Wednesday 23 December 2015

Plan Tutorial just before Christmas

Essay plan

 Intro: This is very close to a thumpingly good introduction… However, there are a few edits required. The first sentence is the right kind of sentence but doesn’t make sense in its current form. Check your use of language – accumulation is used twice and I’m not sure it’s the right word. Introduce quotes properly and check the grammar/written English. 250 words.

 Section 1: Focus on primary text – texual analysis of Blurred Lines incorporating media theory and analysis. 500 words.

 Section 2: Effect on audience – rape culture, impact on young men/women, examples from wider media/society etc. 500 words.

 Section 3: Historical text – Shania Twain. This will need an excellent topic sentence to continue from the last section and contextualise this section within your question. Textual analysis of the Shania Twain video, any research that alludes to the changing culture (is rape culture getting worse for example?) Might want to add elements of institution and male bias within music industry (Twain hit written by a man). 300 words.

 Section 4: Media theory and feminism. Most of your research will go in this section, discussing different theories and debates within Media and feminism. You’ll want to refer to wider examples and the texts you’ve already analysed in the essay to make sure you are applying the theory. 500 words.

 Section 5: The future of this debate – where will feminism go in the next 5-10 years? Perhaps discuss new/digital media here – blogs, social media and new technology being used to launch potential ‘fourth wave’ of feminism. 400 words.

 Conclusion: Sum up your argument, get in the passion you’ve got in the introduction and come up with a killer final line/quote. 150 words.

 Next steps… update/finish your plan based on this tutorial. You don’t need to stick to the above by any means but hopefully it has at least clarified your thinking and provided a potential structure that will be easy to follow.

2100+400Q's=2500

Friday 11 December 2015

introduction


How are women represented in music videos like Robin Thicke’s 


Blurred Lines and what impact might this have on a wider 

audience?



Misogyny is undoubtedly one of the most repulsive downfalls in some parts of the music industry today. Some of the public may argue that the accumulation of sexualisation is a form of liberation; however others may regard it as regression. 'Media creates consciousness' which is why music video ‘blurred lines’ is the epitome of the sexualisation and degradation of women, this is displayed through the explicit nudity, roles and representations of females, who simply display their bodies for public consumption and have no other significant part in the course of the video. A journalist for The Guardian quoted 'to my children, singers stripping off is the norm this undeniably accentuating the desensitisation of viewer, which shapes our society. Through the justifications of theorists and academic philosophers it can be argued that there are significant damaging impacts on young male and female viewers. I will be discussing the highly controversial aspects and links of sexualised music videos and the accumulating influences to rape culture. The essay will also address and evaluate the contrast  of a historical music video ‘man it feels good to be a woman’ by Shania Twain, and how the institutional factors of the music video is substantial in the overall portrayal of women.

Friday 4 December 2015

plan




How are women represented in music videos like Robin Thicke’s 


Blurred Lines and what impact might this have on a wider 

audience?






intro  - 

quote: 'To my children, singers stripping off is the norm'
 http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/07/miley-cyrus-music-business-women-sinead-oconnor


primary text :blurred lines
media issue or debate : rep of women and regression
address angle :(sexualisation) explore accumulating negativity and influences on audiences
models underfed petition
demographics : B-D
physcoghraphics Aspires seek status in terms of what they own and tend to be very materialistic
                                Main-streamers- conformists (don't question the trend) 
misogynistic representation 



Representation of women in contemporary  music videos' (contexual analysis) (x2 para's)
// (UK's best selling song 2013)

In this paragrapgh I will be focusing on the representation of the women in the unrated explicit version and how they are being degraded rather than liberated through their, and how this makes them look animalistic, objectified and second class citizens.
( limiting dis-acknowledging their abilities) OR SEXUAL INDEPENCE ?

  • vladimir propp- seven spheres of action
  • princess/villian in one (evidence- analysis of lyrics)
  • This interlinks with the Male gaze, Mulvey who suggests that visual arts of women are structured to entertain men. 
  • Low brow
mise en scene
angles: dominance/powerful males
long shot/zooming
body lang

Affect on audience (x2paras)

I will also discuss the affects of sexualised women in music video's on the female audience particularly the younger women, and the indirect message they are being taught (Zeitgeist)
link to impact on young females:
insecurities, confidence, modelling, fat shaming,
Theories:

  • hypodermic needle
  • direct/indirect affect theories
  • 'men act women appear'
  • hyperreality- inability to distinguish reality from a simulation of reality.
  • Two Step Flow Theory
  • Active Audiences


Quotes: 

'Media creates consciousness' Jane Fonda academy award winning Actor and Activist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2UZZV3xU6Q


'media can be an instrument of change it can awaken people and change minds it depends on who's piloting the plane' Katie Couric anchor CBS evening news 
the media is the message and the messenger' Pat Mitchel, former president and CEO of PBS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2UZZV3xU6Q

'As a culture women are brought up to be fundamentally insecure' Lisa Ling Executive producer and Host \Owns our America https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2UZZV3xU6Q

Modelling agencies defiant as parliamentary group on body image hears of girls living on just popcorn and hidden nature of eating disorders-“Every time I went into an agency, I was prodded and poked and measured with a tape measure,” she said. “I used to dread it.” 

'53% of 13 year old American girls unhappy with their bodies, this grows to 78% by the time they are 17'  (Maine 2007)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM4Xe6Dlp0Y
    'I’ve never been so shocked and those quotes have stayed with me forever. Never should appearance or age be a factor and I would put money on the same conversation being very different if I was male.'http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/blogs/547787/is-music-still-a-male-dominated-industry-we-ask-the-women-working-in-it.html

    'these are not pictures of me they are constructions and they are by professionals hair stylists make-up artists photographers and stylists and all their assistants and pre production and post production, and they build this, that's not me.'

