Mass Communication and Gender

Roland Barthes
spectator theory
 rhetoric of the image
types of messages
- denoted (what is being shown visually)
- connoted (what this makes me think about)
- linguistic (what words are being used)


Stuart Hall
Three different hypothetical codes within images are:
dominant - viewer can agree with what is being shown
negotiated - the viewer understands what is being shown
oppositional - the viewer disagrees with what is being shown, to do this they must first understand it


Gramsci
Why do we use the internet?
There are many purposes for using the technology and social media that we as consumers do; there is information readily available at our hands, connecting on social media sites help us to not feel as alone however the more we use social media the more alone we feel, the entertainment available helps to fulfil our lives with daily humour and removes the feeling of 'doing nothing'


Blumler and Katz
The audience have needs which are fulfilled by the interactions they have with social media websites and tv, watching certain programmes draws friendships closer as they have mutual interests, it also serves an a form of escapism, many people get drawn into the fantasy world and forget their own lives and problems for a short period of time.


Stephen Heath
He proposed that many people enjoy the cinema because it is imitating the dreams that people have and is a form of escapism from real life. He says that people can accept the absurdity in film because the qualities are almost dream-like; sitting comfortably in a dark quiet room watching an unrealistic scene is somewhat permitted because the atmosphere reminds people of laying asleep and dreaming.

Nan Goldin

The Ballad of Sexual Dependency



preserves memories of her friends as many of them are dying
visual diary or her memories of her life and hardships

Nan Goldin referred to the Transvestite community as being a third gender, it is not meant as negative but I feel as though she means that we should celebrate their being different and expressing their true self.

This is a series of portraits that record complexity of life, it is not a decisive portrait but a collection that should be viewed together as they are all related to another

Image as Network

Look up from anti-social network

A short video showing the effects and missed opportunities in life when you become addicted to your mobile phone.


Children are now now being taught in classrooms by using technology, it has replaced kinetic teaching and activities and shown children that they need technology, it can be useful as more information can be accessed however it can also make children lazier because they are not being active.
Young adults are early adopters of new technology, they will latch onto the latest trends and want to be able to access them from any location, more and more colleges and universities are adapting their methods and available technology because students are taking new technology into universities with them and not being able to use them because the facilities are not yet available.
The current and future students will continue to bring change to institutions as growing up surrounded by technology means that using it comes naturally to many and that we have self taught ourselves how to understand it.

How Safe is the Internet?
Do we really know what is happening online? No we don't, that doesnt mean we should not use it though, it means we should be protective of our data and information that we share over social media websites. There are many fun outlets available online that are not dangerous; for instance educational videos on YouTube, iTunes is a large collection of music and eBooks that are available to download, many of which are useful and educational. Computer gaming can also help to teach children as they do not feel as though they are being taught as it is within a game.


Digital Native:
grew up surrounded by technology
not afraid of it
can adapt to new technology without aid

Digital Immigrant:
grew up before technology was so integrated with society
have to be taught about technology
afraid of the new and changing society



kids have a passion for learning
let them teach themselves

Sugata Mitra

"granny cloud" is the term used for the project in which retired or ex teachers can connect online with students who do not have many facilities in their school and help them to learn. This can involve teaching students in another country learn and become active as the technology would be new to them and they would be interested.
https://grannycloud.wordpress.com/


"hole in the wall" experiments - 6-13year olds teaching themselves to use a computer without any interaction. Set up looking like a cash machine, a screen and a trackpad are all that are offered out of a wall in a remote village where nobody had used technology before, one child notices the new device and begins to experiment with it, it then gains more popularity as activities are being found that they can use on the computer.



Ken Robinson
He thinks that technology is key to unlocking the classroom. This could be true as more and more children are getting access to technology


Access:

Is technology a curse or a blessing ?
What? where? what do I do with it?
What happens if I am denied access?
How reliant am I on technology?

Communication skills
Some young children are struggling to learn to communicate with other people as they are using technology which will do it for them. They do not need to learn to communicate if they have a device which will do this instead, this means young children are becoming lazy not just in exercise and playing but in learning speech.

State of Fashion

Richard Avedon
"In the American West"
This series focuses on the middle class citizens, he creates evenness throughout the series by photographing them in the same style and all with a white background, he removes information about them by not revealing their location.

