National Identity in American Oxygen by Rihanna

The music video of American Oxygen portrays national identity to be the 'American Dream', however uses juxtaposition to portray that America is not just the positives but also the negatives, showing stereotypical features of the national identity, but also then shows a non-stereotypical side. It also shows how those chasing the American dream, immigrants, were treated in America and how it the 'American dream' was not what it seemed to be, again Juxtaposition is used to show this again. Various shots of American flags, spaceships with USA on, and long shots of the statue of liberty all fit the stereotypical national identity. The editing of the silhouettes in front of the building show important events of American history, adding to the representation of the national identity as they're part of the country's history. Close up shots of influential and well known figures in American history such as Barack and Michelle Obama and Martin Luther King Jr that represent the national identity. The use of rapid editing shows the juxtaposition, for example a long shot of people playing american football and then a long shot of riots. At the end of the video, the non-digetic music says 'we are the new America', over close ups and mid shots of black and white people integrating, shaking hands and helping each other, showing that even though the national identity is often seen to be racist, through the history of discrimination against black people, America has changed to become more racially diverse, testing the stereotypical national identity.

Textual Analysis of Pride (2014)

There are various representations that show national identity within the film trailer. At the beginning of the trailer, there are establishing shots of 'the valleys'  and also the famous bridge that leads into Wales. Before we've even seen any of the characters, the mise on scene of these two things immediately indicate to the audience that it is set in Wales. Furthermore, in these shots the lighting is low key and dark, connoting bad weather that is often associated with Wales. The non-digetic music of choir singers also conforms to the representation of national identity as there are famous choir singers from Wales, for example Charlotte Church. There is a mid shot of people in a working mans club which conforms to the stereotype of tight knit communities in small villages in Wales. When the 'gays' appear, there is a change in non-digetic music, it becomes more upbeat and modern, suggesting that Welsh people are old fashioned. Furthermore the use of digetic sound of the elderly woman saying 'your gays have arrived' portrays that Welsh people do not know how to react around new people, it also adds humour to the shot. There is the use of a shot reverse shot to show dialogue between the elderly woman and the younger man as he is too scared to go and speak to the gay people. This conforms with the stereotype that Welsh are less willing to try new situations and are stuck in their own ways. However, as the trailer goes on, the stereotype is challenged as the Welsh miners join with the homosexual group to strike against Margeret Thatcher. They become more accepting of the group, shown through the close up shot of the elderly woman in the people carrier saying that she is a lesbian and sticking up for the group. The close up shot of the gay man and welsh man shaking hands also challenges the stereotype as they have now put their differences behind them and joined forces.

Ethnicity

Eastenders

In Eastenders, Kim is a representation of a black woman who has just had a baby. The father is not around and she is left to take care of the baby on her one. She is portrayed to be a single mother and this is a very stereotypical representation of black women. It plays to the stereotype that indicates a negative representation. Furthermore, the family are the only black family in Eastenders, giving a feeling of tokenism. This also plays to the pitied stereotype as the audience feels sorry for Kim as she is struggling being a single mother. 

Bangkok Airport

Bangkok airport shows a positive representation of Thai people as they're portrayed to be patriotic, happy and welcoming to tourists. We see a range of different Thai people therefore the audience sees a variety of different characters, so there is no particular stereotypes created. There is no tokenism used as everyone is of the same race. They are shown to be the exotic stereotype as the audience is getting an insight into Bangkok Airport that they may not have known about before. 

Eastenders

This mid shot shows Nick Cotton, a dark character in need of help. The use of the mid shot shows Nick's facial expression, as well as showing some of his surroundings. The mise-en-scene reflects his personality, The hard, low key lighting also reflects him as a character as it is dark and gloomy. His facial expression shows pain and desperation, which may cause the audience to feel pity for him, however as the episode goes on, Nick shows his true colours. This scene humanises Nick, showing that he too suffers and is in a dark place, needing help to get out, but when around other characters we do not see this side of Nick as he manipulates his mother and those around him.

In Eastenders, shot reverse shots are often seen to portray dialogue between characters as it is used to develop the story lines. In this shot, Lauren is talking to Stacey about how she is feeling and also reveals that she may know who killed Lucy. The shot is very much focused on Lauren, with half of Stacey out of shot. The low key lighting connotes doom and indicates the situation to be serious. The blinds connote Lauren feeling trapped, like she cannot express how she is feeling. Her facial expression makes her appeal tired and worried.

This shot is a close up of Dot's face when she finds her son, Nick lying on the floor. The use of the close up shot shows the audience her feelings, as she is shocked and distressed. The low key, hard lighting helps represent the situation, as Dot and her son are in a dark situation. The bags under Dot's eyes show her tiredness and exasperation.

This is a another example of a shot-reverse-shot in Eastenders. Fat Boy discusses when Dot went to buy heroine, trying to make her see sense that he is a bad person. The situation is domesticated, showing Dot to be like a mother-figure to Fat Boy. His facial expression shows his worry for Dot and shows he wants the best for her.

'This Girl Can'

In the advert, 'This Girl Can' women are represented to be empowered and feel that they can participate in sport, not matter their age or body shape. This is represented through the diversity of women within the video, with differing ages, ethnicities and body types.

