http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dbDJzDV1CM&feature=related
Dominant reading:
A scene containing humor. Homer is uneducated and is like always being comforted by his wife. Shows the typical gender stereotype
Oppositional reading:
Mocking those who are uneducated, making them feel useless, thick and blonde.
Negotiated reading:
Although, it is mocking uneducated people, the show itself is made to gratify the audiences need of humour, and is famously known for its humorous jokes and stupidity, therefore the mockery cannot be taken seriously.
Thursday, 28 April 2011
task 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S71zfCAagZg
I have chosen to do Kung Fu Hustle as my violent text
Kung Fu Hustle is an action packed film which has many violent scenes. However the musical in the background goes with the fight scene adding a humorous feel to the scene as if it was no big deal. There is a lot of kung fu in this scene where you are continuously faced with moves that are made to look extremely painful. This is done by adding exaggeration to the scene, as they use non diegetic sounds of bone cracking and breaking, this then is injected to the readers brain to make them feel and think as if the fight scene is serious and real. This makes the scene look and sound a lot more serious and frightening as the audiences are repeatedly listening to the crackling of bones and painful noises made by the men.
As the audiences are lead to believe it is a painful and violent scene, it also injects the idea that it is real, this is done through the visual effects used, where the actors are fly kicking in mid air and taking on a group of 500 people at once. The audiences are aware that realistically it is fake, however the film makes it look real as they are literally touching each other at every action move, whereas in the past they would hit from a distance in a fight scene. Also, the blood shown on screen seems fake but is then thought to be real, as once again the action presented seems so real. However there is also a hegemonic structure present, of who is most powerful. Which in this case is the three men who take on an army of other men alone. This presents them as most powerful and follows the conventions of being the protagonist as they are represented as the heroes. The over exaggeration of sound effects can lead to the audience being desensitised as they may not realise how dangerous this kung fu fight could be if in any case it were to happen in real life or if anyone to actually carry out any kung fu or karate.
I have chosen to do Kung Fu Hustle as my violent text
Kung Fu Hustle is an action packed film which has many violent scenes. However the musical in the background goes with the fight scene adding a humorous feel to the scene as if it was no big deal. There is a lot of kung fu in this scene where you are continuously faced with moves that are made to look extremely painful. This is done by adding exaggeration to the scene, as they use non diegetic sounds of bone cracking and breaking, this then is injected to the readers brain to make them feel and think as if the fight scene is serious and real. This makes the scene look and sound a lot more serious and frightening as the audiences are repeatedly listening to the crackling of bones and painful noises made by the men.
As the audiences are lead to believe it is a painful and violent scene, it also injects the idea that it is real, this is done through the visual effects used, where the actors are fly kicking in mid air and taking on a group of 500 people at once. The audiences are aware that realistically it is fake, however the film makes it look real as they are literally touching each other at every action move, whereas in the past they would hit from a distance in a fight scene. Also, the blood shown on screen seems fake but is then thought to be real, as once again the action presented seems so real. However there is also a hegemonic structure present, of who is most powerful. Which in this case is the three men who take on an army of other men alone. This presents them as most powerful and follows the conventions of being the protagonist as they are represented as the heroes. The over exaggeration of sound effects can lead to the audience being desensitised as they may not realise how dangerous this kung fu fight could be if in any case it were to happen in real life or if anyone to actually carry out any kung fu or karate.
task 3
Media representations rarely challenge the dominant values of society nor do they give a voice to those with little power.
To what extent is this true for the group or place you have studied? Why?
There are many representations in today's society which still cause concern such as youths as devious due to the influence of street culture as seen in music videos, games, movies or in soaps. Due to the fact this group is seen as deviant and irresponsible they are not given a fair chance, so whenever the media prints something negative about them, their voice is not heard.
As the media is hegemonic their news values are usually about bad things happening and they like to sensationalise this to create a moral panic. This is the case when there are cases of knife crime, burglary etc which associate youths with anti social behaviour. With music videos women often tend to be more sexually objectified than men as those representations commonly in a mans song whereas in a women's video she would stereotypically sing about love and be portrayed as the neglected partner and men would be promiscuous etc. These representations are based on stereotypes and if they are conformed again and again then it can dumb society down as they may start to have certain expectations as well as cultivating certain gender behaviour, although Judith Butler said 'gender is not fixed'.
Furthermore since the 9/11 bombings in America the common stereotype of all Muslims is now as extremist suicide bombers and whenever anyone notices a bearded religious man they assume he is a terrorist. Therefore Muslims don't have a say in how they are portrayed as people hate them. Furthermore with gay people they are portrayed as promiscuous, party loving, and rowdy. The general stereotype ignores people who don't fit into this label as in Eastenders Syed is not the typical gay and is quiet humble and religious partly because he rejected Islam to be with rowdy boyfriend Christian.
Overall media representations favour those with power as it injects their hegemonic ideologies into the rest of society but these are not accurate and are unfair as it neglects people of a fair chance and judgement as the media is always protraying and taking out the bad things.
To what extent is this true for the group or place you have studied? Why?
