Creating a Question Paper

Compare the ideologies conveyed through the representation in the Daily Mirror and the Times (front page)

Potential Answers:
The Daily Mirror
 - the statue is seen to be weeping into her hands which creates meaning for the audience and is intended to be read as connoting despair.
- the background of the image contains dark clouds which can be interpreted as foreshadowing future events
- the front page of the DM has juxtaposed the image with the bold headline "what have they done?" which positions the American voters as to blame for Trump's victory. The bold headline at the top of the page "It's President Trump..." with the use of ellipsis again suggests foreshadowing.
- this article likens the US election outcome to Brexit by highlighting immigration concerns and loss of jobs as central to voters' decision to vote for Trump.
- the use of American iconography throughout the front page and the colours of the American flag in the article will have immediate cultural significance for the reader who will be able to create meaning in the associations they have with these signs.
- the use of the pronoun 'they' in the front-page headline "What have they done?" creates an immediate binary opposition of 'us and them' and lays balme on the American people for Trump's win and creates the suggestion that this has a global impact and therefore particular ideological significance.

The Times
- Trump and Mike Pence are positioned in a medium close up shot on either side of the frame with Trump in the foreground.
- their code of dress connotes a business approach with both men dressed in black suits but wearing a red and blue tie which reflects American iconography.
- the body language of the two men demonstrates an emotive response with Pence applauding Trump and the president clenching his right fist in celebration.
- the use of the headline 'The New World' positioned over Trump's jacket invites readers to question what the impact of Trump's presidency may be, which is reiterated through the use of the subheading "Donald Trump sends shock waves around the Globe". His body language suggests determination and jubilation. This statement is powerful but maintains a neutral approach which encourages readers to establish their own viewpoint. The use of a quote by Trump on the back page again suggests a neutral stance but could be interpreted as offering as offering readers an insight into Trump's characters and need for acceptance.

Media Language and Representation - The Sun Newspaper

The main image is of Putin who is shirtless, wearing a crucifix chain and a builders tool belt. This creates stereotypes of a European builder who are considered cold, confrontational and aggressive. This is supported by Putin's facial expression where he is sternly looking straight at the reader and stress lines run straight across his forehead. We can see anchorage between the main image and headline which states "Come 'N have a go if EU think you're hard enough" this supporting the idea of Putin being portrayed as confrontational as this is supposed to seem a quote from him which is a play on words of a classic aggressive challenge, associating with his common field as a politician. The play on words from you to EU is a direct relation to politics as Putin(The Russian President) is challenging the European Union and further anchorage is displayed here as we can see the background is the EU flag. The stand verse "Putin squares up over Crimea" is further anchorage to the idea of Putin being confrontational as squaring up is a common term for confronting someone and this can be seen further by the square body language of Putin, with his arms at a right angle. The conventions of the newspaper front page work in a relay to strongly portray the idea that Putin is a bully. The preview of the article then states that as he is described as macho and it tells how he tried to justify an invasion of Ukraine territory. A caption beneath the headline says "Russian bare Putin..." which is a pun on the fact that Putin is shirtless and that his large physique resembles a bear, a stereotypically aggressive and impulsive animal.

Comparison of The Sun and the Daily Mirror 

The main image of the The Sun newspaper shows Putin in an aggressive stance which gives the impression that he's not happy with the politics around the world which is evident through the headline "Come 'n have a go if eu think you're hard enough". Similarly, the Daily Mirror displays a fearful statue of liberty with her hands over her face to suggest she is ashamed of the political event (Trump's victory) that occurred. In The Sun newspaper the message conveyed is more suggesting they are ready for the issues that could be possibly occur whereas in the Daily Mirror newspaper there is more of a sense of panic and uncertainty. This is further emphasised through the headline "come 'n have a go if eu think you're hard enough" which can be interpreted as a pun as it shows that they are able to joke about the situation. In contrast the Daily Mirror headline conveys more of a complaint or a concerned statement. In addition to this the use of ellipsis conveys a level of uncertainty that they are unsure and aren't for what is to come. Both newspapers make reference to the EU, mostly due to it's high political standing. In the sun it bears the EU flag in the background behind Putin as it is 'the new team' that he is challenging and in the daily mirror on the first page the title states "America's Brexit". Both papers display a controversial view towards the EU. The Sun is questioning the strength of the EU whereas the Daily Mirror is suggesting that Britain's exit from the EU was a mistake by associating it with the election of Trump which they believe was a bad choice. 

