Observer Q9

Firstly, political context of the observer is portrayed through their core values and beliefs. Important news stories, for example David Miliband "we need a second vote on Brexit" and other important news stories not only reflect the observers left wing more liberal views, it portrays the fact that the newspaper values real news and in a sense prioritises it over other less important stories.

Furthermore, there are ethnic presentations on the front page that portray the diversity of Britain, specifically London, and also the Observers values and beliefs about a diverse audience. There is also a large representation of females on the front page, that goes against outdated stereotypes that women are not sporty. The Observer counters this stereotype by portraying a women, in action, running and she looks very fit and focused. To emphasise this, her foot is left hanging out of the yellow box which reinforces her as an anti - stereotype as she wont follow the rules. This shows how the Observer has been influenced by modern thoughts and much more diverse, equal society.

To contrast this powerful depiction of female, men are portrayed in a fragile manner and are presented as more vulnerable. Mo Farah is depicted as an anti - stereotype, kneeling and crying, which is highly unusual to see for a man in a competitive environment. This shows the Observers views on gender stereotypes as they use anti - stereotypes to try and counter common misconceptions about men and women in sport.

CLASH Music Magazine

Clash music magazine uses very de-saturated colour in their magazines and plain backgrounds with very few cover lines. This connotes to the reader that the musicians are serious and that their lives are not always easy and that they face serious challenges that should be respected by the reader. Clash magazine contrasts magazines such as "Bob Marley Mojo" by connoting the artists in a serious manner.

For example, in the 'devil may care' clash magazine issue, he is portrayed in a golden light which connotes him in a reverential, almost angelic light. This suggests to the reader that we should look up to him and this is emphasised by the low angle which makes the reader look up to him. 

The main splash is often concealed or distorted and the musicians never make eye contact with the reader. This further suggests that Clash put their musicians on a pedestal and views them as important and to be respected.

The lego movie ad break

 Analyse the representations found in the UK television ad break for The Lego Movie. [10]

Warner bros converted very famous and identifiable adverts into lego 'parodies' to advertise their upcoming movie and reach a mainstream audience.

All of the adverts and brands portrayed in the ad break are mostly only relevant to adults, but they are all family friendly. This advertising not only appeals to the parents, who quickly recognise the adverts, it also portrays the lego movie in a safe, family friendly environment. This can be seen through the brands advertised. For example, the British Heart Foundation. The BHF has a very good reputation and is immediately thought of in a positive manor. Also, the premier inn adverts are very iconic and loved by many adults across the country. This use of advertising associates the Lego movie with the good reputation of these very famous ad's.

The Lego movie ad break targets an older more mature audience. Whilst children, the target audience for the film itself, will recognise the Lego portrayal, only the parents will recognise the humour involved and identify the adverts the ad break is based off. This is important for many reasons as it portrays the movie in a good light and if the parents are convinced, then they will happily take their children to go and watch the movie in cinemas.

The real world is presented in the Lego movie ad break, through the universal image of lego to connote humour. The companies that recreated their adverts in Lego format recreated their most iconic and famous adverts in order to not only promote the movie, but to associate themselves with the brand. For example, the BT advert already incorporated humour as a way of promoting their brand and this is only reinforced buy the Lego recreation. This element of humour is brought purely because of the Lego movies reputation as the Lego format connotes humour for a wide range of audiences. Through this, the Lego movie associates itself with iconic adverts to promote the movie and the brands associate themselves with the Lego movie to incorporate humour into their adverts, which in turn promotes the brand itself.

Bob Marley - Mojo Magazine

The magazine extract uses a white background with bright accent colours yellow, green and red to connote a less serious tone to the magazine and also pay respect to Bob Marley's Jamaican heritage. This is further reinforced through the Main splash which shows Bob Marley smiling and looking directly at the camera. This suggests that Mojo view Bob Marley as more of a relaxed, fun musician. This contrasts to Mojo's typical magazines which use simple colour palette's and monochrome colours to connote serious attitudes towards music and often show older white musicians. 

