Media and collective identity Precis

The media helps to shape the identity of certain groups within modern society. Identity can be thought of in a number of different ways. These include protection of identity, such as an identity card and your own unique identity on social gatherings such as the internet networking website Facebook. The media usually targets social groups , such as the classes and also minority ethnic groups, such as the police, teenagers, the elderly and the disabled. The media’s opinion on all these unique groups which exist within our society. The way that the media represents these different groups, especially if they do it in an extreme way can help to shape or even change our opinions about the different groups in our society. Magazines and gender are two factors that link easily together, because a lot of magazines target one gender as their core reading audience. For example heat magazine is targeted at women, because they like to read about the celebrity lifestyle and gossip as the research carried out by the publishers and editors has lead to them creating a well structured magazine based on their research of their target market. Nuts magazine does the same for the male reading market. One of Karl Marx’s main areas of analysis was on feminism and them holding their own unique identity and how that it is a key importance in society.
Celebrities are another key area in terms of taking about media and collective identity. Celebrities are thought by many as idols and something to emulate. Celebrities are also usually the key targets of the media, especially stories like scandals and fashion tips etc. Celebrities are usually thought of as spoilt and as a sort of cult. However the opinion on celebrities usually varies as some struggle to understand why they are so important and why we care about them and what they think. Whereas other see them as their idols and will watch reality TV shows, such as celebrity big brother or I’m a celebrity get me out of here , because they care about them so much. Sexuality is also a big topic , especially for the newspapers as they are usually represented in a less neutral way. Either they are being criticised or praised using media, such as films like, Brokeback mountain, Philadelphia and sugar rush.
British cinema has also helped to make a decent contribution to media and collective identity especially in films like Bend it like Beckham as stereotypes are often used to base different culture roles within the films. For example the proud Indian culture shown in Bend it like Beckham contrasting with the football and British cultural representations. However the downfalls and negative features of an identity can be shown in British films. This is England is a prime example of this, because it shows the effects of crime and gang crime in Britain today so they also realism to the content of the films. This helps to show cultural development.

Postmodern texts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayYiMygqlfo
( daybreakers trailer)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qndn1WnP3xM
(Doctor who trailer)











I have found what I believe are useful learning resources for postmodernism in media. I chose these 3 posters, because pastiche is key to these as they are twists on the reality that we actually know. For example the machine run world of The Matrix, the gang culture in This is england and the adrenaline filled action of Hot Fuzz all of which used pastiche to construct new identities. I chose these two trailers, because Doctor who is a prime example of pstmodern TV. It combines new ideas of reality with all the monsters, aliens and new worlds with the reality that we all know and recognise and therefore it plays with postmodern ideologies like cultural diversity and pastiche. Daybreakers is a new film that has come up where vampires rule the world and farm humans for blood to keep the vampire population alive. This is a similar idea to the matrix with the idea of an alternative reality and the insuperiority of the human races and all its weaknesses with the race on to save the human race from extinction.

Postmodernism chapter : Précis

Pages 136-167 of the A2 textbook looks very closely at the idea of postmodernism and the effect that it has on the media industry. Postmodernism plays with the relationship between media and reality. Images and representations of key issues are the core of this. Jean-Francois Lyotard and Jean Baudillard gave different interpretations of postmodernism. Baudrillard’s theory gives a clear idea of how the media effects our lives and so helps to make sense of why postmodernism is such an important theme and attribute of today’s media. Lyotard on the other hand wrote the book postmodernism explained to children so both theories try to make postmodernism easy for everyone to understand, but with different aims.
In terms of examples of postmodern media ‘The Matrix’ is a prime example. This is, because of the plot of the film imagining an alternative reality to our own and the machines taking over our minds as well as other ideologies of the film have been interpreted by many as the controlling force and the machine run world is a less ‘savoury’ reality. The Coen brothers are also big influences on the postmodern media world. They have made films, such as ‘The Big Lebowski’ and ‘24 hour party people’. In these films intertextuality helps to sew
in our knowledge of other media texts with our interpretation of the film which helps to give films their own idea and own postmodern unique attributes. The Coen brother films are often hybrids where they are made up of two different genres in order to possibly confuse expectations of their films.
In terms of Postmodern TV, programs like the Mighty Boosh carry the idea of Ecclecticism whereby a piece of media has completely strange and new ideas running together or the plots are fractured and some of ideologies of the texts are different from each other. For example in The Mighty Boosh features strange music and the ideologies of a very different perspective on reality with ideas of music lovers working in a zoo which is where you would imagine would be the last place they would work as well the utterly bizarre happenings within the Zoo, particularly with the animal behaviour so the setting is made full use of to provide the most laughs as can give to the audience. Ricky Gervais’ two comedy smash hits ‘the office’ and ’extras’ have similar aims to the Mighty Boosh with the characters trying to make it big in the world, but also portraying the trials and tribulations that can be linked to real life society.
Magazines and video games are the other 2 media platforms that provide a real insight into the ‘post modernistic world’. GTA has taken video gaming to a different level with all the attributes of crime within the real world which can influence the players to do it themselves and magazines also help to construct postmodernism with playing with audience desires, like in ‘Nuts’ magazine and the desires of men being played upon.

Doctor Who - Postmodernist text

Media newsflashes, TV news within, Doctor’s speech about importance before regeneration links to the speech that Ricky Gervais gave in Extras when he was in the Big Brother house which relates to ego and your personal importance within society. Counters Royle family with scene where he visits those he cares about. This shows a sort of battle for our attention between technology and real people. Doctor Who can also be related to by the audience, especially the Americans who believe in Aliens, even those who have life insurance against them in America (no joke) . Especially because as Doctor Who is one of the countries that the BBC distributes Doctor Who too. Doctor Who is also culturally diverse, because of the supernatural world of the Doctor and the higher powers involved in the evil plot to destroy the Earth and the inicent population of the Earth.
Doctor Who has also become cult viewing with 10 million people watching the episode on New Years Day. Mary Whitehouse originally targeted Doctor Who for censorship, but now by today's standards it is no longer an issue. There are many important connotations that come with Doctor Who. These include sacrifice, danger, suspense and drama that is sure to keep you watching, especially if an episode is two or more parts long.