Explain what is meant by "collective identity" and the role of the media in its construction

Collective identity is described as "a set of individuals sense of belonging to a group or collective". The role of representation in the construction of a media text must be taken into consideration by the 'Collective identity' of a group. Throughout this essay I will be focusing on the representation of 'Youth' within the media and how media influences a certain view on the public.

Mediation is a term that defines media as being made up and distorted to suit the viewers, for example in 2013 the Daily Mail Newspaper's front cover showed a seventeen year old girl with the headline "Youth crime Tsar's sex and drugs rant" this headline conveys the youth as being un-responsible, drug taking criminals. What is viewed in the media is mediated to alter real life and therefore the producers show us what they want too, which is evident within the representation of youth.

The image of youth is being changed in the media, the current representation of youth is shown as violent, carefree and disrespectful towards police, parents and anyone in a position of power. This can be noted within the 2011 television serious 'Top Boy' which is a show about two young men who start selling drugs in hopes of becoming the richest boys on the block. Throughout the show there is evidence of gun crime, drugs and revenge, which all, in ways, contradict rules set out by a body of power. This representation leads the viewers to believe that all teenagers and youth behave in this manner, which can create a sense of moral panic among the public. However this was not always the way in which youth was represented in the media. In the 1999 film '10 things I hate about you' it shows teenagers doing mild drinking and misbehaving however it does not create the idea that the youth is dangerous or violent as they attend school and talk about college making the importance of education a main theme throughout the film, it shows youth as being fun while misbehaving however in a way that is safe and un-alarming to the public. The transfer between how youth has previously been represented and how they are shown now has resulted in a dramatic change of how they are acting in real life. In August 2011 thousands of people part took in the London riots and on the 7th of august 2011 the Daily Mail printed their front cover as "Yob Rule" with a photo of a young man standing by a car that has been set on fire. This headline places a large quantity of the responsibility for the riots on youth as the word yob was used, which means "what a good boy should be- rude, obnoxious, violent and stupid." and also because of the choice of image. Gauntlett's theory that "identity is now consciously constructed, and the media provides some of the tools to help us contract our identities. The media contains a huge number of messages about identity and acceptable lifestyles. At the same time the public have their own diverse set of feelings. The media and media consumers are engaged in a dialogue in which neither overpowers the other. This supports that the change within the medias representation of youth can affect the way in which todays youth believes they should behave. Also Giddens theory of structuration states that changes in social structure such as an increase of crime connected to youth would mean that the behaviour of youth would have to be restructured in society.  

In comparison, Giroux youth theory- "Youth becomes an empty category in representation- reflects adult concerns. Media representation of youth does not reflect reality or youth identity" states that youth is only shown through what the public fear the most instead of what the majority of that collective identity group is acting as. This theory is saying that the illustration of youth in modern media text for example Ill Manners (2012) and Shank (2010)  is due to the fact that the older public are worried about the issues that are main themes within these examples. A theory that declares a different belief to that of Giroux's is Gerbner's cultivation theory, which inquires about the long-term effects of television. This theory says that the more time that is spent watching television the more likely they are to believe the social reality that is being portrayed. Gerbner's theory is saying that the more the media show youth as being criminal and violent the more they will act in criminal and violent demeanour. An example of Gerbners theory in real life is the Devin Moore case (2003) where a young boy who had been hugely influenced by video games, one of which was 'Grand Theft Auto', went on a killing spree shooting two police officers and a 911 dispatcher and then proceeded on to steal a car in an attempt to get away. When Moore was caught he reportedly said "life is like a video game. Everybody's got to die sometime."therefore the assumption that the spree was a result of the use of this specific game was made. 

In conclusion, the media contributes an important role in the construction of the 'collective identity of youth'. The media reflect the concerns that society has but also imply's new fears upon them trough certain texts. It can also influence how certain collective identity groups act because of how replica groups are being shown through television, film and internet. Therefore, creating a large impact on anyone who is active within the media world. 

