Preferred - how they (the people producing the media) want you to perceive it.
Oppositional - the opposite of what they want you to think
Negotiated - you agree with some things but not others, you're sitting on the fence.
Abhorrent - you get a message but not what they intended, it's something that you come up with on your own as a consumer, it's how you perceive it.
Hypodermic needle - suggests the media inject a message into us and shapes our responses to it. It's outdated because we as the audience can think for ourselves, and the whole ideal of the hypodermic needle is them relying on us not having our own thoughts.
Passive and active viewing - passive (the audience comply with the message that's presented)/active (filtering content/resisting messages/reinterpreting)
Uses and gratification model - it suggests that audiences today are active and can think for themselves. It believes that we're in control of the media, the media isn't telling us how to think, what to buy, etc
Gratification:
Personal relationships - social interaction, something to talk about.
How I use it: I'm an active poster on the social media site reddit, and on reddit there are thousands of subreddits which are dedicated to a certain show. For example I consistently view the Sopranos subreddit, and despite the show ending in 2007 there are still posts about it today which allows me to learn something new about a show I thought I knew everything about.
Surveillance - educational purposes or to solve problems.
How I use it: when I need to know something I search out a video/article which'll help me. For example my little brother recently got a gift card for his Nintendo Switch, and he asked me to put the money on for him. I didn't know what to do so I went to YouTube and found a video which showed me exactly what I was looking for.
Personal identity - forming opinions, understanding ones self, influencing behaviors.
How I use it: when I see documentaries about a certain corporation/individual it often shapes how I see them. And influencing behaviors is a big one, after watching The Office (US) fully for the first time I often pick up habits from the characters, for example I find myself saying 'that's what she said!' often just like Michael Scott did throughout the show.
Diversion - entertainment, escape, habit, passing the time.
How I use it: when I'm bored/need to pass a certain amount of time I'll just put on any random show/movie.
Intertextuality: all media products are influenced by others, some may make references to one another. And we as the audience see and recognize other examples of media in the current media we're watching.
1985 - Bowling for Soup
Makes references to: Bruce Springsteen, U2, Madonna all famous musicians at the time.
Also refers to Breakfast Club, a 1985 film directed by John Hughes.
Tuesday, 30 April 2019
Evaluation: Pre Production
Logistics
Because I had to organized a big production, I had to plan ahead for some shots. How did I get everyone together? For my first shot it was shot at my friend Dan Parkes' house, I decided to get some shots because I was there for a sleepover and I felt it would make sense to use this to my advantage, so we spent around 30 minutes filming what was the first scene of the film. We took multiple takes as we knew that we wouldn't get it perfect first try. We shot this in October 2018. I got there by taking two buses to his house. My second filming session was done at the college that I attend, we were in class one day and I decided that I wanted to get my filming done. So I got my friends: Dan, Ryan, Phil, Ethan, Nathan and Kaine to come and film the meeting scene in my college courtyard, it was easy to get them to do the shot as I told them it would be easy and they wouldn't have to do much as only two characters in that scene had lines anyways. The next few scenes were small ones that were filmed with me and the person in the scene.
Regarding equipment: for the first scene (the one filmed in Dan's house) I didn't need to worry about equipment, as Dan let me use his camera for the scene so I didn't need to worry about not having any equipment on this particular day. With the second scene I decided to borrow equipment in advance, the day before I filmed the second scenes I borrowed a camera the day before the shoot, I also asked Dan on this day if i could borrow his microphone as the built in microphones on cameras aren't the best.
Overall I kept a good lid on the production. I used all my free time to my advantage and I believe that I was right to get all my equipment sorted out in advance so I wasn't rushing on the day.
Finance
I didn't have a big budget (if we're being real I didn't have much of a budget) so the money I did spend had to be used wisely. Regarding equipment (cameras and microphones) didn't spend a single penny renting them out, because the first camera I used was my friends and of course he wasn't going to demand me pay a certain amount to use it and the second camera I used was borrowed from my college, and they don't charge to borrow a camera either. With Dan's microphone it was also free as we only needed to borrow it for an hour/two at most. With transport it cost a few pounds as I needed to get to and from Sunderland-Shields, it cost me £2 for the buses so that was transport costs (on weekdays I get free transport). The last thing that I needed was an SD card, this was already provided as it was my personal one, it cost me around 16 pounds which should be deducted from the budget. I did a whole spreadsheet on everything that I needed for my film and the cost.
