MEST 4: Research & Production...

Final Bibliography..

2010-04-19T01:53:00.000-07:00

Works Cited
Books
1. Branston, Gill, and Roy Stafford. The Media Student's Book. 4 ed. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.
2. Burton, Graeme. More than Meets the Eye: An Introduction to Media Studies. 3 ed. London: A Hodder Arnold Publication, 2002. Print.
3. Nicholas, Joe, and John Price. Advanced Studies in Media. Surrey: Nelson Thornes Ltd, 1999. Print.
4. Rayner, Philip. Media Studies: The Essential Resource. 1 ed. New York: Routledge, 2003. Print.
5. The Media Studies Reader. London: A Hodder Arnold Publication, 1997. Print.

Newspapers
1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/4520977/Golly-now-we-know-whats-truly-offensive.html
2. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1002/1002078_police_seize_golly_dolls.html
3. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/11/cadbury-dairy-milk-cleared-racism

Websites
1. Microsoft edits black person out of advert-http://industry.bnet.com/advertising/10003668/microsoft-edits-black-person-out-of-ad-everyone-offended/

2. Racist Newspaper- http://www.bvblackspin.com/2009/12/01/black-newspaper-portrays-nina-turner-as-aunt-jemima/?feeddeeplinkNum=0

3. Racist cartoon of Barack Obama- http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/a-conversation-about-race/general-news/2009/03/cartoon-of-obama-in-russian-ice-cream-ad-is-being-called-racist/

4. Sony pulled racist ads- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vnzAMqDw4w&feature=player_embedded

5. Offensive Gollys-http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/4520977/Golly-now-we-know-whats-truly-offensive.html

6. Police seize Golly dolls-http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1002/1002078_police_seize_golly_dolls.html

7. Dairy Milk advert- http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/11/cadbury-dairy-milk-cleared-racism

Moving Image Texts
1. Sony pulled racist ads- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnzAMqDw4w&feature=player_embedded

2. Cadbury Dairy Milk - Zingolo (60 second edit - Official Version)- Hhtp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxHSsluny9s&feature=player_embedded

'Works Consulted'
Books
Branston, Gill, and Roy Stafford. The Media Student’s Book. 4 ed. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.
Calvert/Casey/C. Television Studies: The Key Concepts (Routledge Key Guides). 2 ed. New York: Routledge, 2007. Print
Nicholas, Joe, and John Price. Advanced studies in Media. Surrey: Nelson Thornes Ltd, 1999. Print.
The Media Studies Reader. London: A Hodder Arnold Publication, 1997. Print.
Williams, Kevin. Understanding Media Theory (Hodder Arnold publication). London: A Hodder Arnold Publication, 2003. Print.

Newspapers

http:// www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/27/uselections2008/japan
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/mar/01/advertsing.asa
http:// www.guardian.co.uk/media/2001/apr/10/adverstising
http:// www.guardian.co.uk/media/2001/may/14/adverstising
http:// www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/mar/26/asa.adverstising

'Internet
1. Guilty of racist advertising- http://www.ligali.org/article.php?id=1979
2. Racist Intel ad- http://gizmodo.com/284037/intel-ad-might-be-racist-but-boy-does-it-make-me-want-a-core-2-duo
3. Racist MacDonald’s advert- http://raceatrhodes.blogspot.com/2009/04/racist-advertising.html
4. Racist Sony advert- http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/06/sony-under-fire-for-racist-advertising/
5. New black images- http://www.blackvoices.com/black-history-month-2009/vintage-racist-ads
6. Racist Ford Ad- http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/200601024_harold_ford_ad/

'Moving Image Texts'
1. Japan: EMOBILE's Racist Commercial Depicts Obama as a Monkey - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si-lSLv9b4E&feature=player_embedded

2. Trident Soft Gum Advert- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVl5zWTuo_w&feature=player_embedded

Stephen Fry - Twinings advert -
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0CUBqwNeyY&feature=player_embedded

Final Draft...

2010-04-19T01:51:00.000-07:00

“I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination - indeed, everything and anything except me”.[1]
An investigation into the negative representations of black people in the advertising media. What are the contexts that seem to reinforce these stereotypes?

This essay will investigate the negative representations of black people in advertising media. It can be argued too, and proved by content analysis, that black people do not even appear that often in the advertising media. This essay, therefore, will be an investigation into their ‘invisibility’ and their under-representation and will seek to discover both historical and contemporary reasons for their situation. It has been argued that: “To advertise originally meant ‘to draw attention to something’ or to notify or inform someone or something”. [2] Advertising was first broadcast on television advert on July 1, 1941. As a result the advertising media has grown and continued to be successful to this day. However, there have many criticisms about the industry either due to key representations of ethnicity, gender or age. This essay will, naturally, focus on the issue of ethnicity in advertising.
In addition, it can also be argued that: “Black people have largely been portrayed as part of the mainstream middle class.” [3] Can we agree with this? A wide range of media texts show that black people are more commonly linked with part of the working class in society or even the ‘under-class’ rather than ‘mainstream middle class’. An example of this would be that young black teenagers are largely linked with anti-crime adverts such as adverts on SBTV (Street Broadcaster TV). This demonstrates how black culture has been and continues to be stereotyped.
In addition to this, Rayner et al state that: “Advertising promotes unrealistic and dangerous role models".[4] There are many examples of this. Firstly, a cartoon advert of Barack Obama in Russian ice cream ad is being called racist. The advert consists of a cartoon image of president Barack Obama in front of the White House with a quote saying “the flavour of the week, Black in White!”.. The advert was to promote a new flavour of ice-cream which is ‘chocolate in vanilla’ and used Barack Obama to promote the ice-cream in a racist way. Matthew Creamer states that “This isn’t the first time President Barack Obama’s image has been exploited in international advertising”. [5] This quote shows that even though Barack Obama is a positive black man in the advertising media the advert is still being very racist. “These images of people are part of the attraction of the advertisement-and it needs to attract attention rapidly”. [6] This quote shows that the advertising industry must advertise products or adverts that will be eye-catching to the viewer and that the persuasion of the advert to the audience is at a high standard. Moreover due to the ad being Russian and broadcasted in Russia shows that black people all over the world may be negatively represented in the advertising media.
From the beginning of slavery in the seventeenth century, to the present day black people have fought not only for their freedom but to be understood and respected for their unique and cultural contributions. A contemporary example in advertising would be when: “Microsoft photo shopped a black man out of one of its ads targeting the Polish market”. [7] This quote states that black people in the advertising media once again are not being shown as positive individuals. The advert consists of a before and after look of how the advert should be which as a result shows the black man in the previous advert to be replaced by a white man. In addition to this, the quote shows that even with The Public Order Act of 1986 black individuals are still getting racially attacked in the advertising media. The Public Order Act it is an offence to publish anything which stirs up racial hatred, whether or not it is intended to. To conclude, the advert may be accepted however due to it being broadcast in Poland, their country may not see it as entirely racist.
Moreover, an American newspaper had published a cartoon image of a cartoon that portrays Ohio State Senator Nina Turner as Aunt Jemima. Stanley Miller, executive director of the Cleveland NAACP civil rights organization quoted that: "It was disturbing to me," he said. Miller said he's not upset about the politics behind the cartoon and accompanying editorial, but by the negative stereotype that dates back decades. [8] This quote and advertisement shows that this advert being argued against is very upsetting towards Nina Turner. Also the use of the article being from America shows that the use of different countries in the essay shows the diversity of racism in advertising media across the world.Nevertheless "blacks now appear quite often in commercials, although not in the same proportion as in the total population". [9] This quote shows a more positive view to the invisibility of black people in the advertising media, black people now do participate in the advertising media, however this could be argued against due to them not having as much participation as say the white ethnicity has.
Furthermore this essay will now compare both an historical and contemporary text within the advertising media. Firstly in the early 60s Golly Robertson’s was founded. Robertson's is a UK brand of marmalades and jams. Robertson's introduced the Golly in the early 20th century. Just before the World War 1 was going on in America, John Robertson first saw the Golly doll. Robertson had noticed many young children playing with little black rag dolls and as a result of this the ‘Golly’ became a successful ideal mascot for Robertson’s. Or was it? It was quoted on BBC that “Carol Thatcher liked the jam and she liked the golliwog. When she said that the mixed-race Jo-Wilfried Tsonga resembled a golly, she was making a friendly joke,[10] As a result of Carol Thatcher saying this: “A BBC executive might argue – though I would disagree – that the word “golliwog” is so offensive that it should never be broadcast”.[11]
In addition ‘Golly Dolls’ may have not been seen as racist by some people, however to a majority of people they were. On March 16th 2007, Police seized golly dolls. “TWO golly dolls have been seized by police after complaints that they were offensive”.[12] This as a result shows that in the early 60s Golly dolls were not seen as a racist but instead jus fun dolls for adults and kids, however today in 2007 they are seen as very offensive, which shows that The Public Order Act is very successful in today’s society.
In contrast however, the contemporary text when looking at the advertising media will be the Cadbury advert which was released in 2009 and featured many black people from the country Ghana participating in the advert. It can be argued that that the TV campaign was humiliating to African people and showed negative racial stereotypes. Nevertheless it can also be positively argued that the ad campaign was culturally sensitive and developed as a happy and inspirational portrayal of Ghanaian culture and something which Ghanaians can feel proud of.
At the start of the advert, two black hands are shown shaking or having a friendly hand shake with each other. This straight away shows to the audience that the advert may have black people participating in it. In addition when the hand shake is appearing on, African music is played in the background followed by a mask or mascot appears on the screen. This mask may be seen as something from a tribe; however the use of African “facial features” on the mask may cause mayhem for the African audience who are watching it.Moreover as the advert reaches 20seconds the ad shows a more clear understanding of the mise en scene which shows people walking in the country of Ghana. The cocoa beans shown throughout the advert also show that the setting is in Ghana as Ghana is the original place where cocoa beans were founded and made which as a result makes chocolate such as dairy milk. Furthermore the close ups of the African people’s faces may be seen as a negative thing as everything they did with their facial expressions the mascot will do.
“The advert can be seen as perpetuating "colonial stereotypes". This advert as a result has infuriated a number of prominent equality campaigners and Ghanaian leaders in the UK.The Cadbury's TV advert – slogan "show us your cocoa beam" may also be seen as racist as it features a giant, negroid rotating head that unleashes mass dancing among what appear to be highly excitable people in an African village”.[13]
The representations of these people throughout the advert are that they are very happy as they are dancing and singing with big smiles on their faces. This could connote to the audience that the advert can’t be racist as everyone in the advert is happy.
Moreover, as a result of this, socially the advert can be used so people can discuss the advert, whether it being about if the advert is racist or not or if they want to go out and by Cadburys Dairy Milk.Moreover historically this advert may be seen as a very negative advert with many negative outcomes. “In 2007 the ASA banned an ad for Cadbury's Trident chewing gum, which featured a black "dub poet" speaking in rhyme with a strong Caribbean accent, after more than 500 complaints that it was racist”. [14] This as result shows a negative view towards Cadbury as their representations and stereotypes of black people are very negative.
Furthermore, from a males perspective on advertising it can be argued that: "Many men feel that the most compelling advertising representations of masculinity are ones that produce real levels of anxiety and inadequacy, even if male culture, with its emphasis on 'strong' silences or loud camaraderie, makes it difficult to talk about or express such feelings". [15]
In addition Engadget famously called out Sony’s multi-vignette PSP campaign in 2006 as being clearly racist. The ads were promoting the new ceramic white PSP. The ads featured an aggressive, strong-looking white woman clawing, clutching and otherwise dominating a subordinate black woman. The campaign was universally panned as racist and Sony yanked the ads, apologizing for its lack of sensitivity.
The advert chosen was produced in 2006, as it is a historically significant advert that related to the slave trades era, as it revived the racist stereotypes of black people, in contrast to the superior upper class white male. Nevertheless slave trade has ended a long time ago so there would be no use for racist ads to be shown; this was not the case however in 2006. The world has become a multi-cultural society so when analysing this ad it was fairly surprising that in 2006 the negative stereotypes of black women were portrayed this negative they were connoted as ‘completely useless’.Moreover due to this ad being in 2006 and the Cadbury Dairy Milk advert being in 2009 this shows that with the amount of complaints being showed and heard, the message still is not going through as there are still racist adverts being showing in today’s society.The black woman in this ad is shown as useless and insubordinate. This can relate to the way black women were portrayed back in the 60s and 70s. As they worked for the upper whiter class as slaves and also the use of them selling themselves for the white upper class men shows they were nothing and the ad shows that black women portrayed as “isolated” and “alienated” from today’s society
Therefore, as a result it can be argued that "Advertising has traditionally relied on the use of stereotypes to put across information in a format that is quick and easy for the viewer or reader to understand". [16]

To conclude Stuart Hall: Stuart Hall is a cultural theorist and sociologist who has lived and worked in the United Kingdom since 1951. Hall's work covers issues of hegemony and cultural studies. He regards language-use as operating within a framework of power, institutions and politics/economics.Hall has also widely discussed notions of cultural identity, race and ethnicity, particularly in the creation of the politics of Black diasporic identities.
Furthermore, the influence of liberalism shows the importance of individual freedom. This can be related to the representations and stereotypes of black people due to earlier historical periods, and historical changes, which again include the war era, connoting that they were slaves for the upper white class. Historically there has been change to the new wave of new oppositions for black people, i.e. Obama and Usain Bolt, are seen as heroic and strong, and this economically shows the move from recession due to the manner in which strong idols like Bolt and Obama are portrayed as heroes. This as result leads to liberalism, showing that black people in today’s society want a change. In addition young black teenagers who are stereotyped as gang members or victims of knife crime may also be tired of this stereotype and want a change for a positive outcome when participating or being shown in adverts in today’s society.
Word count: 2,209
[1] http://www.okfriends.net/ellison.htm
[2] Branston, G. Stafford R. (2002). p.365.
[3] O’Sullivan, T. Jewkes Y. (2004) p. 155.
[4] Rayner. P. Wall. P. Kruger. S. (2001) p125.
[5] http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/a-conversation-about-race/general-news/2009/03/cartoon-of-obama-in-russian-ice-cream-ad-is-being-called-racist/
[6] Ibid
[7] http://industry.bnet.com/advertising/10003668/microsoft-edits-black-person-out-of-ad-everyone-offended/
[8] http://www.bvblackspin.com/2009/12/01/black-newspaper-portrays-nina-turner-as-aunt-jemima/?feeddeeplinkNum=0
[9] O’Sullivan, T. Jewkes Y. (2004) p. 156
[10] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/4520977/Golly-now-we-know-whats-truly-offensive.html
[11] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/4520977/Golly-now-we-know-whats-truly-offensive.html
[12] http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1002/1002078_police_seize_golly_dolls.html

[13] http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/11/cadbury-dairy-milk-cleared-racism
[14] Ibid
[15] Branston, G. Stafford R. (2002). p.382
[16] O’Sullivan, T. Jewkes Y. (2004) p. 154

.. Bibliography ..

2010-03-29T02:38:00.002-07:00

Works Cited

Books
1. Branston, Gill, and Roy Stafford. The Media Student's Book. 4 ed. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.
2. Burton, Graeme. More than Meets the Eye: An Introduction to Media Studies. 3 ed. London: A Hodder Arnold Publication, 2002. Print.
3. Nicholas, Joe, and John Price. Advanced Studies in Media. Surrey: Nelson Thornes Ltd, 1999. Print.
4. Rayner, Philip. Media Studies: The Essential Resource. 1 ed. New York: Routledge, 2003. Print.
5. The Media Studies Reader. London: A Hodder Arnold Publication, 1997. Print.

Newspapers
1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/4520977/Golly-now-we-know-whats-truly-offensive.html
2. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1002/1002078_police_seize_golly_dolls.html
3. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/11/cadbury-dairy-milk-cleared-racism

Websites
1. Microsoft edits black person out of advert-http://industry.bnet.com/advertising/10003668/microsoft-edits-black-person-out-of-ad-everyone-offended/

2. Racist Newspaper- http://www.bvblackspin.com/2009/12/01/black-newspaper-portrays-nina-turner-as-aunt-jemima/?feeddeeplinkNum=0

3. Racist cartoon of Barack Obama- http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/a-conversation-about-race/general-news/2009/03/cartoon-of-obama-in-russian-ice-cream-ad-is-being-called-racist/

4. Sony pulled racist ads- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vnzAMqDw4w&feature=player_embedded

5. Offensive Gollys-http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/4520977/Golly-now-we-know-whats-truly-offensive.html

6. Police seize Golly dolls-http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1002/1002078_police_seize_golly_dolls.html

7. Dairy Milk advert- http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/11/cadbury-dairy-milk-cleared-racism

Moving Image Texts
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vnzAMqDw4w&feature=player_embedded
2. Hhtp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxHSsluny9s&feature=player_embedded

'Works Consulted'

Books

Branston, Gill, and Roy Stafford. The Media Student’s Book. 4 ed. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.
Calvert/Casey/C. Television Studies: The Key Concepts (Routledge Key Guides). 2 ed. New York: Routledge, 2007. Print
Nicholas, Joe, and John Price. Advanced studies in Media. Surrey: Nelson Thornes Ltd, 1999. Print.
The Media Studies Reader. London: A Hodder Arnold Publication, 1997. Print.
Williams, Kevin. Understanding Media Theory (Hodder Arnold publication). London: A Hodder Arnold Publication, 2003. Print.

