A- The product's impact and effect on the audience
Star Wars: The Force Awakens has had a large impact upon the science-fiction genre, with various traits proving this such as the Villain, Darth Vader. Along with this, we can link several of the phrases used in the films to the science fiction genre, such as 'may the force be with you'. The sci-fi genre has heavily increased in popularity since the Star Wars films have been released, making the genre a block buster seller through its various films released of this genre. There was $26.41 million made through the box office as a result, proving the large impact Star Wars has had on this genre as a whole. Theories of the audience involve viewers either being an active or passive audience.
An active audience involves the theory that the audience do not just receive information passively, but are actively involved often unconsciously in making sense of the message within their personal and social contexts. The audience of Star Wars: The Force Awakens can be seen to be an active audience as they will be engaging with the film and be looking for how this film links in with the original trilogy of the film. Although those watching The Force Awakens who are unfamiliar with the other Star Wars films are more likely to be a passive audience and not interact and look for links with the new film to the original ones. A passive audience simply suggests that audiences interact with the film to create meaning. A passive audience is an audience that observes rather than actively responding to it
B- Relevant issues of representation Throughout Star Wars: The Force awakens, it is believed that there is not an equal distribution of the roles through gender that are portrayed in the film. For instance, In an interview with Good Morning America, JJ Abrams, the director of the new Star Wars; The Force Awakens, said that the films audience in the previous Star Wars films always consists of boys and men who are going to see it, and that it is generally 'dads taking their sons' to watch the films as opposed to mothers bringing their daughters etc. However in The Force Awakens, this is the case as gender is distributed evenly across the scenes, also with many more female characters being introduced. It is therefore less patriarchal and the increase in female characters has allowed the female audience to feel as though they can relate more to the film. Star Wars (1977), the first film, Princess Leila appeared to be the only woman featured in the films , thirty five years later, The Force Awakens has a much more realistic gender balance; not only does the universe contain more than one woman; but it actually passed the Bechtel Test. The Bechtel Test is a test that asks films if it has a.) more than one woman, b.) if those women in the film talk to each other, c.) and talk to each other about something more than a man. The original Star Wars trilogy has one grest female character, but by the standards of the Bechtel Test; it falls short.
Above is a poster presenting 'Princess Leia', in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, along with a screenshot of her being featured in one of the earlier Star Wars films of the trilogy.
When comparing the Force Awakens to the previous Star Wars films, it is clear how the representation of women has largely increased and become more popular. Some of the new female characters produced involve Rey,General Leia, Captain Phasma and Maz Kanata. Unlike the 1977 Star Wars film, The Force Awakens easily passed the Bechtel Test, which shows how female representation has changed positively with more females in the new film, which can be demonstrated below through the screenshots of character 'Rey'.
When looking at the previous Star Wars films, the diversity of race was very minimal. There was only one black character involved; Lando Calrissian. He was a minor character who was well known for betraying the good guys for his own personal gain- which is clearly evidence of negative representation. This could be seen to have caused large controversy, as the films greatly lacked diversity and although it is shown minimally, this is through a negative representation. When comparing this to The Force Awakens, however, one of the leading characters 'Fin' created clear racial diversity across the franchise as he was the first leading black character in any of the Star Wars films. As a result, character Finn (John Boyega) will promote diversity in a genre which was long dominated by white characters. This is therefore progress in the science- fiction genre, being very popular to fans of the Star Wars trilogy who will be relieved and excited to see that racial diversity is being spread amongst the films. Below is a screenshot of John Boyega being featured in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
C- Relevant legal and/ or Ethical Issues
The Legal and/ or Ethical Issues which may be displayed through Star Wars: The Force Awakens may involve the chosen age rating for the film. For instance, the film is given a 12A age rating, due to it holding scenes with mild violence and so those under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult when viewing the film. They received this age rating by the British Board of Classification.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens has had a large impact upon the science-fiction genre, with various traits proving this such as the Villain, Darth Vader. Along with this, we can link several of the phrases used in the films to the science fiction genre, such as 'may the force be with you'. The sci-fi genre has heavily increased in popularity since the Star Wars films have been released, making the genre a block buster seller through its various films released of this genre. There was $26.41 million made through the box office as a result, proving the large impact Star Wars has had on this genre as a whole. Theories of the audience involve viewers either being an active or passive audience.
