Wednesday 4 November 2009

Analysis Of Critical Investigation

For my critical investigation, I will be looking at the representations of different ethnicities in movies, and how the films itself attract their audience. As i will focus on both american and british cinema the main movies i will focus on are Crash, Kidulhood or Bullet boy, Blood Diamond and perhaps Babel (bradd Pitt)...(decision pending).

My linked production will be a 5 minute opening sequence to a movie based on racism. It will contain racial stereotypes, and the impact this has on society itself.

MIGRAIN analysis


Media language.
For the critical investigation, i will talk about how different camera angles and lighting are used to create a connotation. For example low lighting creates a negative impact, Low angles connote themes of power.
This also links to my linked production, as effects such as camera angles, lighting, sound and edits are all key in creating a professional standard opening sequence. It will also help me create effects and connotations in the opening sequence, that will help the production grip the audience. This is a common feature of opening sequences.

Genre.
The genre I will be looking at for both linked production and investigation is drama.
I feel this has more key issues and debates which can be analysed in detail.
Another genre i will be concentrating on is the British genre, for example Adulthood. This has a main focus on younger characters, aswel as touching on racial issues.


Representation.
The main representation i will focus on is the representation of different races and the stereotypes created by this. I will also compare and contrast this representation between the different movies i focus upon.

Audience.
In my critical investigation i will focus on how the film attracts its different audiences. For example the use of different theories and techniques, and how they appeal to ethnic groups. This can be how a race is represented, for example in a negative manor, which makes the viewer of that race want to watch the movie. This can link to the uses and gratifications theory.
In the linked production, I will try to come up with an innovative story line, which focuses on representations, to help appeal to the target audience.


Ideology.
Ideologies i will be looking out for are key in telling a story. For example Patriarchy, Hegemony. This may link to one race being more superior to another, e.g the power and dominance of a race creates a hegemonic reading for the viewer.

Narrative.
Throughout both of the assignments, the narrative is very key. I will have to analyse closely the narrative of the films and how they are representing different race's. This can help me contrast and compare the different movies and if they have any similarities or differences.
In my linked production, i will have to produce a narrative, and create 5 minutes from a movie that will grip the audience. I will have to focus on racial stereotypes, dominant readings, the theory of Todorov (equilibrium theory), which will help attract the audience. Other theories i will draw upon are Levi Strauss's Binary Oppositions and Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze.


Media Theories.
One of the main theories i will focus on is Gender and Ethnicity. However i will mainly focus on the ethnicity side rather than the gender. This will help me answer my topic question about how and why different people are represented in certain ways and what effect this has on society.
Another theory i will look upon is Hegemony, as it shows what is accepted by society in the texts, and if it is because of a dominant force, for example a specific race.

Issues and Debates.
One main issue is Morale Panic's. This can be seen is all of my movies, it is an exaggeration of an event by the media which makes everyone think too much of it. For example gangs, which is a major issue in the movie Crash. A morale panic is created as a character shoots a black male as he is reaching into his pocket, the reason for this was he thought the black male was pulling out a gun. This is a major stereotype created by a morale panic, and i will look in more detail with in my critical investigation.

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