Short Presentation on Shia LaBeouf

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1PiUFSwI0CQLOemJpMnS3OAZMWqSR1h9XCzSaENIuAQA/edit#slide=id.g1282aca0d_042

Representation of Teachers in Media

Sexting Teacher is a recent television series, exploring stories of sexual relationships between teachers and students.
The show reveals sides to these stories that had not been previously revealed; the narrator asks: Are these stories as simple as the media suggests?
One woman remarks: He never pursued me. I was the one in the position of power. 
In these teacher-student relationships, the teacher is typically shown as a predator of sorts, however this series sheds light upon another side of the argument, that the students were in the most case the initiators of the affair, if not, then rather, they were fully willing, and did not feel pressurised or taken advantage of, at the time.
One of the three stories begins with the student having taken a shying to the teacher, liking the fact that he was older and more mature. 
Students of one of the teachers remark that the teacher was good-looking, a friend, a mentor, who got them through their GCSEs. 

Comparative Essay somewhat.

This clip is a very iconic scene from Richard Curtis' 2003 rom-com Love Actually, with Hugh Grant starring as the British Prime Minister. His speech is in response to the American President, stating that though Britain may be a small country, it is a Great one too. The speech is thoroughly patriotic, as he proceeds to list the things that make Britain great; he lists things that are known worldwide, like  Shakespeare, The Beatles, and David Beckham. This list of things familiar to not only Brits, but recognised on a global scale emphasises to worldwide audiences, not only British audiences, that Britain is responsible for a great deal of great things. The purpose of this speech is not only to show the Prime Minister's defiance against the American President, but also to band the British together by influencing them with a sense of pride for their country and it's accomplishments. The Prime Minister recognises that Britain is often belittled, and therefore emphasises all of the good points of British culture: Disregarding the bad points of British Culture, mind you. 

David Cameron delivered a similar speech in response to a Russian official's remark that Britain is but a small island that no one listens to. Not unlike the scenario above, where Hugh Grant's Prime Minister expresses that Britain's relationship with America is founded about America taking exactly what it wants, and forgetting about what really matters... to Britain. Much like the American President's belittling of the Britain in the above speech, the Russian official belittles Britain, causing Prime Minister David Cameron is retaliate with an uplifting, patriotic speech. 

Parallel to Hugh Grant's Prime Ministerial speech from Love Actually, Cameron starts by acknowledging that Britain is small. A small island. A small group of islands. But this remark is followed by his stating that Britain has a proud history, and great resilience. The use of words like pride and greatness really hammer in the sense of patriotism that oozes from this speech. Both David Cameron's speech, and Hugh Grant's speech begin by playing the small but mighty card, establishing the patriotic tone of the speech.
Cameron goes on, much like Grant, to list the great things to come from Britain, comedy coming through his reference to very current events, most notably his mention of One Direction.
Cameron's sugar-coating of British history effectively inflicts a sense of patriotism, due to his insistent mention of the positive aspects of Britain, and his brushing aside negative aspects, offering only a shallow truth. Understandable, as the speech certainly wouldn't have been as appealing had Cameron said Britain took slavery off the high seas, even though Britain endorsed slavery and was one of the main forces initiating it to begin with. Certainly that wouldn't have sparked the same feeling of pride and patriotism as Cameron's half-truths. 

How to improve my Media Essay Writing

Plan my response before writing.
Explore points in greater depth, (how you reference previous artists and products).
Keep a formal tone.

Assessment

Why is the public row between the music artists Sinaed O'Connor and Miley Cyrus important in understanding the relationship between artists and between artists and audience? Explore with reference to the representation of women, media institutions and the role of the media.

 

In response to Miley's latest music video, Wrecking Ball, Sinéad O'Conner voiced her thoughts with bitter honesty. Sinéad's rant touches upon numerous feminist controversies within the musical industry. The bitter reality is that the portrayal of women, through media, is, in the long-run, incredibly superficial, and sexualised. Big media industries do capitalise upon the simple fact that... Sex sells. 

Laura Mulvey, feminist media theorist, introduced the concept of the male gaze. Essentially, what it is, is that media texts targeted towards men typically commodify women. More than that, it has become almost expected of the media to present women as little more than sexual objects, to attract the male audience. Lynx is a capital example of this, commodifying females, suggesting to the target audience of heterosexual males that if he were to buy the product, he'll get the women, also. This commodification of women is a fail-safe for advertising companies, and it's extremely apparent in the music industry. 

Let's be honest, music artists that are popular in this day and age are incredibly reliant on sexual image. Artists like Rihanna, Nikki Minaj, Katy Perry, and Miley Cyrus are all designed to satisfy the male gaze. Singing sexual songs, and wearing skimpy clothing. 

"Real empowerment of yourself as a woman would be to in future refuse to exploit your body or your sexuality in order for men to make money from you."

Miley's Wrecking Ball is clearly taking advantage of the concept of male gaze, to grab an audience. But beyond this, what it does is draw publicity, from it's controversy. 

It's unanimous in the music scene, and in any media arts scene, that there is no such thing as bad publicity. Miley's apparent nakedness has captured everyone's attention. Miley's Wrecking Ball is certainly memorable. Perhaps, as Sinéad O'Conner argued, for all the wrong reasons, but the point of the matter is that it accomplishes precisely what a music video is set out to do. To publicise the artist. 

