Identities and the Media: Feminism

Media Magazine reading

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. 

08/02/17 - IMDb shuts down its message boards

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/feb/06/imdb-shuts-down-message-boards

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

08/02/17 - The historical truth about fake news

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/feb/08/the-historical-truth-about-fake-news

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.

Post-colonialism - bonus reading and tasks

MM58: Social Media and Black Identity

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.

01/02/17 - Fake news needs real press self-regulation

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/jan/31/fake-news-needs-real-press-self-regulation

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.

01/02/17 - #DeleteUber: how social media turned on Uber

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/30/deleteuber-how-social-media-turned-on-uber

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.

Post-colonialism: final blog tasks

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'.

Edward Said