Theorists in Gender Advertising...

Gunter (1995)- Theorist who focuses on how gender of women are being represented in magazines. He found out that women in magazines in the 1970's were hardly shown in paid work and if they were then they would be in jobs that would be associated with the female gender. He also found out that the housewife image was in decline after the 50's but was quite common in the 60's and 70's.

Cumberbatch (1995)- Theorist who done a study of 500 prime time tv ads in the UK and found that advertisers had seemingly become wary of showing women doing housework. The study also showed men cooking in the kitchen which revresed the roles and introduced men in more domesticated jobs.

Scheibe (1979)- Done a study on TV ad's and assesed what male and female characters were concerned about. His results showed that women are more interested about beauty, cleanliness, family and pleasing others. on the other hand, men's results showed their achievements and wanted to have fun.

Macdonald (1995)- Macdonald quoted: "advertisers generally lagged behind women's magazines in the cultivation of new modes of address, even when the evidence suggested that commercial advantages could be gained from modernising their approach." This shows that Macdonald argued that the so called stereotypical view of women was not being changed i.e the housewife stereotype.

Greer- Greer quoted what stands a famous saying: "every women knows that she is a faliure if she is not beautiful." This famous quotation sums up the stereotype of the represetation of women. It reinforces that the stereotype still exsits and has not changed over the years. Also, to back this argument up it is true that there are younger female actresses than older male actors.

Walter (1998)- Walter Quoted that women nowadays are more or less happy with their physical apperance. However, it is men that are feeling paronoid with the way they look, which intorduces the "new man" theory and how a meterosexual are more in touch with their feminine side. she stated- "more attractive people earn more money than their plain counterparts and this was more apparant for men then women." However, her theory was proven wrong and was contridicted as surveys were done and showed that women are ten times more likely to become more unhappy with their body image then men.

Cortese- Argues that women are mostly shown to be the perfect provocateur as they are made to look provocative through make up, editing and clothing. This is where TV ads ad magazines make the women look beautiful and attractful for the male gaze by increasing the boobs, glissing up the eyes, lightening the skin colour etc. This reinforces Laura Mulvey's theory of women being objectified as sex objects and having no purpose in the media.

Book research...(So Far..)

1) Gilmore D 1990: Manhood in the making: Cultural concepts of masculinity.
New haven, CT and London: Yale university press.
"Men nuture their society by shedding their blood, their sweat and the semen."
Pg230.

2) Lewis G 1983: Real men like violence: Australian men, media and violence.
Kenthurst: Kangaroo press.
"Within certain limits, agreessive male behaviour is accepted as a normal part of everyday life."
Pg11.

3) Connelle R.W 1987: Gender and power.
Cambridge: Blackwell.
"With the gradually increasing pressure for gender equalilty, it seems, a market was created for representations of power in the arena men could still claim as distinctively their own, plain violence"
pg 215.

4) Jones M 1997: "Masculinity revisited" sociology review vol7 no3.
" The new lad epitomised the backlash against feminism and an increasingly politcally correct culture."
pg 98.

5) Kimmel M.S 1987: changing men : new directions in research on men and masculinity.
Newbury park, CA, Beverly hills, London, New Delhi: Sage.
"If anything the media act to reninforce already exisiting attitudes and values regarding women and violence. They do contribute, but only part of the problem."
Pg 212.

6) Burton G 1999: media and popular culture.
"representations are about stereotypes and that representations in the media are the visible side to ideology."
Pg84.

7) Bignell J 2004: An introduction to television studies.
" Fascination with consumer objects; because of their power o signify s signs of luxury, social power and sexual attractivness."
Pg 216

8) Mailer N 1966: Pretty notes on some sex in America.
"Masculinity is not something given to you, But sometimes you gain. And you gain it by winning small battles with honour"

10 clips....

1950's
The furies


High noon



1960's
Psycho


The unforgiven


1970's
Star Wars


Rocky


1980's
Terminator


Raiders of the lost ark

1990's

Titanic

Matrix

Summary of Work sheets.

Representation of women in the past:
In the 1950's to the 1970's there were only 25-30% female characters.
Action adventure shows- 15 percent of the leading character were female.
Women's movement had been largely ignored by television.
Female charcters were unlikley to work.
Men to be the dominant character making all the decisions.
Men- assertive
Females- passive.
The role of a women in a film almost always revolves around her physical attraction.
Women are given less screen time.
Male role films- indian jones
Female leading roles- Tomb raider.

Tuchman asserts that those women who were shown to be working were portrayed as "incompetents and inferiors" , as victimes, or having "trivial" intrests.

