For my final CA as part of the Media, Discourse & Analysis module in college, I was required to work in a group with my fellow students Siobhan Gallagher and James Butterly, to work on a fictional news report/ broadcast based on a current topic in contemporary Ireland - which would display an assortment of the theories and topics covered in the module over the course of this semester. By doing this, we would present what we have learned from the module and put it into practice in a professional piece of media.
water shot
For the news report, we decided to cover the topic of the current water charges issue in Ireland – presenting a biased news report in favor of the charge, and implementing ‘scare tactics’ and specific imagery and language to intimidate viewers into complying with the proposed charge. We also wanted to include doctored vox pops (or talking head interviews) where we would speak to those in favor of the charge, and omit those who are not.
Vox pops – Elena Rimeikaite
Using a voice over (Our voice actor had to back out of the initial recording so I did the voice over), we implemented specific language and ‘buzz-words’ to put forward an ‘preferred meaning’ to the viewer, where we wanted them to comply with the charge and fear the possible consequences. See their peers and equals on screen, happily filling out registration forms, paying the charge and vocally approving the charge – we would subtly imply that everyone else is paying the charge – so the viewer should too. Shot angles were also carefully used in vox pops, where the camera ‘looks up’ to these ‘upstanding members of Irish society’ – making the viewer feel almost beneath them.
Water fountain
Informational statistics and figures were also used to get across to the viewer, the scale of those registering and paying the charge – while specifically omitting opposing figures which would show those who are opposing the charge. In addition, we also intentionally omitted footage covering opposition to the charge such as recent protests, as this would be in opposition to out ‘preferred meaning’ and lead the viewer to think otherwise.
DKiT – Carrolls building
To point out, many shots used in this pice were shot on location in DKiT (Such as vox pops and images of the campus). However, under fair use, we also used shots taken from Irish news broadcasts related to this report – mainly gathered from a number of broadcast videos provided on rte.ie. We do not claim to own these shots, but all footage was edited by ourselves. These additional shots complemented the report as a means of conveying the language of the report in a visual manner and suggesting the ‘preferred meaning’ to the viewer through instantly recognisable imagery (flowing water, happy faces, homes, known politicians). These worked in conjunction with the voiceover to get the report across to the viewer.
“I have to pay for water?” – Siobhan and James
Anyway, we put a good bit of work into it and are pretty happy with the end result. So heres the final video.
Enjoy!
For more info on the video such as early research and sources for video clips and statistics used, check out the production blog at
http://begrandlike.wordpress.com/
As the fourth estate within an democratic society, the media, or more specifically news media, serves the role of providers of information to the masses and are required to keep watch on the other estates of society such as government, religious institutions and the upper or ruling classes – by holding them accountable and being critically in their analysis of those societal institutions. As such, the media is expected to always be un-biased and present all sides of an issue or event to the viewing public, so we the audience may form our own opinion.
However, as we all know, this is rarely the case. The media as we know it today, is a collection of companies and corporations, many of which spanning several countries and including sub companies, sister groups and shareholders. Therefore many news groups within the media have their own agendas or shared interests, which reflects on the content they produce or topical stances they choose to cover a story from – inevitably portraying a specific side of a story to the public, which we then decipher and form the basis of our own opinion. As such, we can see how media groups may choose to portray a ‘preferred meaning‘ of something to us and exclude something which may be in opposition to their own shared interests. By choosing not to cover a story the media is therefore removing it from the shared consciousness of the viewing public. In addition, as educators and outlets of information to the public, news media may choose to put a specific slant or perspective on a story – thereby affecting the opinion of the viewing public.
Corporate news - Media bias
In order to see this biased approach to content in the media today, we will look at a recent news story and analyise it further.
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RTE News coverage of Occupy Dame Street camp removal
In early March 2012, the Irish protest group Occupy Dame Street had been an active protest group camping on Dublin’s financial street, Dame Street, since October 2011. At 3am in the morning on March 8th 2011, over a hundred an Garda Síochána moved on the peaceful protest camp – forcefully removing protestors, confiscating equipment and personal belongings, and demolishing the camps tents and shacks. For the best part of the camps presence on Dame Street, much of Irish news had rarely featured the protest in news broadcasts – evidently choosing not to do so. By choosing not to cover the progress or events on Dame Street during the protest, public awareness of the protest was kept at a minimum – often resulting in the physical camp becoming an public nuisance and eyesore, alien and removed from the public.
As with the camps foundation months earlier, the removal of the camp demanded news coverage. The physical absence of the camp from the viewing public had made it news-worthy and something which must be addressed to audiences.
RTE logo
RTE (Raidió Teilifís Éireann), Irelands main semi-state public service provider, carefully balanced the coverage of this story by providing the opinions of those in favor of the camps removal and those who were against it. However, as we can see when we analysise RTE’s coverage – more coverage, content and airtime was given over to argue in favor of the camps removal. Much of this was presented to us as an un-biased story, seeing both sides of the story – but also incorporating specific keywords (Such as ‘health & safety fears‘) and language (Such as ‘necessary‘, ‘clean-up‘ and ‘welcomed‘) to highlight why this extreme action was needed, and should be condoned by the public.
