Lego Movie
24/04/2019
1- Find out the process behind how a film is produced, distributed, marketed and exhibited.
2- What is a conglomerate?
A media conglomerate describes companies that own large numbers of companies in various mass media such as television, radio, publishing, movies, and the Internet. It is also referred to as media institutions and media groups.
3- Who are the 'Big Six' Hollywood film studios?
4- Who regulates films in the UK?
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), previously the British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, founded by the film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films exhibited at cinemas and video works.
5- Which two main companies produced The Lego Movie?
Warner Brothers and Lin
6- Who produced of The Lego Movie?
Dan Lin and Roy Lee
7- Who directed The Lego Movie?
Chris Miller and Phil Lord
8- How was The lego movie funded?
Half was funded by Warner Brothers and half by Village Roadshow
9- Who distributed The Lego Movie?
Warner Brothers
26/04/2019
Plot Summary:
A regular person gets told that they are very special and have the ability to reshape the future and save the world from evil.
Main Character:
The main character is Emmet and is a very ordinary character who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. He gets told that he is special and has the ability to save the world so he goes and tries to but along the way he realises he can do anything if he believes in himself.
Message:
Everyone is special in their own way and difference is good.
Warner Bros. Characters:
10/05/2019
Similarities between The lego Movie and The Matrix:
Locations: The Lego Movie is set in a city that is controlled by the people that play with the lego whereas The Matrix is an imaginary world controlled by AI.
Main Character: In both movies the main character is normal and unknowing but then, as the movie goes on, get told that they can save the world from evil and become heroes.
Themes/ Messages: In both movies, the message is that you can be whoever you want to be and that everyone is special.
Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the intertextual relationship between The Matrix and The Lego Movie:
15/05/2019
Postmodernism:
The Lego Movie is a postmodernist film because it challenges genre conventions by by being a mixture of comedy, action and fantasy. Emmet and Wildstyle also challenge the typical 'hero and sidekick' duo stereotypes as Wildstyle is the sidekick but does most of the heroic acts whereas Emmet is the hero but acts more like the sidekick. Also, The lego Movie is a pastiche of The Matrix as both have common themes and similar characters. The Lego Movie is also use hyper-reality as the settings and characters are made out of lego which makes the audience aware that they are watching a movie as it is unrealistic.
21/05/2019
The movie targets a FAMILY AUDIENCE which can be split in to the following three groups:
Emmet as Chris Pratt
Wyldstyle as Elizabeth Banks
Batman as Will Arnett
President Business as Will Ferrell
Vitruvius as Morgan Freeman
Good/ Bad Cop as Liam Neeson
Benny as Charlie Day
Unikitty as Alison Brie
Audience Profile:
Demographics include: Age/ Gender, Race, Location and Employment Status.
Psychographics include: Personality, Values, Attitudes, Interests and Lifestyles.
05/06/2019
What is a 'tent-pole' production?
In broadcast programming and motion pictures, a tent-pole or tentpole is a movie that supports the financial performance of a movie studio. It is expected to bring in a large profit to help fund new projects.
Why was The Lego Movie one?
Because Warner Bros. needed it to create a large profit off The Lego Movie to fund future projects such as merchandise and future Lego Movie productions.
What are the benefits of that for Warner Bros. ?
- Funds new movies
- Supports new genres and directors that the studio has not yet released or are unknown
- Gives more money to market new movies
Types of Marketing:
- Happy meals (deals with other companies)
- Trailers (theatrical and teaser)
- Posters (billboards, cinema posters...)
- Social Media
- Lego products (merchandise)
- Radio adverts
Tie-in-Merchandise (at the same time the movie was released):
- 117 new lego world sets
- 16 collectable mini figures
- The Lego Movie video game
- Stationary (school supplies, watches...)
- Sticker and activity books
Promotion:
- Each week in January 2014, a new character poster was released.
- Lego Stores schedules linked events.
- Free accessory packs were available in-store after building creative models in-stores.
- Video Game release 4th February (10 days before movie) to get more young adults to watch.
