Write one extended paragraph analysing the Media Language in your Advertising texts (Water Aid and Tide), applying two theorists (choose from – Barthes, Todorov or Neale)
We explore meaning in the two adverts through the use of semiotics and repeated representations. In the water aid advert we can the the symbol of separation of our two worlds with the use of a radio, this represents the technological world, it is instantly juxtaposed with the barren and natural world Claudia lives in. The song “Sunshine on a rainy day” gives the advert happy connotations and informs us that even on a rainy day we should be happy as we usually take water for granted. Lastly in the Water aid advert the water tap is used as a symbol of hope and happiness, close ups are used to show its importance. Similarly in the Tide advert items are also used to create a domestic message. Following Barthes’ semiotic theory the use of the domestic iconography (with the washing machines, washing lines and the cleaning product Tide), suggest the domesticity of the women and that these are the only items women of the 50’s can be associated with, culturally linking to the patriarchy in which the world was led.
The adverts also follow Neale’s theory of genres dominated by repetition. The Water Aid advert shows how this is usually the case by sticking out as an anomaly, usually charity adverts evoke pity from the audience but in this case they do the opposite, instead showing how the charity have previously helped a village. This is unusual to us showing how accustomed we have become to feeling pity towards charity cases, therefore reinforcing Neale’s theory. On the other hand the Tide advert fits into Neale’s theory through the highly repeted dominant stereotype of women, women in the advert are seen as domestic figures who’s life is revolved around their home. In addition to being seen as domestic figures they are also sexualised with their exaggerated shapely figures and bare skin.
Write one extended paragraph analysing the Representation in your Advertising texts applying two theorists (apply Hall and Gauntlett)
In Kiss of the Vampire representations are constructed through signs and codes following Hall’s theory. The empowerment of women in the 60’s is shown through one of the women’s image, she has a man at her feet, in pain. But this is also challenged with the representation of the other woman who is at the mercy of the Vampire and the fact that the strong woman is being bitten by a bat, showing that she is not yet completely powerful or at the head of the food chain. Men are also represented in these two contrasting ways: the representation of the Vampire and the mortal vary, this shows the excessive power the Count holds. In the Tide advert Halls theory is used to suggest that women are domestic and their lives centre around their home. These representations are constructed through signs and iconography like the washing machine and washing lines. Lastly in the Water Aid advert Halls theory applies to the representations of those living in poverty, we see typical signs and codes that allude to living in poverty, from the lack of technology to the hot climate that is lacking many basic needs.
Gauntlett’s theory of identity presents us with tools we can use to build on our own personalities. In Kiss of the Vampire women of the 60’s could use the representations to feel empowered, they are no longer always the damsel in distress but can stand up for themselves if they are challenged, they can also see how they can fight back to show that they are not afraid. In the Tide advert women of the times, in the 50’s, would be inspired from the advert to be the best housewife, after the war they had conformed back to their household roles and were entering a new world of technical advancements, this would prompt them to want the best new products. They would therefore aspire to be like the women on the Tide advert, endorsed by the Great House Keeping magazine, allowing them to be “better than the rest”. Lastly Gauntlett’s theory can be applied to the Water Aid advert, it shows us that even without material items and what we would assume to be a comfortable life Claudia is still happy in her home, this could cause some of the audience to change their lives to not be completely revolved around material items and technology.
Write one extended paragraph analysing the Media Language in your Music Video text (Beyonce – Formation) applying two theorists (Barthes, Todorov or Neale).
In Beyonce’s music video Formation we can establish the genre of the video through Neale’s theory of repetition in genres. The video is made up of varies types of clips of Beyonce singing her song Formations, these vary from her standing still making direct eye contact with the camera to Beyonce singing while dancing. Close up shot are also used throughout the video to give meaning to certain elements. In doing so the video is seen as conceptual as the visuals link with the words in the song to give meaning. In using these techniques in the video the audience can recognise it as a music video.
Following Barthes’ theory of semiotics we can assume that the iconography in the music video has a deeper meaning. For example the video starts with Beyonce on a police car that is sinking in water, this image links with the spoken introduction “What happened at the New Orleans”, in New Orleans there was a flood that left many people stranded without help, this image is therefore homage to them and is directed toward the police for a call to action. Throughout the music video Beyonce plays the role of a socially conscious liberator, who empowers women and African Americans, this message is emphasised with her intertextual reference to the Alchemist with one of her outfits.
