Evaluation Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Research into Target Audience

     After conducting research, I have identified my primary target audience as white British females aged between 17-23, in the C1-2 socio-economic background.

     Due to the British locations based in Norwich and ethnicity of the characters featured in my production, the primary audience would be British as these aspects would appeal to them as they could further relate to the characters and setting. This could also be because the artist that the music video is promoting also falls into this category, so may be more likely to appeal to this group. 

        The primary audience would be females aged 17-23 years old as the production is centred around a teenage/young adult character, thus the audience would be able to identify with the character as they are of a similar age and therefore would be more invested in the music video. This is also because statistically more females are diagnosed with a mental illness than men -although this could be due to women being more likely to seek help and thus receive a diagnosis, not that they are more likely to have a mental illness- and thus a female audience may be able to identify with the character further, and thus the video be more likely to appeal to a female audience. Furthermore, the video was inspired by as well as follows conventions of Drama, Suspense and Horror films, of which -according to research by the UK Film Council- appeal more to a female audience below the age of 35, of which my primary target audience would fall into.

Teenage/Young adult characters with mental illness

    As the narrative of my music video is centered around a teenage/young adult girl suffering from Dissociative Identity Disorder, I decided to do some research into teenage/young adult characters with mental illnesses in various other media texts, of which influenced/inspired the character in my production. 


Donnie Darko - Schizophrenia

   

    In Kelly's 2001 'Donnie Darko', Donnie is a paranoid schizophrenic high school student troubled by visions of a sinister-looking figure in a rabbit costume named "Frank." The end of the world is coming very soon, according to Frank, and Donnie may have something to do with it. Donnie tells his psychotherapist, Dr. Thurman, about his continuing visits from Frank; acting under Frank's influence, he floods his school by damaging a water main. At the end of the film, events of the previous 28 days recapitulate in reverse order and action, until Donnie finds himself in bed in the early hours of October 2. As he sits laughing uncontrollably, the jet engine crashes through his room, killing him.




Toko Fukawa - Dissociative Identity Disorder

 In the murder mystery visual novel and Seiji Kishi's 2013 anime series 'Danganronpa'', Toko Fukawa has a severe persecution complex that originated from the bullying that she had to live through early in life, she is highly suspicious of other people, frequently accusing them of thinking bad things about her. Her unusually quick tendencies to self-victimize quickly characterized her interactions with most of Class 78. We later discover that she suffers from dissociative identity disorder, Genocider Syo being the name of her murderous and sadistic alternate personality. She swaps between her usual abrasive and self-conscious personality and the serial killer Genocider Syo after sneezing or fainting upon seeing blood. Her sneeze-induced change is a reference to the character Launch from the anime and manga Dragon Ball.


Charlie - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder



    In Chbosky's 1999 and 2012 'The Perks of Being  a Wallflower, charlie shows signs of Post  Traumatic Stress Disorder, Borderline Personality  Disorder, Anxiety and Depression. 
 In an epilogue, Charlie is discovered by his parents  in a catatonic state and does not show any  movement despite being hit reluctantly by his  father. After being admitted to a mental hospital, it  emerges that his auntie Helen sexually abused him  when he was young, and his love for her (and  empathy for her troubled youth) caused him to  repress his traumatic memories. This psychological damage explains his flashbacks and derealization phases throughout the book. 




Shiro - Dissociative Identity Disorder

    In Jinsei Kataoka's 2007 'Deadman Wonderland', Shiro developed an alternate personality to cope with the pain caused by torturous experiments she had to undergo ever since her early childhood. Her second personality, known by the name Wretched Egg, is dreadful and bloodthirsty, as opposed to the kind and cheerful Shiro.  As Wretched Egg, she would psychologically torture Ganta by killing his friends and pinning the blame on him, as well as intimidate him by overpowering, leaving Ganta to feel frightful and resentful towards her as a sort of revenge for her pain and suffering in her past.





