Summer Project

Summer Project

Media text: T.I - Warzone (2016)

Media debate/issue: How police brutality is represented in the T.I - Warzone music video.

Genre: Political Hip Hop/Rap

"T.I Warzone" is from his album "Us Or Else: Letter To The System" 

DEFINITIONS

BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT: Is an international activist movement, originating in the African-American community, that campaigns against violence and systemic racism toward black people. BLM regularly holds protests against police killings of black people and broader issues of racial profiling, police brutality, and racial inequality in the United States criminal justice system.
RACICAL PROFILING: Is the act of suspecting or targeting a person of a certain race based on a stereotype about their race, rather than on individual suspicion.
POLICE BRUTALITY: Is the abuse of authority by the unwarranted infliction of excessive force by personnel involved in law enforcement while performing their official duties. The term is also applied to abuses by corrections personnel in municipal, state and federal penal facilities including military prisons.
RACIAL INEQUALITY: Refers to the unique experiences and disparities in the United States in regard to the policing and prosecuting of various races.
POLITICAL HIP-HOP: It has helped to create a new form of social expression for subordinate groups to speak about their exclusions, injustices and lack of power. Political hip-hop is the use of hip hop music to send political messages to inspire action or to convince the listener of a particular worldview.

BACKGROUND

This album has his personal views of the troubled society that people in the United States are living in. 
This album was aimed at supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, and looks explicitly about the twisted road race relations took in America to arrive at its current precarious state." The EP was also in response to the turmoil caused by the injustices going on in America, namely police brutality following the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling.
The EP was ultimately released for streaming on September 23, 2016, via Tidal, with it being released to other markets on September 30. On December 16, 2016, without prior announcement or promotion T.I. released Us or Else: Letter to the System.

RESEARCH

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKcw35_saLY

This is a screengrab from the description under the music video on Youtube which has some information about the directors, producers, editors, distributers and institution. 

http://www.essence.com/2016/09/20/ti-warzone-video
"The visuals for the song depicts the deaths of Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, and Eric Garner with white victims and black police officers." - This article depicts the different ideas that were involved whilst creating the music video and also the themes and ideas that were trying to be portrayed. 

https://genius.com/Ti-warzone-lyrics
This website contains the lyrics of the soundtrack and annotates different sections/phrases/words that are part of the lyrics. 



Jane Elliott, a white American feminist, anti-racist, LGBTQ rights activist, is most known for her Blue Eyed-Brown eyed experiment. This is a section of a documentary which can be heard at the end of the music video. 

This video is a short analysis of T.I Warzone music video and artists that are involved with the Black Lives Matter movement. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/rapper-t-i-presents-counterpoint-all-lives-matter-crowd-n648326
This article contains an interview done with T.I explaining the aim of Warzone and also the genre and movement that he and a few other artists aim to do. 

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/first-look-ti-pays-homage-black-lives-matter-movement
This article contains a spoken word piece that T.I conducted for the Black Lives Matter movement and the victims of police brutality. 

T.I WARZONE MIGRAIN ANALYSIS

Media Representations 

• Who is being represented? In what way? By whom?

There are Caucasian victims and African-American police officers that mirror the actual acts of police brutality against African-American victims by Caucasian police officers. There is a subversion, conversion and reflection of what is going on in the United States through the narrative and visuals presented in the music video. As seen in the music video there is a correlation between the actual victims (Tamir Rice, Philando Castile, Eric Garner) and the events of what has happened to them leading to their death which majorly represents the injustice in the actions of some police officers. This, arguably, leads to there being a dominant representation of police brutality but an alternative representation of the ethnicity that it is presented through. In addition to this, the audience are aware of which race is being represented, even though this is not shown through the music video, due to the certain events happening. They are able to identify codes in the reverse of roles which reinforces the idea that media texts are artificial versions of reality and makes the inferior race more represented due to stereotypes not being reinforced and shown through a different perspective. The "Warzone" music video therefore is intentionally representing police brutality to African-Americans but also intentionally representing police brutality via Caucasian victims. 

• Why is the subject being represented in this way? 

