"The Da Vinci Code"

Leonardo Da Vinci. The controversial artist of the Renaissance. Obsessed with the state, religion and most importantly - he loved a good puzzle.

"Everyone loves a Conspiracy." - The Da Vinci Code (2003)

In today's issue of The Daily Mail, Da Vinci still manages to captivate audiences with the controversy surrounding one of his stolen paintings named "The Madonna Of The Yarwinder".

The painting was said to be "tracked down" by private detectives after being stolen from an exhibition at Drumlanrig Castle in 2003, with the affair being branded a "conspiracy".

I have always been intrigued by his work due to the fact that I am an avid art lover and a typical overthinker. Of which I find his works to often emote the question; "Who knew a painting could say so much?"

To me, his paintings signify an era of strict religious values, emotional ambiguity and his significant rebellion towards the state and it's beliefs.

"What really matters is what you believe." - The Da Vinci Code (2003)

Idealist Spinoza held the belief that the church was secondary to the state (therefore, religion was decided by the state). His criticisms of The Bible and Political Theory made freedom of opinion important, in which he believed in "absolute logical necessity". He was a Sceptic in the sense that "nothing is true, but everything is possible."

"Life is filled with secrets. You can't learn them all at once." - The Da Vinci Code (2003) 

A glance at religion through the eyes of Da Vinci is further explored in Dan Brown's novel "The Da Vinci Code" (2003). 

For me, "The Da Vinci Code" was a very interesting summer read whereby his artwork is surrounded by various myths and narratives. There is a themed sense of urgency and I often found myself drifting in and out of the frequent historical teaching (courtesy of Langdon and Teabing), of which I found the myth surrounding his most famed painting "The Mona Lisa" the most intriguing.

"Langdon explains that the 'Mona Lisa' is an anagram of the Egyptian gods of fertility: Amon (male) and Isis (female) and is androgynous." - (http://painting.about.com/od/famouspainters/a/DaVinciCode.htm)

Even from beyond the grave, Da Vinci's interpretation of art still manages to captivate the demographic. And no matter how long we stand, stare and admire, we will never be able to view these pieces quite like we would through the eyes of the artist. 

Information and quotes sourced from The Daily Mail (24/11/11). 

For more information, visit: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html

A Look At "Britain's Most Influential Newspaper"

Established by The Political Bodies Association in 2010 as “Britain’s most influential newspaper” (Daily Mail), the Daily Mail is currently the second biggest selling daily newspaper after The Sun.

It was first published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe as a newspaper for women (Wikipedia). Its exclusive “Femail” magazine, that contains features especially tailored for a female audience, means its current readership is more than 50% female, 38% of which are over 65 years old (NMA).

It is considered a suburban, conservative newspaper that, according to the Newspaper Marketing Agency (NMA), is most popular with adults in the ABC1C2 category (Upper Middle Class, Middle Class, Lower Middle Class and Skilled Working Class).

The "Stephen Lawrence Case” is said to be historic of the Daily Mail, as on 14^th February 1997 they identified and published the five men who had been arrested in connection with the stabbing. The headline read, “Murderers: The Mail accuses these men of killing. If we are wrong, let them sue us.” 

Lawrence was a black, British teenager who was stabbed to death at a bus stop in South London on the evening of 22^nd April 1993, with the investigation being branded “one of the most important moments in the modern history of Criminal Justice in Britain.” (Macpherson, 1999).

The Macpherson Report (1999) made legal history in Britain. As a judge in the Stephen Lawrence case, Macpherson headed an inquiry examining Metropolitan Police. He concluded that they were “institutionally racist” and “incompetent.” In response, he demanded a reform of The Judicial System to address the issue of Institutional Racism. He also abolished the “Double Jeopardy” rule (Wikipedia) which aims to: “… enable the appeal court to allow a new prosecution after acquittal where fresh evidence is presented.” (The Macpherson Report, 1999). 

Two men suspected of Lawrence’s murder are currently being tried for the crime once more after “new scientific evidence” was revealed. This story featured on the front page of 15/11/11 issue, with the headline “After 18 long years, Doreen Lawrence faces son’s alleged killers in court.”

The Daily Mail has played a big part in this case with its continuous campaign for justice. The press are “the eyes and ears of the public” and by identifying the people arrested on suspicion of Lawrence’s murder as “murderers”, they could have been at risk of being in Contempt of Court (Contempt Of Court Act, 1981). The publication had the media power to prejudice a fair trial and therefore interfere with the course of justice. 