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM4Xe6Dlp0Y


    Research also links sexualisation to eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression. Adolescent girls are at greater risk of unhealthy sexuality that may lead to sexual problems in adulthood.

    Girls who are exposed to sexualised content are more likely to endorse gender stereotypes and place attractiveness as central to a woman’s value. Boys who are exposed to this content are more likely to sexually harass females, and have inappropriate expectations of them.
    Dr Justin Coulson is a parenting researcher, speaker, author and a father of six

    Thicke has not always denied accusations that his Blurred Lines video is misogynistic. "What a pleasure it is to [finally] degrade a woman," he told GQ before the scandal erupted. "I've never gotten to do that before."http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/oct/10/robin-thicke-advert-banned-too-sexual

    Girls accept that if they’re to be valuable to someone, they’d better be “sexy”.
    http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/sexualised-music-videos-only teach-women-how-to-sell-out/story-fni0cwl5-1227070613498

    'there is no appreciation for women intellectuals, its about the body not bout the brain' high school student https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2UZZV3xU6Q



    Girls accept that if they’re to be valuable to someone, they’d better be “sexy”.

    Girls who are exposed to sexualised content are more likely to endorse gender stereotypes and place attractiveness as central to a woman’s value. Boys who are exposed to this content are more likely to sexually harass females, and have inappropriate expectations of them.

    these female artists are selling the message that women are nothing more than accessories. Women are only of value as sexual objects. My daughters and your daughters are taught to conform to this narrow sexualised, unhealthy norm.


    representation of women in historical music video's

    In this paragraph I will be scrutinising the music video by Shania Twain 'man it feels good to be a woman' released in the 90's, this will include explore how the protagonists is being presented through facial expressions, props, costume, back up dancers, camera work and overall display in music video's, this will conclude to how Shania challenges stereotypes and the Zeitgeist. I will also be exploring media institutions and explore the significance of a male producer in a female empowering music video. 


    Theories:

    Subculture – Representation of Groups – Dick Hebdidge
    said that a subculture is a group of like minded individuals who feel neglected by societal standards and who develop a sense of identity which differs to the dominant on to which they belong. 
    high brow


    Quotes:

    feminist theories -

    the music business is a capitalist patriarchy- 
    Alex Macpherson is a music critic

    Writer(s)Robert John "Mutt" Lange,
    Shania Twain
    Producer(s)Robert John "Mutt" Lange
    Occasionally
    the media does represent women as powerful
    and independent characters, and yet they still
    almost invariably require a man to tell them
    what to do. The ideologies of male dominance
    and patriarchal values have not diminished; and
    the belief that they have offers a classic example
    of ‘hegemony’: a state where the oppressed
    consent to, and accept, their situation because
    they are not conscious of being exploited.
    page 67

    A post-feminist reading of this might
    be that since Beyoncé is openly allowing herself
    to be objectified, indeed encouraging it by
    looking down the camera playfully and winking
    at the audience, she is controlling ‘the gaze’ and
    is thus empowered. However, like so many other
    post-feminist texts which openly acknowledge
    ‘the gaze’ in this playful postmodern ‘knowing’
    way, we also see a simultaneous reassuring of
    patriarchal anxieties.
    page 67

    Rape Myth 

    In this paragraph I will be exploring the links and accusations of the portrayal of undeniable rape culture presented in the music video. As a wider debate I will talk about the increase of rape culture amongst the same demographics as the audience viewer-ship. I will also argue how this contributes to gender inequality and how women may not be as sexually experimental as they wish to be. analyse lyrics 'now he was close, tried to domesticate you'. 
    1. FIND OUT MORE ON SPECIFICALLY BLURRED LINES
    2. rape culture ,figs
    3. daily telegraph- male expectations through vid's-sexualised women
    4. abusive relationships-sky news 
    Theories:


    • polysemic(mpre than one meaning) 
    • uses and gratification blumer and katz 1974---personal relationships-with the models and young males might put them selves in that situation
    • pluralist approach
    • moral panic
    •  dyer- lines of appeal -glamorous ladies
    • argue medhurst
    • argue levi  liberation?
    • ideologies
    • Claude Levi-Strauss suggested that all narratives had to be driven forward by conflict that was cause by a series of opposing forces. he called this the theory ofBinary Opposition
    uses and gratification blumer and katz 1974
    • personal identities (subconsciously /models)
    • diversion- 
      (connotation so well established in society we dont consider other meanings)
      hypodermic-influences

      argue reception+
      Quotes:

      Lulu 16 UK
      'alot of boys will be like 'oh are you a virgin?' and if a girl said yes they'd be like 'but your 15 or your 16 like is it not time?'
      'theres alot of pressure on girls definitely in this country '

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayj9EVc2ZLI

      • The message is incessant. Our boys grow up believing girls are really only here to be a boy’s “new thang”.
      http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/sexualised-music-videos-only teach-women-how-to-sell-out/story-fni0cwl5-1227070613498

      • quotes from song- 'i know you want it'...
      • campaigns to tackle abusive relationships 
      Chief executive of Womens’ Aid Polly Neet said: "Given the other cultural factors that are bombarding young people, which give very different messages about relationships, and given the power behind those factors, this investment is a bit of a drop in the ocean."

