Film Industry: I, Daniel Blake

Our second Film Industry CSP is Ken Loach's independent social realist film I, Daniel Blake.

Remember: for film, we only need to study the industries key concept - so this means the companies behind the film, the budget, the marketing and promotion and finally the box office success.

Hollywood v Independent cinema

Independent films are very different to Hollywood blockbusters like Black Widow. The style of ‘indie’ films is very different to Hollywood blockbusters, as the directors and producers have more creative input – it’s being made in their vision, not in the vision of studio bosses.

Independent films have much smaller budgets, and are often supported financially by public service broadcasters, film institutions and charity funding. They are also distributed by smaller companies.

I, Daniel Blake notes

I, Daniel Blake is an award-winning independent British Drama film. The main character, Daniel Blake, 59, who has worked as a joiner most of his life in the North East of England needs help from the State for the first time ever following an illness.

He crosses paths with a single mother Katie and her two young children, Daisy and Dylan. Katie’s only chance to escape a one roomed homeless hostel in London is to accept a flat some 300 miles away.

Daniel  stands up and fights for his dignity, leading a one-man crusade for compassion that will transform the lives of a struggling single mother (Katie) and her two children.   It is a drama that has a strong political message about Britain in an age of government austerity.

Key details:

• I, Daniel Blake was released in 2016 and was directed by Ken Loach. The film was rated by the BBFC as a 15.
• A UK/French co-production, the film is a classed as a drama due to the nature of the narrative and themes within the film.
• The cast is made up of lesser known actors, including Dave Johns, Hayley Squires and Sharon Percy.
• The film is classed as an independent film, due to the fact that it is a low budget film with a relatively unknown cast.

Director power: Ken Loach

Ken Loach has been a director for over 50 years. He’s never had Hollywood success, mainly because he’s never wanted it. Loach’s style is social realism – telling stories that represent the lives of ordinary working-class people and the social issues they face, for example unemployment, poverty and addiction. His films also have political themes. Rather than create films for entertainment or money, his goal is to expose and educate people to the issues that many people in society face.

Ken Loach's 2019 film Sorry We Missed You highlighted the difficulty of working class people working on zero hour contracts (you can watch the trailer here). Here he talks to Sky News about the film and how it compares to Marvel superhero blockbusters like Black Widow:

Marketing and promotion

Along with traditional trailer and print adverts, the film makers eOne also used disruptive marketing such as:

• Organise free (or ‘pay what you can’) screenings and talks in community centres across the UK to build local enthusiasm for the film’s message.
• Film was premiered not in London, but Newcastle (where the film is set) to gain local support. 
• Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn attended the London premiere and people that had been denied benefit payments were asked to placard the event.
• ‘I, Daniel Blake’ was projected onto the Houses of Parliament ('guerrilla marketing') and in various cities
• Loach appeared on BBC Question Time to talk on issue giving the film extra credibility

A conventional trailer was also produced for the film:

Additional promotion:

• A partnership was set up with Trinity Mirror (Daily Mirror owners) to run a marketing campaign based on the film. The Daily Mirror traditionally supports the Labour Party and left-wing causes so therefore agreed with the main message of the film.
• The film also paired up with NomadiX Media's iProjector to create an outdoor campaign using quotes from the film.
• Ken Loach and the writer did interviews with newspapers and magazines to promote the key messages of the film (see clip from Economist below).
• Finally, a video was released using members of the public and politicians that supported the film’s message. This was highlighted with the hashtag #WeAreAllDanielBlake

Secret Cinema Youth screening

Secret Cinema, as part of their charitable Secret Youth campaign, organised a screening of the film in both London’s East End and Newcastle. The event was aimed at first-time voters, and the event happened just before the 2017 general election

The screening was accompanied by talks from Ken Loach and performances from artists that either supported or had a connection with the film’s themes. They also organised food bank donation stalls at the screening and encouraged people to contribute

Budget, box office and critical success

It is very difficult to establish the exact production costs of ‘I, Daniel Blake’ although 16 Films Producer, Rebecca O’Brien, said it was a ‘modest amount’, even for a Ken Loach film. We know some of the funding it received (e.g. £300k from the BFI) and can estimate it to be around £2 million. Compare that to the $200 million that it cost to make our other CSP, Black Widow.

I, Daniel Blake was exhibited in 24 countries and performed well in Europe and other smaller countries. The film grossed £11 million and received a wide range of positive critic reviews.

‘I, Daniel Blake’ Is Ken Loach’s most successful UK release ever and continued to sell well around Europe. Like all Ken Loach films, it did particularly well in France. As well as Box Office success, it was also a critical success and award winner (including the renowned Palme D’or from the Cannes Film Festival).

