COLLECTIVE IDENTITY AND REPRESENTING OURSELVES!

 

COLLECTIVE IDENTITY AND REPRESENTING OURSELVES:

Task 1: Media Magazine article

Read the Media Magazine article on collective identity: Self-image and the Media (MM41 - page 6). Our Media Magazine archive is here.

Complete the following tasks on your blog:

Read the article and summarise each section in one sentence, starting with the section 'Who are you?'

Who are you?

The section who are you is about the representation of cultural values that helps to construct an image communicate our identity.

I think therefore I am

How we presented ourselves was based on the social constructs.

From citizen to consumer

Advertising tapped into understanding the psychology behind the wants and desires and used it for their advantage.

The rise of the individual 

Advertising started to identify that a person who has not met their ideal self has many fragmented pieces and identities. They portrayed products to help customers think this will define their identity.

Branding and lifestyle

Advertisers sell the personality rather than the product, so that people will choose products that match their own self-image.

 List three brands you are happy to be associated with and explain how they reflect your sense of identity.

• Spotify: I listen to a lot of music, as a part of my therapy 
• Apple: I love this brand, because of the new developments it brings, one major product that has changed my life is air pods, because those wired headphones was too much.
• Swarovski: I love buying and wearing jewellery as part of my daily life, especially from this brand and of course there is many more

Do you agree with the view that modern media is all about 'style over substance'? What does this expression mean?

I agree with this view because I believe that social media is a filter of people and their lives where all the problems and issues they go through is put a filter upon. I believe in the fact that social media is a platform where you only have to look good its only about the style, almost makes people forget the main purpose of social media which is to communicate, share memories and look back upon them. A good example of this is when people want to try out new restaurants they do not really care about the food and the restaurant in general but they only care about their Instagram pictures not just pictures of themselves but pictures and snaps of the food, all just to make their Instagram feed to look pretty and attractive. It is almost that the presentation of what is shown is more important than the experience and reality.

Explain Baudrillard's theory of 'media saturation' in one paragraph. You may need to research it online to find out more.

Baudrillard's theory revolves around the idea of hyperreality (Division between "real" and simulation has collapsed) in celebrity culture and a video game culture. In celebrity culture, this is the idea of people not being able to realize that they are living in a persona and therefore normal people attempt to replicate this. Also in video gaming terms, it is how games promote violence that leads to people doing violent actions in real life. The research of the Bobo doll is a large indication of this and how the media influences audiences to act differently.

Is your presence on social media an accurate reflection of who you are? Have you ever added or removed a picture from a social media site purely because of what it says about the type of person you are?

Me personally, I do not like posting myself on social media, I am more of a viewer and goes there for the fun, memes and news. When I do post a Instagram picture, I remove the picture because I end up looking at it too much to a point where I don't like it anymore so it gets deleted and I upload a new one whenever I feel like to.

 What is your opinion on 'data mining'? Are you happy for companies to sell you products based on your social media presence and online search terms? Is this an invasion of privacy?

 

I believe that data mining is a positive thing, this is because it gives you the chance to find things you are looking for and possibly help you invest in a different brand or a new product that could be life changing to you, you can become a loyal member to the business that can help in future in terms of discounts and promotions. I am happy if companies reach out to me to sell products, However some companies can be a scam so falling for them can be very tricky

Task 2: Media Magazine cartoon

Now read the cartoon in MM62 (p36) that summarises David Gauntlett’s theories of identity. Write five simple bullet points summarising what you have learned from the cartoon about Gauntlett's theories of identity.

• Texts from the mass media provide a wider variety of representations than ever before, allowing educated modern audiences to "choose and mix."

• Media texts' messages about self-identity and lifestyle are actively processed by audiences. Publics are more aware of the messages that media texts are advocating.

• Viewers might be moved and motivated by media texts.

• Critical theory serves as a backdrop for Gauntlet's argument that mainstream culture is no longer a "backward-looking force" but rather a force for transformation and that "identity is today perceived as more fluid and transformable than ever before."

• While women are encouraged by mainstream media that they may be anything they want to be, Gauntlett doubts the notion that masculinity is "under crisis" and comes to the conclusion that "identities pushed to men are relatively confined."

Task 3: Representation & Identity: Factsheet blog task

Finally, use our brilliant Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) to find Media Factsheet #72 on Collective Identity. The Factsheet archive is available online here - you'll need your Greenford Google login to access. Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions to complete our introductory work on collective identity:

What is collective identity? Write your own definition in as close to 50 words as possible.

A group of people who have similar traditions, attitudes, and perspectives on the world are said to have a collective identity. It could also refer to a person who joins a group and gains from the shared experiences, interests, and sympathies of its members.

 Complete the task on the factsheet (page 1) - write a list of as many things as you can think of that represent Britain. What do they have in common? Have you represented the whole of Britain or just one aspect/viewpoint?

• Tea
• Football 
• Fish and chips 
• Lion
• Balmoral 
• Big Ben
• Umbrellas
• Rain
• Cold 
• Pound sterling
• "chicken tikka"

 How does James May's Top Toys offer a nostalgic representation of Britain?

James May primarily features toys from his youth, aimed at men in their 30s and older, such as Airfix, Lego, and Plasticine. As a result, James May's "Top Toys" provide a nostalgic view of Britain for its viewers because, in the modern era, children in Britain no longer play with toys as much because they are too busy playing computer games or watching YouTube. 

How has new technology changed collective identity?

Since younger generations are more interested in playing video games and engaging with the modern world than they may be in possibly playing with toys like their grandparents so that they can experience that nostalgic feeling when they are older, new technology has changed collective identity and created a generation gap between younger and older people in Britain, ruining the sense of collective identity.

What phrase does David Gauntlett (2008) use to describe this new focus on identity? 

Gauntlett (2008), who in 2008 developed the "Make and Connect Agenda," is in favour of this new identity-centered approach. This is an effort to re-evaluate audience research in the light of the fact that media users are both producers and consumers of media content.

How does the Shaun of the Dead Facebook group provide an example of Henry Jenkins' theory of interpretive communities online?

According to Henry Jenkins' "repeated" theory, which states that "fan genres grew out of openings or excesses within the text that were built on and stretched, and that it was not as if fans and texts were autonomous from each other, fans created their own, new texts, but elements within the originating text defined, to some extent, what they could do," this group was established.