The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games novel is the first book in a series of three which has been turned into a major motion movie released during the last couple of the weeks. I went to see the movie and have read the  three novels.  Now don’t get me wrong I loved the movie but I don’t think it lived up to the standards of the novel. This means I loved the movie as a movie and novel as a novel. The movie did not live up to my expectations as the film missed out parts of the story line, the casting and costuming didn't fit the description exactly of the book. However the film did cover the main incidents of the book in order, and it did entertain me as a movie.  In this blog I am going to cover how the book was adapted into the movie through:

·        Storyline

·        Costuming

·        Casting

Also I look at what the trailer made me think of the movie.

Before I started this blog I looked at a review on the movie by Lisa Kothari on the site Seattle PI. I have quoted throughout this blog as I found it quite useful and it challenged my opinions of the film.

Katniss and Gale

Storyline:

When the movie started both my dad and I agreed it missed out most of the facts on Katniss’s relationships with the people in her district. Therefore her relationships are not completely portrayed in the film. For example the directors did not allow enough time for the relationship between Katniss and Gale to be fully shown. In the novel Gale is like an older brother in Katniss’s eyes however he sees Katniss in a different way. Gale has a crush on Katniss but this is not shown in the film. When we see Katniss kissing Paeta during the games we see Gale's reaction but you wouldn’t understand his reaction unless you had read the book and knew the full story of their relationship. Also when Katniss is saying good bye to her mum she says “you can’t zone out again, you just can’t. You’re all she has” Katniss is saying this as when her father died her mother stopped doing anything for her sister and herself. Katniss ended up fending for her sister and providing for her, at a young age therefore she did not get on well with her mother as her mother did nothing to help keep food in her and her sisters mouths and clothes on their bodies. Also the review said "the movie does run true to the book, even if a lot of the story is skipped quickly over or left out altogether, the cast members bring to life the characters authentically, and you do get a chance to see the action you had only conjured up mentally while reading. I prefer the book, although I did like seeing the film – I just wish it would have embraced the themes and outrageousness of the story more authentically. In that sense, it missed the mark for me." and for me that was the same. As I absolutely loved the books and when I heard the first one was becoming a movie I was over the moon. And I believe that it did follow true to the book but it did not provide the full message and horror of the events.

Saying this, the movie did follow all the main events in the story. Such as it went from her hunting in the forest to being at the reaping; from saying goodbye to family to being on the train with Peeta; to training to being in the games. And during the games everything went as per book. The review I read said " the movie was very good overall. In particular, I liked how the games followed the sequence and action in the book."  because even though they missed little details the audience still gets the idea of the main story line. As the movie followed the main events of the book and had a good story line it entertained me.

Costuming:

Effie Trinket

When I first saw Effie Trinket I was slightly disappointed by her looks because in the book she has a "scary white grin, pinkish hair" and she wore a "spring green suit". However in the movie she didn't quite appear the way I thought she should but that is just my personal opinion. Also when we first see Katniss she is reasonably well dressed in quite nice clothes. I feel this contradicts the book as she struggles to earn money to feed her family and put food on the table. Therefore, I do not think the costuming was fully portrayed in the movie as it was in the book.

Casting:

Many people are debating whether Jennifer Laurence is skinny enough to play Katniss or not. For example Mr Pulland believes she does not look like she is starving and I agree with him. Another website looks at this 'weight issue' and says  "conversation around the film of late has zeroed in on star Jennifer Lawrence’s body: that, ahem, she didn’t look hungry enough for the starring role." Therefore I wonder whether Jennifer Laurence was the right person to play Katniss as she is supposed to be rather skinny with hardly any meat on their bones. However the main review I read said "I thought the actors were well-suited to their characters" which contrasts other views. Showing me that there is quite a debate on the fact of whether Laurence was the right person to cast for the character of Katniss Everdeen or not.

Trailer:

When I first saw this trailer for the film I was excited that the book was finally becoming a movie. I also feel the trailer was a bit of a letdown as over half the trailer shows parts from less than the first half of the film and only shows the start of the games.  If it had shown parts of the games all jumbled together it would made the movie more inviting. But that's my opinion.

In conclusion, I feel that the film is a good film and followed the main storyline of the book. However the movie did not live up to my expectations as it missed out parts of the story  and the casting and costuming didn't fit the descriptions in the book according to me. 