Creative process
Location scouting/recce
What did I do? - Over a period of a few days I travelled across Sunderland and South Shields trying to find the perfect and ideal locations for my film, The Oddfather. In the end I ended up choosing to film in two locations: my friend Dan Parkes' house (located in South Shields) and the college (Being Sunderland College: Bede Campus), as they had some good locations that I eventually used for the shoot. With these locations I had to scout for any potential hazards that may occur, I had to make sure that everyone involved in the production wouldn't be vulnerable to any particular danger.
Why did I do it? - Location scouting is one of the most important parts of a pre-production. The location scouting is key as it may be the thing that saves any crew member from harm, I aimed to find every potential danger that was available in both locations. My friend Dan helped me find the dangers in his house as he'd know his house better than me so it was helpful to have him help. Like I said before this is important as if I didn't pick up on any dangers, then it could've lead to something really bad happening to someone, thankfully that didn't happen.
How successful was it? - It was very successful, as like I said above the shoots went well without any roadblocks. When a danger came up everyone involved knew what to do to combat it because we did the location scout which allowed us to be on our toes.
Script
What did I do? - Over a period of a week I wrote my script for the film. Obviously at first there was a draft and over time I made small changes, at first I wrote a script where the plot included my character being arrested after an undercover operation. However I changed the plot as I felt that the other plot was a lot more interesting.
Why did I do it? - without a script there's no film, and my outcome was to get the best script that was best for the film and I was happy to make some changes as the days went on. I was glad that I didn't stick with my original script as looking back I thought it would've made the film average, and the new script felt even better as it gave my characters personality.
How successful was it? - I believed it went very well, the reason I think this is that at the end of writing I could tell that this script was the one I was going to use, I never like to make many changes but I felt it was necessary this time. If I had another chance I would've changed my script sooner than I did.
Personnel management - as said above it was easy to organize my cast and crew (the crew was made up of the actors, but they'd be on crew duty if they weren't in a scene) as I had constant contact with them. I'm in their class and I have their social medias/details so it was very easy to tell them what was happening on a certain day which was useful and it allowed us to get things done a lot quicker than it could've been.
Resource management: I felt that I handled equipment very well, I always kept spare batteries just in case the ones in the camera ever ran out, I did so because if the battery inside ran out and we had no spares we would have to cancel shooting for the day, and all that wasted time could've been spent getting the footage. The software wasn't an issue, at college I would use Adobe Premiere Pro to edit my clips, there's no issue with obtaining it as it's installed on every computer in college, so I'd always be around it. Finally, with props I kept them safe and secure until I needed them, I wouldn't bring any props that I wouldn't use, as it runs the risk of them potentially getting lost. And I'd rather only use props I needed on a certain day than inconvenience myself.
Time management - again I felt that my time management was very good as I was never falling behind with anything to do with my movie, I filmed all my scenes in two days combined, this may seem like I rushed it but I kept reshooting until the shot was exactly the way I wanted and was satisfactory, I even asked the actors involved their thoughts, if they didn't like a shot then we'd do it again, and again, until it as right. I gave myself plenty of time to edit my clips too, I got all the clips into the software in plenty of time, because of this I gave myself plenty of time to work with the software and polish the clips.
Professional practice - I felt I followed the industry standard. I followed all the steps that a professional production would. When we'd shoot we'd quiet everyone down and then shout action, then saying cut when needed. Despite it being a college project we all treat it as it was a professional one, not letting anything be done without it being up to a standard we were happy with.
Risk management - for this you could refer to the recce/location scouts that I did. While filming if there was an 'added' hazard that wasn't noted before, we'd evaluate quickly what we'd do and then sort the issue out, that's what I did for the entire shoot: get rid of a problem as soon as it arises, I didn't want my shoot to be delayed because of one issue.
Crisis management - thankfully there wasn't a massive issue that occurred during our shoot, we were lucky that everything went smoothly and with no worries whatsoever.
General thoughts: overall I was very happy with how everything went. Before I started shooting I had my doubts as this was my first 'proper' film shoot and I wasn't sure of how everything would go, I felt like I did 'mess' around sometimes, which is something that I have to cut out next time I do a shoot, because if I want to get into the industry I can't like a child and expect to last very long. And I felt my film overall could've been a lot better, but I feel that I am being too harsh on myself, I can't expect to make a masterpiece on my first try, practice makes perfect.
