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

To what extent does an analysis of the close study products Ghost Town and Letter To The Free support this view?(25 marks)

In the book “Fake news vs media studies” by j.mcdougall, quoted by N.fenton almost paraphrasing the first statement in the question, she stated: “I’ve always said you can’t understand the world without the media nor the media without the world”. This quote further implies why media products have such a key role in the world today and how they can easily challenge the world’s dominant ideologies but still shapes and enforce societies views all together. To the point where one can’t work without the other. Postcolonialism heavily affects how we the audience can interpret the media. The previous quote was from 2019 and is possibly even more relevant now, in 2020. With the current events happening in the news/media today with the BlackLivesMatter hashtag, raising awareness, of the worlds upset, at the law enforcement, and higher power allowing racism to still happen in this day and age. Following the line of postcolonialism, theories such as Jacques Lacan, with his theory on “ the other”. Or Edward Said, and views on orientalism, or  Louis Althusser with his notes on ISA’s & the notion of ‘Interpellation”. As well as Antonio Gramsci and his theory on Hegemony.  All have strong connection’s and examples relating with the case studies, “Letter To The free” and “ghost town”.

The way these case studies link is by their similar narratives for both of their songs. As their ideologies are more on the radical side, challenging the dominant ideology on social issues of their time. With “Letter To The Free” speaking out about racism, and the division it’s caused in America in 2020. Together with “Ghost Town” speaking out their frustrations of the unemployment and division in the uk at the time. 

In addition it’s clear to see that the two case studies have ideas pointing towards postcolonialism theorist Paul Gilroy & WEB du Bois. As WEB du bois first explained the term, and idea of an audience having a “double consciousness”. With Paul Gilroy using the term, and concept again, in his book “The Black Atlantic” . With Double consciousness defining itself as the internal conflict experienced by subordinated or colonized groups in an oppressive society. We can see this in “letter to the free” with the subject matter being racism against the black community in America.

You can also link the theory of double consciousness to ghost town as the song is expressing the frustration of the uk with the government and the rise in unemployment that caused a lot of anger throughout the country.

By understanding the concept of postcolonialism, we can learn to understand the theories of “The Other” and “Orientalism”, by Jacques Lacan, and Edward said. To understand this term Jacques Lacan explains using his exploration of the mirror stage of child development, whereby, as we cannot actually see ourselves as whole, we use a reflection to understand who we are / who we are not. Lacan elaborated that in infancy this first recognition occurs when we see ourselves in a mirror. Applying that theory to culture, communications and media studies, it is possible to see why we are so obsessed with reading magazines, listening to music, watching films, videos and television because, essentially, we are exploring ‘The Other’ as a way of exploring ourselves. 

To link this to postcolonialism would be to suggest that the West uses the East / the Orient / the ‘Other’, to identify and construct itself. How it sees itself as the ‘West’, in other words, it acts as The Other, a mirror by which a reflection of the self can be measured out and examined. When minorities or people of colour look at the media, they don’t see themselves from the lack of positive representation, giving the presence of lost identity from the desperate miss of representation.

Following the line of “the other” we can examine the theory of “Orientalism” by Edward Said, and how it challenges the social and cultural context of the easter world. The Link between culture, imperial power & colonialism, Said phrased it as; “it’s the power to narrate, or to block other narratives from forming or emerging”.”In this view, the outlying regions of the world have no life, history or culture to speak of, no independence or integrity worth representing without the West.”(Said, 1993: xxi). Orientalism (1978) alongside Culture and Imperialism (1993). I chose those two texts, specifically because I think they best explain what Orentialism is, and can give the direct link with Common’s music video.

Beginning with Commons “Letter to the free”, and his topic of racism we can see that his music video is challenging the media with this radical form of media, by going against the dominant ideologies or the western ideologies of narrative, and representation. His music video is shining a light on how America is not addressing its racist views to its citizens and is still allowing racism to fly past the radar with little to no consequence. This is clear to see in the media today with the black lives matter movement and the injustice that thousands of black americans face and who are stereotyped. And the even more distressing reply to some of the protests addressing the issue, is with police brutality being their answer to try control the situation. Instead of admitting their mistakes and changing for the better, they retaliate, and attempt to silence the voice of equality, that every person whether coloured or not, should have from day one. its human decency. Relating it back to the music video Common addresses racism with a more specific point on imprisonment of black Americans, as the song was written for a netflix documentary  “Amendment 13th”. Elaborating and exposing the government’s prison system. And how racism has evolved from that Amendment, from the constitution stating: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States”.

