Wednesday, 17 December 2008
J'adore
This is a j'adore advert advertising perfume. The on screen character is being portrayed as a high class woman. She is beautiful which supports the theory of Scheibe (1979). This is a new advert of the 21st century which clearly shows how females now have the leading roles but they are still chosen based upon their looks and what they can offer on screen.
Contempary adverts (Diet Coke)
In this advert the women are seen as independant. This is shown through as when the man comes down the lift instead of the male gaze their is the 'female gaze' as the women are gazing upon the men. However the use of the pepsi can suggest that it is a phallic symbol to the women. The women are dressed in smart clothes which also proves that they are independant as they have their own job and don't have to rely on the man.
Cadbury Flake
Chocolate is something which is widely associated with women and what women stereotypically like and the first scene in the clip is a woman who is eating the flake chocolate, but in this case its not a product that is associated with domestic things.
The use of a female character will attract the male audience as she is represented as a sexual figure while eating the chocolate.
The use of a female character will attract the male audience as she is represented as a sexual figure while eating the chocolate.
Shake and Vac
Having a woman starring in a advert about cleaning is one issue but the other notable thing is that the voiceover is done by a woman as well, which makes it seem as if no men at all are interested in housing or cleaning, the things that women are most concerned about.
The shake and vac advert is a typical example of an advert which objectifies women not sexually but domestically, which is one of the main features that women are associated with, historically and in modern times.
The shake and vac advert is a typical example of an advert which objectifies women not sexually but domestically, which is one of the main features that women are associated with, historically and in modern times.
Historical Adverts (FLASH)
The advert shows the women quite happy when she is cleaning letting the audience know that women are happy doing cleaning (it’s like their hobby). The women is seen as a typical housewife who’s role is to look after the house especially when the husband has probably gone to work and the kids at school she is kind of seen as a free women who can do whatever she wants and that is to clean up the house.
5 female Directors
Elaine May
Elaine May is a two-time Academy Award nominated film director, screenwriter and actress. She achieved her greatest fame, in the 1950s, from her improvisational comedy routines in partnership with Mike Nichols.
Sofia Coppola
Sofia Carmina Coppola (born May 14, 1971) is an American film director, actress, producer and Academy Award-winning screenwriter. She is the third female director, and only American woman, to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing, the other two being Lina Wertmüller and Jane Campion.
Lina Wertmuller
Lina Wertmüller is an Italian film director of aristocratic Swiss descent. In 1976, she became the first woman ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing with Seven Beauties.
Rosanna Arquette
Rosanna Lauren Arquette is an American actress, film director, and film producer.Filmography as director/producer:Searching For Debra Winger (2002)All We Are Saying (2005).
Gurinder Chada
Gurinder Chada is a British film director of Indian origin. Most of her films explore the lives of Indians living in the UK. She is most famous for the hit films Bhaji on the Beach (1993), Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Bride and Prejudice (2004) and Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008).
Elaine May is a two-time Academy Award nominated film director, screenwriter and actress. She achieved her greatest fame, in the 1950s, from her improvisational comedy routines in partnership with Mike Nichols.
Sofia Coppola
Sofia Carmina Coppola (born May 14, 1971) is an American film director, actress, producer and Academy Award-winning screenwriter. She is the third female director, and only American woman, to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing, the other two being Lina Wertmüller and Jane Campion.
Lina Wertmuller
Lina Wertmüller is an Italian film director of aristocratic Swiss descent. In 1976, she became the first woman ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing with Seven Beauties.
Rosanna Arquette
Rosanna Lauren Arquette is an American actress, film director, and film producer.Filmography as director/producer:Searching For Debra Winger (2002)All We Are Saying (2005).
Gurinder Chada
Gurinder Chada is a British film director of Indian origin. Most of her films explore the lives of Indians living in the UK. She is most famous for the hit films Bhaji on the Beach (1993), Bend It Like Beckham (2002), Bride and Prejudice (2004) and Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008).
3 ways the number of female directors could be improved
- Have more courses for women to do directing.
- Female directors can try and do joint directing with males, to gain knowledge in the field.
- When most women have become mature they stop acting in film therefore after they have stopped acting they should be encouraged to direct films.
5 reasons why women directors are such a rare sight
- It is harder for women to enter this industry as it is male dominated.
- Men are more likely to be preferred then women to do the job.
- Because mostly jobs that women prefer are quiet stereotypical they would either want to be a teacher, secretary, nurse or remain a housewife.
- Another reason is that after women get pregnant it is seen less likely that they would carry on with their profession as they now have a family to look after.
- Women could be discouraged because of the lack of women in that profession.
Exploitation of women in advertisment
"Women projected as bodies only". This is the attitude of all feminists towards how women in the media are being represented and it is a growing way of looking at the representation of women througout the media world. The fact that the background to the text is black, shows the darkness behind the quotation.
Most of the scenes in this clip are of women being objectified as sex objects with them showing different adverts where women are being dressed up in skimpy clothes and showing them to be enjoying it, which is presenting the men as being passive to the treatment that they are recieving, also showing evidence of a patriachal society.
At the end of the advert, there is a change in the way that women are being presented and it comes in the form of them being shown as having some power and achieving major achievments, which is one of the things that men were said to be most concerned about in their minds, for example the woman with the medal and the woman who is a politician, shows wmen as having alot of power within their professions.
Most of the scenes in this clip are of women being objectified as sex objects with them showing different adverts where women are being dressed up in skimpy clothes and showing them to be enjoying it, which is presenting the men as being passive to the treatment that they are recieving, also showing evidence of a patriachal society.
At the end of the advert, there is a change in the way that women are being presented and it comes in the form of them being shown as having some power and achieving major achievments, which is one of the things that men were said to be most concerned about in their minds, for example the woman with the medal and the woman who is a politician, shows wmen as having alot of power within their professions.
The representation of women in commercials
The men in the advertisment are seen as having fun, which is what is said about the male gender, that the only things that men are concerned about achievements and having fun, in the case of this advert having fun is top of the conerns for the men.
The woman who walks into the house has a bag of shopping in her hand, again the stereotypes coming into light with the woman being concerned about family and domesticated things, but then another concept is shown in the text, the concept is that of a patriachal society with the woman being dominated by the male askin for pizza.
In the rest of the clip, various products are being shown as on different adverts, but the most notable thing to take note of is the fact that only women are being shown in the adverts, especially when the cleaning is being shown it is the woman who is doing the cleaning, which again matches with the stereotypes.
The woman who walks into the house has a bag of shopping in her hand, again the stereotypes coming into light with the woman being concerned about family and domesticated things, but then another concept is shown in the text, the concept is that of a patriachal society with the woman being dominated by the male askin for pizza.
In the rest of the clip, various products are being shown as on different adverts, but the most notable thing to take note of is the fact that only women are being shown in the adverts, especially when the cleaning is being shown it is the woman who is doing the cleaning, which again matches with the stereotypes.
Monday, 15 December 2008
Gender in Advertising
Gunter
From the year 1995 Gunter is a theorist who discusses how women in particular are represented in magazines and how the representation has changed over the years. He states that women in magazine adverts prior to the 70's were hardly shown in paid work and if they were shown in paid work then they would be in jobs that would usually be associated with the female gender, for example a secretary or a hairdresser. From his study he also concludes that the 'housewife' image began to decline after the 50's but was still quite common in the 60's and 70's. In the 1970’s content analysis of advertising on television found strong evidence of women being stereotyped in house wife roles whereas men had roles with authority.
Cumberbatch
By the start of the 1990’s, Cumberbatch did a study of 500 prime- time TV ads in the UK and discovered that advertisers had seemingly become wary of showing women doing housework, which was seen in 7% of the ad's, but also it was shown for the first time that men were shown in the kitchen doing the cooking more often than women. This role reversal could have taken place due to the changing mind set of the society which started to accept women in more dominant roles.
