13th, Representation and black identity

A Netflix original documentary, 13th, is absolutely fascinating and is a must watch for anyone studying Representation or Identities in the media - particularly of black people.  It accuses the US state of essentially 'turning' slaves into criminals so that they could be re-locked up, undertaking menial tasks and essentially being subordinate to the bourgeoisie/ruling class.  The documentary explores how presidents including Nixon, Regan and Clinton essentially making up figures, creating moral panics, devising stupid initiatives (Just say no to drugs campaign) that essentially framed criminals.  The amount of prison inmates from ethnic backgrounds drastically increases over time, to the extent where the US state are able to make money out of them as their prison system is privatised.

The 13th amendment states: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction."  This is obviously ironic and the state essentially turns slaves into criminals to force them to become slaves, just with a different name, again.

FAKE NEWS!

Fake News seems to be something that is dominating newsfeeds on social media; it is sooooo easy to concoct a story, lie and post it on the internet.  Due to the lack of regulation of the internet, not only journalists, but Joe Public can post anything.  One journalist said classed these stories to be fake news, and not lies - but is there a difference?  Journalists are governed by IPSO (used to be PCC) which states that they cannot just make up news - this would be dematory, libelous and slanderous.  Since the phone hacking scandal, many victims now take out high court injunctions to escape being victims of sometimes, their own actions.  However, has this move now meant that journalists and users of social media alike are able to post anything they like?

A good read:  Facebook, fake news and the meaning of truth:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38106131

Guerrilla Advertising - the lengths institutions go to to get noticed!

http://justsomething.co/street-advertising/

Guerrilla Advertising just screams creativity - the link above just shows the lengths advertisers get to to get their brands noticed.  The way in which audiences interact with these scenarios, displays, exhibitions, whatever you want to call them, is vital and pivotal for them to remember the concept in the hope to buy and part with their cash!

Class, race, wealth: Britain is a nation blighted by divisions

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/nov/29/britain-blighted-by-divisions-theresa-may-integration-casey-report

For those of you studying Identities in the Media for Mest 4, AQA, may like to choose an identity such as British identity, class or even racial identities in Britain.

This article proves to be an interesting starting point, particularly looking at the impact of Theresa May's new government/cabinet and whether social integration is taking place; especially after a report showed this week that it was down to schools to monitor immigration when May was the Home Secretary.

Tech Tent - great new BBC podcast!

Have an interest in technological development and change?  Want to know how things will look int he future?

Subscribe to the BBC podcast here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04dctsn

What if gender roles were reversed in advertising....?

https://www.good.is/articles/intermission-what-if-gender-roles-in-advertising-were-reversed

I stumbled across this on Facebook as one of these 'You might be interested in....' suggestions - I usually skip over them, but this caught my eye.  It definitely puts a refreshing spin on what if gender roles in advertising were reversed, but also makes you realise the extent of objectification in the media that already exists.  Get applying your male gaze theory to these examples!

There's also a follow up video called Hunkvertising which is equally interesting!

www.adweek.com/news/.../hunkvertising-objectification-men-advertising-152925

Film noir.... or modern noir?

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/oct/28/after-the-maltese-falcon-how-film-noir-took-flight

This is a great article to read on the popularity of the noir genre - especially as so many Year 12s have picked the noir coursework film brief!  Something to get into your coursework research or evaluations!

And who said Media Studies wasn't an exciting subject....!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/37896253/media-student-confuses-the-internet-with-his-john-lewis-inspired-christmas-advert

This is a clear example that Media Studies students do posses amazing skills such as creativity, animation, independent learning skills etc etc etc - what a great piece of coursework!

Film director gets the recognition he deserves!

Steve McQueen has recently been honoured by the BFI, and rightly so.  The film industry has always largely been run by white middle class and middle aged men - these sorts of directors are breaking the mould and as a result, better quality, more controversial, exciting and experimental films are being made.

Well done to y Kelly Reichardt and Julia Ducournau too who won awards respectively for their films; again people breaking the mould (women this time!).

#BFIismulticultural  #oscarssonotwhitenextyear!

What the media doesn't tell you......

It may be because I live the other side of 'The Pond', but I thought that there were only 2 presidential candidates for the US vote; the repulsive, inexperienced, inappropriate Trump, and then Hilary Clinton; apparently not!

There are other candidates in the running, but they don't seem to get any of our air time - I wonder how much they actually get int he US?

