Black Panther Trailer

Black Panther is an American film produced in 2018 by Disney's Marvel Studios which is part of a long line of films. The film is based upon Marvel Comic's Black Panther which was influenced by the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, which was a political organization founded by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton in October 1966. The film entails the story of  the kind of a secret country in the center of Africa, Wakanda. It is much more technologically developed than the rest of the world which is why they choose to keep secret. It deliberately shows a world where people of colour have secretly been above all other countries which is very similar to the aims of the Black Panther Party.

MARVEL STUDIOS – Logo suggests high quality film

Audio –Intense music presents action genre, voice overs – suggests some kind of change in the world –audience need to be educated (uses and gratification) – 2^nd voice over also suggests some change in the world whereas 1^st voiceover suggests something hidden in Africa –ENIGMA CODE

-Hip hop style music ->Afro American social history

Representation

- ‘Dora milaje’ Women warriors –challenges old status quo, typically masculine role.

> Bell Hooks – Black women at the top of the most technologically advanced country in the world –high social status. Bell hooks-“to engage in film was to engage in the negation of black female representation in the media” Black Panther challenges this old status quo.

-VERY developed technology however in African artwork and style

Binary Opposites

Contrast of Wakanda to shared contextual road map of Africa shown by the media.

Enigma Code

-Who are the people? Why do they look a certain way? Who are the people in masks?

-‘El Dorado’ in Africa –myths and legends

-As an audience we want answers to these questions (Uses and Gratification)

Scene 1
Industrial, grey blue dark colour pallet, looks like an interrogation body language suggests this, ethnicity -white males, 'What do you know about Wakanda/[Africa]' -what do we know as an audience? -Different to contextual road map,
Scene 2
People wearing traditional African clothes- cultural reference point, 'El duardo'-Enigma code, Flying ship-Advanced technology-challenges shared contextual road map, 'terror group' style people-cultivated by media, The Black Panther-BlackPanther movement & Malcom X, "Wild Cat" imagery, fight
Scene 3
Female representation-Shaven head, warrior's clothes- She is next to the king rather than a damsel in distress, Marvel Studios logo-suggests high quality film + specialised font suggests new kind of film, Wakanda looks like the future, Animal representation with mask-contrast to armour and technology, Empowered women -wields traditional spear with skill>Not conforming to other nations.

Post Colonial Theory - Paul Gilroy

The media provides us as a audience with 'tools' to help us construct our identities.

-Colonial discourse continue to inform contemporary attitudes to race and ethnicity in the postcolonial era.
-Civilization constructs racial hierarchies and sets up binary opposites based on notions of otherness.

The British Empire
-At it's height, it was the largest empire in history and, for over over a century, was the foremost global power.
-By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people-23% of the world's population(1913)
-By 1920, it covered 13,700,000 square miles, 24% of the earth's total land area.

Colonialism
The policy or practice of acquiring full political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.

The Target of the imperial impulse is the immigrant. To implement the origin country's attitudes -ethnicity, attitudes, representation, class etc

"Albion's criminalization of immigrant and their progeny particularly from the Caribbean and South Asia signifies a melancholic response to these social and political groups that are essential to late modern British life." - Paul Gilroy

Discourse 
= discussion, debate, exchange of ideas.

"It is important to ask what critical perspectives might nurture the ability and the desire to live with difference on an increasingly divided but also conversions on the planet" - Paul Gilroy

Colonialism
=Fully of partially controlling, occupying and exploiting another country.

"the imperial and colonial past continues to shape political life in the overdeveloped-but-no-imperial countries." - Pail Gilroy

Egocentricity 
=Belief that your ethnic group is superior.

Water Aid - 'Sunshine on a Rainy'

The following advert is an appeal from the charity Water Aid who go to some of the world's poorest and most marginalized communities to install wells to provide said communities with water.

Claudia

-Clothing: Skirt, polo shirt and shoes -rather western style look
-Wide shots of the path show how vulnerable she is as a child. The close ups brings the audiences attention solely on her, one person is much easier to identify with rather than a group.

