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Men’s Health Essay Prep 2

Institution

Owner – Hearst UK – 74% of the years circulation is physical print copies, whereas 26% is digital copies. A study showed that a lot of the people who buy the magazine are women – I think that this would be bought for men who would only read it if it was delivered, which shows the target audience of the product.

Alongside print copies of the magazine, Hearst have incorporated digital copies into their sales. This links to David Hesmondhalgh’s idea of the media industries as a “risky business” and this helps to mitigate that risk by appealing to a wider digital audience.

Language

Levi Strauss – Binary Oppositions – Link’s to Men’s health in that there is a clear disparity set in place between the Healthy/Unhealthy men (those who follow the guidance of the magazine and those who don’t).

Barthes – Stereotypical male representations in the magazine – men working out shows use of proairetic code to do with motion and movement. This serves to get the reader motivated for improving their own lifestyle.

Representation

Laura Mulvey talked about “The Male Gaze” which is a theory which relates to media products being produced to appeal to a heterosexual straight male’s viewpoint – PAGE 148 is an example of the male gaze as a strategy to appeal to the male audience. Shows women in the background, posed in a suggestive manner, of the dominant signifier – the man who’s wearing the Givenchy aftershave. This creates an unrealistic representation of reality for impressionable men reading the magazine.

Audience

Stuart Hall – Theory of preferred reading – accepting or rejecting the dominant reading – powerful media producers can enforce their opinions towards cultural minorities to spread their agenda. Men’s health – Some may accept the dominant reading of exaggerated physical features (as shown with the dominant signifier on page 18) and use it as motivation. However, some may reject this and see it as unrealistic expectations to compare themselves to and feel bad about. This also relates to Lazarfelt’s Two Step Flow model in that the message conveyed by Hearst through Men’s Health is subject to error or misinterpretation.

James Gerbner – Cultivation theory – the more we as an audience are shown a representation the more we associate it with reality and accept it. This suggests that the audience is passive and it will become mainstream in the media and among an audience. This links to Men’s Health in that, for example the front cover states tat men should “#Slay Winter Blues”. The use of a hashtag means that Hearst is trying to promote the spread of information around the product via social media. This viewpoint, combined with all the other comments on the front cover and inside the magazine with exaggerated physical features, has become a staple of the product and men working out to make them more confident and happy has become mainstream.

essay prep

Half page on:

Audience

Lasswelllasswells model of communication
in 1927 wrote Propaganda Technique in the World War
Hypodermic model (passive consumption)
As Martin Moore notes, Lasswell: believed each government had ‘manipulated the mass media in order to justify its actions’ in World War 1 (2019:122). 
which focuses on “Who (says) What (to) Whom (in) What Channel (with) What Effect”.
audience injected with media, passive consumers.
Lazarfeld in 1948 he developed the Two Step Flow model of communication.
 this theory suggests that the audience are ACTIVE NOT PASSIVE
Two step flow communication (active consumption)
Relate to mens health as CSP uses Vin Diesel (an Opinion leader to the target audience)
Uses and GratificationsKatz, Gurevitch and Haas (1973)
The uses and gratifications theory assumes the audience chooses what it wants to watch for five different reasons.
Information and Education
Information and Education
Personal Identity
Integration and social interaction
Escapism
This theory recognises the decision making process in the audience themselves.
 explores our motivation to engage with texts. This information could help producers target their audience more effectively.
applied to mens health- Personal needs: understanding self, enjoyment
Social Needs- Confidence, self esteem
Stuart HallHe worked at the Open University for a number of years, as a professer of sociology
He looks at Encoding, Decoding and how the media represent ideologies.
Hall’s work covers issues of hegemony and cultural studies, taking a post-Gramscian stance
‘He theorized that media texts contain a variety of messages that are encoded (made/inserted) by producers and then decoded (understood) by audiences. Therefore what we see is simply a ‘re-presentation’ of what producers want us to see.’ He said that a message must be decoded before
Accept dominant message, negotiate dominant message or reject it.
Antonio Gramsci
Cultural Hegemony:
● Antonio Gramsci: Italian philosopher writing in the 1930s
Key Terms:
● Hegemonic: dominant, ruling-class, power-holders
● Hegemonic culture: the dominant culture
● Cultural hegemony: power, rule, or domination maintained by ideological and cultural means.
● Ideology: worldview – beliefs, assumptions and values
● Cultural hegemony functions by framing the ideologies of the dominant social group as the only legitimate
ideology.
● The ideologies of the dominant group are expressed and maintained through its economic, political, moral,
and social institutions (like the education system and the media).
● These institutions socialise people into accepting the norms, values and beliefs of the dominant social
group.
● As a result, oppressed groups believe that the social and economic conditions of society are natural and

