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Blog 6- Arabs in the Media: One is All

By presenting a unified and homogeneous representation of Arabs on television and screen, media creates the illusion of a reified group, a group that supposedly thinks and acts together as one. Consequently, when one member of that reified group acts in a way counter to the prevailing culture, viewers of that media are able to reject, castigate or dehumanize large swathes of people in a wholesale fashion. One Arab becomes all Arabs.

We’ve all seen the ridiculous representations of Arab people in media and been saturated in the continual imagery of terrorism, guns, sexuality, apparent irrationality, and violence that narrows our understanding of who an Arab person is. This is only further reinforced by the discourse surrounding Arabs, notably in the 6 o’clock news; when we hear the dreaded “They”, we give pause to wonder who precisely falls within those boundaries. Despite the fluidity of identity and race (Who is an Arab? Who decides who qualifies as an Arab? Do you have to self-identify to be an Arab? What is the difference between Islamic and Islamist? Why is there a ubiquitous conflation between Arab and Muslim?), borders are formed and deemed static.

This type of reductionism isn’t just to be found in representations of Arabs. Television is seemingly masterful at painting broad sweeps to gather in large groups of people without consideration for nuance or identity. These clusters of ethnicity, religion, race, culture, and geography are both products of a tendency towards reductionism in the fast-paced media but also tools for subjugation and the further homogenizing of society.

What other groups receive similar homogenous groupings and what are the implications for those clusterings? What examples exist of a single individual (lauded or vilified) who is made to stand as a representative of his entire race (much in line with that “credit to his race”-talk still occurs)? How are these clusterings read by viewers of media?

Robert

PS—Dr. Steinberg requests that you blog at some point about a Super Bowl commercial. Thus, if you didn’t do so last week, do so here. If you did so last week, you’re welcome to comment here about this week’s topic or about a topic of your own choosing.

Blog 5- Super Bowl and Super Ads

The Super Bowl is the most watched program in America each year, often topping 100,000,000 viewers globally (the majority of whom are from the United States). Because of its high profile nature and the demographic of consumers who view the game (apart from Thanksgiving, it is the highest day of consumption in the US), advertising companies often submit their most expensive ads for broadcast during the game. Advertising space is at such a premium that companies now pay up to $3 million for a thirty-second spot. Consequently, the ads themselves have become as much a focus of discussion as the game.

Money, however, doesn’t always rule in these situations. A gay dating website called ManCrunch produced an advertisement for broadcast during the 2010 game has subsequently been rejected by the broadcaster.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MQWFiIrBLA

The rationale for rejection? Originally it seemed that it was a matter of money (the broadcaster claimed they weren’t able to validate Man Crunch’s credit). However, Man Crunch countered that they offered to pay in cash, which would seemingly undercut the broadcaster’s excuse. Given the sort of hypersexualized and homophobic advertising that has been featured in past Super Bowls- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHkoZ7ngAM0 – is this an example of hegemonic influences working on advertising?

Do other advertisements continue to perpetuate these same sorts of hegemonic ideologies?

Blog 4- Class Action

Class cannot be neatly categorized as purely a function of capital- that is, money may be the core determinant of class but it is not the only signifier. Rather, class is demonstrated, according to Leistyna and Alper (2009), in three interrelated ways: economic class, political class, and cultural class. We show what class we are by our clothing, our language, our access to education, and our neighborhood. Consequently, class is difficult to quantify as the simply sum of its parts. There are indicators, but these indicators are fluid and not necessarily descriptive of one particular social class.

This week, you’ll be asked to pick up a newspaper (as long as it has a Classified section) and examine the wedding announcements. Wedding announcements are especially interesting because they are both a notice to the community about the event itself and a form of “advertisement” for the people; all the details included have been very carefully chosen. Focus your attention on one announcement of your choice and give a description of some of the indicators of class that appear (residency (where they live), education, employment, family history, even the picture itself). How is class demonstrated to the reading public in this announcement? Why do you think certain indicators have been included? What kind of newspaper is the announcement in and what does that say about the social class of the couple?

