Homework

News Hwomework

Tabloids are newspapers that often feature far less sophisticated lexis as they aim to appeal to a less educated audience. They also do this by covering soft news rather than hard news, as those who are less educated often care more for celebrity news than the news of nations/politics. 

In comparison, Broadsheets feature more complex lexis, and often feature less images and more text. For example, on Broadsheets the main story will often be covered in full on the main cover, whereas in tabloids it is just a headline.

Political Bias Homework

The Independent describes David Cameron and Boris Johnson as 'Tory Big Beasts'. Beast connotes something animalistic and less than human. This displays political bias through Barthes theory that we apply a denotation (the obvious) and connotation to something. Newspapers often do this to exaggerate the positive or negative qualities of individuals. In this example, the Independent shows a left wing bias as it criticises the actions of the Conservatives, a right wing party. 

'£8bn cost shock', word shock 

IPSO Complaints

The Daily Mail

The Daily Mail is on blast due to the fact it had a sensational article which suggested a coup was going on in the British political landscape. The complaint shown here believes that the Rwanda Deportation policy was not approved by the majority of the population, as the article believes.

The Guardian

The complaint is to correct a name which is wrong, which could've resulted in a defamation case. 

Exam Question Practise: Question 3 News

Explain how the cultural context in how the news is produced influences the content offered to audiences (10 marks) 

Cultural context within the news heavily influences the ways in which content is offered to audiences. One example of this is a shift in the way we consume media in the modern age, as ease of access to the internet has increased for many, there has been a decrease of audience demand for physical newspapers. This has caused both the Guardian and the Daily Mail to be forced to adapt to the new cultural environment in which news is consumed. 

The Guardian has been forced to move to a free online model for it's news, and relies on a mixture of donations and ads within this online model to stay afloat. Whilst it's traditional newspaper is still available, it is far more risky than it's online counterpart due to higher production costs of a physical product. Hesmondhalgh said that for companies risk is measured through loss of profit, and the decline of physical newspapers backs this theory's ideas up as the Guardian has been forced to move a lot of it's content online in order to maintain itself as it is a company controlled by a Trust, and is therefore not focused on profit but quality. It does however need to maintain some level of profit to stay afloat. 

The Daily Mail has moved to a similar free online model known as the Mail Online, but this is a site that is covered in ads and also utilises clickbait headlines such as "I've been having sex with a ghost for 20 years" in order to entice readers into reading sensationalist stories. 

Gender in Homeland

Carrie Matheson

Carrie Matheson is the main protagonist of Homeland, she is represented as paranoid and willing to bend the rules on a hunch, and this is further reinforced due to the fact she suffers from Bipolar Disorder. Carrie is characterised as a manipulative person who will use any means necessary to get her way, and this reflects poorly on the representation of gender within the show. Carrie's manipulative nature is first shown when she attempts to manipulate the prisoner in Baghdad and convince him to give her the information. 

Patriotism in Homeland

The idea of patriotism is prevalent in Homeland, but is mainly displayed through the treatment of Sergeant Nicholas Brody upon his return to the US. David and the Vice President choose to treat him as a political tool in order to bring hope to the USA. Brody is shown to throw up and David is shown to care very little, as long as he is able to attend the coming home ceremony. This idea is further reinforced when Brody is given very little time with his family, and is instead expected to deliver a speech in front of the nation thanking them for their support, this speech highlights the importance of patriotism in Homeland as Brody is heralded as a hero for not giving up hope while a POW.

Ethnicity in Homeland

There are prevalent ideas within the opening of S1E1 of Homeland surrounding East vs West. The barren and hostile looking Baghdad is contrasted with the sophistication of a party in Washington. This binary opposition (Levi Strauss) of the almost barbaric depictions of Baghdad (Barbed Wire, Chaotic Streets etc) compared to the depictions of Washington (Suits).

David (The Director), is portrayed as an adulterer. David is one of the two african-american characters shown in Homeland. This creates a negative connotation of them, as the other is beaten to death by Brody. 

