Binary Oppositions and Ideology

The main binary opposition in this interview is between both speakers themselves, both of them have completely different views, which therefore creates arguments and conflict between Russel Brand and Nigel Farage. Their views on  political ideologies do not have any similarities at all, and as we can see in this interview, both of them want their points to be heard by the public/audience. 

In this interview, we can see that Russel Brand is representing the working class. He relates to the audience much more in comparison to Nigel Farage. Russel Brand says during the interview to the audience that he is 'just like you'. Which shows he can relate to the audience and engage with them, and most of all understand where they are coming from. He also talks about being brought up in a similar environment as the audience, and tries to turn them against Nigel Farage, by saying that Nigel was brought up in a more privileged environment. By Russel doing this, he can get the audience to level with him more easily as he shows them he understands their struggles.

In this interview the main binary opposition is both speakers views ( Russel Brand and Peter Hitchens ) on drug addiction being a crime or not. Their views on criminal ideologies differ quite a lot. Hitchens believes that drug use should be a criminal offence and that drug addictions shouldn't be treated as a "disease". Whereas, Russel believes drug addictions should be taken more seriously. Therefore, due to them both having completely different views on the way drug addiction should be handle, this created conflict between both speakers. Russel Brand can be seen to sympathise with the whole topic as he went through drug addiction himself. He believes that people with drug addictions should get proper care/treatment, instead of thrown into jail for it being a criminal offence. Therefore, due to both of their views being completely different, there is a lot of conflict about what is right and wrong and both want what they have to say to be heard. 

12D Cover Work - Monday 7/12, p1/2

The World of Mockingjay

This article looks at the dystopian representation of capitalist society. This is shown in the most recent Hunger Games film, and can also be seen in the previous ones. In the dystopian society of Panem, there are thirteen districts in the city of the country ( ‘The Capitol’ ) with the aim to survive. Each district is poor, and have to survive on little food and water. They therefore have to work to provide coal, technology, food, power and other services to the Capitol. The 'Hunger Games' is a game in which two children between the ages of 11-18 are sent from each district to partake in an annual event that involves forcing each child to kill one another until only one is remaining. The aim of the game is to keep peace in the districts, as well as keeping them under control. In terms of Marxist theory we can see that the ruling class keep the poor under control. The main ideology of the way Panem is run is that; the more powerful are the ones that control what goes on. President Snow believes that hope is the ‘only thing stronger than fear’ and scares the rebels by using the media and propaganda to show previous events of the 'Hunger Games'. 


Understanding Ideology - They Live:

This article analyses the complex aspects of Media Studies, it looks at the concept of 'Ideology'. It looks at the meaning of the term, as well as looking at the concept of hegemony. This article also looks at the work of three key theorists. Furthermore, it explore the term through a film from 1988: John Carpenter’s They Live. These  three features  are generally agreed to be part of the dominant ideology in Britain:

• People should put their families first.

• Women should behave in feminine ways, and look after their appearance.

• People should work hard for their money. 

Hegemony is the ability of the dominant class to project its own way of seeing the world so that those who are dominated by it (the masses), accept it as ‘common sense’ and ‘natural’. Slavoj Zizek is a current famous theorist, who looks at how we accept our control, yet we are still dominated. He argues that we are in a new global era where we cannot see how massively we are dominated by the elite 1%.


What does Gramsci's theory of hegemony suggest about power and ideology in society?

• Gramsci introduced the concept of hegemony, and its role in social control. He suggested that those who have power maintain the control they have, instead of using force. He argued that the power of ideology derives primarily from ideas and structures which support, and thus serve the purpose of, an elite social group which is able to dominate through ideas, rather than militaristic strength or fear. This implies that power and ideology in society doesn't have to be forced, but to remain constant. 

What does French theorist Louis Althusser suggest about ideology and consumerism?

• The French theorist Louis ALthusser suggests that ideology is the greatest material power and dominates our day to day lives through two key forms of control: Repressive State Control, also known as ‘Repressive State Apparatuses’ which are dominated by the ruling elite. These state agencies regulate social behaviour and repress the masses through violence, punitive law, and fear. And ‘Ideological State Apparatuses’ (ISAs), These looser institutions control and dominate implicitly through ‘common sense’ acceptance and social norms, rather than through fear. This echoes Gramsci’s concept of hegemony, by which ideology’s power derives primarily from consent as opposed to the use of force.

Year 12 cover work: Representation

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1. The female gaze article is about research that suggests advertising campaigns are dominated by heterosexual models that are size 0 to 2. Furthermore, it states that women in advertising are too "white" and under size 6. However, the brand 'Dove' decided to ban size 0 models and began to use models with different sizes.

