Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle) 2009, Pathe , Celador, Channel 4 Films

You need to analyse three extracts from the film and the trailer for your exam. Concentrate on the issue of representation and through your discussion of the trailer discuss how different audiences have been targeted and how the film has been represented or mis-represented in the trailer.

Representation of :

Place
National Identity
Age
Gender
Ethnicity
Issues

Extract 1 Chapter 8-11 (Blinding)Go from the specific to the general...

The extract begins in a rubbish tip in Mumbai. Yellow filters are used with lens flares and dust to show the intense heat and oppressive atmosphere in a large refuse tip on which the children exist by looking for things to eat or re-cycle. The boys are asleep in a makeshift tent trying to take shelter from the heat of the day. They are filthy and flies and covered in flies, perhaps a stereotypical representation of the archetypal ‘slumdog’ conducting an animalistic existence. These places can be found in most countries but in third world countries they produce a livelihood for the very poor despite being dangerous and a serious health hazard. There are often explosions and the diseases that a young person could contract are numerous. Life expectancy in such a desperate environment would not be great so the audience, like the children, see the men who come to take them away from there as saviours. We can almost savour the Coke as we hear the top come off and can understand the sensation of slaking their thirst with this symbol of Western affluence and luxury. Salim says that, ‘ he must be a saint’. In his costume and with his mild manner the head of the gang appears almost saintly perhaps allowing the audience to see how the children view him as omnipotent and messianic.

Most audiences would be cynical at this moment and realise that such a charitable act of kindness would not be usual in a city where survival is only for the fittest and most brutal as evidenced in the rest of the narrative. This saint turns into a demon exemplified in the shot in the rain with low key lighting which shows him in his true light rather than with a beatific smile. It is the abuse of trust by these adults that provides the most horrific scene of the blinding of Arvind. The children are taught to trust and see these men as saviours and are nurtured unwittingly to assist their criminal endeavours. Salim is identified as an attack dog due to his temper and is taught to strong arm the other children as a well trained sheepdog would mind a flock. The damaging affect of these psychological manipulations of young children and the fallout suffered at this young age is only seen later in the film. It is the fatc that Jamal can rise above the humiliations …

Lifestyle Magazines

We have been studying lifestyle magazines looking at 'Men's Health' and 'Sugar' magazines. Men's Health has recently overtaken FHM as the most popular magazine for men in the UK with about 250,000 sales a month. We discussed the reasons behind this and what it said about our culture and shifting trends within British life. This led to a discussion about masculinity and the influence of America on British culture. Sugar meanwhile has lost sales in a competitive market after a long run of success. We looked at reasons for the fall in popularity and felt that the internet version of the magazine with its interactive element may be a root cause.
We conducted research to find the media packs for each publication. This allowed us greater insight into the intentions of the editorial team and allowed us to see how an audience was constructed. As magazines gain a large part of their revenue from advertisers we saw how magazines targeted a specific audience which advertisers then paid to reach with their adverts.
We are studying advertising next so we will look at what kind of products are advertised in differing lifestle magazines.
The timed essay required you to use your research and knowledge acquired during lectures to compare and contrast two front covers commenting upon visual codes, language, layout and design and the target audience for each magazine. Remember to go from the specific to the general in your response. This means use textual evidence then discuss the connotations and then expand your point.
For example;

Men's Health has an image of an unshaven, heavily muscled man in his late twenties, stripped to the waist who looks similar to Robbie Williams. He is grinning cheekily directly at the camera, arms hanging loosely at his sides emphasising his ripped torso and has a 'suedehead' haircut. This would appeal to British men who see Robbie Williams as an icon who they can relate to. They will aspire to have the same muscular physique as this model but he is also someone who would be familiar on any building site or gym. An American cover model may be clean shaven and have white teeth showing with a preppy haircut. Indeed a recent trend in the American issues is to have an iconic sportsman such as Lance Armstrong or even, for its 20th anniversary edition, a politician who the audience may aspire to be such as Barack Obama. As the UK version tends to follow American trends, how long will it be before we see Freddie Flintoff or Frank Lampard as cover stars ? Sugar has moved towards celebrity cover stars over the last two years which has coincided with a loss in sales. They are perhaps trying to copy the success of celebrity magazines such as Heat and Now. A young model with nice hair,fashion and make up used to be the norm and fitted with the idea of an older sister dispensing advice who the target audience could aspire to be...

Remember to use sales figures and look at global trends as the institutions behind the magazines are global. An interesting comparison is looking at the front covers of Men's Health in Malaysia and Russia and analysing how they represent the culture. There are also interesting questions about American cultural imperialism. It is not just the UK who are the 'Fifty First State of America' (an old New Model Army song liked by ageing media teachers). 88% of the audience who buy the magazine are men. An intriguing discussion is why do 15.000 women buy the magazine each month ?

Good luck.

Textual Analysis

We began the year by analysing film extracts used in past AS exams. Bond used a variety of London landmarks such as the Millenium Dome and Canary Wharf to establish the setting and we identified product placement and how the pace of editing was crucial to the chase scene. Lord of the Rings used sound to create meaning, utilising a full orchestra to elicit a range of responses from the audience such as a double bass creating a sense of foreboding and strings creating tension. Mission Impossible was typical of a Hollywood blockbuster offering some clear 'signifiers' about the role of Tom Cruise in the film. As it was the opening sequence the hero was clearly defined as a messianic figure, literally hanging off the rocks in a crucifix position. This pre-figured the narrative of the film where the hero puts his life on the line repeatedly to save the world. Spiderman used a range of special effects which may have subliminally promoted the accompanying video game which was hugely popular. At times the movement of spiderman looked like video game graphics rather than film. We conisdered whether this was intentional.

A lot of new terminology has been learnt which we then applied to an unseen extract from Star Wars. This will form your initial assessment, results of which will be found on MOODLE in due course. There are a range of sources in the library and online which will help you to develop your knowledge of film language and we will be returning to this topic when we create our own moving image productions after half term. I am looking forward to helping with some Cornish horror films using the wild and spectacular landscape of Penwith.