"Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay" - Film Poster Analysis

In the theatrical poster for the film “Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay” there are a number of connotations that the audience can gather. The Mis en scene involves Harold and Kumar in broad daylight behind a steel cage in orange jump suits. This suggests that somewhere in the movie the dynamic duo is arrested and put in prison – hence the sub title of the film – “Escape from Guantanamo Bay”. The title of the film is revealed and illustrated in two different sizes. “HAROLD & KUMAR” is blown up and one would easily be able to read their names from a distance, though the sub title – “ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY” is written in a smaller font. This emphasises the importance of the characters in comparison with the location in which the film is set it.

The characters are both represented as ethnic minorities of Asian decent. This advocates that the film would probably predominantly target those of a similar nature.

Both characters share parallel impressions on their faces. They are both expressionless. Moreover, the fact that Kumar has one of his hands on the steel cage, represents their escape from the jungle prison land that is recognized as Guantanamo Bay. Both characters also have rough hair, meaning that they were potentially harassed during their time in the prison.

The lighting of the film poster appears to be rather bright. This implies that the movie does not have a dull moment in it, and even if the pair are faced with unorthodox positions (such as being put in prison), they always manage to turn things around and pull through indicating the situations that they are put in to are never took seriously.

Towards the bottom of the film poster (in even smaller print), a message reads “this time their running from the joint”. The use of “this time” signifies that this film is a sequel to a previous in a Harold & Kumar series.

Cross Media Case Study

‘Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay’ is a 2008 action adventure comedy film that serves as a sequel to its predecessor ‘Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle’. It primarily targets audiences that are infatuated by cannabis and/or those who are of an ethnic minority (in particular of Asian origin) living a western lifestyle. This is because Harold and Kumar are clearly from an ethnic minority living in a foreign land and therefore audience members who are too, would find it easier to relate to some of the predicaments the twosome find their selves in (Such as smoking marijuana). The trailer brings a sense of catharsis to the viewers as it depicts the sub-conscious feelings of many United States citizens towards the Asian community. This is portrayed by the constant use of labelling and stereotypical behaviour demonstrated by the American people to their Asian counterparts in the film presuming that all of them are terrorists. One example of this occurring in the film is in the second scene that we are shown. An elderly lady sees Kumar and pictures him with a turban and long beard, obviously assuming that he is a terrorist. She then proceeds to scream out “Terrorist!” which has a massive effect on the rest of the travellers who then break out in a frenzy hoping to escape from an expected explosion. Harold’s character is not protected either from the conventional American views towards those of any ethnic minority. As Harold is of East Asian decent, he resembles the visual of a Korean, and is therefore labelled as one by the airport security. Consequently, he too with Kumar is taken into custody and it is thought that “North Korea and Al-Qaeda are working together” to destroy the United States as they were/are both enemies of the patriotic nation. Vicarious living is also addressed in the trailer and is illustrated by Harold and Kumar’s wild and exaggerated behaviour leaving the viewer contemplating on how astounding it would be if they were in a similar position! An example of this is when Harold and Kumar break out of jail and find themselves at a nude “bottomless” party that they somehow ended up in.

There are a number of camera shots and techniques used throughout the trailer. The most common of these camera shots would have to be the “slide shot”. The “slide shots” are used to introduce a variety of different scenes from the film. They are used in conjunction with the background music as they are both fast paced and racy. This matches the mood of the film, as there never seems to be a dull moment in it. The first scene of the film that we are introduced to in the trailer is the potential turning point in the narrative. Harold and Kumar are on their way to Amsterdam, but at the airport, Kumar is stopped and searched for a random security check. He finds this offensive as he feels that because of his brown coloured skin and Indian origin, he is being labelled as a possible terrorist by airport security. This demonstrates alleged racial profiling by the American people in their own country towards those of a South Asian decent, as they supposedly portray all of them as terrorists. Around half a minute in to the trailer, we are then made aware of the distributers, publishers and producers of the film which in this case happen to be New Line Cinema and Warner Bros.