Stuart Hall- Representation

-Deliberately broken away from traditional/stereotypical charity advert (social context) - No depressing narration, no shots of children drinking dirty water, some crops are shown, Claudia does wear decent western clothing etc. The use of lots of close up camera shots makes it direct and personal while also allowing us to recognize this as every day life for her. She also never directly addresses the audience or look at the camera making her seam very lonely while she sings to her self.

-Shared conceptual road map; Typical African landscape with really unsaturated and beige colors, dry plants,

-Binary Opposites:
UK vs Africa -lush dark green Fertile ; Dead, Dusty, Dry crops -Developed; Underdeveloped
Beginning of advert and end -Single child; whole village - More saturation throughout
Sunshine vs Rainy day
Claudia's positive story vs on-screen graphic"650 million people still don't have access to clean drinking water" (conceptual binary)- concept of change

-Audience
The encoded meaning is very blatantly obvious to the audience -these people need water.
The use of covering Zoe's 'Sunshine on a rainy day' creates a target audience of 30s-40s as it has a nostalgic factor to the ad which will attract this age range who are likely to have a stable income compared to that of younger generations. 

David Gauntlett - Theories of identity

The idea that media provides us with 'tools' or resources that we use to construct our identities.

-Claudia acts as a role model for the type of life style changes that the audience could be responsible for creating if they donate to water aid

Liebst Van Zoonen - Feminist theory

-Women - Washing, collecting water, looking after children ]-Reinforced stereotypes

-Men - working in fields/labor

Although the women are in stereotypical female roles, they do physical work by walking to collect water which does subvert stereotypes 

Gilroy - Post Colonial Theories

-Water aid is encouraging it's British audience to 'help' those like Claudia who live in less developed countries

-'Sunshine on a rainy day' is from British culture and the meaning of the song makes sense in British social context, not African. 'Rain on a sunny day' makes more sense in African social context -Imposing of British values on African society doesn't work.
-Previous adverts have cultivated an impossible task with miserable and starving women and children of which audiences have become desensitised to. Water Aid has twisted this idea. 

Audio Codes

dietetic sound on radio - typical British weather

SOUND BRIDGE -crickets from 2nd frame heard in 1st frame -smoother transition - links UK to Africa-money comes from UK which is sent to Africa

Claudia begins humming-intro + crunching of footsteps-dry 

Singing has a contrast in accent to British Radio-childish voice although hard to distinguish age due to the fact she is on her own -suggests maturity 

'Sunshine on a rainy day' -contrast in culture -view of sunshine

"Makes me feel like i belong" -water brings people together?

"Don't leave me here alone" -keep watching 

"Sunshine on a rainy day"-happy children on screen - sunshine=happiness

Newspaper Bias

"Complaints that the British press has a right-wing bias have long been made by left-wingers – but is this a state of affairs the public recognizes?" 

This statement was part of an article originally published by the times. They reported that Owen Jones, a British columnist, political commentator, and left-wing political activist described UK press as “largely run by a very small group of very right-wing media moguls who defend the status quo of which they are part. If you are on the Left and want to change society, the media will always come and get you”. The following table from YouGov shows that out of the eight newspapers shown, five of them are predominantly right wing which further suggests that Jones's description is correct.

Although not all bias is deliberate, the following features of media are features that journalists may use to create a bias view. 

 –Bias through selection and omission

 –Bias through placement

 –Bias by headline

 –Bias by photos, captions and camera angles

 –Bias through use of names and titles

 –Bias through statistics and crowd counts

 –Bias by source control

 –Word choice and tone

Bias Through selection and omission

Editors and journalists can create a bias by choosing to ignore certain bits of information (omission) or by selecting certain bits to be shown. This crafted bit of story crafts the audience's view of the story which creates bias in the reader as well

Bias Through Placement

Editors and journalists may further select certain stories to be shown in different places of the newspaper. Radio and Television do this so that stories lead in order of significance (more important first) The order may be led by the political leading of the company which will influence what the audience believes is more significant too. 

