District 9

Discuss issues of representation of Gender and Race?


Discuss how typical the text is of it's Genre?
The text is typical of it's genre as it contains typical science fiction conventions used within classic science fiction films. These conventions are the narrative themes of aliens and humans co-existing, new techinologies and consequences, trasformation/ body horror; the use of advanced scientific events within a fictional narrative to propose and discuss a real life moral debate and traditional iconography. The scene justifications of each of these conventions are:

• Narrative themes of aliens and humans co-existing - district 9, new technologies and consequences - weapons, transformation/ body horror - Wickus turning into alien. 

How is this film Post Modern?
The film District 9 is a Post-Modern film as it is a hybrid and pays homage to other Sci-Fi texts. District 9 is a hybrid genre as it mixes the two genres of Science Fiction and Documentary Style together. Justifying this, the science fiction is portrayed through aliens, a key part in a science fiction text and documentary style is portrayed through stock footage such as news reports and found footage waiting to be used. District 9 pays homage to other Science Fiction texts such as 'The Fly', in particular the scenes where Wickus bites off his finger nails and where Wickus looks up at the Koobus Venter before he attempts to shoot Wickus, this happens in 'The Fly' when the man is frothing at the mouth.

What is the contextual cultural content in the text?

Made In Chelsea - 'Rah' and 'Sloane Ranger'

Sloane Ranger

The term Sloane Ranger (often shortened to Sloane or less frequently Sloanie) refers to a stereotype in the UK of young, upper class or upper-middle-class women, or men who share distinctive and common lifestyle traits. The term is a punning portmanteau of "Sloane Square", a location in Chelsea, London famed for the wealth of residents and frequenters, and the television Westerns character The Lone Ranger.

Initially the term "Sloane Ranger" was used mostly in reference to women, a particular archetype being Diana, Princess of Wales. However, the term now usually includes men. Male Sloanes have also been referred to as "Rahs" and "Hooray Henrys". The term Sloane Ranger has similar related terms in other countries: in France they are called 'BCBG' (bon chic, bon genre).

Rah

Rah is a pejorative term referring to a stereotypical affluent young upper class or upper-middle class person (male or female) in the United Kingdom. The characteristics of a rah are similar to those of the Sloane Ranger stereotype also recognised in the UK. Although a rah is generally younger, typically around university age (18–25). An important feature of the rah stereotype is the enjoyment of an affluent/party lifestyle with excessive financial assistance from their parents.

Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloane_Ranger and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rah_(slang)

To what extent are your chosen texts typical of their genre?

Sin City - Clip 4

Sin City is a postmodern text which is a typical hybrid consisting of the two genres, the Film Noir and Comic Book genres. Sin City has typical Film Noir genre and contain conventions that define it as a Film Noir text. The first convention of this text is that the character Dwight is a cynical protaganist. In the text, we see Dwight driving from Old Town getting ready to dump the car in the Tar Pits as it has dead bodies in that the girls from Old Town have just killed. Dwight is a cynical protaganist as he is paranoid about death, this occurs when dwight is driving the car and one of the dead characters in particular 'Jackie Boy' speaks to him and tells him he is not going to get away with it. This relates to the Cold War as men didn't know if the war was going to start again and they didn't know if they were going to die. The second convention is femme-fatale, this occurs in Sin City when the women from old town complain that they don't want to be controlled by men again as they like their own power, this relates to females at the time of WW2 as they had power when the men went to war and when the men came back they did not want to lose this power. The typical film noir convention of a voice over narration also occurs in the text.  The use of voice over narration gives the viewer first person perspective, the voice over describes the scene and the characters emotions and opinions. This convention is used in the text when Dwight is driving the car from Old Town to the Tar Pits and he is narrating in his head what he is going to do about the bodies. This gives us insight into what he is thinking and how he feels about the situation he is in.

