Criminality: Case Study Day 1

Introduction to case study brainstorming idea: Analyze the representation of criminality in the media.

• Platforms: Broadcast, Print, E-media



• Broadcast Text Types: Scarface, Goodfellas, American Gangster & Game Over: The Alpo Story.



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• E-Media Text Types: Wikipedia pages on Big Meech, Larry Hoover and Frank Lucas all real life criminals who have been referenced in the media. Also comupter games such as The Godfather, Scarface, Warriors and Mob City.



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• Print Text Types: newspaper (the sun, metro, mirror etc.)articles on crime and criminals



• Wider contexts:



• Timeframes: Comparison of two films one old and one contemporary for example scarface and law abiding citizen.



• Theoretical findings: Feminism because women are rarely shown in criminal representations in the media. Marxism because of the moral outcome in the majority of crime stories/films/other results the same. Postmodern because the films question the so called truths of who in soceity are actually the heroes and villains.



• Media Issues and debates: That the films/tv drama and fictional portrayal of crime inspires and influences society to act in a more aggressive manor. Enforces the macho male image problematic to society. The arguement that UK imitates the USA.

Merrin

Merrin (2005):

Argues that the media doesn't represent the reality of society any more but instead produce simulations to justify there own existence. An example of this would be a gossip magazine produce articles on non-factual information to ensure their production and continuation.

E-media: http://www.blogger.com/profile/09127640658084479636

Print: Baudrillard and the media

Jean Baudrillard

Jean Baudrillard (1980):

Baudrillard argues that we have lost contact with the 'real' world are living through a state of lies similar to the film the matrix. He pins this on our misunderstanding that television and cartoon characters are fake and incapability to understand the difference between the two.

E-media: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/2007/mar/07/guardianobituaries.france

Broadcast:

Print: Simulacra and simulation

Jean-Francois Lyotard

Jean-Francois Lyotard (1984):

"I define postmodern as incredulity toward metanarratives... The narrative function is losing its functors, its great hero, its great dangers, its great voyages, its great goal."

E-Media:http://www.marxists.org/reference/subject/philosophy/works/fr/lyotard.htm

Print: The Postmodern Condition

Dominic Strinati

Dominic Strinati (1995):

"Postmodernism tries to come to terms with and understand a media-saturated society. The mass media, for example, were once thought of as holding up a mirror to, and thereby reflecting, a wider social reality. Now that reality is only definable in terms of surface reflection of the mirror" Strinati suggest that previously the media simply used to re-present society to us but have now moved to a position of dictating how society now works. Instead of an image we are being shown a simulation and now imitating it to try and match the projection; times have moved and metaphorically speaking us, as in the audience, have now become said mirror. "Postmoderism is sceptical of any absolute, universal and all-embracing claim to knowledge and argues that theories or doctrines which make such claims are increasingly open to criticism, contestation and doubt". For me this is the clearest definition of postmoderism, although it is still undefined.

E-Media:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Introduction-Theories-Popular-Culture/dp/0415235006

Broadcast:

Print: An Introduction to theories of popular culture

John Berger

John Berger:

Berger believes that seeing is one of the more important senses, he talks about children seeing and recognizing before words come. Also about never quite being able to describe a sight which has been seen to its full potential. To further this he talks about the skill of our eyes to more than just view an object, we also examine the distance from us as well as take a mental note of the surroundings. In terms of representation he believes that Men act and women appear, men look at women and women watch themselves being looked at.

E-Media:

Broadcast:

Print: Ways of Seeing

Laura Mulvey

Laura Mulvey 1975:
Mulvey argued the male gaze theory, which is that the media is an unsymmetrical power relationship between the audience and institutions showing them. It highlights the masculine perspective and ignornes the feminie side. Also it suggest that man objectifiy women in the media, which essentially means that they ignore the fact that women have emotions and intellagence; suggest that they are slaves simply there for vouerism and to serve this purpose."According to Laura Mulvey mainstream film staisfies esspeacially the male spectator by projecting his desirers on the screen. Women are regarded as objects of fetishistic dsiplay for male viewers' pleasure."

E-media: http://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/michaelwalford/entry/laura_mulvey_and/
Broadcast:
Print: Fetishism and curiosty

Claude Levi Strauss

Claude Levi Strauss (1958):

"Social anthropology is devoted especially to the study of institutions considered as systems of representations, cultural anthropology, to the study of techniques which implement social life." This quote basically suggest that the social norms are set out by the institutions behind the representations.Strauss believed that representations are made and this means that all representations have ideologies behind them; with certain messages being encoded into them and others left out.