The subject is being represented in this way as this subtly reinforces and has a viewpoint from the other race. By the acts towards African-Americans being represented through Caucasians it evokes more of a feeling of understanding and empathy towards the topic of police brutality. Arguably, if individuals are witnessing certain events and not experiencing them, they may have less sentiment and less disruption to their emotional state in comparison to if they were to be involved. By the "Warzone" music video using a subversive representation of the ethnicities, it is able to target the opposing audience and present a visual insight into what it is like to undergo police brutality. In addition to this, the subject of police brutality is represented in a programme of realistic and current events to re-illustrate the unfairness and inequality in a lawful system that is supposed to present justice and impartialness. This makes the events and subject of police brutality more unrefined and unethical to the audience that are viewing. 

• Is the representation fair and accurate?

The representation is fair and accurate due to the statistics and nature of police brutality. The events that have happened in the United States recently is what is being replicated in the music video through an accurate representation of Tamir Rice, Philando Castile and Eric Garner who were victims of police brutality and of the Caucasian woman entering the bus at towards the end of the music video. The events that happened to the three victims are: 

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Tamir_Rice)
"The shooting of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old African-American boy (June 25, 2002 – November 23, 2014), occurred on November 22, 2014, in Cleveland, Ohio. Two police officers, 26-year-old Timothy Loehmann and 46-year-old Frank Garmback, responded after receiving a police dispatch call "of a male black sitting on a swing and pointing a gun at people" in a city park. A caller reported that a male was pointing "a pistol" at random people in the Cudell Recreation Center. At the beginning of the call and again in the middle he says of the pistol "it's probably fake".Toward the end of the two-minute call, the caller stated "he is probably a juvenile"."

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Philando_Castile)

"On July 6, 2016, Philando Castile was shot and killed by Jeronimo Yanez, a St. Anthony, Minnesota, police officer, after being pulled over in Falcon Heights, a suburb of Saint Paul. Castile was in a car with his girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, and her four-year-old daughter when he was pulled over by Yanez and another officer. The shooting achieved a high profile from a live-streamed video on Facebook made by Diamond Reynolds in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. It shows her interacting with the armed officer as a mortally injured Castile lies slumped over, moaning slightly and his left arm and side bloody.

According to Reynolds' testimony and a police dashcam video/audio, Castile told the officer he had a firearm and had one hand in his pants pocket after being asked for his license and registration. Reynolds said Castile was shot while reaching for his ID after telling Yanez he was armed. The officer shot at Castile seven times."

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Eric_Garner)

"On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner died in Staten Island, New York City, after a New York City Police Department (NYPD) officer put him in what has been described as a chokehold for about 15 to 19 seconds while arresting him. The New York City Medical Examiner's Office attributed Garner's death to a combination of a chokehold, compression of his chest, and poor health. NYPD policy prohibits the use of chokeholds.

NYPD officers approached Garner on suspicion of selling "loosies" (single cigarettes) from packs without tax stamps. After Garner told the police that he was tired of being harassed and that he was not selling cigarettes, the officers went to arrest Garner. When officer Daniel Pantaleo tried to take Garner's wrist behind his back, Garner pulled his arms away. Pantaleo then put his arm around Garner's neck and took him down onto the ground. After Pantaleo removed his arm from Garner's neck, he pushed the side of Garner's face into the ground while four officers moved to restrain Garner, who repeated "I can't breathe" eleven times while lying facedown on the sidewalk. "

These events are repeated in the music video accurately along with the nature of police brutality which has a fair and precise representation. 
In addition to this, the lady towards the end of the music video entering the bus is representing the African-American community in a fair way as sometimes in society there is an exclusion and isolation of this certain ethnicity due to the stereotypes that are attached to them. This leads to people not wanting to socialise or communicate in any way due to a generalisation of personality and characteristics which can be seen in the music video.  

• What opportunities exist for self-representation by the subject?

Media Languages and Forms 

• What are the denotative and connotative levels of meaning?

In the video there are literal and visual denotations and connotations. The denotations of this music video is that there are Caucasian victims of police brutality, however, the police officers are African American. 

• What is the significance of the text’s connotations?

The significance of the music video's connotations is that it reinforces the actions and inequality of police brutality however opposes the ethnicities typically involved. This is significant for the audience as they are able to view police brutality from a different perspective and look at the situation in a new light. This creatively discusses the issue in modern day society in a way that the other ethnicity can also understand it. 

