The royals and Race

From Victoria and Adbul, to Harry and Megan - as a nation we are not only obsessed with the Royal family - whether that is an aspirational aspect, a curiosity, or through sheer hate and Republican ideology - we like to know what they're up to and with who, especially if they aren't British themselves.  The recent release of Victoria and Abdul offers us a different, Empirical perspective of Queen Victoria and her relationships - alongside Prince Harry's new American girlfriend, we have become a nation (well the media assumes we are..) interested in the cross-pollination of British and foreign ideology.  This has also been seen with the abdication of Edward VIII and his relationship with Wallace Simpson.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/09/queen-victoria-abdul-karim-royal-family-racism

Male beauty - is there such a thing?

We're always scrutinising women in the media based upon how they look and act - but is male beauty such a thing that exists?  The pressures put on gender to act and look a certain way stems from Jacques Lacan's gender constructionist theory - which for men, I think, is more prevalent today now than ever.  The article below shows a range of ways in which the expectations of men in society have changed over time; from butch, masculine and patriarchal, to more effeminate, sensitive or even metrosexual.

https://brightside.me/wonder-people/how-standards-of-male-beauty-have-changed-over-the-last-100-years-188655/

Anyone can be a producer of the media!

Smart phones, computers, citizen journalism.... we all have the potential to be producers of media, as well as consumers - PROSUMERISM!  One of the latest editions of Time magazine actually used an iPhone to shoot the main focal images for its cover - read the article below to be inspired to take photos on your own smart phone!

https://petapixel.com/2017/09/11/times-latest-cover-photos-shot-iphone/

How has audience consumption changed?

With the growth of convergence, increase of accessibility and synergy, and basically consuming the media anywhere and everywhere, audience consumption has significantly changed over such a short amount of time.  With the influx of online providers such as Netflix and Now TV, binge watching has become an engrained part of audience consumption and culture.  This has also adapted the dynamics of the family at home and changed how society interacts with each other too.

An interesting read below!

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/aug/03/end-of-families-gathering-round-the-tv-as-binge-watching-grows

Wider contexts! How film reflects politics and societal attitudes of

It has been argued that the media reflects sociological and political context; look no further than Dunkirk, 2017!  Has Christopher Nolan used his film as a propaganda tool to help the UK through this process?

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/jul/20/dunkirk-spirit-british-film-brexit-national-identity-christopher-nolan

Photoshopping women comes under fire again!

With the anticipated release of the new Tomb Raider film, Alicia Vikander's main focal image on the new poster has been digitally altered which has been hotly contested by audiences.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41331702 read more here!