Brianna Hodder A2

How a handful of tech companies control billions of minds every day:   People working at tech companies are constantly steering people's thoughts through their choices whether we notice or not There's a hidden goal driving the direction of all the technology we make: the race for our attention - This something that everyone is fighting for because there's only so much of it The best way to get someone's attention is to know how someone's mind works - E.g. YouTube wants to maximise how much time you spend on it = autoplay (this is also seen on Netflix, Facebook etc. - Snapchat gave two people something that they don't' want to lose by creating snapstreaks - Outrage gets people's attention, e.g. people tweet/post "Can you believe this thing they said?" "You can precisely target a lie directly to the people who are most susceptible"   It's not just taking away our agency to spend our attention and live the lives that we want, it'...

The Power of the Media:   We live in a multimedia world that is largely owned and controlled by a handful of large media corporations. If you're looking at who rules or owns America, it's the same people that propagandize (to) America. American media doesn't just report news, - it's not independent of the system, but a pillar of it - it reinforces the world view and defends the interests of those who rule America. With new global digital enterprises like Google, Facebook and Twitter growing in importance worldwide, US-based  media became a transnational force. Is the media helping strengthen our democracy or is it helping divide us? Even as the world is known for its diversity, American media is not. Editorially and ideologically, the power elite tends to reflect the views of the government and the people who shape its views. Americans tends to vote and engage with the system on the basis of that which they hear (which of course is being controlled by these big companie...

Societal context of representation (or lack thereof)   Rep•re•sen•ta•tion: The description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way or as being of a certain nature   On TV and in films there are always archetypes (a very typical example of a certain person or thing) of characters that are either good or evil, and it is often the minorities that are portrayed in cultural output as being a stereotype or represented in a very stereotypical way. Representation of people, e.g., children of colour, is always going to be best represented by a person who belongs to that marginalized community, and this is something that is not seen in filmmaking and TV as much as it should be. This is one of the main reasons as to why the movie Black Panther  was so successful. Because it had a predominantly black cast (including directors and crew members), these people were able to portray the characters based on themselves, and bring an accurate representation of people of...

"Audiences now have just as much power as media institutions." To what extent do you agree with this statement.   Power and responsibility is being shifted gradually to online platforms, and due to the proliferation of technology, the internet is becoming a more user-generated site with multiple platforms influencing how audiences use and perceive media. This is giving audiences more of a voice, and has resulted in changing how media is created and distributed, both on a small scale, whereby consumers - or, as Clay Shirky puts it in his end of audience theory, prosumers - create amateur content as well as on a larger scale, where large media conglomerates take into consideration audience demands and produce media content that lines up with what they want. Alongside this, more power is being given to smaller filmmakers and the minorities, such as indigenous filmmakers, allowing their stories to be represented in a more accurate way, and empowering more people than ever before....

The 1938 broadcast of 'War of the Worlds', a reading of an H.G. Wells' fictional novel, caused fear and chaos to ensue after a misunderstanding that resulted in people believing aliens were invading. Since many people were listening to another radio station that overlapped with this one, they missed the beginning which revealed that it was only a reading of a fictional novel, and not being broadcast live. This event shows how the illustration of Stuart Hall's reception theory combined with political and historical events, such as the threat of war that was prevalent at the time, influences how people received the message. Because there was only old media sources such as radio and newspaper, many people couldn't rely on the technology that modern audiences now have access to. Additionally, this passive audience - a reference to both Stuart Hall's reception theory and the hypodermic needle model - left people panicking since this message was received directly to t...

How social media algorithms shape the way we get information and news   Conservative politicians and outlets have long argued that platforms are biased against their point of view, citing how algorithms are engineered. But professors (University of Virginia) found that the algorithms, e.g. on Facebook, are more likely to give users content matching their world view. Most of the platforms researched actually have a beneficial effect of increasing information that is seen, but found that some platforms - specifically Facebook - shifts content more towards the views a user might already have, regardless of the fact that the information is more diverse. E.g. conservatives will view more conservative news etc. What users view is based on: content engagement likes shares & comments etc. When you engage with content that's how it decides what you want to see in the future. But this engagement could be because you want to see that content or because you disagree with it, so users don...

