Class: Language and Representation

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1) Write an analysis for the episode - using notes from the screening in class. Make specific, detailed reference to moments in the text using media terminology

Narrative:
Aprils dad is now out of prison and she is full of anger and frustration when she realises she has a connection with the shadow king Corakinus when he overtakes her in front of all her friends an parents when she cuts her dads arm with Corakinus sword and has the power to un-paralyse her mum with the ability to walk from digging into her spine and setting it straight causing no harm.after this happens she opens up a gate and enters the shadow world on a quest to become the new shadow king when her boyfriend Ram comes behind to save her.Mean while The prince of the alien world Charlie alongside Ms Quil, his boyfriend and the headmaster of coal hill discover flower petals cutting people and doubling every second that will soon overtake earth with petals leaving everyone dead.

Character:
- April is seen as a hero villain as she is trying to save the world from killing the shadow king but can not do that as they share the same heart so he overtakes her body making her look and act like a villain with anger destroying objects and people.Ms Quil is also seen like this as she has to protect her ling charlie who orders her around and wants protection of classmates/friends but she is always seen as a angry unfriendly character towards the other characters from the audience perspective as she is also their teacher. Corakinus is definitely seen as the villain as he wants destroy every living thing on the earth and wants to become the ruler of the world and not just the shadow world.He has destroyed all of the class characters lives by killing their loved ones and not letting them live a normal young adults life one without a shadows heart connected with their own.Ram is a stereotypical male character as he is also the hero trying to save his friends from being harmed as he is the strong daring athletic but subverts the stereotyped of men in media has he is a Sikh boy.Lastly Charlie is a Gay alien king which subverts the stereotypes of men in media as normally they would be he strong man looking for a girl whereas as he is a smart independent gay character with a human polish boyfriend Mateusz.                                                                                                       

  Iconography:
- The use of sci-fi eye colour changing is used frequently when Corakinus overtakes Aprils eyes changing her eyes to orange and black using hybrid with school lockers giving a an american effects on a British school.The shadow world and sword use a lot of sci-fi colours giving a horror feeling and a healing colour of blue for relaxation and calming tone.

Setting:
The episode in Class is set in a school called  Coal Hill Academy so a member of the audience can relate to it. Most of the scenes are filmed in a house to show the teen/family drama. 


2) How does Todorov's theory of equilibrium apply to Co-owner of a Lonely Heart? Try and use the expanded version of Todorov's theory: Equilibrium - Disruption - Recognition - Reparation - New equilibrium. You can find reminder notes on all these narrative theories here - just scroll down to narrative.

- Equilibrium - shared heart of April and Corakinus 

- Disruption - April's dad is shown, April finds out that the aliens are coming and the introduction of the flower petals 

- Recognition - Headteacher talks to Miss Quill about the flower petals 

- Reparation - Opens/jumps into the portal

- New Equilibrium - "Next time" scene as there is a part 2

3) Applying Propp's character theory, what character roles do each of the main characters in Class fit into? Alternatively, you may wish to discuss how characters do not fit Propp's character types.

- It demonstrates that the hero could be April because she seeks freedom from Corakinus, she could also be the princess because she has the heart of Corakinus and needs to be free. The False hero is Ram Singh because he helps April but couldn't. The helper is Tanya as she doesn't play a huge role  in the episode but tries and helps them because of her intelligence. The villain is Corakinus because he kills people and is part of the Shadow World.Quill helps the hero and therefore is the donor.  

4)What enigma and action codes (Barthes) can you find in Co-owner of a Lonely Heart? Make specific, detailed reference to the text using media terminology (e.g. media language - camera shots, diegetic/non-diegetic sound, mise-en-scene etc.)
- The action codes of April having Corakinus heart and Ram Singh's leg getting cut off makes the audience intrigued and wonder what happens next. The use of Corakinus and the makeup he wears in order to look abnormal makes us want to know what role he plays in the episode and how much of evil he truly is

5) What examples of binary opposition (Levi-Strauss) can you find in Co-owner of a Lonely Heart? How do these create narrative or drama for the audience?
- Light - Dark - Shadow world and earth 

- Good - Evil - April who wants freedom and done nothing wrong contrasts to Corakinus who kills innocent people like  Ram's girlfriend 


- Parent - Child - April's dad and April are not on good terms because he paralysed her mother

1) How is gender represented in Class - Co-owner of a Lonely Heart? Are gender stereotypes reinforced or subverted?
- In many different ways gender is subverted and reinforced. Ms Quill, is a female character who plays a powerful and dominant character. Ms Quill is seen to be very strong which is a stereotype subverted because normally women don't have a leading role in such character. However, characters like Ram, he is a typical teenage boy who loves to play sports and is a 'player'. It was seen when on the first episode he attends prom with his girlfriend but a few episodes later he is already in a sexual relationship with April. Which is a stereotype reinforced.

2) How is age (e.g. teenagers; older people like teachers or parents) represented in Class - Co-owner of a Lonely Heart? Does the show reinforce or challenge stereotypes about young people?
- Class ranges in age groups, it has all ranges of ages. It reinforces the stereotypes like the teenagers and parent bond we first were shown the poor relationship between Ram and his father.

3) How is race and ethnicity represented in Class - Co-owner of a Lonely Heart? Are  stereotypes reinforced or subverted?
- The cast of Class is very diverse shows many different ethnicity and races. The stereotypes are reinforced.

4) How is sexuality represented in Class - Co-owner of a Lonely Heart? How does this reflect the BBC's remit to represent modern Britain?
- Sexuality is portrayed by Matt and Charlie the main characters of the story, the story shows their intimacy.  

5) How is disability represented in Class - Co-owner of a Lonely Heart? Why are disabled people generally under-represented in the media and how does Class try to address this?
- April's mum is a wheelchair user, portraying a disability. Class was able to empower disabilities because April's mum was very daring. As she was having a conversation with Ram and April she says 'don't let this wheelchair fool you, i will kill you if you hurt my daughter'. 

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