'Spy Kids' again because i didn't do the exam.

Q3) Discuss the representations in the extract.
       Refer to stereotypes in your answer.
       Use examples from the extract.

You might consider the representation of:

• gender
• race and nationality
• spies
• family, love and marriage

Ingrid is presumably a cisgendered female. For the first part, she plays a counter-stereotypical role, as a highly-skilled spy. This is counter-stereotype because most women aren't spies. For the second part, she is a stereotypical female, because she is a mother and a wife, and falls in love with a man, as women in fiction typically do (example: Jane Eyre). 

Gregorio is of Latin descent because of the thin moustache, his name, and his skin tone. The fact that he is Mexican is relatively downplayed, as in the director doesn't make a big deal about it. When he is first closely introduced to the audience, an Americana-esque guitar riff is played to establish his nationality. At the wedding, the furnishings and decorations are Mexican, such as the skull faces on the wedding cake statuette.

In many films, spies are represented as rigorous and emotionless but also very socially suave when need be, and Spy Kids is no exception. Ingrid, before meeting Gregorio, showed little if no emotion. Even Gregorio was represented as a faceless target, referred to as 'Hombre' by the taxi cab driver (translating to 'man' in Spanish). After the fell in love, they dated in secret, with Ingrid and Gregorio sitting on opposite side of a restaurant. They can have normal dinner dates but accentuate their incognito abilities in doing so. 

Ingrid tells a story to her daughter. This represents family because he daughter is a member of her family. Gregorio and Ingrid go on dates. This represents love because they are in love. Ingrid and Gregorio get married. This represents marriage because they are getting married. 10 marks, please. 


 

'Spy Kids' redo because we're bad at exams.

In what ways do the narrative (characters and events) in the extract fit the AA genre?

Spy Kids (also known as Špijunaža Djeca in Bosnia and Herzegovina) is a typical spy comedy. It includes action adventure genre conventions such as combat and conflict. This is evidenced by the initial conflict between Ingrid and Gregorio, who is totally Mexican because he has a mustache and stuff. Ingrid is positioned as the main character because she is in the opening shot and is narrating the story. Gregorio is positioned as the bad guy because he is being chased after and tracked down by the good guy. He is then not the bad guy because the good guy marries him and is then not a bad guy (Media terminology: a bad guy can also be referred to as an 'Antagonist'!). The conflict is not embodied in the overused form of spectacle, but is instead represented by the conflict of interests: Ingrid wants Gregorio dead, and presumably Gregorio does not want to die.

There is also a bit of speed and motion represented in the extract. Speed is represented by the rate of motion expressed via distance travelled per units of time, but in the extract Ingrid and Gregorio are shown to be jumping off a steep, potentially lethal cliff, which is conveniently placed to the side of a wedding for just such an occasion. This creates suspense and jeopardy because a 100ft drop has a habit of killing people, and the suspense lies in what they will do to rectify their cliff-jumping situation (perhaps by using a drag-creating, nylon-based apparatus that would slow the motion of their bodies as the descend through an atmosphere; the suspense is killing me). There is also motion because objects on screen are moving.

Done.

social stereotypes.

In the context of Robin Hood, 12th century women were submissive housemaids who scarcely involved themselves in combat and conflict. This stereotype is countered by a woman who leads men into combat, torch in hand, with an authoritative and permeating voice. In Hot Fuzz, the stereotyped of a policeman is countered when he hands a group of youth paint spray cans to commit crimes of vandalism, whereas policemen typically enforce laws. However, this particular policeman is taking advantage of petty crime to solve greater crimes. In Game of Thrones, Yara Greyjoy is belittled by her brother, who claims that she can't lead an army because she's a woman. However, it is revealed that she is a greater soldier and leader than her brother is. She is given 60 ships to command, whereas her brother, Theon, is given one ship, embarrassed and frustrated that a woman is given more power than him, a male. In another example for Game of Thrones, Brienne of Tarth defeats a male knight in combat, and when takes off her helm,  the crowd is shocked to see that she is a woman as well as a marvel in combat. In the land of Game of Thrones, women are looked down upon and given lesser roles than men, but Brienne of Tarth breaks this convention. She is often criticised for being androgynous and unladylike, for example when she bows and a noble woman criticises her for not curtseying.

