After all of the palaver surrounding Brexit, with the right-wingers' fear of the proposed addition of countries such as Turkey to the EU due to threats of terrorism towards Britain (which I thought was just a little bit excessive), it seems their doubts may have been at least somewhat justified. After reading up on the events in Turkey over the last few years (official government website here), this story comes as just another addition to the horrific events surrounding the Turkish people.

Due to Turkey's geographical border with Syria, many terrorist threats involving Daesh/ISIS and the PKK have been prominent in any news connected to Turkey joining the EU. The Independent, a reportedly neutral news institution, have published this article commenting on the arrests of nine members of a Turkish news corporation. The paper, Cumhuriyet (translation: republic), opposes the Turkish conservative political party AKP, and have been subject to controversy in the past after they re-published cartoons from Charlie Hebdo, the French newspaper and subject of a terror attack for their negative depiction of the prophet Muhammad. The former editor-in-chief, Can Dundar, was also under appeal for revealing state secrets and fled to Germany earlier this year.

The article is vague, as Turkey has ordered a media blackout following the arrests, but from the sparse details included it seems that certain members of staff, including the head of board, are suspected of being involved in some form of terrorism, whether that be as dramatic as planning an attack or as covert as releasing prohibited information to the press. Supposedly, since then more than 700 Turkish journalists have had their press accreditation revoked, leading to thousands being left unemployed.

Turkey is already in a state of disarray, and is in no means a stable country, and an event like this should have been, in my humble opinion, far more prominent in the news due to the events it could possibly lead to - disruption in the press could lead to civil uproar and God knows what else. This story particularly interested me as so little was put out about such a significant story that I have only just come across it. This just sums up the self-centred nature of the UK media - if it's not about this country, people don't want to know.

This week's news comes from Pink News, a UK-based online newspaper targeted to the LGBT+ community. Pink News claims to take a neutral standing ground regarding politics, though promotes political candidates not based on party but on their stance on LGBT+ rights (in itself, a liberal view).

This article is written by Benjamin Butterworth, who also writes for the Independent and the Huffington Post (both neutral-left institutions). The headline reads:

Using a quote from the Mayor of London, as well as his name, draws interest to the story immediately, as any politically-savvy reader knows Khan's name and will immediately know the context of the article without any previous research. This leads to 'easy reading', while still reading something worthwhile.

In the article, Pink News uses some particularly shocking statistics, including the fact that 39% of people diagnosed with HIV last year were at a late stage of the infection, meaning that they are at serious risk of illness because of the late detection. Sourcing this information from Public Health England shows reputability, and allows interested readers to trust the news institution and therefore encourage them to read more from the sources.

The article links to others in the same vein, such as this one, also by Benjamin Butterworth, which promotes HIV testing using the notable public figures of Prince Harry and Rihanna to endorse the cause. In it, more shocking statistics are used, such as the fact that 'almost one-third of Britons think that HIV can be caught by sharing a toothbrush with someone who is infected' - this shows the lack of information surrounding sexually transmitted infections such as HIV, which Pink News wants to raise awareness for in order to keep the public (especially the LGBT+ community, as they are at a higher risk of developing the infection due to misinformation leading them to not use condoms during sex) safer.

Although I am not personally affected by the issues in the article (unlike many of my other Weekly News pieces), I am a regular reader of Pink News due to my status in the LGBT+ community*. I am also an avid follower of British politics, so to see an article joining two of my interests together made me, as well as other people like me, interested in the content. Sadiq Khan, in my opinion, is proving to be a worthy post-holder of the Mayor of London, and with such an influential figure endorsing worthwhile campaigns such as this one, to increase awareness and reduce the stigma surrounding HIV, more action may be taken by the British public as a prominent person that they trust is also supporting the cause.

*surprise! I'm bisexual!

The Body Shop: Jingle Bells (2015)

I'm a Christmassy person anyway (I've been begging my boyfriend to let me put decorations up for weeks now) but I especially love this advert, and I really hope Barrington doesn't notice that I chose this one to analyse last year too. (It's a different analysis, I promise!)

