REVISION WEEK 3

MUSIC VIDEOS

How do the representations in this product show the values, attitudes and beliefs of the producer?

FORMATION by Beyonce
DDU DU DDU DU by BlackPink

KNEE JERK REACTION

Both music videos encode ideas of female empowerment through use of representation. Representation is created by the producer and is the re presentation of a group, issue or event. I shall argue that the music video for Formation by Beyonce and the video to DDU DU DDU DU by BlackPink both reinforce and challenge stereotypes of women

Initial Ideas:

Blackpink

• Costume - variety of costume changes throughout the video - symbolic of the many different women out there that they are representing. Also keeps up with fast paced editing
• Fast paced editting
• Lots of pink throughout the video - symbolic code of feminity - also their name is "BlackPink"
• Vajazzled nails - typical of Korean culture
• Mes of the crown - she is a queen :3 
• No main male characters - all about women
• Bank MES - pink dollar notes - appeal to an american audience
• Dance moves are fast and aggressive - subversive - gun fingers - symbolic of a gun. 
• Lots of legs shown - sexualised. Reinforcing
• Glittery tank - glamorisation of war. - shopping bags hang off the end. She lays on top. 
• Direct modes of address - eye contact
• Close up shots of their face - stereotypically attractive 
• Binary Opposition between the gang signs and use of weapons in this video and the pretty girls
• Intertextual reference to Miley Cyrus Wrecking Ball
• Americanisation

Beyonce

• Bricolage - antebellum era, present, black panther - not much has changed
• MES of police car - authority. She lays on top - she is over it
• Longshot of little boy dancing infront of the police - binary opposition - power against helpless people
• Video camera effect - intertextual reference to the police brutality tapes filmed on dashboard cameras
• Heavily sexualised representations of women
• Intertextual references - Antebellum era.
• Establishing shots - Louisiana after floods caused by Hurricane Katrina - linked with racial tension in american. REPRESENTATION of poor black people in america
• Tracking shot of Beyonce hanging out the car window - she is rebellious
• Idea of unity - lots of longshots of group dance 
• Belle Hooks - feminism for everybody
• Representations of black culture - hair salon, Bounce dance, black church
• Intertextual reference to Martin Luther King - on paper. Mid shot - showing that this video agrees with his beliefs about the world and how we that each other
• Police ar sinks at the end - end to black brutality
• She is also enter image - she is a powerful figure, placing herself at the front of the black lives matter movement
• Intimidating mode of address - Beyonce puts her middle fingers up towards the camera - aggressive gesture code

PARAGRPAHS

In Formation the producer encodes and constructs both subversive and stereotypical beliefs about black women. For example, in the music video, Beyonce is constantly presented to be a powerful figure, at the forefront of the Black Lives Matter Movement, which is a subversive representation, as throughout history, females have never really been in power. However here, in the first initial longshot we see Beyonce standing on top of a police car which is almost fully submerged in water. This subversive representation presents Beyonce as a leader of rebellion against the police force in America, as she stands powerfully on the roof of the sinking car. As well as this, she is clearly constructed here through her strong movements as a figure of authority. Whereas normally in music videos, women are sexualised and presented as a weaker individual. Additionally, this idea is further emphasised through the repeated mid shots, where Beyonce dominates the screen, standing center and leading a group of dancers and so forth.

Similarly the producers of DDU DU DDU DU also encode subversive ideologies of women through the use of binary oppositions. There are multiple binary oppositions created in this music video between female singers and the heavy use of weapon iconography, such as the tank which is covered in gems and glitter, which creates the idea of female empowerment, as the women in this music video take hold of these weapons and are shown as strong. This is further conveyed through the aggressive dance movements that we see throughout the music videos, which are fast and confronting. Gesture codes are also used in this music video such as the gun finger movement to show this powerful energy that is being presented to the audience.

On the other hand, the producer of Formation also constructs a highly sexualised belief about women in this music video through the use of costume. 


VIDEO GAMES

Explore how ownership has shaped Assassin's Creed Liberation 3

Definitions
Distribution: How a media product reaches its audience
Synergy: When two media products from different industries work well together
Convergence: The coming together of two previously separate media industries come together
Horizontal Integration: When a media institution owns other institutions in the same stage of industry e.g. newspapers buying other newspapers
Institution: A company has its own identity
Vertical Integration: When a media institution buys another institution buys another company in a different stage of production
Globalisation: The process of the world coming together and getting smaller
Digital technology: Any technology that involves a computer 
Multimedia Integration: The use of digital technology to bring together different industries (digital convergence)

KNEE JERK REACTION

Assassin's Creed Liberation is a big budget, mainstream game that targets a mass as well as a specialised audience. Owned by Ubisoft and published in 2012.

Plan:

• Owned by Ubisoft - major producer
• Ubisoft is french
• Regulated by pegi - ineffective regulation in this industry. 
• first released on PS vita then on Playstation, Xbox and PC (multiplatform released)
• Pegi 18 - lots of violence
• Major game - targets a generalised and niche audience
• Assassin's creed franchise - brand identity
• 600,000 copies sold on vita - underperformed 
• released in 2012
• Quality graphics and good soundtrack - targeting the mass audience - high production values
• tackles ideological issues - racial issues
• Curran and Seaton - DRIVEN BY PROFIT
• Distributed on the playstation store and can be bought in shops too - digital technology 

Examples:

• Trailer - high quality graphics - looks more like a film rather than a video game. High production values - narration/voice over 
• Non diegetic sound - the soundtrack was praised 
• Black, female protagonist - different to other Assassin's creed games - possibly targeting a new female audience as well as a BME audience
• Trailer - Southern setting - targeting an audience who lives there
• Gameplay - new weapons such as a whip - exciting for previous Assassin's creed audience
• Different, unique, storyline following that of a black slave - interesting
• Cover - looks extremely identical to the other assassin's creed games.  MASS AUDIENCE. Repetition of genre conventions
• Cover - also tries to cover the fact that this is a female character in order to appeal to the core audience
• Pegi 18 age certificate - audiences expect violence 
• Merchandise available - targeting the niche audience 
• Can be played in different languages - targeting a global audience. 

Explore the ways in which audiences can use and take pleasure from video games. Make explicit reference to Assassin's Creed Liberation

• Escapism - different locations, pretending to be a different character
• Part of a franchise - this game looks identical to other Assassin's Creed Games
• Unleash your anger - through the violence 
• Major game - high production values 
• Soundtrack - was rated highly. Can be bought on cd - niche audiences
• Fandom  theories - fans of the game can interact with other fans of the game and talk - social interaction.
• Black female protagonists - allows audiences to identify and play as this character
• Breaking the fourth wall 
• During the loading screen there are historical information available
• Cultural Capital of owning the game