Kingsman and Skyfall Comparison

Kingsman: The Secret Service is a 2014 action comedy directed by Matthew Vaughn and written by Jane Goldman and Matthew Vaughn and Skyfall is a 2012 action thriller film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Neal Purvis, it is the 23^rd instalment of the Bond series. These films have many similar and different themes and conventions throughout but both come under the same sub-genre of spy movie but are portrayed quite differently. Kingsman is about a spy organisation that recruits an unrefined street kid into the agency’s training program, Skyfall on the other hand follows the narrative of most James Bond films; Bond must track down and destroy the threat after M’s past comes back to haunt her.

The most noticeable difference is the way the spy’s are portrayed in these films. In Skyfall the film has a very serious tone following the typical conventions of a classic spy film whereas Kingsman has a tone that it a lot more relaxed with conventions of comedy featured, however Kingsman may also be seen more as a spoof of spy movies as a lot of the typical features e.g. a mastermind villain is made fun of and shown as a joke. Also a feature of mise-en-scene used similarly in both is costume. The agents in both films are shown to wear suits, which is shown to be a feature of superiority. This links into the theme of masculinity as only the men in the films are shown to wear suits. Masculinity is a strong theme in both films.

Masculinity is a strong theme because both of the protagonists are males and the villains both of which are trying to save or change the world. Masculinity is more so shown throughout Skyfall rather than Kingsman which does show masculinity but the males are far from being the only ones able to fight and defend themselves. In Kingsman some stereotypical traits of masculinity are put into the female characters as well as the males. Both Bond (Daniel Craig) and Harry Hart (Colin Firth) are shown to represent the dominant ideology, white, middle class, middle aged, straight males.

Valentine played by Samuel L Jackson (the evil genius) has an assistant Gazelle (Sofia Boutella) who is not only female but is also disabled with blades for legs which is incredibly useful when trying to take over the world. Gazelle features in the only big fight scene between two people, she faces the protagonist Eggsy (Taron Egerton). She is shown to be incredibly strong and difficult to beat with her unbelievable skills in martial arts, and although defeated she fights very well in order to protect Valentine, this is certainly unusual for an action film; the female protects the male so here Vaughn has played on gender stereotypes and decides to make the female the protector. The representation of Gazelle also shows disability in a positive light implying the can do things just as well as someone with no disabilities. Also during the Kingsman training Eggsy meets fellow trainee Roxy (Sophie Cookson) who although against all males but one comes out on top and is chosen to be the new Lancelot. In Skyfall the one woman who was out on the field Eve (Naomie Harris) makes a fatal mistake presumably killing 007 in the beginning, by the end of the film she has given up on wanting to be on the field and instead stays in the office to work by line said by Bond “If it helps, I feel a lot safer” this shows how females are seen as incapable and in this particular film a danger in this line of work.

However the theme of masculinity in women is also contradicted in some cases as in both films particularly Skyfall the women are sexualised. Bond is shown in a few scene to be having sexual relations with different women. The first woman he left as soon as he heard MI6 were in danger and quickly moved on to a new woman as soon as he was put onto a new mission all while still flirting with Eve. The film never shows you what happen to these women except Eve which shows how women are sexual objects to the men for when they want to be entertained. The one scene in Kingsman is the end scene when Eggsy approaches a kidnapped princess to have anal sex after she says “If you save the world, we can do it in the asshole”, the end shot of the film is a shot of the Princess’s arse which was surprising and inappropriate since throughout the film all the females are shown in a positive light so it was quite disappointing to see them change the tone so quickly. 

News article 17

Oregon shooting: Gunman was student in class where he killed 9

The man identified as Chris Mercer who gunned down nine people at an Oregon community college was enrolled in the class where the fatal shootings occurred, Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin said Friday.

Investigators found 13 firearms connected to shooter, Celinez Nunez of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said:

"Five pistols and one rifle were found at the college, where the shooter died Thursday after a gunbattle with police", Nunez told reporters.

Police searched his apartment and found two pistols, four rifles and a shotgun, she said.

