a) Citizen journalism is the concept of members of the public "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information".
b) new technologies in 1991, Rodney King, an African-American, after a high speed chase, the officers surrounded him, tasered him and beat him with clubs. The event was filmed by an onlooker from his apartment window. The home-video footage made prime-time news and became an international media sensation, and a focus for complaints about police racism towards African-Americans.
c) Asian Tsunami on December 26th 2004
London bombings on July 5th 2005
shooting at Virginia Tech
Mumbai bombings in India in late November 2008
d) UGC is 'user generated content. It is not necessarily professional and therefore sometimes lacks credibility.
e) A gatekeeper is defined as someone who controls access to something. It also refers to individuals who decide whether a given message will be distributed by a mass medium.
f) "The way around the gatekeepers is with the independent media on the web. The blogosphere, for example, provides an opportunity for independent, often minority and niche views and news to reach a wide audience. In fact uniting disparate people in ‘micro-communities’ is one of the web’s greatest abilities. How else would all those ice fans communicate without the ‘Ice Chewers Bulletin Board?’ And the only place for those who like to see pictures of dogs in bee costumes is, of course, ‘Beedogs.com: the premier online repository for pictures of dogs in bee costumes"
g) It is likely that in future there will be fewer and fewer permanent trained staff at news organisations, leaving a smaller core staff who will manage and process UGC from citizen journalists, sometimes known as ‘crowd sourcing.’
Some believe that the mediators and moderators might eventually disappear too, leaving a world where the media is, finally, unmediated. This does raise concerns however. Without moderation sites could be overrun by bigots or fools, by those who shout loudest, and those who have little else to do but make posts The risk of being dominated by defamatory or racist or other hate-fuelled content raises questions about unmoderated content: ‘free speech’ is great as long as you agree with what everybody is saying!
Tuesday 7 December 2010
Saturday 4 December 2010
representation of black youths in uk underground rap culture
Men in rap videos are shown to be:
-sexist
-misogynistic
-materialistic
-arrogant
-violent
-reliant on their 'black' persona
-glamourize death by getting shot
-an outlaw + a hustler
-strugglers in the Ghetto
-racist towards other young males (threats) called 'niggers'
UK hip hop
-country’s urban music scene dominates our charts, record shops and iPods
-it’s street music made by people railing against the establishment, the often Black producers hate their Government
-American hip hop sounds glossier and better produced, and the artists look far harder and more serious than anyone coming out of the UK ever could
-endless and hopeless ghettos and projects, a spiralling gun culture, ridiculously big cars. There’s just no comparison to the US.
-UK hip hop scene has battled against for around two decades
-UK garage and hip hop with a heavy Jamaican twist – all warp-speed spitting over raw and dirty beats – is tense and stripped back in a way that makes US hip hop look corporate and commercial
-Our grime stars are happy if they sell 500 or 1,000 white labels in Bow’s Rhythm Division Records; how can that match up against the hundreds of thousands of units that even minor American stars shift around the world?
-Who in the UK can really relate to rants about bitches, cars, plenty of cash and revenge in the projects? The lyrics of Dizzee Rascal, Black Twang, Jehst, Skinnyman or Ty are infinitely more real.
-So why do we continue to lap up 50 Cent or G-Unit who are all about having a blisteringly hard image over some heavy beats and not much else? While we happily hate neo-Conservative America and all it stands for, we’re complicit in being force fed extremely corporate hip-hop-by-numbers at the expense of our own young guns trying to break through
-sexist
-misogynistic
-materialistic
-arrogant
-violent
-reliant on their 'black' persona
-glamourize death by getting shot
-an outlaw + a hustler
-strugglers in the Ghetto
-racist towards other young males (threats) called 'niggers'
UK hip hop
-country’s urban music scene dominates our charts, record shops and iPods
-it’s street music made by people railing against the establishment, the often Black producers hate their Government
-American hip hop sounds glossier and better produced, and the artists look far harder and more serious than anyone coming out of the UK ever could
-endless and hopeless ghettos and projects, a spiralling gun culture, ridiculously big cars. There’s just no comparison to the US.
-UK hip hop scene has battled against for around two decades
-UK garage and hip hop with a heavy Jamaican twist – all warp-speed spitting over raw and dirty beats – is tense and stripped back in a way that makes US hip hop look corporate and commercial
-Our grime stars are happy if they sell 500 or 1,000 white labels in Bow’s Rhythm Division Records; how can that match up against the hundreds of thousands of units that even minor American stars shift around the world?
-Who in the UK can really relate to rants about bitches, cars, plenty of cash and revenge in the projects? The lyrics of Dizzee Rascal, Black Twang, Jehst, Skinnyman or Ty are infinitely more real.
-So why do we continue to lap up 50 Cent or G-Unit who are all about having a blisteringly hard image over some heavy beats and not much else? While we happily hate neo-Conservative America and all it stands for, we’re complicit in being force fed extremely corporate hip-hop-by-numbers at the expense of our own young guns trying to break through
Sunday 14 November 2010
stuart hall
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Modules/MC30820/represent.html
Media Representation
Representation refers to the construction in any medium (especially the mass media) of aspects of ‘reality’ such as people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. Such representations may be in speech or writing as well as still or moving pictures.
