UNIT4; coursework blog: January 2014

Monday, 27 January 2014

Tutorial Targets 2

- Explain which elements from trailer analysis, to be incorporated into production (x5)
- Complete the storyboard
- Shot list
- Script

This film is aimed at promoting a horror movie. This trailer is aimed teenagers and adults. The movie starts of with 3 little girls in a room. It is based on a women in black who's child was killed in an incident. The women then has mental issues and convinces other kids to kill themselves

(released in 2011)

The lighting used in this trailer is high-key lighting, which means in the trailer more filter lights are being used. the effect appears more realistic, this might depict a dimly lit stormy scene. Although you also can see some shadows at the back but the contrast between light and dark is much less pronounced in the trailer. However under lighting is also being used in the scene this comes from below leading to a distorted effect used in a horror movie. However another type of lighting is also used in this trailer which is called top lighting, top lighting is an very important type of lighting in media. This makes the film star look more glamorous on the trailer. As you can see the guy on the trailer has a mystic glow towards his face this connotes the audience to want to know about it and what he is in the movie. it also tells you straight away that he is the main character in the movie as well, because the way he has a big part on this film trailer. Furthermore the way he is holding a touch in his hand connotes fear towards the audience as well.

As you can see at the background of the trailer their is a women with a coat this straight away connotes to the audience that she must be the main character in the movie as the movie is called "women in black" and she is wearing a black coat

The colors used in this poster are misty green and bluey colour this connotes the fear and horror part of the movie. The color used for the haunted house at the back is misty green, this color connotes the scary part of the movie, audience will straight away tell the house is really haunted. Their is also a bit of purple contrasted with the green as well to make it more stand out and catch the audiences eyes. Furthermore the boy is seen in the poster in the center this is reinforcing that he is also the star.

We are going to use a part of the trailer of where the guy is sitting in the rocking chair which connotes fear for the audience and as our film trailer is going to be a horror we want people to get scared and feel fear when watching it therefore using a rocking chair in our trailer and using low key lighting to show the dark showdowey effect we are able to engage the audience into watching it from the start.

Tutorial Targets

1. Progress report

2. Storyboard - Rajneet
3. Analyse horror trailers at least 2 each - identify conventions/list ideas
4. Source music - Rashmi and Dupinder
5. Shot list - Ashwaria (ME)
6. Start up script - Rashmi and Dupinder

Tuesday, 21 January 2014

Ideas

POTENTIAL IDEAS

Teen Comedy

Comedy is a genre which the main emphasis on humour. Films in this time usually have a happy ending. Comedy focuses on the characters, as they are expecting to be entertained thoroughly through the beginning till the end. Teen comedy consist of light hearted stories with intentions to amuse, political or social commentary.

Teen comedy consists of;

Coming of age
Rebellion
First Loves
Conflict with parents or teachers
Teen angst
Alienation

Examples could include;

Setting the film in a school to relate to teenagers. Using stereotypical characters such as geeks, misbehaving students
Use everyday situations, arguing with teachers and answering back in a funny way 'Joker of the class'
Try to appeal to the teenagers. Example voice over could be use when a teen is thinking about something as this could be an element in where the audience engages
Crazy funny romance involved of how stereo typically boys treats girls.

We could include gender conventions like Shakespearean times, when a man dresses up as a

women and then acts like a man, which confuses the audience but also makes them laugh due

to the character looking funny, also we could also make the actors portray buffoonery behaviour,

by tripping over items or wearing larger clothing than they should or smaller.

Can introduce different types of characters through their personalities for example; if a girl is

running away from a theft she's done there would be a low-angle of her legs as we can instantly

see the style of clothing she's wearing, how fast she's running etc.

Teen family

Bright colours, key lighting, filter lighting
Costume, bright colours
Binary opposition of colours between rich and poor
Introduction of all characters, showing what they are symbolic to.

Family film is a genre that is contains appropriate content for younger viewers.

Family film aims to appeal not only to children, but to a wide range of ages. While the story line may appeal to a younger audience, there are components of the film that are geared towards adults- such as witty jokes and humor. This genre may fall into many other genres, including comedy, adventure, fantasy, and animated film. This includes dramas such as Britain's got talent which is suitable for young kids to watch and family’s.