Bias Through Headline

Audiences will often let the headline take priority (like the front cover) so editors will summarize views as well as presenting hidden bias and prejudice. 

Bias by Photos, captions and camera angles

Some photos are specifically chosen to flatter people or to make someone look unpleasant. This can influence the audiences opinion of the person to lean towards the media's view creating bias.

Bias by through names and titles

News media often uses labels and titles to describe people, places and events. Labels such as 'ex-con', 'freedom fighter' and 'terrorists' create a personality bias for the person -like selection and omission there are aspects being left out.

Bias through statistics and crowd counts

Sources can often omit certain statistics or often exaggerate others. Sources may also somewhat create false information e.g 'experts' say...

Betty Frieden -The Women's Liberation, 1950s

Betty Friedan is considered to be one of the most important feminists throughout history, she sparked the second wave of feminism activists in the 1950s. Previously i have shown how society during the 1950s forced women into a demeaning lifestyle that had no end and no inspiration. Attitudes created by the patriarchal society of the 1950s mean't that women's lives were dedicated to marriage, raising a family and keeping there house clean and should set aside education and job ambitions. They were objectified and seen as an image. Betty Frieden questions this attitude in her book 'The Feminine Mystique', she presents the 'problem that has no name'. This problem is simple, the lives women were leading were unfulfilling and left much to be desired in the eyes of all women of the time. Although the media and attitudes showed women being content and happy with their lives, this was merely to keep women like Betty Frieden from speaking out.

George Gerbner - Cultivation Theory

The research for the Cultivation theory, theorises by George Gerbner, began in the mid 1960s and it's aim was to specifically look at how television and media effect and influence the audience' ideas and perceptions of everyday life.

-The main findings were that high frequency viewers (those who experience a lot of media and TV) are more susceptible to media messages and the beliefs that the messages are real and valid. These high frequency therefore have a 'model' created by the media of things such as violence in the world. Findings also suggested that the media's cultivated constructs are present in todays society and are re-presented but within different packaging e.g violence depicted by social media is also depicted by radio.

Some of attitudes studied included violence, gender, demographic, cultural representation and political attitudes. Low frequency viewers have less stereotypes and attitudes than high frequency viewers who's stereotypes and attitudes are all based on their experience of media. High frequency viewers are also more exposed to more violence and are then affected by the 'Mean World Syndrome' which is the belief cultivated by media that the world is a far worse place than it is in reality.

Limitations:
-One of the main principles of the theory is that television and media cultivate the status quo, they do not challenge it. This is no longer true as some media now try to challenge the status quo to promote equality.
-It focuses on TV and not other forms of media.

Kiss of a Vampire

'

'Hammer Film Productions in 1963. It was directed by Don Sharp and was written by producer Anthony hinds. 'The Kiss of a Vampire' is part of a long line of horror films in the Hammer Film Productions' repertoire which were produced during the 1950s-1970s. These Gothic horror productions had it's large audience as a result of the baby boom that occurred after WWII, the babies born were now in their teenage years which was a large audience that enjoyed this Gothic horror style.


The poster has very typical language, representation and attitudes for the time period and the film genre that contrast to today's attitudes. Firstly the women in the poster are wearing very little clothing, furthermore the first woman (left) looks somewhat helpless and the man drawn on the left is possessively holding the first woman. This representation of women being 'damsels in distress' who can only be saved by a men is very typical 1950s-60s attitude as men were seen to be superior and women helpless and submissive. This can link to the target audience as these women are dressed and sexualised this way for the pleasure of men rather than for any other function. It could also be pointed out that only one of the women are credited in the poster -the male cast takes the majority of the cast list.