There is a substantial level of connotative meanings in this music video. One being that this is a replica of actual victims of police brutality. The victims of this replicated are: 

• Tamir Rice
• Philando Castile
• Eric Garner

As seen in the music video, there has been a reverse of ethnicities and the connotation of this is to show the opposition of roles to convey a stronger message. This is also to highlight to the viewers that "the shoe is on the other foot" and "walking in someone else's shoes" to enhance empathy and understanding. In addition, the music video embraces a high level of connotative meaning as Caucasians are stereotypically viewed as a hierarchy and superior and African Americans are stereotypically viewed as a minority and inferior. However, this has been reverted. 

• What are the non-verbal structures of meaning in the text (e.g. gesture, facial expression, positional communication, clothing, props etc)?

There are multiple non-verbal structures. At the beginning of the music video the first protagonist that mirrors the death of Tamir Rice has a very optimistic facial expression when leaving the house and going outside towards the park. His mother also has a very non-mindful facial expression. The meaning behind this is to show that they both expect the protagonist to go outside and be back home and they are not expecting tragedy to overcome the protagonist. His facial expression and gestures are also very carefree and playful which represents his innocence and childhood. It is visible that there is no devious or malicious intent. His content is soon cut short when the police officer approaches him and directs his gun in his direction. This has a meaning that he is alarmed and that the action of the police officer has come up against him very unlawfully. The facial expression and gesture of the police officer indicate that there was no justice or integrity and that his actions were due to stereotyping. The positional communication between the victim and police officer convey a sense of misunderstanding and racial hate due to the victim not being in a threatening manner and in addition to this, being a child making it even more significant. The clothing and props of the actors enhance the position that they are in. 

The protagonist that mirrors the death of Philando Castile obtains facial expressions and gestures of unease and pain. At the beginning of his confrontation with the police officer his gestures show that the is trying to explain his actions and is somewhat upset that he is being confronted by the police officers. The positional communication between him and the police officers indicates that they were not taking any notice of what he is saying and do not make an attempt to try and understand him. His clothing signifies that he is someone of the lower class and they are quite unkempt and dirty and also the fact that he has no props shows that he is not in a threatening manner. The close-up on the police officer's physic and the way that multiple of them are man-handling and using unneeded force shows that this was not necessary and that they are unjustifiably and unlawfully harming the protagonist. The gestures and facial expression of the protagonist mouthing "I can't breathe" and the police officers not easing off the victim signifies the inexcusable actions of the police officers.  

The facial expression of the African American woman before she enters the bus shows that she is disgusted but somewhat impressed that the police officer has pulled over the car where the victim that imitates Eric Garner is inside. 

The protagonist conveys innocence on his face and makes a gesture that "he is armed" which is clear and therefore showing that he is explaining his actions and what he is dong thoroughly. However, as he goes to reach for his licence the police officer rapidly shoots him indicating that he based his actions off of the race of the protagonist and the stereotype that he adapts. Thereafter, the facial expressions and gestures of his girlfriend is quite upset and alarmed and the child can be seen crying. This shows the unpredictability of the situation and the haunting effect that this has had on his family. 

The Caucasian female entering the bus looking for a seat to sit on but being rejected by African Americans that display facial expressions and gestures of unease, disgust and unwelcome. She is then secluded and isolated as she sits at the back of the bus and displays unhappiness. 

• What is the significance of mise-en-scene/sets/settings (CLAMPS)?

Costume: The significance of the costumes that the actors/actress' are wearing emphasises the realism of what is happening and gives the video a sense of reality. 

Location: The locations signify everyday life and normality of what people do day-to-day.  

Actor/tress: The significance of this is that the protagonists are deemed as innocent through their facial expressions mean whilst the police officers are quite aggressive showing that they are unruly and ignorant.  

Make-up: The make-up of the actors/actress' are very subtle and is significant as again this portrays normality and realism. 

Props: The props used like the toy gun and the actual guns are significant as the toy gun blatantly a toy making the actions of the police officers more unjustifiable. In addition to this, the real guns used show the harsh reality of what is happening and also explicitly explores what is happening in society.    

