Baudrillard's Theory

What is it?

• The idea that in postmodern culture the boundaries between the 'real' world and the world of the media have collapsed and that it is no longer possible to distinguish between reality and simulation.
• The idea that in a postmodern age of simulacra we are immersed in a world of images which no longer refer to anything 'real'.
• The idea that media images have come to seem more 'real' than the reality they supposedly represent (hyper reality).

Definition from exam board

• Baudrillard implies that social theory loses its very object as meanings, classes, and difference implode into a "black hole" of non- differentation. Social theory itself thus loses its object, the social, while radical politics loses its subject and agency.

Applied to News

• Baudrillard's theory applies to newspapers and any cultural product. This particularly applies to news about news, or celebrities who are famous for being famous, where there is no clear sense of a 'real' lying behind the hyperreality. This however, does not explain anything specific to newspapers as it is an extremely high level theory of the postmodern world.
• Only appearances, there is nothing other than just illusions within the media.
• Opponents of postmodernism, means that we still live in the same old, modern society.
• Postmodernisms argue we have entered a new era beyond modernity.

Applied to LFTVD

• The theory may be celebrated in LFTVD's that refuse any simple identification of 'the real' in the fictional world. This does not explain anything specific to LFTVD's as it is an extremely high level theory of the postmodern world.
• Stranger Things can be described as hyperreal. It is a representation that is based on other media representations. The density of intertextuality that underpins Stranger Things results in a representation of small town America in the 1980's that is based on media texts of that era. 
• The representation of the 1980's in Stranger Things depends on signs- costumes, hair styles, props, set design, music, pop culture references- creating a hyperreal version of the 1980's. There is no attempt to represent the lived reality of 1980's America.
• Baudrillard's ideas are a very useful way to analyse how representations are constructed and the way meaning is made in a media text such as Stranger Things due to its extensive use of intertextuality and the predominance of signifiers to represent a historical time period. It does not help to consider LFTVD specifically as a media form, and it does not consider the pleasures of hyperreal media texts for audiences. 
• D83 shows the different realities are just illusions and are only appearances that aren't real.  

Gilroys Theory

Paul Gilroy's Representation theory is the idea that colonialism from the 1500s-1900s still exists/is present in the media. People from ethnic minorities being dehumanised and the idea of "other". Other meaning seen as abnormal and strange by the majority.

Definition from OCR:

- The African diaspora caused by the Slave trade has now constructed a transatlantic culture that is simultaneously African, American, Caribbean and British - the 'Black Atlantic'.

- Britain has failed to mourn its loss of empire, creating 'postcolonial melancholia', an attachment to an airbrushed version of British colonial history, which expresses itself in criminalising immigrants and an 'us and them' approach to the world founded on the belief in the inherent superiority of white western civilisation.


Applying the Theory to News and LFTVD:

News - In both Tabloids and Broadsheets ethnicity is commonly portrayed in a different way to how current society expectations/judgements would prefer, however opposing colonialism eras, the current way these ethnic minorities are portrayed is now more relevant to the nationality and political ideologies of the subject rather than their skin colour.
Due to the content that newspapers are producing being overseen by mostly older white males, culture and ethnic origin is still partially portrayed using post colonial stereotypes within the stories and the entire paper itself - allowing Gilroy's theory to be successfully applied.


LFTVD - Both Stranger Things and Deutschland 83 contain examples of ethnic diversity, however the two shows feature a heavy cast of white actors doubting the idea that the show is racially diverse. This is most likely due to the way in which the narrative in the shows due to the current era that the stories are set in with large numbers of ethnic inequality happening in the 1980's.
ST character Lucas is one of the only representations of how ST is racially diverse - linking to Gilroy's theory, as Lucas is a part of the group of young teenagers that act differently within the setting. Lucas, who is black, is addressed by the name 'Midnight' by bullies at the school. This is discriminating and makes him feel like a minority which links to Gilroy's theory. However, the other 3 boys in his friendship group are also attacked verbally and physically, providing an idea of cross discrimination throughout the narrative.
In D83, American General Jackson is the only true ethnic representation the audience are shown. Due to Jackson's powerful status in the army and the story, Gilroy's theory doesn't really fit here than in ST - however the verisimilitude of this situation is accurate as Germany in the 1980s was lacking in ethnic diversity.

