Ok this is it!!! Our last topic for this A level course – hope you have had some fun, learned some things and generally developed as a human being!!
This last topic actually includes 5 SEPARATE CSP’s and is organised under the umbrella term: ON-LINE, SOCIAL AND PARTICIPATORY MEDIA.
For this course, the study of Online, Social and Participatory mediaand Video Games is linked. You will study some Online Social and Participatory media products (Teen Vogue and The Voice) and you will study some video games (Metroid and Tomb Raider Anniversary). You will also study SIMs Freeplay. For this product you will study both the game and its online, social and participatory media products. This will help you develop your understanding of the digitally convergent nature of media products. The list below makes it clear what you need to study.
TEEN VOGUE (which we covered in the AS course – link here)
TOMB RAIDER (which we covered in the AS course – link here)
These CSP’s need to be studied in terms of ALL 4 CONCEPTUAL AREAS:
> MEDIA LANGUAGE
> REPRESENTATION
> INDUSTRY
> AUDIENCE
For many the rise of a new media society is closely linked to the theoretical position of POSTMODERNISM, so a basic grasp of some of the ideas behind this key concept would also help
As this is quite a lot to refer to I will use this post for general ideas and approaches, so PLEASE REFER TO THE STUDENT CSP BOOKLET for SPECIFIC GUIDANCE.
released in 1967 – swinging 60s ( drugs and sex were at their peak
seen as a period of change in uk in regards in the changing attitudes towards role of women and men in society.
equal pay act was introduced in 1970
homosexuality was decriminalised 1967
contraceptive pill was introduced around this time
reinforce traditional stereotypes at that time in order to cam those individuals who did not like the drastic changes that were occurring.
costumes were suitable for camping
women – short sleeve shirts + extremely short skirts = sexualised and perceived as objects
makeup is heavy + smoky = creating a seductive nature = reinforcing male gaze
setting (jungle) created to be harmonious with costume choices
jungle = represents Britain colonial values + british empire that was slowly starting to fall apart at the time of the release of advert
perhaps the producers chose to set it here to reassure the public that britian is there in power of many countries
jungle is a dangerous place that requires a tough male character – reinforces extreme heterosexuality of advert
main prop is gun male is proudly holding – creates a traditional view of men where they are expected to be strong, brave, and protective = makes him seen appear powerful which depicts men as the dominant ones in society.
ALSO depicted as a phallic symbol that informs male target audience that the score hair cream will give them women and pleasure.
pedestal that women are carrying the male on – men are above women in society
Judith butler = gender performity – multiple identites are formed to different people
laura mulvey = male gaze = ideas of scopophillia – pleasure of looking – fetishism – cuts of specific pats to enhance other features
van zoonen = gender is constructed – permanently being reconstructed
bell hooks = struggle to end male patriachary – women carry double burden of being colonialized by imperial powers + subordinated by colonial and native men
The current hot news from your favourite streaming platform. With your streamer’s favourite songs.
I will discuss the recent happening on the streaming platform twitch. Touching on major drama and actions of the large streamers. Including bans, upcoming events and recent and further twitch rivals. I will use songs that are associated with large streamers.
Postmodernism says that one person should not try to make another person believe what he believes, because it means nothing to say that one belief is right and the other is wrong.
To people on the far left, it’s their shadow religion—basically a healthy disregard for any value system that has exerted influence (and caused suffering) in the last few thousand years.
To the far right, it’s a rejection of all that is good in the world—like tradition, family, piety, and conservative (see Good) culture.
This transition from the modern epoch to the postmodern era can be observed in the shift of society from the production of goods to information and services
In other words if there is no true meaning to life or clear path, then what is the point.
The post-modern reply to modernism consists of recognising that the past, since it cannot really be destroyed, because its destruction leads to silence, must be revisited but with irony, not innocently or history will only repeat itself.
Initial Idea –
For my radio show, covering a total of 30 minuets, my key topic will be focused on ideas surrounding postmodernism and especially how this ideology or movement is represented in the music industry. In order to analyse this ideas or support my/ guests opinions I am also going to include some theories learnt throughout the media course such as Baudrillard. In terms of a name for my show, I have decided to use ‘Theory Talks’ as I believe this gives a short but easy-to-interpret title that quickly and efficiently informs the audience. As well as this, the show focuses on different theories, ideas or movements, in this specific case being Post-modernism.