Setting: The settings are very natural and day-to-day settings. The lighting used is high-key lighting conveying more sense of realism.

• What work is being done by the sound track/commentary/language of the text?

The sound track that is playing in the background of the drama of screen narrates the victims but also looks at police brutality and the hierarchy in society. This gives the audience more understanding of what is happening throughout the music video and also identifies some questions/messages that want to be addressed against police brutality. 

At the end of the music video a speech can be heard saying, "If you white folks want to be treated the way blacks are in this society, stand.  Nobody's standing here, that says very plainly that you know what's happening, you know you don't want it for you, I want to know why you're so willing to accept it or to allow it to happen for others." This speech at the end boosts the objective of the music video as from this is it is obvious that there is racial inequality in society.

• What are the dominant images and iconography, and what is their relevance to the major themes of the text?

The dominant images and iconography are Caucasian victims of police brutality performed by African Americans. This makes it relevant to the major themes of the text in a subversive way as police brutality has been an on-going act in society and this music video looks at recent victims. This is also majorly relevant to the theme of the music video as the objective is to make the issue aware to people that are not of the ethnicity so that they could understand what African Americans are going through and as this implements white victims, it may make people have some level of understanding.
     

• What sound and visual techniques are used to convey meaning (e.g. camera positioning, editing; the ways that images and sounds are combined to convey meaning)?

The sound and visual techniques are used to convey meaning of the victims living and leading a normal life but being interrupted by racial profiling and therefore equating to police brutality. 

The camera positioning explores many aspects and angles to convey realism and show the normality of what the people are doing. It also builds up the story line to what is going to happen which makes the audience been more sympathetic and affected. 

The slow-motion editing highlights the emotions of each actor/actress and causes tension in what is happening.  

Narrative 

• How is the narrative organised and structured?

The multi-strand narrative is organised and structured in a way that uses subversion to get the overall message across. As seen in the music video, the narrative is orientated around actual events that has recently happened in America in relation to police brutality. It is organised in a way that tells a story and builds up to police brutality rather than just overly compensating and penetrating the music video with it. The organisation of the narrative allows the audience to be able to build some sort of brief relationship with the victims to enhance sympathy for them. This is specifically shown in the start of the music video where the replication of Tamir Rice starts with the young boy leaving his house, walking to the park and playing with his toy gun. This and the other events that take toll in the music video is structured in a way to show the vulnerability  and imbalance of empowerment between the victims and the police officers. In addition to this, the organisation and structure of the narrative contributes to the idea that the victims were not threatening and were living a normal life. Towards the end of the "Warzone" video a speech and a quote is presented in relation to racism which sums up the overall intended theme and message and is organised and structured that way so that this important message resonates with the audience. 

• How is the audience positioned in relation to the narrative?

The audience are positioned in relation to the narrative to be able to emotionally connect with the events that are happening. The narrative creates empathy for the victims and disappointment in the system and people in society that condone discrimination. By what the audience witness through the narrative, they are positioned to feel helpless and a sense discomfort in regards to the situation and the overall theme of the music video, however, receive a clear message of what is being told through the visuals and also through the soundtrack.  

• How are characters delineated? What is their narrative function? How are heroes and villains created?

The characters are delineated in a way that increases the objective of the narrative as there is clear segregation between two ethnicities, occupation and morality. The characters that reenact the three victims of police brutality have a role in the narrative to portray what happened clearly and precisely. Under realist circumstances, there are no heroes during police brutality, arguably, the "hero" could be the camera that captures the events due there being evidence and therefore justice for the victims that have been murdered. However, the villains created are the police officers. This is because the audience can clearly see through the narrative that the victims were not in a position to cause harm to the police officers, but, under an assumption made because of their race they have been killed with no reasoning or purpose. Through this the police officers are instantly seen as the villains.  

• What techniques of identification and alienation are employed?

The techniques of identification are employed through the narrative presented. Identification is made due to the recent events of police brutality being portrayed leading to an audience being able to identify who each of those narratives are about and what situation it is regarding. Some African-Americans may be able to identify with this due to them being of that race or also maybe going through difficulties with the police.

The narrative employs an alienated situation however as the police have more power in the position that they're in against the victims.This makes them unable to defend themselves and an unreasonable force is being used against them.   

