To what extent is human identity increasingly mediated? (Un-Finished)

To what extent is human identity increasingly mediated?

According to David Gauntlett, "Having an identity is a known requirement in modern society". Identities can be formed and manipulated through all the different forms of media including TV, music and magazines. The process of forming an identity through the media is defined by Thomas De Zengotita's as mediation. De Zengotita says that mediation is the process of us experiencing the world through the media, so the media must shape our identity. Zygmunt Bauman, a social theorist says that mediation also means the negotiation to resolve a dispute between two things. The negotiation of identity is continuously changing and is largely influenced by one of the newest media forms, the internet.

One of the largest and most influential media outlets on the internet is YouTube. The reason that the site is so influential to people of all ages is because anyone can upload content. Users are almost guaranteed to find content creators that they can relate to and can form so kind of a bond with. Popular creators (known as YouTubers) can gather hundreds of thousands of subscribers, this span of control can be highly influential.  YouTubers such as Olajide Olatunji, more commonly known as KSI have become hugely successful. Olatunji has a huge loyal fan base that relate to his videos.

Moral Panics - Condom Challenge

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/nov/25/condom-challenge-teens-internet

Recently a new trend has been going viral across the web. The condom challenge has only been around for a short period of time but already newspapers are condemning the trend. I believe that currently, there isn't a moral panic surrounding the challenge as there are very few articles on the subject. Also, although the articles shows the trend in a negative light, they aren't causing hysteria by publishing articles that are completely out of proportion. However, i think that if someone gets injured or hospitalised from this, the newspapers will jump on it and then create a moral panic.

How are teenagers depicted in this article?

Immediately in the title, The Guardian highlights the fact that its teens that are doing these stupid things.  They also keep repeating the fact that teens are the culprit behind the challenge .
"Even better, it’s not even the first “condom challenge” to hit the internet. In 2013, teens were doing a different condom challenge..."

To what extent is human identity increasingly mediated? - Notes

New Media:

Youtube Stars:
Youtube stars have increasingly become more popular than stars from the traditional media forms such as Music and Film. The quote below describes one of the reasons why this could be.

'Connection is one word that's used over and over again when teens describe their relationships with digital stars. According to the study, teens and young adults describe YouTubers as someone who is "just like me, understands me, someone I trust, has the best advice, doesn't try to be perfect ... and likes the same things I do."

Those interviewed also suggest that YouTubers are more likely than actors or celebrities to reach out to fans on social networks like Twitter. 73% of teens and young adults report feeling close to YouTubers as opposed to 45% who say they feel close to TV and movie stars. '

KSI

KSI is a huge star on youtube, from making videos in his bedroom in his parents house to featuring in movies and creating music, he has gained a huge following of people that find him entertaining and people that relate with him.

Does that mean he considers young people's reliance on technology damaging, a restriction on our ability to socialise and act acceptably? 

'"I don't think it's damaging at all," Olatunji tells me over email. "We now just have different ways of talking to each other. Technology in my opinion has advanced dramatically in the past few years, allowing us to connect to each other in ways which were not possible before. It's bringing us closer as well as allowing us to be more free' 

People are using new ways of connecting with other people that share the same interests.

David Buckingham - Identity in the Digital Age

1) What or who does Buckingham say identity "implies a relationship with".

"...Identity also implies a relationship between a broader collective or social group of some kind..."


2) According to Buckingham Identity is also "about identification with others whom we assume are..."

"...Identity is about identification with others whom we assume are similar to us, (if not exactly the same), at least in some significant ways." 

3) Why is Identity becoming more prominent (more important and visible) according to the sociologist Zygmunt Bauman?
4) Also according to Bauman, "Identity is almost infinitely..." what?

"Bauman emphasises the fluidity of identity, seeing it as almost infinitely negotiable, and in the process perhaps underestimates the continuing importance of routine and stability. Nevertheless, his general point is well taken: “identity” only becomes an issue when it is threatened or contested in some way and needs to be explicitly asserted." 

Identity Formation: The Psychology of Adolescence
5) How does G. Stanley Hall define the period of Adolescence as?

As a period of "storm and stress."
 1903

6) How does Erikson see Adolescence?

"Adolescence, the conflict is between identity and “role confusion.” "

7) Also according to Erikson, what needs to happen for a young person "to arrive at an integrated, coherent sense of their identity"

"Erikson therefore sees adolescence as a critical period of identity formation, in which individuals overcome uncertainty, become more self-aware of their strengths and weak- nesses, and become more confident in their own unique qualities."

8) How does Susannah Stern (from the same book) suggest that the internet and online activities can help this process media?





Youth Culture and the Sociology of Youth
9) According to Buckingham when was the category of the Teenager invented?


