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.