The Killing picture analysis

From this image from a point in the killing, it's an extreme close up shot where the girl is vulnerable and showing fear. The narrative structure is thriller and a mystery. Mise en scene- blood all over her face, her hair's a mess which shows struggle and lots of violence. She is in a dangerous position. The light has been shined on her face by the artificial light which is meant to be the airplane signifying her purity and innocence but also letting the audience get a look at her. we feel sympathy as the audience. the sound goes to a sudden silence from the tense music which makes us feel hope for her to be safe and allow us to take in all that she has been through. The light on her makes her look like an angel foreshadowing she will die. Also the diegetic sound at this moment of the airplane is a representation of her going away into death as it fades and goes away

                                                                                                                                                                In this picture it it very dark and gloomy giving a danger feeling showing the girl as running away from a killer. This is an establishing shot and in this moment there is continuity editing. However we see the young girl fall which is a reminder of Laura mulveys theory male gaze. She is a very stereotypical vulnerable girl running from something scary and always making mistakes such as tripping portraying her weakness. In addition she is wearing no shoes which gives us the impression she was wearing heels (another stereotypical feminine trait) and had to take them off in order to carry on running, putting her at a disadvantage running barefoot. this moment is also fairly quiet, allowing us to watch and focus on her struggle as she buckles making us feel sympathetic

Another part of the scene was the girls struggle to walk through the water. this was diegetic sound. This demonstrates how out of control, desperate, scared the girl is compared to the killer who we hear nothing from. links to Strauss- binary opposition. The scene is an establishing shot. Even her falling yet again adds to how weak she is as a person, implying she is gonna die

Action Script

 Ext- Airport- Afternoon

Middle aged man, dressed in black, Leaving the convenience store with a knife and hears sirens arising in the distance. The man rushes into his car and starts driving, not looking back.

The Diegetic sirens are catching up, getting louder and louder. Extreme close up shot of his face dripping with with sweat. 

Tense music in background as the police cars are being followed by a crane shot. the focus is only on the police cars

The man starts to speed up as he looks at the time. switching shot from cars to man 

Now the police cars seem to be getting louder as his heart starts to pound using non-diegetic sound. swerving of action of the cars as they turn at the same time. 

The man suddenly stops with a thud, gets out of the car and starts to run at what looks like a house. As soon as he gets to the door, he opens it to music and a bunch of people throwing a (diegetic sound) party and the man is smiling with the knife in his hands.
As he walks to a cake and starts cutting it, we see the police cars through the window driving past the house, chasing something else and not him 

The killing- My added silence

https://youtu.be/Dq1xtwO4TC8

The art of silence

https://youtu.be/NUrTRjEXjSM

The Killing opening sequence analysis

Sound

•  From the beginning, we start off with a sudden loud bang which suggests immediately that the show will progress in a scary sudden way.
• When the girl is running, diegetic sound is presented through her tense out of breath breathing and terrified whimpering which displays vulnerability and no power. Another is the rustling of the leaves and the water splashing around as she runs.
• Strauss- binary opposition, known v unknown. There is no music on the killer but only on the girl. 
• Through the scene, we come across a stop and it goes relatively quite while we hear a foley sound of an airplane flying above. This change from suspense music to an airplane is trying to focus our attention on it which makes us think there could be a rescue, luring us into a false sense of security for her.  
• However after that pause, there is a sudden diegetic sound of a bang, expanding the suspense once again as we see the killer for the first time. The music carries on 
• The drumming music represents her metaphorical heartbeat further portraying her fear of the situation. Drumming motif for the killing 
• The pace of the tense music starts to speed up from here faster and faster demonstrating something bad will inevitably happen and setting the end of the scene.

Editing

• we are introduced to the credits which actually slow down as the scene continues and the background of the credits show fingerprints which signify DNA and overall investigation. This foreshadows the show, claiming it will be about the investigation of a murder 
•  The pace of cuts gets quicker which shows us how much she wants to get away and as the audience we are further en-captivated to find out what happens next.  

Cinematography

• There is a freeze frame where everything just stops when the point of view shot of the plane shows hope and that there is no more rushing but she is just sitting there confused, not knowing what to do
• There are plenty of establishing shots as the girl is running through the dark woods. this shows that it's very dangerous and that she is all alone which foreshadows something bad happening 
• There is a low angle shot of the killer that we see for a split second. This reveals the killers domination over the victim.  

Mise en-scene 

• From the beginning, I can see not very much because of the dark presence
• The endangered girl is wearing a white, short dress which contrasts with the suspected killers clothes of all black. This demonstrates the girls purity and how she is the vulnerable, submissive victim compared to the scary looking hooded figure. we can easily tell the difference 
• The lightning from the airplane reveals blood all over her, bruises and dirt signifying shes in pain and in trouble 
• This scene supports Laura mulvey's theory of male gaze. she is a very stereotypical damsel in distress who is wearing a short dress and is running scared which further supports this.
•  Judith butler claims that gender is preformative in which an example of a stereotypical women is portrayed in the scene. She is subjected.  
• As the girl is running, we notice she is without shoes. we can infer that she was probably wearing heels (a very feminine thing) and had to take them off in order to escape fast enough. This disadvantages her. 

