MEDIA/PRODUCT CONSUMPTION ANALYSIS

COURSE LECTURES REVISIT THIS PAGE OFTEN: CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITH NOTICE.

THIS IS A MEDIA CLASS SO WE WILL BE COVERING MEDIA CONTENT/CURRENT-EVENTS IN REAL TIME.

MODULE 1 DIGITAL MEDIA AND CONVERGENCE

TOPIC 1— INTRODUCTION TO THE COURSE MEDIA AND MASS COMMUNICATION

Communication, in its simplest form, can be defined as shared meaning. Using an old-fashioned communication model, where a SOURCE sends a

MESSAGE to a RECEIVER, we can define several different kinds of

communication.

SOURCE ----------> MESSAGE-------- > RECEIVER

SOURCE >

MESSAGE RECEIVER

INTRAPERSONAL

COMMUNICATION YOU

SPECIFIC

INTERNAL

DIALOGUE

YOU

INTERPERSONAL

COMMUNICATION

ONE OR A

FEW

PEOPLE

FACE-TO-

FACE, with or

without

technology

ONE OR A

FEW PEOPLE

MASS COMMUNICATION

Usually a

GROUP/CORP

But can also

be an

individual

(influencer)

LCD

AS MANY AS

POSSIBLE

(MASSES)

MASS COMMUNICATION: A CRITICAL APPROACH

I love media studies! I feel this area of study can and will help you in myriad other

endeavors and academic pursuits as media intersects with every other discipline. Media

technology is an ubiquitous presence in our lives, it's everywhere all the time! To name

just a few media sources: radio, television, film, newspapers, magazines, smartphones,

computers, the Internet, computer and video games, gps, satellites, phones and other

smart devices, etc.

We must interrogate these systems on a deeper level to develop a critical lens.

Attaining a deeper understanding of how these industries and tools work will allow us to

engage, produce and consume more thoughtfully and intentionally. Now more than ever,

due to the pandemic, we see how these tools-and an understanding of these tools- is

necessary to keep in contact with friends and family, stay informed, work etc.

Study after study claim that Americans consume a lot of media. According to

STATISTA.com, (Daily media consumption in the U.S. 2020, by format, published by

Amy Watson, Jun 17, 2020) "In terms of average time spent each day, TV is the

second most used form of media in the United States, with adults spending 229

minutes (almost four hours) watching television on a daily basis according to a study

undertaken in April 2020. Digital formats took up the majority of U.S. adults' daily

media consumption time, while for newspapers and magazines the average time

spent was just nine and eight minutes respectively.

HTTPS://WWW.STATISTA.COM/STATISTICS/276683/MEDIA-USE-IN- THE-US/

If it is true (and it is) that we spend more time- consuming media than doing ANYTHING ELSE in our lives (eating, sleeping, working, getting exercise, making love, spending time with our families, getting educated, exercising, etc.), then why is it we are not better educated about our media interactions/consumption? Why aren't we taught about media in school? We begin consuming media as babies, so by the time we start kindergarten or first grade, we've already been listening and watching our entire lives. So why aren't we taught in first grade how media work and how we can protect ourselves as much as possible from their negative influence? Why aren't we taught to discriminate between quality media or accurate information from destructive messages and lies? Or why aren't we taught how to use our influence as audience members to challenge the media to better serve us or provide us with higher quality product or more balanced and fair coverage?

How could this much interaction with media NOT have consequences and effects? Of course, it does. And the stakes are very high. Media provide us with news and information. Media influence who we elect as our political leaders. Media spotlights some while ignoring others. Media perpetuate and destroy stereotypes, power structures and cultural systems. Media represent us to the rest of the world. Media provide us with ways to define ourselves. The better media literate we are, the more power we have in working WITH media to make the world a better place. Interrogating systems that we give the lion's-share of our time to is an exercise in reclamation.

So let's get started.

WHAT IS MEDIA LITERACY?

(Lots of different definitions, here are a few you need to know):

"Media Literacy: to develop an informed and critical understanding of the nature of mass media, the techniques used by them, and the impact of these techniques." - Dr. John Caputo

"Media literacy is a set of perspectives that we actively use to expose ourselves to the mass media to interpret the meaning of the messages we encounter." - W. James Potter

"The purpose of media literacy education is to help individuals of all ages develop the habits of inquiry and skills of expression that they need to be critical thinkers, effective communicators and active citizens in today’s world." - National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE)

So in order to be media literate MEDIA EDUCATION FOUNDATION (MEF), the non-profit media literacy organization's, illustrates how the process of effective media analysis is based on the following concepts: 1. All media messages are “constructed” no matter how simple they seem. 2. Each medium has different characteristics, strengths, and a unique “language” of construction. 3. Media messages always contain embedded values and points of view. 4. All media messages contain embedded values and points-of-view. There is no such thing as neutral (according to whose definition?) 5. People use their individual skills, beliefs and experiences to construct their own meanings from media messages. 6. Media and media messages can influence beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviors, and the democratic process. Most of us hardly give our media interactions a second thought. We are so immersed in our mediated world that the metaphorical question that is often used to describe our contemporary relationship with media is

"does a fish know it is wet?" Media are mostly invisible to us—until they don't work or we lose access to them (when your computer crashes, when you lose your smart phone, when a natural disaster knocks out electricity and connectivity) or if you are simply out of range (hard to believe there are still areas on the planet that aren't covered.) When our connection to media is severed, you often hear people describe their experience as feeling "lost", or when referring to their broken computers/phones "My life is in there." This is why media literacy—the understanding of how media function and affect society is important. Here are a list of 10 reasons why media literacy is important (according to the Media Education Foundation MEF).

So how do we begin analyzing how we interact with media, how

media function and how we can become more media literate? The easiest

way to understand how a process works, is to deconstruct it into its

functioning parts.

Referring to our communication model, we will begin by looking at the source:

SOURCE ----------> MESSAGE-------- > RECEIVER

There is often confusion (much of the time it is instigated by media

corporations) that the Constitution protects the media so they can say/do

whatever they want. Not true. The Constitution DOES protect the Press in

the First Amendment which reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting

an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or

abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people

peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of

grievances." The reason our country's founders wanted to protect the

Press was because of the ideal of the Press acting as a Fourth Estate of

the government. The U.S. has three branches of the government

(executive—the President, legislative—the Congress, and judicial—The

Supreme Court) that act together as checks and balances (the idea that no

one entity can control everything (no more King).

