P block countercultural magazine: BLEM

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Revision: audience theory and Wateraid

What kind of audience questions could come up? And how many will come up?

Broadly, there are only two types of audience question:

How does the producer target/position audiences?

How do audiences respond to this media product?

However, these can be phrased and presented in lots of different ways. But just remember, you will be talking about what the producer does to the audience, or what the audience does to the product... broadly...

We don't know how many questions will come up. At least two we imagine. Remember, for component one B, it's one minute for each mark. A mark a minute. 

What theories are important for these questions?

George Gerbner - cultivation 

Repeated representations affect how the audiences sees the world. Cultivation theory refers to how the ideology of the audience grows with repeated exposure. and the the more audiences are exposed to a particular ideology, the more likely they are to accept an ideology.

Example: often videogames present an ideology that violence is good, and an acceptable way to solve a problem. By continousy being exposed to this ideology, it can reinforce this ideology in audiences

A passive audience theory. Assumes the audience is basic and straightforward

Criticism: it's too basic and straightforward

Stuart Hall - reception theory 

How the audience decodes the ideology of the producer. Encoding/decoding model. The audience can choose to receive the ideology of a media product in many different ways

Preferred - the audience agrees with the ideology of the producer

Negotiated - where the audience agrees in general but may also disagree with with certain parts

Oppositional - the audience disagrees with the ideology of the producer

Active audience theory. Assumes the audience is complex and opinionated

Criticism: too complicated and unwieldly

What ideologies are encoded in the WaterAid advert?

Ideology 1: Water is essential to life and happiness. We, the audience are responsible for Claudia's happiness. We live in a position of privilege, and we therefore have an obligation to help others

Ideology 2 : Donating to charity is the right thing to do. If the audience donates to charity, it will make them a better person

Ideology 3: There are people in the world who do not have access to water, and it is up to us, as the audience, to help them. Therefore the intended response is to donate money.

Applying reception theory to the WaterAid advert

Preferred reading: The audience will agree with the ideology and will either donate or intend to donate money. We believe that donating money is the right thing to do, and is an efficient way of making 'people like Claudia's' life better. We are in a better position than 'them', and must use our advantage to help 'them'

Oppositional reading: The audience audience may believe that Claudia is not entitled to help. She clearly already has water, and therefore doesn't need help. Audiences may also believe that this is not their problem and that again she is not entitled to help.

Negotiated reading: Donating money to charity may help people, but we actually don't know exactly how our money will be spent. The advert was clearly expensive, so perhaps this was too extravagant. Helping people is good, but some audiences may not be in a position to regularly donate money, which may mean the advert is upsetting and guilt tripping. Finally some audiences may agree with charity but might see the representation of 'Africa' as being broad and offensive. Some audiences may also find the advert annoying...

How do adverts 'work'?

An advert doesn't sell a product. It sells a lifestyle. The lifestyle sold by the WaterAid advert is one of philanthropy. 

Having a straightforward and agreeable ideology means the advert can appeal to and target as many people as possible

Audience positioning - where the audience is 'placed' by the producer. This is achieved through media language

R block - Explore how the Wateraid advert positions it's audiences

Knee jerk reaction: This advert uses a range of media language including tracking shots to position the audience with Claudia

Introduction: DAC

Audience refers to the people that consume media products, and who the producer intends to target the product towards. One way in which producers can do this is through positioning, which is where the audience are 'placed' through media language. In this essay, I shall argue that the audience are aligned with Claudia to provide an insight in to her life, and to allow us to see we have made an impact. WaterAid are a UK based charity that specialise in providing access to clean water for people in developing countries.

One way in which audiences are positioned is through the frequent use of extreme close ups. For example, the audience are positioned directly behind Claudia and her bucket, which emphasises and confirms her poverty. This symbolic code connotates the journey that Claudia must take every day, which reinforces her poverty, and also the fact that she is hard working. The bucket is bright blue, which signifies positivity, which functions as a clear binary opposition. By positioning the audience with Claudia, the producers of the advert reinforce their positive and gentle ideology.

Additionally, the advert uses a range of long shot and wide angle shots, typically to connote themes of commaradie and community. For example, a long shot of Claudia's friends and villagers uses a range of bright, positive colours, which positions the target audience in a positive and optimistic mode of address.