The term refers to the processes involved as well as to its products. For instance, in relation to the key markers of identity - Class, Age, Gender and Ethnicity (the 'cage' of identity) - representation involves not only how identities are represented (or rather constructed) within the text but also how they are constructed in the processes of production and reception by people whose identities are also differentially marked in relation to such demographic factors. Consider, for instance, the issue of 'the gaze'. How do men look at images of women, women at men, men at men and women at women?
A key in the study of representation concern is with the way in which representations are made to seem ‘natural’. Systems of representation are the means by which the concerns of ideologies are framed; such systems ‘position’ their subjects.
Semiotics and content analysis (quantitative) are the main methods of formal analysis of representation.
Semiotics foregrounds the process of representation.
Reality is always represented - what we treat as 'direct' experience is 'mediated' by perceptual codes. Representation always involves 'the construction of reality'.
All texts, however 'realistic' they may seem to be, are constructed representations rather than simply transparent 'reflections', recordings, transcriptions or reproductions of a pre-existing reality.
Representations which become familiar through constant re-use come to feel 'natural' and unmediated.
Representations require interpretation - we make modality judgements about them.
Representation is unavoidably selective, foregrounding some things and backgrounding others.
Realists focus on the 'correspondence' of representations to 'objective' reality (in terms of 'truth', 'accuracy' and 'distortion'), whereas constructivists focus on whose realities are being represented and whose are being denied.
Both structuralist and poststructuralist theories lead to 'reality' and 'truth' being regarded as the products of particular systems of representation - every representation is motivated and historically contingent.
Key Questions about Specific Representations
What is being represented?
How is it represented? Using what codes? Within what genre?
How is the representation made to seem 'true', 'commonsense' or 'natural'?
What is foregrounded and what is backgrounded? Are there any notable absences?
Whose representation is it? Whose interests does it reflect? How do you know?
At whom is this representation targeted? How do you know?
What does the representation mean to you? What does the representation mean to others? How do you account for the differences?
How do people make sense of it? According to what codes?
With what alternative representations could it be compared? How does it differ?
A reflexive consideration - Why is the concept of representation problematic?
Comparisons with related representations within or across genres or media can be very fruitful, as can comparisons with representations for other audiences, in other historical periods or in other cultural contexts.
Approaches to Teaching Representation
Thematically: e.g. class, age, gender, ethnicity, or more broadly via identity, stereotyping, ‘prejudice’ (typically racial) or ‘bias’ (typically political); also topics such as royalty, motherhood, childhood, nationhood etc.
Generically: e.g. ‘bias’ in news, class in soap operas or sitcoms, gender in ads.
Media-specifically: e.g. in TV, film, comics, magazines (mags useful for representations aimed at specific audiences Television is... the most rewarding medium to use when teaching representations of class because of the contradictions which involve a mass medium attempting to reach all the parts of its class-differentiated audience simultaneously... Its representations of class can perhaps best be approached by teaching how class relations are represented and mediated within different TV genres and forms (Alvarado et al. 1987: 153)
Constructivism vs. Objectivism
Contemporary theories of representation stress the construction of particular realities. Teachers who focus on ‘bias’, ‘prejudice’ or ‘stereotypes’ risk implying that there is a single unchanging ‘true’ reality.
Four Key Themes in Racial Representations
exotic
dangerous
humorous
pitied
focus: the representation of black male youths in UK underground music culture
Alternative Representations
1. chipmunk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/aug/26/chipmunk-a-levels
2. tinchy stryder
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/aug/20/tinchy-stryder-university-east-london
3. dizzee rascal
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3100132.stm
1. chipmunk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/aug/26/chipmunk-a-levels
2. tinchy stryder
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/aug/20/tinchy-stryder-university-east-london
3. dizzee rascal
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3100132.stm
focus: the representation of black male youths in UK underground music culture
theorits to focus on:
1. gaye tuchmen
2. judith butler
3. stuart hall
E media (youtube) texts to focus on:
1. hunt- they know me on the streets
2. joe black- hit em up
3. joe black- day in my life
E media (newspapers)
1. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/oct/31/race-bias-drug-arrests-claim
2. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1321429/Black-people-26-times-likely-stopped-police.html
3. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2677098.ece
1. gaye tuchmen
2. judith butler
3. stuart hall
E media (youtube) texts to focus on:
1. hunt- they know me on the streets
2. joe black- hit em up
3. joe black- day in my life
E media (newspapers)
1. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/oct/31/race-bias-drug-arrests-claim
2. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1321429/Black-people-26-times-likely-stopped-police.html
3. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2677098.ece
Thursday 11 November 2010
The hypodermic model
Just like the syringe used to inject a drug into a body, the media ‘injects’ messages directly into the minds of the viewers/listeners/readers; and they can be as addictive as heroin.
