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WJEC GCSE Media StudiesPractice Analysis Unit: application of learning and theory

Lesson 3 How Representation is Created; media language1Lesson 3

Shot types, camera angles and characters2In earlier lessons, we looked at the way the things we see in a media text on/around the character make us draw conclusions about what they are like.

The collective term for all elements you see on the screen is symbolic codes. A major symbolic code is mise-en-scene, which is all the physical things in the text.

But technical codes, such as shot types and camera angles, also contribute to representation.

Answers to worksheet3Birds eye view/Indomitus POV as it attacks boys in pod in Jurassic World.A shot that shows when characters have gone too far or are in big trouble.High angle shot of James Bond aiming upward in Skyfall.A character is shown as weaker or more vulnerable.Low angle shot of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises.A character can be made to seem dominant and powerful.Worms eye view from The Adventures of Tin Tin.A character has been overcome by a superior force.High angle shot of Tobey Maguire in The Great Gatsby.This shot can show that a character is standing apart or is in victory.Low angle shot of the gang in Attack the BlockA character seems like a bully or unpleasant person.The dutch tilt (in MCU) of The JokerA shot that shows a character is crazy or devious.The use of foreground and background characters in the Inception poster.Multiple characters are positioned to show their power relationship.

Problems with representationDifficulties arise, and stereotypical images are created, when the same groups of people are filmed the same way all the time, or are presented with the same mise-en-scene.

That way, media producers have the power to very easily make people look good or bad according to their real-life relationship with that group. For example, how easily can TV producers stereotype Arabic characters as mad, hate-filled terrorists bullying the world?4

Camera behaviour - genderThere is a second theory about the representation of women, which was theorised by Laura Mulvey and is called Male Gaze Theory. Heres an example. Pay careful attention to the relationship between the camera and Nigella Lawson.

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What is Male Gaze theory?Can we write a definition yet?6YepNope

Representation of womenHow do the female characters come across in these two clips.

Supergirl clip

Agent Carter clip

Which do they provide evidence for? Mulvey, McRobbie or both?7

Write up your ideasPut the statements you have been given in an order YOU agree with and use them as a framework for writing your ideas from this lessons texts.

Develop your response by adding descriptive evidence (specific examples) from the texts.8

Male Gaze key points BACKHow much emphasis is put on various parts of Nigellas body rather than the subject of the programme (the food)?What happens when she tastes the food and why is this not just tasting the food?How does she look at the camera?What appeal does this create for her products (which this programme is designed to advertise)?Link to McRobbie what is her role in the programme?

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