You can understand misogyny (the poor representation of women in the media) in the same way you can understand racism, homophobia, ultra-nationalism and other forms of casual stereotyping, bias and prejudice, that is, through TEXTUAL ANALYSIS and the notion of REPRESENTATION (for example, Lacan – mirror stage). We have also spoken about how such representations can be countered, altered, challenged, adjusted and so on through more postive and emancipatory representations (GRAMSCI – hegemonic struggle).
However, prejudice may also occur beyond the level of text and can be identified as operating at a systemic INSTITUTIONAL intersection of race/class/gender <> power. Such ideas are proposed by Sut Jhally in his work for the Media Education Foundation – ‘Dreamworlds’ which looks at the role of MTV and music videos as a form of institutional / corporate sexism and misogyny
As such, this film provides a narrative of INSTITUTIONAL SEXISM, in the same way that we could look at other stories that are concerned with other institutional prejudices – racism, homophobia, Islamaphobia etc. In other words, this film presents a version of the story of INSTITUTIONAL SEXISM and MISOGYNY. It suggests a link between the presentation / representation of the female form and the ideas of a ruling patriarchy (Fox News, specifically Roger Ailes) and perhaps explains why we are presented with the stories we are presented with and how those stories are presented to us.
In other words, it helps to explain the ideas of Louis Althusser in that the ruling ideas emerge from elements of the Ideological State Apparatus (look at the connection between Roger Ailes, Rupert Murdoch, Donald Trump etc) and those ideas shape who we are, what we could be, want to be etc by a mechanism that he calls INTERPELLATION. For a visual representation of this watch the sequence in Bombshell where we see how the presenters are encouraged to dress and the way in which the choice of camera angles are used to reinforce this particular dress code.
Arguments presented against sexism and misogyny (ie the hegemonic struggle re: Gramsci) are raised through Feminist Critical Thinking and we have looked at early feminist movements as well as 2nd, 3rd and 4th wave feminist critics. We have even looked at theories of gender representation that look beyond binary gender values (male/female), which can termed as intersectionality, which first emerged as Queer Theory.
This is a Targeted Close Study product for which you will need to focus on the following areas of the Theoretical Framework: > Media Industries > Media Audiences You will need to listen to excerpts from the broadcast but the main focus will be the technological development of radio as an institution.
War of the Worlds is an early example of a hybrid radio form, adapting the H.G Welles story using news and documentary conventions. The broadcast and the initial response to it has historical significance as an early, documented, example of the mass media apparently having a direct effect on an audience’s behavior. The academic research carried out into the broadcast (and the ongoing dispute about the extent of the effect) provided some of the early media audience research and the findings have been extremely influential in the media, advertising and political campaigning. A useful overview and discussion of the context can be found here (not part of the CSP for assessment): https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/war-worlds
Media Institutions
War of the Worlds provides an historical context for broadcasting, being produced at a period when radio was the only form of domestic media; the 1930s and 1940s became known as the ‘golden age’ of radio.
War of the Worlds was broadcast by Columbia Broadcasting Company – an institution still in existence (in a very different form) today.
Radio broadcasting was seen as direct competition to newspapers which had previously been the only way of receiving news.
The broadcast is typical of the way institutions are always looking for new styles in order to attract audiences.
Regulation – radio broadcasting was regulated by the Federal Communications Commission and it investigated the broadcast to see if it had broken any laws.
The broadcast provides an excellent example to consider the effect of individual producers on media industries (known as ‘auteur theory’) as this is the work of Orson Welles.
Media Audiences
War of the Worlds has become a real-world test case for a variety of audience theories, although the exact nature of the audience response is still disputed.
What techniques (ie Media Language) does the broadcast use to convince the audience that what they’re hearing is really happening?
Consider the way that external factors – global political context, gender, religion, education etc. – are likely to also affect audience response
The ways in which audiences interpret the same media product differently – at the time of broadcast and now (Reception theory including Hall)
Cultivation theory including Gerbner
Historical, political, social and cultural contexts
For many, the wider social, political, historical and cultural contexts are not just clearly connected to media studies but they are in some ways more important.
“I’ve always said you can’t understand the world without the medianor the media without the world” (Professor Natalie Fenton, quoted in Fake news vs Media Studies J. McDougall p.17 2019, Palgrave)
“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.” (ibid)
War of the Worlds can be considered in a historical context as it provides an interesting study of the power and influence of radio as a form during its early days of broadcasting. It is also useful to consider the product in a social, cultural and political context when considering audience responses to the programme. It was first broadcast on the eve of World War II and reflected fears of invasion in the US and concerns about international relations.
Some other thoughts regarding this text center around contemporary ideas of Fake News. In other words, do we / can we trust the media? Where do you get knowledge and information? It also a text that shows the power of the media, to influence vulnerable audiences. Although I wonder if the stories around audiences reacting passively as if it were a true story were exaggerated almost as a marketing exercise, that in itself is a form of made up information? Indeed, isn’t all information made up? How do we know what is truth? What is clear is that the distinction between fact and fiction is often blurred and relies upon audience members recognising and understanding specific codesand conventions that relate to each Media Language. In this instance, the Language of Radio is used creatively to structure a text that could be taken as fact, but is clearly fiction. Recognising the particular social and historical moment that this media text was produced is significant, so was this a comment on the ability of the mass media to create propaganda and manipulate a compliant and vulnerable mass audience? Is that still relevant today? Think about twitter, Trump, Brexit etc. If so, then Chomsky‘s argument that the media is used by powerful groups – ‘Manufacturing Consent‘ – is the most appropriate theory to structure an understanding of media, technology, control, manipulation and power.