Dyer 1987- Womens issues have arrived on the media agenda- documentaries, discussion programmes and dramas on female topics such as infertility, cervical and breast cancer, rape etc.

Kathi Maio- observed that Hollywood's about gender were "often reprehensible."

E. Ann Kaplan- "women are ultimately refused a voice, a discourse and their desire is subjected to male desire. They live out silently.

Representation of women today:
Women and men are usually equal.
Sexist rep in tv ads.
Women twice as likely to be in ads about domestic products.
Women in ads are seen to be sexy, perfect and beautiful.
Postfeminism.
Unequal message as men arent expected to go to so much trouble.
Gender messages in advertising are singled out.
Media culture is quick to pick up out women for the smallest aberrations.
Female prototype.
Examples of leading female characters are: charlies angles, and what women want.

Natasha Walter quotes surveys sugesst that today's women are more-or-less happy with they look, whereas a cast majority of men felt unsatisfied with thei own appearance.

Loaded- The truth is, it's women themeselves who see these freaks as the epitome of perfection.

Ibid- The exemplary female prototype in advertising, regardless of product or service, displays youth, good looks, sexual seductivesness and perfection.

Hollywood culture is offering in place of bold spectacle of male masculinity and violence, is a self effacing man, one who now, learns to live instead of fighting.

Pluralistic or hegemony....

The pluralistic model is a model which lets the audience think for themselves in an active role and believe that the media is not always true. This theory is seen to be a theory which takes in the audience interest and their choice it does not try to mediate the text in any way to tell the truth.

The Hegemony model is a biased view on the media which is seen by the audience. This model sugessts that the upper rurling class who are involved in the industry have a big influence on the media as they show what they want the audience to see.

The model which i think is most relevant to me is a bit of both of them. I think this because me myself, can be both an active and passive depeding on the media text that I'am focusing on.

5 summary points about the essay....

1. The essay was free flowing and fluent through out her writing. There quotes were all Incorporated really well within her essay.
2. There question was not vague but not detailed however, it was debatable and they explained and debated about it really well.
3. The structure of their essay was clear cut and concise, it was always straight to the point, they did not waffle on.
4. The terminology was all correct and well used, it did not feel as the candidate as trying to show off and just right big words everywhere.
5. The subject they chose to base their essay on was very interesting and it looks like the candidate had some interest in it.

Close textual analysis...

Media Language- what techniques are being used to make meaning in the text?

Semiotics- The signs and points of anchoring that are most recognisable in this scene are aspects like when the "gang" smash up a car outside the person house. This signifies that the"gang" are very serious and are not scared of the consequences.

Cinematography, camera work- In the scene there are various shots of medium and long. In the scene where the protagonist is in the club after he has just taken drugs we see the camera lens go a bit blurry to put us in the character shoes.

mise-en-scene- The clothing that the character are quite old styled and old fashioned. This may be because the film is set in the past but it suggests that the style of costume to fit that time period. The facical expressions that are shown in the scene are mainly anger and hatred as we clips of the "gang" forming and they way they made into the "gang" by their fighting skills.

Lighting- The lighting in the scene is a contrast of both light and dark. This can suggest that there are elements in the film that are both good and bad meaning that there is a good side as well as a bad one.

Sound- In the scene the music is non-digetic and there is also a voiceover. The voiceover is from the point of view of the main protagonist as we are put in his minds and thoughts.

Editing- The scene consits of jump cuts and dissolves to put us in the mind frame of the protagonist when he has just taken drugs.

Institution- who produces, distributes, regulates the text?

Production- Non Hollywood

promotion: opening sequence

Distribution- Art house cinema

Genre- what type of text is it?

Genre conventions- The genre conventions that are shown in the scene is the urban rural setting on Essex. The characters themes are all violent people who love to fight.

Film Genre- The genre from focusing closely on the scene above, shows that film is an action packed film with violent and drug polluted issues with in it.

Broadcast fiction genre- The film is a one off made production as it is based on a real story account of the rang rover murders.

Representation- who or what is being represented in the text? how?

Gender- The gender which is most profound in the scene are males. This suggests that it was a patriarchal society where men were the dominant sex. It is a partially assumptive society however it is slowly changing as women are becoming more known for their establishments.

Stereotypes- The stereotypes that the scene follows are that of a football hooligan and the actions they take towards certain situations i.e they are violent to everyone and beat everyone up.

Mediation- I do not know if the scene which I have analysed is a mediated it or not as it based on a true story.

Naturalism- The scene creates a sense or realism as it shows the middle class and upper class so it gives a sense of both worlds.