Regulation: BBFC rating

‘I, Daniel Blake’ was awarded a 15 certificate by the British Board of Film Classifications (BBFC).  This was despite the following scenes being included:

• Bad language (uttered by the main characters out of anger and frustration or for emphasis. Was justified by context and not impactful.)
• Sexual scenes (There are some verbal sexual references voiced in the film, particularly in a scene where a man pays a surprise visit to a woman who is working as a prostitute secretly, to try to dissuade her from prostituting herself.)
• Frightening and Intense scenes (There are two notable scenes of emotional intensity. They include 'the food bank' scene and the ending 'funeral' scene.)

I, Daniel Blake: blog tasks

See Google Classroom for the questions you need to answer. Extension tasks are available below if you finish the questions on Google Classroom.


Grade 8/9 extension tasks

Read this Media Magazine article on the disruptive marketing campaign used to publicise I, Daniel Blake. Media Magazine is an excellent publication aimed at A Level Media students and it's a great resource for GCSE students aiming for the top grades.

Read this marketing case study on I, Daniel Blake. What does 'making a film launch a political movement' mean?

I, Daniel Blake is an A Level Media text for another exam board. Watch Media teacher Mrs Fisher's YouTube lesson on I, Daniel Blake and make notes on the key points she makes.

Read this Hollywood Reporter interview with executive Alex Hamilton on film marketing - including the I, Daniel Blake grassroots marketing campaign. Why was it successful?

Film Industry: Black Widow

Our first Film Industry CSP is Marvel blockbuster Black Widow.

For film, we only need to study the industries key concept - so this means the companies behind the film, the budget, the marketing and promotion and finally the box office success.

Reminder: industry terminology

In our Introduction to Media unit, we learned a range of media industries terminology that we may well be tested on in the exam. Make sure you know the following:

Conglomerate
Most major media companies are conglomerates that own a range of smaller companies (called subsidiaries). An example of this is Disney owning Marvel.

Vertical integration
Vertical integration is when one conglomerate owns different companies in the same chain of production. E.g Disney owns film studios, CGI specialists, film distributors and TV channels such as the Disney Channel. This gives Disney the chance to make money at every stage of production. Complete ownership = more profit.

Horizontal integration

Horizontal integration is when one company buys other companies at the same level of distribution. E.g Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012 (at a cost of $1 billion) so that they could cancel out the competition by making money from both. Horizontal integration allows companies to widen their audience and find other ways to make money.

Synergy 

Synergy is when a company creates a brand that can be used across different media products and platforms. E.g Disney makes movies but then also has related stage shows, theme parks, merchandise, soundtracks and events.

Black Widow notes

Black Widow is the 24th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). It raises many industry issues surrounding the production, distribution and exhibition of film in the digital age.  

Film franchise

A film franchise is a series of films or multi-picture stories, often including some of the same characters from film to film.

Franchises have become even more important than individual stars. They consist of connected universes (e.g. Star Wars, Marvel's Cinematic Universe, DC Extended Universe etc) and many sequels (or prequels).

Blockbuster movies

Black Widow is a blockbuster movie. A blockbuster is a major studio movie that's made with a large budget, big stars and often involves a franchise. 

A true blockbuster is extremely popular and brings in a lot of money. Typically, a blockbuster is a summer movie that audiences line up to see the first weekend it's released (which coincides with the school holidays and more family time).

Disney and Marvel

In 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment for US$4 billion. The Walt Disney Company now owns Disney Pictures, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm and Pixar.

Walt Disney Studios are one of Hollywood's major film studios and generated an income of $2.4 billion in 2017.  This means that they can afford to make more expensive films, market them around the world at great expense and ensure that they are hugely profitable.  

Marketing and promotion

Star Power implies that people will want to see a film with a certain star in it. Most mainstream films and blockbusters will use Star Power to attract audiences to their film. The main star in Black Widow is Scarlett Johansson who is very well known and has established fans. 

Walt Disney Studios had a huge budget to make and market Black Widow although the success of the film was badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic closing cinemas. Some of the strategies used included:

• Traditional methods such as posters and teaser trailers on TV and in cinema.
• Stars of the film appeared on a range of TV chat shows and press events. 
• Film trailers were released on YouTube and in cinemas. 
• Specific IMAX promotions with 22 minutes of the film shot in 1.90:1 aspect ratio especially for IMAX cinemas.
• Section of the Marvel website with gallery, story synopsis, character posters and opportunities to buy or stream the movie.
• Social media profiles on TikTok, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Social media and YouTube advertising was also heavily used by Marvel to promote the film including using tweets from audience members on massive billboards.