      Girls who are exposed to sexualised content are more likely to endorse gender stereotypes and place attractiveness as central to a woman’s value. Boys who are exposed to this content are more likely to sexually harass females, and have inappropriate expectations of them.


      • ‘I was sexually assaulted by a fellow student – but my university did nothing’ 
      • one in three female students experience sexual assault.


      ''We're too busy telling them what they can or can't do with their bodies.'' http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/29/pharrell-sexually-suggestive-blurred-lines-the-new-black-hillary-clinton


      ''We just wanted it to be as silly as possible. That way, the nudity isn’t taken seriously.'' (desenzitizng and normalising)http://www.gq.com/story/robin-thicke-interview-blurred-lines-music-video-collaborating-with-2-chainz-and-kendrick-lamar-mercy


      • sterotype, who's fault? audience/



      conclusion

      Tuesday 1 December 2015

      Historical text analysis and research

      "Man! I Feel Like A Woman"- Shania Twain


      Costume
      Lighting
      Actors
      Make-up
      Props
      Setting/sound dietgetic 
      props+protagonist

      The protagonist in the music video is a female, she is the one singing and expressing her talent, in contrast to the women in blurred lines who are used for public consumption. Shania challenges Berger's observation which suggests that 'men act and women appear'. Instead of having female back up dancers, Shania Twain further subverts gender stereotypes by having men wearing skin tight shirts and make up. This amplifies their facial features and makes them look more attractive for the 'female gaze' ultimately making them look like the object of sexualisation. Additionally, unlike a typical female in contemporary music video's she is not half naked and objectifying her self through wearing very revealing clothing rather, she chooses to wear a long coat and knee high boots, this way the audience concentrates less on her superficial appearance such as her facial features, bosoms or body figure and more on her her vocal expertise. She also wears official clothing, usually affiliated with the male gender, Shania clearly challenges the Zeitgeist for women in the of the 90's through incompatibly opposing the expectation of dressing. In comparison to contemporary texts this inevitably depicts regression, as females in music videos were able to break out of being second class citizens.






























      Thursday 19 November 2015

      contextual analysis

      unrated version- Blurred Lines  SHEP AND MISE EN SCENE AND REP THEORY,AUDIENCE TEHRIES, MEDIA LANGUAGE, PROPSS CHARCTER, EQUIBLIBERUM
      CINEMATOBTHER TRANSITION

        How are women represented in music videos like Robin Theicke’s Blurred Lines and what impact might this have on the wider audience

        Mise-en-scene

        The fact that they are naked in the original unrated version suggests that something as simple as what they were born with ie. Their body figure is the only thing they have to be proud about and therefore display, undermining their autonomy or intellectual ability. They’re nakedness shown in the long shot also irrefutably advocates the notion of dehumanising them to an animalistic and demeaning level. Furthermore the limited clothing on females compared to men suggesting dominance, making females look disrespected and unprofessional.

        Red lipstick may indicate danger, but also draw attention towards the females as they have no other eye catching colour on them except their red biting lips. The males Facial expression towards the woman, are zoom into displaying them in an evocative and suggestive way, almost like a predator. The fact that the women have to look up at the camera shows it’s been shot from a high angle, this portrays this depicts that they are powerless reinforcing their frailty. Their body language also follows slow movements exhibiting the notion that they are trapped and oppression is inevitable. In light of objectification, the women in the clip are passively allowing the men to touch them, expressing the view that women liked being touched by various men, further insulting them through derision. Another critical depiction from a particular part of the clip conveys the women in a submissive and meek way, as they often look timid and shy. This inarguably questions the individuality and deviancy of the women in the music video. 


        This interlinks with the Male gaze, Mulvey who suggests that visual arts of women are structured to entertain men. 

        The tracking shot follows their naked bodies, highlighting their body figure which reinforces their body's significance again rather than the females other more vibrant attributes, conveying misogynistic values by limiting their qualities. Close ups on the dominant protagonist, in this case the male emphasises his superiority and underscores his ability to sing and preform with passion in comparison to the female who just waves her body around in a futile, valueless and unproductive manner again representing her and women in society as candy to the eye. Therefore, in a critical view point women are being degraded to an object of pleasure to amuse the audience. The camera shots zooming in at girls face when she poses sensually, accentuates sexual behaviour, this is significant as it may be highlighting what society thinks women are for.

        Editing

        During post production they shot reverse shot has been utilised to accentuate continuity and engaging the audience with the female models on set.

        Sound:
        The diegetic music in the music video is


        Wednesday 11 November 2015

        tutorial update 11/11/15

        Notes & Quotes document 2,100; Media Mag research around 500 so on target and deadline met but remember to copy over the MM research into your N&Q document.

        Title/question still needs work… try – How are woman represented in music videos like Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines and what impact might this have on wider society?

        Textual analysis not in N&Q doc currently – Task #1 will address this. Writing notes on paper then typing up into paragraphs is a great way of doing it. Pick a short extract from Blurred Lines (and possibly the x-rated version of the video too) and rip it to pieces using all the media language you have learned. Do this for two extracts from Blurred Lines (that will cover Task #1). You may also want additional textual analysis from similar videos to further support the points you’ll be making. It sounds like you already have these in mind so now do the analysis and add it to your N&Q doc.

        Academic books/journals – you’ve made a good start but we want a LOT more here. Keep looking and check the BFI catalogues too in case they have anything relevant. Look at the pdf journal articles in our archive – already plenty there linking to the music industry. See what you can find. Use Google Scholar and try a few different search terms – even if you can’t find Blurred Lines related stuff, there will be plenty on waves of feminism etc.