Other areas to think about (but unlikely to form part of your assessment)
Media Language
War of the Worlds is a good case study for students to understand the way codes and conventionsof radio drama (sound, dialogue, SFX, microphone technique, silence, words, accents, dialects etc) are put together to create meaning and construct a recognisable and familiar genre (Steve Neale). War of the Worlds also belongs to the genre of sci-fi and invasion – how are the conventions evident?
But can War of the Worlds be considered as an intertextual product? Or pastiches of other genres.
Consider how developing technologies affect media language: in 1938 radio was still a relatively new mass media technology, the broadcast could experiment with the form in a way not possible later on.
At the time of the broadcast the idea of hybrid genres was unfamiliar, with clear boundaries between fact and fiction, making this a significant development in the form.
While there are representations of social and cultural groups in War of the Worlds, this broadcast is particularly significant for studying how a media product constructs a representation of reality, drawing on issues in society to convince the audience of its reality.
How does the use of media language construct the representation of the real?
Is this programme an early example of fake news?
What signifiers of different groups and social classes are used?
The representation of the alien invaders in sci-fi genre.
As a broadcast in October 1938, can War of the Worlds be interpreted as representing particular political concerns to US – and international – society?
As with other MEDIA FORMS, there is a specific language associated with radio production. In other words, there are a number of codes and conventions that radio productions follow. You will need to be aware of these codes and conventions if you are going to produce your own radio productions for your course or if you have to write about radio in your exam.
What strikes everyone, broadcasters and listeners alike, as significant about radio is that it is a blind medium.
Crissell, Understanding Radio 1995 p3
A good source of information about radio can be found in Andrew Crissell’s Understanding Radio who seeks to ‘determine the distinctive characteristics of the radio medium’. For instance, there is a proximity with radio communication, in that it appears almost interpersonal, using speech as the primary mode of communication and yet it is a mass medium broadcasting from a few to many. It is of course essentially and primarily auditory, consisting of speech, music, sounds and silence. A really good account of how radio communicates to individuals is provided by Crissell in chapter 1 ‘Characteristics of Radio’, for instance, the relationship between radio and individual imaginations.
This appeal to the imagination gives radio an apparent advantage over film and television
Crissell p 7
The Semiotics of Radio
When analysing media languages in specific texts, you are usually adopting a semiotic approach, identifying and de-coding a number of signs and symbols. As such, you are looking to connect the signifier (the thing you hear) and the signified (what it means): Ferdinand de Saussure. Or, put another way, you are trying to understand signs as they operate as denotations, connotations and myths: Roland Barthes.
As a more interesting exercise try linking auditory signs to the three cateogries provided by C. S. Pierce: icon, index and symbol. In that, an ICONIC SOUND will actually sound like its’ object – a person, a mode of transport, elements of nature etc etc. An INDEXICAL SOUND, will create an association to it’s object – the sound of somebody moving, thinking, or the sound of a particular location or geography. Think for example, the use of acoustics in creating a sense of space (indoor/outdoor, big room/small room etc) which can be achieved by microphone placement, or sound processing such as, reverb. Finally, a SYMBOLIC SOUND is one that is more arbitrary, random and vague. A sign that is understood usually by agreement, often through a specific culture, time or place – think for example, of the ‘crackle’ sound of old radio productions. Or any number of sound effects – echo, reverb, distortion, phase etc.
Remember that a sign could be operating in more than one category at the same time.
A discussion around War of the Worlds: interesting insight into how meaning is created through a radio broadcast.
CATEGORIES
Crissell sets out FOUR main categories to understand the language of radio: WORDS, SOUNDS, MUSIC & SILENCE. As such, the most important factor is understanding how sound is recorded, so think about and practice with sound recording technologies, particularly microphones and the ability to maximise sound to noise ratios by appropriately recording your sounds by setting the correct input and output levels on your recording device.
SOUNDS
Unlike words, which are human intervention, sound is ‘natural’ – a form of signification which exists ‘out there’ in the real world.
Crissell p. 44
Sounds are the ‘field’ where auditory (radio) work is developed. As mentioned above, sounds can be understood as recognisable (iconic) or suggestive (indexical), sounds can also be used to create an abstract, arbritary (creative?) auditory framework. A good task is to just close your eyes and reflect on all the sounds that you are able to pick up on. Following this try listening to any radio production and identify the separate elements into different categories.
MUSIC
A clear range of recognisable sounds heard through radio productions can be categorised in terms of MUSIC. Music is often used to construct whole texts of radio production – ie a specific radio programme – where the music that is played forms a paradigm of signifiers that provide anchorage that is fixes the meaning of a particular programme or section. However, music is also used to ‘frame‘ particular elements. For example, the use of a jingle or ‘ident‘ can be used as a sound bridge that , when edited over other material, create a seamless flow between different sections of a broadcast; or even to connect different programmes together. They can also be used as adverts and trailers to flag up and announce other programmes.