Star interviews and TV appearances:

Specific IMAX promotional videos:

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on the film industry and changed the release strategy for many films. While cinemas are still the primary way of making money for the film industry, some movies are being released to streaming services alongside cinema - or bypassing cinema altogether. Watch this report on Black Widow with an interview with IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond:

Social media marketing

The film used tweets from audience members to help promote the film:

Was the film a global box office hit?

Black Widow’s success is difficult to judge due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Black Widow’s budget was $200m and it only made $379m at the worldwide box office due to the pandemic. Marvel would have spent well over $100m on marketing the film globally so the profit level is very low. Most Marvel films have made around $1 billion at the box office. 

However, this doesn’t take into account revenues through Disney+ so Black Widow may well still make Marvel and Disney a profit in the end.

Film industry: Regulation

Films in the UK are regulated by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).

Black Widow was awarded a 12A by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).  It was deemed to have “moderate violence, injury detail”, yet was not too graphic.

With a 12A, no-one under the age of 12 can see the film unless accompanied by an adult. It is quite a new classification (1989)  and was introduced due to the large gap between PG and 15.

It is important that all MCU films are 12A at the most as the major film companies want to keep the young audience for:

• Merchandising opportunities.
• Better potential box office.
• 47% of cinema audiences were aged 7-24 in the UK in 2014.  Word of mouth and peer influence is important in generating interest.

Black Widow: blog tasks

See Ms Fowler's Google Classroom for tasks. When you have completed those, you can look at the extension tasks below.

Grade 8/9 extension tasks

Read this Guardian report on Scarlett Johansson suing Disney over the release strategy for Black Widow. Do you agree she is right to be angry with the multiplatform release strategy?

Read this feature on how Black Widow shot 22 minutes of IMAX footage to give viewers an incredible widescreen experience in IMAX cinemas. Why is IMAX an important part of marketing a blockbuster movie?

Look at the Marvel Black Widow website and note down the different promotional devices used.

Read this feature on Marvel using a fan's tweet to help market the film. Why is audience interaction such an important aspect of modern film marketing?

Look at this Guardian website page allowing Marvel fans to discuss Black Widow. What interesting opinions do you notice in the comments? 

Read this feature on whether there are too many Marvel sequels and spin-offs. Do you agree?

OSP: Marcus Rashford - Audience and Industry

The second part of our OSP Marcus Rashford case study focuses on Audience and Industry.

This completes our in-depth study of Marcus Rashford's online presence and brings in important questions about social media and regulation. 

Audience

Target audience: demographics and psychographics

What is Marcus Rashford’s target audience: 

• Demographics: CAGE?
• Psychographics?

Audience engagement

Instagram engagement rate is a measure of how much audiences engage with posts (e.g. likes, comments). An engagement rate of 1-3% is considered good and anything 6%+ is extremely high.

Marcus Rashford’s power as an influencer is shown by his engagement rate of 6%.

Source: https://starngage.com/app/gb/influencers/marcusrashford

Marcus Rashford's appeal to audiences

What is the appeal of Marcus Rashford to his audience? Think about his campaigns, use of social media and his website. Also, consider his appeal to different audiences.

Use Blumler and Katz Uses and Gratifications theory:

• Diversion
• Personal Identity
• Personal Relationships
• Surveillance/information

Industry

Marcus Rashford net worth

Marcus Rashford’s net worth has been estimated at around £16m (source: Sunday Times rich list). This includes:

• £200,000 per week from Manchester United (£10.4m a year)
• £2m endorsement deal with Nike
• Additional deals with Burberry, BT Sport, Coca-Cola and others

He is also the youngest person to top the Sunday Times Giving List for raising £20m for good causes.

Marcus Rashford commercial partners

Watch the following promotional videos from brands featuring Marcus Rashford.

• What do the companies get from an association with Rashford?
• Thinking about media language, how do these adverts create an emotional connection between the brand and audience using Marcus Rashford? 
• How do the clips help Marcus Rashford control or build his own brand?

Industries: ownership, control and regulation

Marcus Rashford’s online presence is partly driven by his excellent use of social media.

But who owns Twitter? Who owns Instagram? How much money do they make? How are they regulated?

These are key questions for GCSE Media students.

Twitter

• Twitter was started by Jack Dorsey in 2006. It now has over 200 million active users worldwide. 
• Twitter’s 2020 revenue was $3.72 billion. 
• Twitter makes most of its money through advertising – promoted tweets or ‘trend takeovers’.
• Marcus Rashford has over 5m Twitter followers.

