Contemporary media issues Homework

The video shown is an example of how Muslims within Britain are often met with a large amount of racism and prejudice. We can see a type of racism which hasn't been seen since the civil rights period with people refusing to serve them in cafes. People can also be seen shouting hateful things towards the woman. The video began with the woman walking around with her face showing. We can see that people were staring at her as she was walking around. Matters became worse when she wore a full burka and was met with even more stares and this is when she became targeted by members of the public.

To the question 'Is Britain Racist?' I would say no. People are all becoming affected by mass Hysteria as a result to recent events and it has fuelled a lot of bad attitudes towards Muslims. We can see that the woman was receiving stares from people as she was walking around with her face showing. This doesn't necessarily reflect racism or hate towards Muslims, instead it is mainly a result of the woman feeling self conscious about her religion, when in reality the people passing her most probably wouldn't be affected by the sight of a Muslim woman. This shows the effects of paranoia around times of terrorism and how it works on both sides, in this case the Muslim woman was affected and caused to feel self conscious about people looking at her. When she put on the burka we can however see some clear examples of racism. We can see some people shouting offensive things to the woman as well as banning her from a shop. This shows the other side of paranoia due to terrorism. The Burka has been a topic of controversy within newspapers and news stories. Some of the public have associated the Burka with the unknown which has caused feelings of paranoia to come out within some members of the public.

Todorov Homework

Before 9/11, like Todorov's theory suggests, there was a state of equilibrium within society. However, post 9/11 society is the disequilibrum that has been disrupted by these events. Since the impact of this event, the world was woken up to the dangers of terrorism which made the become more of a real threat. At this time the world has become one filled with hysteria and paranoia surrounding muslims. Now people have an association of this race with terrorism, without considering the small minority of muslims that are actually violent.

Efforts have been made to attempt to repair the damage done through means such as rebuilding and memorial. Unlike Todorov's narrative theory however, the world can never truly return to the original equilibrium. Even today as terrorism continues around the world, more and more people reflect on events such as 9/11, causing the Muslims who are not violent to be put in the crossfire as a result. The world trade centre has since been rebuilt and strategies to dealing with terrorists have been massively improved. This shows the realisation of a disruption in Todorov's theory and the attempts to return it to its original state.

As society begins to form a new equilibrium, we are struck with new disasters that further shake the foundations of the world. Examples of these events such as the recent Paris shootings show us how instantly the world can be thrown into disequilibrium again. At this time of mass hysteria and paranoia, the media target their headlines in order to press on these fears, in order to sell more papers or receive more views. Examples can be seen on Twitter or in newspapers such as the sun who recently published a front page article entitled '1 in 5 Muslims' sympathy for jihadis'. In traditional Sun fashion, they have attempted to seek their issues by posting this controversial headline. This again has put more Muslims in the line of fire with all of the worlds paranoia. The use of the terrorist on the front cover with the article shows the intention of the article even further. The aim is to prey on people who are feeling the effects of hysteria and make them pick up a copy of the Sun as a result.

Homework

Despite being different, these images show the result of post 9/11 hysteria. 9/11 marked a time of fear within the world, making terrorism seem a much more real threat than had previously been thought. The 77 bombings in the UK would further set the tone for a heightened alertness within the world's ideology. As the population of those who share a religion have begun to rise within the UK and other countries, this minority has been subjected to segregation and have been targeted violently by the media and people. Ever since the public have become worried of having terrorists imbed themselves within our society. The burka is an item that has been targeted as people often wrongly associate this sight with terrorism and secrecy. Others just look to have an equal standard for all, in the same way that any other person wouldn't be able to conceal their faces in banks and airports. Sharia law has been shown to be a very violent practice, but as the article above states this is 'Muslim Law'. This is very misleading as not all Muslims practice this law, so again this minority have been put in the public eye and has only increased the publics scepticism regarding Muslims.

