Self Evaluation

Attainment- 2
I do try to do all my work to the best standard but i feel i could try a bit more.

Effort- 1
I think i put loads of effort into Media Studies through homework and in class.

Punctuality- 2
There might have been a few times when i was late to lesson but none were my own personal fault

Submission and quality of homework- 2
I always hand in my work on time but maybe the quality of it can be a bit more better

Ability to work independently- 1
I think i am very capable of working independantly very well

Quality of writing- 1
My quality of writing is, in my opinion, at its best

Organisation of Media folder-2
I always bring my media folder to lessons and have divided Med 5 from Med 6 but some of it is a bit un-organised.

Oral contributions in class- 2
I put a lot of effort into contributing to class discussion but can contribute even more.

Quality of coursework- 2
I recieved really postive feed back for my first drafts but as it is just the first, there is room for improvement

Standard of Module 5 blog-2
I have done indepth research into my independant study but seeming as thought mine is not the "best" maybe i could improve on that and add in some more analysis etc

Standard of Module 6 blog- 3
Sometimes, i feel i can put a lot more effort into this blog but i have kept up to date with the homeworks set for it

Targets/areas of improvement:
-Improve my blogs
-Organise media folder more

Does Blogging Help?

1. How easy has it been to set up your Independent Study blog and to get used to posting things on it? Were you given enough support in doing it? What other help would have been useful?

I found it very easy to set up my independent study blog and goes used to posting research on it. The support given was enough because it is quite simple, especially because we did the blogs for last year as well- so not really anything new.

2. How did the blog help with your research? Did the blog motivate you to do more and better research? How? Why?

The blog helped to gather the research, otherwise important websites etc may have been lost.

3. Is it useful having all the Independent Study/blog tasks posted on the Macguffin blog? Does it make it more likely that you will get them done?

It is useful having all the study and blog tasks posted on Macguffin as if we forget imporatant parts of it or didn't know any was set, we can easily see it on the site.

4. How often (honestly!) do you check the Macguffin blog? (Remember, it should be at least twice/week).

Everytime i go onto my blogs, i go onto the macgffuin blog first so i check it a lot more than twice a week.

5. Has it been useful being able to see and access everyone else’s research and planning through their blogs?

I haven't really looked properly through any body else's research and planning.

6. How do you feel about the fact that your teacher can keep a close check on your progress through accessing your blog? Is it too intrusive and controlling or is it encouraging and supportive?

As long as all you know all the blog work is done then i think its encouraging and supportive because they can help us through it escpecially when we had the tutorials the blogs were helpful then.

7. How useful have the comments been that you received from…a. Macguffin, b. other students.

I haven't recieved any comments from macguffin and other students.

8. How has the blog helped with your essay planning? How useful was the blog when it came to writing the essay? Do you think your first draft is better because you have used a blog?

The blog helped me a lot with my esay planning and i used it when writing my first draft. I think my first draft might be a little better because i have used the blog, especially reference wise.

9. How would you evaluate the quality of your blog? What could you have done better?

The quality of my blog is really good. I could have done more analysis of my research early on in the year in order for it to be a lot useful for me now.

10. Do you think you will get a better final grade for your independent study through having used a blog?

I don't think i would getter a higher grade, it has helped to keep everything organised but i suppose i would have done that anyway.

11. Which are the best three blogs? Why?

The best three blogs are:
Jatinder- Very detailed, colourful blog with quite a lot of pictures.
Jaskeerat- Again detailed and comes across as enjoying her text a lot, therefore putting lots of effort into it.
Sherish- A lot of effort, detail and organisation- content and presentation wise.

12. Do you think next year’s Year 13s would benefit from setting up an Independent Study blog?

I do think next year's yr 13s would benefit, just like we did.

13. Are there any negative aspects to preparing for an Independent Study using a blog?

Just the extra work that has nothing to do with the actual independent study.

14. What could be done to improve teaching and/or learning in future through blogs?

No improvements needed.

15. Overall, are you pleased that we used blogs? Has it been interesting and enjoyable? Why? Why not?

I am pleased that we used the blogs, it has been interesting rather than enjoyable. This is because it is so much more easier to take info from websites and paste the link instead of printing everything out.

TASK 12- Historical texts

The two historical texts I have chosen are “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994) and “The Great Escape” (1963). Both of these are prison-break movies and it has been said that the first series of “Prison Break” is like “The Shawshank redemption” and the second is “The Great Escape”.

“The Shawshank Redemption”- Director: Frank Darabont

RESEARCH:


Though there is a strong supporting cast, this is really a two-man show. Morgan Freeman plays Red, a convicted murderer and a lifer at Shawshank Prison. After 20 years in stir, Red has adapted to prison life surprisingly well. He's essentially a black marketeer - though a nice one; he only charges a 20% markup on the goods he provides -- and he knows how everything works. He's the ultimate insider, making him a perfect narrator for the story.


The movie wisely keeps its distance from Andy at this point - in part because I don't think it would be possible to really engage him without falling back on cliches. For instance, the movie makes clear that Andy is raped, repeatedly. We never really get a sense of how this affects him. We see him physically battered, but not broken, but we never see the emotional effect. I think it is possible to see this as a weakness in the film - that the movie is simply unwilling to consider the effect on Andy physically (aside from some bruises), emotionally, and mentally.

But then consider how this is dealt with in other prison movies because, obviously, rape - either the threat or reality of it - is a central, though sometimes implicit rather than explicit theme in the genre. In some movies - such as most of the women in prison movies - rape has essentially no effect. It is simply an excuse to get the leads naked, and is forgotten by the next scene

Has any movie ever successfully dealt with the issue of prison rape in way that makes both thematic and emotional sense? The fact is that there are only a small, small handful of movies that deal with rape honestly and realistically, and the percentage of prison movies able to do so is even smaller. Okay, so what is the point? In a way, Shawshank, by making Andy observed rather than central early on, bypasses the issue. The fact that he survives makes a statement to the other prisoners, but by not focusing closely on Andy at this point the movie avoids having to deal with his response, which is a smart choice given the fact that the movie would almost inevitably be unable to deal with Andy's response in any satisfying way. I don't know if the choice was conscious, but the movie seems to have a sense of its own limitations here - by acknowledging that Andy is an enigma, it is able to present his difficult entry into prison life as mysterious and intriguing without having to making a convincing presentation of Andy's inner state.

