Upload
brettmax
View
223
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film
1/12english and media centre| September 2008 | MediaMagazine7
MM
You could be forgiven for thinking that, in this
age of multiplatform media and downloaded
or streamed content, everyone is a fan ofsomething, whether its a specific T V show,
or an indie-rock band. Being a fan taking
part in the shared activities and practices of
a fan community seems to have become an
ordinary, everyday part of media use. Were
all fans now, arent we? After all, following the
narrative puzzles of Lostor Heroesis hardly the
cult, underground preserve of a select few. Its
properly mainstream: above ground, centre stage.
And rating and reviewing bits of media content
has also become increasingly commonplace,
rather than the specialist territory of amateur fan
magazines or fanzines. Yes, surely were all fans
now, whether or not we even use the label.
According to this argument, studying fans
of film, TV, and music is important for Media
Studies because in contemporary consumer
culture, being a fan is one part, and sometimes
a highly significant part, of our self-identities.
Whats been dubbed media fandom the
detailed appreciation of particular media texts
is, for some people, just as much an aspect
of who they are as, say, their class, age, or their
gender. And though there have been different
strands of work, and different traditions and
theories, applied to media fandom and sports
fandom, these approaches are themselvesbeginning to converge, given that sports fandom
is now itself often one type of media fandom.
Indeed, whilst some fan passions may fade,
others seem to stay with us for life, becoming
a type ofenduring fandom that we cant
imagine ever being without. This can sometimes
be a sports or football fandom, often linked toregional and family identitiesand so speaking
literally of where we come from. But it can also
be the love of a film franchise Star Warsor
Lord of the Ringsfans or even a TV series like
Doctor Who(my own enduring fandom). And
if many people are fans, throughout much, if
not all, of their lives, then Media Studies owes it
to itself, and to us, to take seriously the creative
endeavours and the emotions exhibited by this
everyfan.
Emotional attachmentIn Fan Cultures, I argue that fans emotional
attachments to particular objects call for a theory
which is not limited to audience interpretation.
All too often, Media Studies has had a lot to say
about audience readings and understandings
of content, but much less to tell us about how
audiences feel about the media they consume.
Even the approach known as Uses and
Gratifications concerns what people do with
the media, rather than how they might become
attached to, and invested in, particular
media texts. And where fandom is concerned,
emotional attachment some have compared
this to a form of love is a vital component.
From everyfan to anti-
fans, superfans, andbrand fans.... MattHills, one of ourforemost theorists of
fandom, explains why
the fans themselves are
becoming the subject of
academic study.
Heroes(left and nearright): courtesy ofimage.net
Lost(far right):courtesy of C4sextranet press site
8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film
2/128MediaMagazine| September 2008 | english and media centre
MM
Finding a quick and easy definition of media
fandom isnt easy, partly because the term has
been so widely debated. The author of Fans
(2005), Cornel Sandvoss, offers up the following:
I define fandom as the regular, emotionally
involved consumption of a given popular
narrative or text.
Like a kind of love, this emotional involvement
may even be so intense as to go beyond an
individual fans ability fully to put it into words
and explain it. Partly for this reason, and
partly because fan love is often felt to have an
authenticity and a privacy for fans, I have used
a version of psychoanalysisto think about it.
This is an approach which has a longer historyin Film Studies, though in the past it has been
used in textual analysis rather than in relation to
audiences feelings and attachments. Something
else that is important about the emotional
involvement of fans is that, again rather like the
feeling of being in love, this isnt just about blind
devotion and automatic approval of the fan
object. Instead, fan love often has to tolerate
disappointments and frustrations from the
fan object, such as Star Wars fans hating the
character of Jar Jar Binks, or football fans vocally
criticising their team when they lose. Fandom
represents an attachment to media content
which can often be highly critical wishing and
willing media producers or sports teams to do
better.
Fans are highly critical and creative
audiences; they dont just criticise their beloved
shows or franchises when they fall short of
expectation, they also make their own fanfilms, or write their own fan fiction . As Henry
Jenkinswrote in his ground-breaking study of
media fandom from the early Nineties, Textual
Poachers, fans are consumers who are also
producers.
One way of thinking about media fandom,
then, is that it pre-dates and prefigures the
audience activities of web 2.0: fandom got there
first. Only now are mainstream, digital media
catching up with, and seeking to generalise,
what have previously been special types of fan
interaction and engagement.