Songs
Little Dark Age – (MGMT) – 5:00
Судно – (Molchat Doma) – 2:21
And I’m trying to get up, I want to look it in the eyes, Look in its eyes and fall into tears, And never die, never die, Never die, never die, never die.
Feel Good Inc. – (Gorillaz) – 3:42
There is a light that never goes out – (Joy Division) – 4:02
15.05
Statement of intent
For my broadcast, as mentioned above, my primary theme will evolve around Postmodernism and how this is represented through music. In order to do this, I have decided to choose songs that may be considered more ‘indie’ as the genre is not controlled by an outside organization… Unlike mainstream artists who are most likely controlled by their record labels, they are dictated by these institutions to make music based on what is sellable/liked by majority of people. In this respect, the lyrics and overall meaning of the song is likely to have harsh, truthful facts relating to society, rather than being sugarcoated. I’m also going to name my show ‘Theory Talks’ which will be repeated in differing effect levels in my introduction using audition. For my broadcast I don’t plan on having a specific script, however, I will have a list of my songs, their timings and notes relating to them or key bullet points on what I want to discuss.
Time Schedule
Intro = 00:22
Opening = Introduce show, guest, talk about how the show will run and cover what postmodernism is = 5:00
Introduce and play first song = Little Dark Age – (MGMT) – 5:00 = Relate to postmodernism = Discuss = 10:00
Link in to second song – Viral on TikTok – Судно – (Molchat Doma) – 2:21 = 12:21 = discuss = 18:00
Open to third song = Feel Good Inc. – (Gorillaz) – 3:42 = 21:42 = discuss = 25:00
Last Song = There is a light that never goes out – (Joy Division) – 4:02 = Quick link then end show = 30:00
Songs In relation to Postmodernsim –
Little Dark Age – (MGMT) – 5:00 –
Apparently, we were more inspired to write pop music after evil took over the world.”
Van Wyngarden also explained, “We called it Little Dark Age because that’s hopeful. It’s a little dark age. And we ended the album with ‘Hand It Over’ because it envisions an end to all of this.”
He’s desribing a battle scene of the war between humans (or himself) with dark forces (depression, despair, weakness.. Etc).
Policemen swear to god Love’s seeping from the guns
Probably tying in the rise of police brutality (though it’s always been there, now it’s just become more reported or obvious).
I grieve in stereo The stereo sounds strange I know that if you hide It doesn’t go away
Might mean grieving while listening to news or current events, which seem to have nothing positive to say. You could ‘hide’ or just ignore all the depressing reports or current news, withdraw into yourself and remain oblivious, but it’s not gonna make the morbid events go away nor make it better.
In this respect, Postmodernism says that one person should not try to make another person believe what he believes, because it means nothing to say that one belief is right and the other is wrong. This song goes against common dominant ideologies presented by governments. Multiple realities and ideas.
Судно – (Molchat Doma) – 2:21
Life is hard and uncomfortable But it’s comfortable to die
This song is by the Belarusian post-punk band from Minsk, formed in 2017.
Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of rock music that emerged in the late 1970s as artists departed from the raw simplicity and traditionalism of punk rock, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-rock influences.
The difference is that musically postpunk goes beyond the simple musical format of punk ( easy chords, playing fast ). Its more creative and more experimental and that is why stylistically it is not easy to describe. Some seem to have been influenced by captain beefheart or metal machine music.
Therefore, similar to the first song this single targets postmodernism in relation to mental health and societies decline of such, with depression increasing and death being seen as ‘comfortable’.
Feel Good Inc. – (Gorillaz) – 3:42
This song is about the things people do in order to make themselves feel good. The song seems to focus on the darker side of pleasure like addictions and habits, but then the chorus comes in and it seems to say that you should stop thinking about what makes you feel good and try to love others to make them feel good. It’s saying that love is what makes the world go around, hence the windmill reference.
At the 2006 Grammy Awards, this won for Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals.
