Friday 6 February 2015

Evaluation

Grade C- 19/32
Mr Bush's feedback.
WWW:-
Good use of jump cuts 
Good location
Good performance 
Good editing 
EBI:-
Lighting 
Lip sync
Camera focus
1) Why did you choose this particular recreation and how does it link to your main production?
I chose that particular recreation because it was a music video that I liked, and it had the conventions of the media texts that I looked at for my critical investigation.


2) What difficulties did you face in producing this recreation?
There was difficulty in regards to the lighting as there was no street lights. Also there was problems in the timing as it was hard to get a camera out as there was a high demand. 


3) What are the strengths of the production?
The location was good. Also, there was good props, as well as a good actor. 


4) What aspects would you look to improve?
The lip syncing was a little poor, as well as the lighting of my actor. I think the editing was poor as I didn't get the jump cuts correct.


5) What lessons will you take from this process that will help you with your main production?

  • Use my time more effectively
  • Need to work on my editing 
  • Quality of sound 
  • Props need to be better

Monday 26 January 2015

Preliminary exercise

Bashy's Verse 

Friday 16 January 2015



Name of the text you plan to recreate:
Yungen Ft Sneakbo - Ain't On Nuttin Remix 2 - Stormzy, Bashy, Angel, Benny Banks, Ghetts, Cashtastic
 
Scene/section you will recreate:

Bashy’s verse (2.15-2.) 

Location you will use for your recreation:

Notholt, Gran Union Village entrance

Actors you will require for your recreation:

2 Actors (Bashy an Yungen)

Props/costumes you will require for your recreation:

Cars
Snapback

Equipment you plan to use:
Camera

Tripod 




Your Critical Investigation topic: 
Does rap music and artist like "Nines" create a negative representation of black youth?


Your Linked Production brief: 





Length/size of production (e.g. 3 minutes, 5 pages etc.): 

3 minutes, music video.
3 page double page spread. 


Give an example of an existing media text this is similar to what you plan to produce: 

Nines. Money on my mind.
Yungen ft Sneakbo. Aint on nuttin.



Give an example of an institution that would produce or distribute your planned production:

SBTV
Link Up Tv
GRM Daliy


How would your production reach its audience?

It will reach it via YouTube, word of mouth and Social media.



Who do you plan to work with on this project?

??



Wednesday 7 January 2015

Critical Investigation Draft 1

Critical Investigation.
Does rap music and artist like "Nines" create a negative representation of black youth?

“Poverty can only be part of the explanation for this pattern. While blacks are, by and large, poorer than whites, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis are poorer still. There was no disorder in areas with large Asian populations, including in London; CCTV pictures suggest there were few Asian looters.” this critical investigion will analyse the effects rap artist have on the younger generation and the reason rap artist have become role models to the younger generation. In order to analyse this correctly, there will be a main text. The main text is a rapper from the Church Road estate (Wilsden) called Nines. Nines is a black rapper who raps about being a “gangster.” although he doesn't refer to himself as one, I can infer, from his lyrics and content, he is an alleged one. He raps about money drugs and women. I will be analysing two of his song lyrics and videos, in order to show the effects his lyrics and videos may have. Also, in order to back up these points, there will be a use of statistics and other reasons that black youth may be represented badly. Things like the London riots, amount of black people in prison and gun and knife crime stats may also allow me to show the many reasons black people are represented negatively.

