To what extent are your three main texts global? (30 marks)

When a text becomes global it means that it has reached audiences worldwide and is well known of in a large capacity of  industries. Franchises of films, such as Harry Potter are great examples of media platforms that are global, since the first film has developed into a series of films and is now extremely well known. In relation to Film, for a text to become global, most typically the budget would need to be high, with popular actors/actresses starring within it, and a director who has achieved success before. However this doesn't have to be the case, as referring to the first of my main texts, Weekend (2011) directed and written by Andrew Haigh proves that a text can become global for multiple reasons and not just by those producing, directing and writing it. Weekend was created with a budget of £120,000 by Haigh, receiving a British Independent Film Award in 2011. However, comparing this to the later work of Haigh in 2015 when he directed 45 Years. This had a box office gross of over 4 million dollars and was BAFTA and Oscar nominated highlighting that the global success of a film does ultimately come down a larger budget.


Additionally, awards and nominations play a bit part in the global extent of a film because it is the audience that are voting for the films they ultimately enjoy the most. My second main text Skyfall (2012) directed by Sam Mendes and produced by Barbara Brocolli was the winner of 2 Oscars, a Golden Globe and 2 BAFTAS illustrating the success of the film worldwide. Comparing this to Weekend, which aforementioned had a smaller budget, although they did not receive awards in the more well known and respected award ceremonies, the film, being of the gay and lesbian genre which has a more niche audience than those of an action film, won awards at the San Francisco, Milan and Czech Gay and Lesbian Films Awards, demonstrating that although this film may not be global and well known, it has reached that of the intended audience worldwide.


Star power also plays an extremely big part in the global success of a media text. This is because audiences can familiarise themselves with the actors from other media platforms and then feel comfortable when they star in a film they enjoy. My third main text, Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) directed by Matthew Vaughn and written by Jane Goldman is a great example is this. Colin Firth alos known for his roles in The Kings Speech (2010) and Pride and Prejudice (1995) plays Harry Hart in this film, with Taron Egerton playing protagonist 'Egsy' and Samuel L Jackson playing antagonist Valentine. In my opinion, when I watched this film and saw Samuel L Jackson in his first scene, I automatically liked the film that little bit more because I enjoy watching him in other films as a result of his comedic nature. And since these actors are global as individuals, it draws in a wider audience to watch it in addition to those who would watch it because it is of a genre they enjoy.

B1. Explore the different audience appeals of your 3 main texts (30 marks)

My 3 main texts appeal to their intended audience in contrasting ways, and the extent of the appeal is demonstrated through social media, media coverage, the box office figures and multiple other ways. My first text is Skyfall (2012) directed by Sam Mendes and produced by Barbara Brocolli has been a global success with a box office gross of $304 million dollars. In terms of awards, this film has won 2 Oscars, 2 baftas and a golden globe, this demonstrates that it was a popular film within the industry and these awards are audience voted therefore the popularity is high. Additionally, Skyfall is one of the James Bond Films, some of the others including, Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008) and Spectre (2015) therefore the platform for this film was large before it had even been released since a big fan base of James Bond films already existed. On the down side, the expectation for this film was huge therefore it had to deliver, and much speculation was expected on social media before the release. With Skyfall, although the film falls into the genre of action and adventure, the sub genre of ‘Bond Films ‘has since become a category as there is a series of the films. It is evident that as a genre has been created for this film, the appeal to the audience is high.

My second text is Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), written and directed by Matthew Vaughn. This was the first film of its form so unlike Skyfall didn’t have a platform to stand on before it was released. The use of star power is evident within this film to appeal to audiences as UK favourite actor Colin Firth is a protagonist within the film, with other high regarded actors Taron Egerton and Samuel L Jackson. This appeals to audiences because it means that actors/actresses that are popular in the industry and therefore provide a bigger opportunity for a larger audience. Contrasting to Skyfall, Kingsman brought in a box office gross of $128 million, which is significantly lower than Skyfall but significantly higher than Weekend (2011) which was written and directed by Andrew Haigh. In the trailer of the film the protagonists Tom Cullen and Chris New are introduced which tells the audience that they are new actors making their debuts, which may not be as appealing to an audience since they are not familiar with them yet since this film fits into the gay/lesbian genre, a genre that can be argued as a category with a niche audience, it means that the film is more likely to be appealing.

A2 Weekly News Update 14

My story this week comes from the Mirror, and it highlights the recent generous act of singer Adele at her concert in Sydney. During the concert, the singer brought out a huge gun onto the stage which was filled with T-shirts for her loyal fans. And if that wasn't enough, she also fired out 20 dollar bills to the fans aswell.

Of course it was speculated as to why she did this, but with rumours that she makes an estimated £523,000 for each tour date she does, its no wonder she has a few spare bob lying around.

A2 Weekly News Update 13

My story this week comes from the Daily Mail, it highlights the recent rumours about Eastender's actor Danny Dyer, and the allegations made against him as to why he is taking a break from the soap. Rumours that he is struggling with alcohol are flying about the papers this week and this article speaks of the more recent rumours that Dyer cheated on his wife Jo Mas just 9 weeks before they were due to get married allegedly sending explicit images to another woman.

Danny Dyer, his wife Jo and daughter Danni

 His aunt, Debbie Meakin has spoken out urging the star to 'take a step back and look at his life' since his actions have been leading him into a downward spiral in the media. It was annouched that Danny would be taking an extended break, going to South Africa to recuperate and sort out the mess that has been made. A source told The Mirror that 'If quitting the show to give him time to focus on his family is necessary, he will' while another family member of Danny's said 'He's nothing like people think. He's got different values and different attitudes to other members of the family and there's a long running rift between us. 