        I’d look for more internet-based research – this needs to be more like 20+ by the end of the process. The Guardian is a great starting point – search for Blurred Lines and then more generally, feminism etc.

        Task #1 – textual analysis discussed above so plenty to get on with there.


        Copy this into a new blog post and write below your next three steps in your research.
        • Add to academic books and journal
        • More internet links through the Guardian 
        • Textual analysis 

        Saturday 7 November 2015

        research media magazine PUT INTO WORD

        MM32:

        'represented. If, on the other
        hand, one believes that representations are
        constructed in order to fit in with mainstream
        hegemonic values, then we could assume that
        ideological messages around fat being bad, or fat
        being associated with laziness, gluttony or even
        poverty and lack of education,'
        page 22

        seeing celebrities slim or fat
        They support the Effects model, where we,
        the passive audience, absorb the messages of
        media, unable to think for ourselves.
        page 23

        Such debates are similar to the size zero
        debate – the idea that the prevalence of skinny
        models encourages anorexia and extreme
        dieting among young girls.
        page 23

        most celebrities have
        unrealistic and extreme body shapes? Models
        are unnaturally thin, sport stars are unnaturally
        toned, Madonna requires constant input from
        a personal trainer and a personal chef and,
        aged 50, spends half her life in the gym to keep
        her figure.
        page 24

        Allen’s representation of
        the young, modern female will resonate with many
        members of her audience,
        page 47

        I’ll take my clothes off and it will be shameless
        Coz everyone knows that’s how you get famous.
        -LILLY ALLEN
        page 47

        MM34

        In the early 1970s the cultural critic John
        Berger summarised the way in which gender was
        represented in the media through visual images:
        Men act and women appear. Men look at
        women. Women watch themselves being
        looked at.
        Berger 1972
        page 65

        the ‘men active: women passive’

        1975 Laura Mulvi
        In a world ordered by sexual imbalance,
        pleasure in looking has been split between
        active/male and passive/female.
        age 65

        {To what extent do you think Berger’s and
        Mulvey’s statements from nearly 40 years ago
        hold true today? At the time they were writing,
        women were undoubtedly second-class citizens.}

        HISTORICAL

        that although women may be
        constructed as more dynamic characters on film
        than in the 1960s, they are only represented as
        being independent of men a minority of the time.
        page 66

        Where have all the interesting women gone?
        If the contemporary portrayal of womankind
        were to be believed, contemporary female
        achievement would culminate in the
        ownership of expensive handbags, a vibrator,
        a job, a flat and a man – probably in that
        order.
        page 67

        Occasionally
        the media does represent women as powerful
        and independent characters, and yet they still
        almost invariably require a man to tell them
        what to do. The ideologies of male dominance
        and patriarchal values have not diminished; and
        the belief that they have offers a classic example
        of ‘hegemony’: a state where the oppressed
        consent to, and accept, their situation because
        they are not conscious of being exploited.
        page 67

        MM40

        A post-feminist reading of this might
        be that since Beyoncé is openly allowing herself
        to be objectified, indeed encouraging it by
        looking down the camera playfully and winking
        at the audience, she is controlling ‘the gaze’ and
        is thus empowered. However, like so many other
        post-feminist texts which openly acknowledge
        ‘the gaze’ in this playful postmodern ‘knowing’
        way, we also see a simultaneous reassuring of
        patriarchal anxieties.
        page 67



        Friday 30 October 2015

        notes and quotes

        Through the mixture of these traditional stereotypical traits, androgyny could create an understanding, appreciative and respectful community. Chief executive of Women’s Aid Polly Neet states that ‘given the other cultural factors are bombarding young people which give very different messages about relationships’[1]. This outlines that sexualised music videos create a culture which inhibits the progression of gender equality, because of the ideologies shaped by the media.
        Dilley.S.2015

        TV documentaries

        MEN AT WAR- Reggie Yates' extreme UK
        'think the real victims of sex discrimination are guys'
        'women are no longer trained to submit to a man to serve a man
        'concerted attempt to shut men up.''
        ''social media becomes a weapon weapon of hate'' (manosphere)

        growing idea's: Adam:'Feminism is a fashionable cause
        Dapper, Comedian Daniel O'Reily built an online  audince in the millions, had a ,maintraem TV series but his jokes were branded sexists adn misogynistic when he made a joke about rape at a gig and found him self defending his whole act at news night
        'just show her your penis if she cries she is playing hard to get'

        'if i say something on stage and someone goes out and does it, thy're screwed in the head, thats got nothing to do with me.'

        Reggie: 'he is normalsing 


        Miss representation Documentary 2011-
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2UZZV3xU6Q


        ' the most common way people give away their power is by thinking they dont have any'
        Alice walker

        'the media is the message and the messenger' Pat Mitchel, former president and CEO of PBS


        In a world of a million channels, people try to do more shocking and shocking things to break through the clutter, they resort to violent images or sexually offensive images or demeaning images' Jim Stayer, CEO common sense media, Lawyer and professor of civil rights Stanford university


        The media is sending a dangerous message to young people'

        'there is no appreciation for women intellectuals, its about the body not bout the brain' high school student 


        'The fact that media are so derogatory towards to teh most powerful women in the country, then what does it say about media's ability to take any woman in America seriously' Jennifer Pozner- Executive director Women in media and news, Author reality bites back

        'As a culture women are brought up to be fundamentally insecure' Lisa Ling Executive producer and Host \Owns our America

