TV drama characters

Reinforcing and challenging gender stereotypes 

The female characters in skins are viewed via the male gaze which are seen as promiscuous. The character profile of Effy Stoneham enhances this idea by her provocative nature and revealing clothes. However, Effy takes enjoyment by playing 'hard to get' and makes Freddie McClair and James Cook both fall for her. This connotes the typical side of Effy as she dominates the relationships and isn't portrayed as a stereotypical weak female; although the weakness could be debatable as at the end of series four she broke down and went mad.

Throughout the whole of the series the idea that a girl needs to look perfect and also dress provocatively to become noticed is referenced a lot. If a girl dresses any different, it almost goes against the norm. The character Naomi Campbell is critised a lot by Cook - which she retaliates to - as she is portrayed as a counter type to females as she covers up.

The gender of males is portrayed as domineering and only being interested in females attention if it contains sexual references. However, the character JJ is counter typical due to him viewing girls on their personality and not acknowledging sexual references; he almost looks out casted by Cook and Freddie due to them talking about girls and porn. JJ is only really interested in education and the science he is taking at college.

In this picture of Effy, you can see that the outfit she is wearing is highly provocative and revealing as you can see her bra, which is subjective for men to act upon. The picture below is of Naomi Campbell, it shows the type of clothes how she would dress and how different it is to Effy as it is very simple and nothing that would be considered alluring.

What issues of representation can be seen in River?

Emotionally unwell:

It is clear to see in episode 1 - 3 that DI John River is emotionally stunted; he struggles to express his mental state. It is a valid judgement to make that River was in love with his deceased partner DS Jackie Stevenson (Stevie). However, he never let himself close enough to her to admit how he felt, or still feels, even after her death. 

Rivers colleagues make it compulsory for him to go and visit the psychiatrist for emotional help. River is reluctant at first but starts to show ease towards the idea of needing help. 

It is easy to see how unhappy DI River is during these three episodes, in the third episode he breaks down and begins to cry heavily. This makes the audience sympathies for him; for his beloved loss and utter unhappiness that he feels.  

Saturday 17th October 2015

Television drama schedule

Dramas don't usually start playing until around nine o'clock at night. This is because they usually have explicit or brutal context, this is what makes them dramatic. These dramas are usually around an hour long and only usually commence once a week. Also, they change story lines frequently. However, soaps also come under the drama category and these are on much earlier in the evening, this is because they are considered family dramas. Soups are aired daily and only lasting half an hour long, these are called serial dramas. Other family dramas like doctor who for example would also be aired earlier in the evening as they have been authorised as appropriate for various ages.

Teen dramas would be aired later on in the night, this is because the target audience would empathise a range of authentic characters with specific situations that would relate strictly to teenagers. Examples would be anxiety and stress of doing well in education, frequent parties with behavior that could be considered inappropriate or unacceptable by older generations.

Examples of late night dramas

• police/crime dramas: this is because there could be tragic or brutal context as to why the police was called for. For example broadchruch which was aired at 9pm. 
• Fantasy/sci-fi: Supernatural scenes could be aired later at night as context could frighten young children. However, some are considered acceptable. 
• Teen dramas like misfits which aired on channel four at 10pm.

La Haine: analysis on Said, Vinz and Hubert

Wednesday 7th October

Said:
Said is looked upon as the leader of the group, it is fairly clear to the audience. However, later in the film it is made more of a fact rather than a thought as he was the only one to get arrested as he was viewed as the ring leader. He is filled with a lot of anger and resentment which is brewing because as he waits for a friend of his to die. His friend was badly beaten by a police officer - whom his friends and he refers to as "pigs" - due to the fact of his religion. Said could be considered a rebellious youth as we know he smokes marijuana, swears a lot and breaks the law, he is also unemployed and doesn't look as if he is aiming to get one.
We know Said has a sister as we meet her when she didn't go to school; this could suggest that the whole family has a rebellious attitude. Before this though, we knew he has a sister from the crude jokes his friends -Vinz and Hubert - made about her. This could show a close bond between the three boys as they can insult each other without it mattering.

Vinz:
Vinz has very similar character traits as Said, except he is far more careless in his actions and until the end doesn't realise that his actions could have extremely bad repercussions.
Without being told we can tell that Vinz doesn't come from a background of wealth. We know this because we go into his house. He is in an extended family structure, with his grandma cooking him meals and telling him what to do e.g. to go to the synagogue - by this we know he is Jewish. Vinz also has to share a bedroom with his sister, which could be considered weird or abnormal at the age they are both at.
Just like Said, Vinz could be considered a rebellious youth as similarly he is unemployed, smokes, swears and breaks the law; in addition, he also posses a gun and threatens to shoot people multiple times.