Instagram

• Instagram is an image and video sharing site launched in 2010. 
• In 2012 it was bought by Facebook for $1 billion. Facebook and Instagram’s parent company is now called Meta – a global conglomerate.
• Instagram has over a billion active users worldwide and more than 25 million users in the UK alone.
• Instagram revenue in 2020 was $24 BILLION.
• Marcus Rashford has over 12m Instagram followers.

Instagram: a danger to teenagers?

• Over 40% of Instagram users are aged under 23.
• Research suggests that Instagram is damaging to mental health – particularly for teenage girls.
• Facebook’s own research suggested this – but they allegedly kept this secret.
• The research suggested one in three girls felt bad about their bodies and Instagram made this worse. It is also linked to increased anxiety and depression.

Media regulation: how do you regulate the internet and social media?

The government put forward the Online Safety bill in 2022 to try and add regulation of the internet to Ofcom’s role as media regulator. This includes:

• Sending threatening posts being punishable by jail sentences.
• Platforms like Twitter and Instagram having to actively prevent users seeing harmful material – or risk being fined by Ofcom.
• Platforms paying Ofcom to regulate their content.

Critics of the law have suggested social media is impossible to regulate – there is too much content – or users’ freedom of speech will be compromised.

Internet regulation: key questions

The internet is very difficult to regulate because it is global but governments are national. Also, corporations like Amazon or Facebook are now more powerful than some governments.

Media theorist Clay Shirky describes the change with digital media as going from: “Filter then publish to publish then filter”. 

Anyone can publish almost anything instantly and the audience then has to filter the content they engage with.

Here's Clay Shirky talking about how the internet is changing communication - watch the first three minutes:

Finally, here is Marcus Rashford talking to Sky Sports News about what should be done about online abuse: 

Blog tasks: Marcus Rashford - Audience and Industry

Work through the tasks on Google Classroom to complete your work on Marcus Rashford's online presence.

Extension tasks

How does Marcus Rashford's online presence reflect modern society and culture?

Read this Sky Sports interview with Marcus Rashford saying online abuse should be easier to stop. What does he think the companies should be doing to regulate it?

If you want to test yourself at A Level, try reading this chapter from A Level Media theorist Clay Shirky called Publish, Then Filter. How does Shirky suggest the internet has changed the way we engage with the media?

OSP: Marcus Rashford - Language and Representation

Our OSP CSP is the online presence of Manchester Utd and England footballer Marcus Rashford.

This is an in-depth CSP so we need to study all four areas of the theoretical framework: Language, Representation, Audience and Industry. This first case study will focus on Language and Representation.

Introduction

Marcus Rashford is a Manchester Utd and England footballer who has used social media and the internet to create a strong brand. He has been praised for his high-profile campaigns on food poverty (putting pressure on the government to provide free school meals in holidays during Covid-19) as well as homelessness and books for children. 

We need to study his website, social media and how he has created his Marcus Rashford brand. 

Language analysis

GLOW glossary words

Convergence: When two or more media forms can be accessed in one place or one device e.g Marcus Rashford’s website also links to his books, social media feeds and video content. 

Online engagement/dialogue: Communication online e.g between a celebrity and a fan. 

Endorsement: When a celebrity or influential figure recommends something to the public. 

Website conventions

Website key conventions include:

• Logo/brand identity
• Navigation – menus
• Central image
• Multimedia features – e.g. video 
• Social media links / integration

Social media conventions

Social media key conventions include:

• Logo/brand identity
• Bio (personal details/information)
• Profile image
• Background/banner image
• Images and video
• Online engagement/audience interaction

Genre and narrative

Marcus Rashford has created a strong personal brand that merges different genres – footballer, campaigner / activist, influencer and celebrity.

His online presence – particularly video content – emphasises his working class background, how hard his mum worked as a single parent and his own positive attitude towards hard work. This creates a narrative of success against the odds. He then uses this to drive his campaigning work on food poverty and reading as well as his commercial endorsements.

Representations

Marcus Rashford’s online presence offers a real mix of representations – some reinforcing stereotypes of masculinity, footballers and race/ethnicity but at other points subverting them. 

He also looks to challenge stereotypes regarding poverty, age, people receiving benefits and social class.

Use Daniel Chandler’s representation theory of CAGE to analyse Marcus Rashford’s online presence:

C – Class (social class – working class people)

A – Age (youth)

G – Gender (masculinity)

E – Ethnicity (black British)

Blog tasks: Marcus Rashford - Language and Representations

See Ms Fowler's Google Classroom for your questions on Marcus Rashford - Language and Representations.

Further reading and extension tasks

Look at this Marcus Rashford tweet. How does this help Rashford create a positive representation of himself and also control the media narrative?

