“Media simply represent collective identity, they don’t create it.” How far do you agree with this statement? Make reference to one or more group(s) of people in your answer.
Collective identity refers to an individuals sense of belonging to a group through a shared set of traditions and values. The sense of belonging to these collectives causes the group's identity to become a part of their own. David Gauntlett suggests that "Identity is consciously constructed, and the media provides us with some of the tools to help us construct it". This argues that whilst our individual identities or the identities of particular groups are created by ourselves, the media have an influence upon this. Processes of mediation and the ways in which different groups are represented in the media often affect the identity of a collective, and can cause differing viewpoints of groups in society. Mediation refers to the process of electing and shaping a representation of a group or event through processes or selection vs rejection, organisation and focussing. David Buckingham puts the idea forward that "the media do not offer a transparent window of the world but a mediated one, they don't just present reality, but re-present it". This shows how the media's reflections of different groups may not be entirely accurate and representative of their true forms. It is often suggested that the media representation of different collective groups aids in maintaining hegemony (Antonio Gramsci).
Youth is one group thats identity is frequently mediated and misrepresented, influencing the group's sense of collective identity. Anne Gould suggests that there are six common stereotypes of youth in the media (1999): rebellious, violent, sexual, belonging to artificial tribes, nihilistic and self-destructive. This has been reinforced regularly in contemporary media, causing 86% of 1,000 teenage boys surveyed in the Independent (2009) to believe that the media portrays them in a bad light. Representations of youth in the media during the London riots in 2011 reinforced this. For example the BBC webpage displayed an article headlined "England's rioters: poorer, younger, less educated" in August. Wilkins (1964) believes that events such as these can cause a deviancy amplification spiral, where a cycle of increasing numbers of reports on a category of undesirable behaviour can lead to a moral panic, where society believe that they are threatened by folk devils (Cohen 1972). This creates the impression amongst non-youths that youth as a collective group display these traits, rather than a minority of the individuals within it - misrepresenting the identity of the collective.
Other media also represents youths similarly. For example, the 2011 Sci-Fi Attack the Block, directed by Joe Cornish, shows a group of youths in a South London estate dealing with an alien invasion. Throughout this texts, the youths are represented to conform to many of Anne Gould's stereotypes, such as violent and rebellious, in scenes such as the opener, where the group are seen mugging a female resident in the estate, and throughout the text where we can see them indulging in a lifestyle of drugs and violence - such as when drug dealer Hi-Hatz shoots at one of the youths in the main group. Giroux (1997) suggests that media such as this cause "youth to become and empty category in representation, reflecting adults concerns", whilst Acland (1995) suggests that "the representation of youth maintains social order" (1995). Each of these ideas put forward that youth are portrayed as inferior in order to maintain hegemony in society, and reinforces the idea of an unfair reflection of the youth's identity, enforcing a viewpoint on non-youths regarding their attitudes.
In historical representations of youth, there are instances where similar representations have occurred. For example, in Quadrophenia (1979) a film about a mailroom worker Jimmy who quits his job to become involved in the mod subculture lifestyle, youths are represented similarly, with representations of them being violent and belonging to artificial tribes being prevalent, as we see them as they go to Brighton and involve theirselves in riots against the opposing sub-culture (the rockers). Hegemony is further reinforced in this text through hard and soft power, from the police and the parent's of the youths, suggesting that youths need to be kept under control. On the other hand however, in earlier media texts such as The Young Ones (1961) directed by Disney J Furie, the youth are represented very differently, with a focus on their pro-activity in society, through the attempt to save their youth club from a millionaire property developer. In this text, they are also presented as much more social responsible and polite, such as when they are inclusive of younger generations during the scene at the beach, where Nicky sings and the children of the town crowd around him and enjoy. This shows that negative representations and the mediation of youth are much more common in today's society, most likely due to a period of social change (linking to Giddens' structuration theory), where youth's activities are perhaps different to what they were previously.
Gender is another whose identity could be argued to be created rather than reflected in the media, therefore affecting how they're viewed in society. It is often suggested that the media is predominantly male-run, with UK Feminista suggesting that 22.6% of news reporters are female, whilst 77.4% are male. This may reflect that the representation of females in the media is subject to bias, enforcing a patriarchal society. Historically, females have been represented in the media as domesticated and objectified. The televised Fairy Liquid advert of 1966 reinforces this by depicting a female in a typical maternal role, based in the kitchen, doing the washing up. In the advert, she appears to be teaching her child how to carry out washing duties, whilst saying that the washing up liquid 'keeps her hands looking pretty' presenting her as domesticated as well as an object of beauty. Again, this is another example of the media constructing a sense of identity for the female group, as this is not entirely representative of the demographic as a whole, and could cause society to view this to be common of the whole group.
Many contemporary media texts also reinforce this, for example, Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines music video of 2013, which has amassed a 43,000,000 views on YouTube shows the singer, professionally dressed in a suit whilst nude girls are dancing around him. This conforms to Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory, which suggests that media texts are created from the perspective of a heterosexual male, made for the heterosexual male. The focussing on the nudity of the females, presenting them as objects of inferiority to the male reinforces this. Jonathan Schroader suggests that "to gaze is more than just to look, but implies a psychological relationship where the gaze is superior to the object" illustrating this further, and again fortifies the idea of a patriarchic society, misrepresenting the identity of the female in order to suit the male agenda. In the modern day however, it can be noticed that males have also been subject to objectification in this sense, such as in Coca Cola's 2013 Diet Coke TV advert, which shows a group of female throwing a coke can at a seemingly well-maintained male gardener, with the intentions of making it spill onto him and causing him to cake his top off and expose his built body. The advert focusses heavily on the presence of the male body and the positive reactions of the females to his nudity. This conforms to Miriam Hansons 1984 theory of the Female Gaze, which suggests that many texts are made from the heterosexual female perspective. This shows that in the modern day, both gender groups are subject to media representations, which enforce unrealistic ideologies of both the male and female, depicting the female to be a sexualised object of the male, and the male to be depicted as having to conform to certain standards in terms of their body image.
A contemporary text that subverts gender stereotypes significantly is the Sport England advert 'This Girl Can' which was televised in 2015. This advert shows a montage of clips of women partaking in sports and athletic activities, presenting them as empowered, capable and equal to their male counterparts. This may be a more representative portrayal of the female gender, reflecting their identity more than the aforementioned texts, which attempt to create it.
It feels as though texts such as these are becoming far more prevalent within today's media, and there seems to be a trend of more equal gender representations, causing me to believe that the media is becoming less gender bias. On the other hand however, I believe that whilst the representation of the female gender in the media may be improving, the representations of youth may not be, as the media continue to create a negative image of them, maintaining a hegemonist society. Ultimately however, it is up to the audience to believe and read texts differently, making their own judgements. Although it is clear from the above examples that the media is attempting to create a sense of identity for different groups rather than reflect it, the uses and gratifications theory of Katz and Blulmler in 1974 suggests that "audiences are active rather than passive individuals, they choose what they want to watch, consume in different ways and believe different things", meaning that dominant ideology suggested in the media may not always be believed, and although collective identity is often not reflected by the media, it may not necessarily be created by the media either, as viewers become more aware.
Tuesday, 7 June 2016
Monday, 6 June 2016
Explain the role played by the media in the construction of collective identity.
http://www.slideshare.net/clairearmitage/essay-question-task
Explain the role played by the media in the construction of collective identity.
Collective identity refers to an individuals sense of belonging to a group, who share a similar set of traditions and values. The belonging to groups causes the identity of the group or 'collective' to come a large part of the individuals identity. David Gauntlett suggests that "identity is consciously constructed and the media provides us with some of the tools to help us construct it", showing that although it is up to the individual to construct their identity, the media has a large influence upon it. The activities of the media affect collective identity significantly by creating different representations of these groups through mediation, causing them to be viewed in various ways by society. Mediation refers to the ways in which the media present a group or issue, using processes of focussing, organisation and selection vs rejection. Merrin (2005) suggests that "the media do not just reflect and represent the reality of the public, but produce it. Employing this simulation to justify their own continuing existence". This suggests that the media create mediated representations of groups as a means of selling and economic longevity. Alternatively, it could be argued that the reinforcement of hegemony (Gramsci) is to blame for this.
Explain the role played by the media in the construction of collective identity.
Collective identity refers to an individuals sense of belonging to a group, who share a similar set of traditions and values. The belonging to groups causes the identity of the group or 'collective' to come a large part of the individuals identity. David Gauntlett suggests that "identity is consciously constructed and the media provides us with some of the tools to help us construct it", showing that although it is up to the individual to construct their identity, the media has a large influence upon it. The activities of the media affect collective identity significantly by creating different representations of these groups through mediation, causing them to be viewed in various ways by society. Mediation refers to the ways in which the media present a group or issue, using processes of focussing, organisation and selection vs rejection. Merrin (2005) suggests that "the media do not just reflect and represent the reality of the public, but produce it. Employing this simulation to justify their own continuing existence". This suggests that the media create mediated representations of groups as a means of selling and economic longevity. Alternatively, it could be argued that the reinforcement of hegemony (Gramsci) is to blame for this.
