Media Ownership: What are the problems with 'big media'?

Free Press is a company that is building a "powerful nationwide movement" to change the current policies in media and technology, promote the interests of the public and strengthen democracy. Free Press are advocates for universal and affordable internet access and believe in diverse media ownership, high quality journalism and "vibrant public media".
Free Press believes that the consolidation of media ownership into six media conglomerates has led to corporate control over near enough all media; broadcasting stations, the internet and the print media.
Free Press want a competitive media landscape; they believe that the more independent media outlets a community has, the more diverse messages will be shared.
Ultimately, an oligopoly like this leads to stagnation in the marketplace, with a set of core values and messages consistently being sent out to an audience, with very little variation.

Audience Theory Questions

1) Do you agree with Stewart's point regarding self-determination of audiences? Consider your own media consumption habits and the research you conducted regarding UK cinema audiences using the BFI Statistical Yearbook.
 I agree with Stewart's point regarding self-determination of audiences. With the wide number of television channels available, the amount of genres of films on offer and the vast number of social media outlets available to share and consume these, as shown in the diagram to the side.
With film especially, people choose their films very freely. Although it is true that certain people may choose films based on their age, gender and social class, this is not true of all people and there is definitely choice available when it comes to watching films.

2) Hall's ideas about audience positioning identifies three ways that audiences can respond to texts. Using your three case studies, identify a preferred, negotiated and resistant reading and explain your reasons for each case study.
A preferred reading is one where the audience interprets the text as closely to the way in which the producer intended it to. In terms of my own case studies, it is likely that audiences will see the film Les Miserables in a similar fashion to the one that the producer intended; for instance it is clear that the producers intended for the film to be inspirational and show viewers how to stand up for what it is right. An audience will generally agree with this.
A negotiated reading is one whereby the audience has to go through a period of negotiation with themselves in order to accept the way that the film has been presented. For instance in Monsters University, it seems that the two main characters have some kind of rivalry caused by their academic and physical differences. This may be hard for some viewers to watch and some parents may not want their children to view something like that.
A resistant reading is one where the user of the text finds themselves in conflict with the way that a text has been presented to them, because of their beliefs and experiences. For instance in Hitchcock, the film seems to be sympathetic towards the way that Alma seeks solace with another man. However, a viewer with values that are in conflict with this may find the text difficult to view.

3) Audiences can respond to texts in a variety of ways. Gender, situated culture and cultural experiences can all affect how we consume a text. Think about your case studies and your own personal media consumption habits.
a) How can your gender affect how you respond to a text? - It seems that women tend to prefer soap operas and narrative shows, and ones that have strong female characters, whereas men tend to prefer shows with more factual content, such as those concerned with current affairs and news based.
However, this can be disputed. Some men enjoy soap operas and many women do not watch narrative television shows. In terms of literary text, women are often seen to look down on "lads mags" such as Nuts and Zoo due to the sexualisation and objectification of women; yet, women often send in photos of themselves and of course some pose for them. Some men may look disapprovingly towards magazines such as Cosmopolitan, which tend to talk about men in a way which makes them all seem similar and all driven by the same motives.
b) Why would you choose to go to the cinema (situated culture) as opposed to watching a film at home? - Situated culture talks about where we watch films and who we watch them with. People may watch certain films at home due to their nature. Personally, I believe that blockbuster films such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Batman ought to be watched in a cinematic capacity, whereas romantic comedies such as This is 40 would be better to be viewed at home. Blockbusters are obviously much more high octane and have a lot of sound effects and a lot going on on the screen at any one time, which means that the all-encompassing surround sound and large screen does a lot more justice to the film; whereas, a romantic comedy is better suited to being curled up on a sofa with lots of snacks and friends to have a laugh with throughout the film.
c) Can you think of a text where you gained "cultural knowledge" which shaped your expectations? Was that part of the reason you chose and enjoyed that text?
A text where I gained some cultural knowledge would be the TV show Dexter. It has given me knowledge on the homicide departments in the United States, and whilst the forensic side of the show may be slightly unrealistic, it shows the prejudice in that sort of professional environment towards women and some men, due to their age for example.

