Complete the Twenty Statements Test yourself. This means answering the question ‘Who am I?’ 20 times with 20 different answers. What do they say about your identity? Write the 20 answers in full on your blog. I am a...
Male
Student at Greenford High School
British Pakistani
Younger brother
Film enthusiast
Critical thinker
Political youth representative
Film maker
Gamer
Son
Working or middle class
Labour supporter
Deist
Programmer/Developer
Skateboarder
Glasses wearer
Activist/campaigner
Pianist
Graphic Designer
Volunteer
Classify your answers into the categories listed on the Factsheet: Social groups, ideological beliefs, interests etc. Social Groups
Male
Student at Greenford High School
British Pakistani
Son
Working or middle class
Ideological Beliefs
Labour supporter
Deist
Interests
Film enthusiast
Political youth representative
Gamer
Programmer/Developer
Skateboarder
Activist/campaigner
Pianist
Graphic designer
Volunteer
Ambitions
Film maker
Self-evaluations
Younger brother
Critical thinker
Glasses wearer
Go back to your favourite film (as identified in the lesson). What does this choice of film say about your identity? Are there any identities within the film (e.g. certain characters) that particularly resonated with your values and beliefs? My favourite film identified in the lesson was Hot Fuzz. The Cornetto trilogy made by Edgar Wright is probably my favourite set of films especially Wright who is one of my favourite directors. Hot Fuzz is a comedy film that uses generic action themes and sequences but also melds together themes that are very unique, different and absolutely absurd. Furthermore, many of Wrights film are created in a very artisitic and visually appealing way. Some of the best cinematography and camerawork I have ever seen have been in an Edgar Wright film. I also love the way that many of the storylines for his films tend to have very absurd twists but also set in realistic and natural scenarios. For example, a zombie apocalypse in London, or a guy who has to fight his crush's evil ex-boyfriends. I think these absurd scenarios in a normal reality blend very well together to create a unique sense of comedy which I very much enjoy. Watch the trailers for the five films highlighted as examples of gay/lesbian representation in mainstream film. How are LGBT identities constructed in the trailers and how are audiences encouraged to respond to these representations? There are many ways as to how the LGBT identities are constructed in the five specific film trailers. Firstly, it can be argued that the LGBT community is represented consistently as if they are a group that is constantly under a significant amount of scrutiny and opposition from those that do not associate themselves as LGBT. The trailer for Pride displays it with the way in which gay people are shown protesting for their rights. However, the film trailer for The Kids Are Alright creates a very different identity and representation of the LGBT community which is a lot more lighthearted and humourous. This means that the representations generally allow a greater sense of sympathy amongst audiences as they are encouraged to respond in a more positive way as the LGBT community is humanised.
What are the five types of feminism outlined on the first page of the Factsheet?
Radical Feminism - Sees the cause of women’s oppression as men. It assumes that men deliberately exploit women as this benefits them
Liberal Feminism - Mainly concerned with gender socialisation in order to show that gender roles are not biologically determined
Marxist-Feminism - Looks at women’s oppression in relation to capitalism and the class system
Black Feminism - Primarily concerned with black and Asian women’s experiences of oppression and exploitation
Postmodern Feminism - Associated with third wave feminists. It acknowledges the diversity amongst women
Which category would Judith Butler fit into? What about Angela McRobbie? Laura Bates and Everyday Sexism? Explain your answers.
Judith Butler would be classified as a Liberal feminist as she believes that traditional perceptions of gender roles in society are wrong and that male/female behaviour is socially constructed rather than due to biology. Angela McRobbie's belief of "popular feminism" where the targeting of females in the 70s and 80s was empowering is a different approach to traditional feminism and would be associated with postmodern feminism, but possibly Marxist feminism. Laura Bates and the Everday Sexism project would definitely be defined as postmodern feminism as it focuses on the diversity amongst women and encourages the combination of a wide range of perspectives with personal experiences to create a brand of feminism that is relate able on a personal level.
What was the difference between suffragists and suffragettes? Which approach do you agree with?
Suffragists primarily focused on uniting women's group that wanted the vote for women through moderate, peaceful and lawful means. In order to do those, they presented reasoned arguments and used petitions to raise public awareness. However, in direct contrast, suffragettes believed that the suffragists were not making progress quickly enough and that they wanted the same rights as men but to do so would mean action rather than debates and words. They were not afraid to use aggressive and violent means.
What was Laura Mulvey's argument regarding Hollywood film? Do you agree with it? Why? Laura Mulvey argued that in Hollywood film, the cinematography is used purposely in order to objectify females on camera. This is done by treating the camera as a male that looks at a female as if they are desirable sexual objects. She called this the "male gaze" and and said that women are "fetishised". Although I do agree that in some case there is heavy use of women as sexual objectification, there are also other facts to consider that paint a representation of women, in the case of Transformers where Megan Fox is sexualised, she is also a strong character that can hold her own through the narrative.
Watch this YouTube video extract on Jean Kilbourne's Killing Us Softly series and list five examples she gives of the media objectifying women:
Advertisement, "feminine odour is everyone's problem"
Sports stadiums, billboards, buses
Magazines
Movie posters
TV Commercials
What is Killbourne's argument regarding the representation of women in advertising?
