Super Curricular

 Media Magazine Article

I read the media magazine article on how covid 19 impacted movie's releases across the world and how things may change in the movie industry going forward. The article talks about how movies (such as trolls world tour) which were due to come out in cinemas during covid, have had to postpone their release. The interesting thing about Trolls however was the fact it released a digital rental simultaneously rather than just releasing the film in cinemas, which allowed people at home during the pandemic to still be able to buy and watch it. Covid essentially broke down the generic 'release rules' of cinema: red carpet premiere, wide theatrical release, DVD and Blu-ray, Pay-TV and finally free-to-air TV broadcast. The article also talks about the increase of movies being released solely for digital rental and that companies such as Netflix are becoming increasingly successful and popular due to covid 19. This can help with our media studies as it acknowledges the 

rise of new technology and how the future of cinema may look.

Shelter YouTube Music Video

This shelter film is about how a house isn't always a home. It shows the poor quality housing many people have to face and the struggles of the family who have to live somewhere which is not suitable for them. It emphasises how shelter isn't just helping people on the streets, but also people and families who need better housing, and supporting them with that.

Levi Strauss- Structuralism

By reading the 'Media Theory for A Level  The Essential Revision Guide' chapter on Levi Strauss's theory of Structuralism, it has given me a greater understanding of the theory and it's uses and presence in the media. It says how binary opposites are part of how humans understand the world around us. It also shows how these opposites create tension and how , when displayed in certain ways, they present different ideologies- for example when a program presents a hero vs a villain, the audience tends to be on the hero's side as the good aligns with societies expectations. It shows examples of different opposites in the news, music videos and more, showing how Structuralism really is a part of all media products.

Social and cultural context of Europe and the US in 1983

 The Cold War

This was a time of political rivalry between the US and the Soviet Union and their respective allies. It began in the aftermath of the second world war however 1983 was a particularly dangerous period with a renewed nuclear arms race and severe superpower paranoia. Both sides were dangerously close to war with both sides having near-miss nuclear catastrophe.

DEFCON 1

In November 1983 NATO ran a drill to prepare for a transition of conflict as the tensions between them and the USSR were still high. This resulted in going up DEFCON 1- the highest ‘defence readiness condition’ of the US army. The Soviet Union suspected this as being a ruse masking a real nuclear attack and prepared their own weapons for launch before the event dying down once the exercise had ended.

MK Ultra

This was an illegal operation run by the United States CIA to develop drugs and procedures to alter human behaviour by experimenting on humans. Their main goal was to uncover a ‘mind-control’ drug and they attempted this on patients without consent and in inhumane ways such as using psychoactive drugs, dangerous electroshock levels and more. 1983 marked a key time of survivors and their families speaking up about the treatment they received and declassified documents of this project coming to light.

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan was the 40^th president of the United States and was most well known for his role in the Cold War and his staunch anti-communism. Instead 1983, he made a speech labelling the Soviet Union as an ‘evil empire’ escalating the tensions of the cold war. This speech not only framed this rivalry into a struggle between right and wrong but also rattled Soviet leadership and caused greater efforts in expanding their armies, making the tensions worse.

The Berlin Wall

This was a concrete wall built in 1961 by the communist East Germany under Soviet jurisdiction in order to stop citizens fleeing to the democratic West. The wall stood as a big symbol of the Cold War and wasn’t pulled down until 1989. Large protests surrounded the wall and people demanded it be brought down so families and friends could reunite after the wall was raised with no warning overnight.

Steven Spielburg 1980s movies

During the 80s, Steven produced many successful and famous films but most prominent were the Indiana Jones Franchise movies and ET. These movies (particularly Indian Jones) led to the creation of the PG 13 rating, fundamentally changing the way cinema works. ET also surpassed star wars to become the highest grossing film of all time (until 1993) and is regarded as one of the most influential films ever made.

99 Red Balloons

This was a song written by West German band Nena and was inspired when the band’s guitarist imagined red Balloons he saw released in West Germany floating over to East Germany, causing him to wonder if this would cause military paranoia

Blue Monday

This song released by New Order is the best-selling 12-inch single of all time. It is heavily linked to Cold War aesthetics and used Cold War-era military clips in its original music video.