Thursday, March 22, 2007

self evaluation...
Attainment: 2
I work hard in the subject and am also up to date with any work that is set.
Effort: 2
I put alot of effort into the media course and and also my blog work that i am always up to date with.
Punctuality: 1
Im always on time to lessons and am never late and i always attend lessons to.
Submission and quality of homework: 1
I always hand my home work in on time and my blog tasks are of high quality and up to date.
Ability to work independently: 2
As we are doing independent study work i have to work on my own so in that case i am good at doing that task rather then working in a group.
Quality of writing: 2
My quality of writing has improved from last year and i write in a clear way which can be understood. However this still needs improving as i tend to repeat myself alot.
Organisation of Media folder: 1
My media folder is very well organised and is set out in a clear way. I have different sections for different topics.
Oral contributions in class: 2
I do contribute in class and share my ideas, however this can be done more.
Standard of Module 5 blog: 1
My module 5 blog is very good. I put alot of time and effort into this and my study. I post up on it regularly and also make it look presentable. I also put alot of detail into my reseach.
Standard of Module 6 blog : 1
My module 6 blog is also very good. I have put alot of effort into this and have researched into different institutions and stories alot. I post up on to this blog regularly to.
Three targets/improvements:
1) do more research on theroists and revise these
2) read the guardian on a regular basis.
3) work hard on the improvements for my independent study.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Blog Evaluation...
1. How easy has it been to set up your Independent Study blog and to get used to posting things on it? Were you given enough support in doing it? What other help would have been useful?
It has been very easy to set up the blog and its quick and easy to post up information onto my blog. we were given enough support doing it as sir demonstrated how to set up the blog in class. No other help would have been useful as it was easy to set up the blog.
2. How did the blog help with your research? Did the blog motivate you to do more and better research? How? Why?
The blog did help with my research. For example there were useful links posted up that linked to my independent study. Yhea it did motivate me to do more better research because it saved me the hassle of printing out information and stuff.
3. Is it useful having all the Independent Study/blog tasks posted on the Macguffin blog? Does it make it more likely that you will get them done?
Yhea of course because the instructions were clear on what we had to do for each specific task. Also by having tasks posted up on the blog did enable me to get the work done, but i would have done the work either way.
4. How often (honestly!) do you check the Macguffin blog? (Remember, it should be at least twice/week).
I check it everyday lol!!
5. Has it been useful being able to see and access everyone else’s research and planning through their blogs?
Yhea it has been very useful as you can see what research other people have done. Also it did make me work harder coz everyone was putting alot of effort into their blogs.
6. How do you feel about the fact that your teacher can keep a close check on your progress through accessing your blog? Is it too intrusive and controlling or is it encouraging and supportive?
I think that ot was a good thing that teachers could chek the work i was doing because it did motivate me in a way as i was encouraged to do more work. This also showed that both mr munro n mr bush shared an interest in our work.
7. How useful have the comments been that you received from…a. Macguffin, b. other students.
a) i have recieved none from macguffin lol
b) yhea they have been useful as they told me what was good and bad bout the work i was doing.
8. How has the blog helped with your essay planning? How useful was the blog when it came to writing the essay? Do you think your first draft is better because you have used a blog?
It has helped alot becasue all the research i needed was on the blog so it helped make my independent study better when writing my essay. It also helped plan my essay because each task was specifically chosen to link with me essay.
9. How would you evaluate the quality of your blog? What could you have done better?
I think the quality of my blog is very good as i have completed each task in detail. To improve i would just add more videos from youtube or something.
10. Do you think you will get a better final grade for your independent study through having used a blog?
i hope so coz all my research was mainly done by using the blog.
11. Which are the best three blogs? Why?
erm i think everyones blog was good as everyone put hard work into it.
12. Do you think next year’s Year 13s would benefit from setting up an Independent Study blog?
yhea of course
13. Are there any negative aspects to preparing for an Independent Study using a blog?
na not really although my computer did frezzze a few times when i was posting up comments lol
14. What could be done to improve teaching and/or learning in future through blogs?
erm nothing really i think everything is fine.
15. Overall, are you pleased that we used blogs? Has it been interesting and enjoyable? Why? Why not?
Yhes it has been good as other subjects dont alow you to do homework and stuff on the internet. overall i am pleased we used blogs=)

