Power and the Media Essay Plan
Power and the Media considers issues surrounding access to the media, identity representation, ideology and democracy
Power and the Media Essay
Intro – Explain that you understand that power in the media has to do with who holds the power in constructing ideologies about society, events and people groups in society (the way people are represented) Include Stuart Hall’s Representation Theory here – stereotypes
- Explain power dynamics in light of and in relation to Gerbner’s Cultivation theory & the ‘mean world syndrome’
Key words – hegemonic / hegemony (leadership or dominance, especially by one state or social group over others)
- Collective identity (
o Web 2.0 & proliferation of technology – audiences connected to the internet, interacting with media and have INFLUENCE over what is being created
e.g. YouTube – hours of content created and uploaded on platform/ user-generated-content
- ‘Prosumers – audience now able to create own representations of themselves
o Balance of power still in favour of Big studios – Big 5
- Who are Big 5? How big are they? How much influence do they have over ideology? Movies they’ve released and market share of BO revenue?
o Hollywood is shifting it’s content in favour of audiences demands (Me Too movement and feminist ideology = more women in film / BLM – more movies including diverse casts)
o Move from traditional power structures (studio system to more evenly distributed power because now audiences can interact with media / create media and have a say
e.g. Black Lives Matter – audience pressure for diversity on screens, Disney moving to include a more diverse cast – Black Panther.
e.g. Boycott the Oscars #
e.g. Disney removing Dumbo scene and SOTS off platforms altogether in response to audience BLM concerns to not be cancelled
o Women in media – diversity report – not just represented on screen but making decisoons/ hired to direct movies / on board of big companies
- Rejection of women in traditional ‘damsel in distress’ or ‘housewife’ roles and rejection of Laura Mulvey’s Male Gaze theory – women don’t want to be accessories on screen, given more powerful roles in films now
- Women in music videos (how far representation of women has come but conflicting opinions – women are more objectified than ever but seem to hold the power over their own sexuality)
o Ethnicities represented in Media – diversity report (Avengers)
o Bowing to Chinese censorship to appease Chinese market – media institutions creating content to appease Chinese censors to make $, but doing so means representing the Chinese in a positive way (deliberately not making villains Chinese, making them the heroes in some cases e.g. 2012 movie, alternative endings etc)
o Rehtoric – power of repeated messaging and persuasive speech in Media (election of Donald Trump) / Covid response from our government ‘team of 5Million’, “stay home, save lives’ , ‘be kind’
o Fans holding power – Stranger things / the Mandalorian (conglomerates / movie makers are taking notice
o Representation of Maori on NZ film / TV / screens
o ‘
Big Tech still holds power over content on platforms
e.g. Misinformation‘ and the Restriction of content – free speech issues - particularly social media (Covid information censored)
e.g Youtube bans Sky TV for a week after misinformation
e.g. Donald Trump suspended/ cancelled FB account / FB posts or groups taken down by moral ‘watchdogs’ – who is deciding what is ‘dangerous’ information
o Uses and Gratification theory – people have the ability to pick and choose media
o Fragmentation + technological advancements (internet + technological convergence) mean that people have access to many forms of media – more power for the audience
o Crowd-funding possible because of internet + web 2.0 (e.g. The Chosen)
