Book Research

Why Are So Many Black Men in Prison? By Demico Boothe.
Motivating and Preparing Black Youth for Success. By Jawanza Kunjufu.
Youth. By J.M Coetzee.
Behind Bars: Surviving Prison. By Jeffrey Ian Ross & Stephen C. Richards.
Gangs and their Tattoos Identifying Gangbangers On The Street And In Prison. By Bill Valentine.
Home of the Body Bags. By gang member Terrell Wright.
Always Running. By Luis Rodríguez.
The Youth Gang Problem: A Community Approach. By Irving A. Spergel.

Blog Buddies

From my class i have chose Neema as her blog links to mine through the race issue with police. I still have to sort out a blog buddy from the other class.

SELF EVALUATION

Attainment- 3- My work in my opinion is good but i should try to learn the things that i don't understand rather than just looking past them.

Effort- 2- I put a lot of effort into my blog and classwork, but keeping up to date was my downfall, now im going to take control of that though.

Punctuality-1- I'm always right on time for lessons but i've had issues with attendance in the past, also like being up to date i've controlled that too.

Submission and quality of homework-2- quality of my hw is good however i might do the work a bit late at times.

Ability to work independantly-1- Very good, i prefer working independantly because it's a much quicker process and i'm good at thinking on my own feet.

Quality of writing-2- I'm a good writer when i want to be, i've written good in the blog but sometimes i get lazy and rush the work.

Organization of media folder-1- Organised.

Oral contributions in class-1- I'll answer any question i know the answer to or i'll give an opinion on something being mentioned, in the past we've had discussions in class and i always get involved.

Standard of Module 5 blog-2- I think its well put together and there is good content in my blog, however i should put in more of my own research rather then just doing the work set.

Standard of Module 6 blog-2- This blog started off very slow and i was quite behind, so i stayed up one night and got all the work up to date and everything is there that was set but again like the module 5 blog i should try and put my own independant work up rather than just what is set.

10 more words from the dictionary

Realism: a film which aims to show the real thing. This film is based on a true story so the effect of realism had to be employed, not only that but to also shed light on the seriousness of the subject.

American Dream: The American dream is the idea held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity. The reason i chose this is because in the movie it is shown that through hard work and determination you can achive something good and gain the respect of others, also in the end the audience is told that most of the convicts were freed and some now go to school or have a job.

Social realism: representation of characters and issues to raise serious issues. A lot of serious issues are raised in Gridiron Gang such as gun crime, gang life and jail time.

Resolution - When a problem created in the movie is resolved at the end. In this case it is when the main prisoners are released and have a good future ahead of them.

Biopic: Is a film which has been created on scenes based on a real life story. Gridiron Gang and some of the characters are based on real life events and real peoplewhich was captured on film for a documentary.

Antagonist: The opposing figure in the narrative, for example the villian against the hero. Calvin(who is in willy's rival gang) starts off early in the movie as a villain giving Willy numerous threats, but eventually he becomes Willy's friend.

Epic: a big budget film where there is a big cast and when a powerful theme/message is passed throughout the movie. I personally think that this is fitting for gridiron gang, former wrestling champion Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays Sean Porter with a supporting role from multi-million record selling Xzibit. The younger actors are not as well known but they still form a big cast.

Teen movie- a movie which is specifically targeted at a target audience of teenagers and addresses a range of teenage interests. This relates to my study as it is aimed at teenagers and aims to get a strong message across.

Human interest - A topic that appeals to the audience. With the problem of gangs in America and the English alternative "yobs", i think this movie keeps a lot of human interest as it concerns a lot of different people.

Celebrity: A widely-recognized or famous person who commands a high degree of public and media attention. Former wrestler and now accomplished actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays Sean Porter with a supporting role from multi-million record selling rapper and actor Xzibit.

Websites that are central to my study:

I found alot of websites that focus on the representation of women but very few that are dedicated to the representation of men. Below are the following webistes that i will be using for my study:

http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Modules/MC30820/represent.html
This website focuses on representation as a whole. Includes a diagram to explain the process used in creating representations, with some useful questions to evoke responses.

http://www.kidulthoodlife.blogspot.com/
This is last year Alliaya’s blog on Kidulthood. I chose this website because her study deals with the representation of teenagers which is essentially the basis of my study too. I intend on using books used in her bibliograpghy to help me with my research.