Examples of media and historical and contemporary examples
Theories and theorists

Exam preparation- Section B

The range of collective identity we have looked at-

• How do the contemporary media represent: nations, regions and ethnic/ social/ collective groups of people in different ways?
• How does contemporary representations compare to previous time periods? 
• What are the social implications of different media representations of groups of people?
• To what extent is human identity increasingly 'mediated'?

Analyse the representations of collective identity of one or more groups of people. In cinema, television and magazines.

Essay guidelines-
Explanation/ analysis/ argument (16-20 marks)
show examples of collective identity, analyse the example and show how it relates to media theory relating to representation and collective identity.
Explain the effects of media representation on individuals/ or society as a whole.
Must use: historical and contemporary texts.

Use of examples (16-20 marks)
learn dates and proper names for media examples.
examples of theories, texts and industry knowledge are clearly connected together in the answer. History and the future are integrated into the discussion with conviction.

Use of terminology (8-10 marks)
You should use contemporary media theory and the command of the appropriate conceptual and theoretical language is excellent.

02/02/2016

Task:

·       copy the exemplar on collective identity into your blogger, set up a blog post tittled “exam”  

·       analyse the sample script using the attached marking structure say what grade you would give to the paper.  Analyse for Terminology, facts, and highlight corrections

·       discussion of why you gave it that grade and how you think the essay could be improved.

2013 paper

G325 QUESTION 6: EXEMPLAR 1

Whichever question you answer, you must refer to examples from at least two media areas in your answer. You should include reference to historical, contemporary and future media. Media and Collective Identity 6. Explain what is meant by ‘collective identity’ and the role of media in its construction. [50]

Extract from Candidate Script 1 I have been researching teenagers and their identity. I’ve been looking into how the media shown teenagers. I will relate this to Misfits and Fishtank, and explain their collective identity. Misfits is a british tv series based on a group of teens who are all facing community service. We learn all there individual identity’s and are made to believe they have no hope. We meet 5 teenagers who are all stereotypically shown with anti-social behavior. In the group there is a party girl, sports runner, cocky one etc. Tajfel and turner quote that ‘people tend to categorise themselves into groups which they then build their identity’s’. I disagree with this as these have been emerged together as they have all been in crime. These include drugs, drink driving, fighting etc. Historically this can relate to Skins and grange hill, these are all school based although skins covered more controversial issues. We see petty crimes which aren’t as serious as the ones in misfits. Tajfel and turner quite is related to skins as they are all a group of friends and they build there identity together. Fishtank a 2009 film, teenagers are portrayed differently. We get to see Mia a 15 year old girl who has no hope. She has a dream of dancing but with young single mothered mum who shouts and swears at children she has a poor family structure to help her. David Buckingham quotes that the media don’t just offer a transparent window of the world but a mediated one. Mia smokes, binge drink and has underage sex. The audience are made to believe that all teenagers are like this. He young mother who gets a boyfriend, he wants to help Mia and find her identity. He often asks her to dance to his favourite song although when she does we see them having sex. David Buckingham quote can be related to misfits, we are made to believe that all teenagers have convicted crimes. In Bullett Boy we see a gang of boys who are all involved in drugs and crime. The media show teen culture in a very bad way. Misfits is released on TV past the water shed times as they all swear etc. It is shown on both E4 and channel 4, their website contains games, podcasts, blogs etc. On the blogs you can communicate with other fans. They have a facebook and twitter page with all individual accounts. David Gauntlett explains that identity’s are complicated however everyone thinks they have one. In Fishtank her mothers boyfriends finds a dance event she can attend Mia then believes she made have found her identity when she gets there she is called up on stage for which she didn’t know it was pole/lap dancing. The media then show how teenagers have no hope or luck. Historically this could be related to Dawson’s creek as we are made to look down on the anti-social behaviour teens. It could also relate to Waterloo road which is a tv series on a school who the youngens follow the action of the olders. We then get to see the mother having a party in her council estate flats with family and friends. Her two children aren’t invited an stay upstairs. This shows the lack of family structure at home. We meet Mia’s little sister tyler with a friend both who are swearing and smoking. The audience are left to believe all young mums live in broken britain and teenagers have no hope at all. Mia was kicked out of school and they receive a letter which is accepting her to a place in an anti-social behaviour school. In both misfits and fishtank the media have stereotypically shown teenagers and portrayed them very negatively. We are made to believe that all teenagers are into anti-social behaviour, drinking, drugs, smoking etc. The media will only shown the negative sides of teen culture so everyone will believe teens do this in everyday life not the positives that they do.