However, although the first woman enforces the 1950s attitude, the second woman (right) is seen to be much more aggressive. She bares her teeth and her right hand is in a fist. The beginning of the 1960s was often seen as the beginning of the women's sexual liberation as it was the introduction to the contraceptive pill and there were now more women in the workforce than ever before. David Gauntlet's identity theory could be applied to this as she could be seen as a role-model for women who struggle with male oppression or who would like to be seen as equals to men of the time, whatever the narrative environment. Liebst van Zoonen's feminist theories could be applied as by assuming the 'co-antagonist' role, the female vampire contributes social change in a non-traditional role.

Bell Hooks, a feminist and activist for black peoples rights, talks about how the media effects peoples perception of class. In her book 'Reel to Reel' she talks about how people of color are lowest in social class during the 1950s. This poster supports her theory.

The poster shows very typical attributes of the Gothic horror genre. The use of a cloudy background with a full moon is use of pathetic fallacy, it creates the idea of something supernatural. The choice of font in Hammer production posters are usually original font texts that have an art style that has relevance to the film's story line. For example the 'V' of vampire has blood dripping from it like a vampire's fang.

Roland Barthes's five codes can be applied to the poster. Firstly the hermneutic code is used through the enigma of a "kiss" in the title, this puts emphasis on the relationship between male and female vampires. There is further use of this through the enigma of the fate of the two victims. Barthes's semantic code can be applied to the images that link to vampire-ism e.g: bats, the castle and the exposure of peoples necks. The symbolic code can be applied to signifies of the supernatural and horror e.g: darkness and the full moon.

Uses and Gratification Theory

The Uses and Gratifications Theory is an approach to understanding why and how people actively seek out specific media to satisfy their specific needs. The following people are the theorists who helped create the modern day theory:

Herzog – 1944 – First started the theory based on previous research​

Jay Blulmer – 1969 – Built on Herzog's research

Michael Gurevitch - 1973-1974 – Built on Herzog's research​

Elihu Katz – 1973 -1974 – Built on Herzog's resear

There are 5 key points/reasons why people have a psychological need for the media: ​

-To be informed or educated​

-Identify with characters of the situation in the media environment​

-Simple entertainment​

-Enhance social interaction​

-Escape from the stresses of daily life​

Tide

The ad educates the audience on the product​

The woman on the ad looks to be the typical 1950’s housewife, this allows housewives to identify with the ad​

The ad provides a comic strip for simple entertainment which the audience could further identify with​

The comic strip provides interaction with the product​

It suggest unrealistic cleaning standards of perfect whitening 

News

Companies that disperse news to the audience such as newspapers, news websites, magazines and TV programmes are successful because of the audience's need for information. This is part of the Uses and Gratification theory. ​

News companies will pick out certain stories that come across as 'extreme' or unusual. This is the producer playing on uses and gratification theory by creating 'click bate' ​

Reality TV

Another example of uses and gratification theory is reality TV. Reality TV provides the audience with a way of escaping the real world and immersing themselves in an idealized world which is staged by producers*. It is usually simple entertainment that the audience can identify.

* "All representation of people and places in any media product are constructions of reality, not reality itself." - Stuart Hall

Limitations of the Uses and Gratification Theory

Research implications are that Uses and Gratifications theory only has specific relevance to social media. Uses and gratifications theory helps explain the many and varied reasons why consumers use social media.

Tide Print Advert 1950s

This advertisement advertises Tide - a laundry powder launched in 1946 - it was used throughout the 1950s and the advert has typical attributes of behavior of the time. Before WWII it was frowned upon for women to have jobs, however once WWII took place women alike were encouraged to work in factories that created rivets, bombs and other weapons. Rosie the Riveter contrasted with the post-war representation of women.

Once the war was over there was slit leeway for women to be employed, however, only "women's" jobs. Although it was still frowned upon  at this time; women could work as teachers, receptionists and assistants but still attitudes withheld them from being successful. Also during this time, when soldiers returned, there was an instant baby boom. The combination of this and the "white flight" created the suburbs, a network of houses where families would live. Instead of employing women into jobs, society dictated that women should become housewives spending all day cleaning their house, looking after children and making sure they looked visually pretty for husbands and fathers. Tide's advert reflects these attitudes in this consumer culture. The women advertising the product creates unrealistic representations of women with perfect skin, make-up, hair and figure which has been created by society's attitudes.

