Newspaper trump exam question

East Germany

Context of The Berlin Wall

• Conclusion of WW2, Germany was split in two (East and West Germany)
• Western side was assisted by UK and US
• Eastern Side was assisted by Soviet Union
• Berlin was divided into East and West Berlin 
• Many people began escaping from the East side to the West because of the worsening conditions.
• In August 1961, the East Germans ordered that the border between East and West Germany was closed
• This included cutting the city in half and erecting a border between the two.
• First a temporary barbwire fence was put up
• Families were no longer able to visit relatives on the other side
• Some East Berliners were cut off from their jobs on the West Berlin side.
• They then erected a permanent wall made of concrete, which was known The Berlin Wall
• 87 mile long structure, featuring 116 watch towers, dogs, chain link fences, barbwire, and trenches to stop vehicles from driving across, also included a secondary wall on the East Berlin Side
• There were several checkpoints where people would cross, including the famous 'Checkpoint Charlie"
• It stood for 26 years but in the 1980s it started to get criticised, with Ronald Reagan, The President of America, stating 'Tear Down This Wall'
• This caused many Eastern Germans to protest against the wall and knock it down by hand.

What was life like? 

• There was a lot of surveillance, with many people living double lives.
• Poverty was a big problem at this time with people only managing to afford the necessities in life
• People tried to sneak through the wall but they would be very fortunate to succeed

What did young people listen to/do for fun?

• Music was heavily censored in East Germany, as authorities would carefully review lyrics for any hints of dissent, and ban a band if they found any. Bands were also only allowed to sing in German. Needless to say, the youth began clamoring for bands from abroad, and a black market developed of copies of western artists’ music and bootlegs of it.

What was Education like?

• Schools in East Germany were not just educational centres in the narrow sense of the word. Beside regular classes, they also organised ’pioneer afternoons’ with different themes. On some, kids could bring their pets. On others, they would be talking about holidays. They also spent many a pioneer afternoon playing outside in the forest. The pioneer activities served as the first preparation for children to become ’good socialists’. On special occasions like the first of May, they wore scouting-like uniforms that were different for each age group. They remember wearing a white shirt and a blue tie, which belonged to the youngest pioneers. The next higher group, ’Thälmann-pioneers’ had white shirt and red ties.”

Why did people want to escape?

• Poverty
• Worsening Conditions
• Regional Inequalities still exist, leaving the East behind the West with higher unemployment and poverty rates, population decline, and scarcity of large companies. Unemployment in the former West Germany is at 5.6%, whereas in the former East Germany it is above 9%.

Was it all bad?

• Many people hadn't done anything in their life that interested the Stasi, many people woke up, went to work, came home, ate, drank, and slept like anybody else. 

CAMERA, MISE EN SCENE, SOUND, EDITING

Camera

• High angle looking down on social worker- patriarchy 
• Extreme close up of phone after it falls- extreme panic
• Most camera shots of the young people were eye level equality amongst us and directly with the audience
• Gun shot, long shot of Connie cut to close up of Eleven shot demonstrates panic
• Level three shot of boys in woods
• Two mid shot Jonathon and Joyce close on the sofa signifies closeness in relationship

Mise en Scene

• Byers' house- dim lighting, brown clothes, 80s interior
• Yellow phone contrasts and stands out = communication
• Benny's diner - Eleven seeks shelter
• Woods- heavy rain
• Nancy's bedroom
• Choppers, torches, shine Eleven's, theme of light

Sound

• Off screen sound of pot wash in Benny's diner to on screen of Benny washing
• Off screen diegetic knocking disruption of the narrative and raises alarm.
• Diegetic dialogue 'you don't sound the same as you did on the phone'
• Non diegetic contrapuntal song commences as soon as Benny is shot- White Rabbit Jefferson find song- volume and pace increase as Eleven runs away
• Non diegetic sci fi instrumental emphasises tension when they find Eleven 
• Joyce phone on screen siegetic sound of mysterious creature
• Nancy's room- Africa Toto is contrapuntal- romantic mood- 80s theme
• Look for twig sound and music interruption

Editing

• Jump cut Nancy's room/proximity/intimacy
• Connie pace of cuts increases- panic
• SFX electric bang from phone communication with Will and sci fi other
• Shot reverse shot
• Order of the narrative- multi stranded narrative underlines the LFTVD drama conventions. In the scene- happening mostly simultaneously except Eleven's escape and discovery. Linking characters at the end of the episode. 

Industry LFTVD

LFTVD Language

Camera (shot distance/angle/movement/framing)

In the exchange between Benny and the Social Worker, looking down at the female contrasts with the low angle of Benny, which suggests Patriarchy. Extreme close up of the phone as it falls after it burned, which shows panic. All shots of the boys are at eye-line suggesting their equality. Low angle of the secret service shows how they exert their dominance over civilians.

Editing (cuts/transitions/motion and speed/special effects/CGI/editing for perspective/ellipses)

In the scene of the bedroom. of Steve and Nancy, a jump cut is use to show the proximity between the two. As they move closer, the audience is made aware of the intimacy. When the social worker arrives at Benny's, the pace of the transition increase alongside the non-diegetic music. This creates an overall sense of panic. The use of special effects when we see electrocution on the phone, suggests the panic and the first sign of communication between Joyce and Will, this also links to the supernatural theme.

