Thursday, 11 December 2014

Social classes

Disability Representation

From the beginning, the disabled person is presented negatively, even before he is introduced to the audience, This is evident from the phrase; "Last summer I decide to kill my brother." This tells the audience immediately that the main characters brother has done something wrong or is generally a pain in the neck. We then see him sleeping which is immediately followed by a cut of a bomb going off which suggests that he is very troublesome. The audience is also aware that he has a disability (down syndrome).

In the next scene we see a close up shot of the disabled boy (Ben) examining his food which makes him appear foolish, the voice over also describes him as a; "Potatoes with eyes." This suggests to the audience that he is a useless burden. This is enhanced by the fact that his brother states that he finished his favourite cereal. We then see him through the eyes of David which is a burden. Ben is also presented as gullible which is shown from that fact that he believes the obvious lye that David told him about how pigs are killed. The audience is then lead to believe that David is helpless which is shown by the fact that he couldn't even go to the toilet on his own without; "making a mess." The way that David looks at Ben as a reaction shot to seeing him eating shows that David is discussed by his brother.

All the shots of David on his own seem to be close ups which could suggest that he is seen as waste of space. Ben is also presented as not having a mind of his own which is shown from the long shot of both David and Ben walking to the bus stop, David is leading whilst  Ben is trailing behind slowly which makes him appear lost and hopeless without David. Ben is again seen as a burden from the fact that Davids friends don't expect David to be able to go out because he might be; "Babysitting." Meanwhile, Ben is in the background looking lost which leads the audience to believe that he is dependent on David to Know what to do, he also isn't with anybody which makes him appear like a loner. When David leaves Ben, we immediately feel sorry for Ben because of the immediate slow music that plays, the look on Ben's face also appears hurt, he also appears out of place on the bus on his own which also makes us feel sorry for him, However the audience is also made to feel sorry for David because of the voice over which suggests that he normally has to constantly look after Ben and that this was the first time they had been separated.

Sexuality

In this extract the main women seems to be sexually attracted to her female counterpart which is evident from the opening when there is use of a mid two shot showing the both of the women,  however the main women is slightly behind looking at the second woman which shows her admiration for her female counterpart. The voice over also of the main women also shows how much she cares for her.
In the second scene we see both of the women lying in bed but the main character seems to want to touch her female counterpart in a sexual way, this enhanced by the use of slow non diegetic music, this also create sinister and mysterious atmosphere.

In the third scene the main character is talking to a male counterpart but she becomes distracted by the second women and all the background noise seems to stop and turn into slow music. Quick cuts are used to show that the main character is admiring the other female character, the male counterpart is also ignored which shows that the sexual tension only between the two female characters. After this we see the camera cuts to the red paint on the paint brush which may represent the danger of the main characters love for her counterpart.

 The next cut shows that the man has realised what is going and mid shot of his face shows his realisation of the situation. This is followed by him violently grabbing the main character and pulling her away. We then find out that it is because the two of them are suppose to appear as though they are in love with each other. After the two characters argue, there is a mid side shot of them both and the male appears to try t kiss her which is shown by the fact that his face slowly moves closer to her, however the main character moves away which suggests that she is not comfortable in the situation, this also show that she is not sexually attracted to him.

Thursday, 4 December 2014

Shameless, Class and Status

From the beginning of the extract the characters class is clearly presented as "working class" this is done through the use of the micro elements, which is; where they live, (which is a block of dirty looking flats) the cloths they where, (which is basic clothing) and the condition of there flat, which is messy with no nice furniture. The main character also doesn't seem to take much pride in his appearance.

The characters live in a big family which seems to lack structure which is shown by the fact the father has no control of his children as they are able to lay pranks on him.
  This high angle shot of the father lying down with his children looking down at him shows the fathers lack of authority, this shot is also followed a low angle point of view shot of the children which shows that they have control of the situation. This is a stereotypical view of a working class family as it suggest that working class families cannot control their children.

the characters regional identity is Mancunion  therefore accents reflect that and enhances stereotypes about cities outside of the capital.

The community that the characters live in seem to be close-knit as the father is able to invite "Fiona" who is not a member of there family to help out with the children, also, at the end of the extract the community are all able to gather around what looks like a bonfire together, however we later we find out it is not actually a bonfire and is in.fact a car that they have set alight. This reinforces the stereotypical idea that working class people are criminals.

The families structure is very a-typical as it is not the generic nuclear family because of the fact there is mother.

Thrillers

Thrillers

Character types
-Hero (usually male)
-Victim (usually female)


Tension - emotional engagement, feeling empathy for the victim or protagonist and antipathy for the antagonist.

Specific sub genres- crime at the centre of the narrative  audience develop narrative. genres include:
-The thriller of murderous passions
-The political thriller
-The thriller of acquired identity
-The Psychosomatic thriller
-The thriller of confrontation
-The innocent on-the-run thriller

Themes- good vs evil- conflict derives from binary opposites. Protagonist faces obstacles increases tension and empathy. Narrative development--ensnared by the antagonist.
The protagonist is usually put in ordinary situations in which extraordinary things happen.
Identity e.g.; amnesia, wrong identity, not whom they thought they were, feeling unease about there life.
Surveillance using symbolic props e.g.; windows, screens, mirrors, cameras.
Objectification of female characters OR Femme fatale.
Usually an enigma