Newspapers

http:// www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/27/uselections2008/japan
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/mar/01/advertsing.asa
http:// www.guardian.co.uk/media/2001/apr/10/adverstising
http:// www.guardian.co.uk/media/2001/may/14/adverstising
http:// www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/mar/26/asa.adverstising

'Internet
1. Guilty of racist advertising- http://www.ligali.org/article.php?id=1979
2. Racist Intel ad- http://gizmodo.com/284037/intel-ad-might-be-racist-but-boy-does-it-make-me-want-a-core-2-duo
3. Racist MacDonald’s advert- http://raceatrhodes.blogspot.com/2009/04/racist-advertising.html
4. Racist Sony advert- http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/06/sony-under-fire-for-racist-advertising/
5. New black images- http://www.blackvoices.com/black-history-month-2009/vintage-racist-ads
6. Racist Ford Ad- http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/200601024_harold_ford_ad/

'Moving Image Texts'
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=si-lSLv9b4E&feature=player_embedded
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVl5zWTuo_w&feature=player_embedded
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0CUBqwNeyY&feature=player_embedded

.. Penultimate Draft ..

2010-03-29T02:38:00.001-07:00

“I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination - indeed, everything and anything except me”.[1]
An investigation into the negative representations of black people in the advertising media. What are the contexts that seem to reinforce these stereotypes?

This essay will investigate the negative representations of black people in advertising media. It can be argued too, and proved by content analysis, that black people do not even appear that often in the advertising media. This essay, therefore, will be an investigation into their ‘invisibility’ and their under-representation and will seek to discover both historical and contemporary reasons for their situation. It has been argued that: “To advertise originally meant ‘to draw attention to something’ or to notify or inform someone or something”. [2] Advertising was first broadcast on television advert on July 1, 1941. As a result the advertising media has grown and continued to be successful to this day. However, there have many criticisms about the industry either due to key representations of ethnicity, gender or age. This essay will, naturally, focus on the issue of ethnicity in advertising.
In addition, it can also be argued that: “Black people have largely been portrayed as part of the mainstream middle class.” [3] Can we agree with this? A wide range of media texts show that black people are more commonly linked with part of the working class in society or even the ‘under-class’ rather than ‘mainstream middle class’. An example of this would be that young black teenagers are largely linked with anti-crime adverts such as adverts on SBTV (Street Broadcaster TV). This demonstrates how black culture has been and continues to be stereotyped.
In addition to this, Rayner et al state that: “Advertising promotes unrealistic and dangerous role models".[4] There are many examples of this. Firstly, a cartoon advert of Barack Obama in Russian ice cream ad is being called racist. The advert consists of a cartoon image of president Barack Obama in front of the White House with a quote saying “the flavour of the week, Black in White!”.. The advert was to promote a new flavour of ice-cream which is ‘chocolate in vanilla’ and used Barack Obama to promote the ice-cream in a racist way. Matthew Creamer states that “This isn’t the first time President Barack Obama’s image has been exploited in international advertising”. [5] This quote shows that even though Barack Obama is a positive black man in the advertising media the advert is still being very racist towards a positive black man. “These images of people are part of the attraction of the advertisement-and it needs to attract attention rapidly”. [6] This quote shows that the advertising industry must advertise products or adverts that will be eye-catching to the viewer and that the persuasion of the advert to the audience is at a high standard. Moreover due to the ad being Russian and broadcasted in Russia shows that black people all over the world may be negatively represented in the advertising media.
From the beginning of slavery in the seventeenth century, to the present day black people have fought not only for their freedom but to be understood and respected for their unique and cultural contributions. A contemporary example in advertising would be when: “Microsoft photo shopped a black man out of one of its ads targeting the Polish market”. [7] This quote states that black people in the advertising media once again are not being shown as positive individuals. The advert consists of a before and after look of how the advert should be which as a result shows the black man in the previous advert to be replaced by a white man. In addition to this, the quote shows that even with The Public Order Act of 1986 black individuals are still getting racially attacked in the advertising media. The Public Order Act it is an offence to publish anything which stirs up racial hatred, whether or not it is intended to. To conclude, the advert may be accepted however due to it being broadcast in Poland, their country may not see it as entirely racist.
Moreover, an American newspaper had published a cartoon image of a cartoon that portrays Ohio State Senator Nina Turner as Aunt Jemima. Stanley Miller, executive director of the Cleveland NAACP civil rights organization quoted that: "It was disturbing to me," he said. Miller said he's not upset about the politics behind the cartoon and accompanying editorial, but by the negative stereotype that dates back decades. [8] This quote and advertisement shows that this advert being argued against is very upsetting towards Nina Turner. Also the use of the article being from America shows that the use of different countries in the essay shows the diversity of racism in advertising media across the world.Nevertheless "blacks now appear quite often in commercials, although not in the same proportion as in the total population". [9] This quote shows a more positive view to the invisibility of black people in the advertising media, black people now do participate in the advertising media, however this could be argued against due to them not having as much participation as say the white ethnicity has.
Furthermore this essay will now compare both an historical and contemporary text within the advertising media. Firstly in the early 60s Golly Robertson’s was founded. Robertson's is a UK brand of marmalades and jams. Robertson's introduced the Golly in the early 20th century. Just before the World War 1 was going on in America, John Robertson first saw the Golly doll. Robertson had noticed many young children playing with little black rag dolls and as a result of this the ‘Golly’ became a successful ideal mascot for Robertson’s. Or was it? It was quoted on BBC that “Carol Thatcher liked the jam and she liked the golliwog. When she said that the mixed-race Jo-Wilfried Tsonga resembled a golly, she was making a friendly joke,[10] As a result of Carol Thatcher saying this: “A BBC executive might argue – though I would disagree – that the word “golliwog” is so offensive that it should never be broadcast”.[11]
In addition ‘Golly Dolls’ may have not been seen as racist by some people, however to a majority of people they were. On March 16th 2007, Police seized golly dolls. “TWO golly dolls have been seized by police after complaints that they were offensive”.[12] This as a result shows that in the early 60s Golly dolls were not seen as a racist but instead jus fun dolls for adults and kids, however today in 2007 they are seen as very offensive, which shows that The Public Order Act is very successful in today’s society.
In contrast however, the contemporary text when looking at the advertising media will be the Cadbury advert which was released in 2009 and featured many black people from the country Ghana participating in the advert. It can be argued that that the TV campaign was humiliating to African people and showed negative racial stereotypes. Nevertheless it can also be positively argued that the ad campaign was culturally sensitive and developed as a happy and inspirational portrayal of Ghanaian culture and something which Ghanaians can feel proud of.
At the start of the advert, two black hands are shown shaking or having a friendly hand shake with each other. This straight away shows to the audience that the advert may have black people participating in it. In addition when the hand shake is appearing on, African music is played in the background followed by a mask or mascot appears on the screen. This mask may be seen as something from a tribe; however the use of African “facial features” on the mask may cause mayhem for the African audience who are watching it.Moreover as the advert reaches 20seconds the ad shows a more clear understanding of the mise en scene which shows people walking in the country of Ghana. The cocoa beans shown throughout the advert also show that the setting is in Ghana as Ghana is the original place where cocoa beans were founded and made which as a result makes chocolate such as dairy milk. Furthermore the close ups of the African people’s faces may be seen as a negative thing as everything they did with their facial expressions the mascot will do.
“The advert can be seen as perpetuating "colonial stereotypes". This advert as a result has infuriated a number of prominent equality campaigners and Ghanaian leaders in the UK.The Cadbury's TV advert – slogan "show us your cocoa beam" may also be seen as racist as it features a giant, negroid rotating head that unleashes mass dancing among what appear to be highly excitable people in an African village”.[13]
The representations of these people throughout the advert are that they are very happy as they are dancing and singing with big smiles on their faces. This could connote to the audience that the advert can’t be racist as everyone in the advert is happy.
Moreover, as a result of this, socially the advert can be used so people can discuss the advert, whether it being about if the advert is racist or not or if they want to go out and by Cadburys Dairy Milk.Moreover historically this advert may be seen as a very negative advert with many negative outcomes. “In 2007 the ASA banned an ad for Cadbury's Trident chewing gum, which featured a black "dub poet" speaking in rhyme with a strong Caribbean accent, after more than 500 complaints that it was racist”. [14] This as result shows a negative view towards Cadbury as their representations and stereotypes of black people are very negative.
In addition Engadget famously called out Sony’s multi-vignette PSP campaign in 2006 as being clearly racist. The ads were promoting the new ceramic white PSP. The ads featured an aggressive, strong-looking white woman clawing, clutching and otherwise dominating a subordinate black woman. The campaign was universally panned as racist and Sony yanked the ads, apologizing for its lack of sensitivity.
The advert chosen was produced in 2006, as it is a historically significant advert that related to the slave trades era, as it revived the racist stereotypes of black people, in contrast to the superior upper class white male. Nevertheless slave trade has ended a long time ago so there would be no use for racist ads to be shown; this was not the case however in 2006. The world has become a multi-cultural society so when analysing this ad it was fairly surprising that in 2006 the negative stereotypes of black women were portrayed this negative they were connoted as ‘completely useless’.Moreover due to this ad being in 2006 and the Cadbury Dairy Milk advert being in 2009 this shows that with the amount of complaints being showed and heard, the message still is not going through as there are still racist adverts being showing in today’s society.The black woman in this ad is shown as useless and insubordinate. This can relate to the way black women were portrayed back in the 60s and 70s. As they worked for the upper whiter class as slaves and also the use of them selling themselves for the white upper class men shows they were nothing and the ad shows that black women portrayed as “isolated” and “alienated” from today’s society

To conclude Stuart Hall: Stuart Hall is a cultural theorist and sociologist who has lived and worked in the United Kingdom since 1951. Hall's work covers issues of hegemony and cultural studies. He regards language-use as operating within a framework of power, institutions and politics/economics.Hall has also widely discussed notions of cultural identity, race and ethnicity, particularly in the creation of the politics of Black diasporic identities.
Furthermore, the influence of liberalism shows the importance of individual freedom. This can be related to the representations and stereotypes of black people due to earlier historical periods, and historical changes, which again include the war era, connoting that they were slaves for the upper white class. Historically there has been change to the new wave of new oppositions for black people, i.e. Obama and Usain Bolt, are seen as heroic and strong, and this economically shows the move from recession due to the manner in which strong idols like Bolt and Obama are portrayed as heroes. This as result leads to liberalism, showing that black people in today’s society want a change. In addition young black teenagers who are stereotyped as gang members or victims of knife crime may also be tired of this stereotype and want a change for a positive outcome when participating or being shown in adverts in today’s society.
Word count: 2,120
[1] http://www.okfriends.net/ellison.htm
[2] Branston, G. Stafford R. (2002). p.365.
[3] O’Sullivan, T. Jewkes Y. (2004) p. 155.
[4] Rayner. P. Wall. P. Kruger. S. (2001) p125.
[5] http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/a-conversation-about-race/general-news/2009/03/cartoon-of-obama-in-russian-ice-cream-ad-is-being-called-racist/
[6] Ibid
[7] http://industry.bnet.com/advertising/10003668/microsoft-edits-black-person-out-of-ad-everyone-offended/
[8] http://www.bvblackspin.com/2009/12/01/black-newspaper-portrays-nina-turner-as-aunt-jemima/?feeddeeplinkNum=0
[9] O’Sullivan, T. Jewkes Y. (2004) p. 156
[10] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/4520977/Golly-now-we-know-whats-truly-offensive.html
[11] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/4520977/Golly-now-we-know-whats-truly-offensive.html
[12] http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1002/1002078_police_seize_golly_dolls.html

[13] http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/11/cadbury-dairy-milk-cleared-racism
[14] http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/11/cadbury-dairy-milk-cleared-racism

Bibliography

2010-03-22T04:20:00.001-07:00

Works Cited

Books
1. The Media Studies Reader. London: A Hodder Arnold Publication, 1997. Print.
2. Rayner, Philip. Media Studies: The Essential Resource. 1 ed. New York: Routledge, 2003. Print.
3. Burton, Graeme. More than Meets the Eye: An Introduction to Media Studies. 3 ed. London: A Hodder Arnold Publication, 2002. Print.
4. Burton, Graeme. More than Meets the Eye: An Introduction to Media Studies. 3 ed. London: A Hodder Arnold Publication, 2002. Print.
5. Nicholas, Joe, and John Price. Advanced Studies in Media. Surrey: Nelson Thornes Ltd, 1999. Print.
6. Branston, Gill, and Roy Stafford. The Media Student's Book. 4 ed. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.
Newspapers
1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/4520977/Golly-now-we-know-whats-truly-offensive.html
2. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1002/1002078_police_seize_golly_dolls.html
3. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/11/cadbury-dairy-milk-cleared-racism

Websites
1. http://industry.bnet.com/advertising/10003668/microsoft-edits-black-person-out-of-ad-everyone-offended/
2. http://www.bvblackspin.com/2009/12/01/black-newspaper-portrays-nina-turner-as-aunt-jemima/?feeddeeplinkNum=0
3. http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/a-conversation-about-race/general-news/2009/03/cartoon-of-obama-in-russian-ice-cream-ad-is-being-called-racist/
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vnzAMqDw4w&feature=player_embedded
5. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/4520977/Golly-now-we-know-whats-truly-offensive.html
6. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1002/1002078_police_seize_golly_dolls.html
7. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/11/cadbury-dairy-milk-cleared-racism

Moving Image Texts
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vnzAMqDw4w&feature=player_embedded
2. Hhtp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxHSsluny9s&feature=player_embedded

'Works Consulted'

Books
Calvert/Casey/C. Television Studies: The Key Concepts (Routledge Key Guides). 2 ed. New York: Routledge, 2007. Print
Nicholas, Joe, and John Price. Advanced studies in Media. Surrey: Nelson Thornes Ltd, 1999. Print.
Branston, Gill, and Roy Stafford. The Media Student’s Book. 4 ed. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.
The Media Studies Reader. London: A Hodder Arnold Publication, 1997. Print.
Williams, Kevin. Understanding Media Theory (Hodder Arnold publication). London: A Hodder Arnold Publication, 2003. Print.
Nicholas, Joe, and John Price. Advanced studies in Media. Surrey: Nelson Thornes Ltd, 1999. Print.

Newspapers

http:// www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/27/uselections2008/japan
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/mar/01/advertsing.asa
http:// www.guardian.co.uk/media/2001/apr/10/adverstising
http:// www.guardian.co.uk/media/2001/may/14/adverstising
http:// www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/mar/26/asa.adverstising

'Internet
1. http://industry.bnet.com/advertising/10003668/microsoft-edits-black-person-out-of-ad-everyone-offended/
2. http://www.bvblackspin.com/2009/12/01/black-newspaper-portrays-nina-turner-as-aunt-jemima/?feeddeeplinkNum=0
3. http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/a-conversation-about-race/general-news/2009/03/cartoon-of-obama-in-russian-ice-cream-ad-is-being-called-racist/
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vnzAMqDw4w&feature=player_embedded
5. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/4520977/Golly-now-we-know-whats-truly-offensive.html
6. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1002/1002078_police_seize_golly_dolls.html
7. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/11/cadbury-dairy-milk-cleared-racism

'Moving Image Texts'
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vnzAMqDw4w&feature=player_embedded
2. Hhtp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxHSsluny9s&feature=player_embedded

2nd Draft Essay

2010-03-22T04:12:00.000-07:00

“I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination - indeed, everything and anything except me”.[1]

An investigation into the negative representations of black people in the advertising media. What are the contexts that seem to reinforce these stereotypes?

