Within our group we have began to start analysing trailers, each member of the group had to analyse 2 trailers, as a group we also began sourcing music and have gotten a few sound tracks,
We have also started on the script but it still needs working
Monday 27 January 2014
Sunday 26 January 2014
Sourcing Music
Dizzie Rascal ft Lilly Allen - Wanna be a Gangster ? -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrIoK1A4KVU
I think this soundtrack could fit into our production due to the fact that the lyrics talk about a man wanting to be a gangster and how he can't, the lyrics 'So you wanna be a gangster, tell me just one thing, what you know about being a hardman, your mum buys your bling', the lyrics indicate that both artists are mocking people who are trying to be gangsters, and the stereotype of those who want to be gangsters.
Oscar Wylde Remix ( Dr.Dre ft Snoop Dogg, Next Episode) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvUZaiYkp6A
This soundtrak is a remix of the orignal song; The Next Episode, a song known for its lyrical use of drugs and violence, the remix has a much more faster BPM, and could be used for fast action scenes, it also doesn't have a lot of lyrics which leaves space for a voice over while the non-digetic sound is being played in the background, it also features words as 'smoke weed everyday' which can be used effectively during the production.
Apache Indian Boom Shack-a-lack - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZzBd41NuZw
The Handsworth born Jamaican wanna be Apache Indian's old skool soundtrack 'Boom Shack-a-lack' takes the video back old skool, it also would be good to use as it is a pretty famous song and it also has the feature of an Asian trying to be a black guy, and there may be no other person to copy than Apache Indian who has based his years doing so.
I think this soundtrack could fit into our production due to the fact that the lyrics talk about a man wanting to be a gangster and how he can't, the lyrics 'So you wanna be a gangster, tell me just one thing, what you know about being a hardman, your mum buys your bling', the lyrics indicate that both artists are mocking people who are trying to be gangsters, and the stereotype of those who want to be gangsters.
Oscar Wylde Remix ( Dr.Dre ft Snoop Dogg, Next Episode) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvUZaiYkp6A
This soundtrak is a remix of the orignal song; The Next Episode, a song known for its lyrical use of drugs and violence, the remix has a much more faster BPM, and could be used for fast action scenes, it also doesn't have a lot of lyrics which leaves space for a voice over while the non-digetic sound is being played in the background, it also features words as 'smoke weed everyday' which can be used effectively during the production.
Apache Indian Boom Shack-a-lack - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZzBd41NuZw
The Handsworth born Jamaican wanna be Apache Indian's old skool soundtrack 'Boom Shack-a-lack' takes the video back old skool, it also would be good to use as it is a pretty famous song and it also has the feature of an Asian trying to be a black guy, and there may be no other person to copy than Apache Indian who has based his years doing so.
Trailer analysis
'Ali G Indahouse'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10Pubo7YxHw
'Ali G Indahouse' is a comedy drama based on a fictional character created by Sasha Baran Cohen, the movie is based on a 'gangster wannabe' from Staines who is part of the 'West-side Staines Massive' (fictional) gang, and he finds out his beloved community centre is about to close down, so he unwillingly heads onto the path of politics. The trailer starts off in a suspenseful way, where we see a meeting going on between the G20 leaders, and we see sub-headings on the screen that say 'the world is changing' but you can 'trust one man' to which one of antagonists says' is there any reason why there is a absurdly dressed half naked man being tossed off by a council worker' and from this we see sections of comedy, from where the protagonist says, 'All the bitches say Yoo' while he speaking to a group of feminists, the trailer has a lot of different episodes of comedy throughout the trailer, we see conventions of an action and comedy spoof, but the trailer shows the 'famous' Ali G trying to save his beloved Staines, we also see more than one non-digetic sound being played in the background, and all the songs suggest a black comedy, but we see the complete opposite and see Ali G trying to be a black man. We are also introduced to the character near enough straight away, not much of the plot is given away but enough is given away to know that it will be of the comedic genre
'Anuvahood'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8E5FatVLuk
'Anuvahood' is also a comedy drama based on a fictional character trying to be a gangster, the carefully constructed character of 'Kenneth' is introduced to us straight away with 5 characters saying his name in a montage, this introduces us to the character quickly and also gives us an insight of what the character will be like, the tone of the voice suggests that he will be one who gets in trouble quite a lot, and one who has problems he has to face, the cinematography is pretty basic as we see normal medium shots and some close ups, the movement of camera directs our attention usually to the protagonist Kenneth. There is also a sound bridge which continues throughout scenes even when the visual has moved to the next scene. The movie trailer also features 3 non-digetic sound tracks played in the background which also suggest that the genre will be a gangster drama.
