Feminist theory: blog tasks

 Media Magazine reading - two articles on feminism and theory

Read Playing With The Past: Post-feminism and the Media (MM40, page 64 - our Media Magazine archive is here). This is a great example of sophisticated media analysis and an indication of the level we want to be writing at by the end of the two-year course.

1) What examples are provided from the two texts of the 'male gaze' (Mulvey)?

In the two texts of the 'male gaze', the examples provided were Beyonce and Pan am which both suitable for representing highly well achieved women in between 20th and 21st century. 

2) Do texts such as these show there is no longer a need for feminism or are they simply sexism in a different form?

Both texts still believe that there is still a lot to be done about feminism as Pan Am tries to fix this but getting it's female cast to try and empower the sexism regain confidence back. This leads to feminism still being an impact in today' society with sexism due to internalised ideology of the idea of post-feminism throughout the centuries.

3) Choose three words/phrases from the glossary of the article and write their definitions on your blog.

Patriarchy: An ideology that places men in a dominant position over women.

Male gaze: The gaze referring to Laura Mulvey's seminal article 'Visual pleasure and narrative cinema' which argues that main stream Hollywood films subject female characters to the 'male gaze' of the camera, fragmenting and objectifying their bodies.

The Third wave: was a movement that redefined and encouraged women to be dominant and sexually assertive.

Now read The Theory Drop: Gender Performativity (MM69, page 25) and answer the following                                                                         questions.

1) How does the writer suggest gender performativity is established from a young age?

The write suggest of gender performativity is established from a young age as it is established to them to be a certain gender and pick certain things because of their gender because that is what they were told. This is directing them to be in a certain category of what clothes they wear, what they should play with and how they behave overall.

2) What does the phrase 'non-binary' refer to and how does it link to Butler's theory?

The phrase 'non-binary' refers to people who don't identify as neither male or female as use gender neutral pronouns like 'they/them' as that's what makes them comfortable. This links to Butler's theory as it demonstrated how gender was constructed by society to be a certain gender because of genitals but really you ca identify into a gender neutral pronouns or neopronouns which is evolving today's generation that is coming out more confidently with LGBTQ+ issues.

3) How and why does the media help reinforce gender stereotypes? The writer provides several examples in the final section of the article.

The media reinforced gender stereotypes to represent certain roles like believing females are inferior to males as that is what we have been socially constructed to believe since it helps the audience see what each character is presented in the media production.

Music video analysis

Finally, write up our analysis of the two music videos we studied in class. This is your opportunity to develop your own opinions on these crucial media debates.

Watch the Beyonce video for ‘Why Don’t You Love Me?’ again: 

1) How might this video contribute to Butler’s idea that gender roles are a ‘performance’?

The video contributes to Butler's theory as Beyonce is being represented as 'a traditional white housewife' but showing how women are dependent on male figures as she is seen needing help of her 'husband' as she cleans the kitchen floor and not being able to fix the car engine. Which reinforces the role of women being dependent and fragile. 

2) What might van Zoonen suggest regarding the representation of women in this video?

Van Zoonen suggest that women are represented  in the video as passive, fragile, gentle and objectified by males. This is because they sexualised Beyonce by doing close ups to her body which is inappropriate and showing how the only thing they like is visual.

3) What are YOUR views on this debate – does Beyonce empower women or reinforce the traditional ‘male gaze’ and oppression of women? 

In my perspective, I believe that this does the opposite of empowering Beyonce's image as she is clearly being presented in the male gaze by her revealing outfit and the way she is shown throughout the music video.

Watch Will Jay's video for ‘Gangsta’ again:

1) How does the video suggest representations of masculinity have changed in recent years?

The video represents how masculinity has changed over the recent years as men are becoming more confident with opening up and not wanting to be muscular and strong as the 21st century has become more or an equal party for more genders compared to the 20th century.

2) What does David Gauntlett suggest about representations of men in the media over the last 20 years?

David Gauntlett suggest men being represented in the media over the last 20 years have evolved  has everyone has their own personality and differences compared to the past centuries.

3) What is YOUR view on the representation of men and masculinity? Are young men still under pressure from the media to act or behave in a certain way?

In my opinion, the representation of men and masculinity still have pressure from the media as they are expected to be strong as society makes actors who are the male lead to be strong most of the time and not be emotional but smart that leads up to stereotypes.

January assessment learner response

  Complete the following tasks:

1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential).

I need to revise the Industry topic, since that is what I lacked on the most and make sure that I do not get my terminology mixed up in terms of their meanings. Particularly revise on 9 marker questions.

2) Read the mark scheme for this assessment carefully. Identify at least one potential point that you missed out on for each question in the assessment.

 

1- Excellent analysis of the product that is detailed and critically engages with the nuanced aspects of how media language is used to construct meaning

2- • Diversification

    • Synergy

3- Consistent highly appropriate use of subject specific terminology throughout.