Click on the link below to view RTE video broadcasts covering the removal of the Occupy Dame Street camp news story. Once there, scroll down and click on the third video thumbnail found beneath the main video window to view the video used in this article.
In this story, we see the use of footage showing us council trucks clearing heaps of debris – no where do we see the original standing tents and structures prior to to their demolition. Therefore, together with language such as ‘clean-up‘ and ‘health & safety risk‘ being used, we are given the suggestion that this site was a mess and a public danger which needed to be cleaned up for the good of public safety.
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Both party perspective
This report presents us with two interviews, one from participating protestors criticizing what has happened, and the other from a local restaurant owner blaming the Occupy Dame Street camp for the decline in his establishments customer numbers. The story introduces this second interview with a claim that local retailers welcome the removal of the camp and that customer takings are up 20% thanks to the absence of the camp from the street. This unfairly places the blame of customer decline on the camp and does not attempt to look at other possible reasons for decline. As the retailer interviewed also mentions a loss in employees over the period of the camp, we are also suggested that this protest was putting people out of jobs and therefore harmful to the countries economy at a time when jobs are hard to find. Also, by adding after the interviews that the protestors will continue to hold meetings and stage further protests on the site, paired with footage of protestors shouting, chanting and speaking on microphones – we get the sense that this group intends to continue to be an irritance to the public and make noise. It may also be pointed out that both interviews contrast in appearance quite differently. While the protestors (and footage of protestors prior to the interview) are seen in a very dark light, with lots of noise and activity – the retailer (and filler footage shown prior to it) are quite bright, colourful and peaceful. This more positive footage begins after the dark, negative-looking footage, with the words ‘After this mornings clean up…” – suggesting to us that it was the camp that was making the street look dark and depessing, while its removal has resulted in its improvement.
Occupy Dame Street camp (Prior to removal)
Current situation of news story
The last segment of the story consists of a reporter reporting from Dublin’s Pearse Street where she describes earlier events which took place that evening, where protestors moved to the street to protest in complaint to the camps removal. The reporter tells us that the protestors had ‘minor scuffles‘ with Gardai and that they caused ‘distruption to traffic‘. This paired with the close-up images of protestor groups filling camera shots (Which suggest large crowds of protestors to us – even if that may not be the case), shouting and chanting protestors, and a close-up image of Gardai struggling with something – suggest to us that this group of protestors on Pearse Street were very large in number, angry to the point of physically encountering peaceful Gardai, and a physical hinderance to the peaceful public around them.
In addition, the reporter uses language such as ‘minor injuries‘, ‘minor scuffles‘, and that the camp was ‘dismantled‘ rather than demolished or destroyed – so as to play down the protestors claims and right to be angry. She also goes on to suggest that Gardai were willing to give the protestors their belongings back so as they returned later peacefully, but that the protestors rejected this and wanted their belongings back ‘immediately‘. This suggests the idea that the protestors were unwilling to come to an agreement with the peaceful Gardai and that they were overreacting to what the Gardai had done.
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Example of biased reporting (In favor of protestors)
Click on the link below to see an example of the same news story, also covering the Occupy Dame Street camp removal, by Irish news agency IrishTimes.com. However this time covering it entirely from the perspective of the camps supporters and Occupy Dame Street participants:
Semiotics is the study of signs, sign processes and symbols used to communicate to us a specific meaning or message. This type of study can be applied to written word, print media, audio-visual media, body language; pretty much all forms of communication between humans. These signs often convey a message to us without us realizing it and as such are often used by the media to communicate specific messages, or ‘preferred meanings’ that they intend for us to decode.
“A sign is anything that can be used to tell a lie.” – Umberto Eco
As such, we use semiotics to analyze the use of signs in TV, radio, printed media such as posters and advertisements, street signs, music and online all content such as videos, images, articles and websites.
Here, we will analyze a contemporary advertisement print, going through different factors used in semiotic analysis:
Denotation & Connotation
Paradigmatic & Syntagmatic relationships
Myths & Narrative
Roles within advertising
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Old Spice – “Man Your Man Could Smell Like” advertising campaign
Here we have a print media advertisement from Old Spice’s (Mens body spray product) popular Old Spice man on a horse campaign. In the wider product campaign, video advertisements and print posters present the Old Spice man carrying out and associating himself with a number of random objects and activities often associated with being masculine or ‘manly’, thus playing on and suggesting a number of things we can associate the product with. Here, however, a simplistic print version of the campaign is used of the Old Spice man on a horse, holding a bottle of Old Spice, on a tropical beach, with a slogan saying “Smell like a man, man – Old Spice”. Simple as it is, this version still retains much of the wider campaigns message, while keeping the popular advertisements comical randomness that made it so popular.
OldSpiceAd_ImOnAHorse
Denotation & Connotation
Denotation is an item, which when seen by us, we immediately interpret. This can be a piece of text (such as this blog post) or an image or sound. Connotation is the meaning to which we arrive at having seen or heard the item denoted. This could be an image of a flower, which suggests to us connotations of beauty, sunshine, pleasant scents, etc. A sound may also suggest to us a specific feeling or mental image depending on the sound heard. Often, these connotations may differ from person to person as someone may relate an image or denotation to a specific life experience or feeling, while another may not.