Language

Semiotics

  1. Sign: A gesture, action or thing that displays information or instruction
  2. Code: Letters, words, symbols or figures used to represent others
  3. Convention: A way that something is done
  4. Dominant Signifier: The main sign
  5. Anchorage: Words that go with images to give them a specific context

Ferdinand de Saussure:

  1. Signifier: The thing, item or code that we read
  2. Signified: The context behind the thing that is being represented
  3. Syntagm: Sequence; order in which they go and how one sign links to another
  4. Paradigm: Collection of similar signs; a group of things that are similar

C S Pierce:

  1. Icon: A sign that looks like its object
  2. Index: A sign that has a link to it’s subject
  3. Symbol: A sign that has a random link to it’s subject

Roland Barthes:

  1. Signification: The process of signifying by signs or symbols
  2. Denotation: A literal meaning of a word in contrast to the feelings or ideas behind it
  3. Connotation: A feeling that invokes for a person in addition to its literal meaning
  4. Myth: Something that is made up and widely false; a rumour
  5. Ideology: A system of ideas which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy
  6. Radical: Challenges dominant ideas
  7. Reactionary: Confirms dominant ideas

Institution

Industry and Businessvertical and horizontal integration
David Hesmondalgh
monopoly mergers
Political Compass
David Hesmondalgh said the media business is a risky business.
minimise risk, maximise profit. if a media product does well the concept will be used until it stops doing well.
relates to blinded by the light, independent film but the smaller studio is owned by warner bros, showing that media power has fallen into the hands of a few conglomerates.
Cultural industries – Types of media in which a cultural/creative company produces, distributes and exhibits a product
Production– Making or producing a product
Distribution– Advertising or marketing the product
Exhibition / Consumption-Showing the product/releasing it
Mergers– Combining two or more things into one
Monopolies– When a company owns all the three
Commodification – turning something into an item that can be bought and sold
Regulation– A rule/restriction made by government/authority
Deregulation– When the government restrictions are loosened
Conglomerates– When a business owns a massive group of companies
Vertical Integration– When a company does all 3 production, distribution and consumption
Horizontal Integration– When a company only produces or distributes

Representation

David GauntlettFluidity of Identity
Negotiated identity
Constructed identity
Collective identity
Gauntlett explores the idea that a persons identity is not fixed and is shaped based off their experiences or the media they consume

In Relation to Mens Health Having Vin Diesel in the magazine can help make a constructed identity as he can be seen as an opinion leader so readers may value the advice/articles in this magazine more than they would if he wasn’t there.

The Male Gaze- Laura Mulvey

Judith Butler- Feminist critical thinking.

About Men’s Health

MensHealth.com averages 118 million views a month

In 2004, Men’s Health began putting celebrities and athletes on the cover

Largest audience of the Men’s Health magazine from April 2019 to March 2020 are adults over the age of 15 with a total of 1,816 and the second largest audience were men with 708 results. The least amount of audience was within women although 365 women bought the product. The reach was lower among households with children, with 391 thousand readers from this demographic reached by the print title or its website during this period.

  • Men’s Health is the largest men’s magazine brand and the number one source of information for and about men.
  • Has 25 print editions in 35 countries around the world.
  • 21 million readers across its social and digital platforms.
  • Women’s Health gained 7,239 more copies sold than Men’s Health which was 89,111 and Women’s Health which was 96,350.

per issue 74% of copies are print while the other 26% is digital

per issue 85% of copies go to UK & Rol

Hearst

  • Men’s Health is owned by Hearst who own many other companies such as: NetDoctor, Lenny Letter, Delish (25% owned)
  • Hearst is a media company founded on March 4 1887

Men’s health essay prep

Laura Mulvey: The Male Gaze – PAGE 148 is an example of the male gaze as a strategy to appeal to the male audience. Shows women in the background of the dominant signifier, the man who’s wearing the Givenchy aftershave.