Monday, February 05, 2007

First Draft...
“You think you know who you are. You have no idea”[1]. How and why are different social issues represented in the film crash?
"It's the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something"[1].The film Crash depicts the lives of several different characters living in Los Angeles during a 36 hour time period. The majority of characters that are portrayed in the film have many connections in their life’s that are brought together by shootings, car accidents and carjacking which all take place within society.
The film depicts many realistic social issues such as racism, stereotyping, different characters having prejudices on selected characters throughout the film, the negative portrayal of women and lastly class divisions such as the rich and the poor. "Social divisions tend to divide people into "better" and "worse" categories. Therefore social divisions result in social inequalities"[2]. These social inequalities are evident in the film as most of the characters are racially prejudiced in some way, involving them in conflicts that force them to examine their own prejudices. Social issues are portrayed in the film Crash by the way in which Paul Haggis effectively uses a number of different characters and diverse genre devices to represent a certain issue that is taking place in society to engage and appeal to an art house and mainstream audience. The main reason to why these social issues are represented could be primarily due to the fact that contemporary issues such as the above are still dominant in society nowadays and not much change has occurred since the pre 1900 period, which is evident by analysing the social realism presented in Los Angeles.

“A haunting, perceptive and uncompromising examination of controversial subject matter, expertly written and directed by Paul Haggis and characterised by excellent performances from its starry cast”[3]. In the film Crash many characters have been carefully written to represent a specific social issue that takes place within society in America. This is made evident in the film as different characters are placed in the narrative to have certain prejudices on certain characters. For example in one specific scene in the film the audience sees the white upper class of Sandra Bullock whose racial prejudices escalate after her carjacking. In the scene Paul Haggis carefully constructed her character to assume that two black youths are going to do something to her and has an initial fear towards them. Therefore this immediately brings out the prejudice in her character and creates a social issue straight away as the fear towards a black character has created a social barrier and a social division. The reason to why the social issue of prejudice might have been placed in the this specific scene could be due to the fact that Paul Higgis wanted to make the audience aware that such issues do still exist in society nowadays. “Crash” pulls the audience in and makes us examine how we view all walks of life.”[4] Therefore this engages the audience as they have noticed that many characters in the film are vividly prejudiced forcing them to challenge their own assumptions on different races in society.

“Prejudice is, as the name implies, the process of "pre-judging" something.”[5] Another main character in the film that is pre judged in a certain way is the locksmith “Daniel” who faces a lot of discrimination from upper class characters. For example the depicted character of Sandra Bullock again reinforces her prejudice towards him as she thinks he is a menace to society. This is further emphasised by the way in which the locksmith is being represented to the audience. For example he has a shaved head, wears baggy jeans, and has a majority of tattoos placed around his body. However in reality the locksmith is a family man who has a lot of love and affection for his daughter. Therefore the social issue of discrimination and prejudice is represented in the film Crash by the way in which Paul Haggis depicts different representations on characters to send a message out to the audience that you should not judge people on the way they look. Furthermore this engages the audience by the fact that innocent characters in the film are being judged for no reason suggesting that society in a way is issue driven.

The use of prejudice in Crash also links to certain social issues of racism that are portrayed in the film. “Racism is the stigmatizing of difference in order to justify advantage or the abuse of power, weather that advantage or abuse be economic, political, cultural or psychological.”[6] For example in the film this is made evident by placing a Persian family to own a store in LA. The Persian family is afraid for their own safety as the father of the family (Farhad) is very frustrated by the racial harassment he experiences in the United States. He also has difficulty in speaking and understanding English which could be another reason to why characters are racist towards him in the film. In one scene his door needs to be replaced but Farhad does not listen to the locksmith as he believes he is being cheated. Ironically later on in the film the shop does eventually encounter a break in and he blames the locksmith for this racial destruction. Farhad takes revenge and shoots the locksmiths daughter with a gun that has blank bullets. Therefore the issue of racism is represented in the film Crash by placing an ethnic family to be racially abused in American society as they are from a different cultural background. The reason to why the social issue of racism might have been placed in the film could have been to bring out the inner racial conflicts that certain charters are portrayed to have in the film.

