The play was written and first performed in 1945. However, it was set in 1912. This is what creates the dramatic irony; the fact that the audience in 1945 (and beyond) is aware of all the events that have occurred since 1912 and of which the characters on stage are unaware.
The play is about do we return to the values of the Edwardian era or do we move forward. The actual night the play is set on is the nigh that the titanic sunk, the great celebratory moment of the great dream which was about to collapse. 8 million people were living on an income of less than 25 shillings(£1.25 per week). Millions were under-housed and underfed. Working women were at the bottom of the pile. Britain was divide and ruled by class, the upper class they owned most of Britain and earned most of the money. The working class paid the price. Some writers were concerned about the way people were living and the upholding social conditions of the time. For the vast majority there was little or no education and little sanitation, no dole to fall back on and no NHS to rely on. In Edwardian Britain the 2 worlds (rich and poor) rarely met. The character Eva Smith took her own life rather than face the only avenue left open to her, with no social 'safety net' many women were driven into prostitution. For another character Eric women like Eva were only good for entertainment. For upper class and lower class to marry each other would have been frowned upon, having married her the light society would have been outraged. In sense its an idealistic play, it says if people were able to do there best and lead the best lives things would be much richer in a deeper sense for everybody. Than for instance rather than just being greedy for money. Social Context J B Priestley was a socialist (left wing), but had trouble settling down to the policies of any one particular political party. His socialism can be said to be based on compassion and caring for others. He came from a working class background and felt compassion and empathy with the factory workers who were exploited by the industrialist such as Arthur Birling. Although King Edward VII died in 1910, the term ‘Edwardian Era’ is usually used for up to 1914. Many people saw the end of the Edwardian Era and the onset of war as the end to a time of peace and stability. Harking back to this time nostalgically was an escape from an uncertain and unpleasant future. BUT, it was a period of false security and Priestley uses this to emphasise the dramatic force of his play. Historical Context “Just because the Kaiser makes a speech or two.”
“Nobody wants war, except some half-civilised folks in the Balkans”
An audience in 1945 would, of course, have just experienced the horror of the Second World War.
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Historical Context
Historical context refers to the moods, attitudes, and conditions that existed in a certain time. Context is the "setting" for an event that occurs, and it will have an impact on the relevance of the event. Context is an important factor to consider when describing something in history. Cultural Context Cultural context looks at the society the characters live in and at how their culture can affect their behavior and their opportunities. It makes you think about where and when each text is set. It also makes you think about the values and attitudes that matter to these characters and about how they formed these beliefs – did their culture influence them? The most powerful forces in a society include religion, gender roles, attitudes towards sex and marriage, social status/class, job opportunities/emigration, (wealth/poverty), politics, authority figures, stereotypes/ethnic identity. I think cultural context has an important impact on what I aspire to make, because I want to make products that are very fair to everyone across all cultures, as I feel that some groups within the media are represented very poorly in the media. How culture is represented in the media: The media have divided the working class and stereotyped young African-American males as gangsters or drug dealers. As a result of such treatment, the media have crushed youths' prospects for future employment and advancement. The media have focused on the negative aspects of the black community (e.g. engaging in drug use, criminal activity, welfare abuse) while maintaining the cycle of poverty. This is an unfair portrayal of young African-American males so this negatively affects how everyone would feel about them which isn't fair. Making sure that all of my work is fair to every culture is important because it affects how people would view your work but on the other hand, it can help you portray characters without having to explain who they are today. To what extent does the representation of masculinity in the Dark Knight rises reinforce or challenge gender stereotypes?