It is drama that is designed to appeal to a variety of age groups and, thus, families. Family films generally do not contain content that would be deemed unsuitable for children. As a group we will be using good costume which Is bright colors as it would attract children to watch it. It will also contain binary opposition of colour between the rich and the poor showing different societies and the contrast between them. Firstly we will introduce all the characters in a way which keeps the audience engaged and entertained and showing what the characters are symbolic to.

There are also many different films that are family genres such as home alone, ice age, hotel of dogs etc. We will be watching these films and getting different ideas to include in our production. As it consists of different locations, and what is suitable for the family in a whole which excludes swearing and just fit for the family members to view.

Action

Dark lighting
Fast lighting movement
Showing the characters

Action film is a genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges which

require physically movement. The narrative and character development depend on the

explosions, fist fights, gun play and car chases

The action genre is popular amongst men as they include many stunts, weapons and this

keeps the audience engaged as they have something to look at, these are things that need

to be noticed. The Action of the film is what you see and remember about a movie, it

dramatizes the whole film, the action could change everything, so if it is a happy romantic

love scene and someone comes in with a gun, action would occur and it would change the

whole mood and atmosphere of the movie.

This genre would be for men aged 16+ this is because this is the age when men are a bit

more mature and they understand violence isn't the way forward, so they won't try it

themselves, as there brains have developed.

There are many different types of Action genres such as The dark knight rises,

Transformers, The terminator, The matrix and so on these movies will help us get an idea of

what type of programme we wish to produce. However, as it is a before for an E4 before 9

programme we have to be careful of what we produce if there is any action in it, as gun play

wouldn't be appropriate for this, as sometimes it could lead to swearing and that wouldn't fit

in with our production work.

Horror

Dark low key light to create shadows
Dark colours
Introduce characters in the first episode
180 degree shot
Survivors
Explorer’s
Horror is a film genre that many audiences love and hate. The genre aims to scare the audience through violence and gore. Iconography is a big part of horror films and any other genres of film.
Examples of horror films would be Psycho, Paranormal activity, Halloween, The exorcist.
Horror films contain a lot of low key lighting, which creates shadows and there is an emphasis on the building up of tension and suspense.

Thriller

Colourful colours to show the characters
Introduction of the characters
Areas of low-key lighting to show intense and get the audience engaged
Use medium sense of thrills
More action work, to show the genre more effective
Cinematography used

Monday, 13 January 2014

Idea

- summarise your idea;

When sitting as a group, we had decided to create an opening drama sequence with an abusive relationship taking place. What will be happening is it will focus purely upon the main actress who is interested in her looks and looking good, but her boyfriend is controlling her in a way that she isn't able to realise. This will signify and leave a message to both girls out there, (teenagers) as many people are in a relationship in this 21st century and it would help them to realise and identify. This will also be coming from all of us girls, so we can accurately relate to it.

- explain who you're working with and why;

Rashmi, Ashwariya and me worked together in a group last year and we worked very effectively conducting effective team work resulting with a very high grade. Therefore we decided to work together again as we are sure to produce very high quality work. As Mandeep is not available Rajneet will be working taking his place, we are sure that she'll do exceptionally well with us as she did so in the previous years.

- make at least three links to your Critical Investigation;

We will be including social networking sites such as facebook which relates to Ashwaria.
As it's about feminism and female authority this relates to my CI about Miley.
And Rashmi's is about celebrities and female (Kim K) who is the centre of fashion and a previous divorcee.
Lastly, as this is to do with hiphop/it relates to Rajneet's Beyonce and Jay Z's CI.

- explain what elements you've learnt when doing your essay that you'll apply in the production;

During my essay I have identified how females think of themselves, such as Miley Cyrus. Why they present themselves as they are and what are they trying to show/connote to the world. This would help me take on board this knowledge with the production and apply the examples I have used to make this opening drama more realistic and believable relating to my critical investigation.

- identify the target audience (demographics, psychographics);

Individualists: They want to show the world they are different.
Mainstreamers: They want to go with the flow and don't want to stand out.