Tuesday 21 January 2014
Tutorial Targets
1) Research and analysis of comedy trailers, 2 each on blog, list ideas/key conventions
2) Script/Voiceover
3) Casting/Auditions/Rehearsals
4) Sourcing Music- examples on blog
5) Progress report
2) Script/Voiceover
3) Casting/Auditions/Rehearsals
4) Sourcing Music- examples on blog
5) Progress report
Monday 13 January 2014
Initial Ideas
- summarise your idea;
- explain who you're working with and why;
The people I'm working with are Mathew, Shivani and Kiran. This is because all of our critical investigations link as we are talking about the representations of a black character, it is also different in a way as I'm speaking about an actor whereas the three of them are speaking about a black artist.
- make at least three links to your Critical Investigation;
The 3 links to my critical investigation is that we are doing it on representations of black people and ethnic minorities, also it will be a spoof reinforcing the stereotypes regarding black males. Furthermore the genre we have picked will also link back to my critical investigation of a crime drama.
- explain what elements you've learnt when doing your essay that you'll apply in the production;
The elements I have learnt while doing my essay is that we have to be careful when reinforcing stereotypes regarding black males as people could get easily offended and we cannot talk bad about key events in the history of black culture as this may easily be seen as offensive, so we would have to make sure that we do not offended someone too majorly.
- identify the target audience (demographics, psychographics);
The target audience will be mainly those of ethnic minority and black males/females this is due to the fact that we are reinforcing the stereotypes about them as a spoof, they will also mainly be of the CDE class so working class and the younger generation, this is also due to the comedic genre of our production.
- explain where/which channel/when it would appear and how your text will appeal to them;
As we are doing a movie trailer, the production would most likely feature in the cinemas then on Sky Movies comedy or Film4 as these are the channels that would support our genre and film, it will also appeal to Sky comedy as they have a channel that shows only comedy movies and Film4 also shows British comedy films for example; Anuvahood
- list ten additional genre conventions you aim to incorporate.
Dark Humour -Dealing with disturbing subjects such as death, drugs and violence
Wit/Wordplay - More intellectual forms of comedy based on clever language.
Setting - Usually a bright place for example a city or town, for teen comedies mostly schools.
Camerawork - Natural shots, everyone is usually of the same status so mostly mid-shots and close ups.
Lighting - Would usually be bright due to the comedic genre, usually natural light which make the scene look happy.
Props - Props would be important in a comedy, so using small things which are funny in the movie
Characters - usually a contrast between someone stupid and a group of intelligent people, shows the change in status too.
Comic situation - 'narrative comedy' in which it is the developing relationships between characters and the social environment that causes us to laugh.
Comic situation - 'narrative comedy' in which it is the developing relationships between characters and the social environment that causes us to laugh.
Monday 6 January 2014
Bibliography
Bibliography
Work Citied
Books
Fanon, Frantz. Black skin, white masks.
New York: Grove Press, 1967. Print.
Lacey, N. (1998) Image and representation,
MacMillan press LTD: Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, and London.
Malik, S. (1998). Representing black Britain:
black images on British television from 1936 to the present day.. SAGE, 2002::
Open University Press.
Thelma, Golden (1994)
Sewell, Tony
(1997) p.17
Magazines and Newspapers
Black
actors leave Britain to escape 'lazy stereotypes - http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/black-actors-leave-britain-to-escape-lazy-stereotypes-says-chuka-umunna-8915673.html
Media magazine -
December 2003
Media Magazine -
December 2011
Media Magazine -
February 2011
Internet
Luther reviews and ratings - "Luther." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 5 Jan. 2014.
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1474684/rev
Race and the Representation of Blacks' Interests During
Reconstruction -http://prq.sagepub.com/content/54/1/181.abstract
Top Soaps Accused Of Stereotyping Ethnic Minorities - Coventry
Telegraph - Pass the Remote http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/passtheremote/2008/07/top-soaps-accused-of-stereotyp.html
Moving Images
Desmonds, 1989, Channel 4
Dixon of Dock Green, 1955, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
EastEnders, 1985, Various, UK, British Broadcasting Corporation
(BBC)
Luther, 2010, Various, UK, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
Work Consulted
Books
Adewunmi.