Mental Illness in Homeland

Within Homeland, Mental Illness is seen as something to be ashamed of. The main representation of mental illness is the character of Carrie Matheson. Carrie is seen to be hiding her mental illness from her colleagues and friends, and it is only brought up when one of the men who's helping her with surveillance equipment finds an aspirin bottle which contains her medication. This suggests that Carrie sees her bipolar disorder as something to be ashamed of. This is further reinforced when she's questioned by surveillance guy. 

The Killing

Gender in The Killing

Nanna Birk Larsen

First depiction of femininity is scared woman running from something. 
Blonde, blue eyes connotes innocence. Wearing white in contrast to the blood on her face. 
"Naked and afraid".

Butler says gender is performed in the media through repetition

Sarah Police Force

Sarah is treated as "one of the boys", can take a joke regarding the sex doll. Massive effort to surprise her with the fake murder scene, implies that she is incredibly valuable to the team. Positive representation of women and shows they can be prominent forces in society.

"Sarah, you'll be an asset to the Stockholm police force"

(Cultural Context: Sweden v Denmark friendly rivalry "If light beer and decomposed herring are more your thing". Sarah wearing stereotypical viking hat in Swedish flag colours.) 

Meyer vs Lurn

Juxtaposition immediately as Sarah chews Nicotine gum whereas Jan is openly smoking in the office. Jan doesn't ask whether he can smoke for like 10 minutes or something. Jan walks in and assumes Lurn is a man and assumes Sarah is the secretary, asking "Is this Lurn's office?".

Stereotypical male things but quite childish: Posters of guns, toy trucks, basketball. Reflects his character and his attitude. Reinforces Butler. 

First thing that Jan does after learning about Sarah is talk down to her about her life choices when he barely knows her. Gives off stereotypical patriarchal values and believes that his ideas are superior because he is a man. 

The boss goes to Sarah not Jan which shows how Sarah is respected even though she is leaving. Jan's facial expression is not happy about it. Jan states "Let's catch some villains", further reinforcing his childish mentality and making him seem foolish. 

Sarah is more mature than Jan, Jan immediately points out how Sarah cannot carry a gun in Sweden or make arrests.

Jan is shown to be eating on the job, shows lack of professionallity especially with something as serious as policing. 
Jan does have knowledge as he attempts to gauge the situation "Is it a nosebleed or a cut throat".

Sarah is leading the questioning. 

Sarah's characterisation: Camera pull to the distance, dialogue deafens and she is focusing, forest is in focus which does end up becoming where Nanna's body is. Show's Sarah's inherent skill and competency, reinforcing her skills as a detective. 

Sarah's character reinforces Denmark being 8th in the world for gender equality at the time as her character spearheads the narrative and is incredibly competent. 

Theis and Vagn

Average working Danish men.
Vagn is racist and Theis is quick to make him the fool, saying he can't spell falafel. Represents that men should have the ability to stand up for what is right, reinforces PBS values. 

Reinforces Gauntlett as male viewers of the Killing will see this, take on the message that racism is stupid and seen as something to poke fun at someone for. Hopefully making them act on it in their daily lives. 

Patriotism in The Killing

Sweden vs Denmark

They take the mickey out of Sweden. Viking hat with long blonde hair reinforces stereotypes, given a pair of skis which further reinforces a given stereotype. reflects cultural contexts of a denmark v sweden attitude a kin to Britain and france. The Skis are an expensive gift showing the value sarah has, espesaly during the finical crisis, however they have cushy jobs 

Sweden v Denmark friendly rivalry "If light beer and decomposed herring are more your thing"

Again reflects this cultural attitude

'My wife's sister did something similar' - Jan demonises the idea of moving out of Denmark, promotes Denmark as better than Sweden. PBS values, represents the views of the audience. Genders roels Jan is a dick makes men look like pessimistic bad men

Politics 

Troels Hartmann is a patriotic character, we can see this in his characterisation because of his mission to make his city better by improving public services. He is on a mission to get elected as he believes that his opposition will make this worse. This is seen when the Mayor says 'If you wait four more years, you'll have no opposition' and Hartmann declines this attempt to shoot down his campaign. This shows Hartman's positive qualities and patriotic nature. Hartmann is also a character that contemporary Danish audiences would see good in as he confronts the social and economic decay caused by the Danish financial crash that occurred while The Killing was being written. - bauldirard because this is a simulacra of a corrupt government, as the avaerage audience has no idea what that is like.