Applying Todorov to Transformers

 Applying Todorov to Transformers

1) State of equilibrium
At the beginning of the text we see the character (Shia Labouf) sam living his normal life, there is shots of the town, the girl he is obviously interested in and and him living in his home. more importantly we engage in him getting his first car as a young high school student.












2) A disruption of that order
The protagonist (sam) then discovers his car is actually an alien robot, obviously disrupting his norm. he becomes engaged with alien robots, named auto bots, to help try and save the world from the the decepticons (another form of alien robots). However he does not do this alone as the protagonist female (who he shows an interest in at the start) Michela (Megan Fox), is also caught up in it

3) the recognition that the order has been disrupted
we then witness a battle between the protagonist alien robots (the auto bots) and the antagonist alien robots (the discepticons) over the cube ( a powerful object that has landed on earth from their planet), killing lots of people in the world showing that order has been disrupted. Moreover there is also a narrative where there is soliders' fighting in another country, showing a bigger disruption.














4) An attempt to repair the damage 
the protagonists sam and Michela try to help the auto bots to defeat the dicepticons along side the members of sector seven (a secret organisation in which the president is also involved) which the soliders are part of as well. As the deceptions hacked into the computers of sector seven this is also trying to be solved by members of sector seven.

5) A state of new equilibrium 
The main Protagonists (sam and Michela) and sector seven, along side the auto bots, defeat the decepticons. order is restored however Sam and Michela are now dating each other and sam has a transforming car and robot in which chooses to stay with him.

Western film conventions

The film 'the good, the bad and the ugly' has western film conventions due to the setting of a isolated and deserted waste land, made up of mountains and rocks, western films portrays the conquest of the the wilderness. the use of the costume such as: cowboy boot and hats, ponchos also fits the western conventions. props used such as guns and the scene of a shot out is also a huge ideology for a western film, due to the fact the game was created there. the film also includes conatations of a western film by the use of the close ups of the guns and the extreme close ups of the mens faces, this has became a convention of the western genre as people expect it. the non diegetic sound of the music is also conventional as it is western music. The fact men are over represented in western films as they only include men, usually, showing a fake ideology as there is more women then men in the world. the character roles of the text show men stereotypically being aggressive and unemotional. the scene includes the protagonist (Clint Eastwood) and the supposed villian, in which he shoots,  which links to the title the good, the bad and the ugly. however this links to Props theory of there being conventional characters. the mexican race is represented as both evil and weak as there is two mexican characters, one of the characters is shot (which is the villian). however the other character who is mexican is portrayed weak as the close ups show him sweating and shaking nervously during the shoot out scene. the text portrays American's as heroes, as the only American character is the one who wins the shoot out. this is also conventional as it is a constructed aspect that in most action films the American wins. the text also includes ideologies that men are the ones that are cowboys, where as women can be as well. it carries the idea that men do shoot outs and use guns due to the fact there are no women I the text.

James Bond - die another day - analysed

the james bond franchise is clear example of film objectifying females and forcing the audience to view females via the male gaze. the scene within, "die another day" when james bond meets the character jinx demonstrates my previous statement through laura mulveys theory f the male gaze. at the beginning of the text we have a view of a building through banoculas, shot then moves to a mid shot of male holding them suggesting the male is dominating as we are viewing the text through his eyes. the text then moves on to a mid shot, viewing through the banoculas, of woman in the water viewing the top half of her body. the male gaze applies to this part of the text as the woman is viewed in slow motion, objectifing her as the consumers are able to view her body for longer. the text denies her human identity, at this point, relegating them to the status of objects to be admired for physical appearance. the fact the consumers are viewing the female protagonist in slow motion creates a hyper reality, thus linking to the theory of of post modernism. this particular part of the text is not reality, reality is not in slow motion.

moreover the fact we view the woman through the mans eyes, as i said before, links to the idea that we live in a patriarchal society where men construct are ideals. As we are viewing the text through his eyes we begin to believe only the woman's appearance matters, before we know her identity we see her body. Viewing through the male eyes we believe that it is the males story that matters, we see through his eyes therefore he is the active character. the female is passive as she is only what he is seeing, nothing important, just there for visual pleasure.

(draft) A2 Media question

How women are represented in men's fragrance advertisements, applying the theories: male gaze by laura mulvey, post modernism and the cultivation theory 

(focusing on dolce and Gabanna's campaign "light blue" and Calvin Kleins "eternity" )

Dolce and Gabanna - the male is holding the woman in a possessive way, showing he has power over her. the fact her body is exposed shows she is a sexual object, however she obstructs our view of  him suggesting she is . visual codes - her facial expression and the use of the open mouth suggest she is being seductive. the fact the he is looking straight on at the camera portrays a sense of  power in contrast to her more passive facial expression.