Scheibe
In a study of TV ads Scheibe (1979) included an assessment of what male and female characters were shown to be concerned about. He drew conclusions to women in ads being only concerned about beauty, cleanliness, family and pleasing others, whereas men were only more concerned about achievements and having fun and even if both gender groups were shown in unusual places or settings, these characteristics were seen to be shining through their role at the moment. This shows that once a group in media is stereotyped that label stays with them throughout.
From the year 1995 Gunter is a theorist who discusses how women in particular are represented in magazines and how the representation has changed over the years. He states that women in magazine adverts prior to the 70's were hardly shown in paid work and if they were shown in paid work then they would be in jobs that would usually be associated with the female gender, for example a secretary or a hairdresser. From his study he also concludes that the 'housewife' image began to decline after the 50's but was still quite common in the 60's and 70's. In the 1970’s content analysis of advertising on television found strong evidence of women being stereotyped in house wife roles whereas men had roles with authority.
Cumberbatch
By the start of the 1990’s, Cumberbatch did a study of 500 prime- time TV ads in the UK and discovered that advertisers had seemingly become wary of showing women doing housework, which was seen in 7% of the ad's, but also it was shown for the first time that men were shown in the kitchen doing the cooking more often than women. This role reversal could have taken place due to the changing mind set of the society which started to accept women in more dominant roles.
Scheibe
In a study of TV ads Scheibe (1979) included an assessment of what male and female characters were shown to be concerned about. He drew conclusions to women in ads being only concerned about beauty, cleanliness, family and pleasing others, whereas men were only more concerned about achievements and having fun and even if both gender groups were shown in unusual places or settings, these characteristics were seen to be shining through their role at the moment. This shows that once a group in media is stereotyped that label stays with them throughout.
Macdonald
Macdonald (1995) took an oppositional view on the concept that gender representations in ad's were normally confirming their old stereotypes similar to those in other forms of the media and he stated that "advertisers generally lagged behind women's magazines in the cultivation of new modes of address, even when the evidence suggested that commercial advantages could be gained from modernising their approach", MacDonald argued that advertisers were doing nothing to update and modernise women’s stereotypes and how they were shown and the conclusion can be drawn that advertisers were the group of people who carried on with the stereotypes given to the women.
Greer
Greer (1999) tells us that there is much more pressure on women to impress with their make-up, high heels and wonder bras. This quotation suggests that in order for women to be successful they have to look good to an extent. "Every woman knows that she is a failure if she is not beautiful", this is one of the more noticeable quotations from Greer as he sums up the representation of women both modernised and stereotypical. "Thirty years ago it was enough to look beautiful now a woman has to have a tight, toned body, including her buttocks and thighs, so that she is in good touch all over", this is another quote which suggests that it is more important for women to look good now than ever before.
Walter
Natasha Walter (1998) in the new Feminism she quotes that “today’s women are more-or-less happy with how they look, whereas a vast majority of men felt unsatisfied with their own appearance” this quotation suggests that men are increasingly becoming more concerned about their image. "If only 4% of men think that they are attractive, we should not be too quick to argue that only women feel cast down by the pressures of beautiful ideals" (1998). However, there have been statistics who disagree with Walter as it was concluded from a survey that women are ten times more likely to be more unhappy with their body image than men.
Cortese
Anthony Cortese wrote a book called ‘Provocateur’ which argued that men and women are made to look provocative through the editing, make-up and clothing. " Displays youth, good looks, sexual seductiveness and [beauty] perfection", and this is very illustrative of how various companies make women look for any type of commercial or TV advert and this is a common factor, for example in the 'male gaze' theory.
Monday, 1 December 2008
Representation of Gender today
- During the 1990's and into the new century, gender roles on television became increasingly equal and non- stereotyped - within some limits - although the majority of lead characters were still male.
- 1992-1993- 18% of the female characters took the major role and more than two thirds were the stars of domestic situation comedies. 1995-1996 43% of major characters were female, although still less than half.
- 1990s to a certain extent, programme makers arrived at a comfortable, not particularly- offensive modes of masculinity and femininity, which majority of the public seemed to think were acceptable.
- In prime- time TV shows, 1992-1993, men took 61 per cent of the total number of speaking roles, with women having the other 39 per cent. A few years later 1995-1996 the figures changed slightly as men took 63% with women only having 37%.
- The 1992-1993 study found that only 3 per cent of women were represented as housewives as their main occupation - a massive decrease from 1970's.
Friends (1994)
3 Men (Ross, Chandler & Joey) fit easily with convectional models of masculinity, but given some characteristics of sensitivity and gentleness, and male bonding to make things refreshing. Similarly 3 women (Rachel, Monica and Phoebe) are clearly feminine, whilst being sufficiently intelligent and non housewifely to seem like acceptable characters of the 1990s. They were all Friends so it was a refreshing modern replacement for the traditional family. Not long of course before they spoilt this by having Ross and Rachel then Monica and Chandler fall in love.
Men in Hollywood films today tend to be the seamlessly macho heroes which we saw in the 1980s; they more often combine the toughness required of an action hero with a more sensitive, thoughtful or caring side.
Hollywood culture is offering in place of bold spectacle of male masculinity and violence, is a self effacing man, one who now, learns to live instead of fighting.
Charlie's Angles
Michael Thomson of BBC online- 'Women's glamour and pouting', saying that the film's message was 'by all means be feisty, but never forget to be feminine'.
Charlies Angels has an effervescent 'girl power' zing which had not been seen since the Spice Girls.
The film does knowingly showcase the women's physical attractiveness, but their success comes from their brains, and their fighting skills.
Representation of gender in the past
Gunter and Elamer(Women and Men on TV)
- In the mid-1970s, Miles (1975) found that there were nearly equal proportions of men and women in situation comedies.
- Gunter study in 1970s consistently found that marriage, parenthood and domesticity were shown on television to be more important for women than men.
- Only 15 Per cent of the leading characters were women, a decade later a 1987 study found female characters to be the most common in comedy programmes (43per cent), but outnumbered two to one in dramas, and in action-adventures shows women had almost doubled their showing to a still low 29 per cent of characters(Davis,1990)
- 1970s found men to be the dominant characters and the decision makers on TV.
- Tuchman asserts that those women who were shown to be working were portrayed at 'incompetents and inferiors' as victims or having 'trival' interests, emotional and practical problems or women with little value in the TV world.
Friday, 21 November 2008
Hegemony and Pluralistic
The Pluralistic concept has an active audience, where they interpret media texts for themselves and creates more than one meaning for that text. This creates a negotiated and optional reading for its audience which also link to the reception theory, the media in these texts have to be pluralistic and reflect society. The pluralistic way of looking at the media gives the audience a sense of freedom to view society as how they want.
I feel there is no convening concept as if there was no hegemony in this world then society may not be structure properly, but if there was no pluralism people would have any freedom of speech in how they think the media can manipulate people. There is no concept that is convincing for me, as I think that we need both hegemony and pluralism as with hegemony society is structured and with pluralism it let people speak out.
Hegemony is a concept by Gramsci, he show’s that everyday things that we do to create a complex system in society, can be feed to use through by a dominate group or class. It shows how we are feed by the media to believe what they tell us to do is correct. For example as Althusse explains in the “ideological state apparatus” that, religion, media, and family can feed us views that we believe in and these 3 things help us structure how we live. Another example is where school students are feed by teachers what they have to do in school, like coming to lessons and school in time. All these example I have given of how many things can brainwash peoples is given the term “indoctrinate and manipulate” by the theorist Marcuse. The hegemonic concept is for a passive audience.
I feel there is no convening concept as if there was no hegemony in this world then society may not be structure properly, but if there was no pluralism people would have any freedom of speech in how they think the media can manipulate people. There is no concept that is convincing for me, as I think that we need both hegemony and pluralism as with hegemony society is structured and with pluralism it let people speak out.