Analyse the representations of Musicians - Mojo

The Joni Mitchell magazine cover portrays a very ordered layout with the cover lines mostly aligned and one central image. This connotes Joni Mitchell as a serious and authentic musician who is very well respected. This magazine cover uses only sans-serif typefaces which is a common theme in Mojo magazines and portrays Jodi Mitchell as a very modern, independent woman. The colour palette is mostly limited to white, black and blue. This connotes sophistication and elegance. The Main splash shows Jodi Mitchell smiling at the camera which portrays her as very down to earth and approachable. Language used emphasises danger and struggle, "agony". This connotes very serious musicians looked at in a wry manner. The media language presents a world that celebrates serious artistic endeavour.

THE AVENGERS: REPRESENTATIONS OF GENDER

HOW DOES THE AVENGERS CHALLENGE TRADITIONAL REPRESENTATIONS OF GENDER TO REACH A 1960's AUDIENCE?

In your answer, analyse how both Peel and Steed are presented, supporting your comments with examples of what they do and say, what they wear, and how they behave with each other. You can take examples from anywhere in the programme.

Emma peel is  depicted as a strong female character in "The Avengers" and constantly challenges gender stereotypes of the 1960's to appeal to a modern audience. She consistently uses her intelligence to solve cases which would not have been expected for a woman to do. This can be seen when she Outwits the man in the church and discovers that the choir nobody in it. This clearly challenges gender stereotypes of men being in charge and holding all the power. An audience in the 60's would definitely expect Steed to solve the case.

The avengers challenges traditional representations of gender furthermore by depicting Emma Peel as a very brave, intelligent, independent woman. Evidence of this can be seen during the fencing match between Steed and Peel in episode 4, "the town of no return". Steed enters her apartment to find her practising her fencing skills and asks for tea. Peel goes against gender stereotypes by rejecting to get him some. Furthermore, during the fencing match, Peel physically holds her own against steed, which would have been a very abstract idea for a 1960's audience.

Gender stereotypes also influence the Avengers. For example, Steed is very urbane and self-confident and as an older white, he is a stereotypical depiction of "The modern man". Though Emma Peel is an independent, empowering character, she is still undermined by Steed. This can be seen when he orders a drink for her despite her saying she did not want one. Steed as the male is still portrayed as in charge.

Observer Question 9

‘The representations featured in the online Observer reflect its values and beliefs.’ Discuss how far you agree with this statement. In your answer, you must:

·      Analyse the representations featured in the extract with reference to the Observer’s values and beliefs

·      Make judgements and draw conclusions about how far you agree with the statement. [15 marks]

The observer, and its sister newspaper the Guardian, are both owned by "The guardian media group" and therefore, both newspapers reflect core beliefs of the other such as liberal views, left of centre. In the home page of the Observer, stories from all across the world are featured, for example, "Saudi dissidents". This reflects the Observers internationalist views and how they value and care about news and culture from all over the world.

In the past, the Observer had always confronted "difficult" news stories head on. This value of the Observer is reflected in the online observer home page through difficult, hard news stories such as "Huntington's disease". News about death and other difficult social issues is often shied away from by other major newspapers however, the Observer online reflects its core beliefs and values by featuring them on the homepage.

The advertisement on the Online observer home page reflects its core values and beliefs. The advertisement on this newspaper are mostly finance which suggests that most people that read this newspaper have money and therefore reinforces a 'middle class' feel to the newspaper. This can also be seen through an interest in Politics (hard news) like Brexit issues which concern many of the readers.

In conclusion, form the online observer we can judge that the online issues of the newspaper are heavily influenced by the core values and beliefs of not just the guardian media group, but also, the Observer's beliefs about issues like politics, hard news and difficult stories and the contextual features of the newspaper such as its audience.