mm25 as film

8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film

1/12english and media centre| September 2008 | MediaMagazine7

MM

You could be forgiven for thinking that, in this

age of multiplatform media and downloaded

or streamed content, everyone is a fan ofsomething, whether its a specific T V show,

or an indie-rock band. Being a fan taking

part in the shared activities and practices of

a fan community seems to have become an

ordinary, everyday part of media use. Were

all fans now, arent we? After all, following the

narrative puzzles of Lostor Heroesis hardly the

cult, underground preserve of a select few. Its

properly mainstream: above ground, centre stage.

And rating and reviewing bits of media content

has also become increasingly commonplace,

rather than the specialist territory of amateur fan

magazines or fanzines. Yes, surely were all fans

now, whether or not we even use the label.

According to this argument, studying fans

of film, TV, and music is important for Media

Studies because in contemporary consumer

culture, being a fan is one part, and sometimes

a highly significant part, of our self-identities.

Whats been dubbed media fandom the

detailed appreciation of particular media texts

is, for some people, just as much an aspect

of who they are as, say, their class, age, or their

gender. And though there have been different

strands of work, and different traditions and

theories, applied to media fandom and sports

fandom, these approaches are themselvesbeginning to converge, given that sports fandom

is now itself often one type of media fandom.

Indeed, whilst some fan passions may fade,

others seem to stay with us for life, becoming

a type ofenduring fandom that we cant

imagine ever being without. This can sometimes

be a sports or football fandom, often linked toregional and family identitiesand so speaking

literally of where we come from. But it can also

be the love of a film franchise Star Warsor

Lord of the Ringsfans or even a TV series like

Doctor Who(my own enduring fandom). And

if many people are fans, throughout much, if

not all, of their lives, then Media Studies owes it

to itself, and to us, to take seriously the creative

endeavours and the emotions exhibited by this

everyfan.

Emotional attachmentIn Fan Cultures, I argue that fans emotional

attachments to particular objects call for a theory

which is not limited to audience interpretation.

All too often, Media Studies has had a lot to say

about audience readings and understandings

of content, but much less to tell us about how

audiences feel about the media they consume.

Even the approach known as Uses and

Gratifications concerns what people do with

the media, rather than how they might become

attached to, and invested in, particular

media texts. And where fandom is concerned,

emotional attachment some have compared

this to a form of love is a vital component.

From everyfan to anti-

fans, superfans, andbrand fans.... MattHills, one of ourforemost theorists of

fandom, explains why

the fans themselves are

becoming the subject of

academic study.

Heroes(left and nearright): courtesy ofimage.net

Lost(far right):courtesy of C4sextranet press site

8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film

2/128MediaMagazine| September 2008 | english and media centre

MM

Finding a quick and easy definition of media

fandom isnt easy, partly because the term has

been so widely debated. The author of Fans

(2005), Cornel Sandvoss, offers up the following:

I define fandom as the regular, emotionally

involved consumption of a given popular

narrative or text.

Like a kind of love, this emotional involvement

may even be so intense as to go beyond an

individual fans ability fully to put it into words

and explain it. Partly for this reason, and

partly because fan love is often felt to have an

authenticity and a privacy for fans, I have used

a version of psychoanalysisto think about it.

This is an approach which has a longer historyin Film Studies, though in the past it has been

used in textual analysis rather than in relation to

audiences feelings and attachments. Something

else that is important about the emotional

involvement of fans is that, again rather like the

feeling of being in love, this isnt just about blind

devotion and automatic approval of the fan

object. Instead, fan love often has to tolerate

disappointments and frustrations from the

fan object, such as Star Wars fans hating the

character of Jar Jar Binks, or football fans vocally

criticising their team when they lose. Fandom

represents an attachment to media content

which can often be highly critical wishing and

willing media producers or sports teams to do

better.

Fans are highly critical and creative

audiences; they dont just criticise their beloved

shows or franchises when they fall short of

expectation, they also make their own fanfilms, or write their own fan fiction . As Henry

Jenkinswrote in his ground-breaking study of

media fandom from the early Nineties, Textual

Poachers, fans are consumers who are also

producers.

One way of thinking about media fandom,

then, is that it pre-dates and prefigures the

audience activities of web 2.0: fandom got there

first. Only now are mainstream, digital media

catching up with, and seeking to generalise,

what have previously been special types of fan

interaction and engagement.

