Oh Comely is also a magazine about people and what makes it different to the rest? It makes people feel better about themselves as it try to inspires people to be creative, talk to their neighbors and explore new things, rather than gossip, buy stuff or lose weight. So it is trying to bring a more positive outlook to the media magazine industry.

OH Comely now OH is part of a development in lifestyle and environmental movements of the early twenty first century which re brand consumerism as an ethical movement. Its representation of femininity reflects an aspect of the feminist movement which celebrates authenticity and empowerment

 OH is an independent magazine published by Iceberg Press, a small London publisher which publishes only one other title.

Which shows how developments in new technology mean that small companies can also use the internet to communicate and target audiences. So with this they can increase the likely hood of consumers purchasing there products as it would be the focus market instead of a whole bunch on random people

Presenting new strategies for institutional development and creative working practice. As well as suggesting ways for keeping print popular and relevant – Iceberg’s branding includes a commitment to print over other media forms, so a newspaper for example

bi-monthly published in print and digitally,

started by three friends.

You can find oh in some Salisbury’s and Wait rose, most WH Smiths and many small newsagents, indie mag shops and some cafes, museums and galleries.

Oh ~ previously Oh Comely

Oh Comely is part of a development in lifestyle and environmental movements of the early twenty first century which rebrand consumerism as an ethical movement. It’s representation of femininity reflects an aspect of the feminist movement which celebrates authenticity and empowerment. It is able to create new media representations.

In contrast to Men’s Health magazine, Oh Comely is an independent magazine published by Iceberg Press, a small London publisher.

There is an absence of men as part of the representation of masculinity in the Oh magazine. This means that the magazine is more aimed towards female consumers as there is an absense of themes of masculinity and more focused towards femininity. They construct this representation of femininity by focusing on creativity, quirkiness and influential women plus it supports the feminist movement.

When considering media, power and control you should consider Chomsky’s 5 filters, such as Ownership and Flak, which is when larger corporations with more power restrict smaller companies abilities to publish. The film bombshell clearly shows control in the media, with Roger Ailes having power over all of his employees (females especially) as he is top of a huge media outlet Fox News and therefore filters the information being fed to the public. Roger Ailes was pro-trump, however the power of Murdoch (Anti-trump) owned Fox News and the majority of news outlets, so therefore also had influence the media as anti-trump

Rupert Murdoch is so succesful that his decision to support labour, impacted the new labour party election in 1997. Becuase of his ownership of The sun, the times and news of the world. These newspapers promoted the labour goverment and leader Tony Blair. The police accepted briebs from Murdochs company to gain data from them, however nothing was ever done about it. This is an example of Murdoch’s power and the influence his media companies can have on society.

hesmondhalgh’s theory talks about theories of the self and identity in relation to aspirational ambitions and the realities of the creative economy. He critically analyses the relationship between media work and the media industry. How it is romanticised vs the reality of the industry. academics

NOT FINAL ESSAY

TO WHAT EXTENT DOES AN ANALYSIS OF THE CLOSE STUDY PRODUCTS GHOST TOWN AND LETTER TO THE FREE SUPPORT THIS VIEW?

POSSIBLE ESSAY STRUCTURE

(note don’t forget to support all of your ideas with details, examples and illustrations from the 2 CSP’s)

1. What is the link between society and media (ie McDougall/ Fenton)
2. How best to link 2 music videos and society? Postcolonialism
3. Postcolonial theory – Gilroy & WEB du Bois (double consciousness, hybridisation)
4. Postcolonialism is a way of understanding ‘the other’ Lacan – mirror theory / Edward Said Orientialism
5. How can music videos change ideas? Culture as a site of struggle – Althusser ISA / Gramsci Hegemony
6. Conclusion

Lecan: Mirror Theory

• seeing yourself in the other
• we use “the other” as a way of exploring ourselves
• for example, if you were black in the 1970s, you would have no appearance of identity due to a lack of representation

Edward Said and The “Orient”