Read this Guardian feature on Marcus Rashford being a Hero of 2020. What representation of Rashford does this offer?

Read this Guardian Books interview with Marcus Rashford. How does Rashford's work on reading and literacy help his reputation? Can you find any other interesting representations here?

Read this news story on Rashford being named one of the top ten most powerful black Britons. What does this suggest about race and ethnicity in Britain and the British media?

OSP: Introduction to influencers

Our new topic is Online, Social and Participatory Media - or OSP for short.

There's just one CSP to study here - Marcus Rashford and his online presence. This is an in-depth CSP and needs to be studied with reference to all four elements of the Theoretical Framework (Language, Representation, Industries, Audience) and all relevant contexts. 

But before we study Marcus Rashford in detail, we need to look at the rise of social media influencers and the impact this has had on media, society and culture.

The rise of influencers

The rise of influencers is a major change in media and culture due to technology, the internet and social media. Influencers give brands a new and powerful way to reach audiences but critics think that social media stars are taking advantage of their relationship with their followers.

User-generated content

Influencers exist because of changes in technology and the internet. This created social media sites like YouTube and Facebook and led to the rise in user-generated content.

User-generated content (UGC) is any content—text, videos, images, reviews, etc.—created by people, rather than brands.

UGC means audiences can be producers as well as consumers – we create and share media as well as viewing it.

How do influencers make money?

YouTuber Zoella (Zoe Sugg) started a blog at home and within a few years gained millions of followers and turned her online presence into a major financial opportunity.

It is estimated at one point Zoella made £15,000 a month from YouTube pre-roll advertising, up to £20,000 each for promotional videos or Instagram posts plus money from books and a beauty product range with Superdrug.

Influencers and their impact on media and culture

Are influencers having a positive or negative impact on society, media and culture? You need to be able to form your own opinion on this question. To help you, watch the following video from the BBC on how influencers make money and see if it changes your views:

Here's the extended 28-minute Panorama if you'd like to see more:

Extension - Bad Influencer: Belle Gibson & The Great Insta Con

The danger with user-generated content is whether we can trust what we see on social media. Belle Gibson was one of the first lifestyle influencers but ended up in a controversy over faking cancer diagnoses to promote her posts. This is a preview of a BBC3 documentary on Belle Gibson and the Great Insta Con:

Introduction to OSP: Influencers blog tasks

Read this article in The Week magazine on the rise of social media influencers and answer the following questions:

1) What years did YouTube, Twitter and Instagram launch?

2) What is the definition of an influencer?

3) Give an example of an influencer and how many followers they have. Try and add some additional information, brand associations or other statistics if you can.

4) How big is the influencer industry according to the article?

5) What are the problems associated with being an influencer?

6) Why is it suggested that audiences actually like being sold products by influencers?

7) What representation of beauty is often found on Instagram or other influencer sites?

8) What is YOUR opinion on influencers? Are they a positive or negative influence on our society and culture? Why?

Grade 8/9 extension tasks

Read this Forbes article on how covid and TikTok have changed the influencer market in the last couple of years. What does this tell us about society and media culture - are we becoming more creative and independent or is this just another way to sell more products to more people?

Complete this for homework if you don't finish it in the lesson - due date on Google Classroom.

Videogames case study 2: Kim Kardashian Hollywood

Our second Videogames Close-Study Product is another phone/tablet game: Kim Kardashian Hollywood.

Again, this is an in-depth topic so we need to make sure we have studied this product across media language, audience, industry and representation. 

Kim Kardashian Hollywood: notes

Language

Gameplay

The gameplay for Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is explained in detail in the app store or Google Play store:

Join KIM KARDASHIAN on a red carpet adventure in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood! Create your own aspiring celebrity and rise to fame and fortune! 

CREATE YOUR OWN STAR and customize your look with hundreds of style options, including Kim Kardashian’s personal picks!

⋆ STAR in a huge interactive adventure as you encounter other celebs, dedicated fans, persistent paparazzi… and even hang out with Kim herself!

⋆ RULE THE RED CARPET as an A-list movie actor, cover model, fashion designer and more – what you do is up to you!

⋆ TAKE OVER L.A. in a virtual world complete with exclusive clubs, upscale boutiques, and luxury homes! Travel to New York City and Miami!

⋆ DATE AND DUMP CELEBS at the best parties and hottest clubs! Flirt and become the next huge celebrity power-couple!

⋆ BRING YOUR FRIENDS ALONG FOR THE RIDE using Game Center and Facebook – help each other rise to fame, compare styles, send gifts, and see who can be the biggest star!

