Critical approaches assignment 2

Magazine Case Study


In this assignment I am going to analyse the magazine Empire and Rolling Stone. I will critically analyse them and produce a case study explaining how they were targeted at a specific audience.

The first magazine I have chosen to analyse is Empire magazine. To do this I picked one of their specific issues and looked at the various factors at work that would attract their intended target audience. There are various features of this cover put there deliberately to help garner attention form its target audience. Empire is a British film magazine published monthly. The main readership of Empire is men aged 18-40, employed, in a relationship, well educated. The content is mainly for people who use cinema as a kind of escapism.

Empire magazine provides the latest content on films both new and old and often features behind the scenes content and interviews with stars involved with the movies. This applies to their target audience as men aged between 18-40 are more likely to take an interest in these kinds of things than anyone older or younger. The current editor for Empire magazine is Terri White who is the tenth editor to work for the magazine. There have also been special guest editors such as Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes. The magazine has in the past made a list of the greatest movies of all time and alos done a seperate list with films listed from a poll to the readers. In every issue the magazine features a 'masterpiece' two page spread on a selected film.

Empire has stated openly which psychographics they aim for. The magazine frequently reviews many mainstream films. By reviewing many mainstream films the magazine can appeal to the members of the mainstream psychographic. Mainstreamers are people who seek security, tend to be conventional, and sentimentalist. These people will more often than not follow new trends and rely on big name brands and such. Empire also describes itself as providing " first look set exclusives to unprecedented access to Hollywoods leading lights." The fact they mainly provide coverage on mainstream films seems to correlate with their average audience. This is because most mainstream films are trageted at men and are violent and action packed, activities stereotypically enjoyed by men more than women.

Empire publishes its demographics and other audience information online to encourage companies to pay to advertise in the magazine. As for the structure of the actual magazine it is constructed in several different ways. First it contains a notable series known as "Classic Scene" which consits of a transcript from a classic film. A "Top 10" feature list (which is fairly self explanatory), the "how much is a pint of milk" section which is a comical Q&A with a cast, re.view which is aout DVD and blu-ray releases, there is also the "spine quote" which is a challenge for the readers to link the quote with the movie it comes from, this competition sometimes features prizes. The magazine also obviously presents news and information about the latest films etc.

80% of Empire's audience is in the ABC profile, this shows that the magazine is marketed at more middle class people (the price being £4 per month). Empire has taken advantage of middle classes audiences as cinema trips can be farily expensive and by targeting the middle classes they ensure that the people who read content about upcoming movies in Empire are then more likely to go watch it at the cinema.

On this cover there is a large amount of blank space left around the character. This is a deliberate aesthetic choice made by Empire. The cover for this issue is one of the characters in an upcoming film. By leaving more white space around the character to make her look more important the magazine opens itself up to a new audience for this issue, fans of the film. This is also reinforced by the small text in the bottom corner of the cover. 'The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey, The Ultimate Issue.' Fans of The Hobbit or LOTR may see this cover and think that it must be an interesting magazine directly related to their interest of The Hobbit.


Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a popular magazine that releases all the latest information in popular culture. Rolling Stone gained popularity for reviews on music, films, politics etc. The main target audience for the Rolling Stone magazine is men aged aged between 18 and 45.The bottom age of the target audience must be 18 because the magazine sometimes contains mature content. The interest of younger viewers is only likely to be increased if there is a celebrity they like on the cover.


Below is the demographic report for Rolling Stone.

This chart shows that the majority of their audience is comprised of 18 - 24 year olds as well as 25 - 34 year olds. There can be various reasons for this however the most likely would be that the magazine features celebrities around the same age as themselves, which helps the content to be more relatable. The company has deduced that the median age in their demographics is 35, this means that the content that produce in their magazines appeals to people who are 35 years apart.

The Rolling Stone is a useful resource for people in the music industry as the content can often help them with realising how to be more successful in their careers. It can however alos be for people who do not necessarily create music but enjoy it nonetheless. Since the content in the Rolling Stone can help you become more successful in your career its hardly surprising that a portion of their demographic is people earning over $100,000.

