'Whiteness' - My Interesting & Inspirational Key Concept
This short section sets out to explain the concept I found most interesting from the Race & Ethnicity module of Term Two.
December 18th 2008 saw us take a seen exam paper for MSVC205. One question that I answered was regarding the concept of 'whiteness' and how it takes us the position of 'ordinariness' (Dyer, 2007).
Sometimes, I believe, this ethnic category is overlooked as the norm, as it is never usually categorised as something like Afro-Caribbean or Asian. I enjoyed lectures that attempted to make us think in a different way, and analyse this concept as an ethnic category within itself.
Race boundaries seem to be blurred in modern times, as there are now a lot more options regarding how race is seen. For example, recent arguments in society include residents of Cornwall wanting their own 'category', however this has yet to be agreed to. In the Western world, 'whites' have always been seen as white, middle-class, heterosexual males/females, which seems to be rather a hegemonic view on the category. It is suggested that anyone not fitting into these labels should be seen as 'The Other', meaning anything that is not associated with the Western race or Western hegemonic is out of the ordinary according to racial ideologies.
The area that I found interesting and inspirational, was that it is apparent that even though maybe subconsciously, the 'white race' can also become hybrid. For example, the Indian diaspora of dress and make-up and food has seemed to permeate British culture, which makes more of a mixture within the races. If this worked on a conscious level, I believe, and people realised that these diasporic groups work well together to form a huge culture, there would be much less racism and hegemonic values would be overturned. This binary opposition can be very problematic (Strauss, 1979), as the discourse can create much trouble. White is always seen as dominant against 'black' races, much like masculine is over feminine and cultured is over savage.
All in all, people of the modern world still need a discourse to compare ourselves to. Pluralism seems to be an ideal, where everyone would get their own say regarding culture and the world would have a huge multi-cultural view. However, we in Britain still live through a hegemonic existence and due to the acts of the media and other ethnic groups, this does not look like it is going to change anytime soon.
MSVC 206 - Assignment 1 (3k words 100%)
Reflective Diary - Identifying Areas of Interest in Media Employment
The following blog post comes in the form of a reflective diary, whereby we are asked to think about the area of the media we want to venture into once we finish our undergraduate degree at students. It will include the area of the media that interests me, what the particular job entails as well as how it contributes to a media organisation as a whole. The blog will also explore the skills I may require to attain such a career and the stereotypical representation of females in this area. It also includes a short section on where to find vacancies in media jobs sections of broadsheet newspapers, for example. Finally, the blog will attempt to summarise what I feel as an undergraduate student that I need to improve on, skill-wise, in order to gain such a career as well as how I feel learning about public speaking techniques has helped me and will continue to as I venture into the world of media work.
The following blog post comes in the form of a reflective diary, whereby we are asked to think about the area of the media we want to venture into once we finish our undergraduate degree at students. It will include the area of the media that interests me, what the particular job entails as well as how it contributes to a media organisation as a whole. The blog will also explore the skills I may require to attain such a career and the stereotypical representation of females in this area. It also includes a short section on where to find vacancies in media jobs sections of broadsheet newspapers, for example. Finally, the blog will attempt to summarise what I feel as an undergraduate student that I need to improve on, skill-wise, in order to gain such a career as well as how I feel learning about public speaking techniques has helped me and will continue to as I venture into the world of media work.
Since a young age, I had always wanted to be an actress, as every young girl wants to be at some stage. After taking part in numerous stage shows at secondary school, I eventually decided to audition for drama courses in further education. Unfortunately I was not offered any places on such courses, and I began to open my eyes to the fact that this was going to be a very difficult profession to gain entry in to; not only because thousands of people enter for the opportunity of only a few places, but because of the financial factor, also. I therefore realised that I needed to broaden my media career aspects, and that is the point that I am at today.
The world of media is huge, from journalism to advertising, acting to photography. It was not until going into my second year at UWIC that I got the urge to look into one particular field - of mixing sport with television. My interest in sport came from competing as an athlete until the age of eighteen. Then, when moving to Cardiff and having the feeling of such a close-knit community addicted to sports like rugby, it heightened my interest in becoming more of a sports fan. Like most people, I watch television, and most of this comes from watching sport being broadcast on either the BBC, ITV, S4C or Sky Sports. I started to realise what my ideal job would be earlier this term, when we had guest speaker Kim Marks come in to lecture. I realised that from her life story, anything is possible, and for someone who studied 'honey bees' at university going on to present the news for the BBC, thought that this would also be possible for myself to achieve. This year, I have been watching much more coverage of sport on satellite channel Sky, and have began to identify more with wanting to work for the company and gaining a job presenting sports news.
Sky Sports News (SSN) is a 24-hour sports news channel in the UK. It is broadcast by BSkyB, whose sports channels include Sky 1/2/3 and Xtra, as well as Sky HD1/HD2/HD3. It describes itself as having 'the best sports coverage from around the world, covering football, cricket, golf, rugby, WWE, boxing, tennis and much more...'
Sky Sports News (SSN) is a 24-hour sports news channel in the UK. It is broadcast by BSkyB, whose sports channels include Sky 1/2/3 and Xtra, as well as Sky HD1/HD2/HD3. It describes itself as having 'the best sports coverage from around the world, covering football, cricket, golf, rugby, WWE, boxing, tennis and much more...'
Any job in television is sought after, but it seems that regarding females and sports jobs, working for Sky seems to be the ultimate. Working for the corporation in this particular role entails skills in not only presenting sports news from around the world, but having background knowledge in sporting areas in case questions are asked or unusual situations arise, for example the loss of an autocue. The channel focuses predominantly on football, but reports on a wide range of sports, even sports to which Sky do not possess broadcasting rights, such as Formula One and baseball.
The programming is presented by two reporters in the studio who read the news or introduce short clips featuring highlights and interviews covering a variety of topics. Tabs at the bottom of the screen give unrelated information on a wide range of sports, while a sidebar also shows unrelated league tables or other information. The content of the main studio feed generally repeats depending on the amount of news at a given time, varying from 20 minutes to an hour.
The role of the presenter on this channel is compulsory to Sky delivering what they are known for - sports news around the clock. All in all, Sky presenters manage to complete many tasks all at the same time - delivering breaking news, updating scores and interacting with fellow presenters. Without the presenters, the organisation would have no empathy to their audiences. They are used as a catalyst to entice viewers, which may suggest why many of the presenters are well-spoken, good-looking and well experienced. With attractive hosts, it helps Sky to live up to a more glamorous side than the BBC or ITV1, for example.
