Essay Redraft Feedback

Low Level Level 3

You have been able to just reach into the low level 3 area with the development of your ideas and inclusion of theory with more referencing. This could be a level 4 if you had edited it a bit more so you don't repeat points and if you had taken on the advice to discuss in more details the the work of Gauntlett on Media Effects. The reason being that you need to clarify the impact the film would actually have on society in terms of formation of male identity.

Explanation/analysis/argument (12-15 marks)

Candidates adapt their learning to the specific requirements of the chosen question well, in the main. The answer offers a sensible, mostly clear balance of media theories and knowledge of industries and texts, with a proficient attempt at personally engaging with issues and debates.

Use of examples (12-15 marks)

Examples of theories, texts and industry knowledge are connected together in places, and a clear argument is proficiently developed in response to the question. History and the future are discussed with relevance.

Use of terminology (6-7 marks)

Material presented is mostly informed by contemporary media theory, articulated through use of appropriate theoretical terms.

Relatively straightforward ideas have been expressed with some clarity and fluency. Arguments are generally relevant, though may stray from the point of the question. There will be some errors of spelling, punctuation and grammar but these are unlikely to be intrusive or obscure meaning.

What does the film Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Ritchie 1998) tell us about Male Identity, in Britain in the 1990s.

The film Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (LSaTSB) (1998) is about how ‘Gangsters’ live their lives and their whereabouts and the lifestyle that they live as ‘Gangsters’ This is shown by the way in which the actors behave towards follow gangsters and women. This shows a sense of male identity than the men have in this film. They are stereotypically seen as ‘Lads’. This is shown early on in the film by when two of the main characters are being chased by the police. This shows a sense of gang culture at the start and it shows you how the role of the males is going to be played and shown throughout the film.

A professor of European Cinema (‘Mary Wood’) says that this film ‘reflects the moment of ‘new laddism’ representing an aggressive reaction to feminism, anxieties over male roles and the glorification of consumer culture where the right shoes and fashionable clothes indicate their status’. This comment can relate to the views that are stated by Laura Mulvey because she believes that men look at women in a certain way and the women in films are only seen as objects. This is shown in the film by the respect that the men give to the women. This is apparent during the film when one of the more ‘thuggish gangsters’ hits a woman in the face. Mulvey also believes that women are only used in films to be seen as objects “the male gaze”. She says that women play the passive role in films. This is clearly shown in LSaTSB, as there are only three women in the whole of the film. And they play very little roles… They are:

1. The Pole Dancer. Even though the role of this woman is to dance in the background naked she supports Mulvey’s argument and is definitely used for being seen as used as an object.

2. The Card Dealer. As she is the card dealer and only the card dealer in the film she gives off a sense of power in the film (sense of authority). This is different to the Male Gaze by Mulvey but I feel that the film needs a role plaid by some one who has power over the gangsters… (played by the card dealer). This is also shown as the dealer is an older woman, which means that the men would have to show respect for the woman not on only because she is female but because she is older than everybody else in that scene.

3. The Passed Out Woman on the Couch. This woman does not have a name, she plays a passive role. She has no real role meaning she has no significance in the film until later on when she wakes up, fires a gun then gets knocked out. This shows not only the ruthlessness and ‘thugness’ of one of the gangsters but it can also relate to what type of people these gangsters are by a fully-grown man punching a woman.

As these roles are played by thuggish, gangster like actors that have previously been in films playing similar roles, such as Vinnie Jones and Jason Statham. This is a good way to prove to the audience that the film is going to be gangster related before they even view the trailer as they know that with these actors they will play the thuggish role that they are good at playing.

LSaTSB is a ‘gangster light’ film according to Steve Chibnall. This means that the film is unrealistic, seen more as a comedy but with certain aspects to make you feel (as an audience) that the film is based on true events that happen on daily basis in England during the 90s period. But as it is a gangster light film, the plot is farfetched with over (approximately) 6 different plots, and the dark side to the film… the drugs, the violence, the language is trying to be moved aside for the funny, cheeky moments in the film that allows you to see past all the violence etc. and see the funny side.