This essay will investigate the negative representations of black people in advertising media. It can be argued too, and proved by content analysis, that black people do not even appear that often in the advertising media. This essay, therefore, will be an investigation into their ‘invisibility’ and their under-representation and will seek to discover both historical and contemporary reasons for their situation. It has been argued that: “To advertise originally meant ‘to draw attention to something’ or to notify or inform someone or something”. [2] Advertising was first broadcast on television advert on July 1, 1941. As a result the advertising media has grown and continued to be successful to this day. However, there have many criticisms about the industry either due to key representations of ethnicity, gender or age. This essay will naturally, focus on the issue of ethnicity in advertising.
In addition, it can also be argued that: “Black people have largely been portrayed as part of the mainstream middle class.” [3] Can we agree with this? A wide range of media texts show that black people are more commonly linked with part of the working class in society or even the ‘under-class’ rather than ‘mainstream middle class’. An example of this would be that young black teenagers are largely linked with anti crime adverts such as adverts on SBTV. (Street Broadcaster TV) this demonstrates how black culture has been and continues to be stereotyped.
In addition to this, Rayner et al state that: “Advertising promotes unrealistic and dangerous role models".[4] There are many examples of this. Firstly, a cartoon advert of Barack Obama in Russian ice cream ad is being called racist. The advert is an advert trying to promote ice-cream. The advert consists of a cartoon image of president Barack Obama in front of the Whitehouse with a quote saying “the flavour of the week, Black in White!”.. The advert was to promote a new flavour of ice-cream which is ‘chocolate in vanilla’ and used Barack Obama to promote the ice-cream in a racist way. Matthew Creamer states that “This isn’t the first time President Barack Obama’s image has been exploited in international advertising”. [5] This quote shows that even though Barack Obama is a positive black man in the advertising media the advert is still being very racist towards a positive black man. “These images of people are part of the attraction of the advertisement-and it needs to attract attention rapidly”. [6] This quote shows that the advertising industry must advertise products or adverts that will be eye-catching to the viewer and that the persuasion of the advert to the audience is at a high standard. Moreover due to the ad being Russian and broadcasted in Russia shows that black people all over the world may be under-represented in the advertising media.
From the beginning of slavery in the seventeenth century, to the present day black people have fought not only for their freedom but to be understood and respected for their unique and cultural contributions. “Microsoft photo shopped a black man out of one of its ads targeting the Polish market”. [7] This quote states that black people in the advertising media once again are not being shown as positive individuals. The advert consists of a before and after look of how the advert should be which as a result shows the black man in the previous advert to be replaced by a white man. In addition to this, the quote shows that even with The Public Order Act of 1986 black individuals are still getting racially attacked in the advertising media. The Public Order Act is when no one can make it an offence to publish anything which stirs up racial hatred, whether or not it is intended to. To conclude the advert may be accepted however due to it being broadcasted in Poland, where their country would not see it as entirely racist.
Moreover, an American newspaper had published a cartoon image of a cartoon that portrays Ohio State Senator Nina Turner as Aunt Jemima. Stanley Miller, executive director of the Cleveland NAACP civil rights organization quoted that: "It was disturbing to me," he said. Miller said he's not upset about the politics behind the cartoon and accompanying editorial, but by the negative stereotype that dates back decades. [8] This quote and advertisement shows that this advert being argued against is very upsetting towards Nina Turner. Also the use of the article being from America shows that the use of different countries in the essay shows the diversity of racism in advertising media across the world.Nevertheless "blacks now appear quite often in commercials, although not in the same proportion as in the total population". [9] This quote shows a more positive view to the invisibility of black people in the advertising media, black people now do participate in the advertising media, however this could be argued against due to them not having as much participation as say the white ethnicity has.
In addition Stuart Hall is a cultural theorist and sociologist. Hall's work covers issues of hegemony and cultural studies.
Furthermore this essay will now compare both an historical and contemporary text within the advertising media. Firstly in the early 60s Golly Robertson’s was founded. Robertson's is a UK brand of marmalades and jams. Robertson's introduced the Golly in the early 20th century. Just before the World War 1 was going on in America, John Robertson first saw the Golly doll. Robertson had noticed many young children playing with little black rag dolls and as a result of this the ‘Golly’ became a successful ideal mascot for Robertson’s. Or was it? It was quoted on BBC that “Carol Thatcher liked the jam and she liked the golliwog. When she said that the mixed-race Jo-Wilfried Tsonga resembled a golly, she was making a friendly joke,[10] As a result of Carol Thatcher saying this: “A BBC executive might argue – though I would disagree – that the word “golliwog” is so offensive that it should never be broadcast”.[11] T
In addition ‘Golly Dolls’ may have not been seen as racist by some people, however to a majority of people they were. On March 16th 2007, Police seized golly dolls. “TWO golly dolls have been seized by police after complaints that they were offensive”.[12] This as a result shows that in the early 60s Golly dolls were not seen as a racist but instead jus fun dolls for adults and kids, however today in 2007 they are seen as very offensive, which shows that The Public Order Act is very successful in today’s society.
In contrast however, the contemporary text when looking at the advertising media will be the Cadbury advert which was released in 2009 and featured many black people from the country Ghana participating in the advert. It can be argued that that the TV campaign was humiliating to African people and showed negative racial stereotypes. Nevertheless it can also be positively argued that the ad campaign was culturally sensitive and developed as a happy and inspirational portrayal of Ghanaian culture and something which Ghanaians can feel proud of.
At the start of the advert, two black hands are shown shaking or having a friendly hand shake with each other. This straight away shows to the audience that the advert may have black people participating in it. In addition when the hand shake is over straight after African music is played in the background and then a mask or mascot appears on the screen. This mask may be seen as something from a tribe; however the use of African “facial features” on the mask may cause mayhem for the African audience who are watching it.Moreover as the advert reaches 20seconds the ad shows a more clear understanding of the mise en scene which shows people walking in the country of Ghana. The cocoa beans shown throughout the advert also show that the setting is in Ghana as Ghana is the original place where cocoa beans were founded and made which as a result makes chocolate such as dairy milk. Furthermore the close ups of the African peoples faces may be seen as a negative thing as everything they did with their facial expressions the mascot will do.
“The advert can be seen as perpetuating "colonial stereotypes". This advert as a result has infuriated a number of prominent equality campaigners and Ghanaian leaders in the UK.The Cadbury's TV advert – slogan "show us your cocoa beam" may also be seen as racist as it features a giant, negroid rotating head that unleashes mass dancing among what appear to be highly excitable people in an African village”.[13]
The representations of these people throughout the advert are that they are very happy as they are dancing and singing with big smiles on their faces. This could connote to the audience that the advert can’t be racist as everyone in the advert is happy.
Moreover, as a result of this, socially the advert can be used so people can discuss the advert, whether it being about if the advert is racist or not or if they want to go out and by Cadburys Dairy Milk.Moreover historically this advert may be seen as a very negative advert with many negative outcomes. “In 2007 the ASA banned an ad for Cadbury's Trident chewing gum, which featured a black "dub poet" speaking in rhyme with a strong Caribbean accent, after more than 500 complaints that it was racist”. [14] This as result shows a negative view towards Cadbury as their representations and stereotypes of black people are very negative.
In addition Engadget famously called out Sony’s multi-vignette PSP campaign in 2006 as being clearly racist. The ads were promoting the new ceramic white PSP. The ads featured an aggressive, strong-looking white woman clawing, clutching and otherwise dominating a subordinate black woman. The campaign was universally panned as racist and Sony yanked the ads, apologizing for its lack of sensitivity.This ad was produced in 2006, I chose to pick an ad in 2006 as due to the slave trades back in the day most of the adverts were racist and was going to stay that way as long as the white upper class people had the upper hand. Nevertheless slave trade has ended a long time ago so there would be no use for racist ads to be shown; this was not the case however in 2006. The world has become a multi-cultural society so when analysing this ad I was fairly surprised that in 2006 the negative stereotypes of black women was portrayed this negative they were connoted as completely useless.Moreover due to this ad being in 2006 and the Cadbury Dairy Milk advert being in 2009 this shows that with the amount of complaints being showed and heard, the message still is not going through as there are still racist adverts being showing in today’s society.

The black woman in this ad is shown as useless and insubordinate. This can relate to the way black women were portrayed back in the 60s and 70s. As they worked for the upper whiter class as slaves and also the use of them selling themselves for the white upper class men shows they were nothing and the ad shows that black women portrayed as “isolated” and “alienated” from today’s society

Word count: 1940
[1] http://www.okfriends.net/ellison.htm
[2] Branston, G. Stafford R. (2002). p.365.
[3] O’Sullivan, T. Jewkes Y. (2004) p. 155.
[4] Rayner. P. Wall. P. Kruger. S. (2001) p125.
[5] http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/a-conversation-about-race/general-news/2009/03/cartoon-of-obama-in-russian-ice-cream-ad-is-being-called-racist/
[6] Ibid
[7] http://industry.bnet.com/advertising/10003668/microsoft-edits-black-person-out-of-ad-everyone-offended/
[8] http://www.bvblackspin.com/2009/12/01/black-newspaper-portrays-nina-turner-as-aunt-jemima/?feeddeeplinkNum=0

[9] O’Sullivan, T. Jewkes Y. (2004) p. 156
[10] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/4520977/Golly-now-we-know-whats-truly-offensive.html
[11] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/4520977/Golly-now-we-know-whats-truly-offensive.html
[12] http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1002/1002078_police_seize_golly_dolls.html

[13] http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/11/cadbury-dairy-milk-cleared-racism

[14] http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/11/cadbury-dairy-milk-cleared-racism

Additional Research...

2010-03-15T02:52:00.000-07:00

Education

Chinese pupils have best GCSE results

Victims of Crime

Highest risk for Mixed race people

2010-03-15T02:46:00.000-07:00

Progress Report...

2010-03-15T02:45:00.000-07:00

Suhur, Natasha and Yasmin came together to create our ideas for our production. As we are doing a 2 1-min cinema adverts we decided that we will go with the split screen concept for our production. To further make our vision come true we decided that we create a 40 shot storyboard and we met up during the week to place our shots in the order we would like to film. Furthermore, we have created a script for our production which is two pages long. After that we have now got our camera in place to film.

Progress Report

2010-03-08T02:17:00.001-08:00

Action Plan

2010-03-08T02:16:00.001-08:00

Progress Report...

2010-03-01T01:51:00.001-08:00

CRE Research ...

2010-02-28T06:13:00.000-08:00

CRE

Their job is to promote equality and human rights, and to create a fairer Britain. They do this by providing advice and guidance, working to implement an effective legislative framework and raising awareness of your rights.

CRE was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom which aimed to tackle racial discrimination and promote racial equality. Its work has been merged into the new Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The commission was established by the Race Relations Act 1976, passed by James Callaghan's Labour government.

The main goals of the CRE were:

> To encourage greater integration and better relations between people from different ethnic groups.

>To use its legal powers to help eradicate racial discrimination and harassment.

>To work with government and public authorities to promote racial equality in all public services.

>To support local and regional organisations, and employers in all sectors, in their efforts to ensure equality of opportunity and good race relations.

>To raise public awareness of racial discrimination and injustice, and to win support for efforts to create a fairer and more equal society

http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/

Planning and Research...

2010-02-22T01:19:00.000-08:00

Research into the genre

Within our particular genre we have found that the use of urban grime music could be used to exemplify the area in which the youths live within. This genre is particularly used within knife crime adverts and films such as Adulthood and Kidulthood. However, we think it is most suitable for our adverts within the first few shots where we aim to manipulate audience’s perceptions of youths and change their stereotypical view of black youths. however, we still aim to follow the conventions of the genre so that audiences are familiar. As we aim for an audience of A/B to change their perceptions and an audience of D,E to influence them about the change so they can identify with the issues we will use our soap opera genre to successfully convey a production that reflects the zeitgeist. The first few shots after watching many knife crime adverts; we aim to use high angle shots and high key lighting as within usual youth adverts there are a low key lighting which does not challenge the stereotype- conventions in which we aim to follow.

Action Plan...

2010-02-21T14:37:00.000-08:00

Linked Production[1]

2010-02-21T14:36:00.001-08:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Linked Production[1]

View more presentations from guest35c7187c.

Self Evaluation ...

2010-02-21T14:23:00.000-08:00

After doing presenting our pitch to our teacher and classmates, we gained a good use of positive and negative feedback which we shall take on board and learn from them.

W.W.W

--> Good use of media language such as 'dominant representation, and subordinate'

--> Slides were detailed and persuasive

--> Good use of structure with the layout

--> We used current examples

--> -Theories 'active audience'

--> Hypodermic needle challenged

E.B.I

--> Other keywords could of been used such as: 'stereotypes' and 'moral panics'

--> Educational issues (black and white students statistics in exam results)

--> Prison? More black people

--> Could of spoke about the invisibilty and marginalized of girls

--> BBFC

--> More examples?

--> Theorists? More about Stuart Hall?

--> Few more images?

--> Consider using contrapuntal sound.

ESSAY....

2010-02-08T04:35:00.001-08:00

“I have been surrounded by mirrors of hard, distorting glass. When they approach me they see only my surroundings, themselves, or figments of their imagination - indeed, everything and anything except me”.[1]
Critical Investigation: An investigation into the negative representations of black people in the advertising media. What are the contexts that seem to reinforce these stereotypes?