The anti-fan
The emphasis on fans emotionalinvestments in specific media has led, more
recently, to a new strand of fan studies: work on
the anti-fan,kickstarted in the Noughties was
by media scholar Jonathan Gray. What might
this strange category include? Well, anti-fans
are people who are passionate about a media
text, but negatively so; they loathe or detest
what they take it to represent. Unlike fans, anti-
fans arent close readers of what they hate; they
form an image of the detested media object at
a distance, by referring to marketing, trailers or
other publicity. Anti-fandom therefore appears to
hinge on a negative stereotypeof the particular
text or genre and its assumed audience. For
example, romantic fiction is formulaic and stupid
and its readers are engaged in empty-headed
escapism (or so an anti-fan would claim). Or, to
give another common example, horror films
Heroes(left, below and farright): courtesy of image.net
Star Wars(below left)
Lord of the Rings(above and
right)
8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film
3/12english and media centre| September 2008 | MediaMagazine9
MM
are allegedly sick and twisted and those who
enjoy them are wrong in the head (according to
horrors many anti-fans). Whereas media fandom
might allow us to define, culturally, what sort
of person we are, with what sort of tastes andinterests, anti-fandom is about who we are not,
and what sorts of identities we seek to define
ourselves against, and in strong opposition to.
It can also be about fan rivalries, of course,
such as fans of one football team taking another
team as their anti-fan arch-enemy. And fans of
a TV series can become anti-fans of particular
elements within it, passionately detesting
developments in the storyline or new actors. The
idea that TV shows can jump the shark (named
after a supposedly ludicrous event in the US TV
series Happy Days) or lose their original appeal
or uniqueness is one version of this. Fans who
make such a claim are, perhaps, shifting theirallegiances and are on the way to becoming anti-
fans of media they previously embraced.
True fansWe might all be fans now, but this doesnt
mean that were all equally fans. Fan
communities commonly make a series of
distinctions between insiders and outsiders,
sharing a sense of what distinguishes fans from
non-fans, or hardcore fans from newbies,
for that matter. Far from just being groups
or networks of like-minded individuals, fan
cultures tend to be marked by distinctions of
authenticity, defining what counts as atrue
fan. The length of time one has been a fan
can contribute to ones fan authenticity, with the
hardcore often having been long-term fans, as
can the quantity and quality of fan knowledge
8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film
4/1210MediaMagazine| September 2008 | english and media centre
MM
one has accumulated. Whether its the league and
game stats a football fan can quote, or detailed
knowledge of a TV shows production history,
fandom isnt just about emotional investment,
its about investing in knowledge, about
knowing the right things. Fans are the experts
of popular culture. Whats nothing but trivia to
a non-fan may be essential learning for a fan.
Culture industries play on this desire for fan
knowledge, of course, through such materials
as DVD extras, commentaries, and podcasts
offering exclusive content or behind-the-scenes
information. Fan authenticity can also be a
matter of getting early access to media content,
with movie fans typically wanting to attend
the earliest possible previews or screenings,
and TV fans wanting to see YouTube clips or
other on-demand content ahead of official firstbroadcast. Being a true fan can mean knowing
more than other fans, and knowing it first.
As such, theres sometimes a strong streak of
competition in fan circles; and there are also
hierarchies of fans. Those who know more,
and have greater access to behind-the-scenes
information, become the leaders of fan groups
and the high-status superfans within their fan
communities. And fans thirst for access and first-
look or first-listen media can also involve them
in battles with the industry, for example when
new songs from well-known bands leak online
ahead of their release, or when TV episodes
leak pre-transmission, such as happened ahead
of the BBC return of Doctor Whoin 2005. This
grey economy of media contentexists in a
murky realm; some of it may be deliberately
aimed at generating or sustaining a fan base,
working as viral, word-of-mouth marketing and
promotion ahead of official release; some of it
may genuinely get out there against the wishes
of the industry, but in line with fans interests.
This reinforces the point that media fandom has
never just been in the pockets of the industry.
Struggles between fans and producers agendas
have frequently been documented, whether its
football fans opposing the buy-out of their team,or movie fans criticising the casting of a much-
loved character such as James Bond.
What does fandom mean?One big problem in defining fandom is
this: what exactly should the term refer to?
Remember that Sandvoss mentions popular
narratives or texts as the proper objects of
fandom, but where does this leave the power
of brands within consumer culture? Can one
be a fan of Converses, or the Apple iPhone, or
even McDonalds? Or how about being a fan
of Subway, but an anti-fan of McDonalds? For
some, this might stretch the language of fandom
too far, but it is hard to discern exactly what
might distinguish more conventional media fan
objects from brands that we are emotionally
invested in; that we regularly and perhaps
habitually consume; that we might have built up
considerable knowledge about, and which may
well have become part of our self-identities. The
rapid rise of the iPod, for example, as an iconic
consumer good, and the brand values of Apple
(along with its dedicated and vocal consumer
champions) seem remarkably close to moretraditional fan objects and fan communities. This
being true, perhaps Media Studies could borrow
from fan studies to think not just about sports
and media fandom, but also brand fandom
and its own struggles between producers and
active consumers. Even fashion fandomcould
be explored more generally. Recent debates
surrounding anti-fandom have started new
areas of study; so too might these ways of
opening up the term fan.
