Week 11, During, Debating Identity
Posted by: stephii1701 on: May 29, 2009
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“Individuals have little power to choose what features will be used to identify them – these are determined socially”. In his article, During tries to identify the concept of identity.
Identity can be a term used for an individual or a group and in this reading, it is referred to as the way in which someone is defined in terms of traits or characteristics, which effectually categorizes them into specific groups.
“Identity politics are fuelled by the desire for recognition”. In his article, During expounds on the issue of identity politics, which is defined as a form of politics based largely on identities themselves rather than ideologies. According to During, ‘identity politics’ tend to be too rigid as it “tends to work by principles of exclusion” meaning individuals are grouped into a stereotype. Identity politics usually involves a marginalised group attempting to overthrow the negative worldview they experience in a hegemonic society such as the feminist movement or the Afro-American movement for their rights. Some problems surrounding identity politics are that: it erases internal differences – meaning it does not take into consideration singularities that are unique to particular groups, thus stereotyping them; it is also limiting as it assumes the existence of an essential identity; identity politics also operates on the principle of exclusion, which could result in fragmentation and discrimination within societies when certain groups are subjugated by dominant “identities”.
Another term that During uses is “hybridity” exemplifying the fact that “groups and individuals do not have a single identity but several”. We are categorized according to the standards of our social structure, which changes through time and space. Hybridity refers to the combination and mixing of identities between different collectives. During contends that these hybrid identities arise due to the oppression of certain groups, and that these are used to lend a sense of power and recognition that is markedly distinct from the oppressors.
The reason behind the arbitrariness of meanings of identity according to During is due to the possibility of contextual influence on meaning of identity, “these terms may change its meaning depending on who is using it and in what context.” Therefore depending on the context the consequent image produced by the identity may change. This is why identity is very important as in certain context it may be used in positive or negative ways. I think this is where media comes in. The media can and has intervened in the matter of identity, the news, TV programs, computer and etc. Media can influence the society into bringing out some of the identity points which could be used into either bringing positive or negative image to an individual. This is especially widely seen during election times, media being used to control identity. The fact that most identities are not chosen but inherited or given also in a sense exemplifies the limiting nature of identities, due to a lack of choice. Thus, one’s “self-interiority” remains the only aspect of an individual where private thoughts and emotions cannot be tagged (or identities here are not applicable) – the only private sphere where one can express oneself clearly without being judged or stereotyped. In conclusion, I believe that although identities can be limiting to groups in society (by failing to take into consideration individual differences and thereby limiting individuality); they help individuals fit broadly into the blanket of society. I also feel that the notion of society can be based on the fact that different groups in society each play a different role, and this ‘grouping’ of identities allows for the functioning within society.
Week Ten, Mary Macken-Horarik, ‘Children Overboard’
Posted by: stephii1701 on: May 20, 2009
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In this week’s article, Mary Macken-Horarik discusses media discourses, focusing in particular on the ways the media re-shapes the structure of a news story and providing us with information implicating powerful ‘truths’. Macken-Horarik explains that through the use of composite texts – those that include interaction between communicative resources e.g. visual, verbal, layout, and typographic – the media is able to fabricate ‘believable’ stories and sell them as ‘news items.’ One of the greatest associations that permit the ‘validity’ of these texts is the “complementary truths of word and image.”
The article states that “multimodal texts like newspapers are a crucial public resource in the production of social attitudes towards particular groups of people”. With western media becoming increasingly “Multimodal”, society’s perception is not just affected by the text, but by the headlines, layout as well as photographs in the article. The media can change our prejudice towards events and people.
The key aims of this article is to inform the responder that the media needs to be analyzed, due to its ability to manipulate visual and verbal forms of communication to further manipulate the way society thinks and feels which can lead to damaging social discourses. This is explained through concepts such as “Genericisation-Specification” and “Categorization”.
The concept of “Genericisation-Specification” can be used to identify how the media can shape meaning. Essentially, this concept analyses whether a character in the media is being depicted generally or specifically. In the case involving the ‘children overboard’ scandal, the ‘boat people’ were just depicted with images and words to appear generally. These invoked feelings of emotional distance and the government, were being depicted specifically to allow us to feel more emotionally connected to the government’s view.