Fish Tank Conventions

Social Realist Conventions

Narrow-Depth-Of-Film - Narrow-Depth-Of-Field is used in the film Fish Tank (2009). This is typical of it's genre as we see from the viewpoint of the protaganist, in this case, Mia. We see from Mia's view. Narrow-Depth-Of-Film takes place when Mia is watching the Youtube Clip of some London street dancers in the internet cafe. This shot is from Mia's viewpoint as she is getting ideas of dances. This could be seen as foreshadowing as Mia then auditions to become a dancer.

Handheld Camera - The use of a handheld camera is used to create the effect that the view we see from is realistic, as if we are there in the film. This is typical of it's genre as the view from a handheld camera acts as if we are actually in the room. This could be justified because when Mia is dancing in the abandoned flat, we watch her dancing like we are there watching her perform to us. 

Digetic Sound - Digetic sound is used during Fish Tank to remain typical to it's genre as digetic sound is used to create a realistic effect as we can see where the sound is coming from. If non-digetic sound is used it takes the realistic effect from the film. This can be justified as when Mia is dancing, she has her headphones on and what we hear is the noise of the headphones muffled, this gives it a realistic effect as this is what would happen if we were actually in the same room as Mia. 

Sin City

3 Film Noir Conventions with Scene Justification

Film Noir

Cynical Protagonist – Protagonists are paranoid about death, smoking and drinking as they have a loss of self worth, this relates to society at the time because of the Cold War, no one knew if the war was going to start again. Marv drinking at the bar. John Hartigan risks his own life to save Nancy’s as he has nothing to live for, he keeps calling himself ‘Old Man’ and ‘Loser’.

Femme Fatale – Uses her body to get the cynical protagonist to do her bidding. Goldie uses Marv for protection so she sleeps with him, using her body to fulfil his needs.

High Contrast, Low-key lighting – We don’t know if we should trust the character. The first seen where the assassin is about to kill the girl, half his face is dark and half is face is light, so we cannot tell if we should trust his character, it turns out that we shouldn’t.

3 Comic Book Conventions with Scene Justification

Comic Book

Exaggeration of strength – Superhero strength to show that good defeats evil. Marv knocks police officers out of his way when he is fleeing the scene of Goldie’s Death. Marv pushes a man’s head into a wall to get information out of him.

Protagonists wear trench coats – Makes it look like a cape when they jump from a higher place. Take it off when killing someone, as it is not a superhero thing to do. Marv jumps down the flights of stairs and his coat swoops behind him. Dwight jumps from the window and his coat swoops behind him. John Hartigan’s coat swoops when he is following Roark on the Docks.

Exaggerated non-digetic sound in fight scenes – Loud noises when men are fighting with each other but the noises are not live within the scene. Loud Banging noises when Marv is banging man’s head against wall, can’t see where the noise is coming from.

Does Propp Apply?

Propp does apply to Sin City as:

The Hero – a character that seeks something – Marv Seeks revenge for Goldie’s death, John Hartigan seeks to save Nancy’s Life, Dwight seeks to save Shelly from Jackie Boy, and then the girls from Oldtown.

The Villain – who opposes or actively blocks the hero’s quest – Kevin, Uncle Roark, Roark Sr, Roark Jr, Corrupted Cops, The Gold Eyed Man (Manute).

The Donor – who provides an object with magical properties

The Dispatcher – who sends the hero on his/her quest via a message – Shelly and Gale, Wendy.

The False Hero – who disrupts the hero’s success by making false claims – Roark Sr

The Helper – who aids the hero – Gale and the girls from Oldtown, Bob.

The Princess – acts as the reward for the hero and the object of the villain’s plots – Wendy, Nancy, Gale, Shelly.

Her Father – who acts to reward the hero for his effort – No Fathers are in the film.

Does Todorov Apply?

Todorov applies to a certain extent, There is not state of equilibrium and there is no return or restoration of a new equilibrium, as the order is always disturbed by an event.

A state of equilibrium (all is as it should be)

A disruption of that order by an event – John is Arrested for shooting Roark Jr, Goldie Dies, Jackie Boy threatens Shelly so Dwight sets out to kill him.