51

I would give this exam paper a Level 2 because the exam shows evidence that the candidate has offered a response to the topic but also has a limited ability to adapt to the specific requirements. There is some use of theories and historical and contextual examples, however these are sometimes lacks relevance to what they have been previously saying. Their grammar and spelling is noticeably incorrect throughout the answer.

"Has the mediation of gender changed, does this reflect change in society?"

The representation of gender within the media has historically been shown through the use of stereotypes such as the male gender being portrayed as strong and powerful compared to the female gender being represented as emotional and as an object of sex. This can be seen in the Van Heusen advert which advertises their line of ties. The man is laying in bed while the woman worships him, this can be assumed as the woman is bringing him breakfast and is physically placed lower than the man practically on her knees bending to his will. The male character is dressed smartly with eye contact above the woman, which not only shows that the male figure is above the female gender but also promotes a powerful representation for the man. The slogan used in this advertisement "show her its a mans world" also confines to the stereotypical gender representation of the man being more powerful and important than the female. This shows the use of  Patriarchy, which ultimately means a society run by men for men because the men are being perceived as the stronger sex.




















There are currently controversial advertisement texts showing gender roles in both similar to the example above where gender roles have not changed and in examples that show that genders role representation has started to change and is the mist of that transfer. The first example of this is the man holding the woman over his lap in a position that would lead the audience to think that she is being submissive to the dominant male character showing that the representation of the different sexes has not changed and the male is in charge of the woman. This links to Mulvey's 'Male Gaze' theory where the use of an attractive female and dominant male model draws the male audience in making them believe that behaving and becoming the same as the male character i.e. strong, dominant, physically attractive, well dressed etc. will lead to them having a beautiful woman submissing to their will. However, other modern media texts suggest that there has been change to the representation of gender through time such as the second example. This example shows a woman walking men on leads like dogs, the men also being naked. This advert shows the female as holding all of the power and being the dominant sex. The men are quite literally dehumanised due to the fact that they naked and made to act as animals, this is done to further the dominance of the woman and create the image that the males are weaker and the sexual object.


Overall, I believe that the representation of gender, especially in the media, has changed slightly meaning that the collective identity has also evolved. Mediation, which is the term that defines media as being made up and distorted to suit the viewers and that everything we see on TV is Mediated to alter real life and therefore the producers show us what they want too. This links in with how the representation of gender has only slightly changed as different media platforms have different views on how gender should be consumed, leading to mixed messages being transferred.  

How are genders represented in the media?

How are men represented in the media?
1. Strong
2. Calm and Collected
3. Bread winner
4. Sexual
5. Smart

How are women represented in the media?
1. Emotional
2. Damsel in distress
3. Sex object
4. Mother figure
5. Delicate

This image shows a typical scene for a housewife in the 1960's. I can see this through the style of dress, setting and props as they were all fashionable in that time period. However the use of Brad pitt playing the role of the female shows that there has been a change of how gender roles are represented in the media due to the fact that a male would never have had been shown in this way in the actual 1960's. 

This advert shows women of different sizes and shapes looking confident and promoting the realistic body image of women through the use of different models. This is a revolutionised was for advertising as the models that mostly used have a body in which society deems as perfect to make the female audience want to buy the product more due to the thought of obtaining that beauty, where as this advert shows beauty in a completely different and more realistic way. 

Nutella clip1-2011

The 2011 version of the nutella advert shows a mother hastily rushing around in the morning looking after her kids in the kitchen while getting breakfast ready. This is trying to say that the product is perfect for fast paced lives mostly for women who stereotypically have to look after their children while spending their time preparing meals for her family. 

Nutella clip 2- 2013

The 2013 advertisement text for this product shows that everyone who has to rush in the morning can easily and quickly use nutella. It shows people with different preferences to cover wider audience and shows the different genders taking on various roles. 

