St Trinians Narrative

A Narrative is the way the texts is structured, containing various data into a cause and effect chain of events. These events tend to have a beginning, a middle and an end. The Narrative in St Trinians tends to follow Todorov's narrative structure quite well. It follows the general trend where equilibrium needs to be restored.

1. There is a state of equilibrium: The films begins with Annabelle Fritton getting sent to St Trinians boarding school. It takes a while for her to get used to being there as the school runs on anarchy and mischief and a series of events happen to 'initiate' her. She gets caught in a trap and has to play a hockey match against her rival. Apart from this the equilibrium is there.




2. A disruption of the order: During the hockey match, the education minister visits the school with intentions to raise the poor standards it already has. He sneaks into the school and is very surprised to find that he and the headmistress were previously lovers. He finds himself very intimidated by the pupils and so declares war on the school. The next morning a banker stops by the school to inform the headmistress that they owe over half a million pounds and so the school is stuck in a very tricky situation.


3. The recognition that the order has been disrupted: Kelly (the head girl) tells the girls that if the money isn't payed then the school will be shut down. They realise that if they don't earn the money they will have to go to normal schools. The girls turn to crime to get the money and hatch a plan to steal  a famous painting from the London National Art Gallery. They realise how difficult it will be until they hear of the news that School Challenge is to be filmed here and so decide to enter.


4. An attempt to repair the damage: The school make a team for school challenge. They manage to cheat their way into the final at the National Gallery. In the final, they use ear pieces to retrieve the answers. using this as a distraction, a team of pupils foil security and retrieve the painting.




5. A state of new equilibrium is restored: After the school challenge they return the painting to the police which they supposedly found. They then sell a fake copy of the painting to an art dealer and with the cash from both they manage to pay off the debt that the school owes. As a result of this the school stays open and the girls can stay on there, showing the equilibrium has been stored.





Overall, I'd say that St Trinians fits in very well with Todorov's narrative theory and demonstrates the 5 stages very well. It is clear for the audience to see how the equilibrium gets disrupted and that the film is based around restoring the equilibrium. The film mainly follows a linear structure as all the events are in chronological order. There is only one flashback of when the education minister realises his past with the headmistress.

Genre Conventions

The film 'The good, the bad and the ugly' is typical to its genre as  it uses generic codes and conventions.   The film fits the western genre well and it is easy for the audience to identify this. This is done through the repetition of Iconographies, Narrative, Representations and Ideologies that are used regularly across the genre. Audiences like genre texts as they like the familiarity of them and it gives them a choice. They are also very successful because they are favourite texts for many audiences. Predictability and Repetition could lead to boredom so genres like to change a few elements from time to time.

The good, the bad and the ugly
Iconographies- These are the typical visual symbols that the audiences uses to decode the genre. This film uses very typical iconographies to the Western genre. In a short clip from this film, we see many symbols of this. The characters are wearing hats, cow boy boots and holsters which have connotations of a typical western times, the gun has connotations shooting and violence, scenes that are expected from western films like itself. It is also set in a desert/the outback, a typical setting for a film of this kind. The setting also gives an indication of the time period this film is set in, as its very vast and lifeless.
Narrative- We can apply Propp's theory to western films as there is usually the typical hero and villain. It is clear that this film has a typical western narrative just from the title. 'The good, the bad and the ugly' makes it clear that there are three main characters in this plot, just as Propp said. We see this in the clip as three cowboys are having a shoot out. We see one defeat another and claim victory. This fits the typical narrative for a western film as we always expect someone to win and for a feud to occur. We can also apply Todorov's theory to this section of the film. The cowboys all stand around chatting and then all of a sudden a shoot out occurs, disrupting the equilibrium. One man is then shot, restoring the equilibrium and peace in the area.
Representations- In a typical western film such as this one, we don't see much representation of females. The main characters are male and they take on responsibility and power. We don't see any females throughout the scene, showing the dominance and control that they have. This is very typical of a western film. It's very very rare that we see females going out to fight and restoring the equilibrium. There's also a representation of age in the clip. All the characters we see are middle aged men. This is also very typical. Cowboys don't tend to be youthful or elderly and so it makes us even more familiar with the genre.
Ideologies- Although each film has a different set of ideas and beliefs. In western films there is a main concept/film. In each film there tends to be a battle break out and characters fight to hold their power. In this scene we see this demonstrated in the fight scene and it appears to be a main theme in western films.

