How Might The Media Affect Audience Behaviour?

Again and again the media has come under fire when it comes to blaming something for an individual’s behaviour; things such as racism, aggressive behaviour and criminality are behaviours that are shocking and because of this, people want an explanation as to why people do these things. On the other hand, subtle ideas in the media such as political stances and prejudice towards groups of people can influence the opinions of many people. The media gives us a view of various cultures, religions and belief systems. The way that groups of people or sub-cultures are represented in the media can strongly affect the way that people view others without them realising it. For instance, post 9/11, the coverage of events linked to Muslim behaviour has been a lot more negative than it ever had been. This is due to an intense feeling of moral panic. Moral panic is when something appears to affect the population in terms of the social order. Because of the moral panic mind-set that many people have due to the media, people can have prejudice against Muslim people without them having done anything negative. The cultivation theory suggests that media outputs such as television have long-term affects upon viewers’ perceptions of reality. If a news story about a Muslim community is one with negative connotations, this has the potential to warp the minds of the viewers, confuse their ideas of reality and believe what the television, newspapers or radio tell them. The hypodermic needle theory states that, when presented with a form of communication – whether it is via television, radio or any broadcasting platform – the public accept whatever the message is, wholly and without question. If a post 9/11 story of a bad group of people is presented to an audience and the people happen to be linked to the Islamic religion, this fact will be made as emphatic as possible. Audiences will take in the negative ideas presented to them and this can plant a seed of prejudice into a suggestible individuals mind. There are many precautions taken in the media in order to 'protect' viewers or readers from negative influences which can have bad consequences on them. These precautions include regulation and censorship. Regulation is when media is monitored and intervened in, sometimes the government are in charge of regulation and whether a media product breaks any laws made in Parliament but there is also self-regulation which is when there are voluntary controls over a sector of the media industries. PEGI age ratings on video games are an example of self-regulation. In the debate of whether or not people need protection from certain kinds of media, there are different people who have different ideas and these include: those who articulate their concerns over the affect media has on the public without any evidence to back up their own ideas (this is commonly associated with politicians and campaigning groups), those who have conducted research into the effects of media on people - whether the outcome is positive or negative - (academics in various fields) and finally those who are usually the focus of the debate (normally children or teenagers who get swept up in the world of strong, adult content such as films and video games rated 18+). Classification is used to restrict access to various forms of media on the grounds of an individual’s age. The BBFC the body responsible for age classifications or certificates when it comes to any films released in UK cinema, films released on DVD and also some video games. Censorship is a topic with a great divide in opinion. If the government could control what we see or hear regarding, not only the news, but any information, this could alter free thinking in this country. We would also be very easily manipulated as the government could prevent the consumption of certain media within the country. In the UK we have access to almost any information we desire so, even if censorship could aid in stopping things such as prejudice, it could be used against the public as a form of brainwashing. When it comes to violence in the media, many suggest that post 9/11, audiences have become desensitised to shocking images. The outcome of this desensitisation is that media has become increasingly more intense in areas of violence, aggression, gore and criminality. These aspects are apparent in video games such as Manhunt which was linked to the murder of teenager Stefan Pakeerah in Leicestershire. Seventeen year old Warren LeBlanc murdered his friend Stefan after apparently playing the video game for days before hand, people close to LeBlanc - including his mother - claimed that he was ‘obsessed by the game’ and it was suggested that he was inspired by the game to act out the violent scenes in real life. This is an example of the social learning theory which was researched by psychologists Bandura, Ross and Ross. They found that when an individual is exposed to someone they admire for long amounts of time, see them receiving positive gratification for doing an action (in this case, a video game character murdering an enemy and reaching the next level), they will copy the action as they believe they will get a similar outcome (positive gratification). Even though the idea of Warren LeBlanc copying the game was ruled out in court on lack of evidence, the manifestation of violence in the media in someone’s mind is still there, whether they choose to act upon the impulse of replicating it or not.

'There are limited representations of women available in the media. Discuss.'