This approach draws attention to the power that media producers have, and to the importance of the forms of media to which audiences have access.
The ‘injected’ audience is seen as passive and powerless. This model is mostly used when the effects of media on women or children are the subject of research. The way people use media remains unaccounted for.
Cultivation theory
As audiences watch more and more film and television, they gradually develop certain views about the world, some of which are ‘false’.
This approach draws attention to the fact that audiences gain a lot of their knowledge about the world from the media. It also recognises the important role the media have in our lives.
This approach can encourage views such as: ‘Crimewatch feeds perceptions that Britain’s crime rate is growing’ while not actually measuring this idea against the actual views of audience members. In other words, it’s hard to prove accurately.
Copycat(or modelling) theory
This approach suggests that people will imitate what they see in the media – e.g. if young people watch Natural Born Killers, they will go out on a killing
spree. This is not so much a ‘theory’ as an assumption perpetuated by the Press!
The power of this approach is that it feeds off (and mirrors) the types of concerns that parents have about their kids’ media use. It might encourage parents to stop their children from playing violent computer games, for example.
Firstly: different people see different levels of ‘risk’ in different media! So one person’s threat is another person’s light evening entertainment ... Secondly: while short term effects might be measurable, it is hard to measure long term effects of this kind. This is often the basis for moral panics
– e.g. rap music leads to gun violence.
Uses and gratifications
Instead of researching what the media do to the audience, this approach studies what the audience does with the media. This approach also takes account of people’s personalities and personal needs.
The audience is seen as active, and reasonably intelligent. Life experience in general is regarded as more influential than experience of media. The pleasures that the media offer audiences are not regarded as
negative!
Too much optimism about the ‘power’ and ‘choices’ of an active
audience can distract us from the power certain texts have, or the influence that media institutions and ownership may have on texts
and understandings.
Just like the syringe used to inject a drug into a body, the media ‘injects’ messages directly into the minds of the viewers/listeners/readers; and they can be as addictive as heroin.
This approach draws attention to the power that media producers have, and to the importance of the forms of media to which audiences have access.
The ‘injected’ audience is seen as passive and powerless. This model is mostly used when the effects of media on women or children are the subject of research. The way people use media remains unaccounted for.
Cultivation theory
As audiences watch more and more film and television, they gradually develop certain views about the world, some of which are ‘false’.
This approach draws attention to the fact that audiences gain a lot of their knowledge about the world from the media. It also recognises the important role the media have in our lives.
This approach can encourage views such as: ‘Crimewatch feeds perceptions that Britain’s crime rate is growing’ while not actually measuring this idea against the actual views of audience members. In other words, it’s hard to prove accurately.
Copycat(or modelling) theory
This approach suggests that people will imitate what they see in the media – e.g. if young people watch Natural Born Killers, they will go out on a killing
spree. This is not so much a ‘theory’ as an assumption perpetuated by the Press!
The power of this approach is that it feeds off (and mirrors) the types of concerns that parents have about their kids’ media use. It might encourage parents to stop their children from playing violent computer games, for example.
Firstly: different people see different levels of ‘risk’ in different media! So one person’s threat is another person’s light evening entertainment ... Secondly: while short term effects might be measurable, it is hard to measure long term effects of this kind. This is often the basis for moral panics
– e.g. rap music leads to gun violence.
Uses and gratifications
Instead of researching what the media do to the audience, this approach studies what the audience does with the media. This approach also takes account of people’s personalities and personal needs.
The audience is seen as active, and reasonably intelligent. Life experience in general is regarded as more influential than experience of media. The pleasures that the media offer audiences are not regarded as
negative!
Too much optimism about the ‘power’ and ‘choices’ of an active
audience can distract us from the power certain texts have, or the influence that media institutions and ownership may have on texts
and understandings.
Tuesday 2 November 2010
Alternative Representation of Women in Hip Hop
Lil Kim featuring Mr Cheeks – The Jump Off
The title of this video clip- ‘The Jump Off’ connotes that the protagonist Lil Kim is aggressive as the words in slang connote violence, fighting and hooliganism. This is an alternative view of women in hip hop as traditionally the women are subordinated and treated inferior, which connotes by their constant dancing in minimal clothing- connoting sexual objectification. This also connotes the fetihisization of females to attract the male audience’s attention and make them the primary targeted audience, by providing male gaze- the females.
The title of this video clip- ‘The Jump Off’ connotes that the protagonist Lil Kim is aggressive as the words in slang connote violence, fighting and hooliganism. This is an alternative view of women in hip hop as traditionally the women are subordinated and treated inferior, which connotes by their constant dancing in minimal clothing- connoting sexual objectification. This also connotes the fetihisization of females to attract the male audience’s attention and make them the primary targeted audience, by providing male gaze- the females.
