T2: Wk 6 - Essay Question for Homework - Due Friday Week 7

 Media regulation

1 Analyse the challenges of regulating the media in the digital age. [15]

T2 | Wk 5 | Thursday - Hegemony

  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.

LINK 2 

ACTIVITY: Create notes answering these questions

1. what is Hegemony? 

2. Who came up with the theory? 

3. What are some examples (use your own - research them), of this in Western media / culture today? 

T2 | Wk 5 | Wed - Power + The Media - Black Panther Case Study

   Hi guys,

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? 

T2 | Wk 5 - Wed - Power + The Media - Sound of Freedom

  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)

 

Sound of Freedom
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Alejandro Monteverde
Written by	Rod Barr Alejandro Monteverde
Produced by	Eduardo Verástegui
Starring	Jim Caviezel Mira Sorvino Bill Camp
Cinematography	Gorka Gómez Andreu Aec
Edited by	Brian Scofield
Music by	Javier Navarrete
Production company	Santa Fe Films
Distributed by	Angel Studios
Release date	July 4, 2023
Running time	131 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Languages	English Spanish
Budget	$14.5 million[2]
Box office	$182.5 million[3][4]

Sound of Freedom is a 2023 American action film directed and co-written by Alejandro Monteverde, and starring Jim Caviezel,

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

T2 | Wk 5 | Tues - Power + the Media - NZ Diversity in film/ TV

  Check out this article;

Diversify or die: What New Zealand television can learn from our film industry

Questions;

1. What are some of the points this article raises between the difference in how progressive the TV representation of Maori is and the representation of Maori in film? 

2. What is an example of the last TV show that really brought Maori representation into the spotlight but that is an older show to reference now? 

3. What are some examples of films that have done well and that focus on telling the stories of ethnic minority in NZ? 

4. Why are US TV networks scrambling to make their programming more diverse? 

5. What, according to the article is one of the biggest challenges for Maori television shows? 

Write a few other good points from the article and a quote that sums up one of these points, to be able to contribute to your essay on POWER AND THE MEDIA. 

T2 | Wk 5 | Monday - Classwork - Disney example for power and media

  

Look at these 2 articles;

More in-depth for examples, this one...

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190724-did-disney-shape-how-you-see-the-world

just briefly for some historical context, this one...

https://ueh.edu.vn/en/news/disneys-representation-of-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-over-the-years-71236

Write a few paragraphs in response to the following question (using ALL your Disney case study information AND ownership terminology from last year)

Question;

"There is a shift in power from large institutions to audiences."  Discuss whether you believe this is completely true

Look particularly at the relationship between power, influence, audience size, fan-base, messaging, stereotypes and cultures represented as well as the idea of hegemony. All these words should pop up in your response. 

Week 5 - Essay Question - Homework

 Discuss how traditional power models are changing with the introduction of new technologies.