        'Media creates consciousness' Jane Fonda academy award winning Actor and Activist

        'media can be an instrument of change it can awaken people and change minds it depends on who's piloting the plane' Katie Couric anchor CBS evening news 

        'if you think about media and technology, they're delivering content, that is shaping our society' Jim Syster (thyere brains and lives and emotions)


        TEDX Cameron Russell: Looks aren't everything. Believe me, I'm a model. 2013-
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM4Xe6Dlp0Y

        'image is powerful but also image is superficial' 

        'very little we can do to transform how we look, though it is superficial and immutable has a huge impact on our lives' 

        'im a pretty white woman and in my industry we call that a sexy girl'

        genetic lottery and I am the recipient of a legacy' 

        less than 4% non white models - 2007 PHD student counted models on the runway 

        being a model 'out of your control' not a career path

        'these are not pictures of me they are constructions and they are by professionals hair stylists make-up artists photographers and stylists and all their assistants and pre production and post production, and they build this, that's not me.'

        '53% of 13 year old American girls unhappy with their bodies, this grows to 78% by the time they are 17'  (Maine 2007)

        'the thing I have never said on camera is that im insecure, because I have to think about hat i look like everyday'

        'thinnest thieghs' happy?


        woman in the media- short documentray
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWpQ4V23IDo

        'tthey changed her appearance in order to make her more credible, which is absolutely ridiculous' she had to dress up in a more masculine, sort of masculine hair cut, lot more suits on CBS 

        'frequently i feel like there are terms and description of woman'  KATE DAWSON-Journalism instructor

        'we still have the stereotypes in pace' Annalee Norman -woman and gender studies senior
        society and culture likes to say that we're so progressive and we've come so far but, i mean the truth of the matter is that we sill have those kind of steortypes'
        and the media is such as contributing factor to that because we're bombarded with these images'

        'she was caring to the community and had years of experience and my station director decided to let her go, because he thought she had gotten to fat and was getting a little bit over the hill in terms of her age. and for me it was really sad, because it was a clear indication that woman were judged on certain factors than men were judged on. there were men in the station that were older and there were men on the station that were heavier. AIMEE MEADER- FORMER NEWS PRODUCER

        what can the media to improve the representation of woman?
        'compelling interesting story'

        BBC NEWS-what stands in the way of women being equal to men2014https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayj9EVc2ZLI


        Lulu 16 UK
        'alot of boys will be like 'oh are you a virgin?' and if a girl said yes they'd be like 'but your 15 or your 16 like is it not time?'
        'theres alot of pressure on girls definitely in this country '

        woman make 23% of parliament

        'we cant just wait for gender equality to magically appear but it will take millions of individuals decisions by teachers by parents by boys and by girls themselves'
         presenter -Ross Atkins Producer and Directer Gemma Newby.



        Academic texts/books

        http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewco

        ntent.cgi?article=3623&context=etd

        Too much, too young Are advertisers sexualising childhood?

        https://www.asa.org.uk/~/media/Files/ASA/Reports/Stakeholder%20event%202011_Too%20much%20too%20young.ashx


        Hypersexualization of young girls: What are the issues? Should we be worried?

        http://www.cwhn.ca/en/hypersexualizationprimer2

        pluralist approach
        diffusion theory
        direct/indirect affect theories
        cultivation theory
        hypodermic needle theory
        http://www.slideshare.net/belair1981/audience-the-effects-debate

        perpetuating rape culture means that women cannot be as sexually experimental as they wish to be
        illustrate the perpetuating rape culture in western societies through gender inequality.
        https://www.academia.edu/8995306/Reading_Between_the_Blurred_Lines_A_discussion_into_the_representation_of_rape_and_rape_culture_in_contemporary_fiction
        uploaded by Alice Davis -on academia



        (a minimum of five, including author/full title/year, e.g.:)

        Automatic Woman: The Representation of Woman in Surrealism: The Representation of Women in Surrealism Katharine Conley

        Gender, Branding, and the Modern Music Industry: The Social Construction of ...

         By Kristin Lieb


        'a path that emphasizes sex and shock value over musical talent'

        'she sings 'i want your love' and then dances in her bra and panties before ending up scorched on her bed by the video's end'  -demonstrates sexual activities 

        'the pace of communication, accelerated by 24 hour television news cycles and the 24 hour social cycle offered by the internet and widely adopted social media platforms, has compelled celebrities to strategize continuously to remain culturally relevant. '

        'celebrities have become dynamic brands that maintain overreaching themes through music a mere subset of their larger ongoing cable and online personalities'

        'on the other hand we have a theory that supports receiver/ audiences as having agency- that is, the  ability to make their own discriminating choices based on the information they receive.'

        'powerful music-first singers who resonate deeply with their audiences, but aren't as hyper sexualized as most contemporary female popular music star. But based on their limits of our social system, our modern music industry, our country's gender norms and expectations, and our capitalist business ideals, we don't often make this gamble, opting instead to prioritize packaging over talent'

        'female pop stars are held to rigid standards of appearance and beauty that box them into a small number of highly patterned types'

        'while preforming as a man. Gaga wore a baggy t-shirt and jeans, which focused the camera's attention on her fierce vocal and musical performance- a refreshing change'

        'gaga counts on these negotiated and oppositional readings (hall 198) of her preference to keep her image fresh and provocative. the more people talk about what she means, the more she is talked about, and the more she ultimately means'

        'the two step flow theory (katz and lazarsfeld 1955), for example, posited that mass media efforts affected opinion leaders, who, in turn, influenced the thoughts and opinions of the audience'

        'today, we may argue that Jon Stewart, Rachel Maddow and Lady Gaga wield more influence over collegeaged voters than, say, official government sources'


        Music Video and the Politics of Representation

         By Diane Railton, Paul Watson https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=FjcKyoB78DEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=representation+of+woman+in+music+book&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDQQ6AEwA2oVChMIjK2Kpfa4yAIViboaCh3KZwAU#v=onepage&q=representation%20of%20woman%20in%20music%20book&f=false

        'in terms of music video, negative images and misrepresentations are often those that are identified as sexually exploitive- images in which woman are depicted simply as bodies or body parts to be observed and desired rather than social agents who have complex desires and drives of their own.'

