Monday, December 10, 2007
Finals
I am so glad this year has finaly come to an end. This is my last year and i have never been more excited and more scared in my entire life. I hope i look back in these days in classes at my time at the University and find that i miss it. I want to be able to take what i have learned during my time here and use it, maybe not to save the world or find a cure for AIDS, but i want to be able to use it to make my life better and the lives of those around me. Univeristies impact people in a big way, you learn about free thoguht ans what makes you you, and my time has come to g out in the world and use it. Any suggestions??
Television codes
Codes in Television shows
Television shows contain certain social codes that lead to stereotypes. There are technical codes, social codes, conventional representation codes, and ideological codes.
In a previous study, Codes of Television, by John Fiske it is revealed that televisions attempts to makes events and people seem a certain way by language, dialog, dress, and camera angle.
The study uses a scene from a television series, Hart to Hart, to illustrate these findings. The episode was about couples on cruise ship. One couple is a detective team and the other couple is jewel thieves. The study uses two scenes from the show. It goes on to explain how the lighting is different for each couple and the camera angles are also different. This leads the view to think certain things about the characters. For example the light in the dectectives couple is a softer light while the jewel thieves are shown in a harsh bright light. The dialog between the couples is also different. Some other things that affect what the viewer thinks are lighting, editing, music, and theme song, casting of characters, costumes and sets. All of these codes lead to reader to form opinions and stereotypes of the show and characters without even watching the whole show.
My corpus is an episode if the television show Nip/Tuck. It is episode 9 from season three, titled “Hannah Tedesco” The episode is about a face transplant surgery. The dialog between the characters, the camera, angles, and the music all lead the viewer to think certain things. The show presents people with unrealistic bodies and gives them the ability to change anything. Kimber one of the lead characters in the show is always shown in revealing clothing and has a job as a porn star.
The episode is roughly 52 minutes long. It contains a scene insinuating sex between non couples and talks about some explicit subject manner. While the theme song and credits are playing at the beginning of the show mannequins are shown on the screen. The manequinns are being drawn on with red lipstick to shown where incisions would be made for surgery. The lines are around the breast and face, leading the viewer to believe bigger breast are better. The last mannequins face turns to a woman’s face. This could lead woman to think that they should look like a mannequin and flawless, when in truth that is not how most women look.
The open scene contain Christian walking into is office where there are two woman waiting, and he says, “Tell me what you don’t like about yourself.” The women are normal looking and the camera angles are the same on both the doctor and the ladies but the dialog here clearly has a strong message. There are two other scenes in the show where the same line is spoken to two other patients. This line seems like it encourages people to be dissatisfied with there body image. In another scene Christian stands over the woman when he talks to her. This makes it clear that one character is dominant over the other one. This woman patient ask look like a Kimber Doll, an inflatable life-size sex toy. She wants to look like the doll because her husband is obsessed with the doll and will no longer be intimate with her. This is an unrealistic image for a woman to have but yet through this scene it is portrayed as ok.
In another scene the viewer is introduced to the real Kimber, A real woman that is Christian’s fiancée and porn star. . Not only is she a porn star but also she starts a workshop series called “Bringing out the Porn Star in You”. Every scene that she is shown is she is also shown in a low cut short dress lot of makeup and high heels. The also has large breast and blonde hair. This depicts woman as sex objects and lower than their male counterparts.
The dialog, dress, and casting in this show lead the viewer to believe certain things about the show and the characters. These views and stereotypes that are formed can lead over to what is thought about real life. The show portrays woman in unrealistic ways and say that what isn’t perfect can be fixed with surgery. It also shows dominance of men over woman. Every woman wants something in the show and the men are the ones that can give the woman what they want. The dress, dialog, and characters are all part of the coding that is in television shows. That is coding like this in all types of televisions shows.
Source:
John Fiske, The Codes of Television, Media Studies:A reader, Marris, Paul;ed. Thornham, Sue;ed. Edinburgh University press 1996
Nip/Tuck season 3 episode 9 Sean Jablonski-write, Michael M. Robin-director aired:11/15/05
Television shows contain certain social codes that lead to stereotypes. There are technical codes, social codes, conventional representation codes, and ideological codes.
In a previous study, Codes of Television, by John Fiske it is revealed that televisions attempts to makes events and people seem a certain way by language, dialog, dress, and camera angle.
The study uses a scene from a television series, Hart to Hart, to illustrate these findings. The episode was about couples on cruise ship. One couple is a detective team and the other couple is jewel thieves. The study uses two scenes from the show. It goes on to explain how the lighting is different for each couple and the camera angles are also different. This leads the view to think certain things about the characters. For example the light in the dectectives couple is a softer light while the jewel thieves are shown in a harsh bright light. The dialog between the couples is also different. Some other things that affect what the viewer thinks are lighting, editing, music, and theme song, casting of characters, costumes and sets. All of these codes lead to reader to form opinions and stereotypes of the show and characters without even watching the whole show.
My corpus is an episode if the television show Nip/Tuck. It is episode 9 from season three, titled “Hannah Tedesco” The episode is about a face transplant surgery. The dialog between the characters, the camera, angles, and the music all lead the viewer to think certain things. The show presents people with unrealistic bodies and gives them the ability to change anything. Kimber one of the lead characters in the show is always shown in revealing clothing and has a job as a porn star.
The episode is roughly 52 minutes long. It contains a scene insinuating sex between non couples and talks about some explicit subject manner. While the theme song and credits are playing at the beginning of the show mannequins are shown on the screen. The manequinns are being drawn on with red lipstick to shown where incisions would be made for surgery. The lines are around the breast and face, leading the viewer to believe bigger breast are better. The last mannequins face turns to a woman’s face. This could lead woman to think that they should look like a mannequin and flawless, when in truth that is not how most women look.
The open scene contain Christian walking into is office where there are two woman waiting, and he says, “Tell me what you don’t like about yourself.” The women are normal looking and the camera angles are the same on both the doctor and the ladies but the dialog here clearly has a strong message. There are two other scenes in the show where the same line is spoken to two other patients. This line seems like it encourages people to be dissatisfied with there body image. In another scene Christian stands over the woman when he talks to her. This makes it clear that one character is dominant over the other one. This woman patient ask look like a Kimber Doll, an inflatable life-size sex toy. She wants to look like the doll because her husband is obsessed with the doll and will no longer be intimate with her. This is an unrealistic image for a woman to have but yet through this scene it is portrayed as ok.
In another scene the viewer is introduced to the real Kimber, A real woman that is Christian’s fiancée and porn star. . Not only is she a porn star but also she starts a workshop series called “Bringing out the Porn Star in You”. Every scene that she is shown is she is also shown in a low cut short dress lot of makeup and high heels. The also has large breast and blonde hair. This depicts woman as sex objects and lower than their male counterparts.
The dialog, dress, and casting in this show lead the viewer to believe certain things about the show and the characters. These views and stereotypes that are formed can lead over to what is thought about real life. The show portrays woman in unrealistic ways and say that what isn’t perfect can be fixed with surgery. It also shows dominance of men over woman. Every woman wants something in the show and the men are the ones that can give the woman what they want. The dress, dialog, and characters are all part of the coding that is in television shows. That is coding like this in all types of televisions shows.
Source:
John Fiske, The Codes of Television, Media Studies:A reader, Marris, Paul;ed. Thornham, Sue;ed. Edinburgh University press 1996
Nip/Tuck season 3 episode 9 Sean Jablonski-write, Michael M. Robin-director aired:11/15/05
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