Gender Theorists

Van Zoonen

• Patriarchy- Power of Men

Judith Butler

• Performativity- Perform your gender

Bell Hooks

• Power

Bandura Effect theory

Effect theory:

• The media has an immediate effect on our behaviours
• Hypodermic syringe model
• Particularly used in arguments for censorship

News

Useful

• Moral panic (coronavirus, asteroid)
• Can work with younger, vulnerable audiences (less educated)
• Useful when looking at advertising articles

Not useful

• Only have effect on very impressionable people- the immediate effect is rare
• Long term exposure is much more applicable- Gerbner

LFTVD

Useful

• Moving image has greater impression that text
• LFTVD has the option of bingeing- when you binge, the effect will be greater
• D83 presents different take on historical events which can make an impression on audience fast
• Characters make impression on audience- aspirational

Not useful

• LFTVD is not real- drama, not truth
• News has loyalty- Tv drama is not the same- you dilute the chance of it affecting you
• Tv drama is not trying to have an immediate effect. Entertain, not inform. They don't need moral panic

Henry Jenkins- Fandom Theory

• Believes that fans play a key role in the media
• Distributing the product, sharing it online
• Textual Poaching- Audiences taking a media product and remaking or reworking it to create their own meaning
• Fan made content has increased due to the advances in technology 
• Identity is constructed through your fandom- participation in a community of fandom

Evaluate the usefulness of Jenkins theory to news production

Useful (does it apply to news well?)

• Fans play a huge role in spreading news via social media- Twitter, Instagram, Facebook
• Fans can comment and answer back
• Citizen journalism- public can post the truth

Not Useful

• Fandom doesn't work in the same way- news consumers don't create fan communities in the same way
• Citizen journalists/public are still relatively powerless compared to the big corporations
• As an individual you can't express/influence in the same way as the big corporations

Question 4 Plan practice

Todorov’s theory of narratology

Meaning:

·      The structure and function of the narrative.

Todorov’s theory is the idea that all narratives share a basic structure which entails a movement from one state of equilibrium to another.

It’s the idea these two states of equilibrium are separated by an imbalance or disequilibrium.

The way in which narratives are resolved can have ideological significance.

Equilibrium- The overall balance within a narrative which can include changes in which characters gain more power as the story develops.

ST:

• The idea that the boys live a happy normal life 

• Will goes missing and then this causes a disruption in the equilibrium

• Then by meeting Eleven it causes more damage to the equilibrium

• When the government official kills Benny a power shift emerges.

D83:

• There is tension already due to the historical context of the cold war.

• Martin lives a happy life in East Germany

• Lenora is the disruption to the equilibrium and takes Martin away from his life

• There are moments of change in the narrative when Martin makes mistakes on his mission

• Also, when he gains the documents, the audience feels a power shift within the story.

Question 3 plan practice

Language

·      Levi Strauss- Binary Opposites

·      80’s Nostalgia is created in both ST and D83

D83

·      1983 the only time the world listened to German POP

·      Music unified East and West

·      Just like the music this is a technicolor drama, an antidote to the didactic procedurals and melodramas more typical of German television

·      99 Luftballons- Diegetic

·      Major Tom

·      West- Capitalist

• East- Communist
• Wall went up 1961
• West Germany lent East Germany a billion deutschmarks because they were running out of money.
• Social contradictions 
• Gilroy/Bell Hooks- The Americans- Racial diversity

ST

Boys Houses

·       Close up of demogorgon character then focuses on Mike ·       Walkie talkie chats between Mike and Lucas ·       The camera changes angles of the  mid shots when the boys change positions they are sitting in along with jump cuts between the two boys, to show the conversion. ·       Worried about Will ·       The camera continues to track in throughout their conversion to show the tension building and also the panic the boys are feeling. ·       Camera crabs to Mike leaving the house  ·       Mike sees steve climbing into sisters room , mike rides off as steve continues to climb  ·       The non-diegetic music is played to aid the mystery genre aspect

37:12- 37:20 37:19      37:19- till the end of scene 37:56

The scene is open ended as they were talking about looking for Will and Mike decides to sneak out in order to go find Will in the middle of the night. The camera crabs left following Mike as he leaves the house, which reveals the next scene with Steve sneaking into Nancy’s room.

