Thursday, 29 November 2012

Tutorial Targets 29/11/12

· Continue looking for books
·
Page references
· More on Representation theory
· Wikipedia- find linked references
· Use Wikipedia more for basic info
· Start making uses of quotes

 

Wednesday, 28 November 2012

Quotes and Notes

Links from Wikipedia including references and my notes
One viewer posted: “As an Essex girl myself I find it offensive that we are being portrayed like this, no wonder we have all the typical stereotypes.”….In a pre-show interview Candy and Michael had said they were determined to put to bed the typical Essex stereotype of white stilettos and fake tan….One posting: “Well done ITV2 for making a show that has made all of Essex hate you. This show is nothing like us!”


- what the public living in Essex’s thing about the show and informs us the audience that the representation of only way is Essex’s is untrue.

One posted: “I’ll be honest and say that when I saw it advertised I thought what a bunch of fake people, but now I’ve watched it I actually really loved it! Entertaining to see how you guys live
- This shows different opinions of only way is Essex’s and shows that it’s not negative and I could add  this into my essay to show the reasons to why people really enjoy only way is Essex’s and its false representations, this quote from the audience suggests that one of the reasons is because of entertainment.
“ITV2 show The Only Way is Essex could set us back 20 years.”
 "The stereotype is getting really boring. We are an affluent county with lots of successful men and women.
"And whoever came up with this show has not presented a fair cross-section of people in Essex."
"But I think it will attract more viewers to portray Essex like they have.

"It's sad if this programme makes people ashamed to be from Essex." 
“The show has been criticised for its negative and stereotypical representation of Essex, and there have been a number of complaints to ITV2 “
“Some Essex residents felt it was not a true representation of the area and the people that live there.
-          These are really good quotes that I could include these points about the thoughts of the real people that live in Essex’s and what their views are on only way is Essex’s.  It allows me to give points on reasons to why people believe that realty TV shows are damaging the women of today.

Books, quotes and notes

Reality Bites Back- The Troubling Truth about Guilty Pleasure Tv  Jennifer L. Pozner  
“when Hollywood pushes the limit, its usually bad news for women. That has been the increasingly truth with reality TV.”pg.112
“Reality tv attacks on women’s social, sexual, political power.” pg. 112
“The influence of all media is systemic and affects how we think and feel in ways we don’t even recognise.”

“so, what do reality tv producers want us to believe about ourselves and about ‘our place’ in society ?”pg.142     -  allows me to back up my points on that reality tv has its affects on the audience and whatnit makes us think about ourselfs .

 
“Social beliefs ...women are conniving, deceitful and vicious and all men should be aware that they are money –grubbing gold diggers.” pg.142

“Perfect-picture reality TV women” - what the characters within

“Men are unworthy of love if they are not rich.”pg.142

Portraying the female population as ditzy, inept workers, wife’s and mothers.  pg.142

“They have created a universe were women not only have no real choices but don’t even want any.” pg.156

“Single women are seen as they could never be happy or flourished financially without husbands.”

 
“Unreal world” pg.156 &“Misleading to the viewers”.pg. 156- these quotes show that reality isn't so real.

“Probably a little bit of truth to what you see but reality TV producers are manipulating everything.”pg.187- producers in this book are letting us know that reality tv only has a little bit of truth.

“Women in reality TV are moulded into predetermined stock characters such as “The bitch”, “The weepers” and “The Angry black women” the strong, independent women are typically excluded.” pg.187    - the typical sterotypes of each character and what are to expect in reality TV shows.

“Reality TV include stereotypes that most people would assume got left behind 35 years ago

One Dimensional women (zero books) by Nina power 


 “feminism was at one time a great generator of new thoughts and new modes of existence but for  a generation growing up with this in their eye-sight an impression that this is what they should aspire too.”
 pg.69

Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices (Culture, Media and Identities Series) Stuart Hall
“Language and representation produce meaning.”pg 18
“To represent something is to describe or depict it, to call it up in the mind by description or portrayal or imagination, to place a likeness before in our minds or in our senses.”pg. 18
“Two systems of representation” pg18

Reality Tv: Audiences and Popular Factual Television By Annette Hill

Quotes on reasons to why they are popular and could relate to why females are represented this way.

“ the way real people and their stories are represented on TV are closely connected to how we judge the truthfulness of visual evidence.” pg.53

“reality programming is an extraordinary success story, an example of televisions ability to cannibalise itself in order to survive in a commercially uncertain media environment” pg.53

“The rise of reality TV came at a time when networks were looking for a quick fix solution to economic problems within the cultural industries” pg. 63

“Real people and real events in an entertaining style” pg. 74

“The popularity of reality tv has led to a dangerous blurring of boundaries between fact and fiction… as a result reality TV has had a negative effect on modern society”
The Woman at the Keyhole: Feminism and Women's Cinema (Theories of Representation and Difference) Judith Mayne
“ Genuine female identity has been repressed.” pg. 232-  this quote helps bring up a point that have women lost their identities because of reality tv shows.
“ the subject is always male and the object is always female.” pg231 - are womens lives revolved around men ?