The PRESS were/are supposed to act as a 4th Branch of the

government: providing the population with information so they can

participate in our democracy from a place of knowledge and understanding.

The Press are supposed to be THE WATCHDOG of the government. Media

are supposed to be on our side instead of on the side of corporations or

politicians or systems of power and money.

MEDIA OWNERSHIP

One of the most important issues regarding media (requiring regulation of

media) revolves around media ownership. Our country has a deep history of

not liking monopolies, so we have passed rules (that have been relaxed over

the years) regarding how many media outlets companies may own. When

media ownership is merged into the hands of a smaller and smaller number of

companies, it is called CONCENTRATION OF OWNERSHIP. And, when

companies that own media aren't media companies per se, it is called MEDIA

CONGLOMERATION. When a single media corporation (or just a few) gain all

of the control. It becomes a big problem: For democracy, for the public, for the

world. Even the media, themselves, present content that is reflective of the

dangers of concentration of ownership and media conglomeration.

Here is an old and new example of the U.S government’s interaction with

media monopolies:

● If you have taken media history courses, you may know about the

landmark case United states v. Paramount Pictures inc. This was a

case that ended the Hollywood studio system and changed how

movies were made, exhibited and distributed. The studios owned the

theaters and the movies and the rights of distribution. This is an

example of VERTICAL INTEGRATION as studios owned and

controlled the entire supply chain for films and their distribution.

● On December 9, 2020 the FTC sued Facebook for illegal

monopolization of the social networking. This is an issue of

HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION, as the company owns Facebook and

had purchased Instagram which operates at the same level in the

industry.

Review the images below to get a sense of how few companies now own media compared to the numbers of the past AND how many media owners are giant conglomerates that own A LOT of other things. Review several media company holdings at FREEPRESS.NET. There are a lot of these ownership charts (GOOGLE: media ownership). It should be noted that all of the owners are white men (exception: Sony, a Japanese company, has a President who is Japanese and a man).

PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK to see an infographic containing the ownership of “The Big 6” AND THE SECOND LINK to show consolidation over time

Big 6 Ownership

Media consolidation

A lot of students sigh and feel helpless against such a powerful, rich,

entrenched system (media in the USA). In fact, part of the cultural story we tell

ourselves is that the media are too powerful to change. That story is wrong and

only serves those who gain or maintain power from that story.

But remember: Media "they" can't engage you, define you and reflect you if

you do not cooperate. We just need to see the media NOT as a separate

"mediating" entity that is simply the go-between us and corporations/institutions that

are simply delivering content to us. Rather, the media themselves ARE the

corporations and institutions who are selling products to us (like laundry

soap, make-up and politicians) and culture to us (what it is to be happy,

successful, a “real man”, an “attractive woman”, who and what is or isn’t

desirable etc.)

This brings us back to the fact that these “titans of industry” are almost all

from the same demographic. This is important to note as these older, white, cis,

straight, men’s values and biases affect the media we consume and produce. This

goes beyond mass media. In the tech industry, an industry also dominated by white

men, we see power structures and bias replicated in their output. There is

extensive research being conducted on the bias that is literally encoded into our

software by these men. Many times, we think of technology as objective or apart

from human error. It is shown that the bias of those in the tech industry is

inextricable from the software they produce (If you are interested in this topic- pick

up the book Algorithms of Oppression by Safiya Umoja Noble).

Check out PBS's MEDIA GIANTS ownership listing. And here are other versions of

media ownership illustrated:

MODULE 1 DIGITAL MEDIA AND CONVERGENCE

TOPIC 2— ONLINE, INTERNET AND SOCIAL MEDIA

The Internet, Digital Media, and Media Convergence Digital Gaming and the Media Playground

There seems to be a fascination with the future and technology. WATCH THE FUTURE IS NOW (1955 prediction of the future)

Industry wants us to like technology and see it as positive or as an opportunity. But

the reality of technology isn't so utopian. What happens when it doesn't work (ask

anyone who has lost or broken their phone, lost wifi connection, destroyed a

computer hard drive without backing it up). And what happens if only some of the

population have access (digital divide?) What happens when big data is used as

another way to marginalize and discriminate against groups that are already

subordinated and vulnerable?

WATCH AT&T's VISION OF THE FUTURE.

Notice what they got right in their predictions (smart devices, gaming, video

calling) but also what they got wrong (AT&T, the PHONE company didn't know we

would have cell phones?)

WATCH the first 10 minutes of FRONTLINE'S: Digital nation

WATCH Adam Ruins Everything (Adam Ruins Facebook)

Social media platforms are now being scrutinized for "allowing" false information to

perpetuate ideas that lead to actions. The Russians have been blamed for creating

separatism and influencing American campaigns via Facebook. A study of 200 million

posts determined that over half of posts advocating re-opening from the Corona virus

were posted by bots. (Literally: Robots were dominating the conversations.) President

Trump called out Twitter for providing a correction to one of his Tweets.

What happens, then, when information is used against us?

In addition to social media, consider BIG DATA. It is (and will be) presented to us as

an allowable infringement of our privacy (to stop crime or whatever), but how can it

be used against us and normalized by authorities?

WATCH: THE GOOD FIGHT ANIMATION: RUSSIAN TROLL CHANGE

Consider artificial intelligence. Will it help us and make life better? Or will it take our

jobs and make life worse?

Check out this infographic about AI

Watch the Innovation of Loneliness

WATCH: THIS AD (try to guess what it is about before the end, notice the irony of

the message to the product)

So we all know that the Internet never forgets (once it is out there, you can't fully

erase it or retract it). And that everything we do online is being tracked and

recorded, etc. Just recently the comedian Johnathan Firstman, who became famous

in 2020 for his “impressions” series on Instagram, was called out for racist jokes he

made 2012.

Social media is also being used more than ever to bring people together to share

interests, concerns and to organize political activism. My topic of study in graduate

school was about the marginalization and erasure of sex workers by social media

networks. Pop into my office hours if you’d like to know more about my research or

how you can help!

