How Is Tony Stonem Represented?

    Tony Stonem can be seen as a typical teenager when reviewing his relationships. He is close to his sister which is shown by the way he covers up the fact she has stayed out all night from their parents and he also does a very typical act of irritating his father - and enjoying it. However he is very unlike a typical teenager in the way he wakes up before his alarm as most teenagers stay in bed for as long as they can. He times every minute of his morning - from the time the woman in the house opposite him gets dressed, to how long it takes his sister to sneak back in the house - showing he feels the need to be in control of his actions, unlike typical teenagers who tend to just go along with what goes on around them.
 He is also very confident as shown by the way he openly watches the woman in the house opposite him get changed, when she notices him he doesn't react but  instead keeps watching her whereas any other teen boy would have been embarrassed and hidden from her.
  The mise-en-scene also shows a lot about Tony as a character. His room is very neat and tidy showing that he is a perfectionist who likes things in order and is unlike a teenagers bedroom in that it seems very plain and unremarkable - especially when compared to the room of his sister, Effie, whose is colourful and cluttered like the room of a typical teenage girl. The fact his room is very light and white shows that he is a very clean and pure, almost godlike which would suggest that he is a complex character that has a lot of power over other people.
 When he is in the bathroom he is reading Nausea, a philosophical novel by Jean-Paul Sartre - which is a contrast the 'Lad mags' that teenage boys typically read. His duvet cover is of a naked man and woman, which would show that he is undecided about his sexuality, which is common among most teenagers.
  Although he does share many traits with 'typical' teenagers, he does not appear to be a stereotypical representation of a teenage boy, which was most likely purposely done by the creators of the show to add depth to his character and make it more interesting for an audience to watch.

Audience and Institutions - Translations

During year 12 you will study a specific studio or production company within the film industry that targets a British audience, looking at how films are produced, distributed, exhibited and consumed by audiences. You will also have to study how films are distributed (digital cinemas, DVD, HD-DVD, downloads, etc) and their impact upon production, marketing and consumption.

In the exam you will be tested on one of the following areas (the simplified translation is in red italics. You'll notice there is quite a bit of similarity in some areas)

• the issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice; (how does who owns a media company influence the type of film made and its potential success? For example do BIG companies make BIG films and therefore make all the money? Is it possible for small companies to succeed?)
• the importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution and marketing; (how do companies work together to produce, distribute and publicize a film? How can Disney use their size to promote and publicise a film? How can small companies work together to promote their business' when making and promoting a film?)
• the technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distribution, marketing and exchange; (how has the introduction of digital film, 3D, DVD, Blue Ray, internet streaming, downloadable content, home cinema influenced the types of films made, the way we watch them and the way we 'buy' them?)
• the significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences; (how and why have film companies had to alter the way they work now everyone has web enabled phones, PC's, consoles etc? How have audiences changed their viewing habits now we no longer need to go to the cinema to watch a film)
• the importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences; (can you think of examples of how different technologies have come together to help the film industry?) 
• the issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions; (how do film companies try and attract their audience? Do they do different things in different countries?)
• the ways in which the candidates’ own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour. (what is your opinion on the above? Do you see the developments as a good or bad thing?)

Thanks to Mr Smith for this post

Attack The Block - Reveiw

   At first I was wary about watching this film. I have a certain taste when it comes to sci-fi and know that it can go fantastically or be soul-crushingly awful. I was amazed at how much I liked it.

 Set in South London, it is centred round a gang of youths lead by 15 year old Moses, and a young nurse named Sam – whom teams up with the gang. She is reluctant at first due to the fact the gang had mugged her earlier that night, however when a pension of aliens attack the block (funnily enough) where they live.

   The film was written and directed by Joe Cornish and I believe he did a marvelous job with a budget of only $13,000,000 (around £8,026,200) and I think that he didn't focus too much on making the film either a sci-fi or a comedy, and so made it more realistic - it had the sort of jokes people use in every day life instead of obviously scripted humor, referencing popular culture as well, such as Britain's Got Talent, Ghostbusters, and  Gears of War.

  The characters themselves were interesting. I loved how they were at first depicted to be petty criminals - making them 'typical' London teenagers - but then we got a glimpse into their home lives just before they went out to try and find one of the aliens - which gave them more depth, showing them as just normal kids with families. Joe Cornish himself interviewed various kids in youth groups in order to find out what kind of weapons they would use if an alien invasion actually occured and also did researcg on the type of language the film characters would use to accurately show how South London street kids speak. I think this was a great idea to make the film more realistic rather thab gaving a script meant for well-spoken teenagers with machine guns.

  One of the reasons I enjoyed the film was the aliens themselves are not the typical grey beings, they are dark and fury, so they cannot be seen clearly in the dark - which would be believable evolutionary camouflage on another planet.

  The film used relatively unknown actors (the most famous being Nick Frost) which I thought was better than having an all-star cast. This way it was more believable that they were just normal kids off of the street and would have brought down he production costs. I did enjoy Nick Frost's cameo in the film although i had hoped he would be in it more.

  Attack The Block got a worldwide gross of $5,824,175 (around £3,606,911.58) so it appears to not have done as well as it was predicted to. This may have been because the film was promoted poorly, with there being only the one trailer and only one or two movie posters.

  Some people didn't like the film because of the main characters used: a gang of London teenagers who had mugged a woman in the first five minutes of the film.They argued that this was in bad taste and encouraged anti social behavior. Although I recognise where these views are coming from, I think the film portrayed the message that people are neither bad n'or good, as the gang of youths ended up saving the woman they mugged and killing all the aliens.