The function of a charity advert is to get audiences to donate, and as such can be considered way more direct than most adverts. This is most clearly seen through the lexis of the on screen graphics t the end of the advert, which asks he audience to donate money to "help people like Claudia". Through this informal mode of address, a friendly tone is taken, which may mean that some audience members are more inclined to donate

P block - Explore how the WaterAid advert appeals to multiple audiences (15)

Knee jerk: The WaterAid advert appeals to multiple audiences through its use of positive, uplifting representations

Introduction: DAC

Audience refers to the consumers of a media product. A producer will always attempt to make a media product appeal to a target audience. This is to maximise profit. In this essay I shall argue that The WaterAid advert appeals to multiple audiences by using positive and uplifting representations. This is highly unconventional for a charity advert featuring African people. WaterAid is UK based charity that provides access to fresh water in underdeveloped countries.

The WaterAid advert uses a combination of high key natural lighting and bright colours in order to construct a positive atmosphere. For example, there is a highly effective long shot low angle of the young, black female villagers. In a tracking shot, we follow Claudia in to the village, and the collected shot of women standing together is symbolic of unity and togetherness. This reinforces the dominant ideology of the advert as being positive and uplifting, by presenting an uplifting and atypical representation of Africa.

The WaterAid advert would typically be screened during daytime television, and would therefore target a stereotypical working class audience. One audience in particular that it may target is an older, retired working class audience. Teenagers are often represented in stereotypical ways, as grumpy, threatening and 'other' . However, Claudia is represented as hardworking and nonthreatening, which challenges stereotypical representations of black teenagers. First of all, Claudia is singing throughout the advert. The Song, 'Sunshine On A Rainy Day' is an early 90's pop song, which was popular in England and is sung in English. This allows this advert to appeal to it's target audience of older working class people from England. Additionally, Claudia is dressed in a conservative style, with a pink polo neck and floral skirt, which reinforces the ideology that she is young, innocent and non-threatening. The preferred reading of this advert is that the audience, through donating money, is making the lives of the people in the advert better,

White saviour, stereotype of the British philanthropist...

Close up and extreme close up shots

T block: Explore how different audiences can respond to the WaterAid advert (12)

Knee jerk reaction: Some audiences may agree with the dominant ideology, while other audiences may disagree

DAC introduction

Audience refers to those who engage with or consume a media product. Audiences are absolutely essential because they essentially financially support the media product. Producers must therefore ensure audiences engage with and consume a media product. In this essay I shall argue that by and large, most audience members will confirm the preferred reading of the ideology, while some audiences will reject this ideology. To back this up, I shall be looking at the WaterAid 'Claudia' advert, which is an atypical charity advert'.

One way in which one audience can respond to this advert is a sense of responsibility and a duty to donate money. This idea is encoded through the frequent use of binary oppositions. The initial establishing shot features the MES of rain and a boring radio voiceover, which positions the target audience in the UK in winter. However, we immediately cut to a dry sandy location, presumably 'Africa'. This binary opposition symbolically communicates a sense of British privilege and even guilt to the target audience. The intended response is clearly to donate money.

One of the key target demographics for charity adverts includes stay at home mothers. Typically working class, this group may well have a sense of empathy towards young children. The producer has cast a young woman in this advert with a British name (Claudia), and she is also singing in clear English. This may allow this target audience to identify with the character of Claudia far more effectively than the anonymous representation of 'starving Africans' often see n in this kind of advert. This provides the audience with the gratification of identity. It also repeats and reinforces the ideology that Africa is vulnerable is is in need of help.

Exploring stereotypical representations of ethnic minorities in music videos

When we watch each video, we must consider...

• What are the key representations in this video?
• What choices has the producer made in representing these groups?
• What connotative aspects encode representational meaning?
• Who is the target audience for this video (think carefully)?

How is the representation of young black people constructed in the video to The Race by Tay-K?