Lazarsfeld – two-step flow of communication model hypothesizes that ideas flow from mass media to opinion leaders, and from them, to a wider population

Page 6-7, use of the ‘Man of today’, an opinion leader used to sell a product (Hugo Boss aftershave) to the masses is a prime example of the 2 step model.

Gerbner – Cultivation Theory :

  • Introduced cultivation theory in the 1960’s
  • 2 main concepts:
  • 1. Media texts cultivate a heightened sense of fear in society (mean world syndrome)
  • 2. Media consumption leads audiences to accept mainstream ideologies (mainstreaming)

WHO? The parent company, Hearst Communications UK, creators of the magazine specifically the main editor Morgan Rees
SAYS WHAT? Men’s Health and how to become stronger and lose weight etc, various other messages also
IN WHICH CHANNEL? Print, online, social media
TO WHOM? The target audience of the magazine, younger impressional men, and magazine subscribers. Men specifically interested in health and exercise, active adventurous people. 70% of all Millennials and 69% of all Gen Z over the age of 18
WITH WHAT EFFECT? Profit. Inspirational, perhaps aggressive.

4 Things to write about in essay + Theories to mention

  1. Institution – who owns it
  2. Examples of specific pages
  3. Language, how it’s laid up, representation
  4. Audiences –
  • 1. Owner: Hearst UK
  • 74% of the years circulation is physical print copies, whereas 26% is digital copies

essay plan – magazine

key terms –

dominant signifier = vin diesel on the front cover of the magazine

dominant ideology = Body image

The blue background is associated with male stereotypes, a traditional boy colour

reactionary representation = A heterosexual man and what society expects on him .

negative stereotype = this creates a negative stereotype to men having to be seen as strong and loose weight

Laswell’s module applied

Sender: Men’s health’s is one of the largest men’s magazine and is aimed mainly at “manly” men

says what: The brand of the magazine called ‘Men’s Health’ aimed for active men who want a better control on their physique / appearance to impress society.

what channel: Men’s health is a print lifestyle magazine and can also be accessed on their website and social media.

to whom: Aimed at men who are ‘sporty’ or active. If a man wants motivation to get into shape then the magazine provides infomation on loosing weight to get that ‘perfect body’

what effect: Selling the magazine to their target audience through shops, website or social media.

semiotics:

Iconic sign: The bold text tells you what you can find inside of this magazine issue. It all relates to loosing weight fast

indexical signs: The only image is the dominant signifier placed right in the middle. The muscles relates to the text and the magazine.

symbolic sign: The magazines colour theme is mostly blue which is seen as a stereotypical colour for men, influences them to buy the magazine. Big bold texts all about loosing weight “demolish junk food cravings” and “Blast body fat”. The dominant signifier, vin diesel, is positioned in the middle showing off his muscles.

Men’s health magazine had an average monthly reach of around 1.8 million individuals in the UK between 2019 to 2020

The ages of people who buy this magazine between 2019 to 2020 were 15 years and above and could potentially be harmful for young teenagers because they feel this is how they should look like and that the magazine would help them with their goal to looking muscular.

The media chooses how people should look like. By adding a celebrity to the front page of their magazine it influences young people to buy and read it.

Mens health is owned by by hearst who own 40 different companies founded in 1887.

hegemony – the set of ideas that dominate within society, these ideas are usually formed by those groups who have power

Steve Neale: Genre theory –

Stuart hall:

start:

Men’s health magazine is a lifestyle magazine that is aimed for ‘active’ men who are interested in sports and wanting help to loose weight. The magazine is owned by Hearst corporation who own 40 different companies and were founded in 1887.On the front page of the magazine is the dominant signifier, vin diesel, who is a famous actor. He is positioned in the centre on the front page to grab the audiences attention along with the bold texts that all relate to loosing weight which you can find inside the magazine. The symbolic sign on the front page is the magazines colour theme of blue which is seen as a stereotypical colour for males which influences men to buy the magazine. Stuart halls representation theory points out that hegemony sets the ideas that dominate society .Big bold texts all about loosing weight “demolish junk food cravings” and “blast body fat”. reactionary representation can be seen on the front of the magazine is a heterosexual man and what society expects of him.

