In narrative theory we can talk about many different theorists within this theory, for example Todorov. Todorov proposed a theory which he believed was applicable to all films. He believed that all films follow the same narrative pattern through 5 stages. These are the Equilibrium, disequilibrium, acknowledgement, solving and again the equilibrium. Another theorist we can discuss through narrative theory is Vladimir Propp. Propp believed that stories are character driven and that plots develop from the decisions and actions of characters and how they function in a story. Levi Strauss also had a theory of binary opposition which is the system of language and/or thought by which two theoretical opposites are strictly defined and set off against one another.

Both ‘Letter to the free’ and ‘Ghost Town’ follow Toderov’s narrative theory, therefore giving them a clear equilibrium, disequilibrium, acknowledgement, solving and again the equilibrium. This is shown in Ghost Town for example with the opening being the first equilibrium of driving through the streets of London, showing the audience how London has become like a “ghost town”. The disruption is when the car swerves out of control. However, the new equilibrium is when the band return to the car and are seen at the end on a beach, which could be a symbol of things returning back to normal, because earlier on in the video things were out of control whereas towards the end, things seem to be relatively back to normal.

In Commons ‘Letter to the Free’ it also follows a narrative theory. The music video begins with a shot of the setting and then the focus on a black box, which could represent an infinity symbol of black lives and a constant reminder of the “black lives matter” movement. Then following that the disruption can be shown by Common being seen in a prison, playing music, demanding freedom. It can be argued that the disruption of this music video can be the imprisonment of black lives, which can mainly be seen through the whole video. This also applies Stauss’ theory of binary oppositions as well as Toderovs, because Common is talking about freedom, but in his music video he he has no freedom because he is trapped in a prison and he is trying to prove a point. Finally, the new equilibrium of the music video is the empty shots of the prison and a zooming out close-up of a house, with the outdoor shot symbolizing freedom and the freedom he has finally got. The black box appears to once again remind us of the message of the song that black lives matter and are equal to everyone else.

• media concentration/congolmerates/globalisation (in terms of media ownership)

a single corporation owning multiple worldwide companies

• vertical integration & horizontal integration

vertical integration – when a media company owns all of the steps of production, eg, the distribution, production etc

horizontal integration –

• gatekeepers

a group of people who force others through a set of their own concrete rules

• regulation/deregulation

regulation – every area of a corporation is overseen by the government to ensure they are following the law

deregulation – a lack of regulation from the government allowing corporations to break laws without consequence

murdoch media empire

he distinctive organisational form of the cultural industries has considerable implications for the conditions under which symbolic creativity is carried out’ – david hesmondhalgh

those organisations have an impact on how people work

there must be serious concerns about the extent to which this business-driven, economic agenda is compatible with the quality of working life and of human well-being in the creative industries.

the individualising discourses of ‘talent’ and ‘celebrity’ and the promise of future fame or consecration, have special purchase in creative work, and are often instrumental in ensuring compliance with the sometimes invidious demands of managers, organisations and the industry (Banks & Hesmondhalgh, p. 420).

media ownership and structure

• Murdoch Dynasty
• monopolies: media conglomerates
• corporations may purchase overseas companies (horizontal integration) in order to ensure a spread of ideology
• this can be related to chomsky (manufacturing consent)/cultivation theory. Different media forms are bought as a monopoly by the same conglomerate which allows the media conglomerate to spread its ideas onto working class citizens
• althusser with the ruling class using ideological state apparatus (through media conglomerates) to enforce ideologies and as a result identity of the working class

Media Concentration

Conglomerates –

Globolisation

Vertical Integration – A process in business where a company buys another company that supplies it with goods or buys goods from it in order to control all the processes of production

Horizontal Integration

Gatekeepers

Regulation – Rules that is set by the governor so that companies don’t abuse their power

Deregulation – A process in which a government removes controls and rules about how newspapers, television channels etc.

Free market

Monopolies & Mergers

MURDOCH MEDIA EMPIRE

David Hesmondhalgh critically analyses the relationship between media work and the media industry. He mentions that ” the distinctive organisational form of the cultural industries has considerable implications for the conditions under which symbolic creativity is carried out”.

