Tide print advert

This advert connotes the representation of white American women in the 1950s as housewives who enjoy being dutiful housewives.  This joy of cleaning can be connoted through the bright colours and bright lighting used within the advert( the use of oranges and yellows) as well her the body and facial gestures that are shown, i.e the woman is seen hugging a box of tide (the product being advertised) and the woman is seen smiling(facial expression) which connotes that she is happy with the product as well as the use of the phrases, "Tide's got what women want!" as well as " No wonder you women buy more TIDE than any other washday product!, which reinforces the stereotype that women enjoy cleaning and that's all we live for.  They use quite an artistic style layout minimising the words that tell us what the products does and the main picture magnified, this causes the main image to be the focus of attention which is deliberate as it's meant to make women gravitate towards buying this product. It shows the woman as a modern working woman(back in the 1950s) who is quite "glamorous", as can be seen as her hair is slightly styled and very natural makeup.

Even during the 1950s technology and consumerism boom, it still in a way promoted a woman staying in the house, for example; television so as the family can be entertained, a hoover, etc, these are things that can help make the woman's job a lot easier, assumably encouraging her to want to clean more and therefore stay indoors.  The lack of representation of the minority or other ethnic groups is also magnified through when in these times within the suburban areas in which black people were not allowed to purchase houses within such areas as they were not seen as wealthy or worthy enough to purchase one or to live in such areas especially as the different races were not allowed to mix, therefore it promotes the value of the american white woman compared to that of a black women or an asian woman as they are not represented or promoted within this advert.  It also to be realised that this advert is for americans and not for europeans, as especially after the 1940s world war 2, Europe did not come out of it as wealthy as America therefore europeans were not able to afford such products as Tide. As well as this advert may not appeal as much to european women as dressing etc may not be what european are used to however as europe is quite in awe of the American culture especially the American dream, they are more likely to attempt to purchase such products.

This advert can be viewed using Stuart Hall- reception theory; in which it can receive a preferred theory which is that women will be overjoyed and excited to start cleaning and stay at home and a good housewife, however it can receive an opposed reading; especially in this modern day and age most women especially feminists would not agree to this type of advert due to the misogyny that radiates out of it and lacks of representation of the different women that there are in this world.

The advert can also be analysed using the cultivation theory; In the sense of, if this stereotype of what a woman ism want to be like and meant to do is continually promoted via adverts like this then, this is what women are going to believe that they are meant to be like, and start behaving in such a way and teach their children to behave in such a way as well, which can also coincide with the hypodermic needle theory, which states hat the more someone is fed certain information is the more they start to believe it and the more they start to imitate it.

Nordic Noir + the bridge

Nordic noir is a genre of crime fiction that is written in a realistic point of view go the police force that also represents Nordic or Scandinavian countries.  The l language is deliberately monotone and is set in bleak landscapes with a dark mood to connote the genre or a scene to the audience.  It depicts a tension between cold nordic countries and the murder, misogny, rape and racism that is underlying.  It frequently features a female protagonist which extends to film and television.  It represents detectives as worn down by the cares of life and far from simply heroic giving them a more relatable and realistic feel from their character.  It represents Sweden as a highly liberal country however it shows the terrorism that the country is subject to, for eg the murder of the president back in the 70s.

The history of Scandinavian crime fiction: Nordic Noir  is best known via famous writer Stieg Larsson who was building a phenomenon crescendo for the genre.  In the last decade Swedish and Norwegian writers have transformed the murder mystery such as Nordic Noir and the girl with the dragon tattoo into a vehicle to critique contemporary Europe. Ed Mcbain realised that there was a huge unexplored territory in which crime novels could form the framework for social criticism.  This led for other writers to attempt to do the same thing in the line of crime novels and then expand into crime television series for example the bridge.

The generic conventions within this documentary is that of; the use of monotone audio visual, the use of dim or artificial lighting that connotes the dark tone of that is normally used within crime series.  There is a use of Hollywood block buster films intertwined into this genre to add a comparative factor against other crime series.  The use of classical/ soft music adds a sympathetic tone to the series..  It also portrays Scandinavia as family generous welfare states.

The bridge was created and written by Hans Rosenfeldt, a joint creative and financed product between sweden's Sveriges television and Denmark's DR, this series has  been shown in more than 100 countries.  On several occasion The Bridge failed to have sufficient viewers t one placed in SVT1's weekly top 10 programmes, due to competition from commercial broadcaster TV4 with its offering gaining over a million viewers.  The first series had been purchased for broadcasting in 134 countries worldwide which may of supplied them with revenue to created the next series.  It is also most likely that the series received funding via co-funding of external partners, remake sales and international and regional funding.  Ownership seems to be mostly with the danish and partly with the swedish as the swedish are co partners.

A brief summary of what occurred through out the series is that; in season 1- it began with a body found half way between Sweden and Denmark on the Oresund bridge linking Malmo to Copenhagen.  In series 2 ended up with Saga turning in her partner Martin for murdering the man who killed his son and season 3 episode 1, a prominent Danish gender campaigner is found murdered in Malmo, Swedish detective Saga Noren is assigned a new danish colleague to help with the investigation but their relationship does get off to a good start with emotions running high about her involvement in sending Martin to prison for murder.

A few of the television stations that broadcasted and produced the series are; SVT- Sveriges Television is the swedish national public broadcaster which is funded similar to BBC.  This is a public limited company that can be described as a quasi-autonomous non-governement organisation.  Has regional offices and a production facility in Malmo which was used in the production of the bridge.  This broadcaster is seen as being leftist liberal.  DR- Danmark's Radio is a public service broadcasting corporation, which is funded by the levying of a licence fee and is also perceived as being leftist liberal.  This station dominates the danish cultural life.

