Media exam question practice

a) What is meant by a mainstream film ? [2]

A mainstream film has financial backing from one of the big media conglomerates having large budgets and are made to create revenue.

 b) Briefly explain what a media conglomerate is. [2]

A media conglomerate is a media company which owns multiple companies for example Disney owns Marvel

 c) Explain two features of independent  film production. Refer briefly to  I, Daniel Blake  to support your   points. [6]

The cast in independent films are usually never heard of because of the budgets for independent films being very low the actors which are hired are amateur actors for example in I, Daniel Blake many characters which are present are ordinary people not professional actors.

Independent films don't follow the ordinary studio style like big blockbusters but rather having their narrative focus on a specific subject making the audience think and reflect on certain subjects for example I, Daniel Blake focuses on Daniel Blake being denied Employment and support allowance even though he is deemed unfit to work by his doctor and struggles with poverty having the narrative focus on the effects of poverty in England.   

 d) Explain how economic contexts shape mainstream films. Refer to Black Panther  to support your points. [15]

The budgets for films can drastically effect there success when they are released for example the budget of the film can effect the amount of advertising the film gets and marketing campaigns like Black Panthers marketing  being target towards the African American audiences by having a full African American cast also other forms of media linked with Black Panther like the soundtrack which features famous African American artists and also advertising the film during sports breaks which has a higher amount of African American audiences attracting their target demographic helping create more exposure for the film and earn more revenue in the box office. 

The budget of the film typically effects the box office earnings for example the budget for Black panther was 200 million USD and earned 1.344 Billion USD earning over 1 Billion in the box office  whereas a film with a much lower budget like I, Daniel Blake was around 2 Million and earned 15.8 Million at the box office also with higher budget films the more distributors will pay for the film as films with large budgets are usually made to create revenue for the companies involved. Also the film will continue to earn money through royalties as merchandise, soundtrack and streaming platforms will keep generating revenue for the creators and actors.   

The film was released in2018 at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement and Black Panther was directed by Ryan Coogler who was the first black superhero director for the MCU with an all black cast which at the height of the racial tension with the Black Live Matter movement allowed the creators to profit from the movement and attracting the African American community being 37% in total viewership for the film.  

The Merchandise made from the film whether that being clothes, toys or a real Black Panther mask lots of profit has come from the merchandise producing $60 million to $100 million in just one year and these came out as the film was premiering adding to the $1.344 billion earning over 6 times its budget of 200 million which is common for superhero films as they dominate the box office each year as Marvel's net worth is $10 billion and having their films dominate the box office usually being the top films.     

Black Panther mainstream question

 Black Panther being apart of the Marvel Universe being owned in a large conglomerate by Disney Black Panther is a superhero action/adventure film also having linking themes to sci-fi all these mixed genres give the film a larger range to attract a bigger audience. The audience which marvel films attract a wide range of people showing that marvels marketing has worked in attracting the widest possible range of people especially as these marvel films are apart of one big universe and building this franchise helps keep there audience and also grow and maximise their profits by expanding on their universe building new narratives. The actors casted for the film are mainstream African American actors.

The Budget for Black Panther was $200 million clearly the Marvel universe is own by Disney which is apart of the big 6 conglomerate companies which dominate the mainstream media industry. The marketing for Black Panther was obviously trying to attract a larger African American audience which worked seeing that early audiences was 37 % African American and they did this by having a very diverse cast predominantly having African American cast but also doing this every step of production like the album created for the film which included artists like Kendrick Lamar and Travis Scott creating more hype for the film as help reaches the artists fans creating a larger audience. Black Panther premiered on January 29th 2018 and opened in 4,020 theatres, 3,200 in 3D, 404 in IMAX and made $1.344 Billion      

 

Black Panther

 How does Black Panther fit Tinto the Marvel franchise?:  the narrative fits in to add to  the larger story of the Avengers films.

What made it different?: the first black superhero in the Marvel universe to have his own film 

What made it successful?: he had a preview at the end of Avengers Civil war giving Black Panther a lot of hype, the rise of the movement black lives matter, marvel films are usually positive in ratings  

Harlem Renaissance: An intellectual, social and artistic explosion centred in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City having deep ties with New African American cultural expressions across urban areas The Harlem Renaissance is considered to be a rebirth of the African-American arts and this links to Black Panther as a major part of the story includes a lot of African culture within its characters.

The Black Panthers: A political activist group originally for self defence against police brutality began to quickly expand into advocating for social reforms the movie obviously linked to The Black Panther party referencing the name. 

Afrofuturism: A cultural aesthetic of African diaspora culture being created around the 90s expressing the historic African culture mix with sci-fi dressing problems that the African American culture faced. In Black Panther as the costumes and set designs being a mix of futuristic and traditional African culture.

Oscarsowhite: A hashtag which was to call out the lack of diversity of people of colour, LGBTQ+ and Women within the Oscars film awards this occurred during the same year as Black Panthers release