Demographics are-
D - Semi and unskilled manual workers; drivers, post sorters, labourers etc.

E - People subsiding on state benefits; the unemployed, students, pensioners etc

- explain where/which channel/when it would appear and how your text will appeal to them;

E4- 8pm (meets OFCOM rule before 9pm) It would appeal to the target audience of 16-29year old women as they'd be more likely to be free and would therefore be more attracted to watch the show.

- list ten additional genre conventions you aim to incorporate.
love
hatred
drama
spy
crime
action
mystery
romance
adventure

ADDITIONAL LINKS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c44bFif6dKs&safe=active
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeVelhH-aIU&safe=active

Monday, 6 January 2014

Bibliography

Works cited

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Marsh, I., & Melville, G. (2009). P. 1.

Oliker, M. A., & Krolikowski, W. P. (2001).Images of youth: popular culture as educational ideology. New York: P. Lang.

Osgerby, B. (2004). Youth media. London [u.a.: Routledge.

Paludi, M. A. (2011). The psychology of teen violence and victimization. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Praeger.

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Sarat, A., & Scheingold, S. A. (1998). Cause lawyering political commitments and professional responsibilities. New York: Oxford University Press.

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"http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/theory%20clusters/mass%20media/two_step_flow_theory-1/."http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/theory%20clusters/mass%20media/two_step_flow_theory-1/. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 1995. <http://www.utwente.nl/cw/theorieenoverzicht/theory%20clusters/mass%20media/two_step_flow_theory-1/>.

"https://twitter.com/londonriot." https://twitter.com/londonriot. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 1994. <https://twitter.com/londonriot>.

"www.frontpagestoday.co.uk/2011/08/09/archive.cfm/."www.frontpagestoday.co.uk/2011/08/09/archive.cfm/. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Feb. 1992.

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http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/hrb9701.html

Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4EqBeRmA0j4

Newspaper&magazine

Buckingham, David. Youth, identity, and digital media. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2008. Print.

Page 1: Crime, Justice and the Media- By Ian Marsh, Gaynor Melville, Gaynor Melville. 2009 .-“Dorfman (2001)

Parents, Children, Young people and the state by Sandra Shaw: Page: 90 “The notion of ‘youth’ is seen as a fairly recent invention” media magazine

"Facebook status: Banged up." The Sun. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Dec. 2013. <http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3755913/Jordan-Blackshaw-and-Perry-Sutcliffe-Keenan-jailed-4-years-for-Facebook-riot-posts.html>.

Loomba, Ania. Colonialism-post colonialism. London: Routledge, 1998. Print. Media magazine

Osgerby, Bill. Youth media. London: Routledge, 2004. Print .

Work consulted

Books

Paludi, M. A. (2010). Feminism and women's rights worldwide. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Praeger.

Internet

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Critical Investigation First Draft

“Youth' is expected to provide the solution to a nations 'problems', from 'drug abuse' 'hooliganism' and 'teenager pregnancy'”[1]

‘How does the representation of teenagers in social media such as Facebook and twitter reinforce the negative stereotypes and create moral panic for the public?

It can be argued that "British youths are the most unpleasant violent in the world” [2] which shows how stereotypes of the youths are shown to the public. The purpose of this title questions how teenagers are represented across the social media such as Facebook and twitter which show the negative stereotypes of them that creates moral panic for the public. Stanley Cohen defines moral panic as a sudden increase in public perception of the possible “threat to societal values and interests”[3] because of exposure to media texts and through the over-representation of stories, the public’s mind can easily be manipulated to have certain thoughts and stereotypes. Stanley Cohen had written a book about moral panic where he said moral panic’ is a sociological concept that seeks to explain a particular type of “overreaction” [4] to a perceived social problem. In my prospective the word ‘youth’ is labelled with negative connotations therefore ‘the notion of youth’[5] may have been created to victimise a different target. One of the media’s main purposes is to provide their audience with a good story or a new story. The media puts forward its hegemonic views that the public passively accepts (hypodermic syringe)[6] making stereotypes easy to believe. As all stories have to go through a gatekeeper and the media is able to pick and choose and how stories are shown, it’s easy for those in power to manipulate accounts and show the distorted version to the public for them to accept.