Mise-en-scene (location/setting/costume/props/performance/lighting)

Pathetic Fallacy as rain starts when they arrive at where Will was taken. The yellow phone is used in contrast to the brown and dark room to signify the first contact between the normal and the supernatural. The social worker is a counter type as you would not assume she is a killer due to the way she looks (make up, Costume etc.). The chopper bikes and walkie talkies that the boys use reference the 80's theme.

Sound (diegetic sound- Foley, sound effects, dialogue/ Non diegetic sound- sound bridge, incidental sound, synchronous/asynchronous sound, voice over narration)

In the Steve and Nancy scene, the music (Africa- Toto) is diegetic as it's from the radio in Nancy's room. The choice of song is contrapuntal as it's the wrong song for the mood that is trying to be set (romantic). When we are presented to Will's mum on the phone, we are introduced to on screen diegetic sound of the mystery creature on the other end of the phone. This creates an intense, panicked atmosphere.

Netflix and Technology

LFTVD Representations

Constructed Realism: You decide when to shoot, when to edit- the idea that all the media products and what we see in them is made or built using technical codes and media language such as camerawork, editing.

Dominant Ideology: Everything is ran by middle-class, christian, white men. In our society, the dominant group shapes the dominant values.

Representation in Media:

• All media products are 'constructed'.
• Producers use different elements/conventions of media language to construct these representations.
• Producers of different long form TV dramas may use different elements of media language to:

1. Offer different representations
2. Constructed media representations ensure that the meaning 'encoded' in media products can be quickly read and understood by the audience. 

Theorists of LFTVD

Todorov: Equilibrium Theory (Language)

Traditional narratives follow a 3 point structure (Beginning, Middle, End), which unfolds in 4 phases:

1. Exposition
2. Introduction to conflict 
3. Climax
4. Resolution 

Strauss- Binary Opposition

• Strauss identified that we understand the world by the relationship that two opposites have together.
• He believed that narratives are arranged around the conflict of binary oppositions.
• Some of these oppositions could include:

1. Men vs Women
2. Good vs Bad
3. Day vs Night
4. Old vs New
5. Right vs Wrong

Introduction to Narrative

What is narrative?

• The structure or chain of events in which a story is told.
• The narrative structure is carefully considered when writing the screenplay for a drama.
• It is usually achieved through the editing of different shots together.

Why is narrative important?

• The narrative structure chosen directly affects how the audience experiences the story.
• The way a 'story' is told can provide certain messages and values about who we see and what is being said about the character, group of people or events represented in the drama.
• The narrative structure can affect the audience involvement with an enjoyment of a drama.
• The narrative structure used in the long form TV drama is considered to be complex.

Narrative Structure Types

Linear Narrative:

• Has a clear beginning, middle and end.
• They follow a chronological timeframe.
• Action A leads to Action B leads to Action C etc.

Fragmented Narrative:

• Fragmented narratives are also called non-linear, disrupted or disjointed narratives.
• They do not have a clear beginning, middle, end.
• Events or actions  may be shown out of chronological order and not in order they would naturally occur in, so C might happen before A for example.
• It is a narrative technique that can help to show parallel stories, a story within a story, dreams and so on within the same episode or series.

Narrative Types 

Restricted Narrative:

• We experience the story through the senses and thoughts of just one character.
• There is almost always a main character
• The narrative cannot tell the audience things that the main character does not know, we find things out in the story at the same time as the character.

Omnipresent Narrative:

• Not just one characters point of view.
• Provides the point of view of many characters and their experience and feelings within the story, from a number of contexts.
• Used for telling stories in which the context, views and feelings

Narrative Endings

Closed Endings:

• TV dramas traditionally feature one characters story or point of view in an episode, which comes to a resolution at the end of an episode.
• The characters story can exist as one unique story in one episode.

Open endings:

• When an episode, or season, ends on a cliff-hanger.
• A story telling technique
• In films, open endings can be unsatisfying for audiences.
• In long form TV drama, open endings indicate there will be a contradiction of the 'story', or possibly a resolution, in the next episode.

Stranger things poster analysis

Stranger Things representation scene by scene

LFTVD- Long Form Television Drama

Exam Information

Section B: Television Drama

• 45 minute essay- 30 marks
• 15 minute essay -15 marks

What does a TV drama need to have? 

• Various Locations
• Stock Characters
• Multiple Narratives
• 1hr Episodes
• Dramatic Cliff Hangers 
• High Production Values

What does Long Form TV Drama mean?

• A TV drama that has a number of episodes that helps create a narrative and tell a story to an audience.

Network Television: (E.g. NBC, CBS)

• US network broadcasters must satisfy their advertisers and hold market share. They are also controlled by federal regulation.
• The impact of this on content is a reliance on highly formalised genre conventions and normative values which meet mainstream audience expectations but generate conservative drama.