Audience- who consumes the text?

Target audience- The target audience for this scene will be partically men who are bouncers. The primaralry audience would be D and E demographic socio classed via personal identity. The secondary audience would A and B classes via surveillance purposes.

Expectations- The expectations of the scene are fulfuilled as is shows the gritty Essex boys and what they do best which is what I expected as it is a violent film which follows the action conventions.

Narrative pleasures- The narrative pleasures of the scene are ironic as it shows that there are people out there that are bigger and better than you.

Ideology- what are the belief systems/messages/values underpinning the text?

Dominant ideology- The dominant ideology that are portrayed in the film are a male doninant socitey which is drug influenced.

Positive values- The positive values is that it was made to inform people that drugs and violence is not always the case and people can die if they are careful wih their actions.

Patriarchy- Misogyny.

Narrative- how is the narrative in the text organized and structured?

Narrative- The narrative in this scene builds up the tension for the audiene as it introduces the characters which leaves the narrative quite open as the audiene do not know a lot bout them.

Non- linear narrative- The narrative is non linear as it has a mixture of characters which are yet to unveail however, are led on by the voicover.

Narrative roles- The narrative roles in the film are good vs bad, hero vs villans. however this can be argues as the villan is the hero in the film.

Enigma codes- This particular scene raises many enigmas codes for the audience as they are questioning which character is going to appear next and what is his role in the film.

Delicious tags....

tp://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Modules/MC30820/represent.html

http://www.jamaicagleaner.com/gleaner/20071028/focus/focus6.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=y87qYiZcnocC&pg=PA118&lpg=PA118&dq=alfie+masculinity&source=web&ots=ttiykN_zOi&sig=OWaylbBoaLDFtey8SML29buecJM&hl=en#PPA118,M1

http://hugoschwyzer.net/2008/05/22/reprint-a-longish-entry-on-male-insecurity-and-anti-feminist-backlash/#more-2278

http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/content/full/25/25/5984#FIG3

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/intgenre/intgenre1.html

http://www.katpad.co.uk/media%20website%202000/gangster%20genre.html

http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-119370962.html

http://www.unomaha.edu/jrf/antifem.htm

http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/61/61womeninprison.html

10 Key words....

Binary opposition- When two aspects such as good and evil are brought togther.
I will use binary opposition in my study by talking about when good and evil come togther and how it changed the film.

Critical Autonomy- When a person can think for themselves and be able to come up with their own ideas.
I need to make sure that critical autonomy stands out through out my study in order for me to get a higher mark.

Patriarchal- When a society is patriarchal it means that it is a male dominant society.
In my study I will be talking bout patriarchal society and how it has changed over time.

Iconography- The distinguishing elements, in terms of props and visual details which characterise a genre.
I will talk about the iconic symbols that are used in my film such as drugs and guns.

New man- A term used to describe a new type of masculinity indentified and developed by advertising media.
I will be comparing the new man in more recent texts to how the man was represented in the 80's.

Multiplex- A large cinema complex that operates several screens showing different films under one roof.
I need to talk about multiplex cinemas and how my film only made it in the cinema for short period of time.

New ladism- A Term which is applied to the the male backlash agaisnt feminism and girl power, as exemplified by the values represented.
I will talk about new ladism and how the male backlash is represented in my film.

Feminism- Political movement to advance the status of women by challenging values, social constructions and socioeconomic practices which disadvantage women and favour men.
I will talk about feminism in my study and how the values of women have changed and what they were like.

connotation- A meaning attributal to an image beyond the obvious denotational level.
I will use connotations in my study to talk about the connotation red and how often it appears in the film.

Representation-The process whereby the media construct versions of people, places and events in images , words or sound for transmission throught media texts to an audience.
I will talk about all the different representations that are brought up in the film and how they are represented and why they are represented in that way.

Bibliography

SHEP Analysis of my film...

Social- The social factors which are aroused in the film is that how men were represented in the 80's and how they changed over time for the good or the bad.

Historical- The historical factors which are brought up in my film is the male backlash and how feminism and patriarchal society was in the 80's.

Economical-???

Political- My film made massive headlines in the news as it is based on the true story of the range rover murders which occurred in Essex. Therefore, I could gather articles from the past and see if the film was mediated to sell or was it the exact actual events that happened.

GRAVIL Acroynm...

Genre and Narrative- The genre of Rise of The Foot Solider is a hard hitting British gangster crime movie. The narrative of the film I would say follows Todorov's theory of the equilibrium, disequilibrium and new equilibrium.