4) How do converged websites apply to Gauntlett's idea of a "pick and mix" audience?
This idea suggests that users of texts select some aspects of the text and ignores others, in order to select one that suit them at that time. There is constant flexibility in the "menu" in the "pick and mix" audience, where for instance a relationship breaking down may bear more significance to a person at one time than another.
The idea of converged websites applies because people will use different aspects of the website depending on what they will get the most out of at the time. For instance, they may choose to look at recipes on a website like that for The Silver Linings Playbook one time, if they feel like cooking, but ignore them the next time.

5) To what extent do you believe in the effects model and the uses and gratifications model?

6) McQuail believes audiences use texts for four different reasons. Can you identify these features in the marketing materials from our case studies?

• Entertainment and diversion - as a form of escape from the pressures of everyday life.
• Personal relationships - identification with characters and being able to discuss media texts with others.
• Personal identity - the ability to compare your life with that of characters and situations presented in media texts.
• Information/education - to find out and learn about what is going on in the world.

In my case studies, I can see opportunity for entertainment and diversion; especially in Monsters University, as the species of the main characters means that there is a fair amount of escapism. Also, the period nature of Les Miserables and Hitchcock means that it is possible for them to provide diversion from everyday life for  a large contingent of the audience.

It is probably possible for some women to identify with the character of Alma in Hitchcock, and the nature of it being a biopic about the creation of the film Psycho means that people can discuss that film too. They may be able to talk about how effective the adaptation from musical to film is.

In terms of personal identity, there is probably something in all three films that people can identify with. In Monsters University, an audience may be able to identify with going to university; in Les Miserables, an audience may identify with the struggle against a higher power, and in Hitchcock, an audience may identify with either Alma looking for comfort elsewhere, or with Hitchcock as he meets constant negativity towards something he really wants to do.

I doubt that there will be much information and education, mainly because none of the films are situated in the 21st century. It may, however, share some information about the film making industry in the 1950's (Hitchcock)

7) What is audience fragmentation? How has it changed the composition of audiences and the texts that are available to them? Has the internet influenced this in any way?

Audience fragmentation is a phrase used to describe the different ways that people engage with different media. It shows how the idea of an audience has changed in the digital era. The ways in which convergence, user-created content and social networking have changed the ideology of an audience are often thought of in terms of audience fragmentation.

This suggests that the audience has been "broken up" through things such as live entertainment news, internet gossip sites and the various ways that films can be downloaded. These different things mean that there is a much more varied potential audience for any particular film. 

Essentially, people can be shown adverts in lots of different places; on the side of Facebook, on Google searches and on YouTube videos. This means that people who may not usually be interested in a certain type of film and hence not seek out a certain genre may see an advert or maybe a promotional video for the film and choose to view it.

8) What is "push" and "pull" media? How has the internet shaped audience behaviour in relation to "pull" media?

• Push media - where producers push films at us and we receive and consume them passively.
• Pull media - whereby we decide what we want to do with the media and access it in ways that suit us

The internet means that we often end up seeing push media a lot - we cannot directly control the adverts that get shown to us, even in public - for instance, on a bus or on a billboard. 

We can access pull media a lot easier now as a result of the internet. It allows us to edit it through the multitudes of software available and share it on social networking sites, for example. 

Comment on the technical features in the opening of Anna Karenina

This film is produced by Working Title, and is an adaptation of Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina. It stars well known actors such as Keira Knightley and Jude Law.
The opening 5 minutes and 26 seconds of the film do not give away too much of future events, but seem to hint at potential plot lines.
This is shown through the mise-en-scene; the switches between locations are shown through apparent set changes, with backdrops coming down and people bringing set pieces onto what seems to be a stage. This suggests that the main characters lives are very much on show, and that their every actions are seen by everyone - the evident social class of the characters suggests this even further.
Their social class is suggested further by the giant pear brought to Oblonsky when he is being shaved; this shows how extravagant he is, and the fact that he seems unsure what to do with it shows that he is very unthinking.
The way that he trips on the way to the room where he finds his wife suggests that he has made a big mistake in letting himself get caught, as it implies that there is a mistake in his otherwise smooth-sailing life.
We can see that Anna is also very privileged from not only the clothes that she is getting dressed into, but also the fact that she is not dressing herself and has someone else to do it for her. This implies that she is also very important.
The sound used in the sequence is significant; we can hear voices talking initially which fade out as the action begins - this indicates that people have stopped their everyday goings on in order to look at Anna's life.
The music is very chaotic, with instruments seemingly being played backwards, which suggests that everything is going to be changed by the events that are about to occur.
The editing that is used in the sequence includes features such as match cuts, which brings the real world into the same place as the stage.
The soft lighting used whenever Anna is with her son makes her seem both motherly and caring, and shows that he means a lot to her.
The camera work in the sequence, such as the pull focus of the toy train to the real one which Anna is an effective method of changing location effortlessly.
The way that the camera follows the train when the son is controlling it cleverly suggests how Anna's family has control over her and her actions.

