Representation

bell hooks (spelt with lowercase) Feminist Theory

theory states that:

• Feminism is a struggle to end sexist/patriarchal oppression and the ideology of domination
• Feminism is a political commitment rather than a lifestyle choice
• race and class as well as sex, determine the extent to which individuals are exploited, discriminated against or oppressed

patriarchy- A male-dominated society

 

“Feminism as a political commitment, NOT a lifestyle choice”

Does Beyonce fit this model?

• She headed a campaign in 2013 called ‘Chime for a Change’ which aimed to spread female empowerment
• Celebration of black femininity in visual album Lemonade-references to feminist film Daughters of the Dust

Is she using this political movement for lifestyle reasons and to construct a more complex star persona?

People from different cultures are more oppressed, such as Claudia from the Wateraid advert. Women are still doing the domestic chores. The roles that are often represented if at all are white middle class women.

What texts should I apply this to?

Component 1:

• Advertising: Tide, Wateraid
• Music Videos- Beyonce Formation, Vance Joy- Riptide

Component 2: 

• Television: Life on Mars, The Bridge
• Magazine: Vogue, The Big Issue

Questions to ask yourself when applying hooks theory

• Does the text represent a patriarchal society?
• Does the text demonstrate any evidence of people challenging patriarchy and fighting for equality
• If so, you could argue that these features would support this theory and the text may be considered ‘feminist’
• Does the text reinforce or challenge the idea that women should be objectified? Give examples
• Does this imbalance of power also reflect racial aspects or social class, as well as gender?

 

Paul Gilroy’s Postcolonialism

Gilroy is a cultural theorist who studies colonial influences and the way it impacts race and ethnicity today. His theory states that:

• ….Colonial discourses continue to inform contemporary attitudes to race and ethnicity in the post colonial era
• ….Civilisations construct their own racial hierarchies and sets up binary opposition based on notions of otherness- ‘us’ and ‘them’

Context to theory: Colonialisation

• Colonialism: Taking over another country/state to run and exploit it
• The British Empire is often seen as nostalgic concept but has negative connotations

Examples-

• The Boer concentration camps 1899-1902
• Famines in India (between 12-29 million people died)

Gilroy believes that you can see the effect of colonisation in the media, even now

He believes that ethnic minorities are often dehumanised, marginalised and seen as the ‘other’

Links to Alvarado’s theory- can you remember what the four categories were? (humorous, exotic, dangerous, pitied)

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/nov/17/the-crown-tv-brexit-britain

Gilroy applied to Formation-Beyonce

1. How does the music video subvert/challenge racial hierarchy?

She tries to challenge typical stereotypes surrounding African Americans. She wears a dress worn by slave owners wives during the civil war. (antebellum clothing) hierarchical element of Gender

subverting expectation

2. How does the music video reinforce traditional racial hierarchy?

White police and brutality, (black vs white narratives) ‘us’ vs ‘them’

 

Judith Butler’s Gender Performativity

Butler is a theorist who is focused upon gender identity

Her theory states:

• …Identity is performatively constructed by the very ‘expressions’ that are said to be its results (it is manufactured through a set of acts)
• …that there is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender
• …that performativity is not a singular act, but a repetition and a ritual.

 

Sex=biological .    Gender=Constructed identity

“..that there is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender”

Gender is just a social construct, you dont get born with gender, you perform gender. There is no innate feminine identity.

In short Butler is saying that there is nothing genetic/biological to make our gender roles happen. Use of makeup, keeping long hair etc are expectations for a woman

Butler explained:

Culture and influences

How to apply-

Does this person have stereotypical gender traits- does a male/female behave in a typical ‘masculine’/’feminine’ manner? do they subvert these typical behaviours? use examples

Example- Zoella

content reinforces gender stereotypes. Butler would say she performs femininity in a conventional way. Example- She films herself without makeup but then ‘performs’ femininity by putting on makeup

Media Language

Claude Levi-Strauss Structuralism

It is focused upon the underlying systems and structures through which meanings are produced

Theory States that:

• …texts can be best understood through an examination of their underlying structure- i.e. their most basic elements
• …meaning is dependent upon (and produced through) pairs of oppositions
• …the way in which binary oppositions are resolved can have particular ideological significance

Traditional Binary Opposites

• Good vs Evil
• Black vs White
• Young vs Old
• Feminine and Masculine
• Confidence vs Fear
• Protagonist vs Antagonist
• Strong vs Weak
• Blue vs Pink
• Rich vs Poor
• Man vs Machine
• Day vs Night
• East vs West
• Modern vs Traditional
• Nature vs Nurture
• Dark vs Light
• Fast vs Slow
• Smart vs Stupid

Refer to possible Stereotypes

Theory is often used to create conflict, drama and make things entertaining. Many communicate meaning