Write one extended paragraph analysing the Representation in your Music Video text applying two theorists (Hall and Gauntlett)
In Beyonce’s music video Formation we can apply Gauntlett’s theory of representation. The music video Empowers African Americans, specifically women, as they are represented as a family force that challenge their negative stereotypes. Beyonce is therefore a figure they can strive to be like, taking elements of her empowering message as their own. Hall’s theory of representation can also be applied to the music video, the iconography in the music video have deep meanings that link with historical and cultural context. In one scene Beyonce and a group of women wear Antebellum dresses, this shows that they are taking back their livelihood and cannot be oppressed any more. They do not show violence towards any white people while wearing the dresses showing that they are not violent and instead are wrongly targeted and objectified, changing history for the better.
Write one extended paragraph analysing the Media Language in your Newspaper text (The Daily Mirror) applying two theorists (choose from- Barthes, Todorov or Neale).
Barthes’ semiotic theory can be used and applied to newspapers, like the daily Mirror. We can identify certain newspapers just by the way they look, for example red top newspapers are tabloids, this is a similar trait seen on the Daily Mirror’s cover sheet. Other popular iconography elements of newspapers are advertisements, celebrity pictures and endorsements and political debates. The use of colours like red and blue could suggest political bias, the newspapers being either left or right wing, conservative or liberal. Neale’s theory of genres is seen in newspapers as well, various genres of information are covered by newspapers from celebrity gossip, world events and politics. These tend to overlap as interests are spread over the topics at hand, for example politics may be endorsed by certain celebrities (like Jeremy Corbyn and the Liberals with Stormzy!).
Write one extended paragraph analysing the Representation in your Newspaper text applying two theorists (apply Hall and Gauntlett).
Hall’s representation theory can be seen in newspapers, the portrayal of certain political groups or celebrities are seen through the signs and codes of the newspapers. Newspapers can alter your thoughts by shoving their political bias down your throat, this form of manipulation is subtle but is prominent throughout media platforms. In the example of the daily Mirror they show that being left-wing is good, whereas right wing policies and political groups depicted as bad through their constant to derogatory remarks towards them. As many topics are shown in newspapers, like the Daily Mirror, the audience can take a variety of personality traits and ideals to build on their own personas through Gauntletts representation theory. Also as there are so many newspapers with a wide variety of representations there will be more identities to choose from, this gives our generation a more diverse bank of options to base ourselves around.
Write one extended paragraph analysing the Audiences in your Advertising texts applying two theorists (Bandura, Gerber or Hall)
In Kiss of The Vampire the audience may become empowered through Bandura’s hypodermic needle theory. Female audiences may enjoy the more dominant representation of their gender in the film, this will result in them following the characters footsteps and taking lead of their futures. On the other hand with Gerbners theory of stereotypes the audience may react adversely to the change in representations of women. For a long period of time women have been perceived as weak and not as strong as men, by challenging these social norms there is bound to be upset among the audience, predominantly for the male audience whose superiority is challenged.
In the tide advert the audience may follow Bandura’s theory and change themselves to become more like the woman in the poster; the picture perfect domestic housewife. They may be tricked into believing that this is their only future due to the restrictive nature and minimal representations of women in the media in the 50s. This idea of domestic, powerless women has been reinforced over time, consequently reforming to Gerbners theory of stereotypes, this has happened over a long duration of time so ideas around women have been skewed, causing us to believe that they’re not as powerful as men, this belief was very prominent in the 50s.
In the Water Aid advert our beliefs may be changed about people living in poverty. Up until the water aid advert with Claudia a lot of charity adverts were dominantly for evoking pity out of the audience in order to get money. By changing this our views on people in poverty stricken countries will be changed. This follows Bandura’s theory. The adverse affects of these Charity adverts would be that we identify the whole race of the people in the advert with poverty, this will make us very narrow minded and feel pity whenever we see those representations, this is a result of Gerbners representation theory.
Write one extended paragraph analysing the Media Industries in your Film text (Straight Outta Compton) applying Curran and Seaton
Following Curran and Seatons power and media industries theory we can see that media is limited to the whims of huge powerful conglomerates like Comcast. Comcast owns multiple subsidiaries, Universal Pictures is one of those, this is the production company for the film Straight Outta Compton. As Universal Pictures is such a huge company on their own you can only imagine just how huge and powerful a company like Comcast is. As media industries seem to all derive from the same oligopoly of companies the media we consume is reduced in terms of diversity as they all derive from the similar initial source.
Write one extended paragraph analysing the Audiences in your Newspaper texts applying two theorists (choose from – Bandura, Gerbner, or Hall).
