Representations of National Identity  

Pride (2014)-

The first noticeable representation would be the non-diegetic sound of choir music, as stereotypically the welsh are well known for their famous choir singers such as Charlotte Church, and for their love of choirs in general. This is instantly associated with Welsh people so it sets the scene before we even see any locations. When we do see a location it is first of the countryside, as Wales is mainly made up of fields and farms and less of city buildings. In the fields are sheep, which again are pinned with Wales because they are famously known for having lots and lots of sheep- this mise-en-scene is very stereotypical. Linked with this establishing shot is the text "deep in the valleys" which is a typical saying for Welsh people and is instantly recognisable.

A famous 'landmark' associated with Wales is shown through an establishing shot, this would be the Severn Bridge that leads to Wales from England and is the main way for most people to get to Wales.

Welsh people are well known for their sense of community as they typically live in small towns and villages spread across the countryside. To represent this there are two shots at the beginning of the scene that show a popular community centre. First a long shot showing the sheer amount of people in this club, they are all talking which shows that they are a tight community- this links with our stereotypical idea of Wales as we believe because of these small communities they all know each other. The second shot is a mid shot of a few men talking and laughing together, which shows their community spirit, again associated with the Welsh.

However this small community means they tend to have closed minds when it comes to new subjects such a homosexuality, especially the older generations. They are more ignorant towards the LGBT community as one of the young men had to be forced to speak to one of the members. This is showing that the welsh are not only small minded, but also perhaps stuck in their old ways and are not open to different sexuality. Further on in the trailer someone says it is "embarrassing" to have the members of the LGBT community sleeping on there floor, this shows their unwelcoming attitude towards gay people. 

Challenging the stereotype, would be the second half of the trailer when the welsh people become friends with the LGBT community as they are portrayed as anti gay at the beginning. There is a mid shot of the young man who previously wouldn't speak to a gay person now shaking hands with him, showing their unity.

 American Oxygen (2015) Rihanna -  

An overall message I get from this music video is that despite all the negative actions that have happened within America and that the negative implications that their country has had as others, we can go froward as a strong nation into a positive future. All the violence has led us to where we are now, positive outcomes have occurred such as freedom for black people and humans travelling to the moon.  This video seems very patriotic and it shows America as a nation in unity. The American flag shows this as it is their national identity, and despite all the negatives she still seems proud to stand  in front, perhaps not proud necessarily but she will defend her country and America is what it is, they can't change the past now but only strive for a better future. This idea for a stronger future is portrayed through the use of children and the youth as they are the next generation. The use of mixed race children shows that despite the wars between blacks and white we are now at a point to work together to secure our future. The use of the 'American dream' is very apt for this video/ song because that wasn't all it turned out to be, their dream was of  riches and lots of land but in reality they had to work really hard for very little. This message comes through in the sense of America as a whole because though most other nations think that America now has all these glorious moments, there has been lots of negatives as well such as the racial wars and the bombing of Hiroshima. 

It begins seemingly positive for a close up of Obama swearing the oath of loyalty as he becomes president, this is very positive because it portrays the end of the racial wars and proves the rights black men have now in America. However a film of men marching, presumably into war, is laid over the clip of Rihanna singing in front of the American flag, this could have two connotations, one that they have fought for what they got and consequently they deserve it or two that war has negative connotations due to the loss of life and violence. There is a lot of violence in this music video showing the struggles America has faced and how they have been divided at times. The amount of fire used also gives negative connotations because people tend to think of danger when they see fire, and ultimately death. The repetition also leads us to think about how America has repeatedly hurt other countries and damaged each other as well. 

The colour scheme of Rihanna's outfit, mise-en-scene, also adds to the idea of patriotism as she is wearing a red and white belt, red lipstick, red nail polish, blue tinted hair, a white top and blue jeans- all colours which are displayed on the American Flag and the colours that people associate with the USA. 

There is a complete mix of both positive and negative events and outcomes concerned with America. Some of the main positives portrayed in this video include: the landing on the moon, the empire state building, the fame it has offered the Beatles, Obama becoming president, Martin Luther King giving freedom to the blacks and slaves and the infamous stock markets on Wall Street.

However some negatives include: the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the events of the twin towers, the abuse of slaves and blacks, the problems of immigrations, the great depression, homelessness and riots. 

Through this music video Rihanna is portraying America as it is, and not holding back, challenging the stereotypes we have that America is always happy and positive but also agreeing to some of our stereotypes concerning their violence and involvement in war.

