AoB 2 Describing the Structure of Media Texts

maus

This graphic novel had a closed narrative. as at the end of the novel the main character dies. The first book on maus is a open narrative as it leaves you on a cliff hanger this makes you want to want to read the second installment. the first installment of maus follows Tzvetan Todorov’s theory of equilibrium/ disruption/ equilibrium this is repeatedly used throughout the first and second installments as there are moments of calm followed by disruption and then calm. the second installment does follow the theory to a certain extent but ends in disruption as the character dies at the end of the story therefore ending the series this way that the narrative has been used in maus reminds me of a documentary cause its going back in time to ww2 and it is a recount of what it was like for one person throughout the war the other media type this graphic novel reminds me off are of a ordinary novel because of the way it were written its like a story of his life also you could link this to a film because it uses flash backs throughout the novel but unlike films the comics can't use sound or do slow motion but these are invented by the artist in the way of movement lines also you can over exaggerate more better than films the framework is used ingeniously because the frame work is use to get through the story and to draw you in also it gives the characters human like senses also the novel was done in first person this can provide more context and can engage the reader by using the frame work to give a change of tone or the technique of telling the story the narrative hook that was used in maus is the way the writer uses mice to symbolise Jews cats as Germans (cats chase mice) pigs as polish fish as Britons and the frogs as the french these are all stereotypes used throughout the novel also the mice were taken from illustrations of Micky mouse drew by Walt Disney who was an anti Semitic other narrative hooks used are the picture of the dad near the end of the novel and how he looks nothing like the main character ect.

history of comics

The history of graphic novels begins with the birth of comics. but we can go further back in time where sequential art first appeared.There are a number of differences between pictures and sequential art but the main one is that the one tells a story through the juxtaposition of images that builds to something that a single picture image can’t replicate.The placing of pictures side by side gives you a sequential narrative on which to read.scientists and art historians believe That the cave paintings of Lascaux are the earliest type of sequential art. Images of hunting are not single images but a collection of man and beast at different stages of the chase there for giving a narrative.The paintings in the egyptian tombs and pyramids also record important events through sequential art and hieroglyphic lettering.Sequential art can also be found in the Bayeux Tapestry, recording the invasion of Britain by the normans in 1066 the battle of hastiings.it must be made clear that these are not single images, but a collection of images in a series. Even though there are no borders frames or speech bubbles or no over eggagerated lettering they are building a narrative nonetheless.There are manny more examples that could be used such as Michelangelo’s Sistine chapel and medieval manuscripts.
If we go little while back into the 1700s to Britain, an man called William Hogarth would kick start an interest in narrative works. In 1743–1745 Hogarth painted the six pictures of Marriage à-la-mode,this work poked fun at the upper class people of the 18th century society. This ’story cycle’ shows the unfounded tragedy of an not well thought out marriage based on money. The paintings were designed to be shown side by side so providing.The Swiss, Rodolphe Topffer 1799-1846 is generally considered to be the founder of modern comics. His drawings with their borders and most importantly interdependent words were close to what we know as modern comic artwork.Before this in 1440, the Gutenberg press had improved society and now printed books and with siquentacl art could come to you rather than you to it. now that book production was a commercial business, the first copyright laws were passed to protect what we now would callintellectual rights.At the end of the nineteenth century things started to take shape. a pice of work named ‘Yellow Kid’ appeared in Richard F. Oultcault’s ‘Hogan’s Alley’. A gap-toothed skinhead street kid in a yellow gown. This was probably the first cartoon art that people followed.In 1935 print salesman Max Gaines thought up with a plan of reprinting daily and weekly newspaper comic strips in tabloid papers this would be known as comic books These were found to be so popular that publishers such as National know now as today DC Comics began to produce original stories to cope with the public demand.
National’s Action Comics no.1 featured Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster’s Superman character in 1938. With this character the future of comics was cemented and the medium had found its killer format.Soon to follow was Batman, Wonder Woman, Captain America and many others. By the early 1950s the boom of the Super had died and DC Comics published Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman but that was about it. The only genre that was doing well was horror. The leading horror publisher was EC Comics .
Bill had reluctantly taken over from his father and had a different approach. He let the artists imagination run wild. Brutal war stories emerged such as Two Fisted Tales Wertham attempted to show the long term negative effects of comics on children. Eventually the comics industry imposed on itself a system of content regulation.EC Comics sales and fell sharply as retailers wanted nothing to do with the company. Mad comic changed into a lack and white magazine d the code) and became a household name in the states.

The Wickerman

The film starts off with Sergeant Neil Howie sent to investigate a disappearance of a young girl in the isle of Sommerset upon arrival he ask the villagers about the little girl whom is missing but to his despair the villagers are adamant that the girl has never existed. Through further investigation he discovers that the entire island follows a pagan religion. Angered by this he confronts the lord of the island, ironically called lord Sommerset about their beliefs, hoping to put a stop to this but is unsuccessful. After more research he is shocked to find that they will sacrifice the missing girl on May-Day. Sergeant Howie decides to try and intercept the killing but ends up being killed himself.

I thought that the film was very strange and it is not really my sort of film. I thought that some of the ideas were completely way out and the whole concept of the film was strange.

I do think that this film fits into the horror genre because it is quite eerie at times and very spooky, for example the candle that is in the shape of a hand. Some of the things that happen in the film such as the pregnant women jumping over the fire are quite strange and scary too.

