Trailer

D83 Trailer Analysis

The opening of the trailer uses sound and editing to draw the audience in. Explain why this is effective: The show is grounded in historic and real events due to Ronald Reagan's "Tear down this wall" speech that is used during the opening of the trailer.The iconic and patriotic speech transports the viewer to the political climate of 1983, effectively highlighting the East and West division and demonizing the East - key themes which underpin the entire series.

How does the trailer use action and enigma codes, (Barthes), to encourage the audience to watch the show?: The viewer questions who Martin’s loyalty belongs to, eliciting a curious response from the viewer and a desire to discover the answers because of the apparent secrecy.The conflict between the two sides, (East and West Germany), is aggravated by the American influence evident through the use of Ronald Reagan’s iconic speech, and causes viewers to ask questions about the opposing ideologies presented in the trailer and the wider effect on the political climate. Most importantly, however, the viewer will want to know how these ideologies will affect Martin and his duties throughout the series.

Print three screenshots which capture the spy thriller sub-genre - why does this appeal to an audience? Apply to Neale's genre theory repetition and difference: This screenshot of the woman in the purple dress portrays a young woman in a satin purple dress, heavy makeup, and her hair done looking at Martin flirtatiously. The use of a woman in this situation conforms to the spy thriller sub-genre in which women often use their appearance to deceive men. This appeals to the audience because it provides viewers with a common trope which has been used repeatedly in television before but leaves the moment open, providing an opportunity for a different storyline to arise from it. Here the screenshot of Martin walking through a tiled corridor portrays a young man walking through a dimly lit, tiled corridor. His silhouette protects his identity from the audience alluding to the covert nature of the spy thriller sub-genre. This may appeal to the audience because it promotes enigma codes which are vital to creating a successful spy thriller show.

The trailer uses the song 'Two Tribes' by Frankie Goes to Hollywood why did the producers select this soundtrack for the trailer?: The song is a reflection of the political climate at the height of the cold war in which the series is set and it directly portrays the 'two tribes', (the USA and the Soviet Union). On the contrary, it mirrors the division between Eastern Germany and Western Germany. It was also a popular anti-war song written in 1983 and released in 1984.

The only words heard in the trailer are English - why did the UK trailer avoid using subtitles or German dialogue?: The trailer successfully engages the audience purely through visuals and sound, neglecting the use of dialogue in order to market the series for both German and English audiences.

Scene by Scene walk through

Characters

Poster Analysis

'Quantum Jump' s1 ep1

NATO military exercise

Split screen, old vs new
past vs future, split like the berlin wall communism vs capitalism
communism is far left - on the le

ft -
barb wire (caged, strict, not free) trapped, grey and dark pathetic fallacy
 red communist flag
stone - hard
prison buildings
Desaturated
bullets in the wall
not smiling

Right - bright, colourful, technology (space invaders)
rock n roll vs communist fist on left
grass - growth
freedom - kite
open space
smiling
non uniform

East Germany early 80's

historical, economic and social/cultural context for East Germany in the early 80s

What was life like?

Poverty was big because people could only afford the bare essentials. The state created its own industry for nearly everything and brands did not exist. Most people lived double lives and there was lots of surveillance. E.g. watch western Tv but not mention it outside of the house. People weren't allowed past the Berlin wall into the west so many tried to sneak into the country but many failed resulting in death. Others dug under the wall, hid in cars from western visitors, went through sewers etc. 

What did young people do for fun, like, listen to?

Many young people would come together to learn socialistic views and organise events for younger children by joining youth groups. Others enjoyed going out to theatres and watching movies. Authorities reviewed lyrics for hints of dissent so music was heavily censored. Bands were only allowed to sing in German but the youth wanted to listen to bands from abroad so a black market developed of copies of western artists' music. 

What was education like?

Students were taught Russian instead of being taught English as it is a world language that is usually taught in schools across the world. Children were taught basic etiquette and how to work together in classes which included socialism views. E.g. pioneer classes where each child would bring in something like show and tell which gave them the opportunity to talk to each other about their lives. 

Why was there so much tension and suspicion?

If the stasi thought that they were being rebellious by associating themselves with Western culture east Germans were put under surveillance. East Germany regarded the west as being run by old fascists and corrupted by big, international companies. They suspected the west to prepare for WW3. The west stated that the east deprived citizens of their human rights such as freedom of religion, speech and ability to leave the country. 

Why did people want to escape the East?

People had a lack of freedom in how they lived their life because the East was heavily run by the government. Everything was controlled, their social life, their work, what they said and what they did. People wanted to escape the East in order to have more freedom and the ability to express their views without being scared of being imprisoned or punished. 

Why did people like and respect the public?