This advert was released last year as part of The Body Shop's advertising campaign promoting their new Christmas range. The stereotypical Christmas advert focuses on the themes of giving gifts and spending time with the family, with supermarkets advertising lavish multi-generational Christmas meals and department stores (à la John Lewis) promote expensive gifts and decorations, giving the impression that their products will make a family's holiday celebration complete. However, this advert subverts all of the usual tropes in lieu of something a little bit different, a little bit comedic and most definitely memorable.

Nice feet. Not sure about the rug though.

The introduction to this video could very easily have been transmitted sexually, using provocative gestures to grab the audience's attention. Instead, we are presented with the perfect innocent view of several people's underwear around their ankles, and even though it is initially unclear why they are undressing, short clips of baths and showers being switched on quickly enlightens the audience. From snapshots of feet and underwear alone, we are introduced to a variety of faceless characters with visibly different skin colours and presumably different genders. (Who knows, some men might like lacy pants?)

*sings* product plaaaaaacement!

If we weren't sure whose advert we were watching (even with the not-so-subtle grey logo hiding in the bottom right corner) there's no doubting it now. Aside from providing a novel backdrop for the title of the video, using traditional red and green to connote the festivities of Christmas, this shot also showcases some of the new products the company have brought out in time for the season, with bright colours and neat packaging to make the products look as appealing as possible to persuade the public to buy them.

You missed a bit on your shoulder, love.

The advert uses a non-diegetic soundtrack, an instrumental version of the traditional song Jingle Bells, and overlays diegetic merry singing along from many different people in the bath or shower, including this hairy bloke who's very concerned with not getting his hair wet for one reason or another. The diversity of actors in the advert covers a wide range of ethnicities, genders, ages and body types, appealing to a wider market (including men, who aren't the usual demographic for cosmetics adverts).

Bath products are expensive, man, nobody needs that much soap.

HOW are you two not FREEZING?

The symmetry here appeals to my OCD - yay!

The added incentive of aiding charity by buying Christmas gifts - 'for every gift set sold, we'll give one day of safe water to a family in Ethiopia' - is a clever promotion trick; although the company are genuinely supporting WaterAid in their campaign, their profits will also increase as a result as the advert appeals to the audience's charitable side - both wanting to give to someone in need, and feeling good about themselves as a result.

Have I mentioned at all that I love this advert?

And finally, another product placement shot, this time including a woman dressed only in a towel (or nothing at all, for all we know) that could so easily have become sexually alluring with a smirk or tossing of the hair, but instead the woman is smiling and applying perfume as though she is happy. making herself feel good - and of course, appreciating the Body Shop.

In light of the recent tragedy, occuring less than a mile from my parents' house, I thought it fitting to report on the Croydon tram crash. Leaving more than 50 people injured, and killing seven people (including Dane Chinnery, who many of my friends knew and loved as a brother) this has shaken me to the core, especially as if the accident had happened an hour later I could very well have been on the tram as it derailed.

This article from the Telegraph features both factual information about the crash, and pays tribute with a respectful mention to the seven victims. Originally, all articles regarding the incident focused around the tragedy of those injured or killed, though now that the grief and shock of the public seems to have subsided slightly the news have now fixed themselves around stories detailing why and how the crash happened. By using figures and statistics in this article (such as the fact that the tram was travelling 43.5mph over a curve with a maximum speed of 12.5mph) it allows the public to both create a more detailed picture in their heads of how the accident came to be, and speculate about the possible causes of the incident. At present, this article reports that the driver, Alfred Dorris, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and has now been bailed until May.

Usually articles regarding events such as this one use emotive language, as demonstrated in this article from the Daily Mail - as early into the article as the introduction, shocking phrases such as 'covered in blood' and describing the scene as 'something out of a movie' both draw readers in and attempt to evoke an emotion (in this case, a reaction of sympathy and shock). In contrast, the article from the Telegraph focuses solely on the facts behind the event, which draws in a smaller pool of readers (the Mail article appeals to everyone around the Croydon area due to a tragic accident having taken place, while fewer people are interested in the statistics and details behind the event).

