The basics
1) What is the name of the film, the director and notable stars?
Film: Belle
Director: Amma Asante
Notable Stars: - Gugu Mbatha-Raw
-Tom Wilkinson
-Tom Felton
2) When was it released?
- 8 September 2013 (Toronto International Film Festival)
- 2 May 2014 (United States)
- 13 June 2014(United Kingdom)
Genre: Period Drama Film
4) What was the critical reception? What is the film rated on IMDB or Rotten Tomatoes?
IMDB: 7.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: -Critics: 7/10
-Audience: 4.1/5
Broadcast
1) Write a close-textual analysis of the trailer using the MIGRAIN key concepts of Media Studies.
The lighting varies throughout the trailer to give different senses of the atmosphere during different parts. The diegetic dialogues along with some of the non diegetic music used accentuates the time period and allows the audience to feel engaged with the film.
2) Find examples of television promotion on YouTube (adverts, chat shows, ‘red carpet’ interviews etc.) and post them to your blog along with an explanation of how these promote the film.
Gives a brief overview of the film along with promoting the new actors of the film. Also the themes they want to express to the public are also stated
Shows Amma Asante, the producer's artistic views and goals along with exploring the main actress' perspective on her role in the film.
Gives the audience an overview of his character and what it was like on and off set.
3) Does the broadcast promotion use stars to create interest in the film?
The broadcast promotion includes a variety of well known actors such as Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson and Penelope Wilton who have filmed many different period films and TV shows. Tom Felton who may be the most well known in the film due to his role as Draco Malfoy in the popular Harry Potter films, is also included in the cast. The female protagonist of Belle, Gugu Mbatha-Raw also sparked a lot of interest as she had never filmed a period film or TV show unlike the other actors, therefore creating curiosity within the audience as they were interested in finding out how her performance would be.
1) Read at least THREE reviews of the film and provide a quote from each one.
Screen Daily: 'We are constantly aware that this is a world in which appearances and propriety are everything and where a woman’s status is measured by the fortune and title she might bring to a marriage.'
The Guardian:'Describing her film as a hybrid of "the Jane Austen elements we know so well – the marriage market, the lives of girls growing up into society ladies, the romantic longing – combined with a story about the end of slavery", Asante paints an enthralling portrait of a woman struggling to define her identity, caught between stairs in terms of social custom and protocol.'
The Independent: 'Perhaps today's British film industry has the same closed-minded attitudes about gender and race as the 18th-century high-society London recreated here.'
2) Find examples of print promotion (e.g. film poster, billboard adverts etc.) on Google images and post them to your blog along with an explanation of how these promote the film.
Shows the key characters and actors of the film to create interest from the audience.
Interview from Tom Felton, increases the anticipation of the film along with introducing the film to new audiences.
As the poster is in a train station, it would reach a wide audience and convey the key points of the film through the poster
3) Choose ONE print advert and write a textual analysis of what it communicates to the audience.
This poster conveys to the audience who all the main characters included in the novel are, whilst also clearly displaying the protagonist by giving her more space on the poster. It includes the main important actors and also shows a review about the film to convince the audience to anticipate the actual release ( June 13) which is also displayed on the poster. The themes are very evident as the characters clothing is very visible, therefore giving the audience an insight the genre of the film .
4) How is the film’s brand constructed? What does the brand connote? Does it remind you of any other brands or similar films?
The brand is constructed by giving a black woman positive attributes despite the way they were viewed during that time period; dirty and unworthy of respect. The name 'Belle' has strong connotations of beauty and refinement which Gugu Mbatha-Raw portrays with her acting. Along with her beauty, she also shows the knowledge a black woman can have which overall gives a very positive perspective to them.
1) Research the film’s presence on social media: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc. How does the film’s social media presence help promote the film?
Twitter: No official Twitter but promotes the film through Amma Asante, the prodeucer's twitter account.
Facebook: Constant updates of the film along with displaying the awards they are nominated for
2) Analyse the official website for the film. How does it use the film’s brand? What examples of synergy can you find with the other platforms?
The website serves as an easy to use interface that allows the audience to not only have an overview of the main characters in the film but also includes several important features such as the trailer, clips and the background of the overall story. Surprisingly, the website also promotes the distributor, Fox Searchlight Pictures as the links to the social media are Fox Searchlight's You Tube, Twitter and Facebook pages and not the pages exclusive to Belle. The website also clearly displays the good reviews it has received and promotes the sale of the Blu Ray DVD.
3) Did the film run any kind of e-media based campaign to generate interest in the film?
4) Can you find any examples of the two-step flow theory online – did celebrities or journalists tweet or post about the film in order to promote it to their followers?
Oprah Winfrey showed her love for the film and the actors as they represented the injustice of black women
Audience
1) Who is the target audience for this film? Demographics and psychographics.
The target audience for the film is primarily the demographic of ABC1 with target audience ranging from 20 - 50 year olds. This is due to the period drama genre being more popular within older audiences however it might of had a certain extent of popularity within the younger audiences as Amma Asante particularly wanted to focus on the romance aspect rather than making the film a history lesson. The pschographics for the film would be mainstreamers and maybe resigned.
2) How does the cross-media promotional campaign target this audience?
the certificate belle recieved for the film was a 12 A. this is due to the small strong language used in the film. other than that, it is very family friendly and suitable for all ages.
Representation
1) What representations of people, places or groups can be found in this film?
The representation of black people in the society is very apparent as they are stereotyped to be low and dirty. Also with the representation of white british people is very negative as they have a deep representation of being racist against people of other colours even if they are blood relatives.
2) What representation of ‘Britishness’ does the film contain?