Between Andy's surprising character and Red's by-turns funny and poignant narration, we easily overlook the barrage of cliches that assail us. After all, haven't we seen these characters before: the brutal head guard (Captain Byron Hadley, played menacingly by Clancy Brown), the religious fanatic warden (Warden Norton, played by Bob Gunton) who ends up being the most corrupt of the bunch, the institutionalized lifer (Brooks, played by James Whitmore) who even takes care of a small animal (a crow in this case)? It is really a testimony to Freeman and Robbins that these weak characterizations don't sink the movie.

There are just so many well crafted and memorable scenes: The new fish arriving in prison, scared and brutalized. Like every other movie of this genre, we see the bus pulling up to the prison gates and the prisoners stripped and deloused. They get the usual "welcome to prison" speech, with the warden advising the prisoners to study the Bible, and with additional instruction from Hadley: "You eat when we say you eat. You s__t when we say you s__t. You p__s when we say you p__s." We see the prisoners introduced into the prison population. Then, after lights-out, one of the lifers, Heywood (William Sadler) taunts a new, chubby prisoner until he breaks, to the amusement of all. And then the movie suddenly turns serious. Hadley pulls the new guy out of his cell, and beats the blubbering man unconscious. We later learn that the prisoner, who we only ever know as "Fat Ass" died during the night of his injuries. And suddenly we realize the movie is playing for keeps.

There is the scene where Bogs get his comeuppance at the hands of Hadley who has become Andy's protector thanks to the tax advice. It is a testimony to Rolston's powerful performance as Bogs the rapist that we actually feel a certain pleasure at seeing him brutally beaten by Hadley, even when we find out that he's paralyzed as a result. But this plot development seems a little too convenient to me. Then there is an extended sequence where the warden announces a work-release program which suddenly turns him into the largest and most successful contractor in the county with his large pool of free labor.

Tommy is a young punk, sent to Shawshank on a 2 year term for breaking and entering. At first, he is basically comic relief - a dumb, funny kid. Andy takes him under his wing, teaches him to read, and helps him get his high school equivalency degree.

What is the overall theme? Andy says it outright to Red, "Either get busy livin' or get busy dyin'." This is not a movie, essentially, about overcoming hardship - which is why it is not necessary to insist upon Andy's innocence. It is a movie about owning up to one's responsibilities and seeking out a better future. It is about hope, not just empty wishes. It is a movie, like American Beauty that reminds us that life is not a dress rehearsal, this is the big show, do something with it. That optimistic theme justifies the optimistic ending, and it is precisely this optimistic theme and optimistic ending that turns off many critics, schooled in post-modernist philosophy and techniques, for whom the only authentic emotions are despondency and despair.
http://www.prisonflicks.com/reviews.php?filmID=5

Themes in Shawshank:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/keywords

Similarly, Shawshank bears several parallels to the 1979 Clint Eastwood movie Escape from Alcatraz in which Eastwood's character, like Andy Dufresne, took small pieces of his cell walls and discreetly discarded them while spending time in the yard, spurned advances of a fellow inmate, and was assigned to a small library.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shawshank_Redemption

ANALYSIS:
The plot, particular scenes and even the character roles are very similar to “Prison Break”. Although “Prison Break” is a TV serial drama, there aren’t any historical Prison Break TV dramas and “The Shawshank Redemption” especially links to the first series of “Prison Break”.

Both the serial drama and film contain the Proppian character roles: in particular, the hero. Andy Dufresne (Shawshank) and Michael Scofield (Prison Break) enter the Prisons in the film/show and, although they are an enigma, as the audience learn more about them they genuinely grow to care about them so are forced to be in the position of identifying strongly with the hero, even more so, when the inmates who threaten/beat up Michael and Andy get their comeuppance. Therefore, the audience gain these sadistic pleasures.

The character role of the hero and his helper are seen in both Shawshank and Prison Break. These are Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows as in real terms, Scofield seems like the only leading role but there is this emotional connection between him and his brother which is seen in series 2 that makes them the two leading role of the show. Red and Andy Dufresne are the two distinguished characters in the role of the hero and his helper in Shawshank. There is one scene in Prison Break with Scofield walking up to C-Note in order to get some supplies from the outside. Similarly there is a scene in Shawshank where Andy walks up to Red to get some supplies. These scenes are so similar not only in terms of character roles but also how the helper is black. This could be enforcing a trusting relationship between black and white but on the other hand, looking at black people in a more negative light; as being corrupt even in Prison.

However, with the complete absence of women in Shawshank and the bad luck of Scofield’s plans going pear-shaped in “Prison Break”, differences can be seen.

The main difference is that narration is not present in “Prison Break” but is in “Shawshank”. This could be because of the difference types of media that they are; one being a film and the other a TV series. This means that the audience first identify with the ‘helper’: Red in Shawshank because of his narration. He is also a funny and poignant man that overlooks Andy’s role at times. On the other hand, Scofield is never overlooked- he is the witty one in the whole series therefore gaining a stronger relationship with the audience than Andy.

Therefore, there are mainly similarities between “Prison Break” and “The Shawshank Redemption” including the corruption of the prison police, the apparent narrative roles but these can be overturned as “Prison Break” manipulating the audience more to only identify with the one character and feel what he is doing is always right. The absence of plans going wrong in “Shawshank” enforce a much more glorified stance on the genre of prison break and so Prison Break is definitely integration into society including the fact that it relies on TV ratings for its success.