There are many representations in today's society which still cause concern such as youths as devious due to the influence of street culture as seen in music videos, games, movies or in soaps. Due to the fact this group is seen as deviant and irresponsible they are not given a fair chance, so whenever the media prints something negative about them, their voice is not heard.
As the media is hegemonic their news values are usually about bad things happening and they like to sensationalise this to create a moral panic. This is the case when there are cases of knife crime, burglary etc which associate youths with anti social behaviour. With music videos women often tend to be more sexually objectified than men as those representations commonly in a mans song whereas in a women's video she would stereotypically sing about love and be portrayed as the neglected partner and men would be promiscuous etc. These representations are based on stereotypes and if they are conformed again and again then it can dumb society down as they may start to have certain expectations as well as cultivating certain gender behaviour, although Judith Butler said 'gender is not fixed'.
Furthermore since the 9/11 bombings in America the common stereotype of all Muslims is now as extremist suicide bombers and whenever anyone notices a bearded religious man they assume he is a terrorist. Therefore Muslims don't have a say in how they are portrayed as people hate them. Furthermore with gay people they are portrayed as promiscuous, party loving, and rowdy. The general stereotype ignores people who don't fit into this label as in Eastenders Syed is not the typical gay and is quiet humble and religious partly because he rejected Islam to be with rowdy boyfriend Christian.
Overall media representations favour those with power as it injects their hegemonic ideologies into the rest of society but these are not accurate and are unfair as it neglects people of a fair chance and judgement as the media is always protraying and taking out the bad things.
task 2
‘Digital media has changed the nature of media products and the ways in which we consume them.’
Who do you think benefits most – audiences or producers?
The way in which we consume media has changed because now there is more technology around us. This benefits both the audience and the producers in a different way. It benefits the audience because it is easier for the audience to access it now.
It was not easy for the audience to access news everywhere before. New was mainly shown at 10 or people would mostly buy newspapers. Now it is different as news is available everywhere. People can access online, on their phones, apple have even launched an iPad which is specifically designed for reading which includes online newspapers and news corporation are also launching ‘the daily’ which is a online news designed just for iPad. However this can be a downside because the producers are not making enough money as the audience is not buying newspapers and are going online to get the news. Although it can be a benefit for the audience, as they are getting news for free and also it saves them time as they can access it whenever they want.
Audience can now receive news and other media products on their phones such as Blackberry and iPhone users as they are more advanced and this make it easier for the audience to access it anytime and anywhere. This makes the audience more powerful as they are in control of when and where they want to consume a media product. However it can help the producers as well as the audience because the producers can charge the audience for reading the news or accessing the online news.
Although what and how the audience consume a media product depends on the institutions as they are in charge of how the audience will be able to receive news etc. This means that the institution is in control of how the audience get their products and so the theory of Marxism applies because the audience do not get all of the control. Audiences can also be able to access social networking sites such as facebook and twitter and others. This means the audience can go on site using the internet on their phones with a click of a button
Who do you think benefits most – audiences or producers?
The way in which we consume media has changed because now there is more technology around us. This benefits both the audience and the producers in a different way. It benefits the audience because it is easier for the audience to access it now.
It was not easy for the audience to access news everywhere before. New was mainly shown at 10 or people would mostly buy newspapers. Now it is different as news is available everywhere. People can access online, on their phones, apple have even launched an iPad which is specifically designed for reading which includes online newspapers and news corporation are also launching ‘the daily’ which is a online news designed just for iPad. However this can be a downside because the producers are not making enough money as the audience is not buying newspapers and are going online to get the news. Although it can be a benefit for the audience, as they are getting news for free and also it saves them time as they can access it whenever they want.
Audience can now receive news and other media products on their phones such as Blackberry and iPhone users as they are more advanced and this make it easier for the audience to access it anytime and anywhere. This makes the audience more powerful as they are in control of when and where they want to consume a media product. However it can help the producers as well as the audience because the producers can charge the audience for reading the news or accessing the online news.
Although what and how the audience consume a media product depends on the institutions as they are in charge of how the audience will be able to receive news etc. This means that the institution is in control of how the audience get their products and so the theory of Marxism applies because the audience do not get all of the control. Audiences can also be able to access social networking sites such as facebook and twitter and others. This means the audience can go on site using the internet on their phones with a click of a button
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
task 1
Bully and Skins
Q1) In the opening sequence if skins teenagers are represented as rebellious, carefree and promiscuous. The montage gives us a insight of the different characters and gives us a bit of introduction of the characters by the use of props, for example there's one character smoking, there's another drinking, there physical, sexual actions between some and this shows us the audience of their experiemental, normal teenager behaviours. This reflects the copycat and moral panics theory.
The trailer for bully starts with a non-diegetic sound connoting a happy, lively, jolly sort of atmosphere until the characters speak and you see the teacher say's 'your the nastiest boy ive ever seen' to hopkins which connotes that there will be trouble. The hopkin character is then shown as a rebellious teenager. He is shown as a anti school subculture which is shown in scenes such as when he is slapping a person or when he is causing trouble in the lab. He is shown as a dominant and powerful character as people are scared of him which is shown when people are running away from him.