Killbourne argues that advertising is getting more sophisticated and influential consistently over the years. She also argues that the influence of advertisement is vast as it is considered, quick, cumulative and much of the main understanding of advertisement is done in the subconscious. She also argues that to an extent advertisement create a sense of normalcy by showing women who they are and who they should be and therefore should feel guilty if they cannot aspire to unrealistic and impossible standards made by digital photo manipulations.
What is Naomi Wolf's argument in The Beauty Myth? Wolf's argument is that the notion of "beauty" is created entirely by a society that is widely dominated by men.By this she means that men in a given society create rules of what is considered beautiful in women but this alters from culture to culture. For example, Western women who have a slim figure and flawless skin are considered beautiful but in West Africa, women are seen as beautiful if they are obese and have stretch marks.
Why is the representation of women in music videos a controversial topic for feminists? The representation of women in music videos is a controversial topic for feminist especially in the case of R&B and hip-hop videos which glorify the mistreatment of females and sexually objectify them through inappropriate manners. Many feminists have looked at the lyrics and images used in these musical genres and there has been disagreement about representation and portrayal of females.
What is your view of female artists such as Nicki Minaj or Beyonce - do they empower women or reinforce sexist, patriarchal views? I think its interesting, but my specific view on female artists such as Beyonce use feminism for their own specific agenda. Although, they do believe in feminist ideologies which focus on female empowerment, they often do so with a general narrative or perspective such as "girls run the world". This essentially, like advertisement, is incredibly easy to consume and also they can use the idea of Mulvey's male gaze to their advantage, they do not use self sexualisation of women to impress men, but to increase profits which is empowerment in itself.
Has new and digital media given women an opportunity to challenge sexist views or is it simply another media platform for women to be oppressed? Explain your view. Personally, I believe that new and digital media has given women an opportunity to not only challenge sexist views but also gain a much greater sense of empowerment. This is due to the fact that these new digital media platforms allow for greater accessibility for women around the world to share their own personal experiences and knowledge where they have been oppressed especially in the case of the Everyday Sexism project. This essentially helps to break down barriers of ignorance and generally fights the stigma around talking about sexism which helps to promote awareness against sexism.
Why did Laura Bates start the Everyday Sexism project? Laura Bates started the Everyday Sexism project because she had experienced harassment herself and she felt that there still was a stigma amongst people in society that prevented people, especially women, from talking about their experiences where they have been harassed. How does the Everyday Sexism project link to the concept of post-feminism? Is feminism still required in western societies? The concept of post-feminism focuses on the ideology that feminism is essentially no longer needed as we have evolved into a society that no longer tolerates sexist or misogynistic viewpoints. However, with the case of Everyday Sexism where almost 50,000 women from all over the world added their stories in 18 months shows that the battle for equality for women is not over and that feminism is needed more than ever. How can you apply Judith Butler's theory of gender as a 'performance' to the creation of the Everyday Sexism project? Judith Butler's theory of gender as a "performance" and the fact that gender roles have been created by society rather than the biology can be linked with the Everyday Sexism project. This is especially evident in the case that the project's aim was to allow people, not just women, to voice their stories where they have felt harassed or uncomfortable, which included the particular cases of men for example the man who was jokingly congratulated for babysitting his kids for once. This essentially proves that the gender roles and stereotypes are very deeply rooted into society to the point where men that care about the well being of their children and aren't lazy are ridiculed. How does Angela McRobbie's work on female empowerment link to the Everyday Sexism project? Angela McRobbie's work on female empowerment can be linked with the Everyday Sexist project. This is especially evident due to the fact that it has essentially created a very accessible platform for people across the world to make their voices heard by sharing their own stories of harassment, which then in turn shows others how there are many people standing against harassment together. This essentially leads to a greater amount of female emancipation as it allows females to start to stand up to the harassment and also other people around them will stand with them. This is especially evident in the case of the woman who was groped whilst she was running as she felt courageous enough to do something about what had happened.
Media Magazine: The fourth wave?