Liesbet Van Zoonen was a feminist who fought against these attitudes and stereotypes. She pointed out that although women could eventually have the 'perfect' family and the 'perfect' house, there is still a 'hole' in there lives which isn't filled. The film 'Mona Lisa Smile' looks at this issue. It shows how these women in this society enjoyed an education and how they would like to go out into the world and have the same opportunities as men. Van Zoonen fought for a non-sexist society and for media to contribute to social change by representing women in non-traditional roles and using non-sexist language. She talks about this in her book "The Feminine Mystique" which has inspired many feminists thought it's publication.

Bell Hooks is another feminist who talks about how lighter skinned women were considered more desirable and fit better in western ideology of beauty. This is supported by the 'white flight' and is reinforced by the advert for Tide. It shows how the modern woman of the time was depicted as.

The target audience could be housewives and husbands. The advert appeals to housewives as it applies with the idea of 'Keeping up with the Joneses' as it is supposedly 'the next best thing' that the perfect woman that is depicted has it too. Husbands would also pick up that it is 'what women want' suggesting that it is the 'perfect' gift.

Uses and Gratification theory can be applied to the advert. The audience demographic demographic is constructed through the woman drawn. Women of the time are supposed to personally identify with her as future or current housewives who can identify the connotations given by the advert which will create the feeling that they have to buy the next best thing.

Stuart hall's reception theory can also be applied to Tide. The use of the woman being indirect to the audience connotes that he relationship with the Tide powder is of upmost importance further creating the sense of 'keeping up with the Jonses'. The dominant or hegemonic encoding of the advert's primary message and expectations is to be received by housewives.

This is idea can also be reflected in Cultivation theory- George Gerbner. Advertising developed significantly during the 1950s, in the late 1970s Gerbner commented on how these media texts affected audiences. Tide cultivates the idea that it is the best brand and that nothing cleans better or more is more desirable than Tide. Levi Strauss's Binary Opposites theory can be applied to the selling points on the page- 'cleanest' and 'whitest' instantly dissociates dirtiest and darkest to the cultivated audience.

Ronald Barthes's 5 Codes

Ronald Bathes's five codes are five ways of describing the meaning of a text in the media. He suggested that texts are either 'open' or 'closed'. If they are 'open it means that the meaning of the text is open to the audience and it can be interpreted in different ways, if it's closed then there is one clear meaning created by the producer.

Hermeneutic/Enigma code

The Hermeneutic code refers to mystery in the text, things such as clues and hints but the meaning isn't directly given. These enigmas in the narrative draw the audience into wanting to learn more about the product or the story. An example of this is at the end of 'Now you see me'; at the very end a stair case is shown through which forms the shape of an eye, this is located in the house that the organisation 'the eye' works under, this symbolizes said organisation.

Proairetic/Action code

The proairetic/action code refers to the building of interest and suspense on the part of the reader or viewer. It is created by having a narrative that could have a number of different outcomes. An example of this could be in Netflix's 'Stranger Things', in the very first episode of the series we see the character of Will taken by an alien-like creature. As the audience we have a need to see the outcome which influences us to watch until we are aware of the outcome of this.

Semantic code 

The semantic code refers to meaning being conveyed through connotations of words and semantics. An example of this could be in trilogy of Star Wars, the antagonist is part of  'dark side' and as 'dark' has connotations of evil we as an audience can identify this with villainy and as being antagonistic.

Symbolic code

Symbolic language is very similar to Semantic code but overall is a "deeper" structural principle that organizes semantic meanings. An example of this is in Pulp Fiction; Samuel L Jackson's character Jules has memorized a quote from the Bible- Ezekiel 25:17, throughout the film he debates it's meaning and this changes his behavior, this symbolizes his conscience throughout the film.