Whether its the everyfan of digital media
contexts, theanti-fan who hates some media
while loving other texts, the superfanwho
knows it all but could still learn from, and
contribute to, Media Studies or the brand fan
who has very clear consumer loyalties, fandom
undoubtedly means a lot of different things to
a lot of different people. In How To Do Things
With Cultural Theory (2005), I even consider the
strange idea that there might be fans of Media
Studies and media theory, but perhaps thats
another story!
Matt Hills is a Reader in Media and Cultural Studies at
Cardiff University. He is the author of several books,
including Fan Cultures, and has published widely on the
subjects of cult media and media fandom.
Following it up
Matt Hills (2002):Fan Cultures
This introduces a range of key theories of
fandom, including approaches using media
sociology and psychoanalysis.
Henry Jenkins (1992):Textual Poachers
Where it all began: a seminal study which put
media fandom on the Media Studies agenda.
Though dated, having been written b efore therise of the internet, it is remains an excellent
starting point for discussions of fan activity.
Cornel Sandvoss (2005):Fans
Another excellent overview, especially good
for the way it focuses on individual fans rather
than the more established approach to fan
groups and communities.
ed. Jonathan Gray et al (2007):Fandom:
Identities & Communities in a Mediated World
A good, up-to-date edited collection, with a
section on anti-fans.
Matt Hills (2005): How to do Things With
Cultural Theory
Heroes(left): courtesy ofimage.net
Star Wars(below, far leftand above left)
Lord of the Rings(above)
8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film
5/12
8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film
6/12
MM
12MediaMagazine| September 2008 | english and media centre
8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film
7/12
8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film
8/1214MediaMagazine| September 2008 | english and media centre
MM
these offer the promise of moving beyond the
normal audience of hardcore gamer to have
crossover appeal,in part due to the reputations
of the individuals involved.
However, both Woo and Bruckheimer need
to try to reverse the trend of turning good
videogames into bad filmsand receiving a
critical mauling. Such translations have been
hampered by a number of factors including low
budgets, lack of A-list stars and the difficulty of
transferring to the screen such vast virtual and
interactive worlds.
Despite this problem it is clear that both
industries have much to gain from this
relationship. Studiosgain access to already
popular source material; games companies
can increase revenues by selling off rights; and
multinational media organisations can utilise
synergyto produce, distribute and market both a
videogame and film. Sonyhas produced films for
Silent Hilland theResident Evilseries for which
it has received$477.1min worldwide grosses
for these films and this is on top of revenue
that will have been generated through the sale
of those games and consoles. This relationship is
only going to continue as even straight-to-DVD
films can find a fan base, this was the case with
Bloodrayne II which has generated enough
money for a sequel to be in production.
Lets hear it for the fansWhat does this do for videogame fans? Are
they left disappointed as another one of their
favourite games gets a lacklustre big screen
translation? The disappointment is likely to lessen
as producers of both videogames and films
realise the differences between the mediums,
and begin to make more suitable adaptations.
What is also evident is that videogame companies
are more controlling over their property and that
film companies are also becoming more careful
with the videogames they are transferring to the
big screen. This was evident in the failure of Peter
Jacksons adaptation ofHaloto make it to the
big screen, where Microsoft wanted more control
and the studios refused to be dictated to. Mostfans of games will go and see the film in spite of
themselves and they will also be the target of
the studios marketing campaign, given that a
larger number of game players fit into the 16-24
male demographictargeted by Hollywood for
action films. It may also be that in the future
the relationship between films and videogames
becomes more complex as CGI and motion
capture technology develops.
What is certain is that the younger generation
of cinema-goers is increasingly game literate, and
that Hollywood and the games industry have yet
fully to tap into the potential of videogames fan
base.
Barney Oram teachers A Level Film and Media Studies
at Long Road Sixth Form Centre, Cambridge. He is an A
Level examiner, and co- author of Teaching Videogames at
A Level(BFI)
Source for figures: Screen International,
February 15th 2008
Wider reading: Reel Gaming, Edge186 March
2008
The Hitman(top) andSilent Hillcourtesy of
image.net (right andabove right)
8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film
9/1252MediaMagazine| September 2008 | english and media centre
Analysing Media Texts
How to
use mediaconceptsand avoidsimpledescription
Whichever Film or
Media A Level spec
youre doing, textual
analysis will be
high on the agenda.
