The boat that rocked

The target audience for the boat that rocked is those who like the top British actors and comedians all in the same film and generally enjoy a film that has a clear sense of humour. They also may be those who like 1960s culture which is when this film is set. There also may be music fans who watch the film for its soundtrack which received rave reviews.
I know this, because of the film’s soundtrack and the clear element of slapstick comedy that’s central to the film and its plot. Also Richard Curtis has become an icon of British film and the success of actors like Bill Nighy and Nick Frost means that a larger audience is attracted as they are clearly aware of their talent.
The film relies on the stereotypes of radio djs being irresponsible and also of politicians having no sense of fun with them attempting to shut down radio rock. It also stereotypes celebrities being nothing but thick and driven by the limelight and sex
Celebrities being bad role models British media
Bad attitude Controversial
Irresponsible Negative
Selfish Scandal
Rude Celebrity bad press
Arrogant corrupt
Dumb wrong
Childish Inappropriate content
Immature Influence
Bad people skills Popular
Involved with substances like drugs Widespread

These stereotypes are be quintessentially British, because the British press often receives severe criticism from the public and higher powers and British celebrities are all too often surrounded in controversy.
The ways that Curtis and the team can be said to be appealing to the mythological tendencies of the audience, include the fact that the British government is all powerful and that many people root for the underdog and this is the core of the film with the radio station fighting off government pressure to stay on the air. They also try and make the impossible possible which is what can make a film so appealing. They try and play on the audiences desires to see a great British comedy film that is very appealing and heart-warming whilst also including all the mythological elements that the audience may also desire.

Film making process from concept to culmination
Firstly an idea is pitched to the producers and film companies for the plot of the film. When it is agreed upon a script must be written in order for the film to be properly planned and be prepared for. They must then hire the crew, including of course the actors to make the film a reality. Some may not be available due to other commitments so those hiring the crew have to come up with a shortlist in case this happens so that they have a back up plan so that the film won’t lose its appeal or integrity if the first choice wasn’t available to work on this film. Then the film must be shot which can take several months to a year to shoot especially if some actors commit to the film as well as any other commitments that they may have. Then it must be edited and then distributed to the audience .

Stereotypes – collective or individual?

· Reflection: In terms of what’s reflected most of us are willing to wear positive generalizations to get with pride, but argue with those who criticise us. Positive generalization could also be insulting e.g. black runners being the best and only highlighting them as in a small minority. The problem with the traditional view is that stereotypes reflect culture. Religion is another key factor of reflection as it is almost central to the way millions of people base the way they live their lives. For example Christians will God as all loving where as atheists who have no faith at all will immediately dismiss this view as it challenges their beliefs and also they stereotype God as being non existing or hateful for example. Stereotypes can either be fair or unfair, for example in skins they possibly represent unfair stereotypes such as sex and violence whereas not all teenagers will act in that particular way.
· Intentional: Social forces can influence the way that we describe things influence to use culturally derived stereotypes in conversations. This can include political factors, satire and political correctness. Often the stereotypes we here about encourage or discourage behaviours by certain people and groups within society. We’re not only told what to think, but we are also taught for example in secondary school and on work courses. There is also the factor of prejudice. Prejudices are important to intentional behaviour description as we all have the tendency to prejudge people and also many different important issues without knowing all of the facts first. We also can use stereotypes intentionally when we are being bullied for example and the feelings such as fear and hatred act as the social forces for a counter attack on the bully , for example for a bully saying how they are stupid and also maybe in the heat of the moment may make insulting comments about the bully’s family. In skins for example hormones can make stereotypes intentional and also through social forces such as mistreatment in school.
· Constructed: Most stereotypes are uniformly held so evidence for collective representations are weak. The role of culture in our everyday lives helps to construct some particularly strong social stereotypes, such as the irresponsibleness of teenagers in Britain through consequences, such as teenage pregnancies and teenage drivers being reckless. Other factors include cultural legitimacy and consensus. Powerful cultural messages about stereotypes can be expressed publically and under other conditions as well. Stereotypes are usually very well structured, because they are based around a strong issue in society and those particularly political and social ones have many attributes to support them. An example of this is from the time of George Bush being president of USA and people stereotyped him as being corrupt, having low intelligence and also having a poor grasp of reality and everything that was going within the world both politically and socially. Skins represents constructed stereotypes with mainly the worst of British teenage culture shining through.