Representations of women in the media can appear as limited due to the way women are categorised. There are five main categories in newspapers and magazines that women normally fall under, these are: sex objects, wives and mothers, passive females, targets of scrutiny and the very few female journalists who get their voices heard amongst the majority rule of males. Lord Justice Brian Leveson criticised the representations of women in the media in his report into the standards of the press. In any newsagents male targeted magazines can be purchased with scantily-clad to nude women on the cover. These women are seen through what feminists would call the ‘male gaze’ and this is done to promote the magazine more successfully to men. Whereas magazines that have women as the key demographic may have a male or a female on the cover and never presented in the same way as they are in men's magazines. This representation places those women on the covers as sex objects and the objectification of women in the media has been an issue for decades. Another representation of women is that they are passive and almost 'helpless.' Recent images of television chef Nigella Lawson were published with her husband Charles Saatchi grabbing her by the neck. Nigella Lawson is presented as a helpless victim of a male and the press were empathetic towards her instantly with headlines gushing, 'Boiling point, Nigella grabbed by husband,' with more focus on Lawson's helplessness than Saatchi's aggression in the situation - note the absence of his name in the headline. Women are scrutinised so often in the media that it has become the norm to point out 'flaws' in them. Celebrities such as Adele and Keira Knightly have been criticised often by print publications regarding their weights. This constant captious attitude conditions people to respond to images of women with reckless discontent. Feminists would believe that we live in a patriarchy and we have become so used to socialisation that we follow whatever the media tells us whether it's sexist or not. Musical artists such as Beyoncé and Rihanna have been criticised in the past for their contradicting messages. They both say that women are equal to men and that women should also have their voices heard or even dominate the patriarchal society. Beyoncé often sings her famous 'Single Ladies' song which empowers women and protests that they don't need a husband or boyfriend to feel worthwhile. However Beyoncé’s new music tour is named the 'Mrs Carter tour' after her husband Jay-Z's real last name. The connotation of this being the name of her tour is that Jay-Z owns or dominates every aspect of her life. However, because of rapid waves of feminism in the past 100 years, female equality can be challenged in day to day life. It has become more socially ‘acceptable’ to speak up against gender inequality as famous feminists such as Andrea Dworkin and Germaine Greer have done. The message of feminism is still outnumbered by stereotypes and the crude objectification of women but it is still amongst the media.

To what extent do the media products in your case study do more than just entertain their audience(s)?

