Question 1B

Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to the concept of audience.

Audience is one of the main concepts when creating a media text. For my A2 coursework I have created a music video. The song I chose to do is Shuffle by Bombay Bicycle Club. My chosen audience are teenagers and in general mainstreamers. I also targeted my video at people who enjoy indie music and people who enjoy the latest chart music. For my music video  it is quite fun, so teenagers and young people can relate to it. I used a female to be my main actress. The actress I used wore fashionable clothing and what was in at the time. Again this lets the audience relate to the music video

One of the shots in my video is an extreme close up of my actress lip syncing the words of the song. She wore prominent red lipstick. Making her look seductive but also passionate. This could be linked with Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze. Laura Mulvey is a feminist theorist. Her words were that ‘women are there to be looked at’ and ‘women are objects’. By my actress wearing red lipstick, it has made her look also look dangerous but beautiful.

The two step flow theory can be linked with my music video. The two step flow is where a leader passes on something to an individual consumer. This theory was introduced by Paul laserfeld. For example someone of importance like a host of a chart show who plays music to the mass media. By someone having an opinion of my music video, it could influence others when watching it.

The uses and gratifications theory could be linked with my music video. This theory was introduced by Blumer and Katz. It is where audiences are influenced by information, television, film and in general media. For my music video my actors are wearing stylish clothing for example my main actress is wearing a black dress and red lipstick. My actors could influence my audience which could lead to them wanting the buy similar clothing and products like them. Other examples of this are popular musicians like Rihanna and Lady Gaga. These singers are very influential people especially in their music videos and by what they wear. My video also has a playful and fun theme to it. This could influence my audience because they may also want this.

Another theory which could be linked with my music video is the reception theory. The actors in my music video are shown as fun and are no different to anyone else . Because the actors are so relaxed it could influence the people who are watching to just have fun. The shot in my video where I have shot an extreme close up of my actresses has red lipstick, which shows her in a feminist way. This could be related with a typical attractive female.

I found it hard to find a specific audience for my music video but after much thought I decided my audience would be someone who is young, who likes to have fun and enjoys music. I did this by researching and watching music videos and getting feedback off others.

Scream

Homer Simpson tries to vote for Obama

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aBaX9GPSaQ

The Simpsons as a Post Modern Text

The Simpsons is the well known comedy series and was first created in 1989 by the creator Matt Groening. The television series is a about a working class family in the city of springfield. The family includes Homer who is seen as the breadwinner in the family, Marge; the typical house wife and the three children Bart, Lisa and Maggie. Throughout the 25 series of the show we see the family go through daily life. The creators make the life of the Simpsons into parody.
The Simpsons show many features which make the television series post modern, one feature being Intertextuaility. In the show we see all five characters stay the same age for example Lisa and Bart are the ages of 11 and 8 and throughout the 17 years of the show; the characters do not age. The show was made in the post modern era and has no sense of time and place.
The second point which makes the sitcom a post modern text is the fact the show does not follow the typical linear narrative. Every episode has a start and finish and all disruptions are resolved at the end of the episode. This is very common in many sitcoms like Family Guy and Futurama.
Another feature of post modernism is the decline of the meta narrative meaning the show parodies’, religion, government and other social issues. For example one episode includes Homer attempting to vote for the current President Obama. Other presidents have been referenced like the former President George W Bush. The creators of the shows make light of religion for example in the episode where Homer gives his soul to the devil. They also make humour of issues like obesity.
The typical American family is portrayed in the show. At the beginning of every episode we see the family all join on the sofa. You see that the television is important and brings the family all together. Lisa and Bart are shown as binary opposites because they are both very different characters but the television show Itchy and Scratchy always bring the pair together.
Jean Bauldrilards theory of hyperreality is referenced in The Simpsons. The show uses pop culture a lot in the show. The shows references other shows, actors etc. This makes it difficult because we are shown copies of copies and no longer the original references.
Overall I think that the television show The Simpsons is a Post modern text. It uses. Intextuality, hyperreality and meta narrative and other features. The sitcom was made in the post modern era and uses a lot of today’s pop culture.

What is the story of my production?

Discuss two or more media texts that you would define as post modern and explain why you would give them this label.

The concept of post modernism is that it is the movement away from modernism and is applied to art, history, philosophy and fictions and culture.. Post modernism rejects any reality like faith and science. Theorists like Jean Francis Lyotard said that we create our own realities. Post modernism features pastiche, irony and self-referentiality and black humour. It is described now playful and open. Fredrick Jameson also described it as ‘perpetuant’ and ‘present’. Pop Culture and the film industry Post Modernism is seen in many media texts for example the film Quantin Tarintino. Another example of who presents post modernism is the very famous pop singer Lady Gaga.
Lady Gaga is known for being post modern, like in the video Telephone. She is known for her controversial songs and videos. Gaga has been known for her similarities with Madonna and how their music is very alike. In the video, it features many elements to post modernism. For example Pastiche which is where it references other media texts. The video telephone features Quantin Tarintino and Thelma and Louise. Pastiche rejects the idea of a parody. It also references Consumerism in other words product placement. Virgin Media and Coke Cola are shown in the video. Meta narratives are also shown in the video. It is difficult to know what the main narrative of the video is because of the many product placements and the overall pop culture you see. You also notice that she references other musicians like Michael Jackson and Cyndi Lauper in her music.
Another media text which features Post Modernism is the film Run Lola Run which is a German film and is directed by Tom Tykwer 1998.The film is about how the character Lola, who needs to find 100,00 marks in 20 minutes for her boyfriend Mani. Run Lola Run is a post modern text because of many reasons. Jean Bauldrillard says that we live in a hyper real culture and this is shown in the film and the idea of it being like a video game and Lola having more than one life and can restart the game whenever she wants. The soundtrack of the film uses fast techno music and it reflects on the theme of a video game. Lola is shown as cartoon in the opening sequence of the film. She is shown in the way that she is a superhero. The color red dominates the film. This is maybe representing danger or death. The film also rejects the idea of the Meta narrative. We mostly see the main characters; Lola, Mani and her father, although we see the minor characters which are shown in the runs. We see the characters sped up and their own narratives. Time is a big concept in the film and Tyker shows this by constantly reminding the audience by showing us clocks. We see a clock and a ticking in the opening scene. We then see scene where Lola screams so extraordinarily loud that she breaks a clock. This may represent the shattering of time. All these features make the film very surreal
In conclusion both Run Lola Run and Lady Gaga are both good examples of Post Modernism. The theory of Post Modernism has many explanations but the concepts are clear in the film and Lady Gagas ,music. for example Run Lola Run is shown like a video game and this links with Bauldrillard's ideas and theories. Lady Gaga uses the idea of Pastiche and product consumerism in her video Telephone

Modernism and Post Modernism