Stacey Dooley Investigates: Saving the Cyber Sex Girls

Stacey Dooley Investigates: Saving the Cyber Sex Girls was directed by Joyce Trozzo and produced in 2015 by Elena Andreicheva and Joyce Trozzo with BBC 3, Twenty Twenty TV and Watershed TV Production. Camera was by Steven Mochrie and it was edited by Badger Cooper. Presented by Stacey Dooley and starring Marisol Ayad and Larni, Saving the Cyber Sex Girls is a very emotional documentary about child abuse that is being carried out in cybersex dens in the Philippines. Stacey discovers that children as young as two are being paid by customers, who watch via webcams, to perform sex acts for their pleasure- they are forced into doing it.

The documentary explores very powerful themes such as trafficking, poverty, exploitation and sexual abuse. It was shocking to find out that the customers include 750,000 people online at any one time and that 139 Brits this year so far have been investigated for committing these acts so it happens across the world. I never would have considered these numbers to be so awfully high and this is an issue I was not entirely aware of previously so I am glad this documentary has been made because more people need to be aware of this. Stacey finds out that this issue has arose due to a simultaneous rise in both poverty and cheap, high-speed internet access and these girls are sexually exposing themselves online in an act of desperation because it is the only way they can make money to support their families, and sometimes even their families force them to do it. This was very horrifying to here because it highlights how these huge levels of poverty are destroying the lives of these young children and this really upsets me because I can’t even begin to imagine how it must feel and it is the stories of the underworld like these that the media seem to ignore and they shouldn’t.

Stacey also goes to a prison and talks to some of the inmates, including Marisol Ayad. On first encounter, Marisol lies to Stacey, claiming that she is innocent but after undergoing some further research, Stacey realises that she ran a cybersex den where children as young as two were forced to perform for the webcams and when confronting Marisol for the second time, she admitted to doing so. I believe this shows that she is ashamed and embarrassed as to what she is done but also that she does not realise the seriousness of the issue and I hope she realises that what she did is completely unacceptable and sickening. There was also a tear-wrenching scene in which Stacey visits an anger management/therapy area for the children who have been involved with sexual exploitation to let out their emotions and this really emphasised how much they had been hurt, mentally and physically and the heart-breaking reality of this scene really put it into perspective for the audience as to how serious this is.

In conclusion, I think this documentary is really important and I would like to see the media cover issues like child abuse in cybersex dens because it is something that so many people are oblivious to and it should not be this way and we need to make a change. I thoroughly enjoyed this and I felt so many emotions throughout such as anger, shock, horror and sadness and I would highly recommend this to anyone. 

Reggie Yates- Race Riots USA

So, I am a big fan of documentaries because they are engaging, informative and often cover serious issues that people need to be aware of. Reggie Yates-Race Riots USA definitely did not disappoint and I thoroughly enjoyed and learnt a great amount of information from it.  

Race Riots USA was directed and filmed by Ruhi Hamid and produced in 2015 by Kandise Abiola and Sam Anthony with BBC Three and Sundog Pictures. Stephen Slator was the archive researcher, Russel Crockett was the editor and Gary Black and Matt Gettemieir were the sound recordists. Presented by Reggie Yates and starring Clifton Kinnie, Dorothy Kaiser and Brendan Roediger, Race Riots USA explores the position of African-Americans in America’s current society. This investigation was triggered by the death of black teenager, Michael Brown who was killed by white policeman, Darren Wilson a year ago in the town of Ferguson. This death led to rioting in Ferguson and when Reggie goes to visit the town, he discovers a new generation of young activists. He was led around by 18 year old, Clifton Kinnie who helps to unravel the story of Michael Brown and Kinnie was a big figure in this documentary because he emphasised that he just wants freedom and he wants himself and his younger brother to feel safe when walking down the street. This really highlights the issue of police brutality in America and how it is targeted towards race, conveying that the negative representations of black people in the media have contributed to the negative stereotypes that they are associated with (violent, always out to cause trouble etc.) and this is wrong.  

Some shocking statistics were mentioned in this documentary that help to back up these points. 70% of Ferguson’s citizens are black and on the day of the shooting, only 3/53 of the police were black. Michael Brown’s body was left on the road for four hours in front of his friends and family. Last year, 11,000 people in Ferguson were stopped for traffic violations and 9/10 of these people were African Americans. Ferguson police have spent more money on uniforms than on training. 280 million guns are owned by Americans. These really horrified me and by including these statistics, Reggie is providing contextual factors for the audience that can help them to generate their own opinion and for me, I thought it was absolutely awful Michael’s body was left on the road for four hours because that is extremely disrespectful and just imagine being there and having to witness such an emotional and heart-wrenching moment.

