1. DISNEY: LEGAL & ETHICAL, REGULATORYBODIES
FORM COMPLETED BY: Bradley McGonigle
A) POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF FILM UPON AN AUDIENCE
THEORY/EFFECT EXPLAIN WHAT THIS IS CAN THIS BE AN EFFECT
THAT THE FORCE
AWAKENS HAS ON AN
AUDIENCE? HOW?
HYPODERMIC NEEDLE
THEORY
The hypodermic needle
theory is a model of
communications suggesting
that an intended message is
directly received and wholly
accepted by the receiver.
Throughout the film there will
be messages that will be
intended to be received and
accepted by all of the
audience but there may also
be hidden messages that
some people may not
understand.
TWO STEP FLOW The two-step flow of
communication model
suggests that ideas flow from
mass media to opinion
leaders, and from them to a
wider population.
This could be as messages
from the film will travel in this
way and also big talking points
from the film.
USES AND
GRATIFICATIONS
This was founded in 1974 by
Blumler and Katz. These
were the main four reasons
that they came up with as to
why people watch films. The
four were: 1. Surveillance-
Information which could be
useful for living
e.g. weather reports,
financial news, holiday
bargains. 2. Diversion-
escape from everyday
problems and routine. 3.
Personal Relationships-
using the media for emotional
and other interaction,
e.g. para-social (we think we
know them, but we don’t). 4.
Personal identity- finding
yourself reflected in texts,
learning behaviour and
values from texts. There
have since been more of
these for example
downwards social
comparison but these are the
main four.
This can be an affect that
The Force Awakens has on
its audience as the audience
will watch the film for these
uses and gratification. For
example people who have
personal relationships with
the characters will enjoy
scenes like when Han Solo
and Chewbacca were back
on the millennium falcon and
also people who watch for
diversion will enjoy scenes
with action as it will keep
them entertained.
DESENSITISATION The theory of a media
audiences’ reactions growing
This could be an affect that
Star Wars has on an
2. weaker according to the
level/ amount of exposure to
violence, death and sex.
audience as in Star Wars
there is lots of violence which
could result in the audience
not being affected as much
when they see real violence
which would be a negative
impact.
WHAT ARE THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF THE FORCE AWAKENS ON AN AUDIENCE?
The positive effects that the force awakens has on an audience is that it will enable people to
get the uses and gratifications by watching the film that will bring them enjoyment. Also the
characters in the film could act as role modles for children for example lots of young kids
would look up to rey and be inspired by her which will impact them positively.
WHAT ARE THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF THE FORCE AWAKENS ON AN AUDIENCE?
Some negative impacts that Star Wars could have on it’s audience are that they would
become used to the violence in the film that could affect them in general as they wouldn’t be
as affected to real violence later in life which could result in the people becoming more
involved in violence later in their life. This would be due to the desensitisation.
B) ISSUES OF REPRESENTATION
WHO/WHAT IS BEING
REPRESENTED
WHY HAS THE
INSTITUTION
REPRESENTED THEM IN
THAT WAY
WOULD THIS BE
CONSIDERED A POSITIVE
OR NEGATIVE
REPRESENTATION-
EXPLAIN
Race In the film there is a new
character Finn who is black,
this is the first time there has
been a black main character
in Star Wars. Some people
were unhappy about this as
the stormtroopers were not
This is a positive
representation as it includes
a wider range of audience
and it would encourage more
people to enjoy the film as
within the film there is a wider
3. known to be black but they
stuck with the character and
defended him.
range of races so everyone
will feel included.
Gender Another new character in the
film is Rey, this is the first
female to have a leading role
in Star Wars which people
really liked because she is a
powerful character as Disney
didn’t follow casual women
stereotypes.
This is also a positive
representation as it includes
women more in the Star
Wars franchise as there is a
women with a leading role
which young women really
liked as they could look up to
her.
Age In the film there is lots of age
ranges but for the two main
characters they are
reasonably young. There do
not seem to be many kids in
the film but there are older
people for example the
characters from the old Star
Wars films like Han Solo.
This could be seen as
negative because there isn’t
many children however the
children still have characters
to look up to for example Rey
and Finn so it does not really
affect them.
