MEDIA LANGUAGE: STRAUSS & STRUCTURALISM

Our recent work covered how hegemony influences representations.
Today, we build on our understanding of representation and media language, two of the course's 4 key concepts, that underpin how you analyse what you see in television drama questions, the film industry as well as in your own productions. We use a text book that I have bought for the media department; it has online worksheets at www.essentialmediatheory.com. We start with Claude Levi-Strauss.

 

Levi-Strauss analysed the structure and narrative of hundreds of mythic tales he collected from all round the globe. He sought to uncover the invisible rulebook of storytelling in order to look closely at the essential nature of human experience. He believed that if he discerned any common themes, the myths would reveal essential truths about how the human mind structured the world. He concluded that all stories worked through oppositional arrangements - through the construction of characters or narrative incidents that clash or jar. Moreover, he came to believe that stories and storytelling perform a vital social function: oppositional presentations are resolved to outline societal taboos and socially acceptable behaviours.

LS outlined his key academic ideas in his book The Savage Mind 1962. For LS, different cultures might speak different languages, but stories told across the globe and throughout history employ a remarkably simple but stable formula.. Myths, he argued, universally explore human experience using polarised themes (birth competing against death, wisdom competing with innocence...). Can you think of any fairy tales that support this idea?

Concept One:  media narratives use binary opposition

LS offers a structuralist approach to media language, suggesting that humans encode and decode the world using universally shared principles.
• The media uses binary oppositions to explain and categorise the complexities of the world around us.
• Oppositions can be found in the media in the presentation of characters: audiences expect villains to battle heroes; secondary characters are constructed with contrasts in terms of youth or maturity, strength or intelligence, masculinity or femininity. In news stories, criminals exploit victims; in documentaries, innocent subjects fall prey to anonymous corporations.
• Oppositions can be found in the media in the presentation of narrative themes. Print and TV advertising transforms failure into success through simplified binary presentations. TV narratives conventionally end in a grand narrative collision in order to deliver an exciting finale to their audiences.
• Media makers also apply stylistic oppositions to mise-en-scène, camera work, editing styles and image construction.The juxtaposition of different styles might include camera work changing from quiet stillness in one scene to frenzied whip pans in another. This sort of transition might reinforce wider character-oriented oppositions. They can also create aesthetic interest. Look at the table below.

• Thematic oppositions in media products can be  genre driven. Some binary oppositions are so deeply entrenched within genres that they become a genre convention (expectation). Sci-Fi regularly offers audiences 'humanity v. technology' driven narratives; crime drama 'law enforcer v. law breaker; romances resolve in romantic couplings.

WHY ARE BINARY OPPOSITIONS USED? The function of oppositions

You can draw on these points when you write about your own characters & narrative in CCR1

• To clearly explain ideas To simplify complicated ideas, viewpoints. News stories often explain complex topics by referencing interviewees with oppositional viewpoints to generate simplified overviews. When you think about writing about press regulation, for instance, you will offer oppositional views ("Arguably.... On the other hand...")
• To create compelling narratives Audiences are more likely to engage with a film if they are promised a narrative clash. What are the clashes in your own productions?
• To create identifiable character types Audiences quickly pick up the sense of direction in a story once oppositional characters are introduced (hero / villain; good guy winning his girl). Clashing characters also offer audiences a range of other gratifications - comedy, fear...
• To create audience identification Binary oppositions prompt audiences to identify with one central character, group or viewpoint. An advert that contrasts dull reality with the promise of a sparkling outcome, for example, positions the audience to empathise with that brand. Have you noticed any casting choices for villains in US films?

The poster will prompt our exploration of genre driven oppositions. Look at the heading to identify the genre then look down the list.

Concept Two: the way binary oppositions are resolved creates  ideological significance
For Levi-Strauss, myths give us a version of the world around us and generate culturally specific norms of behaviour (=belonging to a particular culture /period in time / place). Narratives provide audiences with a set of privileged behaviours that they are encouraged to copy. For example, he cites Sophocles' famous Oedipus myth. Cultural products in art, media and literature don't just present conflict; they offer resolutions to oppositions. Think about James Bond or The Avengers.

