Here are my points so far about the X Factor arguement.

“Does the media merely reflect society or is it instrumental in constructing it?” - Unfinished

In this essay I will be answering the question, “Does the media merely reflect society or is it instrumental in constructing it?”

I think that the media is a big part of everyday life, as we are surrounded by TVs, newspapers, radio and the internet, all of the time. Newspapers are a very good example of reflecting or constructing the media as papers such as, The Daily Mirror, The Sun and The Star, tend to blow all stories out of proportion to make the viewer have an opinion on that certain matter. For example, knife crime is a very popular matter in the media; this makes people believe that all teens carry knives around with them and that all they are yobs and thugs. The media is enticing society to consume stories to make them believe that, their story is the actual truth of the matter.

The media leads people to believe matters are bigger than they actually are, this makes the public follow what they believe is relevant to society at that time. This is a scare tactic which works so well because the public do not tend to argue with what is on the news, they believe most things they are told and trust it because it is shown on the TV, the internet, newspapers and the radio. This helps to sell newspapers and fill the time slots as news is now available 24 hours a day. The media controls the public to do what is put across as being right.
TV shows like “Eastenders”, is a perfect example of constructing society as it is a take on real life with different storylines and situations that maybe controversial in the media such as, teen pregnancies, homosexual relationships, and drug taking. This reflects stories from the real world and shows them the effects they have on people when they are involved in those certain situations.

Reality TV shows, like, “I’m A Celebrity, Get Me out of Here!”, “Big Brother” and “The Family”, show the actual real lives and the goings on of normal people in certain situations and in normal everyday life. I’m A Celeb, is a show in which washed up celebrities go into the Australian jungle in a bid to come out more famous and popular again. BB is a show where desperate members of the general public audition to become a contestant with others and live in a house all together, and tensions arise and there is normally arguments and romance in the house. The Family is about a normal family form the UK and their everyday lives are being filmed.

Analysis essay re-draft

This should be answered as an essay, minimum 1 page word processed.

In this essay, i am answering the question, "To what extent have the following two pictures gone through a process of mediation?" using semiotics, binary oppositions and ideology.

First, i will be talking about the photo of the statue of liberty on the right. The smoke makes me instantly think of destruction and danger, as smoke is related to bombs, fire and terrorists. The Statue of Liberty is holding the tablet of law in her left hand, on this it shows the date of American independance. Also, the torch in her right hand is a symbol of enlightenment, the Statue of Liberty's torch lights the way to freedom showing us the path to Liberty. The Statue of Liberty faces the Southeast, towards the docks, this symbolises that the statue is a welcoming symbol. The ideology of this photo is that this symbol of freedom and independence has been tarnished by terrorists and destruction. This could also show that America is strong enough to defend itself against all the destruction and terrorists and come out of all the bad problems.

The second photo is of a burnt down, destroyed building, i'm guessing it may have been a terrorist attack. Pentagon, a big important building where the military work, can be seen in the background. This could connote that more destruction and disaster is occuring nowdays and the miliatry's job has been maximised to protect the country on America. The binary oppostions of this photo, is old and new, the pentagon behind is still standing and clean, whereas the main building infront has fallen apart and is very destroyed. There is destruction in this photo but not in the same context as the first photo as there is no smoke in this one, and it looks as if the incident has been dealt with and is now under control.

“Does the media merely reflect society or is it instrumental in constructing it?”

In this essay I will be answering the question, “Does the media merely reflect society or is it instrumental in constructing it?”

I think that the media is a big part of everyday life, as we are surrounded by TVs, newspapers, radio and the internet, all of the time. Newspapers are a very good example of reflecting or constructing the media as papers such as, The Daily Mirror, The Sun and The Star, tend to blow all stories out of proportion to make the viewer have an opinion on that certain matter. For example, knife crime is a very popular matter in the media; this makes people believe that all teens carry knives around with them and that all they are yobs and thugs. The media is enticing society to consume stories to make them believe that, their story is the actual truth of the matter.

The media leads people to believe matters are bigger than they actually are, this makes the public follow what they believe is relevant to society at that time. This is a scare tactic which works so well because the public do not tend to argue with what is on the news, they believe most things they are told and trust it because it is shown on the TV, the internet, newspapers and the radio. This helps to sell newspapers and fill the time slots as news is now available 24 hours a day. The media controls the public to do what is put across as being right.
TV shows like “Eastenders”, is a perfect example of constructing society as it is a take on real life with different storylines and situations that maybe controversial in the media such as, teen pregnancies, homosexual relationships, and drug taking. This reflects stories from the real world and shows them the effects they have on people when they are involved in those certain situations.