The Bridge

Within season 1; Saga is the current lead character within the series.  She is a leading female character that is surprisingly not stereotypical sexualised as most other females are, but instead is depicted as socially awkward and socially unaware, as in most scenes when dealing with certain suspects or victim's families she treats them with a lack of empathy which is  noticed especially in contrast to her male colleague who is more over friendly with those around him.  She takes up an authoritative role which in most crime drama series is seen being done by the male, this does break the usual stereotype and makes her seem even more odd and unrelateable to the audience.

Within season 3 episode 1 specifically; the opening scene is similar to that of season 1 which was forbodding, dim lighting which opens to a murder scene only this time involving that of mannequins.  The audi codes used sets the tone for the episode and gives the audience what they should expect as well as reinforces the genre, that being a crime drama.  The unrestricted narrative within the series allows for us (the audience) to make our own conclusions about who may or may not be the killer and how they did it.  As well as the use of long form narrative allows for more information to be put into each episode making it more clear to the audience what is happening and allows for character development. This series uses procedural elements, this heightens narrative interest as well as shows how the police force is run as well as how it operates.

The iconography within the series is quite expected, for example the use of offices, the uniforms which connote the characters profession as well as the props which can also elude to the different characters personalities.  The use of dim artificial lighting makes the scenes more cold and dark, which also add a drama effect to the episode.  As well as use of neutral colours makes the scenes seem more professional, especially as most scenes are that of investigating crime scenes and suspects with only brief glimpses into the personal lives of the characters.

There is a representation of a distinct difference between the swedish and the danish.  The danish being represented as more liberal and supportive in the sense of the LGBT community, also having a more mix of values of traditional and non traditional.  Meanwhile representing the swedish as politically correct, however it is questionable about the representation of the swedish as the character representing this nationality is quite abnormal personality wise.  The representation of the LGBT is also positively represented by strong characters who are portrayed as admired and outspoken as well as brave however it also shows the prejudice that they go through in an every day life however on an exaggerated scale.

Saga( the main character), as seen in the previous seasons was very "socially awkward" and unaware as well as displayed subtle or assumed social anxiety.  Within the beginning of the episode there appears to be no change within her personality, as she was still very rigid in her  social skills.  However, as time progressed through the episode she is seen attempting small talk with her new danish colleague which is outside of how she normally only has professional conversations with her colleagues and even though there was constant resistance from the colleague she still attempted whether out of disregard or oblivion, as well as in one scene, she is seen attempting to not give full disclosure of how the victim is found at the crime scene to the victim's wife so as to not hurt her feelings however badly she handled it, it is outside her character to even try.  You can also see a growth in her character as well as a sense of possible audience surrogation as she shows remorse in her turning in her past colleague not in her words but in her actions, which in most cases she never shows much emotions in general.  We also receive an insight into Saga's past as well as her family life as her mum comes to see her about her sick dad who seems critical, and reveals that her sister may of passed and how Saga handles it, which is by running away and showing OCD like behaviour to calm herself down which is in contrast to how she used initiative to save her colleague when her leg got blown off by a make shift bomb by a veteran, it showed her skills and strength in that moment which is a total contrast to how  she handled her family situation.

:)

My romance/ drama television programme is going to be filmed in west croydon high street as well as near to west croydon train station.  i am going to start filing from today to the end of this week to effectively accommodate the characters involved, in which there will be a mix of day and night time.  I will be using my three friends for this production.

Life on mars analysis

Life of mars is a UK crime drama that represents how life was back in the 1970s as well as within the twentyth century.

This series has several representations, such as the following;

The repesentation of women; Within the police force in the 70s it is only white men that are seen within such a position as within those times women were more seen as nurses, midwives or stay at home mothers.  This can be seen as the main character Sam is surprised that the woman tending to him is a female police officer rather than a nurse as he first assumed, as well as within this episode she is the only female police officer that is presented within this scene, this can connote that women are unable to handle such jobs.  Women were also presented as sex objects or referred to sexually, this can be seen when annie is within the precinct helping with the case and the men start to flirt with her/ speak to her subtly sexual as well as the reference and i quote,"he was as pale as a ginger bird's ass".  These derogotary actions show that women are not respected or valued by men as they are in this day and age.

The representation of race; There is a lack of representation of other ethicities within the series as all that is seen are middle aged white men and women, this can connote that in those times there was not as much immigration and those that were within the country had more behind the scenes jobs which was most likely all that they were offered.  The only ethnic character that was introduced so far is a rastafarian black man with a "caribbean accent", he was made to fit the stereotypical represenation of a caribbbean person (bubbly, talkative, with a "cool" vybe), which in some cases is not the case as different islands have different cultures and types of people not just the stereotypical jolly character.

The representation of men; Is that men have a high sense of competitiveness, this can be seen as in many cases in which the head of the department has stated to sam that he's  trying to show him up or take his job, as well as the way in which the men work with each other as well as the witnesses represents men as dominant and rough.  

The iconography within the episode represents the time frame and connotes to the audience the time period that the episode is being set in, as well as the costumes of the characters depicted represent the job roles that they are in.

This is a contrast compared to how they dressed in 2006 which is his original time period, which is a more modernised view of how people dressed.  This also shows how much the police force has grown since the 70s.

The enigma codes within the episode are as follows;the hermeneutic code, in which can be seen in many scenes within the episdoe, for example; while he is watching the television starts speaking directly to him but yet that same person he saw in "real life" is the nurse's ex boyfriend, this connotes an unexplained mystery within the show. As well as the proairetic code; for eg; when sam was going to jump off the top of the building to try and get back to the real world and also when sam was trying to solve the case of the murdered girl(s) in 1970.

The episode has use of restricted narrative as the information is learn't through the interactions such as the body language of the characters among each other as well as through conversations among each other.

There is also the use of audience surrogate which would be those within the 1970s police force who express the same confusion and ask questions that help to fill in the gaps of the story for the audience as they are as confused about Sam's behaviour as we (the audience) are.