• What is the role of such features as sound, music, iconography, genre, mise-en-scene, editing etc within the narrative?

Theses are the role of specific features: 

Sound: The speech at the end of the video from a documentary leaves a resonating  message to the viewer. This commentary is short but very effective and mirrors the issues that is going on in our modern society. 

Music: The music at the start of the music video is very merry and peaceful but then is cut short by the soundtrack. The role of this was to foreshadow the upcoming events which are unsettling and shows that this is a disturbing problem. In addition to this, the role of the music/soundtrack is to narrate the story. As heard in the soundtrack there are different aspects of police brutality that has been explored through the lyrics and an over all view/perspective of what is going on in society today. The role of this is also to mirror what is happening in the music video so that the viewer has a clearer understanding. 

Iconography: The unconventional iconography here has a significant role to provide a stronger message and a whole different viewpoint. The typical events that happen during police brutality is displayed throughout the video however there is a subversion of who is doing it to add more of an effect to the wider audience. 

Genre: The genre of political hip-hop/rap plays a role in providing a message in order to outline societal issues so that a change could be made. This is a clear objective of this song and music video as it is targeting something problematic and aims to make an audience more aware in order for there to be a change.  

Mise-en-scene: 
Costume: The role of the costumes that the actors/actress' are wearing emphasises the realism of what is happening and gives the video a sense of reality. 

Location: The locations signify everyday life and normality of what people do day-to-day.  

Actor/tress: The role of this is that the protagonists are deemed as innocent through their facial expressions mean whilst the police officers are quite aggressive showing that they are unruly and ignorant.  

Make-up: The make-up of the actors/actress' are very subtle and is significant as again this portrays normality and realism. 

Props: The props used like the toy gun and the actual guns are significant as the toy gun blatantly a toy making the actions of the police officers more unjustifiable. In addition to this, the real guns used show the harsh reality of what is happening and also explicitly explores what is happening in society.    

Setting: The settings are very natural and day-to-day settings. The lighting used is high-key lighting conveying more sense of realism.

All in all, the mise-en-scene aims to create a realist environment in order to make the music video more effective. 

Editing: The role of editing builds up narratable scenes. The video is mostly shot in slow motion with a few normal paced scenes but the rapper "T.I" is seen to be in normal pace. This perhaps is to show that he is an over-looker of the events that are happening in the video and not apart of them. Also, the use of slow-motion editing could symbolise that this is a flashback and makes what is happening more noticeable as it is not too fast. In the beginning, the shots are edited in a pace that captures every aspect of the character, from his clothing to his surroundings which helps to build up the narrative and throughout, the viewer is aware of the surroundings of the protagonists and what has built up their demise. The role of editing here therefore makes the video more understandable and signifies certain aspects to make the scenes and action more impactful. 

Screen text: The role of the screen text is to highlight the ideology behind the music video and make the viewers aware of certain subjects. This includes racism, the victims of police brutality and who this music video was attributed to. 

• What are the major themes of the narrative? What values/ideologies does it embody?

The major themes of the narrative is police brutality. This is explored throughout the music video and also throughout the soundtrack. The ideology that this music video embodies is that police brutality is inhumane and unjustifiable. As seen in the music video and heard from the soundtrack the victims were defenceless and powerless against the law. They were unrightfully killed and this was blatantly only implicated to one ethnicity. This overall shares the ideology that these unacceptable events in civilisation are based on the foundation of ethnicity, stereotypes and the mis-use of authority. 

Genre 

• To which genre does the text belong?

Political hip-hop/rap. 

• What are the major generic conventions within the text?

The major generic conventions of hip-hop/rap contain: 

• Political hip hop is a subgenre of hip hop music that was developed in the 1980s as a way of turning rap music into a call for action and a form of social activism. 
• It has helped to create a new form of social expression for subordinate groups to speak about their exclusions, injustices and lack of power. 
• Political hip-hop is the use of hip hop music to send political messages to inspire action or to convince the listener of a particular worldview. 
• There is no all-encompassing political hip-hop ideology; rather, there are multiple perspectives that range anywhere from Marxism to the values of the Five Percent Nation.

