Paper 1 Section B Exam Questions

PAPER 1 Section B EXAM QUESTIONS

 

 a) What is meant by a mainstream film? [2]

A mainstream film has a popular and well-known production company e.g. Universal and has a big budget therefore they can make a big profit. An example of a mainstream film is Captain Marvel.

 

 b) Briefly explain what a media conglomerate is. [2]

A media conglomerate is a media institution which owns numerous companies e.g. Disney.

 

 c) Explain two features of independent film production. Refer briefly to I, Daniel Blake r to support your   points. [6]

 I, Daniel Blake is an example of an independent film as it has a niche audience. I, Daniel Blake is a realistic drama which was filmed in Newcastle. For some of the audience, it’ll be local for them this will engage them to watch the independent film to see their local sightings turn into a social realism drama. Due to their low budget, the production company will film in a limited selection of locations in Newcastle and features unknown stars who had very little or no previous acting experience before. There were multiple production companies involved such as; BBC Films, BFI and EOne Productions compared to a mainstream film who would have one production company e.g. Black Panther = Disney.

 

 In Question 3(d) you will be rewarded for drawing together knowledge and understanding from across your full course of study, including different areas of the theoretical framework and media contexts.

 

 d) Explain how economic contexts shape mainstream films. Refer to Black Panther to support your points. [15]

I will explain how economic contexts shape mainstream films by referring to Black Panther to support points.

Black Panther is known as a mainstream film it is a popular movie apart of the Marvel franchise, which follows an action and adventure genre featuring loads of ethnic minority actors and actresses to promote Afrofuturism.

Black Panther’s had a budget of over $200million and had a box office of over $1.3billion (22 May 2018) worldwide due to Black Panther being a part of the Marvel superheroes. Due to these high profits, Black Panther is known and recognised as a mainstream film.

There is evidence that Black Panther is a mainstream film, as it was so successful Disney are releasing a sequel which is expected to be released in May 2022. This will maximise profits and audience due to it being a part of Marvel. The funding was by Walt Disney due to them being one of the biggest production companies and creating successful and popular films.

There was a large marketing campaign to promote Black Panther, they created a film poster which maximised audience by intriguing the audience with several different enigma codes seen in the film poster and trailer. There were many cinemas targeted to promote the new mainstream Marvel film and was released on different formats and platforms to engage the audience further.

Black Panther was produced by one production company which is Walt Disney, in my opinion this was one of the main reasons why the box office was so popular. In the Curran and Seaton theory, it is believed that the media is controlled by a smaller number of companies primarily driven by the logic of profit and power. I believe that Disney is driven by the profit and power in the industry and strives for success and popularity.

To conclude, I believe I have effectively shown evidence that Black Panther is a mainstream film through funding, box office and many more.