A normal everyday year old girl from Jersey is out on a dog walk, she is doing usual stuff: throwing a ball for her dog, looking at the trees, talking on the phone to her friends… She receives a text message from an anonymous number intending that the sender is near through messages like ‘ i see you’, ‘where are you walking too’… while confused to who this may be, she begins panicking and getting unnerved, however, she carry’s on walking. As the sender states he is getting closer she begins running towards the car park towards here car, the sender reveals himself and she is kidnapped, her phone drops to the floor…

Peripeteia- a change in fortune e.g A very wealthy man has been making money for decades by taking big risks in the stock market. Suddenly, the stock market crashes and he is launched into poverty. In this example, peripeteia is a drastic change in circumstance, as a once wealthy man becomes poor.

Anagnorisis- moment of dramatic revelation. The moment when the protagonist realizes their own tragic flaw.  e.g. the neighbour coming to the door, expecting to be shouted at but instead complimented.

Catharsis- purification or purgation of the emotions. e.g. the dad listening to Bruce Springsteen with the son.

Practical equipment-

Technical equipment – lighting, sound, microphones

actors

camera crew

writers, directors, editors, lighting directors

set designers

props

music

Conceptual

performance

emotion

time based

events

chronilogical

events

sequenntial

characters

theme

antagonist/protagonist

linear

beginning, middle, end

Freytag’s pyramid

1. Linear- progressing from one stage to another in a single series of steps; sequential.
2. Chronological- (of a record of events) following the order in which they occurred.
3. Sequential- forming or following in a logical order or sequence.
4. Circular structure- In a circular narrative, the story ends where it began. 
5. Time based
6. Narrative arc – A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and films with each episode following a dramatic arc. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. 
7. Freytag’s Pyramid-  Freytag’s Pyramid is a paradigm of dramatic structure outlining the seven key steps in successful storytelling: exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution, and denouement.
8. exposition- a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory
9. inciting incident- The inciting incident of a story is the event that sets the main character or characters on the journey that will occupy them throughout the narrative. .
10. rising action,-  The rising action starts right after the period of exposition and ends at the climax. Beginning with the inciting incident, rising action is the bulk of the plot. It is composed of a series of events that build on the conflict and increase the tension, sending the story racing to a dramatic climax.
11. climax,-
12. falling action,- Falling action is what happens near the end of a story after the climax and resolution of the major conflict. … Simply put, falling action is what the characters are doing after the story’s most dramatic part has happened.
13. resolution,-
14. denouement – the final part of a play, film, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.
15. Beginning / middle / end
16. Equilibrium
17. Disruption
18. New equilibrium
19. Peripeteia
20. Anagnoresis
21. Catharsis
22. The 3 Unities: Action, Time, Place
23. flashback / flash forward
24. Foreshadowing
25. Ellipsis
26. Pathos
27. Empathy
28. diegetic / non-diegetic
29. slow motion

Synopsis

A girl is walking on her phone as she receives texts from an unknown number. She hurries to get back to her car, however, the number begins to get closer to her until she is eventually captured.

Blinded by the Light is an example of a US/UK co-production and distribution.

Its distributorNew Line Cinema is associated with ‘indie’ films although it is a subsidiary of Warner Brothers Pictures, part of the global conglomerate , WarnerMedia.

New Line Cinema –  is an American Film production studio and a label of the Warner Bros.

WarnerMedia – is a Global Conglomerate of Warner Bros, Home Box Office, Turner Entertainment Networks, CNN Worldwide, etc

Blinded by the Light is a low-mid budget production ($15m) co-funded by New Line Cinema (an American production studio owned by Warner Brothers Pictures Group) and independent

Blinded by the light has a trailer on Youtube posted on the Kinocheck.com channel with 1.1 million views.

It has a twitter page called “Blinded by the light movie” which has 3,489 followers and following 6 people.

 Distribution techniques – reliance on new technology; VOD, streaming.

