Critical investigation, research

Working title

To what extent are contemporary sci-fi films such as 'Elysium' and 'The Hunger Games' franchise commenting on social class? 

Angle

E.g.: What impact are these increasingly violent games having on their audience? Is this simply a moral panic of the 21st century or is further regulation required?

Hypothesis

There's definitely comments regarding social class in the undertones of contemporary science fiction films. It is somehow inevitable that science fiction films would represent social class as the genre that provides imaginative concepts on the future, the question is whether these representations are accurate.

Linked production piece

A scene from a film

MIGRAIN

InstitutionMedia Rights Capital distributed this film and Sony Pictures bought the film who gave a $115 million as a production budget. Director, Neill Blomkamp stated that the film is a statement on the human condition. He added ‘This isn’t science fiction. This is today. This is now.’ This is a commercial institution. The difference it makes ultimately, the producers would want to produce a film that is impressive regarding special effects and has an interesting plot. This means that their personal ideology wouldn’t be a priority but producing a film that is profitable would be. Sony originally intended to release the film at the end of 2012. Sony announced that the film would be reformatted for imax theatres so the films release date was pushed back to August 9 2013. The film was available on DVD and Blu Ray on December 17 2013. 

Genre The film isn’t gender specific as there is an even amount of characters between both genders. However, the genre that this film belongs to would make the audience more likely male. This is because the sci-fi genre is more appealing to the male audience. This film would appeal to mainstreamers because the director of the film is the director of a previously successful film District 9. Also this film would appeal to explorers as they would want to see someone’s vison for the future which this film provides. As the film is based in the future, an assumption that could be made is that, the audience would want to see how the Earth would be in the 22 century. It could be assumed that the audience would be visionary. Originally, the film was scheduled to be released at the end of 2012. This could possibly mean that it would be a film that are for working people. This is because at the end of the year, people would be off work because it would be Christmas. Another assumption that could be made is that it could be a film for teenagers as at the end of the year, they’d be on holiday off school.

A possible reading for this text is that women who don’t follow general expectation and are defiant will be punished. This is seen in the character of Secretary Delaware as she organises a coup and in the film she ends up being murdered by her own hitman.  Another possible reading is that, the wealthy are exploiting the working class. This seen as the workers in the film aren’t getting enough money to provide in order to fulfil their basic commodities. Furthermore, they are treated very poorly in the work place as the droids that are supervising them treat them inhumanly. 

Audience
The main pleasure that this text provides is escapism. This is done through the plot being something that is relatable to majority of people. Being set in the 22^nd century it allows people to immerse themselves to how the standard of living would be like in the future. Also, with the audience being positioned as omniscient, it would make them form an identification with the hero as they would want there to be a resolution.

Representation The representation of women is interesting in this film because there are two women that are represented in two very different ways. The character named ‘Fray’ is represented as a traditional woman (dominant representation). This is done through her occupation as a nurse in the film and through her following the role as a carer because she nurses her daughter suffering leukaemia and the protagonist Max when he is wounded. The other woman secretary Delacourt, is the head of defence in Elysium. This is unconventional as women are generally linked to war and battle. Also, her character is ruthless and relentless as she shoots down 2 ships carrying citizens from Earth causing 46 casualties. Furthermore, she is the character that organises a revolution. Her character defies the expectation of women because she is so desensitised to death that she will murder at any cost for power. The protagonist Max, is represented as a man who was raised in the streets. This is seen through his appearance. He has a shaved head and tattoos all over his body. However, in the film he turns out to be a sacrifice because through his death, there is equality between the citizens of earth and the citizens of Elysium.       

Max is represented a man that has turned away from the life of crime but can’t fully escape from crime. By Max saving Earth shows how everyone is able to redeem themselves and that everyone is capable of changing the world. The character of Fray is represented as a traditional woman and she survives to live happily. This shows that woman that conform to the norm will survive to live happily. On the other hand, Secretary Delacourt dies in the film which gives the message that women who are defiant will be punished.   