Craig Gilner - Depression 

    Vizzini's 2006 'It's Kind of a Funny Story', inspired by his own brief hospitalization for depression in November 2004, follows Craig whose stress eventually manifests itself in an eating disorder, use of pot, affected sleep habits, and suicidal thoughts. after going to a psychiatrist who prescribes him Zoloft, he believes he is cured and so decides to throw away the medicine. Consequently, his depression builds until he is unable to fend off his suicidal ideation, he calls a suicide hotline and is admitted to a nearby psychiatric hospital. In December 2013, the writer Ned Vizzini committed suicide after his ongoing struggle with depression.

Print Productions

Panel 1

Panel 2 + 3

Panel 3

Panel 5

Magazine Advert

CD Construction:

     

Application of Genre theory in Scandal's 'Shunkan Sentimental'

     
      Scandal are a punk rock band formed in 2006 from Osaka, Japan. They originally played live street performances until they were noticed and signed to the independent label Kitty Records, and since 2009 have been with the label Epic, a Japanese company owned by Sony Entertainment. The band have performed the theme songs for many anime series, such as 'Shōjo S' and 'Harukaze' for Bleach, and 'Shunkan Sentimental' for Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. 
  


     
      In the opening shots, there is little use of lighting of which creates a dark mise en scene for the video, of which may appear fitting for rock music videos and thus may be used as a convention of the genre. This is further reinforced by the use of steely blue tones added in post-production, the likes of which are utilised in horror films -such as Carpenter's 1978 'Halloween'- as to add an other worldly feel and build suspense; conventions of such films being popular in the alternative music culture. This reinforces the ideas of Katie Wales who noted that genre is an  intertextual concept, and John Hartley who suggests that we need to understand genre as a property of the relation between two texts.

      The use of location such as a dark, isolated building reinforces genre as it reflect the underground venues in which alternative music such as punk and rock had originated, which in turn connote a sense of anti-authoritarianism, as well as some aspects of Anarchism - ideologies of which are strongly associated with the Punk genre. This links to the French sociologist Maffesoli who coined the phrase 'Urban tribes' -example of an urban tribe being punks- of which he said were microgroups of individuals who share similar ethos, dress style, behavioural patterns; whose social interactions were largely informal and emotional. This vastly different from the late capitalisms corporal bourgeoisie cultures based on detached logic. This explores Gunther Kress' ideas on genre, of which he defines as a kind of text that derives its form from the structure of frequently repeated social occasion, with its characteristic participants and their purpose. An example of this can be seen in My Chemical Romance's video for 'Desolation Row'.

      Furthermore, the use of costume is used within the video as to reinforce the punk rock genre of the band. For example, the colour scheme of dark colours such as red and black, as well as the incorporation of tartan, is another feature associated with the punk genre. 'Royal Stewart Tartan was a popular pattern for the fashionable upper crust of British society in Victorian and Edwardian times. Its subsequent association with the aristocracy meant the pattern denoted civility and authority. Punks reappropriated the plaid, and wore the pattern in torn-up strips, as bondage wear, and other unconventional means. This was yet another way to give the middle finger to the established rulers of British society and showcase punk's dissatisfaction with the way things were' (Source). This is a clear display of Nicholas Abercrombie argument that genres permit the creation and maintenance of a loyal audience which becomes used to seeing certain programmes within a genre. 

                                  

 

Photos for print production

      As to symbolise the theme of dissociative identity disorder and create a clear, fluent link to my video in  my print production I wanted to feature both the girl and the dissociative identity within the print production. I wasn't quite decided on how I wanted to do this, so for each character I decided to create a distorted image of which would physically represent two or more parts of the individual. I slowed down the shutter speed on the camera and got my actor to move their head from side to side as to create the effect of having multiple faces as to represent the different parts or identities of the individual. I decided to do this whilst taking the pictures as I thought it would look more organic and have a better effect than if I had tried to do a similar thing on photoshop, but also took images that weren't distorted so I could attempt it and see which I preferred. I also did this as to enable me to use the images differently, for example I wouldn't want my digipack and magazine advert to look exactly the same and thus taking a range of different pictures in different styles enables me to create these two different texts of which still also have a clear relationship to one another as well as my music video.