Read the article: The Fourth Wave? Feminism in the Digital Age in MM55 (p64)
Summarise the questions in the first two sub-headings: What is networked feminism? Why is it a problem? Networked feminism is the new fourth wave of feminism and it aims to tackle social equality issues found both on, and using, modern technology. It is considered a problem due to the fact that that the true essence and ideology of feminism is arguably misunderstood. The internet has so many communities of people who claim to be feminists, but also many who claim to be against it, and so ideologies can often become confusing and blurred. What are the four waves of feminism? Do you agree that we are in a fourth wave ‘networked feminism’? First wave: early 20th century, suffragette movement (right to vote). Second wave: 1960s – 1990s, reproductive rights (pill), abortion, equal pay. Third wave: 1990s – present, empowerment, reclaiming of femininity (high heels, sexuality
Fourth wave? 2010 – ongoing, use of new technology and digital media (e.g. Twitter) for activism. Personally, I definitely agree that we are currently in a fourth wave of feminism, as the use of new technology and digital media has not only greatly increased but also greatly increased the way feminism and activism is organised. It has led to a greater amount of activism as it offers a greater amount of accessibility to the feminist or activist ideologies. Focus on the examples in the article. Write a 100-word summary of EACH of the following: Everyday Sexism, HeForShe, FCKH8 campaign, This Girl Can. Everyday Sexism The EveryDay Sexism project was set up by Laura Bates in 2013 because she had experienced harassment herself and she felt that there still was a stigma amongst people in society that prevented people, especially women, from talking about their experiences where they have been harassed. She set it up with the main concern of us not being in a post-feminist state in mind, something that many disagree with. The 50,000 entries made by users by December 2013 proved that Bates’ view was true. HeForShe This is a campaign that is led by Emma Watson and focuses on getting males to support geneder inequality. She has a firm belief that in the past "fighting for women's rights has too often become linked with man-hating". The campaign has though, been subject to criticism for making feminism too reliant on men which some argue actually helps undermine the ‘strong woman’. FCKH8 campaign The FCKH8 campaign is focused on the more digital aspect of feminism and the modern representations of girls and the inequalities that they are experiencing. The campaign was hugely known for a video where young girls were using the "f-word" in the video, and the idea behind this essentially was that there is a taboo against young children using swear words in society yet in this same society there isn't a taboo against sexism that women face on the daily basis. This Girl Can This Girl Can focuses a lot more on being a "fitness campaign" which aims to use the aspect of working out and fitness as a way to promote a greater postive message by not focusing on just women in photos, videos and quotes. The main aspect of this campaign is to focus entirely on not using women as sexual objectification. 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? I definitely think that our society has reached a fourth wave of feminism, espeically in regards to the new technologies and digital media as well as in the recent developments of the Everyday Sexism project. The huge boost in new/digital media has led to a greater amount of activism as it offers a greater amount of accessibility to the feminist or activist ideologies. Especially when you take into consideration the Everyday Sexism Project, the response for which was hugely international, and allowed men/women from all of the world to share their personal experiences about harassment, a feat that would have been incredibly difficult in the past waves.
The article focuses on the announcement made by the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) that they would be shutting down their long running 16 year old messaging boards on the 20th of February 2017. The announcement comes at no shock as there had been a huge decrease in user activity on messaging boards with the introduction of social media platforms. The messaging boards provided by IMDB offered an accesible platform through which people could very easily talk about cinema and many other aspects of cinema. Another main reason behind the closure of the messaging boards was the fact that there had been an increase in trolling users that overall ruined the experience of the messaging boards. The article also talks about the fact that there was little to no user consultation prior to the decsion that led to the closure of the messaging boards.
The IMDB message boards are shutting down this month, February
They have offered an accessible platform through which to have fun talking about cinema.
“I made friends on the message boards over my favorite film and actor at the time, Moulin Rouge and Ewan McGregor. "
"Now that the message boards are ending, I don’t have an outlet to discuss film in-depth.”
Some outlets claim that IMDb’s assertion that the site no longer provides a “positive, useful experience” refers to those trolling the boards.
“IMDb say that the boards have been overtaken by trolls, but they could easily make it harder for people to troll, by hindering them creating multiple accounts.”
"If IMDb really had 250 million users how come the movie with the most ratings, Shawshank Redemption, only has 1.7m votes?"
One of the more disappointing aspects of the boards’ closure is the lack of consultation of IMDb’s users, especially as the website relies so heavily on them providing the trivia and information.
Personally, I think it is interesting as the messaging boards were essentially a forum that many people used for almost two decades. However, it is crucial to remember that the websites used and the way the internet is used is constantly evolving, back in 2001, forums were all the rage that everyone went onto. However, in this day and age it's social media. I think the decision to close down these forum boards makes senses but what I don't agree with is the fact that it is limiting the option for their own users. Furthermore, if trolls were such a huge issue, rather than closing the boards entirely, they could easily control the amount of trolls. The lack of user consultation is something that is also a huge issue that I have as it shows that the company didn't really care about their loyal users that had been with them since 2001.
The article focuses on the recent controversial topic of Fake news and how one of the biggest initiative to battle this has been to set up "fact checkers". These fact checkers aim to find reports with less then viable sources and debunk false claims or exaggerated narratives. However, the article specifically focuses on the fact that although fact checking is a huge part of the war against fake news, it is easily going to get manipulated by those in power in order to push across their own specific agendas that either regect alt-right or left-wing views depending on their own bias. This is not at all what fact checking is aimed to be, in the case of "Fact Checking Turkey" it has been consistently making reports that support the Turkish governement under the guise of "fact checking".
"journalism has to get better at spreading facts; at making its case and showing people what is really going on"
US non-profit Media Matters put out a warning to European fact checkers that conservative outlets would attempt to discredit them with attacks on their independence, impartiality and the backgrounds of their staffers
US president, Donald Trump, calls news organisations and reporters he doesn’t like “fake news”, so outlets with a reckless approach to the truth will hit back by attacking the fact checker, not the fact.
