'Fawlty Towers' Vs. 'The Beano'...
The presentation of the female ‘tom boy’ character clearly rejects Laura Mulvey’s suggested theory of the ‘male gaze’, whereby she argues women are there to have qualities of being-looked-at-ness in order to appeal to the expected male audience, therefore women are passive in media texts. The cartoonists purposely masculinise her female feature i.e. her ‘spiky’ black hair and her conniving facial expressions, to portray her dominance over the boys therefore enabling them to depict girls as atypical as she betrays the behavioural characteristics expected of girls from the audience. As the text is contemporary, it reflects the social attitudes towards both males and females and how women, as a whole, are becoming more active. This is a total disagreement with Mulvey, but, on the other hand, showing the rise of feminism.
Additionally, ‘The Beano’ brings comedy and humour to its audience, similar to that of ‘Fawlty Towers.’ However, as this text was only 32 two years after the infamous World War Two, produces successfully mange to bridge the gap between the British and the Germans by depicting both cultures in a unifying manner (being civil under one roof). Nonetheless, the text still subliminally illustrates British as having a sense of humour regarding the war, and the German residents are disgusted and irate as Basil Fawlty persistently mocks Hitler, in order to comfort an upset German woman (a demonstration of the active male and passive female as Mulvey suggests). This clearly demonstrates how any had not accepted or some to terms with the horrific events of the war, even though this text was post-WW2.
This exploitation of the effect theory – whereby audiences are seen as passive of media texts and therefore develop a bias attitude; one of which producers intend to transmit – manipulates audiences into believing that Germans are still nationalistic and dislike the thought an event like WW2 being mocked in a satirical way. However, audiences are introduced to a figure of authority that surprisingly of which is of a black decent. As black were seen as deviant (Stuart Hall) this would have been seen as unusual t audiences, on the other hand, the Civil Rights Movement had come into effect, therefore this alteration of blacks being savage/deviant to people with dominance and authority shows the transition has take effect, not only in society but in popular media texts.
Additionally, as males are shown in powerful positions in ‘Fawlty Towers,’ it can be said that a patriarchal society is being represented. Similarly, in ‘The Beano,’ audiences are presented to a male teacher, once again emphasising a society which is male dominant. As this text is moderately contemporary, a suggestion of the feminist revolution not yet having the supposed impact are conveyed, but nonetheless is slowly beginning to alter society’s values and ideologies against women due to the representation of the ‘tomboy’ female character and showing the decline in male chauvinism.
'Viewers Ae Not Number'...
This story is about Channel 4 chief executive Andy Duncan critising TV companies for being concerned with money rather than what the public audeince are interested in viewing.
Mr. Duncan, speaking at the Marketing Society's annual lecture, made the observation as part of a wider speech on the importance of marketing and communications for TV companies in the digital age.
He said that the danger was that an unhealthy attitude to viewers had crept into the industry where "customers are something you check on BARB [the television audience data measurement body] or something that helps you make a programme [as a research tool] not someone you have a relationship with."
He added that the phone-in scandal showed the "deep seated" issues facing the TV industry at a time when media fragmentation meant that audiences had to be at the front of broadcasters' minds.
"Television's age on the internet is about to arrive," he stated. While the impact is difficult to predict there is no question, he said, that the "one big theme driving all of this is consumers."
"The day of marketing in broadcasting has truly arrived and it has to be customer-focused".
I think this story links in well with the theory 'Uses & Gratifications' as TV producers need to assume a more active audeince that choose what they want to watch, and for this to happen TV industries need to build up healthy relationships with their public, so they consume their texts. Duncan also commented on 'Televisions age on the internet'- i think this is paricularly important because it seems as though the internet will be taking over. There are so many popular shows such as Lost, Prison Break...etc which viewers would normally gave to wait weekly to watch them however, now by going on sites such as Peek-Vid, you can watch it in a matter of mintues (even though the quality isn't really they clear)! This is a serious issue that Tv companies have to face and make sure that what they distribute on air is no longer just a money making scheme but honest television which is there firstly for the viewers and secondly to make money!!