My primary texts are two songs from Nines called Money on my mind and Aj'd out. These songs are also moving image text. Money on my mind was videoed by SBTV, Jamal Edward's company. The themes of this song are money drugs and girls. This is the typical theme of most rap songs right now. The themes are shown throughout the video, as well as the lyrics. There is a lot of objectification of women in this one track. It is shown through the various quotes. “Them hoes use to diss when we always bruk” the use of the word “hoes” shows how Nines feels about women and how he treats them. This may show the audience and people who listen to his music that women are inhumane as they are called a word that connotes disgust. "I hit that bitch onetime." There is again a sense of condemnation of women, causing young boys to do the same as Nines. “If her body looks dead, I'll just probably get head.” Lastly, he now conveys exactly what he does to women here. He also glorifies sexual activities with no feeling, without showing the consequences, leaving younger people, more vulnerable to pregnancies, sexually transmitted disease and heartbreak. He also glorifies selling illegal drugs, making it seem like a “cool” thing to do, which in turn, causes younger people to aspire to do the same thing. “Even though I'm a star I'm out here selling coke.” This part of the song shows the audience he is not ashamed to say he does things like that, and also nullifies the audience to crime and things like this as he has openly said this. The next quote optimises my point on effect of this music on the younger generation. "Then I taught him how to whip crack" He has taught a younger kid on the block to make and sell drugs. This obviously makes the younger kids to want to do this also. Another one of my texts is a song called “Aj'd out” again a song from Nines. The content and lyrics are similar to Money on my mind, showing us there is not just one track from Nines that gives black youth a negative representation. A quote I have picked out from this song says, “If I count my stack I finish a day later.” This quote suggests he has a lot of money, which is a theme in most rap videos, which can cause youth, who listen to rap music to be controlled by money, causing them to maybe do illegal things. Another quote from that song is “Niggas say I move hot because I make tools pop.”
This quote implies he doesn't think twice about shooting someone. This shows the audience that he believes shooting and violence is not a big thing. This again may cause youth to get caught up in gang violence, which in turn gives them a negative representation of black youth in the long run.

I think rappers reinforce the stereotypes of black youth openly admitting the things they do. Also, as a result of the publicity rappers get, what they say is taken as gospel from both the youth they are reaching out to, and to other people who listen to rap music in order to get a stereotype. This is because rappers are quite influential and are well known, this means they are able to get their point and views across easier than a person who works in the corporate world. This means, people who listen to music can be influenced more by rappers and the lifestyle rappers portray. So if they portray a negative lifestyle, youth will aspire to have that lifestyle, and other people will believe this is the lifestyle that most or all black people have. This point here can be backed up with a quote from Ndubuisi Nkem Okoronkwo which says "Sportsmen and musicians, particularly rap artists, are considered the most prevalent role models amongst young black men and women...
The findings from this study show African-Caribbean youths tend to aspire to emulate sportsmen and musicians, who many consider to be negative role models.[1]” This quote shows that musicians and sportsmen are looked up to. This could be bad for two reasons; firstly, musicians and sportsmen are two careers which only 1 in millions succeed from. This means that a lot of youth may put their eggs in one basket as they will put all their time and effort into something virtually impossible and lack a back-up plan. This means if they don't make it to be a rapper or sportsman, they have no other options. This may result in crime or just being at home, claiming benefits.
The second thing is that there is a lack of role models because there is a lack of fathers in households now. The quote “The Commons Committee, which is investigating young black people and the criminal justice system, was told 57% of black Caribbean children grew up in lone parent households, compared with 25% of white children[2]”(BBC, 2006). This shows that musicians and sportsmen may be role models to black youth by default as they lack a male role in their lives causing them to form a so called “bond” with the most successful male they know. Which is normally a man whom is well known, or on television.

My historical texts are two different groups, The Specials and N.W.A. The Specials are a group who produce Ska punk music. They are an a-typical group who are lyric conscience. A song which I believe shows the difference in music lyrics and content over the years. This is is conveyed in through the quote “The political and economic parallels between Britain in 2011 and 1981 may be self-evident, but musical reactions to today's tempestuous times are conspicuous by their scarcity.” There were riots in both 2011 and 1981, but the approach by songwriters differed, as songs may have had more meaning, in the 1980s than they do now. Also, because The Specials reached out to a lot of races, genders and ages, they needed to express their views in a peaceful and calm way but with rap music there is less need to do that because it is the norm and it is okay to speak your mind without the use of filters. The Specials were around at about the same time as N.W.A, and you can see the rap group from Compton Los Angeles, had a song called “Fuck the police” the song had near enough the same meaning, about the government and people in power, but the lyrics were completely different. For instance in Ghost Town it says “Why must the youth fight against themselves? Government leaving the youth on the shelf This place, is coming like a ghost town No job to be found in this country” Just from reading the lyrics, you can see the intelligence of The Specials, due to the use of a question mark. Also, even though they are having a little rant about the government, and people in higher power, they still blame their own people, showing a bit more of an objective view than N.W.A as the lyrics “Fuck the police comin straight from the underground A young nigga got it bad cause I'm brown” The use of a profanity already shows the aggressive tone used, again showing the difference in genres but not time.
In my opinion, I think this shows that rap music is more aggressive and youth who listen to it may base their views and opinions on certain topics depending on who said it.

