We need to explore some issues regarding how the media constructs identity and the impact this has on audiences.
To do so, we must first understand the theories of audience, specifically the effects debate.
The effects debate is about
the idea that the media changes us.
In watching, listening,
involving, interacting - the text will effect the way we think, shape our ideas
about the world. The text will challenge
the way that we think, sustain the way that we think, make us act in a
particular way that we otherwise would not.
It shapes [alters] our
morality, our beliefs, our actions.
We looked in AS at the theories of media products and audience behaviors. We explored how the Hypodermic Theory was discredited yet still serves as the basis of censorship and fuels media debates even today.
Media institutions too often rely on sensationalist reporting of serious
issues – too often representing complex issues such as the motive for murder or
the causes of violence in society reduced to simplistic headlines. Such reporting takes as its justification
media theories such as the hypodermic model that are outdated and long
discredited. The issue for identity is the extent to which audiences might 'believe' such stories. this leads us into the ideas of Blumler and Katz - how we use the media [for example, for social identity or sense of self] and how we receive the messages of media products [the theories of Hall in encoding/decoding and of reception analysis - the acceptance, rejection or negotiation of a media products meaning].
We come
to four key issues in the debate over media and identity:
We
all have our identity shaped by the media – increasingly it is the cement that
holds cultural groups together.
Media
is the touch-point where groups meet and share ideas and experiences, where we
find ourselves agreeing or disagreeing with such ideologies or
representations as we create our identity.
In
media we find narratives we believe in, representations that are attractive or
desirable for us
If we can believe that media choices define us then we are also
defined by the media we consume.
An interesting link to a debate that might have possibilities for extended essays We will follow up some of these ideas in the lessons over the next few weeks
To what extent do you agree with the ideas put forward in the campaign video how the media manipulates our morals that the media plays the major role in constructing a regressive female identity in our society. Refer to a range of media products and relevant media theory to support your point of view Around 750 wordsDeadline : 1st October upload to blog with relevant clips, images, audio if required
This lesson we need to develop the ideas of the ethical understanding of the Dove advert.
To what extent is this campaign actually ethical?
Does this depend on the intentions of the brand?
Is this compromised by the drive to maximise sales - spending so many millions is not merely about a charitable attitude or a changer of heart by Dove in the way that their adverts address women or represent women to themselves and to others. As part of this we will look at the campaigns for Lynx/Axe that ran parallel to this and consider whether this uni-lever brand's activities undermines that of Dove which is akso owned by Uni-lever
Last lesson we explored issues of what might make an advert ethical and then discussed why 'cause related' adverts were becoming a marketing tool If advertisers can provoke us into agreeing with a moral case or that their product/brand is 'doing the right thing' we may feel obliged to support them by buying their product Once established it is much more difficult for us to change our buying habits as it would involve betraying our values - buying factory farmed chicken when we know the rearing conditions versus buying more expensive organic corn fed chicken. We agreed a list of ethical messages that could be used in adverts:
•The brand is good for the planet /
Other cultures
•
•Respectful of the world / other
cultures
•
•Benefits others – fairtrade; donations to charities/causes
•
•The brand is responsible – sources of
products/ production conditions
•
•The brand does not reinforce or
encourage stereotyping
•
•Does no harm – environmental issues
•
•Does much good – fairtrade etc [sustainable]
•
•The brand supports our moral values
Here is an advert for Kenco coffee that aligns Kenco with the struggling people against the menace of gang crimes in South America. Look at the way the ethical position is established - the advert is called Kenco vs Gangs
We now need to take a case-study of Dove - a brand that is credited with being a front-runner in the ethical / cause related marketing. In 2004 a Dove survey made some alarming findings as to how women saw the idea of an image of unattainable beauty that was media created but one they felt impelled to follow for fear of being ridiculed. The Dove campaign dubbed itself The Campaign for Real Beauty and established what it called The Self Esteem fund. It launched with the following advert during Superbowl 2006 and paid over $2 Billion dollars for the slot.
To structure the learning so that all are able to
progress through the stages of each lesson and that all will have the
opportunity to :
•Develop your ability to respond to the idea that A2 is
about WHY texts are constructed
in a particular manner by a careful consideration of their understanding of the
terms implicit & explicit [A-E]
•Deconstruct the
exemplar texts developing your
understanding of the ideology of texts and how to recognise and analyse these [A-C]
•Apply the criteria to evaluating texts that will enable
you to further consider how media institutions attempt to shape [manipulate]
audience understanding [A*-B]
Media debates are a vital aspect of developing our understanding of the media. As we go through the course we will be required to engage critically with ideas and media events and how these illuminate aspects of media and its impact on society. We will start by having a fairly structured sequence of lessons whose objective is to get you thinking about a complex issue - ethics - and by the end of it equip you to tackle this issue across a variety of texts and contexts.