Teenagers are being represented in a negative way across the media and social network sites such as Facebook and twitter which create moral manic to the public. This is because the “media exaggerates a lot”[7] which makes the situation look worse than it already is and these cause moral panics as the audiences who are parents/public get worried. Sometimes the media raise false awareness and this is only to have something to talk about so that they can attract viewers into watching it more and more and keep building stories into the views mind and these changes how they see teenagers and how they are represented. All this leads to the media doing this is only so that they can gain some money over it. This links to Colonialism: “Due to post colonialism [8] Alvarado distinguishes between four groups and the way teenagers are represented then they’d belong in the dangerous category.”[9] As shown in the media.

Any media program would use stereotypes for different reasons this is because it’s easy for the audience to identify and feel comfortable with (uses and gratification) which was founded by ‘Blumler and Katz’[10] to show how the audience uses things for a variety of purposes as in this case teenagers use social media to convey a certain messages. A stereotype is “a fixed, over generalized belief about a particular group or class of people.”[11] . I would argue that teenagers only have themselves to blame for these negative stereotypes, for example the London Riots in 2011[12] where it was well renowned that young people were the main offenders. This generalisation by the media has had serious effects on communities such as the one in Farnham Common. In Farnham Common it was argued that there is a fairly tight knit community, however, since the London Riots I believe that there has been a change in attitude towards teenagers. We all saw the Riots on our television screens and it seems to have had a big effect on the passive viewers among the community.

In this case there was a new dimension in the form of social networking. Despite being depicted by tabloids as mindless thugs and morons, the rioters were also seen as somehow skilful enough to co-ordinate their actions by using Facebook, Blackberry and Twitter. The Sun [13], for example, reported that ‘THUGS used social network Twitter to orchestrate the Tottenham violence and incite others to join in as they sent messages urging: ‘Roll up and loot,’[14] according to The Telegraph: "Technology fuelled Britain’s first 21st century riot."[15] The Tottenham riots were orchestrated by teenage gang members, who used the latest mobile phone technology to incite and film the looting and violence. Gang members used Blackberry smartphones designed as a communications tool for high-flying executives to organise the mayhem. This supports the negative stereotype as this impacts how the public see the youths which create moral panic [16] for the public. As seeing this public would once again feel unsafe to go out.

‘Social media is essentially a category of online media where people are talking, participating, sharing, networking, and bookmarking online’[17]. Most social media services encourage discussion, feedback, voting, comments, and sharing of information from all interested parties.” [18] The way the media demonises the youth has left an imprint on today’s society as being ‘ill-mannered, violent and being associated with drugs, sex and gangs. Hoodies, joggers, baseball caps, oversized shirts”[19] as they are a part or the iconography of the stereotyped teens. The media reports certainly do amplify stories to do with the youth like in recent events such as the protests and riots[20]; it was all that was shown on all news channels. Teenagers use social media such as Facebook and twitter for a variety of purposes[21]; however the way they represent themselves creates moral panic for the public. As we see in this world we see both negative and positive representations of the teenagers across the social media. Most stereotypes include ‘teenagers represented as the negative youth’[22]. The moral panic is caused when the media exaggerates stories scaring the public.[23] For example the summer of 2011; the London riots; people were informed to stay inside and to not go outside at the fear of being attacked or robbed and also to keep children inside so they wouldn’t join the riots. The news reached all over so before long, even places that weren’t affected would have heard about it which resulted in more panic Regulation and censorship: There have been rules put up to restrict the view of violence from children but what about teenagers; they’ll still be affected with what they see on the TV and on video games. It influences their behaviour and attitudes.[24] Even after being on the media this news had hit many social networking sites such as twitter and went viral where teenagers started ‘tweeting’ & ‘hashtaging’ messages such as ‘Today was madness; can’t wait for tomorrow’s riots’[25] which had created moral panic to the public as people thought even those were involved. Showing this type of example links to what I had found in an article where it stated “those teens that used Facebook more often are more likely to display narcissistic behaviour, antisocial behaviour, mania, aggressive tendencies, anxiety and depression.”[26] This again is showing a negative stereotype of teenagers due to what had happened during the London riots[27] the public thinks all teenagers in this generation are the same even where there are about 60% teenagers who are not like that.