Whilst both the Rolling Stone and Empire are primarily targeted at men, they both achieve this in different ways, the rolling stone reviews music and film whereas Empire shifts focus solely to film and provides behind the scenes content for its readers, it also attracts more male audiences by its saturation of mainstream films in the magazine. Rolling Stone is however held in quite high regard, an artist that gains a very good review from the Rolling Stone can consider themselves very successful in that respect and helps make them more influential. The Rolling Stone often provides top 100 lists and recommends new songs to add to peoples playlists. They however list other kinds of things too including; 20 great moments in rock star nudity, 100 greatest guitarists, 100 best singles of 1984 etc.

The following is the cover of a Rolling Stone issue

The Rolling Stone always designs their covers in a way that grabs the readers attention. The model on the front of the magazine will often be pictrued looking into the lens (toward the reader) and will remain unobstructed by the subtitles, even the Rolling Stone logo itself takes a back seat as the model takes centre stage.

As with most issues of the Rolling stone the colour used are very minimal, keeping to a constant theme of reds, whites and blacks. The white background is unobtrusive and gives the impression that there is no real surface behind the model. The model is always pictured facing forward or slightly to the side. This attracts the readers attention. The red, white and black colour scheme is very useful in terms of visuals as it keeps everything neat, and doesn't draw the attention away, all of the text is noticeable but doesn't overly distract from Winona Ryder, the model for this cover. It is interesting that the logo is often always placed behind the model on the cover, this implies that both the model should be the focal point of this cover and that the editor does not need to place the logo within full view since it is such an iconic logo. Winona Ryder has been dressed and positioned very interestingly on this cover. First of all, she is essentially naked apart from the blue denim overalls, this is not something that is hidden from the reader but instead shown directly to them. Her actual body languge however conveys a certain innocence, she looks directly in the centre wide eyes with toussled red hair and her arms placed somewhat shyly behind her back. In a sort of suggestive yet innocent manner. This gives her a look of innocent shyness that implies that she bearing her soul or perhaps putting herself in some risk perhaps in reference to a film she is in.

Critical Approaches Assignment 3 - responding to Media Products

Responding To Media Products



The debate that a video game can have drastic effects on the player has been an ongoing argument in the industry and media for a long time now. There are many theories regarding the topic and both the industry and the media have alterior reasons for being for or against video games. As would be expected the majority of the video game industry is of the opinion that they do not have an effect on the player. This can be attributed to their personal beliefs or educated opinions and the fact that the very industry they work in would be hugely affected should the argument sway either way. The media however can have their own reasons for believing the alternative.The media is pretty split in this regard as some promote this theory and some pay no attention to it. For instance a lot of news channels such as Fox News have on previous occassion made link between real life violence video game violence. They have reported cases in which a murder takes place and the killer owned a copy of a violent video game such as Grand Theft Auto and then reported this fact and taken their own twist on the story implying that the game could be to blame. The media has their own reason for promoting this belief. By adding this to a story they can further explore this and can attract more readers or viewers to the subject. When a greatly contoversial story such as this occurs it attracts a lot of audiences to read about the topic which gains the network more viewers which then in turn leads them to post more about the topic. Neither the gaming industry or the media in general are completely unbiased, both have their own reasons and motives for believing one way or the other. This means that people should not place their entire trust in stories or facts coming from either of these sources otherwise they may gain information that is biased one way or the other and distorted to portray one side of the argument more favourably. In this assignment I will be applying audience theories to the game Grand Theft Auto V (A controversial game) and analysing it.

Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto V is an open world action-adventure game developed by game studio Rockstar Games. It is the fifth game in the series and follows three different characters as they participate in a number of heists and other criminal activities. The game is open world in every sense of the term. The player can explore the entire world by a variety of means including cars, planes and boats. The nature of the games open world has however also earned the game some negative criticism as the player has the ability to attack and kill anyone along the street, crash cars and participate in other criminal activities not related to the plot. Development for the game began soon after the release of its predecessor Grand Theft Auto IV. The developers took some inspiration from their previously made games such as Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3. Both of which feature lots of violence. Much of the games development phase was dedicated to making the fictional open world setting of the game, Los Santos, based on Los Angeles. The team took footage of different areas in California to help with the development of the world. Upon its release the game broke industry sale records and became the fastest selling entertainment product in history. The game made $800,000,000 in its first day and $1 billion in the first three days. After release the game received much critical acclaim with much of its praise as a result of its open world, gameplay and multiple protagonists.