Doc Martin

Doc Martin's family

Doc Martin is an English comedy series which is on TV One at 8:30pm every Friday. My mum loves it and she is letting me watch it for this assignment, unfortunately for her I am hooked on it too. I centres around the life of Dr Martin Ellingham and his partner, Louisa Glasson. In the series showing at the moment they have a baby boy and are trying to juggle parenthood and work.

Louisa Glasson

My mum has the first two seasons of Doc Martin on DVD so she let me watch them to find out about the beginning of Doc Martin. The first time we see him he is on a plane sitting opposite a woman who tells him "you have issues" as he is staring at her. We find out that she is Louisa Glasson a teacher from Portwenn who is on the comity that is looking at appointing Doc Martin as the GP for Portwenn. When we see this connection at the start, the producers of the series are portraying that there is going to be something more with their relationship during the series.  And low and behold in the season on at the moment they have a child together.

  

Doctor Martin Ellingham

Doc Martin was a top surgeon in London before he became a GP in Portwenn. The reason he changed his practice was because he developed a phobia of blood. This phobia dawned on him in the theatre as he realised he was operating on someone's wife and a mother. The media use his phobia to make the show comical as he is still in the medical profession as he sees blood quite often. In an emergency situation he tries to focus on the task at hand and looks away quite often so he doesn't have to see the blood. This poses both external and internal conflict for Martin. An internal conflict as it is psychological fear (all in his head) he is trying to concur to continue doing his job. His external conflict is the fact that every time he sees blood he passes out or vomits, also when the villagers first find out about his phobia they give a hard time about it - thus creating an external conflict for him. 

Eleanor Glasson

Every episode either has a new character or a big event. the script writers of the show do this to create an excitement or tension in every episode so that the audience stays drawn to it and will continue watching it. For example this week Louisa's mother, Eleanor Glasson, who showed up a couple of episodes ago without warning got very sick. She had a strangulated hernia which she hadn't told them about. Because of this Doc Martin had to do an emergency operation on her because the ambulance wasn't coming quick enough and she would die. This showed me that he takes every course possible to keep his patients alive no matter who they are (he doesn't like Louisa's mother). Therefore every episode has a mini plot climax with a resolution. And at the end of a season there is a bigger plot climax which is either resolved then or in the next season. This bigger plot climax makes the audience want to watch the next episode.

James Henry Ellingham

During the episodes we see Doc Martin getting better at looking after his child and is starting to show affection for him. He struggled to show affection for James as his parents never loved him. however I would never known this if I had not watched the previous episodes. Therefore the producers were clever in linking previous episodes and seasons into one. So that the audience has the see the previous seasons to understand why the characters act the way they do about certain things. In season two Martin's parents visit and his mother admits she never loved him or wanted him; and that was why he always was at boarding school or with his Aunt Joan and it is because of this that he struggles to show affection to James. This shows he is experiencing character development as a father as he is becoming a better father for his son.

In conclusion, Doc Martin is a successful British Comedy. As the media portrays his character well, it catches its audience's attention every single episode. And it links different events in the seasons together for a better meaning and understanding.

To find out more visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doc_Martin.

This is a trailer of the current season and it was enough to get me hooked on the show.

The Amazing Race:

Amazing race is where twelve teams of two race around the world to win money. The franchise is called The Amazing Race around the World. America was the first country to do it and now it has franchised into Australia, Asia, Brazil, Israel, Latin America, Norway, Philippines, Vietnam, and China.

In New Zealand we get the American and Australian episodes. At the  moment America's episode from November - December 2009 which means you can find out who wins by just going on to the American Amazing Race website.

Each show has different types of clues which the contestants find in a marked box and have to follow. These clues can be:

·                     Route information:     

This consists of information of where the teams have to go next and sometime how to get there. if it doesn't tell them how to get there the team has to figure it out themselves.

·                     Detour:           

Makes the team pick between two tasks.  Quite often the tasks have names that rhyme or are a pun and the teams have to often work out what they mean.

·                     Roadblock:     

Is a task that only one team member has to do without help from the other member. they often are introduced with a question and the team picks who is going to do the challenge before they read on.

·                     Roadblock twist:        

Is a road block which has twist for example it could be a intersection roadblock where one team intersects with another while only one member from each team can partake.

·                     Fast Forward: 

The fast is a task that if one team completes it that team can bypass all other activities and go to the pit stop. once one team has completed it no other team can do it.