Bruce Springsteen’s music was licensed for use within the film

The film is available to watch in several countries (Globalisation)

They used social media i.e. Twitter and YouTube to help advertise the film (Distribution)

• Cultural industries  – An economic field concerned with producing, reproducing, storing and distributing cultural goods/services.
• Production- The act of producing an output, goods or service which has value and contributes to the utility of people.
• Distribution-  The methods by which media products are delivered to audiences, including the marketing campaign
• Exhibition / Consumption-The sum of information and entertainment media taken in by an individual or group. It includes activities such as interacting with new media, reading books and magazines, watching television and film, and listening to radio.
• Media concentration-
• Conglomerates-a thing consisting of a number of different and distinct parts or items that are grouped together.
• Globalization (in terms of media ownership)-The production, distribution, and consumption of media products on a global scale facilitating the exchange and diffusion of ideas cross-culturally.
• Cultural imperialism-the imposition by one usually politically or economically dominant community of various aspects of its own culture onto another non-dominant community.
• Vertical Integration- Vertical integration refers to the process of acquiring business operations within the same production vertical. A company that opts for vertical integration takes complete control over one or more stages in the production or distribution of a product. (distribution company buying a production company)
• Horizontal Integration- Horizontal integration is a business strategy in which one company acquires or merges with another that operates at the same level in an industry. Horizontal integrations help companies grow in size and revenue, expand into new markets, diversify product offerings, and reduce competition. (Production company buying another production company)
• Mergers-The voluntary fusion of two companies on broadly equal terms into one new legal entity
• Monopolies- The exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service.
• Gatekeepers- Gatekeeping is the process through which information is filtered for dissemination, whether for publication, broadcasting, the internet, or some other mode of communication
• Regulation- The process by which a range of specific, often legally binding, tools are applied to media systems and institutions to achieve established policy goals such as pluralism, diversity, competition, and freedom.
• Deregulation- The removal of regulations or restrictions, especially in a particular industry.
• Free market- A system in which the prices for goods and services are self-regulated by buyers and sellers negotiating in an open market.
• Commodification – The transformation of things such as into objects of trade or commodities. (charging people for things)
• Convergence  – Transforms established industries, services, and work practices and enables entirely new forms of content to emerge.
• Diversity – The condition of having many different elements.
• Innovation –  The practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services.

David Hesmondhalgh

• Went to the university of Leeds.
• Wrote books like The Cultural Industries, Media and Society and Culture, Economy and Politics: The Case of New Labour. Which all focus on the idea of the working world and what people expect in certain businesses and popular culture. For example expecting really happy, jumpy and creative people in a media job, whereas that isn’t the truth.
• Hesmondhalgh argues popularity results in a large amount of product production and selling to make a large monetary game.
• This is implied in the quote “the distinctive organisational form of the cultural industries has considerable implications for the conditions under which symbolic creativity is carried out’”
• Furthermore, Hesmondhalgh displays in this quote “there must be serious concerns about the extent to which this business-driven, economic agenda is compatible with the quality of working life and of human well-being in the creative industries.” that it must be difficult to have both a working life and a good life and them being compatible with each other where you are enjoying work and therefore creating a more enjoyable and happier person when out of work.
•  “cultural industries are risky” 
•  “All business is risky, but the cultural industries constitute a particularly risky business” 

Funding
Blinded By The Light cost around $15m to make. Key points:

• Bend It Films developed the film with support from Levantine Films and Ingenious Media.
• Levantine Films is an independent production company that had a major success with Hidden Figures in 2016 which grossed $230m at the worldwide box office.
• The Ingenious Group is an investment company that invests money in projects that have the potential to deliver future profits.

Production
Key points for making Blinded By The Light:

• Adapted from a book called Greetings From Bury Park by Sarfraz Manzoor (a play on ‘Greetings From Asbury Park’ – a Bruce Springsteen album). The memoir outlined his experiences growing up in Luton in the 1980s and discovering the music of Springsteen.
• Co-written and directed by Gurinder Chadha who had a smash hit in 2002 with her film Bend It Like Beckham (Bend It Like Beckham made over $100m at the worldwide box office).

DistributionBlinded By The Light was picked up by New Line Cinema at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival after a bidding war with various other major film distributors. The film had been well received by audiences at the film festival. 

• The all-night auction following the world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2019 guaranteed the film a major global cinema release which many films never achieve.
• Previously offered for sale at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival but did not attract a buyer at that point although UK distribution was secured by eOne Entertainment, a Canadian media company.
• New Line Cinema are an American production studio owned by Warner Brothers Pictures Group.
• The film was released in cinemas worldwide in August 2019. The DVD release followed in December 2019 distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment – a Viacom company.
• Deal with Amazon Prime secured in early 2020 for streaming in the UK.

Reception and box office

• Positive word-of-mouth marketing but poor box office figures – just $18.1m box office against a $15m budget which means the film almost certainly lost money when factoring in the global marketing campaign.
• Rival studios argued that Warner Bros. should have begun with a limited release to build audience interest, and that the film’s August date was too close to that of Yesterday, a film with some surface similarities. [Source: Deadline Hollywood].

