Questionnaire

Media Interests

Print Media- I occasionally read the local newspaper to see if there are any local events that interest me. But I usually get my news from the radio or TV. I tend to read fashion magazines such as Look or Vogue, just to keep updated and look what is new for the next season.

Radio Media- I listen to radio 1 because I like hearing new music and they have different shows which introduce new bands and artists which I like to hear and keep up to date on.

Music Industry- I don’t have specific genres of music that I always listen to, I enjoy all music which varies. If I had to put a label on my music I would class it as Indie because I listen to a wide range.

I access my music on the internet. Being a student I don’t have a lot of money so I tend to use free websites.

I think illegal downloading is ruining the music industry. It effects all bands. They cant make money which effects everyone from managers to the people who make the CD’s.

The music industry slightly influences the way I dress, only because I like the fashion. I dress how I want to, I wouldn’t say I am an individual but I dress in what I like. It can influence some people, if there is a certain ‘music movement’ about that people agree with and decide to follow, such as punk- which is significant look.

Video Games- I’m not really into video games, I haven’t played on one properly since I was young.

Video games may have a negative effect on attitude to gender because of the way they that women are portrayed. Games like GTA and Duke Nuke, portray women as prostitutes and strippers which makes women out to be a sort of object or tool for men.

New Technology- New technologies have increased my understanding of the world by making information more accessible. We can now type anything into a search engine and have millions of results.

There is no doubt that new technology has made communicating with others a lot easier. We can send a text whenever and from wherever and receive a reply within minutes. We have instant chat which instantly receives and sends messages and share anything from photos to videos or even music.

Access to films, television programmes and the music industry is incredibly quick. We can watch any films we want online by a click of a button and watch television programmes that were only on live TV 30 minutes before hand.

We can create our own media texts whenever we want. Blogging is on the rise as well as social networking. We can share anything we want, write anything we want to and not be restricted.

Television-  I don’t have any favourite TV channels because all channels have something different on. If I see something I like, I’ll watch it.

I love watching different programmes. I tend to watch drama series or comedy programmes.

Memorable TV programmes-

Summer Heights High- it’s a comedy series following 3 different characters played by the same actor in an Australian school. The director, Chris Lilley has a brilliant ability to play very different, varied characters in a moving but comedic way.

Luther- It was a short series following a detective. Idris Elba who plays the main detective, Luther, has a brilliant ability to play such a stern, troubled detective which makes it so believable.

Feature film- I don’t have favourite genres of film but I really enjoy comedy and thriller movies.

3 Outstanding films:

Inception- Its extremely clever and confusing which keeps you hooked all the way through. The director, Christopher Nolan is very keen, he has an ability to keep you guessing which is hard to maintain throughout thriller films. All of the actors in Inception are brilliant! From the lead role of Leonardo Di Caprio to Tom Hardy, they all portray their characters very well.

Trainspotting- The story line is about a group of friends where drugs effect them. Danny Boyle, the director has the ability to create brilliant, realistic and moving pieces of cinematography. Young Ewan McGregor plays the lead role of a Scottish heroin addict who wants to change his life around- his performance gets the audience fixed straight away. The film has a great soundtrack with the introducing song by Iggy Pop, Lust for Life, which is very ironic for the main fact that it’s a song about having a love for life and all the characters are heroin addicts who have nothing to live for.

Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels- it’s a story about cockneys on a heist where things take a turn for the worst. The director Guy Ritchie does very good  quick camera skills and witty plots. Actors’ in the film are all English and play London cockneys. Vinnie Jones who plays Big Chris in the film can play a brilliant protective Dad as well as a tough  London Gangster.

I prefer to consume films at the cinema. I love the experience you get from the big screen which is not the same experience that you get when watching at home or a portable DVD player.

My favourite cinema is Odeon. I love watching films on the big screen  in a chair that you can just sit back and relax on. Odeon is by the riverside which is easy to get to because I can catch the train from where I live straight into Norwich train station and walk to Odeon within 5 minutes.

I prefer to watch films with other people so you can share the experience and discuss it afterwards. Its not the same if you watch a film on your own and have no-one to talk to about it afterwards.

Conclusion- The only thing that I find offensive is a lot of video games. Most games that are to do with war or killing people are advertised to men. All of the games that involve war and conflict advertise males playing on them. All the characters are men and the only women in them play victims or the damsel in distress. I find that offence because its extremely sexist. In all of the Call of Duty games all of the soldier’s are men and you don’t even get the option to choose which is very sexist for this day and age.

The most interesting  media text that I have read was a book called Elsewhere by Gabriella Zevin. It’s about a young girl who dies and goes to a place called ‘Elsewhere’ where she meets many people on her journey to being reborn again. It made me think about what there is after you die, whether or not there is something. It was a beautiful novel and I couldn’t put the book down.

The media text that changed the way I view the world was when there were the Norway Attacks in July 2011. Anders Behring Breivick, who had expressed far-rightious views, had dressed as a policeman to carry out his bomb attack on government buildings in central Oslo before heading to the island of Utøya, where he shot at least 85 people. It made me think how much we generally trust people, we never would have suspected a man dressed as a policeman was a serial killer. You never suspect anyone who is dressed as someone we are brought up to trust which is a scary thought. So many people lost their lives on that day, all of them innocent.

If I was to construct a media text to communicate to people about the condition of England, my community, popular culture or the state of them contemporary world, I would chose to do it as a short film. I would want to communicate the message that England is still ruled by the class system and that even though we are in the 21^st century some people are still living on the streets, living in rough housing and most of this is ignored by the government.

I have chosen media studies as an option because I loved the look of the course, it all seem very interesting to me and it was something new to do. I’ve toyed with the idea of having a career in media but  I’m still very unsure.