• media producers construct ideologies by positioning their audiences to favour one side of an opposition (How does 'Britishness' triumph in a Bond movie? How are the NHS presented in the Press during the Covid19 crisis?)
• narrative resolutions -  the ending of media products - often help us to diagnose which oppositions a product favours. (Who gets the girl / the medal / the hero's welcome home?) Oscar Wilde famously said "The good end happily, the bad unhappily; that is what fiction means.")

Theorists who challenge Levi-Strauss's thinking

• Stuart Hall: would argue that media products can be encoded using binary oppositions, but audiences do not necessarily decode products in the way that media producers intended
• Paul Gilroy: argues that Western binary thinking has traditionally classified ethnicity in terms of simplified white /non white and civilised /uncivilised categories. He calls for the media to move beyond these simplistic and damaging binary classifications.
• Judith Butler: similarly argues that conventional Western gender binaries mask the complex nature of sexuality. 

 

HOW EDITING CONSTRUCTS REPRESENTATIONS

The examiners always comment on students' lack of focus on editing when analysing representation.

The notes below should help you to think about HOW editing can affect representation.
David Allison notes also available at The Media Association www.themea.org

EDITING AND REPRESENTATION

As a technical code, editing is primarily related to narrative, and many students struggle to make connections between editing and representation. They see how camerawork such as close-ups and low angles conveys status and emotion to the audience. The use of costume, props and settings functions of mise-en-scène are also pretty transparent to most students.

But what does match-on-action have to do with character or representation?

This list is designed to help you to start thinking about how editing can, if sometimes subtly, influence the audience’s reading of a character, and lead on to wider questions of representation. It is not an exhaustive list, and you should be wary of assuming these suggestions are either a) complete or b) foolproof - in the same way that black and white don’t always represent good and evil (just ask a penguin). The role of editing in representation is open to interpretation, and is greatly dependent on context. So use your intelligence!

ACTION MATCH

When following a single character (e.g. Billy Elliot dancing) this is a purely technical device. However, when an action match is used for intercutting, it can heighten the parallels/contrasts between two different characters in two different situations and offers an opportunity for juxtaposition.

EYELINE MATCH

Eyeline match usually provides insight to a character's private thoughts.

e.g. In Doctor Who: Last of the Time Lords, Martha exchanges glances with all the people she loves, as though this may be the last chance she has to communicate with them before she dies. Similarly, as she confronts the Master, it keeps cutting between her and the friends watching her, signifying that she, the woman, is the centre of the action.

FINAL SHOT

In any scene, which character or characters are shown in the final shot of the sequence? This is often the character with which the audience is expected to identify.

e.g. in Primeval, although Abby saves the day, the last shot is on Cutter, signifying that the audience is intended to adopt the male, not female, point of view. See also every East Enders cliffhanger ever.

INTERCUTTING: JUXTAPOSITION

Although typically a narrative device, intercutting can set up juxtaposition between parallel storylines, exaggerating the impact or meaning of each by highlighting a point of difference 

e.g. in East Enders: Wedding Night, the warmth, light and music of the happy pre-wedding feast is in stark contrast with the two unhappy families represented in the cold and dark whenever we cut away. This provides a more favourable representation of Asian family life over white Londoners.

INTERCUTTING: TENSION

When intercutting is used to draw two storylines together, this can be structured to create tension, and therefore heighten the audience’s identification with a particular character.

e.g.: in Primeval, intercutting between the tiger’s pursuit of Cutter and Abby’s running in with the rifle is action code and prompts the question: will she get there in time? In Hotel Babylon, intercutting offers both tension and juxtaposition: just as Adam is saving his colleague’s life with a jar of jam, another African immigrant, Ibrahim, is being lost. The tension and juxtaposition lead the audience to identify with both characters.

JUMP CUTS

These are rarely used in TV or film; when they are, they tend to suggest either a) chaos and disorder, b) self-conscious ellipsis (drawing attention to the rapid pace of the action) or c) a director who likes to break the rules!

e.g. in Primeval, two jump cuts accelerate Cutter’s preparation to slide down the zip-wire; this could be read as speedy and decisive.