Rather than changing my ideas from last year, I have decided to stick with my premise, and this Prezi sums it up pretty well without me rambling on here.

I'm writing this after the results of the 2016 election have already been released (and let me tell you, I never believed in a million years that the American general public could be so racist, misogynistic, homophobic and plain stupid enough to elect a Wotsit in a blonde wig for President, but there you go). Regardless of how I feel about Trump, there's no denying his debating skills leave a lot to be desired. But we're not talking about Trump. We're talking about his wife, Melania Trump, and her lack of originality that has yet again been noticed by the media.

Earlier this year, Melania was slated by the public after she appeared to steal a line from a speech made by Michelle Obama. Recently, she's yet again been accused of plagiarism. In a speech, referring to her upbringing in Slovenia, she used the line 'if you could dream it, you could become it'. Unfortunately, a very similar quote came from Marla Maples, Trump's ex-wife.

This article, from the Daily Mail, is a reasonably factual account of the news - it lists the reality of the situation, the accusation of plagiarism (pointed out by Twitter user Yoni Brander) and the details of Maple's original speech - which, as Brander points out, uses an adapted quote from the author William Arthur Ward.

However strongly I feel about the Trump family, I believe Melania is being unfairly represented in this article - plenty of speechwriters and authors borrow quotes from other people in order to put their point across, with or without a source. Although Melania's previous use of Michelle Obama's words indicates her lack of skill in speech writing, this more recent similarity between speeches could simply be a coincidence that the media have latched onto as a scandal. The article does, however, use the words 'appeared' and 'seemingly' to give a more balanced account of events rather than taking a Twitter user's observations as fact. Credit to the Mail for their efforts to reduce bias (never thought I'd ever type that sentence out).

Taking a break from all of the digital analysis, fancy Prezis and walls of text with some good-old-fashioned handwritten notes. Felt tips are underrated.

1) Linear and Non-linear narratives (Todorov's Theory of Equilibrium)

2) Propp's Character Tropes

The Huffington Post UK is a news source I browse regularly: the articles are often balanced, fair and informative, which is all I could ask for from the news. Recently, I discovered a strand of their website called Huffpost Style, and as I am (shock horror) a WOMAN who occasionally does Buzzfeed quizzes out of boredom, I thought I would take a look through. Most of the articles are much of a muchness, with tips on beauty products and fashion do's and don'ts, but this particular article caught my eye and made me put my head in my hands and let out a whimper of frustration.

On the 3rd November, the Duchess of Cambridge (otherwise known as Kate Middleton) attended the film premiere of the film 'A Street Cat Named Bob' - which, if it's anything like the book I read as a child, will be well worth watching. 

Sorry, nostalgia brought me off topic. Back to the news.

Middleton wore a lovely ivory dress, which she looked demure and fashionable as ever in. But this article has no problem with her outfit; rather the fact that a week earlier Paris Hilton turned up to an event in Los Angeles wearing the same dress. Fancy that, two celebrities shopping from the same designer!

If I turned up to college wearing a jumper from New Look that someone else was wearing, nothing would be said other than 'hey, we're matching!', and it certainly wouldn't make the news. Huffpost Style have, however, decided that this accidental twinning deserves an article all to itself. Personally, I think it's ridiculous that two celebrities owning the same dress is deemed news-worthy at all, but apparently readers drink this bullshit up? What surprised me was the fact that many other articles from HS focused on body-positive and woman-empowering articles, such as this one about a girl who was once bullied for her appearance finding stardom in the modelling industry and giving a big middle finger to anyone who criticised her. There seems to be a critical divide in the media, crossing the boundaries between shaming women for their appearance and celebrating their diversity. I don't get it, not at all - this double standard is just more proof of why the feminism movement is still relevant in today's society

The media is notorious for finding new ways to sexualise and objectify women - from the countless selection of articles detailing what so-and-so was wearing on a night out (and how her boyfriend might feel knowing other men can see... gasp her thighs?!) to the infamous and shocking case of the Sun's countdown to Samantha Fox's sixteenth birthday and her first appearance on page 3. When I first saw this article, therefore, I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised by a positive representation of a feminist response to a sexually-charged bloke. Oh, how wrong I was - though what was I expecting from the Sun?

