13/10/23

 'the secret of England’s greatness' (Thomas jones barker)

Colonisation- the process of setting in , taking control of and enforcing a culture on another country or culture. 

Othering- a process where a culture constructs a group of people who are outsiders and marked by being different. Othering is completely baked into out way of thinking, we should challenge this idea.

Examples of othering- Immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, Lower income people, Ethnic minorities.

Key  theory 11- Paul Gilroy

• In his book Ain't no black in the Union Jack (1987) Gilroy explored the anxiety and uncertainty left in the UK following the death of colonisation.
• Though The British Empire has collapsed Gilroy argues that we still uphold many subtle racial prejudices, which hare ideologically encoded in media products.
• For Gilroy we are now living in a postcolonial era where black and white represent a blunt and ideologically manipulative binary.     

Black people and white people are represented differently in media products.

Hammer film productions

Hammer is a British film production company that was first established in 1934. While Hammer have made films in a variety of genres, they are most well known for their particular British brand of Gothic horror cinema, many of which are considered classics of the genre. Featuring classic (and more importantly out of copywrite) characters such as Frankenstein's monster, Count Dracula, werewolves and zombies, Hammer pumped out many films in a very short period of time, often featuring big, bankable stars such as Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, as well as a rotating cast of young women such as Ingrid Pitt and Madeline Smith, typically playing supporting roles. Towards the end of the 60s and especially into the 70s, Hammer films came under stiff competition from more violent and original films from America. Hammer struggled to adapt, adding more comedy and erotic elements to their horror films, before they ceased production in the 1980s. Many years later, the studio found success with The Woman In White and a few other minor hits.

Genre- a type of media product

Genre conventions- the things that make a media product

• What are the genre conventions of the gothic horror film? 

Damsel in distress- Women in right hand corner

Monster- Frankenstein 

Male protagonist- Mad scientist

• How did Hammer ensure such success for such a long period of time? 

Enigma codes of the scientist and also the hand which the damsel in destress seems to fear- makes the audience question what his relevance is in the film and what is going on in the film.

Representing a well know character 'Frankenstein' to draw in a wider audience that already know who it is.

• In what ways is gender represented in these posters?

Women in the poster is seen in distress- stereotype that a women needs a man when they are scared etc

Men are presented as clever as we see a scientist in the corner but also the man appears to be a villain which can construct the idea that the men are powerful and strong and scary