- On 7th February, McDonalds released collectible 3D cups with happy meals.
- Whole 5 min TV add break.
- Social media pages (fan of the week)
- Cinema stands.
Integration:
- Horizontal Integration is when the parent company owns multiple companies at the same stage of the film industry. Therefore they have to rely on other companies to get their project out into the world. They have to share their profits with the other companies.
- Vertical Integration is where a parent company owns multiple companies at different stages of the film industry (eg. production, distribution and cinema) so they don't have to share profits with any other companies.
1- Whats the name of a company that owns lots of smaller companies?
- A conglomerate
2- What is the benefit of being one of these?
- The company owns everything they need to produce, distribute and show their product so none of the profit is given to outside companies. Also, a conglomerate that owns different types of media companies (eg. television, news...) have the ability to influence the public more effectively. Warner Bros. owns a production company, a distribution company and a cinema company so they could effectively create and distribute the Lego Movie while keeping the majority of the profit.
3- Why is synergy a good thing?
- Because it benefits all the companies involved in the deal as all companies are promoting each others product.
4- What is it called when a single company owns both the production and distribution stage of a media product?
- Vertical Intergration.
5- What's the advantages of doing this?
- parent company makes more money as no profit is going to outside companies.
6- What is a 'tent-pole' production?
- A movie that is expected to be very successful and produce a large profit for future productions.
7- What is the advantage of this for the production company?
- Allows production company to produce more risky projects (new directors and genres) that would not get much funding from external sources.
11/09/2019
1-What do TV adverts normally show?- They usually show some kind of trailer.
2- How are they different to the theatrical trailers?- TV trailers are normally much shorter than the theatrical trailers seen in the cinema. They cant be as long because the longer the advert is on for the more it costs.
3- When would you show The Lego movie adverts?- Between 6 and 8 on mainstream channels such as itv for family programmes that families watch together.
- In Dancing on Ice at 7.27pm on Sunday 9th February 2014 -five days before the movie launched- ITV broadcast a world first, an ad break made entirely out of LEGO...
- British Heart Foundation, Confused.com, BT and Premier Inn (current popular ads at the time).
- The popular ads were recreated brick by brick frame by frame in LEGO.
- At the same time it was broadcast, the whole ad break was released on youtube so it could be shared on social media and people who hadn't seen it could watch it.
- After the ad break was dropped the amount of hashtag the lego movie increased 5x.
- Nearly 6m saw it live on TV with 1.1m seeking it out on youtube within a week (all of the views were achieved organically with NO paid-for digital optimisation.
- The break was captured in the press where it was written about in over 60 different consumer and trade publications.
- The movie ended no.1 in the box office charts in 2014. The most successful movie if the year.
The Lego Movie ad break was so successful because it had never been done before. It captured the attention of the different target audiences (children, young adults and adults) because the variety of different adverts recreated out of lego were aimed at different target audiences. The British Heart Foundation advert was aimed at older teens and adults. The Confused.com advert was aimed at young adults who were starting to drive and getting insurance. The BT advert was aimed at adults as was the Premier Inn advert. The children were interested because of the use of LEGO. The ad break was so successful as it was broadcast at peak time (7.27pm) in the middle of Dancing on Ice on ITV it was seen by nearly 6 million people live. At the same time it was broadcast on TV, it was dropped on youtube allowing an extra 1.1 million people to who had not seen it on TV to watch it and for it to be shared on shared. This created an organically produced social media presence without paid for digital optimisation. It broke marketing boundaries as people had never seen something like this being done before and it caught peoples attention.
11/09/2019
Denotations:
25/09/2019
Typically Male:
Men: Media Representation:
1- What is the advert/ magazine cover trying to sell/promote?- Hugo Boss mens aftershave. Target audience of the advert is successful, rich men or men who care about their appearances.
2- What can you denote?- Man in a suit looking smart standing in front of city skyscrapers.
3- What are the connotations in the advert?- Men are successful and serious. New York City- Business, wealth, style. Suit- Businessman, power, wealth, status. Hashtag man of today- men can be strong and powerful as well as care about their appearance.