Game trailer:



Gameplay example:



Kim Kardashian: Hollywood - Narrative and objectives

The aim of Kim Kardashian Hollywood is to work your way  up the celebrity scale from Z-List to A-List.  As you play you will interact with a range of real and fictional characters in the United States and around many of the world’s most glamourous and famous locations.  As you progress, there are collectibles and missions that will allow you to develop the status of your customisable character. Your ranking is determined by your position on the Top Stars list in Hollywood. They are sorted into six different lists, Unlisted being the lowest rank to the A-list being the highest rank. You rise up in ranks by gaining fans. The goal of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is to gain as many fans as possible by doing well on projects, getting attention from Starnews, and dating to get to the A-list.

Characters

Characters are NPCs (Non-Playable Characters) that appear in goals or locations and the storyline as you progress in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. These exclude NPCs you meet in the game that you can date or network with. These types of contacts are randomly generated according to each individual game.

The characters in Kim Kardashian Hollywood are a mixture of real VIP characters and fictional characters. There are 100s – you can see a few opposite.

In your pursuit of celebrity some of the fictional characters work with you and some actively try to ruin your journey by beating you to A-List.

Settings

There are a range of locations in the game that try to mirror the stereotype of the celebrity lifestyle of an A-lister:

Narrative: special events

Special Events are temporary goal arcs that are available only during Weekend Events in the game. By completing them, players can not only earn Cash Cash, XP XP, Energy Energy and Star Stars, but also Special Event stars.  These regularly happen and keep the game fresh.  It also means established players keep coming back to the game to see what the latest updated events are.

By collecting Special Event stars, players can unlock exclusive rewards and Kustomize items. The Kustomize screen, also known as your wardrobe, is the screen where you can customize your character to your liking. You can purchase tops, dresses, pants, skirts, shoes, hairstyles, facial features, nail colours and fashion accessories like bags, jewellery, and tattoos.

You can change your look whenever you like. The game encourages players to "keep on top of current fashion to maximise your fans!"

Audience

Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is incredibly popular. It has been  downloaded over 50 million times and generated $200 million plus.

Why do audiences like it?

One way of understanding why audiences choose certain media texts is Blumler & Katz's Uses and Gratification Theory.

Uses and Gratification Theory states that audiences consume media products/texts for at least one of the following reasons:

1. Diversion, escapism or entertainment – escaping from normal life.
2. Personal relationships – fulfils their need for companionship. This is particularly true of social media products, online gaming and online communities. It can also apply to audiences developing an affection for certain stars or characters.  
3. Personal identity - seeing your own lifestyle, interests or ambitions reflected in a media product; reinforcing your own identity.
4. Surveillance – using media to find out about the world around them.

Which of these apply to Kim Kardashian: Hollywood?

Watch this video of Buzzfeed staff trying to play the game:

Representation

There are some key questions we need to consider regarding representation in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood:

• How are women represented?
• How is celebrity represented?
• How is race/ethnicity represented?

Kim Kardashian: Hollywood contains quite controversial representations of women, celebrity and race/ethnicity.

It has been criticised for offering a representation of women focusing on appearance, modelling and dating as a way to be successful. Similarly, celebrity is represented as something to aspire to even without an obvious talent or ability.

On a more positive note, the game has been praised for its representation of race, ethnicity and sexuality – with the game offering a diverse range of characters.

Industries

Kim Kardashian: Hollywood was developed by Glu Mobile, a highly successful mobile game developer and publisher. It was released in June 2014 and was marketed heavily using the Kim Kardashian brand.

With social media promotion, the game quickly shot to the top of download lists and iTunes app store charts.

Media convergence

The game design means that there is a great deal of media convergence.  Media convergence is the merging of different media texts. How does Kim Kardashian Hollywood involve media convergence?

The game: TV Show and social media channels are referenced in game.  Player encouraged to engage online and gain bonus items for sharing on Facebook etc.

Social media: Game appears on Kim’s actual social media platforms. Also, need to tweet in game.

TV Show: Game appears on Keeping Up with the Kardashians episodes.  TV Show is also referenced in game.

Marketing and promotion

Watch this TV advert for the game:



Glu: monetising Kim Kardashian: Hollywood

The game is free to download but makes huge amounts of money from in-app purchases and subscriptions. Players need to buy energy to complete tasks (or wait 30 minutes for energy to replenish). They can also buy subscriptions:

• Gold: 49.99 USD / month (or local equivalent)
• Silver: 19.99 USD / month (or local equivalent)
• Bronze: 4.99 USD / month (or local equivalent)

Small print

Due to the addictive nature of the game and the potential to spend huge amounts of money on in-app purchases, the developers place warnings in the app store before purchase:

PLEASE NOTE: - This game is free to play, but you can choose to pay real money for some extra items, which will charge your iTunes account. You can disable in-app purchasing by adjusting your device settings. - This game is not intended for children. - Please buy carefully. - Advertising appears in this game. - This game may permit users to interact with one another (e.g., chat rooms, player to player chat, messaging) depending on the availability of these features. Linking to social networking sites are not intended for persons in violation of the applicable rules of such social networking sites.