In the case of this Old Spice advertisement, we have many strong connotations present. The topless man, clearly very fit with muscles on show; suggest masculinity, health, fitness, and female desirability. The mans pose, with hand on hip; suggests confidence in self and social outwardness (confidence with desirable partners being the most prominent in body fragrance advertising). The shirt loosely draped around the mans neck and hanging down his back as though a cape of some sort; may suggest heroism or the protective man as we associate capes with the ‘superhero’. The horse suggests to us a wild, rugged, rustic masculinity. However, as it is a pristinely white horse; this would suggest a conflicting sense of beauty, purity, cleanliness, honesty and positivity. This pure white is repeated again on the mans white trousers; suggesting he too is like the horse. The background setting of the beach, sea and tropical tree; suggests to us warmth, sun, sea air, relaxing atmosphere, no worries, holidays away, tropical/ exotic locations. All of this is set around the product almost in the dead centre of the advertisement. This suggests to us that all of this can be gained through this product, and with the Old Spice man holding it up to us suggestively; we get a sense that he approves or recommends this product to us. Additionally, we see diamonds pouring from the mans hand beneath the Old Spice bottle. This in itself suggests wealth, fortune and expensive jewelry; pouring as if from the product itself.
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Paradigmatic & Syntagmatic relationships
A paradigmatic relationship or paradigm, is a substitution of an image, piece of text or audio. For example in a previous blog post here, we spoke about the Marlboro Man used in an earlier Marlboro cigarettes advertising campaign. The Marlboro Man was an image used to substitute the preferred image or message intended to consumers of these cigarettes.
Syntagmatic relationships or syntagms, are the finished meaning we take from the paradigm. Again, in the case of the Marlboro Man paradigm, we take away a meaning from the image of a wild-west, rustic, masculine, hardworking, outdoors cowboy, out in vast landscapes with horses and cattle. Quite often without realizing it, we make these connections with these cultural meanings, thus playing on how we interpret the product being advertised and go on to associate with.
In the case of the Old Spice advertisement, we see the substitution of the paradigm of a topless man on a horse, on a beach. From this, we come to a finished meaning of a well-built, masculine, out-doors man. As he is on a horse, we connect it to a meaning of a rustic, cowboy type man; while the use of white again alters the finished meaning to something more pure, clean and honest. The mans clothes (or lack of there of) suggests a meaning of a stylish or contemporary man. The beach and tropical tree suggests a meaning of exotic and fresh scents, combined with a relaxed, warm and comfortable feeling. The diamonds pouring from the Old Spice mans hand/ the product itself suggest wealth or beautiful diamond jewelry (desired by women).
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Myths & Narrative
It was French literary theorist, philosopher and semiotician Roland Barthes, who developed the idea of the third level of signification; the myth. As we know with prior levels of signification; A signifier refers to any material thing that signifies, such as words on page, facial expressions, images, etc; while the signified is the concept any signifier refers to. Barthes’ third level, what he called ‘The Myth’, refers to our own individual life experiences, as well as societal and cultural values we have been taught; and thus, how we apply them to the signs we are presented with and decode. As each individual lives a uniquely different life to another, having experienced many different things that others have not, and having been brought up in a societal or cultural environment to other; Barthes suggests that each individual then applies these unique experiences and differences when decoding the information given, therefore suggesting that the resulting decoded meaning may be different to another individuals decoded meaning.
In the case of this Old Spice advertisement there are many elements used, which could be interpreted or decoded differently between two individuals. Taking the most obvious; the colour white used twice in the horse and in the mans trousers would suggest to many in western culture as meaning purity, peace, honesty or goodness (Often used in early western movies – the good guy would often wear a white hat, while the bad guy would wear a black hat). Through western media in films and television, as well as western literature; the colour white has become an automatic meaning for all things good and pure; cleverly used here to suggest to the targeted western audiences that the product is good, clean and pure. However, to an eastern audience, the colour white has a quite opposite meaning of coldness, death, misfortune or unhappiness in many eastern countries. Although clearly not intended for eastern audiences, this does show how its meaning could be decoded quite differently to an individual who has lived a different life experience or culture to another. In terms of individual experiences of individuals; the portrayal of a warm, sunny beach may nor appeal to someone who dislikes such an environment due to a bad experience or due to health reason such as allergies, travel sickness, etc. As such, while many may see the advertisement as an attractive and positive image of the ideal relaxing destination; another may see it as a negative location, due to to individually bad experiences associated with warm, sunny locations or coastal beaches.
In Katherine Frith‘s ‘Undressing The Ad‘ (1998), she states that there are 3 levels of meaning:
Surface Meaning – What we first see at a glance ‘on the surface’. Here in the Old Spice advertisement we see a man on a horse with a beach and sea in the background.
The advertisers intended meaning – In advertising, an image quite often is intended to do more than just show you something nice or entertain you, often they are intended to get a specific message across to you, or often ‘prove something to you’. This could mean anything from the product being of benefit to you, to you missing out on something. This Old Spice ad clearly has an intended meaning, intentionally made obvious so as to make it humorous (or a self parody of product advertisement such as this), therefore adding value to the product and making somewhat more popular for having done so. Here the intended message is that if you buy this, you will be confident, strong, handsome, more masculine like the Old Spice man in the image. The presence of the horse suggests that if you buy this, you will be wild and free. The tropical beach suggests that if you buy this product, you will be exotic, attractive, hot and relaxed. Combined, these intended meanings are intentionally obvious, bombarding the viewer, but once we get the humor suggested; we still come away from it with these same connotations.