Personally, I had known for a long time that this was going to happen. The people in power have been up in arms about this issue for a really long time purely for the fact that I believe fake news is taking away their power. However, with the intention to fight back at fake news, they are using their good intentions with the guise of pushing their own biased agenda. This is something that is incredibly worrying and also interesting to note as the majority of people that are worried about fake news are those in power. Why aren't young people up in arms about this issue? Surely because we are the digital generation we should be caring about this issue? The fact of the matter is, we're so much better at filtering false information on the internet rather than the older generation that we do not see this as a huge issue that will affect our generation.
How might this video contribute to Butler’s idea that gender roles are a ‘performance’? Butler's idea that gender roles are a "performance" is due to the fact that that male and female behaviour is socially constructed rather than the result of biology. This is evident in Beyonce's video as she is shown to be doing stereotypical domesticated activities such as cooking. However, her inability to correctly do these activities reinforces Butler's idea as it her inability to do so could be down to the fact that it his not in her biological capability and as such she feels she is not a part of the society that she is aware of. Would McRobbie view Beyonce as an empowering role model for women? Why? McRobbie would definitely view Beyonce as an empowering role model for women due to the fact that the in the music video there is a lack of male presence which could show that she is the main focus of the video and therefore helps to empower her as she is confident in her sexual side and is willingly sexualising herself positively. Furthermore it can also be interpreted as Beyonce is shown to be attempting stereotypical domestic activities of a woman but is unsuccessful in her attempts and could go to show that these stereotypes are not the only thing about women. What are your OWN views on this debate – does Beyonce empower women or reinforce the traditional ‘male gaze’ (Mulvey)? I personally think that Beyonce empowers women but also reinforces the traditional "male gaze". She does this in a very unique manner as her videos have overt sexual tones that help to create profit through the theories of Mulvey and the male gaze, but also due to the fact that not only men view her as sexual appeal, so do women as they aspire to be like her. However, the difference between Beyonce's work and other work with overt sexual stereotypes towards women, she adds a touch of empowerment to her work by creating work that does not completely follow the same conventions but rather challenges them in artistic manner, which then in turn means that her work is both empowering but also reinforcing a male gaze in order to maximise profits, but then again you could argue that the fact that she is able to work the system in such a way is empowerment in itself.
The article focuses on the recent case of Fake news that has been highly present in media the past few months. Interestingly enough it offers a much more analytical and statistical approach on the war against Fake News. The article proposes the ideology from military strategies as it states that the war against fake news is purely boiled down to "narratives vs facts". The mainstream media is genuinely not doing enough to hold the Trump administration to account and it can do so by focusing more on narratives rather than facts and textual media. This is due to the fact that the masses no longer want long drawn out texts that are written by journalists but rather narratives that can be packed into images and videos and shared across social media.
"The mainstream media can fight back against the poisoning of our public sphere by giving people narratives they can understand"
"We now have to reckon with artfully faked opinion as well."
The first thing, wrote Adam Tinworth, is to recognise the real nature of the war in which journalists are now involved.
Among the many sites on the web that relay high-level commentary on foreign affairs is the Center for Global Strategic Monitoring
In order to carry out this laudable mission, the site lists an impressive stable of “experts”
Personally, I definitely agree with the way the article talks about the best way to tackle fake news. I genuinely believe that although fact checking is a step in the right direction, it is ultimately not enough to take down the beast that is Fake news. I wholeheartedly agree that the alt-right has had a much easier route of sharing narratives in the form of videos and images across social media to spread a message compared to the generic facts and texts journalists are making. I genuinely believe that positive attitudes and narratives would essentially be a way to beat fake news at it's own game.
The article focuses on the fact that Twitter, the social media giant has reported an approximate $460 million loss in 2016. The Chief Executive and Co-founder has also reported that this huge loss has been due to the fact that the social media website has suffered a huge decrease from advertising income despite having previously stated that the "impact and influence" of Twitter is huge due to Donald Trump boosting its power. The article also talks about the fact that investors are uncertain as the company is experiencing considerable losses despite cutting almost 10% or 350 workers out of its staff.
Twitter reveals $457m loss for 2016
The tech company suffered a decline in advertising income
Jack Dorsey, chief executive and co-founder, hailed the growing “impact and influence” of Twitter, saying the US president had “boosted the power” of the service.
The tech company is still making sizeable losses, falling $457m into the red during 2016 despite cutting 9% of its workforce, or about 350 people.
Personally, I think this is an interesting case. I definitely agree with Dorsey's statements that social media website has huge amounts of impact and influence. However, it cannot have this influence if there are no users actually partaking in the website's activity which would therefore result in greater decreases in advertising contracts and incomes and therefore result in huge losses for the company. In the case of print media, it was the huge lack of advertising income that genuinely led to it's rapid decline. I personally think that the same reason why Dorsey is happy with Donald Trump "boosting" the services is also the reason for his demise, as many people are probably leaving the service as a protest to Donald Trump or to put it simply, they just don't want to listen to him anymore.