This essay will look into the investigation into the negative representations of black people in the advertising media. It can be argued that black people are not shown that often when participating in the advertising media. This essay therefore will be an investigation into the invisibility of black people in the advertising media and the under-representation of them in the advertising media.“To advertise originally meant ‘to draw attention to something’ or to notify or inform someone or something” (Dyer 1982). [2] Advertising was first broadcasted as a television advert on July 1, 1941. As a result the advertising media has been very successful till this day. However there have been many complaints when the advertising media has been in control, this could be due to ethnicity, gender or age. This essay will go more in depth on the centre of ethnicity area of advertising.
“Black people have largely been portrayed as part of the mainstream middle class” [3] Would you agree with this? A wide range of media texts show that black people are more commonly linked with part of the working class society rather than ‘mainstream middle class’. An example of this would be that young black teenagers are largely linked with crime adverts such as adverts on SBTV. (Street Broadcaster TV) this allows me to show focus on the black culture in today's society and how they are stereotyped throughout the advertising media.
In addition to this a quote states that: “Advertising promotes unrealistic and dangerous role models".[4] There are many examples of this. Firstly a cartoon advert of Obama in Russian ice cream ad is being called racist. The advert is and advert trying to promote ice-cream. The advert consists of a cartoon image of president Barack Obama in front of the Whitehouse with a quote saying “the flavour of the week, Black in White!”.. The advert was to promote a new flavour of ice-cream which is ‘chocolate in vanilla’ and used Barack Obama to promote the ice-cream in a racist way. Matthew Creamer states that “This isn’t the first time President Barack Obama’s image has been exploited in international advertising”. [5] This quote shows that even though Barack Obama is a positive black man in the advertising media the advert is still being very racist towards a positive black man. “These images of people are part of the attraction of the advertisement-and it needs to attract attention rapidly”. [6] This quote shows that the advertising industry must advertise products or adverts that will be eye-catching to the viewer and that the persuasion of the advert to the audience is at a high standard. Moreover due to the ad being Russian and broadcasted in Russia shows that black people all over the world may be under-represented in the advertising media.
From the beginning of slavery in the seventeenth century, to the present day black people have fought not only for their freedom but to be understood and respected for their unique and cultural contributions. “Microsoft photo shopped a black man out of one of its ads targeting the Polish market”. [7] This quote states that black people in the advertising media once again are not being shown as positive individuals. The advert consists of a before and after look of how the advert should be which as a result shows the black man in the previous advert to be replaced by a white man. In addition to this, the quote shows that even with The Public Order Act of 1986 black individuals are still getting racially attacked in the advertising media. The Public Order Act is when no one can make it an offence to publish anything which stirs up racial hatred, whether or not it is intended to. To conclude the advert may be accepted however due to it being broadcasted in Poland, where their country would not see it as entirely racist.
Moreover, an American newspaper had published a cartoon image of a cartoon that portrays Ohio State Senator Nina Turner as Aunt Jemima. Stanley Miller, executive director of the Cleveland NAACP civil rights organization quoted that: "It was disturbing to me," he said. Miller said he's not upset about the politics behind the cartoon and accompanying editorial, but by the negative stereotype that dates back decades. [8] This quote and advertisement shows that this advert being argued against is very upsetting towards Nina Turner. Also the use of the article being from America shows that the use of different countries in the essay shows the diversity of racism in advertising media across the world.Nevertheless "blacks now appear quite often in commercials, although not in the same proportion as in the total population". [9] This quote shows a more positive view to the invisibility of black people in the advertising media, black people now do participate in the advertising media, however this could be argued against due to them not having as much participation as say the white ethnicity has.
In addition Stuart Hall is a cultural theorist and sociologist. Hall's work covers issues of hegemony and cultural studies.
Furthermore this essay will now compare both an historical and contemporary text within the advertising media. Firstly in the early 60s Golly Robertson’s was founded. Robertson's is a UK brand of marmalades and jams. Robertson's introduced the Golly in the early 20th century. Just before the World War 1 was going on in America, John Robertson first saw the Golly doll. Robertson had noticed many young children playing with little black rag dolls and as a result of this the ‘Golly’ became a successful ideal mascot for Robertson’s. Or was it? It was quoted on BBC that “Carol Thatcher liked the jam and she liked the golliwog. When she said that the mixed-race Jo-Wilfried Tsonga resembled a golly, she was making a friendly joke,[10] As a result of Carol Thatcher saying this: “A BBC executive might argue – though I would disagree – that the word “golliwog” is so offensive that it should never be broadcast”.[11] T
In addition ‘Golly Dolls’ may have not been seen as racist by some people, however to a majority of people they were. On March 16th 2007, Police seized golly dolls. “TWO golly dolls have been seized by police after complaints that they were offensive”.[12] This as a result shows that in the early 60s Golly dolls were not seen as a racist but instead jus fun dolls for adults and kids, however today in 2007 they are seen as very offensive, which shows that The Public Order Act is very successful in today’s society.
In contrast however, the contemporary text when looking at the advertising media will be the Cadbury advert which was released in 2009 and featured many black people from the country Ghana participating in the advert. It can be argued that that the TV campaign was humiliating to African people and showed negative racial stereotypes. Nevertheless it can also be positively argued that the ad campaign was culturally sensitive and developed as a happy and inspirational portrayal of Ghanaian culture and something which Ghanaians can feel proud of.
At the start of the advert, two black hands are shown shaking or having a friendly hand shake with each other. This straight away shows to the audience that the advert may have black people participating in it. In addition when the hand shake is over straight after African music is played in the background and then a mask or mascot appears on the screen. This mask may be seen as something from a tribe; however the use of African “facial features” on the mask may cause mayhem for the African audience who are watching it.Moreover as the advert reaches 20seconds the ad shows a more clear understanding of the mise en scene which shows people walking in the country of Ghana. The cocoa beans shown throughout the advert also show that the setting is in Ghana as Ghana is the original place where cocoa beans were founded and made which as a result makes chocolate such as dairy milk. Furthermore the close ups of the African peoples faces may be seen as a negative thing as everything they did with their facial expressions the mascot will do.
“The advert can be seen as perpetuating "colonial stereotypes". This advert as a result has infuriated a number of prominent equality campaigners and Ghanaian leaders in the UK.The Cadbury's TV advert – slogan "show us your cocoa beam" may also be seen as racist as it features a giant, negroid rotating head that unleashes mass dancing among what appear to be highly excitable people in an African village”.[13]
The representations of these people throughout the advert are that they are very happy as they are dancing and singing with big smiles on their faces. This could connote to the audience that the advert can’t be racist as everyone in the advert is happy.
Moreover, as a result of this, socially the advert can be used so people can discuss the advert, whether it being about if the advert is racist or not or if they want to go out and by Cadburys Dairy Milk.Moreover historically this advert may be seen as a very negative advert with many negative outcomes. “In 2007 the ASA banned an ad for Cadbury's Trident chewing gum, which featured a black "dub poet" speaking in rhyme with a strong Caribbean accent, after more than 500 complaints that it was racist”. [14] This as result shows a negative view towards Cadbury as their representations and stereotypes of black people are very negative.
In addition Engadget famously called out Sony’s multi-vignette PSP campaign in 2006 as being clearly racist. The ads were promoting the new ceramic white PSP. The ads featured an aggressive, strong-looking white woman clawing, clutching and otherwise dominating a subordinate black woman. The campaign was universally panned as racist and Sony yanked the ads, apologizing for its lack of sensitivity.This ad was produced in 2006, I chose to pick an ad in 2006 as due to the slave trades back in the day most of the adverts were racist and was going to stay that way as long as the white upper class people had the upper hand. Nevertheless slave trade has ended a long time ago so there would be no use for racist ads to be shown; this was not the case however in 2006. The world has become a multi-cultural society so when analysing this ad I was fairly surprised that in 2006 the negative stereotypes of black women was portrayed this negative they were connoted as completely useless.Moreover due to this ad being in 2006 and the Cadbury Dairy Milk advert being in 2009 this shows that with the amount of complaints being showed and heard, the message still is not going through as there are still racist adverts being showing in today’s society.

The black woman in this ad is shown as useless and insubordinate. This can relate to the way black women were portrayed back in the 60s and 70s. As they worked for the upper whiter class as slaves and also the use of them selling themselves for the white upper class men shows they were nothing and the ad shows that black women portrayed as “isolated” and “alienated” from today’s society

[1] http://www.okfriends.net/ellison.htm
[2] Branston, G. Stafford R. (2002). p.365
[3] O’Sullivan, T. Jewkes Y. (2004) p. 155
[4] Rayner. P. Wall. P. Kruger. S. (2001) p.
[5] http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/a-conversation-about-race/general-news/2009/03/cartoon-of-obama-in-russian-ice-cream-ad-is-being-called-racist/
[6]
[7] http://industry.bnet.com/advertising/10003668/microsoft-edits-black-person-out-of-ad-everyone-offended/
[8] http://www.bvblackspin.com/2009/12/01/black-newspaper-portrays-nina-turner-as-aunt-jemima/?feeddeeplinkNum=0

[9] O’Sullivan, T. Jewkes Y. (2004) p. 156
[10] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/4520977/Golly-now-we-know-whats-truly-offensive.html
[11] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/4520977/Golly-now-we-know-whats-truly-offensive.html
[12] http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1002/1002078_police_seize_golly_dolls.html

[13] http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/11/cadbury-dairy-milk-cleared-racism

[14] http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/nov/11/cadbury-dairy-milk-cleared-racism

Similar Texts to Practical ProductION...

2010-02-04T08:07:00.000-08:00

Don't Shank, Just Skank (It Doesn't Have To Happen)

I have chosen, to pick this music video to analyse when linking this to my practical production, reasons for this being that this music video wants a change when looking at knife crime and the youth in today’s society. Furthermore the music video features a use of talented role models for today’s youth culture with the moral to stop knife crime. I liked the way the music video used dancing and sinking to get the message across and with today’s youth knowing the slang use of “Don’t Shank Just Skank” will allow young people to understand the message clearer, and this as a result would be something I would like to use in my practical production as the Youth culture will be more interested in these kind of situations.

Tower Hamlets Knife Crime Film

This is an advert from “it doesn’t have to happen.co.uk”, the reason I’ve chosen this text is because it shows the younger generation the consequences of carrying a knife and how it can affect themselves as well as others around them. In addition this advert will link to my production due to the outcomes shown are shown as negative and upsetting, my production will reinforce these contexts as I will hopefully be showing the positive outcomes of young boys with knives and explain a life without them and the positive outcomes out of this.

Home Office 'Anti-Knife Crime' Advert

The last advert I focused on, is a knife crime advert by the metropolitan police. This advert has features such as fast editing, long, medium and close up shots of the main actor, and this will help me when doing my practical production. Furthermore the moral of the advert is very important, as this is a feature I would like to use at the end of my practical production.

Xmas Task #6

2010-01-03T09:55:00.005-08:00

Critical Investigation: An investigation into the negative representations of black people in the advertising media. What are the contexts that seem to reinforce these stereotypes?

In this essay it will look into the investigation into the negative representations of black people in the advertising media. Black people are not shown that often when participating in the advertising media. My hypothesis therefore is to study the invisibility of black people in the advertising media and the under-representation of them in the advertising media.

“To advertise originally meant ‘to draw attention to something’ or to notify or inform someone or something” (Dyer 1982). 1. Advertising was first broadcasted as a television advert on July 1, 1941. As a result the advertising media has been very successful till this day. However there have been many complaints when the advertising media has been in control, this could be due to ethnicity, gender or age. This essay will mainly be focusing on the complaints within the ethnicity area of advertising.

The essay will be focusing on the black ethnicity and how they are portrayed in the advertising media. " Black people have largely been portrayed as part of the mainstream middle class, which does not accurately reflect the lives of many blacks who find themselves excluded from such a life in advanced capitalist societies",2. This quote could be quoted wrong as the quote is not actually true, due to the media portraying black people as part of the working class society and therefore this quote allows me to show focus on the black culture in today's society and how they are stereotyped throughout the advertising media.

Stuart Hall is a cultural theorist and sociologist. Hall's work covers issues of hegemony and cultural studies.

In addition to this a quote states that: “Advertising promotes unrealistic and dangerous role models". 3. There are many examples of this. Firstly a cartoon advert of Obama in Russian ice cream ad is being called racist. Matthew Creamer states that “This isn’t the first time President Barack Obama’s image has been exploited in international advertising”. 4. This quote shows that even though Barack Obama is a positive black man the advertising institution is still being very racist towards a positive black man. “These images of people are part of the attraction of the advertisement-and it needs to attract attention rapidly”. 5. This quote shows that the advertising institution must advertise products or adverts that will be eye-catching to the viewer and that the persuasion of the advert to the audience is at a high standard.

From the beginning of slavery in the seventeenth century, to the present day black people have fought not only for their freedom but to be understood and respected for their unique and cultural contributions. “Microsoft photoshopped a black man out of one of its ads targeting the Polish market”. 6. This quote states that black people in the advertising media once again are not being shown as positive individuals. In addition to this, the quote shows that even with The Public Order Act of 1986 black individuals are still getting racially attacked in the advertising media. The Public Order Act is when no one can make it an offence to publish anything which stirs up racial hatred, whether or not it is intended to.

Moreover, an American newspaper had published a cartoon image of a cartoon that portrays Ohio State Senator Nina Turner as Aunt Jemima. Stanley Miller, executive director of the Cleveland NAACP civil rights organization quoted that: "It was disturbing to me," he said.Miller said he's not upset about the politics behind the cartoon and accompanying editorial, but by the negative stereotype that dates back decades. 7.
This quote and advertisement shows that this advert being argued against is very upsetting towards Nina Turner. Also the use of the article being from America shows that the use of different countries in the essay shows the diversity of racism in advertisements across world.

Nevertheless "blacks now appear quite often in commercials, although not in the same proportion as in the total population". 8. This quote shows a more positive view to the invisibility of black people in the advertising media, black people now do participate in the advertising media, however this could be argued against due to them not having as much participation as say the white ethnicity will have.

Xmas Task #5

2010-01-03T09:55:00.003-08:00

Essay Plan

Introduction

"An investigation into the negative representations of black people in advertising media. What are the contexts that seem to reinforce these stereotypes?".

In my introduction, I will briefly explain my critical investigation and explain why I have chosen to talk about this topic. In addition I will explain my study I will be focusing on and the historical text I will be analysing too. I will talk about why I have chosen to explore this topic and then explore the representations over a history of time within my investigation.

1st Paragraph

In my first paragraph I will talk about the stereotypes and representations of black people within the advertising media. Sociologist Stuart Hall looks at gender and ethnicity and also relates to Marxism in today’s society. I will then Talk about Stuart Halls findings and give examples from different type of texts. In addition Liberalism can be linked with Stuart Hall as I will be referring this to the importance of individual freedom. Moreover the typical stereotypes of black people will be introduced.

2nd Paragraph

In this paragraph, I will be focusing on my historical text. I chose to focus on this text first as it will be easier for me to compare the both texts. Moreover I will be talking about the historical times that effected black people such as the slave trade, nevertheless I wont just be focusing on the negative points I will also be focusing on all the positive points such as Obama becoming of President, Usain Bolt being fastest s100m sprinter and linking this to them being successful role models in today’s society. When talking about the negative past experiences such as the slave trade I will analyse this as a result of the negative representations in today’s advertisements.

3rd Paragraph

In my 3rd paragraph I will compare both my current and historical text. I will talk about how the stereotypes and representations are changing or if they are the same, I will talk about the media and moral panics in which why these stereotypes are this way. In addition I will talk about issues and debates which have led to these positive and negative stereotypes. Moreover I can link this back to hegemony and the social reaction theory. With each ad I will talk about the Mise en Scene and Shep and compare. To sum up the paragraph I will talk about the similarities and differences between both of the texts, and then expand on each point.

4th Paragraph

In this paragraph I will talk about moral panics in dept more, and talk about what is the final stereotype of black people in today’s society. I will explore “what are the contexts that seem to reinforce these stereotypes”. I will sum up all the arguments and explanations of black peoples representations in today’s society. This will be done by me using different quotes and texts and looking at a range of different media platforms.

Conclusion

To conclude my essay I will have finally been able to investigate why there are many negative representations of black people in the advertising media, and what are the contexts that seem to reinforce these stereotypes.

Xmas Task #4

2010-01-03T09:55:00.001-08:00

Web Search

Anti-Harold Ford Ad Draws Racism Charges

http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/200601024_harold_ford_ad/

" WASHINGTON—A new Republican Party television ad featuring a scantily clad white woman winking and inviting a black candidate to “call me” is drawing charges of race-baiting, with critics saying it contradicts a landmark GOP statement last year that the party was wrong in past decades to use racial appeals to win support from white voters".

This quote and ad will help me due to me learning about more ads that have a negative racial background behind them.

Microsoft Edits Black Person Out of Ad; Everyone Offended

http://industry.bnet.com/advertising/10003668/microsoft-edits-black-person-out-of-ad-everyone-offended/

"Microsoft photoshopped a black man out of one of its ads targeting the Polish market"

This ad shows that in todays society racism still exits in advertisements in the media, so this therefore will help me compare different decades and if racisim still exits within the black culture within advertisements.

Black Newspaper Portrays Nina Turner as Aunt Jemima

http://www.bvblackspin.com/2009/12/01/black-newspaper-portrays-nina-turner-as-aunt-jemima/?feeddeeplinkNum=0

"Most black elected officials and community leaders wanted further study of the reform and were specifically worried about how changes would impact the education of "50,000 Black school children in the Cleveland School District".

This quote and advertisement will help me due to this advert being argued against in america. By using different countrys as my examples will show me the diversity of racisim in advertisements in the whole world.

Cartoon of Obama in Russian ice cream ad is being called racist

http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/a-conversation-about-race/general-news/2009/03/cartoon-of-obama-in-russian-ice-cream-ad-is-being-called-racist/

"This isn’t the first time President Barack Obama’s image has been exploited in international advertising".

This quote is useful, as it shows that even though there is a change in America due to there being a Black man as president, there is still a negative representation of him due to him being black in the advertising media.

Anti-racist advert in black and white

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1376473/Anti-racist-advert-in-black-and-white.html

"Ken Livingstone and Spice Girl Mel B as they appear in the anti-racism advert".

This advert is very interesting, as most of the adverts i have been focusing on have been negative, however this advert is positive. This therefore allows me to understand both sides of the argument and analyse how anti racism adverts with different races participating in them are very sucsessful.

http://www.prmuseum.com/kendrix/advtg.html

Xmas Task #3

2010-01-03T09:30:00.000-08:00

Historical Text

Engadget famously called out Sony’s multi-vignette PSP campaign in 2006 as being clearly racist. The ads were promoting the new ceramic white PSP. The ads featured an aggressive, strong-looking white woman clawing, clutching and otherwise dominating a subordinate black woman. The campaign was universally panned as racist and Sony yanked the ads, apologizing for its lack of sensitivity.

This ad was produced in 2006, I chose to pick an ad in 2006 as due to the slave trades back in the day most of the adverts were racist and was going to stay that way as long as the white upper class people had the upper hand. Nevertheless slave trade has ended a long time ago so there would be no use for racist ads to be shown, this was not the case however in 2006. The world has become a multi-cultural society so when analysing this ad I was fairly surprised that in 2006 the negative stereotypes of black women was portrayed this negative they were connoted as completely useless.

Moreover due to this ad being in 2006 and the Cadbury Dairy Milk advert being in 2009 this shows that with the amount of complaints being showed and heard, the message still is not going through as there are still racist adverts being showing in today’s society.

The black woman in this ad is shown as useless and insubordinate. This can relate to the way black women were portrayed back in the 60s and 70s. As they worked for the upper whiter class as slaves and also the use of them selling themselves for the white upper class men shows they were nothing and the ad shows that black women portrayed as “isolated” and “alienated” from today’s society.

