Representation of celebrities in social media

YouTube:

Many celebrities have YouTube accounts, that allows them to show what they are passionate about such as having videos that are different to what they actually do as a career, or some have accounts to interact with their fans and carry on entertaining them. However, there are many fans and people who create videos to talk about celebrities or make a parody or other inspirational videos. 

Examples of these accounts are:
- Lily Singh - iisuperwomanii                                      https://www.youtube.com/user/IISuperwomanII
- 

But as an account is needed to put up these videos, there are many people who copy or have fake accounts of a celebrity. This therefore confuses the fans and public into knowing which account to subscribe to. But for the celebrities who are well known globally, are likely to have an obvious account, however the celebrities who are not as well known or have started recently into the industry, may have accounts that imitates them.

There are also many celebrities who have become famous by making videos and putting it up on YouTube, if they attract many people and start to have fans, this then gets known to other celebrities or industries that have an interest and so start to communicate with the person making the video and gives them contracts or work that enables them to make a living out of the videos they create or become even more successful and famous.

Examples of these celebrities are:
- Justin Bieber (singer)
- Dylan O' Brien (actor)
- Soulja Boy (artist)
- Darren Criss (actor)
- Charice (actor)                                                               https://www.youtube.com/user/charice
- Michelle Phan (makeup artist)                                 https://www.youtube.com/user/MichellePhan

The YouTubers, who make videos about celebrities that they look up to as their role model and are a fan of them, include positive facts about that celebrity, and try their best to make their fans like and follow the celebrity they love. They will update the public with any meet ups with the celebrity they like or about an events they have coming up, this makes that celebrity become aware of this as information spreads greatly on the internet. Therefore, that celebrity may want to meet that YouTuber in order to show their appreciation. The YouTuber would then post a video about this which could also feature the celebrity, this then interests the public more as they see how someone creating videos about their role model could potentially make them meet them.

Representation of 'men' in male magazines

Magazines:

GQ:
is an international monthly men's magazine based in New York City, the publication focuses on; fashion, style and culture for men and articles on movies, music, food, fitness, sex, travel, sports, technology and books.

The covers of these magazines are very sophisticated and professional looking, majority almost all men on the cover are dressed very smartly, they are in suits and tie with their hair brushed back, adding the effect of looking smart even more powerful. Also their posture works well with the look of the magazine as most shots are close ups of a serious look of the men or a mid shot with them either hands in the pocket or fixing their tie etc. This fits in with the theme as they are trying to create a "stern" look and making the celebrities look almost business-like. Their expressions are serious and toned down, not having a huge grin or change of their structure but quite straight and forward.

The difference between the two covers above, is that the first one is a close up and has the person looking quite serious whereas on the other cover, the person is dressed smart but has a basketball under his arm. This shows how his passion for sport is still there, regardless of how he is dressed. This interest the audience as its not too "serious" looking but kind of adds humour to the fact that no one would even pick up a sport equipment if dressed in a suit.

Details:
is an American monthly men's magazine published by Conde Nast, founded in 1982 by Annie Flanders. The publication focuses on; fashion, lifestyle, reports on relevant social and political issues.

The covers of these magazines are a bit more casual as the person on the cover is wearing clothes that gives a laid-back look. However, the title of the magazine is "Detail" yet the cover is very simple as the background is white and a wide range of fonts have not been used and has minimal colours. But the title is representing the information of the magazine that it contains, maybe a lot of detailed information is within the magazine, but due to the cover looking very simple, it does not really give that impression to the audience.

Also the colours match with the clothing and therefore creates a theme of cool and cold colours, this makes the person on the cover, stand out as the colours are quite neutral and subtle. The clothing such as the shirt not being completely buttoned up or the "ripped" effect on the jeans, helps to create the "grungy" look that it is very "manly." The postures are quite stern and serious but give a chilled look due to the outfit and "casual" expression on the face.

Men's Fitness:
is a men' s magazine published by American Media, Inc and founded in the United States in 1987. The slogan is "How the Best Man Wins." The magazine targets men ages 21-40 years and features articles on; fitness, nutrition, sports, sex tips, fashion advice, interviews, recipes and surveys.