        'woman are variously misrepresented, falsely represented, negatively represented, or simply not represented at all, and, on the other, to celebrate positive images of women, that is to say, images deemed valuable in promoting boarder range of possibilities, opportunities and capabilities for women'

        'the reoccurring images of woman in popular media have some influence on how people think of women in real life'

        'these images (of women are that) there are a range of ways of inhibiting a female body' (occupying)



        female artists at the top of the industry continue to sell record-breaking numbers of units, even at a time when over all industry sales have withered'

        'but precious few artists achieve such heights, and those who do increasingly rely on sex appeal'

        opinion leaders, particularly n the highly fragmented world of new media, help audiences to contextualise information or to frame it (Entman, 1993) in ways that make it easy for people to understand from their given social locations. Framing acts as cultural SHORTHAND, emphasizing certain idea's while minimizing or ignoring others(Entman 1993). '





        extra links..

        'women in objectifying or exploitative frameworks claim to act out of personal choice, for their own enjoyment and individualist advancement.'

        a new York times article epitomizes post-feminist contradictions, showcasing several women DJs who are embracing their role as arbiters of urban fashion now that their musical skills have been taken into account. As one woman says 'just to be able to blend records is not enough any more, you have to have a look'

        'women face renewed pressure to cultivate their appearance'

        'some feel that gender has not played a memorable role in their artistic and professional experiences; others argue that cultural idea's about gender significantly inform expectations about musical and technical competence'


        https://www.questia.com/library/communication/media-studies/media-images-of-women
        top link navigated to the link below
        https://www.questia.com/read/102713788/media-gender-and-identity-an-introduction

        book: Media, Gender, and Identity: An Introduction
        By David GauntlettRoutledge, 2002
        There is even noisy minority who argue that feminism has ‘gone too far’and that it is now men who have the worst deal in society (Farrell, 2001).

        magazines for womenencourage their readers to be assertive and independent. Pop stars like Destiny’s Child, and othermedia icons such as Oprah Winfrey, convey the same message. 

        modern perspective:
        Modern women arenot generally bothered about fitting their identity within the idea of ‘femininity’, perhaps because feminists never really sought to revise femininity, preferring to dispose of the fluffy, passiveconcept altogether. Femininity is not core value for women today. Instead, being ‘feminine’ isjust one of the performances that women can choose to employ in everyday life perhaps forpleasure, or to achieve particular goal.

        digital media influence: 

        but as online magazines and general entertainmentsites become increasingly popular, and these merge with digital television, electronic mediabecomes yet another source of gender information.

        https://www.questia.com/

        https://www.questia.com/read/102713782/media-gender-and-identity-an-introduction



        INTERNET LINKS


        1) Is The Music Industry Still Male-Dominated? We Ask The Women Working In It...

        http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/blogs/547787/is-music-still-a-male-dominated-industry-we-ask-the-women-working-in-it.html


        • 'I think this stems back to the 80s and 90s when the industry was very male-dominated and women were seen mainly as receptionists and PAs. These days women are breaking through and climbing their way up the ladder to work towards more senior positions.'

        • 'I’ve never been so shocked and those quotes have stayed with me forever. Never should appearance or age be a factor and I would put money on the same conversation being very different if I was male.'
        Libby Maguire


        2) SKY NEWS: Campaign To Tackle Abusive Teen Relationships
        http://news.sky.com/story/1600313/campaign-to-tackle-abusive-teen-relationships


        • Chief executive of Womens’ Aid Polly Neet said: "Given the other cultural factors that are bombarding young people, which give very different messages about relationships, and given the power behind those factors, this investment is a bit of a drop in the ocean."

        http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/sexualised-music-videos-only-teach-women-how-to-sell-out/story-fni0cwl5-1227070613498
        • These female artists are selling the message that women are nothing more than accessories. Women are only of value as sexual objects. My daughters and your daughters are taught to conform to this narrow sexualised, unhealthy norm.
        • The message is incessant. Our boys grow up believing girls are really only here to be a boy’s “new thang”.
        • Girls accept that if they’re to be valuable to someone, they’d better be “sexy”.
        • Girls who are exposed to sexualised content are more likely to endorse gender stereotypes and place attractiveness as central to a woman’s value. Boys who are exposed to this content are more likely to sexually harass females, and have inappropriate expectations of them.





