Media language
b) Explore how the set edition of Adbusters conveys viewpoints and ideologies. [15]
Knee jerk - Adbusters challenges hegemonic view[pints and ideologies, presenting a deliberately challenging mode of address for an activist, active target audience
Woman and Adbusters are DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED. Woman is CONVENTIONAL. Adbusters is UNCONVENTIONAL.
DAC - definition, argument context
Ideology refers to the dominant viewpoints of the media producer. Every producer has an ideology, which is encoded into media products through media language. Through this process of encoding, the producer attempts to manipulate and to engage the target audience, ultimately to minimise financial risk and to maximise profit. With Adbusters however, the producers seek to subvert this hegemonic expectation of media products, choosing instead to promote an anticapitalist and anticonsumerist ideology. In this essay, I shall argue that Adbusters consistently challenges hegemonic expectations to convey radical and complex ideologies. Adbusters is a bimonthly radical political magazine, established in 1989 in Canada, yet with a worldwide target audience of activists.
How does adbusters encode these radical ideologies? Through complex and atypical use of media language. For example,
The unconventional aesthetic and layout, for example on the homeless woman DPS, situates a androgynous model in diuretic opposition to a similarly androgynous women, lacking the power and exclusive of the model. This stark binary opposition constructs a reality where people are defined by their wealth, and critiques high end fashion through a typically cynical address
The magazine is predicated on oppositions, for example the Zuchetti/water DPS helps the activist target audience to understand to disparity of wealth in the world. In particular, this is anchored through through the MES of the shiny tap, presented as an object of fetishistic desire, using a preexisting advert to construct a reality of anticonsumerism.
The design is radically different for each issue, most notably changing the masthead. This reflects an unconventional challenge to the dominant capitalist ideology of minimising risk and maximising profit. By not building a conventional brand identity, Adbusters deliberately places itself at risk to violently reject capitalist norms
The runway double page spread constructs a BO between the grimy, pixelated CU of chapped broken feet, and the logo for Louboutins branded shoes. This situates the target, consumptive audience for high end fashion, and also presents a satirical and aggressive swipe at the fashion industry, while deliberately presenting a stereotypical white saviour narrative to the target audience. The CU of broken black feet in a stereotypical yet undefined ‘African’ representation deliberately positions the audience in a confusing mode of address.
Adbusters lacks anchorage
Paragraph starters
One way in which a radical ideological perspective is encoded is through…
A challenging, anticapitalist ideology is constructed through the startling use of…
Adbusters tends to present a pessimistic, and even nihilistic ideology, that can be best viewed through the radical use of…
However, a more conventional ideological perspective is also situated. Adbusters also positions itself as a lifestyle bible, albeit an alternative and radical one. These themes of lifestyle and collective identity can be found…
Representation
a) Discuss the influence of historical context on representations in the set edition of Woman magazine. [15]
Discuss - talk about multiple points, and take a point of view
Historical contexts are essential in influencing representations, and in Woman magazine, we see almost nothing but sexist representations that reflect the hegemonic values of the 1960s.
Plan
Van Zoonen male gaze
1964
7p
Sexist
Mainstream
Conservative
Post war context
Published by IPC, the dominant market leader, publishing Woman’s Realm and Woman’s Own
Hitchcock - snowcapped volcanoes, sexist and derogatory
Othering
Objectification - Breeze Soap advert
Compare with Playboy
My kind of star has a special magic - sexualisation
“Get the man in your life to do it” - reinforces assumptions about women’s aptitude and their sexuality
Heteronormativity
Homosexuality illegal in 1964
Are You an A-level Beauty - assumption of beauty standards: only 16-18 yos are beautiful!
Unemployment rate low and inflation low, facilitating non-working women
Perceived housewife audience
Unwaged labour
Glamorous MS of woman at sink constructs straightward, sexist ideology
Conflation of sexualisation and consumerism
Challenging representations include long shot of female dominance and superiority
Introduction - DAC
Representation refers to the representation of reality in order to construct the producer’s ideology, and therefore to manipulate a perceived target audience. In this essay, I shall argue that historical contexts influence representations to a high degree for a variety. To explore this idea, i shall refer to the set edition of Woman, published Aug 1964. Woman was ansd still is a conservative mainstream women’s lifestyle magazine, targeting a working class middle aged audience of housewives.