A recognition that the disorder has occurred – John is put in jail, waits for Nancy’s letters until they stop coming, Marv keeps getting Goldie and Wendy mixed up, not in the right mental state, Dwight and the Oldtown girls realize they have killed a Cop, therefore they will loose all power they possess.

An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption – Freed from prison for confessing he is a rapist, goes to save Nancy, Marv kills Kevin and Uncle Roark in revenge for Kevin killing Goldie and other girls, Dwight and the Oldtown girls work together to restore power of Oldtown by shooting police officers and trying to hide Jackie Boy’s body.

A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium

TOWIE Viewing Figures for Series 1 Episode 5

Episode	Date	ITV2 Viewers	ITV2+1 Viewers	Total Viewers (Millions)
5	24 October	0.674	0.136	0.810

Episodes I Will Be Using

For my Research Investigation, the two programs i will be using are The Only Way Is Essex and Made In Chelsea. In particular The Only Way Is Essex: Series 1 Episode 5 and Made In Chelsea: Series 2 Episode 3.

TOWIE Series 1 Epsiode 5 - Aired 24th October 2010 - Lauren tries to get over Mark by indulging in some serious dating, and preparations get underway for Essex Fashion Week. Arg is heartbroken when his ex-girlfriend Lydia tells him there's no future for them.

Made In Chelsea Series 2 Episode 3 - Aired 3rd October 2011 - Gabriella is forging ahead with the song that she wrote while she was still with Ollie, much to the concern of Binky and Cheska. How will Ollie's new girlfriend Chloe react?

TOWIE cast list - Series 1

Starring
Amy Childs
Jessica Wright
Mark Wright
Lauren Goodger
Michael Woods
Candy Jacobs
Kirk Norcross
Sam Faiers

Supporting
James "Arg" Argent
Lydia Rose Bright
Lucy Mecklenburgh
Harry Derbridge
Maria Fowler
Lauren Pope
Billie Faiers
Patricia 'Nanny Pat' Brooker
Linzi Peel
Amba-Hollie Wood
Lauren Lindsay
Robby Haynes
Julian Bennett

Research Investigation Draft So Far

How Stereotypical is the representation of class in ‘The Only Way Is Essex’ and ‘Made In Chelsea’?

For my research investigation, I will be analysing the representation of class and how it is stereotyped within TV, in particular I will be investigating two Reality TV programs, ITV’s ‘The Only Way Is Essex’ and Channel 4’s ‘Made In Chelsea’. My aims will be to firstly, to investigate these two texts to determine how class is represented within this particular genre. Secondly, to determine if my texts conform to stereotypes to represent class within reality TV. Lastly, I will investigate what effects these so called reality texts can have upon an audience. The theories I will apply to my investigation will be The Postmodernist Theory in particular hyper-reality to outline how a false reality is created through television and projected as the real and The Socio-Economic Model when defining the different class types within these two programs and The Uses and Gratifications Theory to investigate how reality TV creates a hyper-real universe for it’s audience.

In recent years, reality TV has become a bad representation of our society in modern day. The realism of different classes within our society have now become ‘hyper-real’ and false. Reality TV has become structured and bends the truth to suit the entertainment of the viewing public. “What you see on screen looks like drama but it is, the producers claim, based on the real lives of their subjects. "Story producers" plot out what they are going to film in advance after discussion with the cast – they prime their subjects to discuss certain topics, with an outcome in mind, although they cannot always predict that outcome.” (1) The construction of reality TV is now represented to it’s audience as “a cross-pollination of soap opera and documentary”, (2) making the texts a postmodern hybrid. The two constructed reality TV shows The Only Way is Essex and Made In Chelsea are “limiting girls' career ambitions” due to a “lack of positive female role models for young women, according to the Girl Guides”. (3) This false representation of ‘celebrities’ is being created and is having a negative effect on a young passive audience. Reality TV is meant to represent the lives of the people within the TV show and is currently being represented to young people as fake-tanned amateurs making their claim to fame through backstabbing their other cast members, influencing their passive audience and making it seem okay for the audience to imitate this and relate it to their own lives.

