Media Studies: February 2011

The first was a challenge of the racist stereotype and asserting a positive black identity. This was typically through recovery of a lost African history in which an essential core is found.

In the second phase, the black subject is considered to be produced inside 'regimes of representation'.

Media power

Hall was concerned with media power, including how it propagates social values.

"The mass media play a crucial role in defining the problems and issues of public concern. They are the main channels of public discourse in our segregated society".

In 1971 he made an influential appearance on BBC television where he criticized media portrayal of blacks.

"There is something radically wrong with the way black immigrants - West Indians, Asians, Africans-are handled by and presented on the mass media"

He noted how blacks appeared on TV often in racially stereotyping positions, despite liberal assumptions and discussions by broadcasters.

"When blacks appear in the documentary/current affairs part of broadcasting, they are always attached to some 'immigrant issue': they have to be involved in some crisis or drama to become visible actors to the media."

"There has been little, attempt either in drama, documentary or features to explore and express the rich, complex, diverse and troubled experience of blacks."

Stuart Hall suggests 3 ways in which we may read media texts:

1. The preferred reading – where an audience will read a media text in the way in which the director intends for them to read it

2. The negotiated reading – where the audience may choose to believe parts of the media text, but not all

3. The oppositional reading – where the audience oppose the representations and views of the media text

Representations in 'This is England' and 'Quadrophenia'

The “This is England” poster shows representations of the youth culture in the 80's. It introduces the characters of the film which gives the audience ideas of what the film entails and the type of people involved. From the poster you can clearly see the skinhead culture - they all seem to have a unique style from the rest of the population, whilst looking exactly the same as each other, this gives a sense of individuality together. Just from the one image, you can see a united group of people who clearly have their own, very strong, set of beliefs - they are not like everyone else, but are a typical culture of the 80's. The title of the film is written above their heads 'This is England' - this shows that the film is trying to show the audience what England was like in the 80's, and this will be shown through the 'skinhead' culture. The title is shown in the colours of the Union Jack flag which again represents the main theme of this film. The background in the image shows the audience the type of lifestyle they lead and the area they live, and also locates the audience in where the film is set.

The 'Quadrophenia' poster represents the youth culture in the 60's. Similarly to the 'This is England' poster, it introduces all the characters who stand facing the camera. The background of this image is the Mod symbol which immediately informs the audience on the culture this film is aiming to represent, this is also mirrored in the 'Q' of the title. Similarly, the characters all have their individual style to the rest of the population, but the same as each other.

Both posters make it very clear to the audience that the films are based on certain cultures of that time period, and just from the images, educate the audience on that culture and the way they live their lives, albeit differently to each other.

Youth throughout the decades

Youth in the 50's- Rock 'n' Roll - the key shift in American culture:

Theme of identity going through the youth culture:

Youth in the 60's - Mods
Youth in the 70's - Punk
Anarchism was actually turned into marketing e.g. The Sex Pistols - youth being manipulated.
Zeitgeist - German for 'a moment in time'
Youth in the 80's - Skinheads
Youth in the 90's - Goths

Media Theories:

Moral Panic: A moral panic is the intensity of feeling expressed in a population about an issue that appears to threaten the social order.
Copy Cat Theory: The copycat effect refers to the tendency of sensational publicity about violent murders or suicides to result in more of the same through imitation.

Youthful films:

Clockwork orange

This is Engand

Trainspotting

Le Haine

City of God