Referential code

Referential code refers to to anything in the text which refers to an external body of knowledge such as scientific, historical and cultural knowledge. An example of this is in the last episode of Netflix's 'Breaking Bad'; the last episode's title is 'Felina' which when separated gives the chemical symbols for Iron (Fe),  Lithium (Li) and Sodium (Na). These three elements are part of the chemicals that  separately make up blood, meth and tears (refers to blood, sweat and tears however is appropriate for the program's genre and story line).

Bell Hooks

In Hook's book 'Reel to Real' she discusses how the media has effects over the audience even though we are aware that what's on screen isn't real life. She focuses on how it effects black female spectators and begins to speak from experience. She believes that to engage in film was to engage in the negation of black female representation in the 
media. She states 

"Representation is the 'hot' issue right now because it's a major realm of power for any system of domination"

Gloria Jean Watkins, or better known as Bell Hooks is a African American feminist born on the 25th September 1952. She is influenced by figures such as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and Toni Morrison. Noting a lack of diverse voices in popular feminist theory, bell hooks published the book Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center in 1984.


"Women in lower class and poor groups, particularly those who are non-white, would not have defined women's liberation as women gained social equality with men since they are continually reminded in their everyday lives that all women do not share a common social status."

She believes that feminism is a struggle to end patriarchal oppression and the ideology of domination. She has a very strong belief that feminism is a political commitment rather than a lifestyle choice. She further believes that feminism is a struggle to end patriarchal oppression and the ideology of domination.

Front-cover remake

The following image (right) is my attempt of a re-make of a guardian newspaper front cover. I have included typical headlines, strap-lines, splashes and jump-lines to make it seam somewhat realistic.


At the top of the newspaper i have referenced Ariana Grande, a popular pop singer. The guardian often has music icons and other figures of entertainment arts at the top band of the newspaper. This is shown in the other examples with Coldplay and Prince being celebrated or advertised. The typical 'the guardian' icon brand is bellow this and then taking up the majority of the page are political issues, debates and events. Although my newspaper cover only has events from British politics, other covers show political events from foreign countries as well. Unlike other newspapers such as 'The Sun', the guardian isn't swamped with large images, instead it is much more text based. At the bottom band of the page are ads which are also typical of the guardian newspaper

Leisbet Van Zoonen

Leisbet Van Zoonen was born on the 1st of May 1959 in the Netherlands. She has many feminist theories which are published in her books: 'Entertaining the Citizen' and 'Feminist Media Studies'. She talks about how in a patriarchal society women are objectified and men are voyers.

Patriarchy= A male dominated society.

Matriarchy= A female dominated society.

"in western society to be looked at is the fate of women, while the act of looking is reserved to men. Even if women do the looking they do not seam to do it through their own eyes[...] a core element of western patriarchal culture is the display of women as a spectacle to be looked at, subjected to gaze the gaze of the (male) audience"

Hegemony= Leadership or dominance; who is 'in charge' - "a hegemonic society"

Discourse= Discussion, debate, exchange of ideas 

"In feminist terminology media are thought to transmit sexist, patriarchal or capitalist values to contribute to the maintenance of social order"

Magazine construct many traditional representation of gender (in relation to domesticity, motherhood fashion and beauty for example) that relate specifically to the time and society in which they were produced.

Newspaper Analysis: America's Presidential Election 2016

This is the front of the Daily Mirror ‘red top’ newspaper when the news that Donald Trump Was elected as the next president of America. The main image is of the statue of liberty with her head in her hands, this suggests instantly that something has gone wrong in ‘her’ eyes, and seeing as she is the most famous landmark of America that shows power, freedom and of course liberty suggests that it is a big mistake. Furthermore she Is a greyish colour which contrasts to her usual green perhaps suggesting that she has been drained or she is ill.

