening credits sequence of Humans uses a variety of highly confusing and contradictory representations of robots, including this early 20th century example. The the diegesis constructed by Humans, cyborgs, or combinations of flesh and technology not only exist, but have been somewhat integrated in to society

How is Anita an example of a cyborg?

Anita is creepy, and even unpleasant. This is because she occupies something we refer to as the 'uncanny valley'. This is further exaggerated though the casting of Gemma Chan as Anita. She is so hegemonically attractive that she is even potentially uncomfortable for the audience. She is a highly unrealistic standard of beauty, that is emphasised through mise-en-scene such as her makeup and the highly flattering lighting that constructs her. 

Judith Butler and gender performativity 

The American gender theorist (among other disciplines!) Judith Butler argues that our performance of gender has performativity, and influences and shapes the world around us. She cites a highly personal example where a teenage girl bluntly asked her if she was a lesbian. Butler's own gender performance had a very definite affect on the world around her, which demonstrates that even walking down the street can be a performative act!

Sex - biological distinction, male, female, intersex etc

Gender - the category that somebody identifies as 

Gender performance - the aspects of the gender stereotypes that we choose to conform to 

Gender performativity - how our gender performance affects the world around us, and constructs the world around us

Example question: Judith Butler argues that gender is a performative act, and that gender performativity is essential in fundamentally constructing the world around us. Evaluate this theory of representation. Make reference to Humans to support your answer. 

How does Anita's gender performativity shape the world around her?

Anita is a gendered cyborg. She is constructed by her gendered identity. It heavily inferred that she is able to have sex and she is sexually available. She has long hair, breasts, is wearing makeup, and has feminine features that construct her as a hegemonically sexually attractive woman. 

Sophie - is obsessed with the idea of Anita being pretty, and is visibly excited when Anita is revealed to be pretty. She says 'yay!'  Anita conforms to societal norms, and Sophie is delighted that she has a pretty doll to play with.

Joe - is clearly excited by the sexual prospects of Anita. He hides his nervousness by talking in a stereotypically manly way, perhaps to impress Anita? Or perhaps to distract himself from the guilt he is feeling? A high angled close shows both Anita and Sophie walking away, constructing a polysemic mode of address, where Joe is concerned by Anita walking off with with Sophie, but also looking at her backside. Later in the episode, a close up shot of Joe inspecting the 18 plus card functions as a hermeneutic code. Will Joe have sex with Anita? And how will this affect his relationship? It also introduces a powerful question to the audience: does having sex with a robot count as cheating? These questions help to engage the audience, while exploring issues of gender. Additionally, Anita is wearing a particularly innocent and sexless blue dress, that does not accentuate her body at all

Mattie - "what's your max processing speed?"

Toby - Toby is absolutely obsessed by Anita's sexual potential. This is encoded through the MES of Toby licking his, and a slow zoom on his face, which anchors this gesture

Laura - Feels as though she is being replaced by Anita, both sexually, and in terms of being a a mother. Because she appears to lack emotional engagement, however, she can never fully commit to these roles. 

Constructing an argument

The representation of gender in Humans is highly complicated, in order to both entertain it's science fiction fan target audience, but also to ask important questions about what it means to be a woman, and what it means to be a Human. Potentially, the producers of Humans are presenting a deliberately controversial and exploitive representation of women. Far from being feminist, it is instead being deliberately sexist, and hiding behind the idea of robots as allegory. Themes such as rape, slavery, racism and sexism are all chucked in with little thought, to create an exciting mode of address for the target audience.