Essay

Describe how you developed your skills in the use of digital technology and evaluate how this contributed to your research and planning!

In AS our project was to create a front cover,contents page and 2 page spread for a music magazine. In A2 our project was to create a teaser trailer, a movie poster and magazine front cover.

In my AS project I used digital technology such as Google images, Microsoft Word and Slideshare in my research and planning. I used Google images to get pictures of front covers, contents pages and two page spreads to analyse and give me an idea of what my final product should look like. I then used Microsoft word to write down all the analysis that i had constructed before uploading it all to Slideshare in order to make it look neat and presentable. In AS I have definitely developed my skills in how to work Slideshare because before this course I had never heard of it before so had to learn how to use it and therefore developed skills in it. In my A2 work i used digital technology such as Google images, IMDB and my Iphone. I used Google images to get pictures of movie posters and front covers for movie magazine which i could analyse and give me an idea of what my final products should look like. I used IMDB to watch teaser trailers and analyse them to see what makes a trailer effective so I can make my trailer look as professional as possible. I used my Iphone to text and call my actors to make sure they knew what location we were shooting at and at what time we were doing so to make sure everything ran smoothly. I developed my analysis skills during my research and planning so that now I can do more in depth analysis of products and use them to help me with my projects.

In my AS project I used a programme called FindYourTribe which is an online quiz which puts you into groups of what type of person they think you are on the basis of how you answer the question. This allowed me to enter in the details of what I'm going to put in my music magazine to see which type of person i should aim my magazine at. In my A2 project I used IMDB to find out my target audience for my trailer. I did this by searching a film which was similar to mine e.g. 'The Social Network' I could see which target audience they aimed it at and aim my trailer at them as well. I developed my research skills in this in order to find all this information. This enabled me to make my trailer as specific to my target audience as possible.

I developed my skills from AS further to make my A2 project look professional.

Essay

In AS our project was to create a front cover,contents page and 2 page spread for a music magazine. In A2 our project was to create a teaser trailer, a movie poster and magazine front cover.

Over the course of my 2 years doing media I have learnt a lot and developed my technological skills majorly. I have developed my skills in such things as Photoshop and Indesign because before I started this course I didn't know how to use any of these programmes. I have learnt how to do such things as crop and cut in Photoshop in order to make my pictures look more professional. In A2 i concentrated on using Premiere Pro and Photoshop which i had no previous experience in using. I have developed these skills well and have made professional looking trailers and magazine front covers from it. Premiere required me to edit videos and shorten them down whilst placing sound bridges within it which took a lot of work.

In the pre-production stage of my AS coursework I analysed magazine front covers using the internet to find what layout and content would be perfect for my magazine. I then used media technology such as Microsoft Word to construct my analysis and use bullet points to do my points on what makes the magazines effective. In my A2 pre-production I analysed lots of teaser trailers using IMDB and Blogger to write down my finding and help plan see what effects i can use in my trailer and movie poster and magazine. I further developed my skills on photoshop in order to make the poster and magazine look professional by using such things as fade and tint to add effect.

In the actual production stage of my AS work i used Indesign and Photoshop to construct the magazine adding effects and making it look professional. Once finished i then uploaded it to Slideshare where all my word was changed into a Powerpoint and then embedded in my blog. However in my A2 production work I used Premiere Pro to construct my movie and Photoshop to construct my movie poster and magazine. I learnt and developed skills in how to embed music into my trailer. This required me to go on the internet and find a piece of music without a copyright on it which we could use. This allowed me to enhance my skills from AS and develop them further into making a good quality piece of work. I then uploaded my finished film and poster to Blogger where my work could be marked.

In my post production stage of my AS coursework I used programmes such as Powerpoint and Microsoft word to write down my findings and write my evaluation. I had some previous knowledge of how to use these so didn't really develop my skills any further. In my A2 work i posted my findings and evaluation on Blogger. However to do my evaluation I decided to video it and get things such as audience feedback and a directors cut to get a creative look to it. I think I raised my levels of creativity in this project as i hadn't used any of these editing software before and have now also learnt to put a video up on my blog which i believe is a real achievement for me.

Overall I think my skills have developed a massive amount throughout my AS and A2 course with the use of digital technology.

