Download to read offline
More Related Content
Similar to Theories applied to promise
Theories applied to promise
- 1. Theories applied toPROMISE Emily and Kayyah Narrative, Audience , Genre and Representation.
- 2.
- 3. Claude Levi Strauss ClaudeLevi Strauss is the theorist behind binary oppositions. He suggested that all narratives are driven by the constant creation of conflict between two polar opposites, and that the conflict must always end in a resolution of conflict (within film). The opposites can be as simple as good vs evil, although they don’t have to be a metaphor or simply light and dark. Within our production Levi Strauss’ theory can be applied to the counterparts of Ellie and Dave. The audience can receive information in different ways so some could see Dave as controlling and Ellie as Innocent, and kind hearted. This is also inferred by the clothing that the characters are dressed in for example, Ellie is mainly seen in light colours while Dave is seen in dark colours thus showing two polar opposites.
- 4. Vladimir Propp Propp suggestedthat there are 7 main character types these are: The hero - this character may not necessarily be the main character, but the hero fights against the villain and is often lead by the donor, or shares a tight bond with them. The villain – this character is the character that goes against the “stereotypical” hero. They challenge the “good” in a film narrative. The donor/enabler – this character prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object. This character is often a fairy godmother, particularly in fairy tales. The helper – this character helps the hero on their quest. The helper may also be found in a supporting role. The characteristic of a helper can include intelligence, determination and courage. The princess – this character is sought for during the narrative, and is often the person that the hero marries at the end of the narrative during the celebrations. The princess can sometimes fall for the false hero, before realising her mistake and falling for the real hero. The false hero – this character is perceived as a good character in the beginning, but later emerges as evil. The dispatcher – the character who sends the hero off on their quest. The dispatcher often has an early role in the narrative. This may be a family member such as a mother or father. It can also be the princess's father, who gives the hero a set of quests to be completed before he gains the hand of the princess. The dispatcher may also be combined with another role, for example the false hero who then trails along behind (perhaps disguised as a helper).
- 5. How does thisapply to our own production? The hero – The hero could simply be Ellie herself or some could perceive Sam as being the hero as he is able to give Ellie the feeling of being loved during her limited time. The helper – this character helps the hero on their quest and so this can be seen as Sam, as he is seen to confront Dave and thus supports Ellie on her journey of convincing her father that she needs to live a ‘normal’ teenage life. The princess – Typically this is Ellie however we have challenged this theory as Sam could be seen as the prize instead of Ellie herself. The Villain – The villain does not have to be in fact a character but could be Ellie’s illness which is seen to progress throughout the production. Some could perceive as Dave also being the villain however we believe that Ellie’s illness fits the category more appropriately. As you can see the roles do actually overlap which is common among film particularly within short film with the duration is limited and there are less roles.
- 6. Todorov Todorov simplified theidea of narrative theory and suggested that conventional narratives are structured using five main stages: 1) State of equilibrium 2) Disruption of equilibrium 3) Recognition by main characters of this disruption 4) Attempt to repair disruption 5) Reinstatement of equilibrium- This equilibrium is never identical to the original state of equilibrium, as for equilibrium to be restored, the characters must learn something; the characters and/or situations are altered by the disruption.
- 7. How does thisapply to PROMISE? For the disruption of the equilibrium to be solved Ellie had to convince her father that she needs Sam’s company and he is restricting her from living a normal life especially with her time being so limited. Furthermore this works in correlation with Propp’s theory of the 7 characters and the use of Levi Strauss creation of conflict between two opposites thus suggesting that all these theories work together in order to build a narrative structure.
- 8.
- 9. David Morely Three PositionsMorley outlined three hypothetical positions which the reader of a programme might occupy: • Dominant (or 'hegemonic') reading: The reader shares the programme's 'code' (its meaning system of values, attitudes, beliefs and assumptions) and fully accepts the programme's 'preferred reading' (a reading which may not have been the result of any conscious intention on the part of the programme makers). • Negotiated reading: The reader partly shares the programme's code and broadly accepts the preferred reading, but modifies it in a way which reflects their position and interests. • Oppositional ('counter-hegemonic') reading: The reader does not share the programme's code and rejects the preferred reading, bringing to bear an alternative frame of interpretation. Morley argues that 'members of a given sub-culture will tend to share a cultural orientation towards decoding messages in particular ways. Their individual "readings" of messages will be framed by shared cultural formations and practice
- 10. How does thisapply to PROMISE? The main assumption is that the majority of our audience are dominant (or 'hegemonic') readers thus suggesting that reader shares PROMISE’s attitudes towards certain topics e.g. parenting and how adults can related to this, e.g. some would accept Dave’s point of view but a younger audience may perceive him as being over protected. Promise’s meaning system of values, attitudes, beliefs and assumptions will be fully accepted by the audience especially towards illnesses.
