Collective Identity and Representing Ourselves: Blog Tasks :)

Media Magazine article

Read the Media Magazine article on collective identity: Self-image and the Media (MM41 - page 6): Media Magazine 

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

• Who are you?: we all construct an image of ourselves to communicate our identity and our self-image can be easily influenced by the context of the culture that surrounds us 
• I think, therefore I am: identity used to be fixed and predetermined based on social constructs (class, religion, gender and the predetermined roles that are part of our families) where people were just part of a number of collectives in which self-image was based on the success of meeting the expectations that coincided with the predefined role 
• From citizen to consumer: the post-industrial consumer boom presented the idea that identity that identity could be constructed in terms of an externalised image- customers were encouraged to buy what they wanted instead of what they needed to satisfy their desires 
• The rise of the individual: individualism began to take hold in the 1960s and 1970s when people started moving away from conformist values and uniqueness was empowering so people started buying products that were advertised as helping to define an identity 
• Branding and Lifestyle: branding is the association of personalty rather than the product because people tend to purchase products that match their own self-image
• Who will we be?: due to the anonymity of the internet, we are more in control over our public image than ever before and data mining allows corporations to create products designed to meet the needs that we reveal through our personal information 

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

• Twitter: I spend a majority of my time on Twitter because it's the only social media platform that I genuinely like and I have found a lot of online friends on Twitter and this reflects my sense of identity because my friends are a big part of who I am 
• Disney/Marvel: Since I was young, I would watch all of the Disney and Marvel movies and this reflects my identity because it was what I was exposed to when I was young so those movies have shaped who I am and now they are introducing a more diverse range of characters which makes me more happy to be associated with them because they are trying to represent minority groups 
• Netflix: I have watched a lot of the shows and movies that Netflix has to offer so they have shaped the way I think about things and they are also trying to increase their diversity which makes me happy to associate with them 

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

This expression means that society is becoming shallow and places emphasis on appearance instead of their expression of speech. I strongly agree that modern media emphasises this because the digital age has allowed people go gain fame and publicity purely based on their looks- someone may have problematic things to say but because they are seen as attractive, people tend to overlook it because they are more focused on physical beauty and style 

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

Baudrillard's theory of 'media saturation' argues that media images dominate and distort the way we see the world (which is known as hyper-reality) and makes it difficult to distinguish between media images and real life. Hyper-reality is the view of the world that has been constructed and defined by the mass media which may have no real basis in the real world. He introduced the term 'simulacra' which is the suggestion that 'pretend' images or reproductions in computer games and other media appear to represent reality when in fact they have no basis in reality- Disneyland was given as an example of simulacra because it is a world that is full of cartoon characters and has been manufactured as if it's real when it actually has no basis in reality

5) 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?

My presence on social media is not an accurate representation of who I am because I don't have any posts on my Instagram pages or Facebook and on Twitter I share tweets that are not about me (they're usually tweets about TV shows or movies I'm watching or about celebrities). Whenever I post something on Instagram, I tend to take it down within a few days because I don't see it as an accurate representation of my identity because I don't think that my identity can be summarised in one post 

6) 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 do believe that data mining is an invasion of privacy because the process of using somebodies personal information may be unethical but I also find it useful at times because you get personalised products recommended to you based on your interests and what you do on social media. Without data mining, people would get recommended products that they have no interest in and products won't reach their target market 

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.

• Gauntlett describes his theory as "self-initiated everyday creativity, and cultures of making and exchanging" as well as promoting the view that audiences use the media to help construct their own identities 
• He suggests that the mass media offers a more diverse range of representation than ever before which enables sophisticated modern audiences to "pick and mix" and actively and consciously construct their own identity 
• He used 'Ugly Betty' as evidence that media texts can "move and inspire viewers" as well as exploring Mulvey's theory of 'the male gaze' and Gidden's theory of structuration as they are influential theories about identity 
• Gauntlett suggests that "identity is today seen as more fluid and transformable than ever before" and also further argues that "altering ideas and images have created some space for greater diversity of identities" 
• He also draws attention to generational differences and suggests that "attitudes established in the young will be carried into later life" and also suggests that masculinity is not in crisis 

Representation & Identity: Factsheet blog task

Media Factsheet #72 on Collective Identity. Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions to complete our introductory work on collective identity:

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

A 'collective' identity is an identity primarily based around a collection of individuals who share a set of traditions, values and a similar understanding of the world that surrounds them. The media also represents a sense of identity influenced by many factors (including target audience's expectations)

2) 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?

• Household items: kettle 
• Locations: the London Eye, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London
• Food: tea, fish and chips, marmite, full English breakfast
• Sports: rugby, cricket, football, badminton, tennis 
• Transport: the London underground, big red buses 
• Celebrities: Daniel Radcliffe, the Queen, Emma Watson, Adele

These representations are based on the assumptions of what people (who usually don't actually live in Britain) think about when they think of Britain but as somebody who lives in Britain, I am aware that not all of these representations are accurate for the whole of Britain but they are only representative of London (which is the most famous city in Britain) 

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

The programme explores aspects of British history- the history of the race track, the history of Scalextric and other wider British issues. This type of programme attracts an older demographic which we can assume through the choice of toys that James May examines (Airfix, Meccano, Plasticine, Lego, Scalextric and Hornby). By targeting an older audience, nostalgia/feelings of longing may be presented to an audience who had similar toys in their youth and allows them to reminisce 

4) How has new technology changed collective identity?

New technology has given people the opportunity to actively engage with content of the culture around them and allow them to access resources to produce their own cultural content- this means that video hosting websites such as Youtube allow traditional passive audiences to express and produce their own content. This encourages participation and Jenkins calls this new collective identity an 'interpretive community' and labels fans as 'cultural producers' who are actively using social media to create new forms of identity 

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

• ‘Make and Connect Agenda’: this is an attempt to rethink audience studies in the context of media users as producers as well as consumers of media material 
• Gauntlett argues that there is a shift from a ‘sit-back-and-be-told culture’ to a ‘making-and-doing culture’: harnessing creativity on the internet and other everyday creative activities will play a role in changing how a collective identity is created 

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

A fan created this group in support of the fact that he learned a new word from the movie and other fans around the world also shared the experience of learning that new word so that- the fact that fans around the world supported this identity that was created through this shared experience means that this collective identity has no national barriers to the understanding of the cultural identity created. The creation of this group conforms to the view of Henry Jenkins 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 another; fans created their own, new texts, but elements within the originating text defined, to some degree, what they could do"