READ: The Pew Research Center's Social media continue to be important political outlets for Black Americans

Culture can be influenced by all kinds of online content (beyond social media). Even

gaming presents perspectives.

WATCH: Women and people of color discuss bullying and harrassment they experience while online

gaming on a GOOD MORNING AMERICA REPORT.

MODULE 2 BUSINESS OF MEDIA AND CULTURAL EFFECTS

TOPIC 3— COMMERCIAL CULTURE AND ADVERTISING

ADVERTISING AND COMMERCIAL CULTURE PUBLIC RELATIONS AND FRAMING THE

MESSAGE

DISCUSSION AND NOTES:

Referring to our communication model, we will continue to look at media as the

source, but now we will turn our attention to people and culture:

SOURCE----------> MESSAGE --------> RECEIVER

We. Are. The. Receivers.

What makes our U.S. media system unique is that IT BELONGS TO THE PEOPLE. The airwaves belong to the citizens of the United States of America—NOT the government, NOT private companies, but THE PEOPLE.

We decided this a long time ago after WW1 when our radios were taken from us by the government during war time. Other countries' media systems emerged as authoritative (China) or paternalistic (ENGLAND), but the United States (because of the power of the people in our democracy) demanded that the media system be public.

It all revolved around the notion that THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM was "SCARCE" or limited and, therefore so valuable that it must be owned by everyone. Communications use a very small portion of the overall spectrum (check out this chart, for more information: U.S. Radio Frequency Allocation.

MEDIA COMPANIES WERE TO SUPPOSE TO "TAKE CARE OF" OR ACT AS "PUBLIC TRUSTEES" OF THE AIRWAVES (FOR THE PEOPLE.) THEY ARE LICENSED

TO USE OUR AIRWAVES AND THEY ARE ALOUD (OBVISOUSLY) TO MAKE A PROFIT. BUT THEY ARE SUPPOSE TO GIVE SOMETHING BACK TO THE PEOPLE

FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF MAKING ALL THAT MONEY WITH OUR AIRWAVES: MEDIA OWNERS MUST SERVE THE PUBLIC INTEREST, CONVENIENCE OR NECESSITY (PICON.)

This PICON requirement was mentioned over 100 times in the 1934 Communications Act (it wasn't simply an empty promise). We use to police our spectrum more strongly than we do now. But the airwaves are still owned by the public and, as long as we keep it that way, the public will have power and sway with what happens to it (and to us through media.)

Because we own the airwaves, it gives us great leverage when innovations or politics influence what the future of media will be and how the public will be served. So now you know how we ended up with the system/format we have in the U.S. and how important our power is as audience members. Keep returning to these ideas of audience empowerment as you learn other media literacy lessons throughout the rest of the course. Now let us address the concept of culture.

CULTURE IS…A set of attitudes, behaviors, and symbols shared by a large group of people and usually communicated from one generation to the next.

1. Culture is used in every aspect of our lives

2. The meaning of culture is relative

3. Culture is an abstraction

4. Culture is learned NOT innate

5. Culture is a collective, shared experience

6. Culture manifests in products (explicit)

7. Culture creates meaning systems (implicit)

8. Culture is a mode of transmission

9. Culture is expressed in varying degrees

10. Culture has historical context

11. Culture is stable but not static

12. Culture is learned

POPULAR CULTURE Generally refers to trends in music, art, and other expressions that become popular among a group of people: slang, fashion, etc.

NATIONAL CULTURE Common geographical origin, history, and language. Political entity recognized by other countries. Does a passport necessarily determine your cultural values? National culture ignores the possibility of variety of cultures within that nationality

MEDIA CULTURE

Represents culture: distorted and true. Creates new culture. Is a culture of its own. Media are institutions (companies), technology, cultural forums, go-betweens, mediators.

How do media producers affect culture? They do it by remaining invisible (we think of media as simply a tool or a service or a destination for information and entertainment. We rarely take a critical look at how they influence our lives, create the concept of "normal", convince us to act/buy products, convince us to engage in activities that are actually NOT good for us. Media effects are planned, researched and implemented mostly without our knowledge.

The question is one of how we perceive and/or define ourselves: ARE WE

MERELY CONSUMERS? OR ARE WE ACTIVE CITIZENS OF OUR CULTURE,

OUR DEMOCRACY, and OUR WORLD?

CONSUMER CULTURE

Are you an audience member or a consumer? The juxtaposition infers that

audience members actively participate with and are served by the relationship with media while consumers are simply the component necessary to complete a sales transaction. We have become a culture of CONSUMERS (instead of being engaged audience members, we behave as (and are treated by corporations as) consumers. All sociological students regarding consumption come to the same general conclusion: having more stuff does NOT make us happier. In fact, it makes us LESS happy.

Watch THE STORY OF STUFF (20 minutes). Watch the entire program paying

especially close attention to the "golden arrow" section.

Keep in mind that engaging with or being a member of a culture is a matter

of choice. Culture is LEARNED, it is NOT INNATE. You are not born democrat or

republican...all of those things (what it means to be those things ) are LEARNED.

And anything that can be learned, can change. In the end, it is our thoughts about

things that are more important than the things themselves. Meaning lies within

human beings not within the objects we are observing. The more aware you are

regarding your cultural participation, the more you can make the most of your time

in terms of doing what is good for you and others.

Marketers are very interested in how much time (quantity) and what kind of

interactions (quality) we have with media. They typically combine several variables

to define a demographic profile. A demographic profile (often shortened to "a

demographic or demo") provides enough information about the typical member of

an audience to create a mental picture of a hypothetical aggregate (the entire U.S.

audience is made up of smaller sub-segments). For example, a marketer might

speak of the single, female, middle-class, age 18 to 24, college educated

demographic.

Market researchers typically have two objectives when determining audience

characteristics: first to determine what segments or subgroups exist in the overall

population; and secondly to create a clear and complete picture of the

characteristics of a typical member of each of segments. Once these profiles are

constructed, they can be used to develop a marketing strategy and marketing

plan—to effectively "reach" target audiences with information about their products

and/or services.

