How does the media represent a social group that you have studied?

Intro- Explain what a stereotype is, stating and linking to the social group of choice which will be women. Try to use appropriate quote.

Paragraph 1- Talk about how early representations of women were structured, for example, adverts such as shake n vac where women were largely portrayed as house wives and as only useful for domestic roles. Relate this to the zeitgeist when womens rights were not equal.

Paragraph 2- Talk about traditional stereotypes of women in historical texts such as psycho where the woman reflects the unequal gender roles in society at the time. Then go on to compare this to the way womens roles have progressed and become more equal to men through examples of final girl etc.. in contemporary texts such as Scream.

Paragraph 3- Discuss the way representations of women have adapted to the zeitgeist through exploitation and are seen as sex objects (Laura Mulveys Male Gaze) use quotes from mulvey. Talk about how phallic symbols connote women have gained some credibility however the presence of a phallic symbol is usually necesary in order to show that women have become less passive and have adapted to more active and strong roles. Talk about promiscuous behaviour in music industry how this gives women sense of dominance over men and power.

Do stereotypes change over time? Answer with specific reference to examples.

Intro - Define what stereotype is, briefly discuss the current issues surrounding womens roles in society and how they might have changed. include a quote.

Paragraph 1- Discuss examples from older historical films such as psycho where women are represented as weaker, explain how this reflects the zeitgeist.

Paragraph 2- Compare old version of TCM to newer version concentrating on how womens roles differ focussing on the final girl. I.e. inferior and passive in the first one, stronger and independent in the re-make.

Paragraph 3- Look at films such as bend it like beckham, and discuss the other side of the argument, how stereotypes of women might have remained the same.

Conclusion- Evaluate points made in the essay, state weather or not stereotypes have changed over time. Try to include quote.

TCM Essay

"Compare the two versions of TCM. HOW and WHY are they similar or different, paying close attention to ideas/theories about the ways genres repeat themselves and the wider contextual factors that have influenced any changes."

One of the most striking differences between the 1974 Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the 2003 version is that the remake is noticably more graphic and visually gory in terms of killings being more detailed, almost leaving nothing to the viewers imagination. Perhaps the original was less gruesome due to the social and political values at the time. In comparison to the present day western society we live in where certain things that are seen as acceptable would certainly not have been appropriate to an audience in the 1970’s. In the 2003 TCM, the disfigured face of the killer is exposed to the audience in full view, whereas in the original TCM his identity has been kept a mystery. By not revealing the killers identity the audience is kept in suspense as they are forced to use their own imagination to create a visual character. Although despite this difference between the two versions they both still maintain the same iconography of the leather face, a trademark feature of the killer in both films as he takes the faces of his victims in exchange for his.

Another conventional narrative similarity being followed in the two versions is that of the cliché group of teenagers who so happen to get stuck in the middle of nowhere. This is a stereotypical trait of the ‘slasher genre’ which has featured in other movies over the years. The teens are usually stranded with no communication to anyone, and in a location where no one is able to help them or save them from the cold-blooded killer. This scenario is intended as a scare-tactic in order to frighten the viewer to a point where they mentally put themselves in that position, although they know what to expect the fact still remains that the victims are helpless. However the difference between the group of teenagers in the original and the 2003 version is the purpose of their journey. In the 1974 version they appear to be travelling to visit a grave, whereas in the 2003 remake they are travelling to buy marijuana. This is a highly significant difference as it represents a reflection of the zeitgeist, possibly suggesting that the use of ‘soft drugs’ is now more accepted by society, or possibly that more teenagers are using drugs in this age.

In the TCM films, sex is associated with death as all teenagers seen to be having an intimate relationship are always the first (or eventually) to end up getting slaughtered by the killer. This is another generic convention of most horror films and is a consistent theme in both versions of the film. The message behind this could possibly be that sex is a sinful act as the teenagers are seen to be punished by the killer.

The final girl is a horror film convention that specifically refers to the last female character alive in the narrative to confront the killer. The final girl plays a crucial part in both versions of TCM, however she is portrayed differently. The final girl in the 2003 version is seen to play a strong role in defending herself as she manages to kill one of Leatherfaces relatives and also causes damage to Leatherface himself, whereas in the 1974 version the final girl is represented as a passive character who was incapable of posing any threat to the killer. This definitely reflects the changes in women’s rights and emphasises the significant progress that has been made towards equality of the genders, it suggests that women are now just as capable as men.

The ending of the films continue with the same theme of the development in women’s rights and their capability. In the end of the original TCM, the final girl is reliant on somebody else to take her back to shelter and safety, however in the new film the final girl is represented in a different way as she steals a police car in order to get home. This once again instigates that women have achieved independence in society and pushes forward the idea that women no longer need to rely on men.

SCARY MOVIE: POST-MODERNIST

Pastiche -A media text made up from other media text pieces or of imitations of other stylesIrony-

Irony is when humour is based on using words to suggest the opposite of their literal meaning.

Intertextuality- The practice of purposely including a reference of one text in the narrative of another, it can generate levels of meaning for the viewer.

Parody- A parody is in contemporary usage, is a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, or author, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation.

Spoof - a composition that imitates or misrepresents some body's style, usually in a humorous way.

Each of the of the words listed above are all linked with the film scary movie, scary movie is pastiche becuase the film is based on other films that have been before, the film also features alot of scenes which show irony as some humerous scenes show things which are not ment to be humerous. intertextuality means having other texts inside a certain text, this links with scary movie becuase it has links to many other texts. it is a parody becuase it mocks the orignal films that it was based on, for example how it makes the killer of the film a alcaholic, the killer was from the original scream movie. the genre of the film is spoof, a spoof is a genre of film which makes fun out of other films which is what is done all through the scary movie series

SIMALARITIES

· Both texts have a group of teenagers out on a road trip as part of the narrative.
· Same method of killing (Chainsaw), which is an icon of the TCM series.
· Both texts are set in an isolated location.
· In both texts narratives, friends begin to go missing while the others set out to look for them.
· Hitchhiker appears in both films, the characters realise that he is a psycho.
· Audience gain sadistic pleasure.
· Both texts have a ‘final girl’.





DIFFERENCES



· Hitchhiker in 1974 was a male who cut himself, whereas the hitchhiker in 2003 was a woman who shot herself.

FRANCHISES: The Scream Movies

Scream was a massive heit amongst fans of slasher genre as it showed a different side to the killings in the genre as a whole. The previous movies were all about the killers being more controlled and more sinister, however in these movies the killers are more active, which could have been seen from Freddy kruger. Similar props are seen in many other slasher movies, i.e the knife that the killer uses is the same choice of weapon as jason and freddy.

Scream became a major commercial success upon its release, and was one of the highest grossing films of 1996. It was also highly acclaimed by many critics worldwide, who appreciated the film's tongue-in-cheek approach. It received an 84% "fresh" rating on Rottentomatoes.com. As a result it spawned two sequels, Scream 2 and Scream 3. A fourth film was announced by The Weinstein Company in July 2008.The pastiche element of scream is noticable within all of the scream movies. The meaning of the term pastiche is used to describe a piece or section that is directly imitating another piece of work of other artists but in this case imitating the works of other movies. This can be seen through the concept that has been used of the tongue in cheek approach which was used in this movie.

The meaning of the word intertextuality means that blending and the coming together of two or more pieces of work, so in this case the blending of two or more movies which have been placed together to create one or reveal a meaning of the text.

Targets

Change hypothesis

Try to understand Mulveys theory better

Try to include more SHEP

Talk more about roles of men in hip hop