Theodore Adorno's notions of 'standardisation' and 'pseudo-individualism' might be applied to contemporary pop music - Do you see any problems or shortcomings from this approach?

Basing your discussion on an analysis of at least 2 contemporary artists or bands, consider the ways that Theodore Adorno's notions of 'standardisation' and 'pseudo-individualism' might be applied to contemporary pop music. Do you see any problems or shortcomings from this approach? Popular Culture has enticed much research; with the increase of media studies there are a number of minds picking apart what they see. With icons filing up and saturating mediums such as television, magazines, radio stations to name a few, the celebrity filled industry is undoubtedly causing a stir amongst the masses. Theodore Adorno (1903-69) emigrated to England in 1934 to escape Nazism. He lived in the United States of America for 10 years, (1938-48) before returning to Frankfurt, where he was a member at the 'Frankfurt Institute of Social Research'. Theodore Adorno was a key figure in the study of popular music and had intrinsic Marxist view on the capital nature of society. Adorno believed that the culture industry "is the central agency in contemporary capitalism for the production and satisfaction of false needs". (Adorno, T and Horkheimer, M. 1977, p349). He argues that popular music is a mass-produced and shallow standardised part of the culture industry. This would suggest that all aspects of popular music including types of songs, song lyrics and parts of songs e.g. chorus,

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Lady ga ga media assignment

The lady ga ga music video for paparazzi is displayed as a miniature movie, featuring end credits and an introduction to the video. In the video's introduction it has various titles and introductions giving off the feeling that it may be the starting of a movie, using an ice cold white/blue colour and an italics font, which denotes a diamond look so it looks flashy and rich. Within the first ten seconds it shows a rose with a deeper meaning of love and then goes onto the huge mansion which again shows a sense of riches, as does the overly large chandelier within the mansion. Also within the first 10 seconds it shows an extreme close up showing very little of the background of a rose which symbolises love, giving off the feeling that there is going to be some sort of love story within this musical video. On the other hand a rose could mean death also so it then creates some sort of mystery between love and death. Another signifier would be the mansion which is taken at a low angled shot to make it look a lot bigger than it is, this image denotes maybe a sense of wealth and richness within Lady Ga Ga. It then opens out to a huge chandelier and a gentle piano in the background to show some sort of elegance. Lady Ga Ga is shown on her own dollar notes showing she is famous throughout America and it gives a hint that she is famous for her music by showing all the money

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Stand By Me Essay

Stand By Me Essay In the film the four main characters are, Chris, who is the tough one, Teddy, who is the daring one, Gordie, Who's the sensitive one and Vern, whos just stupid because he asks stupid questions. They hear that a kid has been killed by a train and they've gone to lookfor him. The story is about them growing up and becoming more mature, Friendship, Bullying and an adventure(themes). The Night scene takes place towards the end of the film. They are all smoking around the campfire talking about daft things such as what is Goofy?(the Disney character). This scene is important because it shows their friendship and how they are all close friends, asking Gordie to tell them a story because they all believe he is a really good story teller/writer. The night scene opens with a shot of the moon and then calmly moves down and into the woods to were they are all smoking around the campfire. There is no music at the start of the scene, but there is music towards the end of the scene (once they have finished talking some music comes on, the music is 50's because it makes you feel as if the film is set in the fifties. There are sounds of birds and crickets (wildlife) at the start which makes you feel as if its real life. The Gang ask Gordie to tell them a story, so he tells them a story about a boy called Lardass, who enters a pie eating competition, he doesn't want to

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'Compare the presentation and content of the article in the Mirror and the article in the Guardian.'

