Representations: Ideology, Discourse and Power

Week 7.

This week’s lecture on representations in terms of ideology, discourse and power developed my knowledge of these terms. Ideology is a system of ideas and ideals, while discourse is more so about written or spoken communication. Machin and Mayr’s reading and Long P’s book on ‘Discourse, power and media’ helped to improve my understanding of these terms, and how they relate to TV. ‘How to do a Critical Discourse Analysis’, focuses on how meaning is created and critical discourse analysis. The chapter is ‘looking at analysing visual communication in relation to critical linguistics and critical discourse analysis’ (Machin and Mayr, 2012). Machin and Mayr suggest that ‘discourses are comprised of ideas, values, identities and sequences of activity’ (2012). This highlights the power of discourse and the idea that our exposure to it is the knowledge we take in that force society to not step out of the boundaries of dominant discourse. The authors go on to suggest that ‘discourse is language in real contexts of use’ (Machin and Mayr, 2012).

 Long P’s book like Machin and Mayr’s also discusses discourse. It is based around Focault’s work and focuses on how to conduct a critical discourse analysis. The authors promotes the idea that ‘discourses are the kinds of language we use to talk about something, and the assumptions that lie behind what we think, say and do’ (Long P and Wall T, 2012). This conveys that discourse is a language that can be studied through texts. This week I will be writing about the discourse analysis of ‘The L Word.’

The example is about the written and spoken communication in the drama series ‘The L Word.’ The series brings full attention to the sexual identity of lesbians, this is shown through the all lesbian cast, although it relates to bi-sexual identity as well. In the series ‘lesbian sexual identity is represented as settled and stable’, and they are ‘verbally and visually presented as a solid and accepted identity by the lesbian characters’ (Davies, 2008). This illustrates a society within the series where to be a lesbian is to be accepted. The unity and approval of this lesbian identity is presented throughout the series. However, the reality of lesbian identity is that people still struggle in current society to accept those who aren’t heterosexual, because a heterosexual identity is represented as the norm and a dominant discourse that the media almost suggests we shouldn’t cross or change. Furthermore, ‘The L Word’, symbolises equality and value for those who are part of the lesbian community. Davies highlights that ‘lesbian identity is shown as a status that can be liberating and positive’ (2008). This evokes that the series diverts from social expectations, and promotes lesbian sexual identity as encouraging and positive.

My interest in this week’s topic of discourse leads me to want to write a discourse analysis into television that promotes non-heterosexual identity and how audiences react to this.

References
Long, P and Wall, T (2012) 'Discourse, power and media’ IN Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context (2^nd Edition), London: Pearson. pp 363-369

Machin, D and Mayr, A (2012) How to do a Critical Discourse Analysis, London: Sage. pp 1-29

Audiences: What do people do with media?

Week 6.

This week’s lecture brings attention to how audiences have been studied. We discussed the impact of the media on its audience and the direct effect media content has on people’s behaviour. The set reading for this week is Gillespie’s book ‘Television, Ethnicity and Cultural change’, it studies audiences in relation to television. Specifically concentrating on soap operas, and the relationship soaps have with their audience. The reading focuses on audience reactions and interaction with the soap opera ‘Neighbours.’

The television genre of soap operas includes a sense of realism. Audiences are able to relate to the events and characters especially, because of there being a ‘sense of local identity’ (Gillespie, 2003). The reading claims that the construction of Neighbours makes the show relatable to local life in Southall. This is because the soap opera is based around the normal lives of ordinary people. The central focus of soaps being on the ‘importance of family, a density of kin in a small, geographically bounded area; a high degree of face to face contact’ (Gillespie, 2003). The selection of characters and the construction of realist events makes each episode relatable to a wide audience. The multiple narratives mean that soap operas tend to appeal to a broad audience from young people to elderly. Story lines such as family issues, adultery, addictions and relationships appeal and relate to the audience in different ways.

Moreover, the reading then goes on to discuss audience reactions related to Neighbours. ‘When a storyline is so strong that it is a main topic of conversation it is reason enough to get someone watching so as not to be left out of the conversation’ (Gillespie, 2003). This evokes that soap opera success is because of dramatic storylines that inevitably grip the audience’s attention. Story lines based around adultery and criminal activity tend to become soap gossip that is discussed amongst young people because they ‘move so fluidly and seemingly unselfconsciously between ‘soap talk’ and ‘real talk’ (Gillespie, 2003).