Music can be broadly thought of in terms of tone, volume, rhythm, melody, harmony etc. It could also be discussed in terms of technical codes, think for example of the processess that music goes through to be recorded and mixed together, such as sound balance, relative volumes and the use of digital processing, use of reverb, effects, frequency equalisation, compression, limiting etc. It is also possible to analyse elements that are connected to each piece of music, for example, instrumentation, performer, genre, history, culture, etc.
SILENCE
One of the most powerful and thereby rarely used signs in radio production is silence. The absence of sound can suggest a range of ideas – high drama, breakdown, comedy, pause for thought etc.
WORDS
words are signs which do not resemble what they represent’ as such, ‘their symbolism is the basis of radio’s imaginative appeal
Crissell p.43
The key code in the language of radio is verbal and to understand the meaning of words, it is necessary to pay attention to what words are used in a radio production: vocabulary and grammar as well as the way in which specific words are used: dialect, accent, stress, intonation etc. For many students, this is a recognisable approach to understanding ‘language’ that they will have picked up in English Literature and Language classes. However, the language of radio considers more than just the spoken word and requires an understanding and critical analysis of a range of technical and cultural codes that are significant in terms of constructing meaning. For example, the way in which sound is recorded and edited is crucial in terms of both creativity and meaning.
In both the recording and editing of words and sounds, there is a priority, foregrounding important elements over less important elements. This can be recognised as the technical construction of auditory signs – which is essentially the processes of recording and editing.
Recording & Editing
Radio, like moving image, is LINEAR and SEQUENTIAL, in that it moves in a chronological order, from (a) beginning to (an) end. In this respect, it is important to refer to NARRATIVE THEORYwhen trying to understand and de-code radio meaning. Radio is also reliant on sequential editing techniques (unlike print or on-line media). As such, basic grammar around the cut, the fade and the dissolve are important elements in constructing meaning. You can also apply a range of sound processing techniques in a post-production audio editing programme such as Adobe Audition. This way you can build up a number of audio files to create a mix of sounds and you can process each sound to alter equalisation, tone, timbre, dynamic. Editing can transform the raw material that you gather in the production stage into multi-track (multi-layered) final production that you would generally export as a .WAV file to either broadcast or embed in a multi-media production (eg moving image product, on-line media product etc). Your multi-track allows you to make choices (thereby create meaning) around sound levels / volumes and relative sound balance between individual sound files. The priorities that you give each file is a way of creatively constructing meaning.
Audiences
Although I talk about audiences in other sections of this blog, it is worth just ending this post by considering the distinctive character of radio audiences, as this will help to understand the language of radio and also raise some ideas on nature of radio as a distinctive media form.
While radio is seen as a mass medium, the appeal to the imagination of each person makes it a very personal experience. The process of listening to the radio is ‘inward’ and intimate – like reading a book.
Media and Meaning p. 356
The intimacy of radio is created by the language of radio – the close proximity of the voice recording, the direct address of the presenters, the selective use of pronouns – ‘I’ ‘you’ ‘we’ – the casual conversation, the connections developed by listeners to stations, presenters or styles of music, the two way interactions – song requests, shout outs, messages, dedications – the interviews and so on.
Radio is also a flexible medium. It provides diversity and choice and can be seen as both a broadcaster (to many) or a narrowcaster (to a few / niche). Think for example, about the way BBC radio is enshrined in the constitution as a national broadcaster, think of radio news broadcasts, the role of Radio 4 as a way of engaging with government and politics. At the other end of the spectrum community radio is part of an independent tradition of media production that spans from hospital radio to pirate radio stations.
Radio is considered an undemanding medium. In this respect think about radio consumption – listening to the radio while at work, or school, while travelling, exercising or relaxing. It can be consumed as a peripheral form of entertainment, or can be used for knowledge about the world, society and the self. In this way it is possible to apply a range of audience theories to specific radio texts, which will allow for both an individual textual analysis as well as a broader recognition of the codes and conventions that constitute the language of this particular media form.
As ever, any comments, questions, ideas or suggestions please get in touch – you can use the twitter handle next to this post. If not please feel free to adapt, adopt, use or ignore.
Further Reading:
Understanding Radio, Crissell, A 1995 Routledge
Chapter 5 Radio in Media and Meaning Stewart, C. Lavelle, M, Kowaltzke, A 2001 BFI
In the exam, newspapers will feature in Section 3. Section 3 expects students to produce long answer questions about all four key theoretical areas of this course:
Media Language
Media Representation
Media Audiences
Media Institutions
If you haven’t seen this video (which was posted for CSP 7 TeenVogue, then watch it now, as there is a clear link between news, new media technologies, societies, politics, economics and individual lives.
Task 1: New Technology and the News
Technology is central to any Media Studies course, and is of relevance in terms of news, newsgathering, production, distribution and consumption, as well as playing a significant role in terms of democracy, knowledge, access and truth. As a starter exercise to understand this relationship in terms of news production, create a table and see how many different technologies you can put in each box, to show which what technologies are used in each stage of the production process.