There is also the use of investigator and sidekick in which sam and Gene can be seen to fit his role as they conducted the search of the missing girl together and solved the case of the murder together as well as can be seen spending leisurely time together., for example when they went into the pub together.

The different representations within Luther

The representations of gender within Luther is that of; the men and women are put on similar levels in terms of dominance, that Alice is equally able to manipulate Luther and finch is weak spots to use against him as Luther is able to do to her.  This can connote that a woman is able to do as a man can and shows a sense of equality.  It represents the strength of a woman in different situations; as Luther's wife(Zoe) is able to handle herself in different situations, for example when the woman threatening her(Alice) breaks into her house to question her, when her current boyfriend and Luther hash it out or when Luther throws a fit of anger due to him finding out about Zoe's boyfriend, she remains calm and stable and handles every situation thus far maturely.  This shows the strength of women in tough situations especially in relationship issues. It represented men as leaders and dominant  protectors, in terms of Luther being protective of Zoe when it comes to no letting his job interfere with her life and Zoe's current boyfriend being protective of her over Luther, however it does show the broken side to masculinity as can be seen with Luther as in some scenes he has breakdowns and shows his emotional side, for example when he is remembering all the things that the criminal he caught did to the girls he kidnapped as well as his volatile reaction when it comes to Zoe.

The representations of race within Luther is that of; It is connoted that regardless of the race of the person they can be what ever they wish to be as well as anything could happen to them.  For example; when Luther was being arrested by the officers it was not just all white officers arresting a black man as one of the officers was black as well as Luther was also a police officer.  Another example would be that of when the black female officer was returning home after doing a shift and she was shot by the (current) protagonist, not because of her race but because of her occupation.  This series did not give into the stereotypes that most series do, therefore giving positive representations of different races.  Especially as the main role or leading role is that of a black actor is rare, it makes the series stand out in comparison from other ones.

The representation of Regional and national identity within Luther is that of; that it represents most persons living in London as middle to working class, as well as it represents them as upstanding citizens that come together in times of criminal activity.  However, it represents them as the opposite of the usual stereotype of constantly happy and having a rich lifestyle, instead it shows their struggle and shows their different classes in terms of jobs. It also represents the general stereotype of how the typical british accent ignoring the factor of the probability of other ethnicities living in the area in this time as they are not represented.

Overall, the shows brings to light the issues within the police force for example not being able to afford bullet proof vests and other necessities in terms of their safety, as well as the double standards as Luther was not really punished for almost killing a criminal although the other officers knew what he had done or was doing.  It also shows the vulnerability within relationships that most series do not show, rather than constant romance it shows a more realistic side to being with someone.  So far, the shows it interesting and gripping And makes the viewer think more in-depth.

Weekly News

The issue on the separation of illegal child immigrants has come to the fore front of the press by that of Laura Bush condemning a controversial policy that allows the separation of families that illegally enter the US from Mexico.

Although Melania Trump has said that her and her husband has called for both the US and Mexico to work together to work on immigration reform as the solution, fact checkers have pointed out that the policy was introduced by Mr.Trump's attorney general and does not require congressional action for the policy to be eradicated.

According to reports there have been at least 2,000 families that have been separated after a crack down  on illegal border crossings.  The adults normally face criminal prosecution for illegal entry while babies and children are kept in detention centres for example; warehouses and converted supermarkets and therefore kept away from their parents.

This situation is eerily similar of the Japanese American Internment camps of world war 2.  This has caused a continuous shift of blame to various parties; President Trump has stated that the blame is that of the democrats however his attorney general is the one that introduced the law.

The continuous increase of children and babies has caused foster homes to start to run out of space, this also causes a health and safety alarm, as it then leaves the question if every child is receiving adequate care.

In the first two week that the new "zero tolerance" approach was introduced, 658 minors were separated from the adults or family members that they were traveling with.  However, some families were reunited it was not immediately, there was a few weeks to months gap before families were brought back together.  It is reportedly unclear to if this new "tougher" policy will keep migrants from travelling, especially as most of them are fleeing poverty and violence from places such as El Salvador and Honduras.

This policy is not only heartless as it is unnecessary.  The separation of families especially of children from their families can cause emotional and physical trauma in the long run, affect the children's future relationships and health.  Overall, President Trump could easily eradicate this policy and do something less harmful to families that is also effective. It represents the issue of immigration and the
treatment of migrant families especially illegal immigrant families.
 

Weekly News

A premature baby was decapitated whilst still in his mother's womb when a top NHS doctor accidentally detached his body from his head during a botched birth.

Dr Laxman should of given the mother of the child (patient A) an emergency caesarean section at Ninewells hospital which is located in Dundee, as the baby was in breech position. However, the consultant gynaecologist instead attempted to deliver the baby naturally telling Patient A to push while Dr Laxman pulled on the baby's legs. This horrifically caused the baby's legs, torso and arms to become detached from the head which had gotten stuck in the cervix.

The grieving mum was unaware of what was happening next and was not given any form of pain relief except for a spray on the tongue to make the birth quicker, while the doctors put their hands inside of her and pushed their hands on her belly to attempt to deliver the baby naturally although as was Patient A's first birth should have been done via a C-section.

Dr Laxman who faces being "struck off" denies having been at fault for the death of the decapitated newborn.  The hearing has not yet been completed.

This is a horrific event that demonstrates the incompetence of the staff within the NHS, as the well as the treatment of patients and the communication of the staff.  This horrific event could have been avoided if Dr Laxman had followed previous instructions and done a c-section instead of delivered the baby.  Hopefully, Dr Laxman gives an appropiate public apology as well as Patient A receives some form of compensation and that this case is not "swept under the rug".

Unfortunately, this is just one amongst many, for with the amount increasing every year, but yet the NHS is suppose to be improving.  Hopefully, as with Brexit and the economy is meant to be gaining more revenue from this that this problem is rectified.