MOTIVATION

A motivated edit is any transition forced on the editor by the development of the action, narrative or character. Whenever shot (a) refers to the existence of an event outside the frame, and we then cut to (b) which shows that event, that’s a motivated edit. We can sometimes judge a character’s worth or importance by the number of cuts they motivate.

e.g. in Primeval, Cutter runs away from the tiger, drawing it away from Abby.

His constant motion motivates many of the cuts in this sequence, again reinforcing his status as the protagonist, if not the Proppian hero.

PACE OF EDITING

This can imply character qualities, especially if only one or two characters are in the sequence. A fast pace might suggest energy or panic (depending on context) while infrequent cuts (long takes) might suggest calm, a casual attitude, or provide documentary-style realism. Similar effects can be achieved with slow-motion.

PREVALENCE

How much screen time does a character get? The more time we see them on screen, the more important their role. This can develop during a scene to change character’s status.

e.g. in Hotel Babylon, Adam is invisible (‘just one of many refugees’) until he steps forward to treat the diabetic maid. Suddenly, the editing favours him, and we realise his importance and skill, despite his menial status in the hotel.

SELECTION: to show or not to show

As film-makers yourselves, it can sometimes be interesting to ask what information has been included or omitted in an edit.

e.g. in Primeval, as Jenny comes under increased threat from West, at no point do we cut away to her colleagues approaching the barn. To do so might have reduced the tension in the scene; not doing so arguably increases Jenny’s apparent vulnerability. Narratively, it is also a nice surprise when the team arrive in a single cut, which contrasts with the early tiger chase (see intercutting).

SHOT / REVERSE SHOTS and REACTION SHOTS

S/RS indicates the relationship between two characters: it signifies and sometimes exaggerates their closeness or their opposition (depending on the context). The amount of time given to a character’s reaction shots can convey their status in the scene. For example, if two characters are in S/RS conversation, do they get equal screen time, or do we spend more time looking at one character, speaking and reacting? Equally (though this is also a function of camera, are the two characters framed equally?

e.g.: in Doctor Who, the S/RS between Martha and the Master gives Martha CUs and the Master MCUs, conveying Martha’s greater status as a character, even if narratively she appears defeated.

James Baker (OCR Assistant Principal Examiner G322) writes:

One approach to both sound and editing is to look at the way in which technical elements are used to create perspective or viewpoint within a sequence - a key element of the process of representation that goes beyond the identification of 'character traits'. 

By understanding, for example, how screen time, p.o.v. or reaction shots are distributed, even weaker students can see how hierarchies are established, leading to certain representations being privileged where others are marginalised. 

Stronger students are able to develop this further by discussing how the audience is positioned in relation to the representations on offer - the best answers in the June session of G322 offered some great discussion of the way in which editing frequently shifted the viewer's relationship to dominant views of gender in different scenes. 

Another important factor is the way that the editing of the sequence grants or witholds narrative information from the audience in order to encourage identification or rejection of particular characters/representations.

TV DRAMA: HOTEL BABYLON

Extract from Hotel Babylon HERE

January 2010: Hotel Babylon, Series 1, Episode 5 (Alrick Riley, Iain B MacDonald and Keith Boak, 2006, BBC) 
Extract location: Episode 5, Chapter 2 
In point: 6 mins 22 seconds 
Out point: 11 mins 52 seconds

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs representations using the following:

• Camera shots, angles, movement and composition 
• Editing 
• Sound 
• Mise-en-scène [50]

exemplar answer

The examiner drew particular attention to candidates' failure to analyse editing:

 'As with the January and June 2009 series, this technical area proved to be the most problematic for candidates and the one technical area of analysis that was often omitted in candidates’ answers. Many candidates ignored editing altogether and only a few of those that did cover it were able to make meaningful links to representations by, for example, showing how the editing created particular viewpoints which we are encouraged to identify with or how screen time indicated the shifting relationship between characters in the sequence, for example through the discussion of the rule of thirds.  

'Most candidates made reference to the pace of editing to reflect the frantic situation and emotions of the immigrant characters. The use of shot reverse shot and cuts to aid continuity were mentioned by many candidates, as was the use of cross cutting between the two situations to enhance tension. More able candidates demonstrated the ability to link the use of editing to the representation of characters, such as the use of long and short takes to represent power and the use of eye line matches to reinforce a sense of dominance. Most candidates who addressed editing were able to address the type of transitions used and could comment on the pace of the editing.  There was evidence on occasion where students engaged with the rule of thirds and juxtaposition of characters in the narrative using editing devices, which is very encouraging.  