4- How are men represented? What stereotypes are used?- Men are represented as successful, important, serious and smart.
5- Who is in the picture?- Chris Hemsworth- Hero, physically strong, attractive to women. Known for strong physical roles and being a family man.
1- What is the advert/ magazine cover trying to sell/promote?- Joop! aftershave.
2- What can you denote?- There is a muscular man being held by a woman. The woman is holding the pink aftershave that is being promoted in her hand.
3- What are the connotations in the advert?- The slogan real men wear pink- men can still be manly and show their emotions. If you wear this women will find you sexually attractive.
4- How are men represented? What stereotypes are used?- Men are strong and attractive.
Women: Media Representation:
1- What is the advert/ magazine cover trying to sell/promote?- Trying to sell the magazine to a target audience of men.
2- What can you denote?- There are four women in the cover in their underwear circling around a man.
3- What are the connotations in the advert?- Women are seen as sex objects. Men are more important than women and are just there to do what the man tells them to. The man is in the middle.
4- How are women represented? What stereotypes are used?- Women are represented as sex objects there for men. Women have no value compared to men.
In the 70's Laura Mulvey came up with the 'male gaze' theory saying that all products are there for men to look at.
1- What is the advert/ magazine cover trying to sell/promote?- A game wth a strong female lead character.
2- What can you denote?- The woman is holding a gun ad has a bow and arrow. She is dirty.
3- What are the connotations in the advert?- Women are not just there as an object for men but are independent and have a value in society.
4- How are women represented? What stereotypes are used?- The woman is represented as strong and independent which is an anti-stereotype as women are usually portrayed as weak and needy. However, she is still sexualised as the target audience is male.
Representations of men and women in the media are very different. Men are often portrayed as strong and successful leaders. However, women are often portrayed as weak and feeble and as a sex symbol for men. Women in the media have been sexualised for men using the 'male gaze' theory.
27/09/2019
Analyse how GENDER is represented in the poster campaign for The Lego Movie.
In The Lego Movie theatrical poster, gender is represented in a variety of different ways using different stereotypes. The poster combats gender inequalities by having a strong female lead character. The main female character, Wyldstyle, is not presented as the typical 'damsel in destress' found in typical action films but as strong and independent. This is unusual as the media usually presents women as weak and feeble and unable to think for themselves. The colour palette that has been selected for Wyldstyle also does not follow normal gender conventions as women are usually portrayed in lighter colours whereas Wyldstyle has been represented in darker colours for example the bright blue and pink stripes in her hair. Although femininity has been presented by enhancing Wyldstyle's lips and eyelashes, the stereotype connected to the character is 'emo'. Emmet, the main male character has been represented as comedic, which is unusual as the main male character in action movies is usually serious. The media usually represents men as successful leaders however, at the beginning of the movie, Wyldstyle acts more like a leader than Emmet (the main male character). This challenges gender conventions as men are usually portrayed to be more like leaders than women. Emmet follows the stereotype of the hero. In the media, men are often portrayed as successful and heroes. In the poster, this is not how Emmet is portrayed. He is represented as a regular person. He is a builder- as suggested by the yellow jacket he is wearing in the poster.
Peer Assessed by Zoe
WWW: You described the representation of make and female and identified the stereotypes and you used correct SPAG
EBI: You would use some more examples from the poster for Emmet.
Additions
11/10/2019
UK Regulators:
Analyse how the uses and gratifications offered by The Lego Movie Video Game are reflected in the cover. (10 marks)-
The Lego Movie Video Game reflects uses and gratifications using the Blumler and Kats Theory. The fact that the game is of fantasy genre; set in another world made of lego, therefore creates a source of entertainment to the audience and is one reason why people choose to play the game. As the game provides entertainment, it creates a distraction from the world making it an easy way to relax and have fun. The game is a source of creative entertainment as it allows the player to build their own creations put of Lego. The audience may choose to play the game after watching the movie to gather further information surrounding the plots and characters. As well as satisfying the needs of the consumer, Warner Brothers, who produced both the game and movie would earn profit through this. Another reason why people may choose to play the Lego Movie Video game is due to the source of social interaction it provides. Since the game has a multiplayer mode, it allows players to play together, thus sharing skills and information about the game adding to the overall enjoyment of the game. As the game uses lots of different stereotypes, making the characters likeable and easy for the audience to relate to. This could challenge the audience to think about their own personal identity and what they find important. The game could also provide, to those who have watched the film, new information about the storyline and characters.
