Reading and Viewing Materials for Assignment 5

Please read/view any 2 of the following texts for assignment 5 before your EALD classes.



Feature films

1. Provoked starring Aishwarya Rai + Naveen Andrews
2. Water directed by Deepa Mehta

Documentaries

1.The Forgotten Woman directed by Dilip Mehta
2.Till Death Us Do Part directed by Vita Lusty


Comic

1.Dragonslippers by Rosalind B Penfold ( will be viewed during class time)


Novel (biography)

1. Desert Flower by Waris Dirie


Carry out your own research to find out more about the themes,plots and representation of widows,abused people or cultural practices that discriminate gender,race or culture

Assessment: 5

Topic: Cultural Practice and Gender Discrimination

Task : Compare and contrast the approach used to present the issue of gender discrimination through different texts that you have read and view. e.g: How the stereotype of females is portrayed. How How cultural background are demonstrated as a key factor in contributing to discrimination towards women. How the gender roles in the western culture differe from that of their eastern counterparts? In a group of three to four members, present your findings in the form of a powerpoint.

Marks: 50 marks
Weighting: 10%

Outcome: Reading, viewing and writing

Task Duration: 15 Minutes for each group

Assessment 4--- July 26th-30th 2010

Intructions:

In groups of three to four, create your own parody of commercials, one that will not only get the audience's attention but will subvert the original purpose of the commercial.

You are allowed to refer to a maximum of 3 commercials.

Your sketch shoul not exceed 10 minutes. Most good parodies are funny, but funny isn't essential here; grim and provocative parodies work nicely as well.


The key is to point out a deeper truth, something missing from the commercials, or else to turn the meaning of the commercials in on itselves. Ideally, your parody should be more than a joke; it should make some sort of critical political/cultural/social statement.


Whether the issue is related to the environment, health, labor, media concentration, or another cause, you might want to do some research to bolster your point. Make sure that the criticism of the product or the ad is clear.

Before you settle on an idea, ask yourself: Would the viewers understand it? You may illustrate your parody with a sketch.

Please download and bring in the original commercials to be shown before your parody sketch. A complete script for thesketch is to be submitted in hard copy to the lecturer before the presentation.


Have fun! ;)




























new exercise for understanding persuasive advertisements

http://www.tv411.org/lessons/cfm/reading.cfm?str=reading&num=4&act=3&que=1

Use of persuasive language in an advertisement to promote a product

Persuasive language is used in advertising to promote the sales of products.
An effective advertisement would use colloquial language, stock phrases ,emotive words and word play to capture the attention of readers.

A good advertisement would sell the plus points of the product like its unique features,highlight the benefit of the product to users and the superiority of the product compared to its competitors.

Some products use empty weasel words or snob appeal or celebrity appeal or facts /statistics or urgency to act /kairos to lure buyers.

Use words to seduce the reader.Use words to whet the appetite of the reader to make a beeline to the shop to buy the product.Use words to make the reader drool,itch and die to get hold of the product.


Persuasive Informercial (informative commercial)

The Hair-Met

1.Introduction: Are you sick of "helmet hair"?Does your ponytail get in the way of your bike riding safety? If so,then the Hair-Met is exactly what you need!

11.Body
A. Introduction of Product
1. Unlike regular helmets,the Hair Met keeps you specifically in mind!
2.Studies show that the majority of average bike riders will sacrifice their own safety by not wearing a helmet,so that they don't ruin their hairstyle.
a. Most female riders would like their long hair up off their neck and back.
b.Even male riders with longer hair complain of the heat and sweat that a normal helmet creates.
3.Multi-Tour De France winner,Lance Armstrong strongly endorses the Hair Met for anyone looking to control their hairstyle while having safety to their ride.
a. Wore the Hair-Met in a race last year ,and enjoyed the extra coolness.
b. Both of his daughters won't leave home without their Hair-Met!
Transition: You may be thinking,"I already have a helmet."Why should I go out and purchase another?Let's see what the product has to offer,so you can make one of the best safety decisions of your life.

B. Description of Product

1. Materials used
a. State of the art padding and casing allows for comfort,while stabilizing your head in a fall or crash.
b.The chin strap allows easy adjustments,so as not to restrict your range of motion.

2.Why ours and not theirs.
a.Unlike regular helmets,the Hair-Met allows your hair to pass through multiple holes that have been strategically placed around the helmet.
b.Regular helmets do not offer this!
c. Our products also comes in multiple colour options,allowing you to coordinate your Hair-Met with any biking attire.

i. List of colours
ii.Pattern options
iii.Designs for guys and gals!

3. Consumer Benefit

a.Your hairstyle will stay in one place,without the need to carry extra hair accessories for unruly touch-ups after riding.
b. Not only is it comfortable for women and young girls,but men of all ages can enjoy a gentle breeze flowing through a normally hot and sticky encasement.
c. Look and feel your best while being safe in this new state of the art design!

Transition: Think this sounds too good to be true?Wait until you hear the price!

C. Introduction of Price

1. Product price
a. Normal helmets only last a few years before a child desires to look better and feel better while on their biking adventures,and this can end up costing too much for the average household.
b.The Hair-Met can be all yours for just four easy payments of 19.99!
2.If you buy now,we will throw in two interchangeable decorative chin straps.
3.Contact info
a. Call us at 1-800- HAIRMET
b. Find more info and products online at www. ORIGINAL HAIRMET.com
Transition: If you're puzzled on how to get out and about without ruining your new hair do,be sure to order your very own Hair-Met!