Youth is one collective identity group that is frequently marginalised and who's activities are often mediated. Anne Gould (1999) suggests that there are six dominant stereotypes in the representation of youth in the media: violent, nihilistic, rebellious, self destructive, belonging to artificial tribes and sexual. This is reinforced by a study by the Independent (2009) which suggests that 85% of 1,000 teens surveyed believed that the media portrayed them in a negative light. Events such as the London Riots in (2011) demonised youth excessively through the media. For example the BBC produced an online news report in August that year, headlined "Englands rioters: poorer, younger, less educated." Leading to a deviancy amplification spiral (Wilkens 1964) as a cycle of an increasing number of news reports on the undesirable behaviour led to a moral panic. This caused youths to be marginalised as folk devils (Cohen 1972), outcasting them in society. Film is a medium that also presents youths in different ways, and can lead to further marginalisation of the group, affecting their identities and the ways that they are viewed in society. Attack the Block (2011) directed by Joe Cornish depicts a group of youths in an estate in South London, who are faced with surviving an alien invasion. Anne Gould's stereotypes are conformed to frequently in this text, as they are portrayed as violent and rebellious for example, as we see in the first seen they rob a resident in the estate and later on become involved in drug use. Giroux (1997) suggests that "youth become an empty category in representation", and media such as this, which portrays them in a negative light reinforces this.
Historically also, youths have been seen to be represented similarly in texts such as Quadrophenia (Franc Roddam 1979). In this text, where a mailroom worker,
Thursday, 2 June 2016
1A Research and Planning
Textual analysis vs Timed and Textual/Watching More Texts to inform production of conventions
No Test Shoots vs Test Shoots & Set preparation
No Budgeting vs Budgeting (Allowed us to spend our money wisely)
Audience Research + Start vs Whole way through production - Creation of a Research Report - qualitative and quantitative methods
Location Scouting vs More Location scouting/visits to location - site plan made
Drone Regulations
More descriptive Storyboards/shot lists/Call lists to ensure more organisation - particularly useful given that it was shot over four days rather than in one day - taken with us on the day
No Test Shoots vs Test Shoots & Set preparation
No Budgeting vs Budgeting (Allowed us to spend our money wisely)
Audience Research + Start vs Whole way through production - Creation of a Research Report - qualitative and quantitative methods
Location Scouting vs More Location scouting/visits to location - site plan made
Drone Regulations
More descriptive Storyboards/shot lists/Call lists to ensure more organisation - particularly useful given that it was shot over four days rather than in one day - taken with us on the day
1A Describe how your analysis of the conventions of real media texts informed your own creative media practice.
Describe how your analysis of the conventions of real media texts informed your own creative media practice. (25)
Intro
Bentley: "Creativity is the making of the new and the rearranging of the old" - suggesting that although creativity in the production of texts relies upon the invention of new ideas - it is important to build upon existing conventions of texts.
- Both texts relied upon extensive research into conventions in order to produce texts that followed industry standards/techniques and to provide recognisable form that is well received by the target audience. Explanation of Captive/Festival
Captive
Intro
Bentley: "Creativity is the making of the new and the rearranging of the old" - suggesting that although creativity in the production of texts relies upon the invention of new ideas - it is important to build upon existing conventions of texts.
- Both texts relied upon extensive research into conventions in order to produce texts that followed industry standards/techniques and to provide recognisable form that is well received by the target audience. Explanation of Captive/Festival
Captive
Attempted to mostly follow conventions in order to establish genre, however, considered it important to challenge certain conventions in order to differentiate from other texts. Steve Neale: "difference is absolutely essential in the economy of genre"
Textual Analysis of horror genre/analysing real texts:
- Colour Grade (The Ring) - cold colours
- Props/Iconography/Location - Dolls - The Woman in Black
- Narrative Strucuture/Enigma - Todorov - Challenged
- Sound - Diegetic - Silent Hill
FestivalTextual analysis of more examples/ Better related to my production - suiting the target audience - a
Timed Analysis - Allowing us to scrutinise examples further on a shot by shot basis
More confidence and experimental in terms of conventions
Experimental genre - less conventions to follow
Timed Analysis - Allowing us to scrutinise examples further on a shot by shot basis
More confidence and experimental in terms of conventions
Experimental genre - less conventions to follow
- Music videos tend to relate to song Goodwin - Theory of Disjuncture - challenge conventions in terms of using a music video with no relation to the genre or lyrics.
- Using Narrative and Performance - similarly to Late Night (but performance in the context of the narrative)
- Music videos tend not to imitate cinema, but a more snappy, less immersive video. Blending conventions with film - widescreen/immersive experience. Followed conventions of film somewhat.
- Pacing conventions (experimental videos) - holocene, slow starting - prevalence of location
Wednesday, 1 June 2016
Post-Production Decisions 1A
1a) Describe the most important post-production decisions you made for your different media productions and explain why these decisions were significant. Refer to a range of your examples in your answer to show how your skills in post-production developed over time.
Post-production refers to the work carried out on a project after the filming and recording has taken place, and is arguably one of the most important aspects in the production. This generally consists of the editing process of the recorded content. This could include, sound editing/creation, sequencing and selection, colour grading and general effects. My skill set in these areas has developed extensively in my transition from my Foundation to my Advanced Portfolio.
Firstly, the project that i produced during my AS year was a short horror film opening. This was based around the kidnapping of an adolescent, after he was found by an entity trespassing on private property. My advanced portfolio project however, was a narrative and performance-based music video for the song 'Festival' by icelandic band Sigur Ros. This was based around a drummer in a post-apocalyptic wilderness, who discovers a drum kit and uses is it as a form of release and escape from the monotony of his everyday life. Throughout the post-production stage of both projects, there were various decisions made within our editing platform, Premiere Pro CC.
In order to show continuity and to create a sombre tone throughout our film opening, we attempted to colour grade our resultant footage. When doing this we applied an adjustment layer, which is a filter that can be applied to the film as a whole, rather than each individual clip. We used the three-way colour wheel, which allowed us to adjust the tone of the shadows, mid-tones, and highlights. In contrast , when editing our music video we paid much more attention to our colour grading process. Rather than using an adjustment layer in order to adjust the colours of the project as a whole, we graded each clip individually. This allowed us to adapt to the different lighting present in each clip, and gave us more accuracy and consistency when correcting the colours in order for them to match seamlessly with one another. To further enhance this specificity, as well as using the three-way colour wheel, we used the Colour Balance tool, which gave us more precision when editing the highlights, mid-tones and shadows. In addition, the brightness and contrast facility was used in our second project to correct exposure and further aid continuity between clips. When using this tool, the mask device allowed us to highlight particular areas within the frame that needed to be altered.
Additionally, both of our projects incorporated movement that was implemented after production. I believe that the movement used in my first year project was rather forced due to the fact that we hadn't included any camera movement during production. Through feeling that the product was too static as well as getting audience feedback, we decided to included artificial movement in post-production which allowed us to gain a sense of fluidity. In order to achieve a natural movement at the speed that we required, we utilised key framing which allowed us to alter the position, direction and speed the movement took place. In contrast, in our second year we felt that it would be more effective to introduce movement such as tilts, pans and tracks during the production stage. After seeing the success of the acquired zooms in post-production during the first year we felt that it would be beneficial to implement this facility in our second year music video. Also, in the second year we developed a further knowledge on artificial movement through exploring the Warp Stabiliser which allowed us to maintain a steady transition of movement during a shot. When applying this, the tool analysed the background and foreground of each frame, slightly warping the footage and removing any movement anomalies. This shows that we have amended the mistakes that we made in the first year.
Furthermore, we also implemented a variety of post-production effects to change the aesthetic of the footage. Due to the genre and narrative of our first production, we utilised and experimented with grain in order to give the CCTV segment an authentic look. In order to implement this affect we applied noise to the clip. We also split the screen into 4 different segments
Captive
Experimented with grain
4-way split
timecode
FX e.g. cut out
Sound/volume editing
Cutting - pace
Ident - After Effects
Titles
Festival
Slow motion
Colours
Warp Stabilisation
Timing/Pacing
Matching footage on each camera
Colours
Warp Stabilisation
Timing/Pacing
Matching footage on each camera
wide screen
Sound editing - louder as the helicopter gets closer
Digital Technology 1A
Digital Technology
Year 1
DSLR Camera/GoPro
Adobe Premiere Pro
External Boom Mic
Logic X
Year 2
DSLR Camera - Lenses - prime for DOF etc. Varying frame rates rather than conventional 24fps - Image stabilisation
InDesign
Logic X
Adobe Speedgrade
Drone
Adobe Premiere Pro - colour correction facilities, motion - keying facilities, stabilising, Widescreen
TWIXTOR! - Failed
Crane/Slider?
Analyse the ways in which at least one group of people is "mediated"
Mediation refers to the process by which a media outlet uses focussing, and selection vs rejection to create a false representation of a particular group or issue. Merrin (2005) suggests that "The media do not just reflect and represent the reality of the public, but produce it, employing this simulation to justify their own continuing existence". This is an argument that suggests it often makes economic sense for a media institution to use mediation with regards to some issues or groups, as a means of selling. Furthermore, it is also argued that mediation is used as a tool of power, aiding in the maintenance of a hegemonist society. The ways in which audiences perceive the media that they consume and the extent to which they believe it depends on how they read a text. Whilst the hypodermic needle model suggests that audiences passively consume media, believing everything they see, the uses and gratifications theory explains that audiences are active rather than passive individuals, who will choose what they consume and believe - altering the impact that mediation of identity groups has upon society.