Representations of Events  

The Political Debate

Daily Mail-

Through the language the media producers of the Daily Mail are attempting to associate the labour party, and more specifically party leader Ed Miliband, with terrorists. Saying that the runaway's father is a 'labour activist' associates the party with something most Britons perceive as negative. 

The Daily Mail have taken this connection completely out of context, because through the use of the main image being Ed Miliband with the father it is focusing on the fact that Ed has 'associated' himself with terrorism, instead of focusing on the real story which is the fact another briton has attempted to cross to Syria. Ed Miliband took a photo with a supporter of his party, this does not mean he has anything to do with supporting terrorism or jihadis. In the image Miliband is smiling, which again suggests he seems happy to be associated with such a link, which increases the negativity this story will provide the party. The inset picture is the image of the 'runaway' jihadi Waheed Ahmed, the image is a lot smaller meaning there is less focus on this and consequently more on the bigger image of Ed and Ahmed's father. 

The Daily Mail is a nationalist paper, meaning they are very patriotic, which is understandable as to why they want to create negativity for their opposing party. These right-wing values come through in the stories and possibly cause influence to the readers which would consequently mean more support for their own party and less for Labour. The audience would be majorly nationalist too 

The paper takes a more formal tone which highlights the seriousness within this particular story and perhaps make it more shocking to the readers because it seems more serious. There is no colloquial language here but instead talking about a serious topic with phrases such as 'Syria border', 'Runaway Jihadi' and 'Labour Activist.

i-

This newspaper takes a more neutral stance, and we can tell this by the visual codes, such as the text, the image and subtext. The text is less specific to a certain party and doesn't have any negative connotations like the other newspaper. 'Dawn of rainbow politics' is a title that suggests the article will focus more on the event as a whole and less on targeting specific groups or politicians. The image reiterates this because instead of it being an image of a single politician it is of all the politicians at the debate, which again shows neutrality because there is not a preference to one over the other. The subtext talks about the "seven party leaders" which anchors the main image. Even though the main page picks on certain leaders such as "Farage", "Cameron" and "Miliband" , it is because they were the leading politicians after the debate, so it is in context and less of a direct attack.

The 'i' newspaper takes a formal approach, using language that will appeal to the majority of her audience, as the subject is of a serious matter and the newspaper is a formal one also. The image is in colour which perhaps shows a more positive outlook on our future and the outcomes of the upcoming election. The podiums also show the colour specific to their party, and as we can see most of the representative colours, it allows us to see that this is a more neutral newspaper. The 'i' newspaper is a liberal newspaper, meaning it stands just left of the centre on the political spectrum, mainly discussing social issues and inequality. Having said this the 'i' prides itself on its balance when publishing stories and, discusses points of view from both left and right.

The Oxford vs. Cambridge Boat Race

The Telegraph

This is the main image for the live events 'as it happened' for the Boat Races 2015 published under the Telegraph. The image is neutral as it shows an image including both teams and both the men and the women. This year's race held historical importance as it was the first time the men and women raced on the same day and coverage was given to both. The image represents this in a simple form, it is not showing them as one higher than the other but of equal importance, which is a significant factor for this years race. Gender equality is also tackled in this image for the men and women are shown in the same stance and same clothing, meaning they're also equal. This image shows the teams in their particular colours, which are recognisable for the major fans who follow the teams, but also distinguishable for those who don't; hence the newspaper is reaching a wider audience. The oars are in the picture as well, showing to those who don't know the sport that the newspaper is going to cover. The location also hints to the sport as they're standing on the edge of the water, the Thames, which is where the action takes place. The title 'Boat Races 2015: Oxford v Cambridge: as it happened ' is informative and gives the basic information, which familiarizes the readers on the topic. The word 'Races' highlights the fact that this year will be significant in terms of gender quality, however it is not really properly picked up on, perhaps because the paper is more neutral and comments on topics from both angles it is leaving the readers to make their own interpretation on whether this is a positive aspect to this infamous race or not.

The event is being represented as a team sport, which it very much is, but also team in a bigger sense because you have the universities Oxford and Cambridge going head to head. Both the universities are portrayed as competitive, especially as this is a "historic" event, meaning it has occurred very frequently in the past. The costume they are wearing is also very specific to the race and very professional looking, suggesting they compete to a high standard and they taken this sport seriously- linking with their competitiveness.

Metro-