Social media platforms have served as venues for political engagement and social activism for many years, especially for Black Americans This was evident especially in 2020, when the killing of an unarmed Black man, George Floyd, by a white Minneapolis police officer resulted in widespread protests that demonstrated the reach and power of these platforms Research shows that Black social media users have been particularly likely to say these sites are personally important for getting involved with issues they care about or finding like-minded people. These platforms also hold people accountable for their actions and gives a voice to underrepresented groups. The online community known as Black Twitter  has been using these platforms to collectively organise, offer support and increase visibility online of black people and issues that matter to them.

"The media control how we understand and connect with the world." To what extent do you agree with this statement?   The media plays a dominant role in how we understand the world as it provide ideas and concepts that help audiences connect on a global scale. Through the change from older to newer representations, as well as old and new media, we see how the media now influences audience perceptions and challenges or reinforces pre-existing ideologies. In addition to this, through technological advancements, audiences are now connected on a global scale, which can be dangerous since large media conglomerates and tech companies are making decisions based on money and not what is considered 'right'. People are largely influenced by what media they are consuming, and the presentations of people and ideologies that are incorporated in the media texts being consumed. This links to Gauntlett's identity theory, where he believed that audiences get a sense of their own id...

What are the pros and cons and the arguments for and against media being decentralised?   The news was once controlled by institutions, but now modern trends are changing how people are engaging with the news. Since we now get information from an app or online, specifically from social media, "fake news" has become more apparent in recent years. We now get information from an app or online, specifically from social media Social media = main source of news online with more than 2.4 billion internet users Nearly 64.5% receive breaking news from Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram instead of traditional media 50% of internet users hear the latest and groundbreaking news by social media before going to news sites to learn more There is a decrease in how much of an article people read People on average read an article for 15 seconds or less and the average video watch time online is 10 seconds Social platforms have control over what news and information we see. An a...

David Gauntlett:   Older vs Newer Representations His beliefs: Audiences get a sense of their own identity from the media products they consume -e.g. (1960s) Women's Realm magazine, women got ideas of what was socially acceptable, e.g what products to buy as a housewife and what person they needed to be Past = stereotypical, straightforward, simple, binary gender representations of identity -e.g. men = strong and brave, take care of their wives, and go to work -e.g. women = housewives, caring, emotional, little independence Now = Diverse, complex representations (particularly of gender) -e.g. if you're studying online media, watching vlogs on YT etc.

  Globalisation and mass media:   The mass media are today seen as playing a key role in enhancing globalization, and facilitating cultural exchange and multiple flows of information and images between countries through international news broadcasts, TV programming, new technologies, film and music. Since the 1990s, most communications of media have become increasingly global, extending their reach beyond the nation-state to conquer audiences worldwide. International flows of information have been assisted by the development of global capitalism, new technologies, and the increasing commercialization of global TV, which has occurred as a consequence of the deregulation policies adopted by various countries in order to permit the proliferation of cable and satellite channels. Aspects of Globalization:   Celebrity culture Fandoms Global releases of films/media content Political causes which transcend national barriers (e.g. BLM and Trump-haters in USA, riots/marches in othe...

YouTube: 1) How much content is created every day? 300-500 hours of videos get uploaded every single minute 30,000 videos uploaded every hour 720,000 hours of video are uploaded every day 2) Who acquired YouTube and how much was spent? Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion in 2006 3) How was allowing people to monetize channels a major shift in the industry? In 2007, YouTube introduced the YouTube partnership program, allowing users to monetize their videos, 'giving birth' to new careers that originally didn't exist 4) How were the  algorithms used to YouTube's advantage with subscribers? The reason why YouTube became so successful was because of the rise of the algorithm. Because of this you could discover content you were interested, and the recommendation engine gave you other videos to watch based on what you'd seen The platform basically anticipates your needs based on who you subscribe to and what you watch regularly It also introduces you to videos that you...

Censorship: Examples of censorship (Disney) Disney animated movie 'Dumbo' crow scene cut out as the leader's name was Jim Crow - a reference to the racist laws that allowed segregation until 1965. This scene also wasn't recreated in the live action version 'The Falcon and the Winter Soldier', a TV series on Disney+ was also censored in certain scenes that were claimed to be too bloody or violent Censorship in other countries: 'Shape of Water' - in China they photoshopped a black dress onto the back of the main woman who was nude from behind, mostly covered by shadows. This was not the only scene cut/changed in the media, as apparently several sex scenes and things that could be offensive or against people's ideologies were cut from the film as well The movie 'Coco' was originally not going to be released in China because they're not allowed to show movies centered around death, ghosts or the afterlife. However, apparently after one of the...

