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. 

web search

Key words:

Female representations / misrepresentations

Reality TV

New Generations

Social media

Society

Identity

Female rights

Links:

·         http://www.forbes.com/sites/worldviews/2012/04/20/what-reality-tv-is-doing-to-women/

·         http://www.buzzle.com/articles/effects-of-reality-tv.html

·         http://womenology.ogilvypr.com/2012/03/lets-talk-numbers-reality-tvs-surprising-impact-on-young-women/

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

·         http://www.change.org/petitions/vh1-and-oxygen-cable-television-networks-stop-showing-programs-that-portray-women-negatively

·         http://poweredbygirl.org/blog/what-reality-tv-obsession

·         http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765578586/Combating-the-negative-impacts-of-reality-TV-on-girls-sense-of-self.html?pg=all

·         http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/phil/blphil_eth_realitytv.htm

·         http://www.citytvweb.com/the-reality-television-shows-and-their-effects-on-society/

·         http://www.teenink.com/opinion/movies_music_tv/article/383652/Reality-Tvs-content-is-negatively-influencing-our-youth-should-be-censored/

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

TV documentaries
            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdAuOYB8dUI&feature=player_embedded&safe=active

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”

Critical Investigation

Critical Investigation: Representation of how lone- parent mothers are portrayed in a urban area in London?
Linked Production: A advertisement on channel 4 showing a reality show type programme following a lone mother doing her daily activities to let the audience see from an inside view of how lone parents in urban areas really are. 

Critical Investigation: Representation of a female damsel in distress 

Linked Production: Magazine spread sheet focusing and displaying a female lead from a known sitcom or programme either displayed positivity or negatively  

Critical Investigation: How stereotypes for soldiers have changed over the years

Linked Production: A documentary on channel 4 that contrasts between the past and now , including interviews of soldiers.

Learners Response

-Link characters to Propp's theory

Propp’s theory

Protagonist- Buffy the Vampire slayer- the main character

The dispatcher- Anthony head who plays Rupert Giles (Buffy’s watcher) – who sends the hero on a quest

Villains- demons

The helper- Nicolas Brendon -Buffy’s sidekick

The other helper- Willow Rosenberg – Buffy’s sidekick

The princess- the cheerleader Cordelia Chase

Evaluation

What went well
 I personally believe that I did really well when it came to presenting my presentation. I did a lot of background research before making my presentation so that I had enough knowledge on my show to inform my classroom peers. I included a lot of key terminologies and theories so that I could talk about my presentation in greater detail.

Even better if 
In my opinion, I think that my presentation would have been better if I had been more confident instead if being nervous and spoken much more clearer for the rest of the class to understand my presentation.

Feedback

Significance- 2

Structure-2

Simplicity-3

Rehearsal- 3

Total        =10

What went well

• Textual analysis
• Audience analysis- socio economic
• Representation ideas
• well researched images
• Some well designed slides
• Included audience theory 

Even better if 

• Don't use full sentences in power-point
• Give examples of audience pleasures
• a bit rushed 
• Link characters to Propp's characters theory 
• more detailed textual analysis 

Key terminology 

• protagonist 
• sidekick
• blumer & katz
• escapism 
• non-diegetic