1. How does the article describe what the censorship process was like in NZ 100 years ago?
2. In what ways has this changed?
3. What does the writer of the article mean when they say, "A revolving digital landscape has changed the way Kiwis viewed their entertainment, and it's also changed the way censorship defines itself."
4. Who is the NZ chief censor?
5. What 3 words describe how the chief censor sees his responsibility and role?
6. What City does the Chief censor reside in and how many people work in his team?
7. What other content passes through the hands of the censors and why is it considered a 'dark' side to the job?
8. What are they on the look out for in content that is being assessed?
9.What are some of the things that might be outright banned in NZ?
10. What medium is becoming the censor's main focus at the moment and what do they do to classify things of that medium in NZ?
11. Seeing how Shanks describes the differences between regulatory standards in NZ and Australia, how do you think culture play a part in restrictions placed on content?
12. What is a good example of a movie that was rated M in Australia but got a reviewed rating in NZ
13. Explain how the digital era proves a challenge to the censors
14. How does Shank imagine we might tackle this challenge?
15. What model did the Government say streaming services would fall under?
Looking closer at HEGEMONY as a concept that you need to be able to refer to and talk about in both POWER AND THE MEDIA and MEDIA ECOLOGY
What is HEGEMONY?
Hegemony is basically the idea that the media continually reproduces images of a dominant group as superior or powerful. In Western society, the dominant group is middle class white males and because the media are predominantly produced by middle class white males, they tend to represent middle class white males as superior. And the rest of society – working class, BAME, LGBT, disabled, female – as less powerful or inferior.
This is a video that explains the overarching idea of hegemony in the world;
Read this article and make some notes on how hegemony is a theory that can be applied to considering the idea of power and the media.
Please watch these 2 videos, jam-packed with some great information and research for Black Panther as your case study. This will work for Power and the Media (in terms of representation) but also in Media Ecology as we talk about how audiences engage with media envoronments.
Questions to consider - what audience trends did Disney make use of to market and advertise as well as deliver this film to its audience?
An element of power = the ability to tell the stories we want told
Write some notes on ''The Sound of Freedom' as a case study in relation to how independent filmmakers have more autonomy over what types of movies are being made and what stories are being told.
Why do you personally feel it is important for their to be stories like this told through the film industry, rather than just the usual 'cookie- cutter' movies that the Big 5 seem to be churning out?
Look up some more recent stats in relation to how well this film did. What opposition did it face and how well was it recieved in the end? (You can use numbers from Facebook 'likes' on it's fan page as well as Box Office numbers)
The film was released on July 4, 2023, by Angel Studios. It was a sleeper hit, becoming one of the most successful independent films in history.[6] It has grossed $182 million against a $14.5 million budget. It received mixed reviews from critics,[7] while audience reception has been highly positive.
In the entertainment industry, sleeper hit refers to a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was unpromising on release but became a success later on
The film was completed in 2018 and a distribution deal was made with the Latin American subsidiary of 20th Century Fox.[25] When the studio was purchased by the Walt Disney Company, it shelved the film. Subsequently, the filmmakers bought the distribution rights back from the studio.[26]
Verástegui approached Angel Studios with the release rights. Angel presented the film to an online group of 100,000 investors in its past projects called the Angel Guild, which gave it a "yes" vote within days.[2] In 2023, Angel Studios had acquired the worldwide distribution rights, with a planned release during the second half of 2023.[26] In May of the same year, it received a release date of July 4, 2023.[27]
Angel used equity crowdfunding to raise the funds needed to distribute and market the film. Seven thousand people invested, allowing Angel to meet its $5 million goal in two weeks.[2] They also encouraged patrons to "pay it forward" to allow people who might not otherwise see the film to watch it in theaters for free.[28]Sound of Freedom is Angel Studios' second theatrical release after His Only Son.[29]
On July 26, Angel Studios confirmed that Sound of Freedom would be released in 23 international markets throughout 2023. The film was released in UAE on August 17, in South Africa, Iceland and Lithuania on August 18 and Australia and New Zealand on August 24. The film has been released in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Belize, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Croatia[30] on August 31. In addition, the film will be released in the United Kingdom and Ireland on September 1 and Spain on October 11