I feel that there was a slight change in the way that gender roles have changed however still shows some of the usual stereotypes used in gender roles. 

Homewrok-

write a 500 word essay on "has the mediation of gender changed, does this reflect change in society?"

use source material in relation to your argument

add visual example of historical and contemporary media texts

You should access information from this presentation and the one called "exploring the female gaze and the body image"

What is your view on the male body image and what extent do you think that the representation of male body image is changing?

The representation of the male body in media texts has changed substantially in the last century. What is currently shown as a representation for men is as being very attractive with perfectly shaped bodies, an example of this is the recent film 'Magic Mike XXL' which depicts the male leads half naked showing their muscles and abs. This links with the female gaze where the use of sexualising men in media products is used to attract the female audience. In contrast to this the representation of the male body in the 1960's was very different. In most media platforms at this time the male body was shown as being strong and heroic while the female body was used as a sexual object, for example in the 1965 'James Bond- Thunder ball' film poster where the male is holding a weapon and is surrounded by half naked females. This shows that there has been a rather large evolution of how the male body image is represented within media texts.

In the television show 'Reggie Yates- Extreme UK' it shows how a healthy lifestyle can lead to addiction in many different ways including the use of steroids injections to wanting the perfect body through over exercising. Gauntletts theory that states "Identity is now consciously constructed, and the media provides some of the tools to help us contract our identity. The media contains a huge number of messages about identity and acceptable lifestyles. At the same time the public have their own diverse set of feelings. The media and media consumers are engaged in a dialogue in which neither over powers the other". This links with how the public/ normal people such as the ones in this television show are affected by how the male body is currently being shown in the media, as the message is that having a fit body is what is acceptable for men. This can also be seen in mens magazines such as mens health and in product advertisement for example the diet coke advert, both show attractive overly sexualised men which is leading the public to think that its the most acceptable form of identity for men.  

Personally, I believe that the representation of the male body image has changed dramatically to show men more as sexualised objects in todays media.

"Explain what is meant by 'Collective Identity' and the role of media in its construction"

Collective identity is described as "individuals sense of belonging to a group who share a set of traditions and values". The 'Collective identity' of a group must take into account the role representation plays in the construction of a media text. I will be focusing on the representation of gender in the media and how certain media products have been conducted to show a certain view. This is known as Mediation where the term that defines media as being made up and distorted to suit the viewers. It means that everything we see on TV is Mediated to alter real life and therefore the producers show us what they want too, which can be evident in the representation of Gender. In comparison Buckingham says that identity is complicated and complex, "A focus on identity requires us to pay closer attention to the ways in which media and technologies are used in everyday life and their consequences for social groups".

Media representations of Gender can show the use of Patriarchy, which ultimately means a society run by men for men. If the media is mostly run by men, which a 2011 survey states that the representation of women in news media is 22%, then the contents that is being shown will be mostly directed for men. The 1966 Fairy liquid advert shows a very strong patriarchy view as the advert shows a middle aged woman in the kitchen washing up and teaching her young daughter about the specific cleaning product. This advert displays the stereotype that women belong in the kitchen. In comparison, an example of how the use of domesticated women in household media products have changed today is the use of men in adverts such as the ariel liquid-tabs 2012 advert where it shows an adolescent male talking about how he washed his own top. The use of a male instead of a female in the advert shows how gender roles in the media are being shown, however the degree of this change is very slight as the advert portrays the message that 'even men can do it'. Giddens structuration theory states that changes in social structure such as an increase of women in the work place means that the idea of "domesticity" has to be restructured in society.

The representation of woman in a sexualised way has also been an issue in the sense of Patriarchy. Woman have been used to sexualise products making it then more appealing for men. In an old advert selling Marlboro cigarettes it shows a half naked woman from the back, in this advert her face can only slightly be seen. The lack of facial features dehumanises the female by only perceiving her as an attractive body. The use of this Patriarchy style is still used in modern media products such as a recent links advert with the slogan "get dirty" showing the torso of a female in a bikini covered in mud. Her head and face are not included in the shot, this can give the idea that any feature not shown in the advert as unimportant and again dehumanises the female. Both examples are evidence that patriarchy is still highly used in modern media. These advertisement styles conform to Mulveys male gaze theory which is "the pleasure of looking a voyeuristic gaze directed at other people". The male gaze determines a fantasy of the female figure which is specifically styled in each product to attract male interest.