Furthermore throughout the movie the audience see “Rick” a white upper class district attorney to tackle the issue of racism and prejudice in a very different way compared to his wife (Sandra Bullock). He is represented to be a very calm and considerate character and does not tend to be abruptly racist like his wife. “The term racism is usually applied to the dominant group in a society, because it is that group which has the means to oppress others”.[7]This links to the fact that his position in society in the film is very high and he does have dominance and control over other lower class characters. Therefore this could lead to many values and ideologies that are being raised in the text such as there should be an end to racism as Paul haggis has carefully considered the character of Rick to have a positive effect to the issue of racism. However the way in which Rick is portrayed to cope with the issue of racism can also be seen from a different perspective. This is because he might not want the position of his character in society to be ruined because if he was an extreme racist like many of the other characters in the text, this will hurt him politically. Hence this can also suggest the idea that racism is a never ending issue and will always be in society as people can be racist on the inside and deceitful on the outside. Therefore the issue of racism is represented in the film crash by the way in which Paul Haggis thoughtfully uses certain characters to convey different meanings of racism to send a message out to the audience that racism is an unavoidable issue, adding a sense of realism.

In the film, the issue of racism is represented to the audience by the way in which Paul Haggis uses negative stereotypes on certain races to reinforce the idea of two separate classes in society. “Asian and Afro-Caribbean characters, after many generations’ residence, begun to be imaged differently. Other ethnic groups nevertheless are often represented in very thin or negative terms”[8]. This is evident in the film as many black characters such as Anthony are stereotyped in a very negative way as black characters are portrayed to be criminals to society by most white or upper class characters that have certain hatred or fear towards them e.g. Jean and the police officer Ryan. Also many depicted Asian characters in the film are also portrayed to be stereotyped in a negative way. For example towards the end of the film the audience see Anthony rescuing Asian immigrants who are poor and don’t have a high job role in society. “Stereotypes can take something that is an effect of a groups’ situation and encourage audiences to feel it is the cause of that groups’ low status”[9]. This is made evident in the film as the majority of black and Asian characters do not have a high class job in society whilst the white characters in the film are portrayed to be rich, dominating and powerful. Therefore the issue of racism is represented in the film Crash by having the negative stereotypical view on black and Asian characters, to send a message out to the audience that society nowadays is still issue driven and is divided into different classes e.g. “the rich and the poor, the powerful and the powerless all defined in one way or another by racism”[10].

Thus the idea of a divided society and stereotyping on black youngsters are also key issues used in other contemporary texts such as “Bullet Boy”[11] (2004) and “Kidulthood”[12] (2006). In these two British art house films mentioned many characters and certain settings portrayed in the films link to the fact that social issues do still exist in society. For example in the film “Bullet Boy”, directed by “Saul Dibb” we as the audience see the negative representation on black males and the use of violence and crime taking place in society between different gangs which is also similar in the film “Kidhulthood”, directed by “Menhaj Hudha”. The use of a realistic mise en scene used in both films adds to the generic device of gritty realism which reinforces the idea that social issues are evident and are still contemporary in society as both films create a realistic atmosphere like LA. “The film contains several scenes of gun-related violence[13]”. The social issue of violence inflicted upon by black characters in Bullet Boy can link to the portrayed character of Anthony in Crash. For example in Bullet Boy we see many characters holding a gun to reinforce the role of violence and crime and in the film crash the audience sees the character of Anthony, an inner city car thief who is also involved in crime. Therefore by the use of contemporary British art house texts it can be suggested that the issue of stereotyping on black youngsters is inflicted by the use of crime and violence that is committed in society. This can also send a message out to the audience that violence and crime is a diverse issue as it takes place all over the world.