'However, many candidates’ responses seem to be very limited in address of the issues of editing and all too frequently it was absent from their responses – which does not enable candidates to reach a level four on the marking criteria for the use of examples.  Weaker candidates often omitted any discussion of editing or offered quite simplistic accounts of how editing was used, for example in the use the shot reverse shot sequence between characters. A common error in the terminology of editing continues to be with the use of jump cuts.' 

TV DRAMA: HOTEL BABYLON

 Extract from Hotel Babylon HERE

January 2010: Hotel Babylon, Series 1, Episode 5 (Alrick Riley, Iain B MacDonald and Keith Boak, 2006, BBC) 
Extract location: Episode 5, Chapter 2 
In point: 6 mins 22 seconds 
Out point: 11 mins 52 seconds

Discuss the ways in which the extract constructs representations using the following:

• Camera shots, angles, movement and composition 
• Editing 
• Sound 
• Mise-en-scène [50]

The examiner drew particular attention to candidates' failure to analyse editing:

 'As with the January and June 2009 series, this technical area proved to be the most problematic for candidates and the one technical area of analysis that was often omitted in candidates’ answers. Many candidates ignored editing altogether and only a few of those that did cover it were able to make meaningful links to representations by, for example, showing how the editing created particular viewpoints which we are encouraged to identify with or how screen time indicated the shifting relationship between characters in the sequence, for example through the discussion of the rule of thirds.

'Most candidates made reference to the pace of editing to reflect the frantic situation and emotions of the immigrant characters. The use of shot reverse shot and cuts to aid continuity were mentioned by many candidates, as was the use of cross cutting between the two situations to enhance tension. More able candidates demonstrated the ability to link the use of editing to the representation of characters, such as the use of long and short takes to represent power and the use of eye line matches to reinforce a sense of dominance. Most candidates who addressed editing were able to address the type of transitions used and could comment on the pace of the editing.  There was evidence on occasion where students engaged with the rule of thirds and juxtaposition of characters in the narrative using editing devices, which is very encouraging.  

'However, many candidates’ responses seem to be very limited in address of the issues of editing and all too frequently it was absent from their responses – which does not enable candidates to reach a level four on the marking criteria for the use of examples.  Weaker candidates often omitted any discussion of editing or offered quite simplistic accounts of how editing was used, for example in the use the shot reverse shot sequence between characters. A common error in the terminology of editing continues to be with the use of jump cuts.'

PLANNING: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

Hot seating your characters (like this) can help you develop how you represent them. 
It also gets everyone on board by delving into the backstory of the character. 
Pick a realistic interview situation and write the script outline.
Video your interview (make it brief) and post it on your blog together with the following information (in your own words).

PLANNING: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

Open source HERE

For my character in my film opening entitled *********,  we decided to interview our protagonist in order to develop his character further.
We were inspired by an article written by Charlie Sierra about building the back story to film characters in which he quoted from Riding the Alligator, a book written by Pen Densham, an Academy Award nominated filmmaker.
In one of the chapters in the book, he provides a check list of questions every writer and director should ask of themselves when they are developing their characters. The purpose of this is to outline a deep understanding of your characters for both the actors and director, and for motivating a character’s choices or actions.

My Character Interview

(Example) As my film opening features only one character in a world without anyone else, we decided that rather than a questionnaire interview, we would use a video diary of our character asking himself and answering the questions as if he is communicating through the camera to anyone who might find it, which is a creative way to handle the questionnaire whilst still keeping with the solitary theme of the opening...(video interview + script follows)
(Example) One of my central characters is a young girl, we have decided to compose a series of exchanges that she made using What's App with her friend in which she confides her worries about her sister. Her friend asks her a series of questions about her state of mind... (screenshots of What's App exchanges follow)
(Example) Our protagonist is a senior police officer who is struggling with his job (meeting targets; pleasing a critical boss) and his family (his daughter challenges him and he questions his ability to relate to her). He is interviewed by a police psychiatrist after the incident when he knocks down a teenager on his bike.