Although it is hard to base an opinion of typical genre's on a short clip. I have come to the conclusion that the good, the bad ad the ugly is very typical of the western genre as is includes many of the codes and conventions of this genre.

Male gaze in James Bond

The James Bond franchise is a clear example of film objectifying females and forcing the audience to view females via the male gaze. The scene within, "Die Another Day" when James Bond meets the character Jinx demonstrates my previous statement by objectifying Jinx for both Bonds and the audiences pleasure. The extract starts by the audience seeing Bonds view through his binoculars. The audience is put into the perspective of the hetrosexual male and allows them to view Jinx from a masculine voyeuristic position. Through the binoculars we see Jinx rise from the water, the clip is in slow motion and immediately she is objectified. The camera is focused on her and takes on the viewpoint of the male through the binoculars so even females watching are forced to gaze at this woman. We immediately see that her presence is simply to give Bond something to look at and it gives the male in the text importance. All of her actions are exaggerated for males pleasure. For example as Jinx walks across the beach towards Bond the representation of females is even more constructed. She has perfect make-up even when she's just got out of the water and her skin is sun kissed, representing hyper reality rather than reality and creating a fake ideology for women. Bond then says "Magnificent view' clearly meaning the view of the woman, and even the audience knows this. As they have been placed in the males position the audience judge the woman as if they were the male. This then reflects in society as women will mirror this when they see other females, treating them as objects and judging them by their appearance. When talking to Jinx, Bond is positioned behind her, towering over her showing a position of authority. A high angle shot is used, to look down on Jinx, demonstrating her lack of power. This could reflect Patriarchal society where males are the dominant figure. Mulvey says that men set the rules and represent the ideal visions which then become reality. This is demonstrated here, as by seeing the female through his viewpoint we assume that this ideology of a woman is correct.

Stereotypical representation of teenagers - Project X Trailer

Project X is a movie about two 'average' teenagers hosting a house party whilst their parents are away and it getting out of hand by hundreds of people turning up. The main representation of teenagers in this trailer is very stereotypical and therefore not always accurate. The trailer is dominated mainly by footage of teenagers showing the audience that they are the main focus and that the teenagers 'hold the power'. We only ever see them doing things that are frowned upon, in society and by the older generation. Many of the girls are dressed in short dresses or bikinis and are shown flirting and dancing provocatively. The camera then stops and freezes on the image to put emphasis on this. For example when we see the shot of the girl slowly coming out of the pool showing a lot of flesh. One of the main representations of women in the media is a sex object and this is clearly shown in this trailer mainly through the appearance of the females. This presents them very negatively, giving off the impression that they are reckless and careless. This clip presents a false representation of teenage girls as it makes out that all teenage girls are like this when in reality this is only a small fraction of society and a small fraction of the time. Most of the footage is of males, showing that females hold less power and that the males are the more dominant character. The fact that the two main characters are male and they organise the house party is very typical as it shows they hold authority. This stereotype is then challenged when the party goes wrong and they are no longer the 'alpha males'. Other teenagers may also stereotype the characters in the trailer as a reaction to what they see the characters doing. The clip has been constructed so that the audience only see's the bits that will provoke a reaction such as girls in little clothing and the over crowded house brimming with people.