There was no unemployment as they didn't believe in the concept therefore there was no benefits and workers were afforded the safety of their jobs as they couldn't be fires unless they committed a serious offence. They thought the patriarchy was viewed as a symptom of capitalism so they helped women in the workplace. They implemented a strong foundation of laws to protect mothers and distribute childcare services. There was more equality as there was a smaller gender pay gap than in the West.They offered free health care, free places to kindergarten and school and had affordable housing.  

What was the relationship between the citizens and the government/stasi nearing the end of the cold war?

The stasi, which was the largest network of secret police in history were able to infiltrate every facet of society and it is estimated that one in five adults in the country were directly connected to them.

Some citizens were happy in their living standards as there was benefits such as more quality, more work, free health care etc however a majority started to get rebellious as more people were being put under surveillance and being punished for the smallest things as the country was over-dictating. Therefore, this led to citizens tearing down the Berlin Wall by hand in order to get their freedom. 

How did they view the West?

They had popular culture such as western music, fashion and ideals because the West contained modern ideas with the allied countries of the Us and Uk. 

regulation

Topic 1 - The regulation of global practices of production, distribution and circulation

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-netflix-comcast-and-others-are-saying-about-the-fccs-plan-to-end-net-neutrality-2017-11-22

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nelsongranados/2017/01/25/only-top-video-streaming-services-are-likely-to-survive-in-the-trump-era/#1cdb8af13319

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-netflix-asia/in-asia-netflix-trips-on-regulation-content-and-competition-idUSKCN0XJ0BZ 

Relevant information

Those opposed to the reversal say getting rid of the protections will allow internet service providers (ISPs) to throttle the connection of some sites, giving preferential treatment to others at a price.

Netflix Inc. tweeted on Tuesday that it supports strong net-neutrality rules, and that it opposes the commission’s proposal to roll back protections. 

In 2015, the launch of HBO now opened the floodgates for all major players in media and entertainment to launch their own stand-alone video streaming service that is not linked to a cable subscription.

Netflix continues to amass global subscribers to consolidate itself as a market share leader. Last week it announced that it garnered 7 million net new members in the fourth quarter of 2016. 

Netflix had 34.5 million international subscribers against 47 million in the U.S. at the end of the quarter. It is unclear how many of its customers are in Asia.

Months after its global rollout, Netflix INC is facing problems in several major Asian markets as it struggles to provide enough strong content to attract consumers amid tough local competition, and also faces many regulatory hurdles, underlining concerns about disappointing subscriber numbers reported this week.  

Topic 2 - The regulation of media and long form drama in the UK

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/14/video-on-demand-ofcom-atvod

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/advice-for-consumers/television/video-on-demand

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/may/25/netflix-and-amazon-must-guarantee-20-of-content-is-european 

http://www.chillglobal.com/blog/posts/netflix-and-the-eu-content-regulation

Video on demand services including Channel 4’s all 4 and Sky’s Now TV will be regulated by broadcast and communications regulator Ofcom.

Currently TV like services delivered over the internet are regulated by a separate body authorised by Ofcom, the Authority for Television on Demand, which follows similar rules. These rules will still apply but be overseen by Ofcom.

Video on demand services include TV catch up and online film services. The platform on which these on demand services are delivered does not matter, so services on connected TVs, apps on mobiles phones and programmes you view through set tops boxes may all be regulated.

• Protecting under 18s
• Incitement to hatred
• Commercial references in programs.

In addition, platforms such as Netflix and Amazon will have to ensure that their services provide “good visibility” and prominence to European content in their digital catalogues.

According to a study provided by the European Commission, Netflix and Apple’s iTunes already devote 21% of their catalogue to content from the European Union.

The European Union is laying out plans to enforce new laws that breakdown geographical for online subscription services like Netflix, Amazon Prime and Apple Music. When the new regulations come into effect in early 2018, online services must provide a service to its customers regardless of their current location, as long as they stay within the EU.

Topic 3 - The impact of new media technologies on regulation

https://9to5mac.com/2017/02/08/new-eu-rules-will-remove-geoblocking-so-customers-can-use-online-subscription-services-like-netflix-abroad/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/05/26/the-eus-plans-to-regulate-content-on-streaming-services-are-a-mi/

It will suffocate the fast-growing streaming industry under a blanket of regulation. It will fund lots of unwatchable, pretentious rubbish.

Streaming will be a huge industry. But if we are force-fed a diet of dreary Drench drama it will quickly be killed off – and the destructive power of the EU’s misguided economic nationalism will have been demonstrated yet again.

Fandoms

What is the product?
Who is it by? What demographic can the fan be defined by?
A series of posters created by freelance artists involving Glen Brogan and Matt Ferguson.

Where and what platform can you find this product?
On the artists social media accounts or personal websites.

Which content does it focus on? What does it suggest is the main appeal of the Tv drama?
It focuses on the context of the series which is set in the 80's. They have stylised their work to create a similar nostalgic 80's theme.

How have other fans responded to the content?
Fans responded by requesting more posters be sold.

