Summer Project
1. Choose a media text and media debate/issue that you are interested in and that is less than five years old. Get this choice of text and topic approved by your coursework teacher.
Media Text: Wonder Woman 2017
Media Issues/Debates: Changing representation of females
2. Research your text online.
Wonder-Woman (Wikipedia)
4. Post up all evidence of research on your MEST4 blog. You are looking for the following: reviews, newspaper/magazine articles, online comments or blogs linked to your text, useful book titles linked to your text, relevant theory, relevant media issues and debates, information about wider contexts, your own bullet-pointed notes on each concept etc.
There’s a genuine desire to move with the times. But there’s still a long way to go. We need to stop featuring women as peripheral characters.
7. Prepare a 5 minute, 20-slide 'Ignite' presentation on your text to be ready for the first week back. If you're unsure how these work, remind yourself by reading through the lesson slides: Introduction to the Critical Investigation 2017, and look over our blogpost with good Ignite examples.
8. Try to address as many of the Key Concepts (MIGRAIN) as you can in your presentation (you won't be able to cover them all in 20 time-limited slides), and provide bullet-pointed answers to the following questions on your research blogpost...
MIGRAIN key concept research
Media Representations
Who is being represented? In what way? By whom?
Media Languages and Forms
What are the denotative and connotative levels of meaning?
Within this text, there are denotations and connotations.
Denotative meaning:
One denotation within this text is when Wonder-Woman is overpowering a German army full of masculine and big males.
Connotative meaning:
The connotations of this scene suggest how lethal and strong Wonder-Woman is compared to mankind. Wonder-Woman overpowering and defeating evil males within the text helps to subvert the stereotype of females with them being weak and vulnerable. This scene helps challenge that and shows how females are as equal as males when it comes to independancy and strength.
What is the significance of the text’s connotations?
The significance of the text's connotations is that it helps subvert the stereotype of females being weak. The connotations of Wonder-Woman suggest how she differs from the typical stereotype of females and she challenges that ideology that the society have of the females being weak. Essentially, this is significant as it shows the society and the audiences that females are as equal as males.
What are the non-verbal structures of meaning in the text (e.g. gesture, facial expression, positional communication, clothing, props etc)?
Costume: The significance of the costume of both villain and the heroine is that it is their identity. The audiences can become more attracted to the text and more excited when Wonder-Woman puts on the costume because its perhaps a symbol of power and how strong she is.
Lighting: The lighting in some scenes are very important in terms of matching what is happening within the scene to make it more dramatic. With the final fight of Wonder-Woman and Ares, it was in the night and the lighting was low-key which was a perfect choice lighting for a fight because it makes it look more dramatic and brutal.
Actors: Within the text, actors are very important in terms of having a connection with the audience and making them understand the narrative. Wonder-Woman is the heroine, the audiences are connected to her as they go on a journey with her to find Ares and defeat him to stop the destruction caused between mankind.
Make-up: In terms of make-up, Wonder-Woman the protagonist always looked bright and clean to show her confidence prior to fights with villains and the main villain.
Propps: Within the text, propps used was very important. With Wonder-Woman, it was very important for her to have the weapons that she has in the comics so that it can meet the expectations of the audiences. Also, with Ares the god of war, his weapon was involved in the text too which is significant in terms of matching the comics and making it into reality.
Setting: It was very important that this text was shot in variety of different places in different countries. The film was mainly set in England, France and Italy. It is important that they had variety of shots in different locations because it would make it more interesting for the audiences to experience fights in different places.
What work is being done by the sound track/commentary/language of the text?
A particular soundtrack within the text lies in a scene where Wonder-Woman takes on several men in a warehouse room. As soon as the fight begins, Wonder-Woman's traditional theme track plays while she is defeating the men. This soundtrack essentially makes the scene more dramatic and it shows Wonder-Woman to be more masculine.
What are the dominant images and iconography, and what is their relevance to the major themes of the text?
There are many dominant iconography within the text such as:
Narrative
How is the narrative organised and structured?
Genre
To which genre does the text belong?
Media Institutions
What is the institutional source of the text?
In what ways has the text been influenced or shaped by the institution which produced it?
The film has been influenced and shaped by the institutions which are Warner Bros, Atlas Entertainment, Cruel and Unusual films, DC entertainment, Dune entertainment, Tencent Pictures and Wanda Pictures. These are all the production companies that helped produce the text. The film was influenced positively due to the fact that these institution companies funded and gave the film a high budget meaning the film would bound to be more high quality and professional. The overall budget that Wonder-Woman movie had was 149 million which is a huge amount.
Is the source a public service or commercial institution? What difference does this make to the text?
The source is a commercial institution due to the fact that the film was created for entertainment and excitement purposes for the audience to feel some sense of pleasures such as diversion and excitement. It was also created for revenue purposes as well.
Who owns and controls the institution concerned and does this matter?
The main production company of this film was Warner Bros. Warner Bros are one of the biggest production companies to be known globally through their previous films they have produced that have become very successful. Due to this, Warner Bros are a company known to produce high quality and high budgeted films such as Wonder-Woman that are bound to be very successful. Essentially, this matters in the sense that Warner Bros will need to keep their reputation positive and high and by doing that, they would need to produce many high budget films with well known actors and etc.
How has the text been distributed?
The text was mainly distributed by the Warner Bros as well as the other companies such as DC entertainment company. They would distribute the film in the Cinemas first then on DVD and Bluray and other streaming services such as Netflix and Sky Films.
Media Values and Ideology
What are the major values, ideologies and assumptions underpinning the text or naturalised within it?