Youth is one group that are often mediated. Anne Gould (1999) suggests that traditionally youths are represented in six ways in the media: Nihilistic, Sexual, Violent, belonging to Artificial Tribes, Rebellious and Self-Destructive. A study from the Independent suggests that 86% of 1,000 males believe that they are portrayed in a negative light in the media (2010), whilst the Youth Media Agency suggest that 76% of media portrays youth negatively. Recent events such as the London Riots in 2011, where a minority of youths carried out looting and various anti-social behaviour in the city reinforced this - and a series of negative news reports of youths during this period led - Such as The Daily Express headline "to a Deviancy Amplification Spiral (Wilkens 1964), creating a moral panic and presenting the youth as folk devils. This representation is also conformed to in contemporary cinema, such as Attack the Block, directed by Joe Cornish (2011). In this film, about a group of youths protecting their estate from an alien invasion, the youth are presented as many of these stereotypes as Anne Gould suggests, such as rebellious, nihilistic and violent, such as when they mug a female on the estate in the opening scene. Giroux suggests that the mediation of youth in instances such as these cause "the youth to become an empty category in representation, reflecting adults concerns", acting as a form of control to allow those in power to keep the order (hegemony - Gramsci). As a result of these representations, it is likely that audiences passively consuming media such as this regularly will overestimate the amount of crime in society (Gerbner, Cultivation theory) and will demonise youths as a group.
In addition, youths have also been represented similarly historically, as evident in Franc Roddam's 1979 feature film Quadrophenia, based around a mailroom worker Jimmy who escapes his day job to embrace Mod subculture, particularly by travelling to Brighton to engage in a riot against the rival 'rockers'. Hebdidge suggests that "a subculture is a group of like-minded individuals who feel neglected by societal standards and form a sense of identity", and in this instance this subculture, consisting of youths, is represented negatively and is mediated, again showing youths to be violent and destructive through their rivalry with the opposing subculture, shown in various fight scenes throughout the film. Furthermore, hegemony is reinforced in this text through the way that 'hard power' is shown through police attempting to restore control, strongly detesting the movements of the groups. On the other hand however, in The Young Ones (1961), a musical directed by Disney J Furie, the representation of youths shows them to be very different. In this musical, a group of youths work to save their local youth club from being taken over from a millionaire property developer, and are presented in a mostly positive way - as active in the community and inclusive of younger generations, such as when Nicky (played by Cliff Richard) performs on the beach and allows the children in the community to be involved. It could be argued that between these two time periods, a process of social change has taken place, as youth have become more challenging of society and the media has reflected this.
Females are also an identity group that suffer from mediation. Traditionally, the misrepresentations we see of women in the media due to mediation processes consist of them being placed within binary categories - where they are assigned typical gender roles, and being sexualised. UK Feminista report that 6% of global news reinforces gender stereotypes, 8x more than the amount of news that challenges it. In addition to this, it is suggested that 1/3 young females would change an aspect of their appearance, due to the media. Mediated representations of females have been taking place for a long period of time, and examples of media texts that contain stereotypical content regarding the female can be seen frequently in history. For example, in 1966 a Fairy Liquid advert aired on television, presenting a female in a maternal and domesticated role - she appears to be teaching her daughter how to wash up - implying that she would be doing so herself one day, and she also presents herself as an object of beauty - saying that the Fairy liquid product keeps her hands 'pretty'. This is an example of mediation and shows how women were often misrepresented as an object of beauty and as a domestic figure.
In the modern day, the practice of objectifying women continues - exemplified by Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines music video (2013), which has amassed over 43,000,000 views on YouTube. This shows a misrepresentation or mediated version of the female gender, by showing a group of dancers in the nude - objectifying them and presenting them as an object of sex, juxtaposing them next to a male, wearing a suit (who is made to look like a professional). Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze (1975) can be applied to this, as the text is made from the perspective of the heterosexual male, for the heterosexual male. Jonathan Schroader suggests that "to gaze implies more than just to look, but a psychological relationship where the gaze is superior to the subject". The songs lyrics "i know you want it" reinforce the objectification of females, and undermines them further - presenting females as an object of the man, reinforcing a patriarchal society. It should also be considered however that this process can also take place for the male, reinforcing Miriam Hanson's (1984) theory of the female gaze. Diet Cokes televised advert of 2013 reinforces this, and uses focussing to sexualise the male, as a group of females throw a can of coke at a male gardener in an attempt to spill it on him, forcing him to remove his clothes.
I believe that more recently however, there is a conscious effort to challenge gender stereotypes in the media however, and try to steer away from mediating representations. An example of this is Sport England's televised advert 'This Girl Can' (2015), which presents the female as powerful, athletic and as an equal to the man, through the focussing on their ability to compete in sport, hyperbolised by slow motion shots and powerful titles such as "Deal with it". This less mediated representation of the female challenges the patriarchal society that has so frequently been shown through the media, and I believe that this form of media demonstrating equality will be more prevalent in the future.
In terms of the mediation of both of these groups, it is clear that traditionally and currently there is a trend for them to be misrepresented, however I believe that is the responsibility of the audience to consume and believe as they choose according to the uses and gratifications theory (Katz and Blumler), rather than allowing the media to inject a viewpoint into our belief system.
Youth is one group that are often mediated. Anne Gould (1999) suggests that traditionally youths are represented in six ways in the media: Nihilistic, Sexual, Violent, belonging to Artificial Tribes, Rebellious and Self-Destructive. A study from the Independent suggests that 86% of 1,000 males believe that they are portrayed in a negative light in the media (2010), whilst the Youth Media Agency suggest that 76% of media portrays youth negatively. Recent events such as the London Riots in 2011, where a minority of youths carried out looting and various anti-social behaviour in the city reinforced this - and a series of negative news reports of youths during this period led - Such as The Daily Express headline "to a Deviancy Amplification Spiral (Wilkens 1964), creating a moral panic and presenting the youth as folk devils. This representation is also conformed to in contemporary cinema, such as Attack the Block, directed by Joe Cornish (2011). In this film, about a group of youths protecting their estate from an alien invasion, the youth are presented as many of these stereotypes as Anne Gould suggests, such as rebellious, nihilistic and violent, such as when they mug a female on the estate in the opening scene. Giroux suggests that the mediation of youth in instances such as these cause "the youth to become an empty category in representation, reflecting adults concerns", acting as a form of control to allow those in power to keep the order (hegemony - Gramsci). As a result of these representations, it is likely that audiences passively consuming media such as this regularly will overestimate the amount of crime in society (Gerbner, Cultivation theory) and will demonise youths as a group.
In addition, youths have also been represented similarly historically, as evident in Franc Roddam's 1979 feature film Quadrophenia, based around a mailroom worker Jimmy who escapes his day job to embrace Mod subculture, particularly by travelling to Brighton to engage in a riot against the rival 'rockers'. Hebdidge suggests that "a subculture is a group of like-minded individuals who feel neglected by societal standards and form a sense of identity", and in this instance this subculture, consisting of youths, is represented negatively and is mediated, again showing youths to be violent and destructive through their rivalry with the opposing subculture, shown in various fight scenes throughout the film. Furthermore, hegemony is reinforced in this text through the way that 'hard power' is shown through police attempting to restore control, strongly detesting the movements of the groups. On the other hand however, in The Young Ones (1961), a musical directed by Disney J Furie, the representation of youths shows them to be very different. In this musical, a group of youths work to save their local youth club from being taken over from a millionaire property developer, and are presented in a mostly positive way - as active in the community and inclusive of younger generations, such as when Nicky (played by Cliff Richard) performs on the beach and allows the children in the community to be involved. It could be argued that between these two time periods, a process of social change has taken place, as youth have become more challenging of society and the media has reflected this.
Females are also an identity group that suffer from mediation. Traditionally, the misrepresentations we see of women in the media due to mediation processes consist of them being placed within binary categories - where they are assigned typical gender roles, and being sexualised. UK Feminista report that 6% of global news reinforces gender stereotypes, 8x more than the amount of news that challenges it. In addition to this, it is suggested that 1/3 young females would change an aspect of their appearance, due to the media. Mediated representations of females have been taking place for a long period of time, and examples of media texts that contain stereotypical content regarding the female can be seen frequently in history. For example, in 1966 a Fairy Liquid advert aired on television, presenting a female in a maternal and domesticated role - she appears to be teaching her daughter how to wash up - implying that she would be doing so herself one day, and she also presents herself as an object of beauty - saying that the Fairy liquid product keeps her hands 'pretty'. This is an example of mediation and shows how women were often misrepresented as an object of beauty and as a domestic figure.
