Fan Made Products

In order to find out how fans are targeted, how they interpret content from the drama and how they make meaning across different platforms, you will complete a short research activity into the fans of your chosen set products.

To complete this task successfully you will:

1.          Go online and search for a variety of fan made materials. Sites which may help you find fan made materials include:

·            www.youtube.com

·            http://fandom.wikia.com

·            the official social media accounts for the set products 

·            fan-made social media accounts for the set products.

2.          Select three different fan-made products for Stranger Things and complete the grid below.

3.          Present your research findings in a visual format. You will need to take screenshots and embed the links to the fan made materials you have found into your visual document.

Explore the way that different groups of people are represented in ST and D83

• Audience 
• Media Language 

P : In ST, we see a counter-typical representation of women (especially considering the 1980s setting) in that we see empowered, aggressive women. 

E : We see the 'social worker' murder Benny, Eleven kills two men, and although Nancy isn't aggressive, she does control the scene with her and Steve. 

E : It is an interesting subversion of stereotypes - the 1980s setting leads us to expect submissive, powerless women, but the 21st century construction transfers modern ideologies and empowers the women. 

CEMS : When we first meet the social worker, we view her from a high angle shot, the point of view of Benny. This reinforces the patriarchal hegemony which tricks us into thinking that she is a typical submissive woman. However, when she shoots Benny, she is elevated onto an equal level with the other government officials, and is even empowered through a low angle shot. This is reinforced by the editing - the screen time she is given compared to the (silent and nameless) male officials is significantly greater, therefore empowering her. 

A : This shocks the audience, which is important for narrative, but the Duffer Brothers are also trying to highlight the everyday sexism in society - even though we are a modern audience, we fell into the trap of putting sexism assumptions onto the scene. 

Representation Essay

How are different social groups represented in the sequence you have analysed?

What role does the use of media language, signs and signifiers have in constructing and presenting these representations as real?

In the first episode of Stranger Things there are a wide variety of social groups presented including the youth and the police and government. Some of these representations are constructed using stereotypical behaviour and features whereas some can contrast these stereotypes quite a bit.

A big social group represented in my sequence is the government. In the first scene analysed, it shows Dr Brenner stepping out of the car and walking towards some other people supposedly from the government too. As he walks people can see that he is constructed in a very stereotypical manner as he is wearing a suit, carrying a briefcase and is made to look much more important than the others. The camera pans up as he walks towards the other government officials symbolising that he is much more superior to them and possibly more frightening. When the government enter the building later on in the sequence, their image constructed by stereotypes completely changes. They get dressed into hazmat suits and get given weaponry, signalling that they could be fighting something dangerous which could also be a government secret.

Another huge social group represented is the youth. The younger teenagers known as Mike, Lucas and Dustin. They are represented as nerdy and maybe a bit different compared to the other children at their middle school. When they are in the AV club it shows how much they are different as they are the only ones in the club. They are very close friends which signifies that they may not have any other friends which means they would need to stick together. The camera angles that are used are usually mid shots or close ups and are eye level which shows all 3 boys as equal and unified.

Scene by Scene analysis

Representations

Narrative Structure

Linear -
Have a clear beginning, middle and end.
They follow a chronological timeframe.
Action A leads to action B which leads to action C etc.

Fragmented -
Also called non-linear, disrupted or disjointed narratives. e.g. one is Joyce's family, one is Hopper and one is Scientists etc.
They do not have a clear beginning, middle and end.
Events / actions may be shown out of chronological order and not in the order they would naturally occur in, so C might happen before A does.
It is a narrative technique that can help to show parallel stories, a story within a story, dreams and so on within the same episode or sequel.
They are seen to more closely replicate the way the human mind works.
They make the audience participate in the story to try and piece the story together.

Enigma Codes -
Roland Barthes. e.g.
Where does eleven come from?
Why did the man get taken?
What took him?
Why did Benny get shot?

The events in my episode occur in a fragmented structure due to the multiple storylines in one episode.
The structure helps me to understand the story due to the flashbacks to give some background / context e.g. Joyce in Will's tent.  Also, just the background information e.g. Hopper's history shown through the picture in his office and when the teacher asks about his child.
The structure helps me to engage in the drama before it unfolds because it makes me want to find out what happens to the characters.

Restricted -
We experience the story through the senses and thoughts of just one character.
This is almost always the main character (protagonist).
The narrative cannot tell the audience things that the main character does not know, we find things out in the story at the same time as the character.

Omnipresent - 
A panoramic, all seeing, view of the world of the story, not just one character's point of view.
Provides the point of view of many characters and their experience and feelings within the story.
Helps the audience see a broader background to the story, from a number of contexts.
Used for telling stories in which the context, views and feelings of many characters are important.

Narrative endings 
Closed endings - 
TV dramas traditionally feature one character's story or point of view in an episode, which comes to a resolution at the end of the episode.
The character's story can exist as one unique story in one episode.
A story is unravelled before an audience, and then ultimately brought to a conclusion.
The following episode will feature a different story

Open endings -
When an episode or season ends on a cliff hanger.
A story-telling technique.
In films, open endings can be unsatisfying for audiences.
In long form TV drama, open endings indicate there will be a continuation of the 'story', or possibly a resolution, in the next episode.

Academic ideas about narrative -
Todorov : Equilibrium theory
Strauss : Binary Oppositions

Stranger Things Poster Analysis

Settings :

• A small town, doesn't look like a big city.
• Night time as the sky is dark and moon is present. 
• A restricted area as there is a sign in the background. 

