Representation in 'Young Paramedics'

BBC 3 has a series called Young Paramedics, which documents students in their first year at university and how they handle and cope with the real life element of being a paramedic. It is showing a positive representation of young people and the target audience is 16-25 year olds.

Technical Codes

During the introduction of the programme, before the 'title' page, all of the students who are participating in the course are introduced and there are different camera shots and mise-en-scenes for each individual. For example: Max is the first person to be introduced and there is a mid-close up shot of him doing his hair in the mirror and this is a stereotypical representation of a young male as everyone does their hair in the mornings. By using a close-mid shot it allows the audience to get a connection with the student by being close up but also allows the audience to get a feel for his life by showing parts of the environment he is in. Generally, an eye level camera angle is used which helps promote the positive representation because it shows respect to the students by not looking down at them (high vantage point). There is a scene where it shows Max doing a job and the mise-en-sene adds a sense of realism into the programme as it shows them out there working in different environments working with different ages and in this case it was with a baby. It also shows him talking to the baby which again is showing realism and how normal these young paramedics are.

Audio Codes

One student who is introduced second speaks very confidently and looks serious which gives the impression that she is very dedicated and determined to do her job well and not holding back. By adding diegetic sounds is again emphasises the realism in the programme and informs the audience about her opinion and what she has to do in her job however by coming from the actual person and not a voice over allows personal identity to be encountered as someone watching the programme may be going the the same situation and understand and relate to what she is saying. The sound of the ambulance also adds context and meaning to the programme by linking visual and audio codes together. By fading the ambulance sound in and out it creates the idea of it being sudden which happens in real life; accidents and illness happen suddenly. Also throughout the opening scenes, non-diegetc sounds have been used and this is done through music. the music used is fairly upbeat but seems serious in the fact it is fast but the connotations of being fast could be that they have to react quickly as peoples lives are in their hands.


Visual Codes

The mise-en-scene of the opening scenes vary as some show an insight into the students life which counteract their job. For example one girl is shown to be out drinking with her friends however with the career she is going into and scenes shown of her doing the job are very different however, the drinking scene confirms the stereotype of young people but this is still not showing a negative representation as it is normal for students to go out and drink.


13 minutes +

19 year old Lucy is introduced at around 13 minutes and the visual codes in the miss-en-scene create a sense of realism as she is wearing jeans, a top and body warmer which represent a typical uni student for her age. She is also carrying a wash bag which suggests she is going to the laundry room with her friend and in the next scene it shows the audience Lucy trying to get to terms with how to work a washing machine. Again for first year students this is something very new and many people watching may engage in personal identity with this as they can relate to the same situation and how she is feeling.

Non diegetic codes replayed in order to create a certain vibe and feeling towards the person and in this case the song lyrics to Lucy is 'work hard, play hard' which from the visual codes relates to her personality as she is seen out drinking with her friends (play hard) but she is about to take on a serious career (work hard). Evidently this music represents her but also many other uni students and again person identity might take place and students understand that the play hard you have to work hard. Relating to her social life she is filmed out ice-skating with her friends and this evidently gives the impression that she is very sociable and popular and also easy to get on with. The mixture of non diegetic music and dietetic speech enables the mood to be maintained by the upbeat music but also the speech allows us to find out more information about her. In addition to this, when Lucy is talking to the camera she often looks directly in to the lens and therefore makes a personal link with the audience as it looks as though she is talking to you. Visually, again, she is wearing a jumper and has her hair tied back with little or no make-up on which portrays a positive image of gender as she is not being sexualised or objectified in anyway.

After the introduction to Lucy about her views on her career and how serious and dedicated she is about becoming a paramedic, we are then shown her talking to her course leader. The music leading into the is scene changes very dramatically and therefore this gives an early indication that something fairly serious is about to be shown as ambulance sounds are played and the camera focus' on certain parts of the ambulance such as the flashing lights, which again suggests something serious is about to happen. Once we find out that there is a chance she won't be able to go out on placement and could be suspended for a year due to breaking her wrist the music has slowed down and is a much deeper tone.

Ethnicity Representation

THE ONLY WAY IS ESSEX
Negative representation.

https://www.itv.com/itvplayer/the-only-way-is-essex/series-12/episode-1

Textual Analysis:

In this t.v series a mixed group of males and females are documented throughout their everyday life and it is presented in a series with a number of individual stories going on within the programme. However it is showing a negative representation of Essex as there is a continuous theme of: fake tans, fake eyelashes, perfect eyebrows, loud, argumentative people which have a tendency to cheat on their partner. Evidently this is only based on a small number of people living in Essex and therefore does not show a true proportion of the people living there but due to this series Essex now has a phrase attached to them as the majority of the words mentioned above. 

During the day the women always have their hair and make-up done and are often seen wearing heels shopping or meeting up with friends and in just general day to day life. This is not what a lot of people wear for general shopping or meeting up with friends however there are exceptions which would wear heels and make more of an effort to look nice. In the first few scenes of TOWIE Billie, sister of Samantha Faires is at her baby scan with Sam and Greg (fiancé) and even during her pregnancy she is wearing heels which goes against a lot of mums-to-be as heels affect your posture, which puts more pressure on the back knees and ankles as well as carrying a baby. On the contrary to this it is the first pregnancy to take place in the show as most people have never had a stable, long lasting relationship. Billie however has not always been in the big dramas and has been in previous series more of a minor character because of this. This could explain that taking a step back from the drama and cheating works better for relationships. 

The male characters in TOWIE are also seen to have perfectly shaped eyebrows, a good dress sense but very much seen as a 'lad'. This term stands for a stereotypical interpretation of a lad who has interests in girls, sex, money, the gym and being 'alpha male'.