Laswell’s module applies in this case the sender: Hearst communications is the sender. Men’s health is one of the largest men’s magazine and is aimed mainly for ‘manly men’. says what: the brand of the magazine called ‘men’s health’ aimed for active men who want a better control on their physique /appearance to impress society. what channel: is a print lifestyle magazine and can also be accessed on their website or social media. to whom: aimed at men who are ‘sporty’ or active. This magazine is viewed as reactionary because the front page relates to what you can find inside, for example if you turn to page 178 – 179 the double spread features another heterosexual man who is demonstrating some exercise .If a man wants motivation to get into shape then the magazine provides information on loosing weight to get that perfect body. what effect: selling the magazine to their target audience through shops, website or social media. Stuart hall suggests that

Men’s health magazine had an average monthly reach of 1.8 million individuals in the UK between 2019 to 2020. The ages group that were buying the magazine we 15 years old and above which could potentially be harmful for young teenagers because they may feel like this is how they are supposed to look like and that the magazine would help them with their goal to look muscular.

dominant signifier – Vin diesel on the front cover of the magazine

dominant ideology – Body image

reactionary representation – A heterosexual man and what society expects on him.

negative stereotype – this creates a negative stereotype to men having to be seen as strong and loose weight

The blue background is associated with male stereotypes, a traditional boy colour, male dominance.

Laswell’s module:

Sender – Men’s health’s is one of the largest men’s magazine and is aimed mainly at “manly” men

Says What – The brand of the magazine called ‘Men’s Health’ aimed for active men who want a better control on their physique / appearance to impress society.

What Channel – Men’s health is a print lifestyle magazine and can also be accessed on their website and social media.

To Whom – Aimed at men who are ‘sporty’ or active. If a man wants motivation to get into shape then the magazine provides information on loosing weight to get that ‘perfect body’

What Effect – Selling the magazine to their target audience through shops, website or social media.

CS Peirce:

Iconic sign – The bold text tells you what you can find inside of this magazine issue. It all relates to loosing weight fast

Indexical signs – The only image is the dominant signifier placed right in the middle. The muscles relates to the text and the magazine.

Symbolic sign – The magazines colour theme is mostly blue which is seen as a stereotypical colour for men, influences them to buy the magazine. Big bold texts all about loosing weight “demolish junk food cravings” and “Blast body fat”. The dominant signifier, vin diesel, is positioned in the middle showing off his muscles.

Stuart hall – Hall provides a framework for decoding messages:

accept the dominant message
negotiate the dominant message
reject the dominant message

Facts:

Men’s health magazine had an average monthly reach of around 1.8 million individuals in the UK between 2019 to 2020. The ages of people who buy this magazine between 2019 to 2020 were 15 years and above and could potentially be harmful for young teenagers because they feel this is how they should look like and that the magazine would help them with their goal to looking muscular.

The media chooses how people should look like. By adding a celebrity to the front page of their magazine it influences young people to buy and read it.
Mens health is owned by hearst who own 40 different companies founded in 1887.

revision

What do you know aboutWhat meaning or understandings do you have of their ideas? Put another way – how can you apply their ideas to your CSP’s?
Noam Chomsky

He wrote The Manufacture of Consent with Edward Herman in 1988

He came up with the 5 filters:
1. media ownership,
2. role of advertising,
3. official sources, 4. flak,
5. common enemy
Chomsky can be used in terms of media ownership, audience effects, textual analysis and representation.

Essentially, he argued that the mass media is used by the elite in society to ‘manufacture consent’ towards the dominant ideology.

So for example, it is possible to see this in terms of the Daily Mail (with it’s pro-establishment views on money, the monarchy, the military, patriarchy etc media ownership)

It is also possible (to some extent) to see this in terms of Tomb Raider, Score (prioritising patriarchal values, role of advertising)

Challenges to the process of ‘consent’ (ie alternative views to society can be found in Blinded by the Light, Letter to the Free, Ghost Town (dispelling the myth of the common enemy?)
James Curranwrites about the Liberal Free Press

Is connected to the ideas of Habermas

Writes specifically about diversity in terms of of ownership, participation, representation, consumption

Media and Power addresses three key questions about the relationship between media and society.
*How much power do the media have?
*Who really controls the media?
*What is the relationship between media and power in society?
A range of voices and ownership maintains a healthy media as there is argument, dissent, disagreement and NOT CONSENT (?? ie Chomsky)

Can be used in terms of Film CSP (which only looks at ownership)

Newspapers (concentration of ownership and regulation of ownership and control)

Common / The Specials / Blinded by the Light all explore issues of power and control. Providing alternative voices?