B. (2012). Why black British drama is going online, not on TV [Internet].
Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/02/black-british-tv-drama-online
Alia,
Valerie, and Simone Bull. Media and ethnic minorities. Edinburgh:
Edinburgh University Press, 2005.
Fanon,
Frantz. Black skin, white masks. New York: Grove Press, 1967.
Print.
Malik, S. (1998). Representing black Britain: black
images on British television from 1936 to the present day.. SAGE, 2002: : Open
University Press.
Lacey, N. (1998) Image and representation, MacMillan
press LTD: Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, and London.
Magazines and Newspapers
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4151328
Websites
Sunday 5 January 2014
Critical Investigation
“If Luther wasn’t a policeman, he’d
be a criminal”. To what extent is Luther a positive representation of black masculinity?
Idris Elba
shows positive and negative representations of black masculinity through the “Fantastic
action-packed police drama"[1]
“Luther', which featured on the BBC who in 'their annual 2002/2003 report were
losing black viewers and listeners" [2]
. This critical investigation will show how ethnic minorities and black males
are represented throughout TV shows and movies, especially in the UK where representations have been exaggerated
throughout many different TV shows throughout the years; this has been shown in
many shows, from reality shows to even soaps we see on the BBC and ITV. Many
white viewers said that “Broadcasters were doing a good job, but black and
Asian ethnic groups did not”. [3]
Although racism has decreased throughout the country in the last 20 years we
are still accustomed with the same stereotypes regarding black males, and
through this critical investigation It will shown how Luther is either a
positive or negative representation of black males, moreover focus on the view
of a black male as a police officer.
Representations
of black characters and ethnic minorities have been exaggerated throughout many
TV shows; this has been the case in reality shows such as 'Big Brother' and
more importantly soaps which we see on a daily basis. Shows such as
"Coronation Street and Eastenders have been accused of stereotyping ethnic
minorities"[4].
They have been told to show negative views of ethnic minorities and black
ethnicity, many of the shows tend of reinforce the stereotypes we have become
accustomed with rather than play them down, due to this we saw how the BBC
began to 'lose black viewers and listeners"[5]
. Representations of black masculinity has remained a popular culture in the
focal point of science and cultural studies but "research shows that black
men are negatively portrayed"[6].
This has been a topic many have spoken about but it is also something we have
come to regard as a norm for society, when one may talk about a black male,
many thing of the negative stereotypes first rather than the positive and the
negative also weigh out the positive. The stereotype we have become accustomed
with is that black males are "Violent, psychotic, drug dealers and even
gang leaders/members"[7].
The images of “Black males have gone
through several transformations since the rise of the Black power movement in
the late 1960s”[8]. Many
of these have actually been very negative, portraying black characters in a way
that would make society frown upon them. This is a representation that has been
used in the media, the stereotype of black males being seen as drug dealers,
criminals and murderers has been one stereotype that has been used by many
producers. One of the main reasons why black actors are stereotyped is “to
present an image of black British people that suggests we [they] can only
succeed in sport, entertainment and music, but not necessarily in other fields."[9]. Thus
giving them a downgrading role in society and saying that they can only succeed
in sports but cannot do anything else.
Furthermore, throughout the years we
have also seen black characters as criminals in the media landscape and usually
as the antagonists, this forces the audience to see all black characters this
way, also puts off many institutions from having a black character as the
protagonist because there is a belief that it could cause moral panic. David
Harewood believed "there really aren’t many roles for authoritive strong
black characters in this country, we just don't write those characters".[10] This
was also something that is being done by many black characters today, as we
seen most famously Idris Elba went to the Hollywood show 'The Wire' where he
notoriously became famous, he was however seen as a negative role model towards
black masculinity due to this affiliation with drugs and crime in the show. Black characters have been forced to fulfil a
stereotype set for them which therefore goes on to make them act as criminals on
screen giving a negative representation of black masculinity. Representations
of black characters have changed throughout the years, before the black power
movement we saw a lot of racial abuse towards a black character in the media
and usually we would not see a black character on TV, the image of black
characters since then has however " gone through several transformations
since the rise of the Black power movement in the late 1960s"[11].
From not seeing any black characters on TV we began to see shows such as
'Desmond’s’ and 'The Kumar's at 42' which featured both black and ethnic
groups. Thus we could perceive that many negative stereotypes came about from
the introduction via the media trying to create moral panic in the late 1900's
due to racism but along with that the "influence of music/fashion has led
to some boys having sexist and racist perceptions towards black
masculinity"[12].
