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Ariana Grande’s fans criticise Eminem over Manchester Bombing lyrics

Article

Released on Friday 17th January 2020, Eminems new album – ‘Music to be murdered by’ received a lot of backlash after Eminem referenced the 2017 Manchester Bombing. Although many have used social media in order to voice their anger, many of Eminems fans have defended him by reminding people that this album is targeted at gun violence and mental health – in order to raise awareness. Eminem also raised money in order to help with the damage caused by the 2017 bombing.

Lyrics – “But I’m contemplating yelling ‘bombs away’ on the game / Like I’m outside of an Ariana Grande concert waiting.”

“Real talk, Eminem is such a piece of trash for making a punchline out of the 22 people who died in the Manchester attack,” one person wrote on Twitter. 

A young female audience more traditionally seen as interested in more superficial issues – I would say that this CSP isn’t a ‘superficial issue’ as it is concentrated on a very important matter which resulted in 22 people losing their lives, with the Manchester Mayor stating – “This is unnecessarily hurtful and deeply disrespectful to the families and all those affected.”. Furthermore, terrorist bombings have effected mass amounts of people and is a subject that would cause a lot of emotional pain when referenced the way it was in Eminems song.

How are the codes and conventions of a website used in the product? How are these conventions used to influence meaning? – On the website there are links to multiple twitter posts showing their distress and anger towards the rappers new song. At the top of the article, there is an image of eminem next to an image of Ariana – which may be used in order to attract the viewer – showing that the artists may have had a disagreement/ argument and are therefore now ‘against’ each other. The use of only negative tweets is used in order to support the writers ideology of the situation, neglecting quotes/ tweets which counter her opinion.

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How does the story construct a particular representation of the world –  This article portrays the world, or the teenage target audience, represents them as having a caring/ sympathetic attitude towards the victims of the Manchester bombing and how Eminem’s lyrics may have affected them. However, this representation may only be reacted as the person who wrote the article only portrays Eminem negatively, therefore their audience using and copying that opinion. The reality is that Eminem donated mass amounts of money towards the Manchester bombing and is using this article to raise awareness for gun violence and mental health ‘issues’. In addition, throughout the song Eminem also references Bin Laden and 9/11, however few people retaliate to these lyrics.

Subsidary – Smaller companies, owned by a conglomerate

Verticle Integration – Ownership of multiple companies – e.g all the companies invovled in the stages of creating a song/ music video.

Horizontal Integration – Ownership of similar companies

Monopoly – When a conglomerate owns all subsidaries

Diversification – A bussiness varying it’s range of products or field of operation – appealing to a larger audience

Vivendi – UMG – Vevo

Vivendi – 1853, subsidaries = UMG, Dailymotion

UMG = Subsidaries = Def Jam Recordings, virgin records

Vevo = Alan Price

Audience Theory – Gramci Hegemony

Gramci (General Secretary of italian communist party) – Refers to cultural hegemony which describes how the state and the bourgeoise use cultural institutions to maintain power in a capitalist society.

Cultural hegemony refers to domination or rule maintained through ideological or cultural means. It is usually achieved through social institutions (Government), which allow those in power to strongly influence the values, norms, ideas, expectations, and behavior of the rest of society.

Consent + Force = (Tug of War)

consent/ persuasion VS Violence

In relation to ‘Letter To The Free’

Therefore, in a Letter To The Free, Commons attitude towards the unfair treatment of black people in the supposed ‘Land Of The Free’ links into Gramci’s theory of Hegemony as the government – a social institution – is arresting masses amounts of black people, many of whom aren’t criminals, which therefore influences other peoples opinion of black people and their culture.

Common makes the video black (To show how colour shouldn’t matter(?)) and white is influencing his audiences via culture, making them listen and beleive in his POV. He is using Culture – His music video, as well as effects such as it being black and white, the symbolic shape, their surroundsings, in order to persuade his audience.

Common chooses the music video to engage in a struggle for hegemony with the ruling class and the dominant ideology. The music video is part of the hegemonic struggle

Audience Theory – Habermas ‘The public sphere’

His contributions have shaped the nature of debates over critical theory, feminism, cultural studies, and democratic politics. In this book, scholars from a wide range of disciplines respond to Habermas’s most directly relevant work, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. From political theory to cultural criticism, from ethics to gender studies, from history to media studies, these essays challenge, refine, and extend our understanding of the social foundations and changing character of democracy and public discourse.

Explain how the social, political and cultural contexts of media influence how audiences may interpret the same media in different ways. Use Common’s Letter to the Free to support your answer.

One way in which context can influence how audiences interpret the same media differently, would be culture and how peoples culture can differ/ be shared. For example, In the music video – ‘A Letter To The Free’, the American rapper and activist ‘Common’ can be seen in an old prison which is used to convey his message of the unfair imprisonment of black people; he is representing the black community who have been oppressed in the supposed ‘Land of the Free’, the song being the symbolic sign, a ‘Letter’ and other people such as capitalist whites being the ‘Free’ as they are ‘superior’ to the black community and have oppressed them. Cultural hegemony refers to the domination or rule maintained through ideological or cultural means (violence or consent), the dominant ideology being created by powerful social institutions. Therefore, in a Letter To The Free, Commons attitude towards the unfair treatment of black people links into Gramci’s theory of Hegemony as the government – a capitalist social institution – are abusing mass amounts of black people, many of whom aren’t criminals, just because they have the power and can influence what the dominant ideology suggests. To create a profit from the prisons for the owners – bourgeoisie business men. This view is evident through the lyrics – “Prison is a business, America’s the company”.