Industry Research
Learning Objective: To research the process, companies and regulators behind the film industry.1- Find out the process behind how a film is produced, distributed, marketed and exhibited.
2- What is a conglomerate?
A media conglomerate describes companies that own large numbers of companies in various mass media such as television, radio, publishing, movies, and the Internet. It is also referred to as media institutions and media groups.
3- Who are the 'Big Six' Hollywood film studios?
- 20th Century Fox
- Warner Bros
- Paramount Pictures
- Sony
- Universal Pictures
- Walt Disney Pictures
4- Who regulates films in the UK?
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), previously the British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation, founded by the film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films exhibited at cinemas and video works.
5- Which two main companies produced The Lego Movie?
Warner Brothers and Lin
6- Who produced of The Lego Movie?
Dan Lin and Roy Lee
7- Who directed The Lego Movie?
Chris Miller and Phil Lord
8- How was The lego movie funded?
Half was funded by Warner Brothers and half by Village Roadshow
9- Who distributed The Lego Movie?
Warner Brothers
26/04/2019
Intertextuality
Learning Objective: To explore the intertextuality of The Lego Movie.Plot Summary:
A regular person gets told that they are very special and have the ability to reshape the future and save the world from evil.
Main Character:
The main character is Emmet and is a very ordinary character who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. He gets told that he is special and has the ability to save the world so he goes and tries to but along the way he realises he can do anything if he believes in himself.
Message:
Everyone is special in their own way and difference is good.
Warner Bros. Characters:
- Batman
- Wonder Woman
- Superman
- Dumbledore
- Green Lantern
- Ninja Turtle
- Gandalf
- Green Ninja
Voices of Main Characters:
- Chris Pratt as Emmet
- Elizabeth Banks as Wildstyle
- Morgan Freeman as Virivus
- Will Ferrell as Lord Business
- Will Arnett as Batman
- Charlie Day as Benny
01/05/2019
Design Task
Learning Objective: To demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the industry bodies involved in The Lego Movie and the wider context and impact of the movie.
Work so far...
10/05/2019
Intertextuality
Learning Objective: To explore the intertextuality of The Lego Movie.Similarities between The lego Movie and The Matrix:
Locations: The Lego Movie is set in a city that is controlled by the people that play with the lego whereas The Matrix is an imaginary world controlled by AI.
Main Character: In both movies the main character is normal and unknowing but then, as the movie goes on, get told that they can save the world from evil and become heroes.
Themes/ Messages: In both movies, the message is that you can be whoever you want to be and that everyone is special.
The target audience of The Matrix is teenagers and adults whereas the target audience of The Lego movie if children. An advantage is that by being related to The Matrix, The Lego Movie could draw in an audience of older people as well as the children it is aimed at.
15/05/2019
Postmodernism:
The Lego Movie is a postmodernist film because it challenges genre conventions by by being a mixture of comedy, action and fantasy. Emmet and Wildstyle also challenge the typical 'hero and sidekick' duo stereotypes as Wildstyle is the sidekick but does most of the heroic acts whereas Emmet is the hero but acts more like the sidekick. Also, The lego Movie is a pastiche of The Matrix as both have common themes and similar characters. The Lego Movie is also use hyper-reality as the settings and characters are made out of lego which makes the audience aware that they are watching a movie as it is unrealistic.
21/05/2019
Target Audience
Learning Objective: To identify the target audience using demographics and psychographics.The movie targets a FAMILY AUDIENCE which can be split in to the following three groups:
- Young kids who play with Lego- This movie would appeal to kids who play with Lego because by watching the film they can see their favourite lego characters come alive. Also, it has lots of colourful scenes and characters which would appeal to a younger audience.