The film appears to explore a number of settings from the jungle prison land of Guantanamo Bay to the carefree party land of Miami, Florida. It also gives a comical insight in to how prisoners situated at Guantanamo Bay are really treated. This is given exposure when one of the guards asks the troublesome pair if they “like to spoon?” Once the main plot of the film is touched upon in the trailer, a slight insight is given in to what the main characters are like. Harold is depicted as the typical Asian student, clever and cautious ensuring that he does not find himself in troubling situations. Kumar appears to be the opposite of what stereotypes would label Asian students as. He is not that bright, and seems to always land the duo in to dangerous yet exciting adventures that they both have to find a way of escaping from.

Self Evaluations

Attainment: 2
I would give myself a 3 for my Attainment level as i feel my work could be in greater detail and done to a better standard. I will ensure that I improve upon this point in the near future. Also I have missed one or two lessons which will set my media knowledge back a couple of lessons.

Effort: 2
I would give myself a 2 for my Effort level based on the fact that I complete all tasks set on time and tend to contribute hear and there when involved in class discussions.

Punctuality: 2
I would give myself a 2 for my Punctuality level due to the fact that I am almost always in minus 1 or two lessons. Plus I have never been late for any Mr. Bush Media Studies lesson this year and i intend to keep it that way.

Submission and Quality of Homework: 2
I would give myself a 2 for the Submission and Quality of Homework that I submit. The reason I have given myself a 2 rather than a 1 is because even though my work is completed to a reasonably good standard it could be better. Also all work should be handed in on time and admitedly I have failed in doing so on previous occasions.

Ability to work Independantly: 1
The reason I have given myself a 1 for my Ability to work Independantly is because I feel that I simply work much better alone in comparison to working in a group, particularly in Media Studies. This is because I thoroughly enjoy the subject and prefer to put my own idea's to work rather than other peoples. Also, in my opinion one can produce more in depth and detailed research when working alone in comparison to when working in a group. Furthermore, I believe myself to be a confident person when working alone as oppose to working in a group due to my lack of communication skills.

Quality of Writing: 1
I would give myself a 1 for my Quality of Writing. I believe my work is most of the time in great detail and when done by hand extremely neat. Also, as I am an English Literature student therefore my vocabulary is brilliant.

Organisation of Media Studies folder: 2
I would give myself a 2 for the Organisation of my Media Studies folder. This is because all my work done in lesson and out (homework) is all in there. I gave myself a 2 instead of a 1 because everything is in the folder, but not compiled together neatly.

Oral Contribution: 2
I gave myself a 2 for my Oral Contribution. Although I tend to contribute in class discussions, I feel that I do not put enough emphesis on my point when needed and this is why I deserve a 2 as oppose to a 3. Also, I do not contribute in every lesson which I actually should be doing.

WWW (WHAT WENT WELL):
- We were fully introduced to the Media Studies subject for AS Level.
- We've had the privalige to set up our own blogs.
- We have the opportunity of being taught by Mr. Bush. The man that actually introduced Media Studies to Greenford High School.

EBI (EVEN BETTER IF)
- We start our practical production earlier than planned. (It's the most exciting task you get to undertake in the Media Studies course period.
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An Anthroplogical Veiw On YouTube. . .

In 1948 ABC was produced, however YouTube had formed more hours of programming in six months than ABC's full 60 year run. . .

. . . YouTube produces 9232 hours a day, in-contrast to the 385 on TV channels

200,000 of the videos last 3 minutes. . .