In comparison to common, the government, as a social institution, are far more superior and therefore more likely to have an influence on the public,; the dominant ideology portrayed through media sources such as the news, will have been most likely supporting government ideas. In this case, oppressing all these innocent people and the continuation of slavery under the 13th amendment simply to gain profit. When referring to the social contexts and it’s effects on an audiences view on the same media product, it is important to take into account conglomerates such as Vivendi and the influence they have on society’s beliefs. A subsidiary to Vivendi, UMG agreed to license premium videos from its artists, Common, onto Vevo. Vivendi, based in Paris, is a mass media conglomerate using horizontal integration so that they have activities in music, television, film and video games. “We exist to shape culture through the power of artistry”, this quote, taken from the UMG website, suggests that via the power of culture – song and music video – and taking a subject such as slavery in Commons ‘Letter To The Free’, the artist has the power to change and shape social beliefs. Similarly, George Gerbners Cultivation theory states that the more an audience is exposed to a media product, the more they are going to believe in it/ question their own ideologies. In this instance, the more amount of times ‘A Letter To The Free’ is played the more likely the people who are unaware of the situation in America are going to believe commons view.

(My Double Page file is too big for the blog so I will email it)

Statement Of Intent –

For my gaming magazine I am going to prioritize the genre of retro gaming; supporting consoles such as Commodore 64, Nintendo 64 and NES. My magazine is predominantly aimed at a younger male audience around the age of 12 as the dominant ideology suggests they are more likely to be interested in violent games, they are also mainstreamers, this is because due to their age – they’re more likely to follow the ‘trend’ and what they think is ‘cool’.

The style of language that I will use is a mix of informal and colloquial because I want the magazine to be professional and factual in relation to its contents. it should be appealing to my target audience through the informal language; they would use in everyday life so that they can relate to it, using the magazine as a form of escapism, interlinking with the uses and gratification theory.

In addition, I will also use the san-serif font – ‘Acumin Variable Concept’ –I will also use a sans-serif font for the selling line to follow the house style. By using an informal font, the product is more eye-catching to a younger male audience who may want to rebel against more classical, formal fonts. The text can also act as anchorage for plugs.

When creating the actual of the magazine cover, I am going to use the tabloid size, similar to popular 80s magazines. With a width of – 27.94 CM and a height of – 43.18 CM. I will use this size as the majority of gaming magazines released in the 80’s would have been a similar size – just below A4. Therefore, the dimensions of the double-page spread will be double – a width of 55.88 CM and a height of 86.36CM.

Contents – influenced by parts of my style-model by displaying key parts of the magazine, reference to the title and a description of what the magazine is about. However, I will change a few things to compliment my individual style. For example, I used columns and boxes in order to make it more organised and a section on the pages and what they contain. The magazine will also follow common codes and conventions by using similar fonts and the same background, so the magazine can flow.  For the double page spread, I also used a boarder, similar to the previous pages, and a gutter so when the magazine is folded, there would be nothing going across the centre which could distort the image.

Artist –

• Common – Rapper, Actor, Writer and Activist
• Born Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr. on March 13, 1972 in Chicago, Illinois – looked down upon in America for it’s low economic status
• Became an underground rapper who garnered a reputation for relatively thoughtful, progressive lyrics as compared to top-selling rap artists of the time. 
• Political and social concern in his music.
• Net Worth 45 million
• Dr Degree
• Emmy award for Letter to the free
• Influenced by culture and racism in America
• 2005 Noinated for Grammy award

Music Video –

• Raise awareness of racism and it’s effects on US society
• Contribution to the divisive political and social issues of contemporary America, a sense that he is attempting to draw attention to initiating a new wave of ‘protest music’.
• Letter to the Free was directed by Bradford Young (the cinematographer on Selma).
• The song was written for Ava DuVernay’s Netflix documentary 13th focusing on the historic legacy of the 13th amendment to the US Constitution.
• Black and White – colour shouldn’t matter
• From an album called Black America – about racism
• Dominant Ideology – radical(This Video)/ reactionary
• Symbollic box
• Low budget – more personal less formal
• Genre – rap/ hip-hop = Steven Neal, repetition and variation
• Vevo
• No main story-line

Notes –

• Comercial(Money) Success
• Cultural success focus on it’s effect on people (And money)
• Todorov = beggining, middle, end =conflict and resolution

• Gatekeepers – 6 major conglomerates can control and decide on what information or message they want conveyed.