YouTube Vs. Viacom
MTV's owner, Viacom, launched a surprise attack on Google yesterday, filing a $1bn (£520m) lawsuit against the internet giant and its YouTube video-sharing website.
In documents filed with a US district court in New York, Viacom - which runs TV channels including MTV, Nickelodeon and Paramount Comedy - accused the Silicon Valley firm of "massive intentional copyright infringement" on YouTube, which Google bought last year for $1.65bn.
The lawsuit is the latest flare-up in a running battle between the two companies over a host of clips taken from TV which have subsequently appeared on the video sharing site.
It is the largest case of its kind faced by Google, which faces a series of accusations from a variety of sources. Many established media owners - including book publishers and newspapers - are concerned that Google is unfairly profiting from their work by running advertising alongside content shown on its website. Last week Microsoft joined the fray by accusing Google of a "cavalier" attitude to copyright, which threatened the long-term futures of many creative industries.
Copyright is obviously a serious offence between lucrative businesses; therefore I think that Google should have made a decent arrangement with Viacom before allowing MTV clips to be distributed on YouTube. On the other hand, YouTube make sure that viewers of the site agree to Terms & Conditions before posting up certain clips, therefore it is out of the control of YouTube to monitor everything that has been put onto the website. I do think that filing a lawsuit is a bit unnecessary as I am sure that everything must have been a misunderstanding, Viacom needn’t be so childish.
Comparing texts and exploring the media issues and debates that they raise..
Gill Scott-Heron’s ‘The Revolution will not be televised’ (1972) and Dj Vadim ft Sarah Jones ‘Your Revolution’ (1998) directly focus on the issues and debates centered around the media, and its overall influences on society. However both pieces of music concentrate on different aspects of the media: Scott-Heron protests about how the media sub-stand the black culture, whereas Jones feminist parody, challenges the subordinate stereotypes of women.
Scott-Heron strongly suggests that television subliminally sends out messages to the frail minds of the black public and feeds those degrading values and ideologies from the predominantly white rulers of the media of the time. Advertisement, in particular, manipulate the minds into thinking that that certain products are needed in order to feel good, however Scott-Heron attacks these suggestions and continuously states ‘The revolution will not be televised.’ He establishes on the point of advertisements utilising the effects theory whereby false ideas are injected into passive audiences (hypodermic needle model) by the ruling class until they are progressively less able to criticise it, but Scott-Heron directly rejects these – ‘The Revolution will not go better with Coke’. During the 1970’s, however, media was not as widespread as it is in contemporary society; nonetheless the influence of media would be far greater than it is now as audiences in the 70’s were not as media-literate.
On the other hand, Jones comments on a feminist revolution as opposed to a black revolution; however this text make references to Gill Scott-Heron’s therefore you can classify it as a post-modernism piece of music. ‘Your revolution will not happen between these thighs’ vividly depicts her feminist nature as she feels she must make sexual references. Mulvey’s theory of passive females and active makes can be applied as Jones claims throughout the sexual exploitation of black female’s in popular music. The song does not hesitate to expose the feminist analysis of some of the famous rappers such as biggie smalls and LL Cool J, however she masterly denounces their macho lyrics – ‘Your revolution will not find me in the back seat of a jeep with LL.’ As well as targeting black ale artists, she does not refuse to also single out all those female artists that ‘gladly give up [there] behind/ Just so [they] can get signed.’ She undermines Foxy Brown and resents any comparisons made between herself and Brown- ‘I’m Sarah Jones/Not Foxy Brown.’ This portrays Jones satire attitude towards females that sacrifice their own self-respect as a way to make a name for them.
Scott-heron also establishes on this representation of back people, however he states that they are all victims of the predominately white-cultured media. He cries out for unity within the black community, and claims after the revolution they will not be gunned down by ‘pigs’. This is similar to how Michael Moore’s ‘Bowling for Columbine’ (2002) where he reveals that black ales are being portrayed as deviant by the media. The Marxist theory is applicable as the main issue being raised is this under representation and negative depiction of black people due to the hegemonic values and ideologies.