The covers of these magazines are different to the ones above as the main topic is based on fitness, therefore images of men shirtless is most likely going to be portrayed within the magazine. This gives an "excuse" for males to "show off" their body as majority enjoy doing this. Due to it being about fitness, therefore the images are of muscular men who have packs and abs which further interests the audience that it is aimed at. But also could attract females although it is about men's fitness, the images may grab the attention of females. However, this is what stereo typically is said and that is what the males want, attraction from women.

The colours of text are quite bright yet a colour that images or represents "love", having the bright red further interests the audience. The font is quite bold and block like, trying to blend with the theme of having "big, built up men." 

Representation of men in the media

Changes in male representation:

since the 1980's there has been changes, new stereotypes have emerged that deviate from traditional masculine traits. Many argue this is mainly due to the rise of feminism and the equality of women in society.

Main stereotypes of men:

• The action hero: is strong but not always silent, often angry and above all, aggressive and engages in violent behaviour.
• The big shot: is defined by the professional status, is successful and represents the characteristics and acquiring the possessions that society sees as valuable - this suggests that a "real" man must be economically powerful and socially successful.
• The strong silent type: focuses on being in charge, containing emotion and succeeding with women - this reinforces the assumption that men and boys should always be in control and talk about ones feelings is a sign of weakness.
• The jock: is always willing to compromise his own long-term health, must fight other men when necessary and must avoid being soft, aggressive - by demonstrating power and strength would win approval of other men and the adoration of women.
• The joker: very popular character with boys and men - potentially negative consequences of this is the assumption that boys and men should not be serious or emotional.

Patriarchy:

The reason for the positive and dominant representations of men in the media is down to power, many critics suggest that we still are living within a patriarchal society. Men have been in control of the media and so have created positive representations that support their dominance - hegemony.

Media representation of gender

Labels:

Men:

• independent
• aggressive
• ruthless
• professional
• competitive
• rational
• strong
• tough

Women:

• emotional
• weak
• sensitive
• domesticated
• passive
• supportive
• independent

The key concepts:

• Representation - making meaning - visual codes
• Audience - readers - passive/active
• Ideologies - ideas - dominant/negotiated (values society)
• Language and Form - verbal codes/layout
• Institution - owners publishers/compete
• Narrative - story/pictures
• Genre
• Semiotics and Signs

Ideologies:

What are the main ideas behind these magazines?

- aspire to career 'skilled'/ non-labour

- 'lads' magazines - attractive to women - heterosexual

Are they reflective of the time (historical and social background)

- Feminine Mystique - Beauty Myth

- skinny is good/fat is bad

- encourage relationships/comfort the single

Do they play on insecurities reflective of the time? 

- heterosexual male - male pinups

- post war

- pre-war

- size zero

- skin creams

- laddish

- feminism

Language and Form:

What is the style of these magazines?

Using personal pronoun/friendly tone/feminine colours/the male gaze/assumptions/ shared experience to try and reel in the reader.

Institution:

Who owns these magazines?
- Emap
- Conde Nast
- IPC Media
But is the face of the editor much more important?

Narrative:

If these magazines do tell stories then what tales do they tell?
Is it real life the reader wants or is it an illusion of an aspirational life sold to hook the reader?

Genre:

Does this genre have a future?
What about the threats of NMT such as the internet and mobile phones delivering a much more interactive experience?
What does your research into reader figures show?

Representation of male and female superheroes

Representation of Avengers:

- The Avengers (2012)

- Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Looking at Avengers, there are male and female superheroes, however they are portrayed in different ways. The male characters are presented as very violent and aggressive, the poses in the images show this clearly whereas the females are still shown powerful due to the clothing but their poses are not as "dominant" looking as the male heroes. This shows inequality to females as they are not being presented as a strong character but only can do so by their expressions and looks but still are weak compared to males. 

The female heroes suits are darker colours which compliment their figure more by being thin with even thinner hips. The suit creates an elegant look as well as mysterious by the leather and fitted clothing. On the other hand, the male hero suits are more colourful making it eye catching and more "superhero like" as they tend to be bright. But the colours that the females wear are more of a villain look which shows how the use of dark colours and type of suit worn with the facial expression helps to build a "strong" character of the females otherwise without those costumes and effects would not help the audience feel the same way.