The five types of demographics for marketing are age, gender, income level, race

and ethnicity. For example, for age, the U.S. population is typically lumped into

these generational categories: [Ref—http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/202334#]:

GEN I

Also called Gen Z, the internet generation or iGeneration, they're the children of

the youngest boomers. Because this generation is still very young, marketing and

demographics theories are still developing. One huge distinction, however, can be

made: This generation is the only one to be born entirely in the internet era, and to

parents who are generally more accepting and knowledgeable of such technology. This

differs from the next generation, Gen Y, which sometimes dealt with tensions stemming

from their parents' lack of technological savvy or acceptance.

GEN Y

Also referred to as millennials or "echo boomers," they are the children of

boomers, ages nine to 27. Because of higher costs of living or, in some cases, the

over-protective nature of their boomer parents, many are choosing to live at home.

University of Michigan economics and public policy professor Bob Schoeni told Time

magazine that the percentage of 26-year-olds living with their parents rose from 11

percent to 20 percent between 1970 and 2004. They're 75 million strong and they have

disposable income because of their parents' support. Growing up with computers

means this generation is especially responsive to internet campaigns. They process

information quickly and are especially brand loyal. Gen Yers like innovative marketing

approaches and advertising that uses humor or is "outside the box."

WATCH Simon Sinek's MILLENIAL QUESTION.

GEN X They are perhaps the most overlooked generation, falling in the shadow of the powerful

baby-boom generation. But the 44 million Gen Xers born between 1965 and 1975 are

entering their peak earning and buying years. They're tech-savvy and love to shop.

They have a high value for education and knowledge. Unlike Gen Yers, brand prestige

alone won't woo this generation--let them know why your product is a good value. They

are independent and like to save.

BOOMERS

Until the boomer generation hit age 50, marketers generally forgot consumers

once they passed that age mark. Today, however, they're awakening to the buying

power of this 76 million-strong group. On average boomers spend $400 billion more per

year than any other generation. They're at many life stages: empty nesters or full

nesters, boomer grandparents, single or married, etc. What they have in common is

exceptional drive and the ability to evaluate advertising and determine its value to them.

Between 2005 and 2030, the over-60 group will grow by 80 percent--as they age, be

careful not to label them as "old." This generation has a Peter Pan complex--play up

their youthfulness in marketing. The Greatest Generation Born between 1909 and 1945,

today's octogenarian has seen it all when it comes to advertising, resulting in a

particularly savvy consumer segment. They are more careful about whom they do

business with, and they want to know more about your business before they choose to

patronize it. Having been born during, or lived through, the Great Depression, World

War II and many economic recessions, they're keen on value and in general don't "shop

for fun" as other generations tend to do. They have pensions to rely on that other

generations won't have as they become senior citizens, so concentrate on

communicating the value of your product or services. A practical bunch, they also tend

to be extremely loyal customers.

But marketers don't stop there.

They are also interested in our psychographics. Psychographics is the study of personality, values, opinions, attitudes, interests, and lifestyles. Because this area of research focuses on interests, attitudes, and opinions, psychographic factors are also called IAO variables.

Psychographic studies of individuals or communities can be valuable in the fields of marketing, demographics, opinion research, futuring, and social research in general. Psychographics should not be confused with demographics, for example, historical generations (listed above) may be defined both by demographics, such as the years in which a particular generation is born or even the fertility rates of that generation's parents, but also by psychographic variables like attitudes, personality formation, and cultural touchstones. For example, the traditional approaches to defining the Baby Boom Generation or Generation X or Millennials have relied on both demographic variables (classifying individuals based on birth years) and psychographic variables (such as beliefs, attitudes, values and behaviors).

MEDIA ECONOMICS: Show me the money. Follow the money.

There are two important things you need to learn regarding media economics. 1. When

people think about the purpose of media, they may list things like: to inform, to entertain,

to help make our lives more convenient, etc. Media researchers have defined four major

functions of media:

1. To inform

2. To persuade

3. To entertain

4. To transmit culture

5. But one of the top purposes of media is to SELL SELL SELL in order to

make money.

Not much is left to chance, every image is planned down to the finest detail. Media use

all information at their disposal. They pay for studies to determine media effects (and

how people think/feel so the effects can be...more effective. 2. The role of the audience

in the economic infrastructure.

Consider the typical buyer- seller-product relationship.

SELLER -------> PRODUCT------ > BUYER

So you were going to eat some mac-n-cheese for dinner it would work like this:

SELLER ------------> PRODUCT --------- > BUYER

KRAFT ----------> MAC 'N CHEESE ----------> YOU (PUBLIC

When you ask most people, how media make their money (and specifically

television), they know enough to answer "the ratings" but they do not fully

understand what that means. They assume broadcasters are selling time to

advertisers. So they incorrectly map the model like this:

SELLER ----------------> PRODUCT -------------- > BUYER

MEDIA ----------> COMMERCIAL AIR TIME -------------- > ADVERTISERS

Not correct. If this was true, then :30 seconds of a soap opera would cost the same

as :30 of the Super Bowl. It isn't TIME that is being bought and sold, it is the

audience. The more eyeballs and ears, the more money advertisers will be willing

to pay.

MEDIA SELLS -------> PRODUCT ---------> ADVERTISER BUYS

MEDIA SELLS -------> YOU ---------> ADVERTISER BUYS

A broadcaster sells YOU to advertisers. YOU ARE THE PRODUCT.

That is what the rating system is all about: Measuring how many people (and

what kind of people) are consuming what content at what time. Despite this

seemingly depressing situation, I urge people to believe that things are NOT they

way they are by accident or inertia. Things change. ANYTHING can change. The

media money "deal" (where we are the product) cannot be completed without us

(the audience) so we have to be willing to NOT SHOW UP until the situation is good

for us (better quality programming content, reasonable access, affordable prices,

etc.) When the people stand up, the media MUST adjust because they cannot

afford to lose us or our interest.

Media use advertising to sell us products, lifestyles, ideas, politicians, etc. They do this

the HARD SELL (giving us facts and figures to consider) and the SOFT SELL

(appealing to our emotions).

