Narrative Theory: Todorov's Equilibrium

We're The Millers

1) A start of equilibrium

The protagonist David Clark is introduced to us as a successful drug dealer who shares and apartment block with stripper Rose and lonely teen Kenny.

2) The disruption of that order / 3) The recognition that the order has been disrupted

David Clark is mugged of all his drugs and money, meaning he owes his supplier lots of money. As a chance to redeem himself Clark is forced to embark on a drug smuggling journey to Mexico. In order to go incognito Clark hires his neighbours Rose and Kenny, and a local tearaway he meets on the street, Casey, to act as his family. 

This is the first disruption. Once this plan has been figured out, this creates the new equilibrium for the time being, until David realises he has been tricked by his supplier and is now wanted by a notorious drugs criminal. They also run into, and end up spending a lot of time with, a drugs police officer and his family which causes difficulties too. 

4) An attempt to repair that damage

The fake family fight off Pablo Chacon and escape, and also get out of sight of the family they met on the way. David Clark creates a plan and talks to his supplier, and the family begin heading back to the United States with the drugs. They seem to have defeated the 'villains'.

5) A state of new equilibrium

David Clark teams up with the police officer he met on his trip and together they hatch a plan and arrest the drug supplier, played by Ed Helms. The 'Miller' family must then go into witness protection and they all live together as another fake family, in the suburbs.

The Male Gaze: James Bond clip

     

           


The viewer is forced to take on the male gaze as the camera is narrowing to represent the use of binoculars. The focus is on Halle Berry and she is objectified as she leaves the water. The focused close up camera angles create the masculinisation of the audience. Pierce Brosnan's diegetic sound of "magnificent view" as a double entendre again shows objectification. Towards the end of the clip, Brosnan says "I'm only here for the birds". This could be a reasonably innocent statement, however as Brosnan is a British/Irish actor and the film is British, this quote has British connotations, of 'birds' being a derogatory term for women. In relation to Laura Mulvey's Female Gaze theory, Halle Berry has only 2 functions, both of which are clear in this clip. She is an erotic object for the characters (James Bond) within the narrative to view and she is an erotic object for the spectators to view. This is created by the exaggerated technical conventions to focus attention on her. The use of slow motion and high key lighting allow her to be watched very carefully. The mise-en-scene of her costume also adds to the objectification. It is a small, skimpy bikini that is orange, which draws attention and typically makes people stop (relating to the convention of traffic lights) and stare. This scene creates scopophilia which allows males to voyeuristically view women, and also forces women to take on the male gaze due to the strong patriachal society the film was made in and the dominating stereotypically male protagonist role of James Bond. Similarly, Brosnan has the power over the conversation, and at one point forcefully hands Berry a drink and instructs her to try it, even though they have just met. He is very overly flirtacious and quite 'full on' for a first encounter. Halle Berry appears from the water looking flawless. She doesn't gasp for breathe or splutter as she emerges from the sea water like most people do. She isn't even dripping wet when she gets out. She has a brief and gentle rub on a towel, but does not vigorously or unflatteringly dry herself. When we see an extreme close up of her face, her skin is flawless, her make up is intact and very complimentary and her hair is damp but styled. She is also wearing simple, but pearl-like earrings. This is a hyper reality and convinces the viewers that that is what people should, and do, look like.

British Crime Drama: Broadchurch

Movie Trailer: 'The Family'

This trailer is for the upcoming film 'The Family' starring Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfieffer about a family in the witness protection family. This trailer shows various gender stereotypes, but also challenges some too. Early on in the trailer Robert De Niro, playing the lead father figure is seen cooking. This is not a stereotype as it is often the women who cook. However, De Niro is cooking meat on a BBQ outside, which is very much a stereotype. Cooking in a kitchen is a stereotypically woman's role, but as soon as the food is being cooked outside over a fire it is the man's duty. It would have been more off if a woman was standing over the BBQ. The first challenged stereotype is that women are weak. A large group of people turn with guns, a large proportion of whom are women. Women are not usually tough or threatening but this is not the case in this trailer. This shows the theme of Mafia culture and the violence genre immediately. The first 30 seconds are focused entirely on Robert De Niro, showing the central and pivotal role is this character. Nothing is of more importance! It is not until 30 seconds in that we see Robert De Niro with his fictional family. Even then, the camera is still focused on him. His face is the only one we can see. All we can see is the back of his wife's head, which is blurred, and a side view of his children, highlighting again his importance. The son in the film is seen playing with a toy gun, which is a childhood stereotype, that all male kids are interested in guns and shooting etc. The daughter, played by Dianna Agron, defies the female stereotype by using a tennis racket to beat a man who harassed her. She appears fearless, strong and able to defend herself with ease, which are all opposites of what women should be - timid, weak and defenceless. Agron still has various stereotypes of a typical teenage American girl, with her long straightened blonde hair and pink alice band that are visible throughout. A stereotype of nationality is apparent when Michelle Pfieffer's character attempts to speak French in a supermarket. The cashier says once Pfieffer is gone "stupid Americans". There is a very negative representation of the French already, and there is also a negative stereotype of them as being intolerant and rude towards non-French speakers. In reality, most people appreciate non-Native speakers trying to communicate with them in their own language. Pfieffer was trying to be respectful, but following the snide comment proceeds to set the supermarket on fire in retaliation, again opposing the female stereotype. The camera cuts and the stereotypes return. The entire family, besides the man of the house, are in the kitchen preparing food, even the son. This shows the man of the house is respected and catered for. Robert De Niro dresses in a stereotypically mafia-esque style, often seen wearing a white vest, old dressing gown or smart black suit. Dianna Agron uses a gun and punches another girl in the face, again showing her opposition to the typical view of a woman. 