Trump Documentary - Notes

BBC  One Nation Under Trump
"Make America Great Again"
Trump's Promises:
- 'education run by the locals'
- he called women he doesn't like 'fat pigs' & 'disgusting animals'
- repeal Obama's care
- wall in Mexico
- immigration laws
- he's going to make everything rich
He kept saying that America is losing at everything like trades etc. which correlates to his slogan. He wants America to be the best at everything socially, economically and politically.
He always talks about how bad America is and how he's going to make it great again. "What has our country come to?"
He 'bad mouths' the press
Wants to make America rich
Insults Cruz - candidate for President / his rival

Introduction to Newspapers

Tabloid and Broadsheet
- A tabloid is a newspaper with a page size smaller with more focus on topics like sport and TV. 'Soft news'
- A broadsheet is a new paper with a larger page size with more focus on topic like politics and education. 'Hard news'

The Sun - Tabloid
The Daily Mirror - Tabloid
The Daily Express - Tabloid
Daily Star - Tabloid
The Guardian - Broadsheet
The Daily Telegraph - Broadsheet
Morning Star - Tabloid
The Times - Broadsheet

Compare and contrast the front cover of a tabloid and broadsheet featuring the same event.
The image in the tabloid is bigger than the image used in the broadsheet and it uses a lot more of the front page. The headlines also have larger text in a tabloid compared to a broadsheet and the language  used to more over exaggerated.

Mid-market Newspapers
- draws an audience through the entertainment happening in the world.
The amount of text is minimal
The number of visuals is also minimal but the size of the image is relatively big
The tone in a mid-market newspaper is informal
The content and types of stories headlined are stories that have become popular in the media especially social media.
The language is also informal.

The reaction by the newspapers' about England's victory against Panama was all the same. They were all bias and the language used in the headlines was over exaggerated.

Newspaper Branding
How does the newspaper create brand identity?
In the Daily Mirror and The Times newspaper headlining the story about Theresa May. The Daily Mirror from their headline "How can we ever trust Mrs U-turn?" has a completely different view on Theresa May compared to the The Times whose headline was "Mainstream May reaches out to Labour heartlands". Daily Mirror is opposed to Theresa May and what she says and The Times is in support of Theresa May. The tone that the Daily Mail uses is quite negative but the tone The Times' uses is quite the opposite.

Media Language

Newspaper Conventions
Headlines
"So what the hell happens now?"
- the paper is questioning the politics of the prime minister based on Brexit.
- hyperbole
- curious
"Blood on his hands"
- murder/crime
- mystery
" World Cup of Fraud"
- about the World Cup/fraud

Vance Joy - Riptide - Representation of Gender

Instances when women are presented as 'objects'
There is evidence of voyeuristic treatment of the female body as in one shot a woman with her body to the camera undressing out of her swimming costume and there are a number of instances where we see disembodied, isolated sections of woman's bodies such as bare feet running away or feminine hands being dragged out of shot. This voyeuristic treatment supports Andrew Goodwin's theory that there is frequent reference to voyeuristic treatment of the female body. The video relates to the idea of the male gaze, which is a theory by Laura Mulvey. The male gaze is a concept of second wave feminists in which the camera are put into perspective of a heterosexual man, thus allowing for the objectification and the sexualisation of women. This is evident in the video as one of the female actresses fit the stereotypical view of beauty. Additionally, the lyric supports the visuals (Andrew Goodwin's theory) "I was scared of pretty girls". The music video doesn't challenge the sexuality of women in this industry. bell hooks' can be used as a stimulus to explore the seemingly contradictory messages about gender in the video. 