Furthermore in this documentary, Reggie covers both sides of the argument and talks to a wide variety of people so the overall experience is un-biased for the audience. He joins the new recruits on police training day and watches them undergo a traffic stop in which they almost immediately pull out guns and the situation escalates very quickly and their reasoning for this was because the citizens in the car are likely to also own guns. I really don’t agree with how easy it is for an American to purchase a gun and yes, although they have it to protect themselves, they are not exactly safer if everyone else also has one so I think something definitely needs to be done about this issue in my opinion. He also talks to a pro-police party who are in support of Darren Wilson and it was interesting to see that all but one of these people were white, emphasising that it is not their race being targeted by the police and this inequality needs to change.

In conclusion, I loved this documentary because it was strong, powerful and emotional and I gained a really beneficial understanding of the race issues in America. Reggie Yates covered the story really well and I thought it was great how he spoke to people across the argument rather than just one particular side because it gave the audience a more in-depth insight and this will definitely be great for a media case study due to its coverage on the representation of race. 

Comparison between Skyfall and Kingsman

In this analysis, I am going to be comparing the two films: Kingsman and Skyfall, focusing particularly on genre, narrative and representation. Kingsman was directed by Matthew Vaughn and he also wrote the screenplay along with Jane Goldman which was based upon a comic book by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons. It was produced in 2014 by Matthew Vaughn, Adam Bohling and David Reid with 20^th Century Fox (also the distributer). Skyfall, on the other hand, was directed by Sam Mendes and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan. It was produced in 2012 by Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson with Eon Productions, with the distributer being MGM. Both films were of a high budget: Kingsman was $81 million and Skyfall was much higher at $200 million. Regarding their box offices, Skyfall became the highest grossing film in the UK as well as the highest grossing film worldwide for MGM and Sony Pictures after it made an incredible $1, 108 million. Kingsman also did very well, grossing an overall total of $412.1 million which made it Matthew Vaughn’s most commercially successful film. I believe Skyfall did better in the box office than Kingsman because the James Bond films have been a running series since 1962 (Dr. No) so it has developed a wide audience base since then who will keep coming back to watch the newest Bond movie as they know what to expect. Also Kingsman was released at the same time as Fifty Shades of Grey which may have stolen some of its limelight due to its strong controversy.

Both films have a different cast with Kingsman starring: Colin Firth (Harry), Taron Egerton (Eggsy), Samuel L. Jackson (Valentine) and Sofia Boutella (Gazelle) and Skyfall starring: Daniel Craig (James Bond), Judi Dench (M), Javier Bardem (Silva) and Ralph Fiennes (Gareth). They share the genres of action, adventure and crime because they both follow a spy-agency, resulting in the usual conventions such as missions, murders, ‘saving the world’ and of course, both protagonists have a goal. The goal of Eggsy is to become a Kingsman by competing in a series of tests against the other recruits and to help prevent the antagonist, Valentine from destroying the world with his newly invented sim card. Similar to Eggsy, Bond’s goal is to defeat the antagonist, Silva and therefore save his agency, M16. As the Bond films have been running since 1962, the audiences are likely to have expectations regarding the elements that make up Skyfall, therefore suggesting that the series has established its own genre. For example, the opening scene of Skyfall and other Bond films jumps straight into intense action, clearly illustrating its genre and immediately sparking the audiences interest, meaning they are gripped within seconds. Kingsman also did exceptionally well with their opening and it transported the audience straight into the action genre, giving them an insight into what to expect for the remainder of the film and I feel a strong opening scene is particularly important for these genres because the audience have expectations for a fast paced, action-packed experience so want their interest to be gained immediately.

Within these genres, there are additionally expected plot situations such as chase and fight sequences which are seen in both of these films, however executed in slightly different ways. Skyfall takes a more traditional approach with explosions, fast paced editing and rapid cuts which makes the audience feel as if they are a part of the action and although Kingsman also includes these elements, it has the added genre of comedy which provides a sense of humour to some of the fight scenes. An example of this is the church scene because although the characters have been turned ‘evil’ by Valentine, there is upbeat music playing in the background which would usually be used to create a positive atmosphere so therefore it is being juxtaposed with the violence in the scene. Audio codes are key in action films and Bond movies are known for their recognisable sound tracks and unique theme tunes and of course, Skyfall has incorporated this into their ‘plot situations’. For example, the fight scene between James Bond and Patrice that takes place at Shanghai incorporates a build-up of dramatic, non-diegetic music that creates tension and the low key lighting results in Bond and Patrice being silhouettes against the city lights, showing their fight in a sophisticated manner and for both Skyfall and Kingsman, the action sequences are ‘stylised and professional’.