The song is a throwback to the days of answering machines when callers would wait for the beep and leave a message on a microcassette. After the line:
And all I wanna hear is the message beep My dreams, they got her kissing, ’cause I don’t get sleep
We hear a beep, followed by the first chorus (“Windmill, windmill for the land…”), which is distorted with tape hiss as if we are listening to the message.
Reference to how times have changed, sound becomes clearer
The repetition of “Feel good” represents that 2-D is convincing himself that everything is OK (as if he is brainwashing himself to believe it). Stuart Harold “2-D” Pot is a fictional English musician and member of the British virtual band Gorillaz. He provides the lead vocals and plays the keyboard for the band.
This song can link in to postmodern society and an increased reliance on things such as drugs in order to feel okay or to escape reality.
Similarly, referring back to political stances,
I think this song is talking about revolution.
Feel Good Inc. could refer to a massive corporate entity, in which the people in charge only think about materialistic things, like having a million women, or being the ruler of everybody else. However, they are so caught up inside their own tower, that they are completely miserable despite all of the things they have. Ironically, these same people seem to enjoy talking about how much they are enjoying life in an attempt to make themselves appear all the more powerful and superior.
There is a light that never goes out – (Joy Division) – 4:02
Released in 1986, it shows how early post-modernism had developed since its start in the 50s/60s.
The light that never goes out is an extended metaphor for hope and eternal love.
The light that never goes out is hope for eternal love. Here’s a Morrissey quote:
“When you’re a teenager and in your early twenties it seems desperately eternal and excruciatingly painful. Whereas as you grow older you realise that most things are excruciatingly painful and that is the human condition. Most of us continue to survive because we’re convinced that somewhere along the line, with grit and determination and perseverance, we will end up in some magical union with somebody. It’s a fallacy, of course, but it’s a form of religion. You have to believe. There is a light that never goes out and it’s called hope.”
Baudrillard = living in a simulation, links to how the light will never go out because of this simulation.
Jingle (Intro)
I used Audition in order to create my intro, allowing me to edit my audio clip into different pitches to create an echoing effect. This software also allowed me to edit separate audio layers, allowing some to be more subtle and quiet.
Good morning welcome to the sunny days radio show. I’m Orna, and on this show we will be playing indie pop rock songs that give summer vibes, from bands you might not have heard of. In Between these songs we will have small breaks of chat, where we discuss indie video games and elaborating on what we call our all time favourites. But before we get into all of that, let’s start the morning off right, with hot rod and by dayglow followed by drop the guillotine by peach pit. Enjoy.
(Break for 2 songs)
(5 minute section) possibly more if when tested it runs over
“Allllrighttt were back and I have my live guest with me alice shingles with me today”
( alices says “hello it’s nice to be here”)
“ and she’s here to answer my question about indie video games.”
“Okay Alice starting off the interview, what would you say are your top 3 favourite indie games that fall into the categories of horror, adventure, and all time comfort games.”
(let her answer with the titles)(only catch horror one has to be little nightmares or a game that I can relate to little nightmares for the next question)
Ask her to elaborate and give a summary of the game for the listeners. Starting with horror, then adventure, then all time comfort game
(check time length of just answering these)
(Then if theres more time follow with this)
“Okay after hearing you mention the indie game little nightmares as your favourite horror game I would love to hear your opinions on I guess you could call it the prequel that came out just a bit ago called little nightmares 2. could you summarise the storyline for our listeners that might not have heard of it and could you give your overall thoughts on the game.
(let her talk about it summary and overall thoughts about the game plus rating out of 10)
And if there’s still time before she rates the game I talk about my theory on the huntsman and the loop theory depending if you don’t talk about it)
“Okay thank you alice for coming on the show it was great to hear your thoughts and theories about these games and i’m sure the listeners were glad to hear your opinions as well”
(alice replies back with “thanks for having me”or “it was a pleaser”)
End of live chat
“Okkkayyy back to the tunes next up we have Peach Tree Rascals with Things Won’t Go My Way, followed by peach pit again with one of their newer songs puppy grin. Enjoy.
(Break for 2 songs)
“Helllloo again now we are going to be going to a pre recorded segment where I went around asking students at hautlieu what video games impacted them the most and there thoughts on them now. Enjoy.”