- Parents who played with Lego when they were young- Might enjoy it because it could remind them of when they were children. May also prompt them to buy lego sets for their children or new ones for themselves which would boost lego profits.
- Both Genders- Has both strong male and female lead characters.
Cast List:
Emmet as Chris Pratt
Wyldstyle as Elizabeth Banks
Batman as Will Arnett
President Business as Will Ferrell
Vitruvius as Morgan Freeman
Good/ Bad Cop as Liam Neeson
Benny as Charlie Day
Unikitty as Alison Brie
Audience Profile:
Demographics include: Age/ Gender, Race, Location and Employment Status.
Psychographics include: Personality, Values, Attitudes, Interests and Lifestyles.
- Age: 5-13 (and anyone who plays with Lego)
- Gender: All genders
- Location: Worldwide
- Race: Any race
- Employment Status: Mostly unemployed (children)
- Personality: Creative
- Interests: Building objects out of Lego
- Class: B-D
05/06/2019
Marketing
Learning Objective: To explore marketing and promotion of The Lego Movie and to link methods to the target audience.What is a 'tent-pole' production?
In broadcast programming and motion pictures, a tent-pole or tentpole is a movie that supports the financial performance of a movie studio. It is expected to bring in a large profit to help fund new projects.
Why was The Lego Movie one?
Because Warner Bros. needed it to create a large profit off The Lego Movie to fund future projects such as merchandise and future Lego Movie productions.
What are the benefits of that for Warner Bros. ?
- Funds new movies
- Supports new genres and directors that the studio has not yet released or are unknown
- Gives more money to market new movies
Types of Marketing:
- Happy meals (deals with other companies)
- Trailers (theatrical and teaser)
- Posters (billboards, cinema posters...)
- Social Media
- Lego products (merchandise)
- Radio adverts
Tie-in-Merchandise (at the same time the movie was released):
- 117 new lego world sets
- 16 collectable mini figures
- The Lego Movie video game
- Stationary (school supplies, watches...)
- Sticker and activity books
Promotion:
- Each week in January 2014, a new character poster was released.
- Lego Stores schedules linked events.
- Free accessory packs were available in-store after building creative models in-stores.
- Video Game release 4th February (10 days before movie) to get more young adults to watch.
- On 7th February, McDonalds released collectible 3D cups with happy meals.
- Whole 5 min TV add break.
- Social media pages (fan of the week)
- Cinema stands.
Integration:
- Horizontal Integration is when the parent company owns multiple companies at the same stage of the film industry. Therefore they have to rely on other companies to get their project out into the world. They have to share their profits with the other companies.
- Vertical Integration is where a parent company owns multiple companies at different stages of the film industry (eg. production, distribution and cinema) so they don't have to share profits with any other companies.
1- Whats the name of a company that owns lots of smaller companies?
- A conglomerate
2- What is the benefit of being one of these?
- The company owns everything they need to produce, distribute and show their product so none of the profit is given to outside companies. Also, a conglomerate that owns different types of media companies (eg. television, news...) have the ability to influence the public more effectively. Warner Bros. owns a production company, a distribution company and a cinema company so they could effectively create and distribute the Lego Movie while keeping the majority of the profit.
3- Why is synergy a good thing?
- Because it benefits all the companies involved in the deal as all companies are promoting each others product.
4- What is it called when a single company owns both the production and distribution stage of a media product?
- Vertical Intergration.
5- What's the advantages of doing this?
- parent company makes more money as no profit is going to outside companies.
6- What is a 'tent-pole' production?
- A movie that is expected to be very successful and produce a large profit for future productions.
7- What is the advantage of this for the production company?
- Allows production company to produce more risky projects (new directors and genres) that would not get much funding from external sources.
11/09/2019
TV Advertising
Learning Objective: To evaluate the methods used to market The Lego Movie; to link the methods to the target audience.1-What do TV adverts normally show?- They usually show some kind of trailer.