Exam Help

Section A Question 1a

Introduction: PDQ (Point Data Question)

Answer/give point of view to the question (I think my skills have developed in ………over the course of the two years/from AS to A2)

Outline briefly what you made across both years

Explain to the examiner how you are going to structure the essay

Structure

You should approach your essays using 3 stages:

1)      Pre-production

2)      Production

3)      Post-production

(Digital technology, creativity, use of real media texts)

You need to ask yourselves the following questions:

What digital technology did you use at AS pre-production (3 examples)

What digital technology did you develop in A2 pre-production (at least 3 progression examples)

What digital technology did the students use at AS production (3 examples)

What digital technologies did you develop at A2 production? (at least 3 progression examples)

What digital technologies did you use at AS post-production? (3 examples)

What digital technologies did you develop at A2 post-production (at least 3 progression examples)

G325 Section A: Exemplar Essay

1a)

Over the two year media course we had to produce both a foundation portfolio of a school magazine and music magazine as well as an advance portfolio of a horror teaser trailer, film magazine – developing foundation skills further and a poster to advertise our trailer.

In the first year we researched existing music magazines and analysed each one so that we could gain knowledge of particular layouts, fonts and key elements that need to be contained in our production to make it successful. Research and planning allowed us to recognise ‘mastheads’ on magazines as being the most important and therefore the need to focus on a font more detailed to keep continuity with the contents page and double page spread which we also had to create.

Personally I researched ‘Rock’ magazines such as Kerrang, NME and others because I had chosen after carrying out a questionnaire to use Rock music as my theme. The real life media texts allowed me to visualise my favourite parts from each magazine – wripped sticker graphics and broken font on my own work which I then attempted to recreate within Photoshop CS4. In year one we were limited to what we could research because magazines were the only theme however, in the second year I was able to develop my ability to research real life media texts much further because we had a range of products we needed to create all under the ‘horror’ genre this time. I was able to research teaser trailers analysing my favourite and least favourite parts allowing me to plan with a mood board which I produced from a range of stills from previous horror films my ideas for my own trailer which helped me to develop my production of my products in relation to real life media texts and techniques such as restricted narration and handheld camera found in the ‘Blair Witch Project’ trailer which inspired my trailer ‘Laquem’ which is also set in the woods. Research into film documentaries like the ‘American Nightmare’ inspired me to create a product which reinforced fear and went against usual horror conventions to make it more interesting. Over the second year research became so important to achieving a product which was realistic and is now like my own distributed on on youtube as a real life media text of its own.

Real life media texts like advertising film posters were able to help me develop my Photoshop skills further because I was able to push myself with the ‘colour burn’ filters and want to create the scary atmosphere of my trailer from just an image and text which I found really fun.

Research into film magazines allowed me to develop my work from AS level so much further because I was able to produce a high standard piece of work in two weeks this year when the magazines took over 3 months last year which shows how much my skills have improves just by being able to constantly refer back to real life media texts for inspiration and even colour schemes that work well together such as black and red which in the first year I just found experimenting with. Research into horror trailers allowed me to recognise different styles of film and how we like Alfred Hitchcock could be an auteur creating new angles and ideas using generic conventions as well as unconventional representations that I have picked upon when watching films and analysing certain techniques which I have then attempted to do in Final Cut Pro when editing certain shots together to create collision cutting and changes in pace which my trailer does extremely well. I was inspired initially by the hand held camera in the

trailer REC and the fact I want as an auteur to change the stereotyped representations to be able use a female psycho killer.

Research also allowed me to produce text and intertitles that shook in order to capture my audience but narrating the story slightly so the shots when together made sense. Research into types of camera movements needed were really helpful and allowed me to completely change the pace with tracking shots and handheld camera which I noticed was used in Silent Hill and American Werewolf in London which I analysed and placed on my blog for reference as some pieces of footage I wanted to recreate including the final girl representations.

L4 6
L4 6
L4 3

15

the answer is descriptive and may offer limited clarity. There is little, if any, evaluation of progress

 

candidates offer a mostly clear, relevent and reasonable examples but didn't elaborate

 

the answer makes basic use of relevent media termonology

 

some simple ideas have been expressed 

 

Describe how you managed research and planning skills for media production and evaluate how these skills contributed to creative decision making?