The anti-fan

The emphasis on fans emotionalinvestments in specific media has led, more

recently, to a new strand of fan studies: work on

the anti-fan,kickstarted in the Noughties was

by media scholar Jonathan Gray. What might

this strange category include? Well, anti-fans

are people who are passionate about a media

text, but negatively so; they loathe or detest

what they take it to represent. Unlike fans, anti-

fans arent close readers of what they hate; they

form an image of the detested media object at

a distance, by referring to marketing, trailers or

other publicity. Anti-fandom therefore appears to

hinge on a negative stereotypeof the particular

text or genre and its assumed audience. For

example, romantic fiction is formulaic and stupid

and its readers are engaged in empty-headed

escapism (or so an anti-fan would claim). Or, to

give another common example, horror films

Heroes(left, below and farright): courtesy of image.net

Star Wars(below left)

Lord of the Rings(above and

right)

8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film

3/12english and media centre| September 2008 | MediaMagazine9

MM

are allegedly sick and twisted and those who

enjoy them are wrong in the head (according to

horrors many anti-fans). Whereas media fandom

might allow us to define, culturally, what sort

of person we are, with what sort of tastes andinterests, anti-fandom is about who we are not,

and what sorts of identities we seek to define

ourselves against, and in strong opposition to.

It can also be about fan rivalries, of course,

such as fans of one football team taking another

team as their anti-fan arch-enemy. And fans of

a TV series can become anti-fans of particular

elements within it, passionately detesting

developments in the storyline or new actors. The

idea that TV shows can jump the shark (named

after a supposedly ludicrous event in the US TV

series Happy Days) or lose their original appeal

or uniqueness is one version of this. Fans who

make such a claim are, perhaps, shifting theirallegiances and are on the way to becoming anti-

fans of media they previously embraced.

True fansWe might all be fans now, but this doesnt

mean that were all equally fans. Fan

communities commonly make a series of

distinctions between insiders and outsiders,

sharing a sense of what distinguishes fans from

non-fans, or hardcore fans from newbies,

for that matter. Far from just being groups

or networks of like-minded individuals, fan

cultures tend to be marked by distinctions of

authenticity, defining what counts as atrue

fan. The length of time one has been a fan

can contribute to ones fan authenticity, with the

hardcore often having been long-term fans, as

can the quantity and quality of fan knowledge

8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film


MM

one has accumulated. Whether its the league and

game stats a football fan can quote, or detailed

knowledge of a TV shows production history,

fandom isnt just about emotional investment,

its about investing in knowledge, about

knowing the right things. Fans are the experts

of popular culture. Whats nothing but trivia to

a non-fan may be essential learning for a fan.

Culture industries play on this desire for fan

knowledge, of course, through such materials

as DVD extras, commentaries, and podcasts

offering exclusive content or behind-the-scenes

information. Fan authenticity can also be a

matter of getting early access to media content,

with movie fans typically wanting to attend

the earliest possible previews or screenings,

and TV fans wanting to see YouTube clips or

other on-demand content ahead of official firstbroadcast. Being a true fan can mean knowing

more than other fans, and knowing it first.

As such, theres sometimes a strong streak of

competition in fan circles; and there are also

hierarchies of fans. Those who know more,

and have greater access to behind-the-scenes

information, become the leaders of fan groups

and the high-status superfans within their fan

communities. And fans thirst for access and first-

look or first-listen media can also involve them

in battles with the industry, for example when

new songs from well-known bands leak online

ahead of their release, or when TV episodes

leak pre-transmission, such as happened ahead

of the BBC return of Doctor Whoin 2005. This

grey economy of media contentexists in a

murky realm; some of it may be deliberately

aimed at generating or sustaining a fan base,

working as viral, word-of-mouth marketing and

promotion ahead of official release; some of it

may genuinely get out there against the wishes

of the industry, but in line with fans interests.

This reinforces the point that media fandom has

never just been in the pockets of the industry.

Struggles between fans and producers agendas

have frequently been documented, whether its

football fans opposing the buy-out of their team,or movie fans criticising the casting of a much-

loved character such as James Bond.

What does fandom mean?One big problem in defining fandom is

this: what exactly should the term refer to?

Remember that Sandvoss mentions popular

narratives or texts as the proper objects of

fandom, but where does this leave the power

of brands within consumer culture? Can one

be a fan of Converses, or the Apple iPhone, or

even McDonalds? Or how about being a fan

of Subway, but an anti-fan of McDonalds? For

some, this might stretch the language of fandom

too far, but it is hard to discern exactly what

might distinguish more conventional media fan

objects from brands that we are emotionally

invested in; that we regularly and perhaps

habitually consume; that we might have built up

considerable knowledge about, and which may

well have become part of our self-identities. The

rapid rise of the iPod, for example, as an iconic

consumer good, and the brand values of Apple

(along with its dedicated and vocal consumer

champions) seem remarkably close to moretraditional fan objects and fan communities. This

being true, perhaps Media Studies could borrow

from fan studies to think not just about sports

and media fandom, but also brand fandom

and its own struggles between producers and

active consumers. Even fashion fandomcould

be explored more generally. Recent debates

surrounding anti-fandom have started new

areas of study; so too might these ways of

opening up the term fan.

