– Increase in audience research during WW2, propaganda used through a hypodermic model
– Hypodermic model (passive consumption): done as told through media and adverting… such as propaganda during WW2
– Passive consumption, very significant to advertising – the slow and instilled forced idea and/or belief into someone own theories through various media techniques
– Active consumption: The people engage in the media themselves, consciously, to then buy a product by choice, despite it may being an ill wise decision
– 2 step flow of communication: When the information for the media is the first step, and then the info goes to the main influencers to then be consumed by the masses through the influencers
– Lasswell’s Linear Model of Communication: Who (sender)…. Says What (message)…. Channel (medium)…. To Whom (receiver)…. The Effect (Feedback)
– In 1927 Harold Lasswell wrote Propaganda Technique in the World War which highlighted the brew of ‘subtle poison, which industrious men injected into the veins of a staggering people until the smashing powers . . . knocked them into submission’
-The Hypodermic model: Telling someone to do something and they listen through media.
-Passive Consumption: The idea of people being drip fed an idea or belief to slowly change someone’s view on a subject over time through media.
-Simple linear process: Harold Laswell’s idea of the linear model of communication. ->WHO > SAYS WHAT > THROUGH WHAT CHANNEL > TO WHOM > TO WHAT EFFECT.
–Two-Step Flow: – The two-step flow of communication model says that most people form their opinions under the influence of opinion leaders, who in turn are influenced by the mass media.
–Active consumption: The idea that people engage with the media, causing them to purchase the product
ANALYSE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SIGNIFIERS AND SIGNIFIEDS IN THE TWO CSP GAMES COVERS.
The relationship between signifiers and signified in the two CSP games covers can be seen and analysed in multiple different ways. For example, feminist film expert, Laura Mulvey invented the concept of women being looked at in a very sexualised way by males in order to make them feel important and better about themselves, objectifying them. This is called the ‘Male Gaze’. For example, in ‘Tomb Raider’ the main thought as you look at the front cover is immediately the stereotype of women in a ‘man’s eyes’ in video games. This can be supported by the iconic signs such as the props Lara Croft is holding/has on her person, which symbolises her being strong, appearing more attractive to males. Another part of this to mention is the way Lara Croft has been portrayed with exaggerated body parts in order for the males to enjoy the game more, which of course is seen as reactionary.
While Tomb Raider can be seen as a very negative representation of feminism and is reactionary for its audience, you could also argue that it is radical. For example, the very fact that it shows a woman having the ability to be strong, involved in action and have the practice in firearms, proves that women do not always have to be the ‘damsel in distress’ as several videos ‘Feminist Frequency’ have posted explaining. Most video games that include female characters usually have them kidnapped or something happen to them at the beginning of the story, so the main character (a male) can save them from the danger, subtly hinting that women cannot save themselves. The quote “This poor representation of Asian women perpetuates the stereotype that they are meek, submissive, sexual objects who exist purely for men’s entertainment” from the article ‘Levelling up Representation’ indicates in detail about not only women in general but women with specific ethnicities being sexualised and objectified for men’s entertainment.
Another way that further explains this is the concept of ‘Feminist, female, feminine’ introduced by Toril Moi, where the difference between the three is explained, and how there is ‘male’ and ‘manly’ but no equivalent for ‘feminist’. This instantly shows that males have always had a sense of authority and hierarchy over females, which can be seen in the game cover of Metroid. The cover presents a very strong, manly character in a suit that can be described as ‘only male characters wear’. At the very end of the game, the manly character reveals themselves to be female. This suggests how nobody knows until the end of the game, many people who play the game automatically assume it’s a male because of the appearance in the ’suit’ and that stereotypically, women don’t present themselves that way, once again showing that males have more authority over women. Once Samus (the character) reveals to be a female, it shows that you will never know what gender the character is. Would it decrease sales of the game if it was known from the start that Samus was a female? When she reveals herself, she is massively over sexualised wearing a tight blue suit and has her hair in a long ponytail. The juxtaposition between a very ‘manly’, strong character who ends up being, yet another over sexualised female is major and should not be allowed.
In summary, I believe that the two game covers are reactionary for its audience, both males. For Tomb Raider, the character is female and extremely over sexualised, allowing customers to purchase the game more as they are attracted to the front cover. For Metroid, the character is male and is perceived as strong, again allowing the customers to buy it more as the male audience like the fact the character is strong and manly. Both are seen as reactionary and radical in their own ways and I personally think that they should do better and think about how they are perceiving women and how damaging that is.
After the end of WWII, social science researchers began to investigate the way in which communication – and particularly, political communication – was used to disseminate propaganda. As such, from the end of the 1940’s and into the 1950’s, there was not only an expansion of new media forms, for example, the number of TV licences shot up from 763,000 in 1951 to 3.2 million in 1954 (How the Coronation kick-started the love of television), but, there was also an expansion of research into the effects of television. Many of which are now found on the specifications of media studies courses.