The major values, ideologies and assumptions underpinning the text is a female being casted as a protagonist in a Hollywood Superhero and fantasy film. As seen in this text, females are represented as strong and independant which is a whole contrast to the real stereotype of females in the society. The film subverts the stereotype of females being weak and vulnerable. The major values, ideologies and assumptions that the society have of females is that they are weak and vulnerable which this text challenges those ideologies. THis creates an ideology of females being equal to males.
What criteria have been used for selecting the content presented?
The content of the text is for entertainment purposes mainly but is for educational purposes too.
How does the text fit into the current political landscape?
The text fits into the political landscape through the representation of females in the text which subverts the stereotype of females in the real society. In reality, there has been many protests for feminism in many countries such as for in the UK so that females and males can both have equal rights.
Does the text promote a particular political viewpoint - either explicitly or implicitly?
The text does promote a particular political viewpoint in the sense that it tells the audience that females are more than what they are being described and stereotyped to. it promotes a political viewpoint explicitly through the iconography of the female protagonist brutally overpowering and defeating other evil men and evil villain.
Media Audiences
To whom is the text addressed? What is the target audience? (Demographics, Psychographics)
Due to the genre that this text belongs to, the text is mainly addressed towards the fan-base of Superhero film genre due to the reason that they would be more excited and would have more knowledge of the characters in the text. They would identify the characters more and enjoy it more which would lead to the text having more publicity.
Moreover, in terms of age wise, in my perspective, this text targets an audience that vary from the age of 15 to 35 ideally. This is because between those ages, both females and males are bound to interested in fantasy and superhero films such as Wonder-Woman. Also, the whole fan-base of DC and superhero films are based around those ages and they would most certainly be interested in watching this film.
Also, in terms of gender wise, the protagonist is a female actor who plays as "Wonder-Woman" in this text. This allows the target audience of this text to be targeted more towards females that are able to gain satisfaction out of this text due to it's subversive representation of females. It allows the female audience to be more excited to see a female heroine in the superhero industry to finally be independent and be stronger than males. The text targets 55% of females and 45% of males in my perspective because males would still be interested in watching the film due to its genre and its links to other stories such as Justice League.
Furthermore, in terms of the audience's education, they are likely to be in a good university either taking history or law. This is due to the text consisting the history of Germany and England war and the chemical occurrence to kill the society in England. The highly educated audiences are likely to understand the story within the text.
What assumptions about the audience’s characteristics are implicit within the text?
The assumptions of the audience's characteristics is that they are a huge fan of superhero films especially the Justice League squad. They love watching films that are unreal and give them a sense of escapism. Essentially, they enjoy watching superhero films such as Spiderman, Iron Man and Hulk.
What assumptions about the audience are implicit in the text’s scheduling or positioning?
With the release method of the Hollywood film with it being released in the cinemas first then months later, on streaming services such as Netflix and Sky film. The fact that the film comes in Blu-ray and other streaming services such as Netflix few months later, it suggests how the fans are very loyal.
In what conditions is the audience likely to receive the text? Does this impact upon the formal characteristics of the text?
The audience are likely to receive the "Wonder-Woman" movie in the cinemas at first which are Vue, Odeon or Imax. Then months later on, they are able to consume this text on streaming services such as Netflix or Sky film.
What do you know or can you assume about the likely size and constituency of the audience?
With the Wonder-Woman movie being produced by Warner Bros and having wide known stars/actors, it has forced the film to have more publicity meaning that they are bound to become more successful. With the film's budget being 149 million USD, the film has made a huge amount of profit with a box office of 807.4 million USD which is a staggering amount. From this much revenue, I can assume that the audience size is bound to very wide; globally wide. Meaning there are variety of audiences in many different countries that have consumed this film.
What are the probable and possible audience readings of the text?
The probable and possible audience readings of the text is that they are being shown a text that has a female protagonist that is independant and has power and authority over mankind. The audience will immediately understand that female heroines are hardly to be seen as a one protagonist in a Hollywood or superhero film genre movie. Due to that, the audience understand that this film is trying to subvert the stereotype of females.
What are the audience pleasures, uses or gratifications? (Refer to theory).
Diversion: This text belongs to the fantasy and superhero film genre meaning that it consists of major key conventions of both the genres that would give the audience a pleasure of diversion/escapism. The iconography of two living things that aren't humans but have supernatural powers give the audience a sense of escapism because they escape from reality and consume something they don't see in real life.
Personal Identity: With consuming the text, the audience are able to identify with some of the characters within the text.
Personal Relationship: The text allows the audience to build a relationship with some of the characters due to it's bad vs evil type. The audiences are able to build a positive relationship with Diana due to her eagerness to defeat the villain and save the society. The audiences feel a deep bond with the character perhaps due to the fact that they see themselves in her in terms of feeling sympathy and empathy for the people suffering.
Surveillance: From the audience consuming this text, they can gain a bit of knowledge in terms of the war between England and Germany and what the attack plans were from both countries. Also, in terms of the female heroine, it will show to the audience that not all females are "weak" and "vulnerable". They can be independent and strong.
How do you, as an audience member, read and evaluate the text? To what extent is your reading and evaluation influenced by your age, gender, background etc?
Media Text: Wonder Woman 2017
Media Issues/Debates: Changing representation of females
2. Research your text online.
| Directed by | Patty Jenkins |
|---|---|
| Produced by | |
| Screenplay by | Allan Heinberg |
| Story by |
|
| Based on | Wonder Woman by William Moulton Marston |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Rupert Gregson-Williams[1] |
| Cinematography | Matthew Jensen |
| Edited by | Martin Walsh |
Production
company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Release date
|
|
Running time
| 141 minutes[2][3] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $149 million[4] |
| Box office | $813.2 million[4] |
Reviews
Chris Hewitt's (Empire) review:
- "After a few false starts, the DC Extended Universe has its first truly terrific entry under its belt. About damn time."