Representation- The film represents many things such as drugs, male power (patriarchal society), prostitution, violence and males in the late 80's to the early 90's.

Audience- The audience that I think my film targets at is males from the 80's with a interest in football. However, the secondary audience could be people of a A and B social class as they could watch this film for surveillance purposes.

Values and Ideology- The values and ideology of my film is that it shows how feminism has changed over the years and how the male backlash has been incorporated.

Instiutions- The instituions of film are small budget companies called Optimum realeses and Flakjacket films.

Language of Media- ???

Film Critics

"This chronicle of brutish violence doesn't exactly glamorise criminality."

"Once embroiled in that game, it's only a matter of time before rival gangs and in-house treachery rear up, leading to the infamous 1998 'Rettendon Range Rover murders' shotgun slaying."

"The three-decade span, the narrative voiceover, the gloating scenes of torture, the freeze-frames all tell us: too far."

"It does appear to regard it as worthy of respect, which is possibly worse."

Research on British gangster film Lock Stock...

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a 1998 British crime film directed and written by Guy Ritchie.

A brutally comic tale about a group of London friends who find themselves deep in debt to an East End tough, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is quick-paced, stylized, and highly entertaining. In his debut feature film, director-writer Guy Ritchie weaves a tangled web of shady, blithely eccentric characters and several storylines, all of them coming together in a gleeful explosion of murder and mayhem.

Set in a grubby, working-class armpit of London's East End, the complex story centers on four layabouts who cook up a scheme to make some big money by having one of them, cardsharp Eddy (Nick Moran), enter a card game with gangster and porn king Hatchet Harry (P.H. Moriarty).

Hereon, the plot spirals off in a dizzying number of directions. Desperate to raise some quick cash to pay off Harry, Eddy happens to overhear a plan by some thuggish neighbors (Frank Harper, Steve Sweeney) to rob a marijuana factory run by Winston (Steven Mackintosh) and some louche, upper-class friends.

What people said about my title....

I asked a couple of people to review my title to see if it is a good debatable one or not. From my repsonses of people they said that my title is a good one which can be seen as vauge however, makes it wider for me to explore. They also said it is a netural title which can be debated for and against. This is good because to achieve the most marks I need to be able to debate in my study to show my understanding of my text and title.

What it takes to get an "A"

The key points of what it takes to get an A grade:

• Synoptic abililty
• Primary research
• Secondary Research
• Organised and well Presented
• Wider contexts (SHEP)
• Key concepts (MIGRAIN)

Assessment objectives

AO1- demonstrate knowledge and application of the Key Concepts employed within Media Studies and the evaluation of texts and ideas using the key concepts.

A02- demonstrate knowledge and application of the wider contexts (historical, social, political, economic) relevant to Media Studies.

AO3i- demonstrate knowledge of issues, debates and theories that are brought up in the media text or topic.

AO5- demonstrate the ability to use appropriate investigative and research techniques in carrying out an independent study of a media text, topic or issue.

AO3ii- demonstrate the ability to analyse and account for the similarties and differences that are noticed in a media text.

Self evaluation

Attainment- 2 My level of work and achievement has been good so far since i have been getting credits for my homework.

Effort- 2 My effort in class is very good however, I feel that I could put a slight more effort with my homework and not rush it.

Punctuailty- 2 I am always on time to my lessons but I tend to be absent in a lesson or two.

Homework- 1 My homework is excellent and it is always handed in on time. I can back this up by the credits which I have been receving.

Independant working- 3 I have the ability to work on my work but I need that person to tell me to do so that i actually do it.

Quality of writing- 2 I think that the quality of my writing is fairly good and I always try my best to use all media terminology.

Meida Folder- 3 My media folder is full of ruff rotes all over the place which I hardly look at as I am always workingo on my blog.

Class contribution- 1 My contribution in class is excellent as I am always answering questions wether im right or not.

Med5 blog- 1 My med 5 blog is excellent as it is colour coded with headings and sub headings. It is also up to date with all the work.

Med6 blog- 1- We have not done much on our med 6 blog but what has been required I have done.

Action plan timetable

Wednesday 22nd October- Learn and memorise all of the assessment objectives and what each of them require.

Thursday 23rd October- Review mind map and write key points for what it takes to get an A.

Friday 24th October- Ask people and review my title. I am looking to see if my title is debatable and not too vague.

Saturday 25th October- Gather research on the British gangster genre. Research on Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels.

Sunday 26th October- Gather film critics about my film so I can incorporate it in my study.

Monday 27th October- Use the acronym GRAVIL to analyse my film so that I will cover all the concepts of my film.