The basis of the article is actually rather funny - a man sends a woman a stereotypical, inarticulate and horribly unsubtle request for naked pictures, and she replies with a very flattering picture showcasing her understanding of the physics of refraction rather than the suggestive masturbation material that the bloke is after. Great! Women standing up for themselves and refusing to be intimidated or pressured by men! 

...Right?

...Hold on. What?

Originally I intended to glance through this short article (that popped up on my Facebook feed) for a cheap laugh before resuming my endless scrolling through the realms of the internet. However, once I read it properly, I felt it worth commenting on due to the consistently misogynistic representation of women in the media. Although feminism has brought about a gargantuan leap of progression towards equality between the sexes, unfortunately the media has been blind and deaf to the news that women are meant to be treated and seen as people in their own right, rather than just sexual objects to be commented on in the news. However, I make this judgement on my consumption of the media as a whole rather than just this article - a single piece of writing cannot be taken as representative of all media, especially one from an institution as biased and sex-obsessed as the Sun.

Let me preface this by telling you that I believe in aliens. Not the little green men up in the sky flying around in their high-tech spacecraft, but there is far too much scientific evidence, and just as much unexplained, about conditions in the universe (there's planets in our solar system that rain diamonds) for there not to be at least one other planet in existence which has the optimum conditions for sustaining life. However, I'm not a conspiracy theorist - I don't believe that global warming is a hoax or that HIV was created by the CIA to wipe out homosexuals (honestly, look it up). 

Max Spiers, the man found dead on his sofa after claiming that 'satanists wanted to rid him of his demons', certainly was a conspiracy theorist. The self-professed 'UFO expert' died days after an interview in Poland, in which his mother claims his speech sounds slurred.



This article, from the Daily Express, gives details from an interview with Spiers' mother. She is treating her son's death as 'suspicious' due to authorities refusing to carry out an autopsy even after he was found having vomited a 'mysterious black liquid' with no medical explanation. Spiers, who worked for the conspiracy theory group Bases Project, had a multitude of online followers, and they are reportedly convinced that Spiers was killed by the government for 'getting too close to the truth' (presumably inferring that the authorities are withholding important information from the public).

The initial title of this article seemed utterly ridiculous, which was why I chose to write about it - conspiracies in general are, in my opinion, theories formed from fragments of information by people with delusional views and far too much time on their hands. However, reading through the article, the information stated seems to suggest that Spiers' mother and online followers have come up with a fairly reasonable explanation for his death given the circumstances surrounding it. Unfortunately it is impossible to tell how true the information in this article is, as all media is constructed and reporters in newspapers often try to omit information in order to make the story seem as interesting to readers as possible.

My coursework last year was based around the creation of a teen thriller film, and constructing promotional material for said hypothetical film. Unfortunately I didn't manage to finish the project, so this year I am working on both finishing and improving my coursework. In order to complete the practical aspect of the project to the best of my ability, I have done research into the conventions of promotional posters for a variety of thriller films over the years (something which I began to explore last year, but never managed to document). 

As a child, I suffered with many of the usual fears - I didn't like the dark, heights terrified me and I'm still not too fond of spiders. Clowns, however, were something that never bothered me, but after the news this week I think that's changing. 

From The Week, a news site and app giving a brief summary of trending topics in the news, I was brought this article, adding another worrying story to the epidemic of copy-cat clowns roaming the streets of the UK. The Week isn't the only source of these stories - many British news corporations including the Metro, the Guardian, and the Telegraph have been reporting on strange sightings around the country. Many of these stories involve personal accounts from passers-by, reportedly having been chased or threatened by people dressed in clown suits and make-up, red nose and all.

