First of all, the storylines in this show are so overblown, its getting to the point of ridiculousness. But its all in the name of good tv. You watch characters break out of relationships and go to Paris to find love (awww!) with their best friends, one gets mugged for an engagement ring in Prague and is never to be seen again, and another finds out that her hot date turns out to be a French Prince. Yep, we've all been there. You have to remember that all these young people are the sons or daughters of very, very rich people in the upper class, and that things like being accepted into university because of who your grandfather is, is quite normal for these people.
The plot plays on their social status and presents them as the stereotypical rich, spoilt daddy's girls or rebellious, moody young men who just want to go and have some fun in a high class brothel.
The mise en scene is important in this portrayal, as it is set in the very wealthy Upper East Side of New York, backdropped against old, prestigious private schools, and contemporary apartments alike. Some scenes are set in other countries, but always in picturesque tourist areas, e.g. Paris' Eiffel Tower, Hamptons Beach Resort. Whether the locations are soaked with sunshine or drizzled with perfect white snow, it is always shot in a way that keeps the actors looking young and unnaturally beautiful. So no thunderstorms here, thank you. To top it all off, the actors are dressed in made-to-measure, high fashion designer outfits, which not only keeps up the image of highly privileged young people, but has also made the show a big name in fashion, boasting wardrobes that are the envy of every fashion magazine editor.
Gossip Girl Promo Season 4
I enjoyed reading this a lot Yasmin - well done. When you do a blog for formal assessment you may need to adjust your tone a little. I know it's a slightly odd format to use with a teacher and a bit hard to get your head around. You are observant and analytical of the 'big picture' and very alert to genre and structure. The next challenge is to look more closely at short sequences of film and see how many toolbox techniques you can spot - and consider the representations they construct. It's all practice!
ReplyDeleteAnd do try to use a variety of ways to present your responses on the blog so it's not always so much like an essay .. slideshow, podcast, webcam video etc. For example, you could make a slideshow presentation of some significant connotative mise en scene details from Gossip Girl and play with the possibilities of Powerpoint to comment on them!
I'm not assessing this and in the end you will need to write a timed essay to get marks for my module - but this is a chance to be creative and have fun with the form (which will help you maximise your marks in your coursework blog!)
I can see that the tone I use when writing isn't exactly suitable for a formal assessment, I'll bear that in mind.
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