Principal Examiner
Steph Hendryshows you how to
do it.
It doesnt matter whether
youre studying AQA, OCR
or WJEC A Level Media
Studies, at the heart of
the subject is the skill of
analysis. Analysis needs to
be learnt and, importantly,
like any other skill needs to
be practiced. Even though
its a crucial part of AS and
A2 Level work, analysis is
something that students
sometimes dont get quite
right in exams. This means
they miss out on crucial
marks. One of the mostcommon mistakes is that
students write responses to
exam questions which focus
on description rather than
analysis. So, first of all, lets
clarify what analysis is in
Media Studies and how it is
different to description:
Description
The observation and
identification of the
media language that is
present within a text:telling the examiner
what is there.
Analysis
Discussing how the
selected media language
creates meanings and
relates to the text as
a whole: telling the
examiner why it is
there.
From these simple
definitions it is clear
that analysis is the
development of
descriptionand description
is, therefore, the starting
point of analysis. Media
concepts are an important
part of this process as they
are tools you can use and
you should practice using
them as often as possible
to get into the habit of
analysis. You can follow
the process explained hereto help you get used to
developing your ideas.
The basic process
1. You need to observe what is present in the mediatext and identify what media language choices
have been made.
2. You need to consider whythe media language
choices have been made.
3. You should try to link your ideas to media concepts
such as narrative, genreand/or representation.
4. You should consider the relationships between the
choices made and the audience interpreting the
media text. How are the audience identified and
appealed to?
5. You should try to identify any institutional issues
that may have influenced the choices that have been
made.
6. You should attempt to discuss any valuesand/or
ideologiesthat are being communicated by the
text.
This process can be demonstrated when looking at the
poster for Forgetting Sarah Marshall(2008).
ObservationThe poster can be
described as follows:
The characters Aldous
(Russell Brand) and
Sarah (Kirsten Bell) are
positioned to the right of
the image:
the man is looking
at the camera he is
sneering
he is wearing black
he is recognisable as
Russell Brand.
Sarah is hanging around
Aldouss neck and is
looking up towards him:
she has her sunglasses
on her head and is
wearing a bright greenmini dress.
Peter (Jason Segel) is
standing in the mid-
ground to the left:
he is standing in the sea
and has wet trousers
he is wearing an
Hawaiian shirt and a red
garland
his looks dejected and
disappointed.
The posters mise-en-
scneis a beach location:
the sky is perfectly
blue apart from a
heart-shaped cloud
pierced arrow-like by a
planes trail.
The tag-lineis at the top
of the poster
the font is presented
in capital letters and is
pale blue.
The films Knocked Upand
The 40 Year Old Virgin
are mentioned below the
films title:
this film is from the guys
who bought you these
other films
the font for these other
films is red.
This, however, is only
the starting point of
analysis even though some
specific media terminology
has been used. These
observations are the medialanguage choices made
by the producers of the
poster and so must all be
significant in some way.
Analysis requires you to
consider the significance
of these choices. You need
to ask whythe media
language choices you
have observed have been
selected, as in the chart on
page 54.
How do these
ideas link to media
concepts?
The following questions
may help.
How do the choices made
identify the genre of the
text?
Is the genre of the
text indicated through
the media language
choices? Genres have
certain codes and
conventions have any
been replicated?
Do the choices madecommunicate any
narrativeinformation?
Have clear rolesbeen
identified such as hero,
villain or princess?
Has a conflictbeen
identified?
What representations
have these choices
created?
What ideas are created
about the characters
and thelocation?
Genre
Comedy doesnt rely on
the same visual codes as
Sci-Fi or horror for example,
but the poster clearly
indicates which genre the
film fits into:
Russell Brand is a known
comedian so casting him
on this film relates to the
genre.
Jason Segel is also known
for comic films.
beaches are associatedwith holiday, leisure and
fun. The setting adds
to the generally light-
hearted tone.
the sneer on Aldouss face
doesnt offer any serious
threat.
the tag-line states the
genre.
the other films mentioned
are also comedies.
Narrative
Ideas about the plot and
the character roles can be
interpreted from the poster:
Aldous will be the comic
villain his black clothes
set him apart from the
Kristen Bell, RussellBrand and Jason Segel
in Forgetting SarahMarshall, d. NicholasStoller (2008)
Credit: Apatow
Productions/The KobalCollection
8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film
10/12english and media centre | September 2008 | MediaMagazine53
8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film
11/12
xxx
54MediaMagazine| September 2008 | english and media centre
other two characters
Peter will be the
everyman hero he has
lost the girl and appears
to be a well-meaning,
if somewhat foolish,
character who is clearly
still in love with the girl
the two men are
presented as binary
oppositesand so we can
expect conflict
the narrative conflictwillcentre on the problems
experienced by the man
on the left as he tries to
win back Sarah or (as the
title indicates) learns to
forget her.