However, this particular article focuses on more than just the general discomfort of the public. Now the nation-wide appeal for the so-called clown 'pranks', as they have been dubbed on social media, is being supported by Childline. The article, which is not credited to a particular reporter, uses emotive language to influence the audience as to the emotional harm that the 'pranks' are causing towards young people in the UK, such as including a quote from an eleven year old worried about his brother who had been chased by a clown. One statistic that tugged at my heart-strings is that the charity have received 120 calls in one week regarding the incidents, with a quarter of them coming from children of primary-school age.

This story caught my eye while scrolling through the news app, and I probably would have flicked straight past it to the next article had the featured photo not have almost caused me to spit out my tea in shock. Images within articles are also particularly effective in attracting an unspecific audience - a strange, exciting, or in this case disconcerting photograph within a text can make the difference between someone ignoring the article or being drawn into it to find out more about the picture. The other reason that I found this article interesting enough to write about is that the subject hits so close to home - a few days ago, my boyfriend's little brother was sent home with a letter from his school warning the parents of pupils who walked home by themselves to be aware after clown sightings in the Gravesend area. The fact that boys I know, boys who are studying for their GCSEs, are worrying about travelling home on the bus on their own is deeply concerning, and I, for one, think these immature and thoughtless people need to have some sense knocked into them.

Oh, how I love the Daily Telegraph. Every so often, there's a jewel among the rough of Conservative propaganda, and I think I've found it this week.

 I actually found this article by accident while looking for an article I read a few years ago about the dangers of Tinder, and though I am in no way technophobic or opposed to online dating, this piece really does sum up how risky meeting up with someone who you've met online can be.

A woman, Warriena Wright, visiting Australia on a two-week holiday from New Zealand, matched with a man via the online dating app Tinder, and when things became heated (and not in the way you'd expect) she found herself on Gable Tostee's balcony separated from him by a locked glass door. Allegedly Wright had become violent after a few drinks and Tostee had no choice but to restrain her, yet recordings from Wright's phone tell a different story, with snippets like Tostee's very complimentary description of 'you God damn psycho bitch' suggesting Wright had felt threatened and tried to climb down from his balcony when she fell, resulting in her death.

Surprisingly, this article holds no apparent bias - it tells a factual account of the events, lets Tostee's lawyer have his say on the matter and even reports uncertain details of the event in quotation marks, letting the audience know there is nothing but facts, facts, facts in this article. The author, Jonathan Pearlman, seems to be an all-round reporter, writing straight-forward articles about the ins and outs of Australian news. Though this is as far from a humorous article as you could get, I must guiltily admit that my favourite part of the piece is, and this is a direct quote:

A fine first date conversation if I ever heard one. 

It's come to my attention that two out of three of my weekly news articles are somehow related to sex. I don't know what this says about me, and I'm truly sorry to anyone I may have shocked or offended in the process.

This article from BBC Three (a decidedly less biased BBC source targeted at a younger, far less Labour-phobic audience) detailed a scientific breakthrough of a male contraceptive injection currently in development. Although currently it has only been tested on rabbits, it is reported to have a >99% success rate, and seems to have no unwanted hormonal side effects that are a problem for many women on contraception (headaches, mood swings and weight gain). It's also easily reversible, as another injection can dissolve the polymer in the first allowing the sperm to be released again. 

(I'm so glad that this was the extent of science terminology in this article. I don't think I could cope with anything more complex.)

The author of this article, Josh Pappenheim, is a freelance writer who has worked for other companies such as MTV and Comedy Central, and seems to specialise in works dedicated to a younger audience. He achieves this, and gets their attention from the word go, using silly puns (such as the elegantly worded '[men] getting a prick in their prick') and mild taboo language ('little buggers' in relation to sperm) to make the audience feel included and like the writer is 'on their level', rather than talking down to them or including information far above their level of understanding. References to social media sites and platforms (Pappenheim references an online forum called Reddit in the article) also invite the interest of a wider audience by appealing to their interests.