(go to pre recorded bit)
“Wasn’t that eye opening. That segment hopefully might have given you listeners a game or 2 to try out next. Anyways our radio show is coming close to the end so we are going to end it how we began with the 2 same bands with there songs figure of 8 by the one and only peach pit and to end the show with a nice up beat tune called Listerine by dayglow.”
(Break for 2 songs)
Outro
“okay that’s been sunny days radio show thanks for listening”
((Find out if you need to introduce the next radio show or not))
Teen vogue– Teen Vogue is a former US print magazine and current online publication launched in 2003 as a sister publication to Vogue, targeted at teenage girls. Like Vogue, it included stories about fashion and celebrities. The magazine had also expanded its focus from fashion and beauty to include politics and current affairs.Teen Vogue‘s original price was $1.50.The publication began with four test issues, then published six issues in 2003 and ten in 2004.led by former Vogue beauty director Amy Astley under the guidance of Anna Wintour with Gina Sanders as founding publisher.
tomb raider-Tomb Raider is a 1996 action-adventure video game developed by Core Design and published by Eidos Interactive. It was first released on the Sega Saturn, followed shortly by versions for MS-DOS and the PlayStation.
Initial release date: October 25, 1996
Lara Croft’s character is how her pose, and clothing are clear examples of objectifying women.
Tomb raider is one of the first games with a female protagonist which I can see as a positive action done by the developers, but the way they have displayed her character is engunuin since on the one hand, it’s promoting female protagonist, but then on the other hand the cover has subliminal messages behind the character to make her more desired by sexualizing her.
-She is shown to be a sex icon, reinforced by her clothing and the way she pants and breathes heavily throughout the game. She is also know to have a 24inch waist and a 36inch bus.
Lara Croft – originally Laura Cruz name changed for US audience. Female archaeologist and action hero
Issues of Gender representation. [Mulvey and the male gaze.]
the voice- is a dominantly black media service that offers articles on news and entertainment
Founded: August 30, 1982
marshall mcluhan- elaborates on the point that media is the message but you will never fully understand the message without understanding the media it uses to get to you.
and the impact of that on individuals is that when technology becomes more accessible it truly create more separation as the more its accessible the more people
in terms of teen vogue and other sights like it it would personalise news feeds to ur liking or target marketing
free platform can be associated with the voice as its a non profit news page that interacts with the community
one on one market can be referred as well to teen vogue with direct or targeted articles one made
Strinati points out that ‘the distinction between culture and society is being eroded’ (231) and suggests that our sense of reality (the overarching metanarrative) appears to come from the culture (eg the media), rather than from society which is then reproduced, represented and relayed through media communication. In terms of media studies, this marks a juncture from previous conceptions of mass media communication, for example, as a ‘relay system’ – a process which just relays information and events in real time to a mass society, or the conception of the media as a ‘window on the world’ (Strinati:233). From a societal perspective the ‘real’ seems to be imploding in on itself, a ‘process leading to the collapse of boundaries between the real and simulations’ (Barker & Emma, 2015:242). A process which the French intellectual Jean Baudrillard would describe as IMPLOSION which gives rise to what he terms SIMULACRA. The idea that although the media has always been seen as a representation of reality – a simulation, from Baudrillard’s perspective of implosion, it is has become more than a representation or simulation and it has become SIMULACRUMnot just a representation of the real, but the real itself, a grand narrative that is ‘truth‘ in its own right: an understanding of uncertain/certainty that Baudrillard terms the HYPERREAL.
4 How valid are Baudrillard’s ideas of simulation and hyperreality to understanding the media? You should refer to the Close Study Products Score and Maybelline to support your answer.(20)
Post-Hautlieu Aspirations, what students hope to get from their course and how it fits them. (Interviewing classmates on where they are going and how they have worked towards the moment where they go to university – does it relate to childhood dreams and why they are passionate about it.)
Questions:
Why is this something that you are interested in?
Do you think it is easy to make your mind up about what you want to do?
Are you already thinking ahead to post-university and where you want to be, or are you content with taking things as they are in the moment?
Do you think there is still a stigma around what people chose as courses for when they go to University, and that arts students get looked on as lesser than STEM students?