10) What other categories does he state that "crucially blur the distinctions between children, youth and adults" ?

Mediation and Collective identity

1. Can you personally relate to the idea of creating identity using the media? Are there any characters or media personalities who you feel represent you?

Personally I don't feel like i am part of any specific sub-culture or can relate to a collective identity. I believe that being part of a certain collective identity isn't as important to my generation as it was to previous ones. There are so many different categories to put yourself in now that the significance of it has dramatically reduced since the 60s. Where it was largely 2 large rival groups, the Mods and the Rockers.

  
    2.    Can you think of any examples of Collective Identities being heavily influenced and define themselves by the media? Particularly youth sub-cultures that are often defined by the type of media they consume:

Street culture can be largely influenced by the media and can reflect what the media portrays them (and vice-versa). For the example during the London Riots, Social Media was used to orchestrate looting. Also the portrayal of the protestors in the mass media could of angered them even more leading to more people attending the riots. Also sub-cultures such as Emo's that are defined by the music that they listen to.

   3.      Are there identities that are often constructed then perpetuated by the media?

'Lad Culture' is something that has been heavily featured on online social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter. Im not sure if it was created by these media sources but it is a culture that has been reinforced by sites such as the Lad Bible.

   4.    How can these media identities influence others?

The media can publicise things that we aren't aware of that people decide to latch on to.  For example, the 

   5.   In an Internet ‘We Media’ world how can we use the media to create identities?

Sites such as Youtube allow users to create content for everybody to view. As the popularity of the site is so huge and content creators have so much influence and power over the viewers it allows for role-models to be formed. People such as Zoella have such a huge loyal fan base that aspire to be like her that the fans become categorised and recognise themselves as Zoella fans. People with similar interests are able to communicate with each other through the comment section and also other social media sites, thus allowing for groups to be formed. 

Theorists - 'To What Extent Is Human Identity Increasingly Mediated?'

Stuart Hall

• Preferred Reading
• Negotiated Reading 
• Oppositional Reading 

Thomas De Zengotita (2005) - Preferred

• 'Everything we experience is via the media'
• Therefore the media must shape us

Poletta and Jasper - Negotiated

A collective identity may have been first constructed by outsiders who may still enforce it, but it depends on some acceptance by those whom it is applied.

Jacques Locan - Negotiated

• Mirror Stage
• '... That mirrors helped children to develop a sense of self identity...'
• The assertion is that we gain an idea of self-identity through reflection

Althusser: Interpellation (1971) - Preferred

• The audience's identity is made up of outside influences such as the media 
• The mass media can 'control' the audience as what they say is assumed to be real.

Two Step Theory

Lazarsfeld and Katz created the Two Step Theory in 1944. The two step theory is based on having a middleman between the mass media and the mass audience. The middle man or the Opinion Leaders dissect the news from the media and present it to the mass audience in a way that is humorous or easier to understand.

Cultivation Theory

George Gerbner (1980) came up with a theory based on the massive influence of television on the public. He argued that it was gradual long term effects rather that immediate effects (like in the hypodermic needle theory). He also argued that television reinforced ideas rather than changed peoples perceptions. For example, people who have bad perceptions of immigrants are likely to read the Daily Mail as they back up this with negative headlines. 

Hypodermic Needle

This theory was thought up in the 1920s to 30s in Frankfurt, Germany.  It was in response to Propaganda posters which were influencing the public.  The theory said that the media is powerful and controlling and the audience is basically passive and allows ideas and beliefs to be injected into them.  Nowadays this is most relevant to advertising - eg. Red Bull with its sponsorship of extreme sports leading people to think that it is an aspirational brand.  Also the Levis Launderette advert in the 1980s with Nick Kamen which sold millions of jeans. This theory can be applied to music videos as was can sell as style through it.

Trevor Millum facial expressions

1. Soft/introverted: eyes often shut or half-closed, the mouth slightly open/pouting, rarely smiling; an inward-looking trance-like reverie, removed from earthly things.

2. Cool/level: indifferent, self-sufficient, arrogant, slightly insolent, haughty, aloof, confident, reserved; wide eyes, full lips straight or slightly parted, and obtrusive hair, often blonde. The eyes usually look the reader in the eye, as perhaps the woman regards herself in the mirror.

Seductive: similar to the cool/level look in many respects - the eyes are less wide, perhaps shaded, the expression is less reserved but still self-sufficient and confident; milder versions may include a slight smile.

