Task 1

Task 1

GTA 4 TRAILER- TEXTUAL ANALYSIS

Media language
Grand theft auto 4 is shown to be violent through many different media aspects. Firstly the character Niko Bellic described as the protagonist has come to America to get away from his troubled past and pursue the American dream. With persuasion from his cousin to come and join him in America, claiming to have mansions, sports cars and women it soon becomes apparent that his cousin owns a failed taxi business and is in debt. When the two meet their facial expressions are happy and that Niko is going to start a new life and be successful with his cousin. We become aware of the problems his cousin’s face from the moment they reach Roman (niko cousin) home, it could be described as deprived and dangerous, indicating his cousin is quite poor.
The diegetic sound of roman saying, “were going to the top” this involves the audience as the audience are going to be the ones to help niko be successful, suggests niko has to do missions and tasks in order to reach this high status of being at the top, stereotypically violence and drugs is seen as a way to get to the top quickly.
As the trailer develops we see that roman has a few problems and we notice that Niko has to help his cousin and deal with them. From the scared and confused facial expression portrayed from roman suggests he is fearful and “paranoid” and also from him speech which doesn’t flow reinforces he frightened, in contrast niko is very calm which is noticeable by his speech
The props that are used such as a gun immediately suggests violence and threat and how people are going to be hurt in order to get to the top reflecting Roman’s attitudes. Knives are also used to intimidate people.
Through the clothes Niko wears such as: tracksuits and jackets perhaps could be associated with him having to commit crimes or to some extent being involved in a gang of some sort. Furthermore wearing tracksuits means you are at the bottom and you are not in control.
However during the trailer niko wears a suit suggesting that he has gained reputation. Also niko is shown in a low angle shot suggesting he has become more powerful and has gained status.
The non diegetic sounds of the music are parallel to quick cuts and fast paced action on screen furthermore the music
The game gta 4 is set in liberty city therefore the city is lively, teaming with civilians and traffic. It has an identity, a social structure, and some evidence of reality.









GTA 4 Gameplay

Media language
Throughout the gameplay, the simple concept of driving combined with the diegetic sound of the car creates a sense of realism to the audience. To add, through the car, the player is given insight and is able to observe the setting of Liberty City, depicted similarly to the real world through various statues and buildings. The values and ideologies of New York presented within this game, such as: Yellow Taxis, further allow the player to engage easily with the game. Once he arrives at the specific destination, there is a fade to black connoting the end of the first part, and the commence of the second. Niko then finds himself trying to escape a gang, the gun helps him to escape by killing the opposition and the sounds are parallel to the scene as the gun is fired you hear the sound which makes it seem truthful. The alarm also going off adds to the effect of creating a actual scene. Once niko escapes, the police sirens start and niko has to get away this makes the audience believe they have committed an illegal act and now the police are trying to catch him. And you have to get away.



Institutions
Rockstar already had successful series, it is internationally well known also the institution has a huge fan base. Rockstar promoted this game through many different advertising methods and were over the different types of media platforms and this included TV advertising campaigns, print advertising, radio ads and billboards. Furthermore rockstar had created a viral for the game by creating a wanted poster of the main protagonist. A response from the lpcd, which are the police in the game. This advertising made people aware of the game and persuaded them to buy it. The institutions are well known and are therefore mainstream. The BBFC gave the game a rating of 18 therefore this is the legal age you have to be inorder to play it or buy it because of its explicit material.


Genre
The genre of this game is action the reason for this is because the game has a high budget of around $100 million, the game has many stunts to compete and there are many chases between niko and the police furthermore there are many rescues and battles and fights within the game.
This game could appropriately be pastiches because this game imitates and represents reality in society of how there are gangs and how people go around killing people. And how there are a lot of people doing illegal acts such as drugs.

Representation
Representing an Eastern European male (niko bellic) this could be seen as a unfair representation because America are scared of eastern Europeans they try to convince others that they are bad and therefore represent as being a threat to society by creating this game the audience see eastern Europeans as a risk.

Audience
The audience for this is aimed at 18-25 and the secondary audience would be 25 to 30. The game will be predominantly aimed at males whereby the females would be the secondary audience. All types of ethnicities and social backgrounds would play the game but the game would appeal to eastern European people as the protagonist has come from this particular area, which allows people who play the game in those areas to be able to identify with the main character. The audience have a sense of escapism whereby when they play the game they are the character and make their own decisions the audience are in a virtual world and forget about their problems in real life. The game gives the audience entertainment whereby the audience can do things in the game that they will be punished for in real life.



Ideology and values
The American values and ideologies are that America are sacred of eastern Europeans who come into their country.

Narrative
The trailer to an extent follows todorov narrative theory of equilibrium, dis equilibrium and new equilibrium. The equilibrium begins when niko leaves his old country in order to come to America and live the American dream with his cousin. The disequilibrium begins when he niko has to make his way to the top, by fighting of the people who are after his cousin and gaining respect the new equilibrium is where he is free of the people.
In this as you complete a mission it creates a foreshadow which creates a warning and indication of the future
This game to an extent follows props theory of characters; the characters roles often change within this game. The protagonist and hero is niko bellic. Villains Vlad, the helper could be roman as he tries to help.
The closure of this game has a denouement whereby you understand the plot and how they are drawn together and why they matter, in the end you understand why you had to do each mission.