The article itself got my attention on Facebook, using an entertaining image of condoms swimming like sperm towards a balloon in order to catch potential readers off-guard. (It worked, didn't it? I'm writing about the article now). Unlike many scientific articles, it made me laugh, and though Pappenheim's left-wing views are clearly expressed throughout the piece it included enough information to make a sound argument both for and against the marketing of a male 'pill' (that's actually an injection. But oh well).   

 It's inspirational, it's motivational, and more importantly it represents a diverse selection of women, and does not discriminate against any group, whether that be race, age or weight.

The Victoria's Secret swimsuit showcase (2015) is promotional material for the company, showcasing new release swimwear. They describe their brand:

The company is the largest American retailer of women's lingerie, with 2012 sales of $6.12 billion, and attracts women of a particular demographic.

The promotional video for 'This Girl Can' begins with a shot following a woman in her bikini on her walk to the swimming pool. You do not see her face, or her identity at all; this is often a convention of male-centric advertising, which focuses more on women's sex appeal than women as people. However, this convention is quickly subverted as we are shown a shot of the woman adjusting her bikini bottoms, which portrays the woman as human (as almost every woman has had to straighten their bikini or underwear to reduce discomfort) and less like an object for male pleasure. The nonchalance and confidence with which she does this only adds to the normality of the situation, and suggests that she is perhaps unaware that the video is being shot, therefore is not putting an act on for the cameras.

The Victoria's Secret video also showcases a range of women in their swimsuits, but in contrast to This Girl Can this video is carefully filmed to achieve the flawless image that the brand aims to broadcast. In the particular shot pictured, a woman is shown in her bikini as the water splashes around her. Although you see her face, she appears completely void of all emotion, pouting and looking away from the camera. Her hair is perfectly tousled despite being in the water, and this is obviously constructed by the directors of the video as in reality any woman who has been in the water would have messy, tangled hair and running mascara - this woman's make-up is perfect due to the directors wanting to promote an 'ideal image' of women.


Another way these two videos present women in different ways is through their use of colour and light. The 'This Girl Can' video is colourful and vibrant, using rich colours such as the blue in the background of the pictured image to connote the excitement and passion that these women have for their sports. Certain shots are busy and crowded, with lots of focal points, flashing lights and colours; rather than being distracting or an indication of poor filming, these shots have been carefully constructed to show a flurry of colours and activity associated with active sports such as zumba classes and netball. In contrast, the Victoria's Secret video is particularly bland, with most shots featuring neutral colours like the sand and rock in the pictured image. Rather than presenting women as active, in this video the women are passive, with the neutral colours connoting stillness and calm. The use of  light is particularly strategic, drawing the audience's focus to the curves of the women's bodies. Paired with the women's sensual poses, this presents an air of sexuality and suggestivity, with these women seeming little more than objects on display.


***

The purpose of the 'This Girl Can' video is to inspire women to pursue sports both for their health and their enjoyment. Sports are stereotypically 'male' interests, and women who enjoy playing sports are often labelled as 'tomboys' rather than just being regarded as women who play sports. This video subverts these stereotypes and instead presents women with long hair, makeup and painted-pink nails playing sports without compromising their femininity. By broadcasting this video, women across the country could be inspired and invigorated by the presentation of strong and empowered women.

The Victoria's Secret video was produced and broadcast for an entirely different reason. As a business rather than a campaign, their aim is to promote and advertise their products in order to maximise sales and therefore product. Slow, sensual shots in the video show off the designs and colours of the swimsuits, and the poses the models are shown in are suggestive and sexy enough that they appeal to both men and women - men want their girlfriends and wives to look as attractive as the models used in the videos, therefore will buy the swimsuits in an attempt to achieve that, while women want to dress to impress, and buy Victoria's Secret products to feel as attractive as the women wearing them.