Cultural or Ideological meaning – This meaning relies on the knowledge or awareness of the viewer. Similar to Barthes ‘Myth’, this meaning can only be decoded by the individual with the compatible life experiences or lived culture. Having shared in the life experiences or the cultural experiences that the image suggests; the individual successfully decodes the intended meaning. The portrayal of the well-built, masculine Old Spice man seen here, to many would suggest a meaning to us of the ‘perfect man’ to aspire to, or a desirable partner, this is due to a common taught culture of what healthy, athletic and masculine should look like. However, another individual who, due to life experiences or personal preferences, may not see the same suggested meaning, thus coming away from the image with a confused or negative meaning (thus the meaning fails in its intention). It is because the image relies on the more common and culturally accepted representation of the ‘perfect man’ or ‘what a fit and healthy man looks like’, rather than the possible alternative of what that image may mean to another individual, that this image is used.
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Roles within advertising
Quite often in advertising, we see men and women portrayed in a stereotypical manner; often due to what is being culturally accepted at that time. The portrayal of the stupid, housebound woman of advertisements in the 50s and 60s would not be acceptable today and would incite outrage from both genders, because attitudes (although still apparent in more subtle forms in advertisements today) are not culturally acceptable and thus a more equal attitude is encouraged. We do see however, portrayals of men or women in advertising as objects of desire or of negativity, due to they’re portrayal in a stereotypical way.
Women:
Mothers – A role required of women.
Strippers – A trope prevalent in pop culture, where the role of women as strippers for male entertainment is normalized.
Dolls – Women objectified as a lifeless, controlled toy/object.
Consumers – Inseparable from consumer goods and shopping. Feminism connected to consumerism.
Naggers – The trope of a complaining, overly talkative need for attention where linguistic violence is common.
Difficult – The weaker sex, controlled by men. Prone to personal, psychological or physical ailment.
Men:
Stronger sex
Cultured – Working or traveling outdoors.
Heros – Protectors of women. Dependent – women dependent on men.
Stupidity – Little emotion, simple ideas/knowledge, prone to stupid actions, does not think things through.
In the context of this Old Spice ad, we see the gender stereotypes of men played on intentionally. The Old Spice man is portrayed here as a strong and muscular man (‘The perfect man’). The tropical location and horse suggest he is cultured in the ways of horse riding and has travelled to exotic locations. As he does not need protection from the sun, seems relaxed and at ease in little clothing; it is suggested he travels to exotic locations quite often. With his stylish clothing, it is suggested he knows his fashion and wears stylish clothing over tacky t-shirts and shorts. His confident pose and cape-like shirt hanging over his back; suggests an element of subtle heroism and protective masculinity. Possibly added to by a supernatural-like talent for producing vast amounts of diamonds from his hands (also suggesting that he is wealthy due to this product). There may also be an element of stupidity here as the obvious random elements of a man on a horse for not particular reason suggests the Old Spice man is either eccentric, or a tad stupid in bringing a horse to the beach. As the advertisement does this randomness on purpose however; the stupidity is not entirely placed on the individual in the advertisement, but on the running theme/ setting of the advertisement campaign as a whole.
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If you would like to know more about the wider Old Spice ‘man on a horse’ advertisement campaign, which uses the humor of the random objects and settings to more effect, while also playing up to the role of the man in the advertisements intended message, heres one of the more popular videos from the campaign available on YouTube (Its quite funny):
Here we have an advertisement for Heinz tomato ketchup. We are presented with an image of a bottle of Heinz ketchup, although as we can see it is altered to look like a fresh tomato sliced into several slices, and with the well known heinz label on it. Visually this is done using the rounded shape and the top of a tomato on top.
From this, we get a message from the visuals of this product being the same as eating a freshly sliced tomato, lovingly grown by Heinz. We this is not true, but we do however come away from it with an understanding of this product being ‘fresh’, with carefully grown ingredients in it, and produced by a company who cares about its product. This adds to our trust of the product and the company who makes it, and possibly encourages our loyalty to it as a consumer.
As we know, semiotics (or semiology), is the study of signs, sign processes and symbols used to communicate a specific meaning or message to use, sometimes in relation to our shared culture. In language, we know that these symbols can express particular meanings to us through what we perceive as the message when hearing specific words or phrases. For example, when we hear the word red; we think of all the connotations to us the word brings. In western culture, red signifies danger, warning, anger, passion; whereas in eastern culture, specifically China, red denotes celebration or good luck. How different symbols can signify different meanings is successfully used through the media to express a specific message to us, by tapping into what we connect specific words with. A news article using words like fire, destruction, violence, anger; can make even the most boring of stories come across to us in a frightening or negative way, instantly swaying how we then interpret the information given.