        Ban underfed and underage models in fashion, MPs urged

        • Health experts who also addressed the panel of MPs said eating disorders could not just be assessed on appearance. “You wouldn’t be able to see if a girl has thin bones, you wouldn’t be able to see if they weren’t having periods, you wouldn’t be able to see if they had mental health issues,” the GP Dr Ellie Cannon told the Guardian after giving evidence.

        relevant because the women in the music vid are models
        • Models 1’s Horner said there was very limited demand for plus-size models. “They are paid less than regular models, there is certainly discrimination there,” 
        • “Every time I went into an agency, I was prodded and poked and measured with a tape measure,” she said. “I used to dread it.”

        http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2015/dec/01/ban-underfed-and-underage-models-in-fashion-mps-urged


        • Police investigate 'fat-shaming' cards handed out on London tube 

        “I am not upset myself. I am smaller than the national average and not exactly obese, but this is hateful and cowardly and could potentially upset people struggling with confidence and eating disorders. 

        http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/dec/01/fat-shaming-cards-tube-overweight-haters-ltd-police


        • ‘I was sexually assaulted by a fellow student – but my university did nothing’ 

        one in three female students experience sexual assault.

        • The Telegraph’s survey of 1,000 undergraduates across the UK, conducted by YouthSight, found that 97 per cent of these female students did not report the assault to their university, 
        • with 44 per cent saying that they did not think the university would do anything in response.
        •  More than a third of women at university (35 per cent) said they have worried about sexual assault by other students. 

        http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-life/11340661/I-was-sexually-assaulted-by-a-fellow-student-but-my-university-did-nothing.html

        1. A lack of clothes is not the problem with music videos today- http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2010/mar/01/music-video-lady-gaga-beyonce
        Videos featuring underdressed women or "sexual posing" should be kept off television screens until after the watershed, according to recommendations in a report written by Dr Linda Papadopoulos, a noted television-friendly celebrity psychologist.

         The report also seems to suggest that young people watch up to two and a half HOURS of music videos a day,'

        Yes, there are many videos where women are objectified, represented as prey or easy pickings, or as something as commonplace and moist and underclothed as a mostly-peeled overripe satsuma. But to suggest the solution to this is blanket bans and sweeping overstatements is ridiculous

        1. gender and racial inequality in music videos- http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/the-womens-blog-with-jane-martinson/2013/sep/02/music-video-black-women-sex-objects
        women are sexualised in specific ways, seen as inherently sexual and animalistic, with a heavy focus on body shape, particularly the posterior.

        These representations are not limited to one genre of music. The video for indie rock quartet Wraith by Peace also depicts racialised sexual objectification

        Gender and racial inequality continue to exhibit themselves in new ways. Now they appear to be considered fashionable, ironic, entertaining or even aesthetically highbrow. 

        In many ways, inequality has thrived on social media
        1. sexism and racism in music video's- http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/aug/08/sexism-and-racism-permeate-music-videos-new-report
         found that women – especially black women – were routinely portrayed in a hyper-sexualised fashion

        videos portray men as the characters with “power and dominance, and women as passive recipients of their ‘gaze’.

        One study found viewers were more likely to make excuses for perpetrators of “acquaintance rape”.

        We believe in women’s right to self-expression and freedom of movement. Our concern is how the music industry uses music videos as yet another vehicle to colonise and commodify black women’s bodies.
        1. Feminists fall out on Rihannas 'violent, mysogynistic' video- http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jul/04/feminists-fall-out-over-rihanna-video
        Vogue.com columnist Karley Sciortino said: “It’s good to normalise the female body. In so many music videos where you see nudity, it’s framed in these really specific ways: abstract female body parts just looking hot. When Rihanna’s naked she isn’t posing in a hypersexual way, she’s covered in blood and she’ll cut your dick off. She looks powerful, but it’s almost casual, normalised. It’s about showing a powerful representation of the female body, where women are in charge of the way that they’re being viewed.”
        1. Miley Cyrus- does the music industry exploit women?- http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/07/miley-cyrus-music-business-women-sinead-oconnor
         it is incredibly distressing that young girls' idols are constantly teaching them that their willingness to "party" is a girl's strongest suit: not their brains, or their sense of humour, or their own unique way with a key change

        Pop performers – male and female – are often exploited by managers and record companies, but I don't believe that Cyrus is being forced to twerk by her handlers. She knows what she is doing 

        Ultimately, Cyrus's nakedness happens in the context of a cultural industry still run largely by men, filmed largely by men, produced largely by men, in which men stand to gain from women's gyrations, financially and lubriciously. We need an end to misogyny across everything, everywhere. - 
        Kitty Empire is a music critic for The Observer

        the music business is a capitalist patriarchy- 
        Alex Macpherson is a music critic

        I question empowerment expressed in this way but I also ask why we, as women, can't be proud of our sexuality? It's a strange pendulum of morals and liberation.
        VV Brown is a musician

        'To my children, singers stripping off is the norm

        female singers stripping off and imitating sex acts while singing is the norm. Sex always sells but why is it nearly always female singers prostituting their bodies?

        come into place next year and little is known as yet how much they will tackle sexualised images of women and girls. Classifications are a blunt tool but they work for films, largely, so why not music?

        Jane Martinson is the Guardian's women's editor

        University websites/academic papers online. 

        Performing Gender: A Content Analysis of Gender Display in Music Videos- http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11199-010-9814-2


        Although the student guild at the University of Exeter has not banned the song, it did condemn it, saying: "A song that implies a woman is 'an animal' who 'wants it' because of the way she is dressed is not acceptable."

        "The language within the lyrics and the images within the promotional video are utterly degrading to the female subject.