4- Judgements and conclusions regarding the application of audience effects theory are perceptive and fully supported with detailed reference to theories and examples.

3) On a scale of 1-10 (1 = low, 10 = high), how much revision and preparation did you do for this assessment? You may also want to think here whether you had completed all the original blog tasks from last term before doing the assessment.

On a scale of 1-10 i believe i stand near 8 since i revised during the holidays and also days leading up to the exam. I believe I was just focusing on the wrong aspect of my revision in terms of what I needed to pay more attention to. Industry is what I lack on and I will revise more on that topic so that I don't make the same mistake again in any other future examinations.

4) Look at your answer for Question 2. Did you manage to write about three different strategies and three different benefits? It's vital you read the question and follow it exactly.

I was able to identify 3 strategies but failed to explain and give examples for them which really brought my mark down.

5) Look at your answer for Question 3. Did you follow the question guidance and write about both the BBC and commercial broadcasters? What could you have added to this answer to reach a higher mark?

In my own way, I tried to interpret all the different theorists that have said something about the BBC but I suppose that was not what the question was intending me to answer.

For

• Public service broadcasting maintains quality standards and audiences appreciate the quality

and consistency of BBC, ITV and Channel 4. PSB channels still dominate audience ratings

even after digital fragmentation. TV remains at the heart of the country and the collective

experience of television is vital to maintain in British society.

• It is regulated by Ofcom so therefore maintaining standards and providing audiences

somewhere to complain or raise objections to content.

Against

• Younger audiences simply don’t watch live TV in the same way as older generations.

Streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime will dominate TV market eventually –

public service broadcasting needs to update to find a place in that digital market.

• Commercial broadcasters cannot compete to provide content such as news and current

affairs if audiences can get it free from public service broadcasters (e.g. BBC website). This

places commercial broadcasters (e.g. Sky News) at a huge disadvantage.

6) Now look over your mark, teacher comments and the mark scheme for Question 4 - the 20 mark essay question on media effects theory. Write a new paragraph for this question based on the suggested theories/answers in the mark scheme. Make sure it is an extensive, detailed paragraph focused on the question and offering examples from the wider media. 

Blumler and Katz (1968) see media audiences as active. Their uses and gratifications model suggests that people use the media in order to satisfy particular social needs that they have. Blumler and Katz identify four basic needs which people use the media to satisfy.Diversion – people may immerse themselves in particular types of media to make up for the lack of satisfaction at work or in their daily lives, e.g. women may compensate for the lack of romance in their marriages by reading romantic novels. Some people even have alternative lives and identities as avatars on websites. Personal relationships – media products such as soap operas may compensate for the decline of community in our lives, e.g. socially isolated elderly people may see soap opera characters as companions they can identify with and worry about in the absence of interaction with family members.Personal identity – people may use the media to ‘make over’ or to modify their identity. Social networking websites, such as Facebook, allow people to use the media to present their particular identities to the wider world in a way that they can control.Surveillance – people use the media to obtain information and news in order to help them make up their minds on particular issues. Marxists are critical of this model because they suggest that social needs may be socially manufactured by the media and may therefore be ‘false needs’.

Introduction to feminism: blog tasks

 Everyday Sexism

Watch the Everyday Sexism TED talk from Laura Bates (linked above) and answer the following questions:

1) Why did Laura Bates start the Everyday Sexism project?

With her Everyday Sexism Project, writer Laura Bates wanted to give women an outlet to speak up. In this fascinating talk, Laura talks about her inspiring initiative. The Everyday Sexism Project is an ever-increasing collection of over 50,000 women's experiences of gender imbalance.

2) How does the Everyday Sexism project link to the concept of post-feminism? Is feminism still required in western societies?

The feminist movement has effected change in Western society, including women's suffrage; greater access to education; more equitable pay with men; the right to initiate divorce proceedings; the right of women to make individual decisions regarding pregnancy (including access to contraceptives and abortion).

3) Why was new technology essential to the success of the Everyday Sexism project?

 To catalogue instances of sexism experienced on a day to day basis.

4) Will there be a point in the future when the Everyday Sexism project is not required? What is YOUR view on the future of feminism?

I believe sexism will always occur despite the numbers going down; it will always be evident in terms of  sexism in the workplace since patriarchy will always hold an upper hand over women.

Media Magazine: The fourth wave?

Read the article: The Fourth Wave? Feminism in the Digital Age in MM55 (p64). You'll find the article in our Media Magazine archive here.

1) Summarise the questions in the first two sub-headings: What is networked feminism? Why is it a problem?