WATCH THE FOLLOWING COMMERCIALS and think about what is being

sold BESIDES the specific product. Notice who is the "star" or what is the

focus of the ad. How are people dressed? What are the people doing in the

ad? What is the product/idea/lifestyle/perception being sold?

CARL's Jr.: Is this burger company selling healthier food? All natural ingredients?

Innuendo is everywhere: from the angle of the food to the woman's over-the-top

reaction. It is a parody, to be sure. But these same tactics are used all the time

and NOT as a parody. The joke is on us.

Is this a jean's ad? Or a Justin Bieber and Lara Stone ad? Or both? Or neither?

Watch this classic tire commercial, how far have we come in portraying sexist

themes? There is a contemporary version of this (a car with a woman driving her

kids, in the rain, runs over a piece of wood, etc.) If you find this commercial, let me

know.

Interestingly the same hard and soft sell can be used to "sell" prosocial ideas (not

just consumer products). *This should always be questioned, when this is coming

from a corporation: Is it selling a prosocial idea or is this corporation cashing in on

prosocial ideas when they become lucrative. Think of your favorite brand and how

they addressed BLM before, during and after June 2020. Think of your favorite

brands putting rainbows up during pride while simultaneously funding anti-lgbtq

politicians or by abandoning support of the community the rest of the year. In many

cases, you aren't being represented, you’re being marketed too.

Dove's REAL Beauty Ad addresses the unrealistic beauty industry and shows how

fake advertising images can be- even though they have been complicit in creating

this unrealistic standard.

DOVE'S ONSLAUGHT

DOVE'S BODY EVOLUTION: Illustrates how devastating the beauty myth can be

on girls.

Finally, ADBUSTERS has a bunch of AMAZING UN-COMMERCIALS you can

enjoy. Ads that they cannot get U.S. networks to air because "they are too

controversial."

WATCH The Consumer Pig AND The Product is You

Beyond this, in the age of social media, our data is being sold. This data is not

only sold to advertisers but also to unexpected buyers. Here is a link to an article about

Amazon’s year-long moratorium on selling its facial recognition technology to police.

https://www.npr.org/2020/06/10/874418013/amazon-halts-police-use-of-its-facial-recogn

ition-technology

Here is a Washington Post article about the “artist” Richard Prince. This man

screenshot women’s Instagram posts and printed them on a larger scale. Because we

do not own the content we generate on social media- he was able to sell these

screenshots for $90,000 Artist selling Instagram Screenshots

WATCH this preview of Jill Kilbourne's KILLING US SOFTLY. Pay attention to

how advertising creates "normalcy" for women to strive for in terms of beauty and

physical representation. At the same time, sexism is working against men as well.

Men are expected to be tough, strong, money makers (providers to the family).

They are not allowed the full spectrum of emotions and are socially punished if they

don't comply with mainstream norms.

Watch the following three films—in their entirety. You can watch for free

through SJSU's Kanopy, just log in like you usually do). Here are the links:

THE MASK YOU LIVE IN

MISS REPRESENTATION

TOUGH GUISE

MODULE 2 BUSINESS OF MEDIA AND CULTURAL EFFECTS

TOPIC 4— MEDIA EFFECTS AND RESEARCH

MEDIA EFFECTS AND CULTURAL APPROACHES TO RESEARCH DISCUSSION AND

NOTES: We will continue our look at culture and people (the receivers of the

communication model).

SOURCE----------> MESSAGE --------> RECEIVER

We have been studying how media effects work since the beginning of media. Media is not

real, it represents reality.

Watch MEDIA REPRESENTATION| Media in Minutes | Episode 7

Be familiar with the following theories regarding how media affects us as individuals or

as large groups.

HYPODERMIC (OR MAGIC BULLET) THEORY (HAROLD LASWELL)

This theory assumes linear, direct, point-to-point effects. It was one of the earliest

theories based upon direct effects observed by the WAR OF THE WORLDS radio

broadcast and Hitler's propaganda campaigns. Watch THE HYPODERMIC NEED

THEORY by MEDIA MINUTES | EPISODE 1

TWO-STEP FLOW THEORY (Paul Lasersfeld)

This theory states that opinion leaders pay attention to media content and then pass on

the information to audiences. So it is a step away from direct effects and assumes

audiences are active.

Watch Two-Step Flow | Media in Minutes | Episode 2

USES AND GRATIFICATIONS

Uses and Gratifications theorists explain why people choose and use certain media

forms. The theory emphasizes a limited effect position; that is, the media have a limited

effect on their audiences because audiences are able to exercise control over their

media. The influence of media is limited to what people want it to be. Uses and

Gratifications Theory attempts to answer the following: What do people do with the

media? Now you have a strong idea about how media effects have been studied and

what theories we have about how it all works. One of the major goals of this course is to

make everyone more educated and thoughtful consumers and producers of media. The

only way media will improve is if we set the bar higher. The only way the media will

change, is if we demand it.

Watch this explanation of Hyperdermic Needle, Two-Step Flow and Uses

SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY (SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY)

People imitate what they see in media. People learn by imitation and identification.

SELECTIVE PROCESSES

People selective expose themselves or pay attention to mostly those messages

consistent with their pre- existing beliefs or attitudes. Selective exposure, selective

perception, selective retention.

AGENDA-SETTING THEORY (Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw)

The media tell us NOT WHAT TO THINK, but (1) WHAT to think about, and (2)

HOW to think about it. The first process (agenda setting) transfers the salience of

items on their news agenda to our agenda. The second process (framing) transfers

the salience of selected attributes to prominence among the pictures in our heads.

(Socio-psychological tradition)

Watch The Agenda Setting Function Theory | Media in Minutes | Episode 3

REINFORCEMENT THEORY (Joseph Klapper)

This theory turned thought away from the direct-effects model of communication effects

and said that media don't directly affect people, but instead, simply reinforces what

people already think.

Watch REINFORCEMENT THEORY | MEDIA IN MINUTES | EPISODE 4

CULTURAL STUDIES (Stuart Hall)

The mass media function to maintain the ideology of those who already have power.

Corporately controlled media provide the dominant discourse of the day that frames

interpretation of events. Critics should seek not only to interpret culture, but to change it.