Golly: now we know what’s truly offensive

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/charlesmoore/4520977/Golly-now-we-know-whats-truly-offensive.html

Police seize golly dolls

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1002/1002078_police_seize_golly_dolls.html

Xams Task #2

2010-01-03T08:56:00.000-08:00

O'Sullivan, Tim, Jewkes Yvonne(2004):Media Studies Reader.London Great Britain:Arnold Publishers

" Black people have largely portrayed as part of the mainstream middle class, which does not accuratley reflect the lives of many blacks who find themselves excluded from such a life in advanced capitalist societies", Page: 155

" Blacks now appear quite often in commercials, although not in the same proportion as in the total population". page: 156

" Advertising has traditionally relied on the use of stereotypes to put across information in a format that is quick and easy for the viewer or reader to understand". Page 154

This book relates to my topic, as i am focusing on the black culture in today's society and how they are stereotyped throughout the advertising media.

Casey Bernadette, Casey Neil, Calvert Ben, French Liam, Lewis Justin(2002):Television Studies. London Great Britain:Routledge.

"Raymond Williams (1980) described advertising as a 'magic system' that promoted capitalism and deflected attention away from social class differences". Page: 5

This quote will help me in my investigation, as it focuses on what other studies have focused on when looking at the advertising industry and the results of this may contribute to my case study.

Nicholas,Joe, Price John(1988): Advanced Studies in Media. Surrey United Kingdom: Neslon Publishers.

" A media organisation's critical independene can sometimes be affected by its relationship with other organisations which need publicity". Page:21

Again this quote is very useful due to how the media and other organisations have the upper hand on what gets shown and what doesnt get shown.

Branston,Gill,Stafford Roy(2003): the Media Student's Book.London Great Britain.Routledge.

"Many men feel that the most compelling advertising respresentations of masculinity are ones that produce real levels of anxiety and inadequacy, even if male culture, with its emphasis on 'strong' silences or loud camaraderie, makes it difficult to talk about or express such feelings". Page: 382

This quote will help me due to it focusing more on a males perspective when advertising.

Hall,Ken, Holmes Philips(2008): Media Studies As & A2. Essex Great Britain.Parson Education.

"Gauntlett argues that the effects model makes many incorrect assumptions such as assuming children cannot cope with violence in the media in any form. page:147

This quote will be useful due to me focusing on young people (boys) in the advertising media.

Rayner,Philip, Wall Peter, Kruger Stephen(2001): As Media Studies:The Essential Introduction. London Great Britain: Routledge Publishers.

" There is a range of organisations whose role is to make sure advertisements are not causing offence or breaking the rules".

" It is very difficult to assess the effect of advertising and the extent to which people are affected by the advertisements to which they are exposed".

" Advertising promotes unrealistic and dangerous role models".

These quotes will help me as they help me understand what the real advertising world is like and what may affected by the advertising media.

Xmas Task #1

2010-01-02T08:04:00.000-08:00

Critical Investigation: An investigation into the negative representations of black people in advertising media. What are the contexts that seem to reinforce these stereotypes?

I have chosen this text, due to the stereotypes of the black people shown in this advertisement.

The advertising regulator cleared this Cadbury advert of racism and perpetuating colonial stereotypes of African people. However there are many arguments against this advert that can be seen as racist due to the stereotypes of the black people within this advert used.

It can be argued that that the TV campaign was demeaning to African people and perpetuated racial stereotypes. Nevertheless it can also be positivley argued that the ad campaign was culturally sensitive and developed as a "joyous and uplifting portrayal of Ghanaian culture and something which Ghanaians can feel proud of".

Analysing the Advert

At the start of the advert, two black hands are shown shaking or having a friendly hand shake with each other. This straight away shows to the audience that the advert may have black people participating in it. In addition when the hand shake is over straight after African music is played in the background and then a mask or mascot appears on the screen. This mask may be seen as something from a tribe, however the use of African “facial features” on the mask may cause mayhem for the African audience who are watching it.
Moreover as the advert reaches 20seconds the ad shows a more clear understanding of the mise en scene which shows people walking in the country of Ghana. The cocoa beans shown throughout the advert also show that the setting is in Ghana as Ghana is the original place where cocoa beans were founded and made which as a result makes chocolate such as dairy milk. Furthermore the close ups of the African peoples faces may be seen as a negative thing as everything they did with their facial expressions the mascot will do. To conclude with the advert at the end of the advert a Ghanaian man is shown smiling with a dairy milk chocolate by his side alongside with a logo of "fair trade".

The advert can be seen as perpetuating "colonial stereotypes". This advert as a result has infuriated a number of prominent equality campaigners and Ghanaian leaders in the UK.
The Cadbury's TV advert – slogan "show us your cocoa beam" may also be seen as racist as it features a giant, negroid rotating head that unleashes mass dancing among what appear to be highly excitable people in an African village.

The advert also makes Africans look like buffooning simpletons. The biggest presence on the advert is a giant mask that people fall about in front of. Part of being able to use the Fairtrade brand should also include a responsibility to advertise ethically."

The representations of these people throughout the advert are that they are very happy as they are dancing and singing with big smiles on their faces. This could connote to the audience that the advert cant be racist as everyone in the advert is happy.

The advert is targeted at every one of all ages and races, as it is promoting Cadbury and there are many fans of Cadbury. In addition it can be targeted more at an African culture due to the mise en scene of the advert and also the people participating in the advert.

Socially the advert can be used so people can discuss the advert, whether it being about if the advert is racist or not or if they want to go out and by Cadburys Dairy Milk.

Moreover historically this advert may be seen as a very negative advert with many negative outcomes. In 2007 the ASA banned an ad for Cadbury's Trident chewing gum, which featured a black "dub poet" speaking in rhyme with a strong Caribbean accent, after more than 500 complaints that it was racist. This as result shows a negative view towards Cadbury as their representations and stereotypes of black people are very negative.

Theories

Gender and Ethnicity

Stuart Hall: Stuart Hall is a cultural theorist and sociologist who has lived and worked in the United Kingdom since 1951.

Hall's work covers issues of hegemony and cultural studies. He regards language-use as operating within a framework of power, institutions and politics/economics.
Hall has also widely discussed notions of cultural identity, race and ethnicity, particularly in the creation of the politics of Black diasporic identities.

Liberalism

The importance of individual freedom. This can be related to the reperesentations and stereotypes of black people due to back in the day, which were the war times showing that they were slaves for the upper white class. This as result leads to liberalism, showing that black people in todays society want a change. In addition young black teenagers who are stereotyped as gang members or vilains of knife crime may also be tired of this stereotype and want a change for a positive outcome.

Target..

2009-12-14T01:42:00.000-08:00

Target = 5 Websites

1) Anti-Harold Ford Ad Draws Racism Charges

http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/200601024_harold_ford_ad/

2) Microsoft Edits Black Person Out of Ad; Everyone Offended

http://industry.bnet.com/advertising/10003668/microsoft-edits-black-person-out-of-ad-everyone-offended/

3) Black Newspaper Portrays Nina Turner as Aunt Jemima

http://www.bvblackspin.com/2009/12/01/black-newspaper-portrays-nina-turner-as-aunt-jemima/?feeddeeplinkNum=0

4) Cartoon of Obama in Russian ice cream ad is being called racist

http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/a-conversation-about-race/general-news/2009/03/cartoon-of-obama-in-russian-ice-cream-ad-is-being-called-racist/

5) Anti-racist advert in black and white

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1376473/Anti-racist-advert-in-black-and-white.html

... Useful Links For My Critical Investigation...

2009-12-11T03:47:00.000-08:00

1) Vintage Racist Ads vs. New Black Images

http://www.blackvoices.com/black-history-month-2009/vintage-racist-ads

2) Sony under fire for "racist" advertising

http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/06/sony-under-fire-for-racist-advertising/

3) Racist Advertising

http://raceatrhodes.blogspot.com/2009/04/racist-advertising.html

4) Intel Ad Might be Racist, but Boy Does It Make Me Want a Core 2 Duo

http://gizmodo.com/284037/intel-ad-might-be-racist-but-boy-does-it-make-me-want-a-core-2-duo

5) Kids Company guilty of racist advertising says ASA

http://www.ligali.org/article.php?id=1979

... Bibliography: Books ...

2009-12-11T00:22:00.000-08:00

1) O'Sullivan, Tim, Jewkes Yvonne(2004):Media Studies Reader.London Great Britain:Arnold Publishers

" Blacks now appear quite often in commercials, although not in the same proportion as in the total population". page: 156

This book relates to my topic, as i am focusing on the black culture in today's society and how they are stereotyped throughout the advertising media.

2) Casey Bernadette, Casey Neil, Calvert Ben, French Liam, Lewis Justin(2002):Television Studies. London Great Britain:Routledge.

"Raymond Williams (1980) described advertising as a 'magic system' that promoted capitalism and deflected attention away from social class differences". Page: 5

This quote will help me in my investigation, as it focuses on what other studies have focused on when looking at the advertising industry and the results of this may contribute to my case study.

3) Williams,Kevin(2003): Understanding Media Theory. London Great Britain:Arnold Publishers.

" Cultural effects theories do locate media violence in a wider cultural context, drawing attention to questions other theories marginalise as well as the political dimension of the debate".

This quote will help me due to me looking at cultural defintions of advertising, and how the media have a big influence when advertising.

4) Nicholas,Joe, Price John(1988): Advanced Studies in Media. Surrey United Kingdom: Neslon Publishers.

" A media organisation's critical independene can sometimes be affected by its relationship with other organisations which need publicity". Page:21#

Again this quote is very useful due to how the media and other organisations have the upper hand on what gets shown and what doesnt get shown.

5)Burton, Graeme(1990): More than meets the Eye. London Great Britain: Arnold Publishers.

" Advertising is not a form of communication, but a way of using forms of communication to acheive effects".

Ive chosen this quote because it relavent to what my case study is about, which the advertising media.

6) Rayner,Philip,Wall Peter,Kruger Stephen(2001): As Media Studies:The Essential Introduction.London Great Britain:Routledge.

" Advertising promotes unrealistic and dangerous role models".

" it is very difficult to assess the effect of advertising and the extent to which people are affected by the advertisements to which they are exposed".

These quotes will be very useful due to once again reflecting on how the advertising media effects and promotes peoples behaviours and the way they think.

7) Branston,Gill,Stafford Roy(2003): the Media Student's Book.London Great Britain.Routledge.

This quote will help me due to it focusing more on a males perspective when advertising.

8) Hall,Ken, Holmes Philips(2008): Media Studies As & A2. Essex Great Britain.Parson Education.

"Gauntlett argues that the effects model makes many incorrect assumptions such as assuming children cannot cope with violence in the media in any form. page:147

This quote will be useful due to me focusing on tyoung people (boys) in the advertising media.

The Independent: Critical Investigation Related Articles...

2009-12-03T23:55:00.000-08:00

Article #1

Equality board defends racist posters

THE COMMISSION for Racial Equality yesterday defended its decision to launch a racist advertising campaign which suggested that black people were rapists and compared them to orang-utans, prompting more than 30 complaints from the public.

The government-funded race relations watchdog said the pounds 250,000 poster campaign was designed to shock the public into thinking about racism and challenging it when it occurred.
The posters, which went up at 192 sites in cities across Britain on Friday, were yesterday covered with the message, "What was worse? This ad, or your failure to complain?"

But the exercise was criticised by the Advertising Standards Authority, which said the commission could have the "dubious honour" of becoming the first organisation to be forced to have its campaigns vetted.
An authority spokesman said: "It is a shame that the CRE did not work with us within the guidelines laid down. The complaints we have received have come mainly from irate members of the public and there have been others from race relations organisations."

The three posters, which were spoof advertisements for bogus companies and did not mention the commission, prompted more than 30 complaints to the association.
One of the posters for a rape alarm shows a white woman sitting on a bus with a black man in the foreground. The accompanying slogan reads: "Because it's a jungle out there".

Another, for sports footwear, shows a black man jumping at a basketball hoop and an orang-utan in a similar pose reaching for a branch. The caption reads: "Born to be agile".
The final poster goes under the guise of a recruitment company's advertisement. It depicts two businessmen, one black and one white, climbing a ladder. The white man is treading on the hand of the black man with the caption reading: "Dominate the Race".

The commissioin was unapologetic. A spokesman said: "We have been hitting our heads against a brick wall when trying to get British society to pay attention to [racism]."
Sir Herman Ouseley, the chairman, said: "The campaign is designed to force people into considering their own personal attitude to racism and is specifically intended to provoke a reaction - preferably complaint or condemnation.

"There were still thousands of people who must have seen these posters and thought about complaining but couldn't be bothered."
Brett Gosper, who led the team that devised the advertising campaign, said its message was aimed at the "passive majority".

If a racist joke was delivered among such people in a group, they would not protest: "They will perhaps laugh and move on. The statement in this campaign is: condone or condemn, there is no in-between."
Sir Teddy Taylor, Tory MP for Southend East and Rochford, said the commission should be closed.

Article #2

Ford workers angry as blacks are whited out

When Henry Ford launched his Model T automobile, he told customers they could have in any colour they liked - as long as it was black.
Mr Ford's comments will be seen as bitterly ironic by British workers who were photographed to launch the "Everything we do is driven by you" advertising campaign in 1991.

Five members of ethnic minorities were invited to appear in the picture to show the racial mix of Ford's workforce at Dagenham, but in an "ethnic- cleansed" version of the photograph last year, the black and brown faces had been mysteriously replaced by white ones.

Four of the five workers still working at Dagenham have since registered their anger over what they perceive as blatant racism.
Bill Morris, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union, yesterday condemned the incident as "deeply offensive". He said: "This is an appalling situation which reveals the depths of racist attitudes in our society."

He said the union had elicited fulsome apologies from management and a pounds 1,500 cheque for each of the workers, in compensation for their hurt feelings. "We shall be equally vigorous in tackling racism in future, wherever it surfaces."

The dramatic transformation in the picture was first noticed by Noel Sinclair, a worker at Ford's Dagenham plant, when he walked into a showroom in Essex.
Mr Sinclair took the new brochure back to the paint, trim and assembly department at the Essex plant and showed four of his friends, who had readily agreed to pose.

Douglas Sinclair, a 56-year-old black man who has worked at the plant for 30 years, said his body remained in the picture, but a white, bespectacled face had appeared on top of it.
"My body was there, dressed in my overalls, the rings on my fingers were still there, but I had glasses on and a white face. It was embarrassing. People at work started to come up to me and call me 'Two Face'."

Patricia Marquis said she felt "humiliated and angry" when she saw that her face had aged 20 years, that she had put on 10lb and turned white.

Article #3

Yesterday's racist ads are today's Collectables

There was a sharp intake of breath, and a muttered "Jesus". Bernie Grant, militant black MP for Tottenham, was reading the caption on a postcard that showed five black toddlers sitting in a row. It said: "God made the little niggers, he made them in the night. He made them in a hurry, and forgot to make them white."

Then a rueful smile began to play on Mr Grant's lips, and he shook his head. This was not some racist propaganda from the present day. It was a postcard from 1929, part of a collection of black ephemera due to go on sale at Bonham's the auctioneers in London on Tuesday.

The Independent on Sunday had asked Mr Grant, veteran campaigner for black people's rights, to give his verdict on the collection. It includes books, songsheets, advertising posters and packaging from Europe and the US, dating from the 1880s to the 1960s.

Taken as a whole, the collection provides a fascinating insight into the way white society's attitude to black people changed over the years. Such material is usually snapped up by black American collectors, say the experts at Bonham's, who expect it to sell for more than pounds 2,000.

"Maybe they're buying this stuff to get it off the shelves," Mr Grant said at first. But his views changed as he saw more.

The earliest items in the collection are trade cards and packaging for goods such as soap and boot polish, dating from the 1880s. Beautifully illustrated, they portray young black men as exotic, almost superhuman figures from faraway lands, riding on giraffes and elephants. They are at one with nature - or, as Mr Grant said, "like animals".

Some are dressed as dandies, minstrels or huntsmen - which would have seemed amusingly outlandish to white Victorians. Many ads show products such as cocoa and cotton with the Africans who produced them, for authenticity. Others use shock tactics. Few show slaves in chains, but several portray black subjects as menacing. "The idea is to shake people up, in advertising terms - to attract their attention," said Mr Grant. "It's similar to what Benetton do now."

Some of the packaging mirrors the Victorian fascination with tales of brave missionaries "civilising" the savages. One ad entitled "The Birth of Civilisation - A Message from the Sea" shows a black man clutching a bar of Pears soap, washed up from a shipwreck. "The consumption of soap is a measure of the wealth, civilisation, health and purity of the people," says the caption.

Items from the turn of the century onwards show a fascination with black children rather than adults. The two most popular themes of the period are children eating watermelon - still an exotic food in Britain at the time - or being eaten themselves, by crocodiles.