Uses and Gratifications:

Toy Story is a 1995 children's Disney Pixar film, however it is a favourite of mine nonetheless. I watch it for entertainment purposes to escape or divert myself from problems. It is an easygoing, relaxing film that doesn't require too much thinking or concentration because it has a simple and easy to follow plot. It would also be watched to fill time, because again it isn't something that needs to be focused on and it can be watched over and over. I would watch this with younger viewers, for example young relatives or friends to carry out social roles, as, for example an older brother or babysitter. It isn't scary or rude, and is rated a U, so is suitable for younger audiences too. It would also enable me to connect with family and friends because it gives us something to enjoy together. Following the orginal Toy Story is Toy Story 2 in 2000 and Toy Story 3 in 2010. These films were both very popular, and with social media improving, Toy Story 3 especially was discussed online. By watching these follow up films it gives a basis of conversation and social interaction, to discuss what we thought of it and debate if any views were contrasting, for example, thinking the third film was a good or bad send off or more technical discussions regarding new animations and the introduction of 3D film. As it is a film from my childhood I would re watch it to gain insight into one's self, to relive my childhood and allow it to bring back old memories. The film can trigure thoughts of relative toys and games from your childhood, for example the hugely popular toy versions of the characters such as Woody cowboy toys and Buzz Lightyear spaceman toys. Lastly, others may watch this film for information purposes. Often when a film, book or TV show is discussed so frequently and "raved" about, you would feel left out if you hadn't seen it. By watching this film you would satisfy curiosity and general interest, and learn and self educate yourself about the film, allowing you to develop your own opinions, see if it was worth seeing and to decide if was as good as people say...

Mainstream Audiences:

A mainstream audience has a much broader target audience. These producers of these texts make an extra effort to ensure as many audiences view their text.

An example of texts with mainstream audiences would be:

The X Factor is a British reality TV show that is targeted at an extremely large group of people. The producers are constantly changing the show and always aiming to add features that appeal to various viewers. The show broadcasts at prime-time viewing hours. It is before the watershed and on a Saturday night. It broadcasts on the channel ITV which is an extremely popular channel in the UK and has a substantial catch up site allowing viewers to never miss an episode. The subject content is always humourous and entertaining, but clean and appropriate for all audiences. 

Lost is an extremely popular television show, due to its ensemble cast. Lost has a large cast of people, portraying characters with different personalities and lifestyles to appeal to as many audience members as possible. The original cast was made up of 70 people and one dog, which was costly to produce however the executive producer Bryan Burk is quoted as saying it gave them flexibility and that "you can have more interactions between characters and create more diverse characters, more back stories and more love triangles". Having a broader set of stories appeals to a broader audience, in relation to the uses and gratifications theory. Audience members can personally identify with characters similar to themselves. For example, the show stars Ian Somerhalder portraying a Boone Carlyle, a businessman. His career appeals to other similarly qualified or educated people and he also creates sex appeal, creating entertainment for various members of the audience. Another character is Sun-Hwa Kwon played by Yunjim Kim. This powerful Korean socialite creates an audience of people with the same nationality. It is most likely that each individual member of the Lost audience watches for one specific character and follows them carefully. However as they are tuned in to the show they are engaged and entertained by the series as whole and will continue to watch, developing a mainstream audience.

Niche Audiences:

A niche audience is a smaller and more specific group of people that a media text is aimed at. Texts are often scheduled and placed in more inconspicuous ways and therefore it is easy for mainstream audiences to miss them. With the increased improvement of technology nowadays, it is far easier to catch up on niche programmes now. A programme that airs at 3am is very easy to watch in the evening at a person's leisure on catch up TV. This is how niche texts sometimes convert to mainstream texts.

An example of texts with niche audiences would be:

Danish/Swedish crime drama 'The Bridge' is a hit in other countries but virtually unknown in the UK. It airs in a foreign country, and therefore isn't seen by British viewers, unless they seek it out online. 

MUTV has a very select audience due to its very specific subject area. It also only airs on Sky television, therefore narrowing it's audience because not everybody subscribes and pays for Sky TV.

Breaking Bad is a great example of a TV show that began with a niche audience, but over time developed a far more mainstream audience as its fan base grew and the series progressed. Breaking Bad premiered on American cable channel AMC which is a subscription only channel. When it premiered in the UK it was on channel 5* which is a very niche channel. It wasn't until online catch up giant Netflix gained the rights to show Breaking Bad that it became popular, showing the power of technology.

Producers of media texts determine whether they will aim their texts at by broadcasting a visual text or publishing a written text in discrete places. TV shows with niche audiences will often be shown after the watershed and out of prime time TV viewing hours, for example, at 7 o'clock in the evening when the majority of people will be sitting down to watch television, a mainstream text will be broadcast to generate more income. A niche show broadcast to a mainstream audience would not have a positive reception.