Media Studies Summer Task

In this powerpoint I will be comparing two

aspects of both these titles. I will be looking at two short clips of each

and comparing how they represent different

themes and also the narrative of them.

Reece Thompson

Similarities in representations

Gender

The similarities of gender representation include the idea of a world where it’s male dominated. The two

clips both show stereotypical men thing to do, such as being in the police force or playing cricket. These ideas are reinforced by the fact that all speaking/

dialogue is carried out by male characters / voices in the clips. Other similarities is the representation of

women. In L.A Noire, women are portrayed as inferior to men by being the stereotypical housewives. In

comparison, Casino Royale fails to show any women characters at all, suggesting the idea that once again they are “inferior” to men or considered as the damsel

in distress.

Crime

In terms of similarities between the two clips in crime, both clips indirectly show the idea of crime in each

respective media. In L.A Noire, we do not directly see any crime, but it is heavily suggested to feature

throughout as we can see police and other shady characters who look like they are there to cause

trouble. This is similar to Casino Royale, as it also does not show crime directly being committed,

however we see the shooting of one man by the protagonist, suggesting that the character had done

something wrong. As well as this, the clip also features shady characters in it.

Differences of representations

Gender

Differences in gender in the two clips are quite clear. In L.A Noire, we see throughout that women are seen

as stereotypical housewives. As seen in the image above, we can see the woman waving goodbye to her

husband as he goes to work. In comparison to L.A Noire, Casino Royale shows us in the clip that there

are no women in this “man’s sport”. The contrast sets a scene for how each piece of media will pan out. Casino Royale will feature more male characters

whereas L.A Noire will focus more on women. As a consumer of both these medias, I can confirm that

this statement is true, as L.A Noire features heavily on the mistreatment of women during 1950s America.

Crime

The representation of crime in Casino Royale is not very obvious by watching the clip. However, the

events that take place during the clip show that the film features crime. This includes murder as seen when the protagonist shoots a man dead. Unlike

Casino Royale, L.A Noire represents crime strongly. In the clip, policeman are shown as well as shady

looking characters blending in well with the whole idea of a thriller. However, crime is not shown directly on

the surface, but rather something that happens as an underground business. We can tell this by the

narrator's description of the city as booming and bustling.

Similarities in narrative

The two clips both lead us to interpret similar ideas in my opinion. Both clips indirectly get us to think about criminality quite strongly. In Casino Royale we are shown a man being shot, but we do not really understand the reason why so clearly. Similarly, L.A Noire never shows us any crime committed but implies it very heavily through the clip, showing policeman and shady characters. In Casino Royale, near the start of the clip. We see a shady character walk into a

room. When the audience sees this, it leads them to interpret that this character is up to no good. Both of these clips use the idea of shady characters, which keeps in guise of the whole thriller theme. Another similarity, is the way in which the stories are revealed. None of them are directly revealed, instead they are revealed very vaguely through

their story tellers so to speak.

Differences in narrative

Both clips show strong differences of how they present their stories and how the audience are made to perceive them. In Casino Royale we are made to believe throughout that something not right is going on. We are made to believe this by the use of music, and the dialogue between Bond and the antagonist in the clip. The audience is lead to believe that

something has gone wrong, without it actually being clearly revealed. In contrast to this, L.A Noire never makes the audience feel as if something is going to go wrong. The narrator in the clip talks about the opposite of negatives,

stating that “it is a man’s dream”. The whole clip shows how 1950s America is changing and we are told of it’s glory. The way the audience is made to perceive this clip is that everything is fine and nothing will go wrong. Another simple

difference is the way the stories are told. In Casino Royale, it is portrayed through the dialogue of Bond and the antagonist whereas in L.A Noire, the story is revealed by the narrator of the clip