Are the fans targeted by the TV dramas creators in any way?
The creators have targeted fans by portraying knowledge of further in the season which creates a fandom feeling of knowing what happens and being involved.

What is the product?
Who is it by? What demographic can the fan be defined by?


Where and what platform can you find this product?

Which content does it focus on? What does it suggest is the main appeal of the Tv drama?
Again this tries to recreate that 80s game boy vibe which will appeal and also the nerdy video gamer theme and sci-fi.
How have other fans responded to the content?
Fans have played this game and conversed in the forum below it.
Are the fans targeted by the TV dramas creators in any way?
The creators targeted fans by understanding that many of the demographic may like video games like the kids so have done this knowing it would appeal to the demographic.

What is the product?

Who is it by? What demographic can the fan be defined by?
Tim burton
Where and what platform can you find this product?
YouTube
Which content does it focus on? What does it suggest is the main appeal of the Tv drama?
The comedy side is shown through in this “sitcom” and also the nostalgic 80’s theme
How have other fans responded to the content?
Lots of sharing on social media
Are the fans targeted by the TV dramas creators in any way?
The fans understand the stranger things humour so they have tried to create this here

netflix

Representation

Explore the way that different groups of people are represented in ST and D83

·     audience

·     media language

P: In ST, we see a countertypical representation of women (especially considering the 1980s setting) in that we see empowered women.

E: We see the ‘social worker’ murder Benny, Eleven kills two men, and although Nancy isn’t aggressive, she does control the scene with her and Steve.

E: It is an interesting subversion of stereotypes – the 1980s setting leads us to expect submissive, powerless women, but the 21st Century construction transfers modern ideologies and values and empowers the women.

CEMS: When we first meet the social worker, we view her from a high angle shot, from the point of view of Benny. This reinforces the patriarchal hegemony which tricks us into thinking that she is a typical submissive woman. However, when she shoots Benny, she is elevated onto an equal level with the other government officials, and is even empowered through a low angle shot. This reinforced by the editing – the screentime she is given compared to the (silent and nameless) male officials is significantly greater, therefore empowering her.

A: This shocks the audience, which is important for narrative, but the Duffer Brothers are also trying to highlight the everyday sexism in society – even though we are a modern audience, we fell into the trap of putting sexist assumptions onto the scene.

Marketing things

Representation essay

 How are different social groups represented in the clip you have analysed?

The representation of nerdy kids in school being picked on is a common representation which applies to the typical stereotype of the nerdy “weird” kids that usually get bullied. Stereotypically kids who are not following the mainstream “cool kids” are left out because they’re weird smart and nerdy .This stereotype is realistic to an extent  who don’t live by social norms and are considered outsiders are not
as accepted as those considered “normal”. Specifically in this era where as people were still heavily influenced by judgemental and traditional ideas. The kids are smaller than the bullies which shows them as timid, we can also tell that they have been used to this and let it happen as they don’t seem too bothered or shocked by the bullies. This is unlike will who in a case of danger show some courage and tried to fight back (gun). A well lit seen shows that the bullying isn’t hidden which tells us it wasn’t uncommon and considered socially normal. The bikes pulling up is a good way to add emphasis that will is missing as you are expecting a 4th bike to appear and it doesn’t Nancy Byers is represented stereo-typically as the smart pretty girl, a friend and a rebellious popular boy which is common in most school orientated or teenager orientated media, specifically in American school “cliques”.
US police officers are commonly portrayed on TV in a lazy manor; they’re eating donuts, playing cards, have their feet on the table. The representation makes no attempt to challenge stereotypes of a laid back, middle aged police force in a sleepy suburbia. Conventional for American police force because of the sheriff however this misrepresentation of plenty of everyday police officers.The police station is very bland and beige in colour scheme. The use of props helps donuts and cards. Cigarettes. Tracking shots. Relaxed body language suggests that the police force is not used to interesting things happening.
Interviews between people and police can be commonly observed in the general media however there is usually a clear character leading the scene. In this instance, each Joyce and Hopper are represented accurately; Joyce is concerned but she is resilient to Hopper’s suggestions and keen to get her voice heard. Hopper is also stubborn, refusing to admit that something drastic has happened in Hawkins. Stereotypes are used in order to establish the opposing ideas Joyce and Hopper have over Will’s disappearance. Hopper appears to be a stubborn, lazy, and almost uninterested sheriff, convinced that Will is completely fine. Joyce however, appears to be an unhinged single mother agonizing over her lost son.
Hopper could be perceived as mis-represented because he seems entirely uninterested in Joyce and Will whereas real life police officers would likely show some level of concern for a missing child case.
Hopper’s police stereotype is constructed  largely through make-up; his appearance is barely put together. Furthermore, the actor’s monotonous voice suggests a sincere lack of urgency. Joyce’s unhinged single mother trope can be recognized due to the iconography in the scene as well as the acting, some examples being the reliance on cigarettes, the constant pacing and shaking.