Additionally, the use of props such as the jewellery, fur coat and big sunglasses are usually worn by men and therefore are worn by this masculine character Lil Kim. This adds to the sense that this female wants to be male and so surrounds herself around gangsters like men and refers to women as “bitches” and men as “players” and “goons”. She later confirms any suspicions of her lost masculinity when she states “we keep it gangster”. The use of the word ‘we’ refers to all her male friends surrounding her and herself.
Also, the use of constant reference to things that men would associate wealth to, she repeats over and over again in the chorus- “Hummer, Benz, twenty three inch rims, Jaguar”. By idolising the same things as me she shows that she is accepted by the mob lifestyle. However, she objectifies herself and quotes “I can make a sprite can disappear in my mouth”. This connotes oral sex, an act that all male gangsters-like artists are fixated upon during their music videos. So she identifies herself to once agin be masculine, aggressive and dominant.
With relation to the paragraph above, Lil Kim later says, “Rub on my tits, and squeeze on my ass” also, she screams “sex, drugs and cash”- the three things most associated with the gangster lifestyle, stereotypically by black male, rapper artists. In addition, opposite to men, she represents the female’s desire, it’s against stereotypes of women but due to her aggressive, red blooded, man-like nature she is exempts from judgment and frowning. To some extent it causes moral panic that women are reverting to men’s activities, and to an extent prostituting themselves.
With regards to furthering the concept that Lil Kim is of masculine nature she uses props such as a Land Rover and then exclaims “I bought the range and the rover”. This quote connotes that she too uses expensive items in life, like the male artists in the similar genre, to replace something they have missed in their life. And therefore she has become materialistic and spends money, brags about her dead gangster friends “Biggie” and then uses the excuse of alcohol to rub away any causes of concern by her audience.
Similarly, Lil Kim constantly refers to the gangster lifestyle mainly dominated by men and says “East Coast to West Coast, we keep it fly”. Usually this concept of divide refers to violent gangs rivalling each other in order to gain superiority and fight so they can reclaim the title of who is the ‘hardest’. This connotes that the ‘harder’ the crew of “goons” the more trouble they cause, the more powerful, and the more capable they are to cause damage.
To conclude, the protagonists (Lil Kim) actions and lyrics are aggressively violent, masculine, however, typical of the genre she represents. She is the anomaly.
Sunday 31 October 2010
Adorno- http://www.theory.org.uk/ctr-ador.htm
Adorno (1903-69) argued that capitalism fed people with the products of a 'culture industry' - the opposite of 'true' art - to keep them passively satisfied and politically apathetic.
Adorno saw that capitalism had not become more precarious or close to collapse, as Marx had predicted. Instead, it had seemingly become more entrenched. Where Marx had focussed on economics, Adorno placed emphasis on the role of culture in securing the status quo.
Popular culture was identified as the reason for people's passive satisfaction and lack of interest in overthrowing the capitalist system.
Adorno suggested that culture industries churn out a debased mass of unsophisticated, sentimental products which have replaced the more 'difficult' and critical art forms which might lead people to actually question social life.
False needs are cultivated in people by the culture industries. These are needs which can be both created and satisfied by the capitalist system, and which replace people's 'true' needs - freedom, full expression of human potential and creativity, genuine creative happiness.
Commodity fetishism (promoted by the marketing, advertising and media industries) means that social relations and cultural experiences are objectified in terms of money. We are delighted by something because of how much it cost.
Popular media and music products are characterised by standardisation (they are basically formulaic and similar) and pseudo-individualisation (incidental differences make them seem distinctive, but they're not).
Products of the culture industry may be emotional or apparently moving, but Adorno sees this as cathartic - we might seek some comfort in a sad film or song, have a bit of a cry, and then feel restored again.
Boiled down to its most obvious modern-day application, the argument would be that television leads people away from talking to each other or questioning the oppression in their lives. Instead they get up and go to work (if they are employed), come home and switch on TV, absorb TV's nonsense until bedtime, and then the daily cycle starts again.
Adorno saw that capitalism had not become more precarious or close to collapse, as Marx had predicted. Instead, it had seemingly become more entrenched. Where Marx had focussed on economics, Adorno placed emphasis on the role of culture in securing the status quo.
Popular culture was identified as the reason for people's passive satisfaction and lack of interest in overthrowing the capitalist system.
Adorno suggested that culture industries churn out a debased mass of unsophisticated, sentimental products which have replaced the more 'difficult' and critical art forms which might lead people to actually question social life.
False needs are cultivated in people by the culture industries. These are needs which can be both created and satisfied by the capitalist system, and which replace people's 'true' needs - freedom, full expression of human potential and creativity, genuine creative happiness.
Commodity fetishism (promoted by the marketing, advertising and media industries) means that social relations and cultural experiences are objectified in terms of money. We are delighted by something because of how much it cost.
Popular media and music products are characterised by standardisation (they are basically formulaic and similar) and pseudo-individualisation (incidental differences make them seem distinctive, but they're not).
Products of the culture industry may be emotional or apparently moving, but Adorno sees this as cathartic - we might seek some comfort in a sad film or song, have a bit of a cry, and then feel restored again.