• Fox as a conglomerate with diverse cross-media elements including facilities for media production, distribution and circulation means they have the structures and the means to get films with an independent ‘feel’/consciousness/aesthetic to a mainstream audience. – The film is also targeted at an audience often ignored by Hollywood due to age, gender and race – invites a new audience.
• 25 million to create and an extra 6.88 million to advertise though a profit of $169.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $66.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $236 million.
• Newer audience
• Medium or low budget = more profit overall in comparison to one larger film.

• Media concentration / Conglomerates – A large bussiness or company, a combination of multiple bussiness entitles operating in entirely different industries under one main group/ bussiness.
• Globalisation (in terms of media ownership) – Media globalisation is the combination of media through the cross-cultural exchange of ideas.
• Vertical Integration – A larger company/ conglomerate that aquires a smaller company in the same industry.
• Horizontal Integration – The aquisition of a bussiness/ company which is operating at the same level of value as the bussiness/ company/ chain in a similar or different industry.
• Gatekeepers – Gatekeeping is the process through which information is filtered for spreading, whether for publication, broadcasting, the internet or some other mode of communication.
• Regulation – Regulation is an abstract concept of management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends.
• Deregulation – The removal or limit in government power over a particular industry, usually to create more competition within the industry.
• Free market – A free market economy is a type of economy that promotes the production and sale of goods and services, with little to no control or involvement from any central government agency. … A free market economy is opposite to how a command economy works, where the central government gets to keep the profits.
• Monopolies & Mergers – ownership of different kinds of media (TV, newspapers, magazines, etc.) by the same group.  Media mergers are a result of one media related company buying another company for control of their resources, successful media companies usually buy out other companies to reach a larger viewing audience in order to increase views and profit.
• Neo-liberalism
• Surveillance / Privacy / Security / GDPR

Think about the relative size of the film – was it a big budget blockbuster, or was it a medium sized budget film?

• Hidden Figures had a budget of 25 million USD, making it a low to medium budget Hollywood film.
• The movie was a co-production, between independent production companies and the major Hollywood conglomerate company, Fox 2000 Pictures.

 What do you think was the appeal of this film to Fox studios? 

• Low budget films had becoming increasingly more know for their profit potential
• Shines a light on a story few of us know about but which deserves to be more widely known.

What was the appeal of this film to audiences?

• Packed with history lessons, messages about morality 
• Inspiring
• True story
• Recounts the triumphs and struggles of three black women whose work was crucial to NASA in the early 1960s — a time when racial segregation was the law of the land, and gender discrimination was still the norm.

Do you think this film was a success?

• I think the film was a major success because – it was the highest-grossing Best Picture nominee at the 89th Academy Awards. 
• Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be 95.55 million USD
• One of the top twenty most profitable release of 2016
• It was rated 7.8/10 on IMDb and 93% on Rotten Tomatoes

Conventions and Rules – A way in which something is usually done, following some flow or pattern.

Sub-genre – A smaller group of a genre held within a latger group e.g ‘horror’, which is quite a broad genre.

Hybridity – A combination/ cross over between two things

Genres of order and integration (Thomas Schatz) – Genres of order (western, gangster, sci-fi, the world is wrong it must be sorted etc) Hero = Individual, male = Dominant, Genres of Integration (Musicals, comedies etc) Hero = Group or collective e.g A family. Essentially two genres.

‘Genre as cultural category’ – How audiences access, engage, interpret and react to genres will influence the development of (that) genre.

Historic Specificity – Something which is associated with a certain time period.

Narrative Image –

Suspension of disbelief – A way/ method of escapism for the audience. e.g music building in a movie may increase the audiences apprehension. Emotions manipulated, telling the audience how they should be feeling.

Verisimilitude – The apperance of being real or true, creation of reality

Category	Familiararities	Differences	Theory
Characters	The ‘super’ detective, with a natural instinct for law and order. The second ‘lower’ detective who isn’t as super/good. The victim – Young, Female – ‘vulnerable’	The lead detective is female. The second detective is male, portrayed as inferior compared to female detective.	Propp(Character Types, 8 Stock Characters)
Narrative	First episode intoduces a lot of different characters		Todorov (Equalibrium, Distruotion, Resolution)
Themes			Levi-Strauss (Binary Opposition (Villain and Hero))
Representations	Female victim, represented as weak.	However, Female (detective) Stong, independant = hero = female	Semiotics
Technical Codes/Language Of Moving Image  (music, setting, props, lighting, use of camera, editing etc)	Pathetic Fallacy – dark/ dull weather to match the characters attitude. Setting – Rural and Urban with rural being portrayed as the safest.

Genre(s) – Crime, Drama, Mystery, Adventure and Action

Set – Copenhagen

About – The killing is a Danish Crime/Drama which follows detective inspector – ‘Sarah Lund’, investigating the murder of a young woman.

The production, distribution and exhibition of the Killing shows how audiences can be reached, both on a national and global scale, through different media technologies and platforms = Transnational

(Each 50 min episode covers 24hrs – 1 day)

The Killing acted as a catalyst for the globalisation/ distribution/ popularity of foreign language throughout UK television. However, The Killing was first released in Denmark, 2007, and only aired on UK television 4 years later in 2011.