G235 Analysis of Dog Soldiers - Theories and theorists

Roland Barthes:
- "Negotiated meaning" between  institution and audience: reader produces new meanings when reading a text
-"Cultural context" of consumption becomes as important as the content of the text
-Texts are 'networks' which relates closely to current multimedia texts; such as websites
-'Enigma code': the hook or mystery to be resolved for an audience.

Laura Mulvey:
-'Male gaze' - Argued cinematic apparatus of classical Hollywood cinema inevitably put the spectator in a masculine subject position, with the figure of a women on screen as the object of desire (political stand)
- Wanted to radically challenge/reshape the filmic strategies of classic Hollywood with alternative feminist methods.
- Called for a new-feminist avant-garde (experiment) film making

David Gauntlett:
-Fragmented construction; how the consumption of different media texts changes the way we identify ourselves.
-Fluidity of identities and the decline of tradition: traditional view of women as housewife/low status worker has been kicked out by a feisty successful 'girl power' icons. Whereas masculine ideals of absolute toughness, stubborn self reliance and emotional silence, have been taken over by a new emphasis on mens emotions, need for advice and problems of masculinity.
-Construction of identity has become a known requirement.

Tzvetan Todorov:
-Five stages of narrative: equilibrium, disruption, realization of disruption, repair disruption, new equilibrium.
-Stages can be applied to fictional/non fictional texts
-Adverts use this structure, to establish the product being used is the solution to a problem.

Vladimir Propp:
-32 basic categories of action: called functions
-'Spheres of action'
-8 character types: hero, villain, donor, dispatcher, false hero, helper, princess, father.
-Theory may or may not be useful way of deconstructing a text.

Ways theories can be applied to coursework:
- In a way our music video can be compared to Laura Mulvey's 'Male gaze' theory as our video focuses on a female character, with a male artist in between which could signify that the song is about the female. However our music video does not objectify women, as we have mainly used long to mid shots - instead of the close up and extreme close up shots that are related to objectification.
-Our ancillary texts of a dvd cover and magazine article do suggest that Laura Mulvey's 'male gaze' theory does apply to our coursework as we used a series of photographs of just the girl from the video and not the artist so the main focus is on her. Although this could be seen as the female character has dominated the male artists life, showing Mulvey's theory of creating a new feminist avant garde of film making has been produced.