Cable Television:

• Launched in the 1970's, HBO was the first US national subscription cable TV channel.
• Other major US players include FX, Showtime & AMC. Many are subsidiaries of media conglomerates (HBO/Warner, FX/Fox)
• These subscription based cable channels can take more risks with content and form.
• By early 2000's, The Sopranos and The Wire won awards, audiences and created 'water cooler' TV.

UK TV Drama:

• UK broadcasters have failed to meet the challenge of the US cable channels move to long form with their risk- taking content and style.
• BBC and ITV 90's > relied on genre-based, formula drama.
• Sky co-opted success of US long form with Sky Atlantic.
• Commissioning remains tightly controlled with a conservative outlook.

Subscription VOD: (Viewing On Demand)

• Content viewing via a TV still dominates in the UK. 
• 3/4 UK households have PVR (Personal Video Recording) uptake but it has plateaued.
• Use of timeshift is increasing
• Growth of SVOD (Streaming video on demand). Web based channels such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Now TV is considerable.
• Netflix dominates with 24% of UK market & 5 million subscribers. 10% growth 2015-16

Audiences 

• Rise in binge watching started with DVD in the late 90s/early c21. Partially due to syndication problems in the UK.
• A move to 'Water Cooler' to 'Shared Universe' fandom (as with cinema)
• US long form drama often uses easter eggs, and mid season breaks to generate fan intensity and maintain a media profile.

Stranger Things- Representation Essay

How are different social groups represented in the sequence you have analysed? What role does the use of media language, signs and signifiers have in constructing and presenting these representations as real?

There are many social groups represented in Stranger things, one prominent one is teenagers. The group of boys (Mike, Will, Dustin and Lucas) are represented as the stereotypical geeky boys. They love to play their make-believe board game Dungeons and Dragons. This is stereotypical of young children to play with toys and board games that were typical in the 1980s. As they are represented as nerds, then we expect them to be playing these games rather than doing sports, playing outside etc. Mike said to his mum that they had spent 10 hours playing the game straight in the basement of mikes house, which gives them the representation of nerdy/geeky. There is also the representation of the older teen. The Byers family clearly are not well off in terms of money, so Jonathan, the older brother, has to act as the mother when Joyce is out working. This is challenging the stereotype of old teenagers as lazy as he has to help out with the family. He has to cook breakfast, get Will up and ready for school and has to have a job to help with the family finances.

Another social group in Stranger Things is Mothers, especially Joyce Byers. Will’s mum is a very prominent character in the first episode as we see her look for will and how she is coping with him going missing. Joyce is a single mum who has to look after her two sons with no help. We can see she is struggling to cope and everything is quite frantic in the Byers household. She is struggling to get everything organised and maintain a structured family unit. Though we can see how caring she is and how much she loves her son. She reacts in a very distressed way when finding out Will is missing, a reaction we would expect from any mother if their son went missing. We can see by her facial expressions and general worried demeanour, that she is desperate to find her son and would do anything to find him. This is again shown in the scene with Hopper, the zoomed in shot of the type writer with the word ‘MISSING’ in the foreground suggests this is very serious and this increases the intense atmosphere. We can see the mum is clearly stressed and nervous as she is very fidgety while smoking, a way for her to calm down.

Another social group represented in this episode is the police, especially the sheriff. The sheriff is Hopper, who is represented as the stereotypical lazy American policeman. We see this in the first time we see him, the lengthy shots which pan across his home show a messy house, with fags and drink everywhere. It shows that he is clearly struggling, but he does not want to show his feelings and get help, which is something that is believed to be true in the media as men are not expressive like that. This is again shown in the scene of him in his office with Joyce. There are messy papers everywhere and he doesn’t look ready to hear what Joyce has to say.

Narrative Scene by Scene

Stranger Things Representations

Representations

• It goes 'beyond the binary'
• Characters move beyond simply good or bad
• ST- Steve Harrington and Hopper are examples of more complex characters
• Novelistic- multiple story lines and characters that arc (stretch) over a number of episodes and seasons
• We may see flashbacks that explain their background
• Systematic change- isn't just focused on one individual
• 'Communities facing challenges and dealing them by embracing or rejecting their own diversity' -Jeff Gomez

6 Representation Genres

• Teenagers
• Family life and relationships
• Mothers
• Absent Fathers
• Police 
• Government 

Stranger Things Character Representations

Tv Drama Introduction Notes

Why do audiences love Long Form Television Drama?

• High quality drama
• Multiple episodes, hours, years
• Content can be dark and difficult but innovative
• It now attracts some of the best and innovative writers and actors
• Time shifting, easily accessible
• Keeps people invested 
• A lot of creativity 
• Characters change in a way that's surprising but natural.
• Millions of networks competing 
• Cater to more specific tastes in daring ways
• Allows shows to play with characters and themes in different ways

Long form shows challenged the simplistic story lines and stereotypical characters that dominate network TV in US.

HBO (Time Warner) launched the Sopranos in 1999, which was a huge commercial and critical hit. Increasingly, these shows were about the crisis of US identity and hegemony.

What does Long Form Television Drama mean?

A TV drama that has a number of episodes that helps create a narrative and tell a story to an audience.