Tuesday 28th October- Do a detailed SHEP analysis on my film as I need reference to other texts so that I meet my assessment objectives.

Wednesdays 29th October- Create a bibliography on blog.

Thursdays 30th October- Look at previous studies from past students and look what aspects of theirs I could.

Self assessment of presentation

I think that my presentation went really, I had the confidence and ability to produce a good detailed presentation which got the audience engaged as well. From my feedback it was clear that my body language and style was good as it showed though out my presentation.

My improvements were to cover wider texts of my film. for example, I did not make no reference to SHEP (social, ethical, economical and political). Also I need to look at feminism and how it created the different man. The "male backlash" needs to be focused on and how men are in fear of loosing a patriarchal society. My final point would be that I need look at the same gangster era genre of my film i.e "Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels."

Overall I think my presentation was a success and I learnt/gathered new ideas which could help write the best study of my ability. By doing the presentation I feel more comfortable and confident in what I need to do and how to go about it to achieve it.

Self-assessment of blog work

AO1- demonstrate knowledge and application of the Key Concepts employed within Media Studies and the evaluation of texts and ideas using the key concepts.
I think that I have analysed my text/topic using the key concepts to a good standard. I have used my knowledge of what I have learnt from AS and applied it to my topic by analysing my film poster, trailer and a scene which I thought was relevant to the title of my study.
The key concept which I have covered to the best of my ability is audience. The key concept which I should be focus on in more depth is representation and media language as my title is based on the representation of males. I will make progress by focusing on the representations of other male characters in the film.

AO2- demonstrate knowledge and application of the wider contexts (historical, social, political, economic) relevant to Media Studies.
I think that I have not yet come to terms with word zeitgeist, however I will undertake a detailed analysis on what it is and how it works and i will then try to link it back to my text.
The wider contexts which I have covered is social. I have to cover historical by obtaining facts about the film, political by focusing on any political issues which have or are aroused in the film and economical by finding out how much the film was to make etc.

A05- demonstrate the ability to use appropriate investigative and research techniques in carrying out an independent study of a media text, topic or issue.
I have not yet fully covered all the available literature of my text. I have used online services to get reviews and quotes of my film however, I need to get more book research to ensure that I get a variety of research from all sources which I then can incorporate in my essay.
I think that I have formulated a good question, it's not a detailed question however, I feel that with this question I can explore a number of representations which are brought up in the film.
My hypothesis is not a detailed one, however it does state what intend to find out from my study.
I have considered all the issues and debates that occur or surround my study. The issues and debates which are clear from my study are male dominance, prostitution, drugs and gang violence.
I have undertaken a fair amount of textual analysis and have analysed the film trailer, poster and a scene from the film which shows all the issues of the film.
I have not taken a satisfactory amount of time looking at my text from a different theoretical perspectives. I will be working on this by gathering a number of theorists and seeing which ones would be relevant to my study.
I have viewed my main text a number of two times. I know that this is not enough viewing time however, I do intend to watch it another two times so that I know exactly what is going on, on the screen.
I have analysed other texts from the same genre such as "Football Factory" and "Green Street Hooligans." However, I have not analysed films of the same time period as "Rise of the foot solider." What I now need to do is compare the two films of the same genre to my chosen film and see if they have followed the same conventions etc.
I am keeping a note of all the websites I have used from were I have got my quotes and reviews from.

Synoptic Ability-draw together understanding of Key Concepts, from different parts of the specification in order to make effective textual readings.
draw upon knowledge and application of a wide range of possible relevant contexts, in order to account for the characteristics of media texts.
I have linked my study to previous topics which I learnt last year while I was doing AS media. I have linked audience theory to my study as I have looked at my text from different audience's views for example surveillance purposes, personal identity etc. I have also linked my study to MED 4 genre and representation as the title of my study focuses on the representation of the film. I have not yet linked my study to MED 6 by finding out institutional factors etc.
I have not yet found out any stories or reviews for my film on the media guardian as my film is an underground art house film which does not have many critics about it.

Critical Autonomy-apply critical ideas and principles to new situations and demonstrate media literacy in responses to media texts.
I'am thinking for myself however, I have been asking my fellow peers for advice on what I can improve on and what i need to do so that my study is even better.
I am working independently however, my motivation needs to be increased as i tend to get distracted quite quickly, therefore I need to focus more on my topic and concentrate and not pay attention to nobody else.