Technology and Newspapers
Production
Distribution
Consumption
pen / pencil / paper word processor / printer telephone camera microphone license computer trees DTP data processors sources of information
(large scale) printing press lorries / vans / cars stacks / shelves / display cases / boxes social media platforms company / organisation / individual to deliver product storage billboards paper boys/girls target audience
paper (the ability to read? & understand?) a digital device (ipad/phone, computer reading glasses / eyes / braille / audio provision (headphones) WiFi target audience
Media Institutions
So the link between new media technologies, corporate ownership and the media is . . . ‘Manufacturing Consent?’
Some such as theorist, academic and intellectual Noam Chomsky, that the media is a mechanism that is deliberately used by the rich and the powerful (the elite) as a way of ‘Manufacturing Consent’
If you want to a good documentary film that explores the way “uniformed electorate make irrational decisions” Chomsky, watch the film Get Me Roger Stone . . .
Read this hand out and extract 3-4 short pithy quotes (that you could use in your exam answer) that helps to show your understanding and knowledge ie make sense to you. For example . . . .
the suggestion that the news media ‘reinforces’ a political situation (Murdock, 1982), or the idea that
‘different stances different news organisations or types of organisations take toward different audiences in the marketplace‘ (Curran et al, 1980), or
the proposition that “major media conglomerates control more and more of the world’s media. Where media are not controlled by organisations, they are generally voices of the state.”
the propaganda model that the media ‘serve to mobilize support for the special interests that dominate the state and private activity‘ (Chomsky, 1988)
So how does this process of ‘manipulation’ or ‘persuasion’ work?
Structures of ownership
The role of advertising
Links with ‘The Establishment’
Diversionary tactics – ‘flack’
Uniting against a ‘common enemy’
In another approach, we can suggest that the media are ‘agenda setting’, look at this powerpoint to understand what this could mean in terms of The i: AGENDA SETTING
AGENDA SETTING
FRAMING
MYTH MAKING
CONDITIONS OF CONSUMPTION
In summary, we need to be able to read the signs . . .
In other words, the media are biased!
In terms of setting an agenda and mapping a clear political bias watch the video below where anchors at Sinclair-owned local news stations parrot a script pushing Trump talking points and “the troubling trend of irresponsible, one sided news stories plaguing our country.”
So can we trust the media?
How can the Media act in the ‘Public Sphere’ in the ‘Public Interest’?
“a public space between the private domain and the state in which public opionion was formed and ‘popular’ supervision of government was established” (p. 82: 1996)
Task 3: Note taking
Look at the following extracts and note 5-10 bullet points that shows your understanding of ‘the public sphere‘ and the media as watchdog. Focus on what these terms mean and how did they emerge and develop. For example, in the extract: Mass Media and Democracy by James Curran there is a focus on Jurgen Habermas and his concept of the ‘Public Sphere‘,basically arguing that the developments in education and the mass media allowed for a greater access to information particularly with regard to government, authority and the exercise of control. Similarly, Denis McQuail aruges for a media that specifically works in the public interest and not in a purely commercial interest.
This links to the main proposition that we faced earlier in the academic year which was: in what ways are the culture industries different from other industries? Which was put forward in this extract from this opening chapter Culture Communication & Political Economy by Golding and Murdock from Mass Media and Societyby James Curran and Michael Gurevitch,
“shows how different ways of financing and organising cultural production have traceable consequences for the range of discourses and representations in the public domain” (p.11: 1996)
Task 4: Complete the Political Compass Survey to give you an understanding of left / right . . . authoritarian / libertarian . . .
If news media (and other media forms?) exhibit bias, how can we identify and critically understand it? A good starting point may be to identify our own social-economic-political bias, so take this survey from ‘The Political Compass’ (link to test).
Post up the image of your results from the Political Compass and make some brief notes that show your understanding of left / right politics and authoritarian / libertarian forms of social control.
About the Political Compass
In the introduction, we explained the inadequacies of the traditional left-right line.
If we recognise that this is essentially an economic line it’s fine, as far as it goes. We can show, for example, Stalin, Mao Zedong and Pol Pot, with their commitment to a totally controlled economy, on the hard left. Socialists like Mahatma Gandhi and Robert Mugabe would occupy a less extreme leftist position. Margaret Thatcher would be well over to the right, but further right still would be someone like that ultimate free marketeer, General Pinochet.
That deals with economics, but the social dimension is also important in politics. That’s the one that the mere left-right scale doesn’t adequately address. So we’ve added one, ranging in positions from extreme authoritarian to extreme libertarian.
Both an economic dimension and a social dimension are important factors for a proper political analysis. By adding the social dimension you can show that Stalin was an authoritarian leftist (ie the state is more important than the individual) and that Gandhi, believing in the supreme value of each individual, is a liberal leftist. While the former involves state-imposed arbitrary collectivism in the extreme top left, on the extreme bottom left is voluntary collectivism at regional level, with no state involved. Hundreds of such anarchist communities existed in Spain during the civil war period
You can also put Pinochet, who was prepared to sanction mass killing for the sake of the free market, on the far right as well as in a hardcore authoritarian position. On the non-socialist side you can distinguish someone like Milton Friedman, who is anti-state for fiscal rather than social reasons, from Hitler, who wanted to make the state stronger, even if he wiped out half of humanity in the process.