Steven Meisel
Working for Italian Vogue he can "demonstrate the genre's capacity to reference, shift, and reinvent" fashion photography.

Nick Knight
"created the first exploration into the possibilities of fashion on the Web," by launching a website (SHOWstudio.com) that hosts all of the latest news about fashion and the latest "fashion films" which are released by companies as promotional films, some films were created by the photographers assistants which featured the models between shots but other films were directed and shot by hired film makers.

(above quotes taken from the article "State of Fashion" by Charlotte Cotton)

Bill Brandt
He is an influential photographer who documents the life of the working classes. He brings the subjects personality to the forefront of the photograph, showing them in a natural setting, adding more information to the photograph by placing them in a setting.

David Bailey
portraits in square format
simple set up
full frames
represents who the person is
different camera angles / heights
buys cheap props - makes sure they represent the person ( not the cheapness - the prop)
He photographs pairs or groups - how are they represented? together or separate?

The Kray Twins

The Beatles

These two images were both taken by David Bailey however the subjects have been represented in two very different ways, this has been done through the composition, lighting and other technical elements. The composition of the two photographs changes because of who the models are: the Kray twins were a notorious pair who ran one of London's organized crime gang, the stance that they have shows the authority that they command because the camera angle is slightly lower than their faces which means that we as viewers 'look up to them' they also fill the frame with their faces and the harsh shadow down one side creates a dark foreboding atmosphere. However in the photograph of two of the Beatles the position they are in is a close intimate one resembling friendship, the camera angle in this image places the viewer in their level, which connotes that the viewer is on the same level as them and they are not trying to be elevated. The lighting is full frontal which gives a positive look as they are not hiding in the shadows but are out in the open to be seen.

British New Wave

Useful Information:
british cinema book
intro to film studies (french wave)
best of british
films and national identity (swinging 60's)
Susan Sontag 'on photography'



Realism:

Is realism 'real' or is it all a set up made to appear 'realistic', I feel that it is only 'realistic' as many times in films and art it is a glamorized version of real life, it does not show the brutality or horrors that are in life but shows the positives which people want to be reminded of, 'real life' does not choose to be glamorized and does not hide its negative features.



Challenges to realism:

Americanisation - Hollywood and the creation of the 'Star System' where actors were idolized and became celebrities, they were used to draw the audience in and allow the audience to connect more with the scenes within the movies.

Commercialisation - Which led to the decline of traditional values.

Anxieties - The current youth was all 'post war babies' which meant they were worried about another war happening yet they were celebrating the end of the war and freedom of life.
                     cold war / Hbomb / spies / communists are a few things that the people were afraid of
                     The youth would grow into the peace movement in 60's because they were reacting to the horrific events they had lived through and did not want to witness again.


Social problem films
(kitchen sink dramas)
Having lived through the war the youth were not watching escapism films, but were interested in the realism films that showed how life could be for them, even if it was a glamorized version of life.

'Look back in anger'
filmed in natural recognisable locations that the audience could easily associate with.
The audience were able to identify with characters as unknown people were cast as actors, this meant that without the celebrity status the audience connected to the characters.


New wave:

almost punk like, rebelling, stereotypical 'angry young man'

1950's
birth of the generation gap, before this children stayed children until they were expected to grow up and become adults, there was no middle ground where the children explored different avenues
youth culture - music / fashion, these became more readily available and luxurious after the war, there was a target audience for teenagers as they changed their style into their own
teenagers were 18/19/early 20's years old instead of the younger teens that are becoming teenager in this society
TV - teens went to cinemas instead of sitting with the family to watch TV


New Wavers
underage sex - pill has just come out
adultery - mixed race r'ships, homosexuality
change from lower to higher classes (look back in anger)


John hill 'sex class and realism'
book


Documentary Movement

• grainy
• handheld
• Black and White

John Grierson
documentary is creative / poetic / beautiful / real

woodfall studio - new wave studio

Alan Lovell
criticised movement:
" how can you be creative if you have to be real? "
" does having an education affect your ability to be a director? "

French New Wave
revolution of cinema / anti hollywood

Italian New Wave
neo realist