Videogames case study 2 - Kim Kardashian: Hollywood blog tasks

See Google Classroom for Ms Fowler's questions.

Grade 8/9 extension tasks: reading and response

If you finish the questions on Google Classroom, try the following extension tasks:

Read this Independent article on the Kardashians and celebrity culture. Why does the academic Dr Meredith Jones think the Kardashians are important to study?

Read this Stylecaster article on 5 things we learned playing Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. How does the game encourage players so spend real money on in-app purchases?

Read this article on Glu Mobile, the game developer behind Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. What does the article say about targeting female gamers and using celebrity to sell the game?

Read this Guardian article on a Kardashian controversy regarding promoting products on Instagram. Why do some people regard Kardashian as a "toxic influence"? 

Complete for homework: due date on Google Classroom.

Videogames case study 1: Lara Croft Go notes

Our first videogames Close-Study Product is phone/tablet game Lara Croft Go.

This is an in-depth topic so we need to make sure we have studied this product across media language, audience, industry and representation.

Lara Croft Go: notes

Lara Croft: history

Lara Croft first appeared in 1996 Eidos Playstation game Tomb Raider and was the first computer game to feature a female character as the protagonist rather than a supporting role or a secondary character.

The narrative of Tomb Raider was influenced by Indiana Jones and featured the daughter of a Lord (later a famous archaeologist), called Lara Croft on various missions through settings such as jungles, tombs and jungles. The genre is action-adventure and involves many conventions of this genre such as fighting villains using weaponry.

Evolution of Tomb Raider:




Lara Croft: beyond a videogame character

Lara Croft has featured in films (the first starring Angelina Jolie; 2018 version rebooted the character). She has appeared on magazine covers more times than any supermodel.

There have been advertising tie-ins, merchandise, comic books and  spin-offs featuring the character. The franchise has had numerous incarnations before Lara Croft Go in 2015. 

Lara Croft has been credited with bringing success on the Play Station for the games’ creators (selling 7 million copies world wide) and launching the female protagonist in games. She has also been widely thought of as a sex symbol. 

Lara Croft Go 

Lara Croft Go explores the ruins of an ancient civilization in the Amazon Jungle while fighting menacing enemies, overcome dangerous obstacles and traps, and ultimately, uncover the myth of the Queen of Venom.  There is no specific timescale – but is modern-day in Lara’s weaponry.

This concept of action adventure exploring and uncovering relics from ancient civilisations is not new and there is some intertextuality here with the Indiana Jones movies, original Tomb Raider games, Tomb Raider films and more.

Watch this online review of Lara Croft Go:



What are the features of the Lara Croft Go game?

In many ways, there are traditional Action Adventure elements to this game (she moves, she shoots, she avoids hazards).  However, this game is a ‘turn-based puzzle’ which involves by-passing enemies and unlocking paths in a sequential manner which suits the ‘short timespan’ that people can sometimes commit to mobile gaming. It faithfully preserves element of original Tomb Raider game and brings the original adventure up to date. 

The game also involves collecting items that unlock special powers and tools that help your progress through the game.  On the image to the left you can see many of the opponents that Lara comes across (Lizards, Snakes, Spiders) and some of the collectables. There are not many different enemies as memory is key.  

The three-act narrative structure proceeds from an orientation stage through various complications and blockages to a simple resolution.

Evolution of the character of Lara Croft

• Lara is depicted as athletic with brown eyes and hair, frequently tied back in a plait or ponytail.
• Her costume is usually a blue tank top, light brown shorts, calf high boots and long socks. 
• Accessories / Props include gloves, a backpack, a utility belt with holsters and two pistols. 
• Her original back story was that she was the daughter of an aristocrat who had a plane crash in the Himalayas, causing her to re-evaluate her life and seek adventure, leading her to become a thief and mercenary, living outside the law. The second era changed the narrative to her father being an archaeologist and her wanting to discover the reason for her mother’s disappearance. A third era focused more on both her parents being archaeologists and her mother disappearing and her father dying.
• All three narratives feature her transition from a vulnerable girl to an independent, fierce adventurer (hero).
• Most stories feature her being stranded on a mysterious, far away island although the location of this changes. 