The Great Escape (1963) set in 1943:
Director: John Sturges

Plot Summary for The Great Escape (1963)
Based on a true story, a group of allied escape artist type prisoners of war are all put in an 'escape proof' camp. Their leader decides to try to take out several hundred all at once. The first half of the film is played for comedy as the prisoners mostly outwit their jailers to dig the escape tunnel. The second half is high adventure as they use boats and trains and planes to get out of occupied Europe.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057115/keywords- plot key words: All male cast, Based on true story, tunnel, WW2, base ball glove, disguise, forgery

genre: action, war, adventure, drama http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057115/plotsummary

The movie is set in 1943, and the prisoners are mostly British fliers, although a Pole (Danny Willinski, played by Charles Bronson) and three American (mostly notably Hilts and Hendley) round out the crew. At first the prisoners are surprised to see so many escape artists in the mix, but the Germans soon explain the situation

The next morning we learn that 76 men got out. Von Lugar is clearly not pleased, but he still salutes Ramsey; he remains a military professional to the end. Because of the botched end to the escape, the escapees are immediately pursued by the Germans. They each take different routes. Bartlett and MacDonald try to board a train and brazen their way past the German guards. Handley and Blythe by contrast jump from the back of a moving train when the Germans come through to check papers. Louis Sedgwick (James Coburn), "The Manufacturer" from the escape committee, steals a bicycle. Danny tries to escape by rowboat. The German countryside seems oddly peaceful given the circumstance. When I think of World War II, I usually have a picture of burned out cities, and churned up terrain, but aside from various checkpoints, it almost seems as if the war has not yet come to this part of Germany.

Slowly, but surely, almost all the men get recaptured. Bartlett and MacDonald get caught when MacDonald slips up and responds in English to a Gestapo officer's wish of "good luck." D'oh! That's the oldest trick in the book! Bartlett gives the Germans a run for their money and forces them to pursue him across rooftops before they finally track him down. Hendley and Blythe manage to steal an airplane, but it develops mechanical difficulties just short of the border and crashes. Blythe gets shot by approaching German troops. The real excitement come from Hilts, who steals a motorcycle and leads the Germans on a couple of wild chases through back roads and cross country. At the climactic moment, he tries to jump the last fence into Switzerland, only to get tangled up in the barbed wire. The motorcycle chases were apparently pure fiction, and were added (along with the American presence in the camp) in order to give the movie a little more commercial appeal... also to placate McQueen, an avid motorcyclist (remember that when you complain about how today's stars make unreasonable demands on directors). Of the main characters, the only ones who manage to escape are Danny and Sedgwick. Sedgwick manages to hook up with some French resistance units who escort him to Spain. Danny makes it to a harbor and manages to stow away on a freighter.

The Great Escape is a fine movie. It has a great cast, and is beautifully made. But ultimately, it is a pretty straight-forward retelling of an escape attempt, heavily focused on the technical details of the scheme. Though it touches on bigger issues such as Bartlett's culpability in the death of 50 men, these themes are really afterthoughts.

http://www.prisonflicks.com/reviews.php?filmID=54

One of the film’s inaccuracies is its failure to show how cold, hungry and uncomfortable prison life really was. The Great Escape almost makes it look pleasant enough for us to wonder why the flyers would want to bother escaping.

http://apolloguide.com/mov_fullrev.asp?CID=112

'Prison Break': Sharpen Up Those Spoons
By Tom ShalesWashington Post Staff WriterMonday, August 29, 2005; Page C01

Fox, let's face it, has a slight sadistic streak. How else to explain the network's obsession with starting the new TV season earlier and earlier each year? Of course, "new TV season" has been an anachronistic term for a decade or so -- what with cable and broadcast shows coming and going at virtually any time -- but when the early birds are as punishingly junky as Fox's "Prison Break," it's only natural to suspect some sort of vendetta at work.

An old industry cliche maintains that "no one sets out to make a bad TV show," but it's certainly the easiest explanation for something as pitifully awful as this thing.

"Prison Break" deals with a vast and sinister conspiracy and also appears to be part of one. It's 3-B TV: Boring Beyond Belief, a hideous hybrid that even Fox publicity admits is an attempt to clone at least three movies -- "The Shawshank Redemption," "The Longest Yard" and "The Great Escape." Perhaps we should admire that kind of candor; back in the 20th century, networks didn't run around openly boasting that their shows were unauthorized imitations.
Potential network slogan: "At Fox, we rip off only the best!"
Even if it had an original bone in its body, though, "Prison Break" -- premiering at 8 tonight on Channel 5 -- would come off as more cruel than unusual. The somber pretentiousness of it, reinforced by performances uniformly overwrought, make it a heavy weight to bear, yet one resolutely empty-headed.

The gimmick implicit in the title is that the drama concerns a young man who breaks into prison, not out of it, in an effort not only to liberate his brother from death row but also to expose a far-flung national conspiracy that involves the Secret Service, the vice president, a model of the Taj Mahal apparently made out of Popsicle sticks, and loose toilet bolts distributed by the Schweitzer Plumbing Co. of Aurora, Ill.

Talk about your tangled webs! The presence of high-ranking government officials in the plot suggests -- strongly -- that "Prison Break" has a more than nodding resemblance to Fox's own "24" in addition to all those other striking similarities. But then how could a network have any pride if it didn't rip off itself as well as raiding the opposition?

In a semi-spooky prologue, the prisoner-to-be -- Wentworth Miller as structural engineer Michael Scofield -- visits a tattoo parlor for the application of a magnum opus all over his body. We only glimpse details, and Fox has asked critics not to reveal the tattoo's contents; it will figure in the plot about 700 miles down the road. First Scofield has to get himself arrested for holding up a bank (a scene as ludicrously staged as the funny-on-purpose codger robberies of Martin Brest's "Going in Style"), sentenced to the same Joliet, Ill., prison where his brother awaits the grim reaper, and convince the perky prison physician (Sarah Wayne Callies) that he has diabetes.

