unit 1 media

 Neale- R&D Metz- ExClaPaDe Altman- syntactic rules, semantic visuals Todorov- Every Driver Ram Raids Retail Strauss- binary, 10101 adorno and horkheimer- hypodermic needle packard-

 Adorno and Horkheimer- the hypodermic syringe model They noted there were similarities between Nazi propaganda and what was called the culture industry in America. They theorised that pop culture in America was factory produced standardised content which was used to manipulate a mass audience. They argued that 'dumbed down' content made people passive and created psychological needs that could only be fulfilled by that content, feeding into the capitalist nature of the states. Packard- advertisers manipulate an audience to buy things they don't need. mass media were perceived as an extreme influence towards audiences adapted behaviour.  gaming-  People who frequently play violent video games like Call of Duty show neural desensitization to painful images, according to study (psypost.org) film-  How Terrifier 2 Used A Negative Horror Trope To Its Advantage (screenrant.com) tv shows- 10 Moronic Teens Who Were Killed Mimicking 'Jackass' - Listverse bandura experiment ...

 1. Steve Neale believed there needed to be repetition and difference in a genre to make films entertaining. 2. Christian Metz said that there were 4 stages to creating a genre: experimental, classic, parody, deconstruction 3. Altman commented on the 3 types of pleasures: visceral, intellectual and emotional. syntactic and semantic.  4.Todorov said there was a cycle films follow: equilibrium-> disruption->realisation-> repair-> restoration 5. Strauss used binary opposition in order to tell a story. (good and evil)

 The cycle of changes a genre goes through in their lifetime. 1. experimental stage- The beginning phase of a genre, how foundations are built (generic codes and conventions). 2. classic stage-codes and conventions of a genre get seen as iconic. These become guidelines. 3. parody stage- when the codes and conventions are so well established and accepted that people begin to mock them. 4. deconstruction stage- the genre begins to evolve and merge with others.

 All genres contain instances of repetition and difference. Difference is vital to the economy of a genre. A film must match certain conventions and stereotypes in order to be considered a film of that specific genre, however, must subvert them enough to be considered unique. By following certain conventions and stereotypes it makes it financially safer to release a film as it is going to be enjoyable to the public

  The Black Phone- In the film the black phone, we can see a very clear presence of Todorov’s narrative theory and Strauss’ theory using binary opposition.   At the start, there is equilibrium , this being a normal town in America. We open on a baseball game being played by a group of kids, this being a normal activity, it can be considered equilibrium. The disruption is when kids start going missing more frequently and eventually the main character is taken. During this stage we get to see altmans theory working with visceral and intellectual pleasure, as there is an air of mystery about the person nicknamed “the grabber” and his real identity. Visceral pleasure comes from the frightening scene of the main characters capture, including a struggle between the main character and the antagonist. The antagonist is made with Strauss’ binary opposition theory as he is doing something inherently evil, this being kidnapping, he also uses black balloons and obscures his face, le...

 horror, action, thriller, romance, comedy, romantic comedy, musical, drama, documentaries, biopic, fantasy, sci-fi, superhero main components-  music, camera shots, actors, dialogue, lighting Rick Altman (1999) audience pleasures, Semantic/syntatic approach. Syntactic- relations between these elements and the structure of narrative in genre. Semantic- communicating the conventions of the genre such as characters, location and props. emotional pleasures- make you happy/ sad etc. visceral pleasures- physical reaction or feeling from the audience. intellectual pleasures- makes the audience think