The chart also makes clear that, despite popular perceptions, the opposite of fascism is not communism but anarchism (ie liberal socialism), and that the opposite of communism ( ie an entirely state-planned economy) is neo-liberalism (ie extreme deregulated economy)
The usual understanding of anarchism as a left wing ideology does not take into account the neo-liberal “anarchism” championed by the likes of Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman and America’s Libertarian Party, which couples social Darwinian right-wing economics with liberal positions on most social issues. Often their libertarian impulses stop short of opposition to strong law and order positions, and are more economic in substance (ie no taxes) so they are not as extremely libertarian as they are extremely right wing. On the other hand, the classical libertarian collectivism of anarcho-syndicalism ( libertarian socialism) belongs in the bottom left hand corner.
In our home page we demolished the myth that authoritarianism is necessarily “right wing”, with the examples of Robert Mugabe, Pol Pot and Stalin. Similarly Hitler, on an economic scale, was not an extreme right-winger. His economic policies were broadly Keynesian, and to the left of some of today’s Labour parties. If you could get Hitler and Stalin to sit down together and avoid economics, the two diehard authoritarians would find plenty of common ground.
A Word about Neo-cons and Neo-libs
U.S. neo-conservatives, with their commitment to high military spending and the global assertion of national values, tend to be more authoritarian than hard right. By contrast, neo-liberals, opposed to such moral leadership and, more especially, the ensuing demands on the tax payer, belong to a further right but less authoritarian region. Paradoxically, the “free market”, in neo-con parlance, also allows for the large-scale subsidy of the military-industrial complex, a considerable degree of corporate welfare, and protectionism when deemed in the national interest. These are viewed by neo-libs as impediments to the unfettered market forces that they champion.
Task 5: Apply the theory to the CSP
Now you have a better understanding of left / right; authoritarian/libertarian forms of government and control, let’s apply the CSP / The i.
Use some of the questions from the survey that you have just taken from The Political Compass and link them to specific examples to the CSP (below).
Set out your approach ie your questions and the examples in a table.
Once you have produced enough data, see if you can plot the compass position of The i (based only on the 3 pages of our CSP.
As an alternative or more refined approach, take the whole test from the perspective of The i.
ASSESSMENT: Go to the Planner page/tab and choose either the 7571 Question Paper from 23rd May 2018 and answer question 8. Plan your answer, share your responses and collaborate with others to produce a complete and full answer. Look at the feedback assessment sheet below for starting points and areas that you could / should cover in your answer.
You will also need to specifically refer to Curran and Seaton, so please look at the references to Curran and Seaton in the feedback sheet (and presented below) and look to match these ideas with your own reading of the two texts provided below. The aim is to build up your own knowledge and understanding of Curran and Seaton as this should be central to your answer.
‘the United Kingdom regards press freedom as an absolute freedom.’ The government leaves it to the market forces to decide which press products survive’ (1992: 53).
In the case of the press, with certain limited exceptions, no legal restriction is placed on the right to buy or launch a newspaper. (This ensures, in liberal theory, that the press is free, diverse and representative (Curran and Seaton 2003: 346-7).
In this view of freedom of expression, it is the interests of the press, not of its readers nor of the subjects of its coverage, which are fundamental. (‘Free enterprise is a pre-requisite of a free press’)
Based on the assumption that democracy is best served by the free exchange of ideas, for which freedom of expression is vital. (‘the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market’)
How are the codes and conventions of a website used in the product? How are these conventions used to influence meaning? The website could be analysed in terms of:
The language of composition and layout: images, positioning, layout, typography, language and mode of address.
The genre conventions of websites will be studied and the genre approach should also include reference to the content of lifestyle websites.
The application of a semiotic approach will aid the analysis of the way in which the website creates an ideology about the world it is constructing – often to do with age, beauty and social and political issues.
Narrative in the context of online material can refer to the way that the images and the selection of stories construct a narrative about the world.
Media Representations
The choice of this online product provides a wide range of representational issues. These include the representation of the target audience of young women in the United States but also globally. The focus on representation will build on work done in the analysis of visual images and can also be used to explore target audiences and ideological readings:
Representation of particular groups (age, gender, race), construction of a young female identity.
‘Rise, Resist. Raise your Voice’ is the slogan for the website.
Who is constructing the representation and to what purpose? the political opinions based on both the site and its sister publications leads me to believe that the general political opinion of Teen Vogue is more left leaning. Leftist politics focus more on people and society rather than financial loss/gain (capital)
The focus on politics, social issues and technology (in addition to fashion and celebrity) suggests a new representation of young women.
Analysis of the construction and function of stereotypes
Representation and news values – how do the stories selected construct a particular representation of the world and particular groups and places in it?
This article features a famous celebrity – Kim Kardashian. This person is well known to young girls, and has a large following on instagram, earning about $750,000 per post. Kim kardashian could be classed as a social media influencer, and is idolised by young girls.