E-media: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/science-obituaries/6496558/Claude-Levi-Strauss.html

Broadcast:

Print: Structural Anthropology

David Gauntlett

David Gauntlett (2007):
"It is highly unlikely that these ideas will have no impact on our own sense of identity. At the sam time, tough, it's just as unlikely has a direct and straightforward effect on it's audience." David Gauntlett believes that our personal identities are very complex and no one thing came determine it. A number of factors come into it and we take some charcteristics from the representation in the media as you can't escape from it.

• E-Media: www.theroy.org.uk/david
• Broadcast:
• Print: Media Gender and Identity

Richard Dyer

Richard Dyer (1983):

' How we are seen determines how we are treated, how we treat others is based on how we see them. How we see them come from representation' (Matter of Images) Richard Dyer believes that the representations we see determines how we then treat a certain people or situations. He argues that how we see something in the media is then how we react to it within a reality; for example if we see gays being abused on television we will imitate this behavior. He also comments on the idea of stereotypes having an impact on the social classes within society. 'the feeling that how social groups are treated in life, that poverty, harassment, self-hate and discrimination are shored up and instituted by representation.'

• Emedia:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dyer


• Broadcast:
  


• Print:Matters of image

Media Conference Reflection

Chewing gum for the brain: Why do people talk such rubbish about Media Studies?
Why Media Studies is worth studying. Professor David Buckingham

1.The claim that media studies is a soft subject and that schools pushing their students into to get higher grades and get higher up the league tables.

2. I learnt that media is given a bad name because it allows the lower classes to interact with the power positions but also that it is experiencing the same predujice as english literature.

3.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/culture_industry

Online media, Cleggmania, and the Cowell Factor.
How do online media and convergence impact on the ways audiences and producers use and create media? Dr Julian McDougall

1. He speaks about the idea of media 2.0 comparing it to the internet 2.0, saying that the media has envolved and every media is expriencing convergance. Also he examines whether or not people such as simon cowell has dictatership or democratic power; aswell as the impact of the live political debates.

2. The idea of power and how he suggest it should work interested me, in particular whether simon cowell has as much power as the priminster.

3.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk5hvjmy_yg

Perfecting your production work.
How to get the most out of your practical projects. Pete Fraser

1. He remind us of the importance of planning aswell as taking a lot of shots for each scene. Also he said don't be affraid to take risk

2. I took from the lecture that i should plan for things to go wrong.

3.http://www.petesmediablog.blogspot.com

Paranormal Media: audiences, spirits and magic in popular culture
Supernatural media, audiences, and key concepts at A level. Professor Annette Hill.

1. She spoke about the fascination in the paranormal activity within the current media landscape.

2. I learnt from her lecture to look deeper into your chosen genre than the most popular shows and explore the less popular text.

3.http://www.westminster.ac.uk/schools/media/camri/research-staff/hill,-annette

MEST 4 Redo

1: Outline the Text and Topic to be investigated

The Truth Behind Hip Hop - Take a look into rumours of hip hop being run by Freemason illumanti trying to subliminally drive its followers into worshipping the devil or another type of deity. Also take a look into the criticism of the mainstream media that hip hop promotes violence and promiscuity. And finally explore the claim that hip hop is dumbing down it's audience and lowing the social standards shared by the masses; such as drug and alcohol use, having sexual activity with more than one sexual partner and going into prison.

2: Outline the proposed linked production piece

A number of pages in hip hop magazine XXL. The first page will be the front cover, followed by the contents page, a 3paged feature article and possibly an advertisement. The link between the research and the production is the genre. The magazine will give me a format to present my findings as well as portray the common ideological conventions of the hip hop scene.

3: List at least 2 Media texts that you plan to investigate.

Worldstarhiphop.com and MTV Base music channel

4: Why have you chosen these texts?

I have chosen Worldstarhip.com because it audience is the hardcore hip hop fan and the website blog address all issues concerning the hip hop genre and will give me a great insight into the elements which surround hip hop. My second choice MTV Base is a music channel dedicated to playing hip hop/r&b music 24 hours a day; i choose this because it is target at a more mainstream audience and displays hip hops place in the current media landscape.

5: Apply MIGRAIN to the 2 texts.

Worldstarhiphop.com

M A on-line video blog or vlog
I DJ Whoo Kid owns and Jordan Tower films associated

G Hip Hop Videos and videos with connection to hip hop

R Uncensored footage from the hip hop community

A

I Violence and Promiscuity

N Pages of video content

MTV Base

M Music videos

I Viacom

G Hip Hop/R&B

R Music Video Stars

A

I Glamours lifestyles/ High Life

N 24 Hour Music Channel

6: What are the issues and debates surrounding these two texts?