In the modern day, the practice of objectifying women continues - exemplified by Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines music video (2013), which has amassed over 43,000,000 views on YouTube. This shows a misrepresentation or mediated version of the female gender, by showing a group of dancers in the nude - objectifying them and presenting them as an object of sex, juxtaposing them next to a male, wearing a suit (who is made to look like a professional). Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze (1975) can be applied to this, as the text is made from the perspective of the heterosexual male, for the heterosexual male. Jonathan Schroader suggests that "to gaze implies more than just to look, but a psychological relationship where the gaze is superior to the subject". The songs lyrics "i know you want it" reinforce the objectification of females, and undermines them further - presenting females as an object of the man, reinforcing a patriarchal society. It should also be considered however that this process can also take place for the male, reinforcing Miriam Hanson's (1984) theory of the female gaze. Diet Cokes televised advert of 2013 reinforces this, and uses focussing to sexualise the male, as a group of females throw a can of coke at a male gardener in an attempt to spill it on him, forcing him to remove his clothes.
I believe that more recently however, there is a conscious effort to challenge gender stereotypes in the media however, and try to steer away from mediating representations. An example of this is Sport England's televised advert 'This Girl Can' (2015), which presents the female as powerful, athletic and as an equal to the man, through the focussing on their ability to compete in sport, hyperbolised by slow motion shots and powerful titles such as "Deal with it". This less mediated representation of the female challenges the patriarchal society that has so frequently been shown through the media, and I believe that this form of media demonstrating equality will be more prevalent in the future.
In terms of the mediation of both of these groups, it is clear that traditionally and currently there is a trend for them to be misrepresented, however I believe that is the responsibility of the audience to consume and believe as they choose according to the uses and gratifications theory (Katz and Blumler), rather than allowing the media to inject a viewpoint into our belief system.
Saturday, 28 May 2016
Apply the concept of representation to one of your coursework productions
Philip Rayner defines representation as "The process by which the media represent the real world". The concept of representation can be applied to my foundation portfolio film opening task, titled Captive. This text of the horror genre is based around the kidnapping of a youth who is found trespassing in a derelict area by a young demonic female who resides in the area. The ways in which their gender and youth is represented can be analysed.
Firstly, the protagonist, a male, was created with the intention to to depict a regular youth, which is reinforced by his typical clothing and seemingly regular appearance. It could be said that this character conforms to as well as challenge various stereotypes. Anne Gould (1999) suggests that there are six predominant stereotypes of youths in the media: "nihilistic, self destructive, rebellious, sexual, belonging to artificial tribes and violent". It could be argued that some of these representations can be found within our text. For example, this character could be viewed as rebellious, due to him trespassing, and using strong expletives such as in the final line "where the fuck am I". Giroux argues that media causes "youth to become an empty category in representation and reflects adults concerns" and this could be applied to our text due to these negative connotations of his actions, which do not necessarily provide a true representation of youth as a collective. On the other hand however, semantic codes (Roland Barthes) can be analysed in order to see that the teen is seen to carry a camera with him showing his creative desires, and it could be suggested that he is willing to go to extreme lengths to achieve artistic outcomes - which could be seen as a positive representation, as this defies the idea of youth being nihilistic, and instead plays on a more positive stereotype of youth that is widely thought of the youth - that they are curious. This reinforces Tessa Perkins' ideology that stereotyping is not always a simple process, and that stereotyping is not always negative (1979).
The representation of this character can also be analysed in terms of his gender. I believe that gender stereotypes are generally challenged within Captive, due to the position of power that the male is being held in, which challenge the idea of a patriarchal society and social ideas that males hold a position of power that is superior to that of the female. This is challenged heavily in the text, as the male is presented as helpless and weak where they are traditionally represented as strong and powerful. This representation of weakness is reinforced regularly through the use of high angle shots, looking over the character and portraying him as submissive. The use of props such as rope symbolise his inability to overcome his circumstances, regardless of his gender - reinforcing this further.
Typically, in horror films such as Scream, females are victimised as males are often portrayed as deviant. In Captive however, it is a female that is seen as the source of pain and as the character to be feared. Again, this challenges typical gender stereotypes the flips the idea of a patriarchal society, whilst also subverting common ideologies regarding females in the media, such as Laura Mulvey's male gaze, as the female in our text shows is presented as conservatively dressed and is not sexualised to any extent. The age of this character can also be considered, the fact that she is a young girl, aged in her young teens would traditionally cause the audience to carry some pre-conceived ideas that they be innocent and pure. When considering Barthes' symbolic code further, we can see that the child wears a long white dress, further carrying the connotations of purity and carries dolls suggesting normality. However, this is juxtaposed heavily by the way that she is represented as demonic, through the presence of blood and the way in which she appears content in her derelict environment, carrying our sadistic behaviour. Again, this challenges typical media representations of young children, who are normally portrayed as innocent as they are in 'Prisoners.'
Barthes' semantic codes suggest representations
Captive
Representation of Protagonist
Firstly, the protagonist, a male, was created with the intention to to depict a regular youth, which is reinforced by his typical clothing and seemingly regular appearance. It could be said that this character conforms to as well as challenge various stereotypes. Anne Gould (1999) suggests that there are six predominant stereotypes of youths in the media: "nihilistic, self destructive, rebellious, sexual, belonging to artificial tribes and violent". It could be argued that some of these representations can be found within our text. For example, this character could be viewed as rebellious, due to him trespassing, and using strong expletives such as in the final line "where the fuck am I". Giroux argues that media causes "youth to become an empty category in representation and reflects adults concerns" and this could be applied to our text due to these negative connotations of his actions, which do not necessarily provide a true representation of youth as a collective. On the other hand however, semantic codes (Roland Barthes) can be analysed in order to see that the teen is seen to carry a camera with him showing his creative desires, and it could be suggested that he is willing to go to extreme lengths to achieve artistic outcomes - which could be seen as a positive representation, as this defies the idea of youth being nihilistic, and instead plays on a more positive stereotype of youth that is widely thought of the youth - that they are curious. This reinforces Tessa Perkins' ideology that stereotyping is not always a simple process, and that stereotyping is not always negative (1979).
The representation of this character can also be analysed in terms of his gender. I believe that gender stereotypes are generally challenged within Captive, due to the position of power that the male is being held in, which challenge the idea of a patriarchal society and social ideas that males hold a position of power that is superior to that of the female. This is challenged heavily in the text, as the male is presented as helpless and weak where they are traditionally represented as strong and powerful. This representation of weakness is reinforced regularly through the use of high angle shots, looking over the character and portraying him as submissive. The use of props such as rope symbolise his inability to overcome his circumstances, regardless of his gender - reinforcing this further.
Typically, in horror films such as Scream, females are victimised as males are often portrayed as deviant. In Captive however, it is a female that is seen as the source of pain and as the character to be feared. Again, this challenges typical gender stereotypes the flips the idea of a patriarchal society, whilst also subverting common ideologies regarding females in the media, such as Laura Mulvey's male gaze, as the female in our text shows is presented as conservatively dressed and is not sexualised to any extent. The age of this character can also be considered, the fact that she is a young girl, aged in her young teens would traditionally cause the audience to carry some pre-conceived ideas that they be innocent and pure. When considering Barthes' symbolic code further, we can see that the child wears a long white dress, further carrying the connotations of purity and carries dolls suggesting normality. However, this is juxtaposed heavily by the way that she is represented as demonic, through the presence of blood and the way in which she appears content in her derelict environment, carrying our sadistic behaviour. Again, this challenges typical media representations of young children, who are normally portrayed as innocent as they are in 'Prisoners.'
Barthes' semantic codes suggest representations
Captive
Representation of Protagonist
- Normal clothes to allow audience to familiarise
- Trespassing - suggests deviance but also curiosity - Anne Gould's stereotypes of youth 1999 (rebellious) but photography disproves some aspects such as Nihilistic, and shows artistic and creativity
- Expletives used 'where the fuck am I' - Anne Gould
- Male is placed in a position of no power - confined to chair, ropes symbolise this
Representation of antagonist
- Evil/Demonic - Challenging traditional representations of females in that she not represented in conformance to traditional gender roles
- Powerful - not conforming to patriarchic society
- Age - children usually victimised and seen as innocent, however, the opposite is suggested
Thursday, 26 May 2016
Collective Identity Essay Structure
Introduction
- Define Collective Identity
- Media influence on identity - Identity is consciously constructed
- Define Mediation + Quotes - Buckingham/Merrin
- Hegemony
- Hypodermic/Uses+Grats
Youth
- Youth Typical Representations - Ann Gould
- Statistics
- London Riots (2011) - Recent news event reinforcing these - BBC Site 2011- 'Englands Rioters: Less Educated, Younger, Poorer'- Deviancy Amplification, created a moral panic
- Attack The Block/Ill Manors -
- Quadrophenia -
- The Young Ones
Gender
- Typical Representations
- Ovaltine/Fairy Liquid
- Robin Thicke
- Diet Coke
- This Girl Can/Argument of tokenism
Conclusion
Hypodermic Needle Model vs Uses and Gratifications - Its up to the audience to decide.
Talk about the future!!!!!
Talk about the future!!!!!
