Participatory Media

Participatory media is essentially media where the everyone including the audience take part analyzing and producing. As of now, i am taking part in participatory media by writing this blog! Other modes of participatory media includes "sharing", podcasts, vlogging (video blogs), forums (media communities) etc. One type of participatory media that i liked was fan fiction.

I was already familiar with fan fiction before this lecture and it brings back memories of when i read them (i no longer read them anymore). It is basically short stories or even series written by the fans of a particular show, movie, book, or about a real person. They can sometimes be even more interesting that the actual story line the writer produced and it sort of gives an alternative to what could have happened. Fan fiction usually revolves around romance more than plot twists and it could be between a guy/girl, guy/guy, and girl/girl - also known as slash fan fiction.

Although I use to read anime fan fiction, fan fiction covers a lot - i even read fan fic of these singers that i was obsessed a while ago. I think fan fiction is still a hype because new shows and movies come out every year and therefore fans have more characters to like and write more stories about them. Even people who don't prefer reading it can see them as memes now a days since memes are more dominant.

Monster Culture

I found that the topic "monster culture" was the most interesting part of this week's lecture because this is the hype right now in the media. TV shows such as AMC's hit Walking Dead and Vampire Diaries are very popular at the moment and so are movies such as World War Z, Warm Bodies, and of course, Twilight. Almost every part of the Twilight series has a net worth of 700 million each and that just shows how popular "monsters" are in today's world.

Thesis VI: Fear of the monster is really a kind of desire

This thesis points out that the our fear of consuming or watching these monster movies/shows is actually a kind of desire. I remember the time when i went to watch World War Z at the theater, the most famous scene was probably the part when all the zombies were "piling" over the wall that was built to keep them out.

I was terrified at this scene but couldn't help myself in watching what will happen next. Whenever i want to watch a zombie movie, i know that i won't get to sleep peacefully at night for a week but i still insist to watch it and so this enforces Thesis VI of how fear of the monster is really a kind of desire.

 

Cultivation Analysis

Cultivation analysis is first proposed by George Gerbner and it claims that individuals who watch heavy amounts of television are hyper conscious to issues of danger and violence in their everyday lives. Sadly, there is some truth to this because it is humans are motivated by fear, and when they sense fear they will believe that is is more prevalent in society and when it comes to responsibility, they push it away and put the blame on a scapegoat.

Just think about World War II when the Nazis were systematically exterminating Jews due to antisemitism and other reasons that lead to the decision that someone is responsible for the mess. That blame was brought upon the entire Jewish race and the only way it was made possible was because the population had fear plus the persuasive speeches that their leader has made.

Reception Analysis

The meaning of reception analysis was a little confusing at first, so after watching the lecture, i did some searches on the definition and came to the conclusion that reception analysis (from the Encoding/Decoding Model of Communication approach) is the interpretation of the meaning based on one's background and experiences. Therefore, the meanings don't come from the text itself but from how one perceives it based on the relationship of the reader and the text.

To be honest, the first time i watched "No Woman, No Drive", a mockery video by Hisham Fageeh on the ban of woman driving in Saudi Arabia (which i had no knowledge of at first), i actually thought that the artist was enforcing the idea that woman should not drive because of lyrics such as "queens don’t drive, but you can cook me dinner that I will share with you" and “Your feet is your only carriage but only inside the house and when I say it I mean it”.

My experience of watching this video just confirms what the encoding/decoding model of communication approach. Due to the fact that i did not know about the ban on woman driving, i did not interpret this video as a parody or a mockery whereas to others that know about the ban clearly understands that this video is making fun of the ridiculous ban in Saudi Arabia. Therefore the meaning is not inherent in the video but rather the relationship of the viewer's experiences to the video.

Sexual Stereotypes in the Media

The depiction of heterosexuality and homosexuality is often the "norm" where heterosexual couples are seen as the loving couples and same-sex couples are seen as hyper sexual all the time. Often, when homosexuals are portrayed on TV shows or films, it is usually a comedic and made for people to laugh at. One show in particular that i am familiar with is Little Britain - A British character-based comedy show that shows the snippets of daily lives of different people (all main characters played by two actors only) in "Little" Britain.

