Distribution - Video from Mrs. Fisher

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VLatLBH2_0

T3 |Week 1: Wednesday - Celebrity Culture

    MEDIA ECOLOGY CONCEPT : celebrity culture 

• Celebrity culture is part of our world. This culture is perpetuated by Richard Dyer's 'Star Image' theory...

Richard Dyer Star Theory

Richard Dyer is a British media theorist, who discussed a star’s special place in the audiences’ lives. He (similarly to Hall) suggests that a star’s meta-narrative impacts on the consumption by the audience. He argued that the star image is manufactured and artificial and that individual stars have their own unique selling point (brand values) in order to grab and hold our attention – for example – Justin Bieber’s hair, JLS’ colour codes...

• Celebrity culture – How does contemporary celebrity culture impact media production and consumption? 

Wikipedia's Explanation of Celebrity Culture

 

Celebrity culture is a high-volume perpetuation^{[needs copy edit]} of celebrities' personal lives on a global scale. It is inherently tied to consumer interests where celebrities transform their fame to become product brands.

Whereas a culture can usually be physically identified, and its group characteristics easily observed, celebrity culture exists solely as a collection of individuals' desires for increased celebrity viewing. Celebrities themselves do not form a cohesive and identifiable group with which they identify themselves, but are rather found across a spectrum of activities and communities including acting, politics, fashion, sports and music. The "culture" is created when it is common knowledge within a society that people are interested in celebrities and are willing to alter their own lives to take part in celebrities' lives. The "culture" is first defined by factors outside of celebrities themselves and then augmented by celebrities' involvement within that publicly constructed culture. Celebrity culture has become a part of everyday society and functions as a form of entertainment.^[1] Today, everyday citizens play an important role in the perpetuation of celebrity culture by constantly checking the whereabouts of celebrities, their friends, the trends within celebrity culture, and the general lives of celebrity via media.^[1] Celebrity culture is now reflected in social norms and values because of the extreme citizen involvement.^[2] Today, as it is now used as entertainment, celebrity culture is viewed as a form of "escapism" from reality and a means of preoccupation for everyday people

Perpetuation of celebrity culture[edit]

According to Oliver Dreissens, celebrity’s social and cultural prominence can be traced back to the success of the mass media.^[6]The various forms of mass media allowed for the spread of new images and branding of celebrities. Especially with the inclusion of televisions in the average home, there became more of a familiarity with the people or celebrities now "in our homes".^[7] Media surrounding celebrities has heavily influenced not only celebrity culture but the general social environment in our lives.^[8]Celebrities are known to not only influence what we buy but many other things such as body image, career aspirations and politics. Richard Dyer has stated that celebrity culture is bound up with the condition of global capitalism in which "individuals are seen to determine society".^[9] Newer technologies, such as cable television and 24/7 coverage, have made today’s celebrities manufactured for mass consumption, as opposed to the celebrities of the thirties and the fifties who were more self-made.^[10]24/7 coverage pushed for more programming and people to fill the extra time. With this evolved more shows and celebrities who partook in the additional screen time. Reality television has been a large part of fostering a new celebrity culture that is more interchangeable and recognizable.^[11] Cable television and social media sites such as YouTube, have made “overnight” sensations which have perpetuated today's perception of celebrity culture.^[11]: 493 Celebrities such as Justin Bieber, who rose to immense fame after being discovered on YouTube, are argued to elicit emotional ties and self-reflexiveness that invoke a seemingly personal connection.^[11] This can be seen with some fans, especially female fans, feeling like they have a certain ownership or connection over a celebrity.^[12]

^{Questions to consider:} 

^{1. How might the Star Theory and Celebrity Culture work together to the advantage of the big 5 and those with funding to hire the A-list actors?} 

^{2. How might the Celebrity Culture that exists in the world, impact audiences trends in what types of movies they choose to see?} 

^{3. How might it be argued that Celebrity Culture be an example of the 2-Step-Flow theory in the passive audience theory and do you think this is true?} 

^{4. How might this be relevant to both Power + The Media as well as Media Ecology?} 

Changing distribution models

 https://c-istudios.com/the-evolution-of-film-and-tv-distribution-navigating-changing-landscapes/

T3 | Week 1: Power + The Media - who is creating + who is consuming

   

Make some notes regarding the balance of power when looking at who is creating the media and who is consuming it.

Term Break Task - CCR

     

Due Day 1 of of Term 3 

Here's your CCR questions and assignment - this will be completely due next Term and includes the following;

- Critical reflection (meaning you look at your work from every angle)

- Evaluative essay around 1000 words

QUESTIONS:

1. How do your products represent social groups or issues?

2. How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of branding?

3. How do your products engage with the audience? 

4. How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions? 

Remember you are commenting on your branding PACKAGE so all 3 tasks (don't get caught up only talking about the major task). 

Remember to include lots of pictures, screen grabs, example photos etc, to make your CCR visually interesting. 

You are able to hand in a version of this for marking BEFORE the 1st day of Term so please do this so you can receive feedback on it.