"There was colonial unrest," Mr Grant said. "The missionaries felt that these people were sub-human, but they were still people. Portraying them as happy, smiling children, always eating, meant that they were not threatening. They needed educating, and there was no need to worry about them as a threat.

Media Guardian: Critical Investigation Related Articles

2009-12-03T12:03:00.000-08:00

Article #1

Stephen Fry tea ads cleared of racism

Two Stephen Fry-fronted TV ads for Twinings Tea have been cleared by the Advertising Standards Authority after a complaint that they presented a negative stereotype of a black man as sexually promiscuous.

The watchdog accepted the arguments by ad agency Lowe that "race was not central or relevant to the ads", which were based on Fry's character being "older and less cool" than the young black American man he featured alongside.

Twinings ad: features Fry talking to three women about tea In the first ad, Fry was shown alongside the man, called Tyrone, and speaking to three white women sitting at the counter of a teashop about tea. When he comments that they are "well informed" one of the women says: "Tyrone's been filling us in."

The women are then seen laughing and looking at Tyrone who drops a tin of tea to the floor with Fry commenting: "Oh has he? Has he indeed?"
A second ad showed the same teashop and featured Tyrone writing on a blackboard the words "Earl Grey puts the Zing in your ding-a-ling".In the course of a discussion about the phrase and the quality of the tea, Fry urges Tyrone to "feel" the taste. Tyrone responds "In your ding-a-ling?", with Fry retorting: "No Tyrone. Not in your ding-a-ling."

According to one viewer, both ads were offensive and harmful because she believed they played a negative racial stereotype of a black man as sexually promiscuous and, in the case of the first ad, also existing to provide sexual services for white women.

According to Lowe's submission to the ASA, this was the first complaint that the Twinings campaign was racist.
Lowe said that the character of Tyrone was picked as an opposite to Fry and was "intended to be a way of contemporising the brand and making tea cool".

In its ruling, which cleared the advertisement of breaching its standards code, the ASA said: "Although we acknowledged the innuendo was mildly sexual, we did not consider that it was reliant on the young man's ethnic origins or a racial stereotype.

"We noted the character of Tyrone was shown as an attractive, confident young man and ... clearly enjoying the attentions of, and flirting with, the women.
"We did not consider that his or the women's enjoyment of the situation implied that his character was there simply to provide sexual services for white women, but rather that he was a young man enjoying the confidence-boosting attentions of a group of women."

We considered that Tyrone was shown as a positive character and, because neither ad was reliant on race for its humour, viewers generally were unlikely to believe the ads implied that black men were promiscuous or there to provide sexual services for white women.
"We concluded that the ads were not harmful or likely to cause offence to most viewers."

Article #2

Guinness faces lawsuit for KKK advert

A former pub landlord is suing Guinness because he claims the company's advertising led to a boycott of his pub.Paul Doherty said students organised the boycott after a poster featuring a image of the Ku Klux Klan was put up in his pub.

Mr Doherty is claiming the poster, part of Guinness's "Not everything in black and white makes sense" campaign, was put up by a Guinness sales representative while he was away on holiday.

The poster was a reference to a cinema advertisement that showed a Klan rally with the comment: "44% of Ku Klux Klan members were delivered by a black midwife".But Mr Doherty said that because the poster in his pub showed the Klan image but did not display the statistic, it could be interpreted as racist.

He said several customers had asked him what the poster was doing there."I got asked a lot of questions like 'Does Guinness support the Ku Klux Klan?'" he said. "The poster was nothing to do with me personally but there is a minority of people who think if something like that is displayed in your premises then you are responsible for it."Guinness is contesting the action and the case is expected to last five days.

Article #3

Court lambasts 'racist' Land Rover advert

Land Rover has been forced into an humiliating climbdown after an advertising campaign it ran in South Africa was judged racist and "a mockery of African culture".

A South African court has ordered the company to withdraw the offending advert, which showed a semi-nude African woman whose elongated breasts are blown sideways in the tailwind of a Land Rover.

But in an unprecedented move against an advertiser, the court also ruled the company must publish a statement that amounts to a humiliating public apology in all the publications the three-page advert originally appeared in.

The replacement adverts will contain a ruling by the country's Advertising Standards Authority, which judged the advert "irresponsible, exploitative and constitutes racial stereotyping and violates human dignity".

It added: "The insensitive portrayal of the woman makes a mockery of African culture."
ASA executive director Deline Beukes said this was the first time such a move had been ordered and that the sanction reflected the severity of the case.

Ms Beukes said the new sanction was a reaction to accusations the ASA was a toothless organisation.
She said it would discourage so-called "hit and run" advertising, where the desired shock effect is achieved before the ASA has the time to ban an advertisement.

... Selina Stokes Article...

2009-11-23T03:57:00.000-08:00

Selina stokes a diversity debate that needs addressing

Monday 8 September 2008

It will come as a surprise to few but a delight to many that Selina Scott is suing Five over ageism in its refusal to hire her for a maternity cover role and choice of younger presenters instead. It is a delight not because Five is worse than anyone else in this respect, but because it stokes a debate which urgently needs to be taken more seriously. Casual sexism, ageism and racism are the collective dirty secret of the vast majority of media institutions, and they represent as much of an industrial challenge as they do a moral one.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission's Report on Sex and Power, published last week, drew a depressing picture for women in the workplace. In general the progression of women at the highest level in the workplace is pitiful and the media are no exception: only 13.6% of national newspaper editors (including the Herald and Western Mail) are women; only 10% of media FTSE's 350 companies have women at the helm; and at the BBC, which has often been held as an exemplar of diversity, women make up less than 30% of most senior management positions. It puts into context Jeremy Paxman's deranged rant about the white male in television. Ethnic minority representation is even worse.

A couple of weeks ago Pat Younge, former BBC head of sports programmes and planning who left to work for Discovery in the US, caused a stir at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International TV Festival by saying that diversity targets should be like financial targets - you don't hit them, you get fired. I have to say that as board champion for diversity at Guardian News and Media I would currently be firing myself and most of the board for some missed targets. But Younge is right - because diversity targets are not just a feelgood add-on, they are vital to the health of any media business. The temptation to hire in one's own image for most managers is as irresistible as it is subliminal - which is why there are a lot of opinionated women working in digital management at the Guardian, and why we all need targets to remind us to look beyond the mirror.

On screen, any number of unconventional-looking ageing blokes (Jeremy Clarkson, Jonathan Ross, Chris Moyles, Alan Sugar, Adrian Chiles, Jeremy Paxman, Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan) are paid at a top rate for the talent they possess beyond their appearance. For women it is an altogether different story - appearance and age are clearly factors in choosing female presenters in a way that they aren't for men.

The media should be deeply concerned about this un-diversity - not because it represents moral turpitude on our part, but because it represents bloody awful business sense. What is happening to the UK population at the moment? It is ethnically diversifying, and it is ageing. It is also the case that it is, as of the 2001 Census, marginally more female than it is male. And we live longer - so older women, and non-white potential audiences are on the rise. In London, the major urban conurbation and key market for so many media brands, the population is around 37% ethnically diverse, yet this is nowhere near reflected in the management structures of media companies. Or indeed in their on-screen or in-paper representation.

How though, can you hope to address audiences for which you have no instinctive feel, and towards which you show casual discrimination? We are all in danger of becoming irrelevant to the changing demographics of our target audience at a time when holding any kind of audience is key to survival. If white men are so good at solving business problems - and given that they represent well over 80% of FTSE 100 directors we can speculate that this is a skill they must possess in measure - then I'm surprised they haven't grasped this one already.

3 Articles related to my Critical Investigation & Linked Production...

2009-11-22T13:23:00.000-08:00

Article #1

Cadbury Dairy Milk ad cleared of racism

Wednesday 11 November 2009

The Cadbury Dairy Milk advert

The advertising regulator has cleared Cadbury of racism and perpetuating colonial stereotypes of African people in its latest TV advertising campaign.

Cadbury's campaign featured Ghanaian musician Tinny and aimed to promote the chocolate brand's tie-up with the Fairtrade organisation for cocoa from the African nation for its Dairy Milk range.

The Advertising Standards Authority received 29 complaints that the TV campaign was demeaning to African people and perpetuated racial stereotypes.

However, the ASA's council has decided not to formally investigate the complaints. "Although the council acknowledges that Cadbury had used stereotypes in their ads, they felt that the stereotypes were not harmful or offensive," said the ASA, which argued that most ads use some form of stereotype device to get a message across.

Cadbury has steadfastly maintained that the company went to "considerable lengths" to ensure that the ad campaign was culturally sensitive and developed as a "joyous and uplifting portrayal of Ghanaian culture and something which Ghanaians can feel proud of".

In 2007 the ASA banned an ad for Cadbury's Trident chewing gum, which featured a black "dub poet" speaking in rhyme with a strong Caribbean accent, after more than 500 complaints that it was racist.

Article #2

ASA to investigate gum ads over racism

Thursday 1 March 2007

The Advertising Standards Authority is to investigate the Trident chewing gum TV ad after complaints that it is racist.

The ASA has received 91 complaints about the ad which have claimed the ad is "racist, degrading and portrays a negative stereotype of Afro-Caribbeans," said an ASA spokesman.

The advert was produced by JWT and features a Jamaican comedian doing a skit on chewing gum. JWT said the ad, which concludes with the poet chanting "mastication for the nation," was supposed to reflect dub poetry performers such as Benjamin Zephaniah.

The £10m campaign is supposed to help Trident compete aginst Wrigley's 95% share of the UK chewing gum market.

Article #3

Monkey advert 'resembling' Obama is pulled in Japan

Friday 27 June 2008

A Japanese mobile phone firm said today it had pulled a TV advert depicting a monkey as a political candidate amid accusations that it was a racist reference to Barack Obama, who is seeking to become the first black US president.

The ad, for eMobile, shows a monkey in a suit addressing an election rally, surrounded by supporters carrying placards with the word "Change".

The apparent intention is to persuade subscribers to other mobile phone carriers to transfer to eMobile.

But the combination of the monkey, and the resemblance of his message to the theme of Obama's campaign - "Change we can believe in" - prompted bloggers to accuse the company of making a racist slur against the Democratic hopeful.

The company, which stressed it had used the macaque mascot in several other adverts, said it had never intended to insult Obama but had decided to pull the "Change" ad in response to criticism in the blogosphere.

"We had no bad intentions, but this is a cross-cultural gap issue and we have to accept it," eMobile's chief executive, Sachio Semmoto, told Reuters. "There are African-Americans in Japan, so we decided to take prompt action and shut down the ad."

Semmoto went further, describing the senator from Illinois as the kind of leader who could benefit not only the US but also Japan. "For two years I've been saying Obama has the capacity to change America, the kind of capacity that Japan needs," he said.

Monkeys are revered in Japan, and their image can be found at numerous Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines, but eMobile's choice of animal for this ad did not impress the foreign blogging community.

Zurui, in a message to the Black Tokyo site, wrote: "Well it seems like the ugly head of racism has reared its big head again on Japanese television.

Final Critical Investigation & Linked Production...

2009-11-22T13:00:00.000-08:00

Critical Investigation:

An investigation into the negative representations of black youth in advertising media. What are the contexts that seem to reinforce these stereotypes.

Linked Production:

Two 1-minute adverts that raises awareness of the dangers of misrepresentation that reflects a different approach by showing this group in a new, more positive light.

... Media Guardian: Race & Religion ...

2009-11-19T14:52:00.000-08:00

Article #1

Celebrity Big Brother contestants coached to avoid race row repeat

Wednesday 31 December 2008

The stars due to appear on Celebrity Big Brother when it launches this week have been coached about the race row that consumed the show two years ago and warned not to repeat such behaviour.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/dec/31/celebrity-big-brother-race-coaching

The reality show, which returns to Channel 4 on Friday after a two-year break because of the row involving Jade Goody and Bollywood actor Shilpa Shetty that prompted the most serious crisis in Channel 4's history, is expected to include celebrities including Ulrika Jonsson, Scottish politician Tommy Sheridan and Austin Powers actor Verne Troyer.

Programme executives said they were confident they have done everything necessary to prevent a repeat of the controversy that consumed the show, prompting more than 50,000 complaints.

Celebrity Big Brother executive producer Sharon Powers said all the celebrities had been spoken to about the 2007 controversy and been sent DVDs of previous series of the show.

"We have spoken to the celebrities. If they have not seen it already we have explained to them the things that happened in the last Celebrity Big Brother and made the rules really clear to them, what sort of language won't be tolerated and unacceptable behaviour," said Powers at the programme's launch yesterday.

"We have spoken to all of them in detail and they are all very clear what the boundaries are. I think they have all seen [the show]. We have told anyone who hasn't seen it to go and look at it on YouTube."

Executive producer Phil Edgar-Jones added: "Frankly they are not stupid. They know if they say anything like that they will be chucked out."

The last series of Celebrity Big Brother, which aired at the beginning of 2007, became the most notorious show in Channel 4's history.

Shetty's treatment by fellow housemates Goody, Danielle Lloyd and Jo O'Meara prompted 54,000 complaints to the station and media regulator Ofcom and led to effigies being burnt on the streets of India. As the row escalated, Gordon Brown was forced to defend Britain as "a country of fairness and tolerance".

Ofcom ruled that Channel 4 had breached the broadcasting code and Channel 4 was also forced to air three apologies ahead of the 2008 Big Brother series.

Powers said: "We don't ever set out to create controversy as such. What we aim to do is get an interesting bunch of famous people who we talk to and meet on an individual basis.

"The truth of it is we don't really know what is going to happen. The first time they meet each other is when they walk through the Big Brother doors. That's the beauty of Big Brother."

Edgar-Jones said a special welfare team would watch the contestants around the clock to spot if anyone was feeling isolated, unhappy, or not unwell.

"We do understand there is a lot of scrutiny of television at the moment. Procedures have been pretty much the same [and] we have tightened them up. If things are getting out of hand we will deal with them," he said.

David W illiams, the commissioning editor for Channel 4, said: "From a channel's point of view it has never been a case of sanitising Big Brother. As we do after every year we look at our procedures. We have got procedures in place which are tried and tested so that we can cope with every eventuality."

Celebrity Big Brother was rested at the beginning of 2008 in the wake of last year's race row, but its replacement, Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack, failed to capture viewers' imagination on digital channel E4.

The final of last year's Celebrity Big Brother, won by Shetty, averaged 5.8 million viewers across two hours of television. It peaked with 7.3 million.

But the final of this year's main Big Brother show attracted the lowest audience of any of its nine series' climaxes, with a peak of 5.1 million viewers watching Rachel Rice emerge as the winner, according to unofficial overnight figures.

The show's ratings high-point was series three in 2002, when Kate Lawler's victory attracted an average of 9.4 million viewers to the 10pm final night show – a 50% share of the audience.

The programme was axed in Australia this year because of low ratings.

Article #2

The right ethnic mix

Monday 22 June 2009

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/jun/22/masoods-eastenders-bbc

The director shouts "Cut!" - and wardrobe, props and make-up people swarm the set. One of the principal actors beckons me over and asks: "Can you pronounce it for us again?" As I say "Alhumdulillah" (praise to God) the rest of the cast repeat it over and over until they are satisfied it sounds right.

In the meantime, I am pulled into a discussion about the Indian sweets on set: are they the right ones; by tradition, which character would give them to whom?

I am not on the set of a British Asian film, but rather at the studios of EastEnders. For six months I have been working as one of a group of occasional consultants: looking over scripts, sometimes being on set, and advising on aspects of British Asian culture relating to the Masoods.

Playing unsafe

Albert Square's previous Asian family, the Ferreiras, were criticised as boring and unrealistic - their first names were a mixture of Muslim and Hindu, their surname was Portuguese. "We admittedly came under the spotlight with the Ferreiras," says John Yorke, the BBC's controller of drama production. "We played safe with them and ultimately didn't give them good story lines. We're certainly not doing that with the Masoods, but the devil is in the detail and now pretty much everything we write for them that has a cultural or religious aspect is checked."

While the Ferreiras were "safe", the Masoods' current story line is at the other end of the scale - with the elder son, Syed, embarking on a gay affair. "Part of the reason we chose the Masoods is that it does present us with a whole new set of taboos," admits Yorke. However, he says merely being able to feature such an issue is a positive sign. "Post 9/11, Muslim characters in drama became either saint or terrorist - there was no middle ground.

But the fact that we can now actually do a gay Muslim story line is testament to exactly how much we've moved on."