David Edelstein's (Vulture) review:
- "The gushing reviews of Wonder Woman suggest that people are grading on a big curve, but the limpness of the storytelling is certainly preferable to the whacking pacing of other movies of its ilk."
Christopher Orr's (The Atlantic) review:
- "Befitting its World War I setting, Wonder Woman has a certain throwback charm, with Gadot and Pine playing off one another as good-naturedly as partners in a 1930s screwball comedy."
Karim Amin's (Imdb) review:
- "First of all, this movie only made money because it's a superhero movie. Everyone likes superheroes and there is no way a parent is not going to take their children to see it. Look at Transformers. Most of the movies are downright idiotic but it still makes money because it's.....Transformers. So all popular comic book hero movies will make money period.
I can't make sense of the movie and I really don't think the writers knew either. Her morales flip flop, the bad guy has no real reason to be "bad", the good guy has no real reason to "die." The side characters really didn't serve much of a purpose.
Some parts of the movie are decent and a few seconds later, the same scene turn into a total crapfest. The 3rd part is an utter mess and that act alone should be more then enough reason to keep WW off the top of the charts but somehow has a 94% rating on RT? That right there shows you that ratings are padded because you can't have at least 1/3 of a movie be total trash, 1/3 of the movie just corny dialog and somehow end up at the top of the charts."
Kemster's (The Guardian) review:
- "Gal Gadot is mesmerising, plays the fish out of water thing beautifully, Chris Pine is excellent, great chemistry together. Brilliant set pieces, it's got charm coming out of its arse, it's funny, has a great sense of time and place and I found it genuinely moving. And it's all just the right side of camp. Only gripe - and it's a minor one - the ending descends into a messy CGI stew - but I'll forgive it that."
4. Post up all evidence of research on your MEST4 blog. You are looking for the following: reviews, newspaper/magazine articles, online comments or blogs linked to your text, useful book titles linked to your text, relevant theory, relevant media issues and debates, information about wider contexts, your own bullet-pointed notes on each concept etc.
There’s a genuine desire to move with the times. But there’s still a long way to go. We need to stop featuring women as peripheral characters.
How the portrayal of women in media has changed
While brands are less likely to stereotype in their advertising, there is still a way to go when it comes to the representation of women on screen and in print.
Today (8 March) marks International Women’s Day, giving people a chance to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.
Marketing Week is taking this opportunity to look at two different advertising mediums and explore how the portrayal of women has evolved over the years.
Changing portrayal of females in the media
Xereox Commercial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbCtirtPEnI
- In this xereox commercial created many years ago, a female is the actor that presenting the xereox machine.
- But the portrayal of her reinforces the stereotypes of females.
- A man tells the female to do something and she does it which shows that back in the 20th century, females were very belittled and weren't as equal as men.
- This is evident through the female in this advert being represented as a stupid and an unintelligent female.
Coffee Ad (1960s)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRYfouuHPvs
- This sexist coffee ad produced in the 1960s clarifies how females were portrayed back in the 20th century.
- Within this video, we see a female that is extremely careful of her flowers which shows how females are mainly housewives that cook and also, garden.
- Also, we see her going to a shop for a coffee which reinforces the stereotype of how females love shopping in general.
- Essentially, this video shows how females were represented as their typical stereotype in the society.
Apple 1984 Super Bowl Commercial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zfqw8nhUwA
Always #LikeaGirl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs&t=2s
- Within this commercial advert, majority of both males and females are asked questions that are regarding girls and how they do things physically.
- Then the boys and girls both show their honest demonstrations of how girls do certain things which many of the results were inevitable.
- When they were asked how it was like to "fight like a girl", both gender demonstrated in a way that is quite stereotyping and belittling the strength of females.
- Also, within the advert, they express how females confidence plummets through the use of "like a girl" which many people use to insult someone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Njq9wNpSXQM&t=1s
- This is a compilation video of biased adverts of females.
- This video essentially shows how females are represented lower than males in many adverts.
- Many of the adverts are biased and they portray females as the house wives, always in the kitchen, doing the laundry and etc.
- This shows how females aren't really represented in a different way in many adverts but are in adverts to reinforce the stereotype and ideologies of females.
7. Prepare a 5 minute, 20-slide 'Ignite' presentation on your text to be ready for the first week back. If you're unsure how these work, remind yourself by reading through the lesson slides: Introduction to the Critical Investigation 2017, and look over our blogpost with good Ignite examples.
8. Try to address as many of the Key Concepts (MIGRAIN) as you can in your presentation (you won't be able to cover them all in 20 time-limited slides), and provide bullet-pointed answers to the following questions on your research blogpost...
MIGRAIN key concept research
Media Representations
Who is being represented? In what way? By whom?
Within this media text, females aren't being objectified and they actually subvert the traditional stereotype and representation of females in general within the society. They are being represented as the masculine gender within the text through the iconography of the strength of Wonder-Woman (Gal Gadot) and also her other female companions such as her mother who seems very masculine as the scene where she was killing all the other men who had invaded her "hidden" island. Essentially, the females such as for Wonder-Woman, she has to save the world from the German army releasing the lethal gas.
Why is the subject being represented in this way?
Why is the subject being represented in this way?
The subject who is the main actor Gal Gadot casted as "Wonder-Woman" is represented in this way to subvert the traditional stereotype and representation of females in the society. This movie is a Hollywood movie and in many other action movies and superhero movies of Hollywood, it is mainly the males that are the masculine ones that have to save the women or have authority over the females. So with the subject being represented in a masculine way, it is show something finally different.
Is the representation fair and accurate?
