> Plot twists
> Cliff hangers
> High production value
> Barthes open narrative theory (Narratives including Frank, Zoe and Peter)
> Halls - preferred reading theory
> Todorov - Equilibrium
> Semantic code
> 40-60 minutes long
> High production value ($100 million for 2, 13 episode seasons)
> Binge watching as they are available on multimedia platforms
> Genre hybridity - political drama/thriller
> Uses high profile actors to generate interest and popularity.
How does the Enigma code apply to The House of cards in the character Frank Underwood?
The enigma code applies to the character of Frank Underwood in House of Cards as his character at the start of the series is quite mysterious, and a lot of his actions and motives are not fully explained, allowing the audience to either make their own interpretation or keep them guessing about how his plot is going to develop.
Discuss why HOC uses enigma?
House of Cards uses enigma to keep the audience both interested and intrigued, as well as allowing them to make their own guesses about what is to come for the rest of the season. It is also something that is often used in long form TV drama, such as House of Cards, to keep the audience entertained and to keep them watching.
In what way does the long form drama conform to Todorov’s theory?
Long form TV drama conforms to Todorov's theory by following the basic structure of his theory, but doing so over a longer period of time and over multiple episodes.
Discuss Todorov’s theory through the central character Frank Underwood?
The equilibrium is that Frank Underwood expects that he is going to receive the position of Secretary of State at the beginning of the first episode. The disequilibrium is that he is told someone else is going to receive the position of Secretary of State. Frank acknowledges that it is unlikely he will receive the position as it is revealed Michael Kern will be nominated instead. In this acknowledgement, he consults with wife Claire and they devise a plan to get him to the top together. The solving is Frank creating links with Zoe Barnes to help take down other candidates and anyone that might get in the way of his position.
How does HOC subvert Todorov’s theory?
House of Cards subverts Todorov's theory by not having a general new equilibrium. This is because long form TV drama continues over multiple episodes and generally in long form drama, there is always a new disequilibrium at the end of the episode to make people want to watch the next episode and continue watching.
Neales Genre Theory
> Neale’s theory of repetition and difference in Genre.
> "Genres are instances of repetition and difference"
> "Difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre"
What That Means:
> Steve Neale is saying that a film and it's genre is defined by two things:
> How much it conforms with a genre's stereotypes and conventions.
> He says that a film must conform to these conventions enough that it can still qualify and be identified as a film of that genre.
> How much a film subverts the genre's stereotypes and conventions.
> He says that a film must subvert these conventions enough that it is still viewed as a unique film, not just a clone.
Neale states that:
> a film must conform to these conventions enough that it can still qualify and be identified as a film of that genre.
> How much a film subverts the genre's stereotypes and conventions?
> Neale states that a film must subvert these conventions enough that it is still viewed as a unique film, not just a clone.
How does House of Cards conform to genre expectations?
House of Cards conforms to these conventions as it contains real life situations involving politics and incorporating real life scenarios and characters that relate to real life people. There is audience interaction in House of Cards when Frank turns to the camera and talks directly to the audience. Additionally, it contains drama and controversy similar to that of real life American Politics. It does exhibit real life situations, it has realistic characters, settings and stories. It is set in Washington DC, which is most famous for being where the White House is situated, where the president lives and where main politics goes ahead. Also conforms as the protagonist of the story is male.
How does House of Cards subvert to the gender expectations of a political drama/thriller?
As well as having conventions that the TV drama conforms to, there are also some conventions that the TV drama subverts to. It does not contain too much exaggerated sound or music, and mainly contains dialogue. As well as this, there is no disorientation of time and space, as House of Cards is mainly a drama constructed chronologically. Due to the fact that this is a long form TV drama, there are not many happy endings as the story continues through the series and it is always left on some type of cliffhanger to keep the audience guessing and keeping them intrigued. Frank's character could also closely mirror the American politics currently (2016 to present) with the corruption and secrecy of the government. Anti-hero.
House of Cards subverts Todorov's theory by not having a general new equilibrium. This is because long form TV drama continues over multiple episodes and generally in long form drama, there is always a new disequilibrium at the end of the episode to make people want to watch the next episode and continue watching.
Neales Genre Theory
> Neale’s theory of repetition and difference in Genre.
> "Genres are instances of repetition and difference"
> "Difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre"
What That Means:
> Steve Neale is saying that a film and it's genre is defined by two things:
> How much it conforms with a genre's stereotypes and conventions.
> He says that a film must conform to these conventions enough that it can still qualify and be identified as a film of that genre.
> How much a film subverts the genre's stereotypes and conventions.
> He says that a film must subvert these conventions enough that it is still viewed as a unique film, not just a clone.