Mise-en-scene
The setting of Earth is shows how it’s decaying. The streets are filled with rubble and the houses are very primitive. Also, the colours brown and grey really demonstrate how Earth has turned into a desert of bleakness. Also, the setting of Earth is clearly shown to be overpopulated which would explain the extreme poverty and the lack of natural resources. However, the setting of Elysium is contrasting. The use of green, blue and yellow show how there is life and that things are growing. These colours connote the season of spring which is significant as it shows things are evolving and growing. Furthermore, there is a prominant use of the colour of white. This gives a sense of purity and perfection which further presents Elysium as ‘heaven’. The contrast between how Elysium is presented and how Earth is presented is relevant to showing the reality of social class. Those who are wealthy have too much and are only getting richer. Also, it shows how the wealthy are living in their own bubble and have left the others just to survive. On the other hand Earth shows how there aren’t enough resources in order to survive. Also, as the inhabitants are kept in order by droids, it shows how they have no freedom, that they have been put into chains by the wealthy. Furthering this, as kids are getting ill it shows the suffering that is happening on Earth as it shows that parents can’t provide basic needs for their children.  

The space station being directly above earth, it connotes that the citizens on the station ‘Elysium’ have taken a God-like stature as by being above the Earth, it connotes how they are judging them. By the space station being named Elysium meaning a conception of the afterlife and a place where the Greek Gods dwell, it reinforces the connotation that the wealthy people living there have been elevated to being God-like.

SHEP

Apply the Wider Contexts (Social, Historical, Economic, Political) to your text/topic, including at least three bullet points on each one. 

Social

• 'In every city there is an Elysium...the gap between those who have and don't have.'
• Although this film is set 141 years into the future, the events and themes are by no means futuristic but are in our immediate lives.
• The 

History

• Neil Blomkamp the director of this film has had previously directed a successful science fiction film District 9. Similarly with Elysium, District 9 also has undertones that comment on social class. Blomkamp intended to portray despicable human practices upon the aliens in a way reflective of South African apartheid, for American audiences the images of alien abuse also bring forth the resonant iconography of immigration controversies.
• The title Elysium derived from Greek mythology meaning a heaven for the righteous to go once they die. This knowledge allows for a deeper analysis for what the space station 'Elysium' represents. 
• Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception and time travel, along with futuristic elements such as spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar space travel or other technologies. Science fiction films have often been used to focus on political or social issues, and to explore philosophical issues like the human condition as well as bring to life the fears the society is facing at that certain period of time.

Economic

• Elysium grossed $93.1 million in the domestic box office and $193 million internationally for a worldwide total of $286 million.
• Had a production budget of $115 million
• The film opened on August 9, 2013 and grossed $11,088,228 on its opening day, ranking #1. It proceeded to rank #1 for the weekend, grossing $29,807,393.

Political

• Capitalism results in exploitation in working class. This exploitation is seen in the hazardous and life threatening working conditions. 
• 
  

Issues/Debates

Select at least five and say how each relates to your study, using the Media A-Z to help you think about this:

• Representation and stereotyping

The lower class is represented as the victim of social class. This is seen through the poverty in the setting of Earth, where they have been abandoned. However, the upper class is represented as unethical and purely and solely interested in financial gain. This is seen in the lack of support that the upper class offer those in poverty and the excessive opulence that the space shuttle is adorned with. In this film the representation of class is negative, which could give a sense of realism as it portrays the flaws in society. 

• Media effects
• Reality TV
• News Values
• Moral Panics

A moral panic about the fear of inequality is created in such a stark contrast between the standard of living between the higher and lower class. There is also the sense that what social problems presented in the film aren't things that audiences aren't familiar with but are issues that are embedded in our lives. The panic is that for the moment the problem is still solvable but if action isn't taken, then it could lead to the point where there is too big a gap between the higher and lower classes. This is already seen in some statistics that the pay gap between the classes are increasing. This social realism in the film causes moral panic but only to the working and lower classes.  

• Post 9/11 and the media
• Ownership and control
• Regulation and censorship

This film is rated 15. At 15 violence may be strong. It should not dwell on the infliction of pain or injury, however, and the strongest gory images are unlikely to be acceptable. Strong sadistic violence is also unlikely to be acceptable. The risk of potential harm to impressionable teenagers is also considered. For example, dangerous behaviour such as hanging, suicide and self-harming should not dwell on detail which could be copied. Whether the depiction of easily accessible weapons is acceptable will depend on factors such as realism, context and setting. I believe that the age certificate is just right for this film as it doesn't breach any of the regulations. 