One of the most important films to be made in the 1960s which depicts social issues of racism, class divisions and prejudice is “To Kill a Mockingbird”[14] directed by Robert Mulligan. Many aspects of the film are very similar to Crash which sends a message out to the audience that social issue such as racism and prejudice still does remain in society today and not much change has occurred since the 1960s by using this key historical text as an example. For example in the film we see the main character of Atticus Finch defending a black person against an undeserved rape charge and also shows the way in which he protects his children against prejudice in a dominating white society. In once main scene in the film the audience sees Atticus at a court case giving out a speech which summaries the whole issue of a black and white divided society. “Now what did she do? She tempted a Negro. She was white, and she tempted a Negro. She did something that in our society is unspeakable. She kissed a black man.”[15] Therefore the social issue of racism and class conflict is represented in the film To Kill a Mockingbird by the way in which the director makes the scene very dramatic and suspenseful to emphasise the importance of a divided society between two different races in the film. The reason to why the social issue of racism and prejudice was made evident in the film could be due to the fact that the director wanted to make a 1960s audience aware and educate them on the fact that such issues are occurring in the society of Alabama and there were political differences between the white and the black. By the fact that realistic films such as Crash, made in the 21st century expose racism and other social issues suggests that not much change has occurred since the 1960s and issues such as prejudice and class differences will always remain in society.

Another social issue raised in the film Crash is that women have portrayed to be inferior to men and do have less dominance and control in society. “How women are represented in the media may encourage particular expectations of women”.[16]For example in one main scene in the film the audience see a black women getting sexually molested by a white racist police officer. This immediately raises the issue of prejudice against women in society. This is further reinforced by the way in which Paul Haggis uses a variety of extreme close up shots of her legs which are fetishised whilst the camera is panning up and down with the police officers hands still on her legs, enabling the black female to have less power and control in the situation. “Mulvey distinguishes between two modes of looking for the film spectator: voyeuristic and fetishistic”.[17] Hence this specific scene links to the theory of Laura Mulvey because the main voyeur in the audience would primarily be a male and therefore the female that is being represented on the screen has the total quality to-be-looked-at-ness, making her feeble and inferior. This situation in the film does conform to Laura Mulvey’s theory of the controlling gaze to an extent as the film does present the female to be a “spectacle”[18] and the male to be “bearer of the look”[19], although the female is not specifically a knowing object of the gaze, because she did not choose to be in this situation. Therefore the social issue of women being inferior to men is represented in the film Crash by using a black female character to be passive, whilst the white male character is the active male. The main reason to why this specific social issue of women is represented in the film Crash could be to portray the function of the black female character, as it might have been chosen to bring out the prejudice in the white male. Another reason could be to represent the fact that women are still portrayed to be weaker than males hence the reason we still live in a patriarchal society.

However the social issue of prejudice and other social issues in the film can be represented to send out an encouraging message to the audience that racism should stop. This is created by the use of different role reversals between different characters as they turn from evil characters to good characters linking to the theory of “binary opposition”[20] by Levi-Strauss. For example in the film we see the character of Ryan (a white racist police officer) rescuing a black women which of whom he sexually molested before from a burning car. Many close up shots are used in this scene to emphasise facial expressions and also to create a dramatic effect to feel what the main lady protagonist is going through. The music is very calm yet also very dramatic at the same time. This theme fits in well with the whole scene as the situation is very intense as the two protagonists featured in the scene, have previously encountered a negative situation together in which the women gets sexually abused. The edits in this scene are very fast and creative to catch and engage the audiences’ attention. Therefore the social issue of racism, prejudice and women is represented in this specific scene by the use binary opposition taking place and different camera techniques, as depicted evil characters before in the narrative have turned into good characters. The reason for placing this scene in the film could be to send a message out to the audience that racism should stop as portrayed characters are changing their roles in the film.

