Media paper 1

• Name a few characters from Avengers and their Proppian Archetypes.


  John steed - Hero

  
  

  Emma Peel- Heroine/ sidekick/ damsel in distress

  
  

  Piggy Warren - Villain

  
  

  Amesbury (the vicar) - False hero

  
  

  Real Mark Brandon (school inspector) - Donor
• What can you say about the cast in Avengers?

  - Absence of any minority groups, cast was not diverse

  
  

  Reflection on time period which Avengers was made, e.g 'Black and White Minstrel Show' was still popular on British TV, a show where black-face was present.

  
  

  - Could be argued media industries were institutionally racist
• What did Emma Peel epitomise?

  She epitomised the idea of a 'Modern Woman' at that time, with her being strong and independent, however also presented for the male gaze at times so there is a juxtaposition.
• How is Peel sexualized?

  - She wore fitting revealing costumes

  
  

  - Some camera shots linger at her legs
• Historical context for Avengers.

  - Britain was very class ridden, audiences were very attuned to the way people spoke; so the overexaggerated parodies of upper-class accents used by imposters (Villains) would have been very obvious to audience at time.
• Who's accent is OTT

  Pigg Warren's (Villain/imposter) accent is exaggerated so the audience knows he's faking it; and in turn realise he's faking his identity
• S- Surveillance

  I - Identity

  R - Relationships

  D - Diversion

  
  

  In the Avengers.

  S - Interest in fashion of Emma Peel and her character.

  
  

  I - Steed as older British Gentleman would have appealed to older Gen and Modern Mrs. Peel to younger

  
  

  R - Possible hidden sub of fear about immigration

  
  

  D - Recognise popular spy theme
• What do costumes and props represent in Avengers?

  The costumes and props in Avengers act as key iconography to represent their characters persona
• How is Steed's flirtation presented?

  Steeds flirtatious mannerisms are presented as endearing and culturally acceptable despite Peel being his colleague and married
• How is Peel presented?

  - Peel could be a countertype as she plays a central role as Heroine/ sidekick however she is still secondary to Steed as males remain dominant throughout.

  - Sometimes a damsel in distress
• Why does Props theory NOT work on a show like Cuffs?

  Props theory of archetypes of characters doesn't work in modern media text like Cuffs because the characters in Cuffs are too complex
• Characters for Cuffs

  - DS Moffatt and other strong female characters challenge gender norms in Police dramas

  
  

  - Jake and Donna are gay example of open and liberal society
• Context for Cuffs

  - Equality act of 2010 these changes in social attitudes meant by 2015 television audiences were familiar with diversity of representations

  - 2007 Hate crime

  - Police clashes seen as police fault e.g Police brutality with Mark Duggan's death
• Setting for Cuffs

  - Set in Brighton bright sea side location which challenges expectations as there is crime
• Vertical Integration in the Lego movie

  - Used by Warner bros, enables them to maximise potential of Lego brand.

  - Gives audience new experiences and further pleasures
• Who is the Lego movie made by?

  Warner bros, a big conglomerate
• What did Warner bros decide to do to reduce risk of the Lego movie?

  - Diversify, this was expensive but helped reduce risk

  - They also shared cost with other companies to reduce risk
• What companies did Warner bros share the cost with?

  Road show pictures and Ratpack Entertainment
• What type of movie was the Lego movie?

  The Lego movie was a tentpole movie made by WB to fund other riskier mainstream films (they guaranteed it would succeed)
• What was the release date of the Lego movie?

  - The Lego movie was released on 14th February, half-term, so target audience could go see the movie
• Who did Warner bros partner up with for the CGI?

  Animal Logic who helped with the CGI
• What synergetic partnerships did The Lego movie have?

  - Lego (obviously)

  - MacDonalds with happy meal toy promotion

  - Lego Land promoted Characters
• How did casting famous Actors help TLM and who was casted?

  - Chris Pratt was casted to draw in his fans, which is immense due to his most well known/ popular movie being Guardian of the Galaxies which is part of Marvel, a large franchise which is also appealing to younger audiences.
• How does WB use their characters to promote TLM?

  - Batman is in TLM this helps cross promote not only TLM but the DC franchise, which promotes WB as DC is part of WB
• How did the Lego movie advertise?

  - The Lego movie ad break took over prime time T.V ad breaks which helped promote film

  - Lego already being a popular franchise helped promote it, people were interested, Surveillance, (Blumer and Katz)
• Who created the Lego movie video game?

  Warner bro's subsidiary, TT fusion.
• Name some features in the game that immersed audiences.


  1) 90 playable characters helps engage audience as it is inclusive

  2) Open world game, flexible and fun

  3) Simple controls which made it assessable to kids
• What are benefits of a tentpole movie?

  - Guaranteed success of tentpole movies which make a lot of money for the company

  - Allow the other riskier movies to be produced
• What does VSC stand for and what is it?

  Video standards councils is responsible for age rate of videos
• What age rate was the Lego movie video game given?

  Age rating of 7 which makes it accessible to all audiences
• Advantages of using CGI in the Lego movie

  1) High production values which attract audiences

  2) Special effects can be easily achieved

  3) Don't need to film on location

  4) Fantasy environments can be created
• Disadvantages of CGI in Lego movie

  1) Computers replace the jobs of people

  2) Expensive and time consuming

  3) Have to collaborate with other companies which specialise with CGI costs more money
• What does ASA stand for?

  Advertising standards authority
• Name two subsidiaries of Warner bros

  DC comics and TT fusion
• What does BBFC stand for and what do they do

  British board of film classification they give movies age ratings, they gave the Lego movie a U
• How does intertextuality (linking one media text with another) link to the Lego movie?

  There is intertextuality in the Lego movie with the cross promotion of DC superhero's such as Batman and Wonder woman.
• What is post-modernism how can this link to any of the media text studied?

  Post modernism is a character that breaks the stereotypes due to changes in society.

  Examples of character like these could be Wildstyle (TLM) and Mrs Peel (The Avengers)
• Who is the regulator of video games


  VSC (Video standards council)
• How is the Lego movie a postmodern film?

  The Lego Movie is a postmodern film as it breaks typical character roles, is more than one genre, imitates other texts and makes fun of society and culture.
• Examples of Intertextuality in TLM

  References to other Warner Brothers films or products:

  Batman

  Green Lantern

  Wonder Woman

  
  

  References to Lego products:

  Lego Ninjago

  Lego Star wars

  Different Lego worlds