Overall the two texts are similar because they highlight the negative aspects of teenagers. Although these are constructed in such a way that it causes the audience to stereotype all teenagers in a negative way.
Q2) A moral panic is the intensity of feeling expressed in a population about an issue that appears to threaten the social order. This was coined by Stanley Cohen which was used to describe folk devil. This is reflected in bully and skins because the teengers are represented as rebellious and impose their wasy of thinking and life style for everyone towards the social moral codes of schools and expected norms and value of society. However they are also represented negatively in the news on both print and broadcast platforms. For example the over exaggerated titles of “knife crime increase” or the stereotypical names for teens that are repeatedly used such as “yobs” and “rebels”, help over exaggerate the issue adding a lot more emphasis to the immoral characters that teens stereotypical have.
However audiences can choose to interpret the text differently as these portrayls which may cause a moral panic, may in fact educate an audience not to do these things causes conflict. Furthermore not all characters are presented as rebellious and cause a moral panic for instance in the simpsons Lisa is a hardworking and quirky therefore the assumption that all teenagers are deviant and cause moral panics isnt true.
Q3) New and Digital media is becoming more and more widespread and easy for everyone to use. It has in many ways given young audiences the opportunities shape their own media representations. For example through the E-media platform, teens are now able reflect themselves and their personalities on networking sites such as Facebook. it allows people to share their own identity by letting people put up their information and picture. It gives the person the power and control to do put up or take of and to post whatever they want on their profiles. It is used as for entertainment and communication because it gives the chance to post on other peoples status and keep in contact with old friends.
Futhermore forums and fanpages have allowed teenagers to vioce their opionions on matters and by doing so they can change others peoples outlook on things as not everyone is into streetculture and knife crime and some loose their friends etc. However on the other hand, the media doesn’t allow youngsters the opportunity to shape their own representations as they are heavily influenced by the media and therefore are more likely to act the way in which it is expected of them and in some ways which is the “normal”, therefore anything they wish to do with their own will, may be refused as they would feel out of place, as a result of other ideolgies being injected into their minds, influencing them and shaping their representations for them instead of letting them do it themseleves.
Q1) In the opening sequence if skins teenagers are represented as rebellious, carefree and promiscuous. The montage gives us a insight of the different characters and gives us a bit of introduction of the characters by the use of props, for example there's one character smoking, there's another drinking, there physical, sexual actions between some and this shows us the audience of their experiemental, normal teenager behaviours. This reflects the copycat and moral panics theory.
The trailer for bully starts with a non-diegetic sound connoting a happy, lively, jolly sort of atmosphere until the characters speak and you see the teacher say's 'your the nastiest boy ive ever seen' to hopkins which connotes that there will be trouble. The hopkin character is then shown as a rebellious teenager. He is shown as a anti school subculture which is shown in scenes such as when he is slapping a person or when he is causing trouble in the lab. He is shown as a dominant and powerful character as people are scared of him which is shown when people are running away from him.
Overall the two texts are similar because they highlight the negative aspects of teenagers. Although these are constructed in such a way that it causes the audience to stereotype all teenagers in a negative way.
Q2) A moral panic is the intensity of feeling expressed in a population about an issue that appears to threaten the social order. This was coined by Stanley Cohen which was used to describe folk devil. This is reflected in bully and skins because the teengers are represented as rebellious and impose their wasy of thinking and life style for everyone towards the social moral codes of schools and expected norms and value of society. However they are also represented negatively in the news on both print and broadcast platforms. For example the over exaggerated titles of “knife crime increase” or the stereotypical names for teens that are repeatedly used such as “yobs” and “rebels”, help over exaggerate the issue adding a lot more emphasis to the immoral characters that teens stereotypical have.
However audiences can choose to interpret the text differently as these portrayls which may cause a moral panic, may in fact educate an audience not to do these things causes conflict. Furthermore not all characters are presented as rebellious and cause a moral panic for instance in the simpsons Lisa is a hardworking and quirky therefore the assumption that all teenagers are deviant and cause moral panics isnt true.
Q3) New and Digital media is becoming more and more widespread and easy for everyone to use. It has in many ways given young audiences the opportunities shape their own media representations. For example through the E-media platform, teens are now able reflect themselves and their personalities on networking sites such as Facebook. it allows people to share their own identity by letting people put up their information and picture. It gives the person the power and control to do put up or take of and to post whatever they want on their profiles. It is used as for entertainment and communication because it gives the chance to post on other peoples status and keep in contact with old friends.
Futhermore forums and fanpages have allowed teenagers to vioce their opionions on matters and by doing so they can change others peoples outlook on things as not everyone is into streetculture and knife crime and some loose their friends etc. However on the other hand, the media doesn’t allow youngsters the opportunity to shape their own representations as they are heavily influenced by the media and therefore are more likely to act the way in which it is expected of them and in some ways which is the “normal”, therefore anything they wish to do with their own will, may be refused as they would feel out of place, as a result of other ideolgies being injected into their minds, influencing them and shaping their representations for them instead of letting them do it themseleves.
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