Maybe new media stuff as well?
Jean Seaton
Jurgen HabermasHabermas wrote about the Transformation of the public sphere in 1962

With the introduction of the printing press, reading and writing transformed the way in which ideas and decisions were made.

The public sphere is where public decisions are made (ie courts, parliament)

The private sphere is where private decisions are made (family, friends etc)

Habermas thought that new forms of media enabled ordinary citizens to be more actively engaged in society.

which formed a new phenomenon called public opinion. Spearheading this shift was the growth of a literary public sphere
Habermas is key for the role of media in promoting a better, more inclusive society (eg in politics, morals, ethics).
Particularly useful for news, information

This means that the media is really important for helping individuals to connect to society and be part of the decision making process.
It is an example of how democracy works.
It stops authoritarian regimes or (hopefully) inequality

It promotes participation and emancipation.
SEMIOTICS


Pierce (icon, index, symbol)
Barthes (connotation, denotation, myth)
De Saussure (signifier, signified)
 
Founding / starting point for TEXTUAL ANALYSIS ie need to use this language for analysing texts (print, moving image, web etc)



Essentially communication is based on sign systems – the way signs are organised is really important as it can reveal social, political messaging.
 
For example Barthes discusses how dominant ideologies are maintained through culture and communication (as opposed to violence)
 
This links with Gramsci’s notion of HEGEMONY
 
Think for example, dominant signifiers, size, scale, placement etc
 
Important for practical work as well as CSP’s
 
There will be 2 unseen CSP’s which will be testing this knowledge / understanding.
REPRESENTATION


No real specific theories or theorist (from my perspective) although board does use Gauntlet, Feminist critical thinkers (Mulvey etc)
 
Use of radical and reactionary representations
 
Use of stereotypes and countertypes



Again fundamental to media, cultural studies. So will definitely be a question about this.
 
Again really fundamental to the process of POWER (asserting and maintaining power) – ie Barthes, Gramsci etc
 
CSP’s clearly a selection of reactionary (Daily Mail, The i , Tomb Raider, Score) and radical texts (Maybelline, Common, Blinded by the Light, Ghost Town)
 
Some create an ambiguous representation (Metroid)
 
BE CAREFUL THAT IT IS NOT JUST A PERSONAL RANT (ie unsupported by evidence)
David Gauntlett1. fluidity of identity
2. Negotiated identity
3. Constructed identity
4. Collective identity
Gauntlett is suggesting that identity is not fixed and set (ie objective) that it is changeable ‘fluid’ that it is a process of ‘negotiation’ perhaps in terms of where we are and who we are interacting with. That our individual identity is part of an overall collective identity. And that in summary it is ‘constructed’ or made as opposed to being genetic, predisposed, biological, fixed, already in place etc etc

In relation to Men’s Health we can see how different versions of ‘maleness’ or masculinity are presented. For example, the older runner, the hyped-up, pumped-up Alpha male, the reflective loving male, the psychologically thoughtful male etc.
All of these individual identities can be understood in a broader paradigm of male identity – diverse, contradictory and complex. Specifically on page 71 there is a photo shoot of 9 males from different countries (ie different nationalities and cultural backgrounds) united a single dominant representation of ‘maleness’ /masculinity (they are all photographed in black and white and arranged a single image)
AUDIENCE

Audience is key topic.
 
Lots of different people and terms to know:
Lasswell
Lazarfeld
Gerbner
Stuart Hall
 
Active / passive / cultivation theory / theory of preferred reading.