2. The film that started the debate about the female body/image, is called 'A Perfect 14' and it looks/challenges the idea of what beauty is. It also goes against the traditional image of what a woman should look like and instead looks at different women. 

3. The 'female gaze' differentiates from the 'male gaze'. It differs as Mulvey suggests the 'male gaze' is when women are shown for the pleasure of men. Whereas, the 'female gaze' is when women look at other women (models) about what the perfect body is like.

4. I think the media should spend more time portraying women in different sizes. I think just showing one type of woman (size 0 model) would put more pressure on women as they would only have one certain way to look. However, I think there's more realism in the media portraying women in different sizes. 

5. 'A Perfect 14' is trying to portray to it's audience that you should feel comfortable in your own body and shouldn't try to look a different way like the size 0 models. The main character of the article is diagnosed with cancer, and this provides a emotional identification. Overall, the film portrays a positive outlook on positive models. 

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Introduction

This section of the article talks about how a person, place, objects or ideas being represented in a media text have been mediated by the act of representation. It also states how representations are filtered through someones point of view. 

Representations and the mass media

This section suggests that representations process through certain people, for example the photographer, picture editor and news editor. They can give images multiple meanings depending on their own ideologies.

The how, who and why of representation

We must consider who creates the image and the reason they create it. The producer always considers 4 things:

-the expectations and needs of the target audience

-the limitations provided by genre codes 

-the type of narrative they wish to create 

-their institutional remit.  

Barthes talks about the idea of 'naturalisation' and how the media chose certain things and do things in a particular way, which make the audience believe it's a normal and natural thing. 

Another approach to ideology - the work of Stuart Hall

Hall believes that the audience don't accept the ideology of texts but instead social and cultural experiences effect their opinions and interpretations. Halls critique is known the 'Encoding/Decoding Model.' Also, there is a relationship between the reader/viewer and the text. 

Representations and new media

Due to new technology and media, people can now make and share their own media products more efficiently. There's more ways for people to publicise their websites etc.  

An example - representing national identity in old and new media

Old media also constructs a view to their audience. For example, in 2014, during the world cup, The Sun sent a free newspaper to millions of homes, representing it's own idea of England is like. The whole paper was about 'English Identity' and was a positive approach to the monarchy. The modern day media, gave people a chance to give their opinions about old media. 

I'm very active on social media, I use a lot of social apps like, Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr and Twitter. When posting things, I do make conscious decisions of whether or not I want to post whatever it is I'm posting. However, I don't spend ages thinking if I want to post it and if it'll effect the way I'm presented on social media. 

In my opinion, I think both the audience and the institutions have power regarding representations in the media. For example, the audiences tell the institutions what the want to see, and if the institutions go against what the audience want, they won't have as many viewers. So I think both contribute to representations in the media. 

Representations

Graham Norton, BBC1 – Schwarzenegger 

In this clip men can be conveyed in many different ways. For example, the host, Graham Norton is portrayed in a feminine way, which contrasts to Arnold Schwarzenegger who is seen as very masculine. Arnold is seen as the dominant representation of men, as he's portrayed as a sporty and strong man. This representation of Arnold links with Perkins theory, as this stereotype of Arnold has helped with his fame and success. It could also link with Mulvey's theory as she suggests the dominant view in the media is masculine. Contrary, Graham Norton is gay and is seen quite feminine and therefore, reinforces Medhursts theory. Furthermore, the woman, Miranda is an alternative representation of women, due to her appearance. 

London 2012 – Bond/Queen 

In this clip, London is portrayed as very wealthy and a nice place to live. This could link to Perkins theory as she suggests that some stereotypes could be true/positive, and in this case there is a positive stereotype of London. Furthermore, James Bond is portrayed in dominant way, as he's dressed formally. In addition, there's a sense of a female gaze here as Daniel Craig (James Bond) is being looked at and admired. The Queen is also portrayed in a posh and wealthy way, and this could link to Perkins theory, as the Queen is being presented in a positive. 





Some Girls – BBC3 trailer 

This trailer portrays the four girls in an alternative way as you wouldn't normally see them on a team of something, and on a football team particularly. This goes against the stereotype of girls not being sporty/active. Furthermore, there is a dominant view of the blonde, as she only cares about her looks and isn't very intellectual. This links to Medhurts theory as it's a negative stereotype. In addition, the next girl is presented as aggressive and this shows an alternative view, as girls are seen as not so aggressive and more gentle. This could link also link to Medhurts theory.