Theorists

     https://www.alevelmedia.co.uk/media-theorists 
     https://www.ocr.org.uk/Images/421658-academic-ideas-and-arguments-factsheet.pdf   lots of theorists 

   Steve Neale- states that "Genre is instances of repetition and difference." Basically its saying that stuff like genre is being copied but changed slightly to give it a unique feel.

- An example of this is is the women who was being chased to be killed was wearing a dress (mise en scene) and running screaming for her life and so seemed to be very vulnerable and weak in the situation. this is shown by the sound and cinematography of her screaming and looking small. so this shows a steryotypical women scared that was copied from the outside world.
- Another example is in the killing there is a detective that is solving a murder case and is usually in dark dull areas when looking. This is supported by the cinematography that is very dark. so Film Noir but set in a more modern period, which makes it unique but still a genre that is used 
- In Billie Jean it follows the conventions of a music video.
- Billie jean uses Film Noir with the detective and it being black and white in the beginning  

Todrov (theory of narrative)- stages of eqilibrium:
1. Equilibrium
2. Disruption of equilibrium
3. Recognition of the distribution
4. An attempt to repair the damage
5. New equilibrium
- An example of this is a happy family that is moving to Sweden for a new life but then the detective has to take up a case that she feels like she needs to solve. This is shown through the shots of her packing shows she is moving but then the phone call changes this.
- Another example goes against the theory because it starts with the disruption of the girl being chased which tells u though the editing that the show will be very fast paced.

Strauss- A binary opposition drives a narrative forwards. You need opposition to move a movie along. Two theoretical opposites are strictly defined and set off against one another.  Two theoretical opposites are strictly defined and set off against one another.- An example of this is we only get to see the hero doing all the work through close up shots of her investigated while even at the end we don't know anything about the killer. this builds up suspense 
- Another example is personal life vs professional life. The detective had her life all set to move but then had to take up a case at work that disrupted this. this is shown by the personal life being so happy and slow but the work has quickly dull and unhappy shots. even the sounds of peoples emotions are different. in personal life she was laughing but not in professional. 

Knight- "Thrill comes from the prolonging of the inevitable" 
- This could be like we know that the killer will be found later in the season but its still fun for us to experience the ride and how they get to the identity of the killer. the editing supports this theory but all the camera and editing shots of the investigation taking place.
- The chase scene of finding their daughter has a a lot of suspense because we know they will find her but we are still on the journey and don't know when we will find her and how. 

Judith Butler- Gender is performative. Currently, the actions appropriate for men and women have been transmitted to produce a social atmosphere that both maintains and legitimizes a seemingly natural gender binary.

Patriarchal narrative is a society run by men. 

Laura Mulvey says Male Gaze- where women can't see themselves through the eyes of women but through men. women make themselves look like what men want you to look like 

Stuart Hall- The Encoding/decoding mode. What does the producer intend for them to see and what do they really see. Eg. in the killing, the producers have "encoded" to show that some of the characters are presented to be dodgy (the politicians) and from this we "decode" that they are suspicious and not trust worthy. we need to keep an open eye out for them as the producers want us to think
Hall- preferred reading (reading that the media wants you to take eg. in score they want you to buy the product), Op-positional reading is when  you take the opposite eg. feminists would see the score advert as patriarchal and oppressive 

Van Zoonen- Gender is constructed through what we see. Women's bodies are like objects and people study it and end up being like that. culture has shown people view the male body differently from those used to objectify the female body.

Bell Hooks- Feminism is for everyone. Struggle to end patriarchy from make domination. the idea that feminism is a political commitment rather than lifestyle. People can be who they want to be and don't have to look like what en want the too. eg. Like in the killing, the detective is a women and no one is ever like Omg she's a women! its just accepted as a normality.

Bell Hooks on Music vids
The colour codes: Lighter skinned women are considered more desirable and fit better into the western ideology of beauty.Black women are objectified and sexualised in hip-hop reflecting the colonialist view of black women (sexually disposable). Commodified blackness, a mediated view of black culture that is considered the norm.

Michael Eric Dyson-Dyson suggests that political hip hop in the 1990s didn’t get the credit (or commercial success) it deserved and this led to the rap music of today – which can be flashy, sexualised and glamorising criminal behaviour. Dyson states: “Hip hop music is important precisely because it sheds light on contemporary politics, history and race. At its best, hip hop gives voice to marginal black youth we are not used to hearing from on such critics. Sadly, the enlightened aspects of hip hop are overlooked by critics who are out to satisfy a grudge against black youth culture…” Michael Eric Dyson, Know What I Mean (2007)

Paul Gilroy- Basically he says there are still problems from the end of slavery hanging around. explores influences on black culture. One review states: “Gilroy’s ‘black Atlantic’ delineates a distinctively modern, cultural-political space that is not specifically African, American, Caribbean, or British, but is, rather, a hybrid mix of all of these at once.” Gilroy is particularly interested in the idea of black diasporic identity – the feeling of never quite belonging or being accepted in western societies even to this day. For example, Gilroy points to the slave trade as having a huge cultural influence on modern America – as highlighted by Common’s Letter to the Free. Diaspora: A term that originates from the Greek word meaning “dispersion,” diaspora refers to the community of people that migrated from their homeland. 