- 11. Reception analysis Reception analysisis a theory that focuses on the audience’s reaction to a particular media text, with the audience interpreting the meaning of the media and then providing judgment, which is influenced by individual circumstances. Individual circumstances can mean many things, with aspects like nationality, age and religion being prominent circumstances. An example of this could show an actor in a positive light throughout, which cuts anything potentially negative about the actor to a bare minimum. A member of the audience after viewing this, would analysise the media and provide judgment based on their circumstances. This theory is active, because the audience interpret the media based on individual circumstances and have different opinions, differentiated by a passive audience, who would consume the media without any individual opinions or viewpoints on the media text. Within PROMSISE, females are more likely to be sympathetic towards Ellie’s situation and instantly be accepting of the narrative thus they are an active audience by reacting to what the production is implying. Others will react to PROMISE in different if they can relate to Ellie’s interests seen within the mise- en- scene, nationality and age.
- 12. Kat Z The twostep flow is known for consisting of two stages, which starts with the ‘opinion leader’. The opinion leaders, who can be highly regarded or respected, consume a piece of media themselves with full attention. After consuming the media, whether it was a film, image, radio, the leaders than pass on the information about the media as well as their opinion or view on it. The second stage of this theory involves the people in social contact with the opinion leader. These people will receive the information along with the leaders opinion on it from the opinion leader. The people in social contact with the leader then consume what the opinion leader says without question. A good example of this is a popular footballer in a team, relays information to his team mates along with his opinion, due to that player being most popular the rest will follow and believe him almost indefinitely. This is a passive theory. It is passive due to the audience agreeing with the opinion leader, due to their reputation or hierarchy, immediately- without any sort of reaction or questioning. The audience don’t feel the urge to question the leader’s view on the media text, instead they accept it – therefore it’s passive. For example within PROMISE the majority of the audience will be accepting and agreeing with Ellie’s argument as they are presented with her side of the story without questioning her thus backing he and Sam to be together.
- 13.
- 14. John Fiske John Fiske(born 1939) is a media scholar who has taught around the world. He was a Professor of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His areas of interest include cultural studies, popular culture, media semiotics and television studies. Fiske discussed how genre acts as a convenience for producers and audiences. This would suggest that genre merely acts as a way for an audience to easily establish a film in a category. It has been suggested that western and modern society requires order and cannot receive texts without it being associated with a category or conventions to follow. This would apply to our short film as it our narrative follows romantic conventions with the relationship between Ellie and Sam, the use of flowers and their representation of love and the constant communication between the pair , thus making it convenient for our audience to receive it in that way.
- 15. John Hartley Hartley haspublished over twenty books about communication, journalism, media and cultural studies, and over 200 papers. His works have been translated into over a dozen languages. He published his first book, Reading Television, in 1978. The book, co-authored with John Fiske, was the first to analyse television from a cultural perspective, and is considered a defining publication in the field. His theory based on genre is that it is interpreted culturally, therefore indicating that we establish genre based on the culture that surrounds us. This would link to our short film as it is clear that the issue within our short film the way Ellie desperately wants to attend the prom – a very westernised event that has culturally developed into a coming of age event. Therefore, this would link to Hartley’s theory as it would suggest that we have constructed our genre based on what is culturally a romantic event that all teenagers attend.
- 16. Daniel Chandler Daniel Chandler(born 1952) is a British visual semiotician based (since 2001) at the department of Theatre, Film and Television Studies at Aberystwyth University (where he has taught since 1989). His best- known publication is Semiotics: The Basics (Routledge: 1st edn 2002, 2nd edn 2007), which is frequently used as a basis for University courses in semiotics, and the online version 'Semiotics for Beginners' (online since 1995). He spoke of how genre is too restricting on films and can lead directors into moving away from adding their own individuality on their products because of the conventions of genres in film. This would link into the nature of our genre as we follow a romantic drama theme and therefore any use of comedy or light heartedness would be unusual. Therefore, in this sense we were restricted in the way we constructed our short film as without these conventions we may have chosen to use more light-hearted aspects.