Reality TV shows, like, “I’m A Celebrity, Get Me out of Here!”, “Big Brother” and “The Family”, show the actual real lives and the goings on of normal people in certain situations and in normal everyday life. I’m A Celeb, is a show in which washed up celebrities go into the Australian jungle in a bid to come out more famous and popular again. BB is a show where desperate members of the general public audition to become a contestant with others and live in a house all together, and tensions arise and there is normally arguments and romance in the house. The Family is about a normal family form the UK and their everyday lives are being filmed.

20 editing terms :)

Here are 20 editing terms -

1. CRANE SHOT
2. CUT
3. DEPTH OF FIELD
4. FADE (FADE-IN or FADE-OUT)
5. HAND-HELD SHOT
6. JUMP CUT
7. LOW ANGLE SHOT
8. MISE-EN-SCENE
9. PAN
10. SHOT/REVERSE SHOT
11. WIPE
12. TRACKING SHOT
13. TWO SHOT
14. VOICE-OVER
15. ZOOM
16. TILT
17. STRAIGHT-ON SHOT
18. DISSOLVE
19. MEDIUM CLOSE-UP
20. OVERHEAD SHOT

Semiotics, Binary Oppositions and Ideology.

In this essay ill be writing about the semiotics, binary oppositions and ideology of these two photos.

The statue of liberty is a symbol of freedom and liberty. The pentagon is burnt down and charred. There is smoke in both pictures this connotes destruction and danger. They are both important landmarks in America.

The idea of these pictures is to show destruction and devastaion, and are related to terrorist attacks. Both pictures show major destruction. There are binary oppostitions in both these pictures, for example. The

Se7en - Opening Sequence

The opening scene to Se7en begins with Morgan Freeman in his apartment/home getting ready for a day at work, he seems very reluctant to get dressed. Freeman is dressed in a suit, this could suggest that he works in a office. He has laid out his tools and items in a certain order with means he is very organised. The apartment he lives in is quite dull, saturated and plain in light and colour. Freeman looks out of place in his own house as it doesn't look like anyone lives there because of the cleanliness of it all. The apartment is very quiet and strangly tranquil and it looks as if Freeman dislikes his home this also shows that he hasn't got any family that he lives with, i think he is very lonely. He has laid his suit jacket on his bed, that is perfectly made. Freeman is so precise that he picks of a tiny bit of fluff off of his jacket.

The next shot is when Freeman is at work, we see that he is a cop and he is investigating a murder. The flat looks very dark with some natural daylight coming through, the light is quite concentrated and is only coming through one window. Freeman seems like a caring man as he is concerned when he asks about a child who was in the house at the time of the murder. The other policeman is very rude and uncaring as he only cares about someone being dead and that somebody killed him. Brad Pitt is now introduced to this scene when he comes bounding up the stairs into the crime scene. The way he 's dressed shows he is very laid-back, relaxed and confident. He is also chewing gum which shows that he is less professional that Freeman. The next scene is where the body is taken out and the two main characters go out onto the street to discuss the case. They talk for a bit, it seems like Freeman is incharge of Pitt's character and he is the boss of the case. Freeman is wearing a coat and hat which shows his professional side whearas Pitt is chewing gum with shows that he is less professional.

The next scene is where Freeman is in his bed and you can hear lots of traffic and noise coming from outside. He takes off his glasses and turns on a metronome, this suggests that he is stressed and needs the metronome to relax. You can also hear another ticking over the top of the traffic and the ticking of the metronome, this may symbolise that time is running out.

The opening credits begin with someone cutting off his fingertips with a sharp razor-like blade, this suggest to the viewers that this person is the killer, he is getting rid of his prints so that he may not be traced if he commits a crime. It looks as if he is making a note or a book of some sort or maybe a ransom or threatening letter. The killer is seen to cross out certain words from a dictionary, pieces of paper or the Bible. The music behind the opening scene makes you feel uneasy and like somebody is watching you. The font that is used to introduce all the actors and the names of the crew and the movie is very distorted and strange and it gives you a strange feeling.

Overall, this film looks very disturbing and weird, i would like to see the rest of this movie to see what comes from it. I like the genre of thriller/horror so i think this film would be interesting to watch.

(See Posters, Up Top)

Here are some pictures of all the different shot types that are used in the media.

This shot is an extreme close-up

This is an over the shoulder shot

This is a two shot

This is a medium long shot

This is a long shot

This is a 3/4 shot

This is a mid-shot

This is a close up

This is a worms eye view


This is a birds eye view

This is a canted shot

This is a low angle shot

This is a high angle shot

Media Manifesto :)

I set myself high standards and it can be quite difficult to live up to them. I am very talkative, loud and hyperactive. i got an A in Media, B's in Science and Fine Art, C's in Maths, English, ALAN and D's in Health & Social, R.E and additional science. I use the media alot such as the internet, T.V, DVDs, video games and magaxines etc.