Gilroy on black music

There are still problems from the 13th amendment- Gilroy suggests that black music articulates diasporic experiences of resistance to white capitalist culture. 

When writing about British diasporic identities, Gilroy discusses how many black Britons do not feel like they totally belong in Britain but are regarded as ‘English’ when they return to the country of their parents’ birth e.g. the Caribbean or Africa. This can create a sense of never truly belonging anywhere.

Stuart Hall: race representations in media

Stuart Hall suggests that audiences often blur race and class which leads to people associating particular races with certain social classes.

He suggests that western cultures are still white dominated and that ethnic minorities in the media are misinterpreted due to underlying racist tendencies. BAME people are often represented as ‘the other’.

Hall outlined three black characterisations in American media:

·  The Slave figure: “the faithful fieldhand… attached and devoted to ‘his’ master.” (Hall 1995)

·  The Native: primitive, cheating, savage, barbarian, criminal.

· The Clown/Entertainer: a performer – “implying an ‘innate’ humour in the black man.” (Hall 1995)

Tricia Rose: Black Noise (1994)
 Hip Hop gives black female rappers a voice introducing female empowerment.  Hip hop gave audiences an insight into the lives of young black urban Americans and gave them a voice.

Gelfer: Changing masculinity in advertising suggests that the way masculinity is represented in advertising is changing. Looking at advertising over the last 20 years: “Previously, masculinity was mostly presented in one of two ways: either a glamorous James Bond-style masculinity that attracted ‘the ladies’, or a buffoon-style masculinity that was firmly under the wifely thumb. Thankfully, and somewhat belatedly, things are beginning to change.

Gelfer: Five stages of Masculinity Gelfer suggests there are five stages of masculinity – how people perceive and understand what it means to be a man. Stage 1: “unconscious masculinity” – traditional view of men Stage 2: “conscious masculinity” – as above but deliberate Stage 3: “critical masculinities” – feminist; socially constructed Stage 4: “multiple masculinities” – anyone can be anythingStage 5: “beyond masculinities” – it doesn’t exist 
Gelfer says advertisers need to think about how their target audience views men and masculinity when creating campaigns.

David Gauntlett- Gender Fluidity.  He disagrees with the popular view that masculinity is ‘in crisis’:
“Contemporary masculinity is often said to be 'in crisis'; as women become increasingly assertive and successful… men are said to be anxious and confused about what their role is today.”
Instead, Gauntlett suggests that many modern representations of masculinity are “about men finding a place for themselves in the modern world.” He sees this as a positive thing. 

Jean Baudrillard theory on postmodernism 

Postmodern Productions often blur the lines between the lines of good+evil, light+dark, for both viewers and characters eg. we read the vid differently from then to now.
Hyper-reality is a condition where reality has been replaced by a simulacrum (representation or imitation of a person or thing) eg. in billie jean reality has been replaced of him being a pedo into MJ being represented as a god. 
simulacrd- an image or representation of someone or something eg. MJ represented as an amazing 

god in Billie Jean
Baudrillard wrote a philosophical treatise called ‘Simulacra and Simulation’ Simulacra and Simulation is most known for its discussion of images, signs, and how they relate to the present day. Baudrillard claims that modern society has replaced all reality and meaning with symbols and signs, and that the human experience is of a simulation of reality rather than reality itself.
The simulacra that Baudrillard refers to are signs of culture and media that create the perceived reality; Baudrillard believed that society has become so reliant on simulacra that it has lost contact with the real world on which the simulacra are based.

In post modern media, pastiche (an artistic work in a style that imitates that of another work, artist, or period.) can be playing a homage (tribute) or a parody of past styles eg. Billie Jean is a parody to Singing In the Rain where the main white protagonist is feeling free walking in the rain whereas MJ has a different experience by being followed as a man of colour, its a coloured persons version of singing in the rain, being represented as a criminal. . It can reference pop culture as part of the narrative. 

Gerbner 

Cultivation Theory- if we see the same thing in the media again and again, we start to believe it. 

Barthes- 

Enigma codes- story avoids telling the truth or revealing all the facts, in order to drop clues in through out to help create mystery. This drives the narrative forward because we want to know what happens next. unanswered enigmas tend to frustrate the audience. (we used it in newspapers how in the daily mail front page there is a 'turn over' bit which pushes us to read on which drives the narrative forward). This also can be found in music vids whee mysteries are established as the vid goes on. Narrative funtions to first establish, then solve. 

John Berger
“Men look, women appear” Women are there solely for the objectification of women within all platforms of the media.

Henry Jenkins 
is an expert in fandom and participatory culture. Key to this idea is the concept of the ‘prosumer’ – audiences that create as well as consume media. This culture has revolutionised fan communities with the opportunity to create and share content. It also links to Clay Shirky’s work on ‘mass amateurisation’.
eg. he argues the sims is not a game but a community of fans, friends, designers, creative artists and collaborators. He calls this 'convergence culture'