Go here for full thread + discussions: http://community.boredofstudies.org...on-text/78857/my-proudest-work-frontline.html
Module C: Telling the truth, IMO is THE most useful thing we'll ever learn in our english study during highschool. It teaches us to think for ourselves, which is probably why I've enjoyed it so much...
Anyways, without further ado, I present to the BOS community, my proudest work in my English days. Enjoy.
Note: these are the paragraphs which I had prepared to alter/mould/shape when serving different customers (questions). I didn't write them all in my HSC of course.
INTRO:
Truth implies the possibility of objectivity – which is impossible when it is represented in a constructed text. The hypocrisy and shallowness of the media is humorously explored in the satirical Frontline episodes: ‘The Siege’ and ‘Add Sex and Stir’, ‘The Simpsons’ episode ‘Homer Badman’, and the newspaper article “She didn’t have to Kill him” (29-7-04 Daily Telegraph). Adding to the complexity of ‘Telling the Truth’, the motivations of those in the media industry are often less than noble; hence, ‘truth’ is rarely ‘pure’.
MOTIVATIONS(ratings):
‘Homer Badman’ represents a sensationalized media report of Homer’s alleged sexual assault on his child’s babysitter despite his innocence. Lisa represents the voice of rationality in the media frenzy: “The media's making a monster out of you (Homer) because they don't care about the truth! All they care about is entertainment”, Homer’s interview is represented as a shameless exploitation of a naïve individual who mistakenly believes the current affairs program is “fair and even-handed”; but the truth is rarely that simple when ratings are the prime motivation.
In ‘Add Sex and Stir’, Brian tells Brooke to “bury” the netballer after the interview for the purpose of exclusivity. Similarly, the front page of the Daily Telegraph depicts an “Exclusive Picture” of Aquilina’s family, with an emphasis on the exclusivity. Likewise, the thirst for an exclusive story is shown in ‘The Siege’, where Emma tells the Gunman to remove the phone while Brooke lies to his mother about an exclusivity statement. Frontline represents the pursuit of ratings through exclusives as potentially endangering lives while presenting a distorted version of ‘truth’.
EXPLOITATION/questioning/ sensational:
Brooke’s interview with the gunman’s mother in ‘The Siege’ clearly show that the ‘truth is never pure’ when strong emotional responses are represented as a ‘true’ response. By rushing through the door and asking deliberately provocative questions, she receives the emotive response that the media preys upon for ratings. This is similarly explored in ‘Homer Badman’ when a news presenter ostensibly offers assistance: “Hello Homer, this is God…frey Jones. We are aware of your problems, and Mr. Simpson… We want to help”. However, his insincerity is depicted when he is shown reading from a script. His exploitation of Homer further highlights the way that simple truths are manipulated for ratings and the victimization of naïve individuals who fail to understand the power and motivations of the media.
In ‘Add Sex and Stir’, the story is sensationalized with the use of a re-enactment in the shower rooms, and the use of music and a voiceover. After watching the report, Emma says to Brian in a classic understatement: “I think we pushed the sleaze angle a bit too far.” In addition, the cut to Brian’s reaction shows Moore’s sensationalized questioning with the gunman in ‘The Siege’ is not only condoned but also encouraged. The question: “Is daddy pointing the gun at you?” is not designed to represent the gunman’s story, but calculated to escalate tension and hold audience attention.
Creation of IMAGE and meaning leading to BINARY OPPOSITES:
Both in ‘Homer Badman’, and the news article, there is a clear division between those we are meant to side with and those whom we are meant to deride. ‘Rock Bottom’ in ‘Homer Badman’ depicts the babysitter as a hard working university student with proud parents, whose ‘promise’ is cut short by Homer’s alleged crime. Similarly, Aquilina is partially framed with the caption of “A good kid in the wrong crowd… William Aquilina”, the composers presents him in what we assume is a school uniform, implying that he is non-threatening- as he is smiling, young and ‘full of promise’.
In contrast, Homer is immediately juxtaposed with the representation of the babysitter, with the tone of the voiceover shifting, slow motion being used and ominous music implying his guilt. Whereas in the news article, the representation of Brown is in direct contrast to Aquilina. Her frame is clearly defined with captions: “Fatal robbery… Karen Brown”. She is depicted with arms at her side in a defiant pose outside an ambulance, the composers representing the attack as not so serious, that it did not merited taking a life. Her actions are thus represented as irresponsible. These techniques reflect the use of binary opposites, made clear in ‘Rock Bottom’ in “Babysitter and the BEAST” which positions an audience to empathize with the ‘victims’ and revile the ‘perpetrators’.