Quality of written communication- Select and use forms and styles of writing appropriate to purpose and complex subject matter. Organise relevant information clearly and coherently, using specialist vocabulary when appropriate. Ensure text is legible, and spelling, grammar and punctuation are accurate, so that meaning is clear.
I have presented my work with clear cut headings and subheadings so that it is easier to read. Also I have decided to colour code my work so that looks presentable as well as being easier to see what I have done.
I do use key media terminology and before I publish any posts up on my blog I always spell check my work to see what grammar or spelling mistakes I have made.
I do not highlight the quotes that I cut and paste but taking it into consideration I will start highlighting them and putting them into quotation marks.

Quotes/reviews for my film

"This chronicle of brutish violence doesn't exactly glamorise criminality – it's too seedy and depressing for that – but it does appear to regard it as worthy of respect, which is possibly worse." Independent.
I think that this is the best quote that best describes my text as it is hard hitting and no time for depressing moments its about respect. I can use this quote in my essay as states what my text represents.

"Guarding Essex club doors in the 1980s, it's a natural progression to distributing the drugs that the clubbers hoover up. And once embroiled in that game, it's only a matter of time before rival gangs and in-house treachery rear up, leading to the infamous 1998 'Rettendon Range Rover murders' shotgun slaying." Channel 4.
Ithink that this quote describes my movie as a time line which is good as it shows the film in stages.

Cover work

M- There are lots of different typs of shots. the close ups show their facial expressions. The long shots show all the other people and their reactions to the violence in the scene. The music in the scence is diegtic. the lighting in the scene is of dark and light.

I- Instituions of the film is Carnaby International, Flakjacket Films. Writer and director - Julian Gilbey

G- The genre of the scene is of action and violence.

R- The scene represents violence, power, drugs and sex.

A- Audience of A and B for survailance purposes as they can watch this and see what had happened in the true story of the film.

I- Laura Mulvey's theory of women being objectified as sex obejctives, when the women was naked on the sofa.

N- The narrative of this particular scene could be the distruption from Todrov's theory.

3 Assment objectives

A01- my target for AO1 will be that I will constantly go over the key concepts working togther to try and link them with MRAI so that the quailty of my written media work will flow better.

AO2- i have to develop my ability by researching my independant study or text and contexts following the examiners criteria of SHEP. I will have to reseacrh aspects scuh as the background of the text, how mcuh they spent on the text, what political issues are brougth up etc.

AO5- I will gather more research to do with my independant study such as the representation of men and new men. also get quotes which i can iclude in my study.

Movie Review by The Independent

You may recall the shotgun murder of three men in a Land Rover down Essex way that made headlines in the mid-Nineties. It was turned into a very feeble movie called Essex Boys, with Sean Bean, and damn me if they haven't gone and made another one about the very same incident.
Julian Gilbey's film starts out as A Yob's Tale in which a Seventies football hooligan (Ricci Harnett) graduates to an Eighties nightclub bouncer and thence to a Nineties drug baron in the Essex badlands. This chronicle of brutish violence doesn't exactly glamourise criminality – it's too seedy and depressing for that – but it does appear to regard it as worthy of respect, which is possibly worse.
The only point of interest is to see how far Gilbey will go in his tribute to GoodFellas. The three-decade span, the narrative voiceover, the gloating scenes of torture, the freeze-frames all tell us: too far.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/film-reviews/rise-of-the-footsoldier-12a-463952.html

Movie Reviews by Time Out London

A repugnant gangland romp in which a group of Neanderthalic, perpetually gurning ruffians get tooled up with axe handles, baseball bats and Stanley knives then knock ten bells out of each other for just shy of two hours. Based on a true story, the ‘Rise’ of the title refers to the ‘meteoric’ ascent of mockney street tough, Carlton Leach (Ricci Hartnett), from middle-rung football hooligan to, er, club doorman. Leach is then unceremoniously swept aside as the film hastily attempts to give the Rettendon Range Rover murders a once-over in its scrappy second half. There is fun to be had deconstructing writer-director Julian Gilbey’s laughable join-the-dots yob patois, as every sentence seems to start with an, ‘I’m gonna fackin’…’ or ‘You fackin’…’ or, on occasion, ‘So then I only went an’ fackin’…’, typically concluded with a mandatory ‘caaaant!’ The direction, too, smacks of sadism, especially the obvious glee Gilbey gets from filming violent scenes in close-up and, in the case of the bloody shotgun-to-the-face denouement, in triplicate.

http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/84539/Rise_of_the_Foot_Soldier.html

Media Audiences

The target audience of Rise of the foot solider would be males over the age of 18. I would believe that the target audience is this because the certification of the film is 18 and as the film has violent scenes it is more likely that males would watch it rather than females.