"All the guns were legally obtained by the shooter or family members over the last three years through a federally licensed firearms dealer, she said. A flak jacket was found next to a rifle at the school with five magazines of ammunition", Nunez said, "and additional ammunition was found at the residence."

Authorities are not providing a motive for America's latest mass killing. The gunman went to the college in rural south Oregon heavily armed and wearing body armour, authorities’ said. Two of the people killed were members of the local EMS and fire department "family," Douglas County Fire District No. 2 Chief Greg Marlar said. Sen. Jeff Merkley said one of his cousins was killed at the school. "This is a small town and everyone is affected," he said.

Stacy Boylan, the father of Anastasia Boylan, who was wounded, said she told him the gunman singled out Christians.

She said the gunman entered her classroom firing, told the professor teaching the class, "I've been waiting to do this for years," and shot him point blank, Stacy Boylan said. "While reloading his handgun, the man ordered the students to stand up and asked whether they were Christians", Boylan told her family.

"And they would stand up, and he said, 'Good, because you're a Christian, you're going to see God in just about one second,' "Stacy Boylan told CNN, relaying his daughter's account. "And then he shot and killed them."

In my opinion I just can’t believe another terrible college shooting has occurred. When events like this happen it really makes me annoyed that America have not yet changed their gun laws, there is always talk about the change but the change has no yet commenced. The problem with everyone having a right to bear arms is that some people use this law for bad things to happen such as this event and nothing can stop it. I feel great sympathy for all the victims of this crime and their families both young and old. R.I.P.

News Article 16

France Launches Syria Anti-IS strikes 

The president's office said that French planes struck targets identified during reconnaissance missions conducted over the past fortnight. French jets have previously carried out air strikes against IS targets in neighbouring Iraq.

"Our country thus confirms its resolute commitment to fight against the terrorist threat represented by Daesh," the French Presidency said, referring to the militant group by another of its acronyms.

"We will strike each time that our national security is at stake," the statement added.

President Francois Hollande announced earlier this month that he was preparing to send jets to Syria. He said at the time that terror attacks had been planned against France from Syria.

A US-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against IS in Syria and Iraq for more than a year. France, like the UK, has previously confined its air strikes against the Islamic State group to Iraqi airspace. The UK announced earlier this month it had carried out a drone strike against two British citizens in Syria but has yet to fly manned operations in Syrian airspace.

Analysis: Hugh Scholfield, BBC News, ParisHugh Scholfield, BBC News, Paris wrote an analysis on current events this is some of what he said: 

The French air strikes in Syria reflect the shifting emphasis in the war against the Islamic State. Before now, France said that international law prevented it from attacking targets in Syria, and it was adamant that it would do nothing to help - even indirectly - the Assad government. But the situation has changed. France now says it has evidence that IS planned terror attacks against it from Syria - making air strikes against the militants legitimate under UN rules on self-defence.
The biggest change though is that France has swallowed hard and accepted that getting rid of Mr Assad is no longer the priority. Paris will not ever say it too loudly - because it used to be the Syrian president's most outspoken opponent - but today the fight against IS trumps everything else.

I agree that we should start fighting against IS because all that they are doing is wrong and against humanity, but I fear they might start another un-needed war. Already thousands of innocent Syrians are fleeing the country in terror hoping they can survive. I feel the countries need to come together to battle IS but before that we need to help the refugees that are helpless otherwise we will have two serious problems to deal with, like we have at the moment. If we aren't careful we could end up hurting more people than needed not only Syrians but also from our own countries such as the British and French. If they are going to fight back they need to do so quickly to keep their people safe and to destroy IS.

Fruitvale Station Analysis

Fruitvale Station is a 2013 American Social realism, Drama, biography film written and directed by Ryan Coogler. Fruitvale station is the true story of Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan), a 22 year old Bay Area resident. With previous convictions Grant vows to change for the new year, he plans to be a better partner to his girlfriend Sophina (Melonie Diaz), a better son to his mother Wanda (Octavia Spencer) and being a better father to his 4 year old daughter T (Tatiana) played by Ariana Neal. The story follows his journey throughout the day and night of the 31^st December 2013 until his final fatal encounter with police officers at Fruitvale Bart Station would cause the entire nation to be witnesses to the story of Oscar Grant. The film had a small budget of £592,000 and made an amazing £11.4m in the box office.