Hegemony is a concept by Gramsci, he show’s that everyday things that we do to create a complex system in society, can be feed to use through by a dominate group or class. It shows how we are feed by the media to believe what they tell us to do is correct. For example as Althusse explains in the “ideological state apparatus” that, religion, media, and family can feed us views that we believe in and these 3 things help us structure how we live. Another example is where school students are feed by teachers what they have to do in school, like coming to lessons and school in time. All these example I have given of how many things can brainwash peoples is given the term “indoctrinate and manipulate” by the theorist Marcuse. The hegemonic concept is for a passive audience.
Essay summary key points
1. The overall essay is about men’s magazines such as Maxim, Loaded and FHM. Its about how women are objectified which states the theory of male gaze these images are very similar to the more explicit version the ‘Playboy’ magazine.
2. Secondly the essay talks about masculinity as the primary target audience for the magazines are males.
3. Magazines of this genre sell purely due to the promiscuous pictures of women on the front cover. If women where to be posted in the magazines as purely natural without make up and no enhanced cleavages, the magazine wouldn't sell, this shows that the women themselves are the unique selling point.
4. The essay also compares the profit per the number of copies sold between the magazines such as Maxim, Loaded, FHM and Playboy.
5. The essay also explores the theory of ‘Laddism’ and how a magazine can gain high readership.
2. Secondly the essay talks about masculinity as the primary target audience for the magazines are males.
3. Magazines of this genre sell purely due to the promiscuous pictures of women on the front cover. If women where to be posted in the magazines as purely natural without make up and no enhanced cleavages, the magazine wouldn't sell, this shows that the women themselves are the unique selling point.
4. The essay also compares the profit per the number of copies sold between the magazines such as Maxim, Loaded, FHM and Playboy.
5. The essay also explores the theory of ‘Laddism’ and how a magazine can gain high readership.
Monday, 17 November 2008
Textual analysis on the final scene of TCM – the beginning
The scene that I have chosen to analyse is the last scene of the film which has Jordana Brewster and Andrew bryniarski (Leather face). Jordana Brewster is the most significant character through out the film she is the last one to survive out of the bunch and also try’s to get her friends out of that house of horrors.
At the start of this particular scene, Chrissie played by Jordana Brewster, gets in the car after escaping a close death encounter to try and get some help but as she finds herself getting closer to the sheriff standing on the road nearby she discovers that the villain Leather face is in the back seat and before she can claim any sort of help a chainsaw is put through her neck and she is the final character to be killed. This is one of the most significant scenes in the film as it proves the theory of final girl by Carol Clover wrong because she claims that there is always a final girl who survives in Slasher films and she kills the villain but in this particular film it was not the case. On the other hand her theory is partially correct as even in this film the final character to survive is a female.
The next part of this short scene is the ultimate punch to the storyline as it concludes with the car going out of control and running over the sheriff on the scene. This shows that the villain is out of danger as everyone around him is dead and he yet again survives as in the historical Texas chainsaw massacre. It is very important to understand the significance of the ending as in many Slasher movies the villain is killed at the end although in the case of both Texas chainsaw massacre texts the villain has survived.
There are extreme close up shots of Jordana Brewster’s face as the facial expressions are extremely important in the climax as she is on the verge of escaping this horrified experience, there is anxiety building up for the audience as they question themselves if she is going to be rescued or not and later its revealed that the villain kills her before she reaches to get any help.
The final part of the scene is when everyone around the villain is dead and there is a long shot of the villain walking into the dark as there is a voiceover which talks about the horrifying deaths in Texas over years and finally a dark screen appears and the film ends.
At the start of this particular scene, Chrissie played by Jordana Brewster, gets in the car after escaping a close death encounter to try and get some help but as she finds herself getting closer to the sheriff standing on the road nearby she discovers that the villain Leather face is in the back seat and before she can claim any sort of help a chainsaw is put through her neck and she is the final character to be killed. This is one of the most significant scenes in the film as it proves the theory of final girl by Carol Clover wrong because she claims that there is always a final girl who survives in Slasher films and she kills the villain but in this particular film it was not the case. On the other hand her theory is partially correct as even in this film the final character to survive is a female.
The next part of this short scene is the ultimate punch to the storyline as it concludes with the car going out of control and running over the sheriff on the scene. This shows that the villain is out of danger as everyone around him is dead and he yet again survives as in the historical Texas chainsaw massacre. It is very important to understand the significance of the ending as in many Slasher movies the villain is killed at the end although in the case of both Texas chainsaw massacre texts the villain has survived.
There are extreme close up shots of Jordana Brewster’s face as the facial expressions are extremely important in the climax as she is on the verge of escaping this horrified experience, there is anxiety building up for the audience as they question themselves if she is going to be rescued or not and later its revealed that the villain kills her before she reaches to get any help.
The final part of the scene is when everyone around the villain is dead and there is a long shot of the villain walking into the dark as there is a voiceover which talks about the horrifying deaths in Texas over years and finally a dark screen appears and the film ends.
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
Monday, 3 November 2008
Texas chainsaw massacre 1974
SHEP (Historical)
Director: Tobe Hooper
Writer: Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel
Tagline: The idyllic summer's day that became a nightmare of fear and blood...
Plot: Five friends visiting their grandpa's old house are hunted down and terrorized by a chainsaw wielding killer and his family of grave-robbing cannibals.
Director: Tobe Hooper
Writer: Tobe Hooper and Kim Henkel
Tagline: The idyllic summer's day that became a nightmare of fear and blood...
Plot: Five friends visiting their grandpa's old house are hunted down and terrorized by a chainsaw wielding killer and his family of grave-robbing cannibals.
Key words from the media vocab pack
1) Male gaze - term used by Laura Mulvey in her essay "Visual Pleasures and Narrative Cinema" to describe what she saw as the male point of view adopted by the camera for the benefit of an assumed male audience.
The male gaze theory will be useful to my study because to this theory I can link the changing roles of women in slasher films.
2) Hybrid Genre - a cross between one film genre and another
Texas chainsaw massacre- the beginning can be classified as a hybrid genre film as it has elements of a thriller and also horror.
3) Binary opposition - a term used by Claude Levi-Strauss as part of his argument that narratives are structured around oppositional elements in human culture, for example good and evil, life and death, night and day, raw and cooked. Within many media narratives, common binary oppositions are cowboys and Indians and also gangsters and police.
This theory of Levi- Strauss is widely seen in all genres of movies every film within the horror genre has to be based upon a hero and a villain.
4) Feminism - political movement to advance the status of women by challenging values, social constructions and socioeconomic practices which disadvantage women and favour men.
Are women still being portrayed as they were earlier on in slasher films or have women taken up the male roles by proving the final girl theory?
5) New man -a term used to describe a new type of masculinity identified and developed by advertising media in the 1980's in line with lifestyle marketing strategies.
Are the roles of men also changing within the slasher genre as women are becoming more powerful and final characters to survive the horrific experiences?
6) Bridging Shot- A camera shot that shows a passage of time or change of location as a means of connecting one scene to another.
In TCM- the beginning the opening scene shows the birth of the villain and the next scene shows a total change of location and time span.
7) Uses and gratifications theory - an active audience theory, developed by Jay Blumer and Elihu Katz that focuses on 'what people do with the media' rather than what the media does to people, arguing that audiences are free to pick and choose from a range of media products to satisfy their own needs.
This theory will be useful to find out why people watch slasher films as it covers the different needs of the audience i.e. personal relationship, surveillance, personal identity etc.
8) Remake- A new version of a previously successful film that closely follows the original but adapts it in line with changing audience expectations.
The first TCM was released in 1974 and due to the success of that the next part was released in 2006 which could not live up to the expectations of the audience as the audience did not think as highly of this part then the historic one.
The male gaze theory will be useful to my study because to this theory I can link the changing roles of women in slasher films.
