WEEKEND FILM ANALYSIS

'Weekend' (2011) is a romantic drama directed by Andrew Haigh , the film explores the sudden relationship sparked between two homosexual men and how their relationship develops and progresses over a weekend, providing the audience with a detailed and at times intrusive insight into the various elements contained within their relationship. Including major themes such as acceptance allowed the film to accurately portray the struggle many homosexual men may face due to an underlying stigma surrounding the topic , this stigma created and continuously projected through various sources in society, the defined outline of masculinity contributing to many men unable to accept their sexuality. I personally think the film effectively reflected the controversy often associated with this particular topic, elements such as the cinematography were very effective in provoking a reaction from the audience due to the intimacy between the two main characters being shown in its true light. The cinematography displayed within the film was key in emphasizing this often unspoken of topic, focussed lengthy shots were used through out the film in order to create a sense of awkwardness among audience members, mirroring the awkwardness of the topic and leaving us in thought , causing audience members to think if we would react the same to a scene featuring a heterosexual couple. Due to constant exposure and consumption of media many people have become desensitized to how men and women are portrayed in the majority of  media texts , men often portrayed in a very dominant masculine manner , juxtaposed to this women are often objectified and sexualised. With reference to the hypodermic needle theory this constant injection of stereotypical gender roles through the media results in many people assuming that their sexuality must fall into one category , meaning masses of people feel unable to explore or express their sexuality due to fear of not being accepted by society. 'Weekend' perfectly exemplifies many of the elements and challenges included within being a homosexual man in the modern day, as well as detailing many of the similarities between heterosexual and homosexual relationships.

A2 MEDIA EVALUATION

In evaluating my A2 media production I shall explore how my production has been informed by my research findings, focusing on both the strengths and weaknesses of my personal production process, as well as realizing the comparative links between my initial research. For my MS3 coursework I conducted an investigation into the representation of black males in UK music videos, the investigation looking specifically at two focal artists; Loyle Carner & Skepta. As a result of my investigation I discovered:

 · a commonly misunderstood negative representation in UK music videos featuring black males
· an uprising diversion from the more stereotypical elements often found in UK music videos which feature black males
· a clear creative element being implicated into many UK music videos, partly responsible for the change in representation among black males
· a newly found appreciation of black males in UK music videos among both audience members and media company’s

 To display what I discovered in my research investigation I decided to create a front cover and double page, which subverted the negative connotation usually associated with black males in UK music videos, glamourizing the art form of music video through a minimalistic layout, this minimalism could be closely compared to the approach Loyle Carner often takes in his music videos. Even though I decided to divert from the usual grimy aesthetic associated with this particular type of music video I did purposefully include elements in the double page spread such as photographs that I personally thought celebrated the harsh nature of the street, this celebration evident in much of Skepta’s work particularly.                

After an in depth research into Loyle Carner and his music I thought it would be interesting to extract the resurgence of a particular genre and entail this in the article itself, due to the production subverting stereotypes found in my research investigation I decided to particularly look at the resurgence of jazz, jazz being a genre often found combined with hip hop in Loyle’s work. My article definitely reflecting the resurgence of a less popular UK genre, this differing to the norm as it is usually grime which is discussed when it comes to UK music/UK music videos due to rising popularity. 

Visual elements displayed in the music videos of both my focal artists inspiring my final production, harsh aspects of the street exposed through both visual links of graffiti and primary photographs, these particular elements of my production linking more to the atmospheric vibe created in Skepta’s music videos. I contrasted these visuals with a minimalistic approach , an approach often taken in Loyle Carner’s work in order to portray and provide a more emotional effect on the audience. Combining both colour and negative space often evident in Loyle’s work I was able to provide the double page spread with a particular mood that fitted my selected genre and desired effect successfully. I personally believe my final production effectively challenged the stereotypes often associated with black males in UK music videos. Manipulating visual elements from my initial research investigation to create a professionally formatted front cover/double page spread of a magazine that successfully subverted the stereotypes explored in my initial research.