Women, girls, and self-objectification

Primarily, objectification theory describes how women and girls are influenced as a result of expected social and gender roles.Research indicates not all women are influenced equally, due to the anatomical, hormonal, and genetic differences of the female body; however, women’s bodies are often objectified and evaluated more frequently. Females learn that their physical appearance is important to themselves and society. As a result, females consider their physical appearance often, expecting that others will also.
Sexual objectification occurs when a person is identified by their sexual body parts or sexual function. In essence, an individual loses their identity, and is recognized solely by the physical characteristics of their body. The purpose of this recognition is to bring enjoyment to others, or to serve as a sexual object for society.Sexual objectification can occur as a social construct among individuals 

Stereotypes

Dear John
Stereotypes
"Dear john" is a typical romance in with stereotypes for both female characters and male characters. The protagonist John, performed by Channing Tatum, demonstrates the role of  the alpha male. he is physically strong, shown at the beginning when he is shirtless, and also the hero when he jumps into the sea to get a bag for the girl, portraying he has control and power. the fact that this character is in the army shows that he has power as he is a leader, stereotyping that males are the boss and are in control especially over women. The female protagonist savannah, performed by Amanda Seyfried, also portrays aspects of stereotypical woman. at the beginning of the trailer when her bag falls into the sea she is helpless and therefore needs the male to help her. in most parts of this trailer she is the only one showing emotion, talking about her feelings of falling in love and looking upset. Towards the end we see her as the woman who is working and married with family, showing the stereotype that women are the carers. Moreover in one shot we see her looking like she is naked and showing that she is being pleasured demonstrating that women are also used as sexual objects. Throughout the trailer the character most seen is john  demonstrating men are the important roles, they are who the audience are supposed to be concerned with again showing he has the power. the text fits into the theory of Propp where the characters are stereotyped into: the hero ( the male protagonist) john, (the damsel in distress) savannah. this is also demonstrated at the beginning when he jumps into the sea for her. there is also the role of the father figure of the damsel in distress who quotes "are you enjoying yourself", implying if he is having a good time with the girl indicating he is like a father figure. finally there is also the role of a villain, who in which is fighting with the hero during the trailer. he comes across as a villain as the trailer shows the consumers shots of the two protagonists and then a shot of the villain fighting, in which destroys the equilibrium.

Mainstream or Niche audience, use and gratifications

Niche
A niche audience is a small group of people with a unique interest, it is the opposite of the mainstream as mainstream or popular texts would reach out to a wider audience. An example of a niche text would be a children's programme such as "BBC's Balamory", this text only reaches to a younger audience because it is on in the middle of the day when adults and older children are at school.  Moreover the fact the text uses simplified language to make it easier for children to understand. the use and gratifications shows that an audience is full of a group of individuals who choose a media text best suited to their consumption. children personally identify with this media text as they are finding models of behaviour. the mode of address of this text is informal due to its audience. the performers in the text talk directly into the camera to show they are communicating with their audience. as the text consumes a young audience they do this to keep them interested. this also make the audience feel the are physically there with characters, giving them a sense of escapism and diverting them from problems.

Mainstream 
A mainstream text would have elements for most ages and types of interests. the text usually would include an ensemble cast that the wide range of audience can relate to. for example "itv 2's  Xfactor" this text is usually shown at the week in the evening when parents have no work and children have no school. the text has different kinds of contestants different ages can relate to. the fact the people in the text are real people, rather than characters, people can relate to them more easily. the use of a tracking shot at the beginning of the xfactor gives the audience a sense of escapism as this allows them to feel they are part of the text. the fact the audience is able to see what is happening behind the contestants singing shows formality, as well as the fact that the contestants share personal stories and information with the audience to show they are the protagonists of the text. this also allows the audience to gain insight into circumstances of others; social empathy. the producers of the xfactor show recaps of what has happened recently in the text, after the breaks, to keep the audience interested in the text, they do this as the text has a wide audience therefore are trying make sure that all of their consumers understand the text.

Skins - uses and gratifications
My favourite television programme is "channel 4's skins", the programme is base on a group of teenagers in college who have certain relationship, friend and family problems implying my age group are the targeted and preferred audience for the text. it also shows what they do and how reckless they can be. the fact the characters are teenagers at college shows I can personally identify as they are models of behaviour and also that I am gaining insight into myself and how I should be at my age. by watching this programme I watch the characters problems, escaping or diverting me from my own. for example in one episode of the text the antagonist falls pregnant at the age of 17, this allows me view other problems that are bigger then my own diverting me from them. this also gratifies gaining insight into circumstances of others; social empathy. s he text contains teenagers of my age it becomes a basis of conversation in my friendship group due to the relative problems occurring such as drinking alcohol and partying in which we can relate to. by consuming the text i am finding models of behaviour in situations that happen at my age for example in one episode it is dedicated to the protagonist trying to get the girl he likes and the journey of how it happens. the fact that these situations occur is also emotional release for the consumers as they can relate to what is happening (e.g. friendship, family and relationship) as it shows problems of teenagers today; who are their consumers because of this. the text gratifies finding out about relevant events and conditions in immediate surroundings, society and the world as it concentrates on problems that occur around the world such as drug taking and teenage pregnancy. the mode of address of the text is informal due its colloquial language and use of slang, again, this reflects the consumers of the texts as teenagers are stereotyped to use slang language. moreover the use of colloquial language suits the situations happening in the text.