Media audiences do have the capacity to resist hegemonic influence. (Critical tradition)

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE (Leon Festinger)

Cognitive dissonance is an aversive drive that causes people to (1) avoid opposing

viewpoints, (2) seek reassurance after making a tough decision, and (3)change private

beliefs to match public behavior when there is minimal justification for an action.

Self-consistency, a sense of personal responsibility, or self- affirmation can explain

dissonance reduction. (Socio-psychological tradition) Simply put: you feel uncomfortable

and you do the thing (or consume the media messages) that make you feel better (by

agreeing with you, praising you, etc.)

CULTIVATION THEORY (George Gerbner)

Television has become society's storyteller. Heavy television viewers see a vast quantity

of dramatic violence, which cultivates an exaggerated belief in a mean and scary world.

Mainstreaming and resonance are two of the processes that create a homogeneous

and fearful populace. (Socio-cultural and socio- psychological traditions)Television has

become society's storyteller. Heavy television viewers see a vast quantity of dramatic

violence, which cultivates an exaggerated belief in a mean and scary world.

Mainstreaming and resonance are two of the processes that create a homogeneous

and fearful populace. (Socio-cultural and socio-psychological traditions).

DEPENDENCY THEORY (Sandra Ball-Rokeach and Melvin DeFleur)

It proposes an integral relationship among audiences, media and the larger social

system. This theory predicts that you depend on media information to meet certain

needs and achieve certain goals, like uses- and-gratifications theory. But you do not

depend on all media equally. Two factors influence the degree of media dependence.

First, you will become more dependent on media that meet a number of your needs

than on media that provide just a few. The second source of dependency is social

stability. When social change and conflict are high, established institutions, beliefs, and

practices are challenged, forcing you to reevaluate and make new choices. At such

times your reliance on the media for information will increase. At other, more stable

times your dependency on media may go way down. One’s needs are not always

strictly personal but may be shaped by the culture or by various social conditions. In

other words, individuals’ needs, motives, and uses of media are contingent on outside

factors that may not be in the individuals’ control. These outside factors act as

constraints on what and how media can be used and on the availability of other

non-media alternatives. Furthermore, the more alternatives and individual had for

gratifying needs, the less dependent he or she will become on any single medium. The

number of functional alternatives, however, is not just a matter of individual choice or

even of psychological traits but is limited also by factors such as availability of certain

media.

CONCEPTUAL MODEL — DEPENDENCY THEORY

This model is the general idea of the dependency theory.

HIERARCHY OF NEEDS (Abraham Maslow)

According to Maslow, there are four kinds of needs that must be satisfied before a

person can act unselfishly: Physiological, Safety, Love, Esteem, Self Actualization

(article here—optional if you'd like to know more.)

MEDIA ECOLOGY (Marshall McLuhan)

The media must be understood. Changes in communication technology alter the

symbolic environment—the socially constructed, sensory world of meanings. We

shaped our tools—the phonetic alphabet, printing press, and telegraph—and they in

turn have shaped our perceptions, experiences, attitudes, and behavior. Thus the

medium is the message. (Socio-cultural tradition) One of my favorite quotes from

McLuhan: All media work us over completely. They are so persuasive in their personal,

political, economic, aesthetic, psychological, moral, ethical, and social consequences

that they leave no part of us untouched, unaffected, unaltered. The medium is the

message. Any understanding of social and cultural change is impossible without a

knowledge of the way media work as environments. All media are extensions of some

human faculty- psychic or physical. -Marshall McLuhan The Medium is the Message

SEMIOTICS (Roland Barthes)

The significant visual sign systems of a culture affirm the status quo by suggesting that

the world as it is today is natural, inevitable, and eternal. Mythmakers do this by

co-opting neutral denotative signs to become signifiers without historical grounding in

second-order connotative semiotic systems. (Semiotic tradition).

Semiotics is associated with Symbolic Interaction Theory This theory suggests that

people are motivated to act based on the meanings they assign to people, things,

and events. Further, meaning is created in the language that people use both with

others and in private thought. Language allows people to develop a sense of self

and to interact with others in community.

SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF REALITY (Peter L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann)

The theory that examines the development of jointly constructed understandings of the

world. It assumes that understanding, significance, and meaning are developed not

separately within the individual, but in coordination with other human beings. The

elements most important to the theory are (a) the assumption that human beings

rationalize their experience by creating a model of the social world, how it functions and,

(b) that language is the most essential system through which humans construct

reality. A major focus of social constructionism is to uncover the ways in which

individuals and groups participate in the construction of their perceived social

reality. It involves looking at the ways social phenomena are created,

institutionalized, known, and made into tradition by humans. The social construction

of reality is an ongoing, dynamic process that is (and must be) reproduced by

people acting on their interpretations and their knowledge of it. Because social

constructs as facets of reality and objects of knowledge are not "given" by nature,

they must be constantly maintained and re-affirmed in order to persist. This process

also introduces the possibility of change: what "justice" is and what it means shifts

from one generation to the next.

SPIRAL OF SILENCE

Theorists associated with Spiral of Silence Theory argue that due to their enormous

power, the mass media have a lasting effect on public opinion. The theory maintains

that mass media work simultaneously with Majority public opinion to silence minority

beliefs on cultural issues. A fear of isolation prompts those with minority views to

examine the beliefs of others. Individuals who fear being socially isolated are prone to

conform to what they perceive to be a majority view. The phrase "spiral of silence"

actually refers to how people tend to remain silent when they feel that their views are in

the minority. The model is based on three premises: 1) people have a "quasi-statistical

organ," a sixth-sense if you will, which allows them to know the prevailing public opinion,

even without access to polls, 2) people have a fear of isolation and know what

behaviors will increase their likelihood of being socially isolated, and 3) people are

reticent to express their minority views, primarily out of fear of being isolated. The closer

a person believes the opinion held is similar to the prevailing public opinion, the more

they are willing to openly disclose that opinion in public. Then, if public sentiment

changes, the person will recognize that the opinion is less in favor and will be less

willing to express that opinion publicly. As the perceived distance between public

opinion and a person's personal opinion grows, the more unlikely the person is to

express their opinion.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (Philosophy)

If the media wants to remain free from government control, it must serve the public.

