Student Questionnaire.

Name: Amy Sutton

GCSE Results: 

• Maths, Science, Additional Science, English Language, English Literature, Philosophy, Art, Sociology: C
• Food technology: B

Hobbies: I like Cycling and seeing new and different places, I like comparing and seeing how different some places are compared to others.

Media Interests:
Print media: 
I'm not a big newspaper reader but occasionally I like to look at articles that come up Online that interest me, i prefer to view articles online as its free and you get to choose what you would prefer to read and also sometimes it links you to familiar articles that you may also be interested in.

Radio media: 
I don't listen to the radio very often but when I do I listen to radio 1 xtra while getting ready for school or to go out as this channel plays hip hop, garage, RnB and much more which is what I prefer compared to all the chart music which I massively dislike.

 

Music industry: 
My favourite genres of music are, hip hop, garage and occasionally DnB.
I do access some of my music on the internet but majority of the music I listen to is on my Ipod.
My opinion on illegal downloading is that, I think that it is unfair to the music industry as they need the money to produce new music and as they are not getting enough money to make music to the best of their abilities the music is not going to be the best and people aren't going to enjoy the music leading them to loose interest and stop buying an artists music which will give the music industry a lot less money to work with.
I think the music industry influences the way we are, especially children and teenagers when everyone is at their most influential, because at these ages children idolize the people they see in magazines, newspapers and other media such as the internet and tv, leading children and teenagers wanting the lifestyle of celebrities, wanting to be popular, rich, perfect etc...

 

Video games:
I'm not a big video game player, but when I was younger I used to be a fan of crash bandicoot, the main character is a fox, the graphics in this game are pretty primitive. I never actually finished the game so I never really found out what happened In the end.

 

Video games may have a negative effect on attitudes towards gender because video games objectify women as sex objects due to their figure, this being large breasts and tiny waists. This has a negative effect because it gives people the impression that this is what every woman does or should look like, which is actually far from the case. An example of this is Grand Theft Auto, in which you can pick up scantily dressed women on the street and pay for sex, this gives you extra health?! In some games the female characters either appear weaker or need rescuing at some point in the game, This makes women appear vulnerable in real life, it also gives the impression that they are weaker than men.

In video games the only way conflict is resolved is through violence, this means that people will think its acceptable to deal with conflicts through violence and not other means such as talking it through or coming to some sort of agreement or even walking away from the situation.

New Technology:
New technology has increased my understanding of the world as it has made it a lot easier to see and find out information about other cultures where as before you would have to either physically visit or look at information in books. This has helped me to understand how other people live and see the way they carry out things more through their eyes, allowing me to be more socially aware and considerate of how others may think or feel.
New technology has increased my ability to communicate with others with things such as social networking sites enabling me to communicate and share things such as photos and information to family and friends. Also things such as Skype allow me to call/video call anyone, anywhere at anytime for free.

New technology has increased my access to films, television programmes and the music industry, it has increased my access to films with things such as Netflix and LoveFilm which enable me to watch as many films as I like whenever I want with a variety of titles to choose from for a price that is much cheaper than the cinema.

New technology has increased my access to television programmes with things such as 4oD, BBC iplayer and itv player which enables me to watch TV anywhere on any device at anytime with an internet connection. New technology has increased my ability to access the music industry with things such as spotify which enables me to stream music and also youtube which enables me to watch and listen to music videos.

Television:
My favorite television channels are E4 because it contains TV programmes that are more suited to my age group, I like it because it contains a lot of comedy which is most probably my favorite TV genre. Another of my favorite TV channels are Channel 4 because it contains a wide variety of documentaries which i like because it provides a lot of information in a more interesting media.
My favorite TV genre is comedy because it is easier to come up with story lines, which ensures that the jokes are fresh.
The television programmes i find memorable are, Katie: My Beautiful Face this was a Documentary about a girl whose ex-boyfriend attacked her with acid which destroyed her face and her career. This was memorable because it was hard hitting and really evoked emotions as she goes through the process of re-constructing her face and herself as a person. Another program i found memorable was a documentary called The Bridge which is a documentary about how the golden gate bridge being a suicide hot spot. This was memorable to me because of the content and how the families reacted to their loved ones death as they didn't really show that they cared even when they knew what was going on. And finally fresh prince, because of the awesome style of the 90's.