 

 

Explanation/analysis/argument	I learnt to improve my skills at Photoshop as I had never used it before. Discovered how to make the most out of youtube. Learnt how to manipulate images to make them look better How to use Indesign!!
Use of examples	Photshop – photo manipulation Indesign Premiere Pro – adding sound bridges
Use of terminology	Connotations Eye dropper tool

Explanation/analysis/argument	Learnt how to analyse images and contexts and write essays on them. Looked at front covers, and films to get a good idea of what I need to do to get a good grade. Did scripts and stuff to organise actors and everything for my production.
Use of examples	Microsoft word Internet Powerpoint Blogger
Use of terminology	Preliminary

Section A Question 1a

• Work 25 marks
• Will be evaluating your AS and A2 coursework in terms of the skills you have developed over the 2 years
• 30 mins to answer question

1 or more of the following areas will be selected for you to write about:

• Digital Technology
• Creativity
• Research and planning
• Post-production
• Using conventions from real media texts

What is it about?

• What did you do?
• How did you do it?
• How did your skills develop?
• All supported with specific examples
• In relationto the area(s) in question

Analyse the ways in which the media represent one group of people that you have studied

Planning

1) I want to see a plan/mind map using this structure that incorporates the four guided questions:

a) (Historic) How does contemporary representation compare with that of the past? Changed it parts but some still same (fear of some kids) pickpockets. Different crime and media to show it. Women have better roles in films and activities.

b) (Contemporary; main focus) How do contemporary media represent different collective groups in different ways? In stories making the elders sound vulnerable and young people sound yobbish. More stories about youth crime to create moral panic between communities.

c) What are the social implications of different media representations of groups of people? Can create fear in societies with incriminating stories about youths and hoodies.

d) To what extent is human identity increasingly ‘mediated’ ? It is mediated but some is false for example youth identity isn’t all about hoodies and crime.

e) Conclusion; summary, the future and your own opinion

I think the media represent youths unfairly because you don’t hear about youths doing good stuff for the community in newspapers or on the news you only hear bad stuff. 

Essay

Contemporary representation has changed over the years but in some parts the representation is still the same. For example the representation of youths being pick pockets back in history could be linked to the representation that today’s youth always steal from shops and rob other people who are vulnerable. Also the views on youths in this modern time are worse than back then because there is more media to mediate what is going on and can do in depth stories which everyone can see. The one positive representation that has changed is that women are becoming a bigger role in society for example playing bigger and starring roles in films instead of being extras. Contemporary media represents different collective groups in a number of different ways such as in news stories making the elderly sound vulnerable and all youths sound violent and yobbish. This isn’t helped by the fact that there are more stories about youths doing crime on the news than anything else which can create moral panic (Cohen) between communities and cause a divide. The social implications of different media representations of groups of people are that it can create fear in societies with incriminating stories about youths and hoodies. This will make others fear them and divide the community up causing some people not to leave their homes because they are too scared. As most programmes on the TV show, some adults think that all youths are criminals and violent people so the youths have to go and change that stereotype by going to meet them and talk it through. This is all started by the media and I think that current media is splitting people up. Human identity is increasingly mediated but some is false for example youth identity isn’t all about hoodies and crime. Some youths are actually very intelligent and against all this crime being committed but nobody hears about them because the media are trying to portray their own ideas of what youth identity looks like which is wrong. In conclusion to this I think the media represent youths unfairly because you don’t hear about youths doing good stuff for the community in newspapers or on the news you only hear bad stuff. This can create false panic in communities and make the youth of today feared. It may also lead youths to commit more crimes if they think that everyone thinks they are committing crime a lot anyways they might live up to that stereotype. For example in the film Harry Brown the youths are represented as violent and always commiting crime. In the film Quadrophenia ,which is along the same story line but set 50 years before, the youths are still represented as violent and commiting crimes but they do it in different watys which shows how things have modernised in terms of representation of youths. Newspapers also portray that youths only do bad. This was shown in a video we watched where some people thought that over 60% of crime was committed by teens. This is caused by the newspapers only printing bad stories about youths because they believe that it would get them more readers. This doesnt show that some teens actually do things to help the community which can cause a false sense of fear in communities between the young and the old.

