Introduction
- The war on drugs is a revolutionary part of society and the media - in terms of both print and film.
- It is noteworthy to recognise the way in which drugs and those associated with them differ depending on being produced by American or British institutions.
Section 1 - Main Text (MIGRAIN)
- Run is a British mini-series created by Jonathan Pearson, Marlon Smith and Daniel Fajemisin-Duncan and written by Marlon Smith and Daniel Fajemisin-Duncan for Channel 4. The series premiered on 15 July 2013 and ended on 18 July 2013.
- The episode focuses solely on the character 'Richard' who is a Caribbean, D demographic, recovering Heroin addict. A strong sense of isolation embodies the energy of the character
- Produced by Acme Films and aired on Channel 4 who are renowned for their innovative and contentious product style. In particular, Acme films' values' include the objective of seeking pure representation of reality, drama and diversity of contemporary urban life, which is why the production emulates such a bold social realistic narrative.
- An audience encompass the brutality of overcoming an addiction, thereby empathising with the battles he faces on a daily basis.
- Close textual analysis: Multiple elements of the opening (Equilibrium state, Todorov) force an audience to pity and empathise with Richard's character. In particular, the medium close up of him mournfully admiring his daughters drawing mid-way between long shots capturing him frantically packing up his belongings, after being evicted from his hostel, immediately allow an audience to build a (Personal Relationship - Blumbler and Katz), with the recovering heroin addict. An audience are presented with an array of events that ultimately comprise the life of one in the state of a drug recovery scenes and the predicaments that they find themselves in, i.e. the medium close up of an addict taking an intake of heroin. In terms of Gauntlett's idea of the "media opposing censorship", this allows audiences to be educated by the graphic material to engage with the narrative further. Other events involve him missing a counselling meeting (long shot, tungsten white balance, creating a cool blue effect complimentary with the hospital location and bumping into his angry ex-wife (binary opposite; the stable parent, also tapping towards the stereotypical, black C demographic lone parent family view). (continued on other blog post)
Section 2 - British Social and Historical Context (with other British films as examples)
- Documentaries on BBC and Channel 4
- News Stories - BBC, The Guardian, Mirror and Daily Mail - social context
- Social Class representation
- Print scandals
- Books and Journals (K.Q.)
- split other British media texts (film/traditional news/documentaries into 3 sub paragraphs showing drug representations) very in depth
Section 3 - Historical Text (MIGRAIN)
- Reefer Madness was originally made as "Tell Your Children" and is a 1930's American propaganda exploitation drama drug addiction film revolving around the melodramatic events that ensure when high school students are lured by pushers to marijuana , that they don't cave in as this will lead to manslaughter, suicide, attempted rape (madness). The film was directed by Louis Gasnier and starred a cast composed of mostly unknown actors. It was originally financed by a church group and was intended to be sown to parents as a morality tale attempting to teach them about the dangers of cannabis use.
The significance within the opening (how drugs are portrayed to a passive audience)- At the beginning there is a note for the viewers appologising in advance for the upcoming content and the "menace" which is "destroying American youth". "Marijuana is a violence narcotic" and is "the real public enemy". - note to self: the media are selective with what 'news' is in relation to Gautung and Ruge's News Values - in relation to drugs (print newspaper articles: "Cocaine Kate".
- Directly addressing parents "Your son/daughter" (to be in contact with drugs..) - Moral Panic upon a 1930's audience
- Zoom close ups of drug scandals on newspaper covers; similarly still exists in UK news - e.g. "Cocaine Kate", The Sun. Non-diegetic parallel classical music accentuating panic among an audience.
- White A class American teacher/professor projects views in relation to the negativity and "danger" associated with drugs, upon a passive audience (the parents and an audience). The scene resonates imagery of dictatorship within the government associated with the political views of the drug war.
- Initially, the 'dictator' had his back turned to an audience (Medium Long Shot) and facing the parents, which reverted to a medium close up of the professor addressing the viewer placing us in the seats of the parents he was addressing.
- Documentary news style aesthetic is illustrated through the scene changing while the professor's voice becomes non-diagetic sound as he describes the panic revolved around marijuana while the scene captures high angle shots of marijuana fields. - this style of editing adds a sense of realism to the production emulating similar features to watching to the news.
Section 4 - American Social and Historical Context (with other American film examples)
- Films and ethnic minorities/social class
- Books and Journals (K.Q.)
- Academic Essays
split other American media texts (films, history and academic essays +online resources) into 3 sub paragraphs showing drug representations)
Section 5 - Comparative UK v.s. USA
- Political and Social Context
- Genre and representational effects
Section 6 - Conclusion
- America have discovered a new approach in maintaining power upon audiences through moral panic's circulated around specific ethnic groups, to marginalise them from society.
- American productions glamorise drug culture more than illustrating the brutality and rawness of life, unlike British texts
- British drug related texts tend to be of the social realistic or urban genre, creating the depiction to be realistic and socially reflective.