Themes :

• Supernatural
• Paranormal
• Crime
• Good and bad

Icons : 

• Fairy lights
• Walkie Talkie
• Baseball bat
• Bikes

Characters :

• More children / teens than adults. 
• Female child is the main focus as maybe is controlling the others.
• More males than females.
• All look very worried.

Intertextuality :

• Star Wars poster - the film came out in 1983. 
• ET- the bikes

Long Form TV Drama

Trouble with UK TV drama...
Failed to meet the challenge of US cable channels.
US dramas are more daring and take many more risks which grabs the viewers attention much more than plain, boring TV.

Changing platforms...
Content viewing via a TV still dominates in the UK.
3/4 of households in the UK have a PVR (personal video recorder).
Use of time shift is increasing.
Growth of SVOD (subscription video on demand) web based channels - Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Now TV etc.
Netflix dominates with 24% of UK market and 5million subscribers - 10% growth from 2015-2016.

Audiences...
Rise of binge-watching started with DVD in the 1990s.
A move from 'water cooler' TV to 'shared universe' fandom.
US long form drama often uses easter eggs and mid season breaks to generate fan intensity and maintain media profile.

Why do audiences love LFTVD?
High quality drama.
Multiple episodes -  can spend A LOT of time with favourite characters.
Content can be dark and difficult but also innovative.
Attracts some of the best actors and writers.
Time shifting - can watch whenever you want.
Easily accessible.

'State of the nation' TV...
Long form shows challenged the simplistic storylines and stereotypical characters that dominate network TV.
HBO launched The Sopranos in 1999 which was a huge commercial and critical hit. Increasingly, these shows were about the crisis of US identity and hegemony.
Other shows followed including The Wire which won awards and turned US TV into a medium for various subject content and critique. 

Summer Work - Contexts

Politics:

Ø  The Brexit Referendum was announced by David Cameron in February 2016.

This was because David Cameron did not agree with leaving and wanted the people to decide based on their views so he may not have had to go through with it. In England and Wales the majority voted for leave which contrasted the majority in Northern Ireland and Scotland. The referendum was on 23^rd June.

Ø  David Cameron resigned on July 13^th 2016 leaving Theresa May in office. May was chosen for Conservative Party leader on July 11^th 2016. She is the second woman Prime Minister in the whole of British history.

Ø  The general election result on 8^th June 2017 resulted in a hung parliament. The Conservatives had 318 seats, with Labour closely behind with 262.

Royals:

Ø  Queen Elizabeth turned 90 on April 21^st 2016.

Ø  Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced their engagement on November 27^th 2017. This was a huge milestone as it was the first person to enter the Royal Family who was mixed race and from America.

Terrorism:

Ø  On the 16^th June 2016, Jo Cox who was a British Labour Party politician was brutally killed by stabbings and shootings where she had been due to hold a constituency surgery. This was a political attack as the killer had very far right views, contrasting with her on the left.

Ø  The Westminster Bridge attack happened on March 22^nd 2017. A terrorist drove his vehicle into more than 50 people. 6 people died and 49 were injured.

Ø  In Manchester on May 22^nd there was a suicide bombing using a homemade nail bomb at an arena in Manchester just after an Ariana Grande concert. 23 people were killed including the bomber, 112 were hospitalised and 800+ were injured.

Ø  The fourth terror attack of the year was the one on London Bridge on June 3^rd 2017. A van deliberately rammed into pedestrians and into the Southbank of the River Thames.

The Borough Market attack then happened minutes after where three people from the vehicle ran to the market and started stabbing people. 8 people died and 48 were injured. They were all shot dead.

Ø  On 19^th June 2017, a vehicle rammed into pedestrians 100m from Finsbury Park mosque which injured 8 people. One man died.

Syrian War:

Ø  In 2016, 3,800 Syrian immigrants died on their transit to safe countries. It was the deadliest year for them to cross the Mediterranean as the war is still ongoing.

UK Issues:

Ø  January 12^th was when thousands of doctors went on strike for the first time in 40 years. Around 4,000 operations and procedures were cancelled due to this 24 hour walkout. Many more strikes follow this one to protest for the long hours junior doctors have to work.

Ø  July 3^rd 2016, Andy Murray won Wimbledon. It felt extra special for Murray and for the whole country. It was a back and forth match with no promise as to who would win so was a surprise when he did.

Ø  In late 2016 and through 2017, the football sex abuse scandal developed. It had been found that football coaches to young players had been sexually abusing them. The abusers were revealed to have been named and convicted before.

Ø  In 2016 and through 2017, the era who had moved to Britain through the wind rush generation, were facing deportation. This was huge throughout the country as these people were the first huge population to be moved legally to England.

Ø  On 14^th of June 2017, in a tower block in Grenfell, a huge fire broke out. The tower block was 24 storeys high which resulted in the deadliest structural fire in the UK since 1988. This was huge news as many all of the people lost their homes and 72 lost their lives. It also caused outrage because people believe it could have been easily prevented if the structure and features were different.

Ø  There was a huge controversy on July 28^th 2017. This was when an 11 month old boy sadly passed away. It was controversial because the hospital didn’t agree towards experimental treatment wheras the parents did. In the end the infant boy had his life support turned off after his parents losing all of their court battles.

Ø  In 2016, the Olympics proved highly successful for the GB team as they won 67 medals with the most being gold.

Youth Aggression:

Ø  In 2016, the numbers of acid attacks done by teenagers had risen significantly with London being the worst city.

Trump election:

Ø  On November 8^th 2016, Donald Trump became the US President. Many people disagree with this as the way he speaks about women is distasteful and rude and how he has no political past just a business one.