In terms of female representation within the "Wonder Woman" movie, it isn't accurate in the sense that it subverts the typical stereotype of females in the society. In reality, females are stereotyped as weak and vulnerable whereas the film represents the females in a complete contrast way. Also, the reperesentation of the females is fair because it allows the audience to experience a female protagonist finally take over and be the main actor within the film.
What opportunities exist for self-representation by the subject?
Many opportunities are created through this representation of females within this movie. Due to the fact that females are represented as very strong and independent, the female viewers of this movie would definitely gain confidence out of it which would help them to be more independent in the future. Due to the media portrayal of females, it is quite negative which many females tend to lose confidence over and with this movie, it resurrects that confidence of many females that lack confidence or etc.
Is the representation fair and accurate?
In terms of female representation within the "Wonder Woman" movie, it isn't accurate in the sense that it subverts the typical stereotype of females in the society. In reality, females are stereotyped as weak and vulnerable whereas the film represents the females in a complete contrast way. Also, the reperesentation of the females is fair because it allows the audience to experience a female protagonist finally take over and be the main actor within the film.
What opportunities exist for self-representation by the subject?
Many opportunities are created through this representation of females within this movie. Due to the fact that females are represented as very strong and independent, the female viewers of this movie would definitely gain confidence out of it which would help them to be more independent in the future. Due to the media portrayal of females, it is quite negative which many females tend to lose confidence over and with this movie, it resurrects that confidence of many females that lack confidence or etc.
Media Languages and Forms
What are the denotative and connotative levels of meaning?
Within this text, there are denotations and connotations.
Denotative meaning:
One denotation within this text is when Wonder-Woman is overpowering a German army full of masculine and big males.
Connotative meaning:
The connotations of this scene suggest how lethal and strong Wonder-Woman is compared to mankind. Wonder-Woman overpowering and defeating evil males within the text helps to subvert the stereotype of females with them being weak and vulnerable. This scene helps challenge that and shows how females are as equal as males when it comes to independancy and strength.
What is the significance of the text’s connotations?
The significance of the text's connotations is that it helps subvert the stereotype of females being weak. The connotations of Wonder-Woman suggest how she differs from the typical stereotype of females and she challenges that ideology that the society have of the females being weak. Essentially, this is significant as it shows the society and the audiences that females are as equal as males.
What are the non-verbal structures of meaning in the text (e.g. gesture, facial expression, positional communication, clothing, props etc)?
- Within the text, there is a scene of Diana the protagonist going into a room full of men that looked to be talking about the strategy plan on how to attack Germany. When Diana speaks out, we see Ares disguised as a normal person become complete silent and looks at Diana in a weird look which gives the audience a hint that he could be the villain.
- Also, a scene towards the ending where Diana kills the Germany leader, but finds out he isn't Ares, this shows how Ares is still alive and she is still bound to find him and kill him.
Costume: The significance of the costume of both villain and the heroine is that it is their identity. The audiences can become more attracted to the text and more excited when Wonder-Woman puts on the costume because its perhaps a symbol of power and how strong she is.
Lighting: The lighting in some scenes are very important in terms of matching what is happening within the scene to make it more dramatic. With the final fight of Wonder-Woman and Ares, it was in the night and the lighting was low-key which was a perfect choice lighting for a fight because it makes it look more dramatic and brutal.
Actors: Within the text, actors are very important in terms of having a connection with the audience and making them understand the narrative. Wonder-Woman is the heroine, the audiences are connected to her as they go on a journey with her to find Ares and defeat him to stop the destruction caused between mankind.
Make-up: In terms of make-up, Wonder-Woman the protagonist always looked bright and clean to show her confidence prior to fights with villains and the main villain.
Propps: Within the text, propps used was very important. With Wonder-Woman, it was very important for her to have the weapons that she has in the comics so that it can meet the expectations of the audiences. Also, with Ares the god of war, his weapon was involved in the text too which is significant in terms of matching the comics and making it into reality.
Setting: It was very important that this text was shot in variety of different places in different countries. The film was mainly set in England, France and Italy. It is important that they had variety of shots in different locations because it would make it more interesting for the audiences to experience fights in different places.
What work is being done by the sound track/commentary/language of the text?
A particular soundtrack within the text lies in a scene where Wonder-Woman takes on several men in a warehouse room. As soon as the fight begins, Wonder-Woman's traditional theme track plays while she is defeating the men. This soundtrack essentially makes the scene more dramatic and it shows Wonder-Woman to be more masculine.
What are the dominant images and iconography, and what is their relevance to the major themes of the text?
There are many dominant iconography within the text such as:
- The costume of Wonder-Woman which makes her look very lethal and indestructible. This has relevance to the narrative of the movie of how Wonder-Woman is very lethal with many super hero powers and being able to destroy Ares.
- Also, the female soldiers in the hidden island are represented as more confident than men which shows more power. This has relevance to the text in the sense that the movie refers to the power of females especially Wonder-Woman and how she destroys wicked men to stop war.
- In many scenes, Chris Pine (Steve Trevor) is shown to be frightened in many scenes where they are confronted. An example would be when Wonder-Woman blocked off bullets from the shooting British men in an Alley-way sort. Within that scene, the male character looked more scared whereas Wonder-Woman was shown to be confident and masculine. This is relevant because again, the movie reflects the power of women which in that scene, it shows the lethal power of women.
What sound and visual techniques are used to convey meaning (e.g. camera positioning, editing; the ways that images and sounds are combined to convey)?
The sound and visual techniques are used to clearly show the audience of the build up of the narrative. They are also used to convey meaning of Diana's growing up in a protected hidden island which then when she grows up, it gets interrupted by a Pilot from the outside world that enters the hidden island which then he clarifies to Diana and her fellow relatives and family that there is a destructive war between England and Germany.