Is the content on worldstarhiphop.com to raw, it has been argued that the footage goes to far showing shootings and sex scenes. And is the lifestyle being shown all day long on MTV base a bad role model to the audience watching.

7: State why you believe the 2 texts fit the 'contemporary media landscape'.

Both text fit the contemporary media landscape because the are both still current and are both still running on the respective platforms.

8: Discuss the reason this topic area resonates so deeply with you?

Because it is an area of which I am interested and want to find out about therefore I will be motivated to research. Also the work won't feel like work and therefore I will be more likely to do more for longer periods.

MEST 4

1. The Truth Behind Hip Hop - take a look into the controversy surrounding the hip hop genre/culture and investigate the reasons why

2. The linked production piece could be:

• a 4/5 page article in XXL or another hip hop based magazine touching on a number of topics associated with the hip hop culture.
• a music video showing the current state of hip hop in the current media landscape.
• a radio interview with a hip hop star talking about the violence and abuse of women in hip hop or arguments of free masonry.

3. MTV Base - music channel solo based on playing music from a hip hop culture.

XXL Magazine - a magazine solo based around the hip hop lifestyle.

4. Because they are both based around the hip hop genre and will have a lot of content as-well as address all of the topics that are said to be caused by the raise of hip hop in the main stream media.

5.MTV Base

M Conventions of the typical video i.e. girls, alcohol

I Viacom

G 24-hr Music Channel

R Represents the stars of the videos as living glamours lifestyles

A

I Shows the Ideologies of Hip Hop through the videos and promotes such ideologies to the audiences

N Plays music videos as well as comedy and reality television all based around artists

M Articles and pictures

I Harris Publications

G Hip Hop Magazine

R The Hip Hop genre through pictures and articles on the stars

A

I Shows the Ideologies of Hip Hop through the content of the magazine images and text

N A number of features articles

6. The negative qualities hip hop music promotes such as: the selling of illegal drugs, violence, the mistreatment of women and promiscuity.

7. These two texts fit within the contemporary landscape as they are both still running in the current day and still acquire a large number of viewers/readers. Also the topic if hip hop is still within public debate and still manages to make it into the mainstream media i.e. a hip hop/r&b song can make it to top of the pop charts or a hip hop based film can make millions in the box office.

8. I choose to this topic because an area i hold genuine interest in and believe that could motivate me to do more research and work as it won't even feel like work. Also there is still a lot of content available on the topic along with many issue which allow for critical anatomy.

MEST 3

1. The MediaGuardian 100 is a list of people who have effected the current social climate and influenced the media landscape. It includes names of candidates and their professions, for example Steve Jobs creator of a

Apple (He toped the list). The panel of judges consists of a number of different people connected with different aspects of the media and are all at quite high points in their careers.

2. Their are 19 women in the list

3. Jay Hunt-BBC 1 Controller

Rebekah Brooks-News International Chief Executive

Elisabeth Murdoch-Shine Group Chairman & Chief Executive

Helen Boaden-BBC News Director

Dame Marjorie Scardino-Pearson Chief Executive

Tessa Ross-Channel 4 Controller of Film & Drama

Dame Gail Rebuck-Random House Chairman & Chief Executive

Roisin Donnelly-Procter & Gamble UK & Ireland

The majority of women in the list are chairmen & chief executives showing that for women to make it onto the list they have to be in the very top positions. This show that the media institutions on a whole are controlled by men.

4. 19% of the list is female

5. The balance of power in this list shifts towards men, their are 81 men in the list opposed to just 19 women. This could be for a few reasons such as: the prejudice against women in the work place, men holding and keeping a monopoly on the key media roles or the panel may be basis due to the fact that they consists of more men then women 5/4.

ANALYSIS OF AS MEDIA

MEDIA THIS YEAR HAS BEEN LONG BUT WORTH IT, IVE SPENT ALOT OF TIME DOING COURSEWORK, REVISING KEY CONCEPTS AND DOING CASE STUDIES. THERE WAS TIMES WHEN I THOUGHT I WOULDN'T FINISH, BUT I NEVER QUIT AND STAY BACK TO SOME STUPID TIMES DOING WORK. IN THE END ALL THE SACRIFICES WHERE WORTH IT BECAUSE WHEN YOU FINISH THE EXAM AND GET YOUR COURSEWORK GRADE IT ALL SEEMS WORTH IT.

MY ADVICE IS DO ALL WORK EARLY AND MAKE SURE YOU KNOW YOUR KEY CONCEPTS WELL.