The found reading I am using in comparison to Gillespie’s reading is a book I found by Annette Hill, who studies reality TV’s relationship with their audience. Like Gillespie, Hill suggests that young people are the main consumers of television, however in this book Hill concentrates on reality TV and suggests that ‘one of the reasons the reality genre has been so powerful in the television market is that it appeals to young adults in particular’ (2005). Perhaps the use of young celebrities in Big Brother attracts the young viewers, who casually discuss the events of the reality show with peers. The reality genre forces the audience to dispute about housemates, drama, and tasks. ‘Audience debate about reality programmes can only be healthy for the development of the reality genre’ (Hill, 2005). The audience do this through social media, like Twitter and Facebook, this is all part of reality TV’s viral marketing and how they gain publicity.

From this week’s focus on audience relationships with television, a topic I would like to research is how audiences interact with different reality shows, what type of reality shows gain the most success and publicity and why?

References

Gillespie, Marie (2003) “Television, Ethnicity and Cultural Change” IN Will Brooker and Deborah Jermyn (eds.) The Audience Studies Reader. London: Routledge.

Hill, Annette (2005) “Reality TV Audiences and popular factual television” USA and Canada. Routledge. Available through: https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=zoDj0C9a9q8C&oi=fnd&pg=PR1&dq=audience+reactions+to+reality+televion&ots=DVY7wJmrrs&sig=H--haOrmzD8PefcUyvz3n_zlKn4#v=onepage&q=audience%20reactions%20to%20reality%20televion&f=false [Accessed 7^th March].

Audiences: Technology and the impact on consumption

Week 5.

The focus of this week’s lecture was on technology and the impact on consumption. We discussed 21^st century media- watching compared to the 20^th century, and how the development of technology has impacted society and its audiences. The digital era suggests that the world has developed industrially, meaning that there are more ideas, entertainment options and ways of accessing things through different forms of media.

Everett’s set reading for this week on New Media, contains similar ideas of technology and TV expressed in the lecture as it is about the increasing interactivity of television. Through the theory of second shift aesthetics, the reading conveys that technology has changed how television is created and consumed. An idea highlighted by Everett is that ‘media users can digitally go to almost any content, via multiple channels, at any time of the day or night’ (2003). This evokes that TV has become accessible to the public at all times. The history of television implies that the few channels it had like the BBC, were broadcasted at certain times and if audiences missed the showing they would not be able to access it otherwise. Although, the development of technology in the 21^st century means that there are many channels catering for a variety of audiences at all times of the day. The reading perhaps suggests that TV content is always available, if not on one channel, then another. In addition, society has become influenced and very familiar with the advancements of technology, as most people, especially young people own a variety of devices that cater for similar needs, for example we can access TV on our phones, as well as our I pad’s and laptops. The reading highlights that ‘current research shows that children and adolescents in particular are very good at multitasking – at using the web, TV, phone, videogame, and CD player all at the same time’ (Everett, 2003).  This emphasises that the development and improvement of media products appeal to youthful people, because they tend to be the target of the media’s marketing.

This leads me on to discuss that the impact of technology on society means that there are now more ways than ever for people to consume TV. The digital era means that TV is forced to compete with the increasing advancement of technology because of other forms becoming available to people. For me, my use of technology means that I now access TV and film through online sites such as YouTube and Netflix. I find that I don’t have much time for scheduled TV, which I feel is the case for a lot of people, so being able to access TV shows and films online is an easier and cheaper way. From this, an area of research I would like to look into is film and whether the distribution of films on sites such as Netflix, gain more publicity and success than the distribution of them in the cinema.

References

Everett, A and Caldwell, J (Eds) (2003), New Media: Theories and Practices of Digitextuality, Routledge, London and New York - pp 127-144.

Censorship, Effects and Moral Panics

Week 4.

This week’s topic on was on censorship, effects and moral panics. The lecture focused on the effects of the media and the assumptions people make because of the media’s information. Also, it highlights the effect the media can have on people’s behaviour, focusing on the hypodermic needle theory and magic bullet theory.

Long P evokes that television without regulation would impact viewers greatly, and this leads to the fear of television having a negative effect on its audience. The author suggests that TV without regulation can lead to ‘the imitation of violent acts, mainly by younger, impressionable children but also affecting other ‘vulnerable’ adults” (Long P, 2012) This emphasises that if media texts are not regulated they can impact those who are innocent in society, such as young children, who for example may view scenes of extreme violence on TV positively and imitate this in reality. This also implies that the media needs to be under some sort of authority and set rules so that audiences don’t subconsciously consume negative or offensive information.

In comparison, Bignell’s book also approves of regulation because of the positive impact it has on society. ‘Cutting out an image is motivated by a concern about how the image might provoke a response in the viewer who sees it’ (Bignell, 2004). This displays that the aim of regulating TV images is to protect audiences from programmes that could offend or encourage negative actions. The two regulating systems in Britain include the ITC and the BSC, who have rules that define what should and shouldn’t be shown on TV.