Facebook and Twitter have become so popular that now anyone with access to the internet can get any information they want because it is been made easier or methods have been created to bypass any boundaries. Also the lean back media plays a part, as the content they advertise and how they advertise can be looked at in two ways. Looking at Stuart Hall’s reception theory [28] we can take the preferred reading as it is all just purely for advertising purposes but then the oppositional reading could be that it is actually corrupting the minds of youths. This is because due to there being many stereotypes about teenagers being ‘hood rats’ people don’t see the real story behind their minds as they would have been corrupted due to the social networking sites as according to my research it has it shows “social networking has been a big cause of problems”[29]. It can be argued that the development in technology is always evolving to fill the needs of its users and specially the teenagers as they have become massive consumers of e-media and especially social networking sites such as Facebook and twitter. Twitter and Facebook engages a wide audience as anyone can use it but 45% of its audience base goes to 18-34 year olds.[30]

People say that Social media is becoming more than just a part of their world, it’s becoming their world. Teens are spending more and more time online, usually on a social media platform like Facebook or Twitter, and their online life is not just staying on their computer at home. Most teens now have smart phones where they are on social media networks all throughout the day. “They are constantly texting, tweeting, and posting pictures via Snapchat and Instagram”[31]. Today teens don’t know how to disconnect. Social media has allowed them to take their life online and instead of saying goodbye to friends at school and waiting to see them the next day, they just go home and jump on their favourite social media network and interact with them for the rest of the day. With the rise of smart phones, such as the popular iPhone, teens don’t even have to wait to get home. They can now interact through social media on their way home with the help of their smart phone. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snap chat, and all the other popular social media platforms are right there on their phones. One reason this “always connected”[32] activity is harmful is because of the alarming trend of cyberbullying.

Over three-quarters (76%) of the public said they formed their opinions about crime from what they see or read in the news, more than three times the number of those who said they got their primary information on crime from personal experience by seeing the ‘teens’ (22%).”[33] These statistics shows just how much the news media influences the public’s views, this puts forward the idea of hegemony by Gramsci [34]. Gramsci understood that the media teaches people to do things voluntarily to upkeep supremacy in authority and in this context the media ‘teaches’ the dominant view on crime, which people then cooperate with by also taking on this view hence proving Dorfman’s study. But then it is not clear if the view on crime is specifically targeted at young people or at others and the youth today are represented positively. As mentioned in Bill Osgerby’s ‘Youth Media’ “Positive media representation of youth did not disappear, but there was a palpable resurgence of more negative coverage”[35] so the view on crime that some people take from the media could be positive for young teens.

“They are shopping for themselves, spending for all they are worth… Some of us may wonder how they get the energy, other how do they get the money.”[36] Because of the media stereotyping the readers would already know the answer to which the author, Bill Osgerby is implying because of the stereotypes given to the youth. “Spending for all they’re worth” so teens don’t think ahead about their future, only interested in immediate gratification. For that reason this suggests they spend without thinking and act irrational. Also indicating how immature and irresponsible they can be by living and spending for today, living fatalistically. Since the media and also social media has an impact on the public minds and influences our view, the institution can manipulate and gate-keep the information given to us “Positive media representation of youth did not disappear, but there was a palpable resurgence of more negative coverage”[37] which shows that the positive was mostly hidden due to the negative taking over as the media wanted to create the ‘moral panic for the public’[38] Even though there were people who believe the common stereotypes of teenagers; there are still some people that would argue the other side of the stereotype. As a recent national survey showed that young people are using the internet mainly for studying/ homework (73%) email (59%), games (38%), chat sites (32%). This recent survey shows how 73% of young people use the internet for mainly homework and 32% use it for chat sites.[39] This is showing that it is mainly used for homework rather than chat sites and this shows that there are teenagers out there that do not misuse the internet and use it for useful academic research.