The film has a great representation of British heritage to be very sophisticated with class and status. However it also gives the representation that Britain had and may even still have racist opinions, similarly to the film, on coloured people.
Audience
1) Who is the target audience for this film? Demographics and psychographics.
The target audience for the film is primarily the demographic of ABC1 with target audience ranging from 20 - 50 year olds. This is due to the period drama genre being more popular within older audiences however it might of had a certain extent of popularity within the younger audiences as Amma Asante particularly wanted to focus on the romance aspect rather than making the film a history lesson. The pschographics for the film would be mainstreamers and maybe resigned.
2) How does the cross-media promotional campaign target this audience?
The cross media promotion campaign would have targeted this audience through traditional methods of displaying adverts on TV and posters on streets to attract the key target audience. However, it could be considered that their activeness in e media may have been their method to attract a small proportion of the younger audience.
3) What audience pleasures does the film provide? Think about the BFI lecture on audience pleasures in British film.
3) What audience pleasures does the film provide? Think about the BFI lecture on audience pleasures in British film.
The film could provide a sense of self identity for those who may have been discriminated due to their race. It also creates personal relationships with a few of the characters. As the film is a period drama, it may also act as a diversion for the audience from everyday life as the film was set a long time ago which makes the audience believe that the events that occur in the film would not happen much in daily life.
4) What similar films would the target audience enjoy? Justify your suggestions.
12 years a slave: Similar themes of slavery
Institution
1) Which film studio produced the film? What other films have they produced? Do they have a track record with this kind of film and this target audience?
Production Companies: -DJ Films
2) Which company distributed the film in the UK? What other films have they distributed?
Fox Searchlight Pictures: - 12 Years A Slave
- Black Nativity
4) What similar films would the target audience enjoy? Justify your suggestions.
12 years a slave: Similar themes of slavery
Institution
1) Which film studio produced the film? What other films have they produced? Do they have a track record with this kind of film and this target audience?
Production Companies: -DJ Films
- -Isle of Man Film
- -Pinewood Pictures
- -BFI
Pinewood Pictures: -Casino Royale
- Sky Fall
-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 & 2
-Sherlock Holmes
Pinewood Pictures does not have a track record with period films for the aimed target audience that Belle has, however, they have a lot of experience with big budget British films, the most well known being some of the James Bond films, therefore, they would try and help Belle reach the success rates that other movies have achieved.
Fox Searchlight Pictures: - 12 Years A Slave
- Black Nativity
3) Do they have a track record with this kind of film and this target audience?
They have a track record of similar period films that include black people synch as 12 years a slave, which was a particular global success.
4)What was the budget for the film?
$11m
5) How successful was the film financially? Why do you think this was?
The film was not very successful as despite it making around million dollars worldwide, The budget for the film was roughly 11million as well, meaning there wasnt much profit made.
6) Was this film more successful in the UK or worldwide/USA? Why do you think this is?
The film was more successful in USA more than the UK and the rest of the world. This is probably due to the topic of racism being very much relevant in America more than the UK. Also, Americans enjoy watching British heritage films as it gives them a perspective of how Britain was and how modern Britain may be very similar.
7) What certificate was the film given (12A, 18 etc.)? What was the reason for this certificate? Is the certification important for this film in terms of targeting its audience? Why?
4)What was the budget for the film?
$11m
5) How successful was the film financially? Why do you think this was?
The film was not very successful as despite it making around million dollars worldwide, The budget for the film was roughly 11million as well, meaning there wasnt much profit made.
6) Was this film more successful in the UK or worldwide/USA? Why do you think this is?
The film was more successful in USA more than the UK and the rest of the world. This is probably due to the topic of racism being very much relevant in America more than the UK. Also, Americans enjoy watching British heritage films as it gives them a perspective of how Britain was and how modern Britain may be very similar.
7) What certificate was the film given (12A, 18 etc.)? What was the reason for this certificate? Is the certification important for this film in terms of targeting its audience? Why?
the certificate belle recieved for the film was a 12 A. this is due to the small strong language used in the film. other than that, it is very family friendly and suitable for all ages.
Representation
1) What representations of people, places or groups can be found in this film?
The representation of black people in the society is very apparent as they are stereotyped to be low and dirty. Also with the representation of white british people is very negative as they have a deep representation of being racist against people of other colours even if they are blood relatives.
2) What representation of ‘Britishness’ does the film contain?
The film has a great representation of British heritage to be very sophisticated with class and status. However it also gives the representation that Britain had and may even still have racist opinions, similarly to the film, on coloured people.
3) How does the representation of Britain differ to Ill Manors?
There is a strong representation of British society to be primarily full of people of from a high and wealthy background however there is a great sense of the racism that British people hold of people with different coloured skin such as black people, viewing them as Britain's pollution.
4) What values and ideologies can you find in your chosen film? (E.g. The King’s Speech is extremely patriotic, pro-monarchy etc.)
There is a strong representation of British society to be primarily full of people of from a high and wealthy background however there is a great sense of the racism that British people hold of people with different coloured skin such as black people, viewing them as Britain's pollution.
4) What values and ideologies can you find in your chosen film? (E.g. The King’s Speech is extremely patriotic, pro-monarchy etc.)
Belle discusses many different ideologies in the film with some being portrayed as positive whereas some having negative portrayals.
Case study comparison
1) What similarities and differences can you find between Ill Manors, A Field In England and your chosen case study film? List all that apply.
Case study comparison
1) What similarities and differences can you find between Ill Manors, A Field In England and your chosen case study film? List all that apply.
The similarities the film holds with Ill Manors and A Field in England is that all three films show different representations of Britain during different time periods. Despite being British films, all the films have vastly different genres that give different portrayals of Britain.
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