Why diabetic? Fox has not asked critics not to reveal the reason for that, too. It would just be wasting even more of your time to reveal it. You have better things to do, like decide what to watch instead of "Prison Break" at 8 o'clock tonight.

The Joliet prison is well stocked with slammer cliches whose origins go all the way back to the days when James Cagney, George Raft and Humphrey Bogart were doing time at Warner Bros. Nobody says, "Come and get me, copper!" but there are elements just as familiar and corny.
Miller's performance as Scofield may not be the worst in the series, but since Miller is hardly ever off-screen, it's easily the most oppressive. The actor apparently thinks it looks cool for him always to be scanning the surroundings as if he were a suspicious owl, his eyelids at half-mast as he squints into nooks and crannies. Miller sports one of those fashionable stubble cuts not on his face but on his skull; it evokes the young Jerry Lewis as he appeared in service comedies like "At War With the Army." If only "Prison Break" had stolen more from that picture and less from the other ones.

Stacy Keach, as Warden Pope, is about the only actor who escapes from the debacle with dignity, but it's the warden who's building the model of the Taj Mahal, and you have to wonder how Keach kept from laughing during scenes in which he asks for Miller's help in building the tiny Taj.

The prison population is naturally divided along ethnic lines and into gangs or cabals or bridge clubs or whatever. Miller displays a surprising indifference to making friends or influencing people, to forming alliances with any of the various factions, though you'd assume that would make his difficult task easier. His cloddishness carries a terrible cost: the little toe on his left (or was it right?) foot. Yes, the pinky-toe made immortal by a particularly hilarious episode of "Seinfeld," the toe that went "wee wee wee wee wee wee wee all the way home."
Bad guys snip the toe off artfully at the end of an episode; there's a cut -- meaning an edit -- and the screen goes black, so we get the shock value of the violence without having to see gore. Ah, but that kind of restraint and inventiveness apparently didn't sit well with the producers of "Prison Break" or the Fox executives in charge of it. So the very next episode begins with a reprise of the amputation, this time in graphic detail, blood spewing hither and yon while Miller screams in agony.

Any viewer who's made it that far into "Prison Break" is bound to be in agony, too, if not quite the scream-worthy kind. No, no screaming, just stupefied mortification. An apparently evil Secret Service agent had said consolingly to a colleague earlier in the first episode, "Look, three months, it'll all be over" -- but if sanity prevails, it'll all be over much more quickly than that.

This review for "Prison Break" slates the whole series...it does not have 1 good thing to say but the reason i put it here is because the writer mentions how it is a "copy" of "Shaw Shank Redemption", "The Longest Yard" and "The Great Escape", which is interesting because these are all movies whereas Prion Break is a TV series. From all the reviews i've read there aren't any comparisons with historical TV series, only contemporary one slike Lost and 24.

How Mulvey’s theory could be useful for me in my Independent Study

Although “Prison Break” is very largely male dominated, therefore doubting the use of Mulvey’s theory: male gaze, there are two particular female characters that can be seen as playing a large part in the application of “Prison Break” with the feminist theory.

One of the two main female characters is the Prison Doctor: Sara Tancredi who plays the role (in Proppian terms) of the princess. Therefore, this passive female already conforms to Mulvey’s theory of the audience watching her voyeuristically. This is because the doctor would provide the audience, who are put in a male position, with erotic pleasure but she is always dressed fully with her white cloak. This suggests that the audience are unable to fetishize her body. The story of Michael Scofield liking the doctor could reinforce voyeurism by the spectator. She may also be objectified because she is the only main actress in the first series. Therefore, because of the nature of the character Dr Tancredi and her relationship with Michael Scofield, Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze can be applied to the drama series mainly because of the voyeuristic pleasure experienced by the audience.

Similarly, Veronica Donovan is an attractive woman and possesses the quality of to-be-looked-at-ness. The male audience are able to objectify her and unlike Dr Tancredi, fetishize her body. Mulvey’s idea of scopophilia, taken from Freud, can be applied to this character because the male audience would take pleasure in looking at her on screen voyeuristically. A scene where this would be especially apparent is when Lincoln reminisces back to the moment of himself and Veronica in bed together. However, she plays a lawyer in the drama and so is not very passive but does go under the charm of a male who tries to kill her. This shows that there is a sense of patriarchy in “Prison Break” through the fact that the males play the active roles but in terms of a male audience, it can be noted that the lack of women represented in the drama give doubt to the theory of the male gaze from the spectator.

There is also use of the phallic object in “Prison Break”. Again, this involves the doctor as she uses a syringe to inject medicine into Scofield for his diabetes weekly. This implies the male castration taking place because the actress is holding it. Additionally, there are numerous knives and screw-drivers used in the series and can be interpreted as phallic symbols, conforming to Mulvey’s theory.

Therefore, some of Mulvey’s theories such a masochism and narcissism are not apparent in “Prison Break” purely because of the scale of male dominance in the drama series. On the other hand, the two actresses that play important roles allow the male gaze; voyeurism and fetishism to be apparent signified through interaction with the male characters. Similarly, phallic symbols are numerously used in the series from guns to syringes to pens.












(taken from Prison Break's fan website- screen caps)

Summary of the arguments that Laura Mulvey puts forward in her Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema (1975)

Mulvey’s arguments are influenced by the theories of Sigmund Freud and focuses on the representation of women in Hollywood films. Conventional Hollywood films have a male protagonist who is active. The audience is assumed to be male. Actresses on the other hand, are seen to be glamorous and attractive and therefore appease to the male gaze. Therefore, the male is active and female passive.

Mulvey argues that through the Male gaze, in which the spectator is put in a masculine subject position, the audience look at films voyeuristically and fetishistically. The audience are voyeurs because they are watching the film (usually in a darkened cinema) and don’t acknowledge the rest of the audience, just the characters on the screen and see the woman as a “modonna”. She argues that this voyeurism involves turning the female character into a fetish, seeing the woman as a “whore”, so they are objectified by the audience because of their looks. This goes onto her idea of women simply having the quality of “to-be-looked-at-ness”.