Tide= represented in binary opposition to all other washing products, to compare tide and the other products- ‘Tide is better’

Kiss of the Vampire= Female vampire and male, more intrigued [audience] through conflict within the two characters

Water Aid= Raining in Britain and Dry Africa- binary oppositions through location

Jean Baudrillard’s Post Modernism

Theory states that:

• …in postmodern culture the boundaries between the ‘real’ world and the world of the media have collapsed and that it is no longer possible to distinguish between reality and simulation
• …in postmodern age of simulacra we are immersed in a world of images which no longer refer to anything ‘real’
• …media images have come to seem more ‘real’ than the reality they supposedly represent (hyper-reality)
• Simulacra=an image or representation of someone or something (an imitation of something which is real)
• Based on Former representation- unless you do research

Postmodern Features

Irony

Examples:

• A fire station burns down
• A marriage counsellor files for divorce
• The police station gets robbed
• A post on Snapchat complaining how useless Snapchat is

Media texts’ use of irony demonstrates self-awareness- the media text is aware of itself and will have an ‘in-joke’ with its audience.

Life of Mars examples:

The series frequently uses dramatic irony, in the form of jokes about a future the audience already knows, but which the historical characters do not. For example Gene Hunt declares:

“There will never be a woman prime minister as long as i have a hole in my arse.”

Demonstrating that the TV show is self-aware and conscious

• Intertextuality- Texts which reference other texts, in some cases, to create a sense of meaning
• Homage- To pay respect to a media text through an intertextual reference
• Parody- To mock a genre, style, person or text
• Bricolage- Sampling and using older media products in your own

EXAMPLES:

1. Intertextual reference on TIDE is from the ‘WE CAN DO IT’ Poster for the war.
2. Homage reference on FORMATION is from the The holy Mountain (1973)
3. Parody reference on DAILY MIRROR is from the statue of liberty
4. Bricolage reference on LIFE ON MARS is (test card F is a test card that was created by the BBC and used on television in the United Kingdom and in countries elsewhere in the world for more than four decades.) Like other test cards, it was usually shown to indicate that no programmes were being broadcast. In the very last shot from Life on Mars a girl dressed as the Test card F turns off the screen to indicate the story has reached the end

Reality vs Artificiality

• Where the real world and the ‘hyper-reality’ (the media construction) collide to the point that we can no longer tell whats real and whats not.
• Zoella- is her online persona real
• Life on Mars- Is Sam Taylors 70s life real or not

THE ORANGE METAPHOR

• Orange is reality (metaphor)
• Loss of the reality and now we are in is a world of artificial reality (Orange juice)
• Society starts evolving
• The reality is now heightened [version]
• Still links to the real reality
• Then we have simulacra (artificial copy) something that is the copy of the reality (Fanta)
• Left with simulacra copies and audience find it difficult to differentiate from whats real and not.
• A simulacra is a copy of something with very little link to reality (Chocolate orange)
• Whereby the audience begin to prefer the simulacra rather than the real world
• At this point it is a hyper reality, where we can’t tell the difference

Baudrillard applied to Life on Mars

• The 70s world of Gene Hunt is a hyper reality- it is the 70s represented from a mediated perspective. Consider how this is constructed
• Is Same Tylers 21st Century world also hyper real? based on our cultural perception of an institution (the police force) that is itself constructed rather than experienced first hand. How do we know that the police force is like this? Is it base primarily on the way it is re-presented to us through the media
• It may be argued that the series itself is a comment on the attractions of the hyperreal over the real- Sam Tyler creates his own “hyper-real” (the gene hunt world), based on his views on that time period

Audience Theories

Henry Jenkins Fandom

Jenkin’s work is focused upon participation culture in the 21st media. His theories states that:

• …fans are actively participants in the construction and circulation of textual meanings- they have a key role
• …fans appropriate texts and read them in ways that are not fully authorised by the media producers (‘textual poaching’)
• …fans construct their social and cultural identities through borrowing and inflecting mas culture images, and are part of a participatory culture that has a vital social dimension.

some ways in which fans interact with their audience

• Purchasing something in a digital or physical format
• merchandise
• fanart
• cosplay
• fandom
• reviews or video essays

Can fan feedback influence media products?

Such as the Sonic the Hedgehog change

Textual poaching

Jenkins research in Textual Poachers showed how fans construct their own culture by appropriating and remixing ‘poaching’-content from mass culture. Through this ‘poaching’, the fans carried out such creative cultural activities as rethinking personal identity issues such as gender and sexuality; writing stories to shift focus onto a media ‘storyworld’s’ secondary characters;producing content to expand of the timelines of a storyworld; or filling in missing scenes in the storyworlds official narratives order to better satisfy the fan community.