An active audience involves the theory that the audience do not just receive information passively, but are actively involved often unconsciously in making sense of the message within their personal and social contexts. The audience of Star Wars: The Force Awakens can be seen to be an active audience as they will be engaging with the film and be looking for how this film links in with the original trilogy of the film. Although those watching The Force Awakens who are unfamiliar with the other Star Wars films are more likely to be a passive audience and not interact and look for links with the new film to the original ones. A passive audience simply suggests that audiences interact with the film to create meaning. A passive audience is an audience that observes rather than actively responding to it
B- Relevant issues of representation Throughout Star Wars: The Force awakens, it is believed that there is not an equal distribution of the roles through gender that are portrayed in the film. For instance, In an interview with Good Morning America, JJ Abrams, the director of the new Star Wars; The Force Awakens, said that the films audience in the previous Star Wars films always consists of boys and men who are going to see it, and that it is generally 'dads taking their sons' to watch the films as opposed to mothers bringing their daughters etc. However in The Force Awakens, this is the case as gender is distributed evenly across the scenes, also with many more female characters being introduced. It is therefore less patriarchal and the increase in female characters has allowed the female audience to feel as though they can relate more to the film. Star Wars (1977), the first film, Princess Leila appeared to be the only woman featured in the films , thirty five years later, The Force Awakens has a much more realistic gender balance; not only does the universe contain more than one woman; but it actually passed the Bechtel Test. The Bechtel Test is a test that asks films if it has a.) more than one woman, b.) if those women in the film talk to each other, c.) and talk to each other about something more than a man. The original Star Wars trilogy has one grest female character, but by the standards of the Bechtel Test; it falls short.
Above is a poster presenting 'Princess Leia', in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, along with a screenshot of her being featured in one of the earlier Star Wars films of the trilogy.
When comparing the Force Awakens to the previous Star Wars films, it is clear how the representation of women has largely increased and become more popular. Some of the new female characters produced involve Rey,General Leia, Captain Phasma and Maz Kanata. Unlike the 1977 Star Wars film, The Force Awakens easily passed the Bechtel Test, which shows how female representation has changed positively with more females in the new film, which can be demonstrated below through the screenshots of character 'Rey'.
When looking at the previous Star Wars films, the diversity of race was very minimal. There was only one black character involved; Lando Calrissian. He was a minor character who was well known for betraying the good guys for his own personal gain- which is clearly evidence of negative representation. This could be seen to have caused large controversy, as the films greatly lacked diversity and although it is shown minimally, this is through a negative representation. When comparing this to The Force Awakens, however, one of the leading characters 'Fin' created clear racial diversity across the franchise as he was the first leading black character in any of the Star Wars films. As a result, character Finn (John Boyega) will promote diversity in a genre which was long dominated by white characters. This is therefore progress in the science- fiction genre, being very popular to fans of the Star Wars trilogy who will be relieved and excited to see that racial diversity is being spread amongst the films. Below is a screenshot of John Boyega being featured in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
C- Relevant legal and/ or Ethical Issues
The Legal and/ or Ethical Issues which may be displayed through Star Wars: The Force Awakens may involve the chosen age rating for the film. For instance, the film is given a 12A age rating, due to it holding scenes with mild violence and so those under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult when viewing the film. They received this age rating by the British Board of Classification.
Other issues involve those to do with health and safety. For instance, it is known how Harrison Ford broke his ankle when working on the set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which is clearly a major health and safety issue to consider. It was noted how the 73 year old stated that 'although it was an accident, the hydraulic door came down on me on my hip because I was turned to my right'. As a result of this, the Star Wars company was sued by the Health and Safety organisation 'Health and Safety Watchdog', where Ford was compensated at $1million. This delayed the filming of Star Wars: The Force Awakens for 2months. Below is a screenshot of Harrison Ford being featured in 'The Force Awakens', along with Chewbacca.
When Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released, Disney Enterprises and Lucas Film Entertainment filed a lawsuit against a company who they reported was 'ruining their reputation' and illegally making money from their film. They reported how this was done through buying and selling products to do with the film.
Court documents provided by the Daily Mail Online show how the jewellery and accessories company 'Plug your Holes' stole properties owned by Star Wars, meaning they copyrighted the trademarked products from Lucas film and Disney. It is therefore clear how the companies wishing to sell products associated with the film Star Wars: The Force Awakens, need to ensure that they are not selling products which copyright the trademarked products owned by Disney and Lucas film.
When Star Wars: The Force Awakens was released, Disney Enterprises and Lucas Film Entertainment filed a lawsuit against a company who they reported was 'ruining their reputation' and illegally making money from their film. They reported how this was done through buying and selling products to do with the film.
Court documents provided by the Daily Mail Online show how the jewellery and accessories company 'Plug your Holes' stole properties owned by Star Wars, meaning they copyrighted the trademarked products from Lucas film and Disney. It is therefore clear how the companies wishing to sell products associated with the film Star Wars: The Force Awakens, need to ensure that they are not selling products which copyright the trademarked products owned by Disney and Lucas film.