Thus portraying black masculinity as merely negative, not just on TV and in
forms of the media but also society.
Focusing dominantly on the British
media and we also did not see many black characters in TV shows, this all
changed after events such as the Stephen Lawrence murder, black masculinity
developed and changed the media's landscape towards black representations.
Prior to this, ethnic minorities and black characters were hardly shown on TV,
and when they were shown on the news, the media used moral panic to show them
as the criminals and not victims, "Black and Asian victims of violent
death did not get the same attention as White Victims; however the murder of
the young black teenager Stephen Lawrence by racists in the early 90s received
high profile coverage both on television and in the press”[13]. Institutions’
such as the Channel 4 used tokenism and introduced the all black TV Show
'Desmonds' which became one of Channel 4's longest running sitcoms and most
successful sitcoms too. The current 'Prime minister said that the racist
killing of Stephen Lawrence spark monumental change" [14] and
we began to see vast change throughout the media, we saw Eastenders introduce
black characters and "Eastenders aired the first episode featuring an
entirely black cast in its 23-year history"(2009)[15].
Sadly after all this ethnic minorities were still seen as unimportant and
invisible, an online survey on the BBC noted that " the range of roles
that ethnic minority actors play in television drama's is very limited and
often reflects low status, ethnic minority audiences were also believed that
this was a part of tokenism"[16], so
even after the 'monumental change' that was sparked after the Stephen Lawrence
murder, we still became accustomed with the fact that even though there was
many stereotypes and representations being shown of black characters they were
still seen as "unimportant and invisible"[17].
Moreover before the Stephen Lawrence murder we hardly saw any coverage of black
males but now we dominantly see black characters as the "most frequent
issue found in media news"[18]
causing moral panic throughout the audience. Most recently we came into account
with this subject after the London riots where majority of the blame as given
to black males and thus again giving them a negative representation.
Idris Elba is known famously for his
role in shows such as 'The Wire' but he came known majorly towards the British
media when he featured in BBC's 'most terrifying crime drama' [19]
Luther. Idris Elba first came about the media scene in channel 5's show 'Family
Affairs', since then he travelled to America and became a regular in the major
hit show 'The Wire' which portrayed Elba as a drug dealer, this was quickly
juxtaposed when we saw Elba as detective chief inspector Luther in BBC's
Luther. The "maverick protagonist Luther, is a DCI, who leads a private
and professional life through his willingness to tear up the rule book"[20]. We
saw Luther as a black male who was portrayed in both positive and negative ways
and the BBC were praised for “its long overdue casting of a black male"[21].
This is however "usual in America and casts are usually multi-racial"[22].
Thus proving how British media may be currently behind on the demand for black
characters as protagonists, which is seen is the United States, David Harewood
criticised the "lack of opportunities for young black actors in the UK and
advised them to consider heading to America"[23] such
as he and Idris Elba did, the lack of black characters is obvious when you see
the BBC getting praised for having a black character as a protagonist whereas
in this day and age it should be a normal thing. Elba's role in the 'The Wire'
was predominantly violent and he was portrayed as a violent character who was
involved in drugs and crime, when Elba chooses to do Luther, it was something
many of the audience expected from his background but acting as Luther, Elba
offered diversity in character. Elba became a positive role model and a
positive representation of a black male. A stereotype society has become
accustomed with is that black males and the police force do not get along, this
was something famously seen during the Stephen Lawrence murder trial where we
saw how "two police officers apparently hide being arrested on suspicion
of hiding evidence related to the Stephen Lawrence inquiry”[24],
which showed a racial boundary between the police force and black males. Idris
Elba overcame this boundary and in a way social boundaries too, when he choose
to become the protagonist and a black DCI, a position held as one of the
highest ranks in the police force. This in itself became a positive stereotype
of a black male, and opposed the stereotype of black males having a so called
hatred towards the police force. Idris Elba is also set to feature as Nelson
Mandela in a new movie where Elba would be portrayed a positive role model for
black males. Also being one of the few actors to lived the 'American Dream'[25]
would in itself portray Idris Elba as a positive role model for black males,
but to what extent is his character Luther a positive representation of black
masculinity.
