Collective identity and representing ourselves

 Task 1: Media Magazine article

Read the Media Magazine article on collective identity: Self-image and the Media (MM41 - page 6). Our Media Magazine archive is here.

Complete the following tasks on your blog:

1) Read the article and summarise each section in one sentence, starting with the section 'Who are you?'

Every decision we make forms a certain image of ourselves which is how we want people to perceive our identity.

Our identity used to be based on things that were mostly predetermined and constructed outside of ourselves like our age, class, gender or religion.

post-industrial consumer boom of the early 20th century - people no longer bought what they needed but they were advertised things that were not necessities but for entertainment or pleasure. -self-image was largely based around the notion of fitting in and conforming to social expectations.

People did not want to fit in and wanted a sense of individualism so they wanted to do and have different things to everybody else to create an image unique to themselves. People can also be fragmented where they have multiple images.

2) Do you agree with the view that modern media is all about 'style over substance'? What does this expression mean?

The notion of self-image being defined by brands and products, rather than by authentic human experience.

It means that people care more about the brand that something is and how it makes them be perceived rather than what it actually is. I agree because when people want to buy anything they will trust or look at a certain brand more than they will others and might be put off of brands that don't fit their self image. For example young people preferring Apple over Samsung because Samsung is perceived as for older people.

3) Explain Baudrillard's theory of 'media saturation' in one paragraph. You may need to research it online to find out more.

Society had become so media saturated that they cant enjoy the real world because they high value is placed on external factors like appearance rather than internal factors like intelligence. Media images distort our perception of the world that it is hard to distinguish between media images and reality so media images are seen as reality (hyper realism) 

4) Is your presence on social media an accurate reflection of who you are? Have you ever added or removed a picture from a social media site purely because of what it says about the type of person you are?

I think that it changes depending on who is following me, it depends on what app the account is on and who is following it. I choose what pictures or videos I want and on which accounts I want them on. Most people have multiple accounts on the same apps because they want to post different things on each for example having a public Instagram, a private Instagram and a spam Instagram because then I can choose where to post. I think that my social media does reflect who I am but some accounts will reflect it more than others. I also know that my social media reflects who I am because when I look at old accounts or posts I can see the things that I use to like and my old interests but I will delete or private some of them because I don't like the same things anymore.

5) What is your opinion on 'data mining'? Are you happy for companies to sell you products based on your social media presence and online search terms? Is this an invasion of privacy?

I don't think so because I think that it helps you to buy stuff and helps the companies sell you stuff, I don't think its an invasion of privacy.

Task 2: Media Magazine cartoon

Now read the cartoon in MM62 (p36) that summarises David Gauntlett’s theories of identity. Write five simple bullet points summarising what you have learned from the cartoon about Gauntlett's theories of identity. Our Media Magazine archive is here.

• audiences use media to help construct their own identities
• media offers a diverse range of representations so allows us to pick and mix from
• audiences are conscience not passive
• media can inspire and move people forming fandoms
• He thinks that Mulvey's theories on male gaze are influential but based on a monolithic view of male and female roles

Task 3: Representation & Identity: Factsheet blog task

Finally, use our brilliant Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) to find Media Factsheet #72 on Collective Identity. The Factsheet archive is available online here - you'll need your Greenford Google login to access. Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions to complete our introductory work on collective identity:

1) What is collective identity? Write your own definition in as close to 50 words as possible.

collective identity is a group of individuals who share the same values, traditions and beliefs. This can be reinforced in the media as audiences will identify with each other over shared interests.

2) How does James May's Top Toys offer a nostalgic representation of Britain?

It was on BBC and talks about British History, James May himself is 48 which will attract older viewers. He looks at toys from their childhoods so that they feel nostalgia when watching and can look back on their childhood.

3) How has new technology changed collective identity?

fans created their own, new texts, but elements within the originating text defined, to some degree, what they could do’. In other words, technology has enabled people to actively engage with the content of the culture around them and then go on to use it as resources for their own cultural productions.

4) What phrase does David Gauntlett (2008) use to describe this new focus on identity? 

‘Make and Connect Agenda’.

5) How does the Shaun of the Dead Facebook group provide an example of Henry Jenkins' theory of interpretive communities online?

The Facebook group allows the fans to discuss their own interpretations and opinions and allows them to find others who have the same opinions as them and share the same love of the film. They have created a collective identity.