During nights out most of the men wear suits and shirts, often with a tie. In previous series the women have looked very made-up with heavy fake tan and make-up, short dresses and huge heels. However, during the last few episodes in series 11 and the new series, they seem to have worn and looked more glamorous... this could be because of the rival tv show - Made In Chelsea, which has got a reputation of being posh, rich and bitchy. By having an opposing show also makes TOWIE look a lot less classy as they loud and very strong accent is not to everyones taste however in MIC their accent is much more toned down and less obvious. 

In both tv series there is a huge element of nastiness behind their friends backs and also a lot of cheating goes on. Whether these parts of the shows have been constructed for entertainment or not it sets out a negative representation of that particular ethnicity and region, which some people may not want to be associated with. 

In this article it is showing a positive and negative representation on age. The reason for this is because of the words used in the headline 'A true professional', by using the word professional it adds class and authority to the subject, which in this case is Ferne Mcann from the TV series TOWIE. Evidently this is showing a positive representation of Ferne and her age because as it states in the first few introductory lines, she is 23 years old. To be classed as a professional at the age of 23 is very rare as it is often associated with people who have been is a certain profession for a number of years and worked their way up through different stages.

Stereotypically at the age of 23, many girls want to look a certain way and be recognised for it and therefore Ferne is representing an image a whole generation wants to look like and in that aspect and to younger women, this article would appeal to them because they are interested in her and how she has changed her body and therefore engage with personal identity - being able to relate to her story and emphasise with how and why she has done what she has done. Body image and looks play a huge part in society and either in for the male gaze or personal identity and therefore any article to do with body images and weight will have strong opposing opinions.

On the other hand, it is showing a negative representation of age and gender because she is being objectified by wearing underwear, which also creates a sexualised image and the words in the headline 'killer tan' and 'sexy' contribute to the objectification of the subject.

As a whole, the article is showing Ferne in a positive light and giving her recognition for her work and success and therefore giving the audience (16-25 year olds) an enforced feeling about the story because the way they have described her is highlighting good points and not criticising her.

In this article it is a negative representation of a 60 year old woman and a mother. Stereotypically mothers are seen as nurturing and caring whereas in this case, the the mother or hr mentally ill child has turned against her own family and not only murdered him but dissected his body and thrown him away. This story is the complete opposite of what we would assume a 60 year old mother would be like and therefore it is showing a negative representation of older ages. From the story we are informed that her son was mentally ill and therefore assumptions from this is that dealing with his illness may have pushed her too far however there is no excuse for what she did. Also you could make a judgement and think that maybe if her son was ill, that she might have a slight mental illness as well.

The pictures in the article have all been put in to create an emotion and feeling about Donna Scrivo and this is done by putting in continuous images of her looking slightly scary. In the images of her in a yellow uniform, she appears to look very tired and the wrinkles on her face and faded roots suggest that she has not looked after her well and the look about her, to me, looks slightly scary and like a killer.

However, contradicting to the images and immediate information, later on in the article it provides quotes from family friends and neighbours an=bout how positive they believed Donna and her sons relationship was and how they don't understand why or how she did it.

'It hit me like a train': Amanda Knox breaks down as she describes her shock at facing 28 years in jail for murdering Meredith Kercher – while victim's sister says 'we may never know what happened'

• Amanda Knox has refused to return to Italy after being found guilty again of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher. 
• Has spoken of her shock at the verdict and her fears for Raffaele Sollecito
• Meredith's siblings were present for the verdict in Florence at court
• Stephanie Kercher today said the family is 'still on a journey for the truth' 
• Lawyers for Knox and Sollecito vowed to appeal to Italy's highest court, a process that will take at least a year and start a length extradition battle.
• Harvard law professor says if appeal fails the U.S. will have to extradite he

Mode of Address

In this article the title has used very simplistic language and explains what the article is about briefly. As this case was previously in the news, for it to be re-investigated was a big thing and therefore it was the first article on the daily mail online and also the heading was bold and stood out, attracting the audience. 

The target audience for this article would be 25-40 year olds as it is a fairly vivid case with a lot of complexion in it, which younger ages may not understand. Also the headline says 'murdering' and therefore gets to the point straight away. 

From the bullet points which give an overview of the article, it makes me, as the reader, not feel empathetic towards her especially at one particular phrase 'fears for Raffaele Sollecito' which is now an ex boyfriend and therefore seems slightly suspicious. it makes me feel empathetic towards the family, predominately the sister of Meridith Kercher as she was present at the verdict and in the headline it states 'we may never know what happened'. This is a powerful statement as to have gone through so many years of grief and yet the case has not been closed and there is not sufficient enough evidence to prove the full events of what happened. 

In the article, the first few images are just of Amanda Knox looking slightly unhappy however further down there is one image where she is looking stern, which looks as though there is two sides to her. All the images have been constructed to create a certain idea and feeling and in this case, I think, it is to portray a negative representation of Amanda. She states in one paragraph 'I expected better of the Italian justice court...' by saying this, as the audience, it forces us to judge her and ask questions (enigma) as to 'why is she expecting more? and why is she relying on her lawyers to do better and not do anything herself. 

Further down the page there is images of the victims sister at a conference and it gives out a sense of bravery as they are still pursuing with the case in order to find out once and for all what happened. 

Overall this article isolates Amanda Knox and almost guides the audience into emphasising with Meridith's sister and not Amanda. The audience will take individual opinions on the article depending on there involvement with the story however, from an outsider's point of view I feel more sympathetic towards the victims sister and family.