2) Hybrid Genre - a cross between one film genre and another
Texas chainsaw massacre- the beginning can be classified as a hybrid genre film as it has elements of a thriller and also horror.
3) Binary opposition - a term used by Claude Levi-Strauss as part of his argument that narratives are structured around oppositional elements in human culture, for example good and evil, life and death, night and day, raw and cooked. Within many media narratives, common binary oppositions are cowboys and Indians and also gangsters and police.
This theory of Levi- Strauss is widely seen in all genres of movies every film within the horror genre has to be based upon a hero and a villain.
4) Feminism - political movement to advance the status of women by challenging values, social constructions and socioeconomic practices which disadvantage women and favour men.
Are women still being portrayed as they were earlier on in slasher films or have women taken up the male roles by proving the final girl theory?
5) New man -a term used to describe a new type of masculinity identified and developed by advertising media in the 1980's in line with lifestyle marketing strategies.
Are the roles of men also changing within the slasher genre as women are becoming more powerful and final characters to survive the horrific experiences?
6) Bridging Shot- A camera shot that shows a passage of time or change of location as a means of connecting one scene to another.
In TCM- the beginning the opening scene shows the birth of the villain and the next scene shows a total change of location and time span.
7) Uses and gratifications theory - an active audience theory, developed by Jay Blumer and Elihu Katz that focuses on 'what people do with the media' rather than what the media does to people, arguing that audiences are free to pick and choose from a range of media products to satisfy their own needs.
This theory will be useful to find out why people watch slasher films as it covers the different needs of the audience i.e. personal relationship, surveillance, personal identity etc.
8) Remake- A new version of a previously successful film that closely follows the original but adapts it in line with changing audience expectations.
The first TCM was released in 1974 and due to the success of that the next part was released in 2006 which could not live up to the expectations of the audience as the audience did not think as highly of this part then the historic one.
Delicious Tags
http://www.horschamp.qc.ca/new_offscreen/final_girl.html
A page full of information on Carol Clover and her book on Men, women and chainsaw’s. She is the prime theorist I will be looking at in detail.
http://virtual.clemson.edu/caah/women/flc436/mulvey.html
Notes on Laura Mulvey and her theory of the Male Gaze.
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/gaze/gaze09.html
More detail on the theory of Mulvey.
http://www.epinions.com/content_4546994308
This link states the top 10 Slasher films and I could use this to extend my knowledge of this genre and by watching these texts I could compare my primary text with these movies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slasher_film
This website talks about the history of Slasher films and their revival into the mainstream in the mid 1990’s.
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/screen/3226/history.html
Another website which talks about how the Slasher films started out and I could use this in my study by referring to how far back these films go and how they have changed over time.
A page full of information on Carol Clover and her book on Men, women and chainsaw’s. She is the prime theorist I will be looking at in detail.
http://virtual.clemson.edu/caah/women/flc436/mulvey.html
Notes on Laura Mulvey and her theory of the Male Gaze.
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/gaze/gaze09.html
More detail on the theory of Mulvey.
http://www.epinions.com/content_4546994308
This link states the top 10 Slasher films and I could use this to extend my knowledge of this genre and by watching these texts I could compare my primary text with these movies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slasher_film
This website talks about the history of Slasher films and their revival into the mainstream in the mid 1990’s.
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/screen/3226/history.html
Another website which talks about how the Slasher films started out and I could use this in my study by referring to how far back these films go and how they have changed over time.
Thursday, 30 October 2008
Self Evaluation of the presentation
My power point presentation on my chosen topic did not go down as well as I thought it would as I had sufficient amount of work on my presentation. The main criticism which I received was that each one of my slides contained too much information to take in and I should have spread out my work by making brainstorms etc. I think I would have made a better presentation if I was allowed in the lessons to see other presentations from my peers. Another thing I would like to mention is that I could have done a better job in presenting my work if I was allowed to present it when I actually made it because all the main ideas would have been fresh in my mind but unfortunately I was not allowed in lessons even though I was told to do work outside the class and this is when I made my presentation.
Friday, 24 October 2008
Action Plan
1) Add another dimension to the hypothesis including the final girl.
2) Work on SHEP wider contexts look into detail the old Texas chainsaw massacre (1974) to cover the historical part of SHEP.
3) To cover the political part of the wider contexts research on how has the Vietnam War affected the text (Horror’s of war).
4) Try to answer my own question by extracting the important information from the secondary research done and link to examiner objectives.
5) Try to improve my question if possible.
6) Read through the past independent studies A grade examples and look at the writing style.
7) Start reading the book by Carol Clover “Men, Women and Chainsaws”
8) Try to extract information from other sources rather than all from the internet. Sources like books, newspaper articles etc.
9) Do more research on representation of women in Slasher films.
10) Get director’s and producers point of view on the representation of women in Slasher films.
2) Work on SHEP wider contexts look into detail the old Texas chainsaw massacre (1974) to cover the historical part of SHEP.
3) To cover the political part of the wider contexts research on how has the Vietnam War affected the text (Horror’s of war).
4) Try to answer my own question by extracting the important information from the secondary research done and link to examiner objectives.
5) Try to improve my question if possible.
6) Read through the past independent studies A grade examples and look at the writing style.
7) Start reading the book by Carol Clover “Men, Women and Chainsaws”
8) Try to extract information from other sources rather than all from the internet. Sources like books, newspaper articles etc.
9) Do more research on representation of women in Slasher films.
10) Get director’s and producers point of view on the representation of women in Slasher films.
Self Evaluation
· Attainment- 3
I have given myself a 3 for attainment because I think I have done a fair amount on work on my independent study (med.5) which makes my understanding of the text better even though I was not allowed to attend any lessons for a number of weeks. I have also made reasonable efforts in following the teaching on med.6 although I would like to work even harder to produce better pieces of work.
· Punctuality- 3
Punctuality in terms of turning up to lessons on time I am mostly on time. Punctuality in terms of handing work in on time I usually try to hand in work when its due although sometimes I am a bit late on handing work hence this is what I would like to work on to improve my punctuality.
· Submission and quality of homework- 3
As I mentioned above I always try to hand in work on time and the quality of the work is usually high standard although I still think I could improve upon it.
· Ability to work independently- 2
I give myself 2 for working independently because through out this whole term I had to work independently on my study as I was not allowed in lessons hence any help from the teacher was out of the question. So I gave it my best shot by looking at the mediamacguffin blog for the work I had to do. On the other hand I think my presentation of the topic did not go as well because I had not seen any presentations from other people to ensure what was required from me.
· Quality of Writing- 2
I think my quality of writing is reasonably good as all my work on the med.5 blog is explained well. I have also written an essay recently for med.6 comparing two texts so when I get my result for that I will be able to say in more detail about my written work quality.
· Organisation of media Folder- 4
The reason I have given myself a 4 for media folder organisation is because I have got a folder but it is not arranged in sections very well. So during the half term I would focus on getting that done.
· Oral Contribution in class
I have not graded myself for this because I have not been in many lessons this term so I can not comment on my efforts in class although in the last lesson I contributed on telling every one about a theorist they didn’t know much about Carol clover.
· Standard of med. 5 blog
I think my med.5 blog is well detailed although I still need to keep on doing the work specifically linked to my title so I gather material which I can use for my actual essay.
· Standard of med. 6 blog
My med.6 blog is not as well detailed as my med.5 blog as we have not done much work on the blog.
EBI for next term: -
· Would do more research into my topic of independent study.
· Read books on the linked theorist Carol clover.
· Research more on representation of women in media in general.
I have given myself a 3 for attainment because I think I have done a fair amount on work on my independent study (med.5) which makes my understanding of the text better even though I was not allowed to attend any lessons for a number of weeks. I have also made reasonable efforts in following the teaching on med.6 although I would like to work even harder to produce better pieces of work.