There are two effects of voyeurism: objectification and narcissist identification. Objectification involves the audience to look at the female character as an object rather than a real person and narcissism means the audience imagine that they are the person they see on the screen, creating them to love themselves. Another possibility of pleasure in the cinema is taken from Freud’s idea of “scopophilia”- where the male audience take pleasure in looking at the female as an object.

Mulvey also talks about the threat of male castration through the substitution of a phallic fetish object, such as a cigarette or a pen.

Metaphorically, Mulvey’s work refers to a way of thinking about and acting within society.

Genre
Genre Studies:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genre_studies

When studying a genre in this way, one examines the structural elements that combine in the telling of a story and find patterns in collections of stories. When these elements (or codes) begin to carry inherent information, a genre is emerging.

It has been suggested that genres resonate with people because of the familiarity, the short-hand communication, as well as the tendency of genres to shift with public mores and to reflect the zeitgeist.

Cinematic Genre:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_genre

A "genre" generally refers to films that share similarities in the narrative elements from which they are constructed.

John Truby, Hollywood story consultant states that "...you have to know how to transcend the forms [genres] so you can give the audience a sense of originality and surprise."[1] Some screenwriters use genre as a means of determining what kind of plot or content to put into a screenplay. They may study films of specific genres to find examples. This is a way that some screenwriters are able to copy elements of successful movies and pass them off in a new screenplay. It is likely that such screenplays fall short in originality. As Truby says, "Writers know enough to write a genre script but they haven’t twisted the story beats of that genre in such a way that it gives an original face to it."[

SELF EVALUATION

Attainment- 2
I do try to do all my work to the best standard but i feel i could try a bit more.
Effort- 1
I think i put loads of effort into Media Studies through homework and in class.
Punctuality- 2
There might have been a few times when i was late to lesson but none were my own personal fault
Submission and quality of homework- 2
I always hand in my work on time but maybe the quality of it can be a bit more better
Ability to work independently- 1
I think i am very capable of working independantly very well
Quality of writing- 1
My quality of writing is, in my opinion, at its best
Organisation of Media folder-2
I always bring my media folder to lessons and have divided Med 5 from Med 6 but some of it is a bit un-organised.
Oral contributions in class- 2
I put a lot of effort into contributing to class discussion but can contribute even more.
Standard of Module 5 blog-2
I have done indepth research into my independant study but seeming as thought mine is not the "best" maybe i could improve on that and add in some more analysis etc
Standard of Module 6 blog- 3
Sometimes, i feel i can put a lot more effort into this blog but i have kept up to date with the homeworks set for it.

Targets/areas of improvement:
- Improve my blogs
- Organise media folder more

Bibliography: Books

- BUCKLAND, Warren (1998): Teach Yourself Film Studies. Hodder Education, London: Cox & Wyman Ltd

- LACEY Nick (2005): Introduction to Film. Hampshire/NY: Palgrave Macmillan

- STAM Robert (2000): Film Theory: An Introduction. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers Ltd

Ethnic stereotypes in American Media

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_and_ethnicity

Africans/Blacks
Main article: Stereotypes of Africans/Blacks
African Americans as a group have primarily been stereotyped as animalistic brutes in American culture: physically rather than intellectually oriented, hedonistic, criminal-minded, violent, and willing to rape. They are more likely to be portrayed as unrestrained, hot-tempered, and profane (inclined toward use of profanity) than Whites or others in movies and television shows.

African Americans are generally portrayed as intellectually, economically, and culturally inadequate, and soliciting or in constant need of assistance from Whites and others. The stereotype of the dedicated non-African American teacher, social worker, or mentor providing what African American family, culture, and buying power cannot is well established in films, tv shows, and televised charity appeals.

Prison Break often conforms to these stereotypes but does subverts them as well. Although there are black inmates in the Prison for committing crimes (thus conforming to their steotypes) the fact that there are white men in there who have done exactly the same, if not worse, shows that white men are taking over the black stereotype of being 'animalistic brutes' and 'criminal minded' in the American Media through Prison Break.

Blog Buddies

My blog buddy from my class is Rajan.

Rajan is studying Prison Break as well and is looking at the representation of the troublesome, from ethnicities to the traditional white male protagonist.

Therefore, our areas of overlap is obviously our main texts but we are also studying Propp's theory of character roles, blaxploitation and genre theory.

Propp's theory can be applied to Prison Break as each character is either a hero, helper, donor, princess, villain etc and this effects the way in which they are represented. Stereotypes of these roles is also an area of both of our studies.

Self-Directed Research

- Useful Books

http://kavitab.blogspot.com/2006/09/useful-books-i-found-introduction-to.html

- Review

http://www.reel.com/movie.aspMID=142169&buy=open&PID=10122433&Tab=reviews&CID=18#tabs

- Propp

http://www.brown.edu/Courses/FR0133/Fairytale_Generator/theory.html

http://www.northern.edu/hastingw/propp.htm

- Propp's Theory of character functions

http://www.northern.edu/hastingw/propp.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Propp

- Other Texts: 24

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24_(TV_series

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0285331/

- Season 2 Trailer (before it was set as homeowork)

- Blaxploitation

http://www.answers.com/topic/blaxploitation

TASK 7- Keywords

Protagonist: The leading character or hero in a film with whom the audience can identify and from whose point of view the action is positioned, often set in binary opposition against the antagonist.

This is useful because Michael Scofield is the hero in Prison Break and the audience mainly identify with him, therefore this definition can e linked to the drama series as well.

Prime Time: 7:30pm - 10:30pm, the period of time with the largest number of television viewers and, on commercial channels, the perios of time whe nmost advertising revenue is earned.

Prison Break is shown at 'Prim Time' in both the USA and UK.