The sports presenters rarely leave the studio to go on location. The company employs reporters who interview guests in the field, then use the studio to feed back information to the audience. This means that the hosts are truly committed to their studio time and feel comfortable in their surroundings. Sky (see Fig.1), as a corporation, has many different sub-channels - SkyNews, Sky One, Sky Three, Sky Movies, amongst many others. It is an extremely successful company with many well-known employees. Sky Sports News however, is seen as one of its most successful channels and the people that are employed to present the sports news are used as a representational tool for the corporation.
The programming is presented by two reporters in the studio who read the news or introduce short clips featuring highlights and interviews covering a variety of topics. Tabs at the bottom of the screen give unrelated information on a wide range of sports, while a sidebar also shows unrelated league tables or other information. The content of the main studio feed generally repeats depending on the amount of news at a given time, varying from 20 minutes to an hour.
The role of the presenter on this channel is compulsory to Sky delivering what they are known for - sports news around the clock. All in all, Sky presenters manage to complete many tasks all at the same time - delivering breaking news, updating scores and interacting with fellow presenters. Without the presenters, the organisation would have no empathy to their audiences. They are used as a catalyst to entice viewers, which may suggest why many of the presenters are well-spoken, good-looking and well experienced. With attractive hosts, it helps Sky to live up to a more glamorous side than the BBC or ITV1, for example.
The sports presenters rarely leave the studio to go on location. The company employs reporters who interview guests in the field, then use the studio to feed back information to the audience. This means that the hosts are truly committed to their studio time and feel comfortable in their surroundings. Sky (see Fig.1), as a corporation, has many different sub-channels - SkyNews, Sky One, Sky Three, Sky Movies, amongst many others. It is an extremely successful company with many well-known employees. Sky Sports News however, is seen as one of its most successful channels and the people that are employed to present the sports news are used as a representational tool for the corporation.
Fig.1
Careers in media come about through experience, determination and luck. There are many skills required to undertake a job like sports presenting. After the lecture from media professional Kim Marks, it became more clear at what these skills are. Pronunciation, breathing and posture are all very important in being a successful presenter. They represent the whole broadcast company; viewers do not see the editors or directors, only the presenters, and so it is vital to achieve the correct first impression.
As with all jobs in every field, determination is key. News presenters must be aware that they are thrust into the public sphere, and along with getting recognised in the street, must be prepared for both praise and scrutiny.
The Sky studios are based in London, and so potential candidates for jobs within the company must be prepared to move away from their home city and set up somewhere that may be unfamiliar, having to make new friends and new contacts. This can be just as hard as starting the new job, but the determination of wanting the job should carry one through.
The way a SkySports presenter presents themselves is very important; the male hosts wear smart suits and are seen as tidy and immaculate, the same goes with the female presenters like Georgie Thompson, who is mentioned more below.
Background knowledge and a keen interest in sport is also very important for undertaking this job, I believe. Passion is key in any occupation for it to be successful and vibrant. Even though sports news presenters are meant to be impartial to news stories and just present the facts, it is important that Sky viewers see their personal interest and are confident that they are pronouncing names and places correctly. For example, if Georgie Thompson's autocue disappeared, she should be confident and knowledgeable in her role to be able to know who the stories are surrounding and be able to carry the show solo.
As with all jobs in every field, determination is key. News presenters must be aware that they are thrust into the public sphere, and along with getting recognised in the street, must be prepared for both praise and scrutiny.
The Sky studios are based in London, and so potential candidates for jobs within the company must be prepared to move away from their home city and set up somewhere that may be unfamiliar, having to make new friends and new contacts. This can be just as hard as starting the new job, but the determination of wanting the job should carry one through.
The way a SkySports presenter presents themselves is very important; the male hosts wear smart suits and are seen as tidy and immaculate, the same goes with the female presenters like Georgie Thompson, who is mentioned more below.
Background knowledge and a keen interest in sport is also very important for undertaking this job, I believe. Passion is key in any occupation for it to be successful and vibrant. Even though sports news presenters are meant to be impartial to news stories and just present the facts, it is important that Sky viewers see their personal interest and are confident that they are pronouncing names and places correctly. For example, if Georgie Thompson's autocue disappeared, she should be confident and knowledgeable in her role to be able to know who the stories are surrounding and be able to carry the show solo.
Before undertaking any role in the media, I think it is very wise to gain as much work experience as possible. In order to learn skills before being offered a job at a company like Sky, working in different sports departments and media outlets could be very useful. This means that as a presenter, you would be more confident and not 'learning on the job' as such. It is also key that as well as being able to work as an individual (by way of preparing reports and having a coherent and cogent way of writing) interaction with fellow presenters and audiences are also important. One does not get to choose who they work with, and as Sky has only two presenters in the studio, it is vital that this relationship is professional and the two connect well.
The most obvious skill that needs to be obtained is the confidence in talking into a camera and to an audience if millions. No swearing or inappropriate behaviour is extremely important also. Sports presenters cannot be shy or retiring and need to exude confidence and passion for their job in order for them to be successful and retain their seat at such a successful corporation.
When one looks at the past and present presenters of SSN, it could be argued that there seems to be a stereotypical look of the female hosts. Millie Clode and Georgie Thompson (see Fig.2) are attractive, blond women, as well as Kelly Dalglish and Gabby Yorath is recent years. It seems as though Sky employs these females for a host of reasons, including talent and experience, but also for their look on camera. Sky needs to uphold its glamorous image, as said before, and so it is important that they hire women with whom their regular viewers can identify with.
Gabby Yorath (married name Logan) has recently moved to present sport with the BBC, and happens to be one of only a few female sports anchors. This suggests that women in this role is still fairly new, and for male viewers watching a football or rugby programme, seem to prefer a fellow man feeding the sporting information. Equality in the workplace has been brought to the forefront in recent times, and it seems to be unclear whether such sports channels are hiring females through desire and talent, or proceeding to follow equality guidelines and employ due to need and sexism issues. 'Women are only used in televisual sport to make up numbers' (Unknown, 2008) is a phrase that should be seriously looked in to, in my opinion. Women anchoring the main news has been a common trait for many years now, and has become a thing of the norm, having previously been seen as very out of the ordinary. For example, female presenters now anchor the BBC 6 0'Clock News without a male co-host, as well as doing 60-second updates alone on camera. However, it seems female presenters in the sporting arena are given much more criticism regarding knowledge and understanding of sports like football, rugby and Formula One.