You can see a full list of the candidates here:  http://www.politics1.com/p2016.htm

It just goes to show how much the media does;t show us; think about what else they're hiding from us....

Stop calling disabled people inspirational!

Guardian video on stop calling disabled people inspirational startled me - but Dr Frances Ryan has got a good point!  Have representations of disabled people now gone the other way and are too positive, especially since the increased reporting and acceptance of the paralympic games.

Distortion of British values?

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/video/2016/oct/05/akala-the-propaganda-of-british-values-is-a-distortion-of-history-video

An interesting video from rapper Akala; are our British values based on propaganda and hegemonic views impressed upon us from history and politics?

More positive representations of body image - the new H & M advert

The new H&M advert - Autumn 2016 - really caught my eye.  It's quite a big move for a large and mainstream clothing firm, however it's positivity about body image and the representation of women is great.  This advert has it all - hairy armpits, a bald woman, a female bodybuilder and a lesbian kiss. It's refreshing to be given more feminist and postmodern representations of women, especially ones that sometimes we are afraid to talk about; take the woman on the train with her legs apart; the ladette behaviour in the restaurant; the woman at the part in a suit who looks masculine.

In your face Male Gaze!

Paralympics Photoshopping - moral?

The Brazilian Vogue editor thought it was acceptable to publish an article about the Paralympics, but used able bodied people and photo edited disabilities on to them -



Is this a clumsy mistake?  Is the majority able bodied audience need their expectations of body image confirmed because of this?

A bad judgement call for sure....  but it got publicised, which is the sad thing!

Audience positioning on a new and relevant level

Audience positioning is always an area that students struggle to comprehend; it's not sitting on the sofa in front of the TV!  It takes into consideration who we side with in a narrative, balance, bias, what we are(n't) shown and so on.  

The video below takes this to a new level and literally positions the viewer as a refugee using their phone to escape atrocities and striving for something better.  The use of a point of view position allows full engagement; the verisimilitude of the device, messages, whatsapp etc doesn't allow your focus to deviate and is very clever. 

The video is best viewed on a mobile or hand held device.  

Meet the Superhumans - Yes I Can!

With the Olympics and Paralympic Games in Rio just around the corner, Channel 4 have done themselves proud once again in relation to the representation of disability in the media.

Whether you're looking at institution and ethos, identities or representation, this trailer is a must see for media studies students. 

There has been some controversy around the trailer with some saying it's too glamorous, or others saying it misrepresents people with a disability as they are made out to be special humans with magical powers; The superhumans.  The fact that this particular social group is being represented in the media is a step int he right direction and lessens the stigmas attached.

The Objectification and Scrutiny of women has hit a new level

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/13/jennifer-aniston-fed-up-women-essay

Jennifer Aniston, star of Friends and an A-lister celeb, will always face scrutiny due to her position - however, I must admit that the press has hit a new low - do we care if she is pregnant or has just eaten too much?  The Guardian newspaper released a video which certainly raises some interesting points which can be accessed on the link above.

If you're studying representation of gender, the female identity, or the idea of celebrity, this is a must to write about contextually!

Pokemon Go! A good idea?

The concept of a new Pokemon Game will certainly hail both new and old audiences and the concept of the new geo tagging game seems a great idea and feat of new technology.  However, the safety aspects and issues it flags up, particularly for more passive and let's say, stupid audiences, is quite shocking.

The discovery of a dead body, the potential risks audiences face in terms of their safety - getting run over, phone jackings...... is this game a good thing?  Put it this way - nintendo are laughing all the way to the bank since their shares have gone up 50% since the release of the game.  That's until, something goes wrong...

I Pickachu-oose not to play this game personally!

Is Video Game Violence Dead?

Some might say that Video Game Violence is a thing of the past - or is it?  Perhaps it is just something that is still happening, the media just choose not to tell us much about it any more - hegemony at work!  The documentary below is about the story of Breck Bednar, an innocent teen gamer who became friends with someone online that ended in tragedy; it's still relevant, the risk is still there and this is certainly still an issue and debate in the media.

What actually is the Chilcot inquiry into the Iraq war?

If you don't know about it, then you need to!

The Chilcot Report is an independent inquiry looking into whether or not it was right to go to war in Iraq for the second time in 2003 and what lessons can be learnt from this event.

The video below shows a short, condensed and easy to understand timeline of events to help you.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-36707153