In our cross-media study we have been learning about different ways in which documentaries and the music industry influence and maintain their various audiences. The key aim of these different industries is to entertain and please their target audience but there are other aims such as to inform and to include the viewers or consumers. Channel 4’s documentary ‘My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding’ is an entertaining, yet informative mix of the Reflexive Mode and the Performative Mode of British documentary. The programme is designed to give an insight into the Gypsy lifestyle using the Uses and Gratifications theory of integration and social interaction as viewers are interested in the culture’s lifestyle and values. In the opening segment of the programme, a Twitter ‘hashtag’ is placed at the bottom of the screen which says ‘#bigfatgypsyweddings.’ This hashtag allows the audience to post on the social networking site Twitter and share their personal thoughts and opinions on the documentary. These ‘tweets’ are then read by others on the website, ‘retweeted’ and shared allowing a personal opinion to form on the internet. This mode of esteem links to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding has been harshly criticised over the past couple of years for representing the Gypsy Traveller community in a more negative than positive way. The entertainment aspect was overshadowed by the controversy of the racist and unrepresentative portrayal of the culture. There were many complaints made over the advertising campaign for the second series as images of sexualised teenage girls and a young boy with an aggressive facial expression were released all over Britain with the slogan ‘Bigger. Fatter. Gypsier.’ The Advertising Standards Agency deemed the broadcasters, Channel 4, as irresponsible as the print campaigns reinforced already deep seeded stereotypes of the Gypsy community and did no positive favours for those involved. The slogan was also considered a racial dig at the ethnic group as the word ‘gypsier’ was deemed derogatory and upset many members of the public. Barthes theory of the Hermeneutic Truth is used within the documentary leaving the audience wondering whether things are as they seem. Examples of this theory being used are shots of couples looking for a wedding venue and having gloomy expressions – it is later revealed that the groom is due in court several days before the wedding. Twitter is also widely associated with the music industry. Many musicians and artists use the site to interact on a more personal level with their ‘followers’ or fans. Famous pop star Rihanna is well known on Twitter for sending tweets to her fans or to other celebrities. This is to promote herself as more than just a pop star and show her fans that she too is just like them. Rihanna regularly posts photos of herself having fun with her friends, getting her make-up done before photoshoots and even the odd funny picture of herself. She also uses the site Instagram to edit her photos - this is another social networking site which allows fans to feel a personal connection to the star. Alternative Rock band Muse tweeted a photo to the site before the 2013 Brit Awards showing lead vocalist and guitarist Matt Bellamy outside a tube station in London. The ideology of the photo is to inform their fans that they are travelling similarly to how many of them travel around the capital and this represents them in a realistic and approachable manner. An example of personal influence in the music industry can be found in the creation of British band Everything Everything’s single called Photoshop Handsome, originally released in July 2009 which was not received well. They felt that they needed some sort of gimmick to promote themselves, so in 2010 they decided they would re-shoot the music video for the song - the difference being that members of the public would actually create the video. The band shot the video of themselves miming the lyrics against a green screen and contacted 'Photoshoppers' from all over the world asking if they would like to partake in their project. The animators who responded were sent 2-5 second clips from the video (400 in total) and told they could edit the clip however they wanted using the editing programme. Geffen (the label who Everything Everything are signed to) thought some of the clips were dubious but it added to the effect of the song and carried the message. Many of the animators who took part in the project posted on the internet what was happening and what they had been asked to do, this created a lot of excitement on forums and blogging websites as there was a lot of anticipation for how this video would turn out. This example is a unique way for members of the public to have more influence on the creation of a music video and does more than just entertain them on a later date, second hand. Justin Bieber also used an effective promotional technique on social networking site Twitter, claiming some secret footage of him was stolen and a mystery user on the website was going to release the footage and upload it to YouTube and Vevo at midnight. This sparked up lots of interest in internet users and thousands went on the website to watch the footage which was actually Justin Bieber’s new music video for his single ‘Beauty and a Beat.’ The whole thing was set up in order to promote the new video and gain ‘buzz’ across the internet, especially Twitter. This promotion technique kept the audience interested in the situation as it was unravelling as they were led to believe the events were genuine. Using Hall’s theory of Reception, it can be understood that the preferred reading of Justin Bieber’s tweets are that the audience are concerned about the stolen footage and worried about the outcome. Whereas the negotiated reading is that people whose social position is outside that of the target audience may find the tweets intriguing – they may still watch the footage but will be sceptical. The oppositional reading of the tweets will be completely cynical one and the reader and not believe a word of it. BBC2 documentary maker Louis Theroux made a series of documentaries titled ‘Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends’ which were in the Participary Mode of documentaries. These were very successful as he uses a unique style of interviewing and presenting. His subjects were American subcultures – an interesting and topical subject which many are curious to know more about. Subcultures such as wrestlers and pornographic actors are interviewed in the series and each one is unique and provides the audience with genuine information, straight from the source. Louis Theroux aims not to entertain, but to provide an in-depth insight and sense of voyeurism for the audience. This links to the Uses and Gratifications theory, not just because it is entertainment but it provides information about a subculture they want to learn about, personal identity as it could provide a gain of insight into themselves and finding models of behaviour, but most of all social interaction as the documentary allows the viewer to gain an insight into the personal circumstances of others and create a sense of empathy.