Oxfam Vs Water aid

Oxfam is an organisation made up of around 20 different charitable organisations operating in over 90 countries who may be struggling with poverty or diseases. In order to solve such problems within these communities Oxfam relies on donations from the public.  In majority of their adverts they use melancholy music to envoke such emotions of sadness and guilt, and showing how the extent of poverty to which the people live in as well as majority of their adverts represent them bragging about what they've done and how they've helped the people to now have sustainance to survive off.

However in a recent advert, it shows a more individual story of a person with a more upbeat background rather than depressing.  This advert shows the dreams and aspirations of the guy and how hard working he is.This makes the public more willing to donate as they can see the individual is already working hard to achieve something for themself, making them more inclined to donate.  These adverts are more targeted towards the wealthy or middle class, as they would have less of a reason to not donate their money and it's a way of achieving more status and favourability.

Wateraid is another charity inwhich is set up to improve global sanitation and reduce the amount of areas without access to clean water, unlike Oxfam, wateraid uses a more positive approach where rather than focusing on the negativity or the poverty that the persons live in they focus on the successful areas that are on the way to living a more stable and prosperous life.  It also depicts a sense of unity within the community as if to say its not just an "i" situation but a "we" situation.  The song being sung by Claudia may cause a sense of nostalgia for those that know the song and targets a specific demographic age in which this song and sense of poverty would be more rampant.  The advert shows how much happier and easier the lives of these people are with the help of Wateraid, by doing this it makes persons more inclined to donate as they can see the positive effects of their donations, which then makes them more willing to continue donating to eradicate poverty from all areas.

Weekly News

The mother of a 14 year old boy whom was shot dead in a turf war reveals how "killer gang" taunted her in a rap video.  Corey Junior Davis also known as CJ was murdered in a turf war whilst he was standing outside a playground.  The gang made a rap song about CJ's murder after he was shot in the head last September at Newham in East London.

The video of the gangs tauntings has been removed from youtube, Keisha Cj's mother has struggled to keep him out of the clutches of the gangs in the area.  She has found him multiple times carrying drugs to sell for example there was an instance when she found him with $400 worth of crack and heroine, that he was being force to sell.

When a gang member called CJ's phone she pretended that he was arrested and she even contacted the police and social services and told his school he was not coming back.  While she was waiting on Social services to move them away from Newham they went to live with her brother in South London.  Unfortunately Cj had run away to live with is dad in the East End, social services had gotten Keisha a new home in Barkingside but it was withdrawn a week later.

Cj ended up suffering from irreversible brain damage and his mum had to take him off life support a few days later.

This is an regretable situation in which highlights an issue of gang wars and violence as well as how the governmental system is failing many of those in need.  If social services had acted quicker CJ may still be alive and bettering his life as could be the same for many more youths.  The government needs to put better systems in plan to keeps youths of the street and do what needs to be done so that they can instead invest into the community.

Last year over 30,000 young black men died by that of knife crime/ shootings, this has only increased as time has gone by, hopefully the government notice the loss of many young lives as an important issue that needs a solution. 

weekly news

Robert Peters father of Sophia Peters, has been jailed for murdering his daughter by strangling her with her dressing gown chord within their home in South-west.  He had chosen to do this before she had been due to return to her boarding school after the half-term break.  Waiting until his wife had gone out before he woke Sophia in bed by tying a chord around her neck and throttling her for thirty minutes, and allegedly continued after she asked what he was doing and as she struggled.  Originally he had denied murdering her but changed his plea on the third day of his trial.

She was killed over a month after her depressed and suicidal father was found not a risk by the child protection team.  Robert Peters was jailed for a minimum for twenty four years.  Peters ran an antiques firm within kensington, had allegedly throttled Sophia in their house in Blenheim Road in Wimbledon on November 3.

Sophia's mother is apparently struggling to come to terms with the death of her daughter.  Robert declared that he had financial worries and his business was going bankrupt, which was one of the sources of his depression, even though after later inquiries they found that he had money within his bank account.

Months before the killing  Peters had searched the internet for "serial killers", treatment of child killers in prison" and "premeditated murder".

Overall, this is a very disturbing and sad situation to of occurred to this young child.  Not only did the government fail her due to the fact that they did not find her suicidal and severely depressed father unfit to look after her but her mother or immediate family seemed to of ignored the warning signs and left her alone with him.  Although no one may of expected him to do such an atrocious thing, it still happened.  The person that still deemed him not a risk, that department needs to be thoroughly checked or staff properly trained because due to the fact that he was deemed not a risk this child is no longer alive.

According ti statistics 72% of those killed by their own parents were 6 years old or younger.  57% of those that killed their own offspring were fathers.  This is a disturbingly high amount of cases of such a situation and hopefully the necessary actions are taken place to reduce this.

Dizzee Rascal- Dream VS Beyonce- Formation

This music is visually simple and basic, but it correlates with the lyrics of the song.  Within the music video is a pianist whom is a white elderly woman, who gives the responses expected by that of an older person to rap music, she on numerous occasions addresses the audience and introduces dizzee at the beginning of the video.  Dizzee being the main character is also the narrator of the video as well as the actions of the puppets.  The background of the video and the over all quality of the video connote that it is a late 90s child's show quality.  The narrative shows the disruptions and success of the rapper in which he achieves his dream.

Within the music video, Dizzee rascal gives support and encouragement to all single parents as well as a warning to the youth to stay off the streets.  As the lyrics changed so did the actions of the puppets and scenery to give a visual representation of what he was explaining.

Within the video a there is a show of racial hierarchy; where as Dizzee being a black rapper of grime, was made smaller in comparison to the white pianist whom was made alot larger, she even made faces of disapproval whenever dizzee did anything wrong and faces of approval when he made positive actions.  This shows that she has more power social wise than he does, this again is connoted when even though he reaches success he retreats back into the box, along with the other puppets.