Lock Stock also shows us how the men in this film have no true feelings or emotions for anyone or anything, going back to Mary Wood; this shows a sense of ‘Laddism’ which shows that the identity of a male gangster founding England at this time period would have a lack of emotion and no care for anything, but there is no one like this in real life. This point seems to be apparent throughout the film until the end when it is made apparent the love/soft side that Vinnie Jones has for his son. Even though he portrays his love for his son in a very violent way, it is made apparent that there are some feelings in an ‘English gangster’. This shows how the film gives off a true sense of male identity as the men in this film are all very similar in the sense of their lifestyles and they all show some type of emotion at least once during the film.

I believe that the director of this film (Guy Ritchie) made sure that his actors showed no true emotion in the scenes of this film. I believe he did this to try and portray the fact that the men were not moved or upset in anyway by lying, cheating, stealing and killing. This is completely different to that of other films being produced in the 90s, as these films were mainly ‘chick flicks’ with loved up men who would do anything for a woman but this film was one of the first of its kind and is unique in the sense of showing no emotion to women at all.

LSaTSB has been a true highlight of the 1990s film industry and it has caused much uproar and has given film critics fuel to argue about how life in England is being portrayed in these films. Such as Steve Chibnall, he believes that ‘there is evidence of a connection between the construction of post-feminist versions of masculinity in lifestyle magazines like Loaded and FHM preoccupied with representations of a time and a setting in which the rules of male association were clear, and the penalties for their infraction draconian’. I believe that this means that the media in such magazines as FHM and Loaded they use women as objects for men to look at, (the male gaze). The magazines also refer to male behavior and attitudes before women had to be treated as equals and men had to be careful about what they did and said. But Steve Chibnall has tried to tell us about how he thinks men acted in the 1990s. This is shown in the film about how men have frustrations and fixations to do with women, cars, fashion etc. and all these things are given in the ‘Lad Magazines’.

Once again this goes back to Laura Mulvey’s views on women being used as objects. These male magazines go along with the motto ‘For men who should know better’. This magazine is for men who want to be seen as a stereotypical ‘lad’. The reason for mentioning this as it can be linked with the film in a sense of women being used as objects allowing men to do what they like when they around women, not caring about the effects or causes of their consequences… such as the pole dancer and the scene where Vinnie Jones murders a fellow gangster with the car door. The relationship between the two is mainly to do with the ‘male gaze in films’ and the way women are used as objects in magazines.

As LSaTSB is a gangster light film, this means that there is no background to the depth of the characters. By this I mean that there is nothing telling us (the audience) how or why these people became to live in the way that they do. The sense of identity is shown by the way the gangsters act around their fellow gangsters and towards other people. By this I mean that they would need to have a certain amount of power, street credit to be able to have respect among fellow friends and other villains. There are other factors that are stereotypically seen as a gangster in this film such as the characters showing no outward display of emotion, having no fear over anything or anyone, violent, protective and stylish. The identity that these villains have can be seen in all these factors right down to their dress sense. The way a gangster wears his clothes and what he wears is important factors to consider such as they all seem to wear darkly colored clothes with some sort of overcoat or a leather jacket. This is an image that they are seen to follow and shows a sense of being ‘hard’ and it continues to be shown through to the way in which they walk, have their hairstyles and to what car they drive.

Even though this film tells us about how the life of British men live their lives but however this is not true. This is clear and obvious that it is not true as the way these ‘gangsters’ live their lives is not normal and it is purely done for entertainment purposes. Some of the factors may be based around real events but it is highly unlikely that English men lived these lives in the 1990s. This can relate to male identity in the 1990s, as men would want to be seen like the actors in the film… to be feared and well known for being a ‘Lad’. This film may have changed peoples perspectives over things and may change their beliefs and make men in the 1990s want to be known as a thug among the public such as Vinnie Jones played. This is bad as it shows how weak some peoples personalities can be, and how easily the can be persuaded by the media. This rolls on to Theodor Adornos views on the media. He believed that the power that the media possessed over the population was enormous and very damaging. His views can relate to the point I made previously. The film could have a damaging effect on people; making them believe that they can get away with the crimes they commit in the film and behave similar to the actors in the film but suffer from much larger consequences.