Documentary Analysis #2

Name of programme: My Transsexual Summer. Type of programme: Observational Documentary. Channel it is broadcast on: Channel 4. Topic of documentary: Males and Females going through the stages and processes of a sex change. The documentary has a linear narrative which is shot in chronological order. The only exception to this is when archive stills are used - usually photographs of the subjects before they became a transsexual. Voiceover: The voiceover is a well-spoken, English woman. I soon realised it was actress Nina Sosanya who is quite popular in British television and using her would allow the public to make that connection. She also has an appropriate, easy to understand voice. Talking to camera: When the subjects want to speak about their thoughts and feelings away from everyone else, that is the only time in the programme it is directly spoken to the camera - however sometimes it appears they are speaking to someone who is off camera in these segments. Talking off camera: Are questions asked by someone off camera? Does the person being questioned answer to the person off camera? No questions are asked by someone off camera but when the subjects are speaking on camera, they are facing someone who is behind the camera and never speaks or is seen. Vox pop: Does the programme include street interviews to get 'ordinary people's views'? When the transsexual subjects go out to bars, several members of the public speak how they feel to the camera - even though they aren't especially wanted and are being offensive. Interview: When the subjects give insight into their feelings, they are in artificial light, highlighting the way they look to show you how long along their sex change they are. Their identities are not kept a secret and occaisionally their name is shown at the bottom as a caption. The subjects are allowed to answer freely, however they like so the language is very informal and has manty pauses. This shows realism in the way they act and behave and thus reflects upon the rest of the documentary. Literisation: Captions are used to anchor the meaning of what is currently going on in the programme. Dates, times, place names, people's names. This is done in order to assist the viewer and allow them to know what is happening, when and where. This, along with establishing shots is very effective. Music: The overall feeling the programme gives is a positive, playful one. The music is almost completely non-diegetic and upbeat piano music - this also moves the programme along between cuts and transitions. When a particular scene is sad and for instance shows one of the subjects is upset, the music changes from being upbeat to being slow piano music which connotes sadness and empathy from the audience. Camera techniques: The majority of the programme is filmed in a fly on the wall style, with a high quality camera producing high quality images. The camera is hand-held so it gives the documentary a sense of realism as it is observational. Many camera shots and angles are used such as hand-held close ups and over the shoulder shots. There are occaisionaly dolly shots moving towards the building the subjects are staying in - these work as establishing shots to tell the audience what is going on and where it is taking place, it also works as a transition from one part of the programme to the other. A lot of the programme is "chill footage" and this is when the subject is followed around by the cameras and they are tracking their non-rehearsed moves.

Creative Ways of Promoting - Everything Everything

"Photoshoppers of the world unite"

URL link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6udfNIzRUX0

British band Everything Everything released a single called Photoshop Handsome in July 2009 with a music video and it wasn't a success. The problem was that they were still trying to gain a fanbase and get the media's attention. They felt that they needed some sort of gimmick to promote themselves, so in 2010 they decided they would re-shoot the music video for the song - the difference being that members of the public would actually create the video. The band shot the video of themselves miming the lyrics against a green screen and contacted 'Photoshoppers' from all over the world asking if they would like to partake in their project. The animaters who responded were sent 2-5 second clips from the video (400 in total) and told they could edit the clip however they wanted using the editing programme. What the band recieved back was staggering, many of the clips contained band member's heads exploding and wearing strange costumes after the editing process. Geffen (the label who Everything Everything are signed to) thought some of the clips were dubious but it added to the effect of the song and carried the message. Many of the animators who took part in the project posted on the internet what was happening and what they had been asked to do, this created a lot of excitement on forums and blogging websites as there was a lot of anticipation for how this video would turn out. In conclusion, Everything Everything gained a huge amount of free promotion from the excitement stirred from the music video's production and are now recognised British Indie band with a large fanbase throughout the world.

