Amrit's MEST3 Exam Blog

To complete our work on post-colonial theory, work through the following tasks: 1) Summarise the three theorists we have looked at: Alvarado, Fanon and Said. Alvarado (1987)  4 key themes in racial representation: Exotic - models, music, artists, food etc. Dangerous - crime, gangs, socially dysfunctional etc. Humorous - comedians (brown clown), sidekicks, quirky etc.  Pitied - poverty etc.  Frantz Fanon (1925- 1961) Black Skin, White Mask (1952)  Originally point in which blacks in carnivals could wear a white mask to make fun of their slave owners however interpreted as a 'universal' idea many black people felt they had to do - put on a white mask. eg. universal idea of beauty is white  'to speak means to assume a culture' Caribbean blacks lost native language due to trying to talk in an educated English/french manner Typically black stereotypes can  Infantilize - such as 'cute' child, or 'simple-minded', 'step n fetch it'...

Amazon pledges legal support to action against Trump travel ban https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/31/amazon-expedia-microsoft-support-washington-action-against-donald-trump-travel-ban Summary: " CEO Jeff Bezos says company’s legal and lobbying teams will help fight the ban, echoing moves by Expedia and Microsoft"  " Amazon chief executive, Jeff Bezos, has pledged the full legal resources of his company to fight the travel ban instituted by  Donald Trump  against seven Islamic nations."  He sent an email to employees saying he will put "l egal and lobbying efforts behind the fight against the ban"  Facts/statistics: Bezos’s email  published by Recode , the Amazon head details some of the company’s intended actions: “We reached out to congressional leaders on both sides of the aisle to explore legislative options. Our legal team has prepared a declaration of support for the Washington state attorney general who will be filing sui...

#DeleteUber: how social media turned on Uber https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/30/deleteuber-how-social-media-turned-on-uber Summary: After Uber lifted surge pricing during a protest at New York’s John F Kennedy airport against Trump’s travel ban, condemnation online was swift  " The reaction to Uber’s strikebreaking was swift. #DeleteUber began trending, as people encouraging one another not only to delete the app from their phones, but also to cancel their Uber accounts." Much of the reasoning described in the screenshot below View image on Twitter " Thanks to the company’s many controversies – from its  attitude to consumer safety  to its use of s urge pricing during the Sydney siege  – its was far from the first time the company had been excoriated on social media."  Thus using the hashtag to reflect their displeasure with trump supporting companies.  key facts/statistics: "Dan O’Sullivan, or @Bro_Pair, was the fi...

1) Read the excellent article exploring the different representations of black people in British film and TV from Media Magazine 42 (MM42 from our Media Magazine archive  - page 51) 2) List FIVE films, FIVE TV programmes and FIVE online-only productions that are discussed in the article.  Films  ill mannors  Adulthood (2008) Kidulthood (2006) Star Trek (2013) Anuvahood (2011) Programmes  Dr Who Top Boy The Kumars at No. 42 Goodness Gracious Me (1998) Citizen Khan  Online-only  Brothers With No Game Venus vs Mars All About The McKenzies The Ryan Sisters Meet the Adebanjos, 3) Watch  Destiny Ekaragha's clips above (more of her work is available on her website , including the short film The Park). To what extent can we apply Alvarado's and Fanon's theories to these films? Do they reinforce or subvert typical black stereotypes in British film and TV? Refer to specific scenes and events in the clips in answering this ques...

How to be creative- 7 tips from the front line by Tim Clague  Volunteer - You'll always be rewarded Circles - in the creative industry the task is given and you must do it in a set time, therefore its always about the approach.  Beachcombing -always note down your ideas, keep them safe, explore them further, but never force it, be ready for when you get the idea in full, share it then use it No one comes from nowhere - you will need your contacts  Put everything into everything (but life isn't a meritocracy - luck is also involved) Don't wait to be invited to the dance (but beware the Doppler effect) - do what you want and do it your own way The day after you finish, what do you do? - you live in the now but remember "your career has already started" Contact: www.timclague.com  An interview with Cucklefish Games by Rosie Ball  "create whole worlds" "tell stories about anything"  audience knowledge is important - what do...

Complete the following tasks on your blog as your  learner response : 1) Type up your feedback in full (you do not need to write mark/grade if you do not wish to). WWW - a sophisticated, balanced and very comprehensive answer  EBI - would benefit from specific data about the decline of newspapers/gratification etc. and more explicit points about the loss of advertising revenue due to google, etc. work on a paragraph involving this  2) Read through the  mark scheme  (go to the last two pages of the document - Section B New/digital media). Of the six different statements for each level (e.g. A sophisticated and comprehensive essay, showing very good critical autonomy.) write which level you think  YOU  are currently working at for each one. Explain  WHY  and, for any that are not Level 4, what you are going to do to  improve  in that area.  A sophisticated and comprehensive essay, showing very good critical auton...

Ohio mother who taped son to wall on Facebook Live faces charges https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/19/facebook-live-video-mom-tapes-son-wall-arrest Summary: Police say child is in custody after the woman live-streamed the two-year-old taped to a wall and said ‘now sit still’ The 18 year old mother tapped her 2 year old son to the wall for a full 15 minutes and claimed it was so she could tidy up the house. He can be seen to be crying throughout the live stream with him tapped to the wall and with tape over his mouth. Whilst watching this live stream someone called local authorities who then came to her house and took the child into custody and charged her with third degree felony on thurdday.  Facts/statistics: Rudolph’s arrest marks the second high-profile case this month of charges following a Facebook Live broadcast of a crime.  chicago earlier this month, police  charged four people  with kidnapping, battery and hate crimes ...

Civil rights groups urge Facebook to fix 'racially biased' moderation system https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/18/facebook-moderation-racial-bias-black-lives-matter Summary: " A coalition of more than 70 social and racial justice organizations urged Facebook to adopt reforms that would better target abusive content and harassment"  It is said that black lives matter movment posts are targeted and taken down yet other abusive and racisit content isn't being tackled, this bias system is now being challenged.  Signed by 70 organisations the letter has been posted to facebook demanding change on how they tackle this abusive content too.  Both censorship and harassment need to be targeted by facebook, to which facebook replied with a lenghty letter,  authored by Kaplan, outlines its existing policies in detail and largely failed to commit to act on the recommendations. Key facts/opinions:(quoted) “Activists in the Movement ...