Different audience approaches have altered over time (ie passive hypodermic model vs uses and gratifications)
 
Audience is underpins other approaches eg analysis (semiotics, representation) and ownership (Chomsky, Habermas etc)
Paul LazarfeldTwo step flow of communication – the use of opinion leaders,the suggestion that people actively seek out information that aligns with their own perspective – does this indicate that they thereby seek reassurance and validation of their own ideas??
Uses and GratificationsA theory of audience consumption that claims that audiences are ACTIVE.
developed by a number of social scientist roughly in the 1960’s and 1970’s (eg
> Katz, Gurevitch and Hass
> Blumer, McQuail, Brown

some attribute this theory to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
They suggest that audiences seek PLEASURE, NEEDS, USES, GRATIFICATIONS etc

These are divided into PERSONAL NEEDS
escapism
entertainment
knowledge and understanding


SOCIAL NEEDS
knowledge of the world
being together with friends and family
Stuart HallTheory of Preferred Reading – that we ACTIVELY decode media messagesHall suggests that there is a separation between reality and representation – that although we can identify some objective moments – the meaning of those moments remain CONSTESTED and OPEN TO INTERPRETATION.

Hall provides a framework for DECODING MESSAGES either we:
1. ACCEPT THE DOMINANT MESSAGE
2. NEGOTIATE THE DOMINANT MESSAGE
3. REJECT THE DOMINANT MESSAGE

How can we understand this? Because we are ACTIVE CITIZENS who DECODE media messages based on our own SUBJECTIVE IDENTITY.

Think gender, race, ethnicity, politics, economics, geography, education, ability etc etc

Is there ONLY 1 READING / MEANING? No. Hall argues that there are MULTIPLE / CONTESTED MEANINGS, READINGS, INTERPETATIONS.

But doesn’t that leave society and individuals a little lost on what is true and what is not?

We look at this when we look at POSTMODERNISM.
Feminist Critical ThinkingMulvey
Butler
Feminist Frequency
Tori Moi
Jean Kilbourne
It is a key position or perspective to read culture (eg media texts)

It critically engages with the concept of patriarchy
PostcolonialismFranz Fanon 
Paul Gilroy, Black Atlantic Experience
Edward Said, Orientalism
Jacques Lacan The ‘Other’
Postcolonialism very important in terms of looking at society from a white, male perspective (ie dominant patriarchy perspective)
Narrative Theories Todorov,
Freytag,
Propp,
Levi-Strauss, Chatman,
Barthes
This is a STRUCTURALIST approach to analysing texts. That means it looks at overall structures and patterns.
The way things (like narratives, stories etc) are organised.
It shows how important familiarity (and difference) is.
Genre
Key terms for Industry and Businessvertical / horizontal integration
Mergers
Monopoly
Cartel
conglomerate
Risk and reward (high risk / high reward)
Risky business ‘Hesmondhalgh’
concentration of ownership
Regulation and control
Authoritarian / Libertarian
Political Compass (left leaning / right leaning)
The question on Film is only about institution – so if this comes up will need to apply lots of these terms

Also useful for TV question

Also useful in terms of marketing, promotions etc
PSB public service broadcastingCurran and Seaton
Chomsky
Habermas
BBC
Channel 4
Ideas of the liberal Free Press
Fundamental to the structure of ownership and control IN RELATION to participation of ALL members of society in the political, economic system known as DEMOCRACY.

Fine principles! But how does this work out in practice? Think ownership of newspapers? Role of government in terms of BBC? The current debate around privatisation of Channel 4

And of course – how this applies to the INTERNET?!
Stuart Hall what we are consuming from the media is simply a meaning of an event has been interpreted. the event itself doesnt have a meaning until it is represented in the media and people find and create a meaning, what we see in the media is not necessarily what is happening but a representation of what some people may think.
George GerbnerCultivation Theory suggests Television influences its audience to the extent that their world view and perceptions start reflecting what they repeatedly see meaning TV is considered to contribute independently to the way people perceive social reality and will have an effect on the audience’s attitudes and values. Long term exposure to violent media makes the audience less likely to be shocked by violence. Being less shocked by violence the audience may then be more likely to behave violently.
Cultivation theory suggests that repeated exposure to television over time can subtly ‘cultivates’ viewers’ perceptions of reality. George Gerbner and Larry Gross theorised that TV is a medium of the socialisation of most people into standardised roles and behaviours.
The criticism of this theory is that screen violence is not the same as real violence. Many people have been exposed to screen murder and violence, but there is no evidence at all that this has lead audiences to be less shocked by real killings and violence. media consumption mainstreaming wants the wolrd to believe the same ideologies

shirky believes gerbners theory is not applicable to modern forms of meida. the media has chnaged and audiences are more active and believes you can no longer talk about users of media products as an audience

https://www.nusa.org.uk/data/documents/52/Theory_Knowledge_Organiser_B__VTice.pdf
https://revisionworld.com/a2-level-level-revision/media-studies-level-revision/cultivation-theory