Miley Cyrus has a history. Previously a Disney star, taking the eponymous role in the hit teen series, Hannah Montana, and becoming an idol for young girls everywhere. Here, I believe, is where the majority of the controversy lies. Miley Cyrus's downright turn from child-friendly Disney, to the impure, heavily-sexualized Music Industry. Though it's not unheard of, for Disney stars to turn, it certainly causes a scandal in the press. For example, huge controversies previously surrounded Vanessa Anne-Hudgens (High School Musical), among many others. It seems Disney stars are eager to break free from the fetters of child-friendly programming. 

But this rebellion is much more pronounced in female stars, than in the male stars of Disney. Male stars tend to fade away from the public eye. While male stars, (Zac Effron for example) do go on to more adultish things, they are hardly ostracised, unlike Miley Cyrus with her supposed betrayal of Disney. 

Miley previously being a figure for girls to look up to, causes much outrage in audiences. A common argument being that she 'must continue to be a positive role-model' as her fans may continue to follow in her footsteps. Miley Cyrus has been labelled as a bad influence.

But is she doing any worse than the other powerful women in the music industry? 

The absence of clothes is nothing new to music videos. Many women wear little to no clothes. It's almost the secret to success. Sexualisation is at the core of modern music. So, while Miley's morality may be in question, she's doing little more than what is expected of women in music, in order to get into the public eye. Artists like Björk have used nudity in their music videos, and they're widely acclaimed across audiences, and thought of as inspiring and artistic. Why is Miley different?

The reception of Wrecking Ball has been incredibly skeptical, and arguments have been revolving around how the video is little more than purposeless sexualisation and smut, while other videos have used nudity in a more conceptualised and meaningful way. However, there is meaning behind Miley's Wrecking Ball. It may be hard to grasp, due to the sheer eccentricity and surreal nature of her video, (heck, I don't know what the hammer-licking is supposed to mean), but the song and video are meant to (metaphorically, I hope) convey Miley's relationship with her ex-fiancé. The two separated, which left Miley feeling stripped of love; naked. 

Wrecking Ball may have been received better, had the video been not so horrendously exaggerated. It possessed a relatively meaningful concept, (numerous music videos have little meaning at all, these days), a weighty budget, and a talented star. But, tragically, the music video is not interpreted as meaningful or inspirational, but rather, smutty and scandalous. The video was seen as a farce, and has become the butt of jokes. 

In Sinéad O'Conner's letter, she admits to being swindled into the industry's sex-promotion scheme, and expresses her shame for doing so. Her letter does address Miley with respect and genuine concern, offering her wider knowledge of the industry to advise Miley Cyrus. I personally find it endearing, and it shows that though music is a very competitive business, musical artists can be (though certainly not always) warm-hearted and helpful to one another (not only for their own personal gain). Miley did cite Sinéad's Nothing Compares as inspiration for Wrecking Ball, so for Sinéad to respond to this on such a personal level requires incredible honesty and faith that Miley may listen to her opinion. (I sincerely hope she will.) 

However, it is a great injustice to Miley, for this video to be scandalised and receive such harsh feedback, due to it's content. While it's very easy to take a naked woman swinging on a wrecking ball as it demolishes a small concrete room as a joke, the audience may not fully comprehend the deeper emotions behind the video; the inner toil of Miley, spilled out through the lyrics. 

(We Can't Stop, however, deserves every bit of harshness.)

Additional Music Video Analysis

This is my most favourite song, so be gentle. 
And such a sweet and lighthearted song deserves a sweet and lighthearted music video. And that's exactly what this is. 

With incredibly bright colours and vivid movement and characters--- golly, it's sugar for the eyes. 

It builds a grand and bright world full of colours and oh my god just happiness just pure happiness are you seeing this even the flowers are smiling. Takashi Murakami would be proud. 

With elements of performance, (the singer being animated), this video is mainly reliant on concept. Which, to me, is quite a missed opportunity, because the lyrics do convey a narrative, and it'd have been very cool if the video conveyed a narrative too. 

But for what it is, it's an incredibly bright and jolly video, for a bright and jolly song. 

I'd like to think the premise of this video is some kind of homage to Toontown, (Who Framed Roger Rabbit? 1988), because, come on, it's pretty much parallel.

Like, really parallel. Right down to the bunnies. 

But that aside, it's certainly a call back to the 1920-30's era of animation. Round-- childish-- and very fairytale-esque. 

For whatever reason-- I don't like this music video. Well-- I like it, the animation is-- nice. And I like the idea of using the oldern-cartoon style-- but--
Not for a song with such adult themes in it.
It's just wrong.
Blasphemous, even.
But regardless, the animation is very well done-- And it is a very clever idea.
Following a cherubic kid, straight out of a fairytale, following them throughout their messed-up, but deceptively child-like surroundings. 
Of course though, much like many music videos, it's been done... better.

MIKA's Lollipop takes a similar premise, following a little girl through her slightly dodgy fairytale world. With clear references to Red Riding Hood, and Alice in Wonderland, it's much sweeter and more wholesome than the previous music video. And hey, it's also got bunnies in it---

Oh. 

That's right. Lollipop also delivers it's more adult messages, though much more subtle than the previous video. Because nothing in music is sacred and honestly child-friendly anymore. 

The song, while seemingly childish and sweet, does deliver a message regarding the definition between lust and love. It seems that most music videos these days usually go down one route or the other, so it's nice to see a music video exploring the definition between the two. 

The animation, while basic, is very sweet and endearing. And just like the previous one, colourful and childish. 

Animatic and Sketches

Work in Progress; Animatic for 'U DON'T LOVE ME ANYMORE'.

Drawn in SketchBookExpress

Compiled in iMovie