Media workshop - representation of issues

The attendees of today's Media workshop worked extremely hard to come up with excellent examples for representation. Today's topic was 'representation of issues'. This can be a tricky subject, as often there is no one media text to reference in your response, though it is always essential to discuss how visual, technical, audio and/or narrative codes are used to construct a representation. Today we focused on some concrete examples, and precisely what impact the representation of these issues in media texts has on the target audience. 

The following are more notes than anything else, but with just a little research, will all make excellent case studies for the AS Media Studies exam.

Ethnocentrism - Haiti earthquake

2010 (January). 7.0 on richter scale, 250,000 people die.

Coverage of the the disaster focussed on missing and injured British nationals. Example of ethnocentrism. News broadcasts tailor media to suit the audience. This makes the assumption that British audiences are only interested in British issues and British people. Ethnocentrism - the belief that one's nation, country or immediate group of people are more important than everybody else.  UK news reports tend to focus on the amount of British people who die, making a separate statistic for British deaths. Impact on British audience: Reinforces the notion that British lives are in some way more important than the lives of other nationalities.

Note - this is potentially more of an 'event' than an issue, and if using this example to answer a question about the representation of issues, you would really have to push the 'ethnocentrism' aspect.

Misrepresentation of ethnic minorities in mainstream cinema - Oscars debacle

Not enough awards given to black actors, and universally it is white actors who are noticed, even when they are playing smaller parts. Many black performers completely overlooked, with absolutely no black actors nominated at all. This started a high profile boycott of the oscars, with many actors boycotting the event. Chris Rock, a prominent black comedian hosted the oscars, despite calls for him to also boycott. Huge Twitter and social media backlash. Can cite the 'oscarssowhite' hashtag. Open source, grassroots based audience driven protest. Excellent example of uses and gratifications theory, where audiences use media for their own purpose. Impact on black audience - can polarise or completely drive away from the Oscars and mainstream/Hollywood cinema. Feel they cannot contribute to directing, making or acting in films. The a group is further marginalised and pushed to one side in society. Black people are denied a voice, and black audiences are made to feel marginalised and inadequate.

Body image - Mail Online and the 'sidebar of shame'

Use of language suggests a choice. "Chloe Madley shows off her new physique...', 'Alexandra Daddario shows off her flat stomach...'. However these images have been taken either incognito, or have been taken from the celebrities social media account. Through textual analysis, content of the sidebar is resolutely sexual. Exclusive focus on women's breasts, legs and bottoms, with extreme close-ups of bodily 'flaws' taken, often with a telephoto lens. Definite notions of voyeurism. This has several potential impacts for the predominately female audience of the Mail Online. Firstly, it celebrates certain bodily attributes, such as having particularly long legs or large breasts, which excludes certain audience members from being 'conventionally' beautiful. It also enforces the notion that, in order to be successful  a woman has to be conventionally attractive, and must too 'make the choice' to 'attract attention in a sexy red swimsuit'. Thirdly, and maybe most importantly, it reinforces the idea that the gaze is male. The only way a woman can be successful is to get the attention of a heterosexual man. This in turn reinforces patriarchal hegemony. Women are once more taught to assume submissive, sexualised roles, and the advantages that men have in society are further protected.

Regulation of television in the US

The regulation of TV is very different in the US than how it is regulated in the UK. In many ways, US TV regulation is far stricter. For example, swearing and sex scenes tend to not be tolerated on US TV. However, some channels of communication such as HBO and more recently Netflix have found ways of almost completely bypassing conventional regulations.

Unlike in the UK, where watching live TV requires a TV licence, America (like most countries) has free access to what is known as 'basic cable'. These broadcasts are paid exclusively through spot advertising and sponsorship, and are subject to the strictest of censorship regulations, which means that the use of swear words that would be perfectly acceptable in the middle of the day on UK TV are effectively banned. There are some exceptions to this regulation. A 2001 episode of South Park famously managed to get away with using the word 'shit' 162 times in one episode, despite the word usually being considered unacceptable for network television broadcast (even the show's creators were shocked by the decision!).