The headline of the newspaper “IT’S PRESIDENT TRUMP…” doesn’t suggest that anyone is pleased with the election results the ellipsis suggests surprise or disappointment. The strap line "What have they done?" is perhaps linked to the statue of liberty as the expression suggests that this could be her question too.



The front of The Times newspaper has a similar tone. A third of the front cover shows Barack Obama, the well respected and successful predecessor to Trump, and Donald Trump who is the next/current president of America. The image has been chosen because Barack Obama looks unhappy with Trump winning the election, and Obama is often seen in a good light to the public.

The headline 'Meet the Apprentice' suggests that Trump could learn from Obama and is perhaps bellow him. This could also be decoded as Trump is only just beginning. At the top of the page there is a blue jump-line: 'How much will your house be worth next year?' This line is effective because it is short and personal.

Obviously the intended audience are not Trump supporters. Both newspapers have elements that suggest that they are against Trump by framing american patriots to show they are distraught. The unintended audience (Supporters of Trump) may decode these messages differently. They may not see Obama in the same light as the intended audience and therefore decode this as Obama somewhat 'losing' as Trump and Obama have had many disagreements.

Eurythmics - Thorn in my side

Eurythmics's music video for Thorn in my side debuted in 1986 and was directed by Chris Ashbrook and Dave Stewart. It depicts the band in a studio set bar with the biker gang Hell's angels, the band too are wearing leather jackets and trousers.

The music video plays with the idea of gender representation of the time and was intended for a female audience. The lead singer of Eurythmics, Annie Lennox, is the main focus throughout the video amongst other actresses and actors. She portrays a man, and certain characteristics that she uses which were typical of men at the time helps portray this. Firstly, the characteristics of her clothing suggests she is portraying a man based upon the social influences around her-she is the only women dressed as a biker whereas all the other actresses are not. Her short hair and style of makeup is very similar to male pop stars of the time such as Boy George, Prince and David Bowie. Another typical characteristic of men shown is the symbolism of the heart. Typical social roles suggest that men give women roses, but it could be interpreted that Annie Lennox portraying a man can still give women roses.

Stuart Hall

Stuart McPhail Hall is a cultural theorist and political activist

All representation of people and places in any media product are constructions of reality, not reality itself.

Different media language codes influence the meanings created by an image. Being given extra context for cultural codes like facial expressions impacts on the representation comunicated to us.

“Producing meaning depends on the practice of interpretation and interpretation is sustained by us actively using the code” - Stuart Hall

Stereotype= a widely held but fixed and over simplified image or idea of a particular type of person

Levi Strauss

Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908-2009) was a french anthropologist whose work helped develop the theory of structuralism and structural anthropology.

Structuralism = a method of interpretation and analysis of aspects of human cognitive, behaviour, culture and experience, which focuses on relationships of contrast between elements in a conceptual system.

Binary Opposites

One of Strauss's most famous theories is his theory of Binary Opposites. In the the mid 20th century, he and Roland Barthes came together and worked out the way we understand certain words does not depend on so much their meaning that they directly contain, but much more by their direct opposite as they call it 'binary opposites'. They stated that words simply act as symbols for society's ideas and that the meaning of words is a relationship rather than a fixed thing.

This idea can be applied to this 1950s Tide advert. Down the right hand side there are three paragraphs that have more factual information than the rest of the ad. The bold words is red are what Binary Opposites can be applied to. As an audience when we see 'cleanest' we instantly dissociate the binary opposite dirtiest, when we see 'Brightens' we instantly dissociate darkens and so forth.

Judith Butler

Judith butler is an American philosopher and gender theorist. Her essay "Performative Acts and Gender Constitution" (1988) suggested that gender is performed and that it is someones's identification (based on social characteristics). She goes further to distinguish someone's sex and sexuality. A person's sex is there anatomy and a person's sexuality is their emotional, romantic or sexual attraction.

Gender as performance

Judith butler suggests that gender is performed based upon social constructionism, behaviour and characteristics represented in society and culture which can adapt and change.