·                     Yield: 

Is where one team can make another team stop for one turn of an hourglass. When they do this they put a photo of the team they want to yield on the board with a picture of themselves saying courtesy of so that the Yielded team know who yielded them.

·                     U-turn:           

The u-turn replaced the yield during the season 12 and works slightly like the Yield in terms of photo's. It occurs after a detour and the team who are u-turned have to do the detour activity they didn't do.

·                     Intersection:   

An intersection is where two teams have to join together to complete a task

The last clue in each leg tells the contestants where the pit stop (check-in point) is. Most often the last team to check in is eliminated unless it is an non-elimination leg. If a team is not eliminated they have to complete a speed bump (extra task just for them) during the next leg. All these different clues and activities make the race more appealing to its viewers

However for this blog I am going to talk to you about how the producers of the show influence which teams compete in the race. If you want to be in the race you apply and get picked. The teams that are chosen are  picked  so that they appeal to a large audience and different social groups. On the American season showing in New Zealand there is a Lesbian Couple, a father and daughter team, brothers, married couples, newly dating couples, workmates (who happen to be detectives as well). All these contestants appeal to people like themselves; therefore the media use them to appeal to a wide audience.

Each team has its own camera guy and sound guy and they must stay with them. This makes it seem a little unrealistic as at train stations and airports the team must book 4 tickets, then they are re-filmed asking only for two tickets. This is to make the show seem like the contestants are on their own in the world. They never look straight at the camera unless it is an interview after the leg to make it like they do not know the camera is there. The producers use this to make the contestants look like they are on their own and yet we know better.

On clue boxes such the U-turn the team causing another team to be u-turned must state out loud why they pick the team they are picking. This provides the audience with information but it does not let the other teams know why they did it. Therefore the audience sees the situation from point of view of the people who u-turned the people and not the other way around.

All together the show is a strongly media driven show. Just to appeal to a wider audience.

NCIS the Naval Criminal Investigative Service:

My sister, mum and I love to sit down and watch NCIS on a Tuesday night at 8:30 on channel 3. It is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents. They conduct criminal investigations involving the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. It has a theme song written just for it. There have been 9 seasons of NCIS so far and the first 8 seasons have been released on DVD and the last season is due to be released this year. Also while I was researching I found this amazing website, which has all the information you could ever want to know about NCIS.

However for this blog I am going to tell you about the main characters and their representation of or appeal to the real world. Thus it is done through the manipulation of the media.

Seasons of Main Characters:

Key:

Main character

appears some times

Does not appear

Recurring

Character	Portrayed by	Seasons
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Leroy Jethro Gibbs	Mark Harmon
Caitlin Todd	Sasha Alexander			Guest					Voice	Cameo
Tony DiNozzo	Michael Weatherly
Ziva David	Cote de Pablo
Abby Sciuto	Pauley Perrette
Timothy McGee	Sean Murray
Jenny Shepard	Lauren Holly									Cameo
Leon Vance	Rock Carrol
Ducky Mallard	David McCallum
Jimmy Palmer	Brian Dietzen

The first character I will tell you about is Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs who is played by Mark Harmon. He is the special agent in charge of the main major case response team which consists of Ziva Davids, Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo, Timothy McGee, Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard, and Abigail "Abby" Sciuto. As the head of the team he is portrayed as a strict boss who hardly compliments his team. However he cares about all his team for example he is a father figure to Abby and whenever she is upset he is the first to be there. Also if anything happens to one of his team members he is really upset and is the first to help them pick up the pieces. This compassion and firmness towards his team relates him to many bosses in the world today; they are strict with their workers although they genuinely care about them. Thus he is a stereotypical boss in the modern world. He genuinely cares about his team and sees them like his family. For example during one episode Abby finds out she is adopted and is confiding in Gibbs and Gibbs tells her “you know you don’t have to do this alone you have a family and we will help you through this.” This family Gibbs refers to is the team, and I feel the director portrays him as the father figure in the family.