Hubert:
Hubert shows a lot more ambition and sense then the other two boys all through out the film, however it could be argued that he is brought down by his friends regularly.We know he has aspiration because it took him two years to get the grant for his gym - which unfortunately burnt down due to the riots. He didn't give up or get bored of waiting, he continued to try until it was successful. The two years of waiting for a grant to be given to him could be argued that it was because he was adolescence, furthermore, young people might now have been strongly trusted to be given things like grants.
As well as Vinz and more then likely Said, Hubert comes from a poor family, his mother cannot afford books to help her children study, and it is clear that she cannot pay her bills as Hubert provides money to help. This is another trait which suggests he is of higher sense and maturity than the other boys. It is almost as if Hubert has taken on the fatherly figure within his family as the film doesn't portray as whether or not his father is apart of that families lives.

Advert analysis

Tuesday 29th September

Kill your speed or live with it

Who is the target audience for the advertisement?

The target audience for this advert is clearly aimed at the average car owner. You can tell this from the advert because the man in it is living a very typical life, he gets up, gets ready, goes to work and goes to bed. In all of these scenarios a little boy - which is made obvious that the man in the advert killed by driving over the speed limit - haunts his sense with the site of his death. This is shown in the picture below. It never leaves your mind, the guilt of knowing you've ended someone's life is terrible, and utterly impossible to let go. This is what the advert is trying to make aware to car drivers, so people know the haunting consequences of driving over set speed limits. It doesn't just effect the person who gets hit by the car not the friends and the family that have to live with the loss, but also the driver of the car. 

What was the message communicated by this advert?

The advert gives plenty of examples of day to day activities that have been ruined by the car accident just because his own conscience can't let him get over the gravity of the situation and how he is haunted by the image of this child. In all of the scenes he can't even bear to look at the dead child and the way he looks away adds effect to this advert and helps get the message across at how unbearable life has become. Throughout the advert the sounds are all very droll and gloomy, but especially in the last scene where we hear him sigh loudly and almost burst into tears which clearly shows how distraught he feels. I think that the biggest way the advert shows consequences is the way the child haunts him, the way he never moves throughout or changes position adds to the emotion and impact of the advert. 

Visual devices used to help put across the message

The weather in this advert helps get across the way he feels and helps show how depressed he is, it gives the scene a gloomy feel. Also, how no one else can see the boy represents his own personal struggle and how it is nothing but his fault, scaring the viewer by showing them what the may have to deal with.

Comparison between a tabloid and a newspaper article

Monday 28th September 2015

'Reverse gear' 

This was the title that the Daily Mirror decided to include in their story about Jeremy Clarkson loosing his job off Top gear. This title relates to his previous job which involved cars and also connotes negatively. Reverse is going backwards and therefore is further from positive. This could be implying that his career is going to go downhill (in reverse) from now onward as he upset the nation with offensive comments - and not for the first time. It could also be seen as a joke aimed at him which adds a laid back feel to the newspaper. Tabloids are well known for this. Also, it is clear to notice that the title is extremely bold and in capital letters, it is the tabloids main attraction. 

However, the front cover of the broadsheet the guardian the main story is far more serious involving poverty. This shows that the Clarkson story is not a main issue and is being over dramatised in tabloid newspapers like the daily mirror. Already that is one big comparison between the two newspapers. The headline talking about the article about Jeremy Clarkson has a white text on a light blue background and even though this is subtle in itself it makes the actual brief article about the story stand out even more, it does this so if someone decides they want to read it, it is there to read, and if not, it isn't a big issue. 

On the Daily mirror front cover there is a timeline near the bottom of the page which states that at 2:08pm Clarkson says "I'm NOT sorry, I've done nothing wrong" and at 4:36pm "Er, I apologise if I have upset anyone." This time line creates suspense which makes the readers intrigued in what happened between this time resulting in his end apology. The colloquial lexis "Er" shows slang and perhaps hesitation within his answer.  

Another big comparison between the two newspapers is the images used to present Jeremy Clarkson. In the daily mirror there is an image of Clarkson scratching his head. This plays on the stereotypical image of someone stupid; the idea of stupidity is helped by the "Er" used in the front cover too. This could connote him with dumbness or confusion. In comparison, the picture of Clarkson used in the guardian is a lot simpler; he is standing in a normal position, connoting no foolishness like he could perhaps be doing in the mirror. Therefore, meaning that this image is a far more neutral representation of him. 

The brief story on the front cover which gives the readers a concise idea on what the story is about only includes a small amount of text; this doesn't create drama plus it doesn't strive to catch attention, unlike in the daily mirror. However, the heading does say 'Clarkson V the unions' which makes out as if there is conflict ahead as the 'V' generally means against. This could create a little drama over the situation.

On the inside of each newspaper the story was set out very differently. On the tabloid there was lexis throughout the article which makes an effort to be a source of fascination with language such as 'blundering, infuriates, in-ability and warped.' However the heading is "what a silly boy" the use of the word silly knocks down the sophistication of the good vocabulary. In similarity the heading of the gaurdian is "He was only being 'silly', says the PM, as Clarkson now gets political." Both newspapers use the word silly in their headings; however the inverted comers around the word silly on the broadsheet suggests it has been extracted from other sources, perhaps the daily mirror. The fact that the PM has also been included reaches a higher class of working people.