A critical reflection that highlights the ‘myth-making’ process surrounding the potential digital future for young creatives, setting up a counter-weight against the desire of so many young people who are perhaps too easily seduced to pursue a career in the creative industries.

Coercion – Persuade (an unwilling person) to do something by using force or threats

4. The Media Informing / Coercing Policy And Decision Making

Coercion and abuse often occur in situations where someone can exploit a power differential with another person, for example in the movie “Bombshell” we can clearly see in the scene of when Kayla the character who goes into Ailes’s office to get interviewed so that she could present for Fox News. Roger then asks her to stand up and do a spin so that he can see her legs. He then asks for her to pull her skirt upwards so that he can see more of her legs and then you can clearly that she is uncomfortable and does not want to pull it up anymore and then Roger coerces her by saying “I need to see your legs so that you can have the job”.

KEY WORDS

• media concentration/globalization-  a pattern of ownership whereby fewer and fewer hands own more and more of the assets of that industry. This increasing concentration is a result of buyouts and mergers.
• conglomerates- is a company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as television, radio, publishing, motion pictures,

Horizontal integration is when a business grows by acquiring a similar company in their industry at the same point of the supply chain. 

Vertical integration is when a business expands by acquiring another company that operates before or after them in the supply chain.

gatkeeper- filteres and processes what comes in and out. Eg; washington dc scene “i just wanna see the inside of your hotel room” she says no scene cuts to her getting sacked.

regulation- set of laws put in place by government.

deregulation- taling away laws.

Key words:

• Media concentration / Conglomerates / Globalisation (in terms of media ownership)-  is a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media. Contemporary research demonstrates increasing levels of consolidation, with many media industries already highly concentrated and dominated by a very small number of firms

• Vertical Integration & Horizontal Integration- Horizontal integration is when a business grows by acquiring a similar company in their industry at the same point of the supply chain. Vertical integration is when a business expands by acquiring another company that operates before or after them in the supply chain

• Gatekeepers- filter and process things and information that comes in and out

• Regulation / Deregulation- Deregulation is when the government reduces or eliminates restrictions on industries, often with the goal of making it easier to do business. It removes a regulation that interferes with firms’ ability to compete, especially overseas.

• Free market vs Monopolies & Mergers-

• Neo-liberalism and the Alt-Right-

• Surveillance / Privacy / Security / GDPR-

Key words:

• Media concentration / Conglomerates / Globalisation (in terms of media ownership) – Massive media companies (conglomerates) which own a vast field of the media horizontally and vertically that have a global impact with their products.
• Vertical Integration & Horizontal Integration – vertical integration of a company is owning branches within the same media (film -distribution-exhibition)
• Gatekeepers – people who regulate what is show and advertised in the industry (letting people/info) in or keeping them out)
• Regulation / Deregulation – government intervention in order to regulate and prevent monopolies.
• Free market vs Monopolies & Mergers – monopolies are made when a certain company own all the horizontal forms of one media company (eg all radio stations)
• Neo-liberalism and the Alt-Right
• Surveillance / Privacy / Security / GDPR

David Hesmondhalgh

Two of Hesmondhalgh’s key ideas are:

• the idea that the largest companies or conglomerates now operate across a number of different cultural industries
• the idea that the radical potential of the internet has been contained to some extent by its partial incorporation into a large, profit-orientated set of cultural industries

Hesmondhalgh argues that major cultural organisations create products for different industries in order to maximise chances of commercial success. In relation to online products, he argues that major IT companies now compete with the more traditional media conglomerates within the cultural sector: ‘Microsoft, Google, Apple and Amazon are now as significant as News Corporation, Time Warner and Sony for understanding cultural production and consumption.’

