How have we Used, Developed or Challenged Media Theorists

Todorov: We are initially introduced to a heavy metal band playing in what seems to be a typical band rehearsal however, as we are introduced to a man criticizing their work the audience are immediately able to recognize that they are being judged in some form. Therefore, according to Todorov the equilibrium has been identified. In addition, the titles are able to move the story along and tell the story. The term “It was their last shot” implies that they have gone through several auditions and have continuously been rejected. 

Levi Strauss: Following this event we are then introduced to what seems to be the disruption within a trailer. This is shown when the band begin to argue, shortly followed by a news report stating the judge of the first scene has been ‘brutally murdered’. The title of “X-treme fame or X-treme pain” hints that the murder could have been committed by the band as they are the ones striving for success. Binary opposition can then be applied in terms of success vs failure, whereby the band are viewed in a negative light because they are shown to kill anyone that blocks their path to fame. However, when the male singer shows signs of shock when listening to the radio broad cast shows that the murder is not a group effort and when the bass guitarist states “he was a prick” immediately places the audience into believing that he is the villain. Furthermore, the title of “Now the elimination begins” applies Bathes enigma codes, as this makes the audience believe that a band member will continue to kill others within the industry however, when a band member is killed it is questionable whether or not a band member is the villain and the idea of who the villain might be continuously changes which puts the audience in a sense of fear and excitement to discover who the villain is. This works as a marketing tool because the audience will need to watch the film in order to discover the answers to the ‘mysteries’. 

As the murders commence we are presented with clear themes and connotations of horror as well as horror trailers. Within horror trailers you rarely see the before and or aftermath of a murder and what is consistent is presenting to the audience the victim about to get murdered. This allows the audience to gain a brief insight into the story line and they will then gather this information and create a plot on what they believe will happen, through this they can then determine whether or not they desire to view the film. 

Propp and Stock Characters in Horror: During the trailer it is clear that the conventions of horror in terms of stock characters has not been fully applied. This is immediately identified through the large imbalance of both genders, there is a predominantly male cast whilst only a single female member. Furthermore my group believed that the description of stock characters was inappropriate for our piece as it is aimed at a young british audience and therefore the descriptions of the stock characters such as the jock, and the popular girl are phrases common to an american culture and would not complement our piece. Therefore we have used elements from the popular girl by emphasizing her her beauty. 

Mulvey's Male Gaze: This then evolved into applying Mulvey's male gaze by having the camera linger on her chest area as well as dressing the female in revealing clothing. This adds to the idea of her being a powerless, passive character as well as showing that she if dominated by a male presence. This has been applied in order to show the camera reflecting a males perspective through applying the common conventions of horror. 

Uses and Gratification Theory: Additionally, our trailer applies to the uses and gratification theory because it successfully allows a british audience to personally identify with the characters presented on screen due to the fact that the common american personas of stock characters were not applied. Additionally, our trailer will build up excitement within our target audience which would undoubtedly generate ‘word of mouth’ and further build up the climax of release, thus selling more merchandise and forming a larger crowd. Lastly, like minded individuals who like the piece will come together and form companions which can also increasingly publicize and draw attention to the future release of Death Jam.