supercurricular

 ONLINE ARTICLES

behind the scenes at cosprop- This article explores the behind the scenes costumes for stage, film and TV, for productions including A Room With A View, Poor Things and Downton Abbey found at cps[prop, London's renowned costume house.

Cosprop celebrates 60 years via the exhibition 'costume couture; sixty years of cosprop at London's fashion and textiles museum'.(the legacy it sits on is an estimated 300,000 costume piece collection) 

Featuring a striking three- storey 19th century building with an extra warehouse hidden behind. There are rows and rows of clothing covering the floors and walls- sorted into multiple categories, according to gender, period ,season , material and colour

All of it “is really the result of 60 years of making costumes. Virtually everything we’ve either made, or are originals, or pieces come to us one way or another via donations,” -Chris Garlick (company manager)

MAGAZINES

This article is from the media magazine, April 2005,written by Chris Sanford.

The article explores how the OC became a 'TV phenomenon' despite the laugh and scorn of others ,under the assumption that the show is just another '90210 rehash' and that its all been done before. The producer Josh Schwartz himself ,considers the series to be first and foremost a typical style of show, following in the footsteps of a long line of American teen soap dramas ,adhering to the similar formula of rich , good looking teens living out their struggles and and juggling emotions- 'all to a glamorous indie , rock and roll soundtrack'. However, despite this Schwartz also mentions the 'trojan horse' idea he had to create for the show in order to get it on air- using the analogy to produce a series that on the surface had all the conventional, expected elements, yet with a surprise of the 'soldiers' on the inside aka the characters who will end up being 'quirkier and more offbeat' than is expected in this genre.

Chris Sanford argues that both points of view- either the show being unpredictable and another copy of pre-existing teen series ,or the idea of it being both innovative and enjoyable ,described as 'one of the most intelligent, witty, sexy and entertaining TV programmes on' at the time ,are both reasonable and arguable.

The OC can be seen as mainly inspired by Beverley Hills 90210- even Schwartz himself after assessing the generic framework of the show cited that he wanted people to watch the O.C and "think its another Beverley hills 90210 with lots of beautiful people, wealth and beaches". The show could also be seen to draw inspiration from pre-existing shows such as Melrose Place, Dawson's creek ,My so called life, party of five and many more. As a result of this adherence to the typical conventions of the genre it could potentially just be seen as a retread of earlier shows. Also, these shows tend to be generational- growing and developing ,but then diminishing along with the teenage lives of the viewers and the protagonists themselves- perhaps suggesting that it is solely the next in a long line of 'boom-and-bust' teen dramas.

However, the O.C has perhaps drawn extra attention, firstly due to the look and style- beautiful people
showcased wearing fashionable clothes in a sunny idyllic, coastal setting. This alone is not perhaps gripping enough so in addition, the O.C ,more than any other teen show before it, deals with the issues of facing the marginalized and the 'outsider', rather than the members of a far off and unattainable

clique. Although they are positioned in a safe, wealthy, upper middle class environment, both of the 2 main characters Seth and Ryan find it challenging to immediately fit into their surroundings ,and are looked down on to begin with/shamed. Schwartz is manipulating the conventions of the genre by doing so, and furthers this by frequently meditating on the problems facing 'the middle class, intermarried Jewish family in modern America'. Furthermore, the show also celebrates popular adult culture- especially in its political and and cinematic references as well as the appearance of various well known bands. It also 'does not seek to patronize its audience with convenient solutions and happy endings' further reflecting Schwartz's' trojan horse idea- subverting genre expectations.

This article can relate to my studies ,via the link to Steve Neale's genre theory- with the idea of producers following and repeating typical conventions to provide an audience with familiarity, however by also introducing minor differences to keep the audience engaged and provide them with some nuance - perhaps the reason for the 'O.C fever [having] gripped the UK' at the time. Also, we can explore the idea of Stewart Halls reception theory and the idea of audiences taking dominant preferred, negotiated or oppositional readings of a media product - which is demonstrated in this article via the divide in opinion of whether it is a groundbreaking show or not ,since it is interpreted differently by all types of audiences .Furthermore the show strived to include less conventional, 'perfect' characters and instead represent the idea of an 'outsider'.This is becoming more and more frequent in media texts, 20 years later now- as shown in some of the adverts we study e.g Baby dove and river island which both target 'outsider' or mis/under represented groups in society, building upon what shows like the OC were starting to explore back in the early 2000s.

MARK DIXON EXTRA READING

stewart hall representation theory

In Mark dixon's 'Media theory for A level' he explores Stewart halls representation theory and the idea of how media products do not just reflect reality, but how their meanings are shaped by media producers and how these versions of reality have a profound influence on audience thinking .He also explores the idea of media contributing to the construction of stereotypes e.g black youths internalised the criminal stereotypes constructed by the media in the 1970's and as a result engaged in real criminal activities.

He says that hall suggests that stereotypes are incredibly powerful and that their widespread use ,guides audiences to associate specific groups with negative traits. He explores how stereotypes infer a symbolic social power helping to position some groups as social outcasts or as social others.

some PowerPoint slides:

SHELTER ADVERT

 

I chose this advert since it features a heart-breaking narrative of a  girl who tries her best and is solely good however does not receive resnsetes or the good living conditions that she wishes for. This is used to create sympathy and empathy within the audience for the children who are living in these conditions- causing the viewers to remember how priveleged they are and feel a duty to donate in order to help other less fortunate.The advert also highlights the loss of innocence in children via being forced toundergo these situations - the juxtaposition between the idea of a festive and happy time , contrasted with her un fit living conditions and sadness ,emphasises how much these children require and are entitled to a better lifestyle encouraging the audience to help.