Katz and Lazarsfeld (1965)[40] suggest that personal relationships and conversations with significant others, such as family members, friends, teachers and work colleagues, result in people modifying or rejecting media messages. They argue that social networks are usually dominated by opinion leaders, i.e. people of influence whom others in the network look up to and listen to. This again argues the negative stereotypes of teenagers as this research shows that social networking sites dominates people and gets them to do things on those sites which then would create moral panic for the public. As for example an article from the sun had showed “Facebook status banged up”[41] which instantly shows the negative side of the youth however people do not try to find out the real reason behind this.

Facebook and twitter programs often show characters using drugs and alcohol and engaging in violent behaviours.[42] At a developmental stage when teens seek greater freedom and independence, the glorification of drugs, alcohol, risky sexual and violent behaviours in the media make it challenging for teens to make responsible behavioural choices. Still, media cannot solely be blamed for teens' consumption of drugs and alcohol, or involvement in sexual activities; ultimately it's up to parents to teach their teens about the negative consequences associated with risky behaviours, and the false images often perpetuated in the media for financial gain. Palo Alto Medical Foundation [43] suggests that teens learn to use their critical thinking skills -- and parents can help them in this area -- by distinguishing fantasy from reality, and analysing the agendas and target audiences of various advertisements.[44]

When looking back into the past on how the youths have been represented I can see that there is a big different from then and now. An old film which I had studied ‘Quadrophenia’ (1979)[45] is all about a British, working-class youth who shows how “youth were back in the day”[46] when looking at the cover of the film itself. I noticed that the main title “quad” in ‘Quadrophenia’ refers to the four different personalities that the main character “jimmy”, has around the different people in the movie. For example I had seen that he had four different personalities which link to today’s generation as well. As jimmy around is parents is disrespectful, with his friends he is happy and overactive and to the public he is depressed and emotional. This is a similarity to today’s youth culture as on social sites youths are shown negatively, to their parents they are shown as positives and with their friends they are shown as ‘hood rats.’[47] Throughout the film the moods that are represented are shown to be actively participating in taking drugs and casual sex.[48] Not only does this represent this youth culture as irresponsible and stupid, but also places those in dangerous situations which cause the audience to panic and relax at the same times as the characters are taking these drugs, creating a strong homology between the audience and the main characters. . Overall examples of teenagers in contemporary media are significantly different to those in the past, but still share some similarities this is due to the media changing our views and shaping our beliefs to one dominant view, resulting in people sharing a hegemonic view ‘the predominance of one social class over others.’[49]

Overall it can be argued that teenagers are represented in a negative way across Facebook and twitter which reinforces the negative stereotype [50] about them. This is because Biases about teenagers are represented in all forms of the media, such as the newspaper, radio and television. It has a way of making an event seem more spectacular than it really is. Using the previous example of the “Quebec summit”[51], the youth that was represented wanted to have a non-violent protest[52], however, a small majority of the people who were there caused chaos. However the social media led people to believe that it was everyone who were their caused disorder. One has to wonder why the media would do this. The main reason would have to be advertisements. It is necessary for the media to entertain the public rather then tell the truth of a story.[53] The negative image that the social media portrays also affects how young people view themselves. If a story show a youth that is protesting in the street for change in a peaceful manner and they are portrayed as rebels. It becomes clear as to why youth do not take an active part in changing society; simply because the media has already shown them negatively across Facebook and twitter[54]. Because of the media stereotyping the readers would already know the answer to which the author, Bill Osgerby is implying because of the stereotypes given to the youth. “Spending for all they are worth”[55] so teens do not think ahead about their future, only interested in immediate gratification. For that reason this suggests they spend without thinking and act irrational. Also indicating how immature and irresponsible they can be by living and spending for today, living fatalistically. Since the media has an impact on the public minds and influences our view [56], the institution can manipulate and gate-keep the information given to us.

This then overall creating moral panic [57] for the public as the media puts forward its hegemonic views that the public passively accepts (hypodermic syringe)[58] making stereotypes easy to believe. As all stories have to go through a gatekeeper and the media is able to pick and choose and how stories are shown, it is easy for those in power to manipulate accounts and show the distorted version to the public for them to accept. ‘The mass media provide an organizational framework within which individuals interact in the context of set roles and established power hierarchies’[59]. Such as showing what they have been saying on the social sites shows how their privacy have been taking away from them as “even the good ones get trapped”[60]