This film comes under the genres of social realism, drama and biography due to different conventions used. I can tell its social realism because the film follows a man from a lower class background, you can see this is the mise-en-scene and location of the character’s environment. When it shows inside the house you can see in to most other rooms when the camera is standing in one which shows the size of the house. It’s also social realism because it’s realistic, there’re no car chases or multiple explosions instead to gives you an insight into how many people live their lives. The simple fact that it exhibits real life situations if a clear convention of a Drama film and its obvious biography comes in to the genre as soon as the film says “based on a true story.”

One major theme shown predominantly in the last few scenes is police brutality. This theme is similar to other films I have seen such as Mathieu Kassovitz’s 1995 film La Haine and Spike Lee’s 1989 film Do The Right Thing. The main similarity between these films is not just police brutality but the representation of race within this brutality. The police are shown to be predominantly against different races and treat them differently than if they were Caucasian. They’re a lot more understanding towards white people and see all other races as trouble makers. In the scene set at Fruitvale Station when the police are grabbing the “troublemakers” they only took Grant and his group they didn’t take the group of white males who actually started the fight which emphasises they were treated differently because they didn’t look like everyone else. This film gave me a true and deeper insight into these events. This film used the representation of events to shows us what really happened so we wouldn’t just have to listen to the mixed and mostly biased media tell us Grant was “dangerous” like they have with the recent murders of young black Americans. The film portrayed Grant to be this loving family man who wanted to set his wrong doings right which generated more sympathy and sadness within me as I watched the brutal event unfold and happen to an innocent man.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this film it was heart breaking but incredibly intriguing. The acting was great and caused me to become more emotional. This film made me realise just how much power the police have over the citizens of their town or city and it portrays to you how much they really “care” for these citizens. Justice never seems to be fully served to the police with the officer being charged for first degree murder but being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, being sentenced for a minor 2 years yet still only serving 11 months. I felt I experienced what his family did due to the truly devastating story but also the great acting. I would highly recommend this film. 

News Article 15

At least 13 dead in Migrant boat collision with ferry off Turkey

At least 13 migrants died off the coast of Turkey Sunday after the inflatable dinghy carrying them to Greece collided with a ferry, Turkish media reported. Four children were among the victims of the accident involving a boat carrying 46 migrants from the northwestern Turkish port of Canakkale to the Greek island of Lesbos. 

Turkey's coast guard agency said in a statement to its website that it intervened after being alerted that a commercial vessel hit a migrant boat off the western port city of Canakkale and that bodies were in the water. Twenty people were rescued and 13 people were still missing, the report added. The Coastguard said it had rescued 20 people spotted in the water by a helicopter deployed by EU border agency Frontex, but the survivors said another 26 people had been in the boat.

The sinking was the second Sunday in the Aegean Sea, with the Greek coastguard reporting another two dozen feared missing from a boat that got into trouble close to Lesbos. There was no information on the nationalities of the migrants.

This is very sad news due to the ongoing migrant crisis throughout europe. It does not seem the migrants have been given a very safe way to cross especially the fact they've been travelling in an inflatable dinghy. More care needs to be taken for the transportation of the migrants.