Furthermore, ‘The Siege’ outlines the ability for journalists to present a situation that is vastly different to the truth. Marty uses visual and verbal subterfuge to embellish the story, to such an extent that what he is saying and doing bears no resemblance to the ‘pure’ truth. In terms of visual subterfuge, we see ‘behind the scenes’ footage where Marty asks for a flak jacket to ‘make it look like (he is) in danger’. We see that Frontline represents Marty as a shameless exploiter of image in order to gain ratings and, ironically, credibility. In terms of verbal deception, this is best shown through Marty’s low tone during the ‘live’ feed, and this is supported by Moore’s advice to ‘keep safe’ ‘in the line of fire’. Frontline highlights the duplicitous nature of reporters who exploit viewer’s ignorance of the true situation and must rely on the integrity of the reporters in the situation. The simple ‘truth’ has been subverted for the benefit of ratings.
EDITING:
In the interview with both the Gunman in ‘The Siege’, and Homer in ‘Homer Badman’, ‘truth’ is silenced when their subjects attempts to affirm their innocence. While Moore diverts the attention to the safety of the children, a dramatic element within the story which also positions his audience to see him as caring, the pivotal incident in ‘Homer Badman’ is the way the interview is edited and transformed into a damning indictment of an unrepentant, “overweight pervert”. The use of editing in the media is ridiculed with an obvious paused shot of Homer, and the clock hand oscillating between the words “sweet” and “can” (edited from “candy”). And in the case of Godfrey Jones, he feigns an attack by homer to demonstrate the lengths he would go to in search for truth and justice. Thus, in both Moore and Jones’ televised interview, the ‘pure’ truth is never shown and both presenters represent themselves as heroic and caring while solely being concerned with ego and prestige.
Likewise, ‘Add Sex and Stir’ satirizes the unethical practices that occurs ‘behind the scene’ after an interview. This is seen through the post-interview ‘editing’ done by Brooke, who changes the question asked during the interview to completely alter the meaning of one of the interviewee’s replies. Although the show attains good ratings, Brooke’s antics ‘backfire’ on her at the end of the episode, in which she is confronted by the captain of the women’s sports team, reproving her morally corrupt journalism and for the lack of substance in her story as she only ‘reported half the story, and beat up the rest’. Brooke, ultimately amoral, does not let the situation change her attitude or behavior.
Subjectivity/Objectivity:
While the news article purports to be objective, presenting a series of quotes supporting either the guard’s actions or condemning them, there is obvious subjectivity in the text as ‘William Aquilina’ is referred to as ‘Bill’, - as known ‘by his friends and family’. The exclusive picture on the front page depicts Aquilina as a loving family man at a family birthday celebration positioning the responder to see his death as tragic for his family. There is no similar attempt to gauge the mind set of Brown in such a traumatic situation, hence, this representation of ‘truth’ is clearly one-sided, with echoes of the netball captain’s accusation in ‘Add Sex and Stir’: ‘you reported half the story, and beat up the rest’.
The last two paragraphs in the article are devoted to ‘Ms Brown’ - a deliberately ‘objective’ label. Brown is represented as a vigilante in this article while no reference to Brown’s motivations are represented. The ‘telling’ contrast between references to ‘Bill’ and ‘Ms Brown’ in the article signal the bias within the article asking readers to personally connect with Aquilina while distancing them from Brown’s experience of the incident.
Conclusion:
If there is a ‘pure truth’, we must actively search for it. Through the use of satire, the mockumentary series Frontline demonstrate that ‘truths’ and events are often re-engineered by the media to capture audience’s attention; thus the pure ‘truth’ is traded for economic and personal gain. Frontline exposes the media’s manipulation of selected portions of ‘truth’ and the creation of ‘half-truths’. On the surface the humour appears light, but the underlying purpose of ‘Homer Badman’, and ‘Frontline’ is to encourage a critical viewing of the media and emphasize that ‘the truth is never pure, and rarely simple’.
For other info:
My Burger theory (locked for no apparent reason):
http://www.boredofstudies.org/community/showthread.php?t=61669
My reason/stance on preparing paragraphs:
http://www.boredofstudies.org/community/showthread.php?t=72341
Interesting read on english essay techniques/memorising essays
http://community.boredofstudies.org/showthread.php?t=84132
Hope this has been helpful, thanks for reading.
Good luck, and enjoy your trials and HSC.