“A sign is anything that can be used to tell a lie.” – Umberto Eco
Semiotics are also present in imagery. Most common in advertising, a symbol can be found in visual representations of objects we connect with specific meanings, most commonly through the media, which then brings forward connotation. For example, an advertisement displaying a product alongside images of gold or money, will instantly connect with us to suggest wealth or fortune, therefore signifying to us that this product will bring wealth and fortune if we buy it, plugging the product into a culturally desirable paradigm. We do not realise we make these connections, but sub-conciously out mind does and interprets the suggested meaning to us through how it is displayed to us, and what the symbols held within mean to us. It is important to keep in mind however, that in these instances where symbols or signs are used to convey a preferred meaning to us (Most commonly again in media advertising), it is only on completion of the message to us that the meaning of it is successful; If a message is jumbled or not correctly ordered so that it can be quickly decoded, the message fails to make sense to us (the audience/ public) and therefore the message does not convey its meaning to us.
René Magritte - This is not a pipe (The Treachery of images)
It is through semiotics that we take a step back when looking at something like this, and analysize it according to what symbols or signs are used, why are they used, and what preferred meaning is being suggested to us through it. While doing so, we must remember:
Signifier – Any material thing that signifies (Words on page, facial expression, image..)
Signified – The concept that a signifier refers to.
Sign – The smallest unit of meaning. Most fundamental form of sign or roughly, the literal meaning of a sign (The word ‘Rose’ – signifying the image of a flower/ passion)
EG:
Tree
A physical tree, wood, green, leaves, ect.
Image of a tree, green, environment, ect.
The Marlboro Man - The tough, rugged, lone cowboy, freedom of the wild west message
Heres a final example of where the media uses symbols and signs in advertising to denote a specific preferred meaning to us: The Marlboro Man. Here the message suggests to us the idea of a tough and rugged lone cowboy, living free out in the wild west with the horses and cattle, living on the edge of life. That, paired with the cigarette, and image of the Marlboro pack, gets us to visually connect the wild and free symbol of the cowboy with these cigarettes, so that we feel that if we buy and smoke these cigarettes, we’ll be wild and free too, just like the Marlboro Man. Completely false and misleading, but an effective means of playing on the cultural symbology we take take for granted, which the media manipulates, and which we make sub-concious connections with; without thinking.
Thankfully theres no more cigarette advertising in Ireland…
Keeping in mind that all content provided in the media is carefully structured in order to present the content chosen in a preferred meaning, we can examine this content and come to the realisation that the use of language plays a major role in how content is presented to us the audience. As the media exists to educate and inform the public, they are also required to entertain (some more so than others). Therefore, in order to do so, they need to draw in audiences by providing content we want to see, but also by developing a relationship with audiences. One such way the media does this, is through its use of language in its communication with the public. Through analysis of content in the media, we can ask ourselves: How is the world (events, relationships, etc) represented? What identities are set up for those involved in the program/ story? What relationships are set up those involved?
As such, we can apply the following 3 factors to how language is used in the media:
Representation – How the world is represented in the media. For example, how the economy is represented in the news, or how the muslim community is represented.
Identity – The construction of social identities. For example, who the public identifies as particular experts in a specialised field.
Relations – The construction of social relations. For example, the relationship between politicians and the public.
The media may also structure the language of content provided to us through accent or delivery. In news programs, it is most common that the newsreader speaks to us with an indistinguishable accent, with clear and toneless speech. Elsewhere, content may be given through a regional accent easily distinguished and associated with a specific geological region (Eg: Scottish or Kerry accents). This is often done in order to relate to the intended audience or to develop an association with the content being given. Most commonly, this is intentionally done to make a connection with the public or present someone or something in a specific way to the public. For example, a politician speaking to a crowd may adopt a specific tone when speaking, using terms and phrasing (colloquialism, or language specific to an area or group of people) out of the norm from their usual speaking manner. Done so, in order to make a connection with the crowd, and present themselves as ‘one of you’ or a ‘regular guy’. Current United States President Barrack Obama is a perfect example of this.
Obama Sings Al Green - Video still
The following article, is a news story run by ABC News on a speech given by President Barrack Obama in New York’s Apollo Theatre as part of his re-election campaign fund raising. In this we can see conversationalist language used in both the video of Obamas speech itself, and the dialogue of the two ABC newsreaders:
Before the video is played, we first see the two newsreaders smile and laugh about the following clip, and then jokingly states that “being on that stage seems to of inspired the president”, almost making fun of an important political figure for our benefit and entertainment. This suggests to us that they are normal people with a sense of humor. We relate with them as we laugh with them and feel as though we are sharing a moment with them. Also the presence of Facebook and Twitter links at the bottom of the screen tells us that they members of the popular social networks, with the times and trending in the online communities we are a part of. Therefore we can associate with them and trust them as they are a part of our community online.
The news story then continues with a segment taken from the speech itself, showing us the president singing a few lines from a well known American soul song by Al Green and smiling, with a surprised and happy crowd cheering him on. This is a perfect example of the use of conversationalist language used by a politician, a communicative technique continually used by Obama, and one that got him elected in the first place. This public stunt, singing to the crowd, is intentionally done by the president to connect with the American public, be seen as one of them, and in tune with popular culture. Actually singing to crowd exposes him to public scrutiny, but as he does sing it well, him instantly gains the publics approval as the ‘cool’ president who can sing as well as run a country. In the extended speech, not provided here, the president jokes with the crowd as he gives his thanks and approval to those taking part in the event. He uses terms such as “in the house” rather than simply saying that the person is here, colloquial terminology associated with being ‘hip’ or ‘cool’. This makes a connection with younger audiences and brings him down to their level, by speaking their language.