What are the two texts the article focuses on? The article focuses on "Pan Am" which is a period drama that is set in the 1960s and is based on the lives on the Pan American World Airline's pilots and stewardesses. It also focuses on Beyonce's music video for her song "Why Don't You Love Me" which focuses on the stereotypical views of a housewife in the 1950s . What examples are provided from the two texts of the 'male gaze' (Mulvey)? Pan Am's pilot episode immediately reinforces Mulvey's idea of the "male gaze" as the stewardesses are first shown through a shot of one of them on the main cover of a magazine. This essentially creates an image that the females only have a single purpose as something to be admired and aspired to by women, and visually enjoyed by men. In Beyonce's music video for her song "Why Don't You Love Me", the male gaze is also reinforced through the use of the costumes and the clothes that Beyonce is portrayed in. Through the specific use of wardrobe, Beyonce is overly sexualised as she is shown to be wearing "tight high waisted knickers" and this essentially helps to objectify women as something that are only there for the purpose of visual appeal for men.
Do texts such as these show there is no longer a need for feminism or are they simply sexism in a different form? I personally believe that it is a mix of both, by using these traditional stereotypical conventions in their work, it shows that sexism is still very abundant but essentially in different forms as it is used to increases profits. However, by the very fact that these types of conventions are used, I believe that these works are unintentionalyl reinforcing the sexism present in society and therefore increase the need for feminism and female empowerment Choose three words/phrases from the glossary of the article and write their definitions on your blog. Feminism – A movement aimed at defining, establishing, and defending women’s rights and equality to men. Post-feminism – An ideology in culture and society that society is somehow past needing feminism and that the attitudes and arguments of feminism are no longer needed. Third wave feminism – Was a movement that redefined and encouraged women to be
dominant and sexually assertive.
No More Page 3
Research the No More Page 3 campaign. Who started it and why? The No More Page 3 campaign was started by Lucy-Anne Holmes in August 2012. It was during the London 2012 Olympics that the Page 3 image was found on page 11 and yet the topless picture of the woman was a lot more bigger than the pictures of the female athletes such as Jessica Ennis that had won medals for the UK. She started the campaign in hopes of battling the stigma and the objectification of females in the media. What reasons did the campaign give for why Page 3 had to go? The campaign's reason for why Page 3 had to go was due to the fact that there was a constant objectification of women in a negative, offensive, discriminatory and dergoratory way. This essentially meant that the value of women was hugely diminished in the eyes of the media as it showed that women, even those not on Page 3, had nothing good to offer to society other than their looks and their visual sexual appeal for men. Read this debate in the Guardian regarding whether the campaign should be dropped. What are Barbara Ellen and Susan Boniface's contrasting opinions in the debate? Barbara Ellen's on the No More Page 3 campaign is that the campaign should continue as Page 3 itself is not only something that is 'a pathetic leering bare-breasted woolly mammoth' but also part of the old ages, 'reeking of male dominance, of women as sexualised and neutralised objects.' However, Susie Boniface's opinion is that the campaign is pointless as she states that the Page 3 of the Sun is no longer seen by society to be objectifying women but rather empowering them as women that are confident in their own sexual appeals. The main campaign website has now been replaced by a site called Sexist News, designed to highlight sexism in the media. Give an example of a recent story the website has highlighted. Do you agree with the view of the website? A recent story on the website called the "Little Mixed up about what to wear?" article focuses on the clothes worn by band Little Mix during the performance on X-Factor. It focuses on the ideology and the concept that young girls look up to these artists and see them wearing revealing or little to no clothing which they would also recreate as a way of embracing freedom and that they need to conform to this perspective in order to appeal to boys and the male gaze. How can the No More Page 3 campaign and Sexist News website be linked to the idea of post-feminism? Both the No More Page 3 campaign and Sexist News represent that we in fact do not live in a post-feminist state. The very fact that matters of sexism are still having to be discussed at length like this whether it relate to the portrayal of women in newspapers or reality TV, shows that actually we're still in a position where things can very much be debated. What are your OWN views on these campaigns? Do you agree with their aims? Is there still a need for these campaigns in the media? I personally believe that the No More Page 3 campaign is something that is not only positive for the media industry but for society as a whole. I genuinely believe that there is a greater need for feminism in not just the media industry but also society, as the Page 3 of the Sun often times objectifies women sexually and shows to everyone that the media industry is male dominated. Women every day are doing remarkable and extraordinary things, just as much as men can, and to boil all women down to just their sex appeal for men is something that is extremely wrong and should not be happening. Finally, do you agree that we are in a post-feminist state or is there still a need for feminism? I personally believe that we are not in a post-feminist state and that there is still a definite need for feminism across society. This is because there is still a huge case of inequality amongst women and men especially in the UK, if you take the wages as an issue, there is a pay gap between men and women of about 24% at £5,732. If you translate that into an average woman's life, it totals up to almost £300,000.
The article focuses on the fact that the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) has decided to shut down its message boards due to the the fact that they believe they do not provide useful or a positive experience for the majority of their 250 million montly world wide users. They also state that the reason for this decision has been purely based on traffic stats and data. The message boards which had been one of the prominent features of the website and also was considered to be the biggest appeal of the website. The message boards will under go a two week transition period before being shut down completely on the 20th of February 2017.