Monday, 23 May 2016
Apply the concept of audience to one of your coursework productions
Intro of text
Explanation of the fluid concept/ difficulty of conceiving audience - (McDougall) but the importance of establishing one
1) How we found our audience - sigur listeners, questionnaires, IMDB, Hartley Classification
2) Ien Ang - psychographics, Young and Rubicam, Uses and Grats (Katz and Blamer 1974), Maslows Hierarchy
3) Focus groups/Stuart Hall/Reception Theory
Conclusion
The concept of audience can be applied to my Advanced Portfolio music video task. This was a narrative and performance based project concerning a man fighting for survival in a post-apocalyptic world, who battles his fears and anxieties by discovering a form of escape - drumming. The soundtrack used for this was 'Festival' by Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. Although the concept of a target audience can be relatively fluid, and it is important to recognise that the actual audience may differ slightly from those that are implied, it is beneficial for a producer to recognise their target audience as it allows them to adapt their production to a certain group, which is more likely to ensure economic success.
Explanation of the fluid concept/ difficulty of conceiving audience - (McDougall) but the importance of establishing one
1) How we found our audience - sigur listeners, questionnaires, IMDB, Hartley Classification
2) Ien Ang - psychographics, Young and Rubicam, Uses and Grats (Katz and Blamer 1974), Maslows Hierarchy
3) Focus groups/Stuart Hall/Reception Theory
Conclusion
The concept of audience can be applied to my Advanced Portfolio music video task. This was a narrative and performance based project concerning a man fighting for survival in a post-apocalyptic world, who battles his fears and anxieties by discovering a form of escape - drumming. The soundtrack used for this was 'Festival' by Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. Although the concept of a target audience can be relatively fluid, and it is important to recognise that the actual audience may differ slightly from those that are implied, it is beneficial for a producer to recognise their target audience as it allows them to adapt their production to a certain group, which is more likely to ensure economic success.
When carrying out research to find out our target audience prior to carrying out the production, we considered it to be necessary to gather a base demographic, in order to find who will be most likely to watch our music video. Due to the nature of the music video genre, our primary research questionnaires suggested that generally, audiences that watch music videos do so most frequently because they are attracted by the music rather than the visual content. Put simply, fans of music artists watch their music videos. Following obtaining this information, we set out to discover Sigur Rós' typical audience demographic. In order to do this, we carried out secondary research, by setting out to find which types of audience enjoy experimental post-rock music (Sigur Rós' genre). From doing this, we found that generally more mature listeners enjoy this genre, due to its ambience and thought-provoking content. Furthermore we analysed the demographic of viewers who watched Sigur Ros' documentary "Heima". We did this using IMDB's rating statistics, which tells users the demographic of IMDB raters for the documentary. From doing this, we found that users who rated the documentary tended to be between 18 and 26, and mostly male. Although this method of data collection may not have been entirely accurate as other viewers will have consumed the text but not reviewed it, we considered this to be a fairly reliable foundation to build upon - reinforcing our other research.
Ien Ang suggests however that "Audiencehood is becoming an even more multi faced, fragmented and diversified repertoire of practices and experiences", meaning that psychographic and behavioural factors should also be factored as well as demographic factors when it comes to considering audience. This meant that it was necessary to scrutinise our target audience in more depth in relation to the narrative of our product, rather than just considering factors such as Age and Gender from the Hartley Classification. Young and Rubricam suggested 7 psychographic characteristics of people that can be considered when analysing audience (Cross Cultural Consumer
Characterisation
)- mainstreamers, aspirers, succeeders, resigned, explorers, strugglers and reformers. Given that the narrative of our music video was based around escapism and giving the audience an immersive experience (which we found to be an important factor in an audience's viewing experience from a primary research questionnaire given to our target audience pre-production), we decided to aim our product at 'explorers', as the music video provides them with an opportunity to suspend disbelief and escape. The Uses and Gratifications theory, theorised by Blumler and Katz, which suggests that audiences are active rather than passive individuals and consume media for different reasons, can be applied similarly, as we can target an audience that would seek diversion, again due to the escapist and immersive nature of the narrative.
)- mainstreamers, aspirers, succeeders, resigned, explorers, strugglers and reformers. Given that the narrative of our music video was based around escapism and giving the audience an immersive experience (which we found to be an important factor in an audience's viewing experience from a primary research questionnaire given to our target audience pre-production), we decided to aim our product at 'explorers', as the music video provides them with an opportunity to suspend disbelief and escape. The Uses and Gratifications theory, theorised by Blumler and Katz, which suggests that audiences are active rather than passive individuals and consume media for different reasons, can be applied similarly, as we can target an audience that would seek diversion, again due to the escapist and immersive nature of the narrative.
We ensured to accommodate the audience of the text throughout the production and planning by ensuring the narrative suited their preferences. We done this by carrying out various focus groups consisting of members of our target demographic, which allowed us to ensure that the desires and needs of our target audience were being achieved in our production. We also used online polls, carried out throughout the production process to do this, which enabled us to gauge a stronger understanding of the audience's preferences in terms of narrative and the audience's overall experience. These proved particularly useful and allowed us to adjust the products before their completion so that they were best received by our audience. Although we strived to ensure that our production suited the audience's preferences, it could be argued, as it is outlined in Stuart Hall's reception theory, that different audiences will decode texts differently, so viewers within my target audience could take different meanings from the text given the fluid nature of 'audience' and that viewers will still differ on an individual level, although they may still be a part of a similar demographic.
In conclusion, we considered it imperative to consider a target audience for our production in order to ensure its satisfies the needs and wants of Sigur Rós listeners, and to ensure its economic success (which would be a necessity in a live brief). We also made sure that a sample of the audience were consulted regularly in the production of the project to confirm that it would be well received by the wider audience. However, we also noted that although we had an idea of the types of viewers that would be consuming our music video, the audience is not fixed and there is opportunity for individuals to interpret and decode the text in different ways - which was complimented by the fact that our music video provided scope for this - through an extensive use of symbolic and enigma codes.
In conclusion, we considered it imperative to consider a target audience for our production in order to ensure its satisfies the needs and wants of Sigur Rós listeners, and to ensure its economic success (which would be a necessity in a live brief). We also made sure that a sample of the audience were consulted regularly in the production of the project to confirm that it would be well received by the wider audience. However, we also noted that although we had an idea of the types of viewers that would be consuming our music video, the audience is not fixed and there is opportunity for individuals to interpret and decode the text in different ways - which was complimented by the fact that our music video provided scope for this - through an extensive use of symbolic and enigma codes.
Analyse one of your coursework productions in relation to Media Language
Media language is the producer's way of creating meaning within a certain medium. A producer can chose to do this in a number of ways, such as through the inclusion of signs.
Saussure - Audiences can look at texts from a syntactic point of view, just describing what they see, or from a symbolic and representational point of view attributing meaning to what they see. This reinforces Stuart Hall's theory that audiences decode a text that is encoded by a producer, each of them perhaps reading it differently to suggest different meaning.
The media language in a text can be categorised into different micro-elements such as mies-en-scene, camera work, sound and editing using Semiotics. This can be applied to my A2 coursework production, the music video 'festival' .....
Incorporate throughout
Roland Barthes - Semiotics / Symbolic codes- the organisation of signs encodes particular signs and ideologies can
Semantic Codes = suggests meaning by connotation
Symbolic Codes = Acts at a wider level - symbolism (bigger picture) ra
In terms of camera work...
Saussure - Audiences can look at texts from a syntactic point of view, just describing what they see, or from a symbolic and representational point of view attributing meaning to what they see. This reinforces Stuart Hall's theory that audiences decode a text that is encoded by a producer, each of them perhaps reading it differently to suggest different meaning.
The media language in a text can be categorised into different micro-elements such as mies-en-scene, camera work, sound and editing using Semiotics. This can be applied to my A2 coursework production, the music video 'festival' .....
Incorporate throughout
Roland Barthes - Semiotics / Symbolic codes- the organisation of signs encodes particular signs and ideologies can
Semantic Codes = suggests meaning by connotation
Symbolic Codes = Acts at a wider level - symbolism (bigger picture) ra
In terms of camera work...
- use of aerial shots allow the audience to contextualise his relative size and suggest isolation
- Frequent use of high angle shots vs low angle shots (positioning himself on a hill after rescue)/ low angle shots when he finds the drums to show empowerment
Editing
- Fast pace (signifier) during climax to express the characters passion and mental state as he escapes through music (signified)
- Slow motion, (shooting in 60fps, slowing to 40% speed) also reflects this and shows his immersion
Mise en scene
- Location - desolate - reflecting context of a post apocalyptic world, no signs of human activity, implying lack of human presence
- Props - presence of bones and fire suggest he is now animalistic and working with nature to survive, blood - working to the bone - reinforcing the theme of a post-apocalyptic world
- Costume - Dirty suggests poverty, lack of substitutes
- purple smoke - connotations of empowerment
Sound
- Talk about how the song climaxes, with its sombre tone at the start suggesting characters feeling
- Use of non-diegetic asynchronous sound (helicopter) and silence (utilised heavily by acclaimed directors such as Scorsese) when he shouts (representing) his lack of influence and the power of the rescuer
- can't hear his breath after drumming, suggesting he is still powerless
Narrative
- Narrative driven on music (medium of escape), drums as an instrument of passion
Sunday, 22 May 2016
Apply the concept of narrative to one of your coursework productions
Narrative is the coherence/organisation of a series of facts. In everything, we seek a beginning, middle and end. This can be applied to Captive, a film opening .....The film conforms to Peter Wollen's theory of Alternative narrative....