The look of a female sports presenter seems extremely important in order to carry them through successfully. For instance, if the woman is criticised for having a lack of knowledge in sport, but appears extremely attractive on TV, it seems to prolong her stay on the channel, it seems. Being well groomed and dressed as a female seems crucial in any area of television, but trying to appeal to a mainly male orientated gaze in the sporting area means more attention may be given to what the candidate for the job is eventually employed on SNN.
The most obvious skill that needs to be obtained is the confidence in talking into a camera and to an audience if millions. No swearing or inappropriate behaviour is extremely important also. Sports presenters cannot be shy or retiring and need to exude confidence and passion for their job in order for them to be successful and retain their seat at such a successful corporation.
When one looks at the past and present presenters of SSN, it could be argued that there seems to be a stereotypical look of the female hosts. Millie Clode and Georgie Thompson (see Fig.2) are attractive, blond women, as well as Kelly Dalglish and Gabby Yorath is recent years. It seems as though Sky employs these females for a host of reasons, including talent and experience, but also for their look on camera. Sky needs to uphold its glamorous image, as said before, and so it is important that they hire women with whom their regular viewers can identify with.
Gabby Yorath (married name Logan) has recently moved to present sport with the BBC, and happens to be one of only a few female sports anchors. This suggests that women in this role is still fairly new, and for male viewers watching a football or rugby programme, seem to prefer a fellow man feeding the sporting information. Equality in the workplace has been brought to the forefront in recent times, and it seems to be unclear whether such sports channels are hiring females through desire and talent, or proceeding to follow equality guidelines and employ due to need and sexism issues. 'Women are only used in televisual sport to make up numbers' (Unknown, 2008) is a phrase that should be seriously looked in to, in my opinion. Women anchoring the main news has been a common trait for many years now, and has become a thing of the norm, having previously been seen as very out of the ordinary. For example, female presenters now anchor the BBC 6 0'Clock News without a male co-host, as well as doing 60-second updates alone on camera. However, it seems female presenters in the sporting arena are given much more criticism regarding knowledge and understanding of sports like football, rugby and Formula One.
The look of a female sports presenter seems extremely important in order to carry them through successfully. For instance, if the woman is criticised for having a lack of knowledge in sport, but appears extremely attractive on TV, it seems to prolong her stay on the channel, it seems. Being well groomed and dressed as a female seems crucial in any area of television, but trying to appeal to a mainly male orientated gaze in the sporting area means more attention may be given to what the candidate for the job is eventually employed on SNN.
Fig.2
When looking through broadsheet newspapers such as The Guardian, Daily Telegraph and The Times, there were no jobs listed by SNN or Sky as a whole organisation. Nor were jobs listed by the BBC, my second most desirable company to work for. This may suggest that because jobs at these places are so sought after, they only advertise in places where serious candidates may look, for example media-based magazines or on their own websites. Sometimes, it may be the 'who you know, not what you know' concept regarding getting work, and knowing somebody already in the company always helps. However, if I were to be wanting to apply for a job at Sky now, I would contact them directly through email or letter asking for a list of vacancies or any work experience placements they may be offering for recent graduates; this shows determination.Sometimes it is simpler to get jobs at Sky etc, by moving around within the company. For example, I could begin making tea, then progress to runner, then eventually land my dream job....Alternatively, I could be offered a job with them if I interview well as a candidate. There are many factors before getting accepted onto the career ladder at somewhere like Sky, but trawling through newspapers to search for their job vacancies, is certainly not the best place to look.
I believe I have to make many improvements within my structure in order to be an appropriate candidate for gaining a job at an organisation like SSN. I hope to gain a 2:1 or better in my degree in Media Studies, whilst at the same time gaining valuable work experience. The main area i need to improve upon is my public speaking skills, which we have all worked on in lectures and presentations. Performing 10-minute long presentations, as nerve-wracking as they are, have deemed invaluable to me at gaining confidence and learning to speak in a concise and professional manner. However, I still think I need much more improvement and need to continue giving confident talks to my fellow students and peers.
I also need to keep in close contact with most sports, and keep on top of important happenings within different sports. When it eventually comes to me having to find a media occupation in my chosen field, it will benefit me by having this knowledge to allow me to stand out above other characters. Knowing facts surrounding the sporting arena also improves confidence and allows for questions to be thrown at me at the end of presentations.
When I finish my degree at UWIC in 2010, much effort needs to be made straight away to secure jobs at such companies and make my name well-known as wanting such a post. I may have to settle for a less glamorous job at a smaller, less successful company before such a big organisation like Sky would employ me, especially as I would only be 23 and just a graduate, but this is well worth the experience and allows me to build on my skills, confident and experience before doing what I really want to do.
The skill of public speaking is the most important skill that I am going to need to gain employment, not just my dream job, but anywhere. Interviews are key to securing a job and being able to publicly speak about myself to a potential employer or maybe a panel of people is very important. I am currently part of a modelling and actring agency, where I have recently acted on the set of BBC1's Casualty. This part, set for airing in the summer, helped me gain contacts as well as confidence in performing in front of the camera. The set was extremely professional and fast-pace for the BBC and helped me gain knowledge of studio work as well as location filming. I hope to have more opportunities to work on such programmes as this, as well as Doctor Who and Torchwood, in the future.
To conclude this reflective diary, it is important to point out that even though working for SNN is the ultimate for me as a media student, I realise that a job like this is very unlikely to be given to me at such a young age and lacking so much experience. Any job within the media is a learning platform for the individual, and I am currently contacting the BBC regarding work experience this summer. I also know there may be an opportunity for me to visit the Sky studios in London for potential work experience, but this rests on me making the best of my connections and seeing if I have time during my dissertation period in 2009/2010.
Sport is one of my passion, and so is working in television. I am lucky that there are jobs available in the media world that can combine the two, but I am also aware that being a female may also hold me back at certain stages. This is a problem in the workplace that is still suffering, however it is slowly changing to try and become a job on level terms regarding both sexes. My undergraduate skills need much improvement and my determination and commitment to using the skills I have to find work experience this summer, as well as searching for media based opportunities when I graduate next summer.