Furthermore French philosopher Louis Althusser talks about the Ideological state apparatus (ISA),  a concept developed by Algerian Born, which is used to describe the way society structures itself to a line with its ideologies of identity, and right and wrong. Althusser quotes “ ‘Ideology ‘acts’ or ‘functions’ in such a way to ‘recruit’ subjects among individuals… through the very precise operation that we call interpellation or hailing.” Which in other words means, the way in which a subjects identity is formed, more often than not, corresponds to the dominant ideology. Because we are socially conformed and ‘despite its diversity and contradictions of society’s ideologies stays as the ruling ideology, which is the ideology of ‘the ruling class’ examples being the government and people of power.

This correlates with the music video Ghost Town as Althusser talks about forced upon views of what is deemed as acceptable for self identity, and the power that the ruling class have, such as the government. The song is specifically about the frustration of the division caused by the government in the uk at the time when unemployment rates were record high. The song was commenting about the division around the country and which social ideologies can create the same division, because it sets rules that most people don’t identify. Whilst making self identity hard to figure out because society is in a sense labeling you.

in conclusion i think Letter to the Free and Ghost town both challenge world ideologies with their more radical views on it. I personally think the media does challenge the worlds view but it often creates the worlds ideologies to benefit the people in power. So, To keep those in charge happy, the world relays on the media to help with social cunstruction of people of powers ideologies, so to quote by N. Fenton

“I’ve always said you can’t understand the world without the media northe media without the world”.

we can’t understand how, and why they do it without looking at the medium they do it in.

Post-colonialism is important for how an audience may view media. Two theorists that look at the link between society and media are: J McDougall and Natalie Fenton. McDougall wrote a book called “Fake News vs New Media”. A quote from the book is “There are always points historically where populations have been discontented or economic hardships have been exacerbated”. The quote relates how Letter to the Free is a music video portraying the history of the mistreatment of black people and discrimination. An example of their discrimination is when Rosa parks was discriminated as she was told to stand up on a bus. This shows that Letter to the Free is a radical text because it challenges the historic events that black people had to fight for and the Common is asking (through his music video) for racial discrimination to stop.

Natalie Fenton links to post-colonialism because she created a three phase plan. This included of the assimilation of colonial structures that parallel to the “Mother country”. Following the three phase plan, it’s shown that the mother country in Letter to the Free, is America. This is unlike ghost town where the mother country is UK but mainly focuses on the city of London. This suggests how Letter to the Free and ghost town are radical and are trying to enforce change against discrimination while following the three phase plan.

Letter to the free and Ghost town both show post-colonialism, but in contrasting methods. Letter to the free is about ending racism and improving how black people are treated by those with unneeded, excessive power. However, Ghost town relates to the UK and its economic depression and how employment rates were increasing inside of factories. This further shows how they were radical at their time of released as people were used to these “norms” and viewed them as the dominant ideologies.

Post-colonialism is an important factor that can affect how we see things within the media, one theorist that can be linked to this is J McDougall. J McDougall is a theorist that we can apply to Letter to the Free. He wrote a book called “Fake News vs New Media”, and wrote “There are always points historically where populations have been discontented or economic hardships have been exacerbated”. This quote from McDougall’s book suggests how Letter to the Free is a song about the history of black lives and discrimination. Therefore, Letter to the Free can be seen as radical because it is challenging the historic events that black people have previously faced and the music video is demanding equal rights for black people and to end segregation and discrimination.

Ghost Town by The Specials and Letter to the Free by Common represent society in very contrasting ways. This is shown mainly through the narratives of the music videos because Letter to the Free is about ending slavery and give more freedom and creating equal rights for everyone. However, Ghost Town is about the economic depression and the employment rates going up in London which has gone out of control. Also, the music videos themselves have different genres, as Letter to the Free is a rap style song and Ghost Town includes two very different music genres; ska and reggae. What is similar about both of these videos is that they are radical and are drawing attention to events (that at the time of writing were currently happening) around the world, and for Letter to the Free, are still happening in the modern world today because of the 13th Amendment. Both of these music videos are also seen as quite radical. Being about the economic depression within the Uk and unemployment rates rising up and eventually running out of control and Letter to the Free is a plea from Common for equality for black people, which could be an event that had encouraged the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020.

