The Guardian 100 is an annual guide which includes the most powerful people in the media. Most of the people mentioned in the guide are working in television, radio, newspapers, magazines, digital media, media business, advertising, marketing, and PR (Public Relations). The intial guide was created by a panel of experienced media watchers from the worlds of politics, journalism, advertising and the internet. They judged the candidates on three criteria: cultural influence, economic clout and political influence. Out of the panellists, most of them are white males, with the exception of Trevor Phillips who is black.
In the Guardian guide, there are a meagre 12 women who are included in the top 100, with most of the list dominated by men, which shows the dominant and hegemonic elite. Though most of the women, work for the BBC, and broadcasting in particular. In this case, the women have higher roles; either as chief executives, directors or as chairwomen.
Out of the 100, there are 16 women, which would equate to about 16% of the 100, as men are seemingly more successful in this case, with Larry Page and Sergey Brin , creators of Google, at the top. In my opinion, the balance of power would be decided by thier social, political and economic influence, as Steve Jobs has had success with Apple and the Apple I phone 4. As well as this, the list is contained of rich white men, which signifies how the white people are in control of the fourth estate. The inclusion of women could signify how women have more power, as they have higher positions in the media, though could be marginalised, as men such as Larry Page and Sergey Brin are more successful on an international scale.
Example of 3 of top 10 women on Guardian guide
Rebekah Brooks (Chief Executive of News International)
Elisabeth Murdoch (Chief Executive and Chairman of Shine Group)
The femme fatale was first introduced in the film noir of the 1940s. Her main interest was money, power and meaningless sex, and used their seduction as a means to exploit men. In many respects, that she signified male fears of women, following women's involvement in the war.
To some degree, the femme fatale seemed to challenge conventional stereotypes of women, as she was given power, which seemingly worried the patriarchal foundations in the 1940s. As well as this, the femme fatales seemed assert their dominance on screen, as they were commanding and rebellious, for example, they smoked cigarettes and were quite masculine, in terms of clothing, as seen in 'Double Indemnity' (1944).
Histrorical Examples of femme fatales
Rita Hayworth - Gilda (1946)
In this scene from Gilda (1946), Johnny (Glenn Ford) is introduced by Ballin Mundson (George Macready) to his wife Gilda( Rita Hayworth). Gilda is flicks her hair in a seductive manner in a close up shot, which connotes her more vivacious personality. As Johnny looks at Gilda, his facial expression connotes shock, as he is confounded by her beauty.
As he ogles at Gilda, she lifts the shoulders from her dress, which connotes that she is quite sexualised and quite immoral, which would leave 1940s audiences shocked. Alongside this, the diegitic sound of the jazz music on the radio connotes seduction, as the saxophone sound is a symbol of passion.
Gradually the camera conveys the elegant frame of Gilda in a long shot, wearing a long dress which is revealing and connotes her liberty and vivacious appearance. Gilda is a femme fatale, as she closes the radio and lifts a cigarette from the ash tray, which signifies that she is rebellious, as the cigarette is a phallic symbol and is associated with the film noir genre. This film gives an alternative representation of women as being powerful and unfaithful, as before, women would be expected to be passive and would be constructed as Proppian princesses.
As well as her physical appearance, Gilda seems to be dominant in this scene, as well as the narrative, as she speaks quite seductively and tries to be assertive. However, Gilda's facial expression turns to disgust in a close up shot, as Ballin says that " You don't congratulate the bride, you congratulate the husband", which signifies that Gilda wants to be more assertive , as she orders Ballin to invite Johnny to dinner. Gilda tries to tempt Johnny, in a medium shot by saying that she wants everyone to approve of her, which connotes that she could be sinister and troublesome.
Linda Darnell- Fallen Angel (1945)
Linda Darnell is well known for work in films such as 'The Mark of Zorro', 'Anna and the king of Siam'. Though she is better known for her roles in film noir genre, with films like 'Hangover Square' and 'Fallen Angel', she was casted due to her fine beauty and charm.