Documentary Analysis

Name of programme: The Most Hated Family in America by Louis Theroux. Type of programme: Documentary. Channel it is broadcast on: BBC 2. Topic of documentary: The Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. Voiceover: Louis Theroux, BBC documentary maker, British, adult male. Talking to camera: Louis Theroux also appears in the programme as he is the one doing the research on the documentary subject and interviewing those who are the subject in the programme. He interviews the subjects of the documentary in front of a very obvious camera crew, so they are aware they are being filmed. Louis Theroux is a well-respected BBC documentary maker so many people watch it purely because it was made by him. Talking off camera: Louis Theroux speaks of the Westboro Baptist Church to the camera away from them, expressing his own thoughts of the situations he is in and an honest understanding of some of the things going on around him. Vox pop: Members of the public in Kansas talk about the Westboro Baptist church in a hateful way, due to what they've seen and heard. This could be an unrepresentative interpretation of people's views on the subject as members of the Westboro Baptist Church are presented in an intensely negative manner in the documentary. Interview: Those being interviewed in the documentary are in their own setting and natural environment. These include places such as their church, gardens, bedrooms and living rooms. This is to show the audience watching that this is a very realistic view of the documentary subject and it is not artificial in any way. Literisation: There are no pieces of text on screen, the information about any settings or times are given via voiceover from Louis Theroux as a lot of the programme is narration. Music: There diegetic music in several parts of the documentary, this is the Westboro Baptist Church's choir being used to move scenes along in the programme. This gives an even more realistic and in-depth view of the subject in the documentary. Camera techniques: Hand held camera following people around dominate the programme, with the occasional stable shot of Louis Theroux driving in his car to show a change of location.

Lynx Moving Image Analysis

This is a moving image advert for Lynx Excite, an antiperspirant made by the company. The slogan for this product is 'Even angels will fall' and they wanted this to link straight back to the advert in people's minds. The setting of this advert is Dubrovnik in Croatia. The narrative is that many 'angels' have started falling from the 'heavens' into the town whilst locals watch on in amazement. The angels appear to be walking towards a single man who has sprayed himself with Lynx's new antiperspirant. Starting with a quick panning shot of an angel falling before a child, the only sounds heard are the sounds of people talking and the angel crashing to the ground. These sounds are diegetic as the characters on screen can hear what is going on. There is a brief moment of silence as a crowd gathers around the unknown object which has fallen before them and handheld, low angle shots of bemused faces follow the silence. The unknown figure then stands and it is revealed to be a young, beautiful woman playing the part of an angel. The angel symbolises the goodness in women and how pure and innocent they can be - this is also reflected in the character's beauty. As soon as the angel looks up and her beauty is revealed, a choral version of Air's popular song 'Sexy Boy' begins to play. This is an interesting piece of non-diegetic sound as the song would not normally be associated with angels and heaven, the song has strong themes of sex and lust - the choir make the song sound angelic and innocent and when the chorus of the song is finally heard towards the end of the advert, it almost gives off comedic value and the juxtaposition of good and 'bad' comes into play. Another angel then falls before an elderly taxi driver who then gets out of his car to see what the commotion is, only to be stunned by the beautiful angel before him. A close up eye-level camera shot shows his shocked face staring at the angel. This scene, plus several others, show that all men (and women) appreciate beauty - whatever age - and that these are the most desired of all women as they are more pure and pulchritudinous than any others. There is even a somewhat comedic scene where a blind man is shown to be turning his head whilst an angel passes by, this could imply that there is an aura about the way she moves by and he can sense the perfection in her. To summarise, the angels are the definition of the perfect women. The angels eventually end up in a square with the cameras following their every movement, normally from in front or behind in a dolly shot. There is diegetic sound of birds flying away as the angels finally approach what they were looking for which is a young man. This man is attractive, well dressed and drives a Vespa scooter, he could be someone other men aged from 18-25 aspire to be like and therefore could make them invest in Lynx products. One angel takes her halo and throws it on the floor with diegetic sound of the halo smashing on the stone. The women are all making suggestive eye contact with the young man and looking at him as if he was perfection itself. The other angels look at one another and then do the same as the first, discarding their halos. The halos show what an angel is, possibly more than the huge wings they have on the sides of their body. The final shot of the advert shows the protagonist spraying Lynx Excite on himself, supposedly the next morning. Clearly shown in the back of the shot is an unmade bed with feathers scattered all over, giving the impression that the young man has made love to the (no longer) angels. The overall ideology of this campaign is that, once they have used Lynx Excite, men have the power to attract the most perfect women around. When the angels discard their halos and turn 'bad' this is to represent sexual desire. Being pure is shown by not having sex and an angel is the closest you can get to being pure therefore Lynx suggest that their products make women lust after regular men.