2- How are they different to the theatrical trailers?- TV trailers are normally much shorter than the theatrical trailers seen in the cinema. They cant be as long because the longer the advert is on for the more it costs.
3- When would you show The Lego movie adverts?- Between 6 and 8 on mainstream channels such as itv for family programmes that families watch together.
- In Dancing on Ice at 7.27pm on Sunday 9th February 2014 -five days before the movie launched- ITV broadcast a world first, an ad break made entirely out of LEGO...
- British Heart Foundation, Confused.com, BT and Premier Inn (current popular ads at the time).
- The popular ads were recreated brick by brick frame by frame in LEGO.
- At the same time it was broadcast, the whole ad break was released on youtube so it could be shared on social media and people who hadn't seen it could watch it.
- After the ad break was dropped the amount of hashtag the lego movie increased 5x.
- Nearly 6m saw it live on TV with 1.1m seeking it out on youtube within a week (all of the views were achieved organically with NO paid-for digital optimisation.
- The break was captured in the press where it was written about in over 60 different consumer and trade publications.
- The movie ended no.1 in the box office charts in 2014. The most successful movie if the year.
The Lego Movie ad break was so successful because it had never been done before. It captured the attention of the different target audiences (children, young adults and adults) because the variety of different adverts recreated out of lego were aimed at different target audiences. The British Heart Foundation advert was aimed at older teens and adults. The Confused.com advert was aimed at young adults who were starting to drive and getting insurance. The BT advert was aimed at adults as was the Premier Inn advert. The children were interested because of the use of LEGO. The ad break was so successful as it was broadcast at peak time (7.27pm) in the middle of Dancing on Ice on ITV it was seen by nearly 6 million people live. At the same time it was broadcast on TV, it was dropped on youtube allowing an extra 1.1 million people to who had not seen it on TV to watch it and for it to be shared on shared. This created an organically produced social media presence without paid for digital optimisation. It broke marketing boundaries as people had never seen something like this being done before and it caught peoples attention.
11/09/2019
Video Game
Learning Objective: To explain how vertical integration benefits companies; to analyse using Uses and Gratification theory.
Find 5 examples of recent film/video game releases:
- Lego Batman
- Harry Potter
- Star Wars
- Jurassic Park
- Jumanji
Film companies release video games based on their movies simultaneously to increase their profit and widen their target audience. It also saves the film company (Warner Brothers) money and they can cross-promote their products.
Simultaneous Releases:
Simultaneous Releases:
- Maximised profit- the promotion of the film will create awareness in potential customers of the game.
- Familiarity
- Extends the pleasure of the film
- The game promotes the film, the film promotes the game.
Four reasons why people select certain media products over each other: (Blumler and Katz's theory)-
1- Personal identity- helps us consider who we are; what ideas of values we identify with
2- Information/ Education- new info we want to know or take pleasure in knowing.
3- Entertainment- offers distraction from the world.
4- Social interaction- we find things we can share and discuss with others.
Explain how the product The Lego Movie video game image is constructed to appeal to its target audience.
The Lego Movie game cover is constructed to appeal to the target audience using a variety of different techniques. The cover overall is very colourful due to a very broad, vibrant colour palette that would catch the eye of children (the target audience). The logo of the game of made of lego bricks, as is the setting of the cover. This would suggest to the target audience that the game is fantasy. Fantasy games appeal to the target audience as they are set in a different world and can therefore provide a distraction from the real world. There is a broad range of characters to appeal to different genders and stereotypes of people. This would appeal to the target audience as people will be able to connect and emphasise with the characters making the game more enjoyable. An idea is shown as important on the cover is that you can be whoever you want to be this is shown by having Emmet holding a blue spanner larger than all the other props on the cover conveying it is important. A spanner has connotations of building fixing and creating new things or making things better. This appeals to the target audience as young people (the target audience) are often enjoy being creative and therefore would enjoy playing the game. This is shown by Emmet being a 'normal' person but also being the hero leading everyone away from evil. Having Emmet and Wyldstyle at the front also symbolises teamwork and that the game is for all genders. By releasing the video game and the movie simultaneously, the company (Warner Brothers) have to spend less on promotion and marketing as the game promotes the film and the film promotes the game.