Whether its the everyfan of digital media

contexts, theanti-fan who hates some media

while loving other texts, the superfanwho

knows it all but could still learn from, and

contribute to, Media Studies or the brand fan

who has very clear consumer loyalties, fandom

undoubtedly means a lot of different things to

a lot of different people. In How To Do Things

With Cultural Theory (2005), I even consider the

strange idea that there might be fans of Media

Studies and media theory, but perhaps thats

another story!

Matt Hills is a Reader in Media and Cultural Studies at

Cardiff University. He is the author of several books,

including Fan Cultures, and has published widely on the

subjects of cult media and media fandom.

Following it up

Matt Hills (2002):Fan Cultures

This introduces a range of key theories of

fandom, including approaches using media

sociology and psychoanalysis.

Henry Jenkins (1992):Textual Poachers

Where it all began: a seminal study which put

media fandom on the Media Studies agenda.

Though dated, having been written b efore therise of the internet, it is remains an excellent

starting point for discussions of fan activity.

Cornel Sandvoss (2005):Fans

Another excellent overview, especially good

for the way it focuses on individual fans rather

than the more established approach to fan

groups and communities.

ed. Jonathan Gray et al (2007):Fandom:

Identities & Communities in a Mediated World

A good, up-to-date edited collection, with a

section on anti-fans.

Matt Hills (2005): How to do Things With

Cultural Theory

Heroes(left): courtesy ofimage.net

Star Wars(below, far leftand above left)

Lord of the Rings(above)

8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film

5/12

8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film

6/12

MM

12MediaMagazine| September 2008 | english and media centre

8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film

7/12

8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film


MM

these offer the promise of moving beyond the

normal audience of hardcore gamer to have

crossover appeal,in part due to the reputations

of the individuals involved.

However, both Woo and Bruckheimer need

to try to reverse the trend of turning good

videogames into bad filmsand receiving a

critical mauling. Such translations have been

hampered by a number of factors including low

budgets, lack of A-list stars and the difficulty of

transferring to the screen such vast virtual and

interactive worlds.

Despite this problem it is clear that both

industries have much to gain from this

relationship. Studiosgain access to already

popular source material; games companies

can increase revenues by selling off rights; and

multinational media organisations can utilise

synergyto produce, distribute and market both a

videogame and film. Sonyhas produced films for

Silent Hilland theResident Evilseries for which

it has received$477.1min worldwide grosses

for these films and this is on top of revenue

that will have been generated through the sale

of those games and consoles. This relationship is

only going to continue as even straight-to-DVD

films can find a fan base, this was the case with

Bloodrayne II which has generated enough

money for a sequel to be in production.

Lets hear it for the fansWhat does this do for videogame fans? Are

they left disappointed as another one of their

favourite games gets a lacklustre big screen

translation? The disappointment is likely to lessen

as producers of both videogames and films

realise the differences between the mediums,

and begin to make more suitable adaptations.

What is also evident is that videogame companies

are more controlling over their property and that

film companies are also becoming more careful

with the videogames they are transferring to the

big screen. This was evident in the failure of Peter

Jacksons adaptation ofHaloto make it to the

big screen, where Microsoft wanted more control

and the studios refused to be dictated to. Mostfans of games will go and see the film in spite of

themselves and they will also be the target of

the studios marketing campaign, given that a

larger number of game players fit into the 16-24

male demographictargeted by Hollywood for

action films. It may also be that in the future

the relationship between films and videogames

becomes more complex as CGI and motion

capture technology develops.

What is certain is that the younger generation

of cinema-goers is increasingly game literate, and

that Hollywood and the games industry have yet

fully to tap into the potential of videogames fan

base.

Barney Oram teachers A Level Film and Media Studies

at Long Road Sixth Form Centre, Cambridge. He is an A

Level examiner, and co- author of Teaching Videogames at

A Level(BFI)

Source for figures: Screen International,

February 15th 2008

Wider reading: Reel Gaming, Edge186 March

2008

The Hitman(top) andSilent Hillcourtesy of

image.net (right andabove right)

8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film


Analysing Media Texts

How to

use mediaconceptsand avoidsimpledescription

Whichever Film or

Media A Level spec

youre doing, textual

analysis will be

high on the agenda.