Sexuality Throughout the film there are
no clear charcaters with a
different sexuality so they are
not being represented in any
way because they are not in
the film.
This is a negative
reprensentation as they are
ignoring the fact that there
are other sexualities and
creating an unrealistic world
for people to watch which
some people are not happy
about.
Does the film provide typical mainstream representations or does it offer something that
challenges society?
The film does not offer typical mainstream represenations as it more offers non-stereotypical
representations that challenge society. An example of this is the character Rey, she goes
against typical female stereotypes in films and instead she is a strong women who throughout
the film is seen to be more dominant than Finn which would normally be the other way round
in a lot of film. This could be the reason Rey is really liked as she stands for a lot of women.
What are the current debates in society regarding representation that could be related to
the film?
In society there are a lot of debates about sexuality and how people address this. The fact
that Disney chose not to make/add a new character with a different sexuality didn’t please a
lot of people as they believe there should be a character like this. Disney could’ve done this
to avoid affending anyone or maybe they didn’t think that it was relevant to the film.
4. C) LEGAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES
LEGAL Explain the issue: Example in relation to THE
FORCE AWAKENS
Discrimination: Discrimination is the unjust
or prejudicial treatment of
different categories of
people. This is aimed at lots
of people because of the
issues above like race,
gender, age and sexuality.
In the force awakens the
have to be careful that they
don’t discriminate anyone
with what they say in the film
as they could get in trouble If
they say something that
could be seen as
discriminating someone or a
group of people.
Copyright: Copyright is the exclusive
and assignable legal right,
given to the originator for a
fixed number of years, to
print, publish, perform,
film, or record literary,
artistic, or musical
material.
In the force awakens they
need to be careful that they
don’t use anything in their
film that they do not own the
rights to as if they do they
could get fined. An example
of this is all the music that
they use needs to be their
own or they could pay to use
it.
ETHICAL –Offensive material Explain the issue: Example in relation to THE
FORCE AWAKENS
Violence/sex/language: These are issues that
should not always be in a
film as they can be seen
as offensive to yonger
audiences.
Dinsey needed to be careful
with this as they needed to
make sure the film was not
too offensive so that
younger people could still
watch the film as they would
5. be attracted by the new
characters so Disney would
need to make sure they kept
the age raiting low so
younger audiences could
see the film.
Children: Film producers need to
make sure that there is no
content that would not be
suitable for children in the
film unless the film is
intended for an older
audience.
Since the film is aimed
children as well they need to
follow the idea that the
content can not be too
offensive otherwise they
wont be able to watch it.
HOW DO THE LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS HAVE AN EFFECT UPON THE MAKING OF THE
FORCE AWAKENS?
The legal considerations can affect the making of the force awakens as they have to be
careful whilst they are writing the script that they don’t discriminate anyone or breach any
legal rules. They also have to make sure that whilst they are editing they don’t breach
copyright rules with music or other things.
D) REGULATORY BODIES
BBFC
Who are the BBFC?
The British Board of Film Classification(BBFC) is a non-governmental organization, founded by the film
industry in 1912.
What role does the BBFC perform?
They are responsible for the national classification and censorship of films exhibited at cinemas and
video works
Why does the BBFC exist?
The BBFC exists so that films that are released in the cinema are aimed at the right gender of
people otherwise people would be watching films that are not suitable for their age range.
What rules does the BBFC set that have to be followed by film institutions?
They have set out two main rules which are the following:
1). To protect children and vulnerable adults from potentially harmful or otherwise
unsuitable content
2). To empower consumers, particularly parents and those with responsibility for children,
to make informed viewing decisions.
HOW DO THESE RULES HAVE A DIRECT EFFECT UPON HOW A FILM IS MADE?
EXAMPLE 1: (LEGAL) They have to be sure that they follow the rules that the BBFC set for
the target audience they are aiming the film at, for example Star wars is aimed at both
6. a younger and an older audience so they have to make sure that younger people can
watch the film in the cinemas by making the BBFC rating as low as possible whilst
insuring they include what the fans wangt from the film.
EXAMPLE 2: (ETHICAL) It encourages them to be more responsible about what the film
includes which will make them more socially responsible hence forward being more ethically
conscious.