Essay 2 Feedback.

High level 2. (D+). Makes some good points, presents some critical ideas but no theory. Where is Adorno and Fiske? Where is Gauntlett on Media Effects? Where is Nature Vs Nurture? These theories are needed to explain the relationship between the media and how we form our identity. Does the film really reflect male identity in the 1990s? What is it saying about male identity? Could it be responsible for a change in male behaviour a the time? You need to have another go at this. Plan carefully before you start to redraft.

What does the film Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Ritchie 1998) tell us about Male Identity, in Britain in the 1990s.

The film Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (LSaTSB) (1997-2001) and they tell us about how the life of ‘Gangsters’ live their lives and their whereabouts and the lifestyle that they live as ‘Gangsters’. - sentence doesn't make sense. Year of film is 1998. This is shown by the way in which the actors and? behave towards follow gangsters and women. This is shown early on in the film by when two of the main characters are being chased by the police. This shows a sense of gang culture at the start and it shows you how the role of the males is going to be played and shown throughout the film. - Intro is weak, doesn't set up any sense of argument about the role of the media in male identity. Do this again.


Film critics (She is a professor of European Cinema) (‘Mary Wood’) (year?) say that this film ‘reflects the moment of ‘new laddism’ representing an aggressive reaction to feminism, anxieties over male roles and the glorification of consumer culture where the right shoes and fashionable clothes indicate their status’. Explain what this means and how it ties in to the essay question before you move on. This comment can relate to the views that are stated by Laura Mulvey because..... [explain why Mulvey's Male Gaze theory is related to this point] She believes that women are only used in films to be seen as objects “the male gaze”. She says that women play the passive role in films. This is clearly shown in LSaTSB, as there are only three women in the whole of the film. They are:


1. The Pole Dancer. Even though the role of this woman is to dance in the background naked she supports Mulvey’s argument and is definitely used for being seen as used as an object.

2. The Card Dealer. As she is the card dealer and only the card dealer in the film she gives off a sense of power in the film (sense of authority). This is different to the Male Gaze by Mulvey but I feel that the film needs a role plaid by some one who has power over the gangsters… (played by the card dealer). This is also shown as the dealer is an older woman, which means that the men would have to show respect for the woman not on only because she is female but because she is older than everybody else in that scene.

3. The Passed Out Woman on the Couch. This woman does not have a name, she plays a passive role. She has no real role meaning she has no significance in the film until later on when she wakes up, fires a gun then gets knocked out. This shows not only the ruthlessness and ‘thugness’ of one of the gangsters but it can also relate to what type of people these gangsters are by a fully-grown man punching a woman.

As these roles are played by thuggish, gangster like actors that have previously been in films playing similar roles, such as Vinnie Jones and Jason Statham. This is a good way to prove to the audience that the film is going to be gangster related before they even view the trailer as they know that with these actors they will play the thuggish role that they are good at playing.


LSaTSB is a ‘gangster light’ film according to Steve Chibnall (year?). This means that the film is unrealistic, seen more as a comedy but with certain aspects to make you feel (as an audience) that the film is based on true events that happen on daily basis in England during the 90s period. But as it is a gangster light film, the plot is farfetched with over (approximately) 6 different plots, and the dark side to the film… the drugs, the violence, the language is trying to be moved aside for the funny, cheeky moments in the film that allows you to see past all the violence etc. and see the funny side. Are there any issues with this style of violent film related to male identity?