Industry

·      Netflix for Stranger Things. Was released globally all in one go. Only on a small minority of platforms.

·      Channel 4, Sundance TV for D83. Was released in USA, Germany and UK later. Walter Presents helped in distributing the drama and helped make it popular in the UK. Sundance focuses on Spy aspect to attract audience and Channel 4 focused on the main story.

D83:

·      Luzzolino owns Walter Presents

·      Sundance Tv and Channel 4 distribute it

·        According to Symphony, within the first 35 days of its release, Stranger Things averaged ratings around 14.07 million adults between the ages 18–49 in the United States. This made it the third most-watched season of Netflix original content in the U.S. at the time

·      Stranger Things is an 80s inspired series, meaning it markets to a wide range of audiences.One of the ways they have successfully created a fandom for the show was through immersive experiences such as the 360° virtual reality video posted on YouTube shortly after its release.

·      To target the older audience, The producers have tapped into the 80’s nostalgia.

·      21 Laps Entertainment was the company that produced stranger things with Shawn Levy being the director. The Duffer brothers are the people who created it.

·      They are an American film and television production company run by the director Shawn Levy, they are a commercial company.

·      This company is an international distributor meaning they distribute all around the world.

·      Stranger Things is an original story created by Matt and Ross Duffer.

·      Writers: Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Paul Dichter, Justin Doble, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock

·      Season 1 consists of 8 episodes, season 2 is 9 and season 3 is 8.

·      Tools used: posters were used expressing the sci-fi image, this includes the lead character and the different important parts to tie the series together. Furthermore this is accompanied by the trailer, showing the different parts of the series giving an enlightenment and leaving the audience in mystery of what happens. 

·      Social media and campaign use to promote: social media was used to promote the drama, this included the likes of twitter and instagram to share information on the show along with links to posters and trailers. As well as this a more personal effect was taken, this was done with the use of twitch, 4 hour live streams were done with professionals playing games set in the 80s, this references to the setting of stranger things and adapts the audience to this setting, promoting the show. 

·      Synergy and merch: synergy can be referenced with the twitch streaming, using another game to market stranger things, coca cola is referenced frequently within the show but not necessarily in the marketing campaign.  Merch has been created alongside collabing with big brand companies such as nike to offer a shared product promoting the show and the clothing brands. 

 ST:

·      According to Symphony, within the first 35 days of its release, Stranger Things averaged ratings around 14.07 million adults between the ages 18–49 in the United States. This made it the third most-watched season of Netflix original content in the U.S. at the time

·      Stranger Things is an 80s inspired series, meaning it markets to a wide range of audiences.One of the ways they have successfully created a fandom for the show was through immersive experiences such as the 360° virtual reality video posted on YouTube shortly after its release.

·      To target the older audience, the producers have tapped into the 80’s nostalgia.

·      21 Laps Entertainment was the company that produced stranger things with Shawn Levy being the director. The Duffer brothers are the people who created it.

·      They are an american film and television production company run by the director Shawn Levy, they are a commercial company.

·      This company is an international distributor meaning they distribute all around the world.

·      Stranger Things is an original story created by Matt and Ross Duffer.

·      Writers: Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Jessie Nickson-Lopez, Paul Dichter, Justin Doble, Jessica Mecklenburg, Alison Tatlock

·      Season 1 consists of 8 episodes, season 2 is 9 and season 3 is 8.

·      Tools used: posters were used expressing the sci-fi image, this includes the lead character and the different important parts to tie the series together. Furthermore this is accompanied by the trailer, showing the different parts of the series giving an enlightenment and leaving the audience in mystery of what happens. 