The "Warzone" music video contains all the major conventions of political hip-hop. As seen in the music video there is an overall aim for there to be political change in society. Black lives matter activism is conducted in a theme through the visuals and music which is a form of expression about injustice and lack of power. By this and the reversal of ethnicities it is evident that this music video holds the convention of trying to convince the listener of a particular worldview and also to inspire action against police brutality.

• What are the major iconographic features of the text?

The major iconographic features within this music video is that there there are Caucasian victims and African-American police officers. The visual is subversive to express a dominant aim from a different viewpoint. Police brutality is being explored in the music video but not from an usual aspect therefore holding major iconography as this does not reinforce the normality of the situation.    

• What are the major generic themes?

The major generic themes of this music video is police brutality, racial profiling and discrimination that has happened to African-Americans in the American society recently.

• To what extent are the characters generically determined?

The characters are generically determined to most extent, the only thing that excludes this generic determination is the ethnicity of them. Other than this, the characters are extensively determined through them being based on real members of society that were recent victims of police brutality. Also seen in the music video, the situation that these characters are in is due to racial profiling and stereotyping and therefore leading to discrimination against members of the public. In addition to this, due to the nature of political hip-hop/rap the characters are acting in a way that reinforces the idea that change is needed in order to progress and in order for everyone to be treated fairly in society therefore making the characters generically determined. 

• To what extent are the audience’s generic expectations of the text fulfilled or cheated by the text? Does the text conform to the characteristics of the genre, or does it treat them playfully or ironically?

The audience's generic expectations of the music video are cheated as a result of there being a reversal of ethnicities. As a theme of police brutality, the audience are expected to think that the music video will be created in order to present African-American victims and Caucasian police officers, however, this is not fulfilled in the music video and opposes the audiences expectations. Although, the "Warzone" music video does conform to the characteristics of the genre due to it being created in a way that urges change in society and carrying a political message within it.  

• Does the text feature a star, a director, a writer etc who is strongly associated with the genre? What meanings and associations do they have?

The "Warzone" music video features rapper "T.I" who is strongly associated with political hip-hip/rap. "T.I" is known for being an activist for the Black Lives Matter movement and also for making music the challenges authorities and abuse towards the particular race. He holds a reputation for being socially conscious which is mirrored in his creation of the "Warzone" music video as this addresses a problem in society.  

Media Institutions 

• What is the institutional source of the text?

Grand Hustle and Roc Nation. 

• In what ways has the text been influenced or shaped by the institution which produced it?

The music video has been influenced by Grand Hustle as this is a hip-hop record label and Roc Nation as this record label advocates music as one of its rosters. The music video can be seen to be influenced by Grand Hustle due to there being some key conventions of hip-hop music within "Warzone". In addition to this, the nature of the music verifies the genre of the record label which proves that it holds identification from Grand Hustle. Roc Nation has influenced "Warzone" due to the creativity of the music video. As this company is described as "diverse" and has partnerships with Urban Media Global Network Collective, the content within the music video reflects the record label due to it being inventive and addressing a recent and "urban" issue. 

• Is the source a public service or commercial institution? What difference does this make to the text?

Roc Nation is a private owned record label

• Who owns and controls the institution concerned and does this matter?

The owners of Grand Hustle are T.I and Jason Geter. The owner of Roc Nation is Jay-Z and the key people are, Jay Brown (CEO), Michael Yormark (President) and Lenny Santiago (SVP). The parent of this company is Live Nation Entertainment. This is important due to the decision making that is undertaken in order for content revolved around the music video. The record labels make the decision on where and when the music and video would be made, advertised, released and etc making it important as the strategy is what would attract more of an audience which in return would have a financial intake. These companies help to give the music and music video more of a push towards being successful in a competitive environment and therefore making it important. 

• How has the text been distributed?

"Warzone" has been distributed by Roc Nation Records. It has been released on numerous platforms like Youtube, iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Tidal and Amazon.

Media Values and Ideology 

• What are the major values, ideologies and assumptions underpinning the text or naturalised within it?

The major values, ideology and assumptions underpinned within "Warzone" is police brutality towards a selected race. As seen in this music video, only one ethnicity is being targeted unlawfully and in turn represents the major value, ideology and assumption that these people are murdered in the hands of authorities without justification. This creates the ideology of discrimination and racial profiling, not only within the music video but also in society. 