'Compare the presentation and content of the article in the Mirror and the article in the Guardian.' ...'Communities in Britain aren't used to gun culture'. However, what is gun culture? Although gun crime is increasing, is it the so-called glamorous 'culture' that is fuelling it? On the other hand, is it the society we live in and our failure to instil morals and principles in our children? In this essay I am going to compare how a tabloid and the website of a broadsheet presents and reports this issue. I shall be looking at the different presentational devices and visual images used, language and the structure and context of the material. Firstly, the difference in media is immediately clear. The Mirror, a tabloid paper, has a big picture of Ice Cube the rap artist spread across two pages as its main focal point with the heading 'Don't let music take the rap'. In contrast, the Guardian's website has very little in the way of pictures and has the text as the main focal point with a small heading. As this is a broadsheet, I would expect it to be much the same in the actual paper. On the other hand, both papers have used puns in their headings. The Mirror uses 'Don't let music take the rap' and the Guardian uses 'Bullet points'. Both headlines are used for the same reason- to catch the reader's attention and to inform the reader what the article is about. Furthermore, in

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Robbie the Reindeer - Evaluation of the scene in the woods.

Robbie the Reindeer. The scene in the woods. We have been looking at the animation 'Robbie the Reindeer'. This is an evaluation of the scene when Robbie and Blitzern are fighting in the hover car in the woods. The scene starts off with Robbie on a rocket chasing after the evil Blitzern who is getting away on a hover car. The animators show movement with the trees rushing by. The camera angle change from low shots of Robbie on the rocket to fast panning shots of Robbie flying past on the rocket. There are SFX of the wind rushing by and the rocket and the cars engines. The music is getting louder and louder to build tension. The music is quite fast and has a definite beat so that we can feel the tension. The strong beat could represent the tension before an army goes into battle or even the racing heartbeat of Robbie and Blitzern. Another good thing that I noticed was that the Reindeers ears even flapped in the wind. The fight starts and there is a struggle. Blitzern has Robbie down and says, ' Now is when you die'. Just as he says this we see Donner, Robbie's girlfriend' in the background. She has been shot out of a cannon and is fast approaching. It is a low shot and Donner looks like she is about to come and crash into the camera. Just as she is about to hit the camera the angle changes to a side view and we see her crash into the Car. She then pulls herself up and stands

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Media Studies
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Analyse the Techniques used by Hitchcock to Create and maintain Suspense in his film

Analyse the Techniques used by Hitchcock To Create and Maintain Suspense In his film "Psycho" This essay will look at how Alfred Hitchcock created and maintained suspense in his 1960 motion picture "Psycho". The film Psycho was originally a book wrote by Robert Bloch, which was based on real life killings. Psycho was Hitchcock's forty-seventh film. This shows that Hitchcock was already an experienced film director. Psycho was an immediate Box-office success, and obtained the slogan "The film you must see from the start". This is because one of the main characters is killed early on in the film. Hitchcock's directing carer started in 1922. By 1959 he was one of Hollywood's best-known personalities. These factors contribute to the suspense and tension in Hitchcock's film Psycho. Irony whether verbal or visual plays an important role in the film Psycho, it also comes around quite frequently. One of the first examples of visual irony is when Marion is at work getting shown $40,000 by the client. After she has been given the money she is sitting under a picture of a swamp, and after she is killed she gets driven into a swamp, then sinks under it. Therefore this is a case of visual irony. Another case some people may class as visual irony is when Bates and Marion are in the bedroom and there is a vivid outline of Bates' shadow. This could show that Bates has a split

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Media Studies
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Music is the most influential of all of the art forms. It is more than entertainment. Music has been used as a powerful tool for healing, a means of communication, and a way to lift the human spirit.

Shannon Gardner 3/17/2002 English 105 Essay # 4 Argument/Persuasion Paper Concession format Music is the most influential of all of the art forms. It is more than entertainment. Music has been used as a powerful tool for healing, a means of communication, and a way to lift the human spirit. To some, music results in the loss of parental control, loss of imagination, and increase difficulty in relationships (Bloom, 135). These two very different views of music have been the subject of debate for and against music. Music itself heals, soothes, motivates, innovates and stimulates the mind, body, and soul. Some believe that music interferes with moral development. The outrageous lyrics can promote sex, violence, and drugs. Rock has been said to have "the beat of sexual intercourse" (Bloom, 130). The arousing beat and explicitly descriptive lyrics encourage youth to treat these as completely natural urges. They give the implications of routine and acceptance before even the slightest knowledge of love, marriage, or family. It also has a negative impact on education. "I believe it ruins the imagination of young people and makes it very difficult for them to have a passionate relationship to the art and thought that are the substance of liberal education" (Bloom, 136). Bloom has a very negative outlook on the effects of music. He believes that modern culture,

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Media Studies
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I will be analysing two very different types of documentary, 'Dogtown and the Z-Boys', which takes the role of being a full length movie type documentary, and 'Teenage Transsexuals' which was recently shown on Channel 4.