The pianist is represented as a stereotypical white british woman, who is very reserved and creates a dominant sense of power as she gives her approval and disapproval to dizzee's actions, however she can also be seen as a caring motherly figure, this also creates humour as she is very different in dressing and language compared to the rest of the video.  Meanwhile, dizzee connotes that of a rebellious young male who fits the stereotype of a "thug" who challenges authority, but over time becomes a role model among his peers therefore challenging this negative stereotype.

Overall, the music video connotes a very encouraging message.  It may represent that regardless of the trials faced, with perseverance dreams can be achieved.  As well as that youth should "get off the street" and pursue their dream or hobby and stay out of trouble.


However, in formation in the opening shot we can see a shot of Beyonce on top of a submerging police car surrounded by a flood this can invoke the notion that this is the aftermath of hurricane Katrina in Lousiana and the recent controversies surrounding the police and the shootings of minorities. This represents police brutality, within America.

Within the video there is quite a lot of black empowerment and women empowerment, for example when beyonce sings about liking "afros and negro five nostrils", this is normalising the features of black people that most persons attempt to discriminate against.  As well as the different hairstyles her and the persons within the video wear showing the different hairstyles black woman wear, and in a certain shot you can see her and four black men standing behind her well dressed outside of a plantation house, as if to say we own it now.

  A representation of women empowerment, is that when beyonce sings about taking her man out, get him a record deal, etc, this shows that a woman can do what a man can do but better, as well as the way she dressed gave empowerment in that women should be able to dress however they want to without it being discriminated against, but her dressing like that may take away from th message she is trying to promote in the eyes of other people.

The video changes alot in terms of message and background and what she is singing about, however there is a lot of positive messages throughout the video, that may be mistaken in an opposed way depending on the viewer.

Uses

Three uses of mood boards:
1) Shows a visual representation of themes and genres
2) Allows for the product/persons to stay on track
3) Presents a brief idea

Three uses of storyboards:
1) Shows a general idea of what needs to be done
2) Acts as a form of basic script for director/actors
3) Show how the scenes unfold shot by shot

Three difference between mood boards and storyboards:

1) A mood board is mainly pictures telling a story while a story board is of a basic script accompanied by that of pictures.

2) A mood board represents the theme while a story board represents the sequence of events.

3)  A mood board gives a general representation while a story board gives a more finalised representation.

Weekly News

An independent coffee chain called the Boston tea party is assumed to be the first within the Uk to ban  the selling of hot drinks in disposable cups.  From the month of June, the 21 branches of Boston tea party will only sell hot drinks in reusable cups so as to stop wasteage.  Customers are allowed to either bring their own mugs, buy one in store or make a deposit on one that they are able to return.

It is estimated that this company alone gives 300,000 disposable cups, as well as estimated more than two million disposable coffee cups are used each year within the UK, with less than 1% being recycled.  The company did offer a 25p discount on drinks if the customers brought their own cup, however an estimate of only 2.8% of persons took up the offer l.  A new scheme is to charge £4.25-£4.75 for a reusable cup or to pay a loan.

Other companies such as; Starbucks; charging an extra 25p discount on hot beverages if they bring their own reusable cup, Costa coffee- promised to recycle the cups and a 25p discount on hot beverages if they brought their own cup and Pret A Manger- offers customrs 50p discount on hot drinks if they bring their own reusable cups.

This is a good move on behalf of the company because not only does it cause them to gain more favour in the eyes of consumers as well as lessen wastage and help the environment it also gains them more publicity and awareness among present and possible consumers.  Although other chains are following suit; Boston tea party is the only one that seems to be making actual actions to lessen wasteage.  Hopefully, the government gets more involved and gives the necessary support either funding or publicity needed. 

weekly news

Doctors in Australia have gone into urgent research as to why a flesh-eating ulcer known as Buruli ulcer has become a "worsening epidemic".  It has become increasingly common within the state of Victoria, this skin disease is commonly found in Africa, has surged by 400% within the last four years.  The disease is known to be found in more tropical climates therefore it is unknown why it has appeared in such climates.

A record of around 275 new infections were recorded within the state last year, marking a 51% increase on 2016.   The disease is said to be caused by a bacteria called mycobacterium ulcerans, this bacteria emits a toxin that destroys skin cells, small blood vessels and the fat under the skin, which then leads to ulcers forming and skin loss. As they grow, they can leas to disfigurement or even disability. As well as this bacteria can be carried by mosquitos.  This can also cause the bacteria to spread to other regions such as the Caribbean or other neighbouring countries/states in which mosquitos can survive.

The disease is however difficult to treat but not incurable and is said that patients often have a recovery period of between six to twelve months, many persons who had contracted the disease have undergone reconstructive surgery. 

The state of Victoria in which is it currently a growing epidemic is putting hundreds of thousands into researching more about the bacterial disease and attempting to make persons more aware of the disease.  However, this disease is not new and is known to be found in mostly Africa and tropical parts of Asia, why is it only now they have decided it was worth searching into, and why is not getting more governmental support from neighbouring or other countries.  As this is a growing danger other countries should be assisting them to do more research, however this may just be another form of population control, as well as this is similar to when ebola was rampant and there was allegedly no cure while it was killing hundreds in Africa, until a white woman contracted it in which then they suddenly found a cure, this seems like a similar case in terms of this disease.

If the government gave more support to the poorer countries, then they would be able to afford better living conditions in which then diseases like this may not even exist or be spreading or growing.  Even if they found a cure, they probably would not extend it to all other countries, so as to keep the social hierarchy of the economy as well as to increase population control as the population rate continues to grow.