Exam practice (un-finished)

Has the creation of collective identity changed

In Polletta and Jaspers ‘Collective identities, social movements’ they question the definition of collective identity. ‘Does collective identity consist mainly of moral obligation, altruism, and personal loyalty, or can be self-interested concern with the opinion of others’. Through the use of one historical case study and one of a contemporary case study, I will try to distinguish the differences or similarities of how collective identity of youth culture has changed over time.
Boyz N The Hood is a 1991 'teen hood drama' thats set in the 80s-90s about a group of teenagers that are living in Crenshaw, a neighbourhood in South Central LA where “one out of every twenty-one Black American males will be murdered in their lifetime” and “most will die at the hands of another Black male”.  The opening sequence includes these quotes on a blank black background with the sound of some young males planning and executing a drive by shooting. All of this is within the first minute of the movie, this sets the tone for things to come. This paints a bad picture of the youth in LA   as the very first thing you learn about them is that they are ruthless and lethal. The sound of a child saying "they shot my brother, they shot my brother" helps portray the impact of their actions on the community. The sound of police sirens and a helicopter shows that they are often involved with the police.  
Chicago School and the Birmingham School of Subculture's Theory states that 'subcultures are liable to influence extensively the everyday lives of participants in practice' This theory is evident within the film. The children that grow up in the area of South Central LA are surrounded by, and brought up around a life of violence and gang culture and are heavily influenced by it. Tre however is an exception, Tre reflects a positive notion about the youth. He is intelligent and polite, a long way off from the presentation of youth that is portrayed in the movie.

The London riots in  2011 was covered widely across the British media, mostly in a negative manner. Teen males where targeted the most in hateful and largely unfavourable articles published in papers such as The Sun and The Daily Mail. 'Mobs', 'Anarchists' and 'Morons' where word that were used on the front cover of many papers. 
'The notion of incorporation suggests that media and commerce only become self-consciously involved in the marketing of subcultural styles ... Thornton suggests that subcultures are liable to involve a variety of both positive and negative forms of direct media involvement right from their beginnings.'
This quote from the Chicago School and the Birmingham School of Subculture states that the media has an influence in shaping a sub-culture and promoting it in either a positive or negative way. In the case of the London Riots, it was nearly all negative coverage. This demonisation is similar to that in Boyz in the Hood, the only difference being is that there is some sympathy portrayed in the movie towards the youth. In both examples the youth are shown to be violent and careless, however the American youth is perceived to be worse because of their gun crimes. 




The notion of incorporation suggests that media and commerce only become self-consciously involved in the marketing of subcultural styles after they have been established for a time, and Hebdige emphasizes that this involvement effectively spells the demise of subcultures. In contrast, Thornton suggests that subcultures are liable to involve a variety of both positive and negative forms of direct media involvement right from their beginnings.
http://subcultureslist.com/subculture-theory/

Artist research

Disclosure:

Disclosure have are currently promoting their new album in various ways through their website.

Instead of going straight to the websites home page the viewer is directed to this page where the new music is played in the background and the track listing, release date and album artwork is shown.

On the home page there are numerous links to picture galleries, tour dates, current music and current music videos. These are all displayed and done through other services such as Spotify, Instagram and youtube. This diverse use of social media platforms allows the artists to reach out to more people.

Here is an example of how Spotify is used on the website.

On the pop up screen at the beginning of the website there is this message.

This is telling us that the music videos are going to be linked in a story. The first two videos that have been released do back this up as they are set in the same fictional city and include the same main actor.

It also includes hints of the album artwork in multiple shots in both videos.

Narrative and Story

Narrative - A sequence of events organised into a story with a particular structure.

Story - All of the events in a narrative, those presented directly to an audience and those which might be inferred

Revised Story - we could have written our story in a slightly different way, we could have started earlier when the protagonist gets jumped and taken to the room that we see at the start of the clip.

Plan for answering: 'Analyse the ways in which the media represent groups of people'

Analyse the ways in which the media represent one group of people you have studied.

• Youth
• The media reinforce stereotypes - in the case of young people, these stereotypes are predominantly negative
• Hooligans 

With reference to any one group of people that you have studied, discuss how their identity has been 'mediated'.

Discuss how one or more groups of people are represented through the media.

Youth:

76% of reporting of young people is negative.

• Only 12% of crime is committed by young people.

• 39% of adults are unaware of the positive things young people do.

• Nearly 750 young people completed an online poll for the British Youth Council (BYC) and YouthNet - 80% believed unfair portrayal in the media led to strained relations with older generations.

• Analyse the ways in which at least one group of people is 'mediated'.

If the word MEDIATED comes up here’s a few ideas about it to include in an introduction which then allows you go on to talk about your case studies.

Media Theory Quotes

Christian Metz - 'Stages of genres: experimental/classics/parody/deconstruction'
 I can implement this quote into an exam by describing what section our film fits into and why.