In ‘Your Revolution’, Jones is specifically out to promote feminism by satirically emulating other artists such as LL Cool J. This deliberate intertextuality allows this text to be seen as a pastiche. Her mention to black music artists suggests that she is challenging the misogynistic music culture and the values and ideologies that have been promoted with it abut the ways women are degraded. Jones particular viewpoint is that women do not need to objectify themselves in order to gain success, therefore Jones is supporting pluralism – rejection of the concept of a mass culture. Women are just as capable of succeeding without having to lower the self-respect
To conclude, both texts broadcast their viewpoints to its audiences successfully. They raise media issues and topics which can still be debated in today’s society. Many theories can be applied according to what both Jones and Scott-Heron are protesting.
NewS ValueS...
What is gate-keeping?
Gatekeepers are primarily the editors who are responsible for selecting and ordering the news broadcasts or selecting and planning the newspaper layout. The selection of news events is not a reflex action, but the socially determined construction of reality. (Audiences expectation, application of news value and institutional requirements determine what texts get exposed)
What do we mean by bias?
Bias is the influence of a person's attitudes, background of its interview, writers, and photographers and editors-even before the gate-keeping process. This can be through:
Selection and omission
Placement
Photos, captions and camera angles
Use of names and titles
Statistics ad crowd counts
Source control
Choice and tone
Galtung and Ruge identified the following news values:
Frequency: The time span of an event and the extent to which it fits the frequency of the newspaper's or news broadcaster’s schedule.
Threshold: How big is an event? Is it big enough to make it into the news?
Prince Charles wants to ban McDonalds as he feels that a ban on junk food is the key to a healthier life style. He declared that obesity, which is the cause of chronic diabetes, is out of control in Britain.
Unambiguity: How clear is the meaning of an event?
Meaningfulness: How meaningful will the event appear to the receivers of the news?
Consonance: Does the event match the audience's expectations?
Unexpectedness: If an event is highly unpredictable, then it is like to make it into the news.
Vitamin pills and low-fat foods could be doing more harm than good. Women with a low-fat diet may find it harder to become pregnant.
Continuity: Once an events has been covered, it is convenient to continue to cover it- the running story
A car bomb killed 18 boys as they played football during one of the darkest days of blooshed in Iraq.
Composition: This is a matter of the balance of the news.
Reference to elite nations: This relates again to 'cultural proximity'. Those nations which are culturally closest to our own will receive most of the coverage.
Reference to elite persons: The media pay attention to important people. Anyone the media pay attention to must be important.
Tony Blair put pressure on Gordon Brown to ease the inheritance tax burden threatening millions off families.
Personalisation: This connects with Unambiguity and meaningfulness. Events are seen as the actions of individuals.
Negativity: Bad news is good news in terms of what is reported.
CulT of the CelebritY...
I can honestly say that I do not consume celebrity-driven media. I am not a person not a person to buy a magazine or newspaper just because of a particular celebrity being reported about, however, I do read issues regarding certain celebrities on the internet, for example if a celebrity is featured in a up-coming film or if they have done something drastic, e.g. Britney Spears shaving her head!
When considering national tabloid newspapers, audiences are always presented with a story of celebrity, despite how irrelevant it may be. There are also pages dedicated to just celebrity news, i.e. in ‘The Mirror’ you have ‘3am.’ Even on the internet, The Mirror website has is an entire page called ‘Showbiz’ packed with celebrity gossip, as does The Sun with ‘Bizarre.’
This differs significantly from articles in newspapers in the 1990’s, where news was centered on worldwide affairs; celebrities would most probably never be featured on the front page.
ChanneL 4 - HomosexualitY LegalisatioN
Channel 4 will show the Clapham Junction film this August to mark the passing of the Sexual Offences Act, allowing homosexuality between two people aged 21. In the debate then-home secretary Roy Jenkins famously said: "Those who suffer from this disability carry a great weight of shame all their lives." The film is currently being cast - with leading actors including actors Mark Strong, Rupert Graves and Benedict Cumberbatch currently linked to the project - and will be accompanied by a week of programming around gay themes.