Representation

Representation refers to the construction in any medium of aspects of reality. This includes people, places, objects, events, cultural identities and other abstract concepts. This is very notable in the mass media, and representations may take place in speeches, writing and still and moving pictures.

Representation is a constructed version of reality, and everything in the media is represented in a way that differs from reality. For instance, two newspaper companies may have the same set of statistics on a subject; one may choose to present the statistics in a positive light, whereas the other may think that the statistics are mainly negative.

Laura Mulvey and "the male gaze"

Her ideas on "The Male Gaze" come from the works of Freud and is a key feature of the Feminist Film Theory movement of the mid 1970's.
Mulvey states that in films, in particular those from Hollywood, women are represented to provide visual pleasure to men, and this is due to the fact that the film has been constructed in a way where the audience is predominantly male.

The gaze itself is a theory developed to show the power imbalance between men and women in films, and it analyses the way men see women, the way women see themselves and other women. The theory suggests that viewers are forced to watch the film from the perspective of the heterosexual male protagonist, with films constantly focusing on a woman's figure. Events which happen to these women are also viewed from a male viewpoint.

The theory suggests that women are denied free will  and choice in this respect and degraded to having the status of an object.

This is also true in advertising; people are encouraged to look at women in a way that sexualises the woman's body, despite the fact that their form has little to do with the advertised product. (for instance, the image to the right is advertising the jeans that the man is wearing - it has nothing to do with the woman, and her presence actually detracts from the jeans themselves!)

Mulvey's theory suggest that the audience view the film in two different ways; voyeuristically (as something to be looked at) and fetishistically (seeing woman as a substitute for "the lack," the underlying fear of castration) .As audiences watch films, they become onlookers of the lives of others and hence become voyeurs, watching in on the lives of other people. This can then lead to two further effects; objectificiation and narcissistic identification, since voyeurism turns the represented figure into a fetish, and as such it becomes increasingly beautiful, though more objectified.

Cutting It Swede

How have the audiences been constructed for these films?

In this task I have been asked to choose three recently released films and answer a set of questions about them.
The films I will be looking at are Hitchcock, Les Miserables and Monsters University.

Hitchcock

This film features two Academy Award winning lead actors, Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren.
It is a biographic tale of the creation of hit Psycho, showing his determination to create the film despite the lack of support from many people around him.

Age- I think that the film would appeal to many people, but predominantly to an older audience, mainly for the fact that a 15-24 year old audience is unlikely to know who Alfred Hitchcock is to the extent of wanting to watch a film about him.
The style of the film poster is effective in attracting this older audience, as it is more like a traditional film poster. Viewers of the film Psycho will know that the font used on the film's title on the poster is the same one used with Psycho. The slanting nature of the title and reel showing other film characters is not exactly old fashioned, but looks to be stylised like a bygone era, as most film posters now are much simpler and reveal incredibly little, and certainly do not show the faces of supporting actors and actresses.
As mentioned in a previous blog post, older audience members tend to enjoy films with historical value more than a younger audience, and this certainly has that aspect involved.
There is possibility that this film will have much of an audience with younger people, since some of the actresses such as Scarlett Johansson and Jessica Biel are popular in films watched by a younger age range. The trailer for the film is interesting, however and it is likely to entice some younger audience members. There is a "must see" element here, with older audiences wanting to go to see favourites such as Helen Mirren and Anthony Hopkins, and younger audiences wanting to see Scarlett Johansson.

Gender - This film has three main points, as far as the trailer reveals - the production of the film, the relationship between Alfred and his wife, Alma, and Alma's budding relationship with a writer.