Weekly nees

In Croydon at around 5pm a double stabbing took place in which two males aged: 16 years old and the other was 17 years old.  Thankfully,  neither of them suffered any life threatening/changing injuries..  They were taken t the hospital via an air ambulance. Police have not yet made any none arrested and are currently investigating the issue.  Certain areas of the north end of Croydon and even within the centre were cordoned off by the police.  However, the centre stayed open as normal until 7pm. 

This case is similar to the fatal stabbing of 17 year old Aron Mali. As well as the four  fatal deaths of  teens occurred within the week consecutively:  Devon Stapleton 20, was stabbed in Ellerton road Wandsworth on Easter Sunday, Tanesha Melbourne-Blake 17, does the day after a drive-by shooting in Tottenham, just 30 minutes after that Amaan Shakoor, 16 was shot in the face in Walkthamstow and died later in hospital and Israel Ogunsola, 18 was stabbed to death in Hackney, in which two 17 year olds have been arrested in suspicion of murder.

These acts of violence among the youth have been steadily growing as the months have passed by. Whether it be because of gang violence, or a simple disagreement or whatever the case is, it should not result in fatally injuring someone or attempting to.  Something needs to be done, starting from the homes and within the family to schools and maybe increase the amount of extracurricular activities so as to keep youths of the streets more, and maybe decrease the amount of incidents. Some persons commented saying that the government should bring back national service, others said to bring more extracurricular activities while others said to put more police to patrol the streets.   Hopefully, a solution to this problem is found soon before more lives are lost.

Weekly News

According to the government, the director of public prosecutions, Alison Saunders  is to quit  at the end of her five-year contract.
While at the CPS she oversaw justice finally being served in the case of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence.But in recent months she has faced criticism after several rape trials failed because of evidence not being disclosed.

In December 2017, the trials of Isaac Itiary, who was accused of Child rape  and Liam Allan, both collapsed within a week of each other when new evidence became apparent.  It later came out that  the number of prosecutions in England and Wales that had failed due to a failure to disclose evidence had increased by 70% within the last two years.

In June 2015 Ms Saunders' has been forced  to resign when her decision not to prosecute Labour peer Lord Janner over claims of historical child sexual abuse was overturned.  Lord Janner's son, Daniel Janner - who was also  a criminal law QC - criticised the way the They has dealt with his father's case and said Ms Saunders had been "an appalling DPP" who was "regarded by those in the legal profession as someone who wasn't up to the job".  Allegedly her whole reasoning for not prosecuting him was because he was “sick”, however I find his a poor excuse as he has ruined someone’s life, as well as it would be possible to get the medical services needed within the  court.   This is quite a suspicious case and it make you wonder how long she has been doing this, maybe Lord Janner and her have an arrangement and she attempted to not be involved in this case to save their relationship (whatever that may be), but it is a “slap in the face” for his own son to disagree with not prosecuting him.

She said the problems with disclosure were a part of a "systemic failing across the justice system" which had been going on "for some years".  Ms Saunders said it was her decision, rather than the government's, to quit. Attorney General Jeremy Wright, who announced her resignation on Sunday evening, said recruitment for her successor would begin later this month. 

Although, she has won justice for some cases others she has failed to do so, and as she is one of those in a higher position with more experience this is quite frightening when you consider all others with less experience and resources as she would have access to.  However, I do find it unreasonable to force her to quit( so as to “save face”), as what she said is true this is something that is due to lacking a of the government and has been going on for years, but I believe they needed someone to take the repercussions and was unfortunately  the person to do so.  This shows that the government needs to stop being biased in certain cases and strict in others and to allow the necessary time and resources for these cases to be sorted out efficiently and therefore a fair trial and case. This also highlights the failures of the jury system and if even most of the cases are fairly conducted if there is so much evidence missing.  Hopefully, the government fixes this issue as soon as possible so that justice can be given for those it was taken away from.

Fruit vale station

This move although some based on a case rhy happened several years ago still depicts the issues that occurs up To this day. This shows that the issue has not been addressed but only worsened.

The movie seems to be mostly centred around the issue of police brutality but it also shows other key issues affecting certain communities as well.   In the case of police brutality it shows us how black males are treated by the police, how they are stereotypes and the inequality.  As shown in the movie only the black males that were in the fight we’re targeted while the Hispanics were not, as well how the police took advantage for them for no valid reason and also the fatal shooting of on the arrested men.  This can also be referred to real life instances for eg the casebook of Trayvon Martin, Alton Sterling, Ferguson and many more, most of which cases the police officers involved faced light charges while these men/ boys lost their lives.

Another issue shown within the movie is that of poverty/ the struggle to “make ends meet”,  in the sense of ; in the movie it depicts that he’s struggling to pay rent, this can be seen from when the camera does a close-up shot of his face to shown his disgruntled facial expression at the circles “tent” on the calendar connoting it needs to be paid soon.  As well as when his sister calls saying she needs help with the rent and also this contributes to why he was selling drugs in the first place and why he ended up in preventable situations, this can tie into Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and the needing of one level before getting to the next one.  This can connote that the government needs to do more in providing for its people, if it did a lot of these scenarios would not even take place.

But this also shows the stereotype type of men, and that is as a provider,  when it was his mom’s birthday he bought majority of the things needed as well as although he was struggling himself, he still agreed to help his sister with the rent ass well as him hustling just to pay the rent and other necessities for his family. 

 However, he does go against the stereotype of a black man in certain cases such as; the general black male stereotype is the abscence from their child/children’s lives however he was always there for his daughter, and they had a very close bond,  although he was a bit violent he always did good deeds, for eg; willingly using his last ten to get his girlfriend and two other women into a bathroom, although having next to know money still ensuring he gave for his mom’s birthday, the sympathy for when the dog got run over, the helping the woman when she neeeded to know how to make the fish, etc.

The movie showed not only how the persons involved were affected leading up to their death but also how it affected those around them and hide close to them.  It Provoked a feeling of empathy especially when it showed the actual footage of what happened and the actual man and his daughter in the end.  It’s sad to see that as a society it’s only gotten worse and not better, hopefully as we progress as a people these things will be eradicated.