The view of identity portrayed by the media is addressed as ‘categorization’. This is where representation is concerned with defining their subjects with what they do or alternatively with what they are. The consequences are that discourses are easily manipulated through society this way. From the ‘children overboard’ article, it is shown through visual and verbal forms that the Government and Navy are depicted by their occupations to display authority and the asylum seekers are depicted by what they are, i.e. ‘boat people’. The idea behind depicting the asylum seekers as ‘boat people’ creates a more broad and permanent identity. The permanent identity is then easily combined with negative connotations associated from authority i.e. the government, in order to create desired meanings and discourses in society.
Week Nine, Annabelle Lukin’s ‘Reporting war: Grammar as Covert Operation’
Posted by: stephii1701 on: May 15, 2009
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The first words that hit me immediately in this week’s reading was the byline: “…explores the ways in which grammar can conceal and distort real meaning”. The way we say and hear things, influence the way we interpret them and thus, create a meaning based on what we think. But is what we think really the case? Either way, I think the media is the one who ultimately influences our thoughts and the decisions we make.
Through Lukin’s article, she uses the example of milk being spilt and demonstrates how even the slightest change to how it’s said transforms the complete meaning. “I spilt the milk” shows responsibility – choosing to “specify the agent involved” whereas “The milk was spilt” demonstrates passiveness. Lukin shows that even though both convey the same ‘truth’, they do not convey the same meaning, and thus, “the grammar of English – makes you choose”.
Like the article states, ‘truth is the first casualty of war’”. This made me remember Paul Byrnes’ article Over the Top where he enforces this notion of truth and war. In the article, we are provided with the insight into how the media changes the truth to suit particular situations that will appeal to viewers, and in turn, fulfill the purpose the media intends to pursue. The article presents the truth about video, picture and written reports from wars being unreliable with very few items of this nature being real and claims that it is the “public [who] hungers for war pictures [which] fuels the practice [of producing fraudulent coverage]”. Many battles were staged not on the battlefield, but here at home, some even in filming studios. Byrnes also uncovers the participation of the government using “fakery to encourage recruitment” and back up its decisions to conscript soldiers. One particular piece of footage of the landing at Gallipoli, which was actually shot at Tamarama Bay near Bondi, a few weeks after the actual landing, has been use in news reports every Anzac Day and even in a documentary, which the average person would accept as the truth. Byrnes describes the commencing scene of the film as “boats landing in glistening sunshine, the legs of the soldiers pound up the beach as Turkish guns pelt them with a deadly rain of bullets”. As you can see, this relates back to Lukin’s investigation of how grammar “is not about a system of rules, but systems of choice…grammar is our most important resource for creating meaning, and therefore, for creating our competing realities”. The way Byrnes uses the words “pound”, “pelt” and “deadly” demonstrate the dramatization and exaggeration the media exploits in order to gain the reaction they want from society – us.
As you can see, through Lukin’s investigation and Byrnes’ article, we can see the influence grammar has on our lives and its “infinite potential”.
Week Seven, Rizzo, Programming Your Own Channel
Posted by: stephii1701 on: May 1, 2009
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Rizzo’s article is based on flow and how the emergence of the playlist has “radically changed” the notion of flow. Rizzo writes this article to primarily raise the idea that the introduction of the playlist has given the viewer control over the media.
However, first, I think it is necessary to understand the initial concept of ‘flow’ which is demonstrated in Williams’ ideas of ‘flow’. Williams’ sequences of programming and flow are an example of how broadcast television was first visualized in society. Williams refers to watching television as a ‘sequence of programming’ where the viewer only watches a specific television show at a specific time and a specific organized way but then it progresses to a ‘sequence of flow’ where the viewer watches a number of television programs for a random period of time, without any inclination to a specified time he/she would stop viewing. Williams further elaborates on this flow by explaining the “sensation that is designed to keep viewers watching”. Williams mentions that even the ad-breaks in and between programs are designed for specific times to be viewed by the audience so the audience is drawn in to keep watching to maintain a ‘flow’. I know that when I’m at home watching television, I don’t watch my favorite TV show and stop watching. I ‘view’ television. I watch an ‘evening’ of television.