Textual Poaching Examples;

• The Babadook and the gay community
• Voldemort origin: fan made film

Jenkins applied to fan engagement with videogames: Assassins creed Liberation

• Relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement- YouTube makes it quick and simple to upload fan made videos
• Strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations with others- YouTube channels that have subscription and comments
• Some type of informal mentorship in which the most experienced members of the game pass along their knowledge to novices- Fans videos can act as ‘guide books’ to the game, the comment can act as a help forum.
• Members who believe their contributions matter- videos can be endorsed by ‘thumbs-up’ and comments
• Members who feel some degree of social connection with one another and care about other members’ opinions and contributions- Comments can have replies and become conversations. The commentary can use direct mode of address, the fan can make and post more videos based on comments
• Fans on forums petitioned by Ubisoft to make the HD versions (moving away from PS Vita) and release on PS3 and they did

 

Clay Shirky’s ‘End of Audience’ Theory

Shirky’s theory states that:

• ..that the internet and digital technologies have had a profound effect on the relations between media and individuals
• …the argument that audience members are passive consumers of mass media is no longer relevant in the age of the internet, as media consumers have now become producers who ‘speak back’ to the media in various ways, as well as creating and sharing content with one another.

Summary

• The fact that people can now talk back to networks and interact with one another via social media
• People can produce, consume and share

Shirky believes that there are no longer passive audiences and that 21st century audiences interact with the media. This change in behaviour may be due to the advances in technology- YouTube, Twitch, social media etc. Give-and-take reaction unlike declining media like newspapers and magazines. Audiences prefer to ‘speak back’ to products. Audience feel more empowered

Zoella

Zoella seized the opportunity to create user generated content in 2008 when the then-little known YouTube peer video sharing service became a viable prospect after the widespread rollout of broadband in the UK.

Accelerated data upload and download speeds allowed a wide spectrum of users to produce experimental content on YouTube that could be shared with like-minded users.

Zoella’s first upload of just four minutes was, like so many other amateur videos of the period, marked by an amateur aesthetic and a nervous presentation style-appealed to the audience.

Applying Shirky to Zoella

• Amateur aesthetic to blogs or vlogs- a sense of authenticity that content is unmediated
• Filming at home, ‘real’ mise en scene. YouTubers construct as relatable, ‘real’ people rather than distant stars
• Regular posts and updates keep the content fresh and current- sense of spontaneous

Industry theories

Sonia Livingstone and Peter Lunt’s Regulation theory

• …there is an underline struggle in the recent UK regulation policy between the need to further the interests of citizens (by offering protection from harmful or offensive material) and the need to further the interests of consumers  (by ensuring choice, value for money and market competition)
• …the increasing power of global media corporations, together with the rise of convergent media technologies and transformations in the production, distribution and marketing of digital media, have placed traditional approaches to media regulation at risk
• Key question: Who is the regulation really for? Is it now about protecting the industry rather than the audience?

Notes

-hard to decipher the guidelines between offensive and suitable content

-Regulation have to try and balance protecting people with offering them a choice

-Technology has made regulation difficult- downloading, streaming, piracy, YouTube etc means people can bypass control like age certificates

-The vast nature of the internet, the amounts of videos make it difficult to control

-Powerful companies can avoid regulation

Why would Netflix want to have their content rated by the BBFC?

The BBFC are a trusted organisation so its giving Netflix that authenticity. Also age ratings forms an audience as it can be appropriate for an audience.

Applied- Magazines and Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO)

• Largely self-regulated
• Concerns about how the industry is regulated have not changed  much since the 1960s- Leveson report
• IPSO does, however, have an Editor’s Code and companies that have signed up report complaints every 12 months
• Complaints process is convoluted
• Technology allows for digital manipulation of images, Is this ethical?
• Does a company like Conde Nast own too many publications?
• Do Convergent platforms make regulation difficult? Who regulates which industry if the product is diversified- magazine content online, for example

 

David Hesmondhalgh’s Cultural Industries theory

theory states that:

• MAIN POINT…cultural industry companies try to minimise the risk and maximise audiences through vertical and horizontal integration, and by formatting their cultural products (e.g. through the use of stars, genres and serials)
• …the largest companies or conglomentes now operate across a number of different cultural industries
• …the radical potential of the internet has been contained to some extent by its partial incorporation into a large, profit-oriented set of cultural industries.

MINIMISE RISK ,MAXIMISE PROFIT

An advantage is more control of the production and not relying on other companies

“The largest companies or conglomerates now operate cross a number of different cultural indsutries”

Another way of minimising risk and maximising profit… take advantage of what is successful and popular- they replicate this

• Assassins Creed series
• ‘Ashes to Ashes’ spin off sequel from Life on Mars

Product may be released at the same time all around the world Advantage of this- Less chance of piracy affecting financial success of product.

Staggered releases also happened, sustain interest levels over longer period