Furthermore this can also link to the theory of Propp as many different character roles are existent in the film and do seem to change on a regular basis. “Propp argues that narrative functions are spread between the main characters”[21]. This is evident in the film as the white racist police officer could have been portrayed as the villain before in the narrative, however as he does rescue a black women from a burning car he can be suggested to be the Hero. Another key character in the text is the Persian shop owner who could have been portrayed to be the hero earlier on in the narrative, however as he does attempt to shoot an innocent girl he can be the “false hero”.[22] Therefore by applying the theory of Propp to the film Crash this does send a message out to the audience that there is no point in being a racist as many characters roles in the film change on the way they view society.
In conclusion, there are a variety of different social issues that are represented in the film Crash that are represented to the audience in a number of different ways. The main way in which a social issue is represented in the film is by constructing each character to represent a certain issue that is taking place within the society of LA. The main issues that take place during the film are racism, prejudice, class divisions, the representation of women and lastly the idea of a divided society between the rich and the poor. The main reason to why these social issues might have been placed in the film is to suggest the idea that such issues to still take place within society and not much change has occurred since that 1900 historical period, which is evident from looking at different historical texts. Therefore such issues can be represented to be contemporary ones and will remain ongoing for a number of years as it does take a while for social issues to stay in society, in Hollywood. The film does not offer any real solution to racism because towards the end of the film another crash occurs which can send a message out to the audience that racism and social issues are inescapable and are part of every day life.
Word count- 3187
[1] Crash, 2004
[2] Payne, Geoff, Social Divisions (2000)
[3] http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/

[4] http://www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/2005/crash2005.html
[5] http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:prejudice&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title

[6] Boyd Barrett and Van Den Bulck, (2002), The media Book
[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism

[8] Boyd Barrett and Van Den Bulck, (2002), The media Book

[9] Gill Branston and Roy Stafford,(2000),UK, The media students book

[10] http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050505/REVIEWS/50502001/1023

[11] Bullet Boy, (2004)

[12] Kidulthood, (2006)
[13] http://www.sbbfc.co.uk/BulletBoy.asp
[14] To Kill a Mockingbird, (1962)

[15] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056592/quotes
[16]Nelmes, Jill,(1996)An Introduction to film studies -second edition
[17] http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/gaze/gaze09.html

[18] http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/gaze/gaze09.html

[19] http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/gaze/gaze09.html

[20] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_anthropology

[21] http://www.mediaknowall.com/Propp.html

[22] http://www.northern.edu/hastingw/propp.htm


Bibliography:
Books:
Payne, Geoff, Social Divisions (2000)
The media book- Boyd Barrett and Van Den Bulck-published in united states of America-(2002)
The media students book -Gill Branston and Roy Stafford-(2000)-UK
An Introduction to film studies -second edition-Jill Nelmes-(1996)
Managing the message -Peter Hobday-(2000)
Websites:
Moving image texts:
Bullet Boy, 2004
To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962
Kidulthood, 2006

Saturday, January 06, 2007

My first paragraph
"You think you know who you are. You have no idea".[1] How and why have a number of different social issues been represented in the film Crash?
"It's the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something".[2] The film Crash depicts the lives of several different characters living in Los Angeles during a 36 hour time period. The majority of characters that are portrayed in the film have many connections in their lifes that are brought together by shootings, car accidents and carjackings which all take place within society.
The film depicts many realistic social issues such as racism, stereotyping, different characters having prejudices on selected charcaters throughout the film, the negative portrayal of women and lastly class divisons such as the rich and the poor. "Social divisions tend to divide people into "better" and "worse" catergories. Therefore social divisions result in social inequalities".[3] These social inequalities are evident in the film as most of the characters are racially prejudiced in some way, involving them in conflicts that force them to examine their own prejudices. Social issues are portrayed in the film Crash by the way in which Paul Higgis effectivly uses a number of different camera techniques and different genre devices to engage and appeal to an art house audience. The main reason to why these social isues are represented could be primarily due to the fact that contemporary issues such as the above are still dominant in society nowadays and not much change has occured since the pre 1900 period, which is evident by analysing the social realism presented in Los Angeles.
[1]- Crash(2004)
[2]- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375679/
[3]- Social Divisions -Geoff Payne-(2000)