Culture work

USA History France History UK History
World War 1 World war 1 World war 1
World war 2 World war 2 World war 2
Cold war St. Bartholomew’s day massacre Hundred years war
Kennedy assassination French Revolution Creation of the BBC
Cold War Hundred years war Battle of Britain
Gulf war Battle of Waterloo Great depression
9/11 Invention of sports such as cricket.
Wall street crash
Moon landing
Wright Bros. Flight
US sports invented


US sports may be played little elsewhere according to Barthes, because they signify more than themselves and have more meaning to US culture than other cultures. It is also a symbol of USA’s natural identity and that signs can sometimes cover up past history. USA is a sports fest with many different sports played so maybe also out of the pride that comes with landmarks or inventions it encourages that society to show off its gift to the world.
The function of these sports is to enrich local culture and bring it together and to show their possible superiority over other countries and celebrate the countries culture with the public.


Gangster genre in US culture

Typical signs (codes) and conventions Signified Mythical function to audience
Gun crime Legal Lack of responsibility
Drugs Lack of moral behaviour Power of certain influences
Car jacking Innocent victims Poor values mean that it can be seen as a more natural occurrence.
Gangs Fear of big groups of people, particularly teenagers Makes them a stronger and more dangerous culture than other US cultures

Michael Shields freed after Jack Straw intervenes

This is a case study that I've found that has been all over the newspaper headlines. Michael Shields is a Liverpool FC supporter who was jailed for life for attempted murder and has spent the last 4 years in prison. He has been released after overwhelming evidence was presented that he wasn't even at the scene and the citizens of Liverpool even both Liverpool and Everton supporters marched in protest and gave overwhelming support backing his innocence

What I learnt in today's lesson

Today I learned in Mr. Wroe's lesson about what areas of the media have the most influence on British youth and the stereotypes involved in this using microcosms and macrocosms to explain them. The lesson was good for me to get back into the groove of media lessons as i may have been rusty during the summer and it was a good warm up and introduction to the work that I'll be covering this year.

How the issue of censorship affects our notion of collective identity and therefore britishness in film

In terms of choices in production a film script and plot is based around a target audience and how scenes are planned and carried out depend on the age group targeted and how to make the scenes suitable for their specific viewing age. For example the portrayal of themes such as violence and swearing can be used in order to portray the link to real life themes although these wouldn't be suitable portrayals for younger viewing audiences to see. However films that are rated PG contain some of these more adult themes, but are strictly limited in order to stay within the boundaries of set by the BBFC and still attract a large age base for the film.

In terms of how the issues of censorship can affect our consumption of a film through semiotics the themes of violence and sex for example signify a link to real life portrayal and signifies that some younger audiences need protection from these themes as they will stop them influencing them and also may not understand why these things occur. Also changes in the censoring of films signifies that times are changing in the film industry in terms of what lower age viewing audiences should be allowed to see. For example in 2002 the new 12a rating replaced 12 as the first Spiderman film had driven away so many young fans and this was a prime part of the target market. Therefore 12a was introduced where a child who saw a 12 rated film in the cinema must be accompanied by an adult.

Britishness in film is also effected by the notion of collective identity especially as 18 rated films such as ' This is England ' can represent the worst of British culture and also in lower rated films the best of Britishness with attributes such as equality and helpfulness higlighted almost like the worst of britishness in films is trying to be kept as secret as possible through higher film ratings.

Hot Fuzz - Working title

Hot Fuzz is a police action comedy film set in a sleepy village in the English countryside. Working Title has also produced such films as Shaun of the Dead which also starred Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. They have also made a number of films starring the popular actor Rowan Atkinson including the Mr. Bean films and Johnny English. However working title doesn't just specialise in comedy films it also produced such films as Frost/Nixon and Atonement. Hot fuzz's director Edgar Wright has also directed films, such as Shaun of the dead and A fistful of fingers.

scene near the end

middle scene

Opening scene of my proposed film

Richard Curtis

He lived in different countries during his childhood, including Sweden and The Phillipines and was born in Wellington in New Zealand . Studied literature at Oxford where he first met Rowan Atkinson and ironically now lives in Notting Hill. He based some of his work around his personal life including 4 weddings and a funeral with him and his partner's experience of meeting so many times at other people's weddings before finally getting together. Richard Curtis portrays Britishness by combining a range of different factors/ingredients to make one of his rom-coms. These include a good location either in or outside of London as well as making the values very clear to see as well as the humiliation that frequently is present in the humour of the film. He also portrays Britishness as a proud heritage which probably influenced him while spending his main educational years in Britain. He may also have been influenced by the way British culture was developing over the many years and working with people like Rowan Atkinson influenced his sense of humour and how he could adapt it to the big screen. His atheism also is a key factor in the writing of his programming.

Proposed year 13 film

Values and ideologies:

Trust- Trying to work together to fight off the incoming threat
Loss- The deaths of the video game characters
Suffering - Torture and pain as well as unpredictablity during the chaos.