• Video has considerably lower production values than usual. The grainy footage and muddy sound. This encodes a filthy, grimy, threatening atmosphere.
• MES of guns and gang signs are frequently repeated through the video, which has clear connotations of criminality and crime
• Wanted Criminal poster draws attention to the artist's criminal status. There is no attempt to distance him from this criminal act, 'self-snitching'. The video has clearly been made for the artists own exposure and reputation
• MES of thick cannabis smoke, people dancing, and vodka being poured on the floor are all connotative of crime and rebellion
• Video reinforces the ideological perspective that young black men are dangerous and involved

Lil Pump - Gucci Gang

• Song is lazy, amateurish and repetitive, which may well be frustrating, annoying and even offensive to certain audience. It reinforces a stereotype of non-white people as being users of drugs, through the slurred delivery of lyrics
• Song is bass heavy, with connotations of aggression, violence and conflict
• MES of big bags of cannabis reinforces stereotype of non-white people being both users and sellers of drugs
• depiction of blatant acts of breaking the la
• School setting forms a binary opposition with the constant MES of drugs, which anchors the suggestion that Lil Pump is selling drugs to schoolchildren. This in turn reinforces his status as a dangerous criminal
• Use of many bright, garish colours, in particular purple. Purple here is symbolic of lean, an abuse of prescription drugs. Codeine is an addictive painkiller with euphoric effects. The drug itself is dangerous, especially when taken in large quantities and over a period of time. The drug is represented as being fun and exciting, which is highly problematic
• MES of tiger is connotative of fearlessness and aggression, which reinforces the ideological perspective that people of colour are violent and dangerous
• White people in this video are represented as boring, uptight, older and lacking power. This forms a binary opposition to the representation of Lil Pump, which confirms his status of powerful, criminal and anti authoritarian

Mobb Deep - Shook Ones, Pt. II

• Theme of the song is about how pop culture is idolising gang violence, yet the rapper confirms that this life is difficult and horrible. However, the theme of this song reinforces the stereotype young black males are involved in drug dealing and gang violence
• The setting of this video is exclusively run down 'projects' or American social housing, which reinforces the ideology that young black men lead a dangerous, gritty, authentic lifestyle
• MES of bin liners, rubbish and graffiti connotes poverty and crime 
• Lyrics focus on themes such as crime and sex, which reinforces reference to a criminal, outlaw lifestyle
• Costumes including baggy oversized shirts and trousers also function as a proairetic code for violence

Zone 2 - No Censor

• Fast paced editing constructs a startling, confusing and threatening atmosphere for the target audience
• Fast paced vocal delivery, low quality distorted production and heavy use of slang constructs an intimidating and threatening atmosphere
• Use of repetitive and ugly and bass makes the song louder and functions as a proairetic code that something violent and bad is going to happen
• Performers all wear a similar 'uniform' tracksuits and balaclavas with are connotative of crime and aggression 
• MES of mobile phones and packets of crisps infer the performers absolutely do not not care about making a music video, which again reinforces their outlaw status 

Formation: Beyonce - how are themes of conflict encoded in this video?

Conflict can refer to...

• Questioning or challenging an ideology...
• An aggressive tone...
• Two opposing opinions...
• Binary oppositions...
• War, battle, fights...

Structuring a response

Every response you write in media should be structured. The structure we are going to be using is as simple as possible. Basically, the last thing you should be worrying about in the exam is structures or formulas. The structure we will use will reflect the verbal responses you make in class

Point 
Evidence
Analysis

Point: One way in which the video to formation constructs conflict is through the use of atypical and edgy locations. 

Evidence: Beyoncé is situated in an empty swimming pool, surrounded by a series of synchronised backing dancers. Her dancers are all black and athletically built, and dressed in vintage leotards. They are established through a high angled long shot, which has connotations of isolation and vulnerability. 

Argument: Furthermore, this shot represents how black women may feel in American society, and clearly draws attention to issues of race and racism. 

Examples

U block

• Frequent use of binary oppositions, most notably the image of a young black boy challenging a group of police officers. This representation is constructed through a low angle shot of the white police officers standing in line, which reinforces their power and dominance. Additionally, the black child is constructed through a high angled wide shot, which reinforces his vulnerability. However, his vulnerability is subverted through the gesture of the white police officers putting their hands up in surrender. The young black boy is therefore constructed in an atypical manner, and this shot may represent hope in the next generation of American black activism.
• Big focus on black working class women as being strong and empowered. This is most notability constructed through a powerful shot of Beyoncé lying motionless on top of a police car. This shot clearly functions as a symbolic code, representing this black woman's rebellion against a powerful and destructive. 
• Conflict between Beyoncé, a powerful black woman dressed as a stereotypical 1800s slave owner, which arguably reasserts and reassigns power. Reverse colonisation? Reappropriation
• Video exclusively represents black people, which presents an important and controversial message. By drawing attention to both black vulnerability and black empowerment, this video reinforces and draws attention to serious issues that affect black people in America today