The use of mid-shots and close ups show that the video is very much focused on what the women, reiterating the message of 'this girl can', showing that no matter who you are, you can participate in sport and be the best you can be. The video starts with a mid shot of a girl, walking out a swimming pool. She does not have the body type seen a lot in the media, she is much more curvy, portraying that you do not have to have the 'perfect' body. Furthermore, the transitions between clips is face paced, which reflects the women's movement. The transitions also allow a wide range of women doing various sports to be shown, varying in age, ethnicity and body type.

The use of the non-digetic sound of the song 'get your freak on' by Missy Elliott is a cultural reference as Missy Elliott is a strong independent woman and represents the women well in the video.

Representation of Age in the Media

TV Programme - Waterloo Road

In Series 10, episode 7, Floyd, Tiffany's brother confronts Justin and Tiffany about their relationship. Floyd and Tiffany have been dating, however Tiffany's family do not approve. When Floyd confronts Justin about them dating, he handles the situation poorly, argues with Justin. Justin then says 'she can't keep her hands off me'. Floyd reacts to this by punching Justin. This is a clear representation of age in the Media as it is portraying teenagers not being able to handle a situation in a mature or composed manner. Furthermore, the mis-en-scene of this scene connotes a school situation, indicated through their clothing of a school uniform and the background of the school. The lighting of the scene is natural lighting to portray that the situation is a natural and reoccurring situation in teens. This shows that the two pupils depicted arguing haven't matured enough to leave the school environment, therefore are not acting in a mature way. The representation of age in this scene is stereotypical as the two teens are portrayed to handle the situation poorly, which is a stereotypical trate of young people. The argument they are having is also very stereotypical as it is an argument expected from the age group.

Music Video - Anaconda by Nicki Minah

In this music video, Nicki Minaj, in her 20's, uses her sexuality to appeal to her audience. She is dressed in very little clothing, dancing provocatively. Furthermore, there are shots of alcohol bottles, which connotes that people within their early 20's like to drink. She uses a stereotypical image of her in an apron in a kitchen to show a stereotype of young women doing cooking within the home. Her facial expressions are also very provocative, she uses a lot of eye contact to appeal to her audience. She is using her sexuality to sell her music and is living up to the stereotypical early 20's women who like to party and use their bodies to attract men. Her facial expressions are also very provocative, she uses a lot of eye contact to appeal to her audience. Within the media, women within their 20's are often sexualised for the purpose of the male audience. This is seen throughout most media forms. The most obvious one is in magazines, when girls dress in little clothing, with the camera focused on them, giving eye contact. In the music video, Nicki Minaj and her dancers within the mise-en-scene very much live up to this stereotype.





Film Trailer - The Fault In Our Stars

The film trailer for The Fault In Our Stars goes very much against the stereotypical idea of a teenager, When we think of the health of a teen, they are represented to be healthy and happy. However, in the movie trailer, this stereotype is very much challenged. Hazel is a teen suffering from cancer and she isn't living what she considers to be a 'normal' teenage life. Her daily routine is different to most teenagers, she goes to support group, hospital appointments and spends her time at home. This is seen in the scene where she is speaking to her parents about being a teenager. She says that her parents need to give her a fake ID so she can go to clubs and take pot. To this, her Father says 'you don't take pot''. This portrays that she believes she is not a stereotypical teenager and she wants to be. However, as the trailer goes on, we see that she meets Augustus and seems to become a more stereotypical teenager, falling in love with him. The love story of teenagers within the media, especially in movies, is stereotypical. Therefore, within the film we see a non-stereotypical teenage girl become more stereotypical, but her experience of teenage life will always be different to others because of the cancer. This play on the non-stereotypical character adds emotion to the film trailer.

Double Page Spread Textual Analysis

This article in Vogue, actress Felicity Jones is being interviewed. However, It is not a question and answer style article. Key quotations from the interview carried out by the journalist writing the article are included while they explain what happened during the interview. This style of article gives it a more sophisticated and high class feel, as the questions asked are insightful to the actress' life, rather than pointless questions that are sometimes included in more low end articles. A capitalised letter used at the beginning which also adds to the sophisticated feel of the magazine and it is a very recognisable style of Vogue magazine. A key quotation from the interview enlarged, breaking down the text slightly. Other than the main image on the right side of the article,  the quotation is the first thing you see. The image is a mid shot of Felicity Jones. The image is very simple and shows her looking quite natural but flawless. The image is in colour and is bright which may be trying to reflect her personality and maybe also the season in which the article appears in the magazine. The pop of colour gives a nice contrast to the black and white page on the left. However, even though the colour is bright on the image, it still looks very sophisticated as there are only to main bright colours which complement each other well and reflect a very fresh look, also portrayed though the actress' make up. The image is very much based around her and nothing else which may connote that the focus in the acting world is currently on her. On the side of the image there is a brief description of her clothing. The clothing she is wearing is from Burberry, which is a familiar designer brand often seen within Vogue. The name of the journalist is listed at the very bottom of the article. The page number also appears below the text.