Tomb Raider:Lara Croft

1. Explain two ways in which the narrative (the characters and events) in the extract fits the action adventure genre. Use examples form the extract. (10 marks)

 The characters in this extract fits with the action and adventure genre as you have the heroine and the villains. The events that happen also fit with the genre as there is combat suspense. The heroine who is Lara Croft is very good looking, funny and likable. In the extract she makes a joke to her sidekicks showing her witty side. She is made likable so the audience is on her side. The heroine, Lara Croft, also is great at climbing and fighting etc. as it shows when she scales a very tall building with ease with no harness. This is a very typical portrayal of a heroine in the action and adventure genre. The villains in this extract are also fit in with the action and adventure genre as they are made unlikable, not as good looking and quite often foreign which they were in this extract. They are clearly made the villains by trying to steal the orb object Lara Croft had. They come in with weapons kidnap some of Lara Crofts sidekicks. The event that appear in the extract fit in with the action and adventure genre as there is always something that both the villain and the heroine wants. In the extract both sides want the orb and combat to get it with Lara getting shot in the leg. In action and adventure the heroine always finds a clever way to get out of their tricky situation they were put in by the villain showing the audience they are smarter and quick minded. Lara Croft thinks up a plan by cutting her arm to attract a shark and using it as ride through the water to reach their boat. There is a lot of suspense as you are worried her risky plan won’t work and gets eaten by the shark.  This is also typical to the action and adventure genre as it shows stunts done by the heroine or the villain that are not possible in real life.

channel idents

channel 4 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CVdllN67OQ

channel four idents are always very creative. they are all very different from each other but also similar. they all have the same style of the four coming together made up of different shapes or the camera panning across showing a random shapes coming together from another perspective in the shape of a four. they are all very different from each other has they have very different themes. one will be significantly older people playing crochet, another will be a bust New York road, or a country lane and sci - fi themes. Because of the ident theme all being so different it has a wider audience watching showing that there channel caters to lots of different people.

BBC 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2QN8ff-a9o

the most common BBC 1 ident is probably the circle round the name BBC. the ident shows normal people cycling in different colored rain coats to make a circle round the name. this ident shows how BBC is for the average middle age person who doesn't want anything to action packed but something after a day of work. the circle could show people coming together because of BBC. BBC 1 had an ident refresh. there refresh still has the theme of unity and togetherness running throughout but now has a group of middle age to elderly people dancing together having fun showing that BBC brings people together to have fun.


E4 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeJp-KHFP0Q

E4 idents are always very strange, random and quirky. quit often the idents shows e4 taking over everything else like cover it in purple goo like it is engulfing everything else. i think it shows that the channel is for young adults with its bright purple and the upbeat music. the idents take you by surprise as you weren't expecting something so random and in a way have a comical effect.

Dave - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNynuP_EmM8

Dave's ident is based on middle aged men. the idents shows things that men typically like to do like drinking beer and playing golf. The voice in the ident is a very confident mans voice showing it is a channel for a man and will have shows like top gear on it.

QI audience pleasures

·         For the episode you watched, state the series (this will be a letter), channel, day

and time of broadcast

QI Series N E09 - Noel HD CC (22nd December 2016)

·         State the genre of the programm

comedy

·         State the names of the host and pannelists

Josh Widdicomb, Susan Calman, Matt Lucas, Alan Davies were all the on the panel with Sandi Toksvig as the presenter.

·         As the host, how does Sandi Toksvig relate to the other panelists? Consider if the term 'genial' applies.

Sandi is also very funny like the comedians on the panel but is very knowledgeable so stands out as the mature one who can control the situation and moves on with the programme. she is the one that informs the audience and makes it a quiz show.

·         What is 'quite interesting' about the extract that you watched?

Verbal humour important: ‘quite interesting’ facts are more important to entertain than getting the right answer. For example the names used for Santa in Iceland. Sandi said another name was ‘Window peeper’ saying that would be a present for Santa giving him an ulterior motive.