Bibliography
Hesmondhalgh, D. (2007) 'The Cultural Industries', London: Sage
Sky Sports Website - http://www.skysports.com/
UWIC (2009) Blackboard 'Your Career'
Images - [Accessed 04/05/09]
Fig.1 - Sky Sports Screen Grab en.kingofsat.net/channelhistory.php?ch=700
Fig.2 - Georgie Thompson http://www.somethinelse.com/talent/profiles/georgiethompson.html
Welcome
Welcome to my "World of the Blog". Blogging is not really my cup of tea, but feel free to read and look at the pictures that follow. Media Studies and Visual Cultures 2008 consists of us students having to create an online masterpiece to show our IT, time management, composition and presentation skills and allows us to create work through another media for lecturers and potential employers.
The first piece of assessed work featured will be a Text in the City piece set for MSVC 101. This is followed by my own Curriculum Vitae and a passage on what thoughts and feelings I had regarding coming to UWIC to study this course. The work will continue throughout the BA(Hons) degree until 2011, by which time it will hopefully be on par with what a 12 year-old kid can do. Fortunately, it is only assessed for the first year, however expect a lot more content over the following two years - whether it be MSVC 103's Glossary of Terms, various film reviews, outside experiences and copies of assessments and essays.
Enjoy...
The first piece of assessed work featured will be a Text in the City piece set for MSVC 101. This is followed by my own Curriculum Vitae and a passage on what thoughts and feelings I had regarding coming to UWIC to study this course. The work will continue throughout the BA(Hons) degree until 2011, by which time it will hopefully be on par with what a 12 year-old kid can do. Fortunately, it is only assessed for the first year, however expect a lot more content over the following two years - whether it be MSVC 103's Glossary of Terms, various film reviews, outside experiences and copies of assessments and essays.
Enjoy...
'Text and the City' - [MSVC 101]
For this portion of the assignment, I was required to take photographs of written texts that I found on buildings in Cardiff, and introduce them to my blog. The following aspects had to be considered: the typeface of the text, colour, language used, the meaning conveyed, the way it is positioned on the building and where the main building is situated.
Shada, Anneka, Helena and I took three photographs of texts that we found on buildings that we believed captured the essence of the City of Cardiff. The following piece shows the three featured images, along with a narrative account of why we thought they were representative of the City.
Text and the City Images & Commentary
This photograph of a red pillar box was taken on St.Mary's Street in Cardiff. Not as old as the Penny Black, the British Pillar Box is better known as the Post Box. There are 115,000 in Britain and some are over 150 years old. Having been owned by the General Post Office, the Royal Mail and now Cosignia, they accept 20billion pieces of mail each year, including 2million Christmas cards each festive period. Found in cities, towns and villages throughout the British Isles, some stand erect on street corners, like the one we photographed, with some found attached to telegraph poles or built into exterior walls of country post offices.
The stand-alone post box (Fig 1.0) featured was chosen due to the unique graffiti on the back side. The specific point of the task was to photograph written text - graffiti may not be compulsory on this prop, but its individuality compared to the rest of the post-boxes in Cardiff makes it stand out. Not everybody likes graffiti and some do not even call it 'art'. However, even though we cannot work out what the words say, it is individual to a person or group and as a whole may represent the youth culture of the City.
All British pillar boxes are red, and represent an older time of society. The silver spray paint used here makes the writing stand out on the background, and even though unclear as to the content, anyone who looks on is bound to have an opinion on whether it is visually positive or negative. The binary opposites of this image are what makes it interesting. The box comes from an era of over 100 years ago when graffiti and such artwork were not invented, nor permitted. However, with this image we can now see post-modern culture embedded on a vintage cultural item. The person(s) that drew this art had arguably wanted to make a statement. People of all ages use post boxes, and they are used everyday. They have not gone to a backstreet where nobody walks to air their expressionism on a concrete wall; they have sprayed where everyone can see. The writing is on the back of the box - not on the front where the letters are posted. This may have been done this way simply as there is more room to write what they desired on the back. The 'scribble' is rather large and takes up the majority of the length of the box. It may not look 'pretty', but it a great commentary on our current society structure, and even though there may be graffiti on several post boxes in other cities in the UK, I would argue that this one of St.Mary's Street is unique in what it says, and how it is presented (size/font/composition).
This registration plate image was taken in the car park of the City's Millennium Stadium. The Welsh equivalent to "Welcome" is "CROESO". We are unsure what the 'X' means, other than it meaning something to the individual who owns the car. The plate represents not only that the owner may be Welsh, but conveys the pride that Welsh people behold in their country. I have not to this day seen an English car with the registration "Welcome" - which may suggest something about the differences between the Welsh pride and other nationalities. The word "CROESO" sitting adjacent to the Welsh flag on the plate only emphasises the Welsh nationality more. Obviously, due to legal reasons, all plates have to include a number - therefore the '3' here represents the 'E' of "CROESO".
The font is in the same print as most British cars.
The Mercedes SL350 is an expensive car, and so suggests the owner is well-off. Parked in the Stadium suggests he may be a sportsman or businessman. Every plate in the UK is unique, and so there will not be another plate like this in the world, let alone Cardiff. Just as the plate has its individuality, it matches the unique pride of the Welsh. People often say phrases like the 'Pride of the Scots' or the 'Pride of the Welsh' - and so it may be suggested that the above registration represents this.
The Mercedes SL350 is an expensive car, and so suggests the owner is well-off. Parked in the Stadium suggests he may be a sportsman or businessman. Every plate in the UK is unique, and so there will not be another plate like this in the world, let alone Cardiff. Just as the plate has its individuality, it matches the unique pride of the Welsh. People often say phrases like the 'Pride of the Scots' or the 'Pride of the Welsh' - and so it may be suggested that the above registration represents this.
This sign was found outside the Welsh shop in the middle of the City. The shop sells traditional Welsh merchandise, for example love spoons and Welsh rock. The sign "Wales The Happy Country" ties in with the message of the registration plate above - how the Welsh people are traditional and proud of their country and roots. The font is in a typical Welsh style, which is often used on many traditional Welsh products that may be found in the shop featured. The word "Happy" is shown in a red font to establish it on the sign, making it stand out from afar and emphasise the positive meaning. The sign was stretched from the top of the shop window to the bottom, and so it made it rather hard to miss by it being so large. It is intended for tourists as well as countrymen and gives out a positive view on Wales as a country to anyone who reads it. Some may argue that the words are ironic, especially on days where, for example, Wales lose a rugby match round the corner at the Millennium Stadium. Statistics also show that Welsh men are the least happy with their bodies in the UK, and spend the most on cosmetic surgery - from waxes to Botox. So in what context is this sign? Is it purely to entice shoppers inside to buy happy, typically Welsh merchandise? Or is the statement true and proven statistically with market research from Welsh residents? I think not - it is purely a sign that shows Welsh solidarity and patriotism towards their country, and let's be honest - people will believe anything that is written down nowadays.............