Thursday, January 04, 2007

My Detailed essay plan...
How and why have a number of different social issues been represented in the film Crash ?
Intro:
As my independent study focuses on the film Crash there are a number of different social issues that take place within the film that engage the audience through different camera techniques and by the use of realistic issues taking place in a relaistic location(LA). Such social issues are racism, stereotyping, different characters having prejudices on different people in the film, women and also class divisons such as the rich and the poor. Evidently the rich in the film are portrayed to be the white charcters whilst the poor are depicted as black characters. My chosen text is also appropriate in analysing different social issues, as I can refer to different facts such as social issues do still exsist within the society we live in nowadays and also links to the point on how these social issues have changed over time. (S)(H)

Crash is a film which is mainly based upon racial tensions and social issues taking place in the city of LA. The film depicts different characters from different backgrounds during a 36 hour period and brings them together through a car crash(evident throughout the film as this happens at the beginning and the end), different shootings, and lastly car jackings. The narrative structure of the film does start with a car crash which holds the attention of the audience straight away as they are left in suspense about what has happened and want to find out why this certain situation has occured. Therefore this also causes the effect of different narrative enigmas to be raised such as "why is there a dead body?" or "who is this person?". Overall by the fact that a social issue or drama has occured from the start of the film engages the audience by creating narrative enigmas to keep them entertained throughout the film. This is further reinforced by slow tensed music and a dark mysterious atmosphere.(G)(N)(A)(M)

Prejudice:

In the film many characters are racially prejudiced in one way or another and become involved in conflicts that force them to examine their owm prejudices. For example in the film we see "sandra bullock" whos racial prejudices escalate after her carjacking. In the scene she assumes that two black characters are going to do something to her and has an instant fear towards them. Therefore this creates a social issue straight away as the fear towards a black person has created a social barrier or even division. This engages the audience as they have noticed that many characters in the film are vividly racist and also links to the fact that the audience can also challenge their own assumptions on different races in society.(A)(S)

However on the other hand it can be argued that her husband(Bendan Fraser) is racailly sensitive as he is a white district attorny democrat and african americans are his key democrats. Therefore this can lead to many interpretations such as is his character placed in the film to have a positve effect to racism or is his character placed in the film to be one that just doesn't take place on racial situations to reassure his votes in the film. This can also challenge the audiences perceptions on the rich and the powerful in contemparary society.(A)(R)(ID)(S)(P)

Racism/prejudices:

Another main character in the film "Chris Ludacris Bridges" is represented to be a stereotypical black american character that has the main idea all the society is against black people or anyone that is black. In one main scene we see his character carjacking another black character. This is created by fast paced editing to engage the audience as the scene is very dramatic and tensed. The reason to why this social issue might have been placed in the film could have been to suggest the idea that even people of the own race are racist to each other to an extent. Therefore sends out a message to the audience that the majority pf people living in the usa are evidently racist.(m)(id)(A)(P)

Crash also depicts the social issue of racism by placing a persian family to own a store in LA. The persian family are afraid for their own safety as the father of the family(farhad) is very frustated by the racial harassment he experiences in the United States. He also has difficulty in speaking and understanding english which could be another reason to why charcters are racist towards him in the film. In one scene his door needs to be replaced but Farhad does not listen to the locksmith as he believes he is being cheated. Ironically later on in the film the shop does eventally encounter a break in and he blames the locksmith for this racial destruction. Farhad takes revenge and shoots the locksmiths daughter with a gun that has blank bullets. This scene is very suspenseful by the use of fast paced edits and also many facial expressions are emphasised(zoom in) on characters eventually engaging the audience. (A)(R)(M)

Prejudice:

The locksmith in the film "Daniel" faces alot of discrimination in the film from upper class charcters. This social issue is further reinforced by the way in which is he being represented to the audience. For example he has a shaved head, wears baggy jeans, and also has tatoos on his body. In reality he is actally a family man who cares alot for his daughter. Therefore the social issue of discrimination and prejudice is represented in the film crash by using different representations on characters to send a message out to the audience that you should not judge people on the way that they look. This engages the audience by the fact that innocent people in the film are being judged for no reason. (R)(S)(A)

Women/prejudice:

In one main scene in the film the audience see a black women getting sexually molested by a white racist police officer. This brings up the social issue of prejudice against women in society. The way in which the audience are engaged is through the use of close up shots of the legs which are being fetishised whilst the camera is panning up and down. The female has the quality to-be-looked-at-ness. This crtain social issue might have been raised to send a message out to the audience that we do still live in a patriarchal society, where men predominantly have more power over women. (S)(A)(ID)(M)-lAURA MULVEY- the male gaze

link the point above to the fact that crash does use attractive women in the film such as sandra bullock. She has the quality to-be-looked-at-ness and does conform to the theory of the male gaze as she can be portrayed to be a sexual object in the film. Therefore this links to the social issue of women being sexual objects in society-argue for and against this point- Laura mulvey-passive female and the active male.