Questions are encouraged before I lose memory about the module..
Module C: Telling the truth, IMO is THE most useful thing we'll ever learn in our english study during highschool. It teaches us to think for ourselves, which is probably why I've enjoyed it so much...
Anyways, without further ado, I present to the BOS community, my proudest work in my English days. Enjoy.
Note: these are the paragraphs which I had prepared to alter/mould/shape when serving different customers (questions). I didn't write them all in my HSC of course.
INTRO:
Truth implies the possibility of objectivity – which is impossible when it is represented in a constructed text. The hypocrisy and shallowness of the media is humorously explored in the satirical Frontline episodes: ‘The Siege’ and ‘Add Sex and Stir’, ‘The Simpsons’ episode ‘Homer Badman’, and the newspaper article “She didn’t have to Kill him” (29-7-04 Daily Telegraph). Adding to the complexity of ‘Telling the Truth’, the motivations of those in the media industry are often less than noble; hence, ‘truth’ is rarely ‘pure’.
MOTIVATIONS(ratings):
‘Homer Badman’ represents a sensationalized media report of Homer’s alleged sexual assault on his child’s babysitter despite his innocence. Lisa represents the voice of rationality in the media frenzy: “The media's making a monster out of you (Homer) because they don't care about the truth! All they care about is entertainment”, Homer’s interview is represented as a shameless exploitation of a naïve individual who mistakenly believes the current affairs program is “fair and even-handed”; but the truth is rarely that simple when ratings are the prime motivation.
In ‘Add Sex and Stir’, Brian tells Brooke to “bury” the netballer after the interview for the purpose of exclusivity. Similarly, the front page of the Daily Telegraph depicts an “Exclusive Picture” of Aquilina’s family, with an emphasis on the exclusivity. Likewise, the thirst for an exclusive story is shown in ‘The Siege’, where Emma tells the Gunman to remove the phone while Brooke lies to his mother about an exclusivity statement. Frontline represents the pursuit of ratings through exclusives as potentially endangering lives while presenting a distorted version of ‘truth’.
EXPLOITATION/questioning/ sensational:
Brooke’s interview with the gunman’s mother in ‘The Siege’ clearly show that the ‘truth is never pure’ when strong emotional responses are represented as a ‘true’ response. By rushing through the door and asking deliberately provocative questions, she receives the emotive response that the media preys upon for ratings. This is similarly explored in ‘Homer Badman’ when a news presenter ostensibly offers assistance: “Hello Homer, this is God…frey Jones. We are aware of your problems, and Mr. Simpson… We want to help”. However, his insincerity is depicted when he is shown reading from a script. His exploitation of Homer further highlights the way that simple truths are manipulated for ratings and the victimization of naïve individuals who fail to understand the power and motivations of the media.
In ‘Add Sex and Stir’, the story is sensationalized with the use of a re-enactment in the shower rooms, and the use of music and a voiceover. After watching the report, Emma says to Brian in a classic understatement: “I think we pushed the sleaze angle a bit too far.” In addition, the cut to Brian’s reaction shows Moore’s sensationalized questioning with the gunman in ‘The Siege’ is not only condoned but also encouraged. The question: “Is daddy pointing the gun at you?” is not designed to represent the gunman’s story, but calculated to escalate tension and hold audience attention.
Creation of IMAGE and meaning leading to BINARY OPPOSITES:
Both in ‘Homer Badman’, and the news article, there is a clear division between those we are meant to side with and those whom we are meant to deride. ‘Rock Bottom’ in ‘Homer Badman’ depicts the babysitter as a hard working university student with proud parents, whose ‘promise’ is cut short by Homer’s alleged crime. Similarly, Aquilina is partially framed with the caption of “A good kid in the wrong crowd… William Aquilina”, the composers presents him in what we assume is a school uniform, implying that he is non-threatening- as he is smiling, young and ‘full of promise’.
In contrast, Homer is immediately juxtaposed with the representation of the babysitter, with the tone of the voiceover shifting, slow motion being used and ominous music implying his guilt. Whereas in the news article, the representation of Brown is in direct contrast to Aquilina. Her frame is clearly defined with captions: “Fatal robbery… Karen Brown”. She is depicted with arms at her side in a defiant pose outside an ambulance, the composers representing the attack as not so serious, that it did not merited taking a life. Her actions are thus represented as irresponsible. These techniques reflect the use of binary opposites, made clear in ‘Rock Bottom’ in “Babysitter and the BEAST” which positions an audience to empathize with the ‘victims’ and revile the ‘perpetrators’.