Hasmondhalgh’s theory: This suggests that cultural industry companies. Minimise risk + Maximise Audiences = Maximise Profit

Murdoch Media Empire

• After his father’s death in 1952, Murdoch took over the running of The News, a small Adelaide newspaper owned by his father. In the 1950s and 1960s, Murdoch acquired a number of newspapers in Australia and New Zealand before expanding into the United Kingdom in 1969, taking over the News of the World, followed closely by The Sun. In 1974, Murdoch moved to New York City, to expand into the U.S. market; however, he retained interests in Australia and Britain. In 1981, Murdoch bought The Times, his first British broadsheet, and, in 1985, became a naturalized U.S. citizen, giving up his Australian citizenship, to satisfy the legal requirement for U.S. television network ownership

The Media informing/ coercing policy and decision making

The Media coerces control and decides highly political elections and debates such as Brexit. Chomsky’s theory of manufactured consent helps us understand the media coercing policies as big media conglomerate owners such as Rupert Murdoch can manufacture consent through his widespread ownership in media, he did this in the 2016 Brexit voting in order to gain more power in the uk.

• Media concentration / Conglomerates / Globalisation (in terms of media ownership) – Conglomerates are massive multimedia companies that own multiple subsidiary companies.
• Vertical Integration & Horizontal Integration
• Gatekeepers – term used to refer to those with authority who can give access to people and ideas based on their preference and whether it could gain them profit.
• Regulation / Deregulation – Regulation of industries usually prevents companies from becoming too powerful and/or prevents companies harming the environment and/or to stop companies pushing specific agendas to people.
• Free market vs Monopolies & Mergers – Monopolies are companies that control their industries fully.
• Neo-liberalism and the Alt-Right -Right wing ideologies promoting the value of capitalism, free markets and de-regulation.
• Surveillance / Privacy / Security / GDPR – The General Data Protection Regulation is a law designed to protect the personal data of everyone. Companies usually want data because it allows them to more effectively market products and even ideologies towards people by targeting their specific interests and schedules.

David Hesmondhalgh and media industries:

“in its utopian presentation, creative work is now imagined only as a self-actualising pleasure, rather than a potentially arduous or problematic obligation undertaken through material necessity” 

David Hesmondhalgh among other academics propose that the media companies that people work for are often made to do arduous tasks in which freedom is little because of the capitalist structure of media industries in which bosses exploit the workers in media industries and people working in these industries are doing their jobs not out of a desire for creativity, although they may have it, but rather because of material necessity – they need their jobs to fund their lives. This contradicts the romantic and essentially propaganda-like presentation of media companies as creative work that is done as a self-actualising pleasure

Murdoch Media Empire:

THE MEDIA INFORMING/COERCING POLICY AND DECISION MAKING:

• Chomsky – manufactuing consent, making sure the media keeps the status quo
• New Labour party election 1997 – Rupert Murdoch using media to manipulate the public into voting for the candidate that suited his interests.
• Brexit – Media used to make people vote to leave the EU which would benefit the upper class and business owners because of EU regulations.
• Althusser and ISAs – the media acts as an internal state apparatus, making the sure the status quo is kept to benefit the owners of media corporations
• Murdoch dynasty – Influences the new labour party election to his benefit
• Bombshell – shows how large media corporations coerce policy to keep the employees or other outside entities from threatening the positions of those high up in the media industry. Using media corporations can influence public opinion about them and discredit anyone who stands against them.

David Hesmondhalgh is an academic who critically analyses the relationship between media work and the media industry. He suggested that:

“the distinctive organisational form of the cultural industries has considerable implications for the conditions under which symbolic creativity is carried out“

Young people are too easily seduced to be able to work in the creative media industry. This is because of the possible wealth and fame which is why they allow themselves to be sexually harassed by their “boss”.

” the individualising discourses of ‘talent’ and ‘celebrity’ and the promise of future fame or consecration, have special purchase in creative work, and are often instrumental in ensuring compliance with the sometimes invidious demands of managers, organisations and the industry (Banks & Hesmondhalgh, p. 420).”

Murdoch’s media empire includes Fox News, Fox Sports, the Fox Network, The Wall Street Journal, and HarperCollins. The families empires woth is nearly 18 billion.

Trump winning the election made the Murdoch family more powerful.