The camera positioning explores the hidden island and where and how it was hidden from the outside world. Also, later on when Diana goes out into the outside world, the camera was focused on Ares that was disguised as a human being at that time when Diana went into a office full of males.
The editing in terms of the whole movie was quite slow but normal at the same time which gave time for the audience to understand what was happening. The editing started to become more pacy when she was out in the outside world which shows Wonder-Woman's eagerness to find Ares and stop the destructive war that he is causing between mankind.
The camera positioning explores the hidden island and where and how it was hidden from the outside world. Also, later on when Diana goes out into the outside world, the camera was focused on Ares that was disguised as a human being at that time when Diana went into a office full of males.
The editing in terms of the whole movie was quite slow but normal at the same time which gave time for the audience to understand what was happening. The editing started to become more pacy when she was out in the outside world which shows Wonder-Woman's eagerness to find Ares and stop the destructive war that he is causing between mankind.
Narrative
How is the narrative organised and structured?
With the narrative, it was very narrative and well structured in the sense that the action flow was quite slow but was structured well through the back stories and other actions that helped the audience to realise what is happening. Conventionally, this movie started off with a equilibrium which is very typical in a fantasy movie which then the disequilibrium occurred which the heroine needed to solve. Then the end, it was a whole new equilibrium where the villain was defeated and the peace was resurrected between mankind.
How is the audience positioned in relation to the narrative?
Within the narrative, it shows how Wonder woman grew up and also, the reasoning behind why her and her families and relatives were hidden away from the real world. They learn that Ares (villain) created a war between mankind which Zeus the god had to protect Diana and her families which he decided to hide them in a hidden island. Essentially, the audience are positioned to support and like Diana (Wonder Woman) over the villain "Ares" due to the fact that she's fighting for mankind and to stop war and conflict between them which Ares was causing the whole time.
How are characters delineated? What is their narrative function? How are heroes and villains created?
In terms of the representation of Wonder-Woman and her female friends, they are deemed as the protagonists due to their eagerness to stop the conflict and war between mankind that Ares had created. Females are deemed as weak and vulnerable in the real world whereas in this movie, it is subverting that stereotype where it gives the audience that different pleasure to see a female power over men and have authority over them.
With the females in the hidden island protected by Zeus, they are the only ones that can stop the war by defeating Ares. Wonder-Woman is the female character who is the heroine helps to defeat Ares and save mankind.
The heroine "Wonder-Woman" was born with the powers that she later used to defeat Ares in the movie. The villain "Ares" occured through his decision to create war and violence within mankind. Ares is the son of Zeus but Ares rebelled and created this destructive world.
What techniques of identification and alienation are employed?
With this movie, it represents a subversive representation of females which is them being deemed as powerful and independant. This is something the audience cannot really relate and identify with due to the representation of females in the real world which affects many females in terms of confidence and etc. This movie essentially recovers the alienation of the females being pressured in real life as it helps build the confidence of the females through consuming this film. It shows them that they are as equal as men and they have power and strength too.
What is the role of such features as sound, music, iconography, genre, mise-en-scene, editing etc within the narrative?
Within the film, the narrative is an action based genre which covers the story of Wonder-Woman and how she saves mankind from the villain. Within the film, the use of sound such as non-diegetic and diegetic sound, it played a big role within the movie in terms of exciting and giving the audience a hint. Many non-diegetic sounds were used during the film such as when it was an action part, a very fast and a crescendo dramatic sound was used to make the scenes more dramatic which would build excitement. This played a big role within the narrative because it gave the audience a clue of what other fighting scenes might be like.
In terms of Iconography, it also played a big role in the sense that the costume of Wonder-Woman certainly showed who she was and her identity. It told the fans that she was the protagonist who was going on a journey to save mankind. It also gave them excitement seeing Diana in her Wonder-Woman costume because it symbolises her and her power so when she put it on, the audience knew that she was bound to defeat many evil people within the film.
What are the major themes of the narrative? What values/ideologies does it embody?
There are many themes of the narrative that this first "Wonder-Woman" has caused. A theme such as the representation of females is very subversive to what the real stereotype of females is in the society. The females are stronger than men in this film which subverts the stereotype of females being very vulnerable and weak. This film helps to boost the confidence of females and it shows that females are as equal as men.How is the audience positioned in relation to the narrative?
Within the narrative, it shows how Wonder woman grew up and also, the reasoning behind why her and her families and relatives were hidden away from the real world. They learn that Ares (villain) created a war between mankind which Zeus the god had to protect Diana and her families which he decided to hide them in a hidden island. Essentially, the audience are positioned to support and like Diana (Wonder Woman) over the villain "Ares" due to the fact that she's fighting for mankind and to stop war and conflict between them which Ares was causing the whole time.
How are characters delineated? What is their narrative function? How are heroes and villains created?
In terms of the representation of Wonder-Woman and her female friends, they are deemed as the protagonists due to their eagerness to stop the conflict and war between mankind that Ares had created. Females are deemed as weak and vulnerable in the real world whereas in this movie, it is subverting that stereotype where it gives the audience that different pleasure to see a female power over men and have authority over them.
With the females in the hidden island protected by Zeus, they are the only ones that can stop the war by defeating Ares. Wonder-Woman is the female character who is the heroine helps to defeat Ares and save mankind.
The heroine "Wonder-Woman" was born with the powers that she later used to defeat Ares in the movie. The villain "Ares" occured through his decision to create war and violence within mankind. Ares is the son of Zeus but Ares rebelled and created this destructive world.
What techniques of identification and alienation are employed?
