Driving Tests RAIL

Representation

Representation is how the media portray events, issues, individuals and social groups. Typically this is through enforcing or reinforcing some stereotypes.

Representation can be made through the acronym: C.A.G.E.D. Which is Class, Age, Gender, Ethnicity and Disability. It can also be through how you read a text such as Dominated Reading which is where you agree and accept the ideological message. Negotiated Reading where it is just in the middle and lastly there is oppositional reading, which is where you disagree with the message.

What is a Stereotype?

A stereotype is a characterization of an individual or group that has certain features. They work as symbolic codes or signs, Stereotypes can be positive or negative, but they are often generalized and inaccurate, They become more accepted in society due to the frequency with which they are used.

Roland Barthes who is the creator of semiotics (study of signs) suggests that the values attributed to these stereotypes are not real, but myths, and are used to reinforce the dominant groups in society. 

The ASA also known as the Advertising Standard Agency. Posted new rules which were introduced at the beginning of the year, ban the depiction of men and women engaged in gender-stereotypical activities to help stop "limiting how people see themselves and how other see them and life decision they take".

Othering & Hyper Reality

Othering is the idea that media representations define a "norm" which they encourage he audience to identify with and portray those outside this norm as "other" lesser and alien is a key concept

Hyper Reality is where reality is distorted, it is also the sense the we try to enhance something so it tries to make it to seem more "real". If your reality is permeated with hyperreal images, your reality becomes distorted and you are living in a hyper reality in which the unreal world is more real than the real world.

The Van Zoonen Theory.

Van Zoonen suggests that we live in a patriarchal society which is more dominated by men and that women are represented as accessories to men and are often more objectified, rather than admired, as with the male body. Often, women bodies are seen as "their most powerful and only tool". 

Audience

When you are looking at a audience group you should mainly consider: Their Age, Gender, Occupation and Education. 

Psychometric Audience Profile - This defines an audience by how they think and by considering their values, attitudes and lifestyles (VAL), There is also a Psychometric Method of categorisation and was specific to advertising, which was developed by Young and Rubicam who are a marketing and a communications company.

The Effects/Hypodermic Needle model - This model suggests that if you believe that the media has total control over the way that you think and behave, this is the model you will most likely will subscribe to. This model suggests that the mass media are powerful and oppressive and have control over the passive audience by injecting their minds with messages which causes them to think in a particular way. This was popularised by a man named "Albert Bandura" in the 1960s when TVs were making their way in homes

Uses and Gratification Theory - This theory states that if you believe you have more control of what you watch and if you use the media more than it uses you, you will more likely will subscribe to this theory, some people might do this for surveillance, personal identity, personal relationships or through diversion.

Minecraft

Minecraft is a game that has over 230M copies, and it has one of the largest games fanbases. It also is one of the largest growing games. Minecraft is mainly composed of building and creativity, however there is a survival side to it. Originally Minecraft's target audience was actually for builders and coders. Minecraft spread throughout it's fandom or it's fan-base as well as MINECON.

Henry Jenkins was theorist, who created the theory of fandom, Minecraft is a good example of this. People who produce and consume are known as "Prosumers" Prosumers collaborate to more new communities and help spread the brand for example: Minecraft, since Minecraft didn't start out with a initial budget for marketing, it relied on getting popular from mouth to mouth.

The significance of specialised audiences, including niche and fan, to the success of Minecraft includes people playing the game which has over 230 Million copies, through the fandom advertising the game, Through the fandom where people have made countless YouTube videos and streams which helped contribute to the success of the game and through merchandise and Minecon. 

Industry

In A-level media, we will be learning about a number of industries such as: The US Longform TV Industry, Swedish/Danish TV Drama Industry, The UK Newspaper Industry, The Radio Industry, The Hollywood film Industry and The Gaming industry.

About 71% of National Newspaper Companies are controlled by 3 companies, Rupert Murdoch owns about 20%, and Viscount Rothermere owns about 33% (daily mail and DMGT group)

A Conglomerate is a business corporation formed by purchase of other businesses, a Global Conglomerate is a business corporation but in more than one country, Horizontal Integration is when a company buys rivals for example Disney buying Pixar and Vertical Integration is when a company buys other companies that do par of its business – Disney, Buena vista, Disney+  

David Hesmondhaglh suggests that it is difficult for companies to predict profitability, so they rely on repetition to generate profit. This can be in the form of using well known stars or simply rebooting old successful films. This may seem dumb and uncreative and profit driven but it also tends to dumb down the narrative and appeal to mass audiences.

The End of Audience Theory suggests that instead of being dictated by big media companies, modern audiences are embracing new media through the internet to create identities and to be entertained. However, the new media audiences are not passive but active consumers also want to engage with their media, this also suggests the idea of the prosumer wanting to have a new way of embracing the media through the internet. 

Language

Media language is how the media through their forms, codes, conventions and techniques communicate meanings. People who can speak 2 different languages can infer the same meaning in a scene. Media language isn't all about film, we use it in everything from advertisements to newspapers.

In media there are many types of shots such as Aerial Shot, close up, 2 shot, extreme close up, over the shoulder, POV, long shot, establishing shot, wide shot, master shot and mid-shot. There also different types of camera angles such as High angles this could make the object seems small and insignificant, Low angles could make the object seem powerful, threatening and dominant, Birds Eye View a unnatural angle but it can make object seem strange, and it also puts the audience is a god like position looing down at the action, Canted angle shows an off kilter shot which often suggests confusion, disorientation or drunkenness, sleepiness etc and lastly we have Eye level this gives off a neutral impression, gives the impression we are watching the action unfold. We also have a mise-en-scene which is everything in the scene/shot like details such as clothing

Semiotics/Semiology

The study of media language is called semiology which is made by Roland Barthes. Semiology is the study of signs, and how it can work or how we can use it. It is also how meaning is created and how meaning is communicated. We have denotation which is the literal meaning of something, and we have Connotations which is where it has different meanings (could be related to cultural issues sometimes), it could also relate to human emotions. There is also mise-en-scene. Ronald Barthes says that Denotations and Connotations are organised into myths - the ideological meaning and these make the ideologies seem more natural