Weekly news

                                      

A major rescue effort by dozens of rescuers(the majority being the public) occurred along the beach of Western Australia as 150 short-finned pilot whales became stranded.  They were spotted by a fisherman on an early Friday, this species type is known to strand in masses.  Authorities had to issue a shark warning alert for people to stay away from the area, as the dead animals may attract the sharks.  These sharks are normally up to 16 feet long and normally found in tropical and sub-tropical waters.  The cause of the beaching is unknown, however it is said that whales normally beach themselves when they are sick, injured or make navigational errors, particularly along gentle sloping beaches.

Another case of this is when; 416 pilot whales had beached themselves overnight in which 70% had died, in which they tried to save the rest of the 100  whales. Also in 1918, over 1,000 whales had beached themselves on Chatham islands, in 1996 320 long-finned whales had beached themselves along the western side of Australia.  Since, 1840 more than 5,000 whales and dolphins had beached themselves on New Zealand shores according to records.

This is an unfortunate situation to occur, and can lead to a quicker extinct species, however could a cause of this be sea pollution, in which it has caused a lack of food for the creatures of a cause of their navigation being off, and after so many years of occurrences by now a reason for these "Strandings" should of at least been found by now, as well as the government should have ensure it has enough persons to send out to assist in such an issue. This story shows the lack of a plan when such issues arise, which not only harms the environment, the animals but can also affect the people.  As these situations are regularly occurring throughout the years, there needs to be a better system in place, which can be cost effective but efficient.

Weekly News

Parents across England and Wales have been fined £24M in total for failing to send their children to school during the past three years.  Some councils have issued penalties five times higher than average.  However, this does not seem to be effective as parents now actively prepare so as to be able to afford the fine.

Between them, 155 authorities in the UK issued estimated 400,000 penalties over three years.  An average of 12 penalties were issued per 1,000 children, either for truancy or for parents taking children on holiday whilst term time is still occuring.

Starting from 2019, summer holidays are going to be cut from six to five weeks and the introduction of a two week autumn half term instead.

These changes would give island parents the chance to take a family break outside traditional holiday dates.

This does not seem like a relatively new implementation to attempt to stop parents from taking their children on vacation during term-times, but instead has taught the parents to either find a loophole or to have decided how to factor in the fine and just pay it off after returning from the vacation.

An example of this is; When Dave Brain's father passed away, he decided to use money left to him to pay for a family holiday to Florida.  Going on vacation during the holidays would have cost him £3,500 more than during the term time.  As they returned to the UK they received the fine of £60 for one of their children. Mr.Brain stated, "And I would do it again in an instant if the same opportunity arose".

This shows that the fines are not being taken seriously or being ignored all together therefore not having the desired effect.  They may either need to take a more serious approach or just allow persons to do as they please with their children.  However, this just may be based on the area.

For example; One authority watching the Platt case closely was Nottingham City Council, where the amount of fines issued dropped from 1,129 in 2014 to 2015 to just 282 in 2016 to 2017.  Parents in Nottinghamshire faced an increase in the number of fines issued in England - over ten times as much  from 370 in 2014 to 2015 to 3,771 in 2016 to 2017.  Based on past statistics, in comparison to some authorities, they have issued a smaller number of fines.

However, in Essex, the second largest education authority area in the country (after Kent), parents saw the number of penalties issued increase from 909 in 2014 to 2015 to 3,165 in 2016 to 2017 for unauthorised term time holidays.  At the other end of the spectrum in Southend Borough Council, the number of penalties issued dropped 98% from 52 in 2014 to 2015 to just 1 in 2016 to 17.

Music Video Analysis

The video connotes that of a broken relationship, it shows clips of the couple together having enjoyable moments, however the lyrics and the setting and product set up represents a broken and pain filled relationship.

The lyrics of the song coincides with the video itself, for example when he sings,"and my sins needs holy water" and then in the video it shows the main character being covered in rain in the destroyed and broken environment.

It gave a realistic and genuine vibe, because it showed interviews of the characters to show their input on the relationship and how they felt about it, therefore making it relatable based n whom was watching it.

The lighting used was quite dim-dark with some use of artificial lighting in most scenes while the actions were occurring to connote that they were trapped and lost and filled with pain while however, during the interviews they were in a lighter background to connote that they were no longer in a storm and in a better place.

The colours within the video are quite bland and casual, as well as the instrumental is quite low and a normal beat so as to not distract from the happenings in the video along with the actual lyrics of the video.  The lyrics actually have a meaning in which most videos the lyrics do not have a meaning and the focus is the beat or the video itself.

It has the element of flashbacks to add story and realism to the video, so as to help the viewers to understand the background of the song.  Most of the camera shots are of a low angle to show power and dominance in some scenes and high camera angles to represent submissiveness and vulnerability.

This music video seems to target more of the younger to middle age demographic, because this kind of situation would be mostly relatable to this age range.

Drake-God's plan

This music video contains drake giving money to persons that seem to be in need in some way or another.  Whether it in the form of a donation to the fire station, or to an orphanage or even to a few students for a scholarship.  There are close-ups and portrait shots of the persons receiving the money and their reactions to invoke emotion and show the importance of giving to those in need.

However, the lyrics of the song are quite contradictory, because in it Drake mainly refers to himself and how persons want to do him wrong and that he will succeed in life regardless.   As well as, in certain shots he is seen from a low angle shot as well as high up on a platform above others and constantly in a lighter background to connote a sense of "Godliness" or angelicness.

However, charitable and of a good deed this may seem to be, I have more of an oppositional reading to this.  I believe that although it was charitable, the money was still the label's and a form of promotion of their artist (Drake) so as to be able to make a profit, because I highly doubt that any of the money they spent caused a dent in their pockets.