• Media technology and the digital revolution – changing technologies in the 21st century

Because of the advances in digital technology, the special effects that are available to the director adds a greater sense of realism as well as adding to the spectacle of the whole film. It gives greater dimension to the film because the use of technology and special effects really heightens the contrast that is seen between the rich and the poor. The rich are immersed in luxury with the latest gadgets and tools and the poor are using primitive resources like fires and swords.    

• The effect of globalisation on the media

Theories

Select at least five and say how each relates to your study, using keywords/specific theorists' names from the Media A-Z:

• Semiotics

A symbol that is used throughout this film is the space shuttle Elysium. This symbol is meant to represent the divide between the higher and lower class. The way it is positioned portrays how the inhabitants on the shuttle are see as higher beings almost like Gods in the heavens. This is as the shuttle is looking down on the ravaged Earth which further shows how the inhabitants are judging them and are watching over them which further links with the interpretation that the inhabitants are like God.

• Structuralism and post-structuralism
• Postmodernism and its critiques
• Gender and ethnicity

Gender stereotypes are used playfully in this film as the audience sees both the 'typical' and the 'atypical' woman. The one that is represented first is the woman who doesn't adhere to the norm, Secretary Delacourt. She is the head of defence and is presented as ruthless. This is seen when she orders the ships breaching the Elysium air space to be shot down. With this order she kills 53 people. With this ruthlessness and violence, she doesn't fit with the stereotype of women but rather challenges it. However on the other hand, the stereotypical woman is seen in the character of Fray. Her character is all the things woman are usually expected, she's nurturing, compassionate and a caring mother.    

• Marxism and hegemony

The way that social class is represented in Elysium ties in with Marxism and hegemony because the Marx discuses how workers being exploited stems from capitalist structure. This is seen in the exploitation of the workers on Earth and the extreme poverty seen. 

• Liberal Pluralism
• Colonialism and Post-colonialism
• Audience theories
• Genre theories

This film falls under the science-fiction genre. This is because it uses fictional science depictions for example, the spacecrafts, cyborgs and space travel. Also this film shows technologies that aren't available in the contemporary world. This film also presents the future to have a sense of dystopia.    

• Contemporary Media Landscape

Explain how your study fits into this.

Media texts
Elysium(2012)

TV documentaries
The Guardian - Interview with Neil Blomkamp - This isn't science fiction. This is today. This is now.
BBC One - Panorama, truth behind the click - Theory of alienation, capitalism

Academic texts/books
F Parking: Marxism & Class Theory: A Bourgeois Critique (1983)
Peter Saunders: Social Class and Stratification (2006)
Hal Draper: Karl Marx's theory of Revolution, Vol II: The politics of social classes (1978)
John Bellamy Foster, Brett Clark and Richard York: The Ecological Rift: Capitalisms War on the Earth (2011)
Michael Perelman: The Invisible Handcuffs of Capitalism (2011) 

Internet Links
1. http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/aug/17/elysium-neill-bloomkamp-interview - 'The only way things will change is if we're smart enough to develop technology that can think us out of this, meaning augmenting ourselves genetically to be smart enough to change shit'
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/nov/30/class-war-is-back-again - 'Social mobility is still very much alive: it’s just that it’s now going mostly in the wrong direction'
http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/apr/03/class-britain-defining-social-status- 'The way that someone interprets their own place in British society can affect self-esteem, ambition and achievement.'
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/sep/03/social-class-achievement-school1 -  'White pupils perform at school is that white working-class parents may have lower expectations of their children than working-class parents from other ethnic groups'
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/26/britain-stop-obsession-social-class - 'Britain likes to unwind in the evening: by sneering at other classes, and sneering at people for sneering about class.' 

2.http://www.jstor.org/stable/586750?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=MRg5crpAOBIC&oi=fnd&pg=PR2&dq=capitalism&ots=oIZtYi9nqY&sig=dpJ5MXhBrY8Nxqa82lmB9zkbtoQ#v=onepage&q=capitalism&f=false
http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=572771