Reality TV has become contrived in new reality shows including The Only Way Is Essex and Made In Chelsea, The Only Way is Essex’s Title Sequence contains the main characters making themselves look smart and getting ready for the show with clips of expensive cars and toned bodies in the background. For example, when the character Jess is getting ready we see her flick her hair making her look glamorous, Mark has his toned body and a flash car giving us the image of the ideal male in his title background clip, the rest of the males are tidying up their suits and most of the females are playing with their hair. (4) This gives the idea that you have to look good to be on TV, fulfilling the Essex stereotype of fake tanned glamorous wannabe celebrities. The title sequence gives us an introduction as to who the characters are where as Made In Chelsea does not have a title sequence, but as each episode starts, there is a quote from the episode. This is an enigma code as it makes the audience question when and how the quote will appear in the episode.

Reality TV has become constructed in the way that every situation in the program is fake and all the characters become subjects to the conformity of what our society likes to call ‘Reality TV’. “The producers put us in some situations we might not usually be in, and prompt us to talk about things we wouldn’t necessarily discuss. But we never act; our reactions to those situations are real” (5).  Another cause of reality TV becoming constructed is the fact that it provokes major public outcry, abuse and reaction due to the effects of de-individuation, “a loss of individual identity and a gaining of the social identity of the group”. (6) This was originally observed in Big Brother with death threats and abuse sent to contestants, “reality TV star said she was told she’d be stabbed to death just like her dad who bled to death after being knifed in the leg when she was younger.” (7)  Although highly unethical and cruel, this provides publicity and attention for the said programs. The more constructed and outrageous the scenarios are, the greater the public reaction-which is exactly what producers want.

Essex is well known for it’s common stereotypes of the Essex girl. The Essex girl is classified between the age of 18 and 30 and finds herself categorized in the working classes, “variations of the dumb blonde persona, white stiletto heels, peroxide blonde hair, the silicone augmented breasts, over-indulgent use of fake tan (lending an orange appearance), promiscuity and loud verbal vulgarity” (8) and this is represented clearly in the text The Only Way Is Essex. The character Amy Childs, one of the main females in the text, fits in with this stereotypical image, having the typical ‘dumb blonde’ persona even though she has red hair, the silicone augmented breasts, the use of fake tan making her skin a tinted orange and her loud verbal vulgarity making her seem less intelligent. In The Only Way Is Essex Series 1 Episode 5, the Zoo Scene, Amy is on a date with co-star Kirk and fulfills the viewer’s needs when representing the Essex girl role. At 6 minutes 55 seconds into the episode, Amy claims that she “is so blonde babe” satisfying how the viewers perceive Essex girls as dumb and unintelligent blonde girls. Amy carries this persona on throughout the scene claiming that a rhinoceros is a ‘rhinosauras’ at 7 minutes 43 seconds. This character has a simplistic view on life and uses common slang to establish the sort of character she is, this establishes that she is from a working/lower class background according to the Socio-Economic Model because she is and unskilled manual worker who isn’t very intelligent, representing that she has a lower class education. The effect this has on representing the Essex girl is that they want beauty over brains as they play up to being stupid, making themselves seem more attractive to men.