However, even though a "masculine" side of the females need to be shown, it is still not as powerful as the males as they are still stereotypically shown as people who are concerned about their figure and their hair as makeup and clothing that makes them look slim have been used and also their hairstyles are still quite feminine.

Also the male heroes tend to wear masks or have something that changes their face into looking quite robotic whereas the females still have their face and hair shown fully and so attraction from male viewers are continuously there. Makeup and hairstyle are still considered even when fighting or at times when they are angry. This shows how females do not want to be covered but expose their beauty, their beauty also could "lure" in people in order to find out something from them or villains in order to get some information from them. This shows how females can play a mysterious and sexual character who uses these techniques into gaining something.

Feminist film theory

• The Male Gaze
• The Female Gaze
• The Oppositional Gaze
• The Matrixial Gaze

1st wave - 1800s/1900s - 'Universal Suffrage'

2nd wave - 1960s/1980s - 'The personal is political'

3rd wave - 1990s - 'Feminists against censorship'

Post-Feminism

• Gender-Feminists
• Equity-Feminists
• Anti-Feminists

"Male Gaze" (1975) - 2nd wave

Laura Mulvey argues that Freud's psychoanalytic theory is the key to understanding how film creates such a space for female sexual objectification and exploitation through the combination of the patriarchal order of society and looking in itself as a pleasurable act.

 

Women dressed in high heels, no man, image of infants, tight fitting dress, hand-span is bigger than her waist, domestic environment and the title of the advert is description of the product, the hoover but also describes the look of the female being portrayed as well.

Women in center of the cover, portrayed as looking younger by the hairstyle and innocence by the expression, very girly with pink, flowers and lace.

Dichotomy:

image of wife or image of "whore" - revealing clothes, makeup and curvy.

Mulvey identifies 3 "looks"

• the male character on screen - and how he perceives the female character.
• the spectator - as they see the female character on screen.
• the male audience member's - perspective of the male character in the film.

Dominant Ideology

Where do ideologies come from?

Ideology:

a system of ideas, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory/policy.

• You should go to school to be educated.
• You should aim to be clean. Running water is a necessity.
• You should not commit a crime. Crime is punishable.
• Adults are classed as 18 and over.
• Underlying Christian theology.
• Health is important. Diet is important. Long life is desirable.
• Governed society, royal society - shared ownership.
• Information is important, Technology is key.

Dominant Ideology:

• All girls should be educated - law, protest, media coverage, archaic ideas are challenged, figurehead.
• Health care should be free - WW1, poverty society, injured soldiers - war looming on the horizon.
• Divorce is ok - 1500s-1960s change, religion, crown, legal.
• Smartphones are a right.

Binary oppositions by Levi Strauss:

• Male/Female
• Black/White
• Gay/Straight
• Fat/Thin

Lacan's theory of 'other'

• Lesbians - short hair, bulky, chubby, called "Jo", loads of piercings, dress in leather, motorbikes, bit of a bloke, high tops, bit aggressive, spiky hair, minimal makeup, play aggressive sports, drink pints, slight facial hair.
• fear - label and classification
• Straight - long hair, Claire, big boobs, wide hips, mothers, wear tight clothes, reveal flesh, wear makeup, red lipstick, heels, charming, support husband, cook, domestic, rear children, conservative.

Cultivation theory:

• Exposure helps to become desensitized to an idea.

Why did social media change our dominant ideology about refugees?

Representation of Teenagers/Hoodies:

Teenagers:

• bad attitude
• messy
• chavs
• spotty
• wannabes
• alcoholics
• smelly
• loud
• moody
• rude
• confused
• immature
• vulnerable
• drugs
• adventurous
• imaginative
• clubbing
• uniform
• aggressive
• violent
• lazy
• naive

Deviance

Folk Devil

Moral Panic

Stereotypes

Stan Cohen 'Folk Devils and Moral Panics' (1972)

Year 9 - cool, bad boys, scared

Year 13 - no interaction, avoid, friendly

35 year old - disgusted

70 year old - disappointed

Dominant ideology about people wearing hoodies/caps are criminals, socially deviant - social signs

Classed as people "up to no good":

• White
• Working class
• Teenagers
• Male

The terms "folk devil" and "moral panic" attributed to Stanley Cohen who in the early 1970s produced a detailed sociological investigation of the Mods and Rockers, sub cultural groups that appeared during the 1960s.