It is very significant that both Letter to the Free and Ghost Town explore the concepts of post-colonialism. Two theorists who have came up with theories based around post-colonialism are Paul Gilroy and W.E.B Du Bois, who have both came up with theories based around post-colonialism. Gilroy wrote a book called “No Black in the Union Jack”, which can be seen as controversial because it challenges the ideas and messages that are brought across in Letter to the Free. Another concept that Gilroy explores originated from the ideas of W.E.B Du Bois and that is the idea that we as an audience has double consciousness. This idea of double consciousness links to both the music videos Letter to the Free and Ghost Town because double consciousness is the internal conflict which is experienced by subordinated or colonialist groups within an oppressive society. This links to both the music videos because the setting in Ghost Town is in the UK during the economical crisis, which left people out of work and refusing to leave the house. Similarly, Letter to the Free is set in an oppressive society in America because black people are experiencing discrimination and are getting a lack of rights compared to white people just because they are black and through historical events, it is evident that white people saw black people as Slaves and different to the white culture.

It can also be suggested that through the use of post-colonialism, we are able to understand the concept of “the other”. a theorist who can support this idea is Jacques Lacan and Edward Said. Jacques Lacan came up with a theory he called the “mirror theory”, where he explored when an infant first sees their reflection in the mirror. Lecan believes that it is the first time that the infant would recognise themselves. However, some infants might not recognise themselves in the mirror and instead see something else. This theory links with both Letter to the Free and Ghost Town as from watching the music video and listening to the lyrics, it is clear that people will create different interpretations of the message of the song. Another theorist who links to this concept is Edward Said. Said came up with the theory of Orientalism. Orientalist is the link between culture, imperial power and colonialism and links closely to the two music videos because by using the theory of “the other”, it is easier to learn more about ourselves.

Furthermore, it is significant that music videos can change cultures and show the struggles they are facing. A theorist who supports this idea is Althusser. Althusser came up with the theory of ideological state apparatus’, which are used to describe how the structures of a civic society can serve to structure the ideological perspectives of society, which eventually will turn to form our own individual subject identity. Similarly, another theorist who ties into this is Gramsci. Gramsci came up with the theory of hegemony. Hegemony can illustrate how certain culture forms predominate over others, meaning that certain ideas can become more influential than others. Therefore, hegemony is not a total domination, but instead is a continual exchange of power through the use of ideas. It is evident that post colonialism suggests a desire to reclaim, re-write and re-establish cultural identity and therefore maintain power. The theories by Gramsci and Althusser also link to Letter to the Free and Ghost Town because hegemony is a struggle which emerges from negotiation and consent, linking to Letter to the Free because there is a lack of negotiation and equality given for black people compared to white people. In Ghost Town it is similar because there is a lack of negotiation of people fighting and cursing violence within the inner cities.

In conclusion, it is apparent that the idea of post-colonialism can be applied to both Letter to the Free and Ghost Town and that music videos can be powerfully influenced by the dominant cultural and social attitudes of elements such as race, class and gender. This is shown in Letter to the Free as the lyrics are heavily influenced by the mistreatment and discrimination of black people, which therefore makes Letter to the Free a plea to all for equality for black people and to end discrimination to the wider population of people. Music videos can change cultures and show the struggles they are facing, such as how Letter to the Free is a plea for equality and how Ghost Town serves a purpose to bring awareness to the economic crisis and employment rates, as well as trying to bring awareness to the violence that was occurring in cities across the UK. Post-colonialism also helps us understand the other, meaning we can learn about different cultures as well as learning more about ourselves. However, using the mirror theory from Lacan, it is evident that we may percieve the music videos’ messages differently compared to other people, because when a baby sees themselves in the mirror for the first time , they may understand it is them, or they may see themselves as another person, therefore, identifying that people may interpret both Letter to the Free and Ghost Town differently, depending on factors such as ethnicity, occupation and so on, which is why it is important for music videos to grasp a clear narrative structure and follow the tripartite narrative structure which therefore creates a clear beginning, middle and end.