Tzvetan Todorov - 5 stages of a movie - equilibrium/disruption of the equilibrium/recognition of the disruption/attempt to repair the disruption/reinstatement of the equilibrium
I can either relate Todorovs theory or I could explain why our movie doesn't conform to this

Stuart Hall - 'The media and  therefore audiences often blur race and class. Often associating particular races with particular classes.
In our film we challenge this theory a we casted a black actor to play the role of the middle/upper class agent

Using conventions from real media texts 1A

Post-Production 1A

Research and Planning 1A

We contacted a number of storage companies as we wanted to film in a container/small white room. We wanted a space like this to use in the torture scene and when the protagonist was tied up as it would resemble an interrogation room

Creativity 1A

As we didn't have access to any buildings to film in. The way we got around this is by filming Ryan walking into a random building and then cutting that with a scene we shot at school and made in look like it was in the same place.

I built a slider for the AS project as we wanted professional looking smooth shots

Digital Technology 1A

Nikon D7000 - Using this camera allowed us to use higher ISOs without losing the quality of the image. This was really useful because we wanted to film in a dark cupboard in order to make it look like our detainee was imprisoned in a dark, uninviting interior.  This would not have been possible without a high quality digital camera which we could manually change the settings of in order to achieve the desired result.  It allowed us to focus manually which was useful when doing the focus pull on the wrists of our detainee struggling to get out of his bonds.

Prezi - Using Prezi allowed us to creatively display our final evaluation of the project.  It is also perfectly set up to allow us to mind map our ideas in a very visual way.  I was able to embed a background track and YouTube videos

Garage band was used to create the drone that was used in the background of our project. Once we had created the drone we needed a way of getting it into our project, we used a software called Sound Flower which allowed us to record the track in real time.

Final Cut Pro - We used this software to edit and cut together the whole project together. This powerful editing system gave us a huge amount of creative freedom to create an exiting opening scene

The Millenials

Millennial Generation

Above is the contents page of a document produced by the White House about the Millennial generation, the key topics it covers are largely positive.

Representations of millennials: 

'Millennials are typically team-oriented, banding together to date and socialize rather than pairing off. They work well in groups, preferring this to individual endeavors. They're good multitaskers, having juggled sports, school, and social interests as children so expect them to work hard. Millennials seem to expect structure in the workplace. They acknowledge and respect positions and titles, and want a relationship with their boss. This doesn't always mesh with Generation X's love of independence and hands-off style.'
  -  http://apps.americanbar.org/lpm/lpt/articles/mgt08044.html

This is quite a positive look on the Millennials  labelling them as co-operative and sociable. In the article it also says how we accept and celebrate diversity more than the previous generation. In contrast to this here is an extract from Time Magazine that has a very negative outlook on our generation
' “The incidence of narcissistic personality disorder is nearly three times as high for people in their 20s as for the generation that’s now 65 or older, according to the National Institutes of Health; 58% more college students scored higher on a narcissism scale in 2009 than in 1982. Millennials got so many participation trophies growing up that a recent study showed that 40% believe they should be promoted every two years, regardless of performance.'

One of the major events of this time period was the London riots,

Youth Representation

1. Youth are often represented in accordance with popular or hegemonic notions of adolescence - Kevin the teenager https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDKF8KkD7rE - Lazy, latch on to trends, rude.
2. Youth are often ‘demonised’ by the mass media. - 

   'Hoodies, louts, scum': how media demonises teenagers - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hoodies-louts-scum-how-media-demonises-teenagers-1643964.html

3. Youth are represented as being let down by adults - Attack the Block -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD0gm7dHKKc - The Teenagers have to protect themselves without the aid of adults
4. Youth are represented as part of a subculture - 
5. Alienation – youth are represented as being estranged from parts of society, particularly adult society. -Youth Alienation as an Emerging Pediatric Health Care Issue - http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=515627

1. Youth are product of the society they were born into, and often embody the faults and fears of adult society - ‘Boredom is no excuse’ Bacup yob youths are warned - http://www.rossendalefreepress.co.uk/news/local-news/boredom-no-excuse-bacup-yob-9336773 - 'The bad behaviour of these youths is not the by-product of a lack of facilities but a combination of their upbringing, influences and personal choice.'

1. Representations of Youth are often nostalgic and romanticized - Project X (US) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BEIhA8CcY0

Roland Barthes / Levis Straus

Barthes theories in our movie

The Hermeneutic Code:
the HER code can be applied to our film as we start in a strange place (the torture scene) which leaves the audience guessing what happened and how the characters got there.

The Enigma Code:
Similar to the hermeneutic code, tension was built thought the clip due to the un-reavealing intro.

The Semantic Code:
This can be applied as we have chosen our setting to be in Central London with shots of Westminster, this is typical of other action thriller films as the location is seen as important and important.

Levis Straus - Binary opposition 

good vs evil
the west vs russia
empowered vs victim
strong vs weak