Neale states that:
> a film must conform to these conventions enough that it can still qualify and be identified as a film of that genre.
> How much a film subverts the genre's stereotypes and conventions?
> Neale states that a film must subvert these conventions enough that it is still viewed as a unique film, not just a clone.
How does House of Cards conform to genre expectations?
House of Cards conforms to these conventions as it contains real life situations involving politics and incorporating real life scenarios and characters that relate to real life people. There is audience interaction in House of Cards when Frank turns to the camera and talks directly to the audience. Additionally, it contains drama and controversy similar to that of real life American Politics. It does exhibit real life situations, it has realistic characters, settings and stories. It is set in Washington DC, which is most famous for being where the White House is situated, where the president lives and where main politics goes ahead. Also conforms as the protagonist of the story is male.
How does House of Cards subvert to the gender expectations of a political drama/thriller?
As well as having conventions that the TV drama conforms to, there are also some conventions that the TV drama subverts to. It does not contain too much exaggerated sound or music, and mainly contains dialogue. As well as this, there is no disorientation of time and space, as House of Cards is mainly a drama constructed chronologically. Due to the fact that this is a long form TV drama, there are not many happy endings as the story continues through the series and it is always left on some type of cliffhanger to keep the audience guessing and keeping them intrigued. Frank's character could also closely mirror the American politics currently (2016 to present) with the corruption and secrecy of the government. Anti-hero.
Minecraft
> Sandbox video game
> Digitally convergent - can play on different devices
> Uses Youtube to create parodies and gameplay to create popularity and interest on youtube.
>Example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPaPP2ClKNo&index=102&list=PLPAfbDwaG4UF7fWeNyKbEZCuP2oNcVngv
>Minecraft Youtubers: CaptainSparklez, LDShadowLady
> People that play Minecraft are able to create their own mods and interact with the development of the game when it stilled used JAVA code.
> Minecraft education version helps children to interact whilst using it for education. May also help to generate interest in the original minecraft game.
> Different versions of the same game such as Minecraft Story Mode to generate interest.
> Twitch livestreams
Million Reasons
> The music video shows the stereotypical view that women are usually damsels in distress and emotional. Her hands are on her head and she is lying on the floor, which connotes vulnerability and distress. It also shows the fragility of some women, which is another stereotype of women.
> Having an all female crew is a counter-stereotype representation of the media industry as traditionally, people would usually have a predominantly male crew in order to maximise the safety of the individual in the music industry. However, Lady Gaga is breaking that stereotype and demonstrating a counter-stereotype by portraying a group of women protecting her and keeping her safe, which is not the norm within the music and media industry.
> Lady Gaga uses the iconic representation of the cowboy as a counter-stereotype representation of femininity due to the fact that traditionally, the premise of a cowboy is a powerful and strong individual, who is able to be independent. Lady Gaga dressed in a way similar to a cowboy suggest that she is also a powerful and strong individual who has her own independence. This shows a counter-stereotype in which females are equivalent in strength, power and independence to that of males. A cowboy is also a symbol of America, which when thought about, is predominantly male. She is challenging this stereotype by dressing similarly to a cowboy to suggest that females are also able to become a symbol of a strong America.
> The music video shows the stereotypical view that all women need makeup to look beautiful and that all women need to conform to the stereotype where all women need to wear makeup. This could also hint at the sexualisation of women in the music industry and in the media. The costume that she is wearing is not too revealing, but shows femininity.
New theory 15/05/18
Cultivation Theory – Gerbner Exposure to television over long periods of time cultivates standardised roles and behaviours. Gerbner used content analysis to analyse repeated media messages and values, then found that heavy users of television were more likely, for example, to develop ‘mean world syndrome’ – a cynical, mistrusting attitude towards others – following prolonged exposure to high levels of television violence. Gerbner found that heavy TV viewing led to ‘mainstreaming’ – a common outlook on the world based on the images and labels on TV.
Reception Theory
The theory suggests that: When a producer constructs a text it is encoded with a meaning or message that the producer wishes to convey to the audience
In some instances audiences will correctly decode the message or meaning and understand what the producer was trying to say
In some instances the audience will either reject or fail to correctly understand the message
Reception Theory – Hall’s ‘encoding-decoding’ model argued that media producers encode ‘preferred meanings’ into texts, but these texts may be ‘read’ by their audiences in a number of different ways:
The dominant-hegemonic position: a ‘preferred reading’ that accepts the text’s messages and the ideological assumptions behind the messages
The negotiated position: the reader accepts the text’s ideological assumptions, but disagrees with aspects of the messages, so negotiates the meaning to fit with their ‘lived experience’
The oppositional reading: the reader rejects both the overt message and its underlying ideological assumptions.
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