- 17. David Buckingham David saidthat "Genre is not ... simply 'given' by the culture: rather, it is in a constant state of negotiation and change.“ He believes that genres change over time and are moulded constantly by society. Also that children and young people have identities that do not exist at all or are constantly changing. He also believed that media reveals the bad side of the world leading to parents keeping their children indoors to hide them from this reality . Children consequently spend to much time around various types of media such as TV's and computers which would lead them to learning to much about the world and are going through constant change due to the amount views, opinions and cultures that they observe. This would link to the genre of our short film as it touches upon the power of image in this culture. The inflation of the use of social media and the pressure on young people to be appealing online and to their peers is a key aspect of our film in that Ellie craves to have a normal teenage life and attend the prom.
- 18. Barry Keith Grant Grantspoke of how despite their being a set amount of genres within film, that there is an endless amount of sub genres that ultimately take over the meaning of a specific genre. Some may argue it divides films into more specific categories and would make it easier for audiences to understand the films nature. Similarly, Grant argues that it is these sub genres that really establish the films content as it zooms in on certain conventions the film will follow. Our short film is directed towards a romantic drama sub genre and therefore will look into the trials and tribulations of achieving a romantic relationship. Interestingly, in the 1960’s romantic drama was orientated on the struggle for marriage or how couples had to face obstacles before they could be married which created a dramatic situation. However, in today’s culture is more based on obstacles couple face to have sexual relations and have more casual interactions.
- 19. Rick Altman Altman createdtwo categories for his theory of how genres create pleasures for the audience. • The Semantic Element: Things that are signified and made obvious that they are being shown to the audience. For example in the portrayal of American Street there will be big bold jewellery, money, young attractive girls and expensive cars on screen. • The Syntactic Element: Things that appear not so obvious to the audience. This could be how the director is portraying a certain mood or theme with colours or tones. Altman makes it clear in other theories that the audience is given certain pleasures especially in the conclusion of films. For example, in our final scene Sam is in Ellie’s home an aspect the audience almost asks for throughout the plot as they think the father is being too controlling. Therefore, in doing so and not ending the plot with the extended dismay of the father the audience is given the pleasure of seeing a positive and emotional ending.
- 20.
- 21. Laura Mulvey- TheMale Gaze Mulvey is best known for her work, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema", written in 1973 and published in 1975 in the influential British film theory journal Screen. Her theories include how cinema is merely directed to appeal to the heterosexual male and that women because of this is are subject to a ‘Male Gaze’. The theory looks into three separate categories: i) How men view women –Mulvey says that women are over sexualised in cinema to appeal to a male audience. ii) How women view other women- She goes on to discuss how women have become focused on the way other women look and comparing themselves while doing so. iii) How women view themselves- This links again to how women are more likely to feel at competition because of how women are represented on the big screen. In terms of its connection to our short film, one could argue that Ellie and Sam are both subjects to the Gaze as they are young and in the eyes of cinema attractive individuals. The fact we have chosen to still show Ellie as beautiful until the end would represent how our film would support Mulvey’s theory in that women are only represented in this way in cinema as it would be otherwise discomforting to an audience.
- 22. Stuart Hall Hall becameone of the main proponents of reception theory, and developed his theory of encoding and decoding. It focuses on the scope for negotiation and opposition on the part of the audience. His theory covers dominant, oppositional, and negotiated readings of representation and explains how depending on our social status we receive certain texts. This would link to our short film ‘Promise’ as it would seem to a dominant reader that the father is a cruel and controlling figure that is the obstacle between Sam and Ellie’s relationship. An oppositional reader would say there is a reason for his behaviour and that he is simply trying to fulfill his role as a father and a protector. Finally , and negotiated reader would say that yes Dave’s behaviour is very controlling and he does keep his daughter from being able to live in the little time she has left but there is a reason behind it.
- 23. David Gauntlett David Gauntlett(born 15 March 1971) is a British sociologist and media theorist. His earlier work concerned contemporary media audiences, and has moved towards a focus on the everyday making and sharing of digital media and social media, and the role of such media in self-identity and self-expression. In 2007, Gauntlett published the article Media Studies 2.0, an article that argues that the traditional form of media studies research fails to recognise the changing media categories of 'audiences' and 'producers' blurring together, and that new research methods and approaches are needed.
- 24. Jean Baudrillard • Hyperreality-“A condition in which ‘reality’ has been replaced with simulacra.” • Simulacra- “When a sign loses its relation to reality and begins to simulate a simulation.” An example of Baudrillard’s hyper reality would be celebrity culture. Celebrities who reach the point where they have every aspect of their lives taken over by someone else and they are living in a hyperreal world. They lose the ability to interact with people on a normal level and are cocooned in hyperreality. Similarly, film was created to represent reality and now it is reality and that is representing what happens in film.