Beyond the Blade is a project, set up by The Guardian, attempting to uncover the way that knife crime is reported in the British press and how young people and children are being represented. It aims to learn more about the victims themselves rather than the assailants. Surprisingly, there are no public records of the number of children and teenagers killed due to knife crime in Britain. Why is this?
Are there more crimes being committed than we are aware of?
Is it just youth committing these crimes against other youth?
Who decides which deaths and crimes are "worthy" of being reported?
Does it need to be reported more to create an awareness or less so that it doesn't appear glamourised?
Does the ethnicity, gender, location and social background of the child effect the representation?
What impact, if any, do these representations have on society?
Read this article which tries to explain some of the questions posed above and highlights some of this year's tragic loss of life. Within 3 months there have already been 9 deaths. Two of these are from London - Brent to be precise.
"This year’s BFI Flare feels absolutely, positively vital. 2017 marks a significant milestone in our shared history: the 50th anniversary of the partial de-criminalisation of male homosexuality in England and Wales." See the website for further details and programme guide. There is also a FREE event for young people aged 16-25 on Saturday 18th March, 11am - 12.30pm at the BFI. You can also stream some films (legally!) on the BFI Player: features, shorts and exclusives
The media department will be celebrating International Women's Day 2017 in lessons today. This years theme is #BeBoldForChange. We will be discussing 6 influential women within the media industry and also why there is still a need to have a day to celebrate women and have their voices heard.
This article is rather timely considering International Women's Day is tomorrow. Just over a year ago I wrote about the Bechdel Test and the possible need for a F rating. We all know the usual film classifications imposed by the BBFC - U, 12, 12A, 15 and 18 - and now there's an F rating! Ok, technically this is not imposed by the BBFC but it has finally started getting more recognition. So much so that the film information website imdb has started to use this to classify films. However, there is still some way to go with publicising this as the F rating is only currently available via the reference page and not the film page itself. So far 21800 films fit the criteria.
What is the F rating?
The F-Rating is applied to all films which are directed by women and/or written by women and/or have significant women on screen. If a film has all three, it recieves a TRIPLE F-Rating, our gold standard. The rating allows audiences to “vote with your seat” and proactively choose to go and see F-Rated films. See the official website to read more about it to allow you to make more informed decisions about what you watch. The Guardian have written an article about it, and the more you share information like this with your family and friends the more recognition it will receive.
Read the Guardian article which focuses on how women have been represented in advertising over the past 50 years. The last part of the article highlights some dominant representations. Year 10, this links directly to the controlled assessment you are currently doing! The changing face of brands on TV There are also events taking place at the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising all month, to coincide with International Women's Day. Women in Advertising