In this article, Kim kardashian talks about mass incarceration, which is featured in her upcoming Oxygen documentary Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project. In the article, it is mentioned that mass incarceration disproportionately effects people of colour as well as women. This is important to mention as the targeted audience of this magazine are young girls, and therefore this issue is specifically affecting them. This means that, with Hall’s theory of preferred reading, the response is likely to be dominant due to the targeted audience being mainly young girls. However, there still may be those who do not agree with the article (other…?) as well as those with a negotiated response (e.g. may think that people of colour are more likely to be incarcerated than women or may not agree with Kim Kardashian). In the article, Kim K states that “people deserve a second chance”, which is quite a general statement for this issue.
However, something contradictory about Kim Kardashian is that while she is spreading awareness of this issue by making a documentary about it, it’s still a documentary, which is still going to get her money and prestige. Furthermore, Kim K’s worth is $350 million, and she earns roughly $750,000 per post, meaning that she has the money to go out and physically make a difference but refuses to do so
features protagonist Lara Croft – who shows both a mix of radical and reactionary beliefs (in a position of power – main character, strong female lead yet is sexualised to appeal to the male gaze)
Marshall Mcluhan: Medium is the message
cinema transforms groups and societies
we are more ‘isolated’ due to media
you don’t fully understand the medium = you don’t fully understand the message
in the context of teenvogue = distributed through social media, e.g. twitter. if the target audience enjoys reading teen vogue, they are more likely to check twitter often, shaping their social media habits.
Key Words associated with New Media
share
active
creative
host
story
re-connect
personalise
stream
experience
store
scale
immerse
interface
live
adapt
binge
conversation
re-perform
circulate
endless
share – the story is shared through the teen vogue website or twitter so it’s easy to share through a link or retweet
binge – articles are compiled so its easy to binge read
circulate – content can be easily circulated through retweets, especially from larger social media accounts
In other words, to explore the MEDIA FORM that we recognise as: online, social and participatory media, students should look at the sites listed above in detail (specifically including the home page of the website and the ‘Lifestyle’ section) along with other relevant examples, illustrations, sections etc TO PROVIDE EVIDENCE for your essays.
Find out as much you can about this product and post your findings on a new blog post. Start by THINKING. What aspects of NEW MEDIA interest you? What aspects of Teen Vogue help you to explore and understand NEW MEDIA. Make sure you develop your initial ideas with some EVIDENCE, post up your findings to use as revision notes. Find evidence about individual stories as well as about the organisation who produces these products. OVERALL, you are trying show KNOWLEDGE OF THIS CSP and UNDERSTANDING OF NEW MEDIA
Use the 3 recommended sites for this CSP and identify SPECIFIC STORIES,to EXTRACT SPECIFIC DETAIL to use as SPECIFIC EVIDENCE.
TASK 2:Select 2-3 stories from any of the links provided above and use these to provide a close textual analysis reading of Teen Vogue. As a starting point analyse your chosen examples (stories, tweets, posts etc) in terms of 1) political, social, cultural and economic contexts; 2) Media Language; & 3) Media Representations. Some starting points can be found below:
Political, social and cultural and economic contexts
Teen Vogue is culturally significant in its marrying of the political with fashion and lifestyle to target a young female audience more traditionally seen as interested in more superficial issues. Its explicit feminist stance and reporting on the Trump presidency has made it a relatively radical voice in the context of mainstream US media. The social and economic contexts can be addressed in terms of how the product has been received and how it has succeeded when other magazines (online) are struggling to maintain audiences.
Media Language
How are the codes and conventions of a website used in the product? How are these conventions used to influence meaning? The website could be analysed in terms of:
The language of composition and layout: images, positioning, layout, typography, language and mode of address.
The genre conventions of websites will be studied and the genre approach should also include reference to the content of lifestyle websites.
The application of a semiotic approach will aid the analysis of the way in which the website creates an ideology about the world it is constructing – often to do with age, beauty and social and political issues.
Narrative in the context of online material can refer to the way that the images and the selection of stories construct a narrative about the world.
Media Representations
The choice of this online product provides a wide range of representational issues. These include the representation of the target audience of young women in the United States but also globally. The focus on representation will build on work done in the analysis of visual images and can also be used to explore target audiences and ideological readings:
Representation of particular groups (age, gender, race), construction of a young female identity.
‘Rise, Resist. Raise your Voice’ is the slogan for the website.
Who is constructing the representation and to what purpose?
The focus on politics, social issues and technology (in addition to fashion and celebrity) suggests a new representation of young women.
Analysis of the construction and function of stereotypes
Representation and news values – how do the stories selected construct a particular representation of the world and particular groups and places in it?
Defining and conceptualising New Technology
Technology is central to any Media Studies course, and is of relevance in terms of the production, distribution and consumption of news and news-gathering, as well as playing a significant role in terms of democracy, knowledge, access and truth. As a starter exercise to understand this relationship in terms of news production, create a table and see how many different technologies you can put in each box, to show which what technologies are used in each stage of the production process.