In order to get a more objective view of the representation of black people, issues and debates that give views for and against should be looked at. The issues and debates shown in this investigation are both stereotypes and moral panics. In regards to stereotypes, The dominant representation of black youth is that they are criminals and are also good for nothing. This is showed by the title of the Daily Mail. It says “Black men 'to blame for most violent city crime.[3]'” As the title is for quite a mainstream newspaper, large amount of audiences will believe that without looking elsewhere, or for maybe alternative views on the same situation. However, using Medhurst’s theory of some stereotypes being true and a shorthand, there is an argument that black people may do things or act a certain way in order to receive that type of labelling from the media and people. The quote "It found that 67 per cent of those caught by police for gun crimes were black. 
Among those proceeded against for street crimes, including muggings, assault with intent to rob and snatching property, 54 per cent were black males.[4]" Shows that the fear and the panic of the media and other people have may be valid. There are a few statistics that may validate the representation of black youth, one of which is “The black community suffers other, older and perhaps related problems, too. Black children are disproportionately likely to be excluded from school, and black adults to go to prison (see chart). African-Caribbean males are a special worry. African-Caribbean boys do much worse in school than African-Caribbean girls or African boys. The most recent available analysis of GCSE results by race and sex, which was done in 2009, shows that 56% of African-Caribbean boys got five A-C grades at GCSE, compared with 65% of African boys and 70% of African-Caribbean girls (for all pupils, the figure was 74%).[5]” This stat shows the lack of education black youth have, which may lead them to crime. Also, there are many athletes and rappers who have little education, which may be seen as cool and a desirable trait to have. LeBron James didn’t go to college, but relied on his sporting ability to get him through and is now the nest basketball player at this moment. Kayne West dropped out of college and is now one of the best rappers in the world. Those two are both quite proud of what they have achieved as LeBron is famous for not going to college. Also Kayne West has an album called “College dropout” implying he is not ashamed that he didn’t go to college.

My additional research is a one-on-one interview with a rapper called Giggs. Giggs is from South London and is arguably the creator of mainstream ‘Trap Rap.’ In his interview with The Guardian newspaper, he says a few things that may cause us to understand the reason rappers like him or Nines exists and whether it’s for glorification or not. “We can't hide away from our history of gritty youth culture” This quote from Giggs shows that he doesn’t mind showing people about drugs guns and crime because it was his life and he is not ashamed of doing so. Also, another quote from the interview “It sounds like you’re making it up or bragging[6].” This quote shows he understands the dominant representation of rap music being platform to brag but he knows they are just giving a visual representation of their life. The next three quotes tell us that he doesn’t care about what people think of his music because what he says in his lyrics are all true. “They’re scared of that world being true.[7]” Because other people are doing so well in life, some people don’t want to look at poverty in the streets, but they would prefer to scape goat them and condemn them. “I’m going to talk about what I am going to talk about[8]
This shows that regardless of whether people like his music or not, he will still rap about the same things because those things are the things that mean a lot to him as he has went through that in his life. “That’s not the life I am living[9]
He’s not going to change is lyrics to nice fun things because his life isn’t nice or fun. This shows he raps about how he feels and relevance of his lyrics.