Lock Stock also shows us how the men in this film have no true feelings or emotions for anyone or anything, going back to Mary Wood; this shows a sense of ‘Laddism’ which shows that the identity of a male gangster founding England at this time period would have a lack of emotion and no care for anything, but there is no one like this in real life. This point seems to be apparent throughout the film until the end when it is made apparent the love/soft side that Vinnie Jones has for his son. Even though he portrays his love for his son in a very violent way, it is made apparent that there are some feelings in an ‘ English gangster’. Connect your point to the essay question.


I believe that the director of this film (Guy Ritchie) made sure that his actors showed no true emotion in the scenes of this film. I believe he did this to try and portray the fact that the men were not moved or upset in anyway by lying, cheating, stealing and killing. This is completely different to that of other films being produced in the 90s, as these films were mainly ‘chick flicks’ with loved up men who would do anything for a woman but this film was one of the first of its kind and is unique in the sense of showing no emotion to women at all.


LSaTSB has been a true highlight of the 1990s film industry and it has caused much uproar and has given film critics fuel to argue about how life in England is being portrayed in these films. Such as Steve Chibnall, he believes that ‘there is evidence of a connection between the construction of post-feminist versions of masculinity in lifestyle magazines like Loaded and FHM preoccupied with representations of a time and a setting in which the rules of male association were clear, and the penalties for their infraction draconian’. I believe that this means that the media in such magazines as FHM and Loaded they use women as objects for men to look at, (the male gaze). It means more than this. It also refers to male behaviour and attitudes before feminism, before women had to be treated as equals and mean had to be careful about what they did and said. Explain in more detail, what Chibnall is saying about male identity in the 1990s, and how male frustrations are being communicated through the film.

Once again this goes back to Laura Mulvey’s views on women being used as objects. These male magazines go along with the motto ‘For men who should know better’. This magazine is for men who want to be seen as a stereotypical ‘lad’. Good. The reason for mentioning this as it can be linked with the film in a sense of women being used as objects allowing men to do what they like when they around women, not caring about the effects or causes of their consequences… good such as the pole dancer and the scene where Vinnie Jones murders a fellow gangster with the car door. The relationship between the two is mainly to do with the ‘male gaze in films’ and the way women are used as objects in magazines. You are making a good point here about male behaviour but you need to link it to IDENTITY.


As LSaTSB is a gangster light film, this means that there is no background to the depth of the characters. By this I mean that there is nothing telling us (the audience) how or why these people became to live in the way that they do. The sense of identity is shown by the way the gangsters act around their fellow gangsters and towards other people. By this I mean that they would need to have a certain amount of power, street credit to be able to have respect among fellow friends and other villains. There are other factors that are stereotypically seen as a gangster in this film such as the characters showing no outward display of emotion, having no fear over anything or anyone, violent, protective and stylish. The identity that these villains have can be seen in all these factors right down to their dress sense. The way a gangster wears his clothes and what he wears is important factors to consider such as they all seem to wear darkly colored clothes with some sort of overcoat or a leather jacket. This is an image that they are seen to follow and shows a sense of being ‘hard’ and it continues to be shown through to the way in which they walk, have their hairstyles and to what car they drive.


Even though this film tells us about how the life of British men live their lives but however this is not true. This is clear and obvious that it is not true as the way these ‘gangsters’ live their lives is not normal and it is purely done for entertainment purposes. Some of the factors may be based around real events but it is highly unlikely that English men lived these lives in the 1990s. You have not summarised your argument to answer the question. Should refer to theory.

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Essay

What does the film Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Ritchie 1998) tell us about Male Identity, in Britain in the 1990s.

The film Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (LSaTSB) (1997-2001) and they tell us about how the life of ‘Gangsters’ live their lives and their whereabouts and the lifestyle that they live as ‘Gangsters’. This is shown by the way in which the actors and behave towards follow gangsters and women. This is shown early on in the film by when two of the main characters are being chased by the police. This shows a sense of gang culture at the start and it shows you how the role of the males is going to be played and shown throughout the film.

