Legal and Ethical Report

1. Legal & Ethical report
What are the possible effects of these theories on our
audience?
Theory/effect Explain what this is Can this be an effect that
the force awakens has on
an audience? How?
Hypodermic needle theory It is the theory that an
audience is entirely
passive; that they take
anything in whole without
question.
The Force Awakens
contains quite a lot of mild
violence. According to the
Hypodermic needle theory
this influences audiences
to become violent
themselves. The film also
has a `dark side` with strict
attitudes against any type
of resistance, which
includes mass murdering
which could also influence
the audience. The theory is
very outdated, and none
of this is expected to
happen, but it is what it
was believed in the 1920’s.
Somewhere where this
might work is the
marketing for the film
itself. The marketing for
the film was unavoidable,
and the constant
advertising may lead
people to see film, even
when they had no
intention of seeing it
initially.
Two step flow Two step flow is the theory
that first opinion leaders
get their information from
a media source, and then
distribute them among
their family and friends.
This audience is partially
active.
This has become very
relevant in the last
decade. The enormous
growth of social media has
led to there being a huge
market for two-step social
media marketing, allowing
messages to seem more
authentic. Today the
influencers are paid more
often than not, but the

2. theory is roughly the
same. This is not
particularly applicable to
the film itself, but the
marketing for it.
Uses and gratifications This is the theory that
audiences are active, and
make choices about what
they intake when
consuming texts.
The Force Awakens will
definitly provide some
gratifications for the
viewer, such as
Entertainment and
Personal Relationships.
Desensitisation This is the theory that the
more people see violence,
the more desensitized they
become to it. This leads to
violence being normalised
and makes people more
likely to commit it.
According to the theory
the film would lead people
to be more violent. This
theory has been highly
debated, although there is
evidence that violence is
growing in films.
What are the positive effects of the force awakens on an audience?
The positive effects of the film is a form of escapism for an audience. The film is set in a
different world, away from most of the conflicts of earth. They are fairly simple with straight
good and evil, where the good side wins.
What are the negative effects of the force awakens on an audience?
The negative effects of the Force Awakens depends on the theories you use. The most likely
negative effect is that it could increase the chance of the audience inciting violence.
What issues of representation might occur?
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 The male lead of the film is
black british citizen, who is
portrayed as being a hero,
who works with the lead to
save the day. They
represented him this way
presumably to bring
equality and diversity to the
Star Wars films, as well as
expanding their potential
market.
This is a positive
representation as it makes
the Star Wars Universe
more inclusive. Finn is the
first black lead in the saga,
which shows Disney is trying
to be more with the times.
Gender The lead of the film is a
fiercely independent female
This is a positive
representation as it moves

3. character. Star Wars has
always been fairly forward
with this aspect, making
their female characters
more than just damsels in
distress, but it is a move
forward to have a female
lead a film.
Disney forward. It also
expands their target market
greatly by inspiring and
capturing small girls as well
as boys.
Age Both Han Solo, Leia and
Luke Skywalker are brought
back to the franchise, both
far older than previously.
Han Solo ends up saving the
day at a point in the film.
It is nice to see a diverse
range of ages in an action-
adventure films, which is
seen so rarely currently.
This is a positive move.
Sexuality There is no clearly LGBTQ
character in Star Wars: TFA
While not as clear cut as the
other representations, there
is no clear LGBTQ character
in Star Wars. There could be
one, it has not been made
obvious. This is neither
negative or positive, but
might turn negative if there
isn’t an LGBTQ character by
the end of the trilogy
Does the film provide typical mainstream representations or does it offer something that
challenges society?
This film does challenge mainstream representations of what an action hero can be, especially
for the younger audience. While there may be more violent films with female heroes, it is not
often a live-action film so family friendly has a strong female lead that is supported by a male
lead. Looking at social media around the release of the film there were a huge amount of
young girls going to see a film they wouldn’t normally because of Rey. Having a black lead
isn’t challenging but more or less expected at some point or other from such a popular and
defining saga such as Star Wars.
What are the current debates in society regarding representation that could be related to
the film?
There are a number of parallels to be pulled from the storyline of Finn joining the rebel force.
When he his in the stormtrooper suit he is expected to carry out orders without hesitation, and
is indistinguishable from every other low ranking trooper. What you never see is the struggling
and suffering underneath the masks of the people who have to carry out these orders.
Once Finn has broken out of this mould he has his own personality, and is allowed to help
others, express his beliefs and have his own independent choices. This situation can be likened
to the strong identity culture the west has. In many countries people are still being forced into
boxes and being prosecuted for being different.

