Television: His Dark Materials - Language and Representation

1) Write an analysis of the episode - using your notes from the screening in class. Make specific, detailed reference to moments in the text using media terminology (e.g. media language - camera shots and movement, editing, diegetic/non-diegetic sound, mise-en-scene etc.)

Camerawork, editing and sound:  There are many medium shots but also close ups of the characters faces, specifically Mrs coulter when she kisses the other mans hand promising to get her job done.

Mise-en-scene: Mrs coulters attire when she wears something red maybe connoting her power and her makeup too. However with Lyra she doesnt wear nice clothes and also doesn't wear makeup.

Narrative and genre:  The genre is a mixed of sci-fi but also adventuous as they go on many adventures and there are many things to do throughout only one episode.


You can access our notes from the close-textual analysis in a previous class here - you'll need your Greenford Google login to open this.

2) How does His Dark Materials fit the conventions of the fantasy TV genre?

  • Emotive, often quest-based narratives
  • Political narrative themes or social commentary
  • Iconography including magic, mystical creatures or similar
  • Often set in imagined worlds or time periods


3) Applying Propp's character theory, what character roles do some of the main characters in His Dark Materials fit into? 

Lyra and will maybe being the hero, Mrs coulter being the villain as she is looking after lyra and kept a witch hostage and is hurting her to get information. 

4) What enigma and action codes (Barthes) can you find in His Dark Materials? Make specific, detailed reference to the text using media terminology (e.g. media language - camera shots, diegetic/non-diegetic sound, mise-en-scene etc.)

The sense of mystery and suspense which makes the readers more interested and intrigues in what can happen next.

5) What examples of binary opposition (Levi-Strauss) can you find in His Dark Materials? How do these create narrative or drama for the audience? You can find reminder notes on all these narrative theories here - just scroll down to narrative. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Denotation & Connotation blog tasks: advert analysis

Image
Denotation & Connotation blog tasks: advert analysis Create a   new  blogpost in your GCSE Media blog called ' Denotation and connotation '. 1) Write an analysis of the  WaterAid advert above  using denotation, connotation and analysis. What can you see? What are the deeper meanings in the advert? What does the advert communicate to the audience? How might an audience react after seeing the advert? Denotation: This printed advertisement consists of a young African boy stood in front of a rural suburban village (technical code). It also features a water aid logo (symbolic code) and a slogan (written code). Connotation: The slogan is deliberately written in bold and white to get people who are seeing this to notice what is going on and what they are struggling with. The connotations of placing the logo and slogan encourages people to help out those in need. They may feel guilty for just ignoring what they have seen. Analysis: The choice of the background could be s...
Read more

Demographics and Psychographics: blog tasks

  Create a new blogpost called ' Demographics and Psychographics'. 1) What information do media companies use to create a demographic profile of their audience? - Age/Gender - Race  - Location - Employment status 2) Why are media companies and advertisers increasingly using audience profiling and not just demographics? It makes it easier for you reach your target audience. 3) What are the seven different Psychographic groups?  - The aspirer  - The explorer - The reformer  - The succeeder - The resigned  - The struggler  - The mainstreamer  4) Write a brief summary of what each Psychographic group is seeking or motivated by. The aspirer: They seek status. The explorer: They seek discovery. The reformer: They seek enlightenment. The succeeder: They seek control. The resigned: They seek to survive.  The struggler: They seek escape. The mainstreamer: They seek security.  5) What psychographic group or groups do YOU belong in? Think...
Read more

Film Industry: Black Widow

Image
  1) List the companies involved in the creation of Black Widow. You may wish to use   Black Widow's IMDB entry   to help with this -   see the company credits page   - but the answers can also be found in the notes above. 2) What is conglomerate ownership and how does it link to Black Widow? Most major media companies are conglomerates that own a range of smaller companies (called subsidiaries). An example of this is Disney owning Marvel. This links to Black widow because Disney owns marvel.  This means that they can afford to make more expensive films, market them around the world at great expense and ensure that they are hugely profitable.  3) Analyse the  film trailer  for Black Widow. What aspects of the trailer tell you this is a big-budget blockbuster movie? Some features that tell us the film was made with a big budget blockbuster is by there being well-known actors and the protagonist Scarlett Johansson is also very well-known. There...
Read more