The game did however receive much negative criticism and was the subject of a number of controversies surroundings its content. One of which was its depiction of torture in one particular story mission in which the player is required to torture a captured prisoner in a number of methods. In this mission, play character Trevor Phillips interrogated a man known as MR K to gain information on a fugitive that poses a threat to the "FIB." The scene is itself a commentary on American torture of prisoners as the entire game is quite clearly a known commentary and mock version of America and criticises a lot of negative aspects of the country. Some people have criticised the games use of torture even in a commentary state stating "it pushed the boundaries of taste." In the scene the player must torture the prisoner in a variety of methods (most of which are methods famously used by American agencies to torture prisoners) such as electrocution and pulling out teeth with pliers. However the scene is followed by another segment of the mission in which Trevor takes a post tortured MR K to the airport and monologues with him about the ineffectiveness of torture and claims that is is just a way to "assert ourselves." This solidifies the commentary basis for the torture scene but has still however faced a lot of controversy regardless.

Audience Theories

Audiences interpret media in a variety of different ways and there are a number of theories about the topic. Some theorists hypothesise that there are two types of audiences; Passive and Active. An active audience member is much mroe aware of the content they are consuming and actively involves themselves with the media. They will not take all they hear as certain truths and will look out information to discover the truth from other sources and come to their own conclusions. They are unlike a passive audience member who inactively consumes media, an passive audience member will regard anything they hear as a truth and will not take it into their own hands to research into the topic from other sources, they don't question the information given to them and will simply accept it as fact.

Grand Theft Auto V seems to suggest that the audience is active. This is because of the nature of the game. being an open world with many options and choices a player could choose whether or not to go on a killing spree and kill the various digital characters populating the game world. The game also encourages them to take their own approach to missions, being a cover based shooter the player has to actively engage with the game in these situations and must think about what they're going to do in any given situation. The very world itself encourages a player to be active and read into the world and various parodies of real world, brands, companies and activities. A passive audience member would not notice any of this and would simply ignore it however an active audience member would notice the satirical nature of the game and how it parodies the real world as a commentary on many controversies and conduct by the country it is based in.

Hypodermic Needle Theory

This theory originated in the 1920/30s and is based on the idea that all audiences that view media are actually passive, according to the theory and audience is essentially "injected" with any and all of the information provided to them by the media and regards it all as fact without question. The theory suggests that everyone in any potential audiences are passive in nature and don't question the information provided. this theory arose due to the war effort, people were constantly viewing propaganda content from films, to posters and joining the war effort so it made sense at the time. We now however know it to be outdated. We know this because people in audiences are essentially different and respond to media products differently. Everyone has their own opinions formed from their experiences in life affected by their, social class, gender, age, location, sexuality, religion etc. People now also have the entire internet as a resource to utilise to identify any potential facts and any false lies spread in any media. This does however still depend on the individual as people have varying intelligence and people think and regard the media in different ways.

It would be fairly difficult to be a passive audience member whilst playing Grand Theft Auto V this is because of the exaggerated violence, satirical mocking and characters. It would however not be impossible. The whole game revolves around violence and very few audiences could play the game and be passive. Anyone who was could potentially be affected by the gameplay.

Effects Theory

Effects theory is a theory that suggests that a persons actions may have been influenced by the recent media they have consumed. This is a theory that can be seem to be pretty prevalent in the news, it suggests that a person may have copied something they saw in a video game or movie.

It would be possible for Grand Theft Auto V to be an influence on a persons actions in the real world as the game does follow a few characters in what is essentially a real life setting in a fictional setting paralleling modern day America. This depends on whether the player is more of an active or passive audience member. If the person was more of a passive audience member it would be possible for him to be heavily influenced by the actions of the game. The game shows the characters committing very violent acts to other characters and very often receiving reward, usually in the form of vast amounts of money. this shows a criminal action taken with no punishment and a reward instead. A passive audience member could take this media and regard it as it apears on the surface and think it is a good idea to simulate it in real life.

