Thesis- I believe that there was different motivations by different people, for example; The conservative government used the Video nasties as a scapegoat of which they put their problems upon, whilst Mary Whitehouse opposed video nasties to protect the age group of 12-16 from moral decline and had used her contacts as also started a pressure group to try and achieve her goals. They used censorship to try minimise the distribution of the videos.
People had VHS players in most of their homes, and the reason for the popular status of the VHS tape is that it was easy to copy. Video Nasties were mainly sold in sweet shops and Garages where children were able to buy them, there was no regulation on the videos which meant that anyone was able to get hold of them. Many people aged 12-16 saw video nasties as it was a social set standard that if you didn't watch it, you were branded as a geek and socially unpopular. This set the tone of video nasties becoming the highlight of parties and social events, The access of VHS tapes meant that the video nasties were able to be copied which also contributed to the spread. Another reason why video nasties were so popular to view was that the thrill of it being forbidden enticed people to see it and that the experience was a badge of honour. The BBFC had started to have video nasties under censorship by the early 1980's, this was to protect people from the content of which the video nasties had, for example; murder, cannibalism, rape.
Video Nasties being labelled imitable and physiologically scarring, this gave the Conservative Government led by Margret Thatcher moral panic to use the video nasties as scapegoats for their economical problems. such as power cuts and unemployment. The worry for the government was that the public might imitate the actions of which is shown in the video nasties, although Margret Thatcher had not seen a video nasty but has contributed to condemning them.
Mary Whitehouse and Margaret Thatcher joined in partnership due to similar views regarding politics and to uphold the christian traditional views.Christian views also stated their hate of the demonic and satan possessive films.
Mary Whitehouse used her allies in right wing newspapers such as in the Daily mail where an article was titled " Rape of our children's minds", this propaganda was used with videos and the press to try and turn minds against video nasties.They also tried to link video nasties to other problems by stating "Experts link street riots and child abuse to diet of filth fed to our youth". Another article was titled "Sadism for 6 year olds", this was due to a claim that a group of 6 year olds had said that they had watched 17 video nasty films between them. Another fact that two thirds of children in birmingham claimed to have seen films that don't even exist.
Mary Whitehouse would meet with high police figures to discuss campaigns to ban video nasties, this led to the creation of the Obscene publication squad, which was a police squad. Due to the creation of the obscene publication squad, the arrest of shopkeepers and distributors were made for seeking video nasties, but the shopkeepers were unaware of what they could sell and couldn't sell. Distributors were sent to stand trial at The Old Bailey.
In 1984 the video recording act was activated, this act is the age certification of films to prevent certain people of ages from viewing inappropriate content.
Thursday, 26 March 2015
Friday, 13 March 2015
Evaluation
What were the aims/purposes of the script and key frames?
The aim of my script and key frames was to explore my macro from the essay on the representation of Masculinity in the contemporary western, I had analysed and compared the two films; True Grit (2010) and 3:10 to Yuma (2007). My script and key frames are done as a modern version of a western exploring my thesis of how having a masculine image is important to survive in the west, I portray this through props, angles, blocking and shot types.
what codes and convention identified in the textual analysis essay were used in the script and key frames?
In my textual analysis essay I stated that two masculine people can come into conflict and that one or both parties can have their masculine image broken to show their weakness, this can be seen in both films True Grit and 3:10 to Yuma. I used this in my key frames and script by placing John and Fox opposite each other to show that they are in conflict, and when the masculine image of fox breaks to show his weakness, on my seventh key frame I used a high angle over the shoulder shot of John to show Fox on the floor bloodied and having fear. I have chosen to do it this way as Johns body appears to be larger whilst Fox's is more minuscule in comparison, This key frame is similar to a shot from 3:10 to Yuma where Ben and Dan have fought for dominance and Ben ends up being on top whilst strangling Dan.