I agree with Rizzo’s statement that Williams’ idea of flow does not fit well with the “new digital forms of television” but at the same time, should not be rejected outright. Digital television does follow a “sequence of flow” but rather has created its own unique flow. This is where Deleuze and Guattari come into the equation. I rather think that Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of flow is an extension of Williams’. While Williams suggests that flow is the product of “organization by broadcasters”, Deleuze and Guattari extend this idea into the notion of flow “occurs[ing] when different kinds of ‘machines’ form connections”. While Williams sees ‘interruptions’ as negative and a way of ‘losing’ the viewer’s attention, on the contrary, Deleuze and Guattari positively acknowledge these ‘interruptions’. This is shown through Rizzo’s example of the internet where constant interruptions such as hyperlinks where the user ‘breaks’ the connection between one particular space, in this case, a website; but instead of breaking the flow, the user is advancing the flow by creating a new connection with another website. Deleuze and Guattari recognize flow as interaction between the viewer and the media which goes back to the idea of the playlist where advancements of technology such as digital television (Foxtel), have allowed us to create our own playlist of television shows and view them in our own subjective, experiential time. I think this relates back to Scannell’s topic of “Daliness” where the development and domestication of media in our everyday lives has allowed us to no longer experience objective time. The typical broadcast flow is replaced by the viewer’s active participation of using the remote control to watch selectively. A new flow is established. I know that from personal experience of having Foxtel at home, I have the ability to record a television show and watch another program at the same time without having to flick between channels or choose what program I want to watch. I have Gossip Girl on series link where every week it’s recorded and I can view it anytime I want. Same with my i-Pod. I don’t have to listen to the radio, now I can listen to my ‘type’ of music whenever I want, wherever I want. Relating this to this week’s topic of networks, I think in a way, you now have the ability to create your own network but yet still be a part of the bigger network around you. Networks are essential in our social way of being. They have allowed us to interact with people universally without having to travel physically. On YouTube for example, I can create my own playlist of favorite videos and ‘most viewed’. I have created a network within my own space, and at the same time, other people from the other side of the world can view my network, thus creating a network within a network. This leads to my conclusion that the concept of flow is not diminished, but changed. It no longer involves the “unity of tone, image and feeling”, rather it allows the unity of networks due to the difference and singular product of tone image and feeling.
Week Four – Shaun Moores’ “Doubling of Place”
Posted by: stephii1701 on: April 2, 2009
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In this week’s reading of Shaun Moores’ Doubling of Place, Moores discusses a number of issues about media and space. Moores seems to agree on Scannell’s concept of media serving as a “double reality” and he develops upon this concept by explaining that, “it is only ever possible for any individual to be in one place at a time physically… [but] broadcasting…permits a ‘live’ witnessing of remote happenings that can bring these happenings experientially ‘close’ or ‘within range’”. Moores further elaborates this idea by describing the events surrounding Princess Diana’s death. Not only was the Royal Family grieving, the whole world was grieving with them. And this wasn’t through us physically being there, it was through ‘live’ broadcasting of the event that made us feel connected to something that was happening on the other side of the world. Moores even quoted a viewer’s response on how they felt – “it did not feel right to go out on such a sad day”. A viewer and her husband interrupted their daily ‘routine’ due to the television broadcast of an event that made them feel as if they just had to stay home “until she (Princess Diana) reached her final resting place”. I think this relates back to Scannell’s concept of ‘care structures’ where the media dictates what is shown, thus making us ‘care’ about what they want us to care about. I believe it has taken away the connotations of the action of caring and replaced it with something rigid, firm and stiff. Caring has become a ‘structure’ instead of just being a solicitous action.
This, then reminded me of this week’s lecture, when Scott mentioned in his presentation slide that “media occupy[ies] a space ‘inbetween’ us and our world”. To me, I interpreted it as media becoming the connection between ‘My Space’ and ‘World Space’. I admit ,if I don’t check my Facebook or I don’t watch television, I feel out of synch with not only my friends, but with the rest of the world. Just last week, my internet connection was down and I began fretting. Without any hesitation, I immediately called the internet distributor to help me fix my problem. This somehow reminded me of Mike Michael’s “The Remote Control and the Couch Potato” where Michael’s mentions how much effort we put into finding the lost remote control. Well, to me, I think of how much effort we put into anything technological. We need this piece of technology and that piece of equipment so our lives can function according to what we call ‘normal’.