Feminism has influenced media products greatly by creating closer equality gender views within these products. Stratinati 1995 said "woman were usually shown as being subordinate, passive, submissive and marginal, performing a limited number of secondary an uninteresting tasks confined to their sexuality, their emotions and their domesticity. Due to feminism this has started to change and woman are being treated more equal with men. The female image is being changed by showing more positive and independent female roles as a results of the liberal feminists. Gauntletts theory that "identity is now consciously constructed, and the media provides some of the tools to help us contract our identities. The media contains a huge number of messages about identity and acceptable lifestyles. At the same time the public have their own diverse set of feelings. The media and media consumers are engaged in a dialogue in which neither overpowers the other." This supports the influence of feminism in modern media since an increase of strong female roles are being shown within media products after equal rights for male and females have been fought, making it more acceptable for females to be shown in this way. However, this does not immediately change all of the publics views on the subject although I do believe that the continuity of the perception of women in media products can result in  portraying women differently in the future.

The use of men in a desirable role has increased within media texts, this is to attract women to certain products using Hansons female gaze theory. The conscious decision to play with traditional gender roles and the presentation of gender by switching them round is evident in the diet pepsi advert where a group of women are enchanted by a very physically attractive male taking his shirt off. The use of female gaze during this also links to Gauntletts theory where he talks about identity and acceptable lifestyles. 

The medias representation of collective identity through gender still shows a significant amount of Patriarchy through ideas such as the male gaze. However, I believe that due to feminism the ideas and stereotypes of women being lesser than men will decrease. The changes in society will then influence the medias representation of gender according to Giddens structuration theory.

"Media representations of youth reflects societies concerns and fears" Bullet boy Homework

The representation of youth in the media has often been shown in a negative way, portraying them as violent and insubordinate towards society. The language, clothing and activities of the youths in these media texts are often primarily seen in certain parts of England where gangs and gang culture are highly active. This can raise concerns and create fears in society as this is the main representation of youth in modern media.

In the 2004 film Bullet Boy the young characters are shown in a dangerous and vicious manner through fighting, weapons, verbal abuse and the murder of two characters in the film. The main character Ricky is firstly shown leaving prison, this gives the viewer the idea that he has already been in some kind of serious trouble and during his first day out gets a hold of a gun. This representation of the main young character with a gun can link with recent events such as the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting (2012). The concerns of society are highlighted through media texts although what is being shown is part of a minority, this links with Giroux theory where "Youth becomes an empty category in representation- reflects adult concerns. Media representation of youth does not reflect reality of youth identity" which states that youth is only shown through what people fear the most instead of the majorities act. Youth in the 1961 film Wonderful to be young were portrayed in a completely opposite way, as being spirited and quirky through the musical song and dance scenes and by trying to save something that matters to them, whereas in modern films such as Green street (2005) and Ill Manners (2012) which depict youth as only conducting violence, sex and the use of drugs. The contrast between the illustration of youth in these media products are evidence to the change in how the media represents youth due to current events.

Another theory that can be related to the concerns and fears of society is Grebner's cultivation theory which states that the more time spent watching television the more likely they are to believe the social reality that is being portrayed. This theory states a different belief than Giroux, saying that the more television people watch the more they believe that what they are seeing as true, an example of this is the James Holmes mass murder where he shot a cinema full of people during the showing of the dark night film. Holmes was known for playing addictive violent role-playing video games and was also a huge batman fan, he also showed interest in the film The suffocator of sins which shows a vigilante who shoots criminals. All of these media products showed evidence during the massacre. This is an example of how people can start to believe that how they and characters act in video games and films as the way to act in the actual world.

In conclusion, the medias representation of youth reflects societies concerns and fears by using characters from whom show the most violence in todays society even though the amount of actual youths acting like this are a small minority. Therefore, enlarging societies fears and prolonging them. These fears however are not in all of society just the majority that only see what the media is displaying and because of this completely believe it.