• The orient could not represent itself
• media is the lens at which identity is formed

Hegemonic Struggle (Althusser)

• ideological state apparatus (ISAs) used to describe the ideologies tht are displayed to children through media that forms an identity
• interpolation – all ideology hails or interpellates concrete individuals as concrete subjects, through the functioning of the category of the subject
• a ‘tug of war’ – forced to look and think but you can reject ideology to create a struggle within society

ghost town was a song by the Specials, which was written as a commentary about inner-city violence, mainly inner-city postcolonial violence. Letter to the free, by Common, also discusses racial justice, with the main discussion being the unjust incarceration of black people. Ghost town and letter to the free therefore somewhat support the view that media should be challenged. Furthermore, this is seen in Letter to the Free where

Media products often challenge the social and cultural contexts in which they are created.

To what extent does an analysis of the close study products Ghost town and the Letter to the Free support this view.

In some ways, social, historical and cultural contexts are important, as it not only connects to media studies, it allows society to grasp a better understanding of postcolonialism, and how races are constructed as different, opposite or other. Looking at Commons Letter to the Free, which is a song wrote as a soundtrack to the 13^th, a documentary by Ava DuVernay, named after the American 13^th amendment, which was the abolition of slavery. The song implies how black people are seen different to others. This is evident through his lyrics, “we aint seen as humans”, suggesting that society see Black people as different, not even human beings. Furthermore, the lyric “will the U.S ever be with us” constructs an ideology of U.S almost seeing them as opposites and choose to stand against them.

The theorist J. McDougall analyses the notion of “fake news and media Studies”. In his book, he states “I do spend long periods of time with my gaze turned away from the media, because I’m seeking to understand what’s going on out there, and then the role of the media in that context. I’m always putting the social, the political and the economic (contexts) first.” 

If we look at War of the Worlds, it is a science fiction novel, where aliens invade, and the story is told through the narrative’s diary. The conventions of news reports were used for dramatic realism, to create suspend disbelief for the audience. The reason why it is important not just to focus on the media/not just to focus on society, is the notion of “interpellation”, meaning society can eventually make us into a certain person. The theorist Louis Althusser talks about the ISA’s and the idea of interpellation (ideology state apparatus). They construct an idea, that is connected to the state, in a way of which individuals are interpellated into society. The way in which your subject identity is formed and which, more often than not, corresponds to the dominant ideology. Linking this the War of the Worlds, we can say that the audience listened into the media (radio broadcasters, who were potentially controlled what to say by the “ISA”) and they were educated about what happened. Due to the suspend disbelief, the majority of the audience were interpellated into the “fake news”. McDougall’s claims that “I do spend long periods of time with my gaze turned away from the media, because I’m seeking to understand what’s going on out there, and then the role of the media in that context. I’m always putting the social, the political and the economic (contexts) first.” So, it is important to acknowledge not only the media, but also society, as they are interdependent and allow us to have better understanding of the realism of the world. Furthermore, we can link the theory of interpellation to Roger Ailes and Fox News. Roger Ailes was an American executive and media consultant, and the chairman/CEO of Fox News, allowing him to be In control of the company, by what information their address on the media. He and Donald Trump could be described as gate keepers, as they filter out the information, they want the public to hear. They are people who exert power, making them have the ability to construct an idea, where individuals are interpellated into society.

Music videos are a great source of media to address information about the society. If we look at The Ghost Town by The Specials, it educates the audience about the economic depression and lack of employment in London. It involves hybridization, as two genres of music merge together: reggae and ska. Alternatively, Commons Letter to the Free, with its hip-hop rap style, it sends the audience a message that black lives matter, as it talks about ending slavery and generating equal rights for everyone.