· Punctuality- 3
Punctuality in terms of turning up to lessons on time I am mostly on time. Punctuality in terms of handing work in on time I usually try to hand in work when its due although sometimes I am a bit late on handing work hence this is what I would like to work on to improve my punctuality.
· Submission and quality of homework- 3
As I mentioned above I always try to hand in work on time and the quality of the work is usually high standard although I still think I could improve upon it.
· Ability to work independently- 2
I give myself 2 for working independently because through out this whole term I had to work independently on my study as I was not allowed in lessons hence any help from the teacher was out of the question. So I gave it my best shot by looking at the mediamacguffin blog for the work I had to do. On the other hand I think my presentation of the topic did not go as well because I had not seen any presentations from other people to ensure what was required from me.
· Quality of Writing- 2
I think my quality of writing is reasonably good as all my work on the med.5 blog is explained well. I have also written an essay recently for med.6 comparing two texts so when I get my result for that I will be able to say in more detail about my written work quality.
· Organisation of media Folder- 4
The reason I have given myself a 4 for media folder organisation is because I have got a folder but it is not arranged in sections very well. So during the half term I would focus on getting that done.
· Oral Contribution in class
I have not graded myself for this because I have not been in many lessons this term so I can not comment on my efforts in class although in the last lesson I contributed on telling every one about a theorist they didn’t know much about Carol clover.
· Standard of med. 5 blog
I think my med.5 blog is well detailed although I still need to keep on doing the work specifically linked to my title so I gather material which I can use for my actual essay.
· Standard of med. 6 blog
My med.6 blog is not as well detailed as my med.5 blog as we have not done much work on the blog.
EBI for next term: -
· Would do more research into my topic of independent study.
· Read books on the linked theorist Carol clover.
· Research more on representation of women in media in general.
Monday, 6 October 2008
Self Assessment on the Blog
AO1- Key concepts are a very important element of media studies therefore in order to analyse a text thoroughly it is vital to use them. On the whole, in my opinion I have done well in analysing my text as I have looked at all the key concepts in depth paying enough attention to my question which is about representation of women.
I think I have covered media language & forms and audiences in great depth as I think its most important to analyse the way the text is put together to make sure you reach the depth of it although my main focus of my study is on representation I have also looked at that element in detail. On the other hand I think the aspect of key concepts which I need to work more on is definitely Ideologies and values. I think this is such a broad topic and I have not written enough on it. I also have to write about the theorists I am going to use further and what their theories are.
AO2- I haven't looked at the zeitgeist theme because that does not affect my text because of the context of the movie. The reason being that this movie is a remake so it would try to follow the same conventions if not exactly the same very similar.
Now looking at the aspects of SHEP I can confidently say that I am comfortable with the history of the text I have chosen. I have also done some research into the economical side however I am still in the process of developing my skills in the SHEP concept and I am doing that by carrying out research into the institution and their journey in making the film.
AO5- I have not yet completely looked at all the literature available on this topic but I have looked at a lot of online articles and reviews and I plan to look into this topic further by referring to associated books. In my opinion I have come up with a decent question and I have written my hypothesis although I think I could make it more accurate. So far I have looked at a film trailer and analysed it in detail following MIGRAIN. I have viewed the text twice since I chose this topic. I am yet to analyse a text similar to the chosen one and compare it.
I think I have covered media language & forms and audiences in great depth as I think its most important to analyse the way the text is put together to make sure you reach the depth of it although my main focus of my study is on representation I have also looked at that element in detail. On the other hand I think the aspect of key concepts which I need to work more on is definitely Ideologies and values. I think this is such a broad topic and I have not written enough on it. I also have to write about the theorists I am going to use further and what their theories are.
AO2- I haven't looked at the zeitgeist theme because that does not affect my text because of the context of the movie. The reason being that this movie is a remake so it would try to follow the same conventions if not exactly the same very similar.
Now looking at the aspects of SHEP I can confidently say that I am comfortable with the history of the text I have chosen. I have also done some research into the economical side however I am still in the process of developing my skills in the SHEP concept and I am doing that by carrying out research into the institution and their journey in making the film.
AO5- I have not yet completely looked at all the literature available on this topic but I have looked at a lot of online articles and reviews and I plan to look into this topic further by referring to associated books. In my opinion I have come up with a decent question and I have written my hypothesis although I think I could make it more accurate. So far I have looked at a film trailer and analysed it in detail following MIGRAIN. I have viewed the text twice since I chose this topic. I am yet to analyse a text similar to the chosen one and compare it.
Quotes from reviews
"The film follows the increasingly formulaic tradition of horror movies made at New Line where the villains rather than the victims are the focal point of the story". IGN, I agree with this quotation as in all the TCM parts to date the villian is not killed hence the villain being the main star of the film.
"Leatherface, Andrew Bryniarski is the big, blunt instrument that brings all of them together". IGN, I also agree with this statement as Leatherface is portrayed as the central villain figure who brings the rest of the Hewitt family together eventhough at times it seems that his uncle Sheriff Hoyt is the one who is in control.
"Jordana Brewster sticks her rear in the air and crawls along the porch as though she's dunking for dollars. Which in a sense she is". Guardian, I agree with this statement in the review as particularly in this slasher movie women are portrayed as being strong enough to challenge the villain.
"Bailey is a standard young girl who has no clue". Celebrity wonder, I agree with this statement because as i mentioned earlier the more wiser out of the two heroines is Chrissie (Jordana Brewster) as she is the one who tries her best to rescue every one and is killed at last.
"Leatherface, Andrew Bryniarski is the big, blunt instrument that brings all of them together". IGN, I also agree with this statement as Leatherface is portrayed as the central villain figure who brings the rest of the Hewitt family together eventhough at times it seems that his uncle Sheriff Hoyt is the one who is in control.
"Jordana Brewster sticks her rear in the air and crawls along the porch as though she's dunking for dollars. Which in a sense she is". Guardian, I agree with this statement in the review as particularly in this slasher movie women are portrayed as being strong enough to challenge the villain.
"Bailey is a standard young girl who has no clue". Celebrity wonder, I agree with this statement because as i mentioned earlier the more wiser out of the two heroines is Chrissie (Jordana Brewster) as she is the one who tries her best to rescue every one and is killed at last.
Links to reviews
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2006/oct/13/horror
http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/737/737607p1.html
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1542490,00.html
http://www.celebritywonder.com/movie/2006_The_Texas_Chainsaw_Massacre:_The_Beginning.html
http://www.timeout.com/film/newyork/reviews/83718/The_Texas_Chainsaw_Massacre-The_Beginning.html
Media Representations
Matthew Bomer played the role of Eric in Texas chainsaw massacre- the beginning. Eric is the older brother of Dean and the boyfriend of Chrissie. Eric is the first one to die as he is taken to the basement of Hewitt residence and strapped to a wooden table. Leatherface skins one of his arms, exposing the muscle and tissue and his screams are heard from the house. Later Leather face runs the chainsaw through Eric and then skins his face and puts it on his own. Eric is represented as a mature and responsible character and an example of this is when we tells the sheriff that his name is Dean inorder to get his younger brother out of trouble. 
The role of Bailey was played by Diora Baird. Bailey is Dean’s girlfriend. Bailey is tied up on second floor with the dinning table and chrissie hears her screams and goes to help her. As Chrissie attempts to untie Bailey she is caught by Sheriff Hoyt and Leatherface and brought downstairs for dinner. Hoyt has cut Bailey's teeth and tongue out prior to dinner and Leatherface kills Bailey by sliting her throat with a pair of scissors. Diora Baird is represented more like a passive and promiscuous character as we see her in lingerie towards the beginning of the film.