Key words:

• Media concentration / Conglomerates / Globalisation (in terms of media ownership) – Media concentration is a process where progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media. a media conglomerate is a company that owns large numbers of companies in various mass media including television, radio and publishing. Media globalization is the worldwide integration of media through the cross-cultural exchange of ideas, while technological globalization refers to the cross-cultural development and exchange of technology.
• Vertical Integration & Horizontal Integration – Vertical integration is a company that owns different businesses in the same chain of distribution and production.
• Gatekeepers
• Regulation / Deregulation
• Free market vs Monopolies & Mergers

David Hesmondhalgh – Hesmondhalgh is Professor of Media, Music and Culture at the University of Leeds. His interests include the cultural and creative industries, cultural policy, the politics of musical experience, and how ‘cultural platforms’ are transforming media. His books include The Cultural Industries, first published in 2002, described by Herbert et al. in their Media Industry Studies as “a formative text for many who began their research careers at the start of the century” and as “extensively updated to keep pace with the new issues developing in an era of social and internet-distributed media”.

cultural industries-

“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.“this talks about weather a business money driven,power driven or pleasure driven.

” the promise of future and fame is is often instrumental in ensuring compliance with the sometimes invidious demands of managers, organisations and the industry.”- Eg bombshell Roger Ailes promising fame and fortune at a price (sexual harassment)

Should be about luck and connections, should all have an equal chance.

• Media concentration / Conglomerates – A huge business that owns multiple companies who are involved in aspects media eg. tv and film.
• Globalisation – The worldwide integration of media through the cross-cultural exchange of ideas.
• Vertical Integration – an arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is owned by that company
• Horizontal Integration – the process of a company increasing production of goods or services at the same part of the supply chain.
• Gatekeepers – The process through which information is filtered for dissemination (the action of spreading information widely)
• Regulation / Deregulation – rules enforced by the jurisdiction of laws for media use differ across the world / refers to the process of removing or loosening government restrictions on the ownership, this helps them get more money of media outlets.
• Free market VS Monopolies & Mergers – an economic system based on supply and demand with little or no government control VS several parts of a company coming together, they control this with rules from the government (laws). Some governments deregulates to get more money e.g. taxes
• Neoliberalism – Deals with economic ideas about free markets.
• Surveillance / Privacy / Security / GDPR – all used to protect or watch the public

Murdoch media empire

David Hesmondhalgh

• he analyses the relationship between media work and the media industry
• highlights ‘myth-making’ surrounding the digital future for teenagers, criticising the desire to pursue a career in the industry

Media Working Practices

a) promotion, success & financial rewards – no promotion = no success, no reward AND no success = no promotion. Bombshell – Kayla wanted a promotion, she tried to work her way up but Roger Allies took advantage of her & his higher position.

b) journalistic practices – Journalists should avoid conflicts of interest, refuse gifts, favors & fees etc, links to Murdoch Dynasty & Rebekah Wade who said she paid the police for information. Hesmondhalgh would agree that media inst a good business to work in due to the myths that can be created.

Girls in bombshell could be considered ‘the other’ (Edward Siedd) as they are all pretty, wore short dresses, had to show their legs etc. Gramci also said that we are not trapped within this representation, the women showed this by standing up to a higher power & walking away.

• Media concentration / Conglomerates / Globalisation (in terms of media ownership) – When a company owns multiple companies under it
• Vertical Integration – Own production, distribution and exhibition (cause the building is vertical)
• Horizontal Integration –
• Gatekeepers – filter and process info and workers
• Regulation / Deregulation – Rules to stop companies from creating monopolies too large
• Free market vs Monopolies & Mergers

David Hesmondhalgh

the distinctive organisational form of the cultural industries has considerable implications for the conditions under which symbolic creativity is carried out’ The Culture Industries (Sage, 2019, p.99) – organisations control the conditions of people

He 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.

The idea that the media is controlled by a small number of companies primarily driven by the logic of profit and power. The idea that more socially diverse patterns of ownership help to create the conditions for more varied and adventurous media productions.

The mass media is driven and influenced by political agendas that are difficult to separate from other economic influences, but it often dovetails with them.

“the press is the people’s watchdog”

according to classical liberal theory, the freedom to publish in the free market ensures that the press reflects a wide range of range of opinions and interests in society.

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.