Paragraph starters
One way in which historical contexts have influenced representation in WM is
Objectification and sexualisation
Focus on hegemonic beauty norms
MES of makeup
Lack of MES of a bath emphasises body
Awkwardly posed
Seductive and fetishistic
An aspirational model for heterosexual women
Reinforces a patriarchal, hegemonic view of women
Housewife representation
Reinforces certain ideologies, ensuring the target audience are likely to align with these values
Ensures that the magazine continues to target a demolished and anxious audience, therefore minmising risk ETC
Another way in which these contexts have influenced representations can be clearly seen…
However, a final and contradictory representation can be found…
Adbusters and Woman magazine are diametrically opposed. Whatever argument you come up with should always be related to the very specific ideologies constructed by each of time
Audience
To what extent do social and cultural contexts influence audience interpretations of magazines? Refer to the set editions of Woman and Adbusters to support your answer. [30]
Knee jerk reaction
S&C contexts influence audience interpretation to a massive extent, however the interpretation of the two set texts have changed drastically over time
Plan
MES
Sexist
1964
First published in 1930s
Second wave feminism
Outdated
Mainstream
Gauntlet pick and mix
Stuart Hall reception theory
Decoding
Gender is fluid, gender norms have changed over time (VZ)
Zietgeist - reflects the time
Patriarchial
Conservative
Activist
Antiestablishment
Atypical rep of gender
COmplex reps of gender
BOth western bias
Genre
Woman’s lifestyle
Culture jamming
Political activism
Satirical
Advertising
Preferred reading - clear and conservative ideology
Negotiated reading - unclear range of readings
Polysemic
Save the planet kill yourself_ many different negotiatons
Contraversial readings
A present for your kitchen direct address lexis familiar scenario
COnsumerist ideology
Anticapitalism
Campaigns: deflating SUV tyres
Buy Nothing day
Fuck it Friday
Artistic
Brand identity shifts
Fandom - both magazines can be corresponded with
Adbusters has an open submission policy
Campaigns
Gerbener and cultivation
Woman cultivates a patriarchal hegemonic ideology that women should stay at home, cook clean
Adbusters cultivates an open ended, complex and and self-critical, thoughtful
Minimise risk and maximise profit
Or
To reject the norm, make a point, be confusing
Anchorage
Modes of address
Positioning
Introduction - DAC
Social and cultural contexts (S&CC) refer to the social and cultural conditions that shape the production of media products. The time and place that an audience consumes a media product will greatly be influenced by S&CC. IOn this essay I shall argue that these contexts have affected the interpretation of both Woman and Adbusters magazines to a significant extent. However, it should be noted that both of these magazines have been produced in completely different S&CC, and therefore will contrast to a significant extent. To explore this idea, I shall refer to an August 1964 edition of the weekend women’s lifestyle magazine Woman. First established in the 1930s, by the 60s it was an established part of British public life and reflects post war attitudes towards women’s place in society. I shall contrast this with the July August 2016 edition of Adbusters, a Canadian anticapitalist and political activist magazine that rejects traditional funding models for mainstream models for magazines by refusing to run paid for adverts.
Paragraph starters
Way way scc influences audience interpretations of Woman is the alarmingly sexist representations that position contemporary audiences in a conservative and patriarchal mode of address
However, Adbusters through its completely different SCC provokes very different readings, allowing the audience to come up with their own interpretations, which is often provoked through shocking and transgressive imagery.
Industry
‘Magazines are a global industry.’ To what extent do Woman magazine and Adbusters support this claim? [30]
Knee jerk - to massively differing extents. Woman magazine targets a national audience at a time of societal change. However, Adbusters targets a more global yet western audience in an era of increasing globalisation!
Plan
Livingstone and Lunt - regulation is ineffective
Curran and Seaton - power and profit
David Hesmondhalgh - minimising risk and maximising profit
Horizontal - buying out companies in the same sector, eg Oldhams/Ipc buying out Woman’s Realm
Vertical - Where a company buys out companies from different sectors, eg Disney buying Marvel
Multimedia integration - where a company integrates using digital technology, eg the Adbusters website
Adbusters global
Adbusters anticapitalist, anti establishment, anti regulation!
Published by IPC, horizontally integrated conglomerate
Adbusters first published in 1989 by non-profit Canadian org The Adbusters Media Foundation
Culture jamming of global companies, eg Zuchetti, Coca Cola, Louboutins, Nike
Adbusters non profit
Woman - commercial
Woman - funded through cover price and paid advertising
Adbusters - lacks paid advertising, meaning close to 100% revenue through cover price
Woman cover price - 7d: cheap
Adbusters current cover price varies but most recent UK issue £8.99, reflecting the changing context of buying magazines
Adbusters: additional revenue through merchandising eg T-shirts, shoes, posters, banners, flags, special edition books, etc
Adbusters: sells a lifestyle of anticapitalism and far left ideology: conflicts with the merchandising
A lifestyle of performative activism
Woman magazine sells a simple straightforward patriarchal and hegemonic lifestyle
Woman magazine first published in the 30s
The 1964 edition demonstrates a post war ideology
World War 2 shaped British values through pushing it towards capitalism and against fascism
A shift therefore towards progressiveism… which the producers of women ignore to appease their conservative audience
Hitchcock article promotes patriarchal and monogamistic values, while serving as a front to institutionalist abuse of women
“Get the man in your life to do stuff”
IPC horizontally integrated: specialised gravure printing process
Different editions of Adbusters published in different countries
Adbusters: no consistent brand identity. Different styles, mastheads and concepts every issue
Woman magazine constructs a consistent brand identity appealing to a british mainstream audience
Adbusters: multiethnic representations, woman exclusively white
Introduction - DAC
Many media products are global industries, appealing to different audiences around the world. In this essay I shall argue that while some magazines target an exclusively domestic audience, other magazines increasingly target a global audience, in order to minimise risk and to maximise profit. In order to explore this idea, I shall refer to Woman magazine, the set edition being the August 1964 edition of the long established British working class women’s lifestyle magazine. This enormously popular and surprisingly sexist magazine will be constructed with adbusters, a modern political, progressive and strikingly artist magazine that targets a global audience of anticapitalist activists. Clearly these two magazines are produced in completely different contexts.
Sentence starters
One way in which Adbusters can be seen to be a global industry is through it’s progressive anticapitalist stance, that increasingly targets a global audience. For example…
However, the magazine contrasts this approach through targeting a specifically British national audience. One example of this can found through the patriotic lexis