Furthermore, ‘The Siege’ outlines the ability for journalists to present a situation that is vastly different to the truth. Marty uses visual and verbal subterfuge to embellish the story, to such an extent that what he is saying and doing bears no resemblance to the ‘pure’ truth. In terms of visual subterfuge, we see ‘behind the scenes’ footage where Marty asks for a flak jacket to ‘make it look like (he is) in danger’. We see that Frontline represents Marty as a shameless exploiter of image in order to gain ratings and, ironically, credibility. In terms of verbal deception, this is best shown through Marty’s low tone during the ‘live’ feed, and this is supported by Moore’s advice to ‘keep safe’ ‘in the line of fire’. Frontline highlights the duplicitous nature of reporters who exploit viewer’s ignorance of the true situation and must rely on the integrity of the reporters in the situation. The simple ‘truth’ has been subverted for the benefit of ratings.
EDITING:
In the interview with both the Gunman in ‘The Siege’, and Homer in ‘Homer Badman’, ‘truth’ is silenced when their subjects attempts to affirm their innocence. While Moore diverts the attention to the safety of the children, a dramatic element within the story which also positions his audience to see him as caring, the pivotal incident in ‘Homer Badman’ is the way the interview is edited and transformed into a damning indictment of an unrepentant, “overweight pervert”. The use of editing in the media is ridiculed with an obvious paused shot of Homer, and the clock hand oscillating between the words “sweet” and “can” (edited from “candy”). And in the case of Godfrey Jones, he feigns an attack by homer to demonstrate the lengths he would go to in search for truth and justice. Thus, in both Moore and Jones’ televised interview, the ‘pure’ truth is never shown and both presenters represent themselves as heroic and caring while solely being concerned with ego and prestige.
Likewise, ‘Add Sex and Stir’ satirizes the unethical practices that occurs ‘behind the scene’ after an interview. This is seen through the post-interview ‘editing’ done by Brooke, who changes the question asked during the interview to completely alter the meaning of one of the interviewee’s replies. Although the show attains good ratings, Brooke’s antics ‘backfire’ on her at the end of the episode, in which she is confronted by the captain of the women’s sports team, reproving her morally corrupt journalism and for the lack of substance in her story as she only ‘reported half the story, and beat up the rest’. Brooke, ultimately amoral, does not let the situation change her attitude or behavior.
Subjectivity/Objectivity:
While the news article purports to be objective, presenting a series of quotes supporting either the guard’s actions or condemning them, there is obvious subjectivity in the text as ‘William Aquilina’ is referred to as ‘Bill’, - as known ‘by his friends and family’. The exclusive picture on the front page depicts Aquilina as a loving family man at a family birthday celebration positioning the responder to see his death as tragic for his family. There is no similar attempt to gauge the mind set of Brown in such a traumatic situation, hence, this representation of ‘truth’ is clearly one-sided, with echoes of the netball captain’s accusation in ‘Add Sex and Stir’: ‘you reported half the story, and beat up the rest’.
The last two paragraphs in the article are devoted to ‘Ms Brown’ - a deliberately ‘objective’ label. Brown is represented as a vigilante in this article while no reference to Brown’s motivations are represented. The ‘telling’ contrast between references to ‘Bill’ and ‘Ms Brown’ in the article signal the bias within the article asking readers to personally connect with Aquilina while distancing them from Brown’s experience of the incident.
Conclusion:
If there is a ‘pure truth’, we must actively search for it. Through the use of satire, the mockumentary series Frontline demonstrate that ‘truths’ and events are often re-engineered by the media to capture audience’s attention; thus the pure ‘truth’ is traded for economic and personal gain. Frontline exposes the media’s manipulation of selected portions of ‘truth’ and the creation of ‘half-truths’. On the surface the humour appears light, but the underlying purpose of ‘Homer Badman’, and ‘Frontline’ is to encourage a critical viewing of the media and emphasize that ‘the truth is never pure, and rarely simple’.
For other info:
My Burger theory (locked for no apparent reason):
http://www.boredofstudies.org/community/showthread.php?t=61669
My reason/stance on preparing paragraphs:
http://www.boredofstudies.org/community/showthread.php?t=72341
Interesting read on english essay techniques/memorising essays
http://community.boredofstudies.org/showthread.php?t=84132
Hope this has been helpful, thanks for reading.
Good luck, and enjoy your trials and HSC.
Questions are encouraged before I lose memory about the module..
Last edited:
