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Case study

Product context
• It’s an independent social realist film (it was made to draw attention to the
real socio-political conditions of the working class).
• Directed by Ken Loach.
• Co-production with UK and French.
• Funding by: BFI, BBC films and BBC films and I Daniel Blake.
• It was Ken Loach’s largest box office hit, with it taking over $8 million.
• The film was highly critically acclaimed and was exhibited at many film
festivals.
• It also won the Palm d’Or at Cannes and was nominated for many awards
including the BAFTA’s.
• The film did generate a lot of debate because of the contemporary social
and political issues which are shown in it.
Historical context
• The film is set in the present day.
• It addresses real life issues, such as poverty, the welfare system and the
work capability.
• Through his clear political message being presented in the film, it shows
specific government policies which he is criticising. This could have
increased the controversy about the film especially as the audience
would’ve received this message leading to a negative impact on the
government.
• It also deals with the government policy of ‘austerity’. This means the
harshness and the difficult economic conditions which the government
creates through their measures to reduce public spending.
Social and political context
• The film addresses contemporary British social issues, such as
poverty, the welfare system and work capability assessment.
• There’s a representation of traditionally underrepresented characters.
• It conveys a very clear left-wing political message and openly criticises
government policies (like ‘austerity’).
• The issues addressed are similar to the ones in other Ken Loach films
such as Cathy Come Home and Raining Stones.
• The intended audience is the educated, media literate and socially
aware.
Economic context
• It was an independent British co-production.
• The economic factors are very important to this film. These include
funding from the BFI (through National Lottery Funding) and the BBC.
• The film was also funded through public service broadcasting and
remits of the BBC and BFI.
• It wasn’t given much money to produce the film because of the genre
of it and the small audience that watches social realist and Ken
Loach’s productions, however it did make over $8 million at the box
office.
Media ownership
• Ken Loach directed the film.
• Both I, Daniel Blake and Ken Loach aren’t mainstream. The film fits a
specific genre and Ken Loach has a specific audience for the genre of social
realism.
• He could be challenging mainstream opinion because the film was created
with BBC and BBFC, which helped with getting the film public broadcasting
on the TV which could challenge mainstream opinions as Ken Loach is seen
to have a particular audience so shouldn’t need the public broadcasting.
The film also managed to make $8 million a the box office, which shows
the possible blurring of what is and what isn’t mainstream.
• Ken Loach has an established fan/audience base which allows him to make
films that might not secure funding.
Audience
• Genre and potential audiences being targeted through the marketing.
• The trailer references the BBC, BFI and the Palme d’Or which links to
education and media literacy.
• It also explores key governmental policies which links to political and
social awareness.
• Makes it clear that Ken Loach is the director of the film so
immediately grasps the attention of audiences who have seen some
of or all of his previous films.
Regulatory framework
• BBFC- Find and develop new talent and collaborate with some of the
leading directors and writers in the industry. They inform, educate
and entertain.
• BBC/BFI remits.
Production, distribution and circulation
• I, Daniel Blake is a low budget social realist film.
• It was filmed largely on location.
• It contains less known actors, which is something recognisable in all
of Ken Loach’s films to make it seem more realistic and relatable to
the audience.
• The film doesn’t rely on special effects.
• Marketing for the film was done through a trailer and the hashtag
#IDanielBlake which was used on Twitter.
• #weareallidanielblake, making the film and the meaning behind it
more relatable for the audience.
• A poster for the film was also released (right) and later after the film
was released into cinema’s, another poster was released (left). The
advertisement poster on the right, shows the main character, Daniel
Blake, in front of a background with the graphite on the wall from a
key scene in the film. It also shows the award it received from the
Palme d’Or film festival in the Cannes as well as telling the audience
that Ken Loach has directed it. On the other poster, the picture is
form the same scene being advertised in the first poster and it also
contains a lot more reviews, making it a lot more impactful to the
audience and influence them to want to see it whether they are a fan
of Ken Loach or not.
Trailer UK
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahWgxw9E_h4
• First thing the audience sees is that the film won at the Palme d’or
festival.
• Key companies involved in the film are shown: BFI, BBC film, eone.
• To a man (revealed later to be Daniel Blake) in a doctors office as it is
shown that something is wrong with his heart.
• He’s later in his home, taking tablets talking to someone on the phone
about the condition he’s in and his heart.
Opening scene
• Facelessness of the person form the agency, represents the government as
a whole.
• Humour used throughout as Daniel Blake replies to the questions asked,
makes the scene more relatable to the audience as what he says would be
what the audience thought of responding with when on calls such as the
one he’s on.
• Blank screen for most of it, leaves the audience to listen more to the
conversation and builds intrigue as to what’s happening, what he looks like
and who he is.
• His face is revealed, facial gestures show annoyance towards the situation.
• Overall, the opening scene creates a very relatable scene so that the
audience is able to understand his situation and feel empathy towards him.
Food bank scene
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_n7o30Ra60
• The family and Daniel Blake go to a foodbank for food. The people waiting
outside it aren’t extras or actors, Ken uses real people facing the situation
of not having enough money for food.
• Katie picks up a can of beans and eats them in desperation making the
audience feel sympathy towards her and the situation she is in. The
audience would also feel negatively towards the government and lack of
benefits and support that are being given because they are the reason the
family is in this situation.
• This scene is one of the most impactful and sympathetic scenes in the
whole film for the audience, giving them a greater understanding of how
hard people’s lives can be.
Maintaining audience
• The genre of the film is social realist.
• This genre focuses on the real everyday lives of workers and poor people
presenting it in a realistic way. This means that they don’t need to rely on
technology and the film industry so they can resist both the technical
developments and change within the film industry that occur over time.
• The director is Ken Loach who has also produced films such as Kes, Hidden
Agenda and The Wind That Shakes The Barley.
• The film has both specific and potential audiences: those that are educated
and media literate, those that have an awareness of political and social
issues and those that are fans of social realism and Ken Loach.
Regulation- Livingstone and Lunt
The distribution and marketing for I, Daniel Blake is somewhat
traditional through it being done by posters and a trailer making it so
that they may attract a wider audience. However, they also used
hashtags on Twitter which would also reach a broader audience and
isn’t a traditional way of distribution and marketing.
This film also doesn’t protect the audience from any content which is
harmful or offensive, instead it shows the harsh reality of the world
with a focus on the real issues that surround poverty, the welfare
system and the work capability. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it
puts people off seeing the movie and instead by showing the reality of
the situation and not censoring it.
Power and media industries- Curran and
Seaton
• The companies involved in the different areas of the film (production, marketing
and distribution) would have a focus on power and money/profit, however Ken
Loach makes the films to raise awareness of issues that society is facing, meaning
that his focus isn’t on power and profit.
• Ken Loach creates his films and directs them in a way that can be seen as creative
and different adding variety into the film industry, meaning that he doesn’t
necessarily let media concentration stop him. The quality of his films are basic as
he doesn’t use any special effects, but that could be because he wants his films to
be as realistic as possible and relatable for the audience, hence the genre being
social-realist. All of this is in I, Daniel Blake.
• There is social diversity within I, Daniel Blake and the companies included in it,
which helps with the variety and different aspects seen in the film that the
audience don’t usually see in other films.

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