Because I had to organized a big production, I had to plan ahead for some shots. How did I get everyone together? For my first shot it was shot at my friend Dan Parkes' house, I decided to get some shots because I was there for a sleepover and I felt it would make sense to use this to my advantage, so we spent around 30 minutes filming what was the first scene of the film. We took multiple takes as we knew that we wouldn't get it perfect first try. We shot this in October 2018. I got there by taking two buses to his house. My second filming session was done at the college that I attend, we were in class one day and I decided that I wanted to get my filming done. So I got my friends: Dan, Ryan, Phil, Ethan, Nathan and Kaine to come and film the meeting scene in my college courtyard, it was easy to get them to do the shot as I told them it would be easy and they wouldn't have to do much as only two characters in that scene had lines anyways. The next few scenes were small ones that were filmed with me and the person in the scene.
Regarding equipment: for the first scene (the one filmed in Dan's house) I didn't need to worry about equipment, as Dan let me use his camera for the scene so I didn't need to worry about not having any equipment on this particular day. With the second scene I decided to borrow equipment in advance, the day before I filmed the second scenes I borrowed a camera the day before the shoot, I also asked Dan on this day if i could borrow his microphone as the built in microphones on cameras aren't the best.
Overall I kept a good lid on the production. I used all my free time to my advantage and I believe that I was right to get all my equipment sorted out in advance so I wasn't rushing on the day.
Finance
I didn't have a big budget (if we're being real I didn't have much of a budget) so the money I did spend had to be used wisely. Regarding equipment (cameras and microphones) didn't spend a single penny renting them out, because the first camera I used was my friends and of course he wasn't going to demand me pay a certain amount to use it and the second camera I used was borrowed from my college, and they don't charge to borrow a camera either. With Dan's microphone it was also free as we only needed to borrow it for an hour/two at most. With transport it cost a few pounds as I needed to get to and from Sunderland-Shields, it cost me £2 for the buses so that was transport costs (on weekdays I get free transport). The last thing that I needed was an SD card, this was already provided as it was my personal one, it cost me around 16 pounds which should be deducted from the budget. I did a whole spreadsheet on everything that I needed for my film and the cost.
Creative process
Location scouting/recce
What did I do? - Over a period of a few days I travelled across Sunderland and South Shields trying to find the perfect and ideal locations for my film, The Oddfather. In the end I ended up choosing to film in two locations: my friend Dan Parkes' house (located in South Shields) and the college (Being Sunderland College: Bede Campus), as they had some good locations that I eventually used for the shoot. With these locations I had to scout for any potential hazards that may occur, I had to make sure that everyone involved in the production wouldn't be vulnerable to any particular danger.
Why did I do it? - Location scouting is one of the most important parts of a pre-production. The location scouting is key as it may be the thing that saves any crew member from harm, I aimed to find every potential danger that was available in both locations. My friend Dan helped me find the dangers in his house as he'd know his house better than me so it was helpful to have him help. Like I said before this is important as if I didn't pick up on any dangers, then it could've lead to something really bad happening to someone, thankfully that didn't happen.
How successful was it? - It was very successful, as like I said above the shoots went well without any roadblocks. When a danger came up everyone involved knew what to do to combat it because we did the location scout which allowed us to be on our toes.
Script
What did I do? - Over a period of a week I wrote my script for the film. Obviously at first there was a draft and over time I made small changes, at first I wrote a script where the plot included my character being arrested after an undercover operation. However I changed the plot as I felt that the other plot was a lot more interesting.
Why did I do it? - without a script there's no film, and my outcome was to get the best script that was best for the film and I was happy to make some changes as the days went on. I was glad that I didn't stick with my original script as looking back I thought it would've made the film average, and the new script felt even better as it gave my characters personality.
How successful was it? - I believed it went very well, the reason I think this is that at the end of writing I could tell that this script was the one I was going to use, I never like to make many changes but I felt it was necessary this time. If I had another chance I would've changed my script sooner than I did.
Personnel management - as said above it was easy to organize my cast and crew (the crew was made up of the actors, but they'd be on crew duty if they weren't in a scene) as I had constant contact with them. I'm in their class and I have their social medias/details so it was very easy to tell them what was happening on a certain day which was useful and it allowed us to get things done a lot quicker than it could've been.
Resource management: I felt that I handled equipment very well, I always kept spare batteries just in case the ones in the camera ever ran out, I did so because if the battery inside ran out and we had no spares we would have to cancel shooting for the day, and all that wasted time could've been spent getting the footage. The software wasn't an issue, at college I would use Adobe Premiere Pro to edit my clips, there's no issue with obtaining it as it's installed on every computer in college, so I'd always be around it. Finally, with props I kept them safe and secure until I needed them, I wouldn't bring any props that I wouldn't use, as it runs the risk of them potentially getting lost. And I'd rather only use props I needed on a certain day than inconvenience myself.
