Easter Task #3

Critics have accused the mainstream media of tokenism and stereotyping by creating extreme and exaggerated representations. To what extent is this true for the group or place you have studied?

In the mainstream media it is evident the most producers may base representation of different race class on stereotypes. There are also many cases which tokenism is apparent. One of the main reasons why stereotypes are used is that it may allow the audience to understand what is being presented. Tokenism often occurs in mainstream media texts simply because it doesn’t make producers seem racist thus avoiding social issues among ethnic minorities.

A major example of tokenism in mainstream media is the 2009 horror movie Doghouse. It is a well known fact that horror films are famous for their use of ridiculously stereotypical token characters. Token characters normally have no relevance to the story they are often from ethnic or social minorities and are usually casted so that producers seem anti racist. 

The cast of doghouse is predominantly white and features two ethnic characters: Mikey and Graham. These characters however, aren’t shown in an exaggerated stereotypical fashion at all. Though they may have many negative characteristics (such as the childish ways of Mikey) there aren’t stereotypical in any way. They are to some extent shown as the more positive representations of men as unlike many of the other characters in the film they are respectful towards women. This therefore shows that the media isn’t guilty of creating extreme exaggerated representations.

Everybody hates Chris an American sitcom which aired between 2005 and 2009 is an example of exaggerated representations of working class black people in the 1980s. Rochelle who plays the mother of the family is shown in a highly stereotypical way. She is loud, and violent she also beats her children. However the rest of the family are not shown in a stereotypical way. Julius follows none of the stereotypes associated with black males such: taking part in criminal activities, drug taking and being unemployed. Similarly his son Chris is all shown as quite the opposite of the stereotype as he possesses no stereotypical qualities whatsoever.

In conclusion, mainstream media does contain some portrayals of stereotypes and tokenism. However ethnic characters are widely represented as the audience is given many representations to identify . 

Easter TASK #2

‘Developments in new/digital mean that audiences can now have access to a greater variety of views and values.’

To what extent are audiences empowered by these developments?

As new and digital media is constantly developing, it could be seen that audiences benefit more therefore giving them more power. It could also be argued that producers benefit more as audience spend their money on these new technologies giving these big organisation profit. Marxist theory also suggests that audiences are passive whilst consuming media texts and tend to absorbs various views and ideologies transmitted by providers.

Rupert Murdock’s stake/ownership of media providers such as FOX and Newscorp is further evidence that supports the idea that media institutions use new/digital media to passively influence the views and opinions of audience. As these big institutions are all run by one person it suggests that values that may be transmitted can be biased and fails to give consumers choice. This is also linked with the hypodermic needle theory as the media ‘injects’ messages into the minds of the audience.

As Rupert Murdock owns many media companies as well as various newspapers all over the world it could be argued that he has become too powerful. Furthermore, as Murdock takes control of more and more media companies cultivation may occur, and the audience may gradually develop certain views over time which is evidence that audiences may not have access to a variety of views and values.

It could be argued that audiences do in fact have access to a greater variety of views and values. The growth of new/digital media has meant that the audience have more power in terms of creating their own views and values. This is called User Generated Content. Audiences now have more power in terms of producing media through the use of various web formats such as blogs (e.g. blogger.com) and social networking sites (e.g. facebook.com & twitter.com).

 A major example of the audience influencing the views and values of other consumers is a website created in 2010 called ‘wikileaks’. In 2010 wikileaks shared large amounts of classified government information using an online blog. The website also released video footage of corruption within the US army on YouTube (a major player in user generated content. This granted the audience a wider range of views and values due to new/digital media.

Another factor which influences the audiences’ access to a variety of views and values is digital television. Companies such as SKY and Virgin offer television viewers hundreds of different channels. This means that the audience is not just influenced by the five terrestrial television channels the therefore have access to a wide range of views and values. This is linked with pluralism as audiences have more choice.

In conclusion, the majority of evidence points to the idea that audiences do have access to a greater variety of views and values as they have access to hundreds of television and user generated content. Even though tycoons may control some of the media until it has been monopolised there will still be a variety of views and values for the audience to consume.