Barbie's had a make over!

What do you think of Barbie's make over? 

As a young child I had a few Barbie dolls, and lots of accessories! Did it have an impact on me at that time? Yes. I thought to be beautiful it meant you had to be white and have an unrealistic figure. Of course at the age of 5 you do not realise it is unrealistic. Luckily for me, I had lots of male cousins and also played with cars and action figures.

I will not blame Mattel (makers of Barbie) for girls growing up thinking they need to look a certain way. In my previous post I spoke about Jean Kilbourne's research on female representation in advertising, which she identifies has an impact on both men and women. Indeed, all media does. 

So whose fault is it that society ends up having unrealistic expectations of both men and women? We are all to blame. We create it and we consume it. Until we start questioning what is presented to us, nothing will change. 

Is it a progressive step that there is a new range of Barbie dolls? Somewhat. They come in different shapes, sizes and colours. Great. But they all still embody an ideal of what beauty is. 

One of the girls in this video said when she grows up she wants to become a teacher if she has time. Kid, you will have no time.

Jean Kilbourne: Killing Us Softly 4

I'm really looking forward to showing my Y10 class the full length video of Killing Us Softly 4 by Jean Kilbourne in tomorrow's lesson. She has been studying the way women have been represented in advertising for over 40 years. 

I remember the first time I watched it. It made me think 'this is why I teach Media Studies."

Due to copyright, I cannot post the full video, but here is her Tedx talk. Enjoy.

Do films need a F rating?

Hollywood, and the media industry in general, has always been male dominated. There has been a lot of talk in the media this week about institutional racism within the Oscars and the lack of diversity in terms of ethnicity. Whilst I agree that there should be more ethnic minorities on our screens, I think first we need to continue to address the issue of the gender gap, which the Academy have decided to tackle following criticism from the industry and  #OscarsSoWhite trending on Twitter. 

Last month I gave Y10 a task to research the Bechdel test so they could understand the importance of gender representation. The Bechdel test outlines only three rules a film must follow in order for it to pass:

1. It has to have at least two (named) women in it
2. Who talk to each other
3. About something besides a man

Simple. That should be all films, right? If only. An easy and effective way to show the lack of gender equality in the film industry. 

Women have now had the right to vote in the UK for 98 years, (for the over 30s, 88 years for over 21s) so why is there still such a lack of diversity in film and other industries? 

Do films need a F rating? Clearly they do if it made the industry more transparent and address the issue of the lack of female representation. It would also make audiences more aware of it and hopefully question why this is the case. Would we then demand that the film industry make more films with substantial female roles or films made by women? Are the stories of men really more interesting or are they just more bankable? 

In a world where the amount of men and women is almost equal (ever so slightly more men), we need to think about our media consumption, how it affects our thinking and the way in which society conducts itself. 

Can F-rated films help overcome sexism in Hollywood?

Composition in Storytelling & Framing

A brilliantly made video explaining composition to create meaning in storytelling. Excellent and beautiful choices of clips used from film.




An interesting video essay on the importance of framing and how it can connote particular meanings.

Why Framing Matters in Movies from Fandor Keyframe on Vimeo.

Top 10 Title Sequences of 2015

Some clever openings in this list. There are some that I'd never heard of but their titles alone have intrigued me. Angry Indian Goddess, when are you out on DVD? AS students, can you now see how important the titles you are making actually are?

Top 10 Title Sequences of 2015: The very best in 2015 title design as chosen by Art of the Title's editors.

The outlook for the UK entertainment and media industry 2015-2019

Auditors Pricewaterhouse Coopers estimations for the entertainment and media industry. Not a bad time to be getting into it!

But does a women still NEED a hero in this modern age?

The advert is sending the message to drink responsibly, which is obviously a good thing, but why is it representing women as needing men? Why is it saying what men should be like to meet women's expectations? Meh.




The Guardian article

Video game sound designer

Do you have a keen ear for sound? Interested in gaming? Have a read of this interview with a game sound designer.

Sound designer John Broomhall describes his work

David Bowie: 1947-2016

FREE: Explore Animation

Need a new year resolution? Why not learn about something new...like animation?

Another great free course from Future Learn starting in a few days.

Explore Animation