Todorov - Theory of equilibrium, our narrative does not conform in the it begins at a disequilibrium in order to disorientate the viewer in the way that the character is, and to represent the way that the character is thrown into his situation albeit being unaware of how it happened. Similarly, Barthes's Narrative structure which .... was not conformed to due to this.
This also utilises Roland Barthe's narrative codes, as the plot is not resolved at the end and would be (later on in the film). In relation to Barthes' narrative structure, the film ends at his third stage 'an increase in tension', aiming to leave the viewer asking questions. Aristotle suggests that the most important aspect of narrative is plot, the ordering of events, and the way that the text utilises an open narrative allows the audience to make sense of what has happened and ask what happens next.
In terms of character, the narrative conforms to propp's character theory through the use of a hero and a villain which Berger combined with Levi Strauss's theory of binary oppositions to show how the two could be shown as conflicting within the narrative. However, it could be argued that the character's are not necessarily stereotypical, as a female villain was used whilst the male was victimised.
Time manipulation devices are used in the form of flashbacks, which are another important aspect of the narrative... They are used to...
Todorov - Theory of equilibrium, our narrative does not conform in the it begins at a disequilibrium in order to disorientate the viewer in the way that the character is, and to represent the way that the character is thrown into his situation albeit being unaware of how it happened. Similarly, Barthes's Narrative structure which .... was not conformed to due to this.
This also utilises Roland Barthe's narrative codes, as the plot is not resolved at the end and would be (later on in the film). In relation to Barthes' narrative structure, the film ends at his third stage 'an increase in tension', aiming to leave the viewer asking questions. Aristotle suggests that the most important aspect of narrative is plot, the ordering of events, and the way that the text utilises an open narrative allows the audience to make sense of what has happened and ask what happens next.
In terms of character, the narrative conforms to propp's character theory through the use of a hero and a villain which Berger combined with Levi Strauss's theory of binary oppositions to show how the two could be shown as conflicting within the narrative. However, it could be argued that the character's are not necessarily stereotypical, as a female villain was used whilst the male was victimised.
Time manipulation devices are used in the form of flashbacks, which are another important aspect of the narrative... They are used to...
1a Theories!
Creativity
Gauntlet: 'Creativity is something new that communicates something to someone"
Bentley: 'Creativity is making of the new, rearranging of the old'
Jones (1993): 'A process needed for problem solving... not a special gift enjoyed by a few but a common ability possessed by most people'
Csikszentmihalyi (1996): "Creativity results from the interaction of a system composed of three elements: a culture that contains symbolic rules, a person who brings novelty into the symbolic domain, and a field of experts who recognise and validate the innovation"
Example:
Bentley's "The making of the new, the rearranging of the old" could be applied to Festival through the way it begins to develop conventions by merging media with film, such as by using film-style colour correction and a widescreen aspect ratio, whilst attempting to use forms that are unique from the modern music video genre such as the strong focus on the incorporation of the performance within the narrative of the video.
Gauntlet: 'Creativity is something new that communicates something to someone"
Bentley: 'Creativity is making of the new, rearranging of the old'
Jones (1993): 'A process needed for problem solving... not a special gift enjoyed by a few but a common ability possessed by most people'
Csikszentmihalyi (1996): "Creativity results from the interaction of a system composed of three elements: a culture that contains symbolic rules, a person who brings novelty into the symbolic domain, and a field of experts who recognise and validate the innovation"
Example:
Bentley's "The making of the new, the rearranging of the old" could be applied to Festival through the way it begins to develop conventions by merging media with film, such as by using film-style colour correction and a widescreen aspect ratio, whilst attempting to use forms that are unique from the modern music video genre such as the strong focus on the incorporation of the performance within the narrative of the video.
Apply the concept of Genre to one of your productions
Remember to examine how different genre theories can be applied to the text
Introduction
Introduction
Genre can be defined as the way a text can be categorised with other texts based on reoccurring elements and similarities. Genres are usually employed by producers because markets are already established, companies can become specialised and reuse things/be skilled in the practice. Gledhill, 1985, suggests, "genres are not discrete systems consisting of a fixed number of listable items". This means that the idea of genre is fluid, open to interpretation and that it is sometimes difficult to categorise texts into a genre, as there are no 'rules' which attribute a text to a particular genre. My AS film opening Captive can be analysed in terms of the conventions it uses in order to suggest a genre. Chandler suggests that genres can overlap, as is evident in our film, a horror-thriller. Lacey states that "there are repertoires of elements that work together to suggest a genre", these can provide a useful framework for analysis, and are as follows: setting, character, iconography, narrative and style.
- Setting
Abandoned WW2 site, isolation... Compared to Cabin in the woods e.g. (isolation)
- Character
Use of young male protagonist (Stock Character) and young child female antagonist . Challenges Propp's theory of stock characters - Steve Neale - Difference is absolutely essential in the economy of genre but trend in modern horror films such as the ring, juxtaposition of a child form (frequent connotations if innocence) against an evil character....BINARY oppositions - Levi Strauss - Good/Evil
- Narrative
Enigma code (Barthes) - Build in tension, influenced by the rising soundtrack and leaving on a cliff hanger. Challenging Todorov's equilibrium theory and genre conventions generally, reinforcing an above quote. Use of time manipulation devices - flashbacks
- Iconography
Props - dolls, blood, rope, Cameras
- Style
Colour correction, editing fast cuts, disorientated camera work with POVs
Monday, 16 May 2016
Practice Paper
6) Discuss how one or more groups of people are represented through the media
PLAN
Intro
- Mediation - Process of a media outlet using focussing and selection vs rejection in order to create a false or representation of a particular group or issue - often conforming to stereotypes. David Buckingham - "The media do not just offer a transparent window of the world, but a mediated one. They don't just present reality, they represent it."
- It could be argued that mediation is a processed used that it imperative to the economy of the industry - Merrin (2005) - "The media do not reflect and represent the reality of the public, but produce it, employing this simulation to justify their own continuing existence"
- Mediation to maintain hegemony (Gramsci). - Dyer (1979) "Stereotypes are all about power, those who have power stereotype those without power" - Media corporations are powerful, and are controlled by those with wealth and influence
Youth
Contemporary
- Youth are an identity group that are often misrepresented in the media in the present day.
- Youth Media Agency - 76% of the reporting of young people in the media is negative.
- In contemporary media, youths are often portrayed as: rebellious, violent, part of an artificial tribe (in line with Ann Gould's 6 youth stereotypes) Attack the block conforms to this.
- E.g Attack the Block (2011), Joe Cornish - a group of youths in East London whose estate becomes under attack from aliens. Throughout we are presented with themes of murder and drugs (when The gang and Sam decide to go to Ron's safe room on the top floor and hide out there, but are shot at by Hi-Hatz, a drug dealer) as well as theft and general deviance, such as in the opening scene when the gang attempt a mugging on a young, white female in the estate
- Ill Manors (2012), directed by Plan B also reinforces these stereotypes by using similar archetype characters, and themes of drug use, murder and sexual abuse throughout.
- The portrayal of youth in this product could create the a negative impression of youths, especially when considering Gerber's Cultivation Theory - people who consume lots of media tend to overestimate the amount of crime. This could lead to them being considered Folk Devils (Stan Cohen), and lead to a Moral Panic.
- Active viewers (Uses and Gratifications theory) vs. Passive audience (Hypodermic Needle model)
- Youths become an empty category in representation and represents adults concerns, (Giroux) in order to maintain social order (Acland)
Historical
- Historical texts both reinforce and contrast with modern representations of youth.
- The Young Ones Musical (1961), Disney J Furie contrasts with this, presenting youths as :
- Inclusive/inspirational to younger generations - beach scene where children surround Nicky (Cliff Richard) as he sings
- Polite and caring/helpful asset to community - Nicky, played by Cliff Richard helps young child into boat at harbour area. Social but responsible, socialising in a dedicated space.
- Social norms and structures that make up the structuration process (Anthony Giddens) have changed from one point to another, leading to a change in representation over time.
- In contrast Quadrophenia, (1979) directed by Franc Roddam shows a similar representation to the contemporary text.
- The film stars Phil Daniels as Jimmy, a young 1960s London-based Mod who escapes from his dead-end job as a mailroom boy by dancing, partying, taking amphetamines, riding his scooter and brawling with the motorcycle-riding Rockers.
- Hebdidge - "A subculture is a group of like-minded individuals who feel neglected by societal standards and who develop a sense of identity, which differs to the dominant on to which they belong."
- - Drug taking - Violent - Sex orientated - Link to Ann Gould's stereotype
- Even though the type of violence used by youths in modern films such as Attack the Block or Ill Manors seems much more extreme, the youth in Quadrophenia are still portrayed as having the same aims and destructive behaviour which at the time, created a massive moral panic in society.
- Hegemony reinforced, policing and parental force used
Gender
- Females are a second group that often suffer misrepresentation in the media, many arguing that that the patriarchic nature of society and large media institutions is responsible for this - reflected by the fact that whilst 23% of news reporters are female, 77% are male.
