How do media representations influence collective
identity?
This is slightly different to the prompt question of ‘how is human identity increasingly mediated’, as it asks how media influences a collective rather than individual identity. The medias influence on individual identity can of course be included in this but you have to be sure to answer the specific question.
This question has also appeared in the exam in the following
form:
'The media do not construct identity; they
merely reflect it'. Discuss.
Here you to weigh up how influential the media is in constructing identity, with this quote suggesting it isn’t influential at all – a position that you should argue for and against. Here is doesn’t specific collective or personal identity – so both could be used.
Here is a structure you could use for the question in the header
How do media representations influence
collective identity?
Remember that to
answer any question you need a combination of theory, quotes, references from
case studies from TWO forms of media (TV, film, adverts, pop videos), reference
to past representations.
Define
collective identity.
‘A collective
identity may have been first constructed
by outsiders who may still enforce it, but depends on some acceptance by those
to whom it is applied.’ Poletta & Jasper
Taking this is as start point we can assess
the influence of the media of the two main participants in the construction of
collective identity:
a) The outsider: the adult world
b) The collective: UK youth
a) What sort of representations do the adult world receive?
Demonisation (give an example – news,
Harry Brown, Eden Lake)
Popular notions of adolescence (forming identity, storm and stress – specific examples,
Inbetweeners, Youngers)
Just how influential are these
representations:
Louis Althusser - the
power of the mass media is in its ability to present a subject in a particular
way and have the their representation of that subject become a reality.
You could mention that the adult world has historical been fed very similar representations (demonisation – mods and rockers hysteria, popular notions – Billy Liar). This brings in the idea that the media perpetuates existing ideas and representations.
b) What
sort of representations do UK Youth receive about themselves?
Bombarded with messages of what youth and growing up should be about that fall
in line with the popular notions of adolescence:
Young and reckless, having fun: Tulisa,
Samsung Jet advert
Identity formation/coming of age: Away Days, Submarine
Experimentation and partying: Inbetweeners, Skins
Just how influential are these representations:
Judith Butler -
Identity is a performance (that includes the daily behaviour of
individuals) which is based on social
norms or habits. You are what you do.
The media informs these social norms and therefore influence identity.
AND the popular notions of adolescence can be seen as the ‘real
or imagined shared attributes and experience’ that David Snow argues are needed
to create a collective identity. So UK youth become
aware of these shared experiences due to the media and therefore understand
they belong to a collective identity because of the media.
At this point you could reflect and see that using this argument that the media
is very influential in constructing an identity.
COUNTER ARGUMENT
David Gauntlett
‘The power relationship between the media and the audience involves - a lot of both. The media sends out a lot of messages about identity and acceptable forms of self-expression, gender sexuality and lifestyle. At the same time, the public have their own, even more robust, set of diverse feelings on the subject. The media’s suggestions may be seductive, but can never overpower contrary feelings in the audience.’
“The role model
remains an important concept, although it should not be taken to mean someone
that a person wants to copy. Instead, role models serve as navigation points as
individuals steer their own personal routes through life.'
This is the idea that individuals use media and representations to help inform the construction of our identity (and collective identity), but the media is not all powerful, we use it selectively.
How
collective identities explicitly used the media to construct identity
Youth - Sub Cultures
The
significance of subcultures for their participants is that they offer a
solution to structural dislocations through the establishment of an achieved
identity - the selection of certain elements of style outside of those
associated with the ascribed identity offered by work, home, or school. - Michael
Brake
Brake argues that subcultures form as youth
have a desire to control their collective identity beyond what has already
shaped them (class, education), and construct this identity with ‘selection of certain elements of style’. This
selection include music, fashion and film. (E.g Mods (Italian culture, R’n’B
Tamla), Rockers (Marlon Brando/James Dean, rock’n’roll).
There is an argument that is the media has hampered the development of youth
sub-cultures as new movements have no time to grow organically before the
culture is marketed, commoditised and sold back to the youth:
Children
and Youth are a distinct social group and want to be treated as such. A successful
example of this is the TV Channel Nickelodeon where it’s all about kids; their
views, interests, not being adults, about being fun and innovative. It gives
children a sense of empowerment. But we must remember that adults have sold
this empowerment to them. So this idea of independence is not true it is more
about enabling children to be independent consumers but masquerading it as
social rights. - David Buckingham
Young people’s use of digital and social Media
‘Convergence does not occur through media appliances,
however sophisticated they may become. Convergence occurs within the
brains of individual consumers and through their social interactions with
others. Each of us constructs our own personal mythology from bits and
fragments of information extracted from the media flow
and transformed into resources through which we make sense of our
everyday lives.’ – Henry Jenkins
How could this be applied to Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr usuage.
Conclusion
Sum up what you’ve just said and evaluate which of the
arguments you believe is stronger.