Boiled down to its most obvious modern-day application, the argument would be that television leads people away from talking to each other or questioning the oppression in their lives. Instead they get up and go to work (if they are employed), come home and switch on TV, absorb TV's nonsense until bedtime, and then the daily cycle starts again.
online media, cleggmania and the cowell factor
whats adorno?
online meida- more democratic
Dan Gulmere- 'we the media' book
ordinary people and the media
convergence culture
reality t.v
potential people to research:
David Gauntlett
Sonia Livingston
David Buckingham
Annette Hill
Michael Wesch
Henry Jenkins
Graeme Turner
online meida- more democratic
Dan Gulmere- 'we the media' book
ordinary people and the media
convergence culture
reality t.v
potential people to research:
David Gauntlett
Sonia Livingston
David Buckingham
Annette Hill
Michael Wesch
Henry Jenkins
Graeme Turner
chewing gum for the brain?
Daily mail- The Simpsons shown in school
Independent- "tackle media studies menace"
Michaela Gove- education secretary
'stupid subject'
Frankie and Queenie 'for media'
USA- be critical on advertisements
Independent- "tackle media studies menace"
Michaela Gove- education secretary
'stupid subject'
Frankie and Queenie 'for media'
USA- be critical on advertisements
perfecting your production work
research and plan
blog your evidence
get feedback on your ideas
logistics, audiences and institutions
look at real examples
keep evidence
research every angle
conventions, audiences, institutions
use templates
plan for eventualities
record all planning
show the process for your journey
keep:
storyboards
flat plans
photos
artofthetitle.com
magazine blog:
25 word pitch
workable concept, realistic
get feedback- teachers, peers, family
respond to feedback
time management
keep well communicated
people, places, props, costumes
petesmediablog.blogspot.com
blog your evidence
get feedback on your ideas
logistics, audiences and institutions
look at real examples
keep evidence
research every angle
conventions, audiences, institutions
use templates
plan for eventualities
record all planning
show the process for your journey
keep:
storyboards
flat plans
photos
artofthetitle.com
magazine blog:
25 word pitch
workable concept, realistic
get feedback- teachers, peers, family
respond to feedback
time management
keep well communicated
people, places, props, costumes
petesmediablog.blogspot.com
Saturday 16 October 2010
http://weblearn.ox.ac.uk/site/human/women/students/biblio/historiog/McRobbie%20-%20postfeminism.pdf
1. The Independent Newspaper (UK)
2. The Daily Mail Newspaper (UK)
3. The film Bridget Jones’s Diary
4. All By Myself (Soundtrack)
5. TV advertisement (1998/9) another supermodel, Claudia Schiffer
http://www.independent.co.uk/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243155/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D0zfB1l1x0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-PfiJJHFQE
2. The Daily Mail Newspaper (UK)
3. The film Bridget Jones’s Diary
4. All By Myself (Soundtrack)
5. TV advertisement (1998/9) another supermodel, Claudia Schiffer
http://www.independent.co.uk/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243155/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D0zfB1l1x0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-PfiJJHFQE
Positive view on feminism:
In raising these questions, I am only at the beginning of figuring out what a more positive kind of post-feminist account of religion and family might look like, and so have no compelling summary to offer, let alone a call to a specific research agenda. In my own work, I do want to take some feminist insights for granted. But I explicitly reject the idea that strong feminist critiques have had their day and must now give way gracefully to approaches that favor a consensual and functional, or even communitarian, interpretation of the good society. I am feeling more combative, or at least constructively critical, about theories that neatly divide society into a “public” and a “private” realm, while systematically devaluing those feminine things (religion, family) assigned to the private (cf., Warner 1999). I am not sure where it will lead, but it feels right to begin pushing back the boundaries of post-feminism by asking a different set of questions.
Post-feminism as backlash to feminism:
What the hell is postfeminism, anyway? I would think it would refer to a time when complete gender equality has been achieved. That hasn’t happened, of course, but we (especially young women) are supposed to think it has. Postfeminism, as a term, suggests that women have made plenty of progress because of feminism, but that feminism is now irrelevant and even undesirable because it has made millions of women unhappy, unfeminine, childless, lonely, and bitter, prompting them to fill their closets with combat boots and really bad India print skirts.
Post-feminism as a colloquialism:
It’s about deeply held political convictions, not to mention strategy. If there’s a wad of people out there extolling postfeminism and meaning “I think feminism is flawed and I’d like to see some goal-shifting, fresh tactics, and revisiting of contentious topics,” this isn’t just an issue of what’s going on in a speech group that doesn’t overlap with mine. It’s about defending feminism’s ground. Feminism is already doing the work that these (as I have come to think of them) non-evil postfeminists think comes with their prefix. And it’s beyond obvious that feminism suffers from its terrible reputation and from the vast misunderstandings that stunning numbers of people still have about it (no matter how many times it happens, I will never, ever get used to being asked if I hate men). I can’t help but see even the non-evil usage of “postfeminism” as a rejection of and attack on feminism, and an implication that the movement is finished. And that means I need to challenge it at every turn.