·         What makes you laugh in the episode?

In this episode it is the slapstick part where they are hitting each other over the head which makes me laugh as they look stupid and funny doing it. this also informs us as, as it was also a question.

·         How is Sandi Toksvig erudition (the extent of his knowledge) shown?

Answers designed to expose myths:  things you always thought were true; laugh yourself clever. Sandi Toksvig showed us the extent to her knowledge when she told us that the name of a social equal that educates your children in Victorian times was actually au pair, which means social equal, instead of nanny which is what everybody thought but got wrong.

·         Are the audience passive consumers or active participants?

There a two audiences to the audience in QI, the studio audience and the ones at home watching on the TV. They are both active participants as the audience have a go at answering the questions as well.

·         What is the role of Alan Davies and how does he contribute to audience pleasures?

Alan Davies is a comedian, film actor and TV actor, therefore a familiar face even for teenage audiences (Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging, Jonathan Creek). He fulfils the role of ‘the bloke next door’, the common man, the Everyman, who "rushes headlong like a puppy into the wall of ignorance." Funny buzzers: Davies's buzzer is usually more humorous than the others.

·         How far does the programme fulfill its Public Service Broadcasting remit to inform, to educate and to entertain?

The programme educates with the questions giving the audience knowledge and facts but also entertains the audience as the panellist are all comedians that are very witty and makes us laugh. This makes the programme very interesting.

·         How is the audience positioned: as omniscient or powerless?

Sandi makes us feel less clever as she is very knowledgeable and knows all the answers when we get them wornf, but Alan Davies makes the same mistakes as us to make us feel equal and not stupid compared to Sand Toksvig, this makes the audience feel equal.

miranda

B323 Section B Media Topic: Television and/or Radio comedy

Question 4 b): Discuss in detail how one programme offers audience pleasures. Give examples from the programme.

I have chosen to analyse the audience pleasures of watching Miranda (BBC 1). I will give specific examples by close reference to episodes and by quotation. 
Miranda is mainstream family viewing, aimed at a target audience who would relate to middle class life. Miranda is a TV sitcom: socially inept Miranda always gets into awkward situations when working in her joke shop with best friend Stevie, being hounded by her pushy mother, and especially when she is around her crush Gary.

A comprehensive review of all four BBC TV channels by the governing trust (July 2014) found that BBC 1 could feel “middle class in focus and target audience" with Miranda cited as an example. They also found that the BBC is falling out of favour with younger people and BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic viewers). The average age of BBC1 viewers is 59, compared with 56 in 2010/11. However, the character of Miranda is also quite like a big child as she is unmarried, always making a fool of herself and getting into trouble with her mother, so I think that audiences such as younger audiences could relate to her.  

Audiences also relate to her relationship with her best friend Stevie  because they have lots of inside jokes and have quirky challenges that make them relatable and funny. They also use there contrast and is polar opposite, with Miranda being larger, brown haired and Stevie being short and Blonde. They are very dynamic and call each other funny names which lots of people could relate to. Stevie is one of those friends that your parents compare you to as she is more pretty, smarter, witty and doesn't make a fool of herself in public situations. Stevie has the 'allure' and is better in social situations and with men which is the joke in series 1 episode 6 'Dog' when Stevie is the favorite to a guy who came in the shop leaves his wallet behind. they both proceed to get dogs to have something in common with the wallet guy and it turns  into another funny competition. They also use they hight difference when they get ther dogs, Miranda who is taller and larger than Stevie gets a chuwawa, and  Stevie who is small gets a massive great Dane. 