. . .88% is original content

Numa Numa and webcams:
The founder established the song from a viral video

An estimated number for the amount of view times for the video is around 600,000,000

Machine is using us:
Every 6 months there is a tool which connects with us in a new way. As we change so does the media

The actual music is a source from Africa, and it was first shown on digg.com

The video was number one and within months it was translated into 12 different languages, which allowed a huge number of people to interact with it

Research team:
10 undergraduate students who take notes on videos and upload videos

Who is on YouTube?
Over 25% of videos have someone 35 or over. This is very similar to teenagers

What is on YouTube?
The most common videos on YouTube are home videos e.g. Charlie bit my finger. these videos have been viewed over 30 million times and redone over 2000 times

15% of all YouTube videos are remakes or remixes of existing videos

5% of all videos are personal V-logs addressed to the YouTube community, why? the loss of community over time

10,000 of the 20,000 videos a day are addressed to the YouTube community

YouTube as a community
No-one really knows who they are taking to

First V-log:

Each are repeated once

The webcam: Everybody is watching were nobody is:

Feels like the most private place but actually is the most public

Re-cognition and new forms of self-awareness:

Whatever you post you know that someone will eventually see it

The Anonymity of Watching YouTube:

Haters and Lovers:
You are anonymous so no one knows who is watching

Aesthetic Arrest:
People can carry on with what they want, while they are watching a video

The public are allowed to express themselves without having to worry about the norms they have to follow within society

Connection without constraints:
Judging on how a person wants to connect, YouTube offers that sort of connection

Free hugs: A hero for our medicated culture:

300,00,000 views

Copied into hundreds of videos

YouTube- Striving for popularity
In order to be seen by viewers, you have to do something unique and unordinary

You need to catch the editor's attention, if you want to appear on the feature page

An early star: emokid21ohio
This was a fake in 2006

YouTube's Authenticity Crisis: The story of lonelygirl15
Viewers suspected she was a fake, which turned out to be true, as she was made up by 3 writers. This was actually a soap opera

Reflections on Authenticity:
Viewers don't fully trust YouTube

Serious playful participatory media culture
You never will know were the camera will be and if the video was to be uploaded on YouTube

Networked Production:

The collab. "The Message" and the message of YouTube
persons remain anonymous

the most responded video, is on YouTube

Poem: The little glass dot, the eyes of the world
The Little Glass Dot is Wesch's poem; it talks about the webcam being the eyes to the world

Conclusion by bnessel1973
Many people believe that the videos on YouTube are produced for the hopes to change the world

YouTube brought him life again, as it became a from of therapy or remedy and it allowed him to act how he wanted to feel

What is Web 2 dot 0?

"We Are The Producers and Consumers" - Web 2.0

What Is Web 2.0..?
Web 2.0 is a growing phenomenon, something of growing concern to many individuals and organisations. It is a growing 'social networking' system, which has a very wide spread and much use to the growing generations.

80,000,000 sites...

...1 Billion+ Global Users

How Dose It Affect Us As Producers...

· It Is quicker and much more efficient to use.
· It Borden the producers ideas and focus as we can develop the media with our own ideas.
· It is a starting point for new beginners and an inspiration.

How Dose It Affect Us As A Consumer...

*Large variety of websites I can use as a source of research.Quick Connection.I can keep in-touch with my friends and family through social networking systems such as... Facebook, Myspace, Hi5 ect....Downloading Music and Films has become easier and their is a greater variety of websites to choose from.

What Is Web 1.0?

· Websites which were created from 1994 to 2004.
· It was illiterate and had slow internet connections.
· Web 1.0 was used to describe the web, before the ". com" arrived in 2001.
· All that was reprenting communication in Web 1.0 was were emails and minor chat programmes.

What Is Media?

1) Objects on which data can be stored. These include hard disks, floppy disks, CD-ROMs, and tapes.

(2) In computer networks, media refers to the cables linking workstations together. There are many different types of transmission media, the most popular being twisted-pair wire (normal electrical wire), coaxial cable (the type of cable used for cable television), and fibre optic cable (cables made out of glass).

(3) The form and technology used to communicate information. Multimedia presentations, for example, combine sound, pictures, and videos, all of which are different types of media.