Answering Q1B: The Essay

M - Media Language

R - Representation

N - Narrative

A - Audience

G - Genre

One piece of coursework

Genre

John Friske

“Attempts to structure some order into the wider range of texts and meanings that circulate in our culture for both the convenience of both producers and consumers.”
John Friske's theory fits with my own product because I have used conventions that will be convenient for both the producers and consumers.

Andre Basin

“Genres make magazine covers more efficient (by allowing the re-using of fonts, images and the like) and more marketable (by using generic conventions as a way of ‘selling’ the magazine covers to the target audience)."

I agree with Andre Basin's theory because I made my product efficiently and quickly because I knew what a fashion magazine looked like because of the genre and conventions that they follow.

Todorov

“Scientific method does not require us to observe every instance of a phenomenon in order to describe it; scientific method proceeds rather by deduction.”
I agree with Todorov's theory because we wouldn't need to see every fashion magazine cover to tell that the magazine is of that genre.

Narrative

Roland Barthes

“Linearity of cause and effect within an overall trajectory of enigma resolution”

In some respects, my magazine cover follows Roland Barthes theory because of the enigma in the image. However, my image on my cover does not show linearity or show much of a narrative because it is an image that has captured one moment.

Claude Levi-Strauss

(“binary opposition”) – night/day, good/bad, light/dark, good/evil etc. He observed that these oppositions tended to structure text's narratives. 

I agree with Levi-Strauss' binary opposites to structure text's narratives in my own product; for example within my colour pallet, I have used colours as an opposition so that my text would stand out against the colours in the image. I have also used this idea within my choice of fonts so that they compliment each other.

Tilley


Tilley (1991) ‘Action Codes’ are a short hand way of advancing a narrative. Action codes are part of the ‘Continuity Editing System’ and are used to signal to the audience that something is about to happen, helping the audience to predict what is going to happen next.

My magazine cover supports Tilley's theory because my image shows the audience that my model is calm and peaceful.

Representation

Hall and Holmes

“All media texts are re-representations of reality…they may be stereotypes or they may be complex representations but it is important to remember that they have been constructed to appeal to a particular target audience.”

My image for my magazine cover represents my audience though my choice of model because it supports Hall and Holmes theory that all media texts are re-representations of reality and it has been constructed  to appeal to a particular audience.

Stanley Hall (1904)

“Adolescence is inherently a time of storm & stress when ‘all’ young people go through some degree of emotional and behavioural upheaval, before establishing a more stable equilibrium at adulthood.

He thought that

1. Common mood in teenagers was depressed
2. Criminal activity would increase at the ages of 12 & 24

I have gone against this theory in my imagery because I have chosen a model that doesn't follow the stereotype of teenagers.

Laura Mulvey (1975)

“As erotic objects of desire for the characters within the screen story, and as erotic objects of desire for the spectator within the auditorium.”

My model in my image supports Mulvey's theory because she has been turned into an object that the audience will desire or will want to be like. Make up and photo editing has been done to my image so that my model appears to be more 'attractive'.

Audience

Hall and Holmes (1998)

“Any media text is created for a particular audience and will usually appeal most to this particular target audience.”

Morley 1980 Reception theory:


Negotiated, Preferred and oppositional reading

I created my product around my target audience and included stories and conventions that my audience would want to see. To make the image acceptable on any product, the people who buy, sell and produce the product must keep to certain rules. The preferred reading of my image is that the audience will think my model is fashionable and will want to have a similar appearance themselves. The negotiated reading of my magazine could be that the audience would buy the magazine because they want to find where they could purchase similar clothes to my model. The oppositional reading of my magazine could be that the audience dislike the model because of the way she looks, but purchase the magazine anyway.

Hypo dermic Needle Theory

The media inject ideas into people so that they believe it.

Uses and Gratification Theory - Blumler and Katz

·      Diversion (escape from everyday problems)

·      Personal relationships (using the media for emotional and other interactions e.g. substitution soap opera for family life).

·      Personal identity (constructing their own identity from characters in media texts, and learning behavior and values – useful if trying to fit into a new country/culture)

·      Surveillance (information gathering e.g. news, educational programming, weather reports, financial news, holiday bargains etc).