ZOE DEE 27TH OCTOBER 2004 ANALYSIS OF TWO DOCUMENTARIES I will be analysing two very different types of documentary, 'Dogtown and the Z-Boys', which takes the role of being a full length movie type documentary, and 'Teenage Transsexuals' which was recently shown on Channel 4. 'Dogtown and the Z-Boys' is a documentary which takes a look at the transformation of surfing into skateboarding. The film follows the evolution of skating through it's heyday in the 70's, to it's decline in the 80's, and then back upto it's popular return in the 90's. It also follows the Zephyr team, a high profile surf/skate club which revolutionised the skating industry right upto the present day. The film is written and produced by Stacy Peralta and Craig Stecyk, who were two of the original co-founding members of the Zephyr Skate Team. Stacy Peralta also directed the film. Peralta does not openly avoid issues such as race, gender or class. He simply tells the story as it is.. Peralta uses a mix of intelligent editing, camera technique and format to give the film a certain tone. The scenes are edited to be very quick and snappy. This makes the film run less smoothly and gives it a messy, sloppy feel which reflects the lifestyle of the Z-Boys. It also makes the film exciting and intriguing as you don't know where it's headed next. The rock and roll type music which includes 'T-Rex'

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Media Studies
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OCR National ICT - Unit 1 - Task 2 - Internet Searches

Task 2: Select and use tools and facilities to download files/information Firstly I am going to use an internet search engine to find reviews and images of the latest singles and albums. These are the results of my Google Search for 'latest singles and albums reviews' I found a link to a website which matched my search criteria. The website says it includes reviews on albums which is the information I am looking for. This is the homepage of the website I have chosen 'www.albumvote.co.uk' I will use this website to find album reviews and locate images of the album. In the search box I typed in an album I wanted the review on in this case it was 'Hot Fuss' an album by The Killers These are the results of my search and the page I was looking for is the first result. This is the page on albumvote.co.uk which has information about the album 'Hot Fuss' by The Killers. This is my first review on 'Hot Fuss' by The Killers, the review and image are from www.albumvote.co.uk. 'To me this is a great new album, although the 1980's undertones are obvious, the killers have at last provided a rejuvenated form of 80's rock, with a certain extra humph lacking in much of both the 80's and latest rock bands. It excites me to see that at last the new wave of rock bands are coming into the industry, at last perhaps a little competition for the endless tedium brought from the bland

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Media Studies
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Media Coursework : Shrek

Michael White Media Coursework In Yiddish, "Shrek" means fear. Shrek is a successful film and should be taken serious by critics because it is not just another film that is for children. The film has a large intake of digital animation and is currently at the end of filming history, and has a long list of different animating techniques. The film Shrek is a great deal better than all the films that have came in prior to it in several ways. An example of this would be the cartoon "Mortimer Mouse" (now know as "Mickey Mouse") which Disney launched back in nineteen twenty three, the animation techniques back then were very poor compared to today's high standards. The only explanation that I can think of why Shrek and DreamWorks out shine all their rivals is because all of the data is placed on computer where the outstanding technology of today enables them to modify effects that would normally be forgotten for example: shadows for every object on screen, creases in the charters clothing, footprints in the floor and eyebrow movements to show different states of emotions and many more. The use of camera angles and movements help to bring the characters to life. This is an enormous part of Shrek purely because of the close up camera shots and angles. Examples of this are big close-ups focusing only on the facial features. Where as the long shot or wide shot enable us to see the

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Media Studies
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