Fox News and The Last leg

Fox News
Fox News is a U.S. broadcasting news channel. They are known for their slogan "fair and balanced" which in the majority of cases the complete opposite of how they actually report.
After watching several different news articles from Fox News I can easily tell they often say things that are usually considered inappropriate to say on live television. They seem very open about all their opinions even if considered inappropriate or politicly incorrect. In one report Fox news reporter Bill O'Reilly is talking to Marc Lamont Hill (PhD) and says "Let's say you're a cocaine dealer - and you kinda look like one a bit..." It just so happens the man he is talking too is black which can easily be deemed as a racist comment. In another report about sexual assault in the military Fox news pundit Liz Trotta complained feminists wanted to be "Warriors and victims at the same time". When she talks about the 60% increase of sexual assault in the military she says "What did they expect?... These people are in close contact... I thought the mission of the army was to defend and protect us not the people who are fighting the war." No sexual assault should ever be given and excuse so for her to speak this on live TV is terrible. They broadcast their prejudiced opinions on air with racist comments and excuses for murder and assault and are still considered the most trusted network in the U.S.
They even go as far as blaming a murder on a Hoodie.

The Last leg
The Last Leg is a British comedy-news show which is broadcast on channel 4. It presented by Adam Hills, Josh Widdicombe and Alex Brooker. Although it is fairly comedy based in cases where it's needed the presenters are completely serious addressing cases that need to be looked at. In one part of an episode they take a look a UKIP's manifesto before the election, after Australian presenter Adam Hills states he can vote their are comments from their guest and other presenters saying "Why?" and "This has all gone to shit this election". Widdicombe goes on to say "Do you know what? These guys have got a point going" They are making jokes as if they are UKIP supporters when in reality don't support UKIP in any way. This makes it amusing for the audience without coming across as rude or racist unlike Fox News at many points.
This scene from this episode is a great example where they turn from comedic to serious pretty quickly.

Misfits and Black Mirror

Misfits created and written by Howard Overman and Black Mirror created by Charlie Brooker have both their similarities and differences. Both of these shows are produced by channel 4. They are both in the sci-fi genre and show a dystopian future in a different way.  They both have a target audience of young adults but Black Mirror focuses more on the changing of the world and Misfits focuses on how we can be changed.

Black Mirror shows how technology can run the future and change it usually for the worst where as in Misfits they use a supernatural element by giving the group of protagonist’s super powers. Misfits isn’t set in the future but it defiantly shows a strong theme of Dystopia. Both Misfits and Black Mirror show strong connotations on how the world has a lack of control and order to create an unimaginable world. However Misfits can also come under the sub genre of black Comedy.

Due to Misfits being a hybrid-genre of sci-fi comedy the producer has opened up a lot more pathways that the TV show can take in order to be a lot more interesting. Misfits follows the narrative of a group of young offenders on community service that after a strange storm learn they now have a superpower. Although superpowers are very unrealistic the show adds a great sense of realism due to the portrayal of the characters. This show has a big representation of youth; the five main characters who happen to be teenagers are all on community service which certainly doesn’t portray teenagers in a good light. The youth are depicted in a worse light when they start committing terrible crimes even if they do it unintentionally.  Kelly is one of the protagonists and possibly the biggest stereotyped character; she is portrayed as lower class with bad language, lots of makeup and not much dignity. Kelly reminds me of a character in the film Fish Tank called Mia where she is portrayed in exactly the same way but you can see Mia is of a low social class which made me realise how Kelly was shown in the same way.

Black Mirror however follows a narrative in a dystopian future especially the second episode which surrounds the use of technology and how it will affect us in the future. The first episode surrounds the British prime minister being blackmailed into bestiality in order to save a princess’s life. This episode shows a representation of class and how much power they have. If the person he had to save wasn’t someone who belonged to a family of such great power maybe she would’ve been considered not worth saving, also the prime minister who is also upper class is who the blackmail was aimed at. Someone of such high status is more likely to attract attention. He has power over whether the princess died or lived but she had power over whether he was publicly embarrassed or deemed as a killer. They both have great power against one another although unintentionally. So this shows how Misfits and Black Mirror have the theme of power in both although very different types of power. However in the second episode we saw how the future would change at the speed technology is growing; soon our lives will be ruled by technology, the technology would be in charge of us and decide how we live our lives.

In conclusion both TV shows present themselves similarly by using similar themes. However how they both follow the conventions of the sci-fi genre is very different with one showing the birth of the supernatural and the other showing a new life for humans under the rule of technology.