'Premium cable' channels like HBO and Showtime manage to sidestep regulation by being paid for, and having the channels scrambled, so only paying (and presumably adult) customers can see them. At times, basic cable channels will release 'uncensored' DVDs of their shows with swearing, sex and violence intact. These uncensored versions are often the ones that end up being show on UK television, which is why shows like Mad Men, Breaking Bad and Family Guy have frequent swearing and nudity; the versions we take for granted were certainly not the versions first broadcast on US TV!

Michael O'Malley gives some context to the history of the regulation of Television in the US. He also discusses the importance of the FCC, or Federal Communications Commission, who play a similar role to our own OFCOM.

The FCC's own website gives some information on their mission and even what material they find to be 'obscene, indecent or profane', though exactly what constitutes offending material can be confusing.

True Detective, being shown on the premium cable channel HBO, completely bypasses the FCC's regulations. In the A2 Media exam, it is important to not only note why the dialogue is so gritty and filled with profanity, but also how this relates to audience. Does the violence and sex allow audiences a new way of interacting with TV? Do the producers of the show assume that audiences are educated and worldly enough to negotiate the dark themes? Or is True Detective simply use themes of sex and violence to exploit the audience in to accepting the dominant ideology of the show?

True Detective - Industry key concepts, examples and sample questions

1) Industry: the six key concepts

•Production – who made it? How? Why? When?

•Background/context – Where and when was it made? Did this effect the final product?

•Marketing/promotion – how was it promoted? Was this effective?

•Regulation – What regulation did it have to bend to? What effect did this have on the final product?

•Global implications – Where is it particularly popular? Why? How do you know?

•Distribution/exhibition – How and why was it distributed in this way? Is this typical?

2) Research 

        •“To what extent is digital marketing important to [True Detective]?”

•“What advantages has the internet offered to [True Detective]?”

•“Discuss the importance of stars and celebrities for the marketing of [True Detective]”

Here's the original pitch for the opening sequence of True Detective. It's absolutely fascinating how much work goes in to each aspect of production design, and how clear the designer is on the ideology of the sequence. (Thanks to Harvey Bliss for finding this!)

This Storify collects specific examples of how True Detective was marketed and promoted on the internet. What's especially important here is exactly how the audience was considered at every step of the process.

True Detective, like many media products, had its own teaser site, which gave select information before the show was first broadcast.

True Detective proved particularly popular in internet fan communities, and spawned a range of enthusiastic fan sites like this one.

Media Workshop - this Wednesday at 15:25 in G8

The Media workshop is back as of this week. Everyone sitting AS or A level Media is both welcome and encouraged to come along. It is especially useful if you are (re)sitting the AS Media exam, but the theory you'll be covering is also essential to the A2 exam.

As always, please see Michael in advance if there's anything really specific you want to cover. See you on Wednesday!

Researching True Detective

Research the answers to the following questions. Make sure your notes are detailed. This work will form a vital part of contextual knowledge.

Part one

What channel did it first air on and in which country?
What time was it initially broadcast? Why do you think this is?
What is the channels ethos/ideology? do you think the show conforms to the channel's identity?
What channel did it air on in the UK? Why do you think this channel wanted to air it? How does it fit their identity?
Where else can you watch the show/ how else can audiences access it?

 Has the show received any complaints? If so, make detailed notes about the nature of the complaint, and explain why you feel the complaint was made. Do you agree?

Part two

How was the show marketed? Find three ways in was advertised. Conduct a textual analysis for one piece of promotional material. Present you answer as a PEAT paragraph. Make sure to reference visual codes.

Part three

Who do you think the show is aimed at and why? 

Identify the target audience and the secondary audience.

Give some examples from the episode we have watched to back up your assertion.