Film critics (‘Mary Wood’) say that this film ‘reflects the moment of ‘new laddism’ representing an aggressive reaction to feminism, anxieties over male roles and the glorification of consumer culture where the right shoes and fashionable clothes indicate their status’. This comment can relate to the views that are stated by Laura Mulvey. She believes that women are only used in films to be seen as objects “the male gaze”. She says that women play the passive role in films. This is clearly shown in LSaTSB, as there are only three women in the whole of the film. They are:

1. The Pole Dancer. Even though the role of this woman is to dance in the background naked she supports Mulvey’s argument and is definitely used for being seen as used as an object.

2. The Card Dealer. As she is the card dealer and only the card dealer in the film she gives off a sense of power in the film (sense of authority). This is different to the Male Gaze by Mulvey but I feel that the film needs a role plaid by some one who has power over the gangsters… (played by the card dealer). This is also shown as the dealer is an older woman, which means that the men would have to show respect for the woman not on only because she is female but because she is older than everybody else in that scene.

3. The Passed Out Woman on the Couch. This woman does not have a name, she plays a passive role. She has no real role meaning she has no significance in the film until later on when she wakes up, fires a gun then gets knocked out. This shows not only the ruthlessness and ‘thugness’ of one of the gangsters but it can also relate to what type of people these gangsters are by a fully-grown man punching a woman.

As these roles are played by thuggish, gangster like actors that have previously been in films playing similar roles, such as Vinnie Jones and Jason Statham. This is a good way to prove to the audience that the film is going to be gangster related before they even view the trailer as they know that with these actors they will play the thuggish role that they are good at playing.

LSaTSB is a ‘gangster light’ film. This means that the film is unrealistic, seen more as a comedy but with certain aspects to make you feel (as an audience) that the film is based on true events that happen on daily basis in England during the 90s period. But as it is a gangster light film, the plot is farfetched with over (approximately) 6 different plots, and the dark side to the film… the drugs, the violence, the language is trying to be moved aside for the funny, cheeky moments in the film that allows you to see past all the violence etc. and see the funny side.

Lock Stock also shows us how the men in this film have no true feelings or emotions for anyone or anything, going back to Mary Wood; this shows a sense of ‘Laddism’ which shows that the identity of a male gangster founding England at this time period would have a lack of emotion and no care for anything, but there is no one like this in real life. This point seems to be apparent throughout the film until the end when it is made apparent the love/soft side that Vinnie Jones has for his son. Even though he portrays his love for his son in a very violent way, it is made apparent that there are some feelings in an ‘ English gangster’

I believe that the director of this film (Guy Ritchie) made sure that his actors showed no true emotion in the scenes of this film. I believe he did this to try and portray the fact that the men were not moved or upset in anyway by lying, cheating, stealing and killing. This is completely different to that of other films being produced in the 90s, as these films were mainly ‘chick flicks’ with loved up men who would do anything for a woman but this film was one of the first of its kind and is unique in the sense of showing no emotion to women at all.

LSaTSB has been a true highlight of the 1990s film industry and it has caused much uproar and has given film critics fuel to argue about how life in England is being portrayed in these films. Such as Steve Chibnall, he believes that ‘there is evidence of a connection between the construction of post-feminist versions of masculinity in lifestyle magazines like Loaded and FHM preoccupied with representations of a time and a setting in which the rules of male association were clear, and the penalties for their infraction draconian’. I believe that this means that the media in such magazines as FHM and Loaded they use women as objects for men to look at, (the male gaze). Once again this goes back to Laura Mulvey’s views on women being used as objects. These male magazines go along with the motto ‘For men who should know better’. This magazine is for men who want to be seen as a stereotypical ‘lad’. The reason for mentioning this as it can be linked with the film in a sense of women being used as objects allowing men to do what they like when they around women, not caring about the effects or causes of their consequences… such as the pole dancer and the scene where Vinnie Jones murders a fellow gangster with the car door. The relationship between the two is mainly to do with the ‘male gaze in films’ and the way women are used as objects in magazines.