Principal Examiner

Steph Hendryshows you how to

do it.

It doesnt matter whether

youre studying AQA, OCR

or WJEC A Level Media

Studies, at the heart of

the subject is the skill of

analysis. Analysis needs to

be learnt and, importantly,

like any other skill needs to

be practiced. Even though

its a crucial part of AS and

A2 Level work, analysis is

something that students

sometimes dont get quite

right in exams. This means

they miss out on crucial

marks. One of the mostcommon mistakes is that

students write responses to

exam questions which focus

on description rather than

analysis. So, first of all, lets

clarify what analysis is in

Media Studies and how it is

different to description:

Description

The observation and

identification of the

media language that is

present within a text:telling the examiner

what is there.

Analysis

Discussing how the

selected media language

creates meanings and

relates to the text as

a whole: telling the

examiner why it is

there.

From these simple

definitions it is clear

that analysis is the

development of

descriptionand description

is, therefore, the starting

point of analysis. Media

concepts are an important

part of this process as they

are tools you can use and

you should practice using

them as often as possible

to get into the habit of

analysis. You can follow

the process explained hereto help you get used to

developing your ideas.

The basic process

1. You need to observe what is present in the mediatext and identify what media language choices

have been made.

2. You need to consider whythe media language

choices have been made.

3. You should try to link your ideas to media concepts

such as narrative, genreand/or representation.

4. You should consider the relationships between the

choices made and the audience interpreting the

media text. How are the audience identified and

appealed to?

5. You should try to identify any institutional issues

that may have influenced the choices that have been

made.

6. You should attempt to discuss any valuesand/or

ideologiesthat are being communicated by the

text.

This process can be demonstrated when looking at the

poster for Forgetting Sarah Marshall(2008).

ObservationThe poster can be

described as follows:

The characters Aldous

(Russell Brand) and

Sarah (Kirsten Bell) are

positioned to the right of

the image:

the man is looking

at the camera he is

sneering

he is wearing black

he is recognisable as

Russell Brand.

Sarah is hanging around

Aldouss neck and is

looking up towards him:

she has her sunglasses

on her head and is

wearing a bright greenmini dress.

Peter (Jason Segel) is

standing in the mid-

ground to the left:

he is standing in the sea

and has wet trousers

he is wearing an

Hawaiian shirt and a red

garland

his looks dejected and

disappointed.

The posters mise-en-

scneis a beach location:

the sky is perfectly

blue apart from a

heart-shaped cloud

pierced arrow-like by a

planes trail.

The tag-lineis at the top

of the poster

the font is presented

in capital letters and is

pale blue.

The films Knocked Upand

The 40 Year Old Virgin

are mentioned below the

films title:

this film is from the guys

who bought you these

other films

the font for these other

films is red.

This, however, is only

the starting point of

analysis even though some

specific media terminology

has been used. These

observations are the medialanguage choices made

by the producers of the

poster and so must all be

significant in some way.

Analysis requires you to

consider the significance

of these choices. You need

to ask whythe media

language choices you

have observed have been

selected, as in the chart on

page 54.

How do these

ideas link to media

concepts?

The following questions

may help.

How do the choices made

identify the genre of the

text?

Is the genre of the

text indicated through

the media language

choices? Genres have

certain codes and

conventions have any

been replicated?

Do the choices madecommunicate any

narrativeinformation?

Have clear rolesbeen

identified such as hero,

villain or princess?

Has a conflictbeen

identified?

What representations

have these choices

created?

What ideas are created

about the characters

and thelocation?

Genre

Comedy doesnt rely on

the same visual codes as

Sci-Fi or horror for example,

but the poster clearly

indicates which genre the

film fits into:

Russell Brand is a known

comedian so casting him

on this film relates to the

genre.

Jason Segel is also known

for comic films.

beaches are associatedwith holiday, leisure and

fun. The setting adds

to the generally light-

hearted tone.

the sneer on Aldouss face

doesnt offer any serious

threat.

the tag-line states the

genre.

the other films mentioned

are also comedies.

Narrative

Ideas about the plot and

the character roles can be

interpreted from the poster:

Aldous will be the comic

villain his black clothes

set him apart from the

Kristen Bell, RussellBrand and Jason Segel

in Forgetting SarahMarshall, d. NicholasStoller (2008)

Credit: Apatow

Productions/The KobalCollection

8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film

10/12english and media centre | September 2008 | MediaMagazine53

8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film

11/12

xxx

54MediaMagazine| September 2008 | english and media centre

other two characters

Peter will be the

everyman hero he has

lost the girl and appears

to be a well-meaning,

if somewhat foolish,

character who is clearly

still in love with the girl

the two men are

presented as binary

oppositesand so we can

expect conflict

the narrative conflictwillcentre on the problems

experienced by the man

on the left as he tries to

win back Sarah or (as the

title indicates) learns to

forget her.

