Monday 29 September 2008

Aseesment objectives

A02: Wider concepts- (SHEP) must study a wider range of media texts to understand the term better this will include things like media guardian, newspapers and magazines.

A03.1- Issues, debates and theories- I will need to look into a lot more theories and reaserch more theorists if i am to gain a bteer understanding of different types and styles. Also will have to view media gaurdian to obtain infomation on the countries and sometimes worlds current issues and debates

A03.2- Compare and account for similatires and diffrences in texts- on a basic scale i find this quite easy but when looking into it deeper it becomes more harder to perfom. What i could do to build on my confidence for this objective would be to compare two texts that i know wells similarites and differences and then go further into it

A05- Will need to reaserxch topics and texts through different than just revision guides, use other ways like mind maps that help me to remember topics better.

A01- Key concepts( migrain) I will try to carry on doing as much Migrain anylsis as possible to get better expeirence of how this techniques work.

Thursday 25 September 2008

Parts of reviews


http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2006/may/26/1

"As ever, the mutants are all good-looking enough to be models, except they are supposed to be picturesquely older."

http://movies.about.com/od/xmen3/fr/xmen3052506.htm

"Oscar-winner Berry got her way and Storm is now a much larger part of the plot, with more to do than in the previous two films combined. That’s good for Berry, but not so good for the movie. Storm just isn’t the most exciting mutant."

Migrain on Trailer- X men 3




Media language- The trailer has a lot of light and dark contrasts that go with the pace of the trailer, these features mostly throughout the fighting scenes that occur in the end of the trailer. Theses contrasts of light and darkness could portray the two warring sides with one being good and evil but the more likely reason is to add to the excitement of the fast paced shots. The majority of the trailer is made up by non diagetic sound of effects which is used to keep the audience interested in it because the effects used increase the excitement and tension.

Intsituion- The instituiontional source of my trailer is marvel who are known for superhero movies. The trailer has been very influenced by marvel who want to change some of the ascpets of the comic book version to the streaming movie of it. Some of these ascpects however have not been changed like the characters who appaear.

Genre- The genre of this trailer is action /superhero based on the codes and conventions that are portrayed in it for for examples the, flying, fighting, sepcial effects, updateded almost furturistic technoligy and powers that the characters poses make this spefifccly a action movie.

Representation- Superhero mutants are the main subject of focus in this trailer as the trailer displays with its wording as well as the images that are shown. however going into a more deeper view the majoirty of characters in the trialer are while males seemingly both young and middle aged, thier are only 4 female chacraters and only 1 character of any different ethnic background

Audience- The audience for this trailer is realaticly young people speficily middle aged teens going onto people in thier 20s who are lovers of this type of genre. The majority are ones that have grew up watching x-men in comic books so have fond memories of it while they where growing up and have an interest in watching the film version to view the similarites and differences of the two and to see whether the films hype lives up to the comic books.

Ideoligy- The idolgies of the text are mainly hetrosexual as both males and females feature in the texts and both have important roles, however thier is some ascpects of paitricalacism as the males do dominate when it comes to the main roless of power in the film, both heads of the team that control their actions are both males.

Narrative- A lot of binary oppotions are raised in the trailer like good- evil, light and darkness of lighting and the calmity at the beginning of the trailer compared to the fact paced action at the end.

Tuesday 16 September 2008

Independant study for X- men 3

Media Representations

The women who all play important roles in the hit movie x-men 3 are being represented as strong , brave and smart but that is just the outline for what is probably a much deeper representation. the directors of makers of the movie want to create an illusion that the females are their for their contribution to the film through their acting abilities and personality but when you look at it from alternative angles its a different story. As well as all the positive things about them they are also represented as being good looking but gullible and reliant on their male counterparts to help them achieve their goals in defeating their enemies. Unfortunately they are being represented in this way because its following a history of superhero movies before it when they are reliant on others and are usually the ones being rescued on not the other way around. So i believe this isn't a fair way of showing female roles in the modern era of Hollywood but it is an accurate one though.