In difference, Nelmes’ book discusses contemporary censorship in regards to film. The author indicates that ‘those who argue in favour of censorship claim that it reflects and protects standards of morality generally held in society’ (Nelmes, 1999). This highlights that film certificates determine what can be seen and what cannot be seen depending on the age of the viewer and this protects different groups within society from messages expressed in films. The way in which this is done is through the BBFC who operate the classification for films- they decide what is appropriate and not appropriate, especially for audiences of a young age. In a journal article I found, it addresses the topic of television regulation. OfCom reinforces that ‘advertisers are restricted in promoting the use of celebrities or cartoon characters in using free gifts as incentives to children when advertising foods that are high in fat, sugar, or salt’ (Clara, 2013). This highlights that if the rules of OfCom are broken, advertisers will face consequences.

This topic on regulation could be researched further, as I could look at how the advertising of female products are regulated in the media. This because of the idealised ideas and misrepresentations of beauty standards.

References
Bignell, J (2004) An Introduction to Television Studies, London: Routledge. pp 229-252

Long, P and Wall, T (2012) ‘Producing audiences: what do media do to people?’ IN Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context (2^nd Edition), London: Pearson. pp 274-299

Nelmes, J (1999) An Introduction to Film Studies, 2^nd Edition, London: Routledge. pp. 48-53

Clara, S (2013) A Reflection on European Regulation of Television Advertising to Children. Available at: http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.bcu.ac.uk/docview/1416175188?pq-origsite=summon [Accessed 3^rd March ] 

Is Film/TV a language?

Week 3.

Continuing the discussion from this week’s lecture about film and TV as a language, I discovered that viewing film as a language suggests that the audience analyses the images and how they are constructed in films. TV being a language evokes that audiences will gain an understanding of TV programmes through narrative so that they are able to identify meanings of images and sound. Ellis’ reading focuses on broadcast TV as sound and image, compared to cinema image. The reading also reflects on the importance of sound when it comes to having the audience’s attention.

Additionally, although TV image and cinema image include the similarity of providing entertainment for the public, ‘TV does not encourage the same degree of spectator concentration, there is no surrounding darkness… no large image… no rapt attention’ (Ellis, 1982). This indicates that TV almost acts as a form of media that audiences aren’t forced to pay much attention to. TV is ‘treated casually’ (Ellis, 1982), as it is something people tend to have on in the background when they’re not planning on watching it or when they are occupied by other forms of media and activities. However, cinema requires all attention and focus because Ellis suggests that it is ‘guaranteed a centred viewer’ (1982). This is because of the much larger screen, placement of seats and set rules of people not being allowed to use their devices or communicate while in the cinema room.

Moreover, Ellis discusses TV narration like in Smith’s reading, although its focus is on film theory and how it is a language. In terms of film narration, Smith indicates that films are constructed in a way that communicates a shared understanding with its audience. ‘Films are, for the most part, pretty easy to understand’ (2000). This conveys that films don’t normally require a lot of knowledge and thinking in order to understand the narrative and events that take place. The author then goes on to debate cinema as a language. He implies that cinema with the use of speech provides audiences with an interest and better understanding of cinema images. ‘Verbal communication came more and more to be seen as the heart of a film, with montage and mise en scene as mere effect’ (Smith, 2000). This highlights the importance of sound with the moving images on the screen. Without sound the real purpose of film and its role to entertain its audience would simply not happen.

The main ideas and thoughts I have taken from this week’s readings are the clear differences between TV and cinema. This has given me an idea of a research topic into what audiences prefer when it comes to consuming their media texts. Do they rely and make more use of TV than they do cinema?

References

Ellis, John (1982) Visible Fictions: Cinema, Television, Video, Routledge: London - pp. 127-159

Nowell-Smith, Geoffrey (2000) ‘How films mean, or, from aesthetics to semiotics and half-way back again’ in Gledhill, C and Williams, L. (2000), Reinventing Film Studies. London: Bloomsbury Academic.

The Political Economy of Film and Television

Week 2.

In this week’s lecture the focus was on the political economy of film and television. The lecture suggests that political economy means that media texts are considered cultural commodities. This relates to the idea of different forms of media trading and exchanging media goods and services in order to gain capital and publicity. Long P and Wall T’s book discusses political economy and its connections with the media. The authors indicate that ‘all such aims must be subordinated to the over-riding profit-maximising profit’ (Long, Wall, 2012). This conveys that media objectives other than the profit making and financial stability of the political economy are of less importance.