In this scene, from 'Fallen Angel', Darnell plays Stella, a ' gold digger' waitress, who had a bust up with her boyfriend. Evidently, this scene signifies Darnell as the femme fatale, as the use of a two shot/ medium shot of Stella with her boyfriend signifies her as being quite loose and seductive, as she wears lipstick and is wearing a tight, vivacious dress. As well as this, she meets Stanton,the protagonist and is talks quite calmly, yet seductively, which connotes that she could be troublesome.
In some ways, Stella is constructed as a character who is quite demanding and assertive, as she asks Stanton , what he can give to her as part of a deal. Stella plays a crucial part in the narrative, as she rebuffs Stanton's proposal of marriage and actually gets him into trouble.
Contemporary Example of Femme Fatale
Brittany Murphy - Sin City (2005)
Over the years, the role of the femme fatale has slightly declined, with women often being the Proppian heroines of films and have had major parts in films, as seen in 'Elektra' (2005), 'Sex and the City' (2008), 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider' (2001) to name a few. Though, women still hold significant power in films, as the rise of feminism in the 60's and emancipation , enabled women to gain equality.
Notably, actresses such as Rebecca Romijn, Nicole Kidman and Angelina Jolie are known for their success as modern femme fatales, due to thier fame and sex appeal. An example of the modern femme fatale is the 'late' Brittany Murphy, who plays Shellie,a slutty barmaid, in the successful neo noir film, Sin City.
In this scene, Shellie effectively conveys the atrributes of a femme fatale, as she is dressed in a shirt which reveals her lingerie; this therefore connotes that she is a woman who is more slutty, flirtatious and troublesome. As well as this, Shellie is assertive, as the close up shot of her face signifies her as angry, dominant and controlling.
However, the use of a close up shot of her face, and high angle shot, signifies how she is more tense and vulnerable, as Jackie Boy threatens to kill her. Sin City gives an alternative representation of femme fatales, as Shellie's powers of seduction, have no effect on certain men, due to her affairs. There is a clear role reversal in this scene, as she is signified as the Proppian princess who is being protected by Dwight (Clive Owen), who is the Proppian hero. Effectively, the film subordinates women as being more active, yet vulnerable, in comparison to the 1940s femme fatales, who were more dominant and trouble some. Also, the use of a high angle shot of Shellie outside the window connotes that Shellie is flirtatious, as the audience gain sexual gratifications out of seeing her cleavage .
This particular video on the internet was my clear favourite, as the use of animation and humour together made the video entertaining yet insightful. Clearly, the video made use of technology, as animation programmes were used and was iconic in its own way. Also the video was unique and appeal to an older audience, which was interesting. Though, the inclusion of some facts and useful information went amiss , but all in all the humour and clever animation made it worthwhile.
This internet safety video was effective in informing the audience about the internet; its pros and cons were also clearly addressed. I felt that the interviews with the teenage audience was effective, as they gave thier views on the internet and discussed the flaws about the internet. The use of technology was more practical, as video cameras were used, which made the video more authentic. In comparison to the other videos, the use of cuts and wipes created a subtle balance between text and interviews, which made it successful.
I felt that the use of music which accompanied the video was more upbeat, which went well with the continual cuts and changing images. Though, the video did manage to inform the audience about the internet , as some facts were mentioned, which made it informative. However, the video could have been slightly longer and could have had one or two more facts. Though, the speed of the slides could have been slower as the facts went too quickly. Also, the use of technology could have been improved as only images and text was included, which made it sound.
I felt that this video was original, in terms of its soundtrack of the MSN sounds and did inform the audience about the Internet, due to the inclusion of facts from sources such as The Daily Mail, BBC News and others alongside the rolling images. However, the balance of facts and images was inconsistent, as there was too much text at times and a lack of images. On the contrary, the video did make use of multiple technologies such as the video camera and Windows Movie Maker programme. Interestingly, the interviews with different age groups was effective, as different views about the internet were shared , though the sound could have been improved, as there were inconsistencies at times.
Finally, this internet video was visually engaging, however the absence of facts and too many images let it down. The constant rolling of images did not fully inform the audience and looked amateurish at times. Though, the level of creativity was limited, as facts would have made it slightly better, as the audience could find out new information. The use of sound was suitable alongside the speed of the images. By only using Windows Movie Maker, the video was quite basic and lacked originality, in comparison to the other videos which created a balance of text, image and video camera content.