What I also found interesting about this article was the private conversation a woman was having in public domain. In my opinion, I don’t think there is a ‘my space’ any longer. I think ‘my space’ has become ‘world space’ and private and public spheres don’t have any distinct boundaries anymore. ‘My Space’ could be “in a ghetto tenement or in a suburban teenager’s bedroom [or]…in a corporate suite” and ‘World Space’ can now be accessed in the luxury of my own home…and this is all possible because of this thing we call “double reality”.
Week Three, P. Scannell’s ‘Dailiness’
Posted by: stephii1701 on: March 27, 2009
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In this week’s lecture, Scott quoted that P. Scannell in his article ‘Dailiness’, essentially “argues that the temporal structures of broadcasting are fundamental to how it relates to our everyday lives”. In my opinion, I think this statement demonstrates how our lives have become so immersed in media and technology that it has become a ‘need’ for us to have it (media) constantly in our lives. It has ultimately made us end up ‘caring’ about what’s ‘going on’ in our world which doesn’t need us to be directly involved anymore. But nevertheless has shifted this anxiety anyhow and now, our “concern here has been and is with broadcasting and its concerns”. This quote got me thinking. The fact that every day, with a press of a button, I become ‘in tune’ with the world and I find myself caring about something or someone that/who is on the other side of the globe! And I’m not talking about the wars or the disasters our world are currently facing. I’m talking about all the celebrities, gossip and what their lives revolve around. I find myself caring and sympathizing for the celebrity who just got their heart-broken or in awe of the new ‘IT’ couple of Hollywood.
In the MX newspapers, there’s always a ‘Who Am I?’ where they conceal the face of the celebrity and write down clues to help the reader figure out who it is. Almost every single time, I am able to guess who the celebrity is. What does that say about me? My boyfriend even commented that I might as well be a part of the entertainment industry because I sadistically know so much about it. With the variety of channels I can now view or listen to, this illustrates how media has adapted itself to our lifestyle just like a chameleon.
Scannell quotes that there is “less emphasis now on royal ceremony, perhaps, more on sport…there is a stable temporal framework to the output of radio and television working through the days of the week, the months and the years”. This made me think back to the lecture where Scott showed a slide of his ‘media weekend’. I have to say, his ‘media-filled’ weekend is nothing compared to the amount of times a day and how much time of my day is ‘dedicated’ to media. But unfortunately, because of the way our world is structured and the amount of power we give to media, society today is ‘built’ to be media-centralized and no longer can we live without this fundamental aspect of our lives.
Mike Michael’s “The Remote Control and The Couch Potato”
Posted by: stephii1701 on: March 20, 2009
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Through his article The Remote Control and The Couch Potato, Michael aims to investigate and explain the relationship between “…bodies, embodiment and technology”. Michael’s concept of “embodiment”, where physical body parts, such as an arm, hand and fingers, are ‘disembodied’ and replaced, with one piece of technological equipment really intrigued me to the point where I had to go and examine my own remote control. As I held it in my hand, I wondered what watching television would be like without this simple device. A press of a button fulfilled my desire and replaced the wasting action of having to walk to and from the television every time I wanted to change the channel. If the remote control weren’t there, I think I would be part of the 55% of the population where I would spend five to ten minutes searching for this device merely due to the fact that this piece of technology assisted me in the simple task of skipping advertisements and ‘flicking’ channels. The remote control is simply just a minor role in the greater scheme of things. Even though we don’t realize it, there are other technologies and devices that replace the need for us to move and use our bodies. The telephone for example, replaces the need for us to travel physically to talk to someone or the energy to write a letter to express our thoughts. So many things we take for granted and yet, imagine what we’d do without them?
Michael expresses, through the symbolic use of the remote control, a society becoming more and more dependent on the media. And sadly, like the remote control demonstrates, the power we allow the media to exert over us makes us interdependent and therefore, allowing the “interlocking of [our] human bodies [with] technology”. This leads to the concept of ‘The Couch Potato’. Through our symbiotic relationship with technology, the term ‘couch potato’ derives from this relationship. If it weren’t for the phone, the internet, the television and every other technological advancement out there, I think the couch potato would be foreign territory but as Cauldry previously stated in his article Media Rituals: The Short and The Long Route, “the familiar is not necessarily the known, and must therefore first be made strange”.
