Question Planning

Why are some media products described as 'postmodern'?

- Term aimed at literate audiences and provides opposing views on culture, literature, fiction, scientific reason and hierarchy.
- Generally subvert and reject the grand narrative ideas - love, war, death, science, religion - of the previous modernism era. Postmodernism within film, more specifically, refers to the use of hyper reality, intertextuality, embracing paradoxes, and playing with conventions.

"Postmodern media blur the boundary between reality and representation". Discuss this idea with reference to media texts that you have studied.

- Hyperreality could be argued as one of the main features of postmodernism across various media texts and platforms; it is an entirely postmodern idea that suggests that some sense of a 'false reality' has been created, and although it may appear real within media, it is in fact not.
- An example of this would be 'The Lego Movie'.

Explain how certain types of media can be described a 'Postmodern'.

- Some media texts are designed to be read by the literate and often have links to other texts.
- An example of this would be the film 'Drive' featuring Ryan Gosling which features links to other texts and postmodern aspects.
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Question 1B

Task 1

Do you think the audiences for most media texts do come from 'all walks of life' or do different kinds of people watch very different kinds of programme? Are there any examples of media text that you can think of that do seem to have audiences of all kinds of people?

In reference to music generally the types of music people listen to applies to their social/economic background, for example people from the stereotypical 'lower class' tend to listen to indie rock, whereas people from the upper class are often associated with more classical/refined music. Furthermore music from a certain era tends to be popular with people from 'all walks of life' such as Britpop which includes artists such as Oasis or Blur.

How much of your media experience occurs when you are on your own and how much when you are with others?

I would say from a personal opinion that I tend to have more media experience when I am on my own listening to music/playing xbox/using twitter or instagram. In contrast i feel that people tend to use less media when in company due to the social interaction which keeps people entertained. Although it could be argued that aspects such as gaming and music are both applicable to use with others.

Postmodern advert

I chose this Doritos advert due to its obvious reference to Bonnie Tyler's 'Holding out for a Hero'.

POMO Revision

Bricolage - The process of assembling artifacts from bits and pieces of other things:
1.) Genre cross over
2.) Recycling old forms
3.) Mixing high and low culture (Kitsch)

POMO Key Words:
Intertextuality - The multiple way in which a text is entangled with or contains references to other texts.
Pastiche - (copying in tribute) and parody (copying in jest).
Style over content - The image and visual excitement over narrative coherence.
Confusions over time and space: The subversion of classical cinematic conventions; fragmented narratives; time bending.
Self reflexiveness/ Self referentiality - Texts which openly reflect upon their own processes of artful composition.
Metafiction - Fiction that deals, often playfully and self referentially, with fiction and its conventions.
Flattened of Affect - Technology, Violence, Drugs, and media lead to detached, emotionally lives.
Hyper reality: Technologically created realities are often more authentic or desirable than the real world.
Altered states - Drugs and technology provide a darker, sometimes psychedelic, gateway to new internal realities.

Features of Postmodern films:
Pastiche
Self-refernential, tongue in cheek, rehashes of classic pop culture
Flattening of affect
Technology, Violence, drugs and the media lead to detached, emotionless, unauthentic lives
Hyper reality
Technologically created realities are often more authentic or desirable than the real world
Time bending
Time travel provides another way to shape reality and play 'what if' games with society
Altered states
Drugs and technology provide a darker, sometimes psychedelic, gateway to new internal realities
More human than human
Artificial intelligence, robotics, and cybernetics seek to enhance, or replace, humanity

Postmodern Ideas:
1.) We no longer have any idea sense of the difference between real things and images of them, or real experiences and simulations of them.
2.) The distinction between media and reality has collapsed, and we now live in a 'relaity' defined by images and representations - a state of simulacrum.
3.) Postmodernism rejects the idea that any media product or text is of any greater value than another. All judgements of value are merely taste.
4.) Culture 'eats itself' and there is no longer anything new to produce or distribute.
5.) All ideas of 'the truth' are just competing - or discourse - and what we believe to be the truth at any point is merely the 'winning' discourse.
6.) Postmodern texts are said to be inter textual and self-referential - they break the rules of realism to explore the nature of their own status as constructed texts.
 

Re-presentation

There are three different kinds of character typing:

1. An archetype is a familiar character who has emerged from hundreds of years of fairytales and storytelling.
2. A stereotype is a character usually used in advertising and marketing in order to sell a particular product to a certain group of people. They can also be used ‘negatively’ in the Media – such as ‘asylum seekers,’ or ‘hoodies’.
3. A generic type is a character familiar through use in a particular genre (type) of movie.

I believe in my magazine i have used 'the stereotype' where I have tried to use three good-lucking women in an attempt to sell my product. 