As a side note, please do not use the names of the individuals, nor link the actual announcement to the blog. A simple description will suffice.

Blog 3- Coverage and a Critical Lens

The devastation of the earthquake in Haiti will continue to have profound and challenging ramifications for the people of the island and the various diaspora around the world for years to come. The earthquake has killed untold thousands of people, destroyed lives, and badly crippled an already struggling infrastructure. The damage is nearly incalculable.

We turn this week to the coverage of Haiti as we attempt to make sense of this event as Canadians. This is not to trivialize the horrors of the event, which are undeniable, nor is it to unjustly or narcissistically turn the focus on to those of us in comfortable North America, but it is to consider how media coverage has constructed our understanding of the event and how that has influenced our response.

Spend some time this week watching news coverage of the earthquake and consider some of the “critical lens” that Dr. Steinberg talked about this week in class. Who is talking in the various stories? Who isn’t speaking? What kind of text is the station using to describe the event? What kind of music is being employed? What is the nature of the stories? (statistics, personal narrative, etc.) What kinds of pictures are employed? What is the nationality of those who are the subjects of the story?

Think about the issues of race, class, and gender in your response. How is this event being presented to Canadians and what kind of response is it attempting to elicit?

Blog 2- Questions We Ask

This week in class, Dr. Steinberg guided us through an examination of television and film trailers to consider how media are constructed and the ways in which we might respond to them. What was abundantly clear at the conclusion of the lecture was that media are never simply transparent or obvious, and that we must come to the same conclusion as Jeff Share when he states that “Media are thus not neutral disseminators of information because the nature of the construction and interpretation processes entail bias and social influence.” (Share, “Media Literacy is Elementary”, p. 18) Media intends to construct a response in us and we in turn respond to media as individuals.

In Chapter Two, Share mentions several conceptual frameworks or core concepts for understanding media, including his own (see Appendix B). His framework provides the critical observer with some key questions (or prompts) that should be asked whenever they are presented with some form of media.

Share presents six prompts to consider:
1. What contexts affect the message of the media text?
2. How is the media text put together?
3. What are the different ways the media text could be understood?
4. What are the different messages, either obvious or subtle, that can be read in the media text?
5. Why was the media text created and why was it sent?
6. Who or what group is benefiting and who or what group is suffering from this media text?
(Share, “Media Literacy is Elementary”, p. 144-145)

In light of this week’s lecture, your first task is to find a film trailer that appeals to you. Secondly, select ONE of Share’s core questions and apply it to the trailer.

Clearly state which of Share’s questions you are using. Begin by describing the trailer so that we are clear about “what is happening?” in the thirty or so seconds you are examining. Then, simply answer the question in response to the trailer. Think about how the trailer is put together and what kinds of images and emotions it is trying to elicit in the audience. Media, we have seen, is never transparent.

Documentary on The Simpsons and the twentieth anniversary. How much have The Simpsonsimpacted our society?

Hi all, make sure you blog before 5pm tomorrow (Sunday)–I am really enjoying reading them. There will be NO LABS on Monday, we will start on the 18th. There will be a new syllabus calendar posted this week. Make sure you are checking your webct. shirley

Blog 1- Media Memory

Because this is the first blog of the semester, consider this a chance to stretch your proverbial legs and get used to the idea of having a publically-mediated discussion. Engage. Consider. Enjoy.

Dr. Steinberg raised a number of interesting issues in class this week, notably the impact media has on youth and the development of stereotypes. For example, her discussion of the portrayal of African-American women in hip hop and the depiction of their bodies leads us to think about how these images drive our thinking about race, sexuality, and the role of women in an industry dominated by men. In short, media helps pattern what we think.

Think back to your earliest media memory again. What was the impact of that media on you as a child? Discuss here how you think that media may have impacted you as a child or may indeed still be impacting you today.

Finally, if you’d like, feel free to include any other thoughts you may have had on the first class or any of the items we discussed this week. What struck you about any of the ideas raised in this week’s lecture?

PS. Be sure to read what your classmates have written here too. Engage the prompt but feel free to comment on other people’s commentary.