Theorising Media

 

  Think about the importance and the structure of Narrative in contemporary western media culture and in other cultures (modern and historic). Narrative is integral in every story. If there are no dips and heights to it, it can quickly become stale and boring. This is why most narratives follow a similar pattern of: Exhibition. Conflict and Resolution. This is a tried and tested narrative that has shown to work in keeping an audience interested in the story. This is a narrative that dates back to the very first stories written, where our protagonist goes on a journey or quest to obtain something and on this journey we see them face a great conflict and they overcome this and collect their treasure for example. This has then developed to todays films and stories, but it has evolved to a point where the biggest conflict isn't necessarily against another individual, we see the biggest conflict be an emotional challenge or psychological challenge. This opens the door for more advanced ...

 This reading focuses on the construction of narrative within radio and how audio can be used effectively to develop and strengthen the narrative. Overall, on paper this topic isn't something that will necessarily help with my project this year, however after reading this text I found there are some things that may benefit us in making the documentary.  One idea I found that could possibly really benefit our project was the information on silence. 'Oral historians and seasoned radio documentary/feature makers know the benefit of silence. It can presage the most precious moments of the interview'. Whether this be a moment of reflection or realisation, the use of silence can be imperative in strengthening a narrative moment, this is why silence is known as 'the compost of deep conversation'. This is something we will definitely want to use for our documentary, especially in moments where we reach the climax and things take a turn in the narrative to a more deeper mome...

 

 For a few year now I have been well aware of Laura Mulvey's theory on the Male Gaze and from this reading I have gained a better understanding of where this idea has developed from. The whole idea of the male gaze is that, 'women are an icon, displayed for the gaze and enjoyment of men' within all forms of media. It's the idea within media the 'narrative is driven by the main male figure', but 'women are there to be looked at'. Mulvey argues this stems from the 'sexual imbalance' in that the 'pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female' and that men in this situation are 'the active controllers of the look'. Also when she speaks about the male gaze the idea of the 'phallic lens' comes up, this is the idea that the camera itself has a 'phallic (penis) lens', in other words it looks for the things that will best please the man visually i.e women.  This is of course somewhat an outdated ...

Hacktivism is the use of computer based techniques such as hacking as a form of civil disobedience to promote a political agenda or social change, for example Anonymous. Of course however you look at it, by hacking into anything you are committing a crime, so straight away it is ethically wrong. Whether or not you are doing it to reveal something that we are being lied about or just to steal personal details from somebody, both are ethically wrong. However, one is worse than the other. Creative hacktivism at the end of the day is still an illegal process, but used possibly in a more positive light, so in some sense less ethically wrong. But overall it is still a morally debatable thing to do.

 The main issue raised throughout this weeks reading is the idea of voyeurism and is it okay, especially within a field like documentary filmmaking, where you are going into people's homes and telling their story. The reason documentary has to indulge into voyeurism is because natural material is documentary, without it, it is just a regular film. In this reading the main principles are spoken about, how you should film in a living scene with a real story, the best docs have the original actor to give more meaning to doc and the need for raw material with spontaneous gestures is what the whole field stands on. The way to combat this issue is to build trust with the pps and to make sure they are consenting the whole way through. With this there should be no issue of voyeurism being too intrusive.

The main thing I took from this reading is how it may benefit me in my documentary making process, in finding ideas and choosing to persue them. There is an explanation in this reading about the benefits of voyeurism and looking into minority groups' stories, as you can give a platform for these people to get their message out there. The reason for documentaries with people in less fortunate positions being so necessary and needed is it gives those that wouldn't otherwise be able to speak out, the possibility to do so. Where we mostly see the news manipulate stories on them, we are able to get a truer depiction through voyeurism and looking into them. 

  What is the role of (media) surveillance in assertions of colonial authority? and/or authority more broadly? The idea of surveillance is to watch someone closely, usually when a crime is suspected of being taken place. Just as technology has evolved so has the use of surveillance.  There is a clear link between surveillance and authority, as those that control it and enforce it are always the ones in power. During colonialism there was a use of surveillance where the facts were twisted and misleading to harm or disadvantage certain groups. We can see a similarity with this in todays day and age. We see surveillance and footage in general of individuals be used and manipulated across the media, especially with some news stations, to present a certain message to the general public.  There is no better time to find examples for this then now, especially with what has happened in 2020 with not just COVID-19 but more so the BLM movement. With this we have benefits of media s...

 

  What are the implications and benefits of 'manifestos', lists of limitations or rules for creative practice generally including your own activities? A manifesto is a set of rules set out by an individual or group that have to be followed to be deemed part of that group. A famous film manifesto was the Dogme 95 film manifesto, within this there were rules set out to bring cinema to it's core values i.e focus on performance over special effects. This was a very famous film manifesto and could be deemed successful, but it definitely came with limitations as well as benefits. The main limitation of this manifesto and others similar to it, is it can put you in a box. With 5 - 10 rules all set for you to follow it can be hard to find some uniqueness within that manifesto as there can be little room for maneuver. It can also create an issue with the creatives themselves, as if they are focusing to stay within the criteria of the manifesto, they are not necessarily letting thei...