OCTOBER revision table

.What Do I KnowWhat do I understand/ what does it mean
Noah Chomsky5 filters of media (ownership; advertising; official sources; flak; and manufactured consent. 1) corporations often own more than u think, 2) advertisers fill the gap by making you the product, 3) those reporting and those reported are essentially one, 4) flak is when a story doesn’t work for someone in power so they will ruin your story, 5) creating a common enemy
James CurranWrote the book “Media and Power” arguing that patterns of ownership and control are the most significant factors in how the media operate. Media is controlled by only a few companies. Quality as suffered as those involved are more profit driven.Could reference with an example of a “news” paper which has clearly been commercialised
Jean Seaton
Jurgan Habermauspublic sphere, not a physical thing, public sphere- Everyone i.e where the free discussion and debate of ideas occurs private sphere- just you i.e where the free discussion and debate of ideas occurs. Brought into existence mainly by newspapers
Could be used to describe the level on which a conversation is being had (or where an issue has gone from private sphere to public sphere)
Semiotics
Representation
Audience
Feminist Critical Thinking
Post-Colonialism
Narrative Theories Vladmir Propp
8 characters,
hero,
villian,
damsel in distress, donor,
helper,
dispatcher,
false hero,
princess,
GenreSteve Neal, states that genres all contain instances of repetition and difference, difference is essential to the to the economy of the genre, Repertoire of elements, Hybrid genres,
Key Terms for industry business ownershipPrivate Limited, Public Limited (corporations), Partnership, 1 owner (proprietorship) or Monopoly’s, Cross media ownership, vertical/horizontal integration
Public Service Broadcasting Supplied by a government organization, curran and seaton, chomsky, HabermasDuetshland 83 is a collab between channel 5 and german psb

STUART HALL

.What Do I KnowWhat Do I Understand
Stuart HallReception theory, media products are encoded by the write then uncoded by the reader, sometimes differently. Dominant, negotiated, oppositional viewing. (Media controlled by elites, who give the representation of things you may not have experienced) Dominant/Preferred Reading – The audience accept and agree with the
messages put forward in the media text
Negotiated Reading – The audience agree with some part but reject or are
opposed to other parts
Oppositional Reading – The audience reject the messages that are trying to
be conveyed and do not accept/agree with them
George GerbnerCultivation theory- which suggest those who frequently consume media view the world through its representation in said media forms (leading to acceptance of mainstream ideology’s) and not through real world experience (mainstreaming) . He also states those who view particularly violent media products may suffer from “Mean World Syndrome” and in turn view the world as more dangerous than it actually is.
Clay Shirky Theory on how Gerber’s ideas are no longer applicable as the masses have moved on as media has deeply expanded and diversified (i.e moved on)
Laswell (Communication Model)

Cultivation theory- which suggest those who frequently consume media view the world through its representation in said media forms (leading to acceptance of mainstream ideologies) and not through real world experience (mainstreaming)

Example- Doesn’t challenge social and cultural contexts, it jsut conforms to them. ( standard stereotype of a straight male on cover

  • Owned by Hearst, american business information conglomerateso is less likely to be trying to be innovative and challenging social and cultural contexts as they are more interested in churning out generic likeable content to gain sales and money- furthermore Hearst also owns women’ health, showing that they are less of a specialised magazine aimed at helping men stay healthy and more of a business venture.

George Gurbner– Theory talks about how repeated exposure to media forms can warp your perception of reality leading you to believe the world is just like what you are seeing on platforms such as in video games or in movies which can lead to “mean world syndrome” – this magazine is a good example as it is a constant stream of examples of the “ideal man” either dressed up in a suit with a beard or in the gym with large muscles. Constantly being exposed to things like this can over time create an unrealistic idea of what it takes to be a man

Laura Mulvey Male Gaze– theory is about how the majority of media products are produced in a way that is meant to please the average straight, heterosexual man. An example of this in men’s health would be on page 148, in which Givenchy is attempting to sell to the ready by presenting a masculine man applying their product, with a woman posing in a suggestive manner in the background