In terms of Blumler and Katz Gratification theory, my product is mostly about the idea of diversion in that it is a form of entertainment that will allow the readers to escape from reality.  My product is also about personal identity because the reader could use the characters in the magazine to construct their own identity from as well as their values and how they behave. 

Constructing an Essay - Question 1B

Analyse one of your media products in relation of audience:

PLAN

8 paragraphs

paragraph 1 = memorise quote, intro- describe media product (genre, ect), target audience, link back to the Q

paragraph 2 = hyper dermic needle theory, reading theories, mass/niche audience

paragraph 3 = demographics, audience profiling

paragraph 4 = specifics of product, technology: how it has changed product

paragraph 5 = commodification, uses and gratification, frankfurter theory

paragraph 6 = preferred reading...

paragraph 7 = successes/negatives in terms of audience

paragraph 8 = summarise media theories, success of media product

Practice Essay

Quote?
I have created a media product in the form of a fashion magazine. Although the genre of my magazine is fashion, I have made it with a regional slant to fit with the brief. This mixed genre will effect my target audience because some of the references in my magazine will only apply to people who are from Cornwall. Target audience?

2

3

I have included specific elements on my magazine cover such as the title of the magazine (covering 1/8 of the page), a bar code, date and price. These things in particular make my magazine into a product that can be sold and bought. Other specifics? The technology that I have used to create my product has effected the quality and overall look of the magazine; this is because I was able to use equipment and software that made my product look professional. If I were to have made my product 50 years ago for example, it would have looked a lot different; not only because different styles and themes would be in fashion, but because the technology used in order to make it high quality would not have existed. I used a Canon EOS DLSR camera for my images so that I started with high quality photographs and then edited and created my product using Adobe Photoshop.

Question 1B

MR NAG

M - Media Language: meaning
R - Representation: How things/ideas are shown
N - Narrative: How we construct stories
A - Audience: who is it for
G - Genre: The type of thing you are looking at

AS Cover meaning/media language:
I have followed the media convention of having my magazine title at a bigger size than any other text on the page so that it takes up around 1/8 of the page.
I have used a bold font for the page headings on my cover so that they stand out more than the smaller text underneath.
I used a bar code in the bottom right hand side of my cover and written the date, website and price.

Representation:
I used this image because of the dark colours and because of the photo editing that I used to make it seem like there are two of the same person in the image; this creates a sense of mystery. Also, my model is looking away from the camera which makes the viewer sense the mystery in the image and look more at the reflection in the mirror.

Narrative:
The story in my image creates mystery as the character is staring into the distance with a scared expression. Seeing the reflection in the mirror suggests what she is looking at: herself.

Audience:
I chose this image, fonts, colours and layout to attract my audience; this is because these are the kind of things my audience would look for in a magazine cover. I used colours such as red, green/turquoise and white to stand out against the background and show the more important parts of the text.
Audience profile:

Genre:
My magazine title is 'Replay' which suggests that the magazine is about music. The cover as whole suggests mystery which also shows in the genre. Headings on the cover also suggest the genre.

Theories

The media language question will allow to write about all theories. This includes the following: age, gender, sexuality, class and status, ability disability, race and ethnicity, national and regional identity. I must also decribe concepts and ideas, both political and cultural. We will need to discuss stereotypes; the male gaze. Representation is also a political decision. 

Barthes, Todorov, Propp, Levi-Strauss: narrative theorists.

Audience theory:

Mass audience:

Niche audience: 

Demographics: who the audience is made up of

The hypodermic needle theory / Uses and gratifications theory

Genre Theory:
John Friske: genre attempts to structure order.
Codes and conventions

Question 1B
25 marks
half an hour
write about 1 concept - one of mr nag
describing only one product - AS or A2

Example Question: 
Analyse media representation in one of your coursework productions.

1. How does your product target an audience?
Use the life matrix to categorise your audience.

The audience of my music magazine fell into the social grade of C2. They were predominantly female between the ages of 17 and 19 years old. This audience are likely to use this form of media for entertainment and read the latest stories about famous people. My magazine is aimed at Tribe wired people.