Representation & Reality: Portraits of Women's Lives in the Western Cape 1948-1976
“emphasis on sexism both divides men and women and distracts them from the issue of race.” pg23
 - proves that its not just women that are being represented negatively and that its also men, but at the same time suggests that having a negative representation allows us to ignore the issues of race, so could this be one of the reasons to why women are potrayed negatively.
 Reality TV: An Insider's Guide to TV's Hottest Market –Troy Devolld 
“ its nothing more than irredeemably corruptive guilty pleasure.”
“ the recipe for every reality tv show is different, writing and content manipulations is one of the main ingredients  .”
Different articles, quotes and internet links that relate to representation, reality TV, only way is essex's, etc.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2011/mar/21/the-only-way-is-essex
 
 “does the pleasure come from judging them?

http://www.missrepresentation.org/reality-tv/reality-tv-the-self-esteem-of-women/: 

how sure are we that this new generation of young women can distinguish fact from fiction or real life from reality?”

The media constantly reminds us that we’re not good enough, we need to be fixed, and that our value lies in our youth and beauty.”

“When watching these shows the resounding message is that “ordinary” may as well be synonymous with “worthless”.”

“Women are becoming desensitized to their emotional needs and instead use beauty as a temporary band-aid and reality TV secretly promotes this. Statistics report that depression, eating disorders, and low self-esteem are at an all time high in young girls and women.”

“By choosing to watch reality shows that depict women in highly sexualized and demeaning ways or in manners that are truly unflattering (fighting and competing against each other)”

“These particular shows have been masterfully orchestrated to depict a cultural norm that directly impacts women’s value to society with the promise that the thinner you are, the prettier you are, and the more outrageously you behave the more successful and happy you will be.”

“With reality shows like these dominating the primetime airwaves we have to be vigilant and heighten our awareness to what exactly our children are watching.”

“For young women the false illusion of beauty has proven to be damaging to their perception of themselves and the world they live in.”

http://sophierisner.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/is-this-the-only-way/

 “TOWIE brings to the foreground the female body-shape as something austere; all breasts and tight waist, blonde hair flowing from head to floor, lips over-coated in gloss finish, perma tans and bottom.

“many years of hardwork still women are driven to be seen to be more stupid and more blown-up than ever.

“The dumbing down of the role of women especially lies in the formatting of the main male protagonsit; Mark Wright.”
“women treat their breasts as wholly separate entities, with little or no connection to themselves, their personality, or even the rest of their body.”

http://www.msmagazine.com/fall2004/unrealworld.asp ; Feminist News

“No one wants to see a brainiac in a bikini in reality televsion. In this unreal world, women aren’t just stupid — they’re also catty and bitchy.

“The psychological browbeating these shows engage in has political ramifications. They reinforce insecurities bred into women by decades of inaccurate media reports of “man shortages” and brokendown biological clocks.

“producers construct these shows to drive home the notion that no emotional, professional or political accomplishment can possibly compare with the twin vocations of beauty and marriage.

“The real concern is the millions of viewers, scores of whom are young girls, who take in these misogynistic spectacles uncritically, learning that only the most stereotypically beautiful, least independent women with the lowest-carb diets will be rewarded with love, financial security and the ultimate prize of male validation.

- these are all feminist points of views from what their thoughts and feelings are towards only way is essexs and why they dislike the idea of this type of reality TV shows, it allows me to bring up points about that reality tv shows make females feel that women it either you professional accomplish something or you choose beauty and marriage and that you can be both. 
“ it communicates the idea to girls that you can have no true girlfriends because your only goal in life is to find a man, and therefore every women is a potential love rival and therefore you can have no true female friendships.”

 http://chelsssrep.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/case-study-so-far/
 “the reasons that this group of people that are represented in this way is because it is more entertaining for the audiences"
  “stereotypes can be good and being able to represent women to be the same in reality makes it easier to stereotype these people to the particular place that these women are from.” - reasons to why the females in only way is essexs are represented negatively
 

http://www.artslondonnews.co.uk/20101123-isessex-the-only-way

“With their poor acting skills and barely a brain cell between them, are the characters in The Only Way is Essex meant to be a positive representation of what Essex has to offer?”

"The Only Way is Essex makes you proud to be from anywhere else on the planet, oh and if you are from Essex, move now”

"The place is defined by a few lazy stereotypes. Sure people like Essex Man do live there, but people like that live all over the UK, you just have to change the accent.”

Friday, 23 November 2012

Learners response

New Essay question : To what extent and why are women within constructed reality TV shows such as ‘The only way is Essex’ represented in a negative way?
Linked production: Magazine feature promoting a new constructed reality TV show.
Learner’s response:
Key concept- answer questions from research project
Theories- make more links to text. 

Friday, 9 November 2012

Critical Investigation


Working title
To what extent are Females within reality TV shows represented in negative aspect and what affects does it have on its viewers.

Angle
What impact does the stereotype on reality TV shows have on it audiences? Are female audiences effected by reality TV ?
Are the negative representations and stereotypes of the females on reality TV shows true to any extent?

