Textual Analysis - Exam Structure

Textual Analysis 
Exam Structure

Structuring an introduction

DAC:

Definition - Need to define the key terms e.g binary oppositions (when two concepts appose each other to create meaning)

Argument - Point of view

Context - Background information e.g Les Revenants (canal plus in 2012)

Structuring a paragraph 

PEA:

Point - Answer to the question e.g (binary opposition of life and death)

Evidence - Key scenes e.g to do with life or death (Camille seeing her family again - Close up of mothers shocked face which emphasizes her sadness which is further encoded with the use of music.)

Argument - What the evidence means regarding the question. e.g (

'The Heavy Hitters'

What are the 'big' words in media that 'punch above their weight'

Polysemy - a concept which holds multiple meanings 

Hegemony - Rules, regulations we follow with a consent

Negotiation - The audience has different readings of a product from the preferred reading

Intertextuality - When a product takes influence from other products 

Ideology - The beliefs of the producerThe beliefs of the producer

Creating an argument 

"In the 21st century, it is essential for TV shows to offer multiple meanings,"

- Evaluate this claim with 'Les Revenants' 

-Polysemic is necessary 

-That it reacher a larger audience but in particular therefore a dedicated cult audience

• Camera work - framing and composition shot types, angle, position, movement - - Various close-up shots but a single contrasting long shot of the two of them in the kitchen, the mother outside of the room and Camille inside, showing the disconnect between the two as the mother hasn't seen her in four years. A range of CU shots presented in standard shot-reverse shot conveys to the audience and establishes that Camile and her mother are talking at cross purposes. The further establishes an opposition between the mother and the daughter creating conflict. The mother climbs the stairs in a series of close up shots before knowing on the bathroom with confusion and horror immediately anchored by the sudden use of Mogwai's non-diegetic soundtrack anchors the interpretation that the mother is potentially mad. this is a potentially polysemic narrative to the intended cult audience.

• Lighting and color - Low key lighting emphasize the disconnectedness of the Serunt family. Also highly paradigmatic of the horror genre. 
• Editing – pace, type of edits, continuity
• Narrative construction, related to the narrative theory
• Sound – dialogue, music - The non-diegetic soundtrack establishes a creepy and oppressive atmosphere 
• Mise-en-scene – setting and location, props, costume/dress, hair/make-up - The family home setting are familiar to Camile and to the target middle-class audience. However, a binary opposition is established between Camile's comfortable familiarity and the mother's absolute terror. 

Notes - Key scene 1

• Non-diegetic soundtrack - establishes a creepy and oppressive atmosphere.
• A range of CU shots presented in standard shot-reverse shot conveys to the audience and establishes that Camille and her mother are talking at cross purposes. This further establishes a binary opposition between the mother and daughter, creating conflicted responses for the confused audience.
• The mother climbs the stairs in a series of close up shots before knocking on the bathroom door. Her confusion and horror are immediately anchored by the sudden use of Mogwai's non-diegetic soundtrack anchors the interpretation that mother is potentially mad. This presents a confusing and potentially polysemic narrative to the intended cult audience.
• The family home setting is familiar to Camille and to the target middle-class audience. However, a binary opposition is established between Camille's comfortable familiarity and her mother's absolute terror.
• Low key lighting emphasizes the disconnectedness of the Seurat family. Also highly paradigmatic of the horror genre.
• OSS from Camille to the mother demonstrates Camille lit in high key lighting and her mother in low key lighting, further demonstrating the disconnect between the two previously close family members. None of this is however made explicit to the audience, forcing them instead to form their own detailed and negotiated response
• Post-production colour grading favours muted colours, which symbolically encodes the depressing and panic-inducing nature of the scene for Camille's mother. The key theme is mortality and the inevitability of death. Existentialist philosophy, almost stereotypically French. The mother is horrified by her daughter's reappearance

Notes - Key scene 2

• use of music - reaches a crescendo at the point here the butterfly emerges from the display, demonstrating to the audience a key symbolic code, helping them to understand the complicated narrative
• Low key lighting and desaturated colour grading in the scene where Camille returns home emphasises to the audience a potential hermeneutic code and forces the audience to negotiate their own perspective on the narrative. This enforces a polysemic reading of the text.
• Camille has more screen time on the bus and is consistently framed in a montage of close up shots which positions the audience with the young Camille. Camille's age allows teenage audiences to invest in the complicated narrative. 
• The sudden and mysterious dip to black following the long shot of the traumatic bus accident is symbolic of not only the audience's own confusion and the show's primary theme of death and finality
• Establishing shot and the subsequent long shots of the bus establish an isolated and exotic setting for the secondary British and international audience. This emphasises the importance of Les Revenants adopting a polysemic narrative. It must mean different things to audiences of different nationalities. 
• Generically highly unconventional of the supernatural/horror genre. Lacks generic paradigms such as corpses, blood, monsters etc. It is not until much later in the narrative Camille is established to be a very unconventional 'zombie'.
• Longshot static shot of bus flying off the highway is accompanied by diegetic screaming, yet no other camera movement demonstrates to the audience that the show will take an unconventional perspective on death and other grand themes.