Two Step Flow - Katz and Lazarsfeld

The Two Step Flow theory suggests that audiences are much more active than the Hypodermic Needle Theory would suggest and that audiences will engage with the media actively and discuss and confer with one another about it, however an audience will become passive if the topic is discussed by someone they respect (known as an opinion leader) and accept their view of it. An example of this is a kind of trust built with certain critics of media products whom an audience may have agreed with and formed a respect for their opinions.

Due to the size of the Grand Theft Auto franchise and its huge success, the two step flow theory can be applied, having gained much critical claim it is accurate to assume that these reviews of the game have significantly improved its success, being in its fifth installment with an extremely successful release.

Uses And Gratification

The Uses And Gratification theory suggests that all audience members are active. This theory implies that audiences use a media text to earn their own gratification by analysing and questioning the information given, working to their own conclusions. The theory explains how media is involved in peoples everyday lives and what reasons people seek out certain media. A model was devloped in 1974 for the purposes of identifying the four types of needs that can be fulfilled by watching Television;

 - Personal Identity: comparing your own life with the life of on screen characters, helps to explore problems and earns new perspectives.
 - information: Find out about the event currently happening in the world at large.
 - Escapeism: escaping from the pressures and hassles of everyday life.
 - Social Interaction: for interacting with other people and conversing about the media topic.


Grand Theft Auto V could potentially apply to at least three of these needs. The characters in GTA are free from any restrictions they can do whatever they like whether that have negative consequences or not, the player is not bound by any restrictions, they can choose how to dress their character, how to have their hair, whether to have beards or not, what weapons to carry, run around killing pedestrians or just completing the story missions. The most obvious use for Grand Theft Auto V would be escapesim, removing all of the limitations on your actions could be a relief for many people. It is also frequently used for Social interaction, since the game is a very large open world the player can discover something fun and then talk to their friends about it this is also possibly with the online features of the game, players can play together and socialise. Or just kill each other. Grand Theft Auto could to an extent also be used for personal identify. Each of the characters of the game have strong personalities and develop as the game progresses, a player could use this to discover more about themselves. (no matter how inadvisable).

Responses To Media Products - Assignment 4

Responses To Media Products


When creating a new media product it is vitally important to understand your audience and the way your chosen genre works. You must understand the various codes and conventions, filming techniques characteristics of that genre. While each film in your chosen genre will be different they will all likely follow similar codes and conventions and characteristics reminiscent of that genre. The film I have chosen to use as an example of this is 'The Shining' which I will use to analyse the characteristics common in the horror genre.

The shining is a horror film from 1980, directed by Stanley Kubrick and adapted from the Stephen King novel of the same name. The film has been vastly popular and considered an iconic horror film. The Shining is a very good example of a horror film as it uses a lot of common horror themes very prominently to great effect.

Genre Characteristics

There are certain Genre characteristics specific to the horror genre, which can be seen in many different films. Horror films have seen much change over the years into what they are today and will no doubt continue to change as years go by and newer and more experimental horror films are produced with new takes on the genre. There have however throughout its time been defining characteristics that have remained prevalent as it has evolved. Horror films tend to tackle dark, unsettling concepts, ranging from home invasions to supernatural presences. Often times horrors will try to make the viewer feel uncomfortable or uneasy by handling these concepts and with dramatic build ups, these techniques have become a staple of the various horror films throughout the years and are not unique to any one kind of horror. The genre is equally diverse in terms of plot. While it does become over-saturated with the same supernatural films or home invasion films there is also a lot of room for new innovations to take place. The genre can be characterised through its use of dark plot lines, suspense, jumpscares, and muted colours. Suspense plays a very big part in modern horror. Horror films rely on suspense to keep the audience guessing and keep them on the 'edge of their seat.' Often times in horror films, 'false jump scares' will be used, this is when the camerawork, music and acting all gibe the audience cues that something potentially scary is about to happen and builds up the suspense, the film can then however misdirect the audience by revealing that there is nothing there. This works to build up suspense for the audience and make viewers more tense but also to give them a moment to relax. Some horror films have used this technique to take advantage of an audiences temporary relaxed state after having realised they were being tricked into thinking there was going to be a jumpscare by placing a jumpscare right after this so that when the audience thinks it is over they get a scare.

