Super curricular

Super curricular 1 - Summarised Article 

Media Magazine: issue 18, December 2006 

The media effects debate

‘Is tv dumbing down?’

 

The article was written by Sara Mills, and she is taking a step back from her usual articles on popular tv culture, such as shopping channels and lifestyle programmes, and is instead wondering whether these examples of ‘Trash TV’ can really be accused of ‘dumbing down’ their audiences – or whether they’re scapegoats for broader fears about class, power and media influence.

The dumbing down debate is the idea that today’s society is becoming less intellectual and that all aspects of the media (newspapers, television, education, exams etc) are becoming more easy and simple year by year. 

“Trash TV’ is seen as evidence of dumbing down, such as love island or big brother as they are said to be ‘dumbed down TV for dumbed down people’. Although Mills argues that dumbing down seems to be a way for certain people to dismiss elements of today’s culture that are new and different, and that they often just don’t like and don’t understand.

The BBC has a remit to inform and educate as well as entertain, and it focuses on intellectual and cultural improvement, giving the public what was good for them, rather than what they want.

The increase in mass education now means that people don’t have to rely on TV to educate them, so this could suggest why TV has been ‘dumbed down’, as people use it as an escape from their hardworking lives.

The information age – seemingly ‘old’ technologies are now being used for narrower purposes, as things like computers are relied on for learning so therefore the TV is used for some light relief.

Super curricular 2 - Triangle of micro/macro

Super Curricular 3 - A Level Media Theory Book 

For today’s homework task we were told to find a new piece of information from The essential revision guide - Media theory for A Level. I looked at Judith Butler’s theory - Gender as a performance and found that she says ‘our gendered identities are not naturally given but constructed through repetition and ritual’. I also learnt what the term ‘abjection’ means - it’s the process of constructing an object or person as repulsive, and Butler infers that this is used to suggest that non-heteronormative identities are unnatural (the view that gender is binary - either male or female).

Super curricular 4 - Shelter YouTube video

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_YfE4l69pAk

In this video, there is a montage of different people who grew up in social housing who are advocating for social housing for the new generations. They each have a different story to tell about how social housing helped shape them into the people they are today and how without it they wouldn’t have had the opportunity to grow and thrive in later life.

They use powerful, emotive language that not only highlights the importance of these houses for children, but also encourages the audience to do their part to help. This is because Shelter is a charity so their main goal for this advert is to gain support and motivate people to donate.

Super Curricular 4 - Big Issue Infographic

Super Curricular 5 - Media Magazine Conference 

On Friday 24th January, at the BFI, we saw many inspirational people in the media, whether they worked in it, taught it, or came up with the theories we study. First was a lecture on AI, in which I found out that ludic limits refer to the boundaries or constraints within which play or games operate. He spoke about how Simon Stevens says that theatre is the ultimate tool to look at AI, and also that AI only gives you average - never the best, as its a combination (average) of many things. He also spoke about Marshal McLuhan - media tetrad - which suggested all media products can be studied using a combination of these: 1.enhance 2.cancel 3.bring back 4.flip out. We then saw a Q&A from an ex Daily Mirror publisher, who spoke about the somewhat dangerous affects that news companies can have. She said that 90% of all digital ad revenue goes to google. She also highlighted how the prices of news can lead to an educated informed elite, those who are willing to pay, and everyone else being uniformed. She highlighted how conglomerates can lead to fewer alternative viewpoints, and that billionaires can decide what you can and can’t see - that tech companies have all the power. We also had a lecture on fandoms, but more specifically ‘fangirls’. In this we learnt about the nature of fan girls and how they can behave - particularly the extreme lengths they go to to get closer to the artist (such as camping outside a convert venue overnight). She also highlighted the negative side of fandoms and how it can lead people to believe they know someone, when really all they know is the choreographed side of them thats painted in the media, not their true self. Her examples included Chappel Roan and Phoebe Bridgers, who both experienced the negative side of fandoms. We saw a Q&A from a music video director, who told us all about the music industry in relation to its videos, and what their journey looked like to get to the level they’re at right now. A key change in the music industry is that ;music videos are no longer drip fed after a few weeks of a single coming out. Instead they come out at the same time, as such a big part of listening to a new song is watching the video. Harv Frost worked with a band called ‘the last dinner party’ and we were able to see a collection of the music videos that had been strung together to create a short film. We we able to see a Q&A with David Hesmondhalgh, one of our media theorists we study. His focus was one cultural context. What I found fascinating was how he brought to light cultural contexts surrounding all the most popular and trending programmes that I had never even acknowledged before. For example, TV shows such as traitors and squid games have themes of distrust, which is contextual of the fact that all around the world right now everyone is slightly distrustful. These TV shows present people as immoral, which in this day and age many people conspire about others, particularly those is power and paint them all out to be completely evil. He briefly spoke about the Daily Mail and how they profit from fear and anxiety, although when producing these media products, its not just about finance but more about the culture and morals of the writers. Lastly we watched a Q&A with Nida Manzoor, the writer of a TV show ‘We are Lady Parts’. She spoke about her journey to being able to produce and write her own shows and movies, and how although her parents were not always 100% on board with the idea, she still managed to persevere to pursue her dreams and make them a reality. The entire day was so inspirational and has shown me many interesting aspects of the media in a new light, and has also highlighted the different paths to get such a vast variety of jobs within the media.

Super Curricular 6 -