Both Skyfall and Kingsman follow a linear narrative structure but with multiple strands within it, which is known as a flexi-narrative. In Skyfall, the narrative strands include Bonds goal to defeat Silva, Bonds struggle to cope with his ageing and vulnerability and the threats towards M and the pressure this is causing her and all of these intertwine with the as so mentioned plot situations to create a more challenging narrative. The different strands in Kingsman are: Eggsy training to become a gentleman spy, the problems caused by the invention of Valentines new sim card and family issues regarding Eggsy’s mum and step-dad. These all combine together to increase the complexity of the narrative which furthermore challenges the audience and keeps them watching.

Todorov’s theory fits in with the narrative of Kingsman and Skyfall but again, it is more complex and there is more than one disruption/realisation in each. I am going to break each of them down in a list format.

Skyfall

Equilibrium: Action sequence at the beginning of the film because it is expected of this genre.

Disruption: The ‘death’ of Bond.

Disruption 2: When Silva hacks M16’s system and steals the details of all the undercover agents.

Realisation: Bond returns to active service to eliminate Silva.

Realisation 2: Final action sequence that takes place at Skyfall, it is the big climax to the whole narrative.

New Equilibrium: The end scene leaves the audience with enigma codes regarding Bonds new mission, he is back to active service again.

Kingsman

Equilibrium: Eggsy lives at home with his mother and step-father. Stealing the car (this is his normal lifestyle).

Disruption: Eggsy gets sent to prison but then gets freed by Harry.

Realisation: The pub scene, Eggsy realises what he is getting himself into.

Disruption 2: Valentines invention of the sim card in which he is set to destroy the world.

Disruption 3: Eggsy does not make it as a Kingsman.

Realisation 2: Eggsy discovers the gun he would have used to shoot his dog was a blank.

Disruption 4: Harry dies.

Realisation 3: Eggsy helps to save the world by eliminating Valentine.

New Equilibrium: All the antagonists have been destroyed and Eggsy celebrates with a girl he met.

The most immediate comparisons I have made between Kingsman and Skyfall revolve around representation and there is a huge variety of different portrayals but I am going to discuss masculinity, age and class. Masculinity and what it is to be seen by a society as a ‘true man’ is huge in both of these films as they are both a ‘test’ of the protagonist’s masculinity and it is believed that they have to fit into the stereotype of being: strong, heroic, brave, independent and popular with women. In Kingsman, Eggsy has to undergo a series of tests which examine him on most of these qualities, meaning in order to be a true Kingsman, he has to tick the boxes of masculinity. However saying this, the representation of the ideal man is definitely challenged in the film because Harry encourages Eggsy to be respectful, protective and fair towards women and near the beginning of the film, we also find out that Eggsy used to be a gymnast to which he was forced to quit by his step-father as he did not see the sport as ‘manly’, showing their juxtaposed opinions on masculinity and gender roles. Also, Eggsy’s masculinity is challenged when he could not shoot his dog to reach the next stage of becoming a Kingsman and this event was foreshadowed at the beginning of the film when he swerves and crashes a car to avoid hitting an animal on the road, showing him to have a strong heart. Similarly, Skyfall also challenges this subject matter because although at the start of the narrative, Bond survives what could have been an awful death, gambles, drinks and sleeps with women which are stereotypical ‘masculine’ traits, as the narrative progresses we as an audience can see a transformation in Bond who has become physically weaker, shown through his tests in which he is unable to shoot accurately and struggles with his stamina, highlighting his vulnerability. Throughout the film, Bond is trying to prove himself as a man and overcome the barriers that are preventing this but we are constantly seeing him struggle meaning the audience cannot help but emphasise with him.

Kingsman focuses on the representation of youth whereas Skyfall more so focuses on the representation of older age. At the beginning of Kingsman, youth is represented negatively because we see Eggsy and his friends steal a rival gang’s car and they get into a car chase with the police, resulting in Eggsy ending up in prison. This represents young people, specifically males, as being ruthless, careless, violent and as ‘troublemakers’ which is enhanced by the iconography at the beginning which includes an estate and ‘chav’ like clothing. However, as the narrative progresses and the audience see Eggsy slowly transform into a gentleman, our views on his youth change and he is now respected and looked upon in a positive manner. It is awful that in order for Eggsy to be seen as a good figure in society, he had to wear a suit and act like a ‘real man’ because it illustrates the harsh stereotypes forced upon youths. Skyfall represents older age in both a positive and negative manner. It is represented positively within the character of ‘M’ who is an older woman with a significant amount of power in the government and therefore has the ability to be in control. However, the negative impacts of ageing are strongly highlighted in Skyfall because M is at times portrayed as vulnerable due to her age and I believe that throughout the film, this is foreshadowing (spoiler alert) her death at the end. Bond’s older age is a big focus in the narrative and there are many close ups of him that express his exhaustion and vulnerability and this along with the fact he failed his tests and was told he can “stay dead” conveys he is no longer fit for the job, representing people of an older age as weak and almost ‘useless’.