With this movie, it represents a subversive representation of females which is them being deemed as powerful and independant. This is something the audience cannot really relate and identify with due to the representation of females in the real world which affects many females in terms of confidence and etc. This movie essentially recovers the alienation of the females being pressured in real life as it helps build the confidence of the females through consuming this film. It shows them that they are as equal as men and they have power and strength too.
What is the role of such features as sound, music, iconography, genre, mise-en-scene, editing etc within the narrative?
Within the film, the narrative is an action based genre which covers the story of Wonder-Woman and how she saves mankind from the villain. Within the film, the use of sound such as non-diegetic and diegetic sound, it played a big role within the movie in terms of exciting and giving the audience a hint. Many non-diegetic sounds were used during the film such as when it was an action part, a very fast and a crescendo dramatic sound was used to make the scenes more dramatic which would build excitement. This played a big role within the narrative because it gave the audience a clue of what other fighting scenes might be like.
In terms of Iconography, it also played a big role in the sense that the costume of Wonder-Woman certainly showed who she was and her identity. It told the fans that she was the protagonist who was going on a journey to save mankind. It also gave them excitement seeing Diana in her Wonder-Woman costume because it symbolises her and her power so when she put it on, the audience knew that she was bound to defeat many evil people within the film.
What are the major themes of the narrative? What values/ideologies does it embody?
Genre
To which genre does the text belong?
The text (Wonder-Woman) belongs to a variety of text which are Action Film, War Film, Adventure Film, Science Fiction Film, Fantasy and Superhero movie. Essentially, the text consists of codes and conventions of each of the genre.
What are the major generic conventions within the text?
There are many major generic conventions within the text that helps the film fit into each of the genres.
With the iconography of Wonder-Woman's unnatural power when fighting the villains, it helps the film to fit into the Superhero film and Fantasy genre due to the fact that it consists of unnatural events and powers that wouldn't happen in the real world.
Also, the narrative build up of Diana growing up from kid to older age and also her going out of the hidden island to search for Ares the villain helps fit into the adventure film genre due to the fact that the protagonist went on a journey to search for the villain and to defeat it.
Moreover, the super-heroine has her own costume which helps it to be in the superhero film and fantasy genre due to the fact that in many other superhero films such as Batman and Superman, they both have their own costume which is their identity. Also, it is in the fantasy genre too in the sense that it is quite unusual to have a costume for identification.
Lastly, the major generic convention within the text that helps it to be within the Science fiction genre is iconography of electric being one of Ares's and Wonder-Woman's power which they both use to damage each other. Another reason being is that the movie is also based around chemicals that are being made by a evil doctor to kill the society in England which we know that it is science based.
What are the major iconographic features of the text?
The major iconographic features of this text is firstly the location. The film is set in multiple countries such as England, Italy and France. There were many scenes that were shot in those countries such as the street and the pub scenes that were shot in England.
Also, the conflict between the Germans and the British was also another major iconographic feature of the text because it was clarified and shown clearly to the audience that the war was between England and Germany. Germany had a very evil doctor trhat created many chemicals that were used to create a deadly gas that would end the lives of the people in England.
What are the major generic themes?
The major generic themes of this text is bad vs evil with Wonder-Woman being the protagonist while Ares being the antagonist. The conflict between Germany and England became huge and violent through Ares's actions and decisions which led to Wonder-Woman wanting to help mankind by defeating Ares and stopping the destruction.
To what extent are the characters generically determined?
The characters within the text are generically determined to a large extent. In terms of gender, it is generically determined to a high extent as in many Super-hero films, we see males as the protagonists and males with the powers trying to save the world but however, in this text, we see a female as the protagonist that has power over mankind and is trying to save mankind from a male villain. It is quite unusual and it subverts the stereotype of females overall.
To what extent are the audience’s generic expectations of the text fulfilled or cheated by the text? Does the text conform to the characteristics of the genre, or does it treat them playfully or ironically?
To a large extent, the audience's generic expectations of the text are fulfilled greatly. In terms of Superhero films, there is a large fan-base which the audience would understand and expect many things from many superhero films. So with this, their expectations were fulfilled through the text consisting the generic conventions of the genre. An example of super natural powers within the text is something that the audience would expect in a superhero film so their expectation for this would be fulfilled.
The text does conform to the characteristics of the genre as it includes many major generic conventions of each of the genre that they are in. So with Superhero film genre, they included generic conventions such as super natural power and costumes to help the text belong to the genre. The fans of that certain genre expect many things from a film that is in that genre and the Wonder-Woman text did include many major conventions of the genres.
Does the text feature a star, a director, a writer etc who is strongly associated with the genre? What meanings and associations do they have?
What are the major generic conventions within the text?
There are many major generic conventions within the text that helps the film fit into each of the genres.
With the iconography of Wonder-Woman's unnatural power when fighting the villains, it helps the film to fit into the Superhero film and Fantasy genre due to the fact that it consists of unnatural events and powers that wouldn't happen in the real world.
Also, the narrative build up of Diana growing up from kid to older age and also her going out of the hidden island to search for Ares the villain helps fit into the adventure film genre due to the fact that the protagonist went on a journey to search for the villain and to defeat it.
Moreover, the super-heroine has her own costume which helps it to be in the superhero film and fantasy genre due to the fact that in many other superhero films such as Batman and Superman, they both have their own costume which is their identity. Also, it is in the fantasy genre too in the sense that it is quite unusual to have a costume for identification.
Lastly, the major generic convention within the text that helps it to be within the Science fiction genre is iconography of electric being one of Ares's and Wonder-Woman's power which they both use to damage each other. Another reason being is that the movie is also based around chemicals that are being made by a evil doctor to kill the society in England which we know that it is science based.
What are the major iconographic features of the text?
The major iconographic features of this text is firstly the location. The film is set in multiple countries such as England, Italy and France. There were many scenes that were shot in those countries such as the street and the pub scenes that were shot in England.
