MIGRAIN: Representing ourselves- identity in the online age

Media Magazine MM41- pg 6

1) Read the article and summarise each section in one sentence, starting with the section 'Who are you?'
Who are you?
Whether we use make-up, fashion statements or hairstyles, we are all involved in constructing an image to communicate our identity.

I think, therefore I am:

In the past, our identity was seen to be fixed and this was a time where the notion of the individual was less central that it now is.

From citizen to consumer:

The idea that identity could be constructed by externalised images came in the post- industrial consumer boom of the early 20th century where there was a deliberate move to encourage people to to adopt an identity that Bernays said was based not on behaving as 'active citizens but as passive consumers'

The rise of the individual:

Freud's ideas of about the self seemed to apply that beneath the surface there was an 'essential self'- the core of who you actually are.

Branding and lifestyle:

'Branding' is the association of a 'personality' with a product. Advertisers sell the personality rather than the product, so that people will choose products that match their own self-image.

Who will we be?

Chandler observed that constructing a personal home page can be seen as shaping not only the materials but also one's identity.

2) List three brands you are happy to be associated with and explain how they reflect your sense of identity.
Amazon- Sells a lot of different items and so customers are able to have a choice into what they buy. Amazon as a brand also cater towards everyone.

Collusion- This clothing brand promoted diversity and caters towards both men and women equally through creating unisex clothing. I feel like I can wear lots of clothes that are out of my comfort zone.

Apple- I am able to contact my family and friends and socialise online
3) Do you agree with the view that modern media is all about 'style over substance'? What does this expression mean?

No I disagree, because although a media product which is beautifully created may have style, the substance that revolves around it is just as valid because at the end of the day, directors and producers want the audience to take something away from the text which can only be done if the product has substance to which one can really connect deeply with.

4) Explain Baudrillard's theory of 'media saturation' in one paragraph. You may need to research it online to find out more.
The increasing dominance of the mass media and what Baudrillard calls 'media saturation' results in high cultural value being placed on external factors such as physical  beauty and fashion sense over internal traits such as intelligence or compassion.

5) 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?

My presence on social media is an accurate reflection of who I am because I publish photos of things in my day to day life that are relevant to me. For example, this includes photos of my dog and photos that I myself have taken on my travels to different countries to document special memories in my life. I also publish aesthetic photos that are visually pleasing and meaningful. Furthermore, I have removed a picture of myself on social media as I believed it did not reflect my photography and editing skills to a t. 

6) 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?

Data mining allows corporations to create products designed to meet the needs we reveal in our personal information. I believe that to an extent, this can be quite frightening. The thought of giant corporations being able to access your personal information just to create a product seems morally unethical and the daunting thing is that most users of social media are in fact unaware of this exploitation of our privacy. However, one may argue that this is usually done for moral purposes that actually benefit society as a whole but overall, I believe that these corporations should ask for permission before accessing the private information

Media Magazine Cartoon: MM62 pg 36

• Gauntlett (a media theorist), describes his field of study as 'self-initiated everyday creativity, and cultures of making and exchanging'
• Gauntlett promotes the view that audiences use the media to help construct their own identities
• argues mass media texts offer us a more diverse range of representations than ever before.
• For Gauntlett, audiences actively process the messages put across by media texts regarding lifestyle and self-identity.
• Gauntlett explores Laura Mulvey's concept of the male gaze and Gidden's concept of structuration. For Gauntlett, Mulvey's theories are influential but is rested on a monolithic view of male and female roles however, he celebrates Gidden's model.

Media Factsheet 72:

1) What is collective identity? Write your own definition in as close to 50 words as possible.
Is an identity that is based around a group of individuals who share a set of traditions, values and a similar understanding of the world that surrounds them. Re- presentation plays within the context of the construction of a media text. The media represents a sense of identity influenced by many factors including the target audience's expectations and the ideological positioning of the institution.

2) Complete the task on the factsheet (page 1) - write a list of as many things as you can think of that represent Britain. What do they have in common? Have you represented the whole of Britain or just one aspect/viewpoint?
Fish and Chips
The Beatles
The Big Ben
Buckingham Palace 
The British Bulldog
The houses of Parliament
All of these these things are typical upper class representations of Britain that revolve around Monuments around Central London. I have represented mostly in one area of Britain- Central London.

3) How does James May's Top Toys offer a nostalgic representation of Britain?
James May's Top Toys is centred on people 'coming together' to help May in his hour of need. This offers a nostalgic representation of Britain as the people who help James are very often children and the use of children helps reinforce the notion that James May is trying to mend the generation gap between younger and older people in the country.
4) How has new technology changed collective identity?

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.

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

Gauntlett (2008) states that 'Identity is complicated; everyone thinks they have got one'. Gauntlett also argues that that there is a shift from a 'sit-back-and-be-told culture' to a 'making-and-doing culture', and that harnessing creativity in both the internet and in other everyday creative activities will play a role in changing how a collective identity is created.

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

The key aspect of the Shaun of the Dead Facebook group is the fact that the collective identity is one which has no national barriers to the understanding of the cultural identity created. The creation of the group provides an example of Jenkin's theory of interpretive communities online because 'fan genres grew out of openings or excesses within the text that were built on and stretched, and that it was not as if fans and texts were autonomous from each another.