Revison - Component 2c - Online Media (2 QUESTIONS)

Question 1

How significant is the role of individual producers in online media industries? Make reference to Zoella to support your argument? (15)

Underline

How significant is the role of individual producers in online media industries? Make reference to Zoella to support your argument? (15)

Knee Jerk

Individual users extremely important for online media industries, and increasingly so as digital media becomes ever more convergent. However, while Zoella presents herself as an amateur internet user who is relatable to her fans, in actually she is part of a...

Plan

• Clay Shirky - 'End of audience' theories

• Opposite of industrially produced media

• Uses digitally convergent media

• Tanya Burr's lifestyle blog - slightly racier.

• James Charles - loss of 2 million subscribers, scandals

• Merchandising

• My little pony/ Assassins Creed mashup - Henry Jenkins

• Zoella is an amateur

• Zoella's book is ghostwritten

• Clear examples of Zoella collaborating with producers

• Mistakes left in! Hyperreal construction of identity

• £50 advent calendar: hurt her brand

• Both vertically integrated and an example of multimedia integrated industry

• 11 million subscribers

• Over 1 billion views

• 50% of 15-24 year olds have watched a vlog in the last month: a young and digitally active audience - high levels of expendable income

• Second channel: provides a target audience with a different brand identity

• Brand endorsement: significant number of blogposts are 'advertorials'

• Curran and Seaton: solely motivated by power and profit

• Paid wage by Youtube: £15,000 a month!! However, a vast majority of individual producers are paid absolutely nothing!

• £4,000 a month from ads on zoella.co.uk

• Motivated by a capitalist ideology, with a massive focus on commodity fetishism, consumerist ideology

• 'Ultimate pizza taste test with mark'

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Question 2

To what extent do the representations in Attitude make claims about realism? (15)

Underline

To what extent do the representations in Attitude make claims about realism? (15)

Knee Jerk

While representations often make claims about reality, it is worth noting that representations can never be real, simply because they are a reflection of the ideology of the producer. However, the representation of a certain group will also affect not only the target audience of a media product, but also the people being represented.

Paragraph Plan

1. Who is being represented?
2. How is this representation constructed?
3. What message is presented to the target audience?
4. How does this representation affect the group represented?

Plan

• Attitude presents a hyperreal representation of gay, young men to their target audience of gay, young men. By making claims about reality, this raises many issues.
• 1. Gay people are represented as affluent and young
• 2. Gay people are represented as out, proud and confident
• 3. Gay people are represented as being particularly interested in style and fashion.
• 4. Gay people are represented as hyper sexualised, and only interested in a very singular and specific body type. Presents an unattainable body image.

• One way in which the representation of gay men in Attitude make claims about realism is through the representation that gay men are out, proud and confident with their sexuality.
• For example, in the article 'TARON EGERTON AND SIR ELTON JOHN TEAM UP FOR BRAND NEW SONG '(I'M GONNA) LOVE ME AGAIN', Elton John is represented as a proud and confident gay icon.
• Flamboyant costume
• Direct mode of address
• Status as a celebrity
• Article creates a sweeping and stereotypical representation of gay men for the target gay audience. Hall considered stereotypes, which through constant repetition can cultivate a self-fulfilling prophecy.
• Additionally, over time stereotypes can change...
• 70's, homosexuality seen as a mental health issue, now homosexuality more widely accepted.
• However, there is a discrepancy between the representation and the reality. A hyperreal and perfect 'reality' is constructed for the target audience. However, this is unlikely to be the reality for every audience member.
• The front cover of Attitude magazine takes a completely different perspective, and through its confrontational lexis shines light on the significant problem of young gay people being bullied at school. While there are more hard hitting articles on the website, the majority of content is focused on positive and normalised stories.
• The menu bar in particular offers the gay target audience an escapist fantasy, where they only need to be interested in 'entertainment', 'travel' and 'boys'.

• Escapist fantasy for a marginalised and discriminated group

• Confidence through normalisation

• Gives the gay audience a sense of identity and a way of living your life

Revision - Component2a - Magazines

Question

Explore how the set editions of Woman and Adbusters appeal to their target audience.

Woman Magazine

• The slang is very 1960's in a very informal mode of address. This may be appealing to the audience

• Binary oppositions between a mans life and a woman's life, the article is worded that men live a secret life and that women are intrigued to know the real details.

• The image of the man getting stood on by the woman positions the audience in a light hearted mode of address.

• Photo of older, mature male model appeals to a mature audience: aspirational. Stereotypically attractive...... but not unobtainable

• Theme of article: men! Presents men as both hyper masculine and mysterious: 'man sized bottles'

• Masculinity is power. Appeals to audience by creating a gender binary. Hegemonically appealing.

• Men are other(ed) 'thats why we differ'

• Insider information on men: cultivates heteronormative view of the world

• Audiences can pick and mix their own ideology. Feminist audiences can take pleasure in the explicit image of a woman crushing a man's head.

Adbusters

• About global warming

• Binary opposition between people big american truck in the photo and a woman sat on the side of the street who appears to be homeless.

• Sophisticated lexis 'disintegration of the polar ice sheets' Assumed knowledge of climate change and global warming.

• Climate change theme reinforced through the code '350ppm' (parts per million) a reference to concentration of greenhouse gasses. Once more, a sophisticated mode of address.

• Appeals to target audience through presenting agreeable political message: that there is a discrepancy between rich and poor, and this is affecting the climate.

• Rejection of commodity fetishism through ruined, rough post-production techniques. Steve Neale's theory of genre: of repetition and in this case difference. Reinforces anti capitalist beliefs

• Pick and mix - can enjoy the magazine from a design and aesthetic perspective

• Reading the magazine provides the audience with cultural capital, and also allows social interaction with other left wing/ anarchist/ anti capitalists

• Oppositional reading: audiences may feel disgusted by the homeless person, and might take exception to her presence

Revision - Component2a - Magazines

Woman - Non-Creative

• Woman magazine is creating a standardised product for a standardised audience.

• By creating a specialised and singular audience they can charge more for advertising space. The first line of the soap advert is 'Because you are a woman.'

• The fashion in the magazines are stereotypical, conservative and conformist.

• Jackie Kennedy - Her husband is John.F Kennedy, but they are talking about how nice she is with no relevance to her assassinated husband, they avoid political views due to the audience not knowing how to react.

Adbusters - Creative

• Looks like it has low production values, could be a bad thing as to a mainstream and mass audience the magazine looks like it will be rubbish.

• There is no anchorage on the front cover, a mainstream audience will not be intrigued.

• Post-West. West means Europe, UK, America. Post means after, the audience might interpret that this means Europe and America will be destroyed, we do not know it could mean a numerous things.

• An oppositional reading could be that they believe the magazine to be about terrorism and they may think its disgusting and completely disregard the magazine due to their own interpretation.

• 'Your plant is screwed and the world will be better if you weren't here' deliberately trying to upset the audience, they don't want to be financially successful they do not care.