  Online Media Regulation: (For and Against) The problem stems from one significant difference between social media and our previous case studies. Social media companies are global organisations. So while it is relatively easy to regulate adverts and news withing the borders of a country, global regulation is highly problematic. The other essential issue which prevents social media companies from being regulated is the question: are they a publisher or a platform? Media regulation is enforced by law, rules or procedures and varies across the world. They exist to protect freedom of expression and media freedom and regulate media markets, ownership, technical standards and protect public interests, e.g. media pluralism and diversity. For media regulation: Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act 1996 says no provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as a publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider This sect...

Power in the Media: "Analyse the representation of social groups in contemporary media" Power in the media considers issues surrounding access to the media, identity representation, ideology and democracy. Many themes seen in the media is linked to the idea of hegemony where the media continually reproduces the image of a dominant group as superior or powerful. For example, in Western society, the dominant group is middle class white males, and because they are the main people producing and distributing media, many of their ideologies are being shared which can influence individuals and society as a whole. This brings about Stuart Hall's representation theory. He challenged the idea that a subject doesn't have a specific meaning until it is represented in the media.   The media can represent these things in either a positive or negative light, and we see this in different newspapers talking about the same event. This can influence audiences on what to think and how to...

In media narrative is how the story of a media text is constructed and how it relays its information to an audience. It is a powerful tool that can shape society's beliefs about themselves and others based on the stories we tell. By having only a select few able to control and shape narratives in the media, this can become a dangerous thing as not only will people form their own beliefs influenced by this narrow portrayal of people and their stories, but the awareness and stories of historically marginized communities would not come to light and help influence how ethnic minorities are represented. For example, Hepi Mita made a documentary about his mother, a Maori filmmaker, which embodies her filmmaking philosophy and drive the central theme that Indigenous filmmaking is a battle against the establishment. It documents his mother's lifelong fight for the proper portrayal of Indigenous narratives on screen. If not for this film, it is doubtful that the rest of the world, outsi...

  Representation and Audience Engagement: Part of the Marvel Franchise (17th movie in the MCU) Marvel - a subsidiary company of Walt Disney Studios (one of the largest conglomerates in the world) Marvel is vertically and horizontally integrated, allowing them to do their own distribution and marketing Marvel took advantage of being vertically integrated with a larger company with more resources, so they were able to use Disney to distribute this film By distributing through Disney, allowed for them to have access to their larger budgets, teams, experience, and the fact that they are global Disney always aims to create 360° marketing campaigns for their films to ensure all audiences are familiar with their films In leading up to the release of Black Panther, they released a huge number of marketing materials including posters, trailers, social media pages, release of merchandise, actors going on TV shows and appearing in magazines, as well as working with a number of companies to pr...

  Who owns majority of the media? Most of the media consumed today is owned by one of six companies, known as the Big 6. While independent media outlets still exist, the major outlets are almost all owned by these six conglomerates. This media refers to any medium that controls the distribution of information. So these conglomerates can cover 24 hour new stations, newspapers, publishing houses, internet utilities, and even video game developers. 1: National Amusements Owned by Summer Redstone (net worth $4.6 billion) Media Assets include: Television and film (e.g. MTV, Paramount, CBS) Print (e.g. Pocket Books, Simon & Schuster) Video Games (CBS Games) Internet (24/7 Sports, Cnet, CBS Interactive) 2: Disney CEO: Bob Iger ($44.9 million annual salary) Media Assets include: Television and film (e.g. Marvel  Studios, Pixar, Lucasfilm, Walt Disney Studios) Print (Disney Book Group, Hyperion, Marvel Comics) Video Games (Gamestar, Pocket Pack) 3: TimeWarner CEO: Jeff Bewkes ...

Black Representation on Screen: What does the evolution of black representation in film, look like over the decades? How is Netflix trying to rectify the problem with underrepresentation of black people in it's movies? What happened in 2016 that caused a stir in Hollywood and was a catalyst for change in representation of black people in Hollywood movies? What sort of representation did people of colour have at the Oscars in 2018? In an ad campaign, Netflix says when it comes to black leading actors, directors, writers and producers, they are representing, and it's not a moment, it's a movement. Famous directors Ava Duvernay and Spike Lee introduced the streaming services initiative called "strong black lead" "We're not a genre because there's no one way to be black." This initiative is a promise to represent black audiences authentically, which hasn't always been Hollywood's top priority Early pictures of black people in entertainment in...