Promotion and marketing

Blinded By The Light was backed by a major international marketing campaign: 

• Traditional marketing: trailer, film poster with review quotes etc.
• Premieres – London, Luton and Asbury Park, New Jersey (attended by Bruce Springsteen).
• Heavy social media presence – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube.
• Interviews with writer, director and stars across TV, radio, newspapers and magazines (see below).

Judith Butler describes gender as “an identity instituted through a stylized repetition of acts”. In other words, it is something learnt through repeated performance.

How useful is this idea in understanding gender is represented in both the Score and Maybelline advertising campaigns?

I am going to be discussing how gender ‘the range of characteristics pertaining to, and differentiating between femininity and masculinity.’ is presented through the score and Maybelline advertising campaigns. I will also be discussing the changes of gender and gender representation.

Judith Butler, is an American philosopher and gender theorist. Butler argues that gender is a performance and not something that we are simply born with, we learn and adapt to become a certain gender; Contrasting to Laura Mulveys’ idea of ‘fixed gender’. Butler believes that gender is fluid, changeable and plural, being born into a certain sex, does not determine behaviour, people simply adapt and grasp onto the ways of society, whether it be male characteristics such as: football, video games, or more feminine characteristics such as: makeup and shopping “Our genders are culturally rather naturally formed”. Harry styles, an inspirational singer and activist has lead the way in breaking negative stereotypes surrounding gender, identity and sexuality. This brand ‘pleasing’ is a range of beauty products aimed at all genders. Styles, being an influential opinion leader, voices his views on masculinity and femininity in a radical way by presenting himself in a feminine manor. Styles is a perfect representation of Butlers gender being performative. Harry Styles claims that he aims to “blur the boundaries” of the gender binary and show that regardless of what you identify yourself as, beauty cosmetics is for everyone, not just women.

Butlers theory relates to the past norms of society, such as the idea from the 1900’s where the men would go to work while the women would stay home and do ‘feminine’ tasks such as: cooking, cleaning and caring for the children. Women were often stereotyped as weak, incapable and treated subordinately to men, The expectations and stereotypes of men and women are massively defined in the score advert.

The score advert is a historical artefact from 1967, we are presented with the contrast in gender roles and sexuality. The mens hair cream product features a frenzy of women dressed in little clothing posing voyeuristically. They are holding up the dominant signifier the man symbolising a hunter in what we are presented as Africa. We can see the man holding a presumably “loaded gun”, possibly corresponding to the sexual theme of the ad. Laura Mulveys theory of the male gaze is hugely displayed in this advert, the product aimed at men, displays a hierarchy through the mans placement above the women. It could be suggested that the women are the hunters pray. The man is above the women, at the top of the mice-en-scene, connoting his higher power, strength, and possibly in control of the women. Three of the women are staring at the man in absolute awe of his presence. The placement of the women is crucial in this advertisement, we can see the blonde woman at the back reaching for the male, accompanied by the brown haired woman looking directly at the viewer suggesting, they too can have this female attention and praise if they buy this hair cream. We can see the expectations of women presented in this ad, the women are all conventionally attractive, white with small body types. We can also see the indexical animal skin sheet which the man is sat on, this is referring to his success in ‘slaying’ the women. The triadic modal of signs, the representation of the man being worshiped and carried by the women, creates a mental concept of masculine power and control. The patriarchal society of the 1970s allowed the sexualising, demeaning attitudes towards women to be presented even in the media, this lead to a growing number of women desiring equality and freedom of male oppression.

In comparison to the score advert, the maybelline campaign presents male characters, such ad Manny Gutierrez, he is the first male brand ambassador for the make-up brand Maybelline. After decades of limiting makeup ads to women, beauty brands are finally getting the hint that makeup isn’t just for girls; it’s for guys too. This helps fight the battle of toxic masculinity and negative stereotypes for men, removing the barricade between men and femininity. The maybelline campaign links to Judith Butlers ‘gender performance’, it outlines gender fluidity, identity is constantly changing and adapting to the ways of society.