Begin to talk about other theorists such as Propp. The different character roles in the film such as the hero, villain and the princess. Also mention how these charcter roles change through out the film. The hero role happnes in the car crash when the white racist police officer saves the women he abbused earlier. This engages the audience as one main character who was dominantly racist in society changes his role in the film.(A)- Propp

Todorov

The narrative of the film follows his theory to a extent. This is because the film crash does have a beginning a middle and an end however it can be argued that towards the end of the film the audience encounter another car crash happening. Therefore this can explain the fact that the film has not really ended realistically and also in society because this sends a message out to the audience that racism and other social issues will still continue no matter how much people try and change this from happening. This also links to the fact that socially our lives are all linked which is prooved by the non linear narrative of the film.

Stereotyping:

Definition of stereotypes in the media provided from research. Link this to the black people in the film how they are stereotypes negativley by the white characters in the film. The causes and effects of stereotypes.

Links to other films such as bullet boy. Bullet Boy also portrays black characters in the film negativley as they are involved with gun crime. This is very similar to crash. The use of the iconographic symbol of the gun can link to the social issue of gang violence and crime in society which also engages an audience into the film.

Social divisions:

social divisions tend to divide people into "better" and "worse" catergories. Thereofre social divisions result in social inequalities. Those who are placed in the better catergory tend to lead happier lives. Link this to the idea of crash being a socially divided film by the use of class divisons and racist attitudes.

Social inequalities refer to differences in people(not just money but also other factors such as helath and education. This is evident in the film crash as there is a social divide between the rich and the poor people who are mainly black. The white charcters in the film can be seen to have better jobs in society and are also well educated. Thereofre the use of social divisons engages the audience as they are made more aware and educated on contemporary issues in society.(A) (S)

Sum up all points mentioned on how these social issues are represented in the film and also why. Link this to how these issues engage an audience. Also argue on how effective these issues are and if they are likely to change in society-link to research.

References:

Websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crash_(Film_2005)

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Modules/MC30820/represent.html

http://afgen.com/race1.html

http://mediaknowall.com/representation.html

Books:

Managing the message -Peter Hobday-(2000)

Social Divisions -Geoff Payne-(2000)

The media book- Boyd Barrett and Van Den Bulck-published in united states of America-(2002)

An Introduction to film studies -second edition-Jill Nelmes-(1996)

Monday, December 04, 2006


How can Mulvey's theory be useful to my independent study?
Although Mulvey's theory is not dominant in the film "crash" there are certain scenes in the film and also a variety of different female protagonists who conform to the theory of the male gaze. Certain female characters in the film can be portrayed to be attractive in a way and some scenes in the film do engage the auidence by fetishising certain parts of the feamle body.
In the film "crash" there is one dominant disturbing scene in which a male racist police officer sexually abuses a black women. This automaticaly conforms to the work of Laura Mulvey as the female is portrayed to be a weak and passive character as the male police officer has much more control and dominace over her therefore making him have a active role in the narrative of the film. When the weak women is getting sexually abused effective close up shots are used to fetishize her legs as the camera position moves up and down her legs on order to conform to the male gaze. Therefore we as the audience are constructed to be male as we are watching this scene in a voyeristic way. The term scopophila can aslo be applied to this scene as the male spectater is positioned in a way to have the a certain desire to look at something that they would not normally hace access to. This links to Mulvey's idea of sadism as we as the audience have the pleasure in looking at someone in inflicting pain. Overall this specific scene does conform to the work of Laura Mulvey as the theory of the male gaze does occur. The social issue of living in a patriarchal society is also raised in this scene as the female character is seen as the weaker object, as she can do nothing to protect herself and the male being more of a dominant and controlling figure.
Certain attractive female protagonists are also used in the film that do have the quality to-be looked-at-ness. For example Sandra Bullock does have the qualities of being an attractive female protagonist that straight away portrays her to be a sexual object conforming to the theory of the male gaze. Although none of her body parts are fetishized in an abrupt way the male audience can still objectify her as being a sexual object and are able to look at her in a scopophilic way. Therefore they will have the desire to look at her in a sexual way making them be members of voyerism. Overall one main argument could be that the film used attractive female characters to engage the audience throughout the film.
Sandra Bullock also is also dependent on her husbad(Brendan Fraser) towards the end of the film who is a successfull protagonist and also has a powerful role in the film. Therefore by her being dependent on her husband can conform to the social issue of a patriarchal society as she runs to her husband at the end of the film and realises her mistakes as her snobby friends let her down. Therefore again she can be seen as the passive female and her husband to be the active male.