We need to develop some ideas around identity to see how these are constructed. For identity we need to think a little more 'deeply' about what is shown - what do we see? how is media form used [music; captions etc] Representation - how is the subject shown What issues of identity are offered? How is the sense of 'identity' constructed by the text Do the texts exploit identity or celebrate it? How is this achieved? Danish furniture Advert
We are now going to compare the two texts : Made of Black and Sapeurs
You need to consider the issues above regarding representation and how media products construct a sense of identity
A key consideration is that the product Made of Black was targetted at a pan-African audience [it was shown in African cinemas and on African TV] whilst the product Sapeurs was targetted at a western European audience.
The key task is:
Write a response [about 300-400 words]
How do the texts use media forms to construct effective campaign for their product. How is the issue of identity addressed for the differing audiences?
Objective [1] to review understanding of representation
Objective [2] to begin consideration of how media constructs a sense of identity
By definition, all media texts are re-presentations of
reality. This means that they are intentionally composed, lit, written,
framed, cropped, captioned, branded, targeted and censored by their producers, and
that they are entirely artificial versions of the reality we perceive around us.
When studying the media it is vital to remember this -
every media form, from a home video to a glossy magazine, is a
representation of someone's concept of existence, codified into a series of
signs and symbols which can be read by an audience. However, it is
important to note that without the media, our perception of reality would be
very limited, and that we, as an audience, need these artificial texts to
mediate our view of the world, in other words we need the media to make sense
of reality. Therefore representation is a fluid, two-way process: producers
position a text somewhere in relation to reality and audiences assess a text on
its relationship to reality
Extension/Restriction of Experience of
Reality
By giving audiences
information, media texts extend experience of reality. Every time you see a
wildlife documentary, or read about political events in a country on the other
side of the world, or watch a movie about a historical event, you extend your
experience of life on this planet. However, because the producers of the media
text have selected the information we receive, then our experience is
restricted: we only see selected highlights of the lifestyle of the creatures
portrayed in the wildlife documentary, the editors and journalists decree which
aspects of the news events we will read about, and the movie producers
telescope events and personalities to fit into their parameters
Truth or lies?
Media representations - and the extent to which we accept
them - are a very political issue, as the influence the media exerts has a
major impact on the way we view the world. By viewing media representations our
prejudices can be reinforced or shattered.
Generally, audiences accept that media texts are
fictional to one extent or another - we have come a long way from the mass
manipulation model of the 1920s and 1930s. However, as we base our perception
of reality on what we see in the media, it is dangerous to suppose that we
don't see elements of truth in media texts either.
The study of representation is about decoding
the different layers of truth/fiction/whatever.
In order to fully appreciate the part representation
plays in a media text you must consider:
Who produced it?
What/who is represented in the text?
How is that thing represented?
Why was this particular representation (this
shot, framed from this angle, this story phrased in these terms, etc) selected,
and what might the alternatives have been?
What frame of reference does the audience use
when understanding the representation?
Below is the Media Gaurdian article from March 2007 on the banning. this is followed by 2 links to the BBC and to a Creative Marketing website. these both explore : [1] the adverts and reaction [2] the context of the campaign [3] the implications
Trident ad: calls on the nation to join a 'gum revolution'The Advertising Standards Authority has banned an ad for Cadbury's Trident chewing gum after more than 500 complaints that it was racist.The ruling against the ad derails Cadbury's £10m marketing bid to break Wrigley's near-monopoly of the UK gum market.The first ad shows a black "dub poet" speaking in rhyme with a strong Caribbean accent in what looks like a comedy club.The series of four TV and one cinema ads, created by ad agency JWT, encourages viewers to take part in a "gum revolution" and try the new Trident chewing gum.The ASA has received 519 complaints about the ad.Viewers complained that TV ads were offensive and racist because they believed they showed offensive stereotypes and ridiculed black or Caribbean people and their culture.Some viewers also challenged that the ad was offensive and insensitive because Trident was the name of the Metropolitan Police's "black-on-black" gun crime initiative. Cadbury Trebor Bassett argued that the campaign had in fact been inspired by revolutionary poets and the lead character had been chosen because he had a "charismatic quality that appealed to the target audience of 16- to 34-year-olds".Further, Cadbury provided research covering the first three weeks of the campaign to show that there was a decline in the number of people finding the ads offensive and an increase in those who found it fun.The ASA noted that while Cadbury had undertaken "careful consumer research" before the campaign launch and consulted members of the British African Caribbean community, its own findings had shown that the ads were likely to result in a polarised reaction from viewers with one in five finding them offensive. Complainants to the ASA included a comment that the ads had a "near Driving Miss Daisy degradation".The ASA noted that from the complaints many viewers had been offended by what they saw as the "negative stereotype of black or Caribbean people and their culture".The ASA ruled that the ads should not be shown again. However, it did not uphold complaints about the Trident brand name and the Met Police initiative.The ad watchdog ruled that the chewing gum brand had existed for over 40 years in global markets and concluded that it was unlikely to cause serious or widespread offence in this point.