(Q block)

• The MES of the police car and Beyoncé on it is symbolic of the brutality experienced by black perpetrated by the American police force. This establishing shot reinforces the primary ideology of this video, and themes of racism 
• Furthermore, the long shot of Beyoncé standing upright on the police car is further anchored through her costume, which is stereotypically working class, and demonstrates through this binary opposition themes of rebellion and empowerment
• Mid shot of Beyoncé dancing energetically and even aggressively in a narrow and claustrophobic environment emphasises the conflict between freedom and oppression 
• Old vs new - can be interpreted in many ways!
• Binary opposition between the young black boy and the police officers creates a juxtaposition between powerlessness and being powerful. The boy is presented as being in a position of power, and, through his dancing, even mocking the police. This further reinforces the conflict between black people and the police 
• Conflict between traditional gender roles. Gender roles are subverted through the lyrics, including taking her boyfriend out shopping and spending money on him, which symbolised female empowerment 
• Many shots, eg the long shot of three women standing together in the wig shop, leaning on each other in a symbol of collective female empowerment. This forms a binary opposition with the apparent economic status of these women. They are poor, but powerful
• Binary opposition between red and white costumes creates an exciting and varied mode of address for the audience
• MES of graffiti reading 'stop shooting us' functions as a symbolic, suggesting the threat that exists against black people wielded by the police force
• MS of man (minister) wearing a large cross round his neck is symbolic of black people finding religion important to them, as society has abandoned the black population of Louisiana, and religion has taken the place of the police
• Beyoncé is dressed as a stereotypical slave owner, which forms an ironic binary opposition, as Beyoncé is black. In doing so, Beyoncé is not only being deliberately controversial, but is reposing and appropriating the power wielded by white slave owners in the American south 

Revision: regulation of the newspaper industry

What is IPSO and who makes these decisions?

The Independent Press Standards Organisation. This replaced the Press Complaints Commission following the news of the world phone hacking scandal. News International, owners of the News Of The World and The Sun and The Times were found guilty of systematically hacking phones to intrude on the private lives of private individuals.

  

IPSO complaints committee is staffed by some people with ties to newspapers. Many of the board are significantly older, retired journalists

Regulatory guidelines

Sex and nudity is not technically a strict regulation set out by IPSO, however public perception has clearly changed, and sexualised representations of women have become more rare in newspapers. This can most clearly be seen in the fairly recent removal of 'page 3 girls' from tabloids such as The Sun

Newspapers are not permitted to intrude of private matters; 'invasion of privacy'

Libel and defamation of character

Hate speech and the incitement of racial hatred. Racist language would only acceptable when quoted

Religious bias: newspapers cannot be biased or show judgement against regions. In the UK, there are laws to respect individuals religious freedom

Reporting on suicide, self harm and other mental health issues. This can potentially trigger and cause harm to those with mental health issues

To avoid 'harm and distress' to audiences

How do these editions of The Mirror and The Times potentially breach IPSO guidelines?

On page 6 and 7 there is a double page spread article regarding the alleged extended family of Vladimir Putin. Arguably, this is a massive invasion of privacy. Putin's alleged 'lovechild' is featured in a particularly large double page splash image, which reinforces her importance. She is referred to a 'DAUGHTER' in the image's caption, which technically does not break any rules or regulations. However, this entire article could be considered an invasion of privacy. However considering the context of world events, it could simply be argued that this story is in 'the public interest'. Additionally, she is legally an adult and subject to very different rules, and arguably is already a public figure online with '84,000 followers'

Article regarding NHS surgeries closing down may be critical of the NHS. However, this probably doesn't breach IPSO guidelines, being a public interest story

Page 3, which typically focusses on soft news here is focused on Kate Middleton going for a walk in the jungles of Belize. This is a classic example of a soft news story. This story may appeal to the target audience, as it is related to the royal family and KM is a popular public figure who appeals to working class audiences in particular. However, issues of slavery and postcolonialism are relegated to a tiny puff piece in the bottom right of the page. This clearly demonstrates the ideological bias of the daily mirror