Uses and Gratifications

Eastenders
In order for the uses and gratifications model to work the audience needs to be active to make decisions and form opinions about the text that they are consuming. Everyone will make different decisions based on their background, needs and desires etc. This means that audiences chose to consume texts that make them feel good/that they enjoy.
Eastenders is a soap shown on BBC1 most weekday nights. It is a programme illustrating the drama in the life living in Walford on 'The Square'. I choose to watch Eastenders because of the different uses and gratifications i get from watching it. One of the main uses and gratifications i get from it that it is that it enables me to escape/divert from life's problems, to relax and to entertain myself. I, and many people enjoy watching Eastenders as it focuses on other peoples lives, even though it's fictional and allows me to forget my own problems just for the 30 minutes duration of the programme. Even though some of the plot is very unrealistic i enjoy watching what a very dramatic lifestyle could be like. If there was no drama in the programme i probably wouldn't watch it as it would be boring and uninteresting, with nothing to build up to. Eastenders also enables viewers to find models of behaviour and identify with their already gained values. Although the plot is fictional the characters are very relatable and there is something for everyone to relate to. Recently there was a character in Eastenders collecting her A level results, which of course was very relatable for many students at that time. The BBC aired this episode around the days that everyone in the country was collecting their results so it gave the show a sense of realism for me. By doing this, it allowed me as an audience to connect with Abi, and empathise with how she was feeling. The range of characters also makes Eastenders appealing to a large audience, there is a character for everyone to relate to. There are younger characters such as Lauren and Whitney who go to college, making it more relatable for college students like me as issues can be brought up like exams etc. and there are also the older characters who have had a place in the soap for a long time such as Dot, who the older generation will know well and be familiar with. Soaps can also satisfy curiosity and interest. for example, at times of the year like Christmas, soaps tend to be advertised more often as the drama hits the climax. Last year Derek Branning's death was hinted at in adverts and many people may have wanted to see the outcome. The use of adverts only showing clips of the story can attract more and more new viewers to the programme. A final, main reason people may watch soap opera's is because it enables them to connect with family, friends and society and can also help to find a basis for conversation and social interaction. Social media sites play a large part in peoples lives now and when a non-viewer see's tweets/status' about a certain programme, they don't want to feel left out and may watch to find a basis for conversation with their peers. When school friends/work colleagues talk about the latest episode of a programme you don't want to be the one left out and are left with an urge to watch it.

Niche and Mainstream audiences

There are two types of audiences, niche and mainstream. A niche audience is aimed at a small quantity of people which is very specific to the media text. A mainstream audience is aimed at a very large audience and many uses and gratifications can be gained from consuming these texts.

An example of niche audiences are programmes like time team or cult films. An example of a niche channel is MUTV. These appeal to niche audiences because of things like the time it's shown, the information given and the channel it is aired on. MUTV is a channel on sky where football fans can watch exclusive footage of interviews with players, full games and also the reserve teams. As it is aired on sky it makes it exclusive to people with sky subscriptions. Not only that, but it's very unlikely that people who aren't Manchester united fans will pay to subscribe to the channel. Niche programmes may have less uses and gratifications than mainstream programmes as the audience is smaller. Niche programmes may not allow the audience to discuss with their friends and family as it is not well known or not appealing to a wide range of people. Channels such as this may be less talked about than mainstream channels such as the BBC and ITV as less people know about it/have an interest.

Examples of programmes with mainstream audiences are Eastenders, The X Factor and Lost. Mainstream programmes tend to be shown on popular channels such as BBC1 and ITV at peak times in order to attract large audiences. Programmes like these get a lot of attention on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook and when people see posts about these it urges them to watch the text too. Eastenders is shown on BBC1 at around 7:30pm and so is very very easy for audiences to access as most people have the mainstream channels. Most people tend to be home from work/school by this time and so therefore leaves the audience quite open. Audiences can get a large range of uses and gratifications from mainstream programmes such as Eastenders and is a main reason it is largely watched. In Eastenders the cast is a very varied; there is young people, old people, families etc. and therefore there is something for everyone to watch. Drama in a programme lets the viewer escape for the duration of the time it's on. and that is the enjoyment the audience will get out of a programme like Eastenders. The mode of address is very mainstream. An example of this is at the end of each programme it ends on a cliffhanger, leaving the viewer wanting to watch the next episode. A good example of this is in a recent episode Carl crashed his car pushing Phil through the window screen. It left the audience wanting to see what happened to Phil.