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is shutting down its message boards
“concluded that IMDb’s message boards are no longer providing a positive, useful experience for the vast majority of our more than 250 million monthly users worldwide”
The decision was “based on data and traffic”
The company was set up in 1990 by Bristol-based IT worker Col Needham and later sold to Amazon
A shift to social media had made the message boards less vital; users, they said, had “migrated to IMDb’s social media accounts"
The message boards will be permanently disabled on 20 February, following a two-week transition period.
Personally, I completely agree with IMDB's creator with the sentiment that the messaging boards allowed viewers to discuss and share knowledge about movies regarding connections that they might have had. I personally, am always eager to jump on forums to see what other people think straight after I have watched a movie, it's also a part of going to the cinema with friend where you are eager to talk with your friends about the movie. It's also interesting to note that one of the most specific reasons that has led them to shut down their messaging boards was due to the lack of traffic, this was mainly due to the fact that many users had decided to use social media when discussing films across the world
The article focuses on a letter sent into the Guardian by Dr Tim Reinke-Williams from University of Northampton as he makes some very interesting points about the topic of fake news that has been the subject of widespread discussion amongst society. He talks about the fact that the idea of "fake news" has been around through history for centuries especially bringing up the case of 1668 in Warwickshire when Sir Robert Holt, the justice of peace was tasked by his fellow colleagues to find and sentence accordingly anyone aiming to spread false information. He also notes that whether or not Sir Robert Holt was successful or not in his endevaours was never recorded.
"However, “false news” as a phenomenon predates social media, and the internet in general, by about 350 years. "
In the autumn of 1668, Sir Robert Holt, baronet and justice of the peace for Warwickshire, was tasked to tackle false information
Whether or not he was successful was not recorded
Personally, it's interesting finding out that the idea of "falsifying information" has been around for several centuries. I think the fact that fake news has become such a huge issue is due to the fact that new digital media has rapidly increased over the last few decades due to globalisation, and as such it has made it incredibly easier for people to spread false information and add to the agenda of fake news. This can be especially evident as historically, many records and data was known to go missing as it was written on paper, however in the case of new digital media, it allows for not only a permanent store of the data, but also a much more wider reach as it is no longer limited to the restrictions of a traditional print platform.
List three theorists discussed in the article and what they believe regarding black identity.
Aisha Harris - Social media play a negative role in the construction of black identities. "Ain’t nobody got time for that"
Giddens - Social media can be an arena for the construction of positive black identities. An example of this would be ‘The Blackout’, a campaign that originated on the social network ‘Tumblr’, and involved a systematic ‘re-imagining’ and celebration of blackness.
Alan Martin’s Echo Chamber effect - ‘The Blackout’ may be reinforcing ideas already held within the black community, but perhaps not in wider society, so when the two perspectives clash, it is often quite aggressive.
In your opinion, is social media a positive or negative force when it comes to issues of black identity? I personally think there is a mix of both. Social media has created a platform of an equal playing field where any one with whatever view they might have, especially if its racist, can voice their opinion and be heard by millions around the world. However, people do not understand the fundamental idea behind trolls and racists online which can be held true in real life as well; do not give them the attention that they are seeking. Often times, people choose to use social media as a way to offer a rebuttal to ignorant and racist views being expressed, when people need to understand that simply by using social media's features of hiding or block said views, they are instantly limiting the spread of hateful speech and diffusing a situation rather than adding fuel to a spark. However, I also agree with the magazine article in the sense that there is a greater amount of humour against non-white ethnic minorities. Although, I would like to argue that this is in all good fun, it does not make you a racist if you retweet a meme about "black culture". Humour is humour. I honestly believe that laughter and humour brings us all together as a society and by creating memes or jokes about certain cultures in a healthy way allows us to share ideologies amongst each other which goes to show that social media has actually eliminated certain boundaries or limit that are in place.
How could you apply the post-colonial theories we have learned in class to the issue of social media and black identity? I think that in terms of social media and black identity you can definitely apply the post colonial theory of Alvarado in this context. This is due to the fact that there are many jokes and humourous posts that are repeatedly shared amongst users on social media that are related to black identity which reinforces Alvarado's theory of the "Brown Clown" and how ethnic minorities are humourous and therefore only exist for the sole purpose of entertainment for ethnic majorities. Furthermore, in the case of the "The Blackout" campaign on Tumblr, it inadvertently reinforces the ideologies of Alvarado that the ethnic minorities are exotic and sought after by ethnic majorities. Finally, it can be argued as that social media as a whole is a platform that is seen to be a western norm and used highly by upper class western societies. Therefore, Said's theory of the west creating stereotypes and constructed meanings of the east and ethnic minorities can be applied to the case of social media and black identity as many of these stereotypes are perpetuated largely through the use of social media.
A Hustle for Life: Refugees in the Media
What examples of different representations of refugees in the media are offered in the article?
Hostile Media Coverage - refugees are described as a swarm, horde or tide, marauding and invading their way across the world.
Media coverage that appeals to humanity
Iconic photos of a young Turkish police officer holding the body of Aylan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian drowned in an attempt to reach the Greek island of Kos.
Keo films, wanted to illustrate what is actually involved in these dangerous journeys across thousands of miles, and to help us to relate to refugees as individuals, rather than nameless members of a huge mass.