Represenatiton of young people

"What is happening to our young people? The disrespect their elders; they disobey their parents. They ignore the law. They riot in the streets, inflamed with wild notions. Their morals are decaying.What is to become of them?" Plato 4th Century.


Characteristics of stereotypes

• they are simplistic
• can be conscious or unconscious
• they are rigid, thus not easily corrected

Stereotypes are social constructs

• they show values  that reinforce group and individual subordination
• they marginalise people, treating them as  'the other'
• they originate in and reflect the power relations in society because they are part of culture's ideology.

Hegemony in News

• Media industries operate within a structure that produces and reinforces the dominant ideology via a consensual 'world view'
• This world view is produced predominantly by white middle class, middle aged men
• It is their idea and values that  infiltrate media texts and ensure that other voices do not get heard. 

Propaganda = a form of communication aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position

Moral panic =creating fear

WORDS: thug, disrespectful, thieves, hoodies, criminals, 

WORDS: Wise, judgemental, critical, talk a lot,

Press Representation

.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.
Teen Trouble 2007
12% of crime is committed by teenagers
Media makes it bad because readers want to read about it.
People forget youths are part of society
Police tell people to move if public call
Mosquito alarm for teens
Newspapers being harsh
CCTV used frequently to catch youths
Cultivation Theory
Proliferation of press coverage will believe that is whats happening in real life, which in turn creates moral panic, making everyone scared of youths.
Hypodermic needle theory. Injected by the media and we believe everything we see or read.
Desensitisation - the more we see in media the more desensitised we are to it so we might get used to it so it doesn't effect us as much
.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.^.

Reading the Riot Acts
40% of articles focus on violence, crime, anit-social behaviour, 71% are negative!!
TV news: violent crime or celebrities; young people are only 1% of sources
72% of articles are negative; 3.4% positive
75% about crime, drugs and police
About boys: calling them yobs,thugs,sick,feral,hoodies,louts and scum
Only positive stories are about the boys who die young!
What role did new media technologies, particularly social networking sites play in the london riots?
Do media cause riots or revolutions?

QUESTIONS ON YOUTUBE

An Anthropological Introduction to Youtube

Michael Wesch

Whilst watching the video answer these question

1.       When was Youtube first released?

April 2005

2.       According to Michael Wesch what does Web 2.0 allow people to do?

Linking people!

3.       When media changes what else changes?

Human relationships

4.       What influenced the loss of community? And what has now filled this void?

Women having less time because they are working. TV fills the void

5.       How are communities connected?

Media

6.       Explain what he means by voyeuristic capabilities?

Allows you to stare at people without you knowing that your watching them through media

7.       Write 3 points about what he refers when he discusses playing with identity

•       People having many faces

•      Videos can be fakes! not what you expect

•       Dont know what is real!

8.       What does the ‘Free hugs phenomenon’ suggest about people?

They are trying to reconnect with humanity

Online Media

Social
Sharing details and information
Chatting
Youth dominating
Events
Photo sharing
Mark Zuckerburg
Friends
Gossip
Stalking
Status


Positives
More exposure to other cultures worldwide
Good to promote creations (Mark Zuckerburg)
Its free

Negatives
Speak more online than face to face with friends
Vent feelings easier online than in person (shy)
Bullying
Fraping!!!

Development of self-identity
Self-realisation
Increased voice
Awareness of skills
User generated content (UGC)
Increasing diversity within cultures
7 functional building blocks

Media Use in Identity Construction

Katherine Hamley

Highlight key points/quotes that you think are important and then answer these questions when reading this text:

•      Young people are surrounded by influential imagery – popular media (Examples?)

•      It is no longer possible for an identity to just be constructed in a small community and influenced by a family (Discuss)

•      Everything concerning our lives is ‘media saturated’ (What does this mean?)