The audience are likely to receive this text in a very hard hitting as the text is based on a very serious matter. The audience can be even more touched as the film is based on a true story which in the back of their minds they will be thinking, did this actually happened?

The audience of this film is not huge because it is a art house film which is based in Essex in London. Therefore, the film was only shown in the UK which limited the audience to only being in the UK and not around the world.

The uses and gratifications theory of the film is primarily personal identity and surveillance purposes. This is because the target audience can relate to this if they they have been in the same situation as situations like the ones in the film are still going on today. Also surveillance purposes for the A/B demographics so that they have an understanding of what happeed in the past and how they can help improve these issues.

Media Values and ideology

In the film there are alot of issues that are brought up and as the film is based on a true story it makes it more hitting for the audience. The issues that are brought up in the film is the misuse of drugs. This is a big issue as in the world the drug rate is increasing rapidly and the quicker people realise the issue, the quicker it can be stopped. Prostitution is another issue that is raised in the film as there are explicit scenes in cars. Gilbey has added this particular scene as it may have happened in the actual true life event or it could be that it is a issue which needs addressing.

Media Institution

The writer and director of the film is Julian Gilbey.
He has directed three films which are Reckoning day, Rolling with the nines and Rise of the foot solider.
All three films follow the basic narrative of the action genre with something interesting always happening on screen.
Optimum realease realsed the film Rise of the foot solider in the 7th of September 2007.

Genre

The genre of the film Rise Of The Foot Solider is action/gang wars.

Conventions: violent/chase scenes.
Music is upbeat to go along with action.
Scenes with blood or murders in them.

Subversion's: The language in the film is colloquial and cockney.
Our protagonist (hero) has a break down and starts crying as if he is beaten and in our "everyday" action films the main character always wins.

Characters:
Ricci Hartnett plays the role of Carlton Leach. Leach is dressed in denim jeans a t shirt and a leather jacket. He starts off as a respected football hooligan then becomes a bouncer of a club were he built up his army of men and then onwards he became Essex's nortoious gangster.
Terry Stone who plays Tony Tucker is an "old timer" as they call them. He has been a Essex gangster for years in the film and brings Leach up the criminal ladder in the film by giving him the right links. However, he dresses the same as Leach and gets "his hands dirty".
Billy Murray who plays Mickey Steele is a friend of Tony Tucker who dresses differently to him and Leach. Mickey wears suits in the film which portrays that he is a weathly gangster which brings up enigmas in the audience's mind of what is he doing to get all this money?

All these actors play the perfect gangster as they have stared previosuly in soaps and films with the same criminal/villian role such as Eastenders, The Bill etc.

Narrative

The narrative in Rise Of The Foot Solider starts off with our main character. The camera follows our main character around and lets us see what he does and gives the audience an introduction of the character. However, as the film goes on, the main protagonist meets new people which expands the narrative and makes it a non-linear which we then have an introduction about them. later in the film all the other narratives slowly finish as the characters get killed off until Hartnett is left as there is only one narrative left which raises enigma in the audience's mind of what is he going to do now?

Media languages and forms

Conventions of Action: The typical conventions of an action film is that there is action in it. There is always a violent scene in the film which is the film's most energetic and upbeat scene. In an action film there is always a problem or a situation which the protagonist has to solve.

Subversion of the conventions: There are not many things that subvert the action genre as they are seen to be as action packed with everything in them such as violent scenes, romantic scenes etc. However, the subversion of the genre would be that the different race and colour of people that you get in action films such as brown people.

Non-verbal structure of meaning: The consequences of drugs (steroids) are seen in the film when Ricci Hartnett abuses the drugs. His actions become more violent as he craves for the drug in the film.
The costume he wears is very 90 with the denim jeans and the black leather jacket. However, not all characters are wearing that costume, the characters that are wealthy in the film are dressed in old cut suits.
The facial expressions are not seen much in the film because the director want the audience to focus on what their actions are rather than how they are felling. There are elements of when facial expressions are clear to the audience when Hartnett takes drugs for the first time.

Verbal structure of meaning: The language in the film is very cockney as the film is based in Essex. There is alot of swearing in the film and in some cases it shows that it is a patriarchal society as the men in the film talk down on the women and swear at them.

Settings: The setting of the film is based in Essex in the United Kingdom. However, there are a variety of different settings in the films such as clubs, pubs, houses and underground cellars. The underground cellars is a great use of setting as it brings enigmas in the audiences mind to what is this place? what do they do here? etc. The use of clubs and pubs shows the characters lifestyle and how they like to party and enjoy themselves alot of the time. finally, The setting of the houses are used to hide drugs or fellow ICF members so that they do not get killed.