Lip-sync section of Riptide 
Throughout the music video, there is a repetitive scene which shows a woman performing. After every shot, the face and the scene created changes. We see her make up smudging across her face. Also, the lighting which is low key becomes dimmer after each scene. We can argue that after every shot the pressure builds up in her life or the stress in her life increases which is reinforced by the smudging of the make up on her face. Also, whatever she is going through probably has negative connotations because of the low key lighting. In the first shot, the woman is supporting social norms of beauty and glamour but after she challenges the gender norm after the first still shot because she's not viewed as an object in a western patriarchal society (Van Zoonen - feminist theory). In terms of the progression of the facial expression in the still shots, she becomes more and more distressed. The lip-synching woman also clothes at her own neck and we see what seems to be blood over her hand. 

What other representations of women are featured in the music video?
In the opening line of the music video "I was scared of dentists and the dark" there is a close up of a female looking scared with a metallic contraception in her mouth that suggests she is in a dentist's chair. 
In one shot a woman with her back to the camera undresses out of her swimming costume. The video supports the view of a patriarchal world and reinforces the stereotypical objectification of woman. 
Along with the representations of women the music video also present a number of scenes that offer images of violence, such as a female hand being stabbed by a knife and a gun being pointed off screen. 

Representation of Men
"I wanna be your left hand man" is a corruption of the well-known phrase "right hand man". While the right hand is considered more steady and dependable, the left hand is more a wild card that always keeps things exciting. This is also an allusion to marriage, as you wear your wedding ring on your left finger and hold your wife's left hand when walking down the aisle. The man clearly wants a closer connection with her. The visuals following the lyric "I wanna be your left hand man" as a whole come across as aggressive. In the first shot, the use of the whip pan emphasises his aggression towards the microphone. The shots showing the action of cutting, grabbing and holding a gun all relate to this idea of man dominating something. The shot with the female hand and the knife shows that the woman is self-harming herself. The male hand is different from the female hand because the male hand is dominating where as the female hand is being hurt and is not in the position to fight back so the hand is basically giving up. 

Vance Joy - Riptide - Montage

Riptide - Narrative Codes and Conventions

1. Are there any elements of coherence in the narrative? (Potential theories/ideas to use: Todorov and Postmodernism)
Todorov's narrative theory basically states that most story's or plot lines follow the same pattern or path. The music video does this in the chorus because there is a pattern of a women singing next to a standing microphone. After every chorus the performance with the lady progresses. This is the only part of the music video which is consistent. The rest of the music video is linked to the lyrics of the song. The music video for the most part rejects a clearly defined narrative. There are some coherent narrative structures but for the most part the sequences deliberately lack narrative coherence.

2. What 'message' does the video contains?
 The video can be interpreted according to social convention. One example being the pile of dollar bills which relates to the lyric "oh, all my friends are turning green". Barthes view that constructed meanings can come to seem self-evident through the connotations of the colour green in relations to money. This has achieved Barthes' status of myth through a process of naturalisation which might allow for complicated readings of the image.

3. The opening line "I was scared of dentists and the dark" is interpreted explicitly with a shot of a female looking "scared" with a metallic contraption in her mouth that suggests she is in a dentist's chair and followed by a shot of a light swinging in a darkened room.

4. "Oh, all my friends are turning green"
"I want to be your left hand man"
"I was scared of pretty girls"
"Running down to the riptide"

5. "Lady, running down to the riptide/taken away to the dark side". Both these lines are metaphors, that come together to imply one idea. A riptide is an offshore current that often traps beach goers and causes them to drown. The set of metaphors is telling us that the girl is starting to get herself into bad situations and embracing a new one.

6. The music video is presenting itself as a short film. The song is sending its listeners a message about the inevitability of a relationship, and how you cannot rely very much on an acquaintance that you have, as you will probably be let down and disappointed. It's saying that we shouldn't rely too much on something.

7. Feature films
Western films (cowboys)
Horror films
Baywatch - when the woman is turned away from the camera and is undressing.