The similar between these two music videos, is that it gives awareness of the current situations that took place in those eras. This is where post colonialism links in, as it creates the emergence of critical thinking. The arguments around post-colonialism critical thought “constituted a fundamentally important political act” (MacLeod). Theorist Edward Siad, developed orientalism, where he states that the power to narrate, or to block other narratives from forming or emerging, is very important to culture and imperialism. Linking to Letter to the Free, which was made in 2016, the power of its narrative aided and encouraged the Protests for Black Lives Matter in 2020. In his book “orientalism”, Edward Siad points out the “the Orient has helped to define Europe”. So, we could say that music videos i,e Letter to the Free, has helped define society, through protests, to make the world a better place.

To understand the term “other” in “the orient in other”, Jacques Lacan, a French philosopher,  developed the mirror stage of child development, which points out that we cannot actually see ourselves as whole, we use a reflection to understand who we are and who we are not. Lacan’s theory of the mirror stage talks about when we first see each other, that’s when the recognition occurs. So, applying this theory to media studies, communications and culture, the reason why we consume the media so much, is to not only identify and understand the “other”, but explore ourselves. Linking to the music video Letter to the Free it allows audience/society, to reflect on themselves and think how they are as a person – are they discriminating the black? Society consume media and reflects on themselves. As it allows them to understand society and culture, it gives them the opportunity to make a change, such as joining protests to try and get rid of poor equality.

Paul Gilroy believes that we have a double consciousness, which is the internal conflict experienced by a group of dominant people in an oppressive society. The theme of double consciousness was developed from W.E.B Dubois. In his book “Black Atlantic” he talks about stiving to be both European and Black. However, the 13^th amendment suggests that black people are only seen as lawbreakers who are not even classed as human. As a way to push past this ideology, Letter to the Free is a song black people calling out to the ones who are free, to tell them that slavery should end. They will not be subjected as objects who work and make money for America. If we continue with this type of media being sent out to society (about how slavery needs to stop) the community will eventually agree with it, and prevent itself from happen in any way possible, such as protests. This would occur through the use of George Gerbner’s theory of cultivation, where exposure to media over time, eventually cultivates the viewers perceptions of reality.

Music videos can have the ability to change our understanding of cultures. Gramsci, is a theorist who came up with the idea of hegemony, meaning the dominance of certain aspects of life and thought by the penetration of a dominant culture and its values into social life. So, as a whole, hegemony serves as a crucial shaper of culture, values and ideology of society, which is constructed through the use of music videos and other platforms. If we link hegemony to Letter to the Free, it is clear that there is a struggle with hegemony, due to the lack of equality and negotiation black people have.

In conclusion, Letter to the Free and Ghost Town can be applied to the concept of post colonialism. Furthermore, it is understandable that media, such as music videos can influence and be influenced by society and culture. This is evident through Letter to the free, as they talk about how hegemony is a struggle, as there’s a lack of equality. Also, Ghost town aims to bring awareness of the employment rates and violence that occurred through the UK, specifically East London. Overall, music videos can change cultures and show the struggles they are facing/have faced.

• mixture of race, suits, all in one car (metanarrative), reggae,
• ‘no job to be found in this country’ (said by black person, immigration, discrimination),
• ‘people getting angry’ (jobs, revolution, people not accepting others for who they are),
• look like they’re having fun, police sirens gets they’re attention (whilst throwing stones on beach), suggests afraid of being together (other people’s views)

• ‘this town coming like a ghost town’ ‘too much fighting on the dance floor’

• ‘why must the youth fight against themselves?’ ‘no job to be found in this country’

• lots of time between lines suggesting a journey
• industrial, empty streets suggesting fear of integrating

Both postmodernism and postcolonialism focus of social, cultural, political and historical constructs, which all helped to create the world and society we know and live in today. Many theorists are intrigued by these topics as they show exactly how society has shaped itself and how it has both caused and resolved problems , which have occurred due to events in the world and people themselves. Postcolonialism focuses on individuals whereas postmodernism focuses on how society is as a whole.