Eric’s younger brother Dean’s role is played by Taylor Handley. Dean is shown unconscious while Eric and Bailey are killed but he regains conscious at the dinner table, assaults Hoyt by smashing his head repeatedly into the solid concrete porch and Dean heads off to help save Chrissie. Dean is the third victim of Leatherface as the trio's chase takes them to a nearby farm where Chrissie hides in a slaughterhouse. She slits Leatherface's face with a knife, but is dragged to the floor. Dean interrupts and Leatherface impales Dean on his chainsaw as Chrissie looks on in horror. Dean is represented as a rebellious character as he does not want to go Vietnam with his brother and even Hoyt is beating him while doing push ups he still keeps going despite getting badly hurt hence showing his stubborn nature. 
Jordana Brewster plays the character of Chrissie in the film opposite Matthew Bomer (Eric). Chrissie is the last one to survive as she is desperately looking for help and sees a sheriff's deputy that has pulled over a citizen. As Chrissie heads to apparent freedom, Leatherface suddenly appears in the back seat and gores Chrissie with his chainsaw. The car loses control and crashes into the deputy and citizen. The movie closes with the narrator explaining the number and gruesomeness of the murders that are to follow, as Leatherface walks slowly back along the dark road. Chrissie is represented as a very brave character as through out the entire film we see her trying to resue the rest of her friends and she also escapes from the Hewitt residence but unfortunately is killed at the end. Looking at her role in this particular film I as an audience member could say that roles of women are dveloping within the slasher genre as they are getting more challenging and active.
Media Institution
The text is internationally distributed by New Line Cinema although outside the U.S. the company does not distribute its own films rather it contracts other entertainment film distributors. New Line Cinema was founded in 1967 and since has been one of the major American film studios. Though it initially began as an independent film studio, it became a subsidiary of Time Warner and is now a division of Warner Bros. Despite that, it continues to market, produce and distribute its films, however, it does so now as a part of Warner Bros. New Line Cinema is a Hollywood production house and most of the promotion for the forthcoming film is done via the trailer shown in multiplex cinemas and posters outside the cinema hall.
New Line Cinema is a commercial institution which is now a subsidiary of Warner Bros hence this makes the institutions more powerful as one company which means they have more control over the Hollywood productions and more influence on the media as to what they want the audience to see.
The president of Warner Bros is Alan F. Horn; New Line Cinema being a subsidiary of Warner Bros is also under Alan Horn who is one of the key people within the organisation. He is a key figure of hate amongst the Harry Potter comunity due to his rather controversial decison to change the release date of the upcoming Harry Potter Movie which also spoilt relations with companies such as EA, IMAX and entertainment weekly.
New Line Cinema is a commercial institution which is now a subsidiary of Warner Bros hence this makes the institutions more powerful as one company which means they have more control over the Hollywood productions and more influence on the media as to what they want the audience to see.
The president of Warner Bros is Alan F. Horn; New Line Cinema being a subsidiary of Warner Bros is also under Alan Horn who is one of the key people within the organisation. He is a key figure of hate amongst the Harry Potter comunity due to his rather controversial decison to change the release date of the upcoming Harry Potter Movie which also spoilt relations with companies such as EA, IMAX and entertainment weekly.
Sunday, 5 October 2008
Media Audiences
Most slasher films have young target audience as the older population might not be able to handle the horrific scenes shown. The main target for all slasher films are young people aged 16-25 who mostly belong to E, D and C2 socio- economic group. On the other hand the secondary audience of the film would be the older proportion of the audience who are interested in this particular genre of film. The audience expectations are fulfilled as there is a lot of thrill and psychopathic scenes.
The scheduling, positioning and the certificate given to the text are a good indicator to what target audience the text is being aimed at. Now looking at Texas chainsaw massacre-the beginning it came out in October 2006 and was declared a box office hit in America hence the movie made a lot of money which also indicates that a lot of the younger audience enjoyed the film and it is also possible that the secondary audience which was the older proportion of the population would have seen the film. After being a success in the cinemas the film was released on DVD and TV channels to broaden the viewer ship of the movie and increase the total turnover made by the movie. Although the film could have been even more popular amongst the audience in the UK if it was bought by a national channel to show such as BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5 or ITV. It would be very difficult to measure the exact viewer ship of the film although I have mentioned earlier the turnover made by the movie in US dollars.
There being masses of audience who follow the horror genre, there are bound to be different views hence there will be a number of oppositional and preferred readings of the text and they are likely to be on women. Most arguments linked with this topic will be that women are still being portrayed as sex objects and they have passive roles, this is because in TCM women are shown to be crying and asking for mercy whereas the male characters being in the same position are trying to fight back. The women are portrayed as sex objects and an example of that is shown at the beginning where a character is shown in lingerie.
I personally have seen a lot of slasher films and me being an active audience member I believe that the role of women within this film genre is changing as they are becoming more active and challenging although it could be argued that women have not completely developed as active characters in this genre as there are still some slasher films where women are portrayed as sex objects. My age and the society I live in has a major part to play in my opinion as the media portrays women as sex objects hence the saying “Sex sells”.
The scheduling, positioning and the certificate given to the text are a good indicator to what target audience the text is being aimed at. Now looking at Texas chainsaw massacre-the beginning it came out in October 2006 and was declared a box office hit in America hence the movie made a lot of money which also indicates that a lot of the younger audience enjoyed the film and it is also possible that the secondary audience which was the older proportion of the population would have seen the film. After being a success in the cinemas the film was released on DVD and TV channels to broaden the viewer ship of the movie and increase the total turnover made by the movie. Although the film could have been even more popular amongst the audience in the UK if it was bought by a national channel to show such as BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5 or ITV. It would be very difficult to measure the exact viewer ship of the film although I have mentioned earlier the turnover made by the movie in US dollars.
There being masses of audience who follow the horror genre, there are bound to be different views hence there will be a number of oppositional and preferred readings of the text and they are likely to be on women. Most arguments linked with this topic will be that women are still being portrayed as sex objects and they have passive roles, this is because in TCM women are shown to be crying and asking for mercy whereas the male characters being in the same position are trying to fight back. The women are portrayed as sex objects and an example of that is shown at the beginning where a character is shown in lingerie.
I personally have seen a lot of slasher films and me being an active audience member I believe that the role of women within this film genre is changing as they are becoming more active and challenging although it could be argued that women have not completely developed as active characters in this genre as there are still some slasher films where women are portrayed as sex objects. My age and the society I live in has a major part to play in my opinion as the media portrays women as sex objects hence the saying “Sex sells”.
Media Values & Ideologies
Values and ideologies play a significant role in all films and Slasher movies are no different as there is always a message being sent out to educate and inform the audience. In this movie the message being sent out is a cruel one which can be argued that it is wrong or right. The message being that there are people in this world who are heartless and can do things as such, the main motive behind the film is to educate the audience about the past of Texas.
The values being put forward in terms of gender are that men are dominant over women. Women are portrayed being weak and helpless at most times as we see that they are crying for mercy from Sheriff Hoyt and Leather face. In the movie women are also represented as passive and promiscuous characters. Near the beginning of the film we see Diora Baird in lingerie which reinforces the point that women are still used in some Slasher films as sex objects for the male gaze. On the other hand it can also be argued that in modern day Slasher films roles of women are getting more active, for example in Texas chainsaw massacre itself the final character to be killed is a women who had been trying to rescue the rest of the characters hence this demonstrates that women are not only there for the male gaze, they also have a significant role to play.
The values being put forward in terms of gender are that men are dominant over women. Women are portrayed being weak and helpless at most times as we see that they are crying for mercy from Sheriff Hoyt and Leather face. In the movie women are also represented as passive and promiscuous characters. Near the beginning of the film we see Diora Baird in lingerie which reinforces the point that women are still used in some Slasher films as sex objects for the male gaze. On the other hand it can also be argued that in modern day Slasher films roles of women are getting more active, for example in Texas chainsaw massacre itself the final character to be killed is a women who had been trying to rescue the rest of the characters hence this demonstrates that women are not only there for the male gaze, they also have a significant role to play.
