Identity Theory - A1

Identity Theory

Identity Theory by David Gauntlett, suggests that identity is “fluid” and malleable and there are different codes, modes and behaviours we can use to signal and reinforce who we are.

Constructed identity

Today we're bombarded with ideas about -being yourself, standing out or finding your place -we're encouraged to define our existence in terms of what to buy, do, earn money from or enjoy.

Negotiated identity

‘Identities are not given but constructed and negotiated'

The media provides some of the tools which can be used in this work. Like any toolkits, however, it contains some good utensils and some useless ones; some that might give beauty to the project and some that might spoil it.

'One of the tools in this 'toolkit' is personalities and characters in the media that could act as 'role models' -someone that we relate to and aspire to be, but not necessarily 'copy'.

Collective identity

“Collective” identity describes the way groups of individuals gave a sense of belonging and there are expectations and rules that govern membership of the group and attitudes and behaviours of group members. 

How does David Gauntlett's theory of identity relate to the Score? 

 

David Gauntlett’s Identity Theory suggests that media texts encode meanings and messages about identity for the audience to think through their sense of self as well as a mode of expression. People build a strong sense of self-identity through creating their own representations from media ‘role models’ or figures. Therefore, the theory can be applied to the Score advertisement to some extent as the model acts as a tool that inspires the male audience. 

Score tries to promote a masculine identity or masculinity to appeal to the male audience along with helping them grow their own identities and self-expression. The man in the advert is shown to be sitting comfortably while the women are underneath and holding him up. This demonstrates his dominance and how men are of higher status in power. All the girls, on the other hand, seem extremely submissive and gaze at him with sexual desire. The reason why women are attracted to him is due to the Score hair cream, the product that makes him appear better looking and captivating. The producers encode the idea that men need to look in a specific way in order to be considered masculine and attractive by women. 

According to Gauntlett, identities are not given but constructed and negotiated as the media provides some of the tools which the viewers could use to build their identities. One of the tools in this 'toolkit' is personalities and characters in the media that could act as role models, someone that people relate to and aspire to be, but not necessarily 'copy'. When male audiences decode the advert, they may see the guy as a ‘role model’ and desire to be like him. Since being swarmed by women was something men took pride in in the 1960s and it is what they dreamed of, young male viewers might find the guy relatable and inspiring. Due to the fact that identity is ‘fluid’ and malleable, there are different codes, modes and behaviours people can use to signal and reinforce who they are. By thinking about their identity, attitudes, behaviour and lifestyle in relation to the media ‘role models’, male audiences will then form a stronger sense of identity and other aspects of their life. As a result, the Score’s audience may identify themselves with the guy in the advert and purchase the hair cream in hopes that it will have the same effect on them: make them appear more masculine and attractive in women’s eyes.  

However, in this day and age, audiences are aware of the toxic gender identities constructed by society and will likely reject the advert’s way of promoting. Whereas media audiences were more passive and accepting of traditional views in the past, and will likely build their own identity based on what society and media texts expected from them. For example, men were expected to be strong, independent, dominant and masculine, while women need to be weak, submissive, sensitive and feminine. Throughout the years, people's perspectives and expectations on how one should act have changed as self-identity has become more fluid and malleable. 

To conclude, identity is often constructed and negotiated through the ideas and messages the audience receives from media texts. The mechanical reproduction of words and images can give people powerful models of attitude and action. Accordingly, the Score advertisement constructs an identity that the male audience think of as desirable traits and behaviours and therefore, shape their own self-identity and expression.