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.
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