Saturday, 4 October 2008
Genre
Texas chainsaw massacre is a slasher genre film which has a sub genre of thriller. TCM being a slasher film obviously contains human flesh being cut up and eaten, on the other hand the film has elements of thrill which are shown through scenes where the victims are trying to escape but are conventionally unsuccessful.
The main generic conventions of the text firstly in terms of props would be weapons such as chainsaws, knives, guns etc. Secondly the generic conventions in terms of clothes are dirty clothes covered with blood. However in this movie there has been a noticeable cut down in the use of the chainsaw compared to the previous TCM which released in 1974. This change could be interpreted in many different ways but one of the most obvious reasons is that the increase use of guns due to the technology advancing makes the chainsaw some what a secondary tool diminishing its importance compared to the first part of the film.
As mostly given away by the film title ‘Texas chainsaw massacre’ the audience are automatically aware that it is a Slasher genre film and are already beginning to picture weapons such as chainsaws, knives etc and humans being cut up. The audience also have mercy on the characters even before they are in trouble. The film fulfils the generic expectations and treats them playfully. For example in TCM-the beginning the audience is expecting the villain (Leather face and Sheriff Hoyt) to terrorise and kill the other characters although the audience is also expecting one of the characters to escape and make an attempt to get Leather face arrested or perhaps even killing him to ensure no one in Texas has a experience like this again. The audience is rather left disappointed in terms of seeing a satisfying ending as the villain kills the final girl using a chainsaw and stays alive.
The director of the film Jonathan Liebesmen is strongly associated with the Slasher/ horror genre of movies. I can say this by looking at his carrier in the Hollywood industry so far as he has made a lot of movies associated with this genre. Jonathan started his Hollywood film making journey by directing a film called ‘Darkness Falls’ although the film did not get the very best reviews it was nominated for Best Horror/Thriller at the Teen Choice Awards in 2003. The films success brought him to the attention of Michael Bay and his production company, Platinum Dunes, who hired him to direct The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. The production proved a hit at the US box office recouping the $16 million production cost with its opening weekend gross of $18.5 million. As of 31 December 2006, the film had grossed around $50 million worldwide, including over $39.5 million in the US.
The main generic conventions of the text firstly in terms of props would be weapons such as chainsaws, knives, guns etc. Secondly the generic conventions in terms of clothes are dirty clothes covered with blood. However in this movie there has been a noticeable cut down in the use of the chainsaw compared to the previous TCM which released in 1974. This change could be interpreted in many different ways but one of the most obvious reasons is that the increase use of guns due to the technology advancing makes the chainsaw some what a secondary tool diminishing its importance compared to the first part of the film.
As mostly given away by the film title ‘Texas chainsaw massacre’ the audience are automatically aware that it is a Slasher genre film and are already beginning to picture weapons such as chainsaws, knives etc and humans being cut up. The audience also have mercy on the characters even before they are in trouble. The film fulfils the generic expectations and treats them playfully. For example in TCM-the beginning the audience is expecting the villain (Leather face and Sheriff Hoyt) to terrorise and kill the other characters although the audience is also expecting one of the characters to escape and make an attempt to get Leather face arrested or perhaps even killing him to ensure no one in Texas has a experience like this again. The audience is rather left disappointed in terms of seeing a satisfying ending as the villain kills the final girl using a chainsaw and stays alive.
The director of the film Jonathan Liebesmen is strongly associated with the Slasher/ horror genre of movies. I can say this by looking at his carrier in the Hollywood industry so far as he has made a lot of movies associated with this genre. Jonathan started his Hollywood film making journey by directing a film called ‘Darkness Falls’ although the film did not get the very best reviews it was nominated for Best Horror/Thriller at the Teen Choice Awards in 2003. The films success brought him to the attention of Michael Bay and his production company, Platinum Dunes, who hired him to direct The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. The production proved a hit at the US box office recouping the $16 million production cost with its opening weekend gross of $18.5 million. As of 31 December 2006, the film had grossed around $50 million worldwide, including over $39.5 million in the US.
Tuesday, 30 September 2008
Narrative
The main inspiration behind the film is to show the birth of the psychopath who was introduced in the first part of the film which was released in 1974. The film has a linear narrative even though the whole film is in flashback mode with the time going back to 1939 when Thomas Hewitt (Leather face) was born and the entire film is based in 1969. The linear narrative keeps the story organised which makes it easier for the audience to follow.
The audience does not have much of a relation with the narrative, unless the audience members were citizens of Texas when these horrific incidents took place. There can not be a personal relationship with the film for the masses of the audience as its set in an area of America which is considered to be quite dangerous. The audience can however relate to the text by putting themselves in the characters position.
The Heroes and villains are easy to identify as Sheriff Hoyt makes his evil intentions clear after he kills the real Sheriff and takes his uniform and later he finds Eric, Dean and their partners as victims. The main villain is Sheriff Hoyt even though leather face is the horrifying figure in the film. It almost like he is controlled by Sheriff Hoyt and does not have a brain of his own, all he has is physical strength. The film does not have a set hero or heroine from the start but we as the audience can assume that Jordana Brewster who plays Chrissie (Eric’s girlfriend) in the film is the lead heroine as she is the last one to die and much of the story revolves around her as she is not captured in the house by the Sheriff.
The main ideologies of the narrative are negative as the end of the film shows that Leather face kills the final girl as she is about to get help for survival and the voice over at the end states that this Texas family has killed 33 innocent people till date and the hunt continues. This scene demonstrates that villain wins over hero. Hence this also proves the theory of the final girl by Carol J. Clover wrong as according to that theory in Slasher films there is always a final girl remaining who kills the villain and manages to survive.
The audience does not have much of a relation with the narrative, unless the audience members were citizens of Texas when these horrific incidents took place. There can not be a personal relationship with the film for the masses of the audience as its set in an area of America which is considered to be quite dangerous. The audience can however relate to the text by putting themselves in the characters position.
The Heroes and villains are easy to identify as Sheriff Hoyt makes his evil intentions clear after he kills the real Sheriff and takes his uniform and later he finds Eric, Dean and their partners as victims. The main villain is Sheriff Hoyt even though leather face is the horrifying figure in the film. It almost like he is controlled by Sheriff Hoyt and does not have a brain of his own, all he has is physical strength. The film does not have a set hero or heroine from the start but we as the audience can assume that Jordana Brewster who plays Chrissie (Eric’s girlfriend) in the film is the lead heroine as she is the last one to die and much of the story revolves around her as she is not captured in the house by the Sheriff.
The main ideologies of the narrative are negative as the end of the film shows that Leather face kills the final girl as she is about to get help for survival and the voice over at the end states that this Texas family has killed 33 innocent people till date and the hunt continues. This scene demonstrates that villain wins over hero. Hence this also proves the theory of the final girl by Carol J. Clover wrong as according to that theory in Slasher films there is always a final girl remaining who kills the villain and manages to survive.
Media Language and Forms
In Texas chainsaw massacre- the beginning there are great levels of meaning as there are stories to be revealed within the film; however as the audience you feel some aspects are unclear for example why does the character ‘Leather face’ have such a cruel and inhuman personality.
There is a great significance of the texts connotations as that's where the mysteries within the text are unfolded, although there are some things which are left to one’s own interpretation. On the other hand there are examples in the movie of the questions being answered in the text which gives the audience satisfaction and better understanding of the entire text. For example the mystery which is revealed at the end of the film is that none of the main characters are left alive by sheriff Hoyt and leather face. Furthermore earlier on in the film there is a moment where anxiety builds up for the audience as the Protagonists try to break free from the house of horror but only a few minutes later the audience discover that breaking free from that place is almost impossible. This is one of many scenes in this film which engage the audience.
