Weekly News

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-37687364

In this weeks news I read that a man had been arrested on suspicion of rape following an alleged attack at the houses of parliament, the metropolitan police have not named the suspect but stressed he was not at MP. I personally thought this article was a clear reminder of the continuous flow of crime through out high ranking people such as politicians, much of which is not disclosed to the public due to media outlets attempting to keep the publics perspective the same and project a positive representation. The information also held due to the public being supposed to be able to trust these high ranking politicians even though many scandals usually surrounding large amounts of money have been exposed in recent years. Finally I think it projects a very negative representation on parliament that this despicable crime happened in their grounds as it would be thought this would be a location in which security was at its highest. 

Weekly News

SOURCE:http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/trump-support-muslim-american-republicans-161010183714497.html

In this weeks news i decided to gather my information from a different source from the usual, consequently this source ended up being Qatar based broadcaster: Al Jazeera, I decided to differ my source to the more frequently trusted UK based BBC in the hope to gain a different perspective on one of the most current events worldwide, the US election. I was surprised to find an article on the website stating 'Trump keeps support of Muslim-American Republics',  this surprising me due to my knowledge of Trump being that he is an out right racist/sexist, my opinions being formed by the BBC and various social medias as well as word of mouth, possibly exemplifying how someones opinion can be constructed by the various media that surrounds them in day to day life. My personal opinion which is determined by UK media outlets being very different to someone who is continuously surrounded by US media outlets who have been and currently are portraying and representing Donald Trump in an extremely positive light, allowing peoples opinions to be formed and changed by bias propaganda all over America and therefore resulting is it becoming ever more likely that Trump will win the election and become US president. 

Weekly News

SOURCE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-37615637

In this weeks news I read 'Australian opposition MPs said they will block prime ministers plans to hold a national vote on legalising same sex marriage. Immediately this came as no surprise to me as I know from experience many people in Australia hold very strong opinions on people of particular race or sex, basically anyone that isn't white or straight which could be viewed as extremely hypocritical due to Island in which they live on belonging to the Aboriginal people before Britain invaded and populated the island with people of white skin colour. I personally think this news story is a current reminder of how many people including high ranking MPs are stuck in their ways and hold twisted opinions about various cultures,races and religions, the current election in America also being a perfect example of how the dominant ideology can rise to power regardless of holding strong opinions on a particular group of people, like Trumps opinions on Muslim people. 

The Great British Bake Off - Case Study Analysis

'The Great British Bake Off' is a reality t.v show which revolves around a baking competition that attempts to find the most talented ammeter baker in Britain. The show is broadcast on BBC 1, Wednesdays at 20.00, and is currently presented by Mary Berry, Paul Hollywood and Mel and Sue who supposedly bring a comedic element to the show. The show is extremely successful as it draws in on average 10 million viewers per episode which is extremely impressive considering the decline in reality t.v in the modern day due to the up rise in series on outlets such as Netflix and Amazon Prime where the majority of t.v is consumed. However 'GBBO' seems to be the exception to this trend as it draws in a reliable audience who are also very active on social media. The show features people of different ethnicity's and classes in order to portray an equal positive representation on the bakers regardless of their backgrounds as well as to target and captivate a larger audience, relatable individuals on screen being effective in broadening the target audience as well as allowing audience members to become interested in each characters life on the whole. 

Weekly News #16

SOURCE: BBC NEWS - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-35818409

In this weeks news I read about how tech giants 'Sony' will be releasing a virtual reality headset for their worldwide console, the 'PlayStation'. The headsets price has been released at £282 (399$) which is $200 cheaper than 'Facebook's Oculus Rift and $400 less than the HTC Vive , all rival products that are expected to be released around the same time. This article is a clear reminder of the ever advancing technology in the modern world, and the rivalry that rises up between the various companies as similar products are released in the hope that each individual companies product is most successful after being distributed between the current worldwide audience who are becoming ever more immersed in the video games, as technology advances,  subsequently making the various games more real for video gamers allowing them to completely escape reality as they enter a different world. Research has shown that around 53 million people will own their most recent console, the 'PlayStation 4' when their newest product is released, providing this innovative way of playing games on 'PlayStation' with a massive audience which means the product is almost certain to be a massive success when released predicted to make around 1.6 million by 2017. 

National & Regional Identity - Reality Television

I will be exploring how reality t.v programmes like 'Geordie Shore','The only way Is Essex' and 'Made in Chelsea' represent the specific region displayed in the title in both positive and negative ways. Regional dialect,accents and specific activities the various groups may partake in are usually all evident in this particular genre of television, possibly giving the passive audience the impression that these activities are the normality for the people situated in these areas. These television programmes also often play on stereotypes in order to engage the audience possibly for the intention of entertainment or to make the experience relatable for people who recognise the particular slang used or activities/locations that are ongoing and constantly shown through out the show. These stereotypes usually resulting in the characters featured in these shows being rather archetypal as they are put in place in order to inform the audience of an element about the chosen region often resulting in characters that only one intention and consequently have a very shallow depth of character. One key example of this is how 'Scotty T's' only intentions through out the 'Geordie Shore' series is to go out and 'pull birds', this archetypal character possibly being relatable to the viewer or recognisable in the viewers group of friends, resulting in an entertaining experience due to 'Scotty T's' actions and personality possibly being funny for viewers maybe due to him being relatable in some way, or again humorous for viewers unable to relate to the programme due to his stupidity displayed through out the programme. 

The Untouchables - Film Analysis

'The Untouchables' is a 2011 biographical comedy drama directed by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, the film explores themes of; class, humanity, disability, insecurities, wealth, love, humour, and friendship as we see the lives of two completely different people collide resulting in an possibly unexpected positive outcome for both characters. Driss (Omar Sy), a young black man living on a poverty stricken estate, and Philipe (Francois Cluzet) , an elderly white disabled millionaire come into contact after Driss unwillingly attends a job interview in attempt to gain a signature towards claiming his benefits, consequently meeting Philipe and soon after being given a job as his personal handler. The film was a huge success worldwide earning itself the title of second highest selling French film of all time, gaining an astounding $426.6 million at the box office with just a $10.8 million budget, this success possibly aided by distributers (The Weinstein Company) who were key in providing the film with the ever important American audience. The film possessed and cleverly played against many stereotypes in the duration of the film, allowing the characters to immediately become recognisable and have a level of characterisation and depth to them. I personally think the major theme displayed through out the film was humanity, I believe this due to the characters evidently being very different in class (and many other aspects) , and both characters living two extremely different lives, yet they are still able to show affection and care for one another, overcoming the barrier that may be seen by many people in the modern world between these two very different people.  

This film will be very useful as a case study for our media exam surrounding representation as there are many examples of both positive and negative representations of gender,age,disability,race and class, throughout the film. I personally think the representation of disability was positive in this particular film, our protagonist Philipe is consequently paralysed below the neck after a hand gliding accident leaving him wheelchair bound and constantly needing help with literally everything in his every day life. However even though Philipe is the victim of a devastating incident leaving him unable to live a completely normal life due to his mobility , he continues to demonstrate his determination in many forms through out the film as it is clear he is set on living a life as enjoyable as it can possibly be, his love and passion for art and hand gliding is displayed in the film proving the clear determination he possess as his disability is not able to stop him from doing what he loves.