A hard day's night review

4 C's of Media #1 - Media as a Construct of Reality

All works of media present reality in some shape or form. Although the attempt is made for this to be natural, this reality is actually the carefully crafted result of many decisions about visuals, sound, language, and editing.

The Beatles' 1st film is done in the style of a 'mock documentary' or 'mockumentary', giving fans a look at a typical 36 hours in the lives of the Fab Four. What is the life of a rock 'n' roll star like, according to the film A Hard Day's Night? In the table below, record as many realistic and unrealistic aspects of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle that you can (minimum of 5 for each).

Realistic:
- Crowds of screaming girls.
- The boy’s sense of humor and getting into trouble.
- The rehearsing/ sound check.
- The behind the scenes video shoot.
- The people they work with wanting them to advertise clothing.

Unrealistic
- Being able to go places without being recognized.
- The scene at the police station.
- The spare time they seem to have to get into all this trouble.
- The playing music looks unrealistic like it’s dubbed or something.
- How they boss around and sass their manager.


Overall, do you think this is an accurate portrayal of what it would be like to be a rock 'n' roll star? Why or why not?

I think that this is probably a somewhat accurate portrayal of what it would be like to be a rock ‘n’ roll star, just exaggerated for comedic effect. I just think that being on tour would be a lot more work than fun, and I don’t think this movie really shows that.


4 C's of Media #2 - The Media uses Codes and Conventions

Codes and conventions are the familiar and predictable forms and techniques used by the media to communicate certain ideas or create a desired impression. In film and music, these can be stylistic elements that help identify the genre or type that media work belongs to.

Pay attention to the style of filmmaking in A Hard Day's Night. How does the director, Richard Lester, try to reflect the style of The Beatles' music in the style of music? Make point form notes that show the stylistic similarities in the languages of both mediums.








4 C's of Media #3 - Media contains Creeds and Values

The media convey a number of explicit and implicit ideological messages, or values. These values are interpreted by our own personal values and ideologies.

Just like rock 'n' roll music, A Hard Day's Night is primarily aimed at young people. How is the conflict between the older and younger generation shown in the movie? Which generation is seen as more positive? Explain your answer with specific reference to the film.

This movie depicts the younger generation as up to no good and always getting into trouble. The older version is shown as being gwrumpy and trying to ruins the younger generation’s fun. An example of this is in the train scene when the boys are messing around with the one guy and he’s just not having it. Another is when the boys are told not to leave and they do, their boss gets really angry with them.

4 C's of Media #4 - Media as a Commercial Industry

While the artists themselves may be using the media for self-expression, we must always be aware that the media is a commercial business.

1. How can the film A Hard Day's Night be seen as a commercial for the band The Beatles?

The fact that the film is half made of them singing while girls are screaming is probably the number one thing that just makes it seem like a commercial. It sends the message “listen to The Beatles, everyone else does.” It kind of takes away from their amazing talent.



2. During the scene where George Harrison is mistaken for an auditionee for a British TV show, the movie satirizes the superficiality of the music industry based on outward appearance. Do you think this sort of self-awareness makes the film more credible as a piece of art in its own right? Or is it still just a commercial?

I think the self-awareness of this scene is an interesting touch. I do think that it makes the film somewhat more credible as a piece of art because it kind of pokes fun at the superficiality of the music industry. However, at the end of the day the movie still is just a commercial for The Beatles.