Production Company: Company responsible for making Television programmes.

Production Companies for Prison Break:

Rat Entertainment
20th Century Fox Television
Adelstein-Parouse Productions
Original Television

Social Realism: the representation of characters and issues in film and television drama in such a way as to raise serious underlying social and political issues.

This can be applied to my study because there are many issues that occur in Prison Break which reflect reality.

Stock character: a stereotypical, predictable minor character.

Prison Break Clip

Close Textual Analysis

Media Langauge: what techniques are being used to make meaning in the text?

- Cinematography/Camerawork- fast pace shots. Some hand held camera. Mainy medium shots of each of ther characters as they talk. Ends with Scofield saying "with a little help from my friends".

- Mise en scene: In Prison garden and Shed. Low angels shots of Scofield as he is shown as the hero.

- Lighting: Natural day light. Natural Lighting in the shed.

- Sound: non-diegetic sound(track) on top of the dialogue. Parallel to the dialogue.

- Editing: simple cuts

Institution: Who produces, distributes, regulates the text?

- Production: non-hollywood. 20th Century Fox Television

- Promotion: Trailers, advertised on UK TV as well as American channels including Fox.

- Distribution: Primarily, American TV channel- Fox Network but has been distributed by institutions around the world.

- Scheduling: the 'watershed' in the UK but prime time (8pm) in America.

- Broadcasting: commerical TV

Genre:What type of text is it?

- Broadcast fiction genres: serial drama

- broadcast fiction elements: theme tune, title sequence

Representation: Who or what is being represented in the text? How?

- Gender: All except two characters are males. These are represented in different ways such as Scofield as the witty hero but T-Bag as a selfish, weak man.

- Ethnicity: Typical representation of African Americans as they are prisoners, having commited crimes. An exception is Sucre who is high lighted to deeply regret his crime and would do anything to be with his girlfriend.

- Positive/negative: Not fair/accurate in todays society but would be in the 1960s where black were seen as inferior to whites.

- Stereotypes: reinforces- black peole in prison and trying to escape and corruption of the prison as well as the American Governement.

Challenges- scofield is not racist towards the black inmates.

Audience: Who consumes the text?

- Primary audience: 18-25 year olds (male and female)

- Secondary audience: 14-18 year olds (male and female)

- Target audience: 18-34 of all ethnicites and male and females.

The show contains adult content including violence, coarse language, sexual and drug references. Concerns have been raised by the Parents Television Council in the United States about the timeslot in which Prison Break is broadcasted (8:00p.m.) since the show features scenes which contain graphic violence.

- Expectations: achieved- As the only new television series to be positioned in the top 20 television shows of 2005/2006 in Canada, Prison Break achieved an average of 876,000 in the key demographic of 18-49 and 1.4 million viewers nationally for its first season.

- Appeal: for women mainly Michael Scofield and for men- the action and wit of Scofield.

Ideology & Values: what are the belief systems/messages/values underpinning the text?

- Liberal Values: Scoifled promotes an anti-racism value by rejecting T-Bag and working with some black inmates. Also, avoiding to fight with them. Mix of black and white people in the prison could promote multi-culturalism but the fact that they oppose each other subverts this idea.

- Positive values: to entertain and inform viewers about the corruptness of the American Government. To encourage social change of anti-racism.

- Patricarchy: Males prison showing mainly male characters.

Narrative: how is the narrative in the text organized and structured?

- open narrative

- closure: cliffhanger at each episode

- non-linear narrative: sometimes showing thoughts of the inmates when they were at home

- Narrative structure: Propp, Todorov

- Narrative Roles: Propp

- enigma codes: multi-stranded narrative

Essential Word Dictionary

Blaxploitation film: Film of the 1960s and 1970s in which black actors featured in principle roles usually associated with whites.
· The films were original in being directed primarily at audiences and, although seen as exploitive, were in fact part of a changing attitude toward back characters and the representation of black culture.

This word is relevant to my study because part of it is to analyse how the African American characters in ‘Prison Break’ are treated compared to the whites and whether this is similar to films from the past.

Genre: A category of media products classed as being similar in form and type.

This is the main focus of my study.

Genre Theory: An explanation of the role played by genre in differentiating media texts and aligning audiences.
· Genre theorists consider the relationship between audiences, media texts and media producers and the ways in which genres, particularly in film, can be used by producers to target specific audience groups, with predictable expectations of audience members and responses.

Narrative theory: a type of thinking that seeks to explain narrative structures and their relationship to wider cultural and genre-related factors.
· Narrative theorists seek to deconstruct narratives in order to identify their common characteristics and component elements eg. Todorov, Levi-strauss, Barthes, Propp.

This is relevant to my study because I focus on the narrative theorists.

Propp, Vladamir (1895- 1970): Russian formalist writer and folklorist who analysed the structure of folk stories in his work ‘The Morphology of Folktale’ (1958). His research refers to the type of character in folk tales and the events that involve them. He found that folk tales begin with an individual station where the characters are introduced. This is followed up with 31 functions, not always present but always occurring in the same order.

This is relevant to my study because I thoroughly analyse Propp’s theory and whether it applies to ‘Prison Break’.

Racism: Practises and behaviour involving social and economic discrimination based on the false assumption that one particular ethnic group or race is culturally and biologically inferior to another.
· Racist behaviour is based on centuries of economic exploitation and has been deeply embedded in European culture. Concerns have been expressed about the role played by the media in sustaining and reinforcing race stereotypes.

Series: A television or radio narrative that presents self-contained weekly episodes, using a recurring set of characters.

Blaxploitation

I will also study how the African American representation in Prison Break is stereotypical, being in a prison as a result comitted crimes.

http://www.answers.com/topic/blaxploitation

Blaxploitation films starred primarily black actors, and were the first to feature soundtracks of funk and soul music. Although criticized by civil rights groups for their use of stereotypes, they addressed the great and newfound demand for Afrocentric entertainment, and were immensely popular among black audiences. The blaxploitation genre officially began in 1971 with the release of Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song. This remained the premise of the early blaxploitation films; film by, for, and about black people.