The centrepiece of the season - to be shown this summer to mark the 40th anniversary of the legalisation of homosexuality - will be a film charting 36 hours in the life of seven gay men who frequent Clapham Common for sex.
Clapham Junction, written by Kevin Elyot, will feature graphic scenes of sex as well as attacks on gay men on the common, famous as a gay pick-up venue ever since then-Wales secretary Ron Davies' "moment of madness" incident in 1998. The season is also expected to include a dramatic reconstruction of a man being tried in the 1960's for his sexuality. A raft of documentaries is also planned. "Though homosexuality would seem to be more accepted and legitimised through civil partnerships, there still seems to be a disturbing amount of homophobic violence and homophobic attitudes sometimes coming from surprising quarters," said Elyot,
Elyot is best known as the author of the Olivier award-winning 1995 play My Night with Reg about a group of gay men dealing with Aids.
I personally do not have a problem with gay people, becauase at the end of the day it is their choice about whether they prefer males or females, right? Im glad that Channel 4 will be broadcasting this film/documentary as many people need to learn that there is nothing wrong with being a 'homosexual' and that this desire for the same sex is contagious! It is a shame, however, that documentaries like these could not have been relased sooner as im sure that the number of homophobic hate crime would decrease signficantly from 1,359 ( that was the figure in the last 12 months!!) Anyway, people do always say that homophobic people are the ones who are actually gay, so for all you out there that despise gay people, keep that in mind!
ExaM PractisE...
The Mirror is a red-top tabloid newspaper, as the articles that it produces and exposes to the public are in a very gossipy context and style. You could categorize it as popular press as its main aims are to entertain. Their stories revolve around celebrities and many of the articles are sensationalized.Sans-serif font portarys the paper as informal and more casual. Suggesting the targert audeince are working/middle class.
- Large Mast-head infroms readers imediately of the paper - striking as it is red.
- mimicking Forest Gump, Geroge Bush looking confsed and a little childish, shwing that he is not fit to govern a conutry.
- Gordon Brown also mentioned, but in a postive light, possibly suggesting that Britain is more stable than the USA, as Bush lookis uncertain about his duties.
- Election box described as a 'chocloate box'. Introduing humour on a serious topic - further attracting audeinces of a less eduatcated bcackgroud.
The Daparted movie poster follows similar conventions of many other. The Charatcers are enlisted, the title of the Film is exposed and furhtermore the presenation and layout connotes sertains ideas of the genre of the text.
The Departed - stated twice- both in serif font, however not as extreme possibly suggesting the film to have a serious nature to it but also elemants which make it a little relaxed (humour)
Main protagonists are shown to be carved into the title - shows how their life is centered around their mission in the film. Also creating an enigma as parts of their faces are cut-suggesting a sort of puzzle which ust be solved.
Colours further connote this idea of a mystery and danger - Black and RedThe Departed meaning dead - one of the main protagonists will also be 'departing'
Serious expressions on the faces of the protagonists - looking curiously in all directions.'Cops or Criminals' - corrupt society in which the two merge as alliances.
The Source is considered to be a popular music magazine amongst many teens. Its inerviews with top celbreities reveals gossip to all its readers and futher keeps them intrigued by the pictures and top music hits printed. Everything in this magazine is updated to what is popilar in demand with other teens.
- san-serif font implies an informal and casual magazine which does not possibly deal with current affairs.
Image of Lil’ Kim attracts music fans, and also suggests that the overall magazine deals with music related issues. This is further emphasized with the worlds ‘Reggae’ –a popular music genre. - 'Best of the Best ofs' - implies the magazines caters to all those looking for the top hits, interviews and gossip.
- Lil' Kim is placed infront of the actual masthead-suggesting her imporatnce and popularity in the usic world today. this is firther emphasised but the countless microphones beneath her. this can also infer that she is above all media press.
- Her facial expression gives the magazine a personified 'attitude'- attracts teenagers who also believe that they can realte to her nature.
- 'Exlcusive' suggests that the magazine are always up-to-date with whats new and fresh.
- The possible audeince could be teenagers of an age range 16+. It probably targetting a more black culture, as Reggae is their cultural music.