From the content of newspapers we may learn aggressive behaviour, this is from the use of hyperbolic language and the exposure that we have to scenes of violence from war zones, extremist groups or films. Following Banderas behavioural trait theory our beliefs may also change from the content we see in newspapers, for example associating in entire race with an extremist group or leader. Our perception of people therefore changes through the representations that we see in newspapers and media. Following Gerbners theory applied to the Daily Mirror the readers may feel that the Conservative leadership isn’t good for the country, and they therefore may prefer left-wing parties, this shows that the repeated bias towards liberal parties has change the ideals of the readers of the Daily Mirror.
Write one extended paragraph analysing the Media Industries in your Newspapers text applying theorists Curran and Seaton.
The Daily Mirror newspaper is published by Trinity Mirror currently known as Reach plc this company follows the idea of Curran and Seaton’s theory, taking up a huge share of the market. Trinity Mirror is a huge name in the newspaper industry, they publish over 240 newspapers in the UK as you can imagine this is a huge portion of the newspapers distributed in the UK. By having such a huge share of the UK’s newspapers published by Trinity Mirror the same information is basically recycled from paper to paper and just edited depending on the target audience of that specific paper. This reduces the variety in UK newspapers and causes the country to have a uniform view on current affairs and worldwide events. But some of the papers published by Trinity Mirror may not have the same ideas or political bias but they will still follow the same similar structure or overall thought process consequently reducing variety in media.
Write one extended paragraph analysing the Audiences in your Radio text (Late Night Women’s Hour) applying two theorists (choose from- Bandura, Gerber or Hall)
The audience of late-night women’s hour are educated women, they create a little revolution in the radio industry. The radio host empowers women by inviting on educated guests to share their stories and educate others. Late-night women’s hour may allude to a idea of women’s gossip about celebrities and domestic life, as Gerbners theory of repeated actions create these stereotypes that we build up of women. This narrow minded idea is shattered by the reality of the radio show, instead of celebrity gossip they talk about real important life skills and share them with each other. Opposing the late night time slot they have an impressive following showing the spark they have ignited in young women around the UK. Following Banduras hypodermic needle theory women who listen to the late-night women’s hour show learn traits and therefore are empowered by the host and her guests. On the other hand the niche male audience may change their views on women and no longer be prejudice towards their competence, as they can see how strong they are through this broadcast.
Write one extended paragraph analysing the Media Industries in your Radio text (Late night Women’s hour) applying theorists Curran and Seaton.
The late-night women’s hour is on BBC Radio four. The BBC is a huge company based in the UK, it’s funded by taxes for television licences, and its purpose is to appeal to a wide range of audiences as it’s funded by a wide range of people. This means that it’s slightly different from conglomerates as it does have other peoples interests above its own, and it’s own purpose is not firstly profit, even though that is one of their objectives. Applying Curran and Seatons theory it is still an issue being such a huge company that owns a huge market share in the radio industry and all entertainment industries as a whole, this is because they have ideas that are made from a smaller proportion of innovators and inventors compared to what it would be if we had more smaller companies similar to the BBC instead of other large conglomerates.
Write one extended paragraph analysing the Audiences in your Video Games text applying two theorists (choose from – Bandura, Gerber or Hall)
From Bandura’s theory of the hypodermic needle, suggests that we have ideas of what to aspect of certain genres from media and video games, this is usually the case but with the new characterisation of a female main character our opinions of women in video games will be changed, from the usual sexualised nature to more of a main character role. From his theory it also suggests that we take traits from what we see in people and characters and put them into our own personas. This can be said for female gamers playing this game as a female character, they will become empowered and inspired by both the character and the creators who allowed this character to be female in such a mainstream and cult game. It’s always a common idea among parents and the older generation that video games cause violence among young children and the youth this is implied from Gerbers theory. His theory also suggests that what we see in video games can also change how we see the world around us as representations are represented exaggeratedly.
Write one extended paragraph analysing the Media Industries in your Video games text (Assassins Creed 3: Liberation) applying theorists Curran and Seaton.
The developers of Assassins Creed 3: Liberation were Ubisoft, they conform the the ideas of Curran and Seatons power and media industries theory. Ubisoft is a French global computer games publisher known the third largest independent game publishers in Europe and the USA, The consumer base is massive, this therefore conforms to Curran and Seatons theory as it shows that computer games are also controlled by the minimum. By having computer games and video games made by a limited amount of publishers and developers it reduces the variety of games available and the different styles that they can come in. As these huge brands make a name for themselves it makes smaller developers less accessible and successful as people don’t want to try their games.
Nadia's Media 