'understand gender as a relation among socially constituted subjects in specifiable contexts'
 –Judith Butler

There are certain behaviours, clothing items, hobbies, just to name a few, that were and perhaps still are gendered in modern society.

Subversive performances

The table (right) shows repeated performances of gender of time, nothing about gender is predetermined.

subvert= undermine the power and authority of (an established system or institution)

 ‘think through the possibility of subverting and displacing those naturalised and reified notions of gender that support masculine hegemony and heterosexist power, to make gender trouble’ 

–Judith Butler

Androgynous and effeminate are two terms that are very similar. They describe a performance which isn't of the 'typical' sex-gender. Madonna is an example of someone who is perhaps androgynous. she often dresses in suits which are usually worn and tailored to men. Effeminate is a term given to men who act with typical 'feminine' qualities rather than the typical masculine behaviour.

Gender Representation Throughout the Media

The following video shows past advertisements that show a large amount of sexist gender representation. It pictures women in scenarios whereby they are represented to seam inferior to the men of the adverts. This is typical representation for the time that they were broadcasted.

The following video is an 'experiment' carried out on The Sun newspaper. Two years ago, when the experiment took place, The Sun had a page 3 dedicated to models, celebrities and style. It was notorious for having 'perfect' (often photoshopped) women wearing very revealing clothing. The experiment method was to buy the sun newspaper for 6 months and cut out all the men and women. Once all collected they are then put on a wall; men on the right, women on the left. Once complete there is a direct contrast between the men and women on page 3. For a newspaper that is supposedly known for sport, there is not one women doing sport. This raises the question whether media has complete moved on from the 1950s  attitude to women.

Newspaper Analysis

Newspaper Analysis

 On the day that David Cameron resigned and Brexit began. The front of the Daily Mirror, a very right wing newspaper, contains a photo of David Cameron and his wife. Cameron is not in focus, perhaps suggesting that he is irrelevant. However his wife Samantha Cameron is in focus and is looking concerned. The focus is perhaps on her to represent us as an audience who are feeling the same way her face suggests. The main headline 'So what the hell happens now?' is very eye catching and is perhaps a question that we as an audience are also asking. This is a typical question to ask for a right wing newspaper. The newspaper's headlines are also very personal, 'find out what leaving Europe actually means for you and your family' is compelling as it appeals to a wide audience.




  The same theme is also addressed in the Guardian, a very left wing newspaper. On the cover, two thirds of the sheet is taken up with another Brexit issue. In the centre of this section is what looks to be a staged photograph of people reacting to the news. This is eye catching to the audience as it instantly draws there attention as it makes it seem as if there is some shocking news inside. To the left of the photo there are smaller headlines which are equally as eye catching such as 'pound plunders by 9% to lowest level since 1985.' Above the picture the headline 'Cameron faces fight for survival as Britain sets course for Brexit' suggest two things about David Cameron. 'Cameron faces fight for survival' suggests that Cameron is facing a leadership election or that his party and the country are doubting his ability to successfully keep the country in Europe.





Newspapers in Britain still have a certain trend which date back right back to when they first began. Newspapers have often been created for certain audience: upper class, middle class and lower class. Because of the education system 100 years ago, those in the lower class were much more uneducated than those in the middle and upper classes, so the newspapers are created with less text and more images. An example of this is 'The Daily Mirror' at the top of the post. The following page in the hyperlink bellow differentiates each newspaper to their audience and there political status.
https://www.eupedia.com/forum/threads/32762-Who-reads-which-newspaper-in-Britain 

Introduction

Hi, i'm Ed and I have chosen Media Studies as one of my A-levels, and I plan to post what I've learnt and my findings on this blog.

In my free time I enjoy listening to and watching a range of music videos as well as playing musical instruments myself. I look forward to how musicians and music is portrayed in the media and how it may be beneficial (or not) for the artists/composers. I also enjoy watching films and sketches and looking behind the scenes at the techniques used to produce and advertise them.