In addition, the use of the American flag as the backdrop to the presidents speech, suggests to us that this is intended for every citizen of the United States. It suggests patriotism, pride as a US citizen, and an important moment in American televised history. Using the flag as a back drop to the president also presents him as an important American figure, head of state, patriotic, and a symbol of America to the world. Pairing this with his public singing, therefore presents him to the world as the ‘cool’ and popular world leader, with the support and praise of his people. A popular president.
As the speech video segment in the news story ends, we hear the news readers laugh and praise the presidents singing, calling him “a president with some soul”. They then go on as one reader asks if the other can sing and tries to get him to do so on the spot, then jokingly calling him “tone deaf”. By doing so, we are entertained with the sudden prospect of a news reader singing to the public on a live news show, something which would be completely out of the norm and not intended for a news program. Although he does not do so, we are entertained with a lesser stunt between the two news readers as they attempt to replicate what the president has done previously. The story then ends with the news reader then turning back to us and claiming that “One day we’ll hear him sing” and “We’ll get it out of him”. These humorous claims make us feel part of something unique, or a part of an event between us and the the news readers unique to that televised moment. The use of ‘we’ the readers dialogue reaffirms our feelings of being part of this and having a moment with these two individuals on screen. Also, the readers use of terms such as “There’d be cats coming through the roof” and his expressive “Uh huh” to being asked to sing live to the public, also identifies him as an ordinary ‘joe-so’. The ‘cats through the roof’ term not being a common term used, is clearly something which he has picked up as part of his lived culture or ‘life world’ and casually spoken as part of his common language. The addition of him saying ‘Uh huh’ in a very expressive way, also identifies him as someone with ‘soul’, relating himself to the mood of the presidents singing and his previous claim of him being ”a president with some soul”, again replicating elements of the presidents stunt on the news show and relating to their audiences.
The extended video clip used by the ABC news story can be seen here:
In order to fully understand a cultural text or artifact, we must not look at it’s face value or simply look at what we are presented with, but instead we must look at what detail underlines it and the parameters that surround it. One way we can do this is by looking at it using 5 aspects that affect it:
Representation – How the artifact is presented to us and the meanings behind how it is presented. Question how it is presented to you and possible reasons and meanings behind why it is presented in this way to you.
Identity – Who is the mediator or broadcaster presenting this to you? Whats their nationality? Is it a public or private broadcaster?
Production – This involves the process of making the mediated info, or factors affecting or shaping the content. Money, technology, availability of celebrities or other big names.
Consumption – The process of consuming or decoding the information given as an audience. Your ability to decode the artifacts meaning may be affected by your location or your ‘lived-in culture’, ultimately affecting the meaning you get from the artifact.
Regulation – The societal rules or laws, which govern what is acceptable and what our values are. Laws may affect the content or artifact, while still contradicting itself. Through language and communication, we set down cultural conditions (For example: pink = girls, blue = boys).
“taken together (these 5 points) complete a sort of circuit…through which any analysis of a cultural text…must pass if it is to be adequately studied.”
(Du Gay et al. (1997) Doing Cultural Studies: The story of the Sony Walkman, Milton Keynes: Open University; Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.)
Using these 5 points, we can form a discourse on the meaning behind the artifact and the factors affecting that meaning.
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Putting the ‘Circuit of Culture’ into practice:
To put these 5 factors into practice, I looked at a current news article online about an event happening right now in Europe. The article, written for The Guardian’s online news outlet Guardian.co.uk, discusses the growing amount of public protests springing up across Europe in protest to the ACTA (Anti-Counterfitting Trade Agreement) being signed by European member states without the input of their citizens. It goes on to discuss the kind of individuals and groups involved in the support of the protests, the discord among European politicians, and the reluctance of the remaining signatories following the public backlash of the legislation.
Article: ‘Acta criticized after thousands protest in Europe’ (Guardian.co.uk):
Representation – The headline here takes an almost anti-ACTA like approach with ‘Acta criticised after thousands protest in Europe’. Saying that it is ‘criticised’ and that ‘thousands protest’ conveys a negative look at Acta and a large number taking part in protests. This article seems to carry on The Guardian’s seeming support of public protests, possibly more so due to it generating news. Also the fact that these protests may continue for some time yet, would also provide The Guardian with a continual feed of news for the next few days, and with content of interest to a large audience of Internet users and online content providers. This is also reflected in how the article is presented: not only is the article provided on the website in an easy to view and read form, but it is linked again on many related websites and social networks such as Twitter and Facebook through feeds and additional applications. This ensures the article reaches many of its target audiences, Internet users and content providers. Also, the image given at the top of the article instantly gets your attention, with its dramatic and iconic assembly of masked revolutionary waving a flag in the sky, over an anti-ACTA banner containing an incomprehensible image and badly worded slogan. The content of the article itself is quite detailed, outlining specific events in each European city and the number of protestors involved, making this a very large event spanning several cities.
