Film studies unit 26 blockbuster film. Laura Varian

The story Johnny depp is an average everyday man. He lives in a 4 story town house with his young wife Sandra bullock. They are very happy at the start of the film. One day at the end of the evening when Johnny arrived home from work he notices there is a problem with the lights, they keep on flickering on and off. Johnny decided to go to the fuse box which is in the basement to see what the problem was. When he is down there, he gets a creepy feeling, such as he feels like he is being watched and glasses in shelves start cracking loudly but slowly and a murder of crows start surround up through the floorboard cracks. Startled Johnny runs for the basement door but on the way up he is scratched on his back by a dark demon.

7 key characteristics of a blockbuster movie: A star A large production budget A large marketing budget- posters, teaser trailers, interviews with chat shows, magazines and TV) A range of merchandising – Products branded with the film e.g., Disney (toy story, buzz light-year, pens toys stationary clothes) A wide demographic – applies to a large audience as possible, old/young, female/male. A holiday release date A wide release

Narrative theories Vladimir Propp- Tzetvan Todorov- equilibrium/disequilibrium Claude Levi-Strauss- Roland Barthes-

Vladimir Propp The villain (struggles against the hero) 2) The donor (prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object) 3) The (magical) helper (helps the hero in the quest) 4) The princess (person the hero marries, often sought for during the narrative) 5) Her father (usually dies during or before the film/book) 6)he dispatcher (character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off) 7) The hero or victim/seeker hero, reacts to the donor, weds the princess

Roland Barthes Barthes believes that there are 5 action code that enable an audience to make sense of a narrative. Tension code-we can guess where the story will go next, this helps us to get scared, worried or to laugh Enigma code- a mystery is set up or sustained, we want to know the answer. Cultural code- our attitudes to gender or racial stereotypes. Semic code- intersexuality, recognising moments or images from other texts. Symbolic code- iconography or connotation, attaching meanings to images, e.g. venition blinds in film noir.

Tzetvan Todorov equilibrium/disequilibrium/equilibrium Russian theorist, Tzvetan Todorov, suggests that all narratives follow a three part structure. They begin with equilibrium, where everything is balanced, progress as something comes along to disrupt that equilibrium, and finally reach a resolution, when equilibrium is restored.

Claude Levi-Strauss- Claude levi strauss is a french theorist. Studied hundreds of myths and legends all around the world, from that he found out that we as humans make sense if the world, people and events by seeing and using binary opposites. He found out that narratives are arranged around the conflict of binary opposites. Examples of binary opposites; Good vs evil Boy vs girl Peace vs war Strong vs weak Protagonist vs antagonist

Uses and gratifications There are 5 main reasons why people go to the media. To escape- people want to escape from reality so they go into the media. Social interaction- it creates a common ground for conversations. People can talk about the media the following day. Identify- they look for themselves in the media and try to relate. Inform and educate- an understanding of the world. Entertain – purely for entertainment

Audience theory Audience theory is an element of thinking that developed within academic literary theory and cultural studies Early research into media audiences was dominated by the debate about 'media effects', in particular the link between screen violence and real-life aggression. In the 1990s, David Gauntlett published critiques on media 'effects', most notably the "Ten things wrong with the media effects model" article; and then in the 2000s sought to develop new methods which would explore possible media influences using 'creative' approaches, using processes in which participants were asked to make things such as collage, video, drawings, and Lego models using metaphors

Hypodermic needle theory also known as the hypodermic-syringe model, transmission-belt model, or magic bullet theory) The intended message is directly received and wholly accepted by the receiver. It suggests that the media is like a syringe which injects ideas, attitudes and beliefs into the audience. Eg, hitler used this. The hypodermic needle theory is one of the most famous theories that analyzed the relationship between audience and media. This theory has been developed in the early 1920s with the beginning of mass media, radio and cinema. In its simple description, this theory suggests that mass media can easily influence a large group of people without any challenge and opposition from those people. “It views audience as the passive receptors of virulent viruses produce by the media. it suggests that mass media inject massages and information directly and uniformly into audiences’ minds who immediately will be influenced. This theory did not agree with those who are saying that the audiences are using their experience, intelligence and opinion to analyze the message. Therefore, media producers and creators can manipulate the audience and inject the information and the messages that they want. According to this theory, if the person watches a violent movie, he\she will do violence. Although it doesn't take any account of people's individuality, it is still very popular. A good example about this theory is the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. This professional murder was watching a movie before every crime to make him excited.

2 step flow The people with most access to media, and highest media literacy explain and diffuse the content to others. This is a modern version of the hypodermic needle model. Information from the media moves in 2 distinct ways. Individuals (opinion leaders) who pay close attention to the mass media and its messages receive the information. Opinion leaders pass on their own interpretations in addition to the actual media content. Also known as the Multistep Flow Model is a theory based on a 1940s study on social influence that states that media effects are indirectly established through the personal influence of opinion leaders. The majority of people receive much of their information and are influenced by the media secondhand, through the personal influence of opinion leaders.

Reception theory The meaning of a "text" is not inherent within the text itself, but the audience must elicit meaning based on their individual cultural background and life experiences. A theory that people receive and interpret media messages in different ways, usually according to factors such as age, ethnicity, social class, etc. The audience is neither passive nor homogenous. 3 types of audience: Oppositional - people disagree with the message and reject it. Negotiated - On the whole, the view is agreed with but slightly altered. Dominant - The message is fully accepted.