Chelsea on the other hand has a completely opposite stereotypical view. The Chelsea stereotype are seen as socialites who are the heir’s to their parents hard work. A socialite is ‘a person who is or seeks to be prominent in fashionable society’, (9) these socialites are always discussing their connections as to who knows who. The Middle Class family tends to be patriarchal or run by whichever parent has the most money. These socialites aren’t afraid to show off how much money they have, and the text Made In Chelsea shows it’s audience prime examples of this. In Season 2, Episode 3 at 14 minutes into the episode, the viewer see’s the character Amber walking to co-star Mark Francis’ House, using mise-en-scene to represent their class. Amber is then being escorted in to the house by Mark Francis’ maid Jana. Mark Francis is sat in a lightly coloured room filled with antiques and expensive furniture, wearing smart clothes with his hair blow dried back broadcasting that he is from a well-off background and providing information to the audience on how wealthy he is. This conforms to the stereotypical view of people from Chelsea as they are all represented as posh young adults with fancy names discussing their connections and attending dinner parties. At 14 minutes 15 seconds, Jana and Mark Francis speak to each other using another language, this demonstrates that he has been brought up with a good education as he can speak another language fluently. When Mark Francis and Amber greet each other at 14 minutes 21 seconds they kiss each other on both cheeks, proving information that they socialize well within their society as they are close enough to the other person to kiss them on both cheeks. The two characters sit down and start discussing Mark Francis’ ideas for their jewelry business. At 14 minutes 44 seconds, Jana gives Amber and Mark Francis glasses of champagne, both are well mannered and can be seen as the middle class as champagne is seen as an expensive drink. At 4 minutes 51 seconds, the pair toast to ‘floatiness’ when toasting to their idea. The pair discuss a business date with another co-star at 15 minutes 13 seconds which then leads to them discussing the co-star’s casino book preview or ‘soirée’. When the pair come to finish their conversation at 15 24 seconds, they toast again to celebrate possible business ventures.  This scene from the text Made in Chelsea justifies the representation of the middle class as these characters are entrepreneurs who have people work for them, this is represented in the text through the entrepreneur (Mark Francis) and his maid (Jana).

Made In Chelsea Cast List

Cast member[8]	Age	Occupation	Series(s)
Spencer Matthews	24	Heir to Eden Rock Hotel, ICAP Foreign Exchange Broker	1—present
Camilla 'Millie' Mackintosh	22	Make-up artist/intern for Glamour and a distant heir of a confectionery fortune	1—present
Rosie Fortescue	22	Fashion Blogger	1—present
Ollie Locke	24	'Whiskey Mist' VIP host	1—present
Gabriella Ellis	24	Aspiring pop star	1—present
Alexandra 'Binky' Felstead	20	Ex Investment bank receptionist, PA for Richard Dinan	1—present
Francesca 'Cheska' Hull	25	Blog author, ex PR rep for Raffles nightclub on the King's Road. Daughter of a former banker who got a 2010 bonus of £20 million	1—present
Francis Boulle	23	Entrepreneur, Franco-Mauritian polo-playing heir to a diamond fortune	1—present
Louise Thompson	22	Geography student at Edinburgh University	2—present
Jamie Laing	22	Creator of Candy Kittens and heir to McVitie's	2—present
Oliver Proudlock	24	Creator of Serge DeNimes fashion label	2—present
Richard Dinan	25	Entrepreneur, founder of The Phantom Card.	3—present
Sophia Sassoon	21	Former actress and model, ex-girlfriend of Spencer	4—present
Ianthe Rose Cochrane-Stack	21	Girlfriend of Richard	4—present
Andy Jordan	23	Broker	4—present
Sam Cussins	23	Host	4—present
Stevie Johnson	23	TBD	4—present

Supporting

Cast member[8]	Age	Occupation	Series(s)
Mark-Francis Vandelli	23	Heir to the fortune of his mother, a millionairess socialite of Russian nobility	1—present
Gabriella 'Gabilicious' Tristao	23	Singer	1—present
Fredrik Ferrier	21	Model	1—present
Victoria Baker-Harber	25	Swimwear designer	2—present
Harriet Loder	22	From a wealthy German family with a net worth of around €200million.	3—present

Former

Cast member[8]	Age	Occupation	Series(s)
Agne Motiejunaite	26	Intern/PA for Francis	1
Funda Onal	26	Model	1
CJ Chapman	24	Friend of Hugo	1
Catherine 'Caggie' Dunlop	23	Singer/songwriter, creator of ISWAI fashion label.	1—3
James Ryan	19	Intern for Francis	2
Chloe Green	20	Daughter of Sir Philip Green, heiress to The Arcadia Group (worth around £3.3billion) and Footwear designer.	2
Alice Davidson	20	Student	2
Kimberley Garner	22	Interior designer and fashion designer	3
Gemma Gregory	25	An intern for Richard	3
Hugo Taylor	26	Head of PR	1—3
Natalie Joel	23	Model, Hugo's girlfriend	3