In your opinion, is the documentary genre more or less biased than the news media? What examples can you provide from the article to support your view? I personally think there is a mix of both more and less bias in documentaries compared to that of news media. I believe that the ideology behind news media exists to inform and therefore reduce as much bias as possible, however documentaries actually focus on one aspect of a topic and therefore unintentionally reinforce a certain ideology or theme regarding the topic which creates a greater sense of bias. However, it can be argued that in today's society, news media are not actually doing what they're supposed to and are actually holding a lot more bias by focusing on certain ideologies of a topic and also creating misconstrued readings, whilst documentaries are actually acting as hard news by focusing on topics that normal news outlets would normally choose not to and would rather focus on soft news as it gathers better profits.
How could you apply the post-colonial theories we have learned in class to the representation of refugees in the media? In terms of the representation of refugees in media, post colonial theorists can definitely be applied. Alvarado can be applied in this context due to the fact that many representations of refugees in the media are very negative and therefore reinforces his theory that all ethnic minorities are seen to be dangerous in the eyes of the ethnic majorities. Furthermore, despite having negative representations, the only positive representations present regarding refugees in the media show that they showed be pitied as if they are "victims" that need the ethnic majorities help as they are obviously inferior.
Frantz Fanon's theory can also be applied in the case of representation of refugees in the media as these representations often times essentialize the refugee crisis as a whole and make all refugees out to be the same with a negative representation through stereotypes. This is due to the fact that many representations in media outlets describe refugees as a swarm, horde or tide, marauding and invading their way across the world. Finally, Edward Said's theory can also be applied in this context as his theory states how the west has generally constructed a dominant meaning or representation of societies, cultures and people of the east. This is evident as many of the representations being made about refugees, both negative and positive are ultimately generated mainly be western elite countries and therefore have reinforced these stereotypes across the world.
The article focuses on a letter sent into the Guardian by Brian Cathcart of Kingston University London as he makes some very interesting points about the topic of fake news that has been the subject of widespread discussion amongst society. He talks about the fact that the definition of "fake news" needs to be accurately defined and in many cases, this definition can evade and dodge national newspapers as it is obvious that many national newspapers do tend to stretch and misconstrue certain stories and headlines in order to create reactions or predominant readings amongst audiences in a bid for greater profits. He talks about how Damian Collins, as chair of the media select committee, favours scrapping section 40 which would include greater intervention of the government in the regulation of fake news and therefore no longer uphold standards of accuracy in journalism.
Damian Collins, as chair of the media select committee, favours scrapping section 40
‘Section 40 is designed to support effective press self-regulation that is totally independent of government’
Personally, I think Brian Cathcart brings up very interesting and valid arguments in the case of what is being done to battle fake news. I think it is important to note, that fake news is a huge issue in journalism and media as of late, and the fact that EVERYONE including those in greater power in media are up in arms about this issue shows that people are actually caring about tackling the issue. However, this also means that an opportunity has arisen for those in power to be able to tackle the issue but also do so in a way that it leaves a lot of flexibility and advantages for their own personal gains. I think that those in power need to put aside their own agendas and self interests by not taking advantage of this opportunity and think greatly in depth about the good of society as a whole.
The article focuses on the fact that after Donald Trump's Muslim Ban in America was set in place, the New York Taxi Workers Alliance had called for an hour long strike in solidarity against the ban. However, at the same time, Uber announced that in the same region, they would get rid of the surge pricing on all Uber rides. This is due to the fact that as there would be little to no chance of getting a taxi, therefore the area would be extremely busy and when that happens, the pricing for Uber rides is surged up in order to compensate, however, Uber is stated to have seeen this as an opportunity to make sure all rides in that area for that time were for their company as there was no price surging. People were furious at the blatant attempt to earn profit and essentially break a taxi driver strike. This led to many people not only deleting their Uber app but also their account and switching to alternative rivals such as Lyft.
The New York Taxi Workers Alliance called on its members to avoid John F Kennedy International Airport for one hour
After the strike, Uber tweeted that surge pricing, which results in higher fares at busy times, had been switched off near JFK
#DeleteUber began trending, as people encouraging one another not only to delete the app from their phones, but also to cancel their Uber accounts.
Dan O’Sullivan, or @Bro_Pair, was the first person to tweet the hashtag in direct response to Uber lifting surge pricing
Others criticised Uber’s CEO, Travis Kalanick, pointing out he is a member of Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum
Personally, I think it's interesting that the person in charge of the company that blatantly tried to break a strike and used the opportunity to earn extra profit with little to no moral consequences, is the same person that is part of a forum for Donald Trump. It is important to note things like this where institutes and businessmen that are working hand in hand work politicians and using these opportunities as a way to grab as much profit. This is a very dire situation, especially for society as a whole when it comes down to businessmen and politicians working for their own agenda and for the agenda of the elite rather than the good of all society. I firmly believe that the #DeleteUber campaign was for a greater good as it shows how American consumers are using a different tactic to show their displeasure with what they view as Trump-supporting companies.
Summarise the three theorists we have looked at: Alvarado, Fanon and Said.