In society today the construction of a personal identity can be seen to be somewhat problematic and difficult. Young people are surrounded by influential imagery, especially that of popular media. It is no longer possible for an identity to be constructed merely in a small community and only be influenced by family. Nowadays, arguably everything concerning our lives is seen to be ‘media-saturated’. Therefore, it is obvious that in constructing an identity young people would make use of imagery derived from the popular media.
However, it is fair to say that in some instances the freedom of exploring the web could be limited depending on the choice of the parents or teachers. So, if young people have such frequent access and an interest in the media, it is fair to say that their behaviour and their sense of ‘self’ will be influenced to some degree by what they see, read, hear or discover for themselves. Such an influence may include a particular way of behaving or dressing to the kind of music a person chooses to listen to. These are all aspects which go towards constructing a person’s own personal identity.
Firstly, it is important to establish what constitutes an identity, especially in young people. The dictionary definition states the following:

“State of being a specified person or thing: individuality or personality…” (Collins Gem English Dictionary. 1991).

The mass media provide a wide-ranging source of cultural opinions and standards to young people as well as differing examples of identity. Young people would be able to look at these and decide which they found most favourable and also to what they would like to aspire to be. The meanings that are gathered from the media do not have to be final but are open to reshaping and refashioning to suit an individual’s personal needs and consequently, identity. It is said that young people:

“…use media and the cultural insights provided by them to see both who they might be and how others have constructed or reconstructed themselves… individual adolescents…struggle with the dilemma of living out all the "possible selves" (Markus & Nurius, 1986), they can imagine.” (Brown et al. 1994, 814).

When considering how much time adolescents are in contact with the popular media, be it television, magazines, advertising, music or the Internet, it is clear to see that it is bound to have a marked effect on an individual’s construction of their identity. This is especially the case when the medium itself is concerned with the idea of identity and the self; self-preservation, self-understanding and self-celebration.

 “With a simple flip of the television channel or radio station, or a turn of the newspaper or magazine page, we have at our disposal an enormous array of possible identity models.” (Grodin & Lindlof 1996)

I believe the Internet is an especially interesting medium for young people to use in order to construct their identities. Not only can they make use of the imagery derived from the Internet, but also it provides a perfect backdrop for the presentation of the self, notably with personal home pages. By surfing the World Wide Web adolescents are able to gain information from the limitless sites which may interest them but they can also create sites for themselves, specifically home pages. Constructing a home page can enable someone to put all the imagery they have derived from the popular media into practise. For example:

“…constructing a personal home page can be seen as shaping not only the materials but also (in part through manipulating the various materials) one’s identity.” (Chandler 1998)

This is particularly important as not only are young people able to access such an interesting and wide ranging medium, but they are also able to utilise it to construct their own identity. In doing this, people are able to interact with others on the Internet just as they could present their identities in real life and interact with others on a day to day basis.
In conclusion it can be seen that the popular media permeates everything that we do. Consequently, the imagery in the media is bound to infiltrate into young people’s lives. This is especially the case when young people are in the process of constructing their identities. Through television, magazines, advertising, music and the Internet adolescents have a great deal of resources available to them in order for them to choose how they would like to present their ‘selves’. However, just as web pages are constantly seen to be 'under construction’, so can the identities of young people. These will change as their tastes in media change and develop. There is no such thing as one fixed identity; it is negotiable and is sometimes possible to have multiple identities. The self we present to our friends and family could be somewhat different from the self we would present on the Internet, for example. By using certain imagery portrayed in the media, be it slim fashion models, a character in a television drama or a lyric from a popular song, young people and even adults are able to construct an identity for themselves. This identity will allow them to fit in with the pressures placed on us by society, yet allow them to still be fundamentally different from the next person.

1)      TV, Internet, Newspapers

2)      You may create an identity when you are growing up in your community but as soon as you are introduced to things such as the internet it will all change. This is because the persons way of thinking and beliefs will be challenged and possibly changed.

3)      People cant escape from the media it is everywhere so they will be checking it to much and may cause problems.

David Gauntlett

"Identity is complicated - everybody thinks they've got one"

Religous and national identities are at the heart of major international conflicts!

The average teenager can create numerous identities in a short space of time (internet and social networking sites)

We think to think we are unique, but Gauntlett questions whether this is an illusion, and we are all much more similar than we think.