Bibliography

Works Consulted
Music videos
Nines. Money on my Mind
 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzvzxytPUzg]
Nines. Aj’d out
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OBP14hduZc]
Web
 DuRant R H. (1997). Tobacco and alcohol use behaviours portrayed in music videos: a content analysis. [http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.87.7.1131]
Okoronkwo NN. (2008). The phenomena of Black youth crime and how black youths are portrayed in the united kingdom
 [http://www.internetjournalofcriminology.com/Ndubuisi%20-%20Phenomena%20of%20Black%20Youth%20Crime%20and%20Media%20Reporting.pdf]
Rosiak L. (2012). Fathers disappear from households across America.
[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/dec/25/fathers-disappear-from-households-across-america/?page=all]
Rucki A (2011) Ghost Town: The song that defined an era turns 30 [http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/ghost-town-the-song-that-defined-an-era-turns-30-2306003.html]

Works Cited
Web
Western B (2002): The Impact of Incarceration on Wage Mobility and Inequality. American Sociological Review, Vol. 67, pp. 526-546 [http://scholar.harvard.edu/brucewestern/files/western_asr.pdf]
Wingwood, G M. (2003). Prospective Study of Exposure to Rap Music Videos and African American Female Adolescents’ Health [http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.93.3.437]

Johnson. J D. (1995). Differential gender effects of exposure to rap music on African American adolescents' acceptance of teen dating violence
[http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01544683#page-2]

Brown, J D. (2006)Sexy Media Matter: Exposure to Sexual Content in Music, Movies, Television, and Magazines Predicts Black and White Adolescents' Sexual Behaviour
[http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/117/4/1018.short]
BBC News 2003 (No name).
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/archive/2635959.stm]
Books
Demico, B. (2007). Why are So Many Black Men in Prison?. Full Surface Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9792953-0-0.

Ferguson, R. (1998). Representing "race": Ideology, identity, and the media. London: Arnold.
Gauntlett, D. (2002). Media, gender, and identity: An introduction. London: Routledge.
Lacey, N. (1998). Image and representation: Key concepts in media studies. New York: St. Martin's Press.
Malik, S. (2002). Representing black Britain a history of black and Asian images on British television. London: SAGE Publications.
Perry, I. (2004). Prophets of the hood: Politics and poetics in hip hop. Durham: Duke University Press.

























[1] Okoronkwo NN. (2008). The phenomena of Black youth crime and how black youths are portrayed in the United Kingdom.
[2] Ibid
[3] Daily Mail (Newspaper)
[4] Ibid
[5] Economist (Newspaper)
[6] Giggs Interview with Guardian Newspaper
[7]Ibid
[8]Ibid
[9]Ibid

Friday 12 December 2014

Task 3

Historical Text
The Specials
The Specials, also known as The Special AKA, are an English 2 Tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rock steady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups. The band wore mod-style "1960s period rude boy outfits (pork pie hats, tonic and mohair suits, and loafers)." In 1980, the song "Too Much Too Young", the lead track on their The Special AKA Live! EP reached number one in the charts. In 1981, the unemployment-themed single "Ghost Town" also hit number one in the UK Singles Chart.
How is it similar/different to your main text?
It is similar to my text as it is a music video. It is also similar to my text, because it is not the normal mainstream track which everyone would normally listen to. The songs are also about money, or the lack of it.
The difference between these two texts are that The Specials' song had a meaning to it, and the main reason for the song was to inform people, but Nines' track was to entertain.
How does this show how the genre/society/issue has changed?
The genre is obviously different to rap, but the issues and society have remained the same. This is because; the song “Ghost town” Was about unemployment and riots. This taps into a lot of rap songs, especially Chip’s SBTV F64 where does talk about unemployment. Also, both songs came out after riots which mean those riots may have the reason those songs came out, with those particular lyrics.
I think the society between 2011 and 1981 has changed a lot. But in regards to the riots, they were rioting for the same things, unemployment and the treatment of black people.

N.W.A
How is it similar/different to your main text?
Both texts are rap music that provide a negative connotation due to their content of their lyrics and what most of their lyrics are about.
Obviously, the time and also the place are factors that cause it to be different. Also, the genre of rap now has a larger following than ever before, meaning more and more people have seen the videos and heart the content of the music in this time. This causes more opinions to be thrown out.

How does this show how the genre/society/issue has changed?
Both texts are the genre of rap. N.W.A is arguably the pioneers of rap music and the negative representation of women and the glorification of drugs and money. Rap music now is the same. Women, drugs and money are seen to be a good thing to aspire to, just like music in 2014.
The difference in society is that it isn’t just N.W.A or an equivalent, but there are much more artists and groups and gangs which means there is larger rumours of violence in the tracks and more people listen to rap now than before.