The ambiguity of the prefix “post":
I’ve come accross the term used in the way Lurker describes, similarly, in academic circles, and for academic reasons I don’t think anyone should use it. The problem lies in the ambiguity of the prefix “post”, because post can mean since something commenced OR since something concluded. So, while technically a “post-feminist society” could mean a society since feminism began to be an influence, there will always be people who think you mean since feminism ended.
In raising these questions, I am only at the beginning of figuring out what a more positive kind of post-feminist account of religion and family might look like, and so have no compelling summary to offer, let alone a call to a specific research agenda. In my own work, I do want to take some feminist insights for granted. But I explicitly reject the idea that strong feminist critiques have had their day and must now give way gracefully to approaches that favor a consensual and functional, or even communitarian, interpretation of the good society. I am feeling more combative, or at least constructively critical, about theories that neatly divide society into a “public” and a “private” realm, while systematically devaluing those feminine things (religion, family) assigned to the private (cf., Warner 1999). I am not sure where it will lead, but it feels right to begin pushing back the boundaries of post-feminism by asking a different set of questions.
Post-feminism as backlash to feminism:
What the hell is postfeminism, anyway? I would think it would refer to a time when complete gender equality has been achieved. That hasn’t happened, of course, but we (especially young women) are supposed to think it has. Postfeminism, as a term, suggests that women have made plenty of progress because of feminism, but that feminism is now irrelevant and even undesirable because it has made millions of women unhappy, unfeminine, childless, lonely, and bitter, prompting them to fill their closets with combat boots and really bad India print skirts.
Post-feminism as a colloquialism:
It’s about deeply held political convictions, not to mention strategy. If there’s a wad of people out there extolling postfeminism and meaning “I think feminism is flawed and I’d like to see some goal-shifting, fresh tactics, and revisiting of contentious topics,” this isn’t just an issue of what’s going on in a speech group that doesn’t overlap with mine. It’s about defending feminism’s ground. Feminism is already doing the work that these (as I have come to think of them) non-evil postfeminists think comes with their prefix. And it’s beyond obvious that feminism suffers from its terrible reputation and from the vast misunderstandings that stunning numbers of people still have about it (no matter how many times it happens, I will never, ever get used to being asked if I hate men). I can’t help but see even the non-evil usage of “postfeminism” as a rejection of and attack on feminism, and an implication that the movement is finished. And that means I need to challenge it at every turn.
The ambiguity of the prefix “post":
I’ve come accross the term used in the way Lurker describes, similarly, in academic circles, and for academic reasons I don’t think anyone should use it. The problem lies in the ambiguity of the prefix “post”, because post can mean since something commenced OR since something concluded. So, while technically a “post-feminist society” could mean a society since feminism began to be an influence, there will always be people who think you mean since feminism ended.
The representation of women can be positive: challenging the roles and expectations of women or negative: reinforcing a patriarchal society. This essay questions how and why these representations are constructed in an advert for Gucci Guilty Perfume and Stella Artois beer.
Firstly the Gucci advert is in widescreen which connotes a dramatic cinematic experience to engage its audience. More attention is gained by the female character first seen in the text and her protagonist is signified through this. The protagonist has female dominance which is signified through the use of colour- everything is in black and white while her hair is gold/blonde. This colour connotes gold, power and divinity signifying her importance in the text.
The use of intertextuality in this text will appeal to a particular audience. The film references a great deal to the neo film noir Sin City, with the use of colour and the female dominant femme fatale character. Sin City appeals to a male audience due to the action genre, this trailer could also appeal to the same audience due to the intertextuality. In terms of the Uses and Gratifications theory, a female audience might realise and accept the protagonist in the text is a form of escapism and also a male gaze, by theorist Mulvey, and therefore might aspire, from Young and Rubicam's 4Cs, to be the object of male gaze too.
Though the protagonist is an object of male gaze, it could be suggested that she sexually objectifies herself to tease the audience. The protagonist puts her leg into the frame of the shot. As she puts into the frame, it signifies self objectification, allowing the audience to fetishise her body. Another shot, a high angle, of their sexual activities signifies CCTV and spying which is voyeuristic. The fact she is on top signifies her control of the situation for both the male character and the audience.
Not only does the protagonist exert her feminity through self objectification she also presents herself as an anarchic character signified by adopting male stereotypes. The advert begins with a long shot of an unknown character speeding down the motorway, which stereotypically would be expected to be a male character. However, the audience's expectations are challenged when a medium shot of the driver shows to be a female.
In contrast, women are negatively represented in the Stella Artois text. The most obvious editing technique used in the advert is the split screen: one side shows the female getting dressed and the other side is of the beer getting "prepared". This use of split screen signifies that neither the beer nor the woman know they have been placed side by side. This puts the audience in position of control as they can voyeur the woman, in a socially acceptable way. Audiences may identify this control as patriarchy, and also identify with the unknown male character whose presence is felt within the text. This text then reinforces the idea of a patriarchal society and that women are subordinated by men.
