Week 8: Ideology, Discourse and Power

This week’s topic was about representation in media, but more specifically, deeper analysis of the ideologies hidden in its communication. Long and Wall’s (2012) text briefly explains discourses through theorists like Michel Foucault, while Machin and Mayr (2012) explore the different approaches to Critical Discourse Analysis.

The first key reading mentions the difference between Ideology and discourse, which Foucault distinguishes as ‘ideas embedded in what we do, say and think’ rather than ideologies which are seen as forces that seek to dominate and control from the top down (Long and Wall, 2012). The same way that Foucault’s ideas deviate from traditional ones of Ideology, the second reading identifies Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as a slight deviation from traditional linguistic analysis. Critical linguists in the late 70s wanted to show how language and grammar could be used as ‘ideological instruments’.However more contemporary methods such as Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (MCDA) look at the meanings created by things like toys, monuments, films, sounds - as well as language and image.

Ideology is present in the discourse analysis of The L Word (Davies, 2008). Ideological language is used (the word ‘gory’ in regards to a conversation about bisexuality), showing that in the programme, lesbian and heterosexual identity are further up in the hierarchy of sexuality than bisexual identity. If language ‘shapes and is shaped by society’ (Machin and Mayr, 2012) then this suggests a progressive TV show about modern day sexuality is still affected by dominant ideologies - and that discourse and ideology are very similar.

Machin and Mayr (2012) also mention the social semiotic approach to discourse analysis. This is used in Davies’ text when looking at the meaning created by a ‘coming out’ commercial. The presence of the commercial suggests confidence in the character’s sexual identity, but social semiotic analysis is used to look at the way it creates that meaning, by appearing commanding and supportive (Davies, 2008).

For my own research, I would look at other modern media texts that have been celebrated for being ‘progressive’ and deviating from previous ideological texts, such as Fresh Off The Boat (2015), and carry out a critical discourse analysis to investigate how much the tv show strays from dominant ideologies and how much it adheres to them.

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Davies, F (2008) ‘Paradigmatically Oppositional Representations in The L Word’ IN Beirne, R, (2008) Televising Queer Women, London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Long, P and Wall, T (2012) 'Discourse, power and media’ IN Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context (2nd Edition), London: Pearson. pp 363-369

Machin, D and Mayr, A (2012) How to do a Critical Discourse Analysis, London: Sage. pp 1-29

Week 7: Audiences

In this week’s lecture, the topic was audiences - specifically how media affects them and how they interact with it. We covered many familiar theories such as Uses and Gratifications (Blumer and Katz, 1974) and the ‘Bashing Bobo’ study of media effects (Bandura, 1961). The key reading covered how audiences engage with TV, but also examines how Asian women use the show Neighbours (Gillespie, 2003).

In the main reading, the writer talks with participants about how they engage with the Australian soap, Neighbours. The general consensus seemed to be that the fictional trials and tribulations of the characters in the show helped them to navigate their real world problems, whether this was through learning about normally censorious topics, ventilating family issues or imitating the character’s behaviour in certain situations to produce the same rewards they viewed on the screen. My found reading also came to a conclusion that TV affects the way that audiences understand things but that this differs depending on ethnicity and culture.

Hurley et al conducted audience research into how viewers across different ethnicities interacted with portrayals of black criminal suspects and white criminal suspects in the news. Results showed that racial minorities showed less support for police in black criminal suspect news stories (Hurley et al, 2015). The reason for this could be explained using Livingstone’s theory mentioned in the key reading; viewers identify with certain characters, seeing themselves in their shoes (Gillespie, 2003). It could be that the participants identified more with the suspect in these stories, but I think more likely the authors of the found reading are correct in their prediction that ‘these attitudes emanate from real and perceived perceptions of police bias against blacks (and other racial/ethnic groups).

The main reading has a positive outlook of media use and audience interaction, but it only focuses on young people, soap operas and the results of cultural change in TV. Hurley et al’s results show that the audience’s view is sometimes slightly negative, especially in news media.

For my own research, I would want to look at how different racial minorities interact with TV soaps or sitcoms with predominantly ethnic minority characters. For example, I would investigate how black men and women engage with ‘A Different World’ (1987), to see if the three thematic areas in Gillespie’s participants conversations about viewing (family & kinship relations, romance & courtship rituals and neighbourly relations in the community) are still relevant.

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Gillespie, Marie (2003) “Television, Ethnicity and Cultural Change” IN Will Brooker and Deborah Jermyn (eds.) The Audience Studies Reader. London: Routledge

Hurley, R.J., Jensen, J.(., Weaver, A. & Dixon, T. 2015, "Viewer Ethnicity Matters: Black Crime in TV News and Its Impact on Decisions Regarding Public Policy", Journal of Social Issues, vol. 71, no. 1, pp. 155-170.

Week 5: Technology and Consumption

This week we looked at the consumption patterns of TV audiences and how these have changed with the introduction of new technologies. The main reading by Everett and Caldwell explores the ways major media conglomerates have kept audiences interested in their TV content with convergence media to create another dimension to the fictional worlds shown in their TV programmes (2003). However, my found reading by Conlin, Billings and Averset (2016) provides a more ‘user generated’ view of technology.

One of the main arguments from the key reading is that when studying convergence media, you have to examine the way that institutions use them to ‘create space for new institutional practices and proprietary strategies’ (Everett and Caldwell, 2003). An example of this is the serialised programs released by Netflix, such as Orange is the New Black and House of Cards which are evidence of frequently binge-watched TV programmes used in my found reading (2016:155). Though this strategy of TV output is partially feeding the audience’s fear of missing out on hugely popular shows and the need for ‘social connectedness’, Everett and Caldwell would suggest that it is a method of “critically exploiting digital media aesthetics to leverage cultural capital, visibility and financial benefit” - all of which Netflix is extremely successful in.

Another point made in the key reading is that TV broadcasters have introduced “Second Shift Aesthetics”, where there is not just one allocated time for a TV show but after the episode is broadcast, the fictional world can continue through website features like games and riddles or other interactive components to engage the audience. I would disagree with the relevance of second shift aestheics in today’s society, as would the writers of my found reading, as I think audiences are now creating their own virtual spaces to connect with the programmes and (thanks to social media) create global communities surrounding TV). The authors call this a ‘second screen experience’, where viewers “use one screen for watching the TV programme and the other for communicating with others about it.” Rather than consumption patterns being totally controlled by the industry, I think audiences have more power over their viewing and engagement habits.

For my own research, I would like to focus on how children’s TV broadcasters utilise second shift aesthetics, such as Disney’s use of online websites with games and YouTube videos etc to interest their young audiences.

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Conlin, L., Billings, A.C. & Averset, L. 2016, "Time-shifting vs. appointment viewing: the role of fear of missing out within TV consumption behaviors", Comunicación y Sociedad, vol. 29, no. 4, pp. 151-164.

Everett, A and Caldwell, J (Eds) (2003), New Media: Theories and Practices of Digitextuality, Routledge, London and New York - pp 127-144