Time management - again I felt that my time management was very good as I was never falling behind with anything to do with my movie, I filmed all my scenes in two days combined, this may seem like I rushed it but I kept reshooting until the shot was exactly the way I wanted and was satisfactory, I even asked the actors involved their thoughts, if they didn't like a shot then we'd do it again, and again, until it as right. I gave myself plenty of time to edit my clips too, I got all the clips into the software in plenty of time, because of this I gave myself plenty of time to work with the software and polish the clips.
Professional practice - I felt I followed the industry standard. I followed all the steps that a professional production would. When we'd shoot we'd quiet everyone down and then shout action, then saying cut when needed. Despite it being a college project we all treat it as it was a professional one, not letting anything be done without it being up to a standard we were happy with.
Risk management - for this you could refer to the recce/location scouts that I did. While filming if there was an 'added' hazard that wasn't noted before, we'd evaluate quickly what we'd do and then sort the issue out, that's what I did for the entire shoot: get rid of a problem as soon as it arises, I didn't want my shoot to be delayed because of one issue.
Crisis management - thankfully there wasn't a massive issue that occurred during our shoot, we were lucky that everything went smoothly and with no worries whatsoever.
General thoughts: overall I was very happy with how everything went. Before I started shooting I had my doubts as this was my first 'proper' film shoot and I wasn't sure of how everything would go, I felt like I did 'mess' around sometimes, which is something that I have to cut out next time I do a shoot, because if I want to get into the industry I can't like a child and expect to last very long. And I felt my film overall could've been a lot better, but I feel that I am being too harsh on myself, I can't expect to make a masterpiece on my first try, practice makes perfect.
Wednesday, 3 April 2019
Male Gaze
An example of the male gaze is 'Playboy Magazine.' Founded by Hugh Hefner the magazine achieved success because of their use of nudity which gained a large audience from mostly men. Many critics consider Playboy to be exploititive because Hefner was benefitting (commercially) from women's naked bodies and these magazines sexualize women as nothing but 'objects' that are there to pleasure the male audience.
Unit 6 - producing a media campaign (Harton and Westoe Fitness Club)
Promotional YouTube video for the Harton and Westoe Fitness Club, released on April 2nd 2019- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66jmeDmj70Q
Promotional article, released on April 3rd 2019: wp.me/p9AXwD-4I
Social media account, used to promote the video and the promotional article:
https://www.instagram.com/jamesssxo
Strategy and evidence of media product: https://www.slideshare.net/JamesGMedia/harton-and-west-campaign-strategy-and-evidence-of-products
Promotional article, released on April 3rd 2019: wp.me/p9AXwD-4I
Social media account, used to promote the video and the promotional article:
https://www.instagram.com/jamesssxo
Strategy and evidence of media product: https://www.slideshare.net/JamesGMedia/harton-and-west-campaign-strategy-and-evidence-of-products
Wednesday, 27 March 2019
Media Theories
Stuart Hall - looked at how media works, how it constructs representations. He said representation is 'mediated through language' (spoken or visual language).
'Reality is mediated through language' - I think that this means that the big corporations control what we think, what we see, what they want us to see. They want to paint their vision of the world and push their agenda about anything that exists. They have their own 'version' of truth of reality.
Whatever you get in the media isn't factual, the truth is filtered and the versions of the event you're being shown is from the eyes of the person making the piece of media content.
Media can influence us but the media corporations don't realize that not everyone is gullible and will believe everything they're told, we have our own minds, we can think for ourselves (constructionist view)
The Guardian: reaction to Trump's victory.
There were a variety of reactions following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.
Some news outlets were horrified by the news with the Daily Mirror using a photo of the Statue of Liberty with its head in its hands. The Statue of Liberty is a famous American landmark, and the metaphor could be that the Statue of Liberty having its head in its hands is a representation of what the world as a whole thinks of the news of Trump's election. It's joined with the headline 'What have they done?' which is a rhetorical question asking the American population what they were thinking when they elected this man, the Daily Mirror are clear in their political views, they are quite clearly anti-Trump and their cover only backs this theory.