These aspects suggest that the film has no set gender in mind; it is a biographical account of the life of a famous director and his wife. The production of Psycho and the humorous side of the film, as implied by the trailer, are likely to appeal to the male audience, with Alma's evident frustrations with her husband and temptations by another man is likely to to appeal to the female audience, although these can be enjoyed side by side and hence the film should appeal to both a male and female audience.
Films such as Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy also have this same historic value and the gender division of the audience there was relatively equal.

NRS Social Grade - The NRS Social Grades are A,B,C1, C2, D and E. AB are the highest social grades, and DE are the lowest.
Judging from the BFI Statistical Yearbook of 2012, certain films have certain audiences in terms of social grade. The higher social grades tend to value more historic films, or those with roots in literature and art. In conjunction with this, it is likely that Hitchcock will be more appealing to an ABC1 social grade, due to the fact that it is a biographical account, based in 1959.
The BFI Statistical Yearbook suggested that lower social grades such as DE preferred to watch films which required a suspension of belief, such as Johnny English: Reborn and Fast Five. In contrast, this film is based on fact, which is what makes it interesting and appealing to the higher social grades.

Characteristics and Values - The audience of this film is most likely going to be one with a knowledge of Mr Hitchcock's works and his success in the business, and if not, with an interest in film. It does not seem to be a film that appeals to only to people with this characteristic however, and most likely it will attract a new breed of cinema-enthusiasts.
Because of the plot and history behind the film, it is likely to probably attract fans of thriller films, and also fans of older films.
There is not enough revealed in the trailer really that suggests the values that the audience is expected to have; it does seem to have some tongue in cheek humour in it however, which means that the audience is not expected to take the film entirely seriously, but enjoy it in an amused fashion.

Les Miserables

This is the 2012 adaptation of classical musical Les Miserables. It is a musical, and stars actors such as Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman.

Age- The audience that is most likely to be attracted to this film is probably not that young, mainly because of the gruesome tale depicted in the film. Because it is musical in nature, it is likely to attract an older audience.
The casting for the film has made it into a "must see" because there are a lot of recognisable actors throughout. This may make it more appealing to a younger audience, for instance those below the age of 30. It may attract a younger audience, for instance between the ages of 15-24, as this group of people may have heard of Les Miserables before, but might have never gone to see it as a theatre production.

Gender- There is probably going to be a gender divide here, with more women watching the film than men. This is maybe because the musical nature of the film is deemed in society to be a more feminine aspect, and something that a lot of men tend not to watch.
The setting of the film and the conflict behind it may attract some men to watch it, but it seems that predominantly that the audience will have a strong female contingent. With a film like this, it is hard to tell exactly how different genders will react to it.

NRS Social Grade- Because Les Miserables was originally a book, then a musical, it is probable that the main audience will be of the AB social grade. The musical nature is not a humourous, easily accessible one either (for instance High School Musical) and seems to have a lot of political and military connotations. As a result, it is probably not going to be viewed by too many people of the DE social grade. As I discovered in G321, people of the DE social grade tend to watch films which involve more escapism than Les Miserables does, since it has a dark nature throughout most of the film.
Also, the DE population tend to enjoy films with a suspension of belief - for instance, Fast & Furious 5. Les Miserables has a rather gritty, realistic nature which may put off some audience members.
However, the film suggests a struggle to fight for what is right, and this may attract some audience members from lower social grades as they may feel inspired by this.

Characteristics and Values
I think that the audience of this film is likely to be one with high aspirations, as the tag line for the film is "Fight. Dream. Hope. Love", and these suggest a struggle and an ultimate success at the end. I think that the audience is likely to be one with roots in theatre and musicals, as it is a widely successful musical first and foremost and subsequently those who have viewed the musicals before are likely to be intrigued in watching the movie adaptation.
It is likely to appeal to people with a strong sense of right and wrong, judging from the trailer, which seems to show a lot of injustice and a sense of people overcoming it and rising up against a tyrannical Government.

Monsters University

This soon-to-be released prequel to 2001 hit Monsters Inc is an animated kids film based around the main characters, Mike and Sully, when they were learning to become "scarers" at university.