Codes And Conventions

The horror genre is littered with various codes and conventions that help define the genre. Some of these codes and conventions have been used throughout the entire history of the horror genre. Some of these codes and conventions are visual, some auditory and some are subcategories that a horror might be. As for The Shining, it, like any other horror shares some common codes and conventions. These conventions will be analysed and compared to the genre as a whole and how it fits in as a horror film.
Some common visual codes and conventions involved in horror films at large include, blood, weapons (specifically knives, etc. Weapons that would cause a prolonged slow death, to play on an audiences fears), dark tones, red, black, ghosts, murderers, masked killers, supernatural themes. Some of the visual codes and convention of horrors featured in The Shining are; Long winding corridors that seemingly go on forever, creepy twins, supernatural elements (e.g. Ghosts). The Shining is an example of the 'supernatural' subgenre of horror, the plot consisting of ghosts manipulating a man into attacking his family.The film lays on many codes and conventions of the horror genre. The film is set in a large empty hotel, much of which is unexplored by the family. This plays on a common horror code of the characters being trapped in an unfamiliar place. This conventionally would take place in a forest or old abandoned building such as a sanatorium to add to the atmosphere. The Shining however uses the hotel long bending corridors and unexplored rooms to its advantage, causing a feeling of dread within the audience. To an audience they never know what may be lurking around the next corner of the hallway. One scene in The Shining features a large amount of blood flooding out of an elevator. Blood is a common convention in horror films. Blood is featured profusely in many horror films of varying subgenres, from slashers to supernatural horrors. Blood has been an important code in horror for much time because it can symbolize danger or a threat and can more obviously for injuries to show that the character has been wounded.



Mise-En-Scene

To explain the Mise En scene in The Shining I will analyse the mise-en-scene of individual scenes in The Shining.

The first Scene I will analyse is the following image;

There is quite a lot going on in this image in terms of Mise-en-scene. First of all the scene takes place in a long corridor in itself it is not very scary but in the context of the movie it takers on an entirely new meaning. It helps to create the atmosphere and makes the viewer feel somewhat uneasy. The corridor seems to distort as it goes on, it is obviously a very long hallway but seems distorted and appears closer than it is. Everything in the shot has been arranged very methodically. the plants and tables of the left to the chandeliers. The tables and plants are less lit than the right side of the frame. This is to draw the viewers eye to the right side of the frame to show them what is important. The colour of the frame, from the carpet to the walls, has been chosen specifically, either being placed themselves or finding the right location. The somewhat dull colours of the frame also help to draw the viewers attention to the much brighter gold walls which reflect the light better than the other wallpaper.


This is the next scene I will be analysing for mise-en-scene;

In this shot the red colour of the bathroom is the most obvious feature, standing out dramatically. The covers all the walls and doorway. The colour in a sense invades the scene. The colour is used narratively to imply blood and death and through the vibrancy and quantity that it has invaded the scene. This links back with what is going on in the scene. The main character Jack is talking to Grady, the original owner of the hotel (and presumably the source of all the supernatural events). The mirrors in the scene are also important. throughout the film every time there is a ghost in the scene there is always also a mirror, this signals attentive audience members that he is a ghost and the scene takes on a new danger. The clothing Jack wears in this scene, as well as the rest of the scenes, is very "burly" and somewhat like that of a lumberjack, big boots, a plaid shirt and wooly coat. This costume serves to enhance Jacks personality in a sense. It shows the type of person he is. Throughout the film he is shown to be aggressive and brutish, this is emphasised through his clothing which is the stereotypical of a burly man who gets in to fights. It is stereotypically somewhat like a "hillbilly's" clothing. The scene itself is lit fairly dimly despite the large bright white artificial lights in the bathroom. While they look bright their light does not reach very far. The scene begins with Jack acting uncharacteristically polite, in a way that is greatly exaggerated as if to show that he is drunk or is simply at ease speaking with Grady. Grady himself speaks to Jack very politely although less exaggerated. The scene changes dramatically however when Jack learns of Grady's identity. The two become more serious in tone. This marks the turning point at which Grady starts to manipulate Jack.The props in the scene are the napkin that Grady uses and the sinks are urinals, however they may not be counted as props since they are real.


Narrative Structure

 The shining follows a linear narrative structure with a beginning, middle and end all happening in chronological order.