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/identity-politics/
This website is key to my study because it identifies a term called “identity politics” which is crucial in understanding why certain people of certain social class are represented in the way they are. This term will help explain a lot about why black teenagers in Gridiron gang are represented as strong criminals.

http://www.identities.org.uk/
This website is by far the most important of all my websites. This page shows a study on “Ethnicity, Identity and Social Relations in Prison.” The idea of ‘prison’ directly links to my study.

http://www.open.ac.uk/socialsciences/identities/pdf/r_meek_youngoffenders.pdf
Once again, I have found studies that directly link to my topic. The narrative of Gridiron gang concludes with the success of a few prisoners moving back into community life. This study here is on young offenders and their transition from custody to community.

http://mediaknowall.com/representation.html
A useful website for A2 media students on representation. I will be looking here for the basic ideas that help build up representations.

http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-q=gridiron+gang&sp-a=sp090f2100&sp-p=any&sp-f=iso-8859-1
This website is really helpful because it has a variety of links which are to do with the representation of 'gangs.' I will be researching all the links here in depth for my study.

10 words that relate to my independant study

Anti-Hero- this is portrayed by pretty much all the convicts in the movie.

Disequilibrium- In the beginning of the movie when Willie's cousin has just been released, it seems as if his life will change, but then suddenly he is pulled right back into the gang life and dies as a result.

Family Values- This is shown in the movie but in an unconventional manner, the family values are portrayed through the convicts and Sean Porter acting as a father.

Hero- I think Sean Porter and Willie Weathers are fighting for the spot of hero constantly in the movie, although Sean Porter probably takes the spot while Willie takes the spot of an anti-hero.

Linear Narrative- Gridiron Gang employs this narrative so strongly that there is not even one flashback.

Narrator- At times, Sean Porter narrates certain scenes eg. the opening scene, "Most sixteen/seventeen year old kids, they make a bad choice. Something gets broken, they screw up in class, hurt somebody's feelings, show up at the prom drunk. They get sent to the Principal office, have their car keys taken away or get grounded. Then there's kids that make a bad choice, somebody ends up shot dead in a parking lot. Those kids get sent here."

Remake- This movie is in fact a remake of the original documentary "Gridiron Gang" 1993. The actual Sean Porter was on set a lot during th filming process therefore the authenticity of the story is undeniable.

Set- A huge majority of the movie is shot in the jail, i thought it was interesting how the jail begins to seem like a completely different world to the audience and at times it is easy to forget that it is in fact a jail.

Media Audiences

The target audience are for both adults and teenagers. I think that this is aimed at adults just as much as teenagers because the message is that criminals can always change their ways and this film might change the representation of these criminals and even teenagers on the streets in the eyes of adults.

Values and ideologies

Although there are no typical family values in this film, a different kind of family can be seen through the team. Gradually, the team begins to forget their past feuds and learn to work together and junior even says, "you guys are my family". This promotes a familial ideology emphasising the need for family. Sean Porter takes the role of a father and more distinctly like a father that Willie never had and possibly the son that Sean Porter never had.

Institution

Columbia Pictures are a well known production company in the world of movies(spiderman, lethal weapon), so this would attract an audience from the beginning but also give the audience high hopes for the movie. The trailer is mostly filled with emotional moments from the movie which is an accurate representation of the movie but also there are moments of humour there too, this shows that although the movie is dealing with a serious matter it will still keep the audience entertained.

Genre

The genre is a sport drama, but there are other elements to it. It can be argued that although there is no real family, a lot of family values are represented therefore it can be a family film too. The generic conventions of this film are interesting because they are conventional but to a certain extent unconventional too. When Sean Porter decides to start a team it becomes clear to the audience that his plan will work to help the kids because that would be the conventional thing to happen(although it did work in real life) but with that said, in the end of the film we are also told that only 5 of the prisoners had been locked up again after release. Even though this is a better rate than the normal 75% return rate at the jail the audience feels a sense of loss as they form a bond with the characters while watching the movie.