1. Hypodermic model (passive consumption)
Early theoretical work on the relationship (or effects) of media consumption are often traced back to Harold Lasswell, who developed the theoretical tool of ‘content analysis’ and in 1927 wrote Propaganda Technique in the World War which highlighted the brew of ‘subtle poison, which industrious men injected into the veins of a staggering people until the smashing powers . . . knocked them into submission’ (link). As Martin Moore notes, Lasswell, as a behavioural scientist researching areas connected with political communication and propaganda, believed each government had ‘manipulated the mass media in order to justify its actions’ in World War 1 (2019:122).
To illustrate his hypothesis, in 1948 he developed a linear model of communication, one that breaks down the line of communication from point A to point B, in which the SENDER is transferring a MESSAGE, through a MEDIUM (eg Print, radio, TV, etc) that has a direct effect on the RECEIVER.
Or to be correct: WHO, SAYS WHAT, THROUGH WHAT CHANNEL, TO WHOM, TO WHAT EFFECT.
In this sense, this is a HYPODERMIC MODEL OF MEDIA EFFECT, in that the model proposes a clear, linear (and perhaps unaltered) connection between message sent > message received. This model has, as we shall highlight, been the subject of much analysis and review. However, the basic premise remains, that we need to understand what message is being sent, to who, how and to what (intended) effect. Further, that there is a clear relationship between sending a message and receiving a message.
TASK 1:
Create a new post called AUDIENCE THEORY (don’t forget to give it a category / categories – Audience, exam prep, notes etc).
Make some notes about hypodermic model, passive audience, Lasswell etc.
Draw out Lasswell’s model (use PPT, save as JPEG and upload to your blog) in relation to 1 or 2 of your research adverts.
This approach was later adapted by Shannon and Weaver in 1949, as the Transmission model of Communication, which included other elements, such as NOISE, ERROR, ENCODING and FEEDBACK.
In other words, there is the suggestion that the process of sending and receiving a message is NOT clear-cut, predictable or reliable and is dependent on a range of other factors that need to be taken into consideration.
Task 2:
Adapt your model from Task 1 and add in some points which show a disruption to this linear process. In other words, think about what might happen at each stage of the process to disrupt or alter the process of communication. You would be well to discuss this proposition in a small group first and then draw out your adapted model. Again use ppt, save as JPEG and upload to the blog.
Task 3:
Can you now put your product that you are looking to advertise into Lasswell’s communication model? Make sure you note any possible disruption (ie Shannon and Weaver). As ever, save as JPEG and upload to your blog.
ANALYSE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SIGNIFIERS AND SIGNIFIEDS IN THE TWO CSP GAMES COVERS:
In this essay I am going to compare the two CSP front covers of Metroid and Tomb Raider using semiotic analysis. I am arguing that both games present their main character to be objectified due to them being female, however both games explore this in different ways. Metroid displayed their character as a masculine strong character which implies that females are less superior than males and Tomb Raider displays their female main character to be oversexualised with poses and body parts.
In the Metroid front game cover the main character “Metroid” is displayed to be a large shouldered, large armed masculine character, however the person controlling the metroid suit is a actually a female character, called Samus, that is unfairly made to be masculine which implies that men are stronger and better at defending themselves than women are, it also implies that the male suit is to defend Samus because she cannot defend herself. In addition to this the character specifically is meant to meet the reactionary belief of what a strong, independent character should be, this is shown to be a male character. The idea of a woman being a main character of a large title video game is a big thing and it gives a good view on the company releasing the game, however there are other ways to go around it to avoid the reactionary, negative stereotype of women being oversexualised. ‘For every forward step however, there is often a reminder of how far is left to travel‘(From an article called “Diversity matters”) – This shows that no matter how much effort or help that a company can put in, there is always more to go, or more to do before people are happy.
Within the Tomb Raider front cover, the character Lara Croft is the dominant signifier and is displayed to be looked at by men. This is called the Male Gaze which is the idea that men look at women as sexual objects. The character Lara Croft can be seen in tight, short cut, shorts that show off the characters behind which fits the presumed straight males voyeurism. Furthermore the character is positioned in a pose that turns her in a way to be able to show off both the characters breasts and back end, this further shows the idea of the Male Gaze displayed within video games and how the character is oversexualised to gain more male attention and achieve more sales. ‘Woman displayed as a sexual-object is the erotic spectacle’ – displays how woman are treated unfairly within the media from Luara Mulvey, this fits with Tomb Raider as the main character is displayed to be looked at.
As well as that, the character Lara Croft is shown to be a strong, independent woman who can fight and defend herself. However Lara Croft can be seen to be in a strappy crop top and a small pair of shorts which specifically show off her curves which are unrealistically curvy and creates an unrealistic expectation for females from the male view which goes along with the idea of a patriarchal society. As Well as this, in other games male characters have full suits of armour that defends the character and doesn’t show off specific parts of the character but when it comes to a woman they don’t need armour and mostly all of their body is shown off. This further displays how the idea of the male gaze is dominant in the video games industry.
