1. Can you personally relate to the idea of creating identity using the media? Are there any characters or media personalities who you feel represent you? Do you share the same qualities? Which qualities do you reject and which do you aspire to have?
2. There are examples of Collective Identities being heavily influence by the media particularly youth sub-cultures that are often defined by the type of media they consume:
Mods: fashion (often tailor-made suits); pop music, including African American soul, Jamaican ska, and British beat music and R&B; and Italian motor scooters.
Rockers: 50s biker films, Marlon Brando, Elvis, rock’n’roll.
Even counter-cultural groups (groups that reject mainstream values) like Punk can be define by the type of music consumed and also what media they rejected and are oppositional to. So they were still influenced by the media to the point they took a confrontational stance toward it.
Today, even though there might not be clearly defined sub-cultures, they are still ‘scenes’, members of which are still defined by what music/films etc they consume. Can you think of any? Emo? Steampunk? Goth?
3. Identities are often constructed then perpetuated by the media.
a) The ‘Chav’.
Before the mid noughties most regions had their own term for the type of working youth the term refers to – they were Townies, or Meaders/Bedmies (Bristol). But through Media (websites, news, comedy) use of the word ‘Chav’ it became an all-encompassing term.
It then became a stereotype constructed and re-constructed by the media. For example – you had Vicky Pollard (Little Britain) - Lauren (Catherine Tate Show) – Goldie Look Chain etc,
The result of this is that we have Kelly from Misfits who is created as the stereotypical chav – dress, accent, hair, earrings, pet – even her reason for being on community service was ‘chav’ - head butting someone in Argos!
Misfits creates this stereotype intentional to then deconstruct it with Kelly’s character development.
b) Demonisation
Look here for the role that the Media plays in Demonisation. It can be argued that the Media as created the 'hoodie' - the scary youth - by giving them a high profile in the news, then using this representation in films such as F, Attack the Block, Harry Brown and even Misfits. This representation fits the 'narrative arc' so is continued and perpetuated. If a representation is repeated enough then it can be percieved to be a truth or at least an audience expectation.
4. Media creates identities and types of behaviour that are seen to directly influence behaviour or people’s reaction to that type of behaviour. For instance‘Skins Parties’.
5. The Media is designed to create narratives and therefore identities for people:
a) Watch Big Brother and the way they create characters for the housemates with intro vox-pops, selective editing and reaction shots. Here's Charlie Brooker talking about these types of techniques.
b) Susan Boyle – her whole identity was carefully created from the sandwich eating in the BGT queue, to the music used, to the crowd reaction shots to the image she has now. Can you think of any other examples?
c) (This is big area to explore but it can be argued that the existence of the teenage social group is a media construction. The thought is that due to the post-war prosperity and baby boom in the 1950-60s they was a huge amount of young people with money to spend and so products (films, music, books, magazines) were created to target that demographic)
6. Because of democratisation of the media, we can use media, explicitly to create our identities?
How do you use the internet to create a representation of yourself? Are you on Facebook – how does that create identity – what is the template? How about online worlds and games? Do you (or others) use Twitter or Youtube to express yourself?
How do Collective Identities use the internet to define themselves? Are online communities or Facebook groups important?
The creators of Misfits used Twitter, tumblr and Facebook to construct identities for their characters
7. Have a look at this article, it opens up an interesting idea about the role of Facebook when it comes to identity. The usual idea with Facebook and identity is that it allows you to construct an identity, perhaps one that is perhaps different to the one your friends, family or employers see - it's another side to you. However, this article suggest that because so much of people's life is being lived or recorded and uploaded to Facebook that you end up only being to have ONE identity.
A quote from the article:
"Facebook appears to be deliberately and systematically making it harder and harder for people to vary their self-presentations according to audience. I think that this broad tendency (if it continues and spreads) impoverishes public life. Certainly, the self that I present on this blog is very different from the self that I present in private life (I’m a lot more combative, for better or worse, in electronically mediated exchanges, than I am in person). It’s also very different from the self that I present on the political science blog that I contribute to. Both differ drastically from the self I present to my students. I don’t think I’m unique in this. And one of the things I like about the Internets is that I can present myself in different ways. This isn’t the result of a lack of integrity – you need to present different ‘selves’ if you want to engage in different kinds of dialogue."
So the author is suggesting that in general the internet is liberating in terms of identity and self presentation (so you can rowdy and rude on one forum, more kind and considered on another), but this in contrast with Facebook restricts this idea of fluidity in identity. Your identity isn't mediated - it isn't as selective and edited as you think.
Imagine Facebook being one room. In this one room are your parents, your siblings, your best friends, your teachers, your school friends, your girl/boyfriend, you pals from your football/hockey team - and they all want you to be the version of you they are used to. So you have to be rowdy with your football pals, be polite to your Mum and Dad, and be the romantic caring type to your loved one - everyone gets to see every side of you. You're exposed.
Also here's another discussion on how digital technology - specifically the internet - is affecting how we construct our identity.
Have a read here about a blogger who constructed an identity to bring like to political issues in Syria. It's a very interesting story and throws up question about how we use digital-media, specifically the internet, to explicitly construct identities and for what reasons
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