D. Summary of Sales Pitch

1. No one enjoys showing up at their friends' house or their workplace with hair that has been matted down under a crummy old helmet. Ride with ease,by adding a Hair-Met to your routine!
2. Remember,if you don't buy today,you could be experiencing unnecessary anguish over a ruined hairstayle or sweat that has left your hair unattractive and unmanageable.
3.Get out there and have a "HOLE" lot of fun with Hair-Met!

111. Conclusion:the Hair-Met is an athlete endorsed,safety -tested product that will not only give you great protection but assist you in your everyday style.We recommend not being the last one to take our product for a ride!
Thank You Hair Met ! You Make my Day ! Hurrah! No More Bad Hair Day!

persuasive writing of advertisements

  • Work out the audience,context and purpose of an advertisement
  • Divide the advertisement into sections to highlight differences and similarities and highlight key words and phrases
  • Consider the techniques the writer uses to try and persuade the reader about ideas and attitudes
  • Comment on the patterns of words,patterns of imagery and descriptive language
  • Comment on phrasing,syntax,abstract nouns and adjectives

use of informal questions

the way the text offers the reader a possible lifestyle( an aspirational approach)

the way in which the text offers the reader choices and possibilities,

reassurance,

the use of technical jargon,

the use of buzz words

Framework for Analyzing Film

Literary aspects

narrative

characters

setting


theme

signs

genre



1. Narrative (the story,story line,what the story line is based on;binary oppositions;disruption of an equilibrium and how a new equilibrium sets in)

2.Characters(heroes,villains,helpers,main characters,supporting characters,and how characters function and contribute to our understanding of the story)

3.Setting (physical environment in which filming occurs,indoors or outdoors setting and its significance)

4.Theme (general statement about the subject)

5.Signs ( anything perceptible that has significance beyond its usual function or meaning;an object,a sound,a person,an act,a colour)

6.Who is telling the story?Why is it being told? Does it appear to have a purpose?

7.How does it construct meaning? (narrative structures using flashback or predictions)

8.How does it represent its subject-with reference to the social,cultural or historical context.(representation,use of stereotypes,representation of the past)

9. Who are the characters in the film and how are they represented?

10. What is the film's setting? (historical,socio-cultural context)

11. What are the main plot elements?

12. From whose point of view is the story told? (adult,child,powerful,oppressed,marginalized,conqueror)

Assessment for media text-feature films

Collage

As a group of 3, make a collage after viewing the movie "Australia" and "Rabbit Proof Fence". Compare and contrast the media representations of stereotypes in both feature films.

You may use white mahjong paper,black sugar paper and cut outs of pictures obtained from web sites like IMDB or from movie reviews.You can use your creativity in making symbolic representations of the themes in the movies like actual objects or paper models pasted onto the collage.( Read the task sheet given carefully.The table with the list of points should be included in the collage.The points can be hand-written or typed.)

* A collage is a work such as a literary piece composed of both borrowed and original material.



Suggested reading


Tips on how to watch movies intelligently and critically

Viewing a film critically and attentively means to realize cinema with greater thought and awareness.

The feature film is the most NATURALISTIC of all fictional forms.Film tries to hide the idea that it is a film,whereas a lot of plays consciously remind the audience that they are watching a play.

Film aims to create an illusion of absolute reality,yet its construction methods are highly artificial.

A film is made out of sequence;it is highly edited,and each camera shot(visuals) and the sound track control exactly what everyone in the audience sees and hears at any given moment.

High production cost must yield return on capital investment.Therefore MAINSTREAM films,at least,aim at a MASS-MARKET audience,are largely conventional,made within popular GENRE categories to suit popular taste.Thus film is more likely to appeal to current fads and fashions,and to reflect and reinforce the values of mass audience in order to satisfy and gratify,rather than to challenge them,make too much of an intellectual demand,or take them into unknown,dark or disturbing waters.

Given the limitation of running time(usually 90-120 minutes),alongside this need for mass appeal,film must often resort to comparatively crude,blatant,obvious and simplistic methods so that audiences will grasp meaning and effect instantaneously.Fine detail and depth of treatment is harder to achieve in this medium.


Many films have a print source,ie.they are adaptations of novels,plays,biographies or historical events.Print must be translated into visual image and action,as the success of the film medium is dependent on such ingredients.It is difficult to translate the levels of meaning contained in the metaphorical language levels that is the subtlety and rich ambiguity of words.Films can mostly translate metaphor into literal representations.

You need to be able to make use of normal language to describe graphically what is seen and heard in selected sequences from the film in order to demonstrate how the film maker has treated that particular sequence of visuals and sound track so as to communicate meaning and effect.

As a FICTIONAL form,like the NOVEL,SHORT-STORY and PLAY,feature film unfolds in narrative form:EXPOSITION,DEVELOPMENT,CLIMAX AND CONCLUSION.

The manipulative process of giving or withholding information,and surprising the audience is an element common to all forms of story-telling.In film,EXPOSITION is usually much reduced,with expository material and contextual information being supplied as quickly,as dynamically as possible,embedded in the action.

The sequence of story telling on film is different from other narrative forms,due to the nature of filming.Rather than continuous rolling,film is an assemblage of separate TAKES ,or SHOTS.There will be a variety of both short and long takes,which are assembled in an order that allows the audience to make connections between them in order to make the story unfold in a meaningful way.This method of telling is called MONTAGE.Films often exploit the freedom montage offers them to assemble,or paste together a whole sequence of seemingly unrelated shots so as to build up a meaning and a tension,and to play with the audience's expectations and surprise elements.Montage effectively exploits the impact of CONTRASTS through JUXTAPOSITIONS.