What is Collective
identity? Respond to the statement that “Media simply represent collective identity, they don’t
create it.” How far do you agree with this statement?
Make reference to:
Gender
The concept of collective identity means a shared identity that is taken in by a group that share ideals, values and ideas. Collective identity is often represented within the media, and is often presenting the collective identity of a group as negative; for example, the Media represents the collective identity of youth as being that they all enjoy vandalism and are all anti social. However, I disagree with the statement that media simply represent collective identity instead of create it, as many media texts help to create and reinforce a select collective identity.
I think that in the media, the collective identity of both the male and female is heavily mediated. Publications such as The Sun have represented women as sexual objects for the male fantasy in the past, particularly through their now defunct "page 3" feature. In displaying women this way, they have suggested that the male collective identity is consisting of heterosexuality and viewing women as objects for male viewing. This suggests that the Mulvey's male gaze theory (1975) is part of the male collective identity. This also suggests Heterosexuality is the norm, as stated by the Queer theory. However, when talking about page 3, structuration is something that is worth noting; after numerous campaigns starting in 2012, The Sun abandoned the feature in January of 2015. This is evidence for structuration surrounding gender, as society has changed its conceptions therefore institutions have changed to fit this.
An example of collective identity based upon gender is the idea of the metrosexual male. The metrosexual male is a man who takes great care and interest into his appearance and often spends time and money shopping for products to look after this. They are heterosexual men, though they are often mistaken for homosexual due to the adoption of fashions and lifestyles typically associated with women and gay men. The term originated from an Independent article in 1994, which notes that during the '80s, the metrosexual male would have only appeared in a fashion magazine but they are now seen frequently within society. Since this publication, the identity of the metrosexual male has been on the rise particularly in the 21st century. This is partly due to the influence from the celebrity world, with examples such as David Beckham. The coverage of the rise of the metrosexual male through articles such as Mark Simpson's 2002 article for salon.com supports Buckingham's idea that the media re-presents reality, as it suggest a collective identity of shared interests within this group.
On the female gender, the media definitely represent a collective identity. Women are presented in the media as either sexual objects or domestic labourers.
Patriarchy is defined as a society run by men, for men. It could be argued that the society that we live in today is Patriarchal. An example of patriarchy in the media would be reporters; over 70% of reporters in the media are male. Also, almost all of the media is owned by men, with Rupert Murdoch owning three of the national newspapers in the UK, as well as The Wall Street Journal and the New York times in the US. The male ownership of the media means that representation of females is often
limited and can lean towards presenting women as either sexual objects or domestic labourers. Gauntlett argues that while identity is now consciously constructed, the media provides a lot of the tools which are part of how you create your identity. One example would be advertising; there were adverts on the tube in London, which asked "are you beach body ready?" and had a skinny woman on it in a bikini. Using the hypodermic needle theory, you could argue that female audiences of this advert would take in this as their personal identity. If this is the case, it supports Giddens idea that there is a social structure that is shaping our lives, and that it only works if people follow it.
An example of collective identity based upon gender is the idea of the metrosexual male. The metrosexual male is a man who takes great care and interest into his appearance and often spends time and money shopping for products to look after this. They are heterosexual men, though they are often mistaken for homosexual due to the adoption of fashions and lifestyles typically associated with women and gay men. The term originated from an Independent article in 1994, which notes that during the '80s, the metrosexual male would have only appeared in a fashion magazine but they are now seen frequently within society. Since this publication, the identity of the metrosexual male has been on the rise particularly in the 21st century. This is partly due to the influence from the celebrity world, with examples such as David Beckham. The coverage of the rise of the metrosexual male through articles such as Mark Simpson's 2002 article for salon.com supports Buckingham's idea that the media re-presents reality, as it suggest a collective identity of shared interests within this group.
On the female gender, the media definitely represent a collective identity. Women are presented in the media as either sexual objects or domestic labourers.
Patriarchy is defined as a society run by men, for men. It could be argued that the society that we live in today is Patriarchal. An example of patriarchy in the media would be reporters; over 70% of reporters in the media are male. Also, almost all of the media is owned by men, with Rupert Murdoch owning three of the national newspapers in the UK, as well as The Wall Street Journal and the New York times in the US. The male ownership of the media means that representation of females is often
limited and can lean towards presenting women as either sexual objects or domestic labourers. Gauntlett argues that while identity is now consciously constructed, the media provides a lot of the tools which are part of how you create your identity. One example would be advertising; there were adverts on the tube in London, which asked "are you beach body ready?" and had a skinny woman on it in a bikini. Using the hypodermic needle theory, you could argue that female audiences of this advert would take in this as their personal identity. If this is the case, it supports Giddens idea that there is a social structure that is shaping our lives, and that it only works if people follow it.
Reece your exam paper submission is a little light in terms of the repertoire of examples and the way you are analysing the texts... You will need to use last years terminologies with, regards to the analysis of a text..e.g. sound, mise en scene, etc. Where you have mentioned a theory analyse the text within the context of the theory and then move on if you wish to make another point ... Te theory used is relevant to the paper well done..
ReplyDelete