Stereotypes
These films were made for an African American audience and often showed negative depictions of Caucasian characters; whites were often cast as crooked and racist police officers or government officials, and the racial slur “honky” was frequently used toward them. Italian Americans were frequently portrayed negatively as drug dealing members of the Mafia whom black characters would often rip off. Anti-Italian epithets such as “dago” and “wop” were used in conjunction with “honky” against these characters.
At the same time, the films also created a negative stereotype of African Americans, the audience they were designed to appeal to, as pimps and drug dealers. This stereotype fit with common white stereotypes about black people, and as a result many called for the end of the Blaxploitation genre. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Urban League joined together to form the Coalition Against Blaxploitation. Backed by many black film professionals, this group received much media exposure and quickened the death of the genre by the late 1970s.

This would related to Prison Break because the Prison Officer is very racist. Also, Michael Scofield's ceel mate Sucre is one of the main characters who has been stereotypically represented as he held up a liquor store. Also, another of Michael's helpers is C- Note who possessed stolen goods and supplies the cellmates with drugs.

C-note Sucre

Prison Break- Season 2 trailer

Review: This is relevant to my study because it shows the narrtivie of Prison Break and the fact that it is very positive.
http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?TVID=10757

Review: 1 of the 1st i've found that says some negative things about prison break
http://www.exclaim.ca/index.asp?layid=22&csid=774&csid1=5483

Propp: This is relative to my study because it shows Propp's 8 general stages.
http://evolutionarymedia.com/cgi-bin/wiki.cgi?ProppianNarrative,template.html

This is relevant because at the bottom, it shows popular shows that are of the same genre as Prison Break
http://tv.ign.com/articles/726/726260p1.html

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/tv/reviews/prison-break-season-one

This is relevant to my study because I will also analyse how the characters in Prison Break agree to the definition of a stock character.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_character

Blogs I have commented on:

Rajan
http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34060026&postID=115809735628243858

Harveen
http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=33962213&postID=115834072456366702

Priya
http://www.blogger.com/publish-comment.do?blogID=31196888&postID=115851004251084394&r=ok

Ramneet
http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=33397877&postID=115791282271009300

Kiran
http://www.blogger.com/publish-comment.do?blogID=32906186&postID=115857806880101376&r=ok

Other Texts: "24"

In the review of 'Prison Break' posted, the writer mentions another American series called '24'. This is also broadcasted by Fox and syndicated world wide.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24_(TV_series)

Each season covers the events of a 24 hour period in the life of federal agent Jack Bauer (played by Kiefer Sutherland) as he tries to prevent one or more domestic terrorist attacks, set largely in Los Angeles. The show also follows Jack's colleagues at the Counter Terrorist Unit Los Angeles office, as well as the actions of the terrorists, a civilian family and typically an important political figure such as a senator or president.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0285331/

Nothing pulls me to the edge of my seat like this show. "24" raises the bar for small screen suspense by breaking a few tried-and-true rules. Key elements here are brutal, intelligent and not easily coerced villains, a post-9/11 consciousness that plays out headline speculation with frightening surrealism and a nasty pension for un-heroically killing off what any other show would consider the "safe" characters.

Propp's Theory of character functions

http://www.northern.edu/hastingw/propp.htm

Propp’s 31 functions are too many to remember without a prompt, and probably too many to be applied easily. However, a simplified model (Propp-R) has been developed that merges several of Propp's functions, resulting in an abbreviated list of five functions which, like Propp's, always occur in the same sequence:

1. There is a LACK of something.
2. This forces the hero to go on a QUEST to eliminate the lack.
3. On the quest, the hero encounters a MAGICAL HELPER.
4. (S)he is subjected to one or more TESTS. This may be divided into two: an initial, qualifying test necessary to secure the helpers’ help, and additional tests related to the quest itself.
5. After passing the test, (s)he achieves his/her REWARD.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Propp

As well as finding the 31 narrative functions of Propp's theory he also discovered that there are ONLY 8 broad character types in the one hundred tales he analysed:

The villain (struggles against the hero)
The donor (prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object)
The (magical) helper (helps the hero in the quest)
The princess (person the hero marries, often sought for during the narrative)
Her father
The dispatcher (character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off)
The hero or victim/ seeker hero, reacts to the donor, weds the princess
False hero/ anti-hero/ usurper — (takes credit for the hero’s actions/ tries to marry the princess)
[edit]

Criticism

This analysis has been criticized for entirely removing all verbal considerations from the analysis, despite the folktale's usual form being oral, and also all considerations of tone, mood, character, and, indeed, anything that differentiates one fairy tale from another.

Propp

http://www.brown.edu/Courses/FR0133/Fairytale_Generator/theory.html

Propp argued that all fairy tales were constructed of certain plot elements, which he called functions, and that these elements consistently occurred in a uniform sequence. Based on a study of one hundred folk tales, Propp devised a list of thirty-one generic functions, proposing that they encompassed all of the plot components from which fairy tales were constructed.