Again I have used them in the same way but have tried to take a slightly different approach with the way they're being portrayed. The second model is laughing in his image which gives off a more light-hearted feeling and the first image of the model smiling also does the same. These images are completely contrasting to the front cover where the models are acting more seriously and giving a different impression.

Key Questions about Specific Representations

• What is being represented?

The two models are being represented to the audience with the ultimate aim of enticing potential readers into wanting more and purchasing the audience. 

• How is it represented? 

It is represented through the use of images placed in various locations in the magazine. It is done by the differing expressions and positions the characters are modelling. 

• How is the representation made to seem 'true', 'commonsense' or 'natural'?

The representation is made to seem true by making the images realistic and relateable. The use of 'true' modelling positions and the natural feel/mise en scene of the models ensure they keep their relate-ability with the reader. The models are shown just as themselves; they're not wearing any facial make-up or props, and they are wearing clothes that the audience can see themselves in. 

• Whose representation is it? Whose interests does it reflect? How do you know?

The re-presentation is the vision of the photographer, editor and magazine creator, which were all of my roles within this project. So ultimately it is mine. I tried to reflect the interests of my target audience to ensure they are able to relate to the characters who are featured within my magazine. During my research I had seen previous example of other magazines employing this technique in order to try and appeal to their intended audience, and so I did the same with the aim of drawing in the biggest amount of readers. 

• At whom is this representation targeted? How do you know?

The re-presentation is targeted at 17-23 year-olds who would assign themselves to the 'indie scenesters' tribe; (UKTRIBES.co.uk). I know this as I have dressed my models in the typical style of clothing that these people like to wear. During their magazine interview; the characters also talk about sharing similar interests with that of the reader. These are all elements that contribute towards creating a sense of similarity between the characters in the magazine and the reader. The idea is to 'trick' the target audience into befriending the band members at first glance; this then spikes their interest in both the band and their magazine article which should (hopefully) pursuade them to purchase the magazine. 

• What does the representation mean to you? What does the representation mean to others? How do you account for the differences?

To me, the representation means that I am able to make a connection between the characters and myself. This is through the presentation, their image, thoughts, feelings etc. 

• How do people make sense of it?

• With what alternative representations could it be compared? How does it differ?

• A reflexive consideration - Why is the concept of representation problematic?

In what context did you encounter it? (web, film, TV etc)

I encountered these contexts through various aspects throughout my life including music channels, magazines and posters. For my coursework I chose Hip Hop so needed influence from other pieces of this genre.

What influence do you think this context might have had on your interpretation of the text?

I took inspiration for my work from a large variety of artists including MF Doom, Madlib, 

To what genre did you initially assign the text?

What is your experience of this genre?

What subject matter and basic themes is the text concerned with?

How typical of the genre is this text in terms of content?

What expectations do you have about texts in this genre?

Have you found any formal generic labels for this particular text (where)?

What generic labels have others given the same text?

Which conventions of the genre do you recognize in the text?

To what extent does this text stretch the conventions of its genre?

Where and why does the text depart from the conventions of the genre?

Which conventions seem more like those of a different genre (and which genre(s))?

What familiar motifs or images are used?

Which of the formal/stylistic techniques employed are typical/untypical of the genre?

What institutional constraints are reflected in the form of the text?

What relationship to 'reality' does the text lay claim to?

Whose realities does it reflect?

What purposes does the genre serve?

In what ways are these purposes embodied in the text?

To what extent did your purposes match these when you engaged with the text?

What ideological assumptions and values seem to be embedded in the text?

What pleasures does this genre offer to you personally?

What pleasures does the text appeal to (and how typical of the genre is this)?

Did you feel 'critical or accepting, resisting or validating, casual or concentrated, apathetic or motivated' (and why)?

Which elements of the text seemed salient because of your knowledge of the genre?

What predictions about events did your generic identification of the text lead to (and to what extent did these prove accurate)?

What inferences about people and their motivations did your genre identification give rise to (and how far were these confirmed)?

How and why did your interpretation of the text differ from the interpretation of the same text by other people?

Questions

"Digital technology turns media consumers into media producers.” In your own experience, how has your creativity developed through using digital technology to complete your coursework productions?

Topic - The topic will always be your coursework products (music magazine and music video) from AS to A2. EVERY PEE/PETAL chain MUST link explicitly to a coursework product.

Aspect - The aspect will be the skill area, this could be: creativity, research and planning, digital planning, post production, using conventions from real media texts.


Viewpoints - The viewpoint will be the opinion of the question on the aspect. In your example the viewpoint is that "digital technology turns media consumers into media producers" What does this mean?
Prosumer