• What criteria have been used for selecting the content presented?

The criteria that has been used for selecting the content presented is role reversal. In the music video, it can be seen that there are Caucasian victims that reenact the deaths of Tamir Rice, Eric Garner and Philando Castle but also look at the wider concept of police brutality and the severity of segregation between treatment. 

• How does the text fit into the current political landscape?

"Warzone" fits perfectly into the current political landscape as recently in America there has been an increase of victims of police brutality. This has therefore caused a movement carried out by activists called the "Black Lives Matter movement" to improve ethnic minorities' way of living and to get justice for those who were killed by federals that have not be persecuted or any repercussions. This music video addresses most of the issues with the unjust in power and unnatural brutality in society.

• Does the text promote a particular political viewpoint - either explicitly or implicitly? 

The music video promotes a particular political viewpoint explicitly as it exposes the audience to the likelihood and events that has happened within police brutality. As seen in this music video, three victims have been killed by police from an angle that may not have been considered before. "Warzone" promotes a political viewpoint in regards to police brutality and the treatment of those who are of a certain ethnicity, therefore, promotes the ideology that a major adjustment is needed in society to improve it which is a view of many activists and people.

Media Audiences 

• To whom is the text addressed? What is the target audience? (Demographics, Psychographics)

The "Warzone" music video arguably has a vast audience. Typically, an audience may believe that as the subject is about police brutality it is more directed towards an African-American audience. However, as the victims are Caucasian, this music video may appeal to more ethnicities. 

As rapper "T.I" has said, "We wanted to give ‘the other side’ -- and when I say the ‘other side’ I don’t mean police, I don’t mean white people, I mean people who think we’re just overreacting, the ‘All Lives Matter’ people –- we wanted to give them the least amount of ammunition to oppose our message". This therefore addresses a wider audience perhaps making it more mainstream. In addition to this, even though the genre is niche, the genre of hip-hop/rap addresses a wider audience and "T.I" is an artist that has a large following (7.4 million on Instagram).

Demographics: 

The age that this music video may appeal to is a range from (11-36). Even though this is an issue that relates to people of all ages, the genre of this music video may appeal to this type of audience. According to statistics, hip-hop attracts mostly working class African American males aged 11-36 and Caucasian males aged 11-25. Because of this, "Warzone" appeals to this particular age group and mostly males due to it being a male dominated industry and hyper-masculinity of lyrics, rhythm and song. The geographical location that "Warzone" may mostly appeal to are populations in America. This is because police brutality is a predominant problem that many Americans face in society.

The Values, Attitudes and Lifestyles that the "Warzone" audience may have are: 

Achievers: These consumers are the high-resource group of those who are motivated by achievement. They are successful work-oriented people who get their satisfaction from their jobs and families.

Makers: These consumers are the low-resource group of those who are motivated by self-expression. They are practical people who value self-sufficiency. 

This is due to the music video being political with a political aim to create change in the America and society. People that are working towards this outcome would receive pleasure from doing this as it is for a greater cause and to save lives. 

Psychographics:

The psychographic group that the "Warzone" video may belong to is reformers. These characteristics include seeking enlightenment. 

• Freedom of restriction.
• personal growth. 
• Social awareness.
• Independent judgement. 
• Anti-materialistic but aware of good taste. 
• Has attended high education and selects products for quality. 

A few of these characteristics is what the audience would adopt due to their nature of wanting there to be change.

• What assumptions about the audience’s characteristics are implicit within the text?

The assumptions about the audience is that they are already aware of what "T.I's" objective is in music and therefore are prepared for it to be about societal problems/change. As "T.I" is reputable for producing this kind of music, the audience are adjusted to it not being a typical hip-hop/rap song and one with more meaning and sentiment to it. In addition to this, as the characters in the music video are young and mostly male, the audience are more likely to relate to them and therefore refrain some characteristics that are mirrored in the music video but also in hip-hop/rap music.

• What assumptions about the audience are implicit in the text’s scheduling or positioning?

• In what conditions is the audience likely to receive the text? Does this impact upon the formal characteristics of the text?