     I also decided to have some images in which the focal point isn't one of the identities, but rather with a more explicit reference to the settings, with the forest and natural imagery suggesting that the mental illness has a physical, organic basis. The use of cards -similar to tarot cards- displaying supernatural themes  was used to reinforce the supernatural and horror connotations of a forest location, of which have a strong link to lycanthropy. The use of the pocket watch was in reference to the fact that in many cases of Dissociative Identity Disorder there are dissociative or amnesic barriers between the different identities, and the fact that one identity is not aware of the others actions. Similarly, the image of the shoes in the tree is similar to when kids throw shoes over phone lines in the street, or which is in fact the final shot in my music video, thus making a clear link to my music video and print productions. It also links to my production in that it reflects the childish aspect of the Id in Freud's tripartite personality theory, the suggestion of the Id being dominant leads to the development of psychosis reinforces the thematic link of mental illness.

Gender Identity Exploration

      I came across this video on Tumblr of which through both the lyrics and the video itself portrays the issues of Gender roles and identity, highlighting the past and current struggles of individuals in society, many of whom may be trans, agender, gender fluid or non-binary. Gender roles are a social construct involving a set of social and behavioral norms that, within a specific culture, are widely considered to be socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex. The perception of gender roles includes attitudes, actions, and personality traits associated with a particular gender within that culture.





        From the beginning, the video addresses certain gender stereotypes, such as blue being a colour for boys and pink being a colour for girls. This is a common stereotype of which people assume defines its users, for example most toys of which are geared towards female children are pink or other similar colours, with even the packaging following a similar trend. This is also true for those toys aimed at male children of which tend to be in darker, harsher colours. The same can be said for clothing and even food packaging, in which different editions have been released as to appeal to the different genders.

      Similarly as explored in this video, the idea of certain material things or interests are only acceptable for one gender to partake in. For example, the props in the shots of the group of boys are mostly to do with sports or trucks, and it is only when the boy goes for the pink doll that the other boys turn on him. This is mirrored in the lyrics 'Hush boy,..don't say a word, throw on a jersey and no one gets hurt' of which clearly refers to how most boys are assumed to be sporty and athletic; and suggests that instead of doing what he wants, and speaking for himself, the boy should repress this and start doing what all the other boys seem to do. This is paralleled with the group of girls who are surrounded by objects of which connote a sense of vanity and lack of intelligence, and similar to the boy, the girl is turned on by the others in the group when she decides to look in the book rather than following the other girls actions. As reinforced by the lyrics 'Hush girl...just bat your eyes. Play our little game...', it refers to how some girls are seen as dim and lacking intelligence; only being concerned with their looks, and that its strange for pretty girls to be both curious and intelligent. This is highlighting how society wants both boys and girls to simply play into these gender assigned roles, and those who dare defy this are singled out and cast aside.

         The line '...you're raising suicidals...' is in reference to the recent proliferation of  exposure in cases of trans kids committing suicide due to not being accepted by those surrounding them, including their own families, or due feeling like they don't fit in or don't know what they identify as. One of the most recent cases is Leelah Alcorn who was a 17 year old American transgender girl whose suicide attracted international attention. Alcorn had posted a suicide note to her Tumblr blog, writing about societal standards affecting transgender people and expressing hope that her death would create a dialogue about discrimination, abuse and lack of support for transgender people. Around a similar time, the suicide of 15 year old transgender boy named Zander was also brought to light. This highlights the issues and potential dangers of society trying to force archaic gender roles and outdated, hegemonic values/ideals onto individuals.