However, some outlets took a more neutral stance, not showing their political beliefs in their front cover. Most newspapers focused on the victory itself, and how much of a shock it genuinely was, because regardless of who you supported in the US election, nobody genuinely thought Trump was going to win, and most newspapers were shocked with the outcome as it seemed that Hillary Clinton would've came out of the election with an easy victory, the focus was on how this was possible, how a reality TV star managed to become president of the US, more analytical rather than opinionated. Some outlets also seemed like they were waiting to see what happens next, because this news created a lot of suspense to the general public as many are unsure what to expect of Trump, given he had no prior political experience before getting the biggest political position in the world. Nobody knows what to expect, even the media themselves aren't sure what'll happen.
Richard Dyer - stereotypes are reduced/limited to a few characteristics.
Stereotypes exaggerate difference, which may cause conflict between certain groups.
The media don't create stereotypes, they reinforce them.
Stereotyping are a way of quickly conveying info
Identities can be constructed and communicated via stereotypes.
Those with power stereotype the less powerful.
'Reality is mediated through language' - I think that this means that the big corporations control what we think, what we see, what they want us to see. They want to paint their vision of the world and push their agenda about anything that exists. They have their own 'version' of truth of reality.
Whatever you get in the media isn't factual, the truth is filtered and the versions of the event you're being shown is from the eyes of the person making the piece of media content.
Media can influence us but the media corporations don't realize that not everyone is gullible and will believe everything they're told, we have our own minds, we can think for ourselves (constructionist view)
The Guardian: reaction to Trump's victory.
There were a variety of reactions following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election.
Some news outlets were horrified by the news with the Daily Mirror using a photo of the Statue of Liberty with its head in its hands. The Statue of Liberty is a famous American landmark, and the metaphor could be that the Statue of Liberty having its head in its hands is a representation of what the world as a whole thinks of the news of Trump's election. It's joined with the headline 'What have they done?' which is a rhetorical question asking the American population what they were thinking when they elected this man, the Daily Mirror are clear in their political views, they are quite clearly anti-Trump and their cover only backs this theory.
However, some outlets took a more neutral stance, not showing their political beliefs in their front cover. Most newspapers focused on the victory itself, and how much of a shock it genuinely was, because regardless of who you supported in the US election, nobody genuinely thought Trump was going to win, and most newspapers were shocked with the outcome as it seemed that Hillary Clinton would've came out of the election with an easy victory, the focus was on how this was possible, how a reality TV star managed to become president of the US, more analytical rather than opinionated. Some outlets also seemed like they were waiting to see what happens next, because this news created a lot of suspense to the general public as many are unsure what to expect of Trump, given he had no prior political experience before getting the biggest political position in the world. Nobody knows what to expect, even the media themselves aren't sure what'll happen.
Richard Dyer - stereotypes are reduced/limited to a few characteristics.
Stereotypes exaggerate difference, which may cause conflict between certain groups.
The media don't create stereotypes, they reinforce them.
Stereotyping are a way of quickly conveying info
Identities can be constructed and communicated via stereotypes.
Those with power stereotype the less powerful.
Sunday, 10 March 2019
Unit 8 - Responding to a Commission.
Client: Box Clever Events/Harton & Westoe Boxing and Fitness Club
Campaign plans
1. Firstly, I will make a video on YouTube to promote Box Clever Events and more specifically letting the audience know about the white collar boxing matches that can allow normal people like you and me to raise money for a charity of their own choosing. It will also include videos from the fitness club itself so any potential new members can get a feel as to what it'd be like.
Why a YouTube video?
I have chosen a YouTube video as YouTube is one of the most recognizable applications in the modern world today. Everybody of all ages and genders watches YouTube,
Campaign plans
1. Firstly, I will make a video on YouTube to promote Box Clever Events and more specifically letting the audience know about the white collar boxing matches that can allow normal people like you and me to raise money for a charity of their own choosing. It will also include videos from the fitness club itself so any potential new members can get a feel as to what it'd be like.
Why a YouTube video?
I have chosen a YouTube video as YouTube is one of the most recognizable applications in the modern world today. Everybody of all ages and genders watches YouTube,
Wednesday, 6 March 2019
Unit 1 - video games.
Modern day video games are way more technically advanced than the games of the past. Video games have many different scenarios for the same scene in the game. We as the consumers like video games because it gives us a sense of control, we're in charge of what happens to the characters.
Playing games is a lot different now. Social media has made video games a massive industry, with there now being e-sports teams and the e-sport industry is a booming business.