Monday 8 December 2014

Task 2

References
Ferguson, R. (1998). Representing "race": Ideology, identity, and the media. London: Arnold.
Gauntlett, D. (2002). Media, gender, and identity: An introduction. London: Routledge.
Lacey, N. (1998). Image and representation: Key concepts in media studies. New York: St. Martin's Press.
Malik, S. (2002). Representing black Britain a history of black and Asian images on British television. London: SAGE Publications.


Perry, I. (2004). Prophets of the hood: Politics and poetics in hip hop. Durham: Duke University Press.

Wingwood, G M. (2003). Prospective Study of Exposure to Rap Music Videos and African American Female Adolescents’ Health [http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.93.3.437]

Johnson. J D. (1995). Differential gender effects of exposure to rap music on African American adolescents' acceptance of teen dating violence
[http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01544683#page-2]

Brown, J D. (2006)Sexy Media Matter: Exposure to Sexual Content in Music, Movies, Television, and Magazines Predicts Black and White Adolescents' Sexual Behavior

[http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/117/4/1018.short]

 DuRant R H. (1997). Tobacco and alcohol use behaviors portrayed in music videos: a content analysis. [http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.87.7.1131]





Media Magazine Notes and quotes
Media Magazine: Issue 36
“Rap began as a social commentary created by young urban artist who spoke of the hardships of life in a still largely racist environment.” The quote shows the origination of rap music and how rap music was like in the past. It also gives an idea to what it was like and how/why it was created. The question I could use from this quote is “is rap music still like that?” If not, then why, and what is it about now and has it been showing a negative representation of youth then as well as now.

“ The work of NWA for example was confrontational dealing with issues such as racial profiling and police brutality unlike the rap designed to have broad appeal, epitomised by the chart topping success of Vanilla Ice in the late 1980s” This quote shows the two types of rap music as the genre of rap is very large. It is essential that different rappers, who are in different stages of their careers, will rap about different subjects in order to sell and not speak the truth. An example of this is Nines (whom has spoken the truth so far in his lyrics), and Chip (who came from a grime background, who went into the pop rap in order to sell).

 “There was a spate of urban riots in UK cities in 1981 with 'Ghost Town' voicing hopelessness of life deprived urban environments. The riots had a racial element and The Specials were one of many groups who continued to speak out against far-right political activism and attempted to present the values of cultural diversity within their music” This shows, that it wasn't just rap music that was used to get a point across, however they were not condemned by the government to an extent black youth and rappers are. Why is that? Maybe because there was no swearing or it was an a typical genre and it had a mixture of both black and white people in their band.

Media Magazine: Issue 45

“Lil Ze in City of God and Hubert in La Haine are both drug dealers. Lil Ze is a typical crime film villain; the audience watches his rise to the top, followed by his subsequent decline and death. He is violent and psychotic, with no remorse for his actions or sympathy for his victims. He is a cocaine dealer, rapist and gang leader; out of control, hungry for power and desperate to control the favela.”

This quote show that there is a negative representation of black people, which has be projected on to probably the most mainstream platform, film. This supports my statement because a white writer of City of God, Braulio Mantovani has used those stereotypes in his movie. However, this may not be the case as “The favelas were initially created to house freed slaves, and therefore black people are massively over-represented in this setting.”


Media Magazine: Issue 35
“It has been argued that films and media like this indicate that: the working class itself has been dehumanised – now to be feared and simultaneously served up as entertainment Cruddas, quoted in Harris, 2006 'It has been argued that films and media like this indicate that: the working class itself has been dehumanised – now to be feared and simultaneously served up as entertainment Cruddas,' quoted in Harris, 2006” The majority of black youths living on estate fall into this category, which means this quote may show that black youth are dehumanised and feared. This is a representation that is given for them.

“On the other hand, two more recent films have shown the council estate youth in a slightly more positive light. Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold, 2009) and Attack the Block, left (Joe Cornish, 2011) feature protagonists who may look and sound like stereotypical chavs, but who are revealed to be creative, loyal, fiercely independent and resourceful young people who are a product of their environment” This quote opposes my statement, as black youth in Attack the block are represented in a better manner. It shows we can’t tar every black person with the same brush. However, black youth may be seen in this way, because Joe Cornish who came from a council estate, may be giving a alternative representation because he knows the truth behind how council estates are. And he may believe it is being misrepresented which caused an uproar with people who believe they are good for nothing.