4. By representing Finn as a fully developed, 3D, black character; Disney is pushing for diversity
and identities for everyone who is different which includes gender, race and sexuality.
Legal and ethical issues
LEGAL Explain the issue: Example in relation to THE
FORCE AWAKENS
Discrimination: Actors for the film must
not be chosen by the
colour of their skin or
ethnic background,
unless it is essential to the
role, i.e. historical
accuracy.
Star Wars has always been
mostly made of white
actors, until The Force
Awakens where the male
lead was a black actor.
Copyright: Film-makers must be
careful not to use
copyrighted images or
music in their film.
As the Star Wars universe
isn’t set on earth, there is
no commercial music or
other copyrights in the film
that aren’t owned by
LucasFilm. However the
Star Wars universe itself
has a myriad of copyrights.
ETHICAL –Offensive material Explain the issue: Example in relation to THE
FORCE AWAKENS
Violence/sex/language: Films must follow the
rules set by the BBFC for
violence and explicit
scenes and language.
The Force Awakens is rated
a 12, as it is heavy in
violence, but no actual gore
is seen. There is no explicit
language or imagery
Children: There are strict rules on
how many hours children
can work on films per
week, and they must be
educated.
The force awakens has no
child actors.
How do the legal considerations have an effect upon the making of the force awakens?
The Force Awakens is a lot simpler than most films, as it does not have to deal with copyrights
being shown while on location, for example if they were filming in a city. They also have no
licenced music. This makes it easier in legal terms to find the music for the film, because they
have no option other than to pay someone to write and record it, which means they can
copyright the music themselves.

5. They still have to pay attention to health and safety laws, such as making the set safe for
actors, crew and visitors. These were breached during filming, where Harrison Ford was
crushed by a sliding door, and managed to sue the production company for 2 million dollars.
Part of the verdict was based on the fact that the company did not act on their risk
assessment.
The credits of a film are also highly regulated, with even legalities concerning the size of the
font used for each actor’s name.
Regulatory bodies
Research the BBFC and find out:
1. Who are they and what role do they perform?
The BBFC exists to judge if a film is suitable for a wide audience, and what age group it
is appropriate for. They also censor films that are too graphic. They say their aim is to
`protect children and vulnerable adults from potentially harmful or otherwise unsuitable content`
2. Why do they exist?
The exist to guide local authorities on the ratings of films, although almost all films are
just run off the rating given by the BBFC. Only very rarely do the ratings given by local
authorities differ to the ones given by the BBFC.
3. What rules does the BBFC set that have to be followed by film makers and companies?
Only very rarely is a film fully censored by the BBFC. On most occasions as long as a
number of cuts are carried out the film can be released as an 18 film. Some of these
instant refusals include images of indecent children which is criminalised in the UK, and
the abuse of on set animals, rather than the use of CGI.
4. How do these rules have a direct effect on how a film is made? Give one legal example,
and one ethical example.
Legally these films have to not have any indecent photos of children, but the BBFC can
ban films for ethical reasons, for example in 2015 the film Hate Crime was banned for
"the terrorisation, mutilation, physical and sexual abuse and murder of the members of
a Jewish family by the Neo Nazi thugs who invade their home." There is nothing
stopping this film from being released online, but it cannot be released in cinemas.