Also, the conflict between the Germans and the British was also another major iconographic feature of the text because it was clarified and shown clearly to the audience that the war was between England and Germany. Germany had a very evil doctor trhat created many chemicals that were used to create a deadly gas that would end the lives of the people in England.
What are the major generic themes?
The major generic themes of this text is bad vs evil with Wonder-Woman being the protagonist while Ares being the antagonist. The conflict between Germany and England became huge and violent through Ares's actions and decisions which led to Wonder-Woman wanting to help mankind by defeating Ares and stopping the destruction.
To what extent are the characters generically determined?
The characters within the text are generically determined to a large extent. In terms of gender, it is generically determined to a high extent as in many Super-hero films, we see males as the protagonists and males with the powers trying to save the world but however, in this text, we see a female as the protagonist that has power over mankind and is trying to save mankind from a male villain. It is quite unusual and it subverts the stereotype of females overall.
To what extent are the audience’s generic expectations of the text fulfilled or cheated by the text? Does the text conform to the characteristics of the genre, or does it treat them playfully or ironically?
To a large extent, the audience's generic expectations of the text are fulfilled greatly. In terms of Superhero films, there is a large fan-base which the audience would understand and expect many things from many superhero films. So with this, their expectations were fulfilled through the text consisting the generic conventions of the genre. An example of super natural powers within the text is something that the audience would expect in a superhero film so their expectation for this would be fulfilled.
The text does conform to the characteristics of the genre as it includes many major generic conventions of each of the genre that they are in. So with Superhero film genre, they included generic conventions such as super natural power and costumes to help the text belong to the genre. The fans of that certain genre expect many things from a film that is in that genre and the Wonder-Woman text did include many major conventions of the genres.
Does the text feature a star, a director, a writer etc who is strongly associated with the genre? What meanings and associations do they have?
The text does feature a star that is strongly associated with the "Superhero film" genre who is the main actor, Gal Gadot (Wonder-Woman). Before this text was released, she appeared in the Batman vs Superman movie which is also a text that hugely belongs to the genre. The recognition of a star that is associated with this genre strongly allowed the film to be more widely recognised and had more publicity.
Also, another star within the text has a strong association with one of the genres of the film being "Science Fiction" is Chris Pine who was casted as Steve Trevor in Wonder-Woman. Chris Pine has a strong association with this particular genre because he appeared in the franchises of Star Trek which is a franchise that globally well known for its success and it is a huge science fiction franchise. This well known actor in the science fiction industry led to the movie being more well known and it became more successful.
Danny Huston, also another star in this text, is also well known for his association with a particular genre of Wonder-Woman. Danny Huston was casted as the "General Ludendorff" in the Wonder-Woman text. He has a strong association with the "Superhero film" genre through his feature as William Stryker in X-men Origins: Wolverine movie which was released in 2009. This was also another factor that led to Wonder-Woman's huge success.
Lastly, one of the biggest stars to have been popular in the Fantasy Genre industry is David Thewlis who was a star that played a big role as the villain "Ares" in the Wonder-Woman movie. He appeared in many of the movies of the Harry Potter franchise which is a franchise that is known to be one of the biggest successful franchise with having made billions of revenue. This immediately helped the Wonder-Woman text become successful because many of the people would have recognised him.
Also, another star within the text has a strong association with one of the genres of the film being "Science Fiction" is Chris Pine who was casted as Steve Trevor in Wonder-Woman. Chris Pine has a strong association with this particular genre because he appeared in the franchises of Star Trek which is a franchise that globally well known for its success and it is a huge science fiction franchise. This well known actor in the science fiction industry led to the movie being more well known and it became more successful.
Danny Huston, also another star in this text, is also well known for his association with a particular genre of Wonder-Woman. Danny Huston was casted as the "General Ludendorff" in the Wonder-Woman text. He has a strong association with the "Superhero film" genre through his feature as William Stryker in X-men Origins: Wolverine movie which was released in 2009. This was also another factor that led to Wonder-Woman's huge success.
Lastly, one of the biggest stars to have been popular in the Fantasy Genre industry is David Thewlis who was a star that played a big role as the villain "Ares" in the Wonder-Woman movie. He appeared in many of the movies of the Harry Potter franchise which is a franchise that is known to be one of the biggest successful franchise with having made billions of revenue. This immediately helped the Wonder-Woman text become successful because many of the people would have recognised him.
Media Institutions
What is the institutional source of the text?
- Warner Bros. (presents)
- Atlas Entertainment
- Cruel & Unusual Films
- DC Entertainment
- Dune Entertainment (in association with) (as Rat-Pac Dune Entertainment LLC)
- Tencent Pictures
- Wanda Pictures
In what ways has the text been influenced or shaped by the institution which produced it?
The film has been influenced and shaped by the institutions which are Warner Bros, Atlas Entertainment, Cruel and Unusual films, DC entertainment, Dune entertainment, Tencent Pictures and Wanda Pictures. These are all the production companies that helped produce the text. The film was influenced positively due to the fact that these institution companies funded and gave the film a high budget meaning the film would bound to be more high quality and professional. The overall budget that Wonder-Woman movie had was 149 million which is a huge amount.
Is the source a public service or commercial institution? What difference does this make to the text?
The source is a commercial institution due to the fact that the film was created for entertainment and excitement purposes for the audience to feel some sense of pleasures such as diversion and excitement. It was also created for revenue purposes as well.
Who owns and controls the institution concerned and does this matter?