13/07/2019
Poster Campaign
Learning Objective: To explain the effectiveness of the campaign and to analyse the poster campaign.
Denotations:
- The man at the back has headphones in
- There is a red car in the road in a police chase
- The man on the right is holding a large gun
- The woman wearing pink is holding a gun
- The man at the front is making a gun gesture with his hand and has a gun tattoo
- The woman in the middle is looking serious as is the man at the back
- There are four man and two women
- They all have intense expressions
Connotations:
- There are lots of guns suggesting that the movie is violent
- There is a car in a police chase suggesting crime and action
- All of the characters have serious expressions which gives the idea that the movie is intense
- The man is listening to music as a distraction
- It is an action movie
- The style of the poster suggests it is an in an old style movie.
The Lego Movie theatrical film poster is constructed to appeal to its three different target audiences (children, teenagers and adults). The poster appeals to all three target audiences as it is uses a bright, eye-catching colour palette that would suggest that the genre of the movie id fantasy. Fantasy genre appeals to all target audiences as it provides distraction from the real world. However, in the background, behind the characters, there is fire suggesting the movie is also action. The film used a wide variety of characters from different time periods. For instance, the movie uses intertextually as it used older DC superheroes (Superman and Batman) that would be recognised by adults as he is an older character that was around when they were children. The tagline 'the story of a nobody who saved everybody' also appeals to adults as most of them will be from the working class. The expression that Emmet is making on his face would appeal to children as it is comedic.
Representation
Learning Objective: To investigate the ways in which the media represents gender.Typically Male:
- Personality Traits: Not much emotion, immature, hero figures
- Behaviours: Either stupid or intelligent, reckless, more likely to be violent, leader
- Occupations: Manual or high status jobs and hero figures (policeman, fireman)
- Appearance: Muscular, tall, facial hair
Typically Female:
- Personality Traits: Emotional, assistants/ sidekick
- Behaviours: Weaker than men, protected, motherly, sensitive
- Occupations: Mother, less high status jobs than men, caring
- Appearance: Pretty
Men: Media Representation:
1- What is the advert/ magazine cover trying to sell/promote?- Hugo Boss mens aftershave. Target audience of the advert is successful, rich men or men who care about their appearances.
2- What can you denote?- Man in a suit looking smart standing in front of city skyscrapers.
3- What are the connotations in the advert?- Men are successful and serious. New York City- Business, wealth, style. Suit- Businessman, power, wealth, status. Hashtag man of today- men can be strong and powerful as well as care about their appearance.
4- How are men represented? What stereotypes are used?- Men are represented as successful, important, serious and smart.
5- Who is in the picture?- Chris Hemsworth- Hero, physically strong, attractive to women. Known for strong physical roles and being a family man.
1- What is the advert/ magazine cover trying to sell/promote?- Joop! aftershave.
2- What can you denote?- There is a muscular man being held by a woman. The woman is holding the pink aftershave that is being promoted in her hand.
3- What are the connotations in the advert?- The slogan real men wear pink- men can still be manly and show their emotions. If you wear this women will find you sexually attractive.
4- How are men represented? What stereotypes are used?- Men are strong and attractive.
Women: Media Representation:
1- What is the advert/ magazine cover trying to sell/promote?- Trying to sell the magazine to a target audience of men.
2- What can you denote?- There are four women in the cover in their underwear circling around a man.
3- What are the connotations in the advert?- Women are seen as sex objects. Men are more important than women and are just there to do what the man tells them to. The man is in the middle.
4- How are women represented? What stereotypes are used?- Women are represented as sex objects there for men. Women have no value compared to men.
In the 70's Laura Mulvey came up with the 'male gaze' theory saying that all products are there for men to look at.
1- What is the advert/ magazine cover trying to sell/promote?- A game wth a strong female lead character.
2- What can you denote?- The woman is holding a gun ad has a bow and arrow. She is dirty.
3- What are the connotations in the advert?- Women are not just there as an object for men but are independent and have a value in society.