2. How does your product fit into Uses and Gratification theory and how do these areas overlap?

My product fits into the Uses and Gratification theory as it works as a diversion and would be used as a form of entertainment and for the reader to escape from real life. It could also be used as an Identity because my audience could use it to inspire how they dress or act. My magazine also includes stories about people in world so the audience could also use it as surveillance. 

3. Effects theory: How does the need to commodify your media product make it less 'honest'?

I have used my product as a commodity by including a bar code and a price.

4. Interface: How would your media product have differed if it had been produced in the past for a less 'sophisticated/attention-deficient' audience?

My media product would differ completely if it had been produced in the past. First of all, I wouldn't have been able to produce a high quality digital photograph for my front cover as digital cameras wouldn't have been used. Overall, the technology that used to make the product will change the appearance of it dramatically. 

5. How are your audience likely to respond to your media product?

Preferred: The audience like the colours used on the cover and it will stand out amongst other magazines.

Oppositional: The audience will think the magazine is dark and disturbing and won't want to read further.

Negotiated: The audience will like the magazine for the wrong reasons and will think...

6. Ideology: Does your media product have explicit and implicit ideology?

I have chosen a person to represent the ideas of my magazine. I made decisions about the gender and the expressions of my model because it suggests what genre of magazine it is. The genre of my magazine is implicit as it isn't very obvious as to what genre it is. One of the implicit ideas behind my magazine is my main image, it doesn't allow the viewer to immediately see what genre of magazine it is. The headings and layout of my magazine are more explicit as they suggest the genre more clearly. The currency that my genre values is the alternative views of the audience. 

7. What is a marxist reading of your media product?

The marxist reading of my music magazine would be to make the audience pay for things that they do not need. My magazine follows conventions of other magazines within this genre and doesn't break any rules.

8. Hegemony: How does your media product reinforce the current cultural hegemony?

 9. Post Moderninsm: How could your product be defined: traditional/modernist/post-modernist?

Post-modernism is a cultural concept that follows modernism. This is where the viewer is challenged because things are done differently and conventions are broken in order to be modern. Intertextuality is used in post-modernism; this is when the media refers to another text  and the viewer is rewarded if they recognise it.

My product could be defined as traditional because it doesn't do much to break conventions.  It doesn't have elements that challenge or confuse the consumer because it doesn't break any rules and it has structure. 

10. How 'real' in terms of Baudrillard is your media product?

Verisimilitude is what is real within the product. We view and understand the world through what the media tells us without experiencing it for ourselves. 

My image is of a posed model, so therefore does not show reality. On my final product, I have edited the image and gave it a vignette effect and an iris blur; this also shows that my image does not represent reality. My image includes levels of verisimilitude within my image because of the natural lighting which makes my model look more realistic.

Extras

LEVI STRAUSS Binary theory 'the media exists in creating a series of easily understood oppositions.'

BLUMLER "people see themselves reflected in the media they choose to consume..."

BARTHES  Enigma Codes Theory  "We read the media as a series of enigmas (puzzles) to be solved."

MULVEY the male gaze "the media constructs women as objects of erotic desire."

Z-PATTERN and Gestalt Theory of patterns. Rule of thirds.

In my magazine I have used the binary theory by Levi Strauss in my fonts as I have used fonts that are opposites to compliment each other. I have also used it within my colours so that the colours of my text is opposite to the colours of the background so that it stands out against it. Additionally, I have used this within my layout as the pattern of the flowers at the bottom is mirrored. 

I have used Blumlers theory that "people see themselves reflected in the media they choose to consume" in my work by reflecting my audience within my product. I have done this by including a pretty looking girl on my front cover who is very fashionable. This represents my audience because they will be interested in how they can look like my model and will also be interested in the fashion element.

I have used Barthes Enigma Codes Theory that states "We read the media as a series of enigmas (puzzles) to be solved".

I have used Mulveys male gaze theory that, "the media constructs women as objects of erotic desire" by using a female on my front cover that has been made to look pretty with the way she is posing, dressed and her style. 

I have used the Z-pattern on my cover as I have the title at the top which is the first thing that the viewer will look at, and then because of the way that the model is positioned, it directs the viewers eyes to the left corner, to then read the word 'escape' a the bottom, and return back to looking at the model.