Identity – The mediator here is The Guardian, its website to be specific, and its technology editor Charles Arthur to be more specific. The Guardian is a British national newspaper, owned by the Guardian Media Group, and associated with a complex organizational structure and international multimedia presence with its sister papers The Observer and The Guardian Weekly, as well as a large web presence. The second most popular British newspaper website after the Daily Mails Mail Online, it is identified as centre-left liberalist, with a readership on the mainstream left of British political opinion. Funded from 1936 – 2008 by The Scott Trust, and 2008 to present by the The Scott Trust Limited, with the aim to ensure the papers editorial independence in perpetuity and safe keeping from for-profit media group takeovers, The Guardian has a very independent stance in national and international matters, often stirring up controversy over its strong opinions.
Production – The Internet is the main technology used in this article, with guardian.co.uk as its online platform, written in a simple text article. There are additional links to and from the article to other Guardian articles, advertisements, related links, and links to Twitter, Facebook and Reddit allowing users to share and spread the article to others. The addition of commenting on the article also allows the user to give feedback on the article, share their own opinion and generate a discussion on what has been said in the article. Additional technologies may also be smartphones, tablets or computers, as these would be the means of accessing the article online. The article uses quotes from both those taking part in the protests and the politicians signing the legislation, so as to covey views from both sides of the protests. The mentioning of groups such as internet freedom group Quadrature du Net, hacker group Anonymous and the Green’s Party in Munich in support of the protests, also conveys a senses of a solid, collective effort behind the protests.
Consumption – The meaning i get from this article would be a sense of political disarray; strong public anger and disappointment with national governments due to covert legislation and lack of discussion; many politicians now unsure what to do for fear of public backlash; a possibly damaging time for the EU’s institutions and its ability to govern and make laws; also a sense that those protesting may only be doing so because ACTA would hinder piracy and not necessarily about Internet freedom.
Regulation – As a largely democratic (or representatively democratic) society, European member states must allow peaceful protests as citizens have the right to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression. Human Rights also dictate that those taking part in peaceful protests have the right to protection and cannot be arrested, as long as they do not commit a crime or break the law while protesting. Also, protesting has become essential to modern-day democratic societies, more so in recent years with the provision of the Internet as a tool to organize and communicate worldwide.
“A social institution is an organization that is critical to the socialization process; it provides a support system for individuals as they struggle to become members of a larger social network”
(Art Silverblatt, American Behavioral Scientist, 2004)
Traditional social institutions such as church, government, school and family once served the role of providing individuals with the knowledge and communicative tools needed to successfully integrate into society. It was here we learned what was right or wrong in the world, and how to communicate to others through language, appearance or actions, if we were to become upstanding members of society. In church we learned through religious doctrine and beliefs. In school we were educated in the ways of the professional world, and how to be part of a collective of academics. Through government we learn of law and order, justice and criminality, the repercussions of violating societies written rules. As a member of a family we learn of love and care for others, close knit bonds, and the vital knowledge and ways of the world, passed down from a father or mother to a son or daughter during childhood and adolescence, becoming the scriptures guiding you for the rest of your life, and passed on again to your own sons and daughters. For most of modern history, these institutions have played these roles and educated us as a society, of how things should be and the reasons behind them, guiding our morality and sense of justice. This is no longer the case.
With the emergence of mass media towards the end of the 20th century through televised programming, movies and radio, and accelerated further with the booming growth of the Internet in recent decades; mass media is now becoming the dominant social institution, catering for the needs of society and educating its citizens. In a fast-moving and mobile modern society, mass media provides a medium easily accessed through technology, making the traditional social institutions of family, church, government or school redundant in their former roles. Individuals are increasingly looking to the media for direction in rules of behavior and societal values, while being provided with a sense of membership through the programmes we watch or media trends we follow. Order and stability is provided by the media through scheduled programming, affecting how people arrange their daily routines and ultimately affecting cultural lifestyle through what we wear, listen to, say and do day to day. The Internet, a vast source of instantaneous information, now fulfills an educational role in society, catering an individuals personal preferences and ideals.
In Western society, privately owned media was never intended to serve this new role as social institution. Rather instead serve to draw in audience by any means necessary and make a profit for the company or organization funding the media content. In state-owned media, found in countries such as Vietnam and China, the power of media as a social institution is fully realized by using it to tell audiences (and therefore its people) what to think and what to do. It allows governments to maintain political agendas and ensure public opinion is positive and passive, therefore ensuring social stability.
Western media, being predominantly privately owned, seeks solely for profit, often by producing content of no benefit to society, but instead to attract audiences and generate revenue. With this model of media increasingly being used as societies moral guidance and support, we need to ensure that it is monitored and critically examined, so as to ensure the messages and knowledge gained from it is meaningful and of benefit to society.