Key demons/Folk devils

The film is against the playing of violent video games and also betraying others.

I will be consistent with these components in every shot and scene by doing plenty of close up shots and highlighting the characters emotions as well as showing the effects of the demons and what they can do for the worse. Also show the pain and threat of those fighting the games characters while others are screaming in pain.

British myths : Work of Richard Curtis

According to the writer Richard Curtis combines a range of different factors/ingredients to make one of his rom-coms. These include a good location either in or outside of London as well as making the values very clear to see as well as the humiliation that frequently is present in the humour of the film. It compares the work of British myth to American myth with American myth portrayed. His views of humour are firmly based on his own beliefs and the morals in his films are clearly highlighted around the 'moral universe'.

How are British Icons (and others) used in Notting Hill ?

British Icons are used in this film, firstly with the familar British cast members. These include Tim Mcinnerny from Blackadder and Emma Chambers who played Alice in Vicar of Dibley. By including these British Tv stars it helps to maintain the film as British and also helps the audience to relate to the film more easily. Another way that British icons are used is the use of the small area of Notting Hill which is location of the film. This is iconic as it is an area of London as Will mentions at the start of the film is very busy and full of history and tradition. As well as that the use of an American actress being in one of the lead roles helps to show the strength of the Anglo-American relationship. Having a big Hollywood actress, such as Julia Roberts appearing in the film shows the ambition of British film makers.

Notting Hill - Working Title Films

There are a number of ways that Notting Hill can be linked with the idea of myth underpinning cinema, because the plot is entertaining as the plot is so unique and unlikely and this helps the film to play on the audience's humour. Another way is that it helps to portray the theory that films nowadays aren't really truly conventional. The version of Britishness that's being portrayed in Notting Hill is the true love elemant and that poosites attract. It helps to show the attractiveness of living in Britain and the people have their own personalities and live their own unique lifestyles. For example the character of Will is self-deprecating, clumsy and disorganised and loveable whereas Anna is Cool yet passionate fragile and extremely fragile, but ambitious.

They're completely different from Honey who is wacky rebellious and lacking direction or ambition and Spike ( Will's roomate) who's outrageous, like Honey lacks direction, is an alcoholic and also is likeable but not really loveable.

Comparison of Italian Job and Get Carter

The Italian Job and Get Carter both starred Michael Caine and are both classic crime films. However there are plenty of similarities and differences between the 2 films. The similarities include, the fact that Get Carter also stars Tony Beckley who played Camp Freddie in The Italian Job and the vehicles that were featured in the film were similar to The Italian Job such as the iconic British Cars, The Mini Cooper and the 4x4 Land Rover. Michael Caine's character in both films is a strong male figure with a no nosense attitude and always with a clear motivation for his crimes. In terms of the portrayal of Britishness they both symbolise the hardship and sometimes the glamour of British crime culture. However the British pride that's represented in The Italian job using the idea of 'The self Preservation Society' is clearly absent in Get Carter. The use of mob violence that's features very rarely in The Italian Job features greatly in Get Carter with torture and gun fights the name of the game. This is comparison with the Italian Job making British culture look good with its bravery and pride whereas Get Carter is full of negativity with the use of Mob violence, betrayal and death.
Other differences between the two films includes the fact that this 'job' is motivated by revenge and in The Italian Job it was to help Britain's economy. Also Michael Caine's character in Get Carter in much more violent than when he played Charlie Croker in The Italian Job and the story is mainly based in Britain rather than London and Turin in The Italian Job. The cast in Get Carter is also less prestigious. Also Michael Caine's character in Get Carter is more sympathetic than when he played Charlie Croker and is tougher on those who fail him.

Get Carter : Did I find it shocking and disturbing ?

Even though this film was made about 38 years ago I still found it as shocking and disturbing to watch as a modern day gangster film which shows how far the film was ahead of its time. To me it really highlighted the bad side of British society and culture and it shocked me as to how far one man will go just to restore his pride and avenge his brother's death.

Myths and mythology

A Myth is something that isn't true and follows basic narrative structures such as good/evil. Night at the Museum is an example of a film underpinned by myth as it's a unique idea and unlikely to be true although you can imagine it happening. The mythical system is made up by idols such as heroes such as spiderman and batman, people who's lives we would love to live.

British film pitch

It's big its bold it's now the new wars of fallen video game. However the buyers of the game are in for a bit of shock as the characters escape the game and start attacking the inhabitants of London. Will a bold team of individuals led by Martin fuller stop the chaos and restore order or will London be turned into ' the battlefield from hell' ?