Shivani's Media blog 1 - Mr Halsey

1) Read the article and summarise each section in one sentence, starting with the section 'Who are you?' Who are you?: We all are involved in constructing an image to communicate our identity; there is a difference between the person we think we are, the person we want to be and the person we want to be seen to be. I think, therefore I am: How we were perceived was based on the social constructs: CAGES From citizen to consumer:  Edward Bernays stated that people stopped behaving as 'active citizens but as passive consumers'; advertising and marketing was used to persuade people to buy things that they should want. The rise of the individual:  By the late 1960-70s people started to define themselves as individuals who wanted to express their 'differences' and 'uniqueness' - Lacan challenged the concept of individualism by suggesting we are 'fragmented' meaning we have more than one identity that change depending on external circ...

Media Magazine reading Read Playing With The Past: Post-feminism and the Media (MM40, page 64 - our  Media Magazine archive is here ). 1) What are the two texts the article focuses on? - Pan Am - Beyonce's music video "Why don't you love me?" 2) What examples are provided from the two texts of the 'male gaze' (Mulvey)? Pan Am: One of the main characters is on the front of a magazine cover, the image is highly constructed and mediated, the image can be visually enjoyed by men. Another example is when Laura was having her weight and appearance checked and being humiliated. Women use their looks to empower themselves and use their uniforms to gain access to places. In the series women are seen to be exploiting themselves in order to lead a lavish lifestyle and to get what they want. In the last scene where the stewardesses are walking in slow motion is a great example of male gaze because men stop to stare at them because of their makeup and leg...

Case study: Everyday Sexism 1) Why did Laura Bates start the Everyday Sexism project? Laura Bates set this project up because she realised women thought it was 'normal' for men to treat them badly and that women were assaulted so often that they got used to it and chose not to speak up about it. Three incidents occurred with Laura Bates within the same week which got her thinking about sexism and equality. 2) How does the Everyday Sexism project link to the concept of post-feminism? Is feminism still required in western societies? The project links to the concept of post-feminism because it encourages people to shre their stories. Everyday Sexism wants equality and a society where gender does not define where people stand. Feminism is still required because over 50,000 people shared their stories with Everday Sexism about how they were treated different to men, people with higher authority, people with different races etc. Everday Sexism emphasises that we still need femin...

Read the Media Magazine feature 'Representation old and new'. This is in MM51 on page 6 - go to  our Media Magazine archive  to find the article. Complete the following tasks: 1) Why is representation an important concept in Media Studies? Representation is important in Media because it helps create a meaning and holds certain values. An understanding of how representations work helps us identify the way media products create ideological meanings. 2) How does the example of Kate Middleton show the way different meanings can be created in the media? If it was an official picture released by the family, Kate would have more control of how she was being presented. However, in this case this was an unexpected photo for Kate and she tried to maintain her poise. The only thing Kate was able to control was what she was wearing because she wasn't expecting the photographers and therefore her expressions may seem a bit hesitated. Different meanings can be created because th...

Watch the trailer for Taken and complete the following tasks:   Create a new blogpost called 'Introduction to Representation' and  embed  the Taken trailer in the post. 1) List the different  people / groups  represented in the trailer (men/women/Americans etc.) - Men  - Women  - American  - Europeans  2) For each group you identify, decide whether the representation is a  dominant  or  alternative  portrayal. Explain why you think this. Men - I think there is a dominant representation of males in this film because Liam Neeson is the main character and the 'hero' of the film. The fact that he is the hero in this film suggests that he is a strong fearless male character who will go to any extent to save the day.  Women - There is a dominant representation of female characters because they are seen as the 'damsel in disress.' The women are barely seen within the trailer and when they are they seem to ...