MODULE 3 WORDS AND PICTURES

TOPIC 5— SOUND AND MUSIC

SOUND RECORDING AND POPULAR MUSIC RADIO

DISCUSSION AND NOTES: Referring to our communication model,

we've looked at the source and receiver, but now we will turn our

attention to the message:

SOURCE----------> MESSAGE------- > RECEIVER

Listen to the first few minutes of WAR OF THE WORLDs. This aired October 30,

1938. It was presented as a newscast announcing that Martians had landed on

Earth. Many people believed it and panicked.

Music is such an interesting medium. Music videos are one of my favorite

“art forms” This landscape is one that has changed and changed rapidly. From

radio, records, cassettes, CDs, itunes songs purchased individually for $0.99 and

subscription music like spotify. Music and the technologies it has inspired is truly

amazing!

If any of you are interested in cultural studies beyond this course- in one of

my undergraduate courses we used the text Doing Cultural Studies: The Story of

the Sony Walkman. Authored by Paul du Gay and Stuart Hall among others, the

textbook uses the sony walkman as a tool to understand media culture’s flows

shifts and rules.

Do ya’ll remember the controversy surrounding the song Old Town Road?

From google: The exclusion of "Old Town Road" brought criticism of the

evaluation of the work of non-white artists in the country genre, with the Rolling

Stone writer Elias Leight referring to Beyoncé, another black artist, whose song

"Daddy Lessons" failed to be considered a country song by The Recording

Academy in 2016.

Do ya’ll remember the controversy surrounding WAP by Meg the Stallion and Cardi

B?

Many people felt the explicitness of the song was too much. Snoop Dogg

weighed in in an interview saying ““Slow down and let’s have some imagination.

That’s like your pride and possession. That’s your jewel of your crown. That’s what

you should hold on to, that should be a possession that no one gets to know about

until they know about it.” This feels hypocritical to me coming from a man who has

an album titled Doggy Style.

WAP was threatening not because of its lewdness or its references to bodily

fluids (who remembers Lil jon’s Get Low). This song and these artists were treated

differently because it was women embracing and centering their own sexuality and

pleasure. It is fine when men talk about it but not when women do.

Music is still a landscape where cultural inequities and norms thrive and

multiply. I took a class in my undergrad called “Beyonce Feminism, Rihanna

Womanism” If you would like to know more come to my office hours or read my

professor, Omise'eke Natasha Tinsley’s book Beyoncé in Formation : Remixing

Black Feminism. There is so much power and influence that comes from the music

industry that is culture specific or even subconscious.

For those who liked WAP, I recommend watching Beyonce’s Blow. This

video is also about vulva focused pleasure. The “cunnicentrism” in the video is an

aesthetic that is in opposition to the phallocentrism of our world (sky scrapers,

obelisks ect.) Here is a quote from Omise'eke Natasha Tinsley in an article on the

importance of this reclamation (Click the paragraph to read the full piece):

Last week in my black feminisms course, we discussed the importance of

cunnicentrism in black women’s art. Yes, cunnicentrism: aesthetic

appreciation for colors (pink, purple), shapes (circles, triangles), and

textures (wet, viscous) associated with the vulva and vagina. And, as I

added in my lecture, while we can’t see them in visual art, we shouldn’t

forget taste and smell. We should all learn to take care of our vaginas every

day, and, no, vaginas don’t smell like flowers or baby powder. They smell

like a human body, and part of claiming our full humanity is being able to be

proud of every aspect of them.

The music and radio industry are full of hypocrisies, double standards and racism.

Why can beyonce sing a song about cunninglingus but Meg and Cardi

cannot? Respectability politics and colorism are at least in part to blame.

Even early radio with no visual component produced programs like “Amos

and Andy” a radio show starring two white men playing Black men from the deep

south. As visuals are paired with music things have not improved- now we talk

about blackfishing. White artists darkening their skin has been under scrutiny as

well as white women appropriating aesthetics of women of color and capitalizing on

the ambiguity.

If you have heard the term black fishing you may also have heard the phrase

“digital blackface” Warning: This video contains historical footage of blackface minstrel

shows which you may find offensive.

African American Vernacular English (AAVE) is also being appropriated by

non Black people. Again when non Black people take from Black culture and profit

off it while Black people are punished for the same thing (words, hairstyles etc.)

there is a HUGE problem.

I will note here that part of my research concerns the appropriation of

“stripper” or “sex work” aesthtic that has been trending with celebrities. These

people cosplay as sex workers for shock without facing the real life and death

consequences of being a sex worker. I personally would be OK with celebrities pole

dancing etc. if they would include sex work mutual aid links or connect it to

community concerns like decriminalization.

UNIT 3 WORDS AND PICTURES

TOPIC 6— TELEVISION, FILM AND VIDEOS

TELEVISION AND CABLE: THE POWER OF VISUAL CULTURE MOVIES

AND THE IMPACT OF IMAGES

DISCUSSION AND NOTES:

Television and Movies are a place where stereotypes flourish. Stereotypes

do not only function to inform our perception of others but can also function to

inform our perception of ourselves. When you watch a movie what careers,

relationships and fates are given to people that look like you? For example, fat

femme characters are almost never given romantic storylines- how does this affect

what fat femmes think is possible for them or what they are worthy of? Prejudice is

clear in all institutions run predominantly by white people (*cough* the American

government *cough*).

So what is the solution?

There is now a strong push to force Hollywood and other media producers to let

people tell their own stories- from script to screen.

Scarlett Johansson, a cis white woman, received critique for attempting to play Asian

and trans characters. READ: Scarlett Johansson playing other identities

Sia, the musician turned director, has recently cast a neurotypical actor to play a

non-verbal autistic character. When autistic actors and critics attempted to interrogate

this decision Sia snapped back “I cast thirteen neuroatypical people, three trans folk,

and not as fucking prostitutes or drug addicts but s as doctors, nurses and singers.

Fucking sad nobody’s even seen the dang movie. My heart has always been in the right

place.”

In defending the harm she has caused the disabled community, she managed to

also disparage people struggling with addiction and sex workers (all of these

communities are feeling the worst of the pandemic). Not to mention there are disabled

sex workers struggling with addiction. One critic @paigeLayle on tik tok explained that

in a scene where the protagonist is having a “meltdown” she is put into a prone restraint

that can in fact be lethal- highlighting the importance of letting people tell their own

stories.