“As with so many other youth movements – from mods to rockers, hippies and emos – popular music has undoubtedly had a significant role to play in creating and perpetuating the iconic image of the chav. British artists such as N-Dubz have been referred to as chavs; Dappy in particular, with his stringy hat and controversial brushes with the law, conforms to the typical idea of the aggressive, rude and almost comical image of the chav.”

As a result of the representation of rappers, people who listen to certain musicians get tarred with the same brush, which means people that listen to N Dubz are classed as chavs, aggressive and rude.


Media Magazine: Issue 41
“Struggling with depression and teenage woes is enough for me to record hundreds of songs. I’ve learnt not to care if people don’t understand the music, because I know they will feel it.”
This quote shows that a lot of rappers just rap how they are feeling and what they do. This is the equivalent to a blog, but maybe on a larger scale.

“Nevertheless, I can’t say all my music makes sense to those who listen to it. It still holds a sense of mystery as to what goes into the creative process (hence the name of my forthcoming debut album Super Arkane). And the one question I’m asked in every interview or by those who hear my raps always seems to be, ‘What inspires you to write?’”
This shows that rappers music is not made to make sense to other people, or fit the social protocol, but it is written in order for those rappers to get down their thoughts and ideas.








Monday 1 December 2014

Task 1

Nines Money on my mind

Semiotics- pouring “Ace of spades” drink onto the floor. Connotation may be he is rich enough to do so, as he is known as a rich guy in his area. Also a sign used by many people (libation), pouring alcohol on the floor for the dead or incarcerated. The pouring of the whole bottle may mean he has a lot of friends who has died and a lot of friends in prison (Backed up by “RIP Zino, his blood brother, and “free Cash” one of his friends in prison). Another sign was when he throws the bottle on the floor breaking it.In the music video, there was a lot of tracksuits, a typical garment of a gangster, and a lot of designer clothes. There was also a lot of chains swinging from most of the people in the video, implying they are quite rich. There were a few props which were used deliberately, such as the sports cars(Ferrari and aston Martin) and the expensive alcohol(ace of spades). The gestures included gang signs and use of the middle finger whilst posing for pictures. The music video was set on the estate the rapper lives on.

This video was non hollywood, and was promoted with the rapper himself and the people affiliated with him.The music video was shot by SBTV, a music video youtube channel run by Jamal Edwards. It was distributed on Youtube. The ethics were manipulation and reconstruction.

The genre was rap. It was slower than grime, and included a hook which was sung. The general themes to this music is drugs, money and women this was no different. The characters in the music video were gangsters and young thugs

Gender is represented as the video show women as objects and the men as thugs. Also, it represents ethnic minorites as negative characters who do not do anything but hang out on the estate. It can be portrayed as a negative representation as not all youth ethnic minorities do that, but it also can be positive, because the video was created by people of youth ethnic minorities it seems like they may be giving a representation which is fairer than an institions whom are white and older   

Target audience is youth ages 15-25, whom are male and either black or of an ethnic minority. They are working classed, who live on estates. The type of things they are into are sports money and music. This music video fulfils the normal rap video that these people would listen to. People listening to this would be trying to escape their lifestyle, or seeing if this type of music identifies them. A theory could be the hypodermic needle model. Also moral panics.

Ideology and values were the music was pro crime and the values were negative due to the lyrics and the content.


Social 
Single parent families and families without father figures take this music more literally than others.


Historical
9/11 made people more aware of terrorism

Economical 
Working class poorer people are more likely to listen and take these videos in the wrong manner. The reccession also made the working classed black people become poorer, which causes them to move to crime and music as it is a way to make fast money if you are good at it.

Political 
The government are not fans of this music, but like the show as it is a way of "dry snitching" Also how the riots were shown all over TV as main news headlines caused readers and viewers to take a political stand point due to way the riots were publicised in and around the UK