Representations
The poster provides a
lot of information which
sets the tone for the film
and creates ideas about
the types of people these
characters are:
the beach location is
represented in a utopianway. The sky and the
beach are images of
perfection but a dystopia
is indicated as Peter is
clearly unhappy and
the heart shaped cloud
in the sky has an arrow
through it. Heartbreak is
the only thing disrupting
perfection here.
Aldouss look to
camera makes him an
unsympathetic character
who is represented as vain
and arrogant. His overalllook says he is someone
who dresses to impress
and is, therefore, not to be
trusted.
Sarah is represented as
shallow she is taken in
by Aldouss superficial
nature and has rejected
Peter and this is shown
by the way she looks into
Aldouss eyes.
Choosing to dress Sarah in
green identifies, throughconnotations, a potential
theme for the film, that of
jealousywith Sarah at the
centre.
Peter, on the other
hand, is represented as a
sympathetic character as
he looks like a regular guy
who has been abandoned.
His body language
has connotations of
helplessness.
The initial observations
now have more meaning
as the significance of the
choices are becoming
clear. Each media language
choice has been made for
a specific reason some
choices achieve several
things. The designers had
a number of things they
wanted to achieve with the
poster; the primary function
was that it should appeal
to its target audience and
persuade as many of themas possible to choose to go
and see the film. Therefore,
the way they attempted to
achieve this is central to any
analysis.
How are the audience
identified and
appealed to?
How would the choices
identify and appeal to a
specific audience?
Why might the poster
appeal to potential
viewers? For example:
Russell Brand as a
recognisable actor (the
poster was different for
American audiences
Brand was not featured)
the references back to
the filmmakers previous
films creating audience
expectations
the bright and sunny
mise-en-scne. What techniques are
being used to attempt to
persuade the audience to
go to see the film?
Identification of genre
Star persona
Clear indication of the
films tone
Males are targeted
as there is a clear
gender identification
being sought with the
character of Peter
Writer/director
connections
What ideologies are
communicated by the
text?
All media texts have
certain values inherent
within them. Here for
example:
the text favours and
validates heterosexual
relationships
the every manis
favoured over theunconventional male
vanity and arroganceare
Why have the choices been made: some examples
Observation Why?Aldous right is wearing black
and Peter is in bright colours.
The mise-en-scne is of a beach
location.
To make it clear that Russell Brands character does
not fit into the given situation. The man on the right
and the girl, however do.
Aldous is sneering at the
camera.
To indicate that he is arrogant and perhaps that he
thinks more of himself than the girl he is holding.
Peter is looking dejected anddisappointed.
To indicate that he has (perhaps) lost his girlfriend tothe other man.
The font below the image is
red.
Given the fact that the image is mostly blue, the red
stands out and indicates that it is important that the
information is read by the audience.
8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film
12/12
negative qualities
being a bit useless is to
be sympathised with
some women are foolish
as they get the previoustwo points the wrong way
round!
Are there institutional
issues raised?
For British audiences the
casting of Russell Brand
is significant as he has a
public persona. He is a
self-confessed ladies man
who presents himself as
having a larger-than-life
personality and an ego to
match. These ideas about
the actor are being relied
on to allow the British
audience to construct ideas
about the character in the
film. In some ways Brand
represents an idealised
aspirational male figure;
but the ideal he represents
is unreachable for average
guys and whilst we may
admire him on one level,
his behaviour and attitude
is seen as slightly morally
dubious.He presentshimself as a charming but
morally suspect character
who attracts women for all
the wrong reasons. When
viewing the poster it is
likely that UK audiences
are associating these
ideas about the actor
with the character inthe film creating genre,
narrative and ideological
expectationsand helping
the producers to sell the
film.
ConclusionAs you can see, analysis
is more than the simple
description of what you see.
You should practice using
your media concepts to
discuss texts this way. Pretty
soon, this way of thinking
will become a habit rather
than something you have
to force yourself to do and
the exams may not seem
quite as scary next summer.
Steph Hendry is Principal
Examiner for AQA.
The focus for US audiences was not Russell Brand but Jason Segal. Brands name
appears fourth on the list under the American actorsnames. The female actors areknown to American audiences through Veronica Mars(Kristen Bell) and That 70sShow(Mila Kuni).