Media Case Studies

Case studies in preparation for question 2c and 3.

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Representations of Females

Muller Advert 2013
Pastel silk sofa - Classy, feminine, glamorous
Beautiful eye close up - appealing, emotional
Slow editing - savoring, pleasure lasts
High angle shot - Vulnerbable, inferior

Outnumbered Season 4 Episode 4 extract
Three shot with husband and son smiling - family orientated
Close up - show pride in her son
Fringe out of place - busy, practical
Hand held camera - realism, realistic woman

Forbes Magazine June 2011
In front of title - dominant, important
Financial lexical field - rich, the best
Black plain dress - very straight forward
Medium shot - confident body language

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Representations of Males

Die Hard 5 Poster
Gun - defensive, protective
Low angle shot - dominant, powerful
Broken graphics - durable, tough, experienced
Leather jacket - bad boy, cool

Skyfall Opening Scene
Driven by woman - allowed to have a rest, submissive
Silhouette - powerful, mysterious
Tracking shot - realism, active
Ear piece - informed, clever, spy

Liberal Democrats Party Political Broadcast 2014
Direct address - engaging
Familiar setting - relatable, one of us
Business suit - Wealth, educated, powerful
Gestures - Passionate, serious, concerned

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Representations of the Elderly

Drag Me To Hell Trailer
Brown, rotten teeth - ugly, diseased
Shallow focus - Dominating, needy
Slow editing - tension, scary
Screaming sfx - horrific, murderous

Werther's Orignial Advert
Brown colour pallette - nostalgic, fond, precious
Slow zoom - Happy, relatable, inviting
Lap dissolves - Gentle, long lasting
Grandson looking adoringly - family, loving, caring

Help the Aged Campaign
Lights going on and off - mysterious, misunderstood, controlled
Close up - emotional, relatable
Imperative dialogue - engages
White sheets - innocent, kind, ghostly

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Representations of African Americans

Today's Black Woman Fall 2009
Medium close up - confident, open
Dark green dress - mature, elegant, ****
"Woman of the year" - amazing, unbeatable, admirable
Direct eye contact - engaging, honest, confident

Holy Grail Jay Z Music Video
Busts - historic, classy, wealthy
Post production deepening technique - manly, hard hearted
"Can't even take my daughter for a walk" - sympathy, burdened
Subjective positioning - relatable, inscription, real

Water Aid Advert 2011
Slow editing - weak, helpless
Minor key music - miserable, sad
High angle shot - vulnerable, superior audience positioning
"They have no choice" - under privelidged, trapped

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Representations of Britishness

Hovis Go On Lad Advert 2008
Tracking - active, always moving on
Winston Churchill speech - strong, devoted, winners
Fireworks - celebratory, worthy, exciting
Timeline linear narrative - loyal, constant, historically significant

Eden Lake trailer
Fire - destruction, ruined
Handheld camera - real, messy, chaotic
Smoke - unhealthy, dirty, weak
Low key lighting - unpredictable, dangerous

Eastenders 18/04/14 Opening
Tilt pan - mysterious
Medium shot - stiff upper lip
Black cabs - industrial, traditional
Shot reverse shot - generic, negotiated

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Representations of Yorkshire

Plusnet Make A Stand Advert 2014
Guitar riff - rebellious, confident
Superhero cape - strong, saviour, take action
High angle shot - scale, high cost production
Humour - light, happy, cheeky

Yorkshire.com
Busy layout - lots to do
Interactive email feature - always new stuff
'Have a brilliant Yorkshire" - imperative to engage
Basic copy - user friendly

The York Press Drug Addict Burglar Article
'Burgled blind aunt" - especially and consciously wicked
Mugshot - criminal
'Lengthy offending' - never learns his lesson
'Of no fixed address' - troublesome, unsettled

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Representations of Indians

The Big Bang Theory 'Ladies Man' Scene

Medium shot - Determined, confident

Cooking pot - maternal, domestic

"I'm an enabler" - Helpful, accepting

Laughter track - humorous, witty

Pataks Why Britain Loves Curry Advert

Medium shot (come gesture) - welcoming, hospitable

Bright colours - exotic, adventurous

Accent - authentic, traditional

Wipe (to signify time passing) - hard working, family orientated

Slumdog Millionaire trailer

Extreme long shot - highly populated

Fire - dangerous, war

High angle shot - vulnerable

Fast paced editing - active, action

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Representations of Scotland

VisitScotland.com

Flash slideshow - uncluttered, lots to sift through

Purple colour scheme - regal, rich in culture

Social networking - interactive, current, changing

Long shot of mountains - sublime, outstanding

Brave Trailer

Low key lighting - dark, dismal, mysterious

Long shots, spacious, vulnerable

Bow and arrow - tough, fighting spirit, traditional

"A hero will rise" - heroic, determined, strong

Scottish Water Keep The Cycle Advert

Cartoons - innocent, sincere

Constantly tracking - continuous, reliable

Motor - visual metaphor for team work, active

 New equilibrium - successful, has the answers

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Representations of Child Criminals

Child Criminals Daily Mail Article

"Criminals aged just 3" headline - shocking 

Use of inverted commas - is not totally true

Photo of MP - serious, government official

Examples from all over the country - vast, common

James Bulger Killing The Guardian Article

"Excuse" - not real evidence, not usual

"Free speech is important but so is the protection of life" - have rights

Text based - intellectually debatable

Strapline "profound effect" - important, deep, curious

Boy A Trailer

POV shot - familiar, relatable

Dissolves - never ending

Negative stills - always watched, frozen in time

 Railway tracks - empty, alone, suicidal, emotional

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Representations of Binge Drinking

Drink aware website

“Check the facts” – imperative, direct address

Black and red banner/logo colour scheme – danger

Image of nice drink – can be enjoyed, supporting

Unit calculator, self-assessment – Very clinical, stats, serious issue, beware

Anti-binge drinking advert for men

Rubs food on himself – unappealing, disgusting, shameful

Cheery music – intensifies travesty

Low key lighting - dirty, impure

Smashes the music player at the end – serious, harming, goes too far

Binge Drinking Guardian article

Scantily dressed girls, heads cropped – vulnerable, sex objects

“Demanding greater social order” – havoc, effort, wasting

“It remains unclear” – uncontrollable, low will power

“50 000 lower crimes” – Terrible, wastes money, hurts people

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Representations of the Olympics

London 2012 Olympics website

“Thank you London” – proud, defining, direct address

Fireworks – glorious, celebratory, a light in the dark, full of life

“Bolt revels” – beneficial, brings joy

Navigation bar – engaging, many topics

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Represenations of WW1

1914.org

“Take part” – imperative, something to get involved in

About, News and Projects, Events Calendar navigation bars – current, informational

“Add your event” – communal, engaging, interactive

Kindle next to old diary juxtaposition – is relevant to many generations

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Representations of Youths

Johnsons Life Is Reborn Advert
Maternal semantic field 'born' 'created' 'bond' - caring, gentle, responsible
Smiling expression - happiness, pride of looking after a child successful
Font dissolve - gentle, slow,, graceful, beautiful
Accelerating tempo - growing, sustaining, nurturing

Bart Simpson
Nudity - unlawful, taboo
Skateboard - cool, dude, underachiever
Encourage disbehaviour "Keep on streaking" - naughty, cheeky
Long shot - understanding of rest of iconography

Skins trailer
Fade to black - erratic, mysterious
Swear words - troubled, realistic
Shot reverse shot - generic for soap opera
Different hairstyles, clothes, make up - individuals

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