Critical Investigation & Linked Production Ideas...


1. To what extent are the mentally ill beautified in the media landscape?
- A Documentary exploring how the media portrays the mentally ill, coparing to the relaity of mental dissorders
- An opening to a soap opera, where the protagonist is diagnosed with a mental disorder, either glamourising it or oposing to this idea, and showing the reality of it

2. Is it still the norm to have 'White' main characters in the mainstream media?
- A documentary exploring different films/tv shows that have 'white' protagonist and those with ethnic minority- and compare sucess and reactions
- look at different adverts, those for higher and working classes and comapre what nationalities are used for which

3. Has classic Disney films, given false impressions on idealist Gender Roles/Relationships?
- A documentary exploring the view on society's on gender roles and if exaggerated films produced by institutions such as Disney (Pixar) have had an impact on these thoughts

Chosen Idea...

To what extent are the mentally ill beautified in the media landscape?

M- as it is a documentary, mostly natural lighting will be used, with a range of camera angles. Diagetic and non-diagetic sound will be used, and it is typical of documentaries to use a lot of sound bridges

I - non-hollywood, mainstream and will also be shown past the watershed (due to language, and offensive scenes)

G - this documentary genre will be: social issue and also reportage/investigative

R- A vary of positive and negative representations of those who are mentally ill

A- target audience ages: 15-25, students, those who are interested in the material featured such as Eastenders. These will be mainstreamers, but also explorers and they will be interested in whats behind what the media presents to us concering those who are mentally ill.

I - the positive values of this documentary will be to educate, inform and to encourage social change, as it will hope to change the ways those of mentally ill are percieved, whether this is different to the way the media present it or whether it conincides with it

N- as it will be a documentary, it will have a linear narrative.