1) Creativity as a process about emotions and experiences

2) Making and sharing to feel alive, to participate, in community

3) Happiness through creativity and community

4) Creativity as social glue a middle layer between individuals and society

5)  Making your mark and making the world your own

Collective Identity - the individual's sense of belonging to a group (part of personal identity)

David Buckingham

"A focus on Identity requires us to pay closer attention to the ways in which media and technologies are used in everyday life and their consequences from social groups"

He classifies identity as an 'ambiguous and slippery' term;

• Identity is something unique to each of us, but also implies a relationship with a broader group
• Identity can change according to our circumstances
• Identity is fluid and is affected by broader changes - how can you relate that to Britishness?
• Identity becomes more important to us if we feel it is threatened

Cultural imperialism is other cultures coming into our society

Inbetweeners

Ben Palmer 2011

Representation

AGE

• Immature
• Wants sex
• Social awkward
• Elders are mean to younger in banter
• Education

ETHNICITY

• English orientated
• Friendly locals abroad
• No black/Asian people in film

GENDER

• Males talk a lot about sex
• Mothers caring
• Women objectified
• Dominated by men

SOCIAL CLASS

• Drinking tea in big house
• Posh accent
• Civilised
• Traditional parenting

Social Class: Reinforcing cultural hegemony/dominant ideologies

Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold 2009)

HOW ARE WE INTRODUCED TO MAIN CHARACTER?

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN FISH TANK AND HARRY BROWN?



MEDIA EFFECTS

Do media representations of young people effect how they are perceived?

If so how does this effect occur?

• Hypodermic model - people believe everything they read or hear
• Cultivation theory - if you see enough violence amongst British youth the more likely you are to believe its happening.
• Copy Cat Theory - copy what you see in the media
• Moral Panic - Creates a panic within the society

Contemporary British Social Realism:

• Attempt to portray issues facing ordinary people in their social situations
• Try to show that society and the capitalist system leads to the exploitation of the poor or dispossessed.
• Groups shown as victims of the system rather than being totally responsible for their own bad behaviour.

Audience

• Aimed at a predominantly British audience

Questions to answer when analysis

• Who is being represented?
• Who is representing them
• How are they represented
• What are the intentions of it
• What is the dominant discourse
• What rang of readings are there?
• Look for alternative discourses

Collective Identity

• Media contributes to our sense of  'collective identity' but many different versions change over time
• Representations cause problems for the groups being represented

Stuart Hall 1980 (Active Audience Theory)

• Encoding and decoding is an active audience theory developed by Stuart Hall which examines the relationship between a text and its audience
• Encoding is the process by which a text is constructed by its producers
• Decoding is the process by which the audience reads, understands and interprets a text.

Any representation is a mixture of:

• The thing itself
• The opinions of others
• The reaction of an individual
• The context of the society in which the representation is taking place

Why do we stereotype?

• Media creates simplistic represenations which we find believable.

ESSAY

The main themes for Harry Brown and Quadrophenia are gangs and riots. This is a bad representation of youths.  In Harry Brown there are youths who live on a council estate and cause problems for the police by rioting and setting things a light when they come to arrest Noel. In Quadrophenia the youths also riot to the police in order to make themselves known. This isn’t a good thing and as it shows in the film it causes Jimmy to lose his job. There are also binary opposition in these films between the young and the old. In Harry Brown the binary opposition is between the youths and Harry himself due to Harrys major killing spree he goes on. In Quadrophenia the binary opposition is between the youths and their parents as well as between the youths and the police listing them as rebels. In both films the police are represented as stupid and inpatient as in both films they resort to violence in order to gain control over the youths. In Harry Brown they resort to bringing in the force with protective shields to try and get the hooligans out of the council estate which wasn’t needed. In Quadrophenia the police decide to end a strike that the youths have put up by resorting to violence as well with multiple arrests that aren’t needed. However in the film the arrests of youths gives a positive reaction from them and they turn their lives around apart from Jimmy who ends up going crazy. This shows the youths identity. Some of them react positively to punishment whereas others react badly and may lose their identity. Some of the youths identity will change because the environment around them has changed so they will adapt and behave better whereas Jimmys hasn’t and he goes crazy in the end. The Mcrobbie theory applies here. Her theory is symbolic violence which occurs against the working class. This is very noticeable in both films as the working class is a main target for the gangs.

Ex/An - level 2 - 9 marks - It is 9 marks lvl.2 because you havent got much here so there isnt much explanation.
UoE - level 2 - 10 marks - There are lots of examples in this small piece of text, well done :)
UoT - level 2 - 5 marks - good

Exam Answer

Section B Question 6 Media and Collective Identity EAA 20/20 EG 18/20 T 10/10 (48)

 

 

For A2 I have studies the representation of women in both contemporary and historical media. As David Buckingham noted in 2008, “identity is fluid and changeable” – and arguably the identity of women in recent times has changed, some may argue it has become more mediated.