Our dominant ideology (straight, white, middle-aged, middle-class males) plays a huge role in the representation of class and it also explains why our main protagonists in both Kingsman and Skyfall fit into most of these categories, because the producers are members of our dominant ideology and have designed characters that mirror themselves, making them more “relatable”. Skyfall only represents those of the middle/upper class, portraying them to be the superior beings and it suggests that in order to have a significant amount of power, you have to dress, act and be brought up in the same environment as the characters in this film. However, in Kingsman, Eggsy comes from a working class background and he proves that you do not have to be higher class in order to become a Kingsman and this is reinforced by Harry who tells him that being a gentleman spy is not about your class, accent, clothing choice etc. but in fact, is about being “comfortable in your own skin”. This provides a much more realistic representation for the audience who will now be able to relate to Eggy to a greater extent because negative classism is not being forced upon them like it is in Skyfall.

In conclusion, there are many similarities and differences between Kingsman and Skyfall regarding genre, narrative and representation and I feel there is a lot to discuss in each meaning they are both rich media texts. Due to its comedic side, I preferred Kingsman and I also found it more ‘refreshing’ compared to other spy films I have seen. Overall, they are both excellent films and I would rate Kingsman 9.5/10 and Skyfall 7/10. 

Fruitvale Station Analysis

Fruitvale Station is a biography, drama, romance film that was directed and written by Ryan Coogler. It was produced in 2013 by Nina Yang Bongiovi and Forest Whitaker with Forest Whitaker’s Significant Productions and OG Project. It was distributed in the USA by The Weinstein Company. The music was by Ludwig Goransson, the DOP was Rachel Morrison and the editors were Claudia Castello and Michael P. Shawver. Fruitvale Station had a budget of $900,000 and went on to make $17.4 million in the box-office, with $16 million coming from the United States alone. This resulted in the film winning 49 awards including an AAFCA for the best independent feature film and an AFI for movie of the year. Starring Michael B. Jordan (Oscar Grant), Melonie Diaz (Sophina), Octavia Spencer (Wanda), Ariana Neal (Tatiana), Kevin Durand (Officer Caruso) and Chad Michael Murray (Officer Ingram), Fruitvale Station is based upon the true story of Oscar Grant III who was shot by a BART policeman at Fruitvale Station on January 1, 2009 at 2:15 am. The film follows Grant’s last day and we learn more about him through his encounters with friends, family, enemies and strangers and how he tries to make himself a better person.

Fruitvale Station was Ryan Coogler’s first feature film and when Oscar Grant was shot, Coogler was a graduate student at the University Of Southern California School Of Cinematic Arts. He then wanted to make a film about Grant’s last twenty four hours and in order to do this, he had to work closely with Grants family and their attorney, John Burris in order to gain realistic and heartfelt information. Coogler quotes: “I wanted the audience to get to know this guy, to get attached, so when the situation that happens to him happens, it’s not just like you read it in the paper”. I believe this is very significant because it truly fits to the conventions of a biography as it allows the audience to know as much as possible about Oscar in a short amount of time, allowing them to be affected by his death as if he was family to them. Of course it has been dramatized in places to allow Coogler to embed more meaning but only in a way so the audience are forced into reality, experiencing Oscars final day almost through his own eyes.

It was shot in the actual places of the event: Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) platform and San Quentin State Prison in Oakland, California and actual footage of the Grant’s murder was used at the beginning of the film. Promotion wise, in the lead up to the film, The Weinstein Company arranged three paintings to be made by street artists: Ron English, Lydia Emily and LNY in LA, New York and San Francisco and the company also set up a campaign called ‘I Am…” which encourages people to share stories and photos of social injustice. Since Fruitvale Station, Ryan Coogler is currently at the post-production stage of his next feature film, Creed and previously he has directed three short films: Locks (2009), Fig (2011) and The Sculptor (2011). Michael B. Jordan has gone on to act in That Awkward Moment (2014), Fantastic Four (2015) and he is going to be starring in Creed.