Quadrophenia 1979

Mods and rockers conflict
Teenagers shown as fairly tame, only swearing, drinking, and driving recklessly occasionally
Rocker 'we're all the same really' Jimmy Mod ' I don't want to be the same'
Drug use by teens
Violence between mods and rockers
Very upbeat music tastes
Referred to as strange by older people

The teenagers and all of their ideals and emotions are reflected upon a story of gang violence. Due to the contextual elements of the film this gang violence is revealed through the conflict of mods and rockers that had developed due to different cultural ideas and music associated with each gang. The film depicts this clash of ideas early in the film when one of the rockers tries to justify acting normally by saying "we're all the same really" while Jimmy, who is a mod responds "I don't want to be the same". The teenagers within the film are represented in an explosive and revolutionary way. The mods all take drugs, referred to as "blues" which were some of the most popular drugs among youth culture at the time of the film. They show no care or regard for themselves or others as they are willing to drive recklessly through the streets on their bikes, sometimes even under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. We can also see this when the main mod Jimmy drives through a fence and destroys the garden of the host of the party. They are all represented to be highly sexually active during a party scene. The music that they listen to is frowned upon by older generations due to it's extreme themes and racy rhythm. The teenagers are shown to be violent throughout the film as they threaten and use bad language towards each other. As the film escalates, one of the rockers end up being ambushed by the mods after an attack on one of their own. This ends in a brutal way, leaving the rocker bloody and bruised after the attack. Teenagers are also shown as mentally unstable within the film as the main character begins to struggle with his sanity, revealing it as a condition that runs in the family.

Hypodermic Needle Theory- Mindlessly consume media

Narrative Theory- Enigma code (missing fact), texts are constructed around the scaffolding of equilibrium, Vladimir Prop produced character typography (31 in total)

Stan Cohen- Moral panics, deviance amplification, folk devils (Mods and rockers)

David Gauntlett- "Identities are not 'given' but are constructed and negotiated"

Cultivation Theory- Gerbener: People who watch a lot of TV over estimate crime within the real world 

David Buckingham- "A focus on identity requires us to pay close attention to diverse ways in which media and technologies are used in everyday life"

Gramsky- Society is run by a small, elite group of people to make sure they keep their status and position.

Hegemony- Term for a dominant ideology (Gramsky)

The News- Reflective Reprisentation
Steve Anderson- "Younger people are becoming a lot more empowered because of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and blogging"

Collective Identity-This is England

Woody's Gang:

• Different to the other skinhead gangs
• Different ethnicities within gang
• Friendly
• Shown as occasionally destructive but not against other people

Collective Identity

Spectatorial Culture- Audience watches
Participatorial Culture- Audience takes part

Laura Mulvey- The male gaze (camera from a heterosexual male perspective)

Chandelier Parodies:

• First: An attempt to replicate the tone, choreography and style of the original video for comical effect.
• Second: A direct imitation of the original video in order to test dancer's ability by imitating the choreography, no humour intended.

Blurred Lines:

• Extremely suggestive by showing naked women
• Women are used in order to promote the song, with no involvement on the original track (this allows for the song to be viewed more on YouTube and bought more)
• Mulvey: Cameras used to show the male gaze while viewing the women

Chandelier:

• Objectified using a nude coloured outfit and is made-up with a wig and make-up
• Has resulted in participatorial culture, featuring parodies.

Genre

Steve Neale-

• "Genres are instances of repetition and difference" (1980, 48)
• "Difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre" (Neale 1980)

Tzvetan Todorov-

• "Any instance of a genre will be necessarily different" (cited in Gledhill 1985,60)

Lacey- 

• "Repertoire is elements" that work together to suggest genre and that these are a useful framework to use for analysis.

Gledhill-

• There are no "rigid rules of inclusion and exclusion" (Gledhill 1985)
• "Genres…are not discrete systems, consisting of a fixed number of listable items" (Gledhill 1985)
• "It is difficult to make clear cut distinctions between one genre and another: genres overlap, and there are mixed genres such s comedy thrillers" (Chandler 2000)

Burton-

• Suggests that each text in a given genre shares particular key elements to make up the generic formula, these include: protagonists, stock characters, plots and stock situations, icons, background and decor themes

1b answer attempt:

Genre has been described as a way of grouping different texts. Genres within film can help to follow certain conventions of genres such as horror or comedy. This can be important for both institutions and audiences through the use of the success of films within genres that had previously been released. It is extremely important in this sense for films within the genre to follow certain conventions in order to fall into the genre, however, theorists such as Steve Neale would argue that"genres are instances of repetition and difference". This essentially argues that there must be variations between genres in order to captivate existing fans of the genre through conventions while avoiding repetition. More of an audience can be captured through the creation of hybrids, where two or more genres will form, creating a wider appeal for the audience.