Media Watch UK - 12 Images Report

The tone adapted in the response to twelve images as a member of Media Watch UK:

1.) Image: Richard Dawkin's novel - 'The God Delusion'
When a book agrees with the notion that religion is formed from a large group of insane, deluded people it seems unlikely to go down so well with members of the church. If the author has an argument to make about his views on religion that seems fair enough, but when the title and subject matter of the book indicate that millions of religious people are deluded it seems an attempt to create mainstream controversy and indeed create a general bad impression amongst members of the public. The book’s philosophical tone might make for some interesting and insightful reading but it becomes offensive and inappropriate for its marketing and raison d’etre. It seems obvious the author is trying to make a name for himself by creating controversy and for this reason the promotion, title and elements of subject matter need to be regulated.

2.) Image: Sex Education for Girls -
This promotion quite effectively gets across the point that sex education should be more detailed so that young people understand in a clearer fashion its dangers and risks. This is fine. However the text also seems to happily promote masturbation, an issue which seems rather out of place with the serious subject matter. The smiling grin of the teacher is also unnecessary, the commercial should serve to highlight the serious issues of sex and not make it trivial through trying to compare self-pleasure with education. The female-driven target audience is effective as it is likely to heighten young female’s interest and response to the issues being raised but this promotion should be regulated in order to promote the seriousness of its subject matter.

3.) Image: Yves Sait Laurent Perfume -
This image appears to depict a sexually liberated woman in order to advertise the sex appeal of the product. It is deliberately provocative and whilst the commercial may make a point about the perfume helping to sensualise the consumer, this is not the message that most young people will see. They may not even be aware of the fact that this is an advertisement as it seems so obviously to use the image of the female as its key selling point. The nudity of the female seems quite unnecesarry and it seems that a more subtle image could have been shown to promote the tone of the commercial. This seems an obvious attempt to use a controversial image in order to boost sales of the product.


4.) Image: Starving child Africa -
This is a terrifying image of a starving child. Though it might appear disturbing it is helping to raise people’s awareness of a deeply, important issue. Everyone should be aware of the kind of lives that some children lead and if this image has the potential to disturb or frighten people, then it also has the potential to effect a larger audience and try to make more people understand the hardship that some people live their lives by. This is a perfectly acceptable image as it serves a moral purpose.

5.) Image: 'Short Bus' film poster -
Granted this is a commercial that is trying to promote the sexually charged nature of the film it advertises. However the full frontal male nudity seems to only serve to cause great offense amongst the public. The image hardly indicates the character’s attitude to sex, or makes a comment on sex or nudity, rather it just seems to highlight sex and for an audience who have no idea about the film’s emotional stance on sexual realted issues, this poster will in no way enlighten them. It is more likely to provoke an offensive and immature reaction among people who don’t know how to react to such an image. And the image itself just seems pointless, another commercial trying to use controversy in order to boost the popularity of the product it is trying to help sell. The tagline behind the title is also tasteless and a pathetic attempt at humour that will cause more outrage than laughs.

6.) Image: HIV ad -
Could there not be a more subtle way of showing the risks of HIV? For this image seems apparently to contradict the very essence of its message. Here the enticing sexual nature of the picture seems to promote the loose, sexually charged behavior that leads to such a disease in the first place. The image is playful and the play on the word ‘hard’ is a pun that seems rather inappropriate in light of the seriousness of the advertisements moral found. If anything the National Health Service seem to be promoting the joys of sex rather than showing us its risks. It is an image that doesn’t need to be shown and should be replaced with a much less stylised caption that helps to show that there is nothing glamorous or sexy about obtaining a sexual disease. This is a subject that does not need to be stylised and this advertisement seems likely to provoke an inappropriate reaction for a majority of the public and for this reason should be regulated.

7.) Image: Suddaeim Hussain's execution
This is an image that one would hope to heighten the public’s shock and outrage that such a depsicable form of murder still exists. Due to the bad influence of the internet however and the increasingly disturbing footage appearing in films, we appear now to live in a highly, vouyeuristic society, and thus this image is more likely to entice and provoke the wrong type of reaction from a majority of the public. Some might even see this as a victory rather than a hideous act which is the wrong message to send out to a nation that is beginning to lose its grip on acceptable forms of behavior. Unfortunately this image could inspire imitation rather than shame, heighten excitement rather than fear. For this reason, this is an image that must be regulated as it risks sending an inappropriate message to the public.

8.) Image: Transvestite
This is a fairly normal photo of a man dressed as a woman that seems to suggest the normality of being a transvestite. So long as the image doesn’t create offence, people should be able to express themselves and dress as they wish and the fact the photo does away with the stereotypical, lavish portrayal of a transvestite is quite refreshing. It shows the public that they are normal people who just happen to be driven to wear clothes of the opposite sex. When the clothing is subtle as this image clearly depicts, it seems to provoke little in the manner of offence towards the general members of the public, however it can sometimes be offensive if the image is exaggerated or in some manner unsettling. This is an appropriate picture helping to highlight the extent to which being a transvestite is perfectly acceptable.