Identity itself refers to who we actually are, the construction of ourselves – perhaps even the representation of ourselves and our social groups that we as media consumers wish to have. While many such as Buckingham and Gauntlett champion the fact the create and construct our own identities; others such aa Theordore Adorno see identity as something pushed upon us by the mass media, that we have no alternative but to take the dominant identities we are exposed to “something is offered for all so that none may escape,” he writes in explanation of this fact. Adorno therefore argues that our identities are becoming increasingly mediated – that is, that they influenced by the mass media, inherent identifies are weak and influenced by the media around us.

‘Nuts’ magazine is a stereotypical ‘lad’s mag’, aimed at 18-24 year old males. In ana analysis of the 19-25th March 2010 issue I performed the content proves interesting with regards to representation of women. Images of semi-naked females in suggestive poses represent women as victims of symbiotic annihilation. They are portrayed as merely objects of sexual pleasure for men – the images have been constructed, Laure Mulvey would argue with her theory of the Male Gaze, solely with the male consumers in mind, who using the Uses and Gratifications Model are consuming the text for sexual pleasure. Most significant here, however, is the so-called Mirror Effect of Mulvey’s Male Gaze.

This states that women themselves consuming the images will apply the Male Gaze, and see the female in the image in a sense of what Baudrillard would call hyperreality, assuming the idea that this representation is ‘how women should be’ and in turn they should construct their identities similarly in order to appeal to males – aftr all women are the subdominant group in an apparent patriarchal society. Identity therefore has become mediated in this situation as Adorno says. The “culture industry” that is the mass media has imposed a dominant representation onto a collective group; who have felt pressured to adapt it as part of their collective identity.

In the 2001 film “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”, Lara Croft, the main female character is represented as fairly masculine (stereotypically masculine) in terms of her choice of clothing, body language and manner. All of these micro-elements construct her identity. However, throughout the film, we also see Croft use what can be considered the concept of femininity to her advantage, flirting with male characters and wearing stereotypically feminine clothes towards the final scenes.
In terms of her character’s identity this supports Buckingham’s aforementioned assumption that “identity is fluid and changeable” but also conforms to Queer Theory. Queer Theory is widely recognized in Judith Butler’s 1990 book ‘Gender Trouble’ and states that the genders male and female are just as much the product of representation as the concepts of masculinity and femininity. She calls for a blurring of boundaries between genders and their stereotypical identities and calls for the media to celebrate such diversity. As a character, Croft arguably has blurred the boundaries displaying traits of both male and female behaviour.

If Adorno’s assertions are applied here it can be argued that again the dominant identity of women as sly, untrustworthy and in need of patriarchal dominance is being applied through Croft’s deviant use of fronting identity to her advantage. However some could argue that the prominence of Queer Theory does not encourage the mediation of female identity instead it encourages dominant representations to be characterized and boundaries to be blurred – implying greater personal control over identity as advocated by John Fiske and David Buckingham rather than mediated identities.
Cosmopolitan is a magazine aimed at females around 30+. In all ways it can be said that pragmatically the magazine pushes femininity as an identity for itself, with stereotypically female colours and text styles. In turn, the feminine identity of the magazine is applied as a representation of the readers, further suggesting a mediation of women’s identity. The magazine focuses heavily on beauty and fitness, reinforcing the dominant ideology of the “ideal” women that women should aspire to a fixed concept of beauty.
As an example in the April 2010 issue a large image of Holly Willoughby (celebrity) features on the cover. Although unlike Nuts magazine, she is wearing fairly covering clothing and lacks cosmetic make-up, it is interesting to note that her clothing is white in colour – Ferdinand de Saussure would note that this has semiotic significance using his semiotic theory and Roland Barthe’s levels of signification, we can identify that white has connotations of innocence and weakness. Therefore this represents her as innocent and weak – reinforcing dominant patriarchal representations of women. Due to her status as a celebrity, her level of influence is great. In herself she is a semiotic symbol of success and affluence, so those who take inspiration from her will take this constructed innocence and weakness and apply it to their own identities. This is a clear example of the mediation of identity. It suggests a passive audience, influenced by the mass media as Adorno and other quasi-Marxists would suggest. It can be seen therefore, that as post modernists say, we live in a media saturated society. We are surrounded by signs which cannot be ignored. Women in the media are often represented as varying, whether it be as sexual objects for the pleasure of males; or as innocent, as ‘stay at home’ housewives as suggested in 2008’s film Hancock. Here, despite possessing stereotypically male strength and ‘superpowers’, the lead female aspires to be a housewife – reinforcing the sub-dominant representation of women. Either way however women are often the victims of mediation. The theories of consumption and construction of identity from theorists such as Adorno and Mulvey clearly show that despite the specific representations, one common identity is ‘forced’ upon women in the media – a subdominant social group living in a patriarchal society. Identity is constructed using this as a basis; and even media texts which challenge this representation and encourage Queer Theory diversity are still arguably mediating identity with their influence. Identity is fluid and changeable and can be individually constructed as Gauntlett and Buckingham state. But arguable, the mass media are, and have, mediated the identity of women in contemporary society.