EastEnders is the third most popular series among ethnic minorities, according to Barb, the audience ratings body, behind The X Factor and Britain's Got Talent: on average 43% of the non-white TV viewing audience watch the programme. It also has a long history of featuring black and Asian characters: the first episode included a Turkish cafe owner.

And although cliched roles in soaps and primetime dramas also still exist, ethnic minority representation in drama has advanced across the board over the last decade or so with dramas such as the recent Moses Jones, which focused on issues in London's Ugandan community, and characters such as Anwar in Skins.

But Coronation Street's key Asian character, Dev, is rarely seen through the prism of his religion, and Channel 4's Hollyoaks takes a similar approach with its black and Asian characters. Does that make characters less realistic? Lucy Allan, series producer on Hollyoaks, says the show is keen not to hammer home ethnicity. "We recently had a skin bleaching story line around one of our female Asian characters, and obviously that is a culturally specific issue and it had a big reaction; some viewers were shocked, others identified with it. But as a rule we don't look at any of our ethnic minority characters in terms of just their ethnicity, and if the online viewer forums are anything to go by, we've got it right."

Research and consultation are employed by most broadcasters when it comes to black and Asian characters. But while this is a short cut to accuracy, it would perhaps not be necessary if there were more off-screen talent diversity.

Ade Rawcliffe, diversity and talent manager for Channel 4, believes there is still not enough representation behind the camera. "We're trying hard to make it easier to get in, to make it not about who your dad is, but there is still a way to go. There is no shortage of people from minorities looking to get into the industry, but finding and nurturing that talent is key."

Black Doctor Who

For Ben Stephenson, the BBC's controller of drama commissioning, on-screen representation is potentially even more important than off-screen in terms of attracting minorities to the industry. "The more on-screen we can do with minorities, the more those groups will feel like television is a realistic part of their experience and therefore a career option for them."

Stephenson insists that desire for more minority representation was not behind the casting of a black actor as Friar Tuck in Robin Hood. "Obviously you wouldn't cast a black actress in the role of, say, Margaret Thatcher but in a fantasy series like Robin Hood you've got leeway to play around with the characters. Similarly with Doctor Who - it's the least of our concerns whether the Doctor is black or white, it really is just about who is right for the part."

Yorke agrees that on-screen portrayal has improved, but acknowledges that diversity in the off-screen teams is still an issue. "We're working hard to rectify that, and what we really need is a long-term strategic investment in talent."

Things are changing - but given that one writer recently asked me "exactly how this praying five times a day works", there is some way to go before the industry can be sure that a lack of off-screen diversity is no longer an issue.

Article #3

Channel 4 to stoke race debate

Wednesday 14 October 2009

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/oct/14/channel-4-stoke-race-debate

As controversy builds around British National Party leader Nick Griffin's imminent appearance on BBC1's Question Time, Channel 4 is set to stoke the race debate by giving airtime to two professors who believe black people are less intelligent than white people.

The documentary, fronted by former BBC reporter Rageh Omaar, will explore what the broadcaster describes as "science's last taboo".

In the documentary, Race and Intelligence: Science's Last Taboo, Psychology professor Richard Lynn will say there is a global "league table", using evidence from IQ tests, to claim that intelligence is based on race, with north-east Asians in the top tier and Australian aborigines at the bottom.

Fellow psychology professor John Philippe Rushton, who has claimed that Europeans are more intelligent than Africans – and that men are cleverer than women – will also appear in the programme, due to be broadcast later this month .

"The differences between men and women's brains are due to spatial ability, but the differences between black and white and east Asian brains is due to general intelligence," Rushton tells Omaar. "That's what we think is the situation."

The academics appear as part of Omaar's investigation into controversial claims made by Nobel Prize winner and DNA pioneer James Watson two years ago that black people are less intelligent than other races.

Channel 4's head of specialist factual, Ralph Lee, said Omaar, now a presenter on Arabic language news channel Al-Jazeera International, also spoke to scientists who drew "radically different conclusions" to the views held by Lynn and Rushton.

"Does genetic science back up the idea that race and intelligence are linked? It is absolutely clear that it does not support the link. Rageh is able to challenge and present the absolute opposite arguments," added Lee.

"He didn't start with a fixed position – he started with an open mind – and he discovers that there are inequalities in society that are leading people with different backgrounds to perform differently and succeed differently in society and that is nothing to be comforted by.

"He thinks there are important things that need to be addressed but he thinks the idea of a link between race and intelligence or the idea that skin colour is an indicator of intelligence is complete nonsense."

Another Channel 4 documentary in the season of programmes, Race: Science's Last Taboo, will ask whether there are biological advantages to being mixed race. The season is being supported by a marketing campaign showing a mixed-race Margaret Thatcher and a white Usain Bolt.

Oona King, the Channel 4 head of diversity and former Labour MP, said: "With race we will always have a heated debate. The point about this season is that I think it will change the terms of the debate. There is no point sweeping it under the carpet."

BBC1's celebrity dance show Strictly Come Dancing was at the centre of a race row earlier this month when it emerged that dancer Anton Du Beke had made a racially tinged remark about his dance partner Laila Rouass.

The show's veteran presenter Bruce Forsyth later said the nation should get a "sense of humour" about the incident and compared it to Americans calling English people "limeys".

But King said Forsyth had missed the point. "I have a lot of sympathy for people who are not sure what is or isn't acceptable to say. My view is we need to open up the terms of the debate, not close it down," she added.

"The key point for me is that when people say you don't have a sense of humour, they are not taking the context into account. The context for a black child who is being bullied day in, day out and called racist names is entirely different from an off-the-cuff remark as Bruce was saying about limeys."

Griffin is due to appear on Question Time next week, with fellow confirmed panellists including the justice secretary, Jack Straw, and the black writer and critic Bonnie Greer.

King said it was important that viewpoints such as those held by the BNP were challenged in the mainstream. "My personal view is that if you don't confront people with counter arguments you allow them to move into a vacuum, especially when there is disillusionment with mainstream parties," she added. "I think it is incumbent upon the mainstream to challenge views that are reprehensible and off the wall."

Race: Science's Last Taboo begins with Rageh Omaar's documentary, Race and Intelligence: Science's Last Taboo, on 26 October at 9pm.

The BBC will only survive by understanding its diverse consumers

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/sep/15/bbc.television

A snail could crawl the entire length of the Great Wall of China in just slightly more time than the 200 years it will take for women to be equally represented in parliament. That was just one of a series of striking statistics from the Equality and Human Rights Commission in their Sex and Power report published last week.

It added that women hold just 11% of FTSE directorships, with the judiciary and others also strongly criticised. At the BBC, the figures are a bit better - almost 38% of all senior managers are women - but it does bring into sharp focus the challenge the whole media industry is facing to improve diversity among its workforce.

Tomorrow's Guardian Ethnic Media Summit is a chance to debate what is arguably our most pressing diversity issue - ensuring more talent from ethnic minority communities reaches the upper echelons of broadcasting. The growth particularly of young ethnic minority audiences, is soaring - way above the population average - making them a critical cultural and business challenge for everyone in our sector.

Things are definitely changing but still not quickly enough. The whole media industry needs to look afresh at what more can be done.

So why does a white, middle-aged bloke like me feel compelled to write about this? As the BBC's chief creative officer, overseeing our programme production made in-house, I believe passionately that only by drawing on the talents of every part of society can we best reflect the lives and concerns of our diverse audiences on screen.

We must do more and the BBC is certainly redoubling its efforts. And though ethnicity is very important, it is only one part of this story. We must also think in terms of age, disability, gender, social class and regional difference.

That is why I think the historic changes to move a significant proportion of BBC network production out of London to places such as Glasgow or North West England over the next decade might be key to all this.

We will transfer large numbers of staff from London but we will also recruit many new faces - a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to add something substantially new to our gene pool of talent, to change the BBC's DNA a little.

We seem to be moving in the right direction, increasing opportunities for people from ethnic minority backgrounds at most levels.

The proportion of our staff from ethnic minorities is 11.5% - again comparing very well with both public and private sector organisations including the civil service, health service and the police. But as the Edinburgh Television Festival heard, still not enough people make it into senior management roles, particularly as controllers and commissioners.

The BBC has looked closely at the barriers to progress and announced new schemes to tackle them - costing £3m over three years.

Firstly, we need to change the way we recruit. We are dramatically increasing the outreach work we do - in community groups, colleges, schools and through open sessions across the UK - to encourage under-represented groups to apply to the BBC.

I recently worked with an energetic bunch of young students, mainly from ethnic minority backgrounds, who were introduced to the BBC by the University of Central Lancashire - from the former mill towns of Blackburn and Preston, not places we'd traditionally think to look for the next generation.

Then we need to be better at retaining talented individuals and supporting them in reaching their full potential and moving into senior roles. Our new mentoring and development programme, which offers greater one-to-one and intensive personalised support, is so important. In addition, our new trainee production scheme, which has just kicked off, and our journalism trainee schemes, have a strong diversity focus, so we are providing clearer pathways into all parts of the BBC.

On screen, we must constantly strive to reflect as accurately as possible the rich cultural mix of the UK.

Earlier this year BBC non-executive director Samir Shah criticised what he called "inauthentic representation" of ethnic minority communities, citing the Ferreira family in EastEnders.

It is unfair to highlight one five-year-old example from a drama series that remains the most popular programme on television among ethnic minority audiences. This example fails to reflect many other aspects of our work, particularly our in-house drama output. Our continuing drama series, including Holby City and Casualty, have led the way in casting diverse talent, in leading roles as well. Though we do not always get it right, overall we have much to be proud of.

The BBC set up the Writers' Academy, under John Yorke, four years ago, increasing the number of writers from diverse backgrounds working on our biggest programmes, including some of our continuing drama series.

In addition, programmes such as Criminal Justice, No1 Ladies Detective Agency, Life Is Not All Ha Ha Hee Hee, Shoot the Messenger, the entertainment series Last Choir Standing and a lot of our children's output have also been praised for the way they have represented diversity or addressed issues faced by communities from different backgrounds.

Part of this is ensuring we get closer to audiences when making programmes. For example, White Girl - part of BBC2's groundbreaking White Season - told the story of a white family relocating from Leeds to a predominantly Asian community in Bradford. Here the production team worked very closely with the community to ensure a sensitive and accurate portrayal.

In an increasingly globalised creative economy where competition will intensify, it is only by understanding our diverse consumers that we can stay relevant and survive. The BBC prides itself on keeping in touch with its audiences - to do so successfully we'll need to keep making changes, and fast.

.. On & Off Screen Representations..

2009-11-15T03:34:00.000-08:00

These Statistics are from Home Office:

The total number of stop and searches conducted by police increased by 14% in 2005, with terrorism-related searches increasing by 9%. Black people were six times more likely to be stopped and searched by police than white people and there were nearly twice as many searches of Asian people than white people.

The statistics also showed that racist incidents recorded by the police had increased by 7% in 2005.

On Screen Representations...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/6753695.stm

This news article, represents young black people of being the only race that commits the most crimes in the UK.

The article covers points such as: 'Stop and search' , 'Blair failure' and 'Gangsta rap'. None of these representations are negative, however their is some discrimination in this article that supports young black people.

Moreover an article from The Guardian showed what Tony Blair had said:

Tony Blair yesterday claimed the spate of knife and gun murders in London was not being caused by poverty, but a distinctive black culture.

This as a conlcusion, could lead to the majority of the Uk population also having the same views, as the moral panics that are shown on screen of represntations of black people are becoming more and more strong, also the use of the on screen topics being shown to the UK population about young black people are all negative instead of positive, which therefore as a result may lead to everyones views on young black people being the same and being negative.

Off Screen Representations...

Due to all the moral panics in the media about young black males and the high statistics on rape, kinfe crime and gun crime, this leads their stereotypes to be very strong. For example not all young black males may be offenders of knife crime or gun crime, however due to all the moral panics in the media, they are stereotyped that they are and may get stopped and searched for no reason at all, but just because they are black.

Powerpoint...

2009-11-12T10:24:00.000-08:00

.. Mini Essays...

2009-11-09T03:05:00.000-08:00

Carry out in depth research into the main theory/theorist you plan to use for your Critical Investigation and summarise the info. On a word doc. How can this be applied to your text/topic you’re researching? Write a 300 word (minimum) mini-essay.

For my research I will be focusing on both Marxism and Liberalism theorists. Firstly Marxism is an ideology derived from the writings of the sociologists Karl Marx (1818-83), which sees society as dominated by capitalist structures which maintain the hegemony of the ruling class and lead to the exploitation of workers. In addition modern Marxists concentrate on the ways in which social institutions such as the media sustain dominant ideology and false consciousness in the interest of the ruling elite, this therefore will link to my study as I am focusing on the representations of young black boys and the media obviously may concentrate on this topic more than other topics in the media. Secondly Liberalism this refers to the belief in the importance of individual freedom. I can link this with my critical investigation, due to black people wanting a change, so they can be looked as positive role models. It is a fact that 85% of major media news people fall into the liberal category, which is far from representative of the general population; this can be seen as biased in many ways.

Carry out in depth research into the main issue/debate you plan to use for your Critical Investigation and summarise the info. On a word doc. How can this be applied to your text’ topic you’re researching?

"To what extent does the advertising media undermine the black youth within society coinciding with the stereotypical behaviour and clothing of those teenagers".

> Nearly a third of children in the UK have been affected by gun and knife crime

> One in five 16 year-old boys admits to having attacked someone and intended to hurt them seriously with a knife

> 63% of young people surveyed believe image is directly linked to gun and knife crime; 61% think gun and knife crime is about revenge and reprisals; and 63% believe peer pressure is a main reason for gun and knife crime.

> The most commonly given reason for carrying a knife is ‘for protection'. Other reasons include ‘in case there's a fight' and ‘for use in crimes': Source: Offending, Crime and Justice Survey 2005.

The Net has launched two new radio adverts to discourage young people from carrying knives.
Building on the success of Operation Blunt's 'Knife City', the radio adverts target young people aged from 11-19.

Horrific photos of real stab wounds are being used in a new campaign against knife crime.
The graphic images feature in "viral" internet and mobile phone adverts.
One shows a man with a Swiss army knife and a screwdriver sticking out of his chest.
Others show exposed intestines which have emerged from a knife wound, a leg which has become gangrenous after a knife attack, the hand of a victim whose thumb has been severed and deep wounds to the bone.
The campaign hopes to drive home the message that people who carry knives are more likely to become stab victims.

http://www.itv.com/?vodcrid=crid://itv.com/20285&DF=1

The mother of a knife attack victim has rubbished a Home Office shock advert campaign to tackle the crime. Ann Rock's son, Christopher, was the target of an attack in 2006. The 21 year old was stabbedsix times in an unprovoked attack outside his home in South Wales.
He nearly died after receiving wounds in the arm, back, lung and diaphragm - one narrowly missed his heart.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Sky-News-Archive/Article/20080641317443

.. Half Term Work ..

2009-11-01T09:29:00.000-08:00

Critial Investigation... To what extent does the advertising media undermine the black youth within society coinciding with the stereotypical behaviour and clothing of those teenagers.

Linked Production ... A cinema advert lasting 1 minute reflecting a different approach on black young teenagers within society, acting in a way in which the media wouldn't associate them with.

Media Language: Media Language will help me when I am focusing on my study; this is because when I will be working on my critical investigation many references to media language will be made. When doing my linked production I will be using media terminology such as high key lighting, and which type of shots I will be using, this therefore will help me achieve top marks and also improve my understanding of key media terminology and concepts during the study. Moreover I will be showing the use of AO1: to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of media concepts, contexts and critical debates.

Institution: After watching many adverts on young teenage boys and knife crime adverts, I have analyzed that many young teenagers that have acted in these adverts have had the stereotypical behaviour and clothing of those teenagers. For example: Tower Hamlets knife crime advert shows the audiences that the stereotypes of young teenage boys have remained the same. Nevertheless Tower Hamlets give a positive message at the end of the advert stating: “working together for a safer London” which also is acted upon by the metropolitan police as there logo is shown when the statement is stated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSSrlbiME3Q

Genre: there is no real genre, as I will be looking at still and moving image adverts, however if there was a genre when doing a moving image advert it may come under crime.

Representation: the representations of young black teenagers are very negative. Due to the increase of knife crime in today’s society this has made the stereotypes stronger. Nevertheless in my linked production I will be showing the other side to the argument showing a positive view on young black teenagers in today’s society.

Audience: the audience will be mainly to a youth culture, due to them understanding what goes on in today’s society as it may affect them, moreover an older culture for the audience can be taken in to consideration as well, due to them learning the real positive outcomes of young teenage boys and not jus listening to the negative stereotypes that the media has portrayed young black teenagers to be.