- It may be argued that there has been a significant change in the ways that females are represented in the media over time, with historical media texts often presenting characters using traditional binary gender roles, such as by domesticating the female whilst placing her male counter part in a more powerful, working position.
- EG Fairy Liquid Ad 1966, shows the female washing up (domestic role) appearing to teach child as she does it, assuming that she will have the same role one day. Paying attention to ensure hands kept in good condition - representation of beauty, and presenting as object of male.
- I believe that in the modern day there is more of an effort, albeit sometimes a tokenistic one, to counter these stereotypes, such as through modern adverts such as the ARIEL liqui-tabs advert of 2012, which shows the male to be in a housekeeping role, doing his own washing, whereas historically, media representations of females may suggest that this would be their duty.
- The way that she is presented as an object of the male however still takes place in contemporary media. Laura Mulvey (1975) suggests that audiences are made to view texts from the perspective of a heterosexual male, in her Male Gaze theory, reinforcing this.
- Robin Thicke Blurred Lines
- Effort to counter gender stereotyping: Kill Bill, Quentin Tarantino, starring a female protagonist in a powerful role - however, still sexualised through the latex outfits
- However, Miriam Hanson's Theory of the Female Gaze (1984) suggests that the positioning of the audience to view a text from a females perspective is also common - Diet Coke Ad 2013.
Wednesday, 11 May 2016
Wednesday, 27 April 2016
Example Texts for Collective Identity
Representation of Youth (Historical)
http://beckya2examwork.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/how-are-british-youths-represented-in.html - good essay
The Young Ones, Musical (1961), Director: Disney J Furie
- Simpkin's Youth Club
- Youths represented as: active in community - actively trying to save their club from the takeover of a property owner by the members decide to put on a show to raise the money needed to buy a lease renewal, inclusive/inspirational to younger generations - beach scene where children surround Nicky (Cliff Richard) as he sings, Polite and caring/helpful asset to community - Nicky, played by Cliff Richard helps young child into boat at harbour area. Social but responsible, socialising in a dedicated space.
Quadrophenia (1979), Director: Franc Roddam - Contrasting view
The film stars Phil Daniels as Jimmy, a young 1960s London-based Mod who escapes from his dead-end job as a mailroom boy by dancing, partying, taking amphetamines, riding his scooter and brawling with the motorcycle-riding Rockers.
After he and his friends participate in a huge brawl with the Rockers at the seaside town of Brighton, he is arrested and his life starts to spiral out of control; he loses his girlfriend (Leslie Ash) and discovers that his idol, the popular mod nicknamed "Ace Face" (Sting) is actually a bell boy at a hotel.
Hebdidge - "A subculture is a group of like-minded individuals who feel neglected by societal standards and who develop a sense of identity, which differs to the dominant on to which they belong."
Attack the Block (2011) - Director: Joe Cornish
A teen gang, mostly black, in South London defend their block from an alien invasion.
Female Gaze - Miriam Hanson 1984
2013
- The song says “I know you want it, i know you want it, you’re a good girl”, this is suggesting that women cannot resist the men even if they try. The fact that the men are fully clothed and the women are not, shows how sexualised women are in music videos today.
http://beckya2examwork.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/how-are-british-youths-represented-in.html - good essay
The Young Ones, Musical (1961), Director: Disney J Furie
- Simpkin's Youth Club
- Youths represented as: active in community - actively trying to save their club from the takeover of a property owner by the members decide to put on a show to raise the money needed to buy a lease renewal, inclusive/inspirational to younger generations - beach scene where children surround Nicky (Cliff Richard) as he sings, Polite and caring/helpful asset to community - Nicky, played by Cliff Richard helps young child into boat at harbour area. Social but responsible, socialising in a dedicated space.
Quadrophenia (1979), Director: Franc Roddam - Contrasting view
The film stars Phil Daniels as Jimmy, a young 1960s London-based Mod who escapes from his dead-end job as a mailroom boy by dancing, partying, taking amphetamines, riding his scooter and brawling with the motorcycle-riding Rockers.
After he and his friends participate in a huge brawl with the Rockers at the seaside town of Brighton, he is arrested and his life starts to spiral out of control; he loses his girlfriend (Leslie Ash) and discovers that his idol, the popular mod nicknamed "Ace Face" (Sting) is actually a bell boy at a hotel.
- Drug taking
- Violent
- Sex orientated
Dissimilar to Attack the Block, youths in the 1970s tended to group themselves based on music, fashion and sex, however, in the present day, certain youths group themselves into gangs based on what someone has the power to do; whether it’s to smoke drugs, handle a gun or kill someone
Even though the type of violence used by youths in modern films such as Attack the Block or Ill Manors seems much more extreme, the youth in Quadrophenia are still portrayed as having the same aims and destructive behaviour which at the time, created a massive moral panic in society.
Attack the Block (2011) - Director: Joe Cornish
A teen gang, mostly black, in South London defend their block from an alien invasion.
Although a Sci-Fi film, there are themes of: drugs, murder, theft and general deviance throughout.
'The gang and Sam decide to go to Ron's safe room on the top floor and hide out there, but are shot at by Hi-Hatz and his two goons.'
Deviancy Amplification Spiral - a cycle of increasing numbers of reports on a category of antisocial behaviour or some other 'undesirable' event, leading to a moral panic. Wilkins (1964)
Moral Panic - a feeling of fear spread among a large number of people that some evil threatens the well-being of society - Stan Cohen (1972)Deviancy Amplification Spiral - a cycle of increasing numbers of reports on a category of antisocial behaviour or some other 'undesirable' event, leading to a moral panic. Wilkins (1964)
Folk devil - a person or group of people who are portrayed in folklore or the media as outsiders and deviant (1972)
Gerbner - Cultivation Theory - People who watch TV lots tend to overestimate the amount of crime
Giroux (1997) - Youth represents an empty category in representation and reflects adult concern.
Gender
Diet Coke Advert (2013)
Gender
Diet Coke Advert (2013)
Female Gaze - Miriam Hanson 1984
2013
- The song says “I know you want it, i know you want it, you’re a good girl”, this is suggesting that women cannot resist the men even if they try. The fact that the men are fully clothed and the women are not, shows how sexualised women are in music videos today.
- Advocating non-consensual sex?
Wednesday, 20 April 2016
Uses & Gratifications Theory - Audience are active individuals rather than passive ones. They will select what they watch, will consume in different ways and believe
different things. (Katz and Blumler
The Hypodermic Needle Model - Suggests that people just take in media passively (believing
everything)
Gerbner - Cultivation Theory. People who watch a lot of TV over estimate the amount of crime in the real world (Mean World Syndrome). One text has little effect whilst when the media show the same thing again and again it has a large effect.
Two-Step Flow Theory - Being influenced by opinion leaders
Reception Theory - Based on Stuart Halls encoding/decoding theory. The text is encoded by the producer and decoded by the reader. There may be differences between two readings of a text based on different audiences.
Saussure (1983) - "Audience can look at a media text from a syntactic point of view, just describing what they see, or from a representational or symbolic point of view where the attribute meaning to what they see"
Barthes (1967) - An audience's understanding of media texts comes from their understanding and knowledge of frequently told myths or stories. He argues that the organisation of signs encodes particular messages and ideologies
Stuart Hall - Argued that meaning is not fixed by the producer, and the audience is not passive, gave us different readings, the preferred reading is where the audience reads it the way you wanted them to.
David Buckingham – “media do not just offer us a transparent ‘window on the world’ but a mediated version of the world. They don’t just present reality, they re-present it”
- “Identity is complicated/complex.”
- "A focus on
identity requires us to pay closer attention to the ways in which media and
technologies are used in everyday life and their consequences for social groups”
Gramsci – Hegemony – Those in power want to keep the order.
David Gauntlett - "Identity is now consciously constructed and the media provides some of the tools to help us construct our identities. The media contains a huge number of messages about identity and acceptable lifestyles.
At the same time the public
have their own set of feelings. The media and media consumers are in a dialogue
in which neither over powers the other"
Anthony Giddens - "There is a social structure that which shapes our lives (traditions, institutions, moral codes, established ways of doing things), but it relies on individuals following these structures" - Changing social structure over time (Structuration)
Hebdidge - A subculture is a group of like-minded
individuals who feel neglected by societal standards and who develop a sense of
identity, which differs to the dominant on to which they belong.
Acland - Media representations of youth maintain social order/hegemony (the ones in control have the most influence)
Giroux - Youth becomes an empty category in representation and reflects adult concern
Steve Anderson - Younger people are becoming a lot more empowered because of social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter and Blogging.
Wilkins - Deviancy Amplification Spiral (1964) -
a cycle of increasing numbers of reports on a category of antisocial behaviour or some other 'undesirable' event, leading to a moral panic.
Stan Cohen - Moral Panic/Folk
Devils (1972)
Althusser - Ideological State Apparatus. Dominant ideology reinforced through different groups including media.
Laura Mulvey (1975) - Male Gaze - Audiences are positioned to view characters from the perspective of a heterosexual male, such as through the extensive use of focusing particularly on the curvature of the female body. - Leads to the objectification of women. Women viewers are made to view the product secondarily.