A Synopsis of the plot


Character Introductions

Set in the Overlook Hotel, we are introduced to Jack, the first character in a scene in which he is interviewed by Stuart Ullman. Jack a husband, father and recovering alcoholic is applying for a job as temporary caretaker for the hotel after losing his job as a teacher. During this conversation Stuart Ullman explains that both Jack and his family will be snowed in during their stay at the hotel and warns him of a previous caretaker who murdered his family and committed suicide as a result of cabin fever. Jack acknowledges the information however still intent on taking the job due to his desperation to rebuild his life and assures Stuart that it won't happen with him.

We are then introduced to the next two characters; Jacks wife, Wendy (played by Shelley Duvall) and his son Danny (Danny Lloyd). Danny is in the bathroom playing with what is assumed to be his imaginary friend and asking him questions about "why he doesn't want to go to the hotel" and Wendy is doing dishes before being phoned by Jack. Afterwards Jacks son Danny has a seizure and a vision, this establishes his "ability" to the viewer.

Conflict

The conflict really starts from the moment they enter the Overlook Hotel but nothing noticeable happens for a while until it reaches a certain point.

In this scene a ball rolls towards Danny and he enters room 237, the room he was warned not to go into. The moment he enters this room Wendy comes running from the basement to a screaming Jack who explains that he had just had a nightmare in which he chopped her and Danny to pieces with an axe. Obviously affected by this Wendy tries to comfort Jack, however Danny appears at the other side of the room, his sweater ripped and with bruises on his neck. Wendy then accuses Jack of harming him and runs out of the room with Danny. Jack sits looking confused. This is the pivotal scene in which the hotel really starts to create conflict in the family and tries to tear Jack away and plant distrust between them.

Climax

The climactic scene in the Shining is when Wendy, armed with a bat goes in search of Jack, intending to leave the hotel with Danny. She finds Jacks typewriter and manuscript. Upon reading it she discovers that he has repeated the same phrase over and over thousands of times. "all work and no play makes jack a dull boy."It is at this climactic moment that Wendy realises that Jack has gone completely mad. Jack then approaches from behind and asks her if she likes it sarcastically. She tries to retreat as Jack asks what she plans to to, screaming not to hurt her. It is at this point Jack tells her he does not want to hurt her but instead intends on killing her. She hits Jack with the bat and he falls down the stairs, unconscious. After which she drags Jacks unconscious body to the pantry and locks him inside. However he has sabotaged the radio and snowmobile, trapping them there.

Outcome

Danny flees into the hedge maze, being chased by Jack, while in the maze Danny covers his tracks and hides behind a hedge. Jack upon reaching the end of Danny's tracks heads deeper into the maze. Danny then emerges from the hedge and follows his own footprints back to the entrance of the maze. Wendy exits the hotel just as Danny exits the maze, the two being reunited, she embraces him, throwing her knife to the ground. Danny and Wendy then escape the hotel on the snowmobile that Dick used to reach the hotel after recieving Danny's message. Jack lost in the maze, freezes to death. Before the credits begin the camera slowly zooms in on a photograph of a historical photograph of that staff at the hotel, in the centre of the photograph is jack, along with the caption "Overlook Hotel July 4th Ball, 1921."




Representation

It could be argued that the film has a negative representation of men or more specifically middle aged men. This is because at least two of the characters around that age are portrayed as crazed and murderous however this is due to paranormal influences so this could be disputed. It's representation of women could also be viewed as both negative and positive as for much of the film Jack's wife, Wendy seems be a "damsel" and have great difficulty in dealing with Jack and can be seen screaming and shaking a lot. This could be however down to good character development as she is a scared wife whose husband has turned into a crazed killer who eventually chases her down with an axe, so I think this is an accurate representation of what would really happen in such a situation. Given that despite being deeply afraid of Jack, a man much larger and more aggressive than herself is chasing her down, she handles the situation fairly well eventually developing enough that she takes Jack on, knocks him out and locks him in a pantry. I believe that the argument on the representation for Shelley Duvall's character could be seen either way. It is possible that the film also portrays working class people in a negative light. Jack being a working class man whom has previously lost his job teaching due to aggressive conduct and has since become and alcoholic. This could be seen as negative as it might paint the image that all working class people are alcoholics and lose their jobs very easily/ are uncommitted. I however personally don't think that there are any significant negative representations in the film.