·      Social media and campaign use to promote: social media was used to promote the drame, this included the likes of twitter and instagram to share information on the show along with links to posters and trailers. As well as this a more personal effect was taken, this was done with the use of twitch, 4 hour live streams were done with professionals playing games set in the 80s, this references to the setting of stranger things and adapts the audience to this setting, promoting the show. 

·      Synergy and merch: synergy can be referenced with the twitch streaming, using another game to market stranger things, coca cola is referenced frequently within the show but not necessarily in the marketing campaign.  Merch has been created alongside collabing with big brand companies such as nike to offer a shared product promoting the show and the clothing brands. 

Audience

Stranger Things:

• 15-49-year olds
• Why they love it- 80's nostalgia
• How is the audience been targeted?
• Synergy with Netflix
• Extensive Narrative Enigmas- Always wanting to know more about the story
• Emotive representations
• Realism- Friendship/loyalty, young protagonists, collective identity
• Retro styling- Nostalgia, soundtrack, hybridisation- sci-fi, thriller
• Must see appointment tv 

Gratifications theory- Personalisation (identify with characters), Information (anything that it teaches you), Entertainment (what viewers want), Social interaction (water cooler chat)

• Escapist, non-realist entertaining drama- Diversion
• Discussed, written about, hyped and virally sold- Social interaction
• Identity is key appeal e.g. Personal identity with notions of difference
• Information is given on 1980's cultural history- Surveillance culture

D83

·      Highest rated foreign Tv drama in history

·      Industry is appealing to audiences via the spy genre to open a larger audience, rather than focusing on a niche topic of the cold war.

·      October 2015- released in USA

·      January 2016 on Channel 4 in the UK

·      ABC1 audience

Representation

·      Stuart Hall- Stereotypes

·      Family: Stereotypes used in this are shown through power hungry men who want to be in control however, someone like Lenora is very powerful in Martin’s family as she works for the government.

We also look at Annete who stands up to Martin’s mum because she is keeping secrets about Martin’s whereabouts. However, she is represented as a strong woman, but she is also stereotyped as a helpless girlfriend as Martin has been taken away from her and she can’t do anything as he is in the West.

Martin is stereotyped as a young adult and conforms to this stereotype as he is a family man and is always wondering and asking if his family is okay.

In Edel’s family Wolfgang is the powerful one as he is the general. But his son Alex wants to be in charge but is always overlooked by his dad’s success. He seems to be friendly towards Martin but seems to feel jealous about him getting a higher role than him. Could show signs that his dad doesn’t respect him or give him any love. He is represented as a power hungry individual and conforms to this stereotype as he is the son of the general and therefore, has the same mindset. Yet he subverts to this representation as he comes across as friendly and welcoming.

ST:

Woods ·       Boys discover Eleven

·       The significant focus is the supernatural and Eleven as she has met the boys. This is important because the stories of how Eleven got there and how the boys got there has now joined.

·       Representation in this scene is from ET as Stranger Things uses an Easter egg to represent this. It’s like ET as the boys discover Eleven in the woods the same as how ET was found. This representation is then used throughout the entire scene.

·       The representation is kept throughout the scene. The boys being curious shows their geeky side into the supernatural and how they are living out movies they worship.

·       Not only that their curiosity shows the love and bond between the boys and Will because they want to save their friend. This then links to the significance of the boys within the story.

·       The stereotype used in this scene is curious teenagers. This is because the boys know it's dangerous outside yet they don’t listen and are curious to know where Will is and what happened to him.

·       Their parents apart from Joyce are seen as bad parents because they don’t know where their kids are and the fact they are outside in a dangerous environment.

Theorists notes and Tv drama Industry and Regulation

• Curran and Seaton- Power and Media: The idea that a small group of businesses control the media and concentrates it which is limiting creativity. socially diverse patterns of ownership help create more varied and adventurous media production.

• Livingstone and Lunt- Regulation: Tv regulated by OFCOM but Netflix is controlled by a company in Holland so they don't abide by UK rules. Parents regulate kids and what they see. Makes it a lot harder to regulate stuff.