Media Languages and Forms

The texts connotations are very significant to uncovering my question in this study because you only have to take what the characters are wearing for it to become clear that the connotations are plain to see. In the movie the superheros are subjected to wearing tight clothing as their costumes which connotes the aura of sexuality. Throughout the movie the main female protagonist rogue is portrayed as vulnerable, weak and incapable of controlling the power shes possesses theses can all be seen through her facial expressions as most of the time she is looking worried and frightened, now although this isn't a negative portrayl of a female where her sexual exposes are the main point of focus it isn't a positive one either a more 21st century style of a confident woman is far from seen in the character.


The narrative of the text is it follows one main story line which is the final battle between the good and evil mutants who have been fighting for many years. The music used to embody the narrative are very effective as it empathises the feelings towards the particular scenes they are used in, this is the case espsically in the trailer as at the beginning when the tension is building up as the voice over is telling the story the background music is a choir of girls creating a very chilling feeling but as soon as the action picks up and the fast pace shots kick so does the non diegetic music and therefore it creates a fast upbeat sound
Genre

This movie belongs to the action film genre which is shown through the mise en scene , narrative and special effects. The text confirms the characteristics of the genre with its uses of generic conventions and connotations including the powers that the characters each have, fighting between the good and evil sides, the basis that each side of justice lie and the aspects of patriotism when they are fighting for not only their rights but to save the country and the world.

This is also the case for the women of the film but their codes and conventions aren't what the audience would usually expect as their are very few evil female characters as unique as the character mystique, this is something that goes agaisnt the ideas of the regularly conventions and connotations you would normally associate with a female villain. She only has blue paint covering up the major parts of the female body clearly exposing those parts to the audience which will mostly heighten the male gaze to new levels. However she is intelligent, devious and knows how to use the powers she posses very well therefore she is still confirming the usual conventions of a female villain so it goes both for and agaisnt them.

Media Institutions


The institutional source of my respective text is marvel who are known for superhero movies. The film has been very influenced by marvel who want to change some of the aspects of the comic book version to the streaming movie of it. Some of these aspects however have not been changed like the contribution of female characters. Marvel wanted to keep them from being the head leaders in the group both in the comics and in the movies as it had been demonstrated a number of times when they have had to depend on the services of the males in their group and not their own ability. Marvel are an institution that is commercial as they have no duty to service the public they make the film in their own way which means majority of the time the degrading of the women in the texts.

Media Values and Ideology

Some of the values , assumptions and ideologies expected in the release of this film have been both established and discarded ecspically in the roles of the females. An immediate assumption when watching a film of this genre is that the person who eventually is saved is a women- it happened, another assumption was that the person who was going to save her was a man- it happened, another one was that the good side always win- it happened. So in that sense this is no surprise and the assumptions are very much predictable. To be fair the females in the text are not the only looks and not brains style girls that seem to be casted in so many films before this but if the directors really wanted to make a stand and say they are not going along with the usual ideologies that a good looking person must get the part then they should have hired someone of the ugly Betty culture to play the leading female role. So when i consider that i don't believe this is a major step in being a victory for women because they way they are presented here they are still objects of desire.

Media Audiences

The text that i did my study on is addressed to marvel produced superhero movie fans its target audience is the 13- 30 year old who may presently follow the superhero genre style films and who like x-men series specifically or the ones who used to watch the cartoon series looking to rekindle their childhood by attending a trip down memory lane by watching the film.

I think the size of the audience will be a large ones because it will consist of fellow action film genre film goers who would want to continue that trend. Their characteristics would include loving the superhero genre and having a fond passion for watching movies. As for how they will read it they will probably take it as a normal film in this genre with the same sort of connotations and conventions buts others may take a deeper reading into it like the perceptions they got from previous veiwed of other movies of its kind and comparing it to this.

Catwoman Trialer

Wonder woman trailer

Monday 15 September 2008

Is the reaserch below relevant to my study

This reaserch is similar to my study but it is relevant enough to relate to what im doing?