Hypothesis
Reality TV shows represent females in a negative aspect Females are constantly being shown as the typical dumb blonde with no education, most are seen as searching for 15 minutes of fame that try to build a career on reality shows.

Linked production piece
(Maybe) Magazine article report and link it by discussing how representations of females can be constructed and reinforced by print media.

MIGRAIN

Media language
·         High key lightings
·         voice over
·         Mainly beginning and end narration
·         Continuous editing 
·         Glamorous clothing’s and hair
·         Dumb down females
·         Good looking males causing conflict between females
·         Female Gaze
·         Close ups 
·         Theme tune
·         Diegetic and non-diegetic sounds

Institution
·         Itv1 & 2
·         Lime pictures
·         CBS television productions
·         VH1
·         E4

Genre
·         Reality TV
·         narrative mini series

Representations
·         Stereotypes are reinforced
·         Females are portrayed as females in a negative aspect such as vain with low self-esteem.
Audiences
·         Mainly female audiences
·         C1-C2
·         16-30

             Ideology
              
·         Goes against feminist

           Narrative
·         Different episodes of their ‘real’ lives in each episode linking to one whole series
·         Not really any narrative roles
·         Cliff-hangers
·         Enigma codes
·         Emasculation
·         Escapism

SHEP

Sense of escapism for females to want to live this lifestyle
Relates to feminism
Stereotype of females

Historical
·         First reality TV show was in 1948 called Smile you’re on Candid Camera.
·         Early 2000 they used to show reality TV shows to show the medical reality within hospitals such as real live footages of females giving birth. Then types of genres started changing into music reality TV shows causing representations of females to start changing.


Issues/Debates

·         Representation & stereotyping
I will be discussing how females within reality TV shows are represented poorly and also what the stereotypes of females in reality TV shows are. As there are many stereotypes and negative representations within reality TV shows such as these women having hardly any education and trying to build a career out of their reality TV fame.

·         Moral panic
Females representation are often a topic of moral panic, this is because females within the media have changed over the past 30 years. Women have to maintain that glamorous, sexy, perfect look to get in and stay within the media industry. This makes especially the younger female generations to think if you don’t look perfect you will never be successful within the media industry. This then causes the younger generation to think that in order for them to be successful they need to dumb themselves down and sexualize themselves. Younger female generation may look up to these females and aspire to be like them in the future. Makes us think are the new generation of females going to be like reality TV females?


·         Reality TV
My case study is based about reality TV shows in general and its representations.

·         Media effects
This relates to my study because I will be analysing and discussing about the concerns and effects of reality TV shows that it may have on the audiences and the media industry in general especially for the younger female audiences and what effects it may have on them. As some of the audiences may actually believe these stereotypes.

Theories

·         Gender theories
These theories relates to my case study as my main topic which I will be discussing is about the representations of the female gender. One of the theories that I will be including in my study is Laura Mulvey theory scopophilia where women are objectified  this will allow me to explain in greater detail and understanding why the female gender in reality TV shows are shown in that way for example gender theories suggest that it’s to target a specific audience.

·         Audience theories
Audience theories will be included in my study as I will be looking at how the audiences are female audiences are influenced or have a change of behaviour regarding to reality TV shows. E.g. Effects theory, uses and gratification theory
 

Research plan (media texts, academic texts and websites)

Main text
Basketball wife’s or Only way is Essexs
Texts
·         Americas Next top model
·         Jersey Shore
·         The only way is Essex’s
·         Love and Hip hop
·         Bad girls club
·         Desperate Scousewife’s

Academic texts/books

·         Image and Representation: Key Concepts in Media Studies; Nick Lacey

·         Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV; Jennifer Pozner

·         Gender and the Media; Rosalind Gill

·         Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices (Culture, Media and Identities series); Stuart Hall – (talks about representations in the media industry in general)


Internet Links

·         http://revisionworld.co.uk/a2-level-level-revision/sociology/mass-media-0/media-representations-age-social-class-ethnicity-gender-sexuality-and-disability : Almy et al. (1984) argue that media representations of gender are important because they enter the collective social conscience and reinforce culturally dominant (hegemonic) ideas about gender which represent males as dominant and females as subordinate.

·         http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11485792 "The Only Way is Essex makes you proud to be from anywhere else on the planet, oh and if you are from Essex, move now”

·         http://www.forbes.com/sites/worldviews/2012/04/20/what-reality-tv-is-doing-to-women/ : " Could it be possible that the woman on reality TV is now representative of the woman next door?"

·         http://www.missrepresentation.org/reality-tv/reality-tv-the-self-esteem-of-women/: how sure are we that this new generation of young women can distinguish fact from fiction or real life from reality?”

·         http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765578586/Combating-the-negative-impacts-of-reality-TV-on-girls-sense-of-self.html?pg=all: “ it communicates the idea to girls that you can have no true girlfriends because your only goal in life is to find a man, and therefore every women is a potential love rival and therefore you can have no true female friendships.”

·         http://umwbullet.com/2009/04/22/media-portrayal-of-women-is-harmful/ Women in sitcoms and reality television shows, such as America’s Next Top Model, represent a body type that very few women possess”