Why UWIC & Why Media? [MSVC 101]
Studying the subject of Media at a university in Wales, was never an obvious choice for me, for many reasons....... I was born in North Wales, and after moving to Oxfordshire with its rolling countryside, fabulous rising house prices and fast car-driving rich snobs, I began to realise I was born in a not-so-nice place of the world..... That may offend some, but it's how I feel. So eventually, after five years of secondary school and excelling in subjects such as English, Drama and Sports Studies, I did the intelligent option and took the three subjects for A-level at Didcot Sixth Form in my home town. During this time, I began to realise that drama was to be my preferred route in life and I desired to be an actress. After completing my course and performing in numerous musicals and plays in school and out, I decided I would take a gap year before university to gain experience in the theatre and earn a little money. I began working for Gap Plc in Oxford doing general shop-work, roaming around and chatting and earning very little money for it. I then moved on to work for Fat Face Ltd as store supervisor, which was slightly difficult as I was 19 and bossing middle-aged women around who previously worked as lawyers...and so it was very strange. During this time, I performed in amateur theatre productions and made sure I regularly went to the cinema and theatre to stay in touch with current performances. After a year of living this life, I eventually changed jobs and started work in an educational IT company in their Finance department. This involved counting million of pounds each week, and as exciting as it was - it was boring. However, the money was building up and so it allowed me to have a great summer with my friends and be able to take a few months off before I was due to come to uni to generally chill out in the sun (and rain).
Originally, between the time of December and July 2006, I was preparing and attending auditions at drama colleges around the country in order to gain a place on an Acting course. Rose Bruford, Central School, Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, RADA and Guildhall were all on my list. It took a lot of work to get my audition speeches right - and as I had not been studying for two years, I found it rather hard. My previous drama teacher from school helped me rehearse and choose monologues, and I used my sister and a video camera to practice several times a day. Auditions - the travelling, the expense, and the time - all took its toll, and I eventually began to think wanting to do an Acting course was unrealistic. The phrase "it's not what you know, it's who you know" kept on jumping into my mind, and having to pay £30 to have a panel of judges criticise you and tell you "No thanks, you're not for us", was just not appealing anymore. After being rejected from five drama colleges, even though it was still my aim to pursue my dream at some point, I decided it was wise to take a different route of study. I still wanted to perform in theatre groups with whatever course I studied, and still planned to go to drama college after my degree to study Acting as a mature student - I still wish to do this.
So then came my decision to become a secondary school Drama teacher. I came across the course at UWIC on the UCAS website, and thought it would be nice to still study in the same area but to come in at a different angle. I eventually received my place, and began studying in Cyncoed in September. I was not to know that I would absolutely dislike it 100%. I would have to be in uni five days a week, 7-5, and that was not for me. I also made few friends and felt a bit like an old lady in such a young group of students. I gave it a week and that was enough for me. Some thought I was being hasty, but I was hating being at university so much - being away from home, being poor - that I was not going to give myself the choice of being even more miserable. And so this is how I came to study Media with Visual Cultures at UWIC, Llandaff................
When I left the teaching course in mid-September, there was really no other courses that interested me apart from the Creative Writing for Media subject. However, it was not being run in 2008 and so I had to keep looking. I did not want to leave university altogether, and the thought of having to go through the process of changing halls, loans and TV licence addresses, did not appeal to me. I came across the Media course by accident on the uni website, and I decided I would research a little more into it. After emailing the course directors, I eventually made the decision that this really could be the course for me. Not only would it allow me to still work with theatre, cinema and film, I would be able to explore other mediums including photography and the print press. I liked the idea of having two separate sides of the subject - being able to delve into history and discuss feminism, Karl Marx and Freud for example, mixed with analysing Kanye West music videos and assessing films such as Castaway and Requiem for A Dream.
After a few weeks of beginning the course, I realised that it was something that I would very much enjoy and that could be useful for furthering my career in acting. I plan to apply for work experience at BBC Wales after Christmas, and may even venture off and complete a Screen Acting Course at Ferris Entertainment. Everyone that studies the subject with me seems to be on a similar wavelength, even if some are after different outcomes, whether it is wanting to become a journalist, screen writer or radio presenter. I love the idea of being able to discuss the current media in lectures, unlike other subjects which assess you on being able to dig down into dark history books found in the dingiest part of the library......This could arguably be seen as the reason why some academics class media courses as 'not a serious or relevant subject'. Commentators like this may take many more years to realise that students studying my course are very important to society, and in effect, are going to entertain them and make them laugh or cry on their darkest or brightest days. A job in the media, whatever area, is demanding and worthwhile. And even though it is not an area that I have been interested in since I was a child, I now realise I could be rather good at it. So, there you go, the reason I came to study Media and Visual Cultures at UWIC? - fluke.
Online Curriculum Vitae [MSVC 101]
After much deliberation on how to present my current CV to you all,I eventually decided to do it in the traditional way - a big long list consisting of past employers, qualifications and interests and hobbies. Enjoy...
Name: Lauren Taylor
DoB: 29 October 1986
Emails: lozmeister_39@hotmail.co.uk / L.Taylor7@uwic.ac.uk
Name: Lauren Taylor
DoB: 29 October 1986
Emails: lozmeister_39@hotmail.co.uk / L.Taylor7@uwic.ac.uk
A highly active and self-demanding individual with a strong aspiration to succeed. Ability to work well in a team as well as individually, and with effective skills to meet deadlines and targets. Good communication skills and IT literate, with ambition to complete tasks with creativity, logic and intelligence
Career Progression
March 08 - Present
Red Bull UK Ltd, Cardiff
Cardiff Sampling Team Leader
Driving the canned Mini around the whole of Wales, the responsibility of Team Leader means sampling RB, RB Sugar-Free and Cola along with six other girls. It seems to be the best student job around and allows me to work such events as Air Race and Glastonbury Festival.
April 06 - June 07
RM Education Plc, Abingdon, Oxon
Cash Allocator - Finance Department
This position required much responsibility, keeping check of all monies that passed through the company and allocating them to customer accounts - averaging on c.£25million each month. Worked on company database and Excel spreadsheets
June 03 - March 06
Gap Plc, Oxford
Sales Assistant & Lead Cashier
Worked within a group of the oldest-serving Gap employees, in the midst of mainly term-time student workers. Responsible for cashing up twelve tills daily, as well as replenishing stock supplies and ordering cashier equipment from wholesalers.