Within in the media Danny Dyer is a huge figure and is on our screens frequently in Eastenders, but with the amount of pressure that is put onto his shoulders everyday, it is no wonder that the star has perhaps gone off the rails and is now taking his family with him. Earlier on in 2016, a rift with former TOWIE star Mark Wright was revealed into the media and a series of aggressive tweets and messages were exchanged between the pair as a result of an incident which took place at V Fest. So this isn't the first time that negative news regarding Dyer's behaviour has been put out there.

Why do I find this article interesting?

This article caught my eye because I think when we as an audience hear of stars that have begun to descend in a downward spiral as a result of the pressure put on them by the media, but it frequently seems to be stars who are new to the business or are younger in age. So for Danny Dyer, a star who has been known to millions for a fair amount of years, to begin to struggle with the demands of the society he is in, shows the sheer amount of pressure the man is under everyday, not to slip up.

Film Analysis- Weekend (2011)

The third case study I watched within the film industry was ‘Weekend’, directed and written by Andrew Haigh in 2011. In an alternative way, the theme of masculinity is explored within this film, however it contrasts to the way this theme is explored in Skyfall and Kingsman. Typical stereotypes of a masculine man can be the individual being confident, dominant, heterosexual and successful. Yet within this film, stereotypes are challenged and subverted in order to illustrate a new perception of this theme. In Skyfall, masculinity is predominantly shown through the heavy action scenes, and the more intimate romance scenes, but since this is an action film this is expected. Comparing this to Weekend, which is a romance, the subverted stereotypes illustrate their masculinity through the passion they share for each other.

With a low budget of £120,000, Weekend creates a sense of realism within it since the dialogue included does not seem scripted, and there is no background music like you would usually expect to see in a romance. In my opinion this is one of the reasons I enjoyed the film because it felt as though it was a real life situation and that is something important when it comes to film making.

A2 Weekly News Update 12

My story this week comes from the Daily Mail and it highlights the late George Best and his son Calum Best. Calum was evicted on Tuesday at 9pm and at 10pm on Channel 5 'In Therapy with Calum Best' was shown. It has been widely publicised for years that George Best, Calum's father struggled with his alcohol addiction, which strained his relationship with his son and subsequently ended up in the boy moving to LA with his mother, Angie Best and the decision made by his mother was so that he would not end up being involved in what was happening with his father. George Best was never able to shake the nasty addiction and as a result of this, died in 2005. 

Calum Best talking to therapist Mandy Saligari

Calum spoke to therapist Mandy Saligari on the show and the 35 year old began to make connections between his tough past and his 'ruthless and selfish' behavior that he displayed as a young adult. Mandy suggested that perhaps the reason he behaved in this way to reach out to his Dad, and when this was said Calum didn't say anything.  Another shocking point that was raised was that Calum only has one friend that he see's once a year, and the rest are just 'fleeting acquaintances'

Calum with his father, George

This then led me to start thinking about the representations presented within this article and the obvious ones would be gender, age and class. But also representation of issues is highlighted, with alcoholism being an issue and parent sibling relationships being an issue aswell. Calum Best got into a swing of drinking a lot, doing multiple drugs and partying hard, as well as his widely publicised period of 'sleeping around'. If this was a women in the media, the criticism and lash back would be extremely heavier than it has been for Calum Best, but yet he then came under fire because of how young he was because when he went through this 'reckless' stage, because his father was older it became socially acceptable for him to behave in the way he did.

Why does this article interest me so much?

The thing that stood out so much for me was when I saw Calum had said he only has one true friend. For a popular, good looking and successful young man like Calum it is hard to believe that he isn't surrounded by a room of people wanting to be his friend, yet it displays that a person may be famous and have all this attention surrounding them, but if they are not humbling and trustworthy, a friendship can't be formed. So perhaps this is the case with Calum?

A2 Weekly News Update 11

My story this week comes from the Daily Mail, and highlights the on-going trolling and abuse that model Katie Price's eldest son Harvey receives. Harvey was found to be blind, and as he has  grown up it was also found that he is on the autistic spectrum, has a syndrome called Prader Willi and also struggles to walk. Harvey has very much been in the public eye as he has grown up, and every celebrity will receive hate or backlash at some stage during their time as this is the nature of being so public to people, but Harvey more so experiences this because of the severe needs he has.

This week Katie Price has hit back at one troll, Mark Williams who has targeted Harvey specifically and produced a string of vile tweets and memes mocking Harvey and his disabilities. The troll included a photo of a bag of Haribo Tangfastics and changed the name to 'Harveybo Tangspastics' with a photo of him stuck to the bag. He has also called Harvey a c*** and tweeted he 'hopes he chokes on a bag of sweets'. All of the above tweets are extremely abusive and as Katie Price has spoken out about Harvey's innocence and making it evident that he is unable to protect himself and she has now decided that she wants to take it to Parliament.

Why am I so interested in this article?


The reason this article intrests me so much is because I struggle to comprehend why a troll such as Williams would publicly mock an individual like Harvey when it is very clear that he can't defend himself. But then another part of me then is not surprised that this happens to him, because his mother, being a controversial figure in the media makes a big and public deal (as she should) out of it, meaning the trolls are seeing her crack and will continue to do this.