Luther shows ethnic minority and how
black males are represented throughout the TV shows and movies, in the day and
age we live in now, racism has decreased majorly throughout TV shows, and the
show Luther sets out to develop a black character who plays the lead role. The
fact that Luther does whatever he can to
help get justice in society gives us a positive representation of him,
in season two where we see Luther trying to kill his best friend after the
murder of his wife and chooses not to, but the white female who shoot's the
best friend who is white male, is seen as focally important, the fact that the
BBC choose to let the male be killed by a white female and him also being white
portrays Luther again is a positive way, it shows how he is willing to do the
right thing and not let that 'aggressive' black masculinity get in the way.
"Watson notes that moral panics often result from the media stereotyping
of black people as potentially criminal"[26] ,
and Luther's choice to not shoot an enemy diverts from the moral panic caused
by an 'angry black male'[27].
Elba says that if Luther "wasn’t
a policeman, he'd be a criminal, he's not criminally minded, mean or vindictive
but he is tender and passionate"[28].
Thus proving that the character of Luther may be an aggressive black male but
is a positive representation of black masculinity, we see a lot of rage in
Luther and he subverts the stereotype of black rage and the aggressive black
male, but being on the good side, although we see two sides Luther, the good
and bad, we see how Luther mainly overcomes the bad and even when nothing or no
one is on his side, he overcomes the injustice and prevails, thus making Luther
a positive representation of black masculinity. The show as also met with
mainly positive reviews, review site; Rotten Tomatoes holds a "94%
approval rating, Luther is gritty and ambiguous and is a captivating drama
bolstered by a powerhouse performance from Idris Elba"[29].
Thus showing the positive impact it has on the audience and its black viewers.
Another famous BBC crime drama was Dickson of
Dock Green, a British show which was broadcasted on the BBC from 1955 to 1976,
an era where black males were not shown mainly on TV, this was proven in
Dickson of Dock Green because in the 22 years of broadcasting, there was no
black male featured, and when George Dixon was asked about the show being
"racist"[30],
George Dixon replied by ironically saying "he didn't even know the meaning
of the word", but the lack of black characters would make one wonder on
how the show couldn't be racist in a contextual way. The show just like Luther
portrays somewhat of a family man who both put work before family and both were
set in London, but one thing we saw in Luther that was missed in Dixon of Dock
Green was ethnic minorities and showing that even though Dickson of Dock Green
was " the most beloved of British serials" [31], one
may argue that Luther is a much more positive representation to its audience
and obviously a positive representation of black masculinity, BBC's
"Luther is the first major drama series to have its eponymous hero played
by a black character"[32] and
is also a positive representation of black masculinity.
To conclude, Luther's character can
mainly be seen as a positive representation of black stereotypes and even
though representations of black males have changed throughout the years, it is
mainly because we have become accustomed with the fact that most of the representations
we see of black males is that they are "criminals and drug dealers"[33], we
also find that black males become "invisible"[34].
Society however has become more comfortable with having a black male on their
TV screen, especially one who is a protagonist. Historical events such as the
black power movements and the Stephen Lawrence murder have aided in the change
in the media landscape for black males and black masculinity, but it still
remains a fact that there is only one crime drama which has a black male as a
protagonist, the positive representation of black males on the BBC is not
helped however by article which talk about monumental change due to shows such
as Eastenders cast "an entire black cast in one episode"[35],
more shows should take note from Luther and portray black masculinity in a
positive way rather than in a way where
we see ethnic minorities have degrading roles which "reflect low
status"[36]
Word Count: 2012
[1]
Luther reviews and ratings - "Luther." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 5 Jan. 2014.
<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1474684/revi
[3]
Top Soaps Accused Of Stereotyping Ethnic Minorities - Coventry Telegraph - Pass
the Remote http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/passtheremote/2008/07/top-soaps-accused-of-stereotyp.html
[4]
"Top Soaps Accused Of Stereotyping Ethnic Minorities -
Coventry Telegraph - Pass the Remote." Top
Soaps Accused Of Stereotyping Ethnic Minorities - Coventry Telegraph - Pass the
Remote. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Jan. 2014.
<http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/passtheremote/2008/07/top-soaps-accused-of-stereotyp.html>.
[6]
Race and the Representation of Blacks' Interests During Reconstruction
-http://prq.sagepub.com/content/54/1/181.abstract
[9]
Black actors leave Britain to escape 'lazy stereotypes - http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/black-actors-leave-britain-to-escape-lazy-stereotypes-says-chuka-umunna-8915673.html
[11]
Thelma, Golden (1994)
[18]
ibid
[21]
ibid
[22]
ibid
[27]
ibid
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