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TV Revision (Component 2)


Component 2 exam 
50mins per industry 

Easy criticism of products - always standardised. 


Lisbet Van Zoonen argues that media language encodes how male and female characters act in media products. Explore how representations positions the audience in Humans and Les Revenants

 Knee jerk :
Lisbet Van Zoonen's argument is an excellent was of exploring how gender is encoded in both Humans and Les Revenants
Not only does she argue that female characters are primarily situated in media products to appeal to a heterosexual audience, she also infers that men and women are constructed in completely different ways by the producer. Through this the ideological perspective of the producer can be decoded by the target audience. I shall argue that both Humans and Les Revenants use complicated and subversive representations of women in order to position the audiences in often uncomfortable situations. Humans is a sci-fi show first shown in 2015 on UK television channel Channel 4. It is an adaptation of the Swedish television show "Real Humans" however a number of changes have been made in order to make the show appeal to a UK market. Les Revenants is a horror/thriller tv show first released in 2012 on Canal+ and set in a small village in the French Alps. It relied on funding from the European Union and targets a cult audience. It is a remake of a French film of the same name. 
Plan:
Consumerism 
Objectification 
Women, especially young women 
Comparison between Matty and Lena
Semiotic codes 
Vulnerability (stabbing in tunnel, Julie walking at night) encoded through voyeurism 
MES costume - Anita's maid costume, a doll, a sex object (fetishism). Anita is passive. 
Hyperreality - representation that is more real than the thing it is representing. Anita is perfect because she is not real 
Simulacrum  - representation of something that never existed in the first place
Male Gaze
Gender Performativity (Judith Butler) roles a certain gender takes in media or real life due to previous forms of society and hegemonic norms. Gender is a performance and it changes over time with culture and society. 
bell hooks 

Analysis - Breakfast scene 
"This is what breakfast is supposed to be like" A fantasy breakfast, form of hyperreality
Matty compares Anita to a dishwasher - objectification 
Joe attempts to impress Anita with a joke, casually flirting
Anita adopts role of both maid and mother
Laura is drawn into competition with Anita. M/S of Anita cleaning the table over Laura positions Anita as dominant and overbearing "oh for god sake, its already clean just sit down"
Intradiegetic gaze (way characters look at each other). Matty looks at Anita with frustration and hatred, Toby looks at her with lust ("crusty sheets")
Allegorical - explores ways in which women are treated in our society by men. C/U Niskas face in ending montage positions audience im a deliberately uncomfortable position. 
Camilles return 
Camilles mother reaction is complicated and nuanced. initially she takes an atypical 'cold' reaction, before running to the bathroom and crying and is hyseterical and stereotypical in manner. 
camilles attitude is stereotypically argumentative and disrespectful 
Camilles entrance is emphasised through stereotypical horror film soundtrack demonstrating a generic cliche that young girls are both creepy and threatening. 
Low key artificial lighting emphasises horror film conventions. A stereotypically wealthy middle class household 

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