Black Panther Trailer

Black Panther is an American film produced in 2018 by Disney's Marvel Studios which is part of a long line of films. The film is based upon Marvel Comic's Black Panther which was influenced by the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, which was a political organization founded by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton in October 1966. The film entails the story of  the kind of a secret country in the center of Africa, Wakanda. It is much more technologically developed than the rest of the world which is why they choose to keep secret. It deliberately shows a world where people of colour have secretly been above all other countries which is very similar to the aims of the Black Panther Party.

MARVEL STUDIOS – Logo suggests high quality film

Audio –Intense music presents action genre, voice overs – suggests some kind of change in the world –audience need to be educated (uses and gratification) – 2^nd voice over also suggests some change in the world whereas 1^st voiceover suggests something hidden in Africa –ENIGMA CODE

-Hip hop style music ->Afro American social history

Representation

- ‘Dora milaje’ Women warriors –challenges old status quo, typically masculine role.

> Bell Hooks – Black women at the top of the most technologically advanced country in the world –high social status. Bell hooks-“to engage in film was to engage in the negation of black female representation in the media” Black Panther challenges this old status quo.

-VERY developed technology however in African artwork and style

Binary Opposites

Contrast of Wakanda to shared contextual road map of Africa shown by the media.

Enigma Code

-Who are the people? Why do they look a certain way? Who are the people in masks?

-‘El Dorado’ in Africa –myths and legends

-As an audience we want answers to these questions (Uses and Gratification)

Scene 1
Industrial, grey blue dark colour pallet, looks like an interrogation body language suggests this, ethnicity -white males, 'What do you know about Wakanda/[Africa]' -what do we know as an audience? -Different to contextual road map,
Scene 2
People wearing traditional African clothes- cultural reference point, 'El duardo'-Enigma code, Flying ship-Advanced technology-challenges shared contextual road map, 'terror group' style people-cultivated by media, The Black Panther-BlackPanther movement & Malcom X, "Wild Cat" imagery, fight
Scene 3
Female representation-Shaven head, warrior's clothes- She is next to the king rather than a damsel in distress, Marvel Studios logo-suggests high quality film + specialised font suggests new kind of film, Wakanda looks like the future, Animal representation with mask-contrast to armour and technology, Empowered women -wields traditional spear with skill>Not conforming to other nations.

Post Colonial Theory - Paul Gilroy

The media provides us as a audience with 'tools' to help us construct our identities.

-Colonial discourse continue to inform contemporary attitudes to race and ethnicity in the postcolonial era.
-Civilization constructs racial hierarchies and sets up binary opposites based on notions of otherness.

The British Empire
-At it's height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over over a century, was the foremost global power.
-By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people-23% of the world's population(1913)
-By 1920, it covered 13,700,000 square miles, 24% of the earth's total land area.

Colonialism
The policy or practice of acquiring full political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.

The Target of the imperial impulse is the immigrant. To implement the origin country's attitudes -ethnicity, attitudes, representation, class etc

"Albion's criminalization of immigrant and their progeny particularly from the Caribbean and South Asia signifies a melancholic response to these social and political groups that are essential to late modern British life." - Paul Gilroy

Discourse 
= discussion, debate, exchange of ideas.

"It is important to ask what critical perspectives might nurture the ability and the desire to live with difference on an increasingly divided but also conversions on the planet" - Paul Gilroy

Colonialism
=Fully of partially controlling, occupying and exploiting another country.

"the imperial and colonial past continues to shape political life in the overdeveloped-but-no-imperial countries." - Pail Gilroy

Egocentricity 
=Belief that your ethnic group is superior.

Water Aid - 'Sunshine on a Rainy'

The following advert is an appeal from the charity Water Aid who go to some of the world's poorest and most marginalized communities to install wells to provide said communities with water.

Claudia

-Clothing: Skirt, polo shirt and shoes -rather western style look
-Wide shots of the path show how vulnerable she is as a child. The close ups brings the audiences attention solely on her, one person is much easier to identify with rather than a group.

Stuart Hall- Representation

-Deliberately broken away from traditional/stereotypical charity advert (social context) - No depressing narration, no shots of children drinking dirty water, some crops are shown, Claudia does wear decent western clothing etc. The use of lots of close up camera shots makes it direct and personal while also allowing us to recognize this as every day life for her. She also never directly addresses the audience or look at the camera making her seam very lonely while she sings to her self.

-Shared conceptual road map; Typical African landscape with really unsaturated and beige colors, dry plants,

-Binary Opposites:
UK vs Africa -lush dark green Fertile ; Dead, Dusty, Dry crops -Developed; Underdeveloped
Beginning of advert and end -Single child; whole village - More saturation throughout
Sunshine vs Rainy day
Claudia's positive story vs on-screen graphic"650 million people still don't have access to clean drinking water" (conceptual binary)- concept of change

-Audience
The encoded meaning is very blatantly obvious to the audience -these people need water.
The use of covering Zoe's 'Sunshine on a rainy day' creates a target audience of 30s-40s as it has a nostalgic factor to the ad which will attract this age range who are likely to have a stable income compared to that of younger generations. 

David Gauntlett - Theories of identity

The idea that media provides us with 'tools' or resources that we use to construct our identities.

-Claudia acts as a role model for the type of life style changes that the audience could be responsible for creating if they donate to water aid

Liebst Van Zoonen - Feminist theory

-Women - Washing, collecting water, looking after children ]-Reinforced stereotypes

-Men - working in fields/labor

Although the women are in stereotypical female roles, they do physical work by walking to collect water which does subvert stereotypes 

Gilroy - Post Colonial Theories

-Water aid is encouraging it's British audience to 'help' those like Claudia who live in less developed countries

-'Sunshine on a rainy day' is from British culture and the meaning of the song makes sense in British social context, not African. 'Rain on a sunny day' makes more sense in African social context -Imposing of British values on African society doesn't work.
-Previous adverts have cultivated an impossible task with miserable and starving women and children of which audiences have become desensitised to. Water Aid has twisted this idea. 

Audio Codes

dietetic sound on radio - typical British weather

SOUND BRIDGE -crickets from 2nd frame heard in 1st frame -smoother transition - links UK to Africa-money comes from UK which is sent to Africa

Claudia begins humming-intro + crunching of footsteps-dry 

Singing has a contrast in accent to British Radio-childish voice although hard to distinguish age due to the fact she is on her own -suggests maturity 

'Sunshine on a rainy day' -contrast in culture -view of sunshine

"Makes me feel like i belong" -water brings people together?

"Don't leave me here alone" -keep watching 

"Sunshine on a rainy day"-happy children on screen - sunshine=happiness