Oct 05 - Jan 06
Fat Face Ltd,Wantage, Oxon
Store Supervisor
Major responsibility for taking care of six other members of staff. Opening and closing the store each day, taking conference calls, ordering supplies and stock and making staff transactions.
Personal Development
Sept 07 - Present
University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC)
BA (Hons) Media Studies with Visual Cultures (3-Year)
July 05 - Aug 07
Two Gap years for full-time work and travel
Sept 03 - July 05
Didcot Sixth Forms Consortium, Oxon
AS/A2-Level
Sept 98 - July 03
Didcot Girls' School
GCSE
Educational Qualifications
4 A-Level Passes
Theatre Studies - B
Sports Studies - C
English Literature - C
General Studies - B
11 GCSE Passes, including:
English Literature/Language - A*
Drama - A*
IT- A*
History - B
Sciences - B
Mathematics - C
Outside Activities and Interests
Theatre and cinema are my main interests, hence why I decided to take a 3-year degree in Media, in which I get to explore texts in both of the above, as well as photography and architecture. I am also a keen athlete, having competed for England and Oxfordshire in the long jump. I also love to surf, as well as learning to snowboard this Winter in Les Deux Alps. I also love to watch tennis and rugby. This is my first year at university, having taken two years out to mature, travel and work full-time.
Textual Analysis Assessment Extract- "Shawshank Redemption" [MSVC 103]
The following extracts were from a piece of work handed in on Monday 12 November to Andrea. We were required to watch a chosen film, in this case "The Shawshank Redemption", and analyse it in the form of a mise-en-scene, a moving image and a deconstruction.
This was the first piece of work I had completed for two years since leaving school, and so I found it a little difficult to get my thoughts and feelings onto a laptop screen again. However, due to my love of the film and wanting to do it justice, I managed to pump out over 4000 words of what I hope, is sensible text.
This was the first piece of work I had completed for two years since leaving school, and so I found it a little difficult to get my thoughts and feelings onto a laptop screen again. However, due to my love of the film and wanting to do it justice, I managed to pump out over 4000 words of what I hope, is sensible text.
The Shawshank Redemption from a preferred reading, explores many key tropes; imprisonment, friendship, hierarchy, homosexuality, anonymity, class and divide, institutionalism, punishment and the rights of freedom. The film centres around the lives of a group of prisoners, meaning the majority of the scenes are filmed in similar surroundings. However, the audience are aware that ten years pass from the beginning to the end of the film, and use this time to empathise with three main characters and their adventures – Red (Freeman), Brookes (Whitmore) and Dufresne (Burton).
In order to explore how the director uses camera codes to allow the audience to follow the diegesis and understand the linearity of cause and effect, both a frozen image and moving image will be evaluated.
The chosen mise-en-scene appears at the beginning of the film (0:08:52).
The medium close-up shot is in soft focus, meaning the audience are attentive to the two characters at the fore front – an officer and a newly arrived prisoner. As the shot tracks down the line of men and we arrive at the front, it is as if the audience are witnessing the action from their own point of view as a person. We are on the same eye level as the characters, and this somewhat normalises the action. The medium close-up allows us to see into the background of the shot, even if it is a little out of focus. It means the audience can get used to the range of characters and their positions right from the beginning, empathising with whom they wish, as if they were there amidst the action. The scene denotes a long line of prisoners that have just arrived into Shawshank. It shows them stepping out of a bus to be greeted by several prison guards, many with batons and other weapons. The weapons themselves solely connote power and punishment, even if they are not being used. Seeing the guards in the background with batons raised in their hands produces a major action code, which is very important when analysing using a semiotic structure. The guards promote their stance and hegemonistic approach whilst holding these instruments, which the audience understand could be potentially violent. The batons could also be seen as objects of the phallus – the shape and way they are held by the guards suggests that they could be used to signify homosexual activity later on in the film.
In the forefront of the scene we see an officer make eye contact with the prisoner at the front of the line, with the rest of the line of around seven visible men trailing off to the back of the shot. The scene also connotes the prison wall with which the men have just entered, with the outside building in the natural world being visible to all. The wall is high with several more armed officers guarding and watching the action down below. Either side of the line are high barbed fences, with older-serving prisoners jeering on the opposite side. Included in the line of new men is Andy Dufresne, with whom the rest of the film centres around – although this shot is focusing more on the powerful position of the officer rather than Dufresne himself.
The lighting effects used in this scene signify loneliness and darkness. The denotative light is dreary and submissive, with no bright sunlight or noisy wind. This silence and dull, grey light connotes the life that these new prisoners are expected to now lead. They will no longer see the brightness of the sun from their cell, nor experience weather in the outside world. The silent wind connotes that of their cell and the loneliness that they are about to experience. This matched with the dull light portends depression and a dull reality to the prisoner’s new surroundings. The dreary lighting also blends into the same colours as the walls, ground, fences and the cell-mates clothing. This may symbolise the monotony of prison life and how every day blends into one another. Also how the men ‘become part of’ the walls and ground, with many of them serving long sentences, some even dying inside.
The denotative colour of the overall scene including walls, prison uniforms, vehicles and shade of the face ignite feelings of suppression, cruelty and punishment for the audience. Watchers are sutured into seeing if the dull colouring develops into further scenes of depression and death, which could be seen as being an enigmatic and metaphoric device used by the director.