Soundtrack/language: The language in the film is English however it is colloquial as well. The reason for colloquial language is that it gives more of a feel to the audience as if it is really happening. The soundtrack in the film is mainly non digetic as the director possibly wanted the audience to hear every conversation that took place in the film with the sound of the gun shots.

Visual techniques: As the film is based in 90's and is of a true story not many visual effects were used. However, the most recognisable one was when our main protagonist took drugs for the first time in a club. This is were the audience was put into Hartnett's frame of mind as the camera started to drop side to side as if he was drunk and the camera also went blurry as if his vision was blinded. There are alot of medium shots on the violent scenes to show that audience all the action that is going on and how much pain the person is going through.

Media Representations

Ricci Hartnett (on the left) is the main protagonist in the film. He his portrayed as a villain however, in the film he can be also be seen as the hero because towards the end of the film he ends up breaking out of the cycle of turmoil. Hartnett is playing the role of Carlton Leach as it was him who went through the dramatic real life accountant of the range rover murders. Leach made his way up the criminal ladder from being a feared member of football hooliganism to the most respected and powerful criminals of the 90's. Therefore, Hartnett is being represented in a criminal/villain perspective to portray Carlton leach because the film is based on a true story. The representation of Leach is fair and accurrate however, when i conduct my research into depth I should be able to find out what really did happen at these murders and if the director tried to mediate the text.

Meida language
The red text can connote danger and blood that is seen it the movie.
The image of a gun is used as an iconography.
Characters are shown in the gun as if to say that they all involved around the gun and that the gun has control over them.
The slogan "Goodfellas come to essex" brings a hollywood feel to this British film as Goodfellas is a famous Amercian gangster film.

Institutions
The certificate of the film is 18+.
The rating of the film is four stars.
Writer and Director of the film is Julian Gilbey.
Optimum pictures.

Genre
The genre of the movie is a violent, British gangster one.
The use of the gun makes it obvious to us the audience that the film is going to be action packed and full of fights and wars.

Representation
From the slogan it is clear to the audience that the film is based on a true story which represents that the main protaganist was a real.
The gun iconography represents that the film is going to be full of crime and gun shottings.
The red and white text can represent the blood and innocence that is mixed up in the film.

Audience
The audience of the film is foucused towards people who are the age of 18 and over.
The primary audience of the film is A and B of the demographic society for survailance purposes.
The secondary audience of the film is D and E for personal identity purposes.

Ideology
On the poster there are all men which suggests that it is a patrichal society.
Bharte's theory of engima codes as there are loads of faces on the cover.

Narrative
As there are many faces on the cover it shows that there is a number of narratives which are all linked together as they are all trapped in the picture of the gun.

Media Language
Fast paced cuts sugessts that the film is going to be action packed.
Shots of dead bodies and blood shows that in the end people are going to die.
The christmas carol "silent night" is played in the beginning of the trailer which is ironic as dead bodies are being shown on screen at the same time.
Slogans appear through out the trailer as a narrartor to guide the audience into the action.

Instituions
Carnaby International
Flakjacket Films
Writer and director - Julian Gilbey

Genre
Action
Gang wars

Representation
The trailer represents violence and murders.
Represents a true story which has been re-enacted.
Represents male violence through sports; football.
Represents male power.
Represents drugs and sex.

Audience
A and B social classes for survailance purposes.
D and E social classes for personal indentity purposes.
Predominatley for males as it is full of violence, murders and blood.

Ideology
Patrichal society.
Drug involved community.

Narrartive
Non linear narrative.

Theories/Theroists
The theories which i will reffer to for Rise Of The Foot Soldier will be Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze, Propp's theory of good vs evil. I will also pay attention to new theories of new men and the way in which they have been represented.

Contexts
The first issue that I will be focusing on will be male gang violence and how they have been represented in Rise Of The Foot Soldier. The other issue which will be covered is drugs and how they influenced our protaganist to do the things he did in the film. The final issue which I will look at will be the way in which women have been portrayed in the film. As the fim is based on a true story I will do a detailed analysis on the background of the actual events and see if/what the filmaker has kept or changed.

Other Texts
To test my hypothesis i will compare Rise Of The Foot Soldier to other texts such as football factory, green streets of hooligans etc. I will focuse primarely on these two films as they follow a similar narrative to that of RFTFS. I will foucus on how the gangs have been represented and if drugs was the main cause which lead to other more extreme issues.