Representations

The poster provides a

lot of information which

sets the tone for the film

and creates ideas about

the types of people these

characters are:

the beach location is

represented in a utopianway. The sky and the

beach are images of

perfection but a dystopia

is indicated as Peter is

clearly unhappy and

the heart shaped cloud

in the sky has an arrow

through it. Heartbreak is

the only thing disrupting

perfection here.

Aldouss look to

camera makes him an

unsympathetic character

who is represented as vain

and arrogant. His overalllook says he is someone

who dresses to impress

and is, therefore, not to be

trusted.

Sarah is represented as

shallow she is taken in

by Aldouss superficial

nature and has rejected

Peter and this is shown

by the way she looks into

Aldouss eyes.

Choosing to dress Sarah in

green identifies, throughconnotations, a potential

theme for the film, that of

jealousywith Sarah at the

centre.

Peter, on the other

hand, is represented as a

sympathetic character as

he looks like a regular guy

who has been abandoned.

His body language

has connotations of

helplessness.

The initial observations

now have more meaning

as the significance of the

choices are becoming

clear. Each media language

choice has been made for

a specific reason some

choices achieve several

things. The designers had

a number of things they

wanted to achieve with the

poster; the primary function

was that it should appeal

to its target audience and

persuade as many of themas possible to choose to go

and see the film. Therefore,

the way they attempted to

achieve this is central to any

analysis.

How are the audience

identified and

appealed to?

How would the choices

identify and appeal to a

specific audience?

Why might the poster

appeal to potential

viewers? For example:

Russell Brand as a

recognisable actor (the

poster was different for

American audiences

Brand was not featured)

the references back to

the filmmakers previous

films creating audience

expectations

the bright and sunny

mise-en-scne. What techniques are

being used to attempt to

persuade the audience to

go to see the film?

Identification of genre

Star persona

Clear indication of the

films tone

Males are targeted

as there is a clear

gender identification

being sought with the

character of Peter

Writer/director

connections

What ideologies are

communicated by the

text?

All media texts have

certain values inherent

within them. Here for

example:

the text favours and

validates heterosexual

relationships

the every manis

favoured over theunconventional male

vanity and arroganceare

Why have the choices been made: some examples

Observation Why?Aldous right is wearing black

and Peter is in bright colours.

The mise-en-scne is of a beach

location.

To make it clear that Russell Brands character does

not fit into the given situation. The man on the right

and the girl, however do.

Aldous is sneering at the

camera.

To indicate that he is arrogant and perhaps that he

thinks more of himself than the girl he is holding.

Peter is looking dejected anddisappointed.

To indicate that he has (perhaps) lost his girlfriend tothe other man.

The font below the image is

red.

Given the fact that the image is mostly blue, the red

stands out and indicates that it is important that the

information is read by the audience.

8/10/2019 Mm25 as Film

12/12

negative qualities

being a bit useless is to

be sympathised with

some women are foolish

as they get the previoustwo points the wrong way

round!

Are there institutional

issues raised?

For British audiences the

casting of Russell Brand

is significant as he has a

public persona. He is a

self-confessed ladies man

who presents himself as

having a larger-than-life

personality and an ego to

match. These ideas about

the actor are being relied

on to allow the British

audience to construct ideas

about the character in the

film. In some ways Brand

represents an idealised

aspirational male figure;

but the ideal he represents

is unreachable for average

guys and whilst we may

admire him on one level,

his behaviour and attitude

is seen as slightly morally

dubious.He presentshimself as a charming but

morally suspect character

who attracts women for all

the wrong reasons. When

viewing the poster it is

likely that UK audiences

are associating these

ideas about the actor

with the character inthe film creating genre,

narrative and ideological

expectationsand helping

the producers to sell the

film.

ConclusionAs you can see, analysis

is more than the simple

description of what you see.

You should practice using

your media concepts to

discuss texts this way. Pretty

soon, this way of thinking

will become a habit rather

than something you have

to force yourself to do and

the exams may not seem

quite as scary next summer.

Steph Hendry is Principal

Examiner for AQA.

The focus for US audiences was not Russell Brand but Jason Segal. Brands name

appears fourth on the list under the American actorsnames. The female actors areknown to American audiences through Veronica Mars(Kristen Bell) and That 70sShow(Mila Kuni).

mm25 as film

Documents