Blog 5

Psychoanalytic theory is concerned with the interaction between a person’s mind and their identity. The three most common techniques used to interpret media artifacts using psychoanalytic theory are to examine the Oedipus complex, the id, ego, and superego, and defense mechanisms. Within psychoanalytic theory, the Oedipus complex states that “every individual passes through a stage in which he or she desires the parent of the opposite sex...most people learn to master [theirs]; neurotic individuals are plagued by theirs.” Though it may seems strange, the Oedipus complex can be seen in many media artifacts today. Perhaps the most popular theory within psychoanalytics is the id, ego, and superego. To put it simply, the id is the most basic part of the personality, the instincts. The ego is attempts to make the instincts socially acceptable, and the superego decided if the ego’s decision is morally right. Within popular media, these three concepts can be seen represented and personified by characters. For example, the characters McCoy, Spock, and Captain Kirk from Star Trek can be viewed as the id, ego, and superego respectively. The final concept that can be examined within psychoanalytic theory is defense mechanism. This is perhaps the best concept to look at when examining media artifacts, specifically when observing characters. There are a total of eleven defense mechanism: ambivalence, avoidance, denial, fixation, identification, projection, rationalization, reaction formation, regression, repression, and suppression. By using these concepts to inform psychoanalytic analysis, you can examine popular media in a new light.

Blog 4

Historically, Marxism is the a philosophy based on ideas that view social change in terms of economic factors. Within popular media, Marxist analysis is used to determine how those factors influence the media. In order to view media through a Marxist lens, one must understand some of the key terms associated with the topic. The terms include ideology, alienation, and grid-group analysis. Within Marxist analysis, ideology is viewed as a discovery that has emerged from political conflict; we see these ideologies everyday in the media we consume. To put it simply, every piece of media has an agenda that it is trying to push based on a core belief. The term alienation refers to a separation between creator and audience. Media, particularly news media, creates this separation by reporting on news that the audience deems unimportant. This is seen a lot when news stations choose to report on celebrity gossip instead of current, major world events. Finally, the grid-group analysis allows us to place characters from popular media into defined groups. These groups are well defined and are seemingly in conflict with one another, though they need the others in order to function. The first group is hierarchical elitist which believe that it is the duty of those in power to look out for those below them. The second group is the egalitarian who believe that everyone is equal and that any differences are social constructs and not natural. The final two groups are the individualist, who believe in the freedom to compete fairly while still being protected by authorities, and the fatalist, who believe in luck and opt out of the system. It is important to recognize that while these groups are well defined, characters may fit the criteria for more that one.

Blog 2

The BBC show Sherlock gives audiences a modern retelling of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s literary works. The show uses many visual cues in order to signify the thoughts and actions of its characters; this allows the audience to pick up on certain character descriptions without the need for unnecessary exposition. Watson, for example, is framed throughout the episode in ways that indicate his uneasiness and uncertainty. Examples of this include handheld (shaky-cam) closeups as well as moments when the camera slowly pans back while slightly tilting. In addition to this we see that, in many scenes, Watson’s face is half lit. This shows an internal struggle with Watson, one that originates from his time in the military. Perhaps the biggest signifer for Watson is his cane. He claims to need to cane to help support his bad leg, but it is revealed later on that he does not need it at all, he simply has a psychosomatic limp due to his time in the military. On the flip side, Sherlock is a character who gets his fun from solving murders. When we are first introduced to him, we hear a loud, grand musical accompaniment which cues the audience into the fact that he is an overly confident, somewhat brash character. What’s most interesting about Sherlock as a character, is not what he says or does, but what is located in his flat. Visually speaking, the flat is very cluttered. Nothing seems to have a place within it, but this is exactly what you are meant to think. The flat as a whole is used to represent the mind of Sherlock Holmes; a mind that is full of information that seems nearly impossible to recall, but is in a place familiar to the one who needs it, it is organized clutter. Sherlock makes great use of camera techniques, lighting, and set design to visually tell the audience who these characters are, without the need of exposition.

Blog 1

Launched by the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MECASA) in 2009, the Backbone Zone aims to educate individuals on the harmful effects of homophobic and sexist language. To do this, the Backbone Zone gives individuals other words to use and encourages them to become active bystanders in the hopes of ending gender stereotypes and end sexual assault. The campaign features a series of seven posters; each features a harmful word accompanied by a photo on both the top and bottom of the image. The ad that we will examine specifically is this one:

Within the ad, the above photo depicts a pug with the caption “This is a bitch.” The inclusion of this shows us a few things: the first shows us the actual, dictionary definition of the word “bitch”, which is a female dog. The inclusion of the relaxed, unintimidating dog serves to create an emotional rise in the viewer. This emotional rise is one that tells the audience the dog in the photo is anything but a “bitch”, which is a word that society has given a negative connotation to.