Continued....

Research

How do contemporary media represent British youth + youth culture in different ways?

Harry Brown (2009)

Director: Daniel Barber

How does Harry Brown represent young people?

• Hoodies are iconic for gangs
• Knives and guns
• Drugs
• Location
• Sexual Confrontation
• Gender representation
• Gender Stereotypes
• Sexism
• Territory
• Dialogue  (colloquial)
• Revenge
• Harry Brown vs Gangs vs Police (binary)
• Social Class
• Dark Lighting

Hoodies strike fear in British Cinema (Guardian 2009)

• Unemotional
• Impact of feelings
• Reflect them being monsters
• Challenge equilibrium
• Sense of realism
• Non-Fiction is scarier :O 
• Capitalism
• Hegemony - Ruling of higher class
•  Moral panic!!

Harry Brown (2009) Director. Daniel Barber

How are youths being represented? (Specific Examples)

• Violent - Shooting in the park
• Loud and disruptive - On motorbike
• Doing drugs - Down the alley and sold in pub
• Unintentional deaths - Killed old man with prank

How are the audience being positioned? (to identify with the characters)

• Harry is liked because he seems vulnerable and sorry for him when his wife and friend dies.
• Dont like the youths because of the crime

What is the significance of social class?

• Working class people/ Lowers class mix
• Upper class people targeted by gangs for money

What is Britishness

What is Britishness?

• Big Ben
• Tea
• Royals
• Prestige
• Posh

What does it mean to be British?

• Accent
• Richness
• Bad Teeth
• BBC

Exam Outline

Section A: Theoretical Evaluation of Production (50 marks)

1A) Evaluate my skill development over the course (e.g preliminary task and magazine production AS and Trailer at A2)

1B) Evaluation of one production and evaluate it in relation to a media concept

Section B) Contemporary Media Issues
2) Media and Collective Identity - The representation of British youth and youth culture

QUESTION 1A IN DETAIL

Evaluate skills in:

• Digital Technology
• Creativity
• Research and planning
• Post-Production
• Using conventions from real media texts

QUESTION 1B IN DETAIL

Evaluate:

• Genre
• Narrative
• Representation
• Audience
• Media Language

SECTION B IN DETAIL

Talk about:

• How do the contemporary media represent British youth and youth culture in different ways?
• How does contemporary representation compare to previous time periods?
• What are the social implications of different media representations of British youth and youth culture
• To what extent is human identity increasingly mediated?

Should contain:

• Historical - dependant on the requirements of the topic, candidates must summarise the development of the media forms in question in theoretical contexts.
• Contemporary - Examples from 5 years before the examination
• Future - Candidates must demonstrate personal engagement with debates about the future of the media forms / issues that the topic relates to.

Identity

Definition: the condition of being oneself or itself, and not another: He doubted his own identity.

My definition: Who someone is and what makes them unique.

NATURE VS NURTURE
How is it formed: How you were raised. Environment. Friends. Social Origin. Education. Beliefs. Gender. Characteristics. Media, Media Consumption. Music. Diet. Height. Age. Social Class. Geography.