Media Languages and Forms

The denotative levels of meaning of football is that it is a sport which is quite enjoyable and will be a good way to keep the prisoners occupied and help them better themselves, the connotations of football are that in order to succeed you need to work as a team, be strong and believe it yourself. This is shown when Sean Porter challenges the young, smaller and much weaker Willie to try and take him down, after many attempts he can't even budge the muscular coach but with the words such as, "you've got nobody but yourself but thats all you need, believe in yourself and knock me on my ass!" he manages to put him on the floor. This shows that without even meeting the pyshical requirements, Willie only had to believe in himself to win.
The setting in the beginning of the movie is very grim and usually set inside the jail, as the movie progresses the prisoners are outside more and more practicing in a sunny environment rather than a dark prison. This is a symbol of change and shows that what the team are doing is a symbol of freedom as they are outside more often rather than inside.

Characters

Sean Porter(Dwayne Johnson) is the head warden at the camp in Gridiron Gang and an ex football coach, he believes that everybody has the right to try and make a change in themselves for the better, that is why he starts a football team within the prison so that everyone can learn to work together and stop bickering amongst themselves.
He comes across as a very strict and hard headed person but also quite sensitive due to his past and his mother's illness at present.

Willie Weathers(Jade Yorker) is the newest convinct in the prison charged with shooting his mothers abusive boyfriend, prior to the shooting he witnessed his cousin(who just got released from the prison in which he is) get killed by an enemy gang member. Willie is involved in a gang and goes around starting trouble in the jail with anybody who even looks at him in a funny way. Sean sees that he is a talented football player and realises that he is wasting it on the streets so aswell as everyone else, he takes him under his wing. Soon after he befriends an enemy gang member in jail and goes to college after his release.

Junior Palaita(Setu Taase) Is feared in the prison by all and known as a bully, Sean notices Junior's power which is a vital part of football and convinces him to join, the team helps bring out a good side in Junior and cause all his feuds in the jail to cease. After being released Junior fixes up his life and gets a full time job.

Kenny Bates(Trevor O'Brian) is a shy and unconfident character, he is the only white member in the jail but becomes talkative and befriends the whole team soon after joining. After his release he too goes to college and plays football like Willie.

Research

For my research i have watched two other films which are set in jail, "Blood in blood out(1993)" and "Lock up(1898)" Lock up is similar to Gridiron Gang as they both aim to show the convicts in a positive light rather than a negative light. In blood in blood out the convicts are not shown as evil but they do continue to break the law in several different ways showing no sign of improvement.

Independant Study

In order to prove my hypothesis i will be looking into what kind of things provoke criminals to commit crimes and how they react to the sentence. In the movie Gridiron Gang which is a true story, some of the convicts go on to become very successful people in life while some go back to their old ways. This movie subverts the traditional and stereotypical view of criminals. In my study i will link this movie to "Blood in blood out" which too is set in a prison, but the tone of the movie is much darker and is the complete opposite of the moral that Gridiron gang aims to let the viewers know.

My Hypothesis

For my independant study i am going to be proving that not all criminals deserve to be looked down upon by the public and that there is always room for even a criminal to change their ways.

In doing so i will aim to show that the traditional stereotypes of criminals has changed from being villianous to perhaps even heroic, leading to a more sympathetic representation of them.

The Representation of criminals in Gridiron Gang

Gridiron Gang is a 2006 film starring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Xzibit, L. Scott Caldwell, and Kevin Dunn. It was filmed in California at Camp Kilpatrick, a Los Angeles County Probation Department facility. It is loosely based on the true story of the Kilpatrick Mustangs during the 1990 season, the very first in which they played eleven man football. Kilpatrick is a facility located in Malibu, California for juvenile delinquents with multiple offenses, such as murder and gang violence. The overall moral is that even though people deal with difficulties in their lives, these young teenagers overcome their fears and frustrations using self-discipline and learn to leave their problems on the football field.