Representation

Does Lara Croft reinforce female stereotypes in the media?

Yes (reinforces traditional stereotype):

• Object of sexual desire. Her body features were particularly exaggerated in early versions of games.
• Scantily-clad designed for male audience. Would a male character be designed like this?  
• Is Lara Croft is designed to be attractive to the male audience as she basically acquires all the features that some men would describe as perfect.

 No (subverts female stereotype):

• She is an action hero – traditionally a male stereotype in gaming.
• She is empowered female heroine – rare in gaming industry at the time.  “The heroine, Lara Croft, is an intelligent, butt-kicking, gun-wielding, sexpot, ready to take on whatever comes her way.” Katherine Walker, Portrayal of Women in Media (Video Games)

Industry

We need to learn about two distinct areas for the industries key concept:

• Videogame regulation
• The companies/franchises behind the game

Regulation: PEGI

PEGI stands for Pan European Game Information and is a European video game rating system established to help consumers make informed decisions when buying video games or apps through the use of age recommendations and content descriptors.


PEGI was set up by the ISFE* – an independent group that represents European software companies. Important: this is an example of self-regulation, not government.

Lara Croft Go: companies and franchises

Lara Croft Go is the combination of two successful franchises – Lara Croft Tomb Raider and the Hitman Go mobile game.

Tomb Raider is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series created by British gaming company Core Design. Formerly owned by Eidos Interactive, it is now controlled by Square Enix after their acquisition of Eidos in 2009. 

Square Enix developed Hitman Go in 2014 based on the successful Hitman game franchise.

Audience

We need to think about the following for the audience key concept:

• Audience pleasures
• Target audience for Lara Croft Go – and whether videogame audiences are changing

What is the appeal of Lara Croft Go?

“Acrobatics and platforming are key features of a Tomb Raider adventure, and we quickly realized that Lara had to be fully animated. Our animator did an amazing job of quickly producing a first batch of short animations for Lara, and immediately everything felt better. Again, we looked back at Lara’s classic animations from the first Tomb Raider and they fit right in with our turn-based game.”

– Square Enix

Audience pleasures: Blumler and Katz Uses and Gratifications Theory

Remember that audiences consume media products for a variety of reasons (from Blumler and Katz: Uses and Gratification Theory)

1. The need to be INFORMED and EDUCATED about the world in which we live (Surveillance) 
2. The need to IDENTIFY personally with characters and situations in order to learn more about themselves (Personal Identity)
3. The need to be ENTERTAINED (Diversion) and escape daily life. 
4. The need for SOCIAL INTERACTION (Personal Relationships)

Which of these apply to Lara Croft Go?

Target audience

Who is the target audience for Tomb Raider / Lara Croft games?  They fall into various groups and may be a mixture of all three:

1. Those interested in the quality of the innovative gameplay.
2. Those with brand loyalty to the Hitman Go series.
3. Those with brand loyalty based on the feminine empowerment displayed.
4. Those with brand loyalty based on nostalgia or even the sexualisation of Lara Croft (especially if they played older Croft games when at a formative age)

Videogames case study 1: Lara Croft Go blog tasks

Go to Google Classroom and answer the questions Ms Fowler has set for you.

Optional extension tasks

Exam practice example question:

“Videogames are increasingly played and enjoyed by a wider and more diverse audience." 

Does your study of Lara Croft Go support this view?

Write a detailed three-paragraph answer to this question using the information you have learned in this case study.

Top grade extension tasks

Language
1) Watch some Lara Croft Go gameplay online or, even better, play the game yourself. How is the game constructed to attract and maintain the engagement of an audience?

2) How is narrative, character, iconography and setting used to create intertextuality? (Links to other genres and media texts)

Representation
1) Read this NME feature on the history of the Lara Croft character. Do you agree that she is now a 'feminist icon' rather than a 'trapezoid-boobed pinup'? What do these terms mean?

2) Have later versions of the Tomb Raider/Lara Croft franchise featured a less-sexualised version of the character? Does this suggest society is changing in its attitude towards women?

Industries
1) Why do videogame producers prefer the self-regulation of PEGI to government regulation? Why is videogame regulation increasingly important in the 21st century?

2) Watch the full lecture embedded above: Distilling a franchise - the making of Lara Croft Go. How did the designers make conscious decisions based on previous franchises to create a successful game?

Audience
1) How has the marketing of Lara Croft/Tomb Raider franchise changed over the last 20 years and how might an audience respond to this? Think about reception theory - preferred and oppositional readings. 

2) Does Lara Croft Go target a female audience? Why do you think female gamers dominate the phone/tablet market?