Last week in my AICE Media Studies course saw a quieter class, even though my work load at home increased. Before talking about what I learned in the class periods I had, I would first like to discuss the completion of my first case study. That case study was centered around the marketing and distribution of films and their production company, which I had chosen The Walt Disney Company for, using both Onward and the live action remake of Mulan (2020) to represent the company. I discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney+, and other marketing techniques and controversies affected these movies differently. The research I put into these movies was extensive, as I put in several hours over this past week to finish it. I feel relieved to have finished it, and I am anxiously awaiting my teacher's constructive criticism on it.
One of the main topics that we were taught last week was the role that narrative plays in the media. Narratives are the stories that films, newspaper stories, or any other forms of entertainment and media convey to the public audiences. We learned that narratives can influence who believes what, as a compelling story can cause the audience to sympathize with the writer and the characters in it. Narrative is not always fiction and representative, as newspapers tell stories of real world events to get the attention of their readers and make them feel a certain way on the topic that is being written about. Narratives help organize stories by using specific key words that make events sound substantial, which helps to complete stories, stories that need narratives to gain the attention of the public.
We also learned about photojournalism, as our teacher taught us to be very careful when crediting and using photos that are not ours. We learned about what counts as fair use, copyright infringement, privacy invasions, misrepresentation and many other techniques that we should do and that we should not. We learned what is protected by copyright, such as photos, cartoons, music, logos, and most online articles and websites, and what is not, such as government databases and facts and ideas. Fair use allows us limited use of material that is not our own, and it is important to know what qualifies as it and what does not. Shining false light or misrepresenting photos is also something that should be avoided, as the consequences could be severe if photos are taken out of consequence. While these techniques are mostly aimed at the students that are creating a magazine, some of these are still going to be useful for me and my partner as we develop our film opening.
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