The non verbal structures of meaning like the facial expressions, props and the gestures are quite self explanatory as looking at the facial expressions of the characters the audience is able to identify and relate to the situation without the need of a dialogue. The facial expression which is most dominant in the entire film is the nervous and horrified look. The props such as chainsaw, knives, guns etc are a very important element of the film as it’s a Slasher film and weapons express the terror that words cannot. The costumes worn by the characters are very casual as they are on a road trip but once they have an accident and are taken away by Sheriff Hoyt to the house of terror all characters have some element of blood on their body and also their clothes.
The locations used in the film are very stereotypical as most Slasher films are set away from the city centre, in the countryside where hardly any human being is to be seen. The house being in such a quiet area gives it more significance and reinsures the audience that this is the house of terror where Sheriff Hoyt and Tommy terrorise their victims. Furthermore the old wooden furniture and low key lighting within the house make the location gory and horrifying.
There are many non-diegetic sounds included in the text although they are short sound effects rather than theme tunes. When there is an element of non-diegetic sound it plays an important part as it alerts the audience that something really intensive or violent is about to happen. Diegetic sound effects such as fierce movements, sound of chainsaw, character screams are also very effective in engaging the audience. Moreover the combination between the camera angles/movements and the sound is very interesting. For example there is a scene where Leather face is walking with a chainsaw, there is an extreme close up on his foot and the sound is of the chainsaw and foot steps.
There is a great significance of the texts connotations as that's where the mysteries within the text are unfolded, although there are some things which are left to one’s own interpretation. On the other hand there are examples in the movie of the questions being answered in the text which gives the audience satisfaction and better understanding of the entire text. For example the mystery which is revealed at the end of the film is that none of the main characters are left alive by sheriff Hoyt and leather face. Furthermore earlier on in the film there is a moment where anxiety builds up for the audience as the Protagonists try to break free from the house of horror but only a few minutes later the audience discover that breaking free from that place is almost impossible. This is one of many scenes in this film which engage the audience.
The non verbal structures of meaning like the facial expressions, props and the gestures are quite self explanatory as looking at the facial expressions of the characters the audience is able to identify and relate to the situation without the need of a dialogue. The facial expression which is most dominant in the entire film is the nervous and horrified look. The props such as chainsaw, knives, guns etc are a very important element of the film as it’s a Slasher film and weapons express the terror that words cannot. The costumes worn by the characters are very casual as they are on a road trip but once they have an accident and are taken away by Sheriff Hoyt to the house of terror all characters have some element of blood on their body and also their clothes.
The locations used in the film are very stereotypical as most Slasher films are set away from the city centre, in the countryside where hardly any human being is to be seen. The house being in such a quiet area gives it more significance and reinsures the audience that this is the house of terror where Sheriff Hoyt and Tommy terrorise their victims. Furthermore the old wooden furniture and low key lighting within the house make the location gory and horrifying.
There are many non-diegetic sounds included in the text although they are short sound effects rather than theme tunes. When there is an element of non-diegetic sound it plays an important part as it alerts the audience that something really intensive or violent is about to happen. Diegetic sound effects such as fierce movements, sound of chainsaw, character screams are also very effective in engaging the audience. Moreover the combination between the camera angles/movements and the sound is very interesting. For example there is a scene where Leather face is walking with a chainsaw, there is an extreme close up on his foot and the sound is of the chainsaw and foot steps.
Plot of the film
On one last road trip before they're sent to serve in Vietnam, two brothers and their girlfriends get into an accident that calls their local sheriff to the scene. Thus begins a terrifying experience where the teens are taken to a secluded house of horrors, where a young killer is being nurtured (Leather face/ Tommy). The tag line of the film is ‘Witness the birth of fear’ which relates to the film as in the beginning we are shown the past of July 1969 which witnessed the birth of Thomas Hewitt (leather face).
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
Independent study proposal
Title: How are women represented in ‘Slasher’ films and are the roles of women changing in this genre? Making particular reference to ‘Texas chainsaw massacre- the beginning’.
Hypothesis: The representations of Women have developed and changed over time due to the changes in society. However slasher films such as Texas chainsaw massacre still convey stereotypical values of women being victims, weak, helpless and in some films as sex objects.
MIGRAIN of the film trailer:
M- Long shots of the location reflect the empty space in the countryside which helps set up the narrative. Close up shots of the women tied up show how she is struggling to get herself out of this situation and facial expressions persuade the audience to imagine themselves in her position. Low key lighting and natural day light is used to make the scenes more horrific. There is both diegetic and non-diegetic sound in the trailer as there is non-diegetic sound of a heartbeat and opera singing which is used to engage the audience in watching the trailer hence also the film. The dialogues, screams are the diegetic sound.
I- New Line cinemas
G- Slasher film which is a sub genre of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer (sometimes wearing a mask) who stalks and graphically murders a series of adolescent victims in a typically random, unprovoked fashion, killing many within a single day.
R- Women are represented as being helpless victims of the psychopathic killer although there are also male victims but as they are killed or they escape in some cases really quickly, the main purpose of the film is to show the audience how the female characters struggle and ask for mercy.
A- Primary target audience is people who enjoy watching films of this particular genre. Usually most of the audience who follow this genre fall in 15-30 age group.
I- Progressive values showing women fighting back, equality.
N- A group of normal innocent citizens are on a trip but they find themselves in trouble after trusting a psychopath and they are tortured and then killed perhaps brutally.
Wider Contexts (SHEP):
In order to look at why and how the representations of women have changed I would be studying things such as: Feminism and also looking at the history of slasher films in detail focusing particularly on the representation of women in the early slasher films and how it has changed over the years.
Theories/theorists:
I will be making reference to some of the theorists I already know such as Laura Mulvey, Levi Strauss and Propp. However I will also be researching some new theories and theorists that would relate specifically to my topic for example Carol J Clover who is known for her theory of “final girl” in slasher films.
Other texts relevant:
I will be relating Texas chainsaw massacre- the beginning to its first part which was released in 1976 and also other previous and recent slasher films such as Hostel.
Hypothesis: The representations of Women have developed and changed over time due to the changes in society. However slasher films such as Texas chainsaw massacre still convey stereotypical values of women being victims, weak, helpless and in some films as sex objects.
MIGRAIN of the film trailer:
M- Long shots of the location reflect the empty space in the countryside which helps set up the narrative. Close up shots of the women tied up show how she is struggling to get herself out of this situation and facial expressions persuade the audience to imagine themselves in her position. Low key lighting and natural day light is used to make the scenes more horrific. There is both diegetic and non-diegetic sound in the trailer as there is non-diegetic sound of a heartbeat and opera singing which is used to engage the audience in watching the trailer hence also the film. The dialogues, screams are the diegetic sound.
I- New Line cinemas
G- Slasher film which is a sub genre of horror film typically involving a psychopathic killer (sometimes wearing a mask) who stalks and graphically murders a series of adolescent victims in a typically random, unprovoked fashion, killing many within a single day.
R- Women are represented as being helpless victims of the psychopathic killer although there are also male victims but as they are killed or they escape in some cases really quickly, the main purpose of the film is to show the audience how the female characters struggle and ask for mercy.
A- Primary target audience is people who enjoy watching films of this particular genre. Usually most of the audience who follow this genre fall in 15-30 age group.
I- Progressive values showing women fighting back, equality.
N- A group of normal innocent citizens are on a trip but they find themselves in trouble after trusting a psychopath and they are tortured and then killed perhaps brutally.
Wider Contexts (SHEP):
In order to look at why and how the representations of women have changed I would be studying things such as: Feminism and also looking at the history of slasher films in detail focusing particularly on the representation of women in the early slasher films and how it has changed over the years.
Theories/theorists:
I will be making reference to some of the theorists I already know such as Laura Mulvey, Levi Strauss and Propp. However I will also be researching some new theories and theorists that would relate specifically to my topic for example Carol J Clover who is known for her theory of “final girl” in slasher films.
Other texts relevant:
I will be relating Texas chainsaw massacre- the beginning to its first part which was released in 1976 and also other previous and recent slasher films such as Hostel.
Wednesday, 2 July 2008
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