• David Hesmondhaigh- Cultural Industries: Minimise risk and Maximise audience through horizontal and vertical integration, formatting cultural products. Large conglomerate operates across different cultural industries. Internet has been contained to some extent by large profit orientated set cultural industries.

If ST is rated 15:

• Strong language
• Brief or comic sexual nudity
• Sexual activity usually without a lot of detail
• Threat and horror
• Violence without dwelling on the inflection of injury or pain
• Verbal references to sexual violence
• Drug taking

9pm watershed traditional television Channel 4- D83- Post watershed scheduling. Now irrelevant due to catch-up.

OFCOM rules:

• Protect under 18s
• Prohibited material doesn't appear
• Don't insight hatred
• Commercial reference needs to be regulated

Terrestrial- Regular TV

OFCOM has no power to issue sanctions on Netflix, as it is regulated by the Dutch regulator.

Essentially the part to evaluate is the idea that the rise of convergent technologies puts traditional regualtion at risk.

D83- Language

• 1983 the only time the world listened to German POP
• Music unified East and West
• Just like the music this is a technicolor drama, an antidote to the didactic procedurals and melodramas more typical of German television
• 99 Luftballons- Diegetic
• Major Tom
• Contains loads of history that the audience is accessing which is very niche. However, D83 is a spy drama which opens up a much larger audience which lead to its success.
• Sundance Tv trailer focuses only on the spy element to attract audiences
• Industry is appealing to audiences via the spy genre.
• West- Capitalist
• East- Communist
• Wall went up 1961
• West Germany lent East Germany a billion deutschmarks because they were running out of money.
• Social contradictions 
• Gilroy/ Bell Hooks- The Americans- Racial diversity
• Channel 4 is very left-wing, get into the action
• Luzzolino owns Walter Presents
• Has a criteria for what is shown:
• Popular in Native country
• Must be award winning or critically acclaimed
• The finest writing, directing and acting

D83 Background context

D83 Trailer analysis

Deutschland 83

• Episode 1 - Quantum Jump
• October 2015- released in USA
• January 2016 on Channel 4 in the UK
• Episode titles taken from actual NATO military exercises
• Subtitled 
• ABC1 audience- Lexus advertisement, subtitles and knowledge of the cold war
• Split screen from the two sides of Germany- Strauss- binary opposition 
• Genre- Romance, action
• Similar to Stranger Things as it follows the point of view of young people fighting against an evil.
• Cold war Spy thriller set in 1983
• Early action sequence- Barthes proairetic code
• Iconic 80's signifiers- Ronald Reagan, Frankie goes to Hollywood- Two Tribes song
• Potentially sexualised narrative with romantic sub plot
• Action sequences as USP, high production values
• Surveillance equipment as part of the mise-en-scene encodes spy conventions
• Spy thriller but also a hybrid coming of age drama- Steve Neale repetition and difference theory.
• Medium/ high production value drama
• Moritz Stamm/ Martin Rauch- 2 characters- Moritz (West) Martin (East)
• Evil Empire- 1983 Ronald Reagan speech
• Walter Presents- This is the distributor
• Costs a lot to recreate the 80's- Industry
• Culturally relevant German export
• East German Socialist ideology- Seen as aspirational through the character of Martin Rauch but then reverts to stereotype e.g. harsh eastern block representations
• Using Gauntlett D83 oscillates between diversity and encoding at times a singular, straightforward east/west identity
• Premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, globally distributed
• Critical success
• Commercial success- highest rated subtitled drama in the UK but flopped in Germany
• East VS West symbolism
• Sundance TV and RTL TV German/American co-production
• Sundance are U.S. pay TV channel owned by AMC specialising in non mainstream content
• RTL largest free-to-air TV channel in Germany
• Point- D83 had pedigree and backing in terms or production and distribution
• June 2015 Sundance TV premiere, Germany November 2015, UK January 2016
• Direct synergy with programme and 1980's soundtrack. Spotify playlist for each episode- marketing to youth audiences also nostalgia as key appeal
• Todorovian equilibrium
• Episodic it is open ended- micro narratives connected by narrative arcs.
• Disruption- Aunt pushes him to join East secret service. Gets job as aide to West German General in charge of nuclear deterrence 
• 
  

DIRT Sheet 7

DIRT Marksheet 7 – H409 Music Videos Artist representations in mv’s

Name:                                           Date:

AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework of media and contexts of media and their influence

Assessment Objectives AO1: 1a 1b – Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework of media.