Not only does the female share the screen with the beer, but the screen is split equally between the two "objects" which connotes the woman is equally objectified to the status of beer. It is suggested the audience is male due to the female and beer subject. Though the advert is targeted at men, it also negatively stereotypes men as people who have little respect for women which however is a dominant representation.
A range of close up shots of the female are used to fetishise her body. There is a close up shot of the female's leg slowly and elegantly rising from the bath tub. On one hand this could signify femininity and her control over it which is the oppositional reading. However, the more dominant reading is that her legs are an important part of the female body and connotes a male audience who can voyeur her body.
The text near the beginning of the trailer says "the preparation" which is an enigma code as the audience question "what event is the preparation for?". It is signified through the shots that the woman and beer preparation is for the male through the use of action codes. Action codes of both the preparation of the woman and the glass of beer are the same.
Women are represented as people who prioritise their looks and appearance, and this ad reinforces this ideology. Action codes including close ups of her: brushing her hair, doing her make up and putting on heels strongly represent women as image conscious. It could be said that the advert reinforces this representation, which is always seen in the media. Funnily enough, it could also be said that the media itself is the cause of this representation as this ideal, perfect woman is always represented in the media, and women feel they have to aspire to it.
In conclusion, both texts females are the protagonists and are sexually objectified for male audiences to fetishise and vouyer their bodies. However, while Gucci’s advert’s protagonist controls her sexuality through self objectification, the Stella Artois’ protagonist is objectified by an unknown but present male character.
In the Gucci’s ad, there are many examples in the text that signify the protagonist’s female dominance, but it is arguable whether this could be seen as a positive representation. The dominant reading is that the protagonist exerts her female dominance over the male challenging the historical patriarchal society and even subordinating males as easily manipulated and easily tempted by women and sex and this would favour feminism. However the oppositional reading which would favour the ideologies of the Stella Artois advert, might be that females can control their sexuality, but it is still for the male gaze and male dominant society.
Firstly the Gucci advert is in widescreen which connotes a dramatic cinematic experience to engage its audience. More attention is gained by the female character first seen in the text and her protagonist is signified through this. The protagonist has female dominance which is signified through the use of colour- everything is in black and white while her hair is gold/blonde. This colour connotes gold, power and divinity signifying her importance in the text.
The use of intertextuality in this text will appeal to a particular audience. The film references a great deal to the neo film noir Sin City, with the use of colour and the female dominant femme fatale character. Sin City appeals to a male audience due to the action genre, this trailer could also appeal to the same audience due to the intertextuality. In terms of the Uses and Gratifications theory, a female audience might realise and accept the protagonist in the text is a form of escapism and also a male gaze, by theorist Mulvey, and therefore might aspire, from Young and Rubicam's 4Cs, to be the object of male gaze too.
Though the protagonist is an object of male gaze, it could be suggested that she sexually objectifies herself to tease the audience. The protagonist puts her leg into the frame of the shot. As she puts into the frame, it signifies self objectification, allowing the audience to fetishise her body. Another shot, a high angle, of their sexual activities signifies CCTV and spying which is voyeuristic. The fact she is on top signifies her control of the situation for both the male character and the audience.
Not only does the protagonist exert her feminity through self objectification she also presents herself as an anarchic character signified by adopting male stereotypes. The advert begins with a long shot of an unknown character speeding down the motorway, which stereotypically would be expected to be a male character. However, the audience's expectations are challenged when a medium shot of the driver shows to be a female.
In contrast, women are negatively represented in the Stella Artois text. The most obvious editing technique used in the advert is the split screen: one side shows the female getting dressed and the other side is of the beer getting "prepared". This use of split screen signifies that neither the beer nor the woman know they have been placed side by side. This puts the audience in position of control as they can voyeur the woman, in a socially acceptable way. Audiences may identify this control as patriarchy, and also identify with the unknown male character whose presence is felt within the text. This text then reinforces the idea of a patriarchal society and that women are subordinated by men.
Not only does the female share the screen with the beer, but the screen is split equally between the two "objects" which connotes the woman is equally objectified to the status of beer. It is suggested the audience is male due to the female and beer subject. Though the advert is targeted at men, it also negatively stereotypes men as people who have little respect for women which however is a dominant representation.
A range of close up shots of the female are used to fetishise her body. There is a close up shot of the female's leg slowly and elegantly rising from the bath tub. On one hand this could signify femininity and her control over it which is the oppositional reading. However, the more dominant reading is that her legs are an important part of the female body and connotes a male audience who can voyeur her body.
The text near the beginning of the trailer says "the preparation" which is an enigma code as the audience question "what event is the preparation for?". It is signified through the shots that the woman and beer preparation is for the male through the use of action codes. Action codes of both the preparation of the woman and the glass of beer are the same.