As LSaTSB is a gangster light film, this means that there is no background to the depth of the characters. By this I mean that there is nothing telling us (the audience) how or why these people became to live in the way that they do. The sense of identity is shown by the way the gangsters act around their fellow gangsters and towards other people. By this I mean that they would need to have a certain amount of power, street credit to be able to have respect among fellow friends and other villains. There are other factors that are stereotypically seen as a gangster in this film such as the characters showing no outward display of emotion, having no fear over anything or anyone, violent, protective and stylish. The identity that these villains have can be seen in all these factors right down to their dress sense. The way a gangster wears his clothes and what he wears is important factors to consider such as they all seem to wear darkly colored clothes with some sort of overcoat or a leather jacket. This is an image that they are seen to follow and shows a sense of being ‘hard’ and it continues to be shown through to the way in which they walk, have their hairstyles and to what car they drive.

Even though this film tells us about how the life of British men live their lives but however this is not true. This is clear and obvious that it is not true as the way these ‘gangsters’ live their lives is not normal and it is purely done for entertainment purposes. Some of the factors may be based around real events but it is highly unlikely that English men lived these lives in the 1990s.

Storyboard Feedback

You may need some 'effects' here in editing to show the passage of time i.e. a fade to black or dissolve so I would add those in when there is a time lapse in the boy's day. You also need to change sound: natural to sound: diegetic (that is the media term for sound coming from an on screen source). Mostly clear story structure although not sure where the 'friend' suddenly appears from. Like the heart beat sound effect to add tension.
Good [C]

Story board

Shot sequence descriptions/ Storyboard

Samuel Pinner

Shot one: long shot

Visual: close up zoom of student walking out of front door

Sound: shutting of the door and footsteps

Effect: none

Music: none

Time: 7 seconds

Shot 2: contra zoom

Visual: boarding the bus from side

Sound: natural sound of surroundings and current event

Effect: none

Music: none

Time: 4-7 seconds

Shot 3: tilt

Visual: boarding bus from top deck (second person perspective)

Sound: natural

Effect: fade to black

Music: none

Time: 5 seconds

Shot 4: facial close ups (to show expressions)

Visual: bullying of the new kid takes part on first journey to school

Out and back during transition of interviewees.

Sound: Digetic, voice over of interviewees introducing themselves

Effect: none

Music: none

Time: 18 seconds

Shot 5: face on whilst walking shot

Visual: camera attached to body pointing at face whilst student walks into his classroom for the first time

Sound: none

Effect: none

Music: none

Time:30 seconds

Shot 6: wide angle shot

Visual: fitting in everything at lunch time, peer pressure. Show the emotions on the students face and hw he deals with it

to head.

Sound:

Effect: heartbeat effect

Music: tension building, noises in his head

Time: 25 seconds

Shot 7: Mid-shot

Visual: class room, how he can not concentrate on what he thinks he has to do to fit in

Sound: natural

Effect: heartbeat

Music:

Time:10 seconds

Shot 8: Mid-shot

Visual: bell rings, journey home. Clip of him walking out of school with his fellow new friend. (a new boy)

Sound: natural

Effect: none

Music: none

Time: 12 seconds

Shot 9: Medium close up

Visual: on bus, other kids throw stuff a him, pick on him. His only friend doesn’t stand up for him

Sound: natural

Effect: none

Music: none

Time: 35 seconds

Shot 10: Medium close up

Visual: as student gets home – he cries to his mum and says how much he hates school

Music: none

Effect: none

Sound: natural

Time: 30 seconds

Essay 1 feedback

Low level 3 - roughly a C grade

Points chosen well to adapt to the question. Sensible, mostly clear balance of theory and texts. Clear argument developed in response to question. History and future discussed with relevance. Some errors which I can't mark out because it's on the blog. One in particular about Fiske syaing people should not be influenced by the media - I don't think he said that. He argues that people are not that easily influenced by the media. This is also a key point you miss - Adorno (Passive) Fiske (Active) + the revolution that never happened (Karl Marx). Make changes please.