Media and Collective Identity Essay

Explain what is meant by Collective Identity and the role of the media in its construction

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hoodies-louts-scum-how-media-demonises-teenagers-1643964.html - GOOD

Collective Identity - Collective identity refers to a person's sense of belonging to a group. The identity of the group, or the 'collective,' becomes a part of the person's individual identity. The idea here is that by participating in social activities, a person can develop a sense of belonging and an identity that goes beyond the person.
David Buckingham (2008) argues identity is complicated/complex.

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

Mediation - The ways that the media represent and reconstruct reality, sometimes creating an idea that is not truly representative of the real subject.

                 - Selection vs Rejection, Focussing, Organisation 

Tajfel (1979) proposed that the groups (e.g. social class, family, football team etc.) which people belonged to were an important source of pride and self-esteem. Groups give us a sense of social identity: a sense of belonging to the social world.       

             - The representation of media is mediated through the media (War reporting e.g)

Stan Cohen (1972)

• Moral Panics - Leads from deviant behaviour
• Deviance Amplification - A cycle of increasing numbers of reports on a category of undesirable behaviour, leading to a moral panic. Police/Politician involvement etc.
• Folk Devils - groups of people who can be seen as a threat to society

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. 

Gramsci - Marxist - Society (and the media) is run by an elite who just want to make sure they keep their position. (hegemony - the political predominance of the running of a state) 

Acland - Media representations of youth maintain social order/hegemony (the ones in control have the                

most influence)

             - Ideology of protection

Giroux - Youth becomes an empty category in representation and reflects adult concern

Typing - used in media (often films) to allow the audience to quickly familiarise with the character.

The Hypodermic Needle Model - Suggests that people just take in media passively (believing everything)

Explain what is meant by Collective Identity and the role of the media in its construction

Collective identity refers to a person's sense of belonging to a group. The identity of the group, or the 'collective,' plays a large a part of the person's individual identity. The idea here is that by participating in social activities, a person can develop a sense of belonging and an identity that goes beyond the person. Tajfel proposes that the groups (e.g. social class, family, football team etc.) which people belong to are an important source of pride and self-esteem and that groups give us a sense of social identity: a sense of belonging to the social world (1979). This shows us the importance of 'identity' and how many people rely on belonging to a 'collective' in order to feel that they are a part of a wider group. Many of these groups suffer from misrepresentation in the media, due to mediation (the ways that the media represent and reconstruct reality, sometimes creating an idea that is not truly representative of the real subject.) The media is highly influential in that it can affect the way a group in seen in society. This can be explained by the Hypodermic Needle Model (1930's) which suggests that people take in media passively, as well as Baudrillard's theory that the media presents a simulation of the world that is artificial and 'hyperreal'. Youth and Gender are examples of groups that are frequently misrepresented, causing societal views to be affected.

Firstly, youth as a group are often misrepresented in the media. At the same time, 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. In addition, statistics complied by the Youth Media Agency propose that 76% of the reporting of young people in the media is negative. Common stereotypical characteristics that are reinforced in the media are that youths are violent in nature and engage in criminal activity. An example of where this is fortified is in the film Ill Manors set in East London (2012), which follows a group of four drug dealers, and presents themes of violence and prostitution throughout. The characters in this film are archetypes of youths, used in media (often films) to allow the audience to quickly familiarise with the character. The danger of this however is that it could be inferred from spectatorial viewers that all youths follow this character type. Gerbner's cultivation theory reinforces this, as it explains that as a result of frequently consuming films of this nature, people who watch a lot of TV over estimate the amount of crime in the real world (Mean World Syndrome). This could lead to a youths being seen as 'Folk Devils' (a threat to society) and could cause youth's to become an empty category in society (suggested by Giroux). 

Another example of this is Bullet Boy, directed by Saul Dibb. In this film set in an urban London location, a young black male serves time in prison for stabbing, before being released and planning to turn his life around. Upon his release and then throughout the entire film, we are presented with a group of violent natured black youths who appear to only have drugs and crime on their agenda. Throughout the film, we see numerous examples of anti-social and impudent behaviour, vulgar language and sexual activity. The story ends with the main character being involved in another murder, suggesting that he is incapable of staying away from criminal behaviour, reinforcing many of the negative stereotypes of the demographic. To a spectatorial viewer consuming this media text, it may be presumed that the characters involved in the film may be representative of the demographic as a whole, which would then reinforce societal fears and lead to further marginalisation and a moral panic (all theorised by Cohen). Both of these examples could strengthen Gramsci's theory of hegemony, that suggests that the media and society is run by an elite that aim to keep their position in power.