Politics And Persuasion In Entertainment
The center of popular culture research is the media, and the first of which is film and television. Film and television integrate audiovisual means, and convey information through images, pictures, sounds, subtitles, and special effects, giving the audience a strong sense of presence, witnessing and impact. These media characteristics make film and television more attractive than print media, and the convenience, ease and casual charm of viewing is unique. It is not only a window for people to understand and recognize the world, and a means to obtain news and information from the outside world, but also a major provider of rich cultural life and entertainment. The emergence of film and television has prolonged people’s daily exposure to the media several times. Watching film and television has become the main content of the public’s amateur life, and people have gradually been regarded as the prison of film and television images. This has not only greatly changed people’s lives, but also exerted extensive and profound influences on the political, economic, and cultural aspects of modern society.
Q：Use the remainder of the session to research examples of politics affecting media in one or more of the following media.
A：< A Clockwork Orange> which made by Stanley Kubrick on 1971.
This is a film that explores humanbeing and thinks about the human growth. The story takes place in the 70s, and the whole story revolves around Alex. From the beginning, the main actor is in the most primitive and self-conscious state, such as drinking milk with added drugs, rape, promiscuity, fighting, and a series of crimes. After that the thing developed to Alex is sentenced to imprisonment for manslaughter. During his imprisonment, the priest begin to guide him for treatment to read the Bible, and Alex do quickly starts to change into a good person. Soon the government tell him that he could be released from prison faster after accepting the experiment, and Alex who had already begun to change, couldn’t wait to accept it. As a result, the staff begin to treat him with brutal and cruel treatments day after day, such as injecting drugs, being forced to watch violent and pornographic videos repeatedly, etc. These barbaric treatments have had a serious impact on Alex. From then on, as long as he has thoughts of aggression or sexual desire, he will cover nausea and fear. He has become a good person, but in fact he should have become a cowardly good person. He has lost the most basic choice of mankind.
The film caused great controversy, and different views on the large number of violent scenes in the film. Critics believe that this is a beautification of violence. In fact, it is true. However, we cannot conclude that it is wrong or incorrect just because it is violence. We appreciate violent movies, isn’t it just for our inner violent impulse. Moreover, the violence in the film just reflects Alex’s inability to choose in the first stage and is completely driven by nature. At the same time, it also triggered political thinking, whether it is worse for people who commit violence or the governments and the high class to make ordinary people into robot-like. And they do really have the power to determine a person’s power to choose.
Notes for this week
Audiences can be persuaded or influenced by:
- Social media
- Broadcast News and events
- Film and Animation
- Television
Audience can be potentially persuaded or influenced by:
- Broadcasts
- Print Media
- Mainstream Film and Animation
- Independent film and animation
- Games
- Podcasts
- Social media / internet profile
The key areas
- Political persuasion
- Commercial persuasion
- Race
- Gender
- Equality
- Disability
- Ethics
Gesture and pose
- Large eyes are appeal.
- Exaggeration needs to be fully interpreted.
- Fluidity is important.
- Remember creating curve to avoid stiff posing.