TASK 3: Define ‘New Media’ against ‘Old Media’. Use some of the key language highlighted in this post (see the separate sections on Language, Representation, Audience, Institution below). And/or follow this link
Key Words associated with New Media
share
active
creative
host
story
re-connect
personalise
stream
experience
store
scale
immerse
interface
live
adapt
binge
conversation
re-perform
circulate
endless
Table to contrast ‘New’ vs ‘Old’ Media: Do you agree?
NEW MEDIA
OLD MEDIA
Active involvement
Passive involvement
Two-way conversation
One-way conversation
Open system
Closed system
Transparent
Opaque
One-on-one marketing
Mass marketing
About Me
About Them
Brand and User-generated Content
Professional content
Authentic content
Polished content
FREE platform
Paid platform
Metric: Engagement
Metric: Reach/ frequency
Actors: Users / Influencers
Actors/ Celebrities
Community decision-making
Economic decision-making
Unstructured communication
Controlled communication
Real time creation
Pre-produced/ scheduled
Bottom-up strategy
Top-down strategy
Informal language
Formal language
TASK 4: Take 5 pairs of key terms from the table above and illustrate what they mean in terms of New Media, with a particular and VERY SPECIFIC textual reference from one of the Teen Vogue sites set by the board.
Now write some notes that answer the following questions:
Who really benefits from a digitally networked society? Big business or individuals? Refer to ‘loop theory’ and the ‘Dunbar number’
Q: How does big business benefit? What commodity do they trade in? Answer: predictive human behaviour. Write out an answer in your own words.
Shoshana Zuboff (very recent and very important theorist to quote . . .)
interests have shifted from using automated machine processes to know about your behaviour to using machine processes to shape your behavior according to their interests
Zuboff 2019, p. 338
So who is in control? The customer or the technologies? Are the technologies responding to our behaviour? Or is your behavior determined by the technology?
Read the extracts below, note the assertion that ‘social media users are dangerously unaware of the vulnerabilities that follow their innocent but voluminous personal disclosures’, that new technologies are now developing sophisticated tools to develop a relationship with potential customers based on ‘micro-behavioral targeting’, which looks to ‘change people’s behaviour through carefully crafted messaging’.
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Zuboff, 2019 p.272-273The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Zuboff, 2019 p.276-277
Task 5: Make a table that sets out the positive and negative consequences of using social media for audiences
Useful article to discuss with your students around digital surveillance and the micro-targeting of potential (young /vulnerable) audiences. https://t.co/cxiqzUPvgA
Teen Vogue is a commercial media product but could also be seen as fulfilling a public service through its political reporting and social campaigns. The website also demonstrates the way that publishing institutions (in this case Conde Nast) have developed their reach through new technology and convergence – particularly relevant to this target audience. • Teen Vogue’s web and social media sites show how institutions respond to changes in consumption. • The use of digital platforms to expand the output and reach of the products demonstrates how institutions have responded to the impact of new technology
Media Audiences
The close study product provides an example of a clearly targeted, primary audience through demographics of gender and age which should encourage the study of issues of identity. Related to this would be a discussion of the changing relationship between producers and audiences in the context of participatory media. • Definitions of mass and minority or specialised audiences. • Debates around the idea of targeting specialised audiences (by age, gender, lifestyle etc.) and how successful that targeting is. • Differing interpretations by different groups – those belonging to and outside the primary audience. (Stuart Hall – reception theory) • Opportunities for audience interactivity and creativity.
ASSESSMENT / EXAM QUESTIONS
TASK 6: Look at Question 9 on this past paper and then look at the guidance provided in this mark scheme . Read it through. Think about it and then write a 10 bullet point essay plan. Make sure each bullet points links to the next. Top and tail your plan with your main argument and conclusion (usually the same or similar)
ASSESSMENT: Go to the Planner page/tab and answer question 9 on the AS media Paper 1. Plan your answer, share your responses and collaborate with others to produce a complete and full answer. Look at the feedback assessment sheet below for starting points and areas that you could / should cover in your answer. Good luck!
Common is an Oscar and Grammy award winning hip/hop rap artist who wrote Letter to the Free as a soundtrack to The 13th – a documentary by Ava DuVernay named after the American 13th amendment (the abolition of slavery). His output is highly politicised, existing in the context of a variety of social and cultural movements aimed at raising awareness of racism and its effects in US society (e.g.: Black Lives Matter). The product can also be considered in an economic context through the consideration of if and how music videos make money (through, for example, advertising on YouTube).
Music Video – Letter to the Free is a product which possesses cultural and social significance. It will invite comparison with other music videos allowing for an analysis of the contexts in which they are produced and consumed.
If this CSP appears in the exam it will be in Section B: Industries and Audiences
What needs to be studied? Key Questions and Issues
This product relates to the theoretical framework by providing a focus for the study of:
Media Industries
The media of music video provides a useful case study to consider:
how musicians and the wider industry have responded to rapid technological change – streaming, piracy, video hosting sites – finding ways to make money from previously free services.
the significance of patterns of ownership and control, including conglomerate ownership, vertical integration and diversification
the way new media products are distributed on youtube and across the internet by Vevo, a video hosting service.
How artists are marketed and developed: Common is a Def Jam recording artist. Def Jam is a label associated with urban and hip hop music, starting as an independent in the 1980s it is now owned by the conglomerate UMG (which also owns Vevo)
As the soundtrack to the Netflix documentary The 13th the video is an example of cross media promotion and marketing.