I have used the rule of thirds on my cover by...

Twilight the Novel

1. How does a product target an audience?
Use the life matrix to categorise the audience.

In terms of the life matrix, the target audience for Twilight the Novel would be Home Soldiers. This is because they are home-centric, family-oriented and materially ambitious which are qualities that someone who is interested in reading books might have. The audience of this product would be of a young age; an audience of this age are easily influenced so might read the book only because it is popular and other people that they know read it, rather than them being interested in it themselves.

2. How does a product fit into Uses and Gratification theory and how do these areas overlap?

The product fits into 3 areas of the Uses and Gratification theory. It is used in terms of personal relationships in that people might use it to help them deal with other people as they will see how the characters treat each other in the book. It also fits into the identity area because they might use the way the characters act and things that the characters like to shape and define who they are and how they behave. Additionally, it fits into the diversion area as it's audience will use it as a form of entertainment and as an escape from real life.

3. Effects theory: How does the need to commodify a media product make it less 'honest'?

Twilight the Novel is already been commodified into a product so that it has to follow certain rules and can be sold. In terms of it being honest, it is about a fictional story that is used for a form of entertainment, so doesn't show media that could lie about real life.

4. Interface: How would a media product be different if it had been produced in the past for a less 'sophisticated/attention-deficient' audience?

If this product had been created in the past, the cover may not have attracted the right audience because the technology wouldn't have been available to make the cover appealing to the correct target audience. For example, the 1940's version of Gone With The Wind was created from an original painting that will have been printed on to each book, whereas the Twilight cover may be embossed to make the hands or the apple look 3D on the paper. Also, the image used is an edited photograph rather than an original painting,

5. How are an audience likely to respond to your media product? (Preferred, negotiated, oppositional.)

The preferred reading of this media product's cover would be that the red apple represented something that is natural and has been untouched, which links with the story of the book because it is about vampires that have to bite people and drink their blood to survive, so in terms of symbolism, the apple represents the human girl before she has been bitten by a vampire. Also, the colour red is important on this cover because it could represent a lot of topics in the story: blood, love, romance, power or passion.

The negotiated reading of this media product is that the audience may think that the cover image has a hidden sexual meaning because of the way that the girl is holding the apple. The audience may think that the idea of the vampires...

6. Ideology: Does a media product have explicit and implicit ideology?

7. What is a marxist reading of a media product?

8. Hegemony: How does a media product reinforce the current cultural hegemony?

 9. Post Moderninsm: How could a product be defined: traditional/modernist/post-modernist? (do one for each)

10. How 'real' in terms of Baudrillard is a media product?

Youth Essay

In the UK, media has portrayed youth in negative light over the last 100 years. Dick Hebdige (1988), Stanley Hall (1904), Andy Medhurst (1997) and Bill Osgerby (1998) have gave theories that have been used in case studies of newspapers, social media and fiction films. In this essay, I will explore the way the media has represented youth since the 1900’s.

Youths were portrayed positively between the years of 1914 and 1945 because they were seen as heroic throughout the war years. The propaganda was used in the media to attract young people to fight for their country. I suggested that young men would be praised for joining the army in the Sunday Pictorial edition (20^th August 1944) when it said: “If you are over 17 and under 19, you are now needed for vital work.” Another example of when the media suggested that youths were seen as heroic was when the Daily Mail (1939) said, “There were casualties perhaps inevitable for the remarkable view these men laid down their lives for this country.” Furthermore, young women were also praised for their voluntary work as nurses during the war years; in the Western Morning News (1939), a quote from the matron shows that not only young men were seen positively: “I should like to thank the nurses for the noble work they have done in preparing the hospital, the whole of the staff have volunteered for the work.” This shows a time where youths were viewed positively through the eyes of the media. Because of the effects of the war, fiction films were not made in terms of the British cinema. Due to this, showings of the war were in the form of non-fiction documentaries about life in the war; but often didn’t show the true experience because they were heavily edited.

The media’s view on young people worsened after the end of the Second World War in 1945. Between the years of 1946 and 1964, the Baby Boom took place causing an increase of a younger population in Britain, which brought the birth of a current new country. An additional contribution to the amount of young people in the country was the influx of immigration caused by the legalisation for people with British passports from the British Empire and Common Wealth, which allowed younger people from other countries to come to Britain to find a better life; and also created an increase of cultural diversity.