AO1 Total: 10 marks.

The content below is not prescriptive and all valid points should be credited. It is not expected that responses will include all of the points listed.

AO1:1 How producers may choose to include different representations in music videos to promote the artist(s), for example:

· producers of music videos may construct representations of the artist(s) that emphasise key aspects of their image, such as their performance prowess, which depending on the genre of music video could be high paced, coordinated dance routines, or performance highlighting the artist’s (or artists’) musical prowess and artistry, or narrative performance highlighting the artist’s (or artists’) image. Music videos may focus on one element of those highlighted above in depth but producers are more likely to select a combination of these elements to strongly emphasise key aspects of the artist’s (or artists’) mediated image.

 · producers of music videos may construct representations of the target audience for the artist(s), for example the storyline of narrative elements of a music video may feature representations (or idealised representations) of fans (the target audience) interacting with the artist(s) in order to elicit within fans a feeling of belonging and loyalty with regard to the mediated image and/or music of the artist’s (or artists’).

· producers of music videos may promote the artist(s) to their fan-base (target audience) through elicit value-transference to the artist(s) through representations other than those of the artist(s), for example: o through artistic excellence and high production values, e.g. a highly cinematic in style narrative music video; or through more abstract, ‘high art’ expressionist videos (that may be live action, animated or feature digital CGI; or feature a combination of these elements) that appeal to the artist’s (or artists’) fan-base (target audience) o through the use of glamour, for example, featuring representations artist(s) through the use of performers (which may be real, digital or animated) in ‘glamorous’ and / or highly aspirational situations o music videos may also elicit value

· List A videos using social realist representation of ‘street life’ to represent the authenticity and cultural currency of the Corinne Bailey Rae video, aiming to transfer that value of transcendence to the artist

· the use of intertextual, postmodern representations in List B videos. the cinéphiliac recreation of Spielbergian 80s suburban America in the David Guetta video

· the use of messages and viewpoints in videos that aim to bolster the image of the artist and chime with those of the positioned audience - the very filmic representation of teenage alienation in Guetta’s video creates an ambiguous message that adds to the sophistication of Guetta’s image and fits the large-scale nature of the song.

·       Comprehensive demonstration of knowledge and understanding of representations in music videos.

·       Comprehensive, detailed and accurate knowledge and understanding of representations in music videos.

·       Clear and precise and balanced explanation of how representations are chosen to promote the artist(s) in music videos.

7–10  Answer is supported by detailed and accurate reference to one set music video.

4–6  An adequate demonstration of knowledge and understanding of representations in music videos.

·       Adequate and generally accurate knowledge and understanding of representations in music videos.

· Generally accurate explanation of how representations are chosen to promote the artist(s) in music videos.

· Answer is supported by general accurate reference to one set music video

1–3 A minimal demonstration of knowledge and understanding of representations in music videos. · Knowledge of representation in music videos is minimal, demonstrating little understanding.

· Explanation of how representations are used in music videos is minimal and may not always be accurate. · Reference to a set music video to support the answer is minimal and may be inaccurate.

0 No response or no response worthy of credit.

Have a look at all the points you could have made from Miss Brookes’ feedback (next page) and reflect on what you did well and what was missing.

Identify a strength or strengths in your assessment: ·       Good analysis of representations ·       Good use of messages within the video and good analysis What are the areas you need to improve? ·       Refer to more specific camera shots ·       Use mise en scene What do you need to focus on for your next music video assessment? ·       Focus on camera shots ·       Use Mise En Scene ·       Analyse the various scenes