Similar to Butler, David Gauntlet wrote about how gender is fluid and changeable, gender is how you perceive yourself. Gauntlet explains identity in 4 categories, Fluidity of identity, Constructed identity, Negotiated identity and Collective identity. In his investigation into the fluidity of identity, David Gauntlet noted how the representation of gender in the media was beginning to break down the old binary definitions and was now offering a more diverse range of identities. Women, who were simply stereotyped as housewives and passive in the past, were now represented as empowered and assertive. Instead of the physical and combative masculine identity, men could now be seen as sensitive and introspective without any ridicule. Gauntlets theory of fluidity of identity is displayed in both the score and Maybelline ad. In the score ad we are presented with the traditional reactionary form of a man, muscles, adored by women, seen as god like. On the other hand, in ‘That Boss Life’, Manny epitomises this blurring of masculinity and femininity. He wears trousers and a jacket, typical of masculine dress codes, but his verbal and non-verbal codes, such as his final pose to camera, are quite feminine. He has facial hair but he is also confident in his identity to use mascara.

In conclusion, i believe Judith Butlers theory to be true and helpful. It has been proven from both the score and maybelline adverts that gender is a performance, although you are biologically male, you can share characteristics and traits of a female.

• Feminist = a political position
• Female = a matter of biology
• Feminine = a set of culturally defined characteristics

Third-wave feminism is an iteration of the feminist movement. It began in the United States^[2] in the early 1990s and continued until the rise of the fourth wave in the 2010s.^[3][4] Born in the 1960s and 1970s as members of Generation X and grounded in the civil-rights advances of the second wave, third-wave feminists embraced individualism in women and diversity and sought to redefine what it meant to be a feminist.

Third-wave feminism began in the early 1990s, coined by Naomi Wolf, it was a response to the generation gap between the feminist movement of the 1960’s and ’70’s, challenging and re-contextualising some of the definitions of femininity that grew out of that earlier period. In particular, the third-wave sees women’s lives as intersectional, demonstrating a pluralism towards race, ethnicity, class, religion, gender and nationality when discussing feminism.

According to Barker and Jane (2016), third wave feminism, which is regarded as having begun in the mid-90’s has following recognisable characteristics:

1. an emphasis on the differences among women due to race, ethnicity, class, nationality, religion
2. individual and do-it-yourself (DIY) tactics
3. fluid and multiple subject positions and identities
4. cyberactivism
5. the reappropriation of derogatory terms such as ‘slut’ and ‘bitch’ for liberatory purposes
6. sex positivity
7. reappropriation- take back

Forth wave

Raunch culture is the sexualised performance of women in the media that can play into male stereotypes of women as highly sexually available, where its performers believe they are powerful owners of their own sexuality’

 As feminists came online in the late 1990s and early 2000s and reached a global audience with blogs and e-zines, they broadened their goals, focusing on abolishing gender-role stereotypes and expanding feminism to include women with diverse racial and cultural identities.^[12][13]

First ad

Statement of intent- My intention is to create a reactionary ad for a perfume based in the 1960s. The product I am using is a Flower inspired perfume called ‘Blossom’ by the makeup chain Superdrug. My ad will be based around the idea of, youth, flowers, freshness, fun and aimed at women between 16-35.

Media Language- My dominant Signifier will be My product, a bottle of body spray, I will be closely following my style model and emulate the white box filled with text and an image of the product as seen in my style model. My ad will feature symbols of flowers as flowers signify freshness, an indexical signifier this perfume will make you smell young and fresh. I want my ad to be fun to entice people to buy the product, to do this I will be directing my model to pose confidently so that the potential buyers will believe they too will be confident and fun when wearing this scent. My product will be a conventional ad inspired by the 1960s, I will be using the ‘Score Liquid Hair Groom’ as my style model.

Audience- my audience will be people aged around 16-30 with no specified income, the product will be fairly priced and small enough to fit in a bag for everyday life.

Second ad

Statement of intent- my intention is to create a radical ad for my product, a flower scented body spray. My ad will be based around the floral scent of the spray instead of sexualising the model as seen in many reactionary ads. My style model is a Victoria secrets body spray ad from the modern day. My model will not be wearing revealing clothing as I want my ad to focus on the product and the flowery scents, not the model.

Media Language- My dominant signifier will be my bottle of body spray called ‘Blossom’ by Superdrug. I will be placing symbols of flowers blooming from my models head to correlate to my slogan ‘A blooming array of florals’.

Audience- my audience will be people aged around 16-30 with no specified income, the product will be fairly priced and small enough to fit in a bag for everyday life.

1. hits of heterosexual sex. – women touching the man.
2. pedestal suggest they worship him.
3. sexualisation of females. – clothing, hints of a sexual relationship between the women and the man.
4. African themed, animal print, no black people
5. heterosexual looking man
6. male directed product- ‘masculine scent’ ‘made by the men’

mice-en-scene: a jungle themed advertisement for men’s hair products, a heterosexual wealthy looking man surrounded by women hinting his ‘pray’