The new fourth wave of feminism is also known as ‘networked feminism’. it aims to tackle social equality issues found both on, and using, modern technology.One complication is that the essence of feminism is still only partially understood. The internet has so many denominations, societies and communities of people who claim to be feminists, and equally

as many for those who claim to be against it, and so definitions and ideologies can become blurred.

2) What are the four waves of feminism? Do you agree that we are in a fourth wave of ‘networked feminism’? 

 The ‘first wave of feminism’ began in the late 19th to early 20th centuries, with a main focus on suffrage. The ‘second wave’ began in the 1960s, campaigning for the growth of equal

rights and leading to the Equal Pay Act of 1970, amongst other equality laws. Since the late 1990s, we are believed to have entered the ‘third wave’ (often identified as post-feminism).

The new fourth wave of feminism is also known as ‘networked feminism’. it aims to tackle social equality issues found both on, and using, modern technology.

3) Focus on the examples in the article. Write a short summary of EACH of the following: Everyday Sexism, HeForShe, FCKH8 campaign, This Girl Can.

The Everyday Sexism campaign. The project was started by Laura Bates back in 2012 as

a website which posted examples of sexism that users faced every day.Watson’s campaign focuses on male support for gender equality, highlighting the fact that feminism is not about

promoting matriarchy, but solidarity.The movement focuses on the modern representation of girls and the huge social inequalities they face, whilst featuring young girls ‘F-Bombing’ to highlight society’s imbalance when it comes to offences.This Girl Can campaign, which has been described as the first fitness campaign for women which doesn’t shame or exclude them, by sharing photos, videos and quotes of women without the usual sexual exploitation of a women’s fitness advert and without body shaming.

4) What is your opinion with regards to feminism and new/digital media? Do you agree with the concept of a 'fourth wave' of feminism post-2010 or are recent developments like the Everyday Sexism project merely an extension of the third wave of feminism from the 1990s?

Platforms on social media have allowed women to advocate their experiences which allows other women to stand up and voice their own. However some forms of media can also discipline women in modern day society, slurs of all sorts can cause women to feel unheard and rejected from the norms and values of the world.

Representation: blog tasks

Representation:

 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?

Representations are always, in some way, filtered through someone’s point of view, and carry particular meanings or values. In other words, they are ideological. Thus an understanding of how representations work helps us to identify the way media products create ideological meaning.

2) How does the example of Kate Middleton show the way different meanings can be created in the media?

• A picture editor selects the photo from a whole series of images to be used to illustrate a news story. The image may be cropped, resized and, in some cases, photoshopped.

• A news editor will decide on the way the story will be presented, and the use of captions to pin down, or anchor, the meaning of the image.

• The photograph of Kate Middleton in the newspaper is a re-presentation of what she looks like, with people controlling and manipulating the image at various stages throughout the process.

3) Summarise the section 'The how, who and why of media representation' in 50 words.

When analysing representations, it is always essential to question who is creating them, and why. All media products have a specific function which will impact on the representations they construct.

Producers will consider:

• the expectations and needs of the target audience

• the limitations provided by genre codes

• the type of narrative they wish to create

• their institutional remit.

4) How does Stuart Hall's theory of preferred and oppositional readings fit with representation?

Hall’s critique is known as the ‘Encoding/Decoding Model’, and still challenges conventional assumptions about how media messages are produced, circulated and consumed. Hall argued that audiences do not necessarily accept the ideology of texts passively, but instead draw on their own cultural and social experiences to create their own interpretations. In his view ‘meanings’ and messages are not fixed by the creator of the text, but depend on the relationship between the reader/ viewer, and the text.

5) How has new technology changed the way representations are created in the media?

 The style of a specific selfie, the identification with our favourite book or film, or the clothes we choose to be seen wearing become the ‘media language’ choices we make when constructing our own identities online. We may have one consistent identity, but it is more likely that we have a range of different identities that we draw on in different contexts. We may construct these identities in slightly different ways that relate to the groups we are in and the way we identify with that group.

6) What example is provided of how national identity is represented in Britain - and how some audiences use social media to challenge this?

During the 2014 World Cup, The Sun sent a free newspaper to 22 million households in England which represented its own concepts of ‘Englishness’ by symbolic references – queuing, the Sunday roast, Churchill and The Queen – to heroes, values and behaviours that the paper (and its owners, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corps) defined as appropriate expressions of ‘English identity’.

Watch the clip from Luther that we studied in class (Season 1, Episode 1 - minute 7.40-10.00 - you'll need your Greenford Google login to access the clip). Now answer these final two questions:

7) Write a paragraph analysing the dominant and alternative representations you can find in the clip from Luther.

You can see that the main character (Luther) demonstrates stereotypical traits including his size, power and aggression.However, masculinity is represented in a very complex way, Luther is represented as an aggressive, alpha male yet also vulnerable through his psychological instability. This psychological instability is seen at the start where he is seen sitting by himself looking down at a hole in the middle of the floor.