Media exam

What year is Knives Out from?

2019

Who directed Knives Out?

Rian Johnson

Who is the DOP of Knives Out?

Steve Yedlin

What was the budget of Knives Out?

$40m

The Thrombey house is representative of the … … … in the 2010s. Ransom is representative of … …, someone who pretends to be different from the rich, white upper class, but in reality, reinforces that system. Marta is an outsider to the Thrombeys and her family are immigrants, thus she represents people who are seen as … in the USA.

American political landscape, Donald Trump, outsiders

An … ideology in Knives Out is commentary on … …. While this topic is not explicitly covered in the film, it is hinted at, such as when … tells … to …, hinting that they are discussing Donald Trump as his MAGA supporters commonly wear red hats.

implicit, Donald Trump, Joni, Richard, “take off [his] red cap”

What actor plays Marta?

Ana de Armas

What actor plays Richard?

Don Johnson

Knives Out had an extremely positive audience reception, with a …% on Rotten Tomatoes.

97

Knives Out is rated … in the USA.

PG-13

Knives Out was made in several locations in …, and the Thrombey house was shot mostly at … … for interior shots and … … for exterior shots.

Massachusetts, Ames Mansion, Hill Hurst

The political context of Knives Out is … …’s presidency and the … …’s anti-immigration, right-wing beliefs.

Donald Trump, MAGA movement

What are codes to talk about in the dinner party scene?

Camera, acting

What are conventions to talk about in the dinner party scene?

Multiple storylines, point of view, structuring of time

What is an example of the broadcast era in the changing media/audience relationship? (year)

War of the Worlds broadcast, 1938

War of the Worlds broadcast was when many people believed that … were invading the earth because it was presented as … … … . This is an example of … … … presenting information … and influencing the behaviour of a … audience. This influence can be explained through the … … …, where messages are … into a passive audience.

aliens, realistic news broadcasts, mass broadcast media, unidirectionally, passive, hypodermic needle model, injected

What is an example of the media/audience relationship post Web 2.0?

Black Lives Matter

The surge of the use of #blacklivesmatter on Twitter was prompted by when unarmed … … was murdered by police (year). This demonstrates a changing media/audience relationship as audiences are no longer … and can respond to media. On (date) there were nearly … (m/b/t) tweets with this hashtag, which was the … number for this hashtag since it has been recorded), according to … … …

George Floyd, 2020, passive, May 28, 8.8m, highest, pew research centre

Impact of #blacklivesmatter - according to …, …% of American social media users have seen Black Lives Matter content on social media (year), thus, spreading awareness and understanding of the issue of police brutality and racism in America.

Further impact – around .. American states “…” the types of force that officers are permitted to use and in what circumstances, according to the …

Pew Research Centre, 77, 2023, 20, “restricted or clarified”, Brennan Center for Justice

Media theories regarding BLM:

… – audiences sharing and spreading this content, generating greater … and … … for the cause of Black Lives Matter

… … … – the public influenced the … … through bringing the issue of racism and specifically the murder of George Floyd into the mainstream discourse

Spreadability, awareness, media attention, reverse agenda setting, mass media

Example of the media influencing the audience is … (year)

the Matildas, 2023

Media influence - the Matildas

o   Increased … … of the Matildas over the course of the … world cup campaign

o   Number of viewers of the Matildas games … consistently throughout the cup campaign

o   Greater number of Australian viewers for the … than any other event in … … …

o   The semi-final was recorded through the … measurements to have reached … (m/b/t) people nationally (although it’s thought to be more, due to people watching it together)

o   Increased media coverage encouraged people to think … and … about the Matildas, increasing …

This demonstrates the … … …, where the media has the capacity to set the agenda and direct attention towards certain issues by increasing … and thus increasing perceived …

media coverage, FIFA, increased, semi-final, modern ratings history, OzTAM, 11.15m, positively, care, viewership, agenda setting theory, coverage, importance

Influence of audiences over the media:

In (year), … announced they would cancel the TV series Brooklyn 99 after season … . Quickly, #… became the top trending topic on Twitter, with this hashtag being used over … times

… picked up the show in under … hours. … (executive producer and … of the show) tweeted that this was “…

2018, Fox, 5, Brooklyn99, 650000, NBC, 30, Dan Goor, co-creator, “thanks in no small part to [fans]”

Influence of audiences over the media: Brooklyn 99

Media theories:

… – audiences sharing the news of the show being cancelled and adapting this message to spread their own agenda – renewing the show. Henry Jenkins – audience …, …, and … “determine what gets valued”

This also demonstrates the use of … and the changing nature of … … post-Web 2.0, which is how audiences influence the media.

spreadability, choices, investments, actions, fandoms, feedback loops

Example of a globalised media institution: Meta

• Meta uses the media to make a …

• To do this, it uses apps with personalised … to encourage audiences to use the app for as long as possible

• According to …, their apps have … (m/b/t) … active users globally

profit, algorithms, Meta, 3.9b, monthly

Government use of media: the TAC - … … …

• has been used since … to promote … … to Victorians

• ads are shown across …, …, …, … and more

• example - in the … … holidays, the TAC ran a campaign on … with the slogan …

• this ad aimed to inspire … and … in the audience through showing the driver getting … and showing visuals of a serious …

• this has been effective, with the campaigns being a factor in reducing road deaths today to less than a … of numbers in …, according to the TAC

• this demonstrates the … … …, by bringing this issue to the public attention

Transport Accident Commission, 1989, road safety, cinemas, TV, billboards, social media, Dec 2025, speeding, “how your holiday ends is your choice”, shock, fear, caught, crash, third, 1989, agenda setting theory

Individual use of media:

In traditional media, there was a clear distinction between … and …, however, modern digital technology now allows individuals to be …, as they can both consume and create content.

Individuals can post on social media to spread their own … beliefs to audiences, as seen in the example of …, or, they can also engage in … as seen in the example of …

consumers, producers, produsers, political, black lives matter, fandoms, Brooklyn 99

Example of Australian government regulation of media is … … …

• classifies …, … … and some … according to ratings system

• provides … regarding the content of the media product

• assesses classifiable elements such as … or … and thus judges potential … on audiences

• limitations - cannot classify the … … of content coming into Australia

Australian Classification Board, films, video games, literature, advice, violence, language, impact, vast amount

Challenges with regulating the media: Google’s use of AI

• By (month, year), AI overviews appeared in …% of searches according to … …

• Thus the speedy … of AI poses a challenge as it has outpaced Australian …

• Australia relies on regulation which is unspecific to AI, such as the … …

June 2025, 39, Website Planet, proliferation, regulation, Privacy Act

AI: ‘zero click’ searches

• AI overviews increase the number of zero-click searches, … … to news sites

• this is an ethical issue as AI overviews give Google more … and give news sites less

• it also allows Google to further … what is shown and what is not

• … …, RMIT researcher - AI reduces “…”

• cutting traffic

• ethical, power

• control

• Joanne Kuai, “the incentive to click through”

AI: misinformation

• … … … … … … … … was signed by Google

• this code is … and aims to prevent … to people through misinformation

• the making of the … and reporting on platforms’ … of it was done by …

• legal issues include providing … information for the search “…” which could mislead seriously … people to think they were well, according to a … …

• Australian Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation

• voluntary, harm

• code, use, ACMA

• inaccurate, “what is the normal range for liver blood tests”, ill, Guardian investigation