Professer Natalie Fenton quoted in a book called ‘fake news vs media studies’ written by J.McDougall; in this she quoted “I’ve always said you can’t understand the world without the media nor the media without the world”. This supports the ideology that media products challenge the social and cultural contexts in which they’re created, suggesting that you can’t have one without the other, both the world around you and the things happening in it whether is be good or bad, can’t be understood without media products and vice versa, for example if there was a war going on in a country or if there was a huge crime somewhere, you wouldn’t know about it unless you heard it in the news, the news helps people understand what’s going on in the world around them and if they can do anything to help.

Natalie looks for the links between media and the real world seeing how they overlap and intertwine with one another, whereas Ibid, quotes “I do spend long periods of time with my gaze turned away from the media, because I’m seeking to understand what’s going on out there, and then the role of the media in that context. This suggests that Ibid wants to find things out on his own without the media then find out how the media portrays that same event, this could be due to the social ideology that the media is propaganda and plants false memories into people’s heads trying to make them believe something that isn’t true or see something in a twisted way, this is to abuse the power they have over ordinary individuals such as you and I, this is an example of hegemony(thought of by Antonio Gramsci) where parties of high power or dominance uses that power over individuals with less power or influence and sway them to believe something that is false.

Common’s letter to the free ft Bilal was made as a soundtrack to the ’13th amendment’ documentary’, the abolition of slavery, common quotes in the song ‘slavery’s still alive look at the 13th amendment’ and ‘prison is a business, America’s the company’ and ‘buildings are a method with black and brown bodies to film them’, this is addressed in the documentary, explaining that slavery still exists today even after centuries. The fact that this is happening suggests that black people are viewed as criminals (the song quotes ‘instead of nigga they use the word criminal’ suggesting that all black people even if they were born in America and are American and haven’t committed a crime they are still a criminal’), Paul Gilroy suggests that we have a double consciousness such as a person being both black and American, however the 13th amendment suggests that black people are only criminals nothing else and they and aren’t treated fairly ‘not seen as humans with feelings’ they’re only seen as worthless objects to make money for America. This discrimination and worthlessness is seen in everyday society where black people are stopped and searched and arrested for no good reason other than just because of their race, this is seen a recent TV ‘trinkets’ where a black girl walks into a shop and the employee is immediately suspicious of her and accuses her of stealing when she didn’t pick anything up. The social and cultural context in which letter to the free is set is the problem of slavery from centuries ago up until now in the modern day, this song challenges this as the name itself shows the trapped calling out to the free to listen to their plea and saying that it’s not ok slavery is not ok in anyway and is dehumanising the innocent and is being run as a business to make American money, slave trading is still going on in the world, America having the highest rate of it in the world. It can be said that George Gerbner’s cultivation theory can be used with this song meaning that the more people see the video the more they will realise the dominant reading being portrayed in the video showing that slavery needs to be stopped but that will only happen when people realise this and do something about it. Recent events of the riots for black lives matter is the start of this showing that black people are people just like all the white people in the world, they have just as many rights as we do.

Both commons letter to the free and the specialist’s ghost town music videos have long intros suggesting the long process and how the history of racism and discrimination and the long journey black people have to go through to become free and remove the ideology that black people are bad and challenge that and create a new ideology that they should have equal rights. In ghost town in the music video as the title suggest the streets are deserted so the people in the car are isolated (like the people in letter to the free are isolated in big rooms far apart from each other), it’s only them there driving recklessly through the streets, in the car is mixed race which shows inclusiveness and black and white people coming together as one. the song quotes ‘no jobs left in this country’ talking about the youths suggesting that the issues with racism and discrimination will be a problem for the youth’s if not resolved, cause a dangerous and unsettling world in which the younger generations are going to live in. This challenges the social and cultural setting as inside the car in the music video it is cross cultural suggesting peace has been formed and that the black and the white can come together as one and make society better, it also looks like they’re having fun whilst driving symbolising friendship and the bond that can be created between races. In ghost town there is a large gap filed with music between lines in the song, suggesting that things have to be thought about. At the end of the music video sirens can be heard in the background when the people are throwing stones into a river which grabs they’re attention suggesting that it is considered bad to associate with a different race at the time this video was made, this supports the social and cultural context it is set in.