READ: Sia Controversy

This is a clip from the film Disclosure in which Jen Richards explains that cis men

playing trans women causes violence and harm toward the trans community. WATCH:

Cis men playing trans women as violence

Of course, depictions of identities and experiences outside of your own will be

lacking. How well can you empathize with a character you write for or play if you are

taking opportunity and wealth away from that very same community.

What can you do if you want to uplift marginalized communities with your

work/privilege? Ryan Murphy is a great example of how to uplift marginalized

communities without doing harm. Leveraging his success from American Horror Story,

Ryan Murphy created Pose, he created the first show to center black trans women and

hired black transwomen as the producers, show runners and actors. He created a

space and opportunity for these women to tell their own stories.

Some feel representation is enough. Here is a critique of the Grey’s Anatomy

show-runner Shonda Rhimes’, a black woman’s use of colorblind-casting. READ:

Shonda Rimes Colorblind Casting

Although there was more representation, some felt the show did not couple the optics of

multiculturalism with cultural depth. It should also be noted that there are not many

black femme show runners- especially before Shonda Rhimes, so she, like many

trail-blazers before her, was under more pressure and scrutiny than her white

counterparts. It should be noted that terms like color-blind casting or politicians being

tone-deaf should be avoided as they are ableist uses of blind and deaf.

This notion of the shortcomings of representation alone are reflected in discourse

surrounding our most recent presidential election. Many are elated that we have elected

a Black-Asian female Vice President. Others feel less excited due to Kamala Harris’s

history with policing in a time when BLM is asking for the defunding of the police. These

same people feel that without a political record that supports Black communities, having

a Black VP is just for optics.

This is not to say representation is free of effect. This past Christmas, a British

grocery store called Argos, produced an ad centering a Black family. They received a

huge backlash from racist viewers who claimed they could not identify with the ad.

READ: UK ad Controversy This is interesting as a competing grocery chain produced

ads centering a family of carrots without any backlash due to their viewers inability to

identify with the carrots. That’s because it is simply racism. A study was conducted in

2015 on children’s books that showed a shocking lack of diversity. Animals, trucks…

presumably carrots make up 12.5% of characters in children’s books, while all POC

characters combined make up 14.2%. GOOD NEWS! Here is the updated data as of

2018 SEE: Diversity in Children's books I am sure in 2020 we have shifted these

numbers even more.

Media can also use representation for good and Mr.Roger’s was an expert at this:

Watch Mr. Fred Roger's testimony to Congress (to an angry panelist). Mr. Rogers turns

the situation around with his compassion, his feelings and his kindness.

And here is another example of Mr. Rogers doing amazing things

Read this article and watch the embedded clip

It may make you laugh or even feel uncomfortable watching two grown men soaking

their feet in a wading pool. This was a groundbreaking episode. At this same time,

Black Americans were not permitted to swim with White Americans (racists would

pour bleach into pools etc.) Mr. Rogers made a very clear and direct message for

good, by sharing a pool with his Black friend.

UNIT 4 DEMOCRATIC EXPRESSION AND THE MASS MEDIA

TOPIC 7— NEWS AND JOURNALISM

NEWSPAPERS: THE RISE AND DECLINE OF MODERN JOURNALISM THE CULTURE

OF JOURNALISM: VALUES, ETHICS and DEMOCRACY

DISCUSSION AND NOTES: News of the past approached information from a more

"objective" perspective with the goal of presenting a balanced argument of all sides. The

economic infrastructure's goal was to reach the MASS audience (as many people as

possible). But now, with fragmentation of the audience (people are forming their own

interest groups and choose to consume a variety of media sources of radio, television,

film, online, gaming, etc.) So now media can and do take a more subjective look. In fact,

news media often inflame the different perspectives against one another because it drives

consumption. Not good for us. Not good for society. Not good for democracy.

WATCH Dan Rather's statement on JUNK MEDIA

UNIT 4 DEMOCRATIC EXPRESSION AND THE MASS MEDIA

TOPIC 8— REGULATION AND THE GLOBE

MEDIA ECONOMICS AND THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE LEGAL

CONTROLS AND FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

DISCUSSION AND NOTES: In addition to race and gender, the media also

stereotype people by socio- economic class. Media portrayals go further:

They affect our environment, our planet. I'll use the example of how media

are affecting our food source.

WATCH the excerpt from HOW TELEVISION FRAMES WORKING CLASS

WATCH the trailer for NICKLED AND DIMED where a journalist does a year-long

experiment to try and get buy on minimum wage (surprise surprise, she can't do it)

WATCH Taylor Swift’s music video You Need To Calm Down. This video is

intended to show support of the LGBTQ+ community. Who are the villains of this

narrative? Homophobia is being coded as low income, rural ect. Does this narrative

isolate rural queer people? Could anti-LGBTQ+ legislators be cast as the

opposition? How would that change this narrative?

Watch first 10-15 minutes of Food Inc.

WRAP-UP

END OF COURSE

So, given what you've learned over the course of the semester (to name a

few major points): Media have influence.

The medium (of media) matters (radio, television, film, social media,

virtual reality, etc.) There are various ways in which media affect

individuals and society

Gender, Race and Class are all created, maintained, changed, destroyed, etc. by

the public mind. There are specific and complex systems that are premeditatedly

creating and perpetuating dominant ideas by which "others" position and judge

themselves. Stereotypes adversely affect groups and perpetuate non-mainstream

subordination.

So is there any hope given the gravity of the situation?

Media literacy and critical analysis are the first steps!

It all comes down to information. People need to know that they are being "led"

down a path of compliance and purchasing and opposition to others. They need to

be informed that they have power and agency in the media/audience relationship.

People need to know that they are MORE than merely consumers and public-

minded sheep following the directions (or thinly-veiled orders) of those in charge of

money, politics and power.

That is what RTVF 110 is trying to accomplish. To take a short amount of time to

allow you to step back, look at and think about what is happening. By making you

more media literate, you should expect/demand more from media (and yourselves

within the audience-media interaction and relationship.)