Feminism and Patriarchy Theory - A1

Feminism and Patriarchy Theory

Feminism and Patriarchy Theory by ‪Liesbet van Zoonen suggests that the media portray images of stereotypical women and this behaviour reinforces societal views. The media does this because they believe it reflects dominant social values (what people believe in) and male producers are influenced by this. This is patriarchy (a society ran by men for men) that dominates and oppresses women.

• In patriarchal culture, the way women’s bodies are represented as objects is different to the representation of male bodies as spectacle.
• Gender is performative – our ideas of femininity and masculinity are constructed in our performances of these roles. Gender is ‘what we do’ rather than ‘what we are’. Moreover, gender is contextual – its meaning changes with cultural and historical contexts.
• Van Zoonen disagrees with arguments that the internet, which is based on collaboration, is a technology that is true and close to women and femininity. These views are too simple and based on the idea of an essential femininity, whereas there is a rich diversity of ways that gender is articulated on the internet.

Femininity	Masculinity
Caring	Careless
Nurturing	Destructive
Irrational/Emotional	Rational
Private, family/relationship-oriented	Public, work-oriented
Sensitive	Tough/Stoic
Passive	Active
Gentle	Rough
Soft	Strong/Sharp/Firm

 

Women are portrayed as weak, submissive and soft human beings, while men are strong, independent and the ones who have authority and status in society. 

Look at the online versions of The Guardian and The Mail. Find a depiction of a woman and look at the media language (and language!) used to represent them. 

 

The Guardian 

Sarah Smith is represented positively by The Guardian as a strong, independent woman. Despite having to face accusations of Labour bias as the daughter of former leader John Smith, the editors mentioned it was her “political expertise and pedigree” which convinced others that she was the perfect replacement as Sunday Politics presenter. They include compliments and positive statements of Sarah Smith, for instance, they add that she was described by one editor as “extremely lively with a first-class brain”. She was depicted as a strong, potential woman and was highly praised by the newspaper. 

The Mail 

Tracie Andrews is represented negatively by The Mail as a heartless murderer who killed her first fiancé. The editors constantly use strong and negative words and phrases such as “murderer”, “stabbed”, “knifed to death”, “jailed”, etc. They also include that the notorious 'road-rage' killer dressed and acted inappropriately on the streets before her wedding, stating that she has no shame. The fact that she married another man even though she was portrayed as the crazy woman who murdered her fiancé will make the audience despise her even more. 

Media Test - A2

Media One 

Section A – Media Language and Media Representations 

Analyse how media language constructs meaning in this poster: 

 

 

In terms of media language, the album launch poster for Marissa Saroca has a simple layout and colour scheme. The main image is a bottom half photo of the woman’s face and shoulders with bright red lipstick and her mouth slightly open. The fact that the model’s features are focused connotes that she is not given any sense of personality. The pale background and exclusion of any props and mise-en-scene encourage the audience to focus on the image of the woman. The colour scheme of the album poster consists of red, white and black, which are bold and dominant colours. The connotations of the colour red are often romance and passion, which is related to the album title “Boys Write Love Songs Too”. The red lipstick could also connote the idea of the sexualisation of women. By using the image of a female here and the costuming of the bold lipstick, it creates the impression that this is the type of person which the ‘boys’ write about, suggesting a feeling of sexualisation being conveyed by these writers which the artist tries to explore within the cover of the album, through the bareness of her body/vulnerability. The typography is basic as a bold, capitalized and sans-serif font is used for all the title and subheadings, giving it a more contemporary styling and making it short, simple and easier for the audience to read and stands out from the background. 

[8 marks] 

How useful are ideas about narrative in analysing music videos? Refer to any music videos you have studied in your answer.  

Letter to the Free is a performative, hip hop/rap and political protest music video that uses corresponding conventions to its genre. For instance, the video shows musicians and singers performing and playing musical instruments, whereas the lyrics express social and political views. Even though it doesn’t have an obvious narrative, several narrative codes and theories on narratology are evident in the video. They could be used to help the audience gain a better understanding of the music video.

According to Todorov's Narrative Theory, the equilibrium is that black people are trapped inside a hopeless place where there's no freedom and equality. The disruption would be the black monolith floating in several places in the jail, which could be understood as a way out, a way to break free for the black. The new equilibrium is not yet established, but it could be a scenario in which black people eventually escape the prison of a judgemental society or the prison inside their own minds, finally receive the fair treatment that everyone deserves.

According to Propp's Narrative Theory, black people could possibly be represented as those who need saving (princess) from the white racists (villain), Common can be seen as the helper or dispatcher that guides and sends the audience (hero) on a mission of freeing black people from the “cruel hand” of racist oppression.

The camera pans across cell bars and tracks slowly down the gloomy and empty corridors. Perhaps, the mise-en-scene refers to the bias of the criminal justice system. It could also connote the need to free our minds from the tyranny of racism that places different values on a person depending on the colour of their skin. The slow movement of the camera connotes the ongoing but slow progress of black people fighting for freedom. The fifth shot cuts to the recreation yard and the surreal image of a black monolith floating in the middle. In the final shot, the monolith reappears outside a row of houses and a wild garden, which could represent the promised land of freedom. In this way, “Letter to the Free” works as a reminder of history but also a promise of a “sweet land of liberty”. 