Another convention that I have used is that of props that I have chosen to include, which is a revolver. I used a revolver as a choice for John's weapon because I wanted to pay homage to the classic western as it is also a phallic object that represents masculinity, but I have used a more modern model as the film is set in the present. Another convention I have used to pay homage is the set of which I have shot my key frames; a field. I had done this due to the characters being in conflict and having a fight, I wanted to represent how their natural image of masculinity is, because Fox had submitted to John's dominance.
How was the location report used in construction of the key frames?
I had used the field at my school for the key frames, I had looked into other public fields but it was either that there were going to be other people from the public walking in the background, which I did not want, or that it was too much of a journey for my actors to go to the desired location. The field was a good choice because even though my idea was a modern version of a western, I wanted to use a location which was conventional to the classic western. I had then applied the Clyde effect to my pictures from Instaeditor to give a more western look.
How successful was the script and key frames in achieving its aims?
I believe that my script and and key frames achieve the goals of being artifacts I have created to show the representation of masculinity in a contemporary western. I have applied the themes and conventions that I have analysed in my textual analysis essay and have portrayed them to great effect in both my script and key frames. I though feel that costume could have been better in my key frames as I was not too sure on the costumes in a modern western, so I had Fox dressed in a suit which made him different and individualized from John and Blake. Blake and John were dressed similar to show their similarities in personality and character, but I was not confident in having them wear suit trousers and smart shoes, so jackets were added to differentiate them from the costume of Fox as also to represent how they also have small differences.
The aim of my script and key frames was to explore my macro from the essay on the representation of Masculinity in the contemporary western, I had analysed and compared the two films; True Grit (2010) and 3:10 to Yuma (2007). My script and key frames are done as a modern version of a western exploring my thesis of how having a masculine image is important to survive in the west, I portray this through props, angles, blocking and shot types.
what codes and convention identified in the textual analysis essay were used in the script and key frames?
In my textual analysis essay I stated that two masculine people can come into conflict and that one or both parties can have their masculine image broken to show their weakness, this can be seen in both films True Grit and 3:10 to Yuma. I used this in my key frames and script by placing John and Fox opposite each other to show that they are in conflict, and when the masculine image of fox breaks to show his weakness, on my seventh key frame I used a high angle over the shoulder shot of John to show Fox on the floor bloodied and having fear. I have chosen to do it this way as Johns body appears to be larger whilst Fox's is more minuscule in comparison, This key frame is similar to a shot from 3:10 to Yuma where Ben and Dan have fought for dominance and Ben ends up being on top whilst strangling Dan.
Another convention that I have used is that of props that I have chosen to include, which is a revolver. I used a revolver as a choice for John's weapon because I wanted to pay homage to the classic western as it is also a phallic object that represents masculinity, but I have used a more modern model as the film is set in the present. Another convention I have used to pay homage is the set of which I have shot my key frames; a field. I had done this due to the characters being in conflict and having a fight, I wanted to represent how their natural image of masculinity is, because Fox had submitted to John's dominance.
How was the location report used in construction of the key frames?
I had used the field at my school for the key frames, I had looked into other public fields but it was either that there were going to be other people from the public walking in the background, which I did not want, or that it was too much of a journey for my actors to go to the desired location. The field was a good choice because even though my idea was a modern version of a western, I wanted to use a location which was conventional to the classic western. I had then applied the Clyde effect to my pictures from Instaeditor to give a more western look.
How successful was the script and key frames in achieving its aims?
I believe that my script and and key frames achieve the goals of being artifacts I have created to show the representation of masculinity in a contemporary western. I have applied the themes and conventions that I have analysed in my textual analysis essay and have portrayed them to great effect in both my script and key frames. I though feel that costume could have been better in my key frames as I was not too sure on the costumes in a modern western, so I had Fox dressed in a suit which made him different and individualized from John and Blake. Blake and John were dressed similar to show their similarities in personality and character, but I was not confident in having them wear suit trousers and smart shoes, so jackets were added to differentiate them from the costume of Fox as also to represent how they also have small differences.
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