'Spiderman' extract analysis.

Identify two ways in which the narrative in the extract fit the AA genre?

Grammatically, that's not really a question, but Spiderman is full of action and adventure tropes that many films today still follow, including the most recent Spiderman films of a more questionable quality. Firstly, an underdog, Middle-American, underachieving white boy gaining a mystical MacGuffin to do good and elevate their social status with the ladies is too typical for the action/adventure genre if anything. Spiderman is a really old comic, and if Spiderman didn't take too many tropes from existing superhero films, every other superhero film took tropes from it since. 

The hero is noble and respectful of others when pursuing his mission, unlike the most recent Superman movie where he destroys half of New York to kill one guy. Right at the beginning of the extract, his beloved uncle is shot and killed, creating pathos and earning Peter Parker a heroic right to do whatever he sees just. Being an underdog, he's still learning his new powers newly employed as an arachnid, as opposed to Superman who was more or less an impenetrable badass from the off-set, because there's no development there. It’s a character arc with Peter Parker: the character has to change and adapt rather than start out as a big meathead in skimpy clothing and end as the exact same meathead in skimpy clothing; an arc that many writers consistently miss. This character arc is typical of the superhero genre and by extension the AA genre. 

analysis of first advert.

What most stands out about my first draft of the perfume advert, Sakura, stands out as being distinctively Japanese. My model, Harriet, wears a kimono and has chopsticks stuck through her hair bun, she poses in a Japanese fashion, and the cherry blossom on which she is positioned in front of is a notably Japanese tree, heavily referenced by Japanese culture. This cultural theme is carried consistently throughout the advert, and I cropped out any inconsistencies in the background, like parked cars and an Eddie.

The font I used has remnants of a style of font used by many Oriental restaurants as I have noticed, so to use this font in my advert seems thematically consistent. It's positioned as the first thing you read if you were to read the advert in the course of a 'Z' shape; you start reading the title from the top, then you notice the in-focus cherry blossom in the top right, then you cast your eyes across the advertisement to the bottom of the advert, noticing the model, then horizontally to the bottom right, noticing the perfume. To be fair, I didn't structure the advert like this on purpose, I just noticed that my advert read in a 'Z' shape while I was writing this.

The slogan, 'totally kawaii' appeals to the niche audience of those internet-dwellers fully indulging in anime and other notable sectors of Japanese culture. It's informal, but formality isn't my target audiences main style. Kawaii has transcended the Japanese language and is now used by many non-Japanese people in colloquial English and American speak.

Overall, for a first design, it's pretty decent and I'm proud of what I've accomplished thusfar. It's worth working on it more to fully achieve the par of quality I set on my work.

terrible photoshop filters because i'm untalented.

perfume advert photoshoot recap.

I brought in a camera. Harriet dressed up in a Kimono. Preparation done, I guess. I didn't have a solid idea, so I served as the photographer and the modeller. I know I was supposed to have a good idea many weeks prior, but perfume isn't my strong point, and neither are original ideas for products, so put the two together and I'm absolutely stumped. Harriet loves anime and by extent Japan culture, so putting on a kimono and looking oriental works well for her, I guess. We found a good spot by a cherry blossom tree which I never really noticed before, as it's heavily referenced by Japanese culture. It was quite perfect, actually; what other school would have this ideal a photoshoot destination for a product based on Japanese culture? The coincidence is pretty fantastic. My dad's camera took very high quality photos which had really ideal lighting for purpose; late afternoon sun works fantastically well for natural lighting.

So the setting, the costume, the lighting and the equipment are all sorted and work in full symbiosis with each other. The actual photos, however, were (without pointing any fingers) poorly modelled. To get Harriet to not pull a silly face under pressure of a camera is an art that only Mrs. Mann could perfect. I mean, I have all the photos ready to upload, but I'm not sure if Harriet wants them uploaded. Amber did a good job with the modelling bit, putting her in the right positions and such, but her facial expressions were unfit for purpose. Not to say that we didn't get any work done; I learned how to use a camera beyond the simple skill of pressing a button, Harriet (eventually) learned how to dress up in an outfit and be a serious model, and some of the photos I got aren't exactly unusable. It's a learning experience, and this learning in early stages will hopefully transcend into the models and the photographers of the future.