Points

  • Print magazines, however around a quarter of purchases are digitally
  • The majority of those print copies purchased are made by women
  • There is a dominant ideology of men needing to be big and strong
  • There is a constructed stereotype that is being reinforced by media products such as this that it is normal for the average male to look like the man on the cover of men’s health, which is also convenient for most companies, as it helps sell the idea of men looking like this so they can sell more products.
  • Men’s health has identified its target audience, which is primarily men aged 15+, more specifically a more impressionable group of people who have taken an interest in their health, most likely after being heavily influenced by other things
  • Men’s health also aims for young men who are particularly impressionable and somewhat vulnerable as it offers a somewhat collective identity (men wanting to get fit) and a sense of belonging which would be appealing to most
  • features a counter-stereotype, of a 75-year-old running a marathon
  • the cover features masculine buzzwords such as blast, demolish, slay, war, burn

CSP – magazines

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dominant signifier – vin diesel famous actor, appeal to men

male representation– talks about men and has different men throughout

reactionary representation – heterosexual man and what is expected in society

– colour of text is in traditional boy colours

radicle as it is talking about men’s mental health

laswells modle appilied:

sender – hearst communication mens magazine

says what – a brand for active, successful professional men who want greater control over their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing

What Channel – print through lifestyle magazine and online on their website and social media sites.

to whom – active, successful professional men who want greater control over their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing, ‘educated men with families’ as the media kit states

with what effect- sell them to your audience

Lazarsfelds link to men’s health:

this links to his theory as with the front page of the magazine, there is an opinion leader on the front, Vin Diesel, who people will agree with as they actively choose to follow and listen to people who have the same ideas and morels of them and so people who agree with what he is presenting in the magazine are more likely to read the magazine.

Uses and gratifications applied to mens health:

looks at how especially online the pages that the consumers spend the most time on will be what they want, and they will profit of this as they will continue to show you similar ads to sell more of the products.

on the consumer profile, they have an audience of successful professional men who want greater control over their physical, mental and emotional wellbeing so they will play off this and show ads which are related to the kind of things they have an interest in and will more likely spend money on products as they are tailored to what they have an interest in.

Stuart Hall Applied:

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dominant readings –

negotiated readings – both sides of the argument can be taken into account as they may want to lose weight and use a detox however not all those who want to lose weight through that way so they may disagree with the message.

oppositional readings- not everyone who purchases the magazine will want to do a detox to lose weight and so there could be a more cynical meaning behind it

Revision table

What do you know about what meanings or understandings do you have of their ideas?
Lasswell Hypodermic model:
People are passive consumers of media. Harold Lasswell wrote “subtle poison, which industrious men injected into the veins of a staggering people until the smashing powers knocked them into a submission.
There are 2 types of consumption active and passive.
Passive is receiving media such as watching the news. Active is looking for a specific type of news
LazarfeldPaul Felix Lazarsfeld, conducted large scale studies of the effect of communication through mass media on society, on voting behaviour. he developed the two-step-flow theory of communication.



He directed a study into the decision making process of voters. His team interviewed 600 people from the state of Ohio and documented the psychological and social factors.
Uses and Gratification
Stuart HallJamaican-born British sociologist and cultural theorist.
He was the founder of the influential “new left Review”( British bimonthly journal of ideas covering world politics, economy, and culture).
He has a Representation theory. its important because culture is always formed through meaning and language.
1.Dominant
2.Negotiate
3.Opposition
Stuart hall says these are the 3 ways people can interpret something from the media.
George GerbnerCultivation theory:
The media influences our ideas and opinion. IN the first instance, reception theory, suggests that exposure to reinforced messages will influence our ideas, attributes, and beliefs.
Clay Shirky Who believes that Gerbners ideas are no long applicable to contempory modes of media consumption.
Henry JenkinsWho beliees that modern audiences
David Gauntlett

mens health

Dominant signifier– Vin Diesel (man) Ideology of alpha male Character oppositions often recognised for manly features e.g. strength.

Reactionary cover- attractive person, fits to the stereotype of a male.

Use of capital letters, exclamation marks, dark colouring e.g ‘Blast body fat!’ connotation that you must not be fat. Emphasises what men should want for their bodies.

Language – slay, demolish, fast, stronger, blast