Alvarado (1987)
Four key themes in racial representations amongst non-white groups:
Exotic (culture, unique, models, music artists, food)
Dangerous (crime, gangs, violent and aggressive)
Humorous (comedians, sidekicks, the "Brown Clown")
Pitied (poverty, victimise, needing help)
Frantz Fanon (1952) “Putting on the white mask”
These stereotypes can include:
Infantilize - children of the Charity Poster or the 'simple-minded‘
Primitivize - The 'exotic & virile' tribal warriors or 'bare-breasted maidens' with a 'natural sense of rhythm‘
Decivilize - The 'Gangsta', 'Pimp'
Essentialize - Undifferentiated mass, the generalisation of groups based on certain stereotypes 'they all look the same to me'
Edward Said (1978) Orientalism
Said studied the cultural representation of the East. He theorised that the West has constructed and reinforced many patronising and negative stereotypes of the people, cultures and societies within the East. He theorised that these stereotypes are predominantly focused on the idea that the East is different, dangerous and uncivilised in comparison to the West.
Watch the opening of Yasmin (2004) again. Does it offer a positive or negative view of British Muslims? To what extent does it reinforce or challenge Edward Said's theory of Orientalism - that the west is superior to the exotic or uncivilised east? The opening of Yasmin essentially creates a both positive and negative view of British Muslims. This is especially scene through the main character Yasmin who chooses to switch between her traditional Pakistani clothing into modern clothing such as jeans which goes to show that she does not feel like she belongs within her own culture and therefore forcefully tries to assimilate into the British culture by changing who she is as a person. However, this does not mean that she is not part of British society, she is seen to be a helping and working part of society as she has a job where she helps disabled children and actively works with other people that she knows in order to be a working member of society. Despite this however, she still receives threatening glares from other members of the public when she chooses to go to a pub but remains true to her beliefs by not drinking alcohol, she is still socially show to be an actual outcast. This ideology of British Muslims being outcast in their own society is further reinforced through the opening as Yasmin's father is shown to be scraping derogatory graffiti "Go home paki" from the entrance of a Mosque. It is noteworthy of the fact that he does no do this begrudgingly or with anger, but he does so in a very calm manner as if to signify that this happens quite regularly to the extent that he is essentially used to it. These ideologies signified in the opening reinforce Edward Said's theory of Orientalism as it shows ideologies where eastern cultures are shunned and outcast purely for the fact that they are perceived to be uncivilised and therefore western cultures are perceived to be far more superior. Finally, choose THREE clips for EACH of the theorists and explain how you could apply that theory to the clip. Pick a selection of clips on YouTube from TV, film, music video or advertising and embed them in your blog before writing your analysis under each clip. Note: this means you need NINE clips in total on this blogpost.
Alvarado
The clip is of Men and Black 3 and focuses on the character played by Will Smith. He is pulled over by police officers in the year 1969 that assume he has stolen a vehicle and a tuxedo due to the fact that he is a black man driving a very expensive car and wearing an expensive suit. This idea of prejudice amongst white groups especially officers can be reinforced by Alvarado's ideology that all ethnic minorities are perceived to be dangerous thugs that partake in criminal activities. However, Alvarado's theory can also be applied as Will Smith character is humorous as he uses the prejudiced situation to make jokes and still stay upbeat despite being racially discriminated.
Alvarado's theory can also be applied here as one of the few black characters present is openly mocked by his friends, amongst who is another black individual. This reinforces Alvarado's theory that ethnic minorities are perceived to be as humorous and only serve as a reason for the entertainment and ridicule of the ethnic majorities.
This clip also reinforces Alvarado's theory that ethnic minorities are dangerous as the clip opens up to many southern American men violently wrestling and are generally shown to be big menacing and brutish thugs that enjoy violence and crime. The fact that they partake in criminal activities is reinforced as the man that arrives in a luxurious car is a generic drug lord that owns luxurious suits and expensive cars due to his criminal lifestyle.
Frantz Fanon
The poster reinforces Frantz Fanon's theory that ethnic minorities are generally infantiziled in western media especially by charities. This idea reinforces the fact that it over simplifies a very complicated situation as it shows the ethnic minorities as children or simple minded which shows the fact that they need the help of ethnic majorities and without that help they are likely to die.
The trailer of Straight Outta Compton reinforces Frantz Fanon's theory by primitivizing and decivilizing black ethnic minorities especially those in the region of Compton. This is evident as it presents black minorities as exotic and aggressive men or warriors with a "natural sense of rhythm" that enjoy the hip hop and rap genre. Furthermore it presents these men as "gangstas" that defy the structure and the system by rebelling.
The music video of Ben Drew's Ill Manors reinforces Fanon's theory especially in the representation of youthful ethnic minorities. This is due to the fact of how the music video inadvertently primitivizes youth as they are shown to be aggressive men, or "tribal warriors". Furthermore, the music video also decivilizes them by portraying the youth as "gangstas". Finally, it essentializes the youth in the video by essentially reinforcing the previous aspects and then over simplifying the youthful ethnic minorities by the generalisation of groups based on certain stereotypes 'they all look the same to me'.