Women are represented as people who prioritise their looks and appearance, and this ad reinforces this ideology. Action codes including close ups of her: brushing her hair, doing her make up and putting on heels strongly represent women as image conscious. It could be said that the advert reinforces this representation, which is always seen in the media. Funnily enough, it could also be said that the media itself is the cause of this representation as this ideal, perfect woman is always represented in the media, and women feel they have to aspire to it.
In conclusion, both texts females are the protagonists and are sexually objectified for male audiences to fetishise and vouyer their bodies. However, while Gucci’s advert’s protagonist controls her sexuality through self objectification, the Stella Artois’ protagonist is objectified by an unknown but present male character.
In the Gucci’s ad, there are many examples in the text that signify the protagonist’s female dominance, but it is arguable whether this could be seen as a positive representation. The dominant reading is that the protagonist exerts her female dominance over the male challenging the historical patriarchal society and even subordinating males as easily manipulated and easily tempted by women and sex and this would favour feminism. However the oppositional reading which would favour the ideologies of the Stella Artois advert, might be that females can control their sexuality, but it is still for the male gaze and male dominant society.
Sunday 3 October 2010
Positive and negative representation of women
This advertisement shows women in a positive light in the media. The consumer of the media is allowed to accept that women are maternal and loving. This is most likely targeted at women and allows them to acknowledge that they are what their children need as they support the family and without the mother figure the family will be incomplete. this is also reinforced by the soundtrack, especially the opening lyrics-"she can kill with her eyes...she only reveals what she wants you to see". This connotes that mothers are protective and want the best for their children.
However, negative representations can also be concluded from this advertisement. As with this type of advert being used by 'John Lewis' - a department store that caters for every person in the family, for every room in the home and for every need, by displaying the mother figure- it re in forces that the stereotypical views of women should be at home cooking, cleaning and generally looking after the family. By doing so 'John Lewis' identify with the majority of women who stay at home and have the same lifestyle as 'John Lewis' connotes every women should. This lowers the role of women in society and is negative as both men and women have equal rights, and especially the fact that some women get paid more than some men.
This advert by 'Learn Direct' also has many positive representations of women. These include that women are constantly looking to better themselves and the fact that they are talented enough to juggle numerous everyday things makes them some kind of superhero. However, the fact that the voice over is masculine and obviously a man, helps it connote that women need the help of men to succeed in life and that men are already superior to women as the man (voice over) is the one helping the women (damsel in distress).
media guardian top 100, 2010
According to the guardian, the top 100 is the: annual guide to the most powerful people in the industry. Candidates are judged on three criteria - their cultural, economic and political influence in the UK.The list was takes in all sectors of the media, including broadcasting, publishing, digital media, advertising, marketing and PR. Our ambition is to take a snapshot of the individuals who run or influence the UK media in 2008. A note on salaries - they are taken from the latest available official sources such as company annual reports. Where salaries are not publicly available, we have not included them. Wealth figures are from the Sunday Times Rich List and other sources.
There are 13 women in the top 100. Mainly, these women are chief executives of businesses. In the views of the modern society where men and women are treated equally- this ideology is not shown to be true. Men are shown to have the majority of power and women, as always, left to be inferior- with the exception of the 13 women.
There are 13 women in the top 100. Mainly, these women are chief executives of businesses. In the views of the modern society where men and women are treated equally- this ideology is not shown to be true. Men are shown to have the majority of power and women, as always, left to be inferior- with the exception of the 13 women.
Thursday 23 September 2010
what makes a femme fatale?
A femme fatale is a seductive female protagonist within a film who aims to maintain the dominant role, but always fails. The recurring themes of these characters inculdes them smoking, wearing trousers- to enable a manly edge in their lifestyle and they often cover their faces with large sunglasses- this adds to the mysterious ways of the character and causes enigma within the film and almost satisfies women as they get represented dominantly for some time atleast, before they die. Seductiveness seems to be the triumph within the character however leaqding to the downfall.
Femme Fatale is a 2002 French crime-thriller film directed by Brian De Palma. The film stars Rebecca Romijn as the femme fatale and Antonio Banderas. It was screened out of competition at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.1. played Laure Ash / Lily Watts in the movie Femme Fatale
2. Also known for her role of Alexis Meade in the X-men films
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8bDOE5tgww
Wednesday 22 September 2010
Ann Savage
1. February 19, 1921 – December 25, 20082. cigarette-puffing femme fatale in the critically-acclaimed film noir Detour (1945)
3. Savage died in her sleep on December 25, 2008
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQ6IcQM7DBY
Brenda Marshall
1. September 29, 1915 – July 30, 19922. The Constant Nymph (1943), was her last movie before retirement
3. Marshall died from throat cancer in Palm Springs, California, aged 76
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_XIJm0_Wgc
Carole Landis
1. January 1, 1919
- July 5, 1948
2. Best known for her film One Billion BC in 1940
3. She died from ameobic dysentery, from conatminated foods and water
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAef2ET2AZw
- July 5, 19482. Best known for her film One Billion BC in 1940
3. She died from ameobic dysentery, from conatminated foods and water
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAef2ET2AZw
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