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-



Alvarado's Theory 

Ethnic Minorities 

Exotic-     

 The Holi Festival is an annual event as part of the Hindu religion, in 2015 it was held on the March 6th. It's colours make it seem a really exotic event and portrays their whole religion as exotic, especially to White people and Christians for we don't have these aspects in our religion or country. This image portrays a positive representation for the bright colours connotate a happy and exciting environment; and the smiles on their faces further reiterate this. The mix of skin colours and gender adds to the diversity in a positive light, because of the joyous expressions. 

Dangerous-

'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' has a very negative portrayal of Jews, as it is a film about WWII and Adolf Hitler was spreading the message that ethnic minorities, such as the Jews, were a 'contamination' and should be dealt with. The young boy Shmeul who is Jewish, is sent to a concentration camp where he will meet his death, and as this film follows mainly the White British people we hear their opinions, mostly negative, about the matter. However the main character is a young boy named Bruno who allows us to see a positive representation of Jews, for he befriends Shmuel and the audience is shown the friendship they develop and how despite his religion and background Shmuel is just a child. However Jews were shown, in general, as dangerous human beings who bring terror and misery to the lives of others. In the image Bruno is being shouted at for having  relation with a Jew, highlighting their negative portrayal.

Pitied-

This is the from the wreckage of the floods that hit  and devastated  parts of the Philippines in the December of 2014. The Filipinos were devastated and rendered helpless, and appeals were made to richer countries such as Britain to send aid through money, food and first aid supplies. The flood hit on the 5th December and the news was reported straight away by the BBC who put news articles on their websites with the title 'Philippines Typhoon Hagupit makes landfall as thousands flee' and coverage even before that with warnings of the flood. Clips were shown on news shows such as the BBC and ITV showing images such as the one inserted, which evokes sympathy, causing us to pity them. By showing children it creates more of an impact as we tend to feel more sympathy towards them, because of their vulnerability. 

Humorous - 

Ned Flanders is humorous because of his over exaggerated religion and the events that occur because of it. Flanders is the Christian neighbour to the Simpsons family from the popular TV show on Sky, 'The Simpsons'. His need to share his beliefs becomes comedic because of Homer Simpsons reactions, as he is completely disinterested and doesn't fully understand the concept of Christianity. By adding a humorous character such as Ned, who has a recurring role the audience become familiar with him and expect comedy when he is around. I don't think it is particularly a positive or negative representation, for though he is mocked, it is not exactly commenting on the religion itself. Having said this it is hardly illustrating Christianity in a positive light and as something appealing, for they are only portraying one type of Christian and he is shown as slightly crazed and over the top.

Sexualised -  

In  the media, artist 'Rhianna' is often sexualised, and even sexualises herself. One reason for this could be to make her appear more appealing , or to highlight her womanly assets. If you were to see this in a positive light then she could be seen as expressing her confidence and telling women that it is okay to love your body. In this image she is on a shoot for magazine 'Esquire' in 2012 and this image is very sexualised, the lack of clothing for one but also the water used to add shine to her body makes for a more sexually appealing image. The magazine is in that nature but she made that decision to appear on it and it was one that affects the way she is portrayed in the media. In some ways this is a negative representation as she is a role model and teaching young girls that it is something 'that is done' to perhaps become more famous isn't morally correct. However as I previously said, it shows that she is confident with who she is and that is a positive message to portray. It doesn't have any negative connotations with regards to ethnicity, because white females sexualise themselves also.

Race and Ethnicity

Glee- Unique Adams/ Wade Adams

This is a positive representation of race as they don't draw attention to it and make a big deal of it, instead of questioning her background they except her for her. Other issues are portrayed through her, as she is the first transgender on the show. Unique was born male and named Wade, but since growing in confidence she now prefers to be referred to as a 'she' and she identifies herself as Unique.  She is an American and the colour of her skin is black, which is such a positivity in the media as discrimination was a massive problem especially in the U.S.A. Unique is portrayed as a stereotypical black woman in certain aspects because she is confident and has a very powerful and soulful voice. She is also a larger lady and loves her body which is typical of a black woman but also positive because it is emphasising that we should love our bodies; especially as she is a role woman for millions of teenagers. Unique is a fairly humorous character on the show, however she is also pitied at the beginning when she comes into the show as an unconfident and insecure male who feels trapped in their own body.   

This image shows unique in her element, she is performing with her friends and it is here that she feels most confident and accepted. She is sexualised here as she is in a figure hugging, hot pink dress with feathers, which have connotations of jazz dancing. 

In this scene she is super confident and happy, adding to the positive portrayal.

12 Years A Slave- 

In this film the White Americans are portrayed as the nasty villains, opposed to the Black Americans who are usually portrayed negatively. The owners of the slaves are white and they are the ones who are psychically abusing the Black American Slaves. In one particular scene, despite the slave trying to stand up to the White American slave owner, he goes ahead and rapes on of the pitied female Black Slaves. This is a negative portrayal of White Americans for they are being illustrated as dangerous and villainous, compared to the Black Americans who are pitied. 