9. Image: Bloody Shit House art piece
This is an image that seems to highlight just how trivial and controversial the world of art has become. No longer a platform to create dazzling masterpieces of work that are rooted in a deeply moral background, the majority of ‘artists’ are now looking for constant ways to create controversy rather than creating art. The image above is a fine example as it seems unclear what its moral ground is supposed to be or if indeed it even has a moral ground at all. It somewhat inexplicably shows the full frontal nudity of two males and is likely only to create a bad impression upon a public and for this reason should be regulated.

10.) Image: Internet Webcam Pornography?
This is a despicable image serving only to ignite offense and outrage among the public. It seems to serve no moral purpose and indeed appears to be unnecesarrily graphic. The girl appears to be selling her body for the camera and demeaning both herself and the kind of people who would be drawn to watch such a video. Internet Porn is becoming an easy distraction for web-users and indeed it would be best served if such a temptation did not exist. It serves no purpose other than to ruin brain cells and ingnite both immoral and anti-social behavior.

11.) Image: PC Computer Game
Manhunt is a computer game with exaggerated violence and unnecessary gore. The Wii is an interactive controller that lets the player control the actions on screen through their own movements. And the link between the two is where the problems start to rise. Although computer games carry less risk than films because of their more unrealistic nature, when a player regardless of age is allowed to visualise the violent movements of a computer game, it immediately creates a bad influence upon the people who are playing the game. The motions they make during the game they might be inspired to imitate upon other people and this could some serious and unwanted problems amongst society. For this reason I don’t think it would be wise for this game to exist on such a platform.

12.) Image: Jerry Springer: The Opera campaign
This is a promotional advertisement for the Jerry Springer Opera theatre performance which is likely to cause offence to a number of people. The connotations with hell and religion that appear during the show are likely to outweigh the satirical elements of the drama. For this reason this is a theatre programme that should be heavily regulated as religion is too widespread and sensitive an issue for a vast majority of people and making fun of such a serious aspect of people’s lives is likely to stike a bad chord among many members of the public.

Censoring the Censors: My take on content regulation

When a media product is censored it provokes attention from a public who are curious as to why it has been regulated in the first place. Thus it means more often than usual, certain media products such as films like 'Hostel' and 'Driller Killer' become more popular because of the controversy surrounding them rather than for the film or product itself..
Rather than teaching creators of controversial products a lesson through censorship, it is showing them an easy way to potential fame by creating something purposefully outrageous. Ironically, censorship which serves to delete inappropriate material is actually helping the very people it bans by bringing attention to their product. Censorship is also helping to ruin creativity through either musical artists, film-makers or celebrities who realise they can boost their fame by doing something controverisal.
Some media products wouldn’t be as half as famous as they are if it wasn’t for the fact that they were censored.
Ratings already exist to watch films and I think it should be left to grown up adults to decide for themselves whether or not they deem something to be inappropriate.
Although it may seem like a good idea to remove material that might be seen as offensive towards a potential audience, censoring a product is more likely to create a bad influence on people than if its just left alone for people to decide for themselves. It seems to me, to have the potential to only do more harm than good.

Experience Needed for Experience

Trying to re-write my curriculum vitae for the fourth time this week I have come to the conclusion that quite frankly it feels a little empty. Although I have experience of working in writing teams for local projects, the depth of my skills feels a little spare. For example I have had very little or no experience of editing, directing or sound work. I am concerned that the current state of my CV is not going to be received enthusiastically from the well established companies that I want to experience working with.
Which gets me thinking however about how one about where does one earn this experience in the first place. It appears to be quite a vicious cycle obtains experience without experience. I have heard about companies that only want people with experience us cycle and makes me both a little worried about both the placement and trying to find work when I leave university. I want the placement to be an enriching experience that will help to indicate the direction of my future career. I am concerned about my lack of experience because I don’t want to complete a pointless placement just for the sake of ticking the box to say that I have endured six weeks work experience.

Practice BBC Letter

I am interested in learning about the process of documentary filmmaking including the way documentaries are written, the way they are filmed and the manner in which research for a project is gathered and used for the final cut.

Although the majority of the teaching at the Scriptwriting course is centred around writing for film and television, we are always being told to broaden our horizons involving different media platforms and I feel such a placement would be beneficial in developing my versatility as a media student.

I have previous work experience, having worked for a large period of time with a group of writers to help gather research and assist in the writing up of a screenplay for a local community project.
I enjoyed the experience immensely as it taught me the importance of team-work and sharing ideas amongst a large group of people.
This is a skill I feel I am still developing as a number of our projects on the course currently involve having to work together as part of a team. For example, in the first year we had to work with Interactive media and Television students to help construct a summer project piece and at the moment we are working in teams to plan a series drama around the subject of sport.
I understand that being able to work as part of a team is an intrinsic aspect of success within the industry and I would like to experience just how important and vital team-work can be in the professional world of documentary filmmaking.