The second image and caption combination used in the ad depicts a young woman, with a disdained look. The text below her image which reads “This is a girl who speaks her mind” shows us what she is, someone speaking her mind (nothing more, nothing less). Often times in society, we are told that a woman who is unafraid of speaking her mind is considered hostile, evil, and a “bitch”. This is simply not the truth. It is this sexist line of thinking that the Backbone Zone aims to remove from society.

The two seemingly unrelated photos used in the ad campaign serve to show the audience the ways in which society has transformed words that once held little to no negative connotation into words that can be used to hurt individuals emotionally.

Blog 7

What is meant by uses and gratifications? Which uses and gratifications do you think are the most important for people nowadays?

Within sociological analysis uses-and-gratifications is a theory used in an attempt to understand why an audience seeks out a specific form of media to fulfill a specific need. In addition to this, the theory can also be used to help us understand the power the media has on us. To answer the second question proves difficult. The text explains that viewers “often see a particular event differently or identify different identifications.” Because of this, what I see as important may not be hold the same weight to others. To combat this, I’m going to focus on one form of mass media that I heavily identify with: video games. Many of the gratifications identified in the reading hold true within video games. Of these, I find the following to be the most important: to be amused, to share experiences with others, to experience empathy, to experience extreme emotions, and to gain identity. Many of these, I feel, go hand-in-hand. From my own experience, people play games to escape reality for a bit, to delve into a story and enjoy it, to be amused by the game. This leads gamers to identify what their favorite genres of games are which then allows them to seek out and find individuals that share similar opinions and tastes; they gain an identity and then use that identity to share their similar experiences with others whose self identity is in-line with their own. Finally, the user plays games in order to experience the journey of the hero; they become a character whose journey mirrors their own emotions. The player experiences all the triumphs and defeats of the game’s protagonist, allowing them to experience empathy.

Miss Representation

The documentary Miss Representation aims to shed light on the ways in which media has created a false, unhealthy image of woman. Of the statistics presented in the documentary, the ones that really resonated with me were those that stated that only 7% of writers and 10% of directors are women. When looking at other views expressed throughout Miss Representation,  these statistics do not seem at all shocking. When examining the Hollywood of yesterday, we see that women of the time portrayed real, multidimensional characters. When compared to the Hollywood of today, it is the complete opposite, women are archetypal with one interviewee coining the term "Fighting Fucktoy" which is a female hero doing things on their own terms but still being objectified by the mass media. Though this objectification is nothing new or out of the ordinary, it is still a real problem with real consequences. Young girls are seeing what the media considers "perfect" and are striving to fit that mold at any cost. Take Essena O'Neill for example, the Australian teen who recently decided to quit social media citing it is "contrived perfection made to get attention." What media has told her, and many others, is that to fit into society you have to look and behave a certain way, even if it means being unhealthy. This is a trend that, unfortunately, continues to grow. While I, as a male, do not, have not, and may never know what it is like to have media and society dictate unreasonable standards to me (in a way that is blatantly apparent), it is still a problem worth fixing. When women make up no more than 10% of the force behind media creation, it is no wonder these unrealistic standards exist.

Blog Post #3

Going into this semester, I was under the impression that this course would be like any other course: we look at some form of media, examine it, and then move on to the next topic. I was wrong. Throughout my month in this course I have been able to look at visual media in a way I never thought to. By examining media as if it were a written text, by reading it, I am able to appreciate the media on a much deeper level. I can now appreciate it from the stand point of the message the media is trying to convey, in the ways characters interact with one another, and the ways in which the story reflects some aspect of society at a given point in time. I am no longer seeing just the surface of the media. In particular, this week's lesson on Marxism has helped me identifies characters by a new set of archetypes. This new set of character archetypes is not as cut-and-dry as the previous set I am use to. This new set allows for characters to fit into multiple archetypes as a way of showing character progression beyond the linear narrative we are consuming through television and film on a weekly basis. As a consumer of media who loves to look at character progression (and is often times disappointed by perceived "poor" writing), I will be able to use these new tools to appreciate what I have otherwise seen as inappreciable.