[9 marks] 

 

 

Section B – Media Industries and Media Audiences  

The following are terms relating to cultural industries:  

A. Vertical integration - A company owns different businesses in the same chain of production and distribution. 

B. Media conglomerate - A company owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises.

C. Diversification - A corporate strategy to enter into a new market or industry in which the business doesn’t currently operate. 

 

Write A, B or C in the box next to the definition that matches each of these three terms. Use each letter only once. 

 [3 marks]  

What is meant by the term ‘fandom’? Identify two examples of fandom in action.  

 

It refers to fan activity, the social structures and cultural practices created by the most passionate engaged consumers of mass media properties. For example, they may create and contribute to fan-based websites or online communities, or write fan fiction stories based on the universe and characters of their chosen fandom. 

[3 marks] 

 

Media Two 

 

“Media audiences always respond to media products in the way that producers intended.”  To what extent do you agree with this statement? In your answer, refer to your Close Study Products War of the Worlds (1938) and The Surgery (BBC Radio 1) or one other radio programme.  

Media producers encode meanings and messages into their products in hopes that the audience will decode them in the same intended way. Though some will respond accordingly, media audiences are proven to be active and may have different viewpoints on the product. Therefore, I disagree with the statement that media consumers’ responses are the same as the producers. This theory can also be applied to the War of the Worlds radio broadcast to some extent.  

According to Stuart Hall’s Reception Theory, audiences might adopt three different readings while consuming media products. The dominant or preferred reading by the audience is the one intended by the creator of the text. Audience members will take this position if the messages are clear and if the audience member is the same age and culture; if it has an easy-to-follow narrative and deals with themes that are relevant to the audience. For instance, Orson Welles’ intention was to offer audiences an unconventional hybrid broadcast and people with a dominant reading would find it enjoyable and entertaining. However, a person might read it in an oppositional way and create their own reading depending upon factors such as their age, gender, culture, life experience as well as the mood at the time of viewing. For example, audiences with an oppositional reading would reject the radio broadcast and think that it is inappropriate, misleading and may cause chaos and misunderstanding. Media audiences may also have a compromise between the dominant and oppositional readings, in which they accept parts of the producer's views, but has their own perspectives on the product. Thus, audiences who adopt the negotiated reading would agree that the War of the Worlds is an enjoyable and amazing radio broadcast, but think that it could make people misunderstand since they were all anxiously waiting for updates on the war.   

I believe that media audiences are active and aware of what they consume, unlike the Hyper Needle Theory which suggests that media messages are injected directly into the brains of passive audiences. The concept ignores the idea that not everyone thinks and behaves in the same way.

To conclude, Stuart Hall suggests that even though media producers encode clear messages and values into their media for the audience to decode, different audience members will decode the media in different ways and possibly not in the way the producer originally intended due to a wide range of factors. Therefore, I do not agree with the statement above. 

[20 marks]

To what extent do television producers attempt to target national and global audiences through subject matter and distribution? Refer to both of your television Close Study Products to support your answer: The Missing and anyone other TV series.

Television producers attempt to target a more national audience rather than explicitly a global audience through subject matter and distribution. Undoubtedly, the subject matter may be universal but, they are targeting a specific type of audience and utilising conventions that is more catered to them rather than everyone.  

The Missing Series 2 is produced by the BBC who are a public service broadcasting service. They are independent of the Government but they receive annual funding from the Government from T.V. Licenses. They must fulfil their duty to educate their viewers and the show is very much revolved around child abduction and safety. The first series successfully grasped its primary target audience of parents, a settled suburban of social grade B and C1, and it quickly announced its second series after. The process of making the second series took two years and multiple filming locations. Its gritty realism and unconventional narrative of three alternating time periods managed to encapsulate its 8 million viewers every Wednesday night at 9 pm on BBC1. Initially, the psychological thriller written by Harry and James Williams was intended for the British audience as the viewers follow a British family which would have a ‘closer to home’ and a stronger sense of familiarity. However, the subject matter of the Nordic-noir influenced crime drama can be universally recognised by parents globally. Therefore, this widens its appeal although it may not necessarily attempt to specifically cater for the global audience. They have been successful in attracting the American audience as Starz also broadcasted the series shortly after in February 2017. The complexity and sophistication of the narrative and cinematography was also a success in the US despite their different glossy style to crime dramas. 

In conclusion, television producers are more likely to attempt to target a national audience through subject matter and distribution. This is because shows require specific target audiences to formulate the rooted mechanics of the show. For example, the national audience identifies (Uses and Gratification by Katz and Blumer) with the British family and may even associate it with the Madeleine McCann case as well as other high profile child abduction cases in recent years. However, this doesn’t mean that appeal isn’t created for a global audience as can universally understand the basis of the subject matter. On the other hand, it can be argued that television producers are an oligopoly as cultural industries by Hesmondhalgh suggests this will always reflect dominant ideologies that the world have adopted. However, audiences are more complex than it suggests therefore appeal cannot be generalised but it’s still important to consider. 

[25 marks]