In terms of politics, Winston Churchill carried Britain through WW2 but after the British Empire collapsed, Britain faced financial problems. In 1945, Atlee was elected from the Labour party because of his promise to help rebuild the country by creating things such as the NHS, free schooling and disability benefits – this was the birth of the welfare state.

This particular time between the ending of the war and the 1960’s represents the invention of the teenager. This in between child and adult stage was created because this age group is useful in terms of the media as they are a key market. The increase in the population of young people caused a conflict between them and the older generation; as a result of this, media institutions reported it in a way that portrays teenagers to be trouble; which fits with Osgerby and Hebdige’s theory of “youth as troublemaker”. An example that refers to this theory is the John Boulting film, Brighton Rock (1947) which focuses on the criminal behaviour of the younger generation.

During the 1970’s, youth were known as the Counter Culture because the media portrayed them to be difficult, dangerous and violent. The movements that youths followed during this decade were Punk Rock and Scar which were influenced by bands such as the Sex Pistols, Ramones and The Clash. In the UK, Punk Rock became a major cultural phenomenon and a punk subculture emerged where youths would express themselves by being rebellious and wore distinctive styled clothes, such as: leather jackets, spike and studded jewellery and deliberately offensive t-shirts. As the fashion and movements changed, this decade was known as the death of ‘peace & love’.

The 70’s witnessed social, cultural, economical and political unrest where there were strikes throughout the decade such as the Colour Strike (1970-1971), Postal Workers Strike (1971), Miners’ Strike (1972, and again in 1974). This lead to power cuts between 1970 and 1974, where the Conservative Government created the Three-Day Week in order to conserve electricity mainly due to the coal miners’ strikes. There were also riots across England such as; the Chapelton riot (Leeds), Notting Hill Carnival riot (London) and the Southall Riots (West London).

This was also the decade of the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II which was celebrated by the media and everyone in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. People had large-scale street parties and parades throughout the UK in 1977.

In terms of technology and entertainment, George Lucas’ Star Wars was released in the UK in 1977. This US film was popular in many countries with a very large target audience. In terms of British film, Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange (1971) portrays youth in a negative way by showing youth gangs and other social, political and economical subjects to be violent and delinquent. This supports Hall’s theory that youth go through “some degree of emotional and behavioural upheaval”. 

80's

During the 1990’s, the media portrayed youths to be trouble, which links with Osgerby and Hebdige’s theory which described “youth as troublemaker”, and also portrayed them to be addicted to sex, drugs and alcohol which supports Hall’s theory that “all young people go through some degree of emotional and behavioural upheaval,” and that “Youth must have excitement,” or it is “prone to be sought in sex or drink.” An example that supports this is from the BBC dated on the 1^st April 1990 during the football riots: “They have set fire to the chapel and gymnasium, and wrecked prison cells.”

Youth culture of the 90’s followed the grunge fashion, which was inspired by bands such as Nirvana where they would wear things such as t-shirts with ripped, baggy jeans and dye their hair unnatural colours. Other music such as the Spice Girls inspired the pop fashion where mostly girls would base their image on the way the Spice Girls looked: short skirts, crop tops and tight dresses. Later in the 90’s, it became popular for men to wear football t-shirts during the time of the football riots.

In 1993, Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain committed suicide. One of Nirvana’s most popular songs: “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, relates to the youth culture of this decade. Drugs such as ecstasy were also popular with the youths of the 90’s as well as illegal raves which supports Hall’s theory. Youths of this time would do illegal things for fun, but this meant that tragic incidences would happen; for example, this quote from the BBC dated on 13^th November 1995 shows the consequences: “An 18-year-old student is on a life-support machine after taking an ecstasy tablet at her 18th birthday party.”

In terms of British cinema, Danny Boyle’s Train Spotting is an example of how youths were portrayed by the media in the 90’s. This film shows the effects of drugs on people’s lives and also how they were always up to no good and in trouble; which supports Hall’s theory that “All young people go through some degree of emotional and behavioral upheaval.”

 

2000's