When this film was released it was hated by the film industry but as time went on it gained a more cult popularity and therefore was accepted a lot more. I think this was because the horror genre became a lot wider known and also different religions became a lot more common and accepted and as this film is quite religious it would of caught on. The film was directed by British Lion Films but they were facing administration so were bought out by a millionaire named John Bentley.

The fall of the House Of Usher

This film is about a house and the people in it. The house is in the middle of no-where and is surrounded by mist. A slightly strange is the fact that the house has absolutely no vegetation surrounding it. Siblings called Madeline and Robert Usher live in the house. There is also an inconspicuous butler. Madeline has a fiance called Philip Winthrop, however they have not seen each other for sometime and so Philip decides to pay her a visit. Philip does not know that Madeline has a condition that puts her into a death like state and makes her go crazy. Madeline goes into her death like state and Philip cant find her. Eventually she wakes up and in her insanity and rage she attempts to strangle her own brother and then sets fire to herself and thus burning down the rest of the house.

This film fits into the horror genre because of the strange and scary story line. For example the house being surrounded by mist and the freaky butler that knows everything about everyone. Madeline gets shut inside a coffin and this is quite scary, as she is still alive. The author of the novel is Edgar Allen Poe who is well known for making horror novels. Vincent Price plays the lead roll and he is also very well known for working in the horror genre.

The company that was making this film was American International Pictures who at the time was making a lot of horror. The film used cheap sets and used scenes that had been used in other films, it even used a shot of a house burning down to use when the house burnt down in the film. Roger Corman is a very well known director who has done a lot of Poe's novels.

In this film there a certain things that have become cliches over time, such as the way that the characters are dressed and the look of the house, with it being completely dark and surrounded by mist.

The fact that Vincent Price is in the film is good for the audience because he is very popular with the public and he is very good for the directors because he makes money by being so popular and makes people want to see films that he is in.

whitch finder general

Witch Finder General was directed by Michael Reeves who died young at the age of 25, due to an overdose. It was produced by Tigon films and in the USA was called The Conqueror Worm, with reference to Allen Poe, this was an attempt to gain popularity. Vincent Price was also told to narrate a prologue and epilogue from one of Poe's poems, again at an attempt to increase popularity. In the year that this film was made the Hippie culture that had promoted love and harmony started to fade as anarchism/punk era began! There were many public outbreaks of violence and in some circumstances, fatality's occurred. Violence was now becoming much more real and accepted. This film asks the question as to why violence and brutality is so easily accepted. The film is quite bleak in its outlook, but does portray the obvious issues surrounding society's acceptance of violence and interestingly shows that without proper rules and enforcements society will end up in chaos. The film was censored by the BBFC (British Board Film Censorship) which is now known as British Board Film Certification. The name change shows that they were trying to get away from film censorship and more into film certification. The original lead was played by Donald Pleasance who was in ineffectual, but the directors wanted Vincent Price as they knew that with him came a stereo type and he would not be able to play the ineffectual part, so the whole script was re-written around Vincent. This shows how much the actors influence the production of a film.

the exorcist

When the exorcist was first released there was a big uproar about it and a lot of people were not happy that the film was going to be shown to the public. This was because the film was quite ahead its time in terms of horror and the graphics were also very futuristic which made the film seem even more scary. The church complained about the film also and did not like the fact that the film seemed to make light of such exorcisms. Jon Landau felt the film was, “Nothing more than a religious porn film" The BBFC gave this film an 18 rating when first released but was banned for a couple of years and re-released in 1998. It was re-released because the horror genre had progressed and the public were now less shocked by this level of horror. The BBFC were hesitant to put the film onto VHS as they were worried about the film being viewed in homes and the impact it might have on people and it was also a worry that children and young people might get their hands on the film and be horrified/disturbed by the content. I think that there is still a need for regulations in film broadcasting, however i feel that the need is not as great as it was as young people today are surrounded by high levels of horror and violence from a younger age and so are a lot more used to it.

the shining

the structure of the film is linear this means that it has a start middle and end of in more advance terms the x position building up the characters getting to know the plot then theres the complication this is when problems start to arise the climax is next this when the problems get sorted then theres the resolution when you start to wined down from the rest of the film so the shining theres the x position where we are introduced to jack the main character then the complication these include when danny starts talking to tony and when the hotel manager tells jack about the last caretaker that went mental also all the visions that danny gets about the hotel the climax is when jack loses his mind and goes on a rampage and tries to kill his family but danny escapes the resolution is when jack freezes to death in the maze. the film has a few muguffins these incude the dog man flating the man and the picture of jack in the picture in the end of the film the purpose of these is to through you of the sent also this film uses duse ex machine you can argue that the shining has and has not the argument for it has is that jack was always the caretaker cause the picture at the end of the film but you can argue against saying that he just caught cabin fever and went mental.
the krubick style
he is abit of a maverick when it comes to film making he utised modern technology like the stedy cam this alows him to do long tracking shots this allows for more shots and to add more atmosphere also he lets the actors make the characters to add a bit of intensity this could make the character easier to play if it were based on the actor also he has a disricard for traditionals conventions instead of tying all of the loose ends like traditional horror films this film leaves the loose ends open this film is very popular to a wide audience so evaluate a scene lets take the classic hears jonny and disect it Stanley kubrick creates meaning in this scene firstly he used the audio this includes dialect and the music also the sound of the axe hitting the door jack nicholson uses nursery rhymes to create a area of calmbess