Costume and its binary opposites are very apparent in this scene, and it is the first time the audience sees the obvious divide between the prisoners and the guards, who can almost be seen as hierarchical in this suppressive environment. Introduced to Levi Strauss’ semiotic analysis model, binary opposites serve in this instance on a visual level. Firstly, the colours of guard’s uniform are more vibrant and apparent than that of the prisoners, whose clothing blends into the melancholy feel of the scene. Denotatively, the guards clothing is mostly navy with gold studding, consisting of a hard cap, tie, white shirt, badges, shined shoes and weapons. This polished look is shown directly opposite to the drab look of the prisoners. This is reinforced to the audience by the shot as a whole, with the officers and prisoners being shown on opposite sides to one another, emphasising the difference in status. The officers polished shoes and cap visor suggest he is a tidy individual, with a great respect for his job rank. His bright white shirt connotes that he is able to wash his clothes effectively and takes pride in his appearance, with his many badges signifying his position within the prison and his importance to the audience. The colour navy is linked to other public services, for example the police and navy. It is a colour of status and profession, unlike the brown and greys of the cell mates, which are only usually linked to lower-paid occupations (for example, care taking or refuse collectors). Culturally, it is how the audience recognises the difference in position and allows them to continue to understand that there is a divide within this institution – as there is with most institutionalised environments. It signifies the ideology of the situation – a man has committed a crime, therefore imprisoned and so has to deal with being at the bottom of the ranks in prison, with towering and uniformed guards and officers above him. The badges on the officer’s uniform denote his position within the tiers of the prison, and so suggest that this particular officer, who is one of the central characters in the ongoing scenes, is rather high in rank. It could be argued that with the audience seeing these rank badges, they can be used as an enigma code. We are yet to really interact with this character; however it may be a clue to telling us that he is to feature heavily in the central plot merely due to the status he is shown to be. Culturally, he could be argued as being a stereotypical example of a prison officer of those times – facial expressions, uniform, and actions. Roland Barthes (‘Mythologies’ 1957) argues that that representations of the everyday life are neutralised in film, which can be achieved by using stereotypical devices. Arguable, Darabont has done this exactly for this effect – to normalise the situation to achieve positive audience reception. Differing from the uniformed look of the guard is the somewhat scruffy look of the line of new male prisoners. They too are wearing caps, which symbolises some masculinity, however they are in dull colours and slightly off centre. The front man’s shirt is open, and even though not entirely dishevelled, suggests a working-class persona and vanilla lifestyle. Contradictory to the officers, the cell-mates are not uniformed and all their looks differ from one another. The audience knows this is going to change once they enter the prison. This scene serves to show the new arrivals at their last point of individuality – they will all look the same in a few hours, and the only thing that will differentiate them will be their prison numbers. This is shown after this scene when the men are all given de-lousing showers and given their uniforms, signalling that they are now part of an institution.
Costume in this scene and the film overall is a huge comment on society, culturally and symbolically. Clothes signify individuality, which is exactly what these men are going to lose. The audience knows at a glance who is in the higher position in this institutionalised society. For example, the Warden is allowed to wear a smart suit and tie with polished leather shoes, which connotes that he has a higher rank than the guards. He is at the top of the tree and nobody else is above him in this walled environment.
Even without sound in this mise-en-scene, the characterisation of the men featured is very apparent. The action code of the facial expression shown by the male prisoner at the front of the queue denotes the feeling of resentment and fear towards the officer and his new milieu. He is standing upright in an orderly manner, which is followed by the rest of the line. The way the two front characters are interacting is mainly one-way. The prisoner does not utter a word, and the officer is not talking directly to him but to the new arrivals as a whole. The eye-contact here is intense, denoting the tense atmosphere. If the prisoner were a female, the way she would interact with the officer would be entirely different, commenting on the cultural way males and females act together. The woman would not stare at the officer or denote any interaction – this may be due to the patriarchal position of the male in that situation and the female feeling inferior. However, in this scene, the stare the prisoner gives – even though fearful – is that of male to male interaction. The cell mate realises that the officer may be on an ego-trip and taking advantage of his
position, however he remains quiet and formal. The key message of divide is brought to the forefront here, as the prisoner is looking up to the officer who is much taller –
symbolising his higher status. Another example of order and status later on in the film, is the use of the game of chess. This denotes class difference between the members of the board, and so is a metaphor for the lives of the prisoners compared to those of the officers and the outside world.
The use of setting in this scene signifies the key trope of institutionalism. The scene denotes a high walled area with guards surrounding the top level, with barbed fences and a bolted gate, showing the outside world. High walls connote being trapped, being institutionalised and culturally well-known to being connected to prison. The guards supporting the walls signify that the men cannot get out, and if they try they will be punished. The tallness of the wall may be a metaphor for the huge power that is above the prisoners, influential in every part of their new life. The barbed fences separating the new arrivals from the settled prisoners do just that. It shows the segregation that is apparent when more established cellmates are introduced to their fresh counterparts. It denotes a cultural differentiation to those that have been institutionalised for a long while also. In this scene, the fences also serve a purpose to keep the other cellmates back and to cease violence – we see previously how they are getting rather caught up in emotion and that if the fences were not there, the officers would have a riot on their hands. The audience are also able to see the area that is outside the prison walls in the background of the shot, behind steel gates. This symbolises how trapped the prisoners are and somewhat ironic that they are only a few yards away from their previous life of freedom. (...)
The aim of semiotic deconstruction is to ascertain how codes comes together to produce both a preferred and a polysemic meaning. The short sequence that includes camera techniques that implicate the spectator emotionally and empathetically comes at 0:35:10 minutes of Shawshank. The sequence begins with Andy Dufresne (Burton) making a small stone sculpture with his ice-pick device. The ice-pick instrument serves to be an enigma code within itself, as the audience do not yet know the way the instrument will be used apart from making sculptures; it is obvious from another scene with Red (Freeman) that the prop will have a higher use. The spectator does not see until the end that it has been used to dig a tunnel that ignites Dufresne’s freedom. The small stone head that
Dufresne is carving could be seen as acting as a metaphor for himself. He is a small person in a big pond that is prison. The close-up shot of Dufresne carving this provokes empathy with the audience. They see his attention to detail, his love for his past-time and the determination to finish in his eyes. Females, for example, may be more emotionally attached to Dufresne at this point, as his quiet demeanour transfers itself into a confident artist for this shot. Male spectators may also empathise if they too carry out this hobby. The lighting in this scene is very dark to emphasise the darkness of the cell. There are many shadows and Dufresne’s face is partially in shadow at one point. This may symbolise the two sides to his character – the one the guards and his friends see, the other who is digging a tunnel to escape that nobody knows about. The spectator feels as if the are in the cell with Dufresne with this close-up shot at eye-level. It allows us to see the exact detail in the actors face, leading the audience to feel a sense of reality and verisimilitude. Darabont is taking the more realistic over the formalistic approach to film-making here. We then see Dufresne walk up to the prison bars and take a look out. The camera follows him as he does this, but takes a step back to a medium shot. This allows the audience to see the whole of the top of his body, just in case any action was to happen in that area. The bars obviously represent Dufresne being trapped in prison – they can also stand for him feeling trapped in his own mind. After all, Dufresne has been wrongly imprisoned as we saw in the reconstruction at the beginning of the film. This in itself allows the audience to feel emotionally drawn to the character as they know he is innocent. It helps by Darabont directing him to be psychologically rounded, this fuels the normalised outcome. We then follow Dufresne to one of the walls in his cell. At this point, we can hardly see any action as he is almost completely in darkness. The main outline we can make out is that of the enigmatic ice-pick. Darabont may have done this to draw sole attention to the instrument and focus on its importance – the audience later on finds out that this weapon alone has led their innocent character to freedom. We then see Dufresne begin to etch out his name on the wall, to stand aside previous cell-mates names. Again, we cannot see his face whilst he is doing this. He begins to write ‘Andy’ into the stone, however the shot cuts before we see him complete the whole word, which maybe symbolises how he never actually serves his full sentence in prison, due to his escape.