The black women are presented as strong for carrying on in those conditions, where as the White American women are conveyed as weak for just following the orders and not questioning the thoughts. 

Analysing Film

All Good Things

This particular shot is part of a shot, reverse, shot to add a conversational feel to the dialogue. It allows the audience to see how they react to eachother as well as there interactions and proximity which can give hints of their relationship.By being able to see the main characters reaction we can perhaps judge on future events.

The lighting is natural using the sun, which adds the feeling of happiness and easiness to the scene. The slight shadows add a realistic effect and by using the sun it also illustrates the season they are in. The soft lighting used results in a low contrast to express this supposed happy tone.

The characters are placed in an attractive place in the rule of thirds, making this shot pleasing to the eye. Both characters are also in shot which adds to the conversational tone of the scene; however the fact that the shot is more focused on Gosling's character shows the audience that he is the character we are meant to be focusing on.

The white clothing could connote purity, however from previous shots we know that they have just finished a game of tennis so the clothes are apt for that situation. Also, the game of tennis is an important feature in the film because it appears earlier on in as major flashback as a child.

This Girl Can 

Women Empowerment 

This advert was produced to beat inactivity and to help empower women to support the feminism movement.  The vast array of women help this video become relatable to all female, including a range of sizes, ethnicity and ages. Throughout the women are shown as strong, powerful and capable- this is aided by the high key lighting which has connotations of strength because of the brightness. The use of close-ups creates a sense of realism because you see the facial expressions in detail and the audience get a feel of how much they have pushed themselves and how proud this is making them feel. The sweat is also highlighted by the high key lighting and close ups which, personally, i believe helps to create a sense of bravery and strength for they are not caring of what others think and are comfortable in their own bodies. The smiles on their faces also help create this sense of empowerment and strength because they are happy and it has a positive effect on the audience for smiles are contagious ; this leads to the overall positive representation of women and exercise which was create to empower and encourage women. The use of the music 'Get Your Freak On' by Missy Elliot is important for it adds to the idea of independence and success that this video implies. Elliot is a motivated and powerful woman who has succeeded despite her size and race, which would have been looked down on only several decades ago. This is down to videos and ideas such as the ones this text employs, for it helps to create a stronger movement in which ideas blossom and grown until they are accepted by all.  When the track pauses for a moment in the music video and the diegetic breathing is highlighted it helps, again, to create a sense of realism. Also when the music starts up again and the women continue on their journey it illustrates just how motivated they really are because they didn't give up, even when they thought they had reached their limit they carried on pushing- to me this demonstrates true strength. This video effectively supports the feminist movement for it's target audience is largely women and through the technical codes and styles the media producers have created this sense of empowerment that will motivate women. Another big aim for this video was to encourage exercising within the community, not only women, and through the array of people portrayed in this video, I think all would have found it appealing and empowering.

Research 

From creating and sending out a questionnaire, it helped me collect information from my audience about what they wanted in a music video, so it helped me when deciding what to put in mine. Questions such as “Do you like to see people from your age range in a music video?” and “What is your age?” are useful because it gives me an idea of who I should put in my music video, most people were between the ages of 14-24 and said yes, hence I will have people from that age range star In my music video. Also from researching other indie-pop artist’s they usually have themselves or others tar in their video who are around the age of 18-25, therefore it fits with my genre and what the audience want.

Textually analysing other artist’s music videos also gave me ideas of shots, as well as editing and lighting. I didn’t just analyse music videos that I wanted to use as inspiration, but by analysing a music video with a faster beat to get a wider knowledge. By watching and analysing Ed Sheeran’s music video for ‘Thinking out loud’, it has given me a better sense of onscreen love and shown me ways of showing this, for example eye contact is a very important aspect. From analysing Taylor Swift’s music video ‘Begin Again’ and looking into some of her others I really like the idea of the two shot to highlight the romance between two people, especially as you have one person’s shoulders and the other person’s face so the scene appears more realistic. I also like the idea of having shots, not only of the artist singing, but also of them in the same spot but looking away as this adds a more interesting dimension to the video as well as giving a more thoughtful edge to it. Also, from textually analysing music videos I have realised how important setting and locations are in a music video, especially in George Ezra’s music video where he uses pathetic fallacy to convey his mood, I have taken inspiration from this and decided that when there are happier moments within the song I shall use high-key lighting but as the song becomes sadder and when the boy is left along the lighting shall become dimmer to reflect his mood.

From researching both the audience’s desires, and what previous media producers have created, it has helped me arrive at the conclusion that I want to aim my music video mainly towards teenagers and young adults; as well as have a main love story running throughout. My target audience is such because the majority of people who watch music videos are from this age range, also my idea will appeal mostly to this audience. The love story will be between a teenage boy and girl, but from the boy’s perspective as he is the one singing the song, which shall be ‘Beautiful Tragedy’ by Mike Dignam.

(493 Words)