In conclusion, both characters from Tomb Raider and Metroid are unfairly treated because of their gender. We can see Samus being represented as the opposite of her gender to display the idea that she cannot defend herself, therefore she needs to be protected by a big suit of armour that looks masiculine on the outside and we can see Lara Croft being oversexualised to fit the male gaze and identify her as a sexual object for the presumed straight male sales and attraction.
As we close this first half term and move to the next, we can watch some more about Jean Kilbourne to help us engage with her enquiry into the values that are held and communicated about our society (particulary with regard to the representation of gender) from the advertising industry, this link.
We will also look at some Advertising from the 1950’s with an episode of Washes Whiter – this is the episode we looked at in class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WgprZ8j1fI and below is another episode that you should watch over the half term break.
Going forward, next half term we will look at ADVERTISING in more detail. We will look at 2 more exam case studies (called CSP’s – close study products). We will make some adverts for a cosmetic product. So in preparation please:
a cosmetic product that you want to promote, market and advertise
3-5 print adverts that you want to use as style models for your own productions.
TASK 1: ANALYSIS OF STYLE MODELS
MAKE SURE YOU PROVIDE AN ANALYSIS OF 3-5 ADVERTISING STYLE MODELS (it is not the quantity but the quality of your analysis that is important)
– make sure you embed them in your blog as a GALLERY x 5 marks 1. Textual analysis (ie media language x 5 – what elements are in your research products) 2. Semiotic analysis (ie key terms x 5 around semiotics) 3. Representational analysis (key terms x 5 around representation)
The male gaze is how women are objectified. The ‘male gaze’ is women looked at as sexual objects which make men feel empowered.
Laura Mulvey was a British film theorist who tackled the centrality of the male viewer and his pleasure. She called this ‘The Male Gaze’. She wrote ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’ which showed all her findings and opinions.
John Peter Berger was known for his ‘Ways of Seeing’ This highlighted ‘The Male Gaze’.
I utilised a male in my front cover for a reactionary response as it aggress and goes along with the idea that men are typically soldiers in games.
I produced a Safari Warfare Game and I created a dominant signifying image that was a masculinesoldier that fits with the reactionary idea and stereotype that men are soldiers in war. This goes against Toril Moi’s analysis of the distinction between female, feminine, feminist categories of representation (1987). Only in my production there is a clear focus on masculinity.
Further to this I have exaggerated the muscular attributes of my character by adding armour, overexaggerated arms, legs and chest. I also added a fighter jet and a attack helicopter that displays the on going theme of war, putting them behind the character, signifying his strength as a male leader. In some ways this inverts Laura Mulvey’s notion of the male gaze in that my main character is there to be objectified and looked at, in the words of Laura Mulvey he is a character “establishing ways of looking and spectacle” (Mulvey, p. 883, 1999). However, the notion of the male gaze is quite distinct as it relates to the sexualisation of the dominant signifier, which is not the case for my character.
However, I don’t think this is a positive representation of masculinity as I personally believe that the idea of a strong, leading soldier always being a man is wrong and incorrect in the current world where woman are coming to power and serving in the army. Perhaps inhabiting a range of signifiers that would connote a more feminine character, or a radical female character instead of the reactionary male character. I could do this by re-sculpting my character in terms of their physical appearance, their clothing, body shape and size, along with the hair. As such, I would be sending out a much more positive message (for me) about masculinity, ‘maleness’ one that used a positive countertype to present a radical and challenging representation which could help gamers to adopt a new ways of thinking about gender representation, with more positive role models for young people to aspire to. As Keith Stuart notes ‘the power of video games [is] a reflective, empowering and emotional influence on the lives of players’. (Why diversity matters in the modern video games industry, Guardian, 18 July 2017)
Male gaze- the perspective of a notionally typical heterosexual man considered as embodied in the audience or intended audience for films and other visual media, characterized by a tendency to objectify or sexualize women.
Voyeurism-the practice of gaining sexual pleasure from watching others when they are naked or engaged in sexual activity.
Patriarchy- male dominated society
Positive and negative stereotypes-a positive stereotype refers to a subjectively favourable belief held about a social group.postulated that because negative stereotypes represent negative expectations about the out-group
Counter-types– is a positive stereotype and emphasizes the positive features about a person
Misrepresentation-the action or offence of giving a false or misleading account of the nature of something.
Selective representation-when some groups of people are represented more in government than others.
Dominant ideology-the ideas, attitudes, values, beliefs, and culture of the ruling class in a society; usually also the function of these in validating the status quo.
Constructed reality– That we construct and create our own reality and what we do affects the reality we’ve constructed
Hegemony-leadership or dominance, especially by one state or social group over others
Audience positioning– Audience positioning refers to the techniques used by the creator of a text to try to get the audience to understand the ideology of the text
Fluidity of identity-having the ability to change how you see yourself, the world, and your actions
Constructed identity-process in which humans develop a clear and unique view of themselves and of their identity
Negotiated identity– identity negotiation refers to the processes through which people reach agreements regarding “who is who” in their relationships
Collective identity-the shared definition of a group that derives from its members’ common interests, experiences, and solidarities then place them within certain social categories such as ethnicity, nationality, or gender