1. In the first few lines it quotes " the only way for an actress to get a piece of the action is to be a piece of action. While all these female characters will certainly be smart, capable women, their primary function will still be as the hero's love interest". This is portaying the exact feelings i have towards this study and that is that they must reveal sexual exploits to have any bearing on the film or be the heros (which will be predicatbly a male) distraction or overall aim to acheive.

2. This is an article that displays the roles of woman in a superhero movie which is similiar to whatb i am doing as well, the article hits the same stereotypcial views that i am uncovering like the fact that its hard to beileive that thier brains are the reasons they are landing the big roles.

3. The important peice about this reaserch is that the genre that he is talking about matches mine, had it been womans roles in a romantic or a horror movie then the codes and conventions would have been a lot different and so would have been completely irrelevant.

Friday 12 September 2008

Reaserch

The heroes in this summer's crop of superhero films have the potential to be some of the most sophisticated and compelling in action-movie history, bolstered by the high-wattage charisma of Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Christian Bale (as Batman in The Dark Knight), Ed Norton (The Incredible Hulk), and, maybe to a lesser extent, Will Smith (Hancock). Additionally, these films pack an impressive amount of star power and talent into their supporting female roles: Gwyneth Paltrow as Tony Stark's executive assistant, Virginia "Pepper" Potts; Liv Tyler as scientist Betty Ross, Maggie Gyllenhaal as Gotham district attorney Rachel Dawes, and Charlize Theron as the hypotenuse of Jason Bateman–Will Smith love triangle. This talent roster seems to suggest that we'll be seeing one hell of an other half this summer — but just how super will these heroines be?
Probably not very. Historically, in superhero movies, the only way for an actress to get a piece of the action is to be a piece of action. While all these female characters will certainly be smart, capable women, their primary function will still be as the hero's love interest. These perilous roles virtually guarantee that no amount of brains or pluck will be enough for a damsel to save herself from distress; her endangerment serves to ratchet up the tension of the film, which is always nicely resolved with the tender coda of her rescue. Naturally, as usual, the girls will also suffer the emotional kryptonite of loving a man with a serious identity crisis. On top of that, they'll be given no otherworldly powers to contend with their crises, unless you count being really foxy with superhuman capacities for understanding.
Thank the gods, then, for Selma Blair. As the sharp, pyrokinetic Liz Sherman of Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Blair promises to be the antidote to all this leggy helplessness. She may be Hellboy's main squeeze, but she wields her very own superpower as a member of the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, an international intelligence agency frequently tasked with saving the world. Still, it's telling that the only real superwoman we'll see this summer is in the most low-profile film of the genre, being played by the actress least likely to be featured in Us Weekly. That's a pretty woeful state of affairs for such an otherwise enlightened set of hero tales. What does it take to get some superequal rights up in here? —Tammy Oler

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/04/where_are_the_roles_for_superwomen.html

Tuesday 9 September 2008

After viewing both the trailer and movie for the hit film x-men which puts on display many female characters but just 4 in particular I have come out with sterner beliefs that women are still being portrayed as sexual objects but also that for once maybe the directors aren't focusing on that area.

In this movie instead of beauty they are made to use their brains in a number of mentally challenging obstacles , and instead of their sexual presence being the main aspect of these women being offered to the film it its their humour , wittiness and charm that are being shown which is not a normality in the Hollywood blockbuster hits.

To start off with one of the 2 main protagonists (rogue)is a female who isn't revealed as glamorous, sexy or confident in anyway but as feeble, insecure and afraid because of a mixture of her past life tragedies as well as the power she knows she unfortunately posses.

During the course of the film however u see her grow into a confident smart sophisticated intellectual young women without once being degraded in any sexual or feminine way of the slightest. not once is she put in revealing tight clothing or involved in any verbal or physical sexual related action , something that so many female actors have to do if they want to make it to the peak of the film industry.