In the most recent trial (the trial of Gary Dobson and David Norris) the judge ruled that the jury ignore all media speculation surrounding the case for fear of it affecting the outcome, branding it all “irrelevant.” (Sky News).

Lights. Lights. Lights.

Today was a historic moment, as for the first time I watched the Christmas lights in Winchester illuminate the town square. 

December will soon be upon us and it's hard to believe that another year has passed. This will also be the first anniversary of my blog. I have been blogging for almost a year and what a great year it has been.

After a tough couple of months I am happy to say that Winchester finally feels like home. It's a beautiful place full of beautiful people and honestly I couldn't be happier. 

I spent the evening in the town with my housemates, preparing to see the perfectly placed lights sparkle in the navy sky. It was a bit of an anticlimax but a sea of cheers from the ever-growing crowd soon made this insignificant.

I officially love Winchester.

Narrative And Genre.

According to Long and Wall (2009) the term Narrative refers to "the organisation of textual elements into a pattern in terms of space, time and perspective... 'events' which are ordered through time (temporal succession) and which we conceive as the cause of other events (causation)."

When applied to the medium of film, Narrative plays a crucial role in the development of the fabula (story) and syuzhet (plot). Like much anticipated superhero sidekick "Avengers Assemble", which is a prime example of a classic realist text.

To "avenge" means to "take revenge in retaliation for harm done" (Collins Pocket English Dictionary, 2000). Therefore, the title of the film already allows the audience to construct a fabula in their mind. In relation to this, Bordwell (1985) comments: "The fabula, however imaginary, is not a whimsical or arbitrary construct. The viewer builds the fabula on the basis of... relations of causality, time and space."

Narrative.

Within media, the term Narrative translates as "a set of events" whereby it is the intention of the filmmaker to build suspense. So in "Avengers Assemble", like in any other action film, there will be elements of "false scares" that are designed to live up to audience expectation.

Time.

The typical Narrative will have a beginning a middle and an end, but as filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard states: "Yes, but not in that order." Here, Godard is referencing the "disruption of the 'natural' order of time..." Time is a common feature to many films, particularly when it comes to the old trick of flashbacks and "bullet-time" (think "The Matrix"). These factors contribute to audience satisfaction and enjoyment.

Space.

A sense of space is needed in order to construct the fabula. Realism in film and other media help to produce a coherent sense of reality within the mindsof an audience.

• Quotes sourced from "Media Studies Texts Production And Context" by P. Long and T.Wall

Genre.

Genre can be linked back to 300BC, the time of Greek philosopher Aristotle, who distinguished dramatic modes such as comedy and tragedy which were ultimately "... concentrated in the beginning on producing defining characteristics for particular genres based on historical usage." This is otherwise known as the "structuralist" approach.

The dictionary definition, however, defines Genre as a "style of literary, musical or artistic work." (Collins Pocket English Dictionary, 2000)

Genre is related to audience expectations for example. With themes such as Science Fiction being "devoted" to a particular genre. Theorist Neale (1983) comments: "As far as genre is concerned, expectations exist both to be satisfied, and also, to be redefined."

• Quotes sourced from "Analysing Fictional Television Genres" by K. Akass and J.McCabe

The Art Of Copyright.

In Journalistic terms, Copyright refers to the "branch of the law that enables Journalism to exist as a business."

It was the 1911 Copyright Act that made the breach of Copyright a crime. Everybody has the right to their own "intellectual property" that prevents their work from being stolen or exploited by the public. They can however, either choose to keep ownership or "buy out" the commercial rights (but retain moral rights as sanctioned under the 1988 Copyright Act). 

It is crucial as a Journalist to remember that there is no Copyright in ideas.

This can be made clearer in "The Da Vinci Code Case" where two people sued author Dan Brown claiming they had already published the premise to his novel "The Da Vinci Code" some years earlier. Their case was lost however as there was no substantial proof that Brown had "lifted" anything from the previous book.

Accordingly, it is safe to re-do old stories as long as the source has been accredited and some of it is your own work.

You are also allowed to use Copyright in the context of:

• Comment.
• Criticism.
• Review.

There can be no Copyright in information. Only liable if the information has been turned into news by a Journalist.

This is where the old Journalistic trick of fair dealing or "lifting" comes into play. You can "lift" quotes from articles as long as you credit the source and 

it is a matter of public interest. "Passing off" is out of the question as you could be in breach of Copyright law and could be sued for compensation if it can be proved that you have stolen the work. To be protected from Copyright, the piece of work must be original.

Creative Commons allows people to pre-licence work for anyone to use but this is often limited. It can also apply 70 years after the death of an author or, in terms of music, 50 years from the year in which the work was created.