Jonathan Schroader - the gaze is more than just a look, it implies a psychological relationship where the gaze is superior to the object.
Gaylyn Studlar – Female Gaze
Branston and Stafford (2001) - Soaps rely on archetypal characters and stereotypes - ensure ready accessibility because stories have universal appeal about families and communities
Dyer (1979) - "Stereotypes are always about power: those with power stereotype those without power"
Baudrillard - The media presents a simulation of the world that is artificial
and 'hyperreal'
- Some audiences consider this hyperreality to be reality - leading to hypersexuality etc
- Some audiences consider this hyperreality to be reality - leading to hypersexuality etc
There is a sign, an object that is called the
signifier
The meaning that is given to that is called the signified.
This is nor fixed and can change with time or the society or culture that
it is shown to.
Mediation - The process of electing and shaping, creating meaning from an original event. An event which is mediated within the systems of values of an institution e.g. (News of the World, CH4 News). Their view is represented to the public. - Selection vs Rejection, Focussing, Organisation
Collective Identity: The individual sense of belonging to a group who share a set of traditions of traditions and values (part of identity)
-
Not just representation of the mainstream media but also from the
self-representations of media users.
Structuration is the process where human agency and social structure are in a constant relationship and the social structure is reproduced by the repetition of acts by individual people (and therefore can change).
Scopophilia - deriving pleasure from looking. As an expression of sexuality, it refers to sexual pleasure derived from looking at erotic objects: erotic photographs, pornography, naked bodies, etc.
Genderfuck - Refers to the self-conscious effort to play with traditional of gender roles.
Patriarchy is a social system in which males hold primary power, predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property; in the domain of the family, fathers or father-figures hold authority over women and children.
Archetype : a very typical example of a certain person or thing
Gender Binary: Describes a system where a society splits its members of male and female sexes into gender roles, gender identities and attributes.
Steve Neale
- It is easy to underplay the differences within a genre. Steve Neale declares
that:
"Genres are instances of repetition and
difference" (Neale 1980, 48)
"Difference is absolutely essential to the
economy of genre" (Neale 1980)
Toderov - "Any
instances of genre will be necessarily different" (Toderov - cited in
Gledhell, 1985, 60), Narrative Theory - Equilibrium theory
Lacey - There are repertoires of elements that work together to suggest genre, which are a useful framework to use for analysis
Setting
Character
Narrative
Iconography
Style
"Genres are not discrete systems consisting of
a fixed number of listable items (Gledhill, 1985)
Chandler - It is difficult to make
clear cut distinctions between one genre and another: genres overlap, and there
are 'mixed genres' such as comedy thrillers (Chandler 2000)
Burton - Each text in a
given genre shares particular key elements to make up the generic formula:
- Protagonists
- Stock characters
- Plots/Stock Situations
- Icons
- Background and Décor
- Themes
Tuesday, 19 April 2016
Statistics
Youth
a survey conducted by The Independent in 2009 of nearly 1,000 teenage boys found 85 per cent believed newspapers portray them in a bad light. As a result of the negative press, 80 per cent felt adults were more wary of them now than they had been a year ago.
Statistics complied by the Youth Media Agency propose that 76% of the reporting of young people in the media is negative.
Gender
6% of global news content reinforces gender stereotypes, almost eight times higher than stories that challenge such stereotypes - UK Feminista
1 out of 3 girls said they would change an aspect of their appearance - Children Now
2 out 3 girls said they want to be like a character - Children Now
38% of female characters in video games are skimpily dressed
23% baring breasts or cleavage
31% exposing thighs
31% exposing stomachs
15% exposing their behinds - Children Now
35% of 6-12 year olds have been on a diet at some point in their lives
There are around 11.9 million disabled people in the UK; this is roughly 19% of the population
Currently the BBC’s staff profile and targets around disability are:
Disabled - all staff is currently at 3.7 per cent - target for 2017 is 5.3 per cent.
Disabled Leadership is currently at 3.1 per cent - target for 2017 is 5 per cent."
a survey conducted by The Independent in 2009 of nearly 1,000 teenage boys found 85 per cent believed newspapers portray them in a bad light. As a result of the negative press, 80 per cent felt adults were more wary of them now than they had been a year ago.
Statistics complied by the Youth Media Agency propose that 76% of the reporting of young people in the media is negative.
Gender
6% of global news content reinforces gender stereotypes, almost eight times higher than stories that challenge such stereotypes - UK Feminista
2 out 3 girls said they want to be like a character - Children Now
38% of female characters in video games are skimpily dressed
23% baring breasts or cleavage
31% exposing thighs
31% exposing stomachs
15% exposing their behinds - Children Now
35% of 6-12 year olds have been on a diet at some point in their lives
- The average percentage of female reporters was 22.6% - compared to 77.4% of males.
- Representation of women in news media is 22% according to a 2011 survey in The Guardian.
Disability
There are around 11.9 million disabled people in the UK; this is roughly 19% of the population
Currently the BBC’s staff profile and targets around disability are:
Disabled - all staff is currently at 3.7 per cent - target for 2017 is 5.3 per cent.
Disabled Leadership is currently at 3.1 per cent - target for 2017 is 5 per cent."
"We have set a target to quadruple on-air representation and/or portrayal from 1.2 per cent to 5 per cent by 2017."
Thursday, 14 April 2016
Audience
Audience
In your introduction:
Who is the audience? How did you choose them?
What expectations might they have of your text?
How have you tried to meet these expectations
What is their motivation for accessing texts like yours?
Suggest that audience is a complex fluid concept similar to genre, the idea of only one target audience is not really applicable.
Gears
Gender
Ethnicity
Age
Region, Nationality
Socio-Economic Group
The Hartley Classification
There are 7 socially grouped categories when it comes to identifying audience:
- Self (ambitions or interests of the audience)
- Gender
- Age group - Teenagers, traditionally thrill seeking
- Class
- Ethnicity
- Family
- Nation
Young and Rubicam ( 4Cs Cross Cultural Consumer Classification)
Audience
· who is the target audience for the production? Define by age, race gender, social class etc.
· what are the social classifications of the audience i.e. ABC1, youth, age, ethnicity
· why will the production appeal to this target audience?
In your introduction:
Who is the audience? How did you choose them?
What expectations might they have of your text?
How have you tried to meet these expectations
What is their motivation for accessing texts like yours?
Suggest that audience is a complex fluid concept similar to genre, the idea of only one target audience is not really applicable.
Gears
Gender
Ethnicity
Age
Region, Nationality
Socio-Economic Group
There are 7 socially grouped categories when it comes to identifying audience:
- Self (ambitions or interests of the audience)
- Gender
- Age group - Teenagers, traditionally thrill seeking
- Class
- Ethnicity
- Family
- Nation
Young and Rubicam ( 4Cs Cross Cultural Consumer Classification)
Audience
· who is the target audience for the production? Define by age, race gender, social class etc.
· what are the social classifications of the audience i.e. ABC1, youth, age, ethnicity
· why will the production appeal to this target audience?
what techniques and lines of appeal has the production used to attract the target audience?
how does the production use reception theories? i.e. uses and gratification, hypodermic needle, etc. Two-step flow, reception theoryStuart Hall - Encoding and Decoding; Preferred/negotiated/oppositional readings.
Uses and Gratifications theory - active rather than passive individuals. (audiences consume media texts for surveillance; Personal Identity; Presnal Relationships; Escapism/Diversions)
Ien Ang - "Audiencehood is becoming an even more multi faced, fragmented and diversified repertoire of practices and experiences".
Modern theory: Cultural Positioning
Another key debate in media is whether an audience can be forced to decode a text in a specific way, or whether an individual’s cultural positioning (could include gender, social group or individual experiences) determines the reading.
So who controls the reading?
Are media representations no longer fixed?
Can media construct audience’s identity?
Consider how the media helps us to create identities for ourselves:
— As individuals
— As a society
— As members of specific groups
Can we really separate people into specific groups or is this an artificial division?
Were these ‘differences’ between people originally there, or are they constructed by the media?
—Remind yourself: Who is the audience? How did you choose them?
—Might your target audience decode your text in different ways?
—How might your text and others like it play a part in shaping identities of individuals and groups?
Uses and Gratifications theory - active rather than passive individuals. (audiences consume media texts for surveillance; Personal Identity; Presnal Relationships; Escapism/Diversions)
Ien Ang - "Audiencehood is becoming an even more multi faced, fragmented and diversified repertoire of practices and experiences".
Modern theory: Cultural Positioning
Another key debate in media is whether an audience can be forced to decode a text in a specific way, or whether an individual’s cultural positioning (could include gender, social group or individual experiences) determines the reading.
So who controls the reading?
Are media representations no longer fixed?
Can media construct audience’s identity?
Consider how the media helps us to create identities for ourselves:
— As individuals
— As a society
— As members of specific groups
Can we really separate people into specific groups or is this an artificial division?
Were these ‘differences’ between people originally there, or are they constructed by the media?
—Remind yourself: Who is the audience? How did you choose them?
—Might your target audience decode your text in different ways?
—How might your text and others like it play a part in shaping identities of individuals and groups?
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