Cote de Pablo plays Ziva Davids, a special agent working on Agent Gibbs team. She came on to the scene as an assassin sent to kill another assassin who was out to kill Gibbs. The fact is though this assassin was her half-brother she shot him to save Gibbs. She ended up on the team when Caitlin Todd was killed. Ziva is an attractive woman and she uses it to advantage in getting male suspects ‘in’. Many men say to her “why is a pretty woman like you in a job like this?” I feel the media use this reference to show that Ziva does not match the stereotype the  media have for attractive woman. This stereotype  is that they do not work in jobs such as the army and police they are portrayed as models and other things like that. Ziva is not a stereotypical character thus Ziva attracts young men who think she is hot but like the fact she is doing something different.

Anthony DiNozzo is a NCIS Field Special Agent who has been on the show since it started. He is a good looking guy and a ladies man. DiNozzo is often found flirting with the female suspects and Ziva. I feel DiNozzo was created to appeal the young men in America originally, as he is witty, manly and big headed. Now I also feel he appeals to young women because he is attractive thus he attracts a different audience to one like Ziva would attract.

Abby is a forensics specialist working with the team. She has an obsession with Goth fashion and is addicted to the fictional Caf-Pow which is a caffeinated beverage. Mistakenly people stereotype her as a Goth due to dark clothes and makeup. However she is not  Gothic she just likes to wear dark clothes and have dark hair and eye liner. Abby’s character is played well by Pauley Perrette, as Pauley is pretty but is good at pulling off the Goth look. For Abby, Gibbs is a father figure; as both her parents are dead and we find out later in the series they were her adoptive parents not her real parents.

McGee is a special agent of the Major Case Response Team. Originally he was assigned to the Norfolk Naval Base but he became a permanent team member at NCIS at the end of the season two opening episode, "See No Evil".  He has a degree in computer forensics from MIT and a degree in Biomedical Engineering from Johns Hopkins, and, along with Abby Sciuto he is the team's technology specialist. His advanced computing traits and the way he denies his skill make him seem like many computer savvy people in todays world. The ways he can hack into any site using the NCIS account makes many computer nerds interested in his character and want to watch the show. Therefore McGee is a stereotypical 'geek' who says he cannot do something but does it anyway when told to.

Ducky is the chief medical examiner assigned to the Major Case Responsive Team working at the NCIS headquarters. He spent some time as a medical examiner in Vietnam, Bosnia, and Afghanistan before working for NCIS. He was close friends with Jenny Shepard and is best friends with Gibbs. He is a caring older worker at the headquarters so most of the team turn to him when they want comforting advice. This trait in Ducky makes him appear loveable and approachable to the audience making them emotionally attached to him. Also Ducky falls into the stereotype of a 'kind old man' along with being eccentric about his hobbies such as building tiny models of old cars and starts conversations with "that reminds me of the time when...". This helps the audience understand Ducky and attracts people who like people who are eccentric.

Jimmy Palmer helps Ducky down in in the lab appeared first in "Split Decision". He is a very 'gumpy' man who does not no when he has said enough. Matching the stereotype of a nerd who likes to share his knowledge. This trait in Palmer makes him appeal to people who like to learn about the medical side of the organisation. A running gag in the series revolves around Jimmy irritating those around him by making an awkward or insensitive comment at an inappropriate moment. It occurs most often at a crime scene where he will make a comment about the body or a scenario. This lack of sympathy that is shown causes the audience to laugh therefore giving the show a comedic side.

Jenny Shepard was director of NCIS for the season’s three to five and formerly Gibbs' partner (and lover). She was killed in the season five finale, "Judgment Day" in a gunfight in an abandoned diner. she happened to be the first person to be killed in their line of work. Leon Vance used to be the assistant director and he became the Director of NCIS following Jenny’s death. He is close friends with Gibbs but does not let this go before his work. For example he still treats Gibbs as a co-worker who is below him when they are dealing with other agencies and suspects.

Kate (Caitlin Todd) was a special agent of the Major Case Response Team for seasons one and two. Initially she worked as a secret service agent until she was offered a job on the NCIS team by Gibbs. Gibbs later became a mentor to her and many of her methods where similar to his. Kate was the big sister to the group and got on really well with Abby and McGee. More often than no she liked to torment DiNozzo, mainly because he share every piece of detail about his life. She was shot in the head by double agent Ari Haswari who just happens to be the half-brother Ziva shots to protect Gibbs. This happened in the season two finale, "Twilight". The interconnection between these characters is created for an audience appeal and to create more drama in the show. Thus appealing to and attracting an audience which is into character dramas. 

All in all NCIS has a range of characters to appeal to a wide audience.