Miranda offers the pleasures of the sitcom genre, such as characters that are recognizable that the audience can relate to, who are stereotypes. Miranda's mother, for example, is a very high class posh women. you ca tell this by the way she talks and her smart but fashionable clothes. Miranda's mother also talks about higher class topics such as gardeners suggesting that she can pay for people to work for her.
Miranda's mother makes us laugh because her character uses strong stereotypes of the higher class that are so different from her daughter Miranda.
Miranda's group of girl friends are stereotypes. For example, they both opt for the salad at the restaurant and talk about resent events.
Her girl friends often make us laugh at Miranda, such as in the episode when her friends say "Queen Kong" like king kong the gorilla . This is a joky nickname and is very funny as Miranda is a lot taller and less feminine like the girls.
However, in many ways, Miranda is an anti-stereotype because she is not the typical feminine role as she has a bigger build and has a childish side.

There are many points of recognition for middle class audiences in the ways in which the sitcom addresses audience’s lifestyles, concerns, hopes, such as Miranda's conflict with her mother when they were talking about the way Miranda acts and what she says and how her mother didn't want to be embarrassed by her.
Another narrative strand that makes audiences relate to her is her trouble love life. To explain: Miranda has not had the best love life or many people interested and the one person, Garry, who she might have a chance with is moving out of the country.

Each episode also features predictable running gags such as, for example, her and Stevie's nickname, there funny challenges and when Miranda pushes Stevie of a chairs.
Miranda always manages to lose her clothing, such as in the episode when she gets locked in the park at night and gets stuck in the fence without a top on.
Stevie and Miranda always compete for boyfriends, such as the episode when a man leaves his wallet behind and they both get dogs and join fitness clubs so they can have things in common.
Miranda always embarrasses her friends socially, such as when she goes to all their social events even though she isn't the best in those kinds of situations.

The sitcom addresses audience’s lifestyles, concerns, hopes about relationships. Miranda always fails to explain her true feelings for Gary, such as when Miranda tells us: "go to Hong Kong" when she ws trying to make him stay.
She competes with, quarrels and makes up with Stevie, for example, when they fought over a guy but realized they both didn't want him and moved on.
She gets scolded by her mother, such as in the episode when her mother says "are you insane" and "you must limit conversation" 

In most sitcoms, the audience is passive consumer but this show is filmed before a live studio audience. In addition, Miranda establishes a relationship with her audience by looking into the camera to say certain things. She confides in us, the audience her feelings, saying:  "i am going to pen the perfect romantic speech"

For Blumler and Katz, audiences use media to gratify needs (the uses and gratifications model of audience behaviour). Miranda offers the pleasure of entertainment, escapism and diversion by making us laugh. In particular, both slapstick humour and verbal humour entertain us. for example when Miranda pushes Stevie of the chair, when she is very relatable and talks to the audience it is also her comical delivery of her lines and tone of voice, she looks to the camera and says "whatever that means" with difficult words. she also alwasy embarrases herself in public like when she shouts "i have a unirary tract infection" in the resturant.


Audiences also like to relate to the characters in programmes;  I have shown that Miranda offers many points of recognition in its characters. It s also important that Miranda is a likeable character who does not hold grudges. For example, when she got into a fight with her best friend Stevie over a guy.
Audiences pick programmes with actors that they know and like. It is also significant that Miranda Hart is a well-known comedian.

Audiences tend to favour programmes that support their values and their sense of their own identity. Part of our sense of self is informed by making judgements about all sorts of people and things. This is also true of judgements we make about TV and film characters, and celebrities. The shows we watch, the stars we like can be an expression of our identities. One aspect of this type of gratification is known as value reinforcement. This is where we choose television programmes or newspapers that have similar beliefs to those we hold. Therefore, equally important is the upbeat, comic atmosphere of the show. Despite set-backs such as being found with her trousers down in a public park Miranda bounces back, for example, pretending she is part of a group of teenagers with their trousers low down which is also very comical.


Finally, audiences like to know what is going on in the world (surveillance). This relates to Maslow’s need for security. By keeping up to date with news about local and international events we feel we have the knowledge to avoid or deal with dangers. In a sitcom, the characters face all sorts of situations that we can experience vicariously, some of which are challenging, such as Garry moving out of the country.