Ideologies: The ideology of ethnic minorities when looking at advertising media showing that they undermine the black youth within society coinciding with the stereotypical behaviour and clothing of those teenagers is not equal. Youth culture has been largely defined and exploited by advertising and marketing agencies as means of identifying audiences and markets of young people with a high level of spending power.

Narrative: there is no real narrative, as we are looking at representations.

S H E P

Social: The social issues with this are obviously the issues that the young black teenagers are bringing in today’s society: such as high statistics in rape, knife crime and gun crime. This therefore shows that some teenagers may act in the same way, however some teenagers may not but due to the moral panics being made in today’s society all young black teenagers are being seen as negative individuals too.

Historical: The historical issues with this are Colonialism still exists to a certain extent and that the youth culture is still portrayed in a negative way. Especially more with young black teenagers the stereotypes over previous years were always negative: for example: slave trade days when young black boys were made to work for rich white upper class families, in addition in today’s society young black boys are often criminals of knife and gun crime showing that historically the stereotypes and lives of young black boys are becoming worse. Nevertheless this can be argued against as in today’s society there are many black males who are very successful and should be looked up to as role models. For example: Obama and Usain Bolt.

Economical: certain areas in Britain are represented in negative ways, such as South London, South London is a deprived area, which therefore lacks money which results in less people wanting to purchase land and houses which as well can be due to the fact of the high knife and gun crime in this area.

Political: the political issues may be that; Britain may not look like an attractive place due to all the crimes in today’s society. South London has the highest statistics when looking at gun and knife crimes. This may show Britain has not a diverse country. Another example may be the Steven Lawrence Case, this caused Britain a lot of chaos as this was known as a “black on black crime, showing a innocent boys life to be taken, which again shows Britain as a anxious place.

This study fits into the contemporary media landscape because it shows how black teenagers are represented in a negative way within society and how the rise of gun and knife crime within the UK (mainly South London) today have caused a moral panic in that all black teenagers are represented in the same negative way.

Issues, Debates and Media Theories

Liberalism: is the belief in the importance of individual freedom. I can link this with my critical investigation, due to black people wanting a change, so they can be looked as postive role models.

... Marxism and Hegemony ...

2009-10-18T15:43:00.000-07:00

Marxism and Hegemony

Marxism refers to the ideology derived from the writings of the sociologist Karl Marx. He sees society as dominated by capitalist structures which maintain the hegemony of the ruling class and lead to the exploitation of workers. From what I have learnt when studying about Marxism and hegemony, I have learnt that hegemony refers to the total cultural, economic and political dominance achieved by the ruling elite in society, so this therefore shows a link with Marxism as they both exploit the working class. Moreover hegemony was first developed by Antonio Gramsci. After studying Gramsci’s study I have learnt that once a particular group has achieved hegemony, their viewpoint becomes accepted by public opinion as common sense, making it difficult for opposition groups to make an effective challenge.

Moral Panics and Post 9/11 --> The media

2009-10-15T09:58:00.000-07:00

Moral Panics and the media

Moral Panics and the media:

Moral panic is the intensity of feeling expressed in a population about an issue which appears to be a threat to the social order.

Stanley Cohen: moral panic occurs when a condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to become defined as a threat to societal values and interests. Those who start the panic when they fear a threat to prevailing social or cultural values are known by researchers as "moral entrepreneurs", while people who supposedly threaten the social order have been described as "folk devils."

An issue that can be characterised as a moral panic in historical times was the fear of witches and the trials and executions that erupted from that fear.

One person cannot create a moral panic on his or her own, there needs to be a consensus. A group may then have the power to influence the opinions of others.

The current moral panic, while widespread, does not appear to affect everyone and as people perceive what is threatening and what is not, or what may be threatening but should not be feared in different ways, it would be very unlikely for a whole society to share the panic.

Post 9/11 and the media

Post-9/11 is a term used to describe the current state of living in the United States or other parts of the world after the September 11 attacks, in reference to the many changes that have occurred due to the attacks.

The 9/11 attacks were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks led by Al-Qaeda that occured in the United States of America in the spring of 2001. In total 2,933 people, including the attackers died in the attacks whilst many buildings were destroyed.

Controversy

Following the attacks television evangelist Jerry Falwell called the event a punishment from God and laid the blame on "paganists", "abortionists", "feminists" and "gays and lesbians", claiming that they "helped this happen". He subsequently apologized.

The United States responded to the attacks by launching a "War on Terrorism", invading Afghanistan to depose the Taliban, who had harbored al-Qaeda terrorists, and enacting the USA PATRIOT Act.

Suggestion for Critical Investigation/ Linked Production...

2009-10-12T00:28:00.000-07:00

Practical Production --> A Rap music video

This will be interesting to focus on how women are portrayed in these videos, and how the rappers want everyone else to see them.

Critical Investigation --> Representations of women in a rap video

This will link to the practical production as it will show the audience how women really are being reprsented in women rap videos, and how negative or positive the outcome of the stereotype is.

Words from my A-Z Dictionary that will help me for this production:

Disequilibrium: the disruption of narrative by persons or events presenting a challenge to the harmonious equilibrium often found at the beginning of a film or other media text

In-camera-editing: a technique of filming shots in the sequence required for the final prodution so avoiding the need for postproduction editing

Iconography: the distinguishing elements, in terms of props and visual details, which characterise a genre

Razor Edit: a style of moving image editing which involves a sharp cut from one scene to another

Ideology: a set of attitudes, beliefs and values held in common by a group of people and culturally reproduced within that community to sustain its particular way of life

... Self Evaluation ...

2009-09-26T04:39:00.000-07:00

Class feedback on presentation

W.W.W

> Simplicity: I wasn’t just reading off the board, spoke to my audience.
> Significance: I spoke about all the key concepts, didn’t miss anything out.
> Structure: My PowerPoint was very well organised.
> Rehearsal: I knew what I was speaking about, rehearsed very well.

More W.W.W

> In-depth details about representations
> Very memorable presentation
> I referred back to society, shoeing I showed a wider context of my presentation.
> I used key media terminology.
> I used a strong opening, e.g. showing my audience a trailer, and telling them why I chose Desperate Housewives as my summer research task.
> I did well designed slides with appropriate images.

E.B.I

> Timing: I went over 5minutes; therefore I should rehearse more so I can hit the 5mins that was set.
> Conclusion: I should have used a conclusion to sum everything up to my audience.
> When I showed my audience the trailer, I should have elaborated on the clip.
> When talking about each character, I could have compared each character with another, showing the different representations with each character.
> Elaborated much more when speaking about the genre of the TV drama.

Mr Bush’s Feedback on my presentation

W.W.W:

> Good Strong opening
> Used a variety of good media keywords, such as: representations, connotes etc.
> Good range of sources, such as the reviews and clip.
> Good slides, used a range of images and good use of limited text
> Blog work: good use of images, embedded video, and I covered all areas that were asked.

E.B.I

> When showing clip to class, I discussed and had an analysis of the clip.
> When introducing the main characters to the class explain the main competition of representations for each character and explain why they differ.
> Elaborated more on the genre of the text
> Link to wider contexts, e.g. the female role.
> I had a conclusion, summarising everything I covered.

Significance -> 2/5

Structure -> 2/5

Simplicity -> 2/5

Rehersal -> 2/5

Total -> 8/20

Bbc Review On Desperate Housewives ...

2009-09-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/4151243.stm

US comedy series Desperate Housewives has become a ratings hit in the UK, attracting an average of 4.4 million viewers on Wednesday.
It drew 23.1% of the available TV audience to Channel 4, the second highest rating show in that timeslot behind BBC One's 10pm news bulletin.
Seen as appealing to the Sex and the City audience, Desperate Housewives has received five Golden Globe nominations.
The Sex and the City finale attracted 4.1 million UK viewers last March.

The Guardian Review

Desperate Housewives killed off the wrong character
Bring back Edie Britt – and give Teri Hatcher's character the chop instead

Nicollette Sheridan as the shy, retiring Edie in Desperate Housewives. Photograph: ABC
So, farewell then, Edie Britt, platinum-haired siren of Wisteria Lane. Bumped off this week in a car crash scene so laughably lame it could have been in EastEnders, Edie checked out of Desperate Housewives for ever, leaving behind a large collection of hotpants and a fruitcake husband with an alarming revenge fixation.

But, oh, what a tactical error for the show. They've only gone and bumped off the wrong housewife. Serial divorcee Edie was always the most underwritten character, and all the more interesting for it, balancing an air of mystery with endearing vulnerability and a neat line in snappy comebacks (Susan Mayer to Edie: "How do you sleep?" Edie: "Soon … with your ex-boyfriend on top of me").Now the place just won't be the same without Ms Britt, with her penchant for beer, half-hearted suicide attempts and stealing other women's blokes. But here's a question: why wasn't it Susan? It would have been much more cliffhanger-worthy, and a more spectacular loss. Plus, who wouldn't want to see Teri Hatcher meet a grisly end on national television? Winsome, self-absorbed, jaw-achingly quirky, Susan Mayer has been cranking up the cringe factor for four years, one carefully rehearsed pratfall at a time.Then there's Bree. It may not be a fashionable view, I'm aware, but she was so much more fun as an alcoholic. Those halcyon days of hiding chardonnay in the dishwasher and passing out at the mall are sadly gone, and she has morphed into a corporate cookbook queen – nice to her kids, dismissive of her husband (the sublimely mad Orson) and boring around her friends. Would anyone really have noticed if she'd been collateral damage in a tragic baking incident?
Even feisty Gabrielle and everyone's favourite housewife, Lynette, would have made my hitlist before Edie. Mired in ludicrous plotlines about her obese kids, her blind spouse and something about baseball memorabilia (I may have dozed off), lovely Gabby lost her mojo this season. So did Lynette, a character so badly in need of a decent story-arc that crashing into the business end of a live power cable (à la poor Edie) would probably count as a career high point. It's not a good sign when your husband's midlife crisis is the most exciting thing that's happened to you all year.
Talking of husbands, in Edie's last hours, she discovered that hers – creepy Dave – is not what he seems. Strangely, it wasn't the glassy stare, wiggy hair or briefcase full of anti-psychotic medication that gave him away, but a simple fax, and it's a shame the writers didn't let her live long enough to deliver his comeuppance. I sense a Bobby-in-the-shower opportunity: OK, so it says something grim when Dallas is held up as a shining example of excellence, but reality has never been Desperate Housewives' strong point, so why start now? The campaign to Bring Back Edie starts here. So does the Kill Susan one, while we're at it.<>

... Desperate Housewives...x

2009-08-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry.

Media Representations

Many of the characters are represented in similar ways as all of the women characters are portrayed as different types of housewives.

> She's the Martha Stewart of Wisteria Lane -- the perfect hostess, friend, wife and mother. However, underneath the polished exterior lies a damaged, imperfect woman who will stop at nothing to protect her family and friends. Her relationship with her children Andrew and Danielle is been volatile over the years, but it looks as though Andrew and Bree are finally on the road to much happier times, especially now that she has accepted his homosexuality. When Danielle got pregnant, Bree sent her away and faked a pregnancy in order to pass off the baby as her own. After losing her husband Rex at the end of season one, Bree married Orson Hodge, a dentist with a few secrets of his own.

>Being a mother of four is difficult in of itself, but imagine three of those children being the next thing to the devil's spawn? That's the hand Lynette Scavo was dealt and I don't think she'd trade her three boys and little girl for perfect children. After getting her husband Tom fired from his job, Lynette headed back to work and Tom decided to use their life savings to open a pizzeria and Lynette quit her job to work with Tom. In season three, Tom learned he had fathered a child from a previous relationship. When the girl's mother died, she went to live with the Scavo's and soon made their boys look like angels. She was promptly shipped off to live with relatives. Lynette spent season four battling lymphoma and is now cancer-free.

>This beauty queen knows exactly what she wants in life and will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Although Gaby's husband Carlos provided her with a luxurious lifestyle, it didn't take long before she began a torrid affair with their teenage gardener. After their divorce, Gaby and Carlos found their way back to each other, despite the fact that he is blind and has no money. Now that the show has jumped five years into the future, Gaby is now the mother of a precocious little girl. Will she survive motherhood? Or better yet -- will Carlos survive Gaby's motherhood?

>Easily one of the most entertaining housewives on Wisteria Lane, Susan Mayer and her daughter Julie spent many years taking care of each other after she divorced her first husband Carl. One can always count on Susan getting into some sort of hilarious and/or sticky situation. During the first four seasons, Susan and her neighbor Mike were a couple (on again, off again). They finally married and she gave birth to their son, Maynard. As the series jumped ahead five years, Susan is no longer with Mike and has a hot new lover in her life!

>Every neighborhood must have that man-stealer, and Wisteria Lane is no different. Edie Britt has gone after all those desperate husbands -- and even bedded most of them! After blackmailing her way into the ladies weekly poker game, Edie managed to form quasi friendships with most of the leading ladies. Once it was revealed that she was blackmailing Bree, Edie was run out of town. Skipping ahead five years, Edie is back on Wisteria Lane and married to a very handsome man.... with a major secret.

All characters are represented in both negative and positive ways as the family life for these housewives are far from perfect.

However these representations are not fair and accurate as there may be many negative feelings as women today are more free and are not all housewives due to the fact that they are now more independent.

Media Languages and Forms

What are the denotative and connotative levels of meaning?

When Gabrielle is shown wearing a bikini during the show instead of her clothes, this is shown that the representation of her is a sex symbol due to the fact that she is trying to impress her husband.

What is the significance of the text’s connotations?

This therefore shows that the significance of this is to show that 'housewives' are always looking good for their husbands, as that is part of their jobs showing they should cater for their partners needs.

What are the non-verbal structures of meaning in the text (e.g. gesture, facial expression, positional communication, clothing, props etc)?

The clothes are very important in the show Desperate Housewives as this outlines each of the characters personality, for example, Bree is always looking presentable and smart- this therefore portrays her character as a tidy and a clean housewife.
Moreover Gabrielle is always dressed 'sexy' – as she used to be a model and has affairs, the use of less clothes give away her personality.
Thirdly Lynette is the worn out housewife- her clothes are mostly baggy and her hair is tied up and not done to the best of her ability as she is always at home is looking after the children, and therefore does not have enough time for herself to look good.

What work is being done by the sound track/commentary/language of the text?

The commentary is important throughout the show because the narrator who is dead, used to be the characters' friend, so she used to be one of the housewives, therefore she comes across as knowing the characters well as they were her friends and she is watching whilst telling the story making the audience feel like she there amongst them. This may also make the audience seem secure about what she is saying as she also talks about what the characters do, however it is not a bias point of view because she just basically tells the story.

Narrative

How is the narrative organised and structured?

The narrative is in chronological order, however, there are also some flashbacks now and again.

How is the audience positioned in relation to the narrative?

The narrative is easy to follow for the audience, especially as there is a voice over who guides us along the storyline and also adds humour.

How are characters delineated? What is their narrative function? How are heroes and villains created?

Edie and Gabi both create humour to the episodes as they are both portrayed as 'drama queens'. Bree is seen as the villain because she is very cruel to her children but in a sly way as she also blackmails them. In some episodes the villains seem to be the women because they act malicious towards their husbands, for example Gabi and Carlos, when they were going through their divorce, Gabi did all she could to keep the house. Also Lynette being the control freak makes the audience sympathise with her husband. However, even though the women are portrayed like this, the audience also sympathise with them because we hear their troubles and are not shown the point of view of the men or them talking about their feelings, unlike the women who we all understand the reasons for their actions.

Genre

To which genre does the text belong?

Comedy Drama

Does the text feature a star, a director, a writer etc who is strongly associated with the genre? What meanings and associations do they have?

Eva Longoria Parker plays Gabrielle Solice in this show; she is a famous actress and strongly associates her role in the show. Due to the fact that she is a glamour model in real life she plays the same glamour model throughout the show, she acts in a very mature way with her role that she plays and therefore successfully works with the acting ability she has.

Media Institutions

Desperate Housewives original channel is ABC however is shown in England on Channel4.

American Broadcasting CompanyABC has influenced desperate housewives in many ways such as the fact that the headquarters are based in America, therefore the ability to truly show what life is like in America, making the drama more real life based.

Media Audiences

In April 2007 it was reported to be the most popular show in its demographic worldwide, with an audience of approximately 120 million viewers.

The target audience for the show will mainly be for women as they can relate to the storylines much more than men can also the title of the show “desperate housewives” also may connote the audience is for young women.
However it could be argued that there is really no target audience here; that this show has something to appeal to almost every one (including men). Moreoover it is more likely to be for adults as the show is scheduled to be watched after 10.