4- How are women represented? What stereotypes are used?- The woman is represented as strong and independent which is an anti-stereotype as women are usually portrayed as weak and needy. However, she is still sexualised as the target audience is male.
Representations of men and women in the media are very different. Men are often portrayed as strong and successful leaders. However, women are often portrayed as weak and feeble and as a sex symbol for men. Women in the media have been sexualised for men using the 'male gaze' theory.
27/09/2019
Poster Campaign
Learning Objective: To explain the effectiveness of the campaign; to analyse the poster campaign.Analyse how GENDER is represented in the poster campaign for The Lego Movie.
In The Lego Movie theatrical poster, gender is represented in a variety of different ways using different stereotypes. The poster combats gender inequalities by having a strong female lead character. The main female character, Wyldstyle, is not presented as the typical 'damsel in destress' found in typical action films but as strong and independent. This is unusual as the media usually presents women as weak and feeble and unable to think for themselves. The colour palette that has been selected for Wyldstyle also does not follow normal gender conventions as women are usually portrayed in lighter colours whereas Wyldstyle has been represented in darker colours for example the bright blue and pink stripes in her hair. Although femininity has been presented by enhancing Wyldstyle's lips and eyelashes, the stereotype connected to the character is 'emo'. Emmet, the main male character has been represented as comedic, which is unusual as the main male character in action movies is usually serious. The media usually represents men as successful leaders however, at the beginning of the movie, Wyldstyle acts more like a leader than Emmet (the main male character). This challenges gender conventions as men are usually portrayed to be more like leaders than women. Emmet follows the stereotype of the hero. In the media, men are often portrayed as successful and heroes. In the poster, this is not how Emmet is portrayed. He is represented as a regular person. He is a builder- as suggested by the yellow jacket he is wearing in the poster.
Peer Assessed by Zoe
WWW: You described the representation of make and female and identified the stereotypes and you used correct SPAG
EBI: You would use some more examples from the poster for Emmet.
Additions
Propp's Spheres of Action:
11/10/2019
Put It All Together
Learning Objective: To explore exam style questions and how to answer them effectively.UK Regulators:
- Film (including trailers): British Board Film Classification (BBFC)
- TV and Radio: OFCOM
- Advertising: Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)
- Magazines and Newspapers: Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), IMPRESS
- Video Games: Video Standards Council (VSC)
Four reasons why people select certain media products over each other: (Blumler and Katz's theory)-
1- Personal identity- helps us consider who we are; what ideas of values we identify with
2- Information/ Education- new info we want to know or take pleasure in knowing.
3- Entertainment- offers distraction from the world.
4- Social interaction- we find things we can share and discuss with others.
Exam Format:
Exam Format:
- 4 Questions- (2 short and 2 long answer questions)
- Question 1- 1 or 2 marks (simple fact question)
- Question 2- 4 marks (2 clearly explained reasons)
- Questions 3 and 4- 10 marks (longer answers using Lego Movie as an example- explain 2 or more uses and gratifications, showing clear demonstration of knowledge, accurate terminology, answer supported with examples)
Analyse how the uses and gratifications offered by The Lego Movie Video Game are reflected in the cover. (10 marks)-
Research - detailed and thorough
ReplyDeleteIntertextuality - good understanding of both the Lego Movie and the Matrix.
Intertextuality Q - A bit short! EBI: you support your ideas with examples from the films.
Postmodernism - good understanding of concept shown
Propp - where is it???
TV ADVERT: details understood
ReplyDeleteVIDEO GAME ANALYSIS:
WWW - You've identified different elements and explained why they've been used
DIRT - Explain HOW they will appeal to the TA
VG DIRT - excellent!
ReplyDeletePoster campaign - again - great analysis
Representation Analysis:
WWW - you've mainly used accurate media terminology
DIRT - use the word CONNOTES/CONNOTATIONS and try to focus on what the poster shows, not what we know from the film.
Exam Practice:
ReplyDeleteWWW - Excellent analysis that includes detailed references
DIRT - Finish it!