Some others may read it as a charitable act out of the good of his heart just to benefit society, because he has seen how much the persons in some communities are struggling.

The demographic of this video are that of average to low class, and mainly of the African American race.  This portrays that most of the poor persons in certain areas of America are Black.

Overall, it was a heartwarming and emotional video, that showed how giving can really make a difference In someone's life.

weekly news

A daughter(Leanne) finds her dad(Stephen) and her step-mum(Karen) dead after he calls his wife "the devil" in a FB post at 3am in the morning.  He allegedly stabbed his wife to death in the chest and neck in which Stephen then committed suicide after.

He had allegedly been suffering from mental health issues such as depression and even possibly hallucinations.  Recently before the incident he had just come out of hospital from taking an overdose a few days before.

His family had tried to get him to stay in hospital, as well as attempted to get an inquest but no one had responded.  The daughter had even tried to contact support groups for her father to help ease his depression and anxiety.

His daughter describes him as guitar lover as well as a loveable person.  However, the situation could of been avoided completely if the services the family tried to contact had actually responded and offered the necessary assistance.

This is quite a tragic incident, in which although most situations may not be as severe it is quite a common situation in that of mental health.

This represents an issue of mental health and how it is viewed and the way in which it is handled which is obviously insufficient.

weekly news

The source is BBC News.

The company Brewdog's has made a "mock pink IPA" for females, which has caused a split opinion.  They have designed it with a pink label and offer it at a lower price to women than to men. Apparently, this was done as a sarcastic dig to address the gender pay gap and to have a dig at "lazy" marketing campaigns, with a percentage of the profits donated to organisations that empower women.  Some were in support of this while other were a little bit confused about the sentiment or the way it was executed.  They launched this a few weeks before women's day on March the 8th and women are able to purchase this drink for 20% less for the next four weeks.  Although thus far they are only receiving criticism, they are standing by the idea and believe they are reaching their goal of starting more of a conversation about the gender gap, and are tackling this issue in the best way they know how.

Although I believe this was a great Idea I do not think it was well thought out or executed.  They tried to spark a convo about the gender gap and stereotypes of women by doing it in a sarcastic way, but I  feel as if they added to it by making it "pink and sparkling because that is what women like".  It feels as if they like many other companies are just stereotyping women and saw an opportunity to get their brand more noticed and have more appeal in the public eye as well as to boost profits.  Yes it gets a convo started, but it does not exactly spark a convo about the gender pay gap but more or less their product/brand.

Most other companies seem to have done pay cuts on males or ensured that the women and men are paid equally.  Which is a more effective approach than a sarcastic statement made by a company that seems to want to attract more customers than make a statement.

This represents the issue of Gender pay gaps, and how women are stereotypes and treated inside and outside of different industries. Some examples of low pay gaps within industries are; a women's fashion chain(ironically) called phrase 8, the amount of women receiving the lower hour pay rate is 64.8%, EasyJet 51.7%, virgin money 32.5% and the list goes on.  Hopefully one day in our advance and modernised society, this will be rectified as situations like this should not be based on the gender of a person.

Medicinal Marijuana (Weekly News)

On the island of saint Vincent and the Grenadines, it has recently been found out that the island contains "high grade marijuana".  The island is said to be considering the development of a medical marijuana industry, how ever the current problem with this is how to export this to first world countries such as Canada, America, etc as some other islands such as Grenada, St.Lucia, etc have already stated they do not want to be involved in this.  As well as issue of proper legality in these countries as well as payments, as banks are proper regulated and may not accept money that is gotten through weed money.  

Many do not believe that this move will be successful for the island, although the prime minister seems to differ.  Some persons have stated that, Marijuana is not yet legal in Canada, while another stated that Canada is the world leading medical marijuana selling.  However in my opinion, I do believe that this could open up a new form of revenue for the island, I do not believe that the island is yet advanced enough to be able to get this legally exported  much less sustained.

There seems to be no other islands exporting medical marijuana although it is legal in islands such as Jamaica.  No other island within the Caribbean seems to be attempting to make an actual exportation business.

The source of this is IwitnessNews, this news states that it is unbiased however, seems to lean more towards which ever party is in power, which at the current moment is ULP.

This story highlights the issue of the governmental system, because as the elections approach  this may be a ploy to simply gain votes rather than to benefit the people.  As seen with the international airport they recently built which absorbed majority of the economies income which they did not need, that same money could of been used within the education system or within the hospital.  Only time will tell if this will be the case with the exportation of medicinal marijuana.

Weekly news

Schizophrenia patients calmed by video game

Person with this condition are trained to control the section of their brain that deals with verbal hallucinations by the use of video games but in particular one in which they are able to control a space rocket. 

A small study was conducted in which a small sample of patients were used, the video game was linked to their human and speech region of their brain.

King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry, States that this can be used to help treat patients who do not respond to medication.

The 12 patients experience nasty and threatening verbal hallucinations on a day to day basis. 

To attempt to control these symptoms, they were asked to play a video game while in an MRI scanner, using their own mental strategies to move a computerised rocket, in doing so they were able to quiet the external voices in their head.

Although there are no other similar experiments, there are a lot of similar theories to do with not only this condition but other similar mental illnesses. 

This highlights the issue of mental illnesses as well as the way the people that have them are perceived, and that although society is advanced we are not yet advanced to the point of curing or properly assisting persons with these illnesses, or not willing to spend the money or time on these issues. 

However, promising it is that patients are being calmed by video games, some question still remain such as; how effective is it long term? What would cost and funding be if found successfully linked? What would it mean for he video game industry? Etc.

Many see this as possibly life changing for a lot of patients and their families as this could allow severe patients to be home amongst family than in hospital, isolated.

The source is BBC News, this news group is seen as generally unbiased, and their views on the matter seem neither here nor there.