        'More than 20 university unions around Britain have now banned Robin Thicke's hit for its sexual politics '

        LYRIC'S
        Blurred Lines has been widely criticised for appearing to glorify rape and violent sex, with lyrics including "I know you want it", "I'll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two", and "Nothing like your last guy, he too square for you/ He don't smack that ass and pull your hair like that."
        Thicke has defended the song, telling one interviewer: "If you listen to the lyrics, it says 'That man is not your maker' – it's actually a feminist movement within itself."

        http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2013/oct/25/robin-thicke-most-dreadful-interview-2013-blurred-lines
        interlinked with  http://www.gq.com/story/robin-thicke-interview-blurred-lines-music-video-collaborating-with-2-chainz-and-kendrick-lamar-mercy

        GQ: Some animals also made it into the video...
        quotes by Robin Thicke in an transcripted interview
        •  ''We tried to do everything that was taboo. Bestiality, drug injections, and everything that is completely derogatory towards women.''
        •  "Women and their bodies are beautiful. Men are always gonna want to follow them around." 
        •  ''We just wanted it to be as silly as possible. That way, the nudity isn’t taken seriously.'' (desenzitizng and normalising)

        http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/29/pharrell-sexually-suggestive-blurred-lines-the-new-black-hillary-clinton
        PHARRELLTRYING TO JUSTIFY HIM SELF 

        ''Pharrell: Is it sexually suggestive when a salesman says 'I know you want it?'' (article name) ''We're too busy telling them what they can or can't do with their bodies.'' 

        ''As well justifying the video's nudity by comparing it to that of a fashion shoot, Williams also defends rapper TI's lyric, 'I'll give you something big enough to tear your ass in two.''


        “Why should I be uncomfortable [with that line]? I love women inside and out. That line was meant for women to hear that song and say, you know what? I'm a good woman and sometimes I do have bad thoughts,” he says, before further implying that the song can empower women when used as a declaration of sexual liberation.



        • claims by student leaders that it encourages sexual harassment, "rape culture and lad banter".


        • Beats Pill advert was sexist, degrading to women, and too "overtly sexual" for underage viewers. According to the official report, "some complainants [also] challenged whether the models featured were irresponsibly thin". (WOMEN IN THE VIDEO RESPONSIBLE?)
        • On Wednesday, the ASA dismissed most of these complaints, agreeing with Beats Electronics' argument that the commercial depicts "confident, self-assured [women] who [are] not subservient to the male character". The authority said that although some viewers might find certain shots distasteful, the ad was "[not] likely to result in widespread or serious offence". It also declared that the featured models, while slim, "did not look underweight".
        • The authority found that, even if children did not understand the advert's innuendo, there were enough "headless bodies and … sexually suggestive scenes" 
        • Thicke has not always denied accusations that his Blurred Lines video is misogynistic. "What a pleasure it is to [finally] degrade a woman," he told GQ before the scandal erupted. "I've never gotten to do that before."






        MEDIA MAGAZINE : put into biography 

        MM32:

        'represented. If, on the other
        hand, one believes that representations are
        constructed in order to fit in with mainstream
        hegemonic values, then we could assume that
        ideological messages around fat being bad, or fat
        being associated with laziness, gluttony or even
        poverty and lack of education,'
        page 22

        seeing celebrities slim or fat
        They support the Effects model, where we,
        the passive audience, absorb the messages of
        media, unable to think for ourselves.
        page 23

        Such debates are similar to the size zero
        debate – the idea that the prevalence of skinny
        models encourages anorexia and extreme
        dieting among young girls.
        page 23

        most celebrities have
        unrealistic and extreme body shapes? Models
        are unnaturally thin, sport stars are unnaturally
        toned, Madonna requires constant input from
        a personal trainer and a personal chef and,
        aged 50, spends half her life in the gym to keep
        her figure.
        page 24

        Allen’s representation of
        the young, modern female will resonate with many
        members of her audience,
        page 47

        I’ll take my clothes off and it will be shameless
        Coz everyone knows that’s how you get famous.
        -LILLY ALLEN
        page 47

        MM34

        In the early 1970s the cultural critic John
        Berger summarised the way in which gender was
        represented in the media through visual images:
        Men act and women appear. Men look at
        women. Women watch themselves being
        looked at.
        Berger 1972
        page 65

        the ‘men active: women passive’

        1975 Laura Mulvi
        In a world ordered by sexual imbalance,
        pleasure in looking has been split between
        active/male and passive/female.
        age 65

        {To what extent do you think Berger’s and
        Mulvey’s statements from nearly 40 years ago
        hold true today? At the time they were writing,
        women were undoubtedly second-class citizens.}

        HISTORICAL

        that although women may be
        constructed as more dynamic characters on film
        than in the 1960s, they are only represented as
        being independent of men a minority of the time.
        page 66

        Where have all the interesting women gone?
        If the contemporary portrayal of womankind
        were to be believed, contemporary female
        achievement would culminate in the
        ownership of expensive handbags, a vibrator,
        a job, a flat and a man – probably in that
        order.
        page 67

        Occasionally
        the media does represent women as powerful
        and independent characters, and yet they still
        almost invariably require a man to tell them
        what to do. The ideologies of male dominance
        and patriarchal values have not diminished; and
        the belief that they have offers a classic example
        of ‘hegemony’: a state where the oppressed
        consent to, and accept, their situation because
        they are not conscious of being exploited.
        page 67

        MM40

        A post-feminist reading of this might
        be that since Beyoncé is openly allowing herself
        to be objectified, indeed encouraging it by
        looking down the camera playfully and winking
        at the audience, she is controlling ‘the gaze’ and
        is thus empowered. However, like so many other
        post-feminist texts which openly acknowledge
        ‘the gaze’ in this playful postmodern ‘knowing’
        way, we also see a simultaneous reassuring of
        patriarchal anxieties.
        page 67