Another Issue raised was the hate distributed towards actress Carrie Fisher, who is known for playing Princess Leia in each of the Star Wars films. The hate directed at her stated she 'didn't age well', which we can put together with the reports of her being pressured by hate to loose 16kg. An important ethical issue involves age, as Carrie was just 19 when starring in the first Star Wars film in 1977, however in The Force Awakens, she is 59. Several debates were distributed across social media on whether Fisher is now too old to play the role of Leia, which is a clear ethical issue to face. Along with this, a scene from part of The Force Awakens involves the role of princess Leia to be portrayed as a slave, whereby she was dressed in a 'gold bikini'. This has raised concern as there have been several criticisms of her being over sexualised in the film, which is rated a 12A. Many have shared the view that this should not be featured in a 'child-friendly' film, as it is not portraying a view which they think children are too young to relate with or be associated with. A screenshot regarding this issue can be found below.
As a result of this scene, which has clearly created a conflict between viewers, it is evident how Disney have removed all merchandise which featured Princess Leia in this way. Stores owned by Disney no longer sell products which show such an arguably negative portrayment of Leia, along with banning the phrase "Slave Leia" from their literature.
D- Role of relevant regulatory bodies
As a result of this scene, which has clearly created a conflict between viewers, it is evident how Disney have removed all merchandise which featured Princess Leia in this way. Stores owned by Disney no longer sell products which show such an arguably negative portrayment of Leia, along with banning the phrase "Slave Leia" from their literature.
D- Role of relevant regulatory bodies
The Role of Regulatory bodies, which is also known as the 'British Board of Classification', is created with a huge responsibility for the classification of Video Works. This is done through the Video Recordings Act, 1984 and is regularly consulted with various different decisions. They are situated to include the Council of Management, where the President is Patrick Swaffer and the Vice Presidents are Gerard Lemos and Alison Hastings. 
The BFFC's Role is to protect children from unsuitable or harmful content which may be displayed through films and videos. This is to warn consumers who may potentially be bringing their children to view a film and so they would need to know if it was suitable for their age range or not. The BFFC examine these ratings before a film is released in order to protect this.
According to Movio Media, it is clear how the BFFC have previously taken a more lenient approach towards Star Wars: The Force Awakens, by rating it a 12A despite the clear scenes of violence and threats displayed in the entirety of the film. This age rating implies that those who are under the age of 12 must be accompanied by an adult when viewing the film. It is understood that the BFFC may have made this choice under the reason that such violent scenes may affect those under the chosen age category. This may also be due to some of the language which is portrayed as 'mildly explicit', with words such as 'damn' or 'hell' being used. Star Wars: The Force Awakens received a rating significantly higher than the previous star wars films. For instance, Star Wars: Episode 1- The Phanton Menace along with Star Wars: Episode II- Attack of the clones each received a PG Rating, meaning that the film is generally suitable for all, although some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. The later film, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith received a rating of PG- 13, meaning that again the film is generally suitable for all, although viewers are warned that some of the content may be inappropriate for those under the age of 13.
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The reason for Star Wars: The force awakens having a significantly higher rating than the previous Star Wars films, is clearly due to the suspicion of the BBFC that there is content within the film which is more extreme than the previous films in the saga. For instance, it was noted how the film held "moderate violence, threat and interrogation scenes". This may have caused concern for Lucas Film and Disney, due to the fact that there will be less people going to view the film in cinemas. The reasons for this include the obvious idea how people may be worried about taking their children to see the film as they consider the content to be too inappropriate or offensive. Although the 12A age rating does not signify a certain age for audiences, many shared through social media their concerns about such news.
The result of less people going to view the film means that Lucas Film and Disney will not make as much profit and therefore the predicted outcome will be eradicated.
Below I have added several screenshots of 'The Village Scene', which is arguably the most violent scene in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, meaning this could be part of the reason for why the film received such a strong age rating.
Link to the video displayed:
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The reason for Star Wars: The force awakens having a significantly higher rating than the previous Star Wars films, is clearly due to the suspicion of the BBFC that there is content within the film which is more extreme than the previous films in the saga. For instance, it was noted how the film held "moderate violence, threat and interrogation scenes". This may have caused concern for Lucas Film and Disney, due to the fact that there will be less people going to view the film in cinemas. The reasons for this include the obvious idea how people may be worried about taking their children to see the film as they consider the content to be too inappropriate or offensive. Although the 12A age rating does not signify a certain age for audiences, many shared through social media their concerns about such news.
The result of less people going to view the film means that Lucas Film and Disney will not make as much profit and therefore the predicted outcome will be eradicated.
Below I have added several screenshots of 'The Village Scene', which is arguably the most violent scene in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, meaning this could be part of the reason for why the film received such a strong age rating.
Link to the video displayed:
It is evident in the screenshots displayed, of how 'the village scene' in Star Wars: The Force Awakens is considerably the most violent and offensive to viewers. For instance, there are explosions carried out, along with flashing images, distressing sound, and a clear view of weaponry such as guns being used. Although this scene could clearly distress young viewers, the film received the age rating of a 12A, which can be justified through the announcement of the BBFC- “Some of the shoot-outs could be quite frightening for younger audiences and in addition shots of mutated inhabitants from other planets and the tearing off of an arm could be more worrying than similar sequences seem on a small TV screen.”
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