I, Daniel Blake Industry Flashcards
what can be said about product context?
An independent film in the social realist genre. Directed by Ken Loach, who’s most famous work is ‘Cathy come home’ (resulted in awareness of homelessness in a pre-welfare society
What is an independent film?
A film made outside of the financial and artistic control of a large film company, it’s privately conceived and funded, made by a smaller film company on a low budget
Who produced I, Daniel Blake?
A UK/French production, funded through BBC and BFI through national lottery funding, this multi-company financial support is typical for independent films.
What can be said about BBC?
founded in 1990 and is the forefront of independent film making.
Who distributed I, Daniel Blake?
eOne
What does a lack of support from a conglomerate mean for distribution?
The film has to utilise an inventive and cost-effective range of marketing strategies to promote the film. Guerilla marketing strategies are used to create awareness of the film without the more conventional use of saturation marketing.
What marketing strategies did they use?
Street marketing campaigns used graffiti art and outdoor projections to create visibility. Spectators were guided to retweet pictures using #WeAreAllDanielBlake to create cost free media flow.
What is Sixteen Film?
a film production company formed by director Ken Loach and producer Rebecca O’Brien. it aims to have films written, produced and directed by Loach and O’Brien.
What is Sixteen Film and The Daily Mirror’s relationship?
informal relationship. The newspaper promotes the film through conventional reviews and extensive news coverage of the grassroot campaign by eOne. The synergistic fit between The Daily Mirror and I, Daniel Blake produced free news content that matched the left-wing ideological bias which enables the film to construct audience appeal.
What else did the film do as part of the innovative strategies?
The actors stood outside West End premiere holding place cards to raise awareness and reach a wider audience. The film was filmed in real settings (establishes credibility of the characters). this understated style is typical of Loach. the extras at the job centre were real workers and the actors were largely unknown.
What was the aim of the trailer and how did they achieve it?
to hook the audience, establish interest and persuade them. they do this by using mark of quality to suggest artistic validity, enigma codes to hook the audience, using on-screen graphics to suggest pleasure is gained by watching, ambient lighting and music to set the tone.
What does the writing on the wall achieve?
The style becomes part of the branding and appears on other marketing materials, reinforcing the ‘everyman’ role of the central character. raising his fist is a gesture of defiance against the system. quotes from the reviews on the wall shows the emotional pleasure the audience will experience.
who is Ken Loach?
an established director known for socialist realism genre. his films always challenge social ills and tackles difficult themes. he has no interest in becoming mainstream. he is recognisable and appears on news and current affairs programmes and interviews
what does his political leaning suggest?
his films embodies a left-wing political message and his decision to set in the North-East, focusing on struggles in poverty, reinforces his political message.
what can be said about the representation of poverty and working class? (economic context)
the film represents the working class experience in North East England (Newcastle). it portrays in-work poverty and food insecurity (food bank), exposing the gap between government policy and real-life struggle. the film criticises the inequalities by focusing on characters falling through the cracks of the system.
what was the economic distribution? (economic context)
despite the limited budget and lack of mainstream marketing, it was a commercial success. it benefitted from public fundings and film festival acclaims. instead of trying to maximise profit, it aims to raise awareness and influence public discourse.
what can be said about the conservative government? (political context)
the film was set when the conservative-led UK government was enforcing strict austerity measures (cuts to public services and welfare benefits). the film is criticising the consequences of these policies and how they dehumanise vulnerable citizens. it reflects a left-wing socialist perspective showing how austerity harms individuals.
what was Loach’s political agenda? (political context)
he’s known for his socialist views and history of making politically-driven films. he made the film to provoke political debate and expose the cruelty of the welfare system. His film wasn’t for entertainment but a part of a broader political project.
what was the representation of class and power? (political contexts)
the film represents working-class struggles and criticises how the state treats poor and unemployed people. it challenges mainstream media and political narrative that benefits claimants are lazy. it’s humanising showing how the government fails ordinary people.
what’s the british working-class identity? (cultural context)
it portrays community, resilience and dignity despite economic hardship. this contrasts the way working-class people are negatively stereotyped in mainstream media as lazy and dependent on benefits. it shows everyday British life - queueing, shopping. this makes it authentic and culturally grounded.
what can be said about social realism? (cultural context)
Loach uses social realism, a genre rooted in British culture, to challenge media stereotypes. instead of glamourising or exaggerating characters, the film shows orrdinary people struggling in real situations.
how does the economic contexts shape an independent film?
funding. independent films have more artistic freedom. low budget - was filmed on location not in a studio. the film was exhibited at film festivals and had a large social media presence. it relied on Loach’s fame and his past successes, not well-known actors. the issues of povert and social issues.
how do the social and political contexts influence the film?
Loach uses real people, unknown actors and real locations to establish realism. the narrative is a political statement that criticises the government’s policies. Loach is known for his social realist films and the impact on the audiences. his aim was to raise awareness. the film embodies a left wing messages and issues around the welfare system. disruptive-display advertising was used to raise awareness. ‘We are all Daniel Blake’ protest outside London job centres to illustrate the social and political message in the film that reflects real situations.