Like Long P and Wall T’s book, Ang’s book on ‘Audience-as-market and audience-as-public’, concerns the relationship between political economy and the media, it also concentrates on the operation of television institution in commercial terms. Ang suggests that a way in which the media services trade and benefit from each other is through the ‘advertisers whose products are offered for sale in the commercials pay broadcasters in exchange for the air time they acquire to disseminate the messages’ (1991). This highlights that broadcasters benefit financially from advertisers who want to gain publicity for their new service or product, however this means that advertisers require to spend huge amounts of money as part of their marketing in hope that audiences buy and take interest in what they’re selling. The author goes on to display that ‘the system operates according to the laws of the capitalist market economy, so that advertising time in the most popular programmes is generally the most expensive’ (Ang, 1991). Broadcasters are expected to air popular and successful television shows in order to make advertisers want to promote their products during the specific broadcaster’s commercial time.

My found reading on the political economy of television directly focuses on the political economy of sports TV right. From the reading I discovered that ‘the political economy approach to understanding the media is concerned with how the way that media organisations behave (and the content they provide) is shaped by the economic and political context in which they operate’ (Evens, Iosifidis, Smith, 2013).  The political economy in relation to the media aims to organise the media and the relationship different forms of media have from television, to film to advertising, and how the profit making and target audiences are related.

A topic that could be studied is research into who is profiting from the sales of media texts, specifically films in terms of the distribution and production of them and how audiences have been defined in relation to this.

References

Chapter 2 ("Audience-as-market and audience-as-public") in Ang, Ien (1991) Desperately Seeking the Audience. London: Routledge.

Long, P and Wall, T (2012) ‘Political Economy of the Media’ IN Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context (2^nd Edition), London: Pearson. pp. 172-185

Evens, Iosifidis, Smith (2013). ‘The Political Economy Of Television Sports Rights’ Palgrave Macmillan. Available through: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=DlkhAQAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+political+economy+of+TV+article&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjn1eOrseDSAhUBVRQKHZcNAiwQ6AEIGjAA#v=onepage&q=the%20political%20economy%20of%20TV%20article&f=false [Accessed 7^th March]

Television and Public Service Broadcasting

Week 1.

In this week’s lecture, we discussed television and public service broadcasting and the history of the BBC, which first began broadcasting in 1936. Long P’s reading highlights that the increasing popularity of people and channels meant that ‘TV cannons’ (Long P, 2012) were created. The BBC started with a just a few hundred viewers, however Creeber’s reading discusses the development of the BBC by introducing the methods of commercial broadcasting and public service broadcasting. ‘Britain’s first experiment with commercial broadcasting (was) in 1955’ (Creeber, 2003).  The idea of commercial broadcasting became of great success for the BBC, it engaged the audience and raised brand awareness. Also, the use of commercial breaks benefited the BBC because an increase in the channel’s rating started to occur. However, post- war meant that the BBC changed their broadcasting method because of audience engagement becoming more challenging due to the creation of more channels, like ITV.

Furthermore, Creeber focuses on public service broadcasting and the effect television without advertisements had on the BBC and their audience. Viewers ‘felt that public service broadcasting provided a standard of broadcasting that all should aspire to’ (2003).  The reading argues that the new method of public service broadcasting increased the BBC’s popularity and meant that they were widely respected amongst the public because of the certainty that television shows on the BBC were no longer going to be interrupted by interfering advertisements. Another advantage of public service broadcasting was the availability of more choice and variation for consumers.

In contrast to Creeber’s reading which concentrates on the advantages of public service broadcasting, in an article I found on ‘The Guardian’ by Jane Martinson, she argues that the success of it inevitably has it’s disadvantages because of the social changes in Britain and the fact that it is now an industrial society. ‘The Guardian’ suggests that once people would ‘watch the XFactor on a Saturday night’, and then goes on to emphasise that people now ‘constantly scroll through Instagram and youtube on phones that appear to have been grafted on to their fingers’ (Martinson, 2015). The author suggests that society in the 19^th century wasn’t as developed as current society in the 21^st century. Britain is now more advanced in technology and other forms of media have gained the interest of most people, including social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. In addition, the article conveys that our mobile phones are ‘the biggest threat to public service television is there, live and kicking, in my front room’ (Creeber, 2015). This provides me the information that phones give users the ability to access TV shows and news through the devices. This distracts people from watching TV, because there are other advanced ways for people to consume media texts that aren’t through watching them at scheduled TV times.

From this, a topic I would like to research further is how audiences consume their media texts since the development of technology. This interests me because monthly subscriptions have become a huge part of popular culture, this includes Netflix and other monthly subscription packages that have become widely available to the public.



References

Creeber, G. (2003) The Origins of Public Service Broadcasting (British Television Before the War) in Michele Hilmes (ed.) (2003) The Television History Book. London: BFI. Pp.22-26

Long, P and Wall, T (2012) ‘Media Histories’ IN Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context (2^nd Edition), London: Pearson. pp 448 – 481

Martinson, J. (2015) What is the future of public service television? Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/oct/25/public-service-television-ofcom-bbc-channel-4