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Related Links:
Media as Social Institution, Art Silverblatt (PDF):
“reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or might be imagined”
On the 26th of January 2012, the Irish government passed new legislation aimed at the control of un-copyrighted and pirated material both over physical state borders and virtual borders online. In addition to this, this new ‘Irish SOPA‘ (a joint legislation known as ACTA) makes it easier for holders of copyright, such as large movie companies and record labels, to call for legal action to be taken against individuals they deem to be infringing on copyright, essentially enabling a new environment online where websites can be pulled/restricted and users persecuted for sharing copyrighted material. Affecting sites supporting the sharing of information such as Wikipedia or Twitter. This was passed without parliamentary discussion or a say on the matter by Irish citizens, even when 80,000 individual anti-ACTA signatures were signed online. Meanwhile, state news on RTE chooses not to cover a story involving huge implications for free speech on the Internet and legislation with such a large number of citizens in opposition. As an active user of Twitter, i get a regular feed of information important to me, from sources worldwide, fed on to my Twitter feed page as its is announced. Keeping me up to date, and giving me information and opinions from many sides of an event, i like to think i am quite informed on world events and aware of things of importantance to me, or which affect me in some way. Maybe not everything, but pretty close. As such, prior to the day this ‘Irish SOPA’ legislation was due to be passed, i was made aware of it and its possible implications to me as a media student and an Internet user. I continued to follow news of it as it came, involved myself in some capacity by signing some of the ‘Anti-ACTA’ petitions organized online, and watched video footage uploaded or streamed online from news sites and video sharing sites on the topic. I followed news on similar situations across Europe of other ACTA-like laws or legislations and the previous SOPA bill considered in the United States. I also followed the retaliatory actions of Internet hackers and virtual anti-ACTA/SOPA activists such as Anonymous and their downing of government department, music label and other websites online.
Had i solely watched state televised news, which aims to provide information to its viewers of domestic and world events, i would not of heard a single word about Irelands ACTA legislation or of the massive opposition it garnered online.
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Being an active user online, i frequent social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, read over blogs posted by others online, and watch several videos on sites such as YouTube and Vimeo; all in the space of a day, many times seven days a week. I rarely ever watch news on terrestrial or satellite TV, only watching it in passing when another person is doing so. In fact, i can certainly say that i currently dont actively watch any TV; that is to say, that if an internet connection is available, whether by mobile broadband or public WiFI, i would choose to view media online rather than on TV. The Internet provides a freedom of vast information, compiled and continually by milliions of active users worldwide. Recent technology such as smart-phones, broadband, WiFi and laptops have added to the Internet and computers, to provide a easily accessible network, making the searching and gathering of information far easier than it has ever been. Online, video sharing sites such as YouTube and Vimeo allow users to upload videos captured on digital cameras or camera phones from any location with Internet access, allowing that footage to be shared with others across the world. Social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook provide users with the tools to connect with others online, develop a vast network of contacts, upload and share information, form relationships, organize groups and mobilize physical events; drawing together individuals of shared interests from all corners of society. Thoughts and ideas on the world are given an outlet through the use of independent blogs and community forums, where users can speak openly and converse with others on issues important to them, without fear of suppression for speaking their minds. All these tools combined, create a ‘global community’ of people worldwide, largely devoid of the physical defects of the physical world.
To the more conservative, or those of older generations, may consider my idea of a typical day, with a percent of each day spent online, a tad extreme and that this time could be spent better doing other things. My view is that a time spent online is a time spent learning about other people, places and events across the world. The traditional media outlets of yesteryear where most of our daily news and information was fed from: the televised news bulletin, the broadsheet or tabloid newspaper, or broadcast radio programs; these are limited in their resources. Programming must be scheduled, news stories gathered by teams, sources of information found and gathered, news organized into a easily comprehended story, and then broadcast at designated times. On top of this, the news given can only then be considered news if it is then received by an audience of individuals, waiting at the designated time to hear the stories and information being fed. The Internet puts aside many of these restrictions; the availability of technology to the public today, combined with the free time available before, after or between work and other activities (or ‘Cognitive Surplus’ as Clay Shirky calls it in his book ‘Cognitive Surplus‘), along with the ease of access to technology (smartphones, camera phones, Internet, social networks, video sharing sites); means anyone worldwide with the access, time and the means to contribute to online information will do so, sometimes more so than others. This new worldwide community of active virtual contributors lowers the resources needed to gather and organise new information and news; providing a vast and continuous feed of current information from sources worldwide.
Sites such as Twitter (which i admit to being quite shackled to at times) have harnessed this worldwide feed of information, allowing users to organize news and information according to their individual preferences and interests; gathering information from sources worldwide and thereby filtering this it down to news important to you. With access to a resource such as this, televised or radio broadcast news looses its immediacy and detail, as well as its relevance to you as an individual.
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One of the days following the passing of ACTA in Dáil Éireann, got into a conversation with some friends over things we had seen on TV or online the night before. After some chat on a few funny videos seen on YouTube, some gossip from Facebook and different programmes watched on TV; i spoke about the ACTA legislation passed in Ireland a few days before, the effect it would have on the freedom the Internet and the massive opposition it has online, 80,000 signatures are not to be ignored. One or two responded to me with some passive interest in the topic, them having read something about it on a Facebook post and such, while others responded with blank faces or a simple response of “I didn’t hear about that”. With televised news or occasional use of the Internet for basic email or socializing, this major topic had simply passed them or failed to weigh an impact on them due to its lack of exposure in major media outlets.
In conclusion, if my reality is how i see “the state of things as they actually exist”, i would say mine is social media, mainly Twitter. Being the medium through which i recieve most of my information, whether by providing important details from sources of interest, links to articles or linking me to images and videos, it gathers sources of information important to me and feeds it to me there and then when it happens. So until the next most efficient social network or news feed comes along: my reality is Twitter.