One of the most loved character is Daffyd, who is dubs himself as the "only gay in the village" and is always seen as the most comical part of the show where they basically make fun of gays. The surprising thing about this character is that the actor that plays Daffyd is a homosexual himself. Which makes me think sometimes if he feels bad doing this himself, since comedians tend to take nothing seriously because their job is make people laugh.

Daffyed, played by Matt Lucas, is always seen wearing tight, revealing, and disturbing clothing on the show and although it is for comedic effect, it shows that the media portrays homosexuals as abnormal and deviant. No matter what the sexual orientation one has, they are still human beings with dignity and deserves to be respected in the media as well.

Queer Analysis and Heteronormativity

This week's topic focuses on the topic of queer and how our society views it from different perspectives. The definition of queer is to make strange of something and is at odds with the normal, the dominant. Therefore, there is no precise meaning for what queer really is! Something can be made strange if the majority thinks it is weird or if something is different from what the "norm" is.

The most debated topic is sexuality because we all have the emotional, romantic and sexual attraction toward others. The "norm" of how a relationship should be is between a man and a woman, because they are made for each other and that is how they can have children - this is a heteronormative view and that is how most people are taught to view things since the very beginning of time.

But as people are getting more open minded about this topic, most people no longer think of homosexuality being classified as a "disorder" because no matter what gender one likes, the love they feel is the same type of love that exists between any couple. Although the media is still portraying gays and lesbians in a misleading way, there are some others who are trying to give a message that same-sex couples shouldn't be judged. An example would be the song "She Keeps Me Warm"  by Mary Lambert which is a song that advocates an equality for same-sex couples. It promotes the pure love between a couple and it also lead to the collaboration with Macklemore (singer), bringing the song "Same Love" which has been a worldwide hit and letting people open their eyes about the love no matter what gender you are. 

Feminist Anaylsis (Part 2)

Moving on to 1984, 31 years later after Marilyn Monroe's performance of Diamond's Are A Girl's Best Friend, Madonna sings a different song but with similar meanings and performance.

 Madonna, like Marilyn Monroe, were surrounded by men with their eyes fixated onto her. She was the center of attention as well and singing about how we are all "living in a material world, and i am a material girl" which enforces the point that women are materialistic only and the only thing powerful about them is spending money or only desire men that will spend money on them. The "Feminism" in this video was only at the end of the video when she was dressed more modestly and got together with a man that gave her flowers instead of diamonds or jewelry. So perhaps that shows that not all women end up being materialistic like that in the end.

In 2010, contemporary music still portrays women as highly sexualized and the view that they are materialistic have not yet changed. The picture above is Christina Aguilera in the movie Burlesque singing the same song that Marilyn Monroe sang in 1953 - Diamond's Are A Girl's Best Friend. When the professor asked which one would we rather be in, my thoughts are that i don't want to be in any of them. I don't feel that women are all powerful only when it comes to spending money and i don't feel that it is right to portray them that way. Also, women should not be objectified by men, just because of difference in gender does not make women any lower as a human being.

Feminist Analysis (Part 1)

Women have gained more and more rights and power over the past 50-100 years and they are still fighting to gain more equality and rights in other countries. Women have often suffered from the stereotypes that are imposed on them. Some of the most obvious ones are that women are objects of men, weak and fragile while men are seen as powerful, rational, and the subjects that own women.

In this week's lecture, we were shown 3 videos about how the media portrays women in postmodernism as the typical materialistic girl. The first video we see is Marilyn Monroe, known as a major sex symbol, singing Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend (1953). In the video we can see the presence of the "male gaze" and she was the center of attention the entire time. With the "power" that she has, this video doesn't seem like it is portraying feminism at all because firstly, she is wearing revealing clothing - showing off her body , secondly, the message of the song expresses that diamonds are a girl's best friend which enforces the stereotype that women are all materialistic and thirdly, she was the center of attention and wherever she went, all the men had their eyes fixed on her.