Age - Obviously the main audience for this film is children, predominantly those under the age of 14; however the fact that it is a long awaited accompaniment to a previous film means that is likely to attract an older youth audience, such as 15-24 year olds. The animated nature of the film should appeal to a lot of people, and even very young children.
The fact that is attracts such a young audience means that a lot of the people who go to see it will be parents, in the 25-34 and 35-44 age categories, and potentially even grandparents. This is owed mainly to the fact that the film appeals to both little children, with the colourful monsters, and the subtle "grown-up" humour that is often incorporated into films like this; for instance in the trailer, the cloying mother monster is constantly asking unnecessary questions before she pulls away when the monsters have gotten into the car, despite the fact that they are wanting to leave in a hurry - it is not something that young children will appreciate necessarily, but it appeals to a more mature audience and consequently it can be enjoyed by all manner of people.

Gender - Monsters University does not seem to have a specific demographic in mind when it comes to gender. The fact that the main characters are both male suggests that it might appeal more to male children, but overall it probably appeals to   both genders as the species of the characters means that gender is not something that seems to be obvious throughout the film.
In terms of an adult audience, it is probably yet again not specific to one gender - both mothers and fathers will bring their children to see it, probably as a family outing, and consequently it is likely that it is going to appeal to one gender over another.

NRS Social Grade - There is unlikely to be a clear divide here either, since it is an animated film aimed at children; within this young audience, social class is not as clear and hence it is likely that it will be enjoyed and viewed by people in all kinds of social grade, from A to E. The nature of university might appeal predominantly to an AB audience as this is a cultural value that this grade of people tend to have, from looking at the BFI statistical yearbook, whereas the escapist nature of the film is likely to appeal to a DE audience.
However, the film seems to have so many appealing features that it is likely to attract a very wide audience in terms of social grade.

Characteristics and Values - as it is aimed at a mainly juvenile audience, it is not likely to attract an audience based on a moral theme, such as in the previous two films studied; however, it has a lot of connotations with friendship, judging from the trailer, and this is something that a young audience should be able to relate to.

BFI Statistical Yearbook Audience Information

The BFI Statistical Yearbook is a summary of a whole host of information about films for the year, which contains a lot of information on audience; from social grade to age, gender to genre.

One of the first features this section of the yearbook shows is the age composition of cinema goers. 15-24 year olds make up the largest group of people who have "ever gone", at 31% of the total cinema audience. This is the yellow section on the graph below.

Certain films were more popular amongst certain age groups; for instance, the most popular film amongst 15-24 year olds was The Inbetweeners Movie, with 67% of the films total audience being this age range.
The Hangover was the second most popular film amongst this age category, with 15-24 year olds having a 54% audience share. These films clearly have a rather set audience and attract a certain type of person to go and view them.
25-34 year olds made up the predominant audience for Captain America: The First Avenger, although they had a rather small audience share of only 33%. Although this is relatively above average, it shows that this film did not have as defined of an audience as other films like The Hangover did.
This trend continues in the 35-44 age range and the 45-54 age range, but stops when it reaches an older audience; Jane Eyre was most viewed by an audience who identified as 55 and over, making up 54% of the audience, followed by The Kings Speech at 45%. These films have historic value which is most likely going to appeal to an older audience as these historic events and literature have more of an appreciation amongst an older generation; this is shown through the fact that the most popular film amongst the younger age range is about a lads holiday in Greece.

Films also tend to have a particular audience when it comes to gender of the viewers; for instance the gender division for the film Jane Eyre was 14% male and 86% female. This is a significant division, and interestingly it is not quite so severe when a film is more oriented towards men - Captain America: The First Avenger was viewed by 78% male audience members and 22% female audience members. It is still a significant division, but it seems that women are more likely to watch a variety of film genres, whereas men seemed to avoid romantic chick-lit films such as One Day and Bridesmaids.

The audience for some films seem to be greatly influenced by social grade. The NRS social grades are A, B, C1, C2, D and E. AB are the highest social grades and DE are the lowest.
It seems that films with historic value or ones that have roots in literature seem to be most popular with AB audiences. 50% of the audience for adaptation of romance novel One Day were in the AB social grade, and other films with a notable AB audience share include Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows Part 2, The Kings Speech and Jane Eyre. There are eight films with a large percentage of their audience in the AB social grade.

However, it seems that there are very few films that appeal predominantly to the DE social grade. For instance, Johnny English: Reborn was the film with the highest DE audience share, at 28%. The other film with a notable share is Fast and Furious 5. This films have little cultural background; one is about a ill-trained secret agent, and the other about a car heist. This means that they can appeal to a wider audience than films such as Jane Eyre, including younger audiences.