http://www.northern.edu/hastingw/propp.htm

The initial situation.
1. One of the members of a family absents himself from home.
2. An interdiction (prohibition) is addressed to the hero(ine). [OR: (s)he is ordered to do something]
3. The interdiction is violated.
4. The villain makes an attempt at reconnaissance.
5. The villain receives information about his/her victim.
6. The villain attempts to deceive his/her victim in order to take possession of him/her and/or of his/her belongings.
7. The victim submits to deception and thereby unwittingly helps his/her enemy.
8. The villain causes harm or injury to a member of a family. 8a. One member of a family either lacks something or desires to have something.
9. Misfortune or lack is made known; the hero(ine) is approached with a request or a command; (s)he is allowed to go or (s)he is dispatched.
10. The seeker agrees to or decides upon counteraction.
11. The hero(ine) leaves home.
12. The hero(ine) is tested, interrogated, attacked, etc., which prepares the way for his/her receiving either a magical agent or helper.
13. The hero(ine) reacts to the actions of the future donor.
14. The hero(ine) acquires the use of a magical agent.
15. The hero(ine) is transferred, delivered, or led to the whereabouts of an object of search.
16. The hero(ine) and the villain join in direct combat.
17. The hero(ine) is branded.
18. The villain is defeated.
19. The initial misfortune or lack is liquidated.
20. The hero(ine) returns.
21. The hero(ine) is pursued.
22. Rescue of the hero(ine) from pursuit.
23. The hero(ine), unrecognized, arrives home or in another country.
24. A false hero(ine) presents unfounded claims.
25. A difficult task is proposed to the hero(ine).
26. The task is resolved.
27. The hero(ine) is recognized.
28. The false hero(ine) or villain is exposed.
29. The hero(ine) is given a new appearance.
30. The villain is punished.
31. The hero(ine) is married and ascends the throne

Reviews:
http://www.reel.com/movie.asp?MID=142169&buy=open&PID=10122433&Tab=reviews&CID=18#tabs

The characters are mostly stock, with plenty of recognizable clichés, but a few of the cast members manage to elevate their roles. The steely eyed Miller is a charismatic lead, while Peter Stormare shines as a prison mob stooge, and Robert Knepper brings chilling realism to the series' chief bad guy, a murderous pedophile. Even Stacy Keach manages to rise above his usual hammy performance in order to convincingly play the warden.

Curiously, while Fox News has been accused of being biased toward Republicans and the current administration, the real bad guys in Prison Break bear a striking resemblance to Bush minions and cronies. There's even a topical reference to prisoner abuses in Iraq that have consequences not for the perpetrators, but for the whistleblower. So much for bias. (political Context)

Useful books i found:

An Introduction to film Theory by Robert Stam
- Genre Theory
- Propp

Introduction to film by Nick Lacey
- Propp
- Genre
- Todorov
- Victor Shklovsky

Teach yourself Film Studies
- Genre film

How does a Proppian analysis apply to the genre of 'Prison Break'?

My independant study focuses on the American serial drama 'Prison Break' and will analyse in detail how Propp’s theory of character roles including hero, villain, donor, princess and so on contribute to the type of genre the series is. I will also use other successful American TV dramas such as “Lost”. “Prison Break” produced by Fox is a very successful show in the US and internationally including the UK. I will also discuss how the different character roles such as hero and villain segregates the black people from the white and so the representation of black people is a major issue in the American serial drama.

Furthermore, Propp's structuralist approach on character roles is expanded into 31 narrative funtions. I will determine whether this proposal by Propp of narratives having functions which motivate a cause effect can can be applied to 'Prison break'.

MIGRAIN

Media Language: In the first episode of the first season, Michael Scofield is the first character who is shown signifying that the whole drama is focused on and around him. He is shown in low key lighting getting his infamous tatoo put on. This shows that Michael is portrayed as the "hero" not only through the story line but the media langauge as well. The mise en scene and iconography are crucial in how the genre is shown across to the audience.

Institution: “Prison Break” is produced by Fox and is therefore an American TV serial Drama. It is directed by Brett Ratner.

Genre: 'Prison Break' consists of many hybrid genres such as thriller, action and romance but it is a serial drama. This will be the basis of my proposal- whether Propp's theory of character roles and functions can be applied to a TV series consisting of hybrid genres rather than a film.

Representation: How the characters in their roles are represented and whether it effects the representation of their race/ethnicity. Also, whether this is stereotypical taking into consideration the historical prejudice past of America. Also whether the respresentation of the characters is changed throughout the many episodes which makes the audience feel more sympathetic or hateful towards them.

Audience: The main reason audiences choose to watch films is for entertainment, and genre is a crucial factor in this as it assists in maing films easier to choose and understand. Film producers inlcuding Nick Santora of Prison Break , are aware of the conventions of genres they make themselves produce. However, it is very questionable wether the genre of 'Prison Break' apply to the Proppian theory.

Values and Ideologies: the corruptness of the Fox State Prison that is level 1 security and how Michael Scofield and his "helpers" manipulate this is portrayed very realistically and may reflect the attitudes of Americans towards ethnic minorities in America in its past and present.

Narrative: The narrative of Prison Break is multi-stranded as it focuses inside and outside of the prison life.

SHEP

Social Context:'Prison Break' includes some racism against black people as, for eg. Michael Scofield is beaten up by the white inmates for becoming friends for the black ones. This shows how the treatment of ethnic minorities in todays society in the USA is still present. Also, a genre film (or drama) contains re-occuring patterns and themes that reflect the basic questions, problems, anxieties, difficulties, worries and the values of a society and the way members of that society attempt to tackle those basic questions and problems. This can be applied to Prison Break such as the doctor having to choose between helping Michael to escape the prison with his helper inmates and betray her father (the governor) in doing so or simply turn away and live with the guilty feeling but doing right by her father. The audience would choose for her to help Michael, which she does. So, the basic questions and problems are answered but the repurcutions are to follow.

Historical Context: The role of black people has to be analysed compared to the historical past of America. Also, the critisms of Propp's Morphology of the Folk Tale (published in Russian in 1928) as it removes all considerations of tone, mood, character, and, indeed, anything that differentiates one fairy tale from another.

Economic Context: Fox is owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's news cooperation. Since its launch on October 9th 1986 FOX has grown from an upstart "netlet" to the highest-rated broadcast network among younger viewers.

Political Context: The political history of America can also be analysed and compared with the roles and representation of the characters in “Prison Break”. This includes the corruption of the American government which is portrayed in the serial drama.

Theorists:
Propp- 8 character roles, 31 generic functions
Todorov- narratives having the same simple structure
Viktor Shklovsky- like Propp (a Russian Formalist) split narrative structure into story and plot