So…being a couch potato was unfamiliar, but due to the integration technology has made into society, being a couch potato has become accepted in everyday life.
After careful consideration, I renamed Michael’s article, “The Remote Control and The Couch Potato” to “The Remote Control and ME” because I am ashamedly, a couch potato…to an extent. I am not what Thorne defines a couch potato as “a lazy, greedy person…a person whose only activity is to lie in front of the television and eat and drink…” (Thorne, 1990, p.110). I do fulfill part of this definition where sometimes, the only activity I do is lie and become “completely engrossed in whatever programme is on the television…”. However, I do not think that I am part of the minority. I think the majority of our population are couch potatoes. Whether it is in front of a television or a computer, it still involves concentrating and investing a great deal of time into something. Thus, making us into a society that will one day inevitably become a single entity with the media which makes me wonder when the day will come where I do not have to use any part of my body because with a ‘flick’ of a switch, I can do anything.
Week One, Nick Cauldry’s ‘Media Rituals: The Short and The Long Route’.
Posted by: stephii1701 on: March 13, 2009
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“An insidious form, Helping shape thoughts, Making You conform…It has an effect, Over all these years, Why don’t you think for yourself???” - Nuclear Assault ‘Brainwashed’
It hadn’t really resonated on me how much of an effect the media had on society until Nick Couldry’s article Media Rituals: The Short and The Long Route struck a nerve in my system. Cauldry firmly addresses the present situation of society being ‘media-circulated’ and how “our attention to media seems more than casual”. This is clearly demonstrated through “the way we act in the presence of a media person or celebrity, the way a media event or a television studio is organised…to the way we act when we’re on television”. I ashamedly admit, I react immediately when I walk past the Channel 7 studios at Martin Place and I catch a glimpse of the reporters sitting on the leather couch recounting current world affairs. Even though I am only metres away, it makes me feel as if the only way I am connected to these people is through the television. If I walked up to Melissa Doyle of Sunrise, she would most likely look at me with disdain. However, if I watched her through television, she becomes a familiar face, a ‘friend’. And it is through these types of actions and feelings the media creates, Cauldry argues that our lack of knowledge of the “difference the media makes to the social world”, has made us ignore the media’s attempts of ‘legitimizing’ itself as the “mediated centre” of the world and ultimately becoming the sun in our solar system.
As I struggle to express my thoughts on this article, I stop and think about where I am. Literally. Even though I didn’t realise it, I was watching television. The fact that I didn’t realise this before makes me think about how much the television, the Internet, the telephone; what Cauldry calls “central media” have integrated into our daily lives that it undoubtedly has become what Cauldry introduces to us as “media rituals”. This term “media rituals” suggests that the media brings us together and unites us. And since we accept the apparent ‘power’ the media has, this allows the media to further enhance and manipulate what we see, hear and do.
The sudden realization has made me wonder how much of my life has been dedicated to these ‘media rituals’ and how much more of my life will continue to do so.
References:
- Couldry, Nick, Media Rituals: The Short and the Long Route, London, Routledge, 2003, Pg 1-11
hey everyone :D
Posted by: stephii1701 on: March 11, 2009
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Hey everyone 
My name is Stephanie and I am 18 years old, attending first year of uni, doing a Bachelor of Social Science at UNSW and I am hell scared!It’s really overwhelming!New environment, new people, new classrooms…new EVERYTHING!I feel like I’m back to the first day of kindergarten except that the playground here at uni is BIGGER and the people are a tad (just a tad) more scary.
The first couple of days I have experienced here at uni are completely different to that of high school. At high school, pretty much everything was spoon fed to me and now at uni, independence is the key. To be honest, I’m not sure if I’m 100% ready to go down the “Independence Road” but is there really a choice? It’s so fast-paced, everything becomes a blur and if you’re not on track, you’re going to have to get back on by yourself.
But, with all that said, I am really excited! Uni is a new beginning for me, a new day and a new chapter in my story. And in my story (me being the heroine of course) I can’t wait to RISE to the CHALLENGES uni brings my way and finish another chapter of my life with a triumphant victory!
Well that’s just a bit about me. See you guys soon. 