Early suggestions after seeing 4 characters playing important roles within the film for their respective sides would be that this indeed is a victory for women and a significant step in direction of change regarding more female characters playing main roles.

But taking a more in-depth look at the entire film and their may be a selective few viewers who would still believe these actresses are objects due to their tight clothing and make up of their costumes. For instance storm who is a member of the hero mutant group is subjected to wearing skin tight outfits throughout most of the movie while fellow group member wolverine wears his own clothes untill the end.


The genre of this film is superhero action type and their are a lot of mainstream Hollywood hits that have had main characters being female, just to name a few Angelina jolie in tomb raider, helle berry in cat woman but are they really the main stars because of their ability to fight crime and think of brilliant schemes to thwart their enemies or obstacles in front of them.

If these things really are the reasons they are being employed in the big leagues of the film industry then yes the roles and reasons of female actresses have taken a 21st century step to equality. However their isn’t exactly an ugly leading female main character in a Hollywood movie ,having that would be a huge significant step that would justify most of what this argument is actually about.
The 2003 movie “Something’s Gotta Give” is a story of middle age love and the difference of dating rules for men and women who are in the peak of their lives. Diane Keaton (Erica) is the mother of a 20-something daughter (Merrin) who brings home a much older man. This premise turns into the trials and tribulations of men dating younger women, and older women being bitter, old maids. The intended audience for this film is middle-aged males and females. This group can relate to some of the situations portrayed in the movie. However, the imagined audience is anyone from teenagers to middle aged people. Teenagers could possibly relate because there are a handful of younger characters in which they deal with dating as young people. Thus, a broad spectrum of audiences could viably be reached due to characters, situations, and life cycle positions. There is cornucopia of portrayals of women in this film. Merrin, the 20-something daughter, is a career-oriented, self- determined young woman. She dates who she pleases and has no qualms about having 2 week flings. Her mother, Erica, is a 50 year old writer who has had her own success within her career. She is divorced and takes pride in being independent. However, later in the movie, she does feel the need for companionship. Erica’s sister Zoe, a women’s studies professor, is a feminist who sees the blatant stereotypes of women over 40. The portrayals of these women work well together because they are all confident womenwho are proud to be what they are. All three have a strong work ethic as well as strong opinions. They also contrast with one another. Zoe is a strong feminist who does not date, while Merrin is a vibrant young woman who dates around and has fun doing it. Erica, on the other hand, is completely content staying in “night after night after night” alone, working on her scripts. They all have a good chemistry together, even though the are portrayed differently.

Panic Room: Jodie Foster and Kristen Stewart star as Meg and Sarah Altman, two women who find themselves in a new house and in capable director David Fincher’s hands. Their new house brings them some trouble, the previous owners having left a large fortune in it. When 3 men try to get that fortune, Meg and Sarah have to work together to stay alive. It’s a thriller and a popcorn movie, but a smart one, with 3 dimensional characters and mainly 2 awesome women leading the charge.

Morvern Callar: Lynne Ramsay’s story of a young woman (Samantha Morton) who wakes up to find her boyfriend has committed suicide and proceeds to pass his novel off as her own, leading to a journey with her best friend, is an amazing film. You’ll have to trust me when I say it gets everything right - I’ve never indirectly related to a movie more. Also, the director is one of the best female filmmakers around.



2003 - I’m writing movie reviews for my school paper - seeing movies for free and interviewing awesome movie folks
X2: A super-hero movie? I know, the women are all wearing tight outfits and blah blah blah. The X-Men are a little different though (and yes I know MEN is the word in the title). The fact is that comic book/super hero movies are here to stay and this franchise does a pretty good job of having complicated and strong female characters. Dr. Grey, Rogue, Storm etc.. they’re all smart, yet all struggling with their identity a bit and figuring out how to navigate their “careers” along with desires for love. Plus, if your going to sit through a movie where the men lead the good guys and the bad guys, it might as well be one where those leaders are Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart - two guys who I would bet my last dollar on being completely anti-misogynistic.