Shang-Chi distribution

 Distribution costs more than production costs.

Snow White had to be released in cinemas multiple times to be seen but now with the digitalization of cinema, it can be accessed by Disney plus. 

One in 8 people on this planet are Chinese - so Shang Chi already had a vast amount of interested fans

Movie posters often featured one actor at a time to allow people to see their favorite celebrity or actor/actress to appeal to different fans

Had a shorter theatrical window due to the pandemic but this didn't hugely impact on sales

Not hugely successful or respected in China - an interview with an ex Disney boss referred to the film as an 'experiment' which invalidated a lot of the efforts they made to be culturally sensitive - Simu Liu commented that it wasn't an acceptable thing to say

Didn't have a cinematic release in China

Shang-Chi Production

 

Started filming in in Sydney in Feb 2020.

Got delayed a year so many received less pay until filming started and caused scheduling conflicts

Australia government gave a grant to get Disney to film there - good for tourism and increased jobs for Australians - good for industry.

VFX - Visual Effects

Pushing technological limits just like Snow White

Used Skywalker sound - a company Disney owns for sound effects

Weta for their visual effects - who use layers for each scene to add their effects

Also got filmed for IMAX which allowed more ways to see the film

Simu Liu - Cast as the main protagonist in the film - 34 yrs old

• Used to be a stunt double in music videos
• directed his own short films
• won awards for his breakout on kims convenience a canadian sitcom
• then had a big part in barbie
• also voiced many characters for disney and even the simpsons
• won breakout actor of the year for Simu Liu

Awkwafina - 

• Asian American rapper actress and comedian
• breakout song ij 2012
• Co starred in craszy rich asians then hosted SNL
• Won a golden globe - first lead actress of Asian descent to win one
• Worked as Katy n Shang Chi

Sir Ben Kingsley-

• English actor most famous for his role in Ghandi
• 49 awards with 70 nominations
• Also worked in Schindler's list
• most awards and performances were in the 80s and 90s but he still finds sucvess today in films like Shang chi.

Tony Leung -

• Singer/actor
• from Hong Kong
• 61 yrs old
• one of Asias most recognisable actors
• Steven Chow convinced him to begin acting at age 16
• Shang-Chi was his first western film

Michelle Yeoh-

• Malaysian actress - 61
• Famous in the 90s in asian films where she did her own stunts
• was in  BOND FILM
• First asian to win best actress at an academy award

Magazines

Assessed on-

• Media language and representations
• Social Context 
• Cultural Context
• Political Context

5 things on magazine covers

• Name
• Price
• Date
• Celebrity

72% of adults in the UK have access to magazines (read on a monthly basis) - 39.1 million

37% print

59% digital

10 Qs about The Big Issue-

1. a street paper
2. John Bird and Gordon Roddick  inspired by street news in New York and used to help the homeless
3. 1991 and distributed and published by Dennis publisher 
4. Circulated by vendors in United Kingdom Australia Ireland Japan South Africa South Korea Namibia Kenya Taiwan Malawi
5. Sales and ad revenue
6. Offer employment and voices in the media to homeless and those living in poverty
7. It offers the typical news that many magazines and newspapers provide however also publish a wide range of inspirational stories as well as tips for the homeless whilst also advertising ways to support their vendors
8. Cam buy from their local vendors or online and costs £4
9. A hand up not a hand out
10. losing sales - focused on political journalism

The Big Issue is a niche magazine outside commercial mainstream and construct alternative representations that are maybe not seen in typical media

Some Big Issue magazines do not feature a barcode thus making them a vendor only magazine - all papers used to be like that but post Covid vendor sales dropped vastly

1. The big issues does not tend to follow the house style of magazines but its mastheads are typically in the same place
2. the masthead is positioned at the top(superscript) and bottom(subscript) of the page and features big letters and bold colors
3. There is a general theme of their covers of either showing news, rhetorical questions or interviews  with minorities, rising stars or other people promoting changes (or their vendors) - their cover images are typically less serious and they tend to use a sans serif font

72% of readers are ABC1 

43% are AB - socially and culturally aware - white collar

psychographics - reformers and explorers - care about problems in the world

it is a magazine with no political slant and will hold anyone to account

represented - The homeless and Ukrainians 

Masthead - blue and yellow like the flag 

Stories hidden under the subtext masthead

Main image - shows the damage and impact - doesn't hold back from news

Littered and dirty environment - not a photoshoot - different from the other magazines

represented - Homeless

Perfectly encapsulates the big issue - modern - up-and-coming - representative of lower classes

represented - their vendors

Big issue picks Paralympics as they like to represent minorities whenever possible and try to shine a light on those who may typically be unrepresented as they may not be as commercially viable in privatized and for profit magazines.

French colorway with Eiffel tower in background in front of a French flag - Roland Barthes semiology

cover lines ABC1 

White men

white sans serif text - cant ignore - allows the disabled to be the focus

wearing each others colors - collaboration - communal feeling - united in competition - allure of the Paralympics 

barcode shows it is also sold in selected shops such as Sainsburys - shows adaptation since Covid

masthead frames the photo

Shang-Chi

•  In the 4th phase of the MCU
• Sir Ben Kingsley has a part
• features ten powerful rings

5 Key Facts-

• Marvel have planned up to phase 6 of the MCU - 2027
• Due to complicated copyright issues - some characters can exist in the MCU but belong to another company
• MCU is a movie franchise with many features and installments of original content as well as basing many off the marvel comics - most are produced in Marvel studios
• Marvel isn't just films - books, TV specials etc. - cross media convergence
• The MCU is planned in many phases of interlinked stories