Social interaction: the traditional old fashioned way of playing video games was where you play with your neighbor. Now, you can play games with people from all over the world, I could play a game of FIFA against someone in America for example. People who play video games seem to isolate themselves from the real world, they see no need to go out that often because they have everything at their fingertips. If you're interested in a certain game, you'll go and subscribe to a YouTube channel which plays that specific game and interact, posting comments, etcetera. You can discuss said game with other people on forums as well.
Augmented and virtual reality: VR 'blurs' reality, as VR allows us to enter into our favorite video game worlds and allows us to live in the world we've spent so many hours playing in.
Players as developers: Kickstarter is used by independent film/game makers where you can get funding for a certain project, it 'kickstarts' the project. With kickstarting projects you have more creative control, as you aren't under a studio who tell you what to do, you can make whatever you want too.
Stereotypical gamer: male, white, teenagers, anti social, nerds, glasses, virgin.
However, studies show that 50% of gamers are female and older people are playing more games, on mobile.
Who makes games: white heterosexual males. Creators make games based on their experiences.
Male character: Vito Scaletta (below) from the game trilogy Mafia is a character who is based on a popular stereotype. Scaletta is Italian and he immigrated to New York from Italy when he was a young child, and the stereotype with Italian-Americans is that every one of them are involved with the mafia.
And this game portrays that no different, Vito quickly ventures into a life of a crime and first gets involved with the mafia via his friend Joe Barbaro. Who gets Vito involved with the mafia and the two first do work for the Clemente crime family, this fuels the stereotype that all Italian men are gangsters. However, he gets involved with the mob because he is poor and has no other opportunities, which is the motivation for a lot of future mobsters (both real and fictional)
He is portrayed as young man who only ventures into crime because he has no choice, the legal system hasn't helped him so he feels that the only way to make it in the world, is to venture into the criminal underworld, the thing that attracts him to the mafia is the supposed respect that the mob commands, mobsters are men of honor and respect, and to a young man, really attracts you to that life.
In real life the character received criticism for the reasons I mentioned above. This game didn't help with the stereotype association of Italy and the mafia. This stereotype harms normal hard working Italians because as soon as someone hears the word 'Italy' they think of the mafia and that is a harmful reputation to have, despite the mafia being so culturally imbrued in our society.
Playing games is a lot different now. Social media has made video games a massive industry, with there now being e-sports teams and the e-sport industry is a booming business.
Social interaction: the traditional old fashioned way of playing video games was where you play with your neighbor. Now, you can play games with people from all over the world, I could play a game of FIFA against someone in America for example. People who play video games seem to isolate themselves from the real world, they see no need to go out that often because they have everything at their fingertips. If you're interested in a certain game, you'll go and subscribe to a YouTube channel which plays that specific game and interact, posting comments, etcetera. You can discuss said game with other people on forums as well.
Augmented and virtual reality: VR 'blurs' reality, as VR allows us to enter into our favorite video game worlds and allows us to live in the world we've spent so many hours playing in.
Players as developers: Kickstarter is used by independent film/game makers where you can get funding for a certain project, it 'kickstarts' the project. With kickstarting projects you have more creative control, as you aren't under a studio who tell you what to do, you can make whatever you want too.
Stereotypical gamer: male, white, teenagers, anti social, nerds, glasses, virgin.
However, studies show that 50% of gamers are female and older people are playing more games, on mobile.
Who makes games: white heterosexual males. Creators make games based on their experiences.
Male character: Vito Scaletta (below) from the game trilogy Mafia is a character who is based on a popular stereotype. Scaletta is Italian and he immigrated to New York from Italy when he was a young child, and the stereotype with Italian-Americans is that every one of them are involved with the mafia.
And this game portrays that no different, Vito quickly ventures into a life of a crime and first gets involved with the mafia via his friend Joe Barbaro. Who gets Vito involved with the mafia and the two first do work for the Clemente crime family, this fuels the stereotype that all Italian men are gangsters. However, he gets involved with the mob because he is poor and has no other opportunities, which is the motivation for a lot of future mobsters (both real and fictional)
He is portrayed as young man who only ventures into crime because he has no choice, the legal system hasn't helped him so he feels that the only way to make it in the world, is to venture into the criminal underworld, the thing that attracts him to the mafia is the supposed respect that the mob commands, mobsters are men of honor and respect, and to a young man, really attracts you to that life.
In real life the character received criticism for the reasons I mentioned above. This game didn't help with the stereotype association of Italy and the mafia. This stereotype harms normal hard working Italians because as soon as someone hears the word 'Italy' they think of the mafia and that is a harmful reputation to have, despite the mafia being so culturally imbrued in our society.
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