Case studies

• Cover two media - How does it represent masculinity?• Past and present/ contemporary (last 5 years)

• Identify key themes• How is this text about the construction of identity?• What does this text say about the construction of

identity?• How does it deal with the construction of identity? • How do audiences respond to these representations?

What are the effects of these representations?

Key questions1. How does your

contemporary media texts represent masculinity in different ways?

2. How does contemporary representation compare to previous time periods?

3. What are the social implications of different media representations of groups of people?

4. To what extent is identity increasingly ‘mediated’?

• What themes/ narratives/ discourses are constructed for masculinity?

• What effect do these representations have on the audience? What effect do they have on society?

• Is media increasingly important in the way we understand our own identity and the identity of others?

Collective Identity

• How are groups of people represented?

• How are these representations constructed?

• How do these representations impact upon our sense of identity?

• How do audiences use these representations to create/ understand their identity?

There are two separate but related issues in this exam:

Identity

• Is identity something we construct or something we discover?

• Is identity something we share with others?

• How do media texts impact on our sense of identity?

• Is identity fixed or does it change?• Is identity something we are or something

we do?

Collective Identity Theorists

• Jacques Lacan– The mirror stage

• Michel Maffesoli– “The Time of Tribes”

• David Gauntlett– “Identities are not

‘given’ but are constructed and negotiated.”

• Mikhail Bakhtin– “the unfinalised self”

• Judith Butler– Gender is what you

do, not what you are.

Collective Identity Theories

• What impact/ effects do media texts have on audiences?– Hypodermic Needle Theory– Uses and Gratification Theory– Active vs passive audiences

• Antonio Gramsci– Hegemony/ shifting nature of dominant

ideology

Magazines and Gender Theorists• Judith Butler• David Gauntlett:

– "These [male] magazines are all about the social construction of masculinity. That is, if you like, their subject-matter."

– http://www.theory.org.uk/gay-id.htm – http://theoryhead.com/gender/discuss.htm – http://theoryhead.com/gender/extract.htm – Check Moodle also ‘Media, Gender and Identity’ David Gauntlett– ‘Media, Culture and Society’ Paul Hodkinson

Useful things to do/ ways to revise

• Learn your texts• Research your texts and find essays• Read reviews/ analysis of your texts (Guardian/ BBC/

Daily Mail)• Read reports about masculinity• Learn a few quotes/ applicable ideas from relevant

theorists/ critics• Ensure you can apply and comment on/ evaluate/

criticise the theories/ reports• Ensure you can answer the four key questions on an

earlier slide

Mikhail Bakhtin

• Mikhail Bakhtin agreed individual people cannot be finalised, completely understood, known, or labelled. He saw identity as the ‘unfinalised self’, meaning a person is never fully revealed or known. Many icons of the postmodern age change and adapt their identity and consequently can be seen in these terms: Marilyn Manson’s manipulations of traditional binary oppositions such as male/ female, beauty/ grotesque; Lady Gaga’s manipulations of femininity; or Madonna’s consistent reinventions of herself can all be seen as examples of the ‘unfinalisable self.”– From ‘Media Magazine’ April 2010

Examiner Response

Media influence on collective identity

• The media must have some effect on understanding of identity (Gauntlett).

• Media as ideological state apparatus (Althusser).

• Moral panics (Cohen).

• Cultivation theory (Gerbner).

Limited Media influence on Identity

• Identity is complex (Gauntlett) – including collective identity

• Hall – audience response – negotiated/oppositional

• Fiske – audience more powerful than producers – no such thing as the ‘audience’.

The Argument

• The key to doing well in this question is to develop an argument.

• Media texts tend to represent masculine identity negatively. These representations reinforce hegemonic values. Whilst the media has some influence on our understanding of identity, identities are complex and audience responses will vary. Some contemporary representations attempt to challenge dominant negative representations.

Possible Structure

• Introduction – carefully chosen quote introducing argument, focus and texts.

• Historical representation • Contemporary Negative representations • Contemporary Positive representations • Conclusion – sum up argument, prediction for

the future. How/why might representations change/stay the same?

Finally• Refer to at least two types of media.• Refer to historical and future.• Most of essay should be focused on

contemporary (since 2009) representations.• Link to theory throughout.• Clear, balanced argument in relation to effect

of media representations/link between media representations and collective identity.