The audience are likely to receive the "Warzone" music video on streaming services like Youtube, iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Tidal and Amazon. Depending on where this song is listened to, it may impact the formal characteristics of the text (police brutality) due to the audience's surroundings. For example, if this song is heard at a party, the audience may not receive the lyrics the way that they are supposed to be and instead more engage with the backing track of the song. Also, if this song is streamed without seeing the music video it may not impact the audience as much as if the music video was seen due to the graphic content in the music video that support the lyrics.

• What do you know or can you assume about the likely size and constituency of the audience?

It is evident through the views on Youtube that this music video has reached quite a wide audience. The views that "Warzone" has collated up to date is 4,310,346, 61k thumbs up and 4k thumbs down. Because of these figures, it is assumed that the song has also received a wide audience on the different platforms it was released on like Spotify. The constituency of the audience would be a wide majority also as they share similar political opinions due to the subject of police brutality which is a heavy social issue that needs to be lightened and extinct. It is assumed that from the 61k thumbs up on Youtube that many people share the same values and agree with the overall message that is being portrayed in the music video.

• What are the probable and possible audience readings of the text? 

The probable and possible audience readings of the text is simply that there is a reverse of ethnicities whilst tacking the problems of recent police brutality victims in America. This can be clearly seen in the music video and also possibly be seen as a creative reinforcement for a change of perception. The audience for "Warzone" may have all three preferred, negotiated and oppositional readings. The preferred reading for this is that there is a role reversal which embarks upon a perspective that may not have been considered before. Through this music video, the audience would be able to see police brutality through another way and be evoked for change due to the terrific nature of what is happening in "Warzone" and America. It would give an audience who are perhaps not African-American more incentive to help and fight for equality which is what "T.I" and the producers of the music video intended. A negotiated reading that the audience may have is that they agree that police brutality is abnormal and uncalled for and also that there needs to be a change to stop it. However, they may view the role reversal as a sort of attack on other ethnicities and maybe even see it as a call for police brutality to start happening to other races. An oppositional reading of "Warzone" that the audience may have is that this role reversal is an unrealistic situation. From this, they may just view this music video as fake and still not be motivated to help or to make a change. 

• What are the audience pleasures, uses or gratifications?  (Refer to theory).

The uses or gratifications that the audience may receive from this are: 

Diversion: They could escape from the reality of the situation (African-American victims and Caucasian police officers). This most likely is not for entertainment purposes but to ease of the severity of the situation slightly as it has been turned into a music video that does not show explicit brutality. 

Personal Relationships: There may be a personal relationship between the audience and the "Warzone" music video. This is due to perhaps a person of the audience experiencing this (maybe not the killings but biased from the police) and feeling emotions due to what they are witnessing in the music video. In addition to this, the victims that have been portrayed's family may witness this and feel emotional as this reminds them of what has happened to their loved one. Also, most African-Americans and activists of this and other ethnicities would feel a certain way towards "Warzone" due to it being based on actual events and reinforcing the idea that change is needed. 

Personal Identity: The audience may be able to learn values from "Warzone" due to it having the nature of police brutality but also containing a short, impactful speech and written content. From there being this in the music video, the audience are able to learn ways to behave around the sensitivity of the subject, how to approach it and what to do to make a difference. 

Surveillance: The information that would be useful for the audience's living is that they would be able to change their thinking mechanism towards police brutality and become more knowledgeable on the issue and racism. This is because it identifies and outlines what is happening but also addresses and exposes the audience into self evaluation through the speech and text at the end of the music video. From this, they would become more conscience. 

• How do you, as an audience member, read and evaluate the text? To what extent is your reading and evaluation influenced by your age, gender, background etc?

As an audience member, I am able to read and evaluate the music video as helpful for perspectivism for people of other ethnicities/people that do not understand the black lives matter movement. It shines a light on police brutality in a way that everyone could understand and get a visual feel of what is is like to experience this as a normality within a culture. This music video also informed me as an audience member of a few things to do with racism and police brutality making it quite straightforward and impressionable but in a creative manner. This may be influenced by my age due to me being quite young and not being as use to what life and some authorities do in society making it affect me more, also, as I am female, I may have more empathy towards the music video. In addition to this, due to my ethnicity, I may be able to relate to "Warzone" more and feel more sympathetic due it it happening within my race and the severity of the situation.