Darabont then cuts to a scene where the audience is subjected to watching a black and white film. At this stage, the camera is in the point of view of a spectator actually sat in the cinema – we are watching the action as one of the characters would be. The action in the film-within-a-film is shown by the camera on a medium long shot, just as Red’s character sees it. Here, we still do not know the concept that this black and white film is working in – we do not know who is watching it or where it is being shown. After a few seconds the scene shows Red (Freeman) in the front row of what seems to be a make-shift cinema hall. Behind him sit the rest of the prisoners whispering and puffing on cigarettes. This is one of the first time the audience has seen the characters truly content and excited in their surroundings. Cinema in today’s reality acts as an escape from the real world – spectators enjoy being sutured into the diegesis of a story and plot and like to empathise with certain characters as if they were really there; this is what the prisoners seem to be doing here. We as the audience empathise with this response – meaning the classic narrative used here and the intertextual approach by Darabont is successful. The film featured, starring Rita Hayworth, is also in black and white. This is a comment on the social time frame of when the film is set, and so adds authenticity. The audience may not know the exact year that Shawshank is set, but has a clue due to the black and white screen being featured. The Hayworth film also links to the key trope of escapism, as the prisoners use entertainment here to relax and move away from their institutionalised environment. When Dufresne comes into the scene, the camera moves left to more of a central medium close-up of himself and Red. This is to fit both of the characters in the shot and allow us to see their facial expressions head-on. Red and Dufresne are both looking at the screen with amazement – we see this in Dufresne’s slightly open mouth and wide-eyes looking towards the movie trail. Dufresne is leaning over to whisper into Red’s ear also. This symbolises their close friendship and how Dufresne may look up to Red as a long-standing prisoner who has more experience of the lifestyle. Red is sat leaned back, which may suggest he is relaxed and content. The next shot we see is cut back to the movie on screen – we see a close-up of the actress Rita Hayworth’s face. At this point, the prisoners cheer and shout at the idyllic figure on screen. Even without sound and the hyena-type jeers heard from the prisoners, we can see that the men see Hayworth as a sexual female idol. This gives the audience a sense of realism, as she was also seen as an idol in the real world – Hayworth is not a made-up character. Laura Mulvey’s (1979) argument on the subject of the male gaze is very apparent here. Rita Hayworth is the object of the male prisoners gaze. Not only are they being voyeuristic in watching her draped in a towel on screen, but the object of their attention is unable to return their gaze – a sense of agency. Darabont’s use of a Hollywood star in this scene makes it ever more interesting for the audience – we can relate to being star-struck by seeing a celebrity on screen and idolising them in a sexual or professional fashion. Binary opposition is also visible here, as the Hollywood women are far removed from their lifestyle. The audience can see a glamorous, famous, wealthy, beautiful individual which is a steep comparison to the dark, dull, institutionalised and depressed prisoners of Shawkshank. We then see Dufresne ask Red for a poster of Hayworth – although we as the audience, as well as Red, are unsure what he wants to do with it, therefore privileging Dufresne’s character rather than the audience. This therefore, puts Hayworth in the position of an enigma code. The audience begins to question is Hayworth will appear again in the film. The audience then goes on to find out that Dufresne is using the poster of Hayworth to hide the tunnel he is digging to escape from his cell. To coincide with making sure the audience are sutured into the verisimilitude of the diegesis, Dufresne is presented with new posters over a period of time with different female models emblazoned on them, including Marilyn Monroe and Raquel Welch. (...)
Ultimately, The Shawshank Redemption is able to transcend the confines of its genre. Darabont uses successful editing and camera movements to provoke the intended emotions from the audience, as well as high-quality characterisation, setting, use of colours, costume and lighting effects. When analysing a film with a preferred meaning like Shawshank, it is easy to see how Barthes (1957) semiotic model, for example, is used in a triumphant way to aggravate meaning and purpose. The introduction of Dufresne as a character brings both a hegemonistic and pluralistic message to the film. It shows how even though there is the overwhelming sense of power from the prison board and officers, one man’s individual thoughts on freedom, hope and wrong-imprisonment lead to his positive outcome, and the downfall of the Shawshank prison system
Bibliography
Branston, G. Stafford, R. (2006) ‘The Media Student’s Book’ Interpreting Media (11-33), Oxon: Routledge
Darabont, F. (1994) ‘The Shawshank Redemption’
Castle Rock Entertainment
Jacobson, C. (2004) ‘The Shawshank Redemption Review Archive’ DVD Movie Guide [online] October 13, 2004. Available from
http://www.dvdmg.com/shawshankredemption.shtml [Accessed: 10/11/07]
Stafford, R. (2007) ‘Understanding Audiences and the Film Industry’, London: Cromwell
Unknown. Montage of photographs of Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe, Raquel Welch. Available from Google Images [online] www.umich.edu/~quizclub/archives/2004/1full.JPG.
[Accessed: 10/11/07]
Branston, G. Stafford, R. (2006) ‘The Media Student’s Book’ Interpreting Media (11-33), Oxon: Routledge
Darabont, F. (1994) ‘The Shawshank Redemption’
Castle Rock Entertainment
Jacobson, C. (2004) ‘The Shawshank Redemption Review Archive’ DVD Movie Guide [online] October 13, 2004. Available from
http://www.dvdmg.com/shawshankredemption.shtml [Accessed: 10/11/07]
Stafford, R. (2007) ‘Understanding Audiences and the Film Industry’, London: Cromwell
Unknown. Montage of photographs of Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe, Raquel Welch. Available from Google Images [online] www.umich.edu/~quizclub/archives/2004/1full.JPG.
[Accessed: 10/11/07]
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