Both Batman and bane conform to the hyper masculine idea, shown through the shots of them working out and close-ups of their masculine physique. They embody an extreme and excessive version of masculinity in which stereotypically masculine traits are shown in exaggerate form. These traits are clearly displayed in the scenes which they fight on another, as there is a focus on the stereotypically masculine traits of power/masculine strength, muscles, toughness and resilience/endurance. This is shown when Batman/Bruce Wane is working out in the jail. And Bane's clothing that reinforces the hyper masculine idea. Bane is filmed from a low angle in order to make him more opposing, as his body fills most of the frame and to show his power/authority over other characters. there are numerous shots that accentuate Banes physical size to add emphasis on his hyper masculinity. Challenging representations of masculinity. The film does not always provide 'physical perfection' or 'forever youthful' representations. Often we see the superhero body to be in a state of decline and despair. Bruce Wayne walks with the aid of a stick and in the scene when he visits the doctor quotes such as: "there is no cartilage in your knee" "There is residual concussive damage to your brain tissue" "general scarred-over quality of your body" challenges the physical hyperbolic convention of masculinity within the superhero genre. Bane was injured during his youth. One of the fundamental things about his costume is that he has this scar from the back injury. His mask supplies him with a painkilling gas that he breathes in constantly to suppress chronic pain from a past injury. How are females represented in the Dark Knight Rises? Women suffer from “Women in Refrigerator syndrome.” Meaning, a woman needs to be cut, killed, kidnapped, tortured, or raped in order to give angst to the hero to fulfill his ‘destiny.’ So the woman, in herself, does not represent a purpose. She needs to be used or sacrificed by the comic book writers in order to give depth, revenge, or angst to the superhero. For example, Rachel Dawes is killed by the Joker in the Dark Knight Rises— so Nolan essentially creates a character, develops a relationship between her and Batman, only to get killed by a maniac. Does the male gaze theory in cinematic studies help us understand something? Yes, it does. The Male Gaze is a Feminist theory that was first developed by Laura Mulvey in 1975. The male gaze occurs when the audience, or viewer, is put into the perspective of a heterosexual male. Mulvey stressed that the dominant male gaze in mainstream Hollywood films reflects and satisfies the male unconscious: most filmmakers are male, thus the voyeuristic gaze of the camera is male; male characters in the film’s narratives make women the objects of their gaze; and inevitably, the spectator’s gaze reflects the voyeuristic male gazes of the camera and the male actors. Most of the film credits have females such as Gordon’s daughter named “Gordon’s daughter” (not important enough to have a name) whereas Gordon’s son is named “Jonathan” (important enough to have a name). Which film is this most applicable to? In my opinion the genre narrative and representation applies mostly to the batman film because it portrays the genre and narrative clearly. You can tell this because of the way the film is set (the location, colour scheme and the way the actor is portrayed). Another obvious thing for this film following its genre is the fact that the main character is a super hero and the genre of the film is superhero, action and adventure.
In this audio file we are discussing what we want to achieve in the media industry and how we are going to achieve this.
From this conversation I gathered that I will need to go through the media hierarchy of starting at the bottom and working my way to the top. It's not easy getting into the media so I'm going to try my hardest to do whatever I can to get into the industry.
I have also discussed a potential business plan with a few people in my class. We all have the same aspiration but all have different qualities and skills, this would will allow us all to criticise each other and we'd potentially work well together because we've all got different hands on skills.
The dark knight rises conveys the genre of action/adventure/ thriller. We know this because of the lighting, the characters, the plot,the music, and the imagery used in the film. The lighting is used to tell us the genre in the way that the dark lighting is used when something bad is going to happen or if the scene needs a specific mood set to it.
The music very much the same as the lighting except if you watched a film that didn't use any sound at all then it would be very boring. Also music guides you along the film in the way that when something big is about to happen (ie- a big fight or about to go to war) then if you used a song with a big build up right to the moment the fight happens then it would help you to know that a fight is about to break out. A film that doesn't follow its genre that it conveys is the hunger games. Many people would argue that the film is science fiction others would argue that it is adventure or possibly even action or thriller. You could even argue that it is all of them because of the way the film is portrayed to the audience. The hunger games trailer starts off with it being a country side environment and the characters talking to one another which gives us the impression its an adventure film but then a big space ship flies over the top and then we start to doubt our decision of it being an adventure film and we then start to think its sci-fi. We then go back to adventure because of the way everyone is stood looking at the stage listening and they start talking about people taking part in the hunger games. We later get the impression that its an action/sci-fi because of the weapons we see and because of how the characters are reacting with each other also because of the tracking shot used near the end of the trailer. So in conclusion the hunger games is a film that doesn't portray its genre properly because of all the different genres it conveys just throughout the trailer.
This scene primarily shows the protagonist (Bane) who has just blown up the football ground and kept everyone in the stadium as a prisoner as he delivers a speech to them about what he intends to do to the city. This scene also can relate to Triumph of the Will because the camera angles used are sort of the same for Bane as they are Hitler, this can imply that Bane is the same sort of figure as Hitler and should be superior to everyone.
As he walks out Bane is silouhetted which shows his authority and can show his character as a menace to the rest of the audience. It can also portray without words that bane is the villain. As described in my clog that coming soon you can apply different theories to different narratives and Strauss theory of binary opposites can not be easily applied for this fil because both the villain and hero wear black which represents that they both are evil. There is more I could ramble on about but I think you get the point of what I'm trying to explain. Please feel free to discus your thoughts below. |
Charlie EdmundsCreative Media Level 3 Student. Categories
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