TASK 1: Create a new post that looks at:
the artists involved (background, history, other work)
the actual music video (style, genre, narrative, characters, theme, message, ideology etc)
the institutions involved in this production (think again about majors vs indies, the role of conglomerates, vertical and horizontal integration, cross-media ownership, synergy, marketing & distribution, methods and modes of production and of course revenue).
the audience who are targeted (the role of politics, identity and culture in terms of producing product for ‘the culture industries’). Remember to think about audience theory – particularly, the theory of preferred reading.
Points you could include:
processes of production, distribution and circulation by organisations, groups and individuals in a global context
the relationship of recent technological change and media production, distribution and circulation
the impact of ‘new’ digital technologies on media regulation, including the role of individual producers.
the significance of patterns of ownership and control, including conglomerate ownership, vertical integration and diversification
the significance of economic factors, including commercial and not-for-profit public funding, to media industries and their products
how media organisations maintain, varieties of audiences nationally and globally
the interrelationship between media technologies and patterns of consumption and response
Key terms
Gatekeepers
Regulation / Deregulation
Free market vs Monopolies & Mergers
Media concentration / Conglomerates / Globalisation (in terms of media ownership)
Vertical Integration & Horizontal Integration
Surveillance / Privacy / Security
TASK 2: How many of these key words can you relate to the other CSP’s in Section B (ie TV & Film)? Do you need to look at your notes or adjust them in light of what you now know?
Media Audiences
The study of audiences for this video will use the analysis of media language and representation to consider how the video addresses an audience. As both rap and political protest song, the video can be studied as addressing a range of audiences beyond the youth market.
How media producers target, attract, reach, address andpotentially construct audiences
How media industries target audiences through the content and appeal of media products and through the ways in which they are marketed, distributed and circulated: widely distributed on video hosting sites aimed at a youth audience but also consumed by the audience for political documentary.
How audiences interpret the media, including how they may interpret the same media in different ways (Hall Theory of Preferred Reading)
TASK 3: Complete another exam question – go to planner and Media Sams Paper 1, Question 7: 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. Use the feedback document below to help your answer the question.
show your knowledge of the institutional details of the text ie specifics facts, figures, names, dates etc about the text. At this point show your knowledge of the music industry and use key terms (see above)
Next, show how audiences may (theoretically) interpret media texts ie audience theory.
Follow this up with specific ideas that suggest how certain audiences may interpret this particular text (ie apply the theory to this CSP)
Finally, make some summative conclusions based on your knowledge and understanding that show the importance of culture in terms of engaging with issues of power and control. For this you could reference Gramsci & his concept of ‘hegemony’ and/or Habermas and his concept of ‘the public sphere’
If this CSP appears in the exam, it will be in SECTION B and (as with our Television case study) will focus on INSTITUTIONS. As such, students are not required to watch the film for the assessment. However, I recommend that you all watch the film over the weekend.
What do I need to study? Key Questions and Issues:
Hidden Figures is a co-production between independent production companies and a major Hollywood conglomerate through its film subdivision Fox 2000
Case study of industry context would include Fox as a conglomerate with an exploration of the role of low budget film making in its wider strategy.
With a budget of $25m Hidden Figures is a low to medium budget Hollywood film, an industry category which has recently been recognised for its profit potential.
Distribution techniques – focus on traditional distribution and exhibition linked to targeted audience.
Students do not need to watch the film but will need to be familiar with the production context and distribution materials to support advertising and marketing including the official website, trailers, posters, social media presence (twitter, facebook etc). A useful overview of the campaign can be found at: https://christhilk.com/2016/12/29/movie-marketing-madness-hidden-figures/
The concept of “risk-taking” in terms of subject matter which might not be tackled by big budget productions.
Ideas and debates about ownership and control, for example the idea of conglomerates using vertical and horizontal integration to ensure global market dominance.
TASK 1: Produce a post that provides institutional details of this film. Think about the relative size of the film – was it a big budget blockbuster, or was it a medium sized budget film? What do you think was the appeal of this film to Fox studios? What was the appeal of this film to audiences? Do you think this film was a success?
ASSESSMENT: as with out CSP on TV, we will again complete an exam question in class, as such, make sure you spend some time planning your response. The question is from the AS 2018 exam (23rd May), on page 13 and is question 7. Note again that this is worth 15 marks and only allows you 1 & 1/2 sides to respond. You can find the markscheme / feedback sheet below with some helping advice & starting points underneath the teacher / student comments box.
Hidden Figures is a Hollywood low to medium budget film which combines serious (potentially controversial) themes about race in the US with a familiar, accessible film style.
Hidden Figures deals with US history and the idea of the contribution of particular groups being ‘hidden from history’ (apparent in the marketing of the film). The subject matter of the film also links to contemporary concerns and debates about race in the US. The film is also targeted at an audience often ignored by Hollywood due to age, gender and race and thus can be explored in terms of the social and cultural context in which it was produced. As a low to medium budget film, it will be interesting to consider this film in its economic context, especially in comparison to big-budget Hollywood films.