The main production company of this film was Warner Bros. Warner Bros are one of the biggest production companies to be known globally through their previous films they have produced that have become very successful. Due to this, Warner Bros are a company known to produce high quality and high budgeted films such as Wonder-Woman that are bound to be very successful. Essentially, this matters in the sense that Warner Bros will need to keep their reputation positive and high and by doing that, they would need to produce many high budget films with well known actors and etc.
How has the text been distributed?
The text was mainly distributed by the Warner Bros as well as the other companies such as DC entertainment company. They would distribute the film in the Cinemas first then on DVD and Bluray and other streaming services such as Netflix and Sky Films.
Media Values and Ideology
What are the major values, ideologies and assumptions underpinning the text or naturalised within it?
The major values, ideologies and assumptions underpinning the text is a female being casted as a protagonist in a Hollywood Superhero and fantasy film. As seen in this text, females are represented as strong and independant which is a whole contrast to the real stereotype of females in the society. The film subverts the stereotype of females being weak and vulnerable. The major values, ideologies and assumptions that the society have of females is that they are weak and vulnerable which this text challenges those ideologies. THis creates an ideology of females being equal to males.
What criteria have been used for selecting the content presented?
The content of the text is for entertainment purposes mainly but is for educational purposes too.
How does the text fit into the current political landscape?
The text fits into the political landscape through the representation of females in the text which subverts the stereotype of females in the real society. In reality, there has been many protests for feminism in many countries such as for in the UK so that females and males can both have equal rights.
Does the text promote a particular political viewpoint - either explicitly or implicitly?
The text does promote a particular political viewpoint in the sense that it tells the audience that females are more than what they are being described and stereotyped to. it promotes a political viewpoint explicitly through the iconography of the female protagonist brutally overpowering and defeating other evil men and evil villain.
Media Audiences
To whom is the text addressed? What is the target audience? (Demographics, Psychographics)
Due to the genre that this text belongs to, the text is mainly addressed towards the fan-base of Superhero film genre due to the reason that they would be more excited and would have more knowledge of the characters in the text. They would identify the characters more and enjoy it more which would lead to the text having more publicity.
Moreover, in terms of age wise, in my perspective, this text targets an audience that vary from the age of 15 to 35 ideally. This is because between those ages, both females and males are bound to interested in fantasy and superhero films such as Wonder-Woman. Also, the whole fan-base of DC and superhero films are based around those ages and they would most certainly be interested in watching this film.
Also, in terms of gender wise, the protagonist is a female actor who plays as "Wonder-Woman" in this text. This allows the target audience of this text to be targeted more towards females that are able to gain satisfaction out of this text due to it's subversive representation of females. It allows the female audience to be more excited to see a female heroine in the superhero industry to finally be independent and be stronger than males. The text targets 55% of females and 45% of males in my perspective because males would still be interested in watching the film due to its genre and its links to other stories such as Justice League.
Furthermore, in terms of the audience's education, they are likely to be in a good university either taking history or law. This is due to the text consisting the history of Germany and England war and the chemical occurrence to kill the society in England. The highly educated audiences are likely to understand the story within the text.
What assumptions about the audience’s characteristics are implicit within the text?
The assumptions of the audience's characteristics is that they are a huge fan of superhero films especially the Justice League squad. They love watching films that are unreal and give them a sense of escapism. Essentially, they enjoy watching superhero films such as Spiderman, Iron Man and Hulk.
What assumptions about the audience are implicit in the text’s scheduling or positioning?
With the release method of the Hollywood film with it being released in the cinemas first then months later, on streaming services such as Netflix and Sky film. The fact that the film comes in Blu-ray and other streaming services such as Netflix few months later, it suggests how the fans are very loyal.
In what conditions is the audience likely to receive the text? Does this impact upon the formal characteristics of the text?
The audience are likely to receive the "Wonder-Woman" movie in the cinemas at first which are Vue, Odeon or Imax. Then months later on, they are able to consume this text on streaming services such as Netflix or Sky film.
What do you know or can you assume about the likely size and constituency of the audience?
With the Wonder-Woman movie being produced by Warner Bros and having wide known stars/actors, it has forced the film to have more publicity meaning that they are bound to become more successful. With the film's budget being 149 million USD, the film has made a huge amount of profit with a box office of 807.4 million USD which is a staggering amount. From this much revenue, I can assume that the audience size is bound to very wide; globally wide. Meaning there are variety of audiences in many different countries that have consumed this film.
What are the probable and possible audience readings of the text?
The probable and possible audience readings of the text is that they are being shown a text that has a female protagonist that is independant and has power and authority over mankind. The audience will immediately understand that female heroines are hardly to be seen as a one protagonist in a Hollywood or superhero film genre movie. Due to that, the audience understand that this film is trying to subvert the stereotype of females.
What are the audience pleasures, uses or gratifications? (Refer to theory).
Diversion: This text belongs to the fantasy and superhero film genre meaning that it consists of major key conventions of both the genres that would give the audience a pleasure of diversion/escapism. The iconography of two living things that aren't humans but have supernatural powers give the audience a sense of escapism because they escape from reality and consume something they don't see in real life.
Personal Identity: With consuming the text, the audience are able to identify with some of the characters within the text.
Personal Relationship: The text allows the audience to build a relationship with some of the characters due to it's bad vs evil type. The audiences are able to build a positive relationship with Diana due to her eagerness to defeat the villain and save the society. The audiences feel a deep bond with the character perhaps due to the fact that they see themselves in her in terms of feeling sympathy and empathy for the people suffering.
Surveillance: From the audience consuming this text, they can gain a bit of knowledge in terms of the war between England and Germany and what the attack plans were from both countries. Also, in terms of the female heroine, it will show to the audience that not all females are "weak" and "vulnerable". They can be independent and strong.
How do you, as an audience member, read and evaluate the text? To what extent is your reading and evaluation influenced by your age, gender, background etc?
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