Fruitvale Station mostly follows a linear narrative structure but the first moving image shot the audience are introduced to is the actual real-life footage of Oscar Grant being shot by a BART officer in which the films portrayal of this is shown at the end which is a non-linear approach. This means the audience are aware of the ending before the films narrative begins but I believe Coogler has done this to create a juxtaposition between newspaper portrayals and the way his film represented the event. The footage makes the black people appear rowdy and almost aggressive because all you can see is them shouting at the officers and because we do not know the full story, we automatically follow the medias stereotypes and assume the gang was to blame in the situation. However, once we have watched the film, we feel as if we know Oscar so gain an emotional attachment to him, meaning that when we see the films version of the shooting at the end, we watch it in a different light, this time feeling empathy towards the gang and Oscar, and hatred towards the officers. This further illustrates that newspapers represent stories in similar ways each time and because we are so used to the consistent stereotypes, the story does not affect us as much as it should and it does not stick in our minds, however after watching the film, the event stays with the viewer because we have that additional information that newspapers seem to disregard each and every time. Therefore, by inserting the actual footage at the beginning of the film, Coogler may have intended for the audience to have a change of perception and he may have wanted them to realise this so they understand the construction of the news and how they are not always given the full story.

Additionally within the narrative, there is a manipulation of time by showing a flashback of when Oscar was in prison. This was very significant to the film because it portrays the relationship Oscar had with his mother and how it had changed and it also introduces the audience to Oscar’s violent and angry side which is illustrated through an argument he has with a fellow prisoner. However, his mannerisms are completely different when talking to his mother, he is calm and affectionate which conveys the amount of love he has for her and when she leaves after having an argument with him, he gets extremely upset when she doesn’t hug him and he repeats the words “I’m sorry”. This also shows how much Oscar cares for his mother and at this point, she was clearly the closest thing to him so he was afraid of losing her.                                                                                                                                                 

The representation in Fruitvale Station does feature racial inequality but it is not the typical ‘good vs evil/ black vs white’ and instead, Coogler focuses on humanity whilst challenging the stereotypes we hear, read and see in the media. A scene which I thought was particularly symbolic was when Oscar finds a stray pit bull which is moments later, hit by a car followed by Oscar holding it in his arms, covered in blood and then leaving it to die in the street. Pit bulls are often shown by the media to be dangerous and violent and you are likely to hear only negative stories about how they have been killed or killed someone. African-Americans are also portrayed in negative ways and they most often are seen in the media regarding death or murder. Therefore, the pit bull represents the negativity that is associated with African-Americans and it was as if Oscar realised this which is why he spends the dogs last moments holding him because he can emphasise and almost relate to him. Coogler said in an interview with The Huffington Post “so, there’s a commonality with us and pit bulls- often we die in the street. That’s where we die”.

There is another key scene which underlines one of the main separations between black and white people in a very subtle manner. Oscar is left talking to a white man as his wife and Sophina use the toilet. In this scene, we learn that Oscar plans on asking Sophina to marry him but money is a huge barrier to this and when he tells the husband this, he admits that he used to be broke and even had to steal a ring for his wife. He then goes on to say that he now has his own business and has managed to get his life well back on track whilst Oscar is struggling to get his job back at a grocery store (he was fired for being late) but still manages to put his family first and do the best that he can for them. This highlights how much harder it is for black people to reach a stable equilibrium than it is for white people and Oscar is clearly aware of this because there is a look of respect but also jealously on his face when he is handed the man’s business card as he realises that getting to such a stage is not so easy for him.

The scene towards the end of the film, in which Oscar is shot by a police-officer, brings out the strong theme of humanity. Although at first, there is a clear binary opposite between the black friends and the white officers, after Oscar is shot, the separation of race is no longer the focus and the audience are drawn to the reaction of the officer who has a sheer look of panic, fear and shock on his face because he realises what he has done, especially when Oscar informs him that he has a daughter. The officer may have appeared cruel, heartless and ‘evil’ at first, but his real human nature is gradually un-ravelled to the extent that he can express his true emotions and I believe Coogler did a fantastic job of portraying this and bringing out the humanity in each of his characters and therefore illustrating that one of the values in Fruitvale Station is about the tiny details and elements of life which all matter as they build up to a series of events.

In conclusion, I loved Fruitvale Station because I became very emotionally attached to the protagonist, Oscar and the fact it was based upon a true story really enhanced this. As a member of the audience, I was able to understand more about the event than if I had read it in a newspaper because I was given an insight into how his family reacted and into Oscar’s personal life and the media often does not focus on factors like this, meaning readers may struggle to emphasize as much as they would if they watched this film. I would recommend it to anyone and I rate it a 10/10.