Feature Film: 
My favorite genre is documentary because I find them interesting as documentaries featuring David Attenborough have really amazing shots. Also I like the amount of information that can be delivered in an amount of time, and the way the information is delivered makes it easier to retain.
3 films that i find outstanding are:
1) 'Pulp fiction', is good because its a well produced film for the budget they had. Tarantino structured the film very carefully, he started this by opening and closing the film at the same place each time, so the film was in a loop, but to ensure that this loop did not get confusing Tarantino linked episodes with dialect, so certain dialect would stick out and become memorable, leaving the audience able to piece the film together. Also the actors were chosen extremely well, as they play the characters to a par! especially Samuel L. Jackson as he was very convincing throughout the film, especially in some of the peculiar situations that he ends up in.

2) In my opinion 'Drive' is an outstanding film because the way that its shot in the gritty streets of Los Angeles. The film is mostly shot during the night time or in a dark location, giving the film a noir thriller feel which I think helps to convey the emotions in some of the scenes even if there is little to no dialogue. The action in the film helps to keep the tension as it feels realistic in the way that you feel as of you are witnessing it yourself. even though there is little dialogue I could still feel the emotions of the character due to their presence on screen.

3) The film 'In Time' has a very good concept, this being that time is a form of currency, things can be purchased with time and time can be topped up through working, but if this time runs out then the person will die, therefore time becomes incredibly valuable, in a literal sense, but if you are successful then you can exceed the age limit as you will have lots of time. This is an interesting concept because it makes the audience question reality.
I prefer to consume film on the television as it is free and in the comfort of my own home.
My favorite cinema is VUE because it is close to home and its in a central location therefor its easy to get to and I don't have to go very far to get to it, also because they have reasonably priced teen tickets and deals such as orange Wednesdays.
I prefer to watch films on my own as it lets me concentrate on what characters are saying and sometimes details that I may miss if I were with a group of people, but sometimes it is nice to have company during a film as its nice to discuss what likes and dislikes we had on the film and to discuss key elements.

Conclusion:
'The Bridge' a documentary that i mentioned earlier was extremely offensive to me because, firstly it actually showed people committing suicide which I thought was taking things a bit too far as it wasn't acting of any sort, and that instead of filming they could have stopped the person from committing suicide. Secondly, even though the family of the jumper probably gave permission for the footage to be shown, the jumper may not have wanted to be filmed which I think is unfair. Thirdly another thing that offended me was that the passers by paid no attention to the jumpers, even when they jumped over the railings to get to the edge, they only paid attention when they heard a splash and it was too late. Finally, the family and friends of the jumper is what offended me the most, as the reaction they gave when the jumpers told them what they were planning was disgusting to hear, one of the friends of a specific jumper even told the jumper to put her name and number in a plastic bag in his pocket so that she could find out first when and what happened! Also the reactions they had after they found out what had happened was like they didn't give a care in the world about the jumpers and some even agreed that it was what was best for the jumpers.

'The Trueman show' is a film I found interesting because its a film that makes you question a lot of things because the film is about a test done on a baby, this baby is born and placed in a town specifically created for this test, all these people in this town are actors and they all know about trueman, and they all have to act out day to day life, while trueman goes about his daily life growing up unaware that the people around him are actors and that he is being filmed and the whole world is watching him. After a long time trueman starts to see flaws in the directors plan and susses out that he is being filmed and everyone around him has to try and avert his thoughts and make him believe that nothing is fake and this is life. I found this film extremely interesting because it is tense and after each scene you want to find out more and you want to find out what will happen to trueman, also because it makes you question what is life, what is normal and what isn't you begin to wonder what if you yourself are living a life like trueman.

I chose media because I wanted a subject that I could express myself in creatively, also because I do enjoy watching films and I'm interested in learning what goes behind making films and what the film industry does so I have a greater understanding of who does what and why.