Task 11...
Laura Mulvey argues that the dominant point of view within cinema is masculine when there is a women concerned. Therefore this shows that the main point Mulvey is arguing is that we as the audience are positioned to be of the male gender as we see everything from their point of view. This then shows the Female to be a passive object and the male to be more active in a way. This can also link to the fact that she believes we are living in a patriarchal society.
Examples of this can be seen is classical Hollywood films. This is becasue typically the film will focus on a male protagonist in the narrative of the film, and assume a male spectator.
Traditional Hollywood films present men as being active and also controlling subjetcs, therefore treating women as passive objects.
Mulvey also argues that films objectify women in a certain way, therefore conforming to the theory of the male gaze. The male gaze suggets that men do the looking and the women are there to be looked at(They have the quality to- be- looked-at-ness).
Mulvey looks at two different modes of looking for the film spectator. The first one is the term called "Voyeuristic" which involves a controlling gaze that has associations with Sadism-pleasure lies in ascertaining guilt-assertig control and subjecting the guilty person through punisment. Therefore we look and control things we wouldn't normally have access to.
The second term is called "Fetishistic". This term describes the way in which a womens body part is being fetishised in order to conform to the male gaze, where women are portrayed as sexual passive objects. She argues that the female body is displayed for the male gaze in order to provide erotic pleasure(voyeurism).
The process of looking at the women involves the process of scopophilia. Mulveys theory links to Freuds psychoanalysis as the scopophilia term suggests that we as the audience have a certain desire to look at something. Mulvey also adapted her ideas from frued as he argues that there is a product of complex male fears revolving around castration anxiety(the fear of boys loosing their penis as they think this has happened to a girl). Mulveys also developed the work of freuds study of the unconscious by the fact that the infant male who is attracted to his mother is jealous of his father(oedipus complex).

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Self Evaluation...
Attainment: 2
I work hard in the subject and am also up to date with any work that is set.
Effort: 2
I put alot of effort into the media course and and also my blog work that i am always up to date with.
Punctuality: 1
Im always on time to lessons and am never late and i always attend lessons to.
Submission and quality of homework: 1
I always hand my home work in on time and my blog tasks are of high quality and up to date.
Ability to work independently: 2
As we are doing independent study work i have to work on my own so in that case i am good at doing that task rather then working in a group.
Quality of writing: 2
My quality of writing has improved from last year and i write in a clear way which can be understood.
Organisation of Media folder: 1
My media folder is very well organised and is set out in a clear way. I have different sections for different topics.
Oral contributions in class: 2
I do contribute in class and share my ideas, however this can be done more.
Standard of Module 5 blog: 1
My module 5 blog is very good. I put alot of time and effort into this and my study. I post up on it regularly and also make it look presentable. I also put alot of detail into my reseach.
Standard of Module 6 blog : 1
My module 6 blog is also very good. I have put alot of effort into this and have researched into different institutions and stories alot. I post up on to this blog regularly to.
Three targets/improvements:
1) do more research on theroists.
2) read the guardian on a regular basis.
3) do more book research for independent study.