MM58: Social Media and Black Identity
Open up MM58 from our Media Magazine archive. Go to page 66 and readSocial Media and Black Identity then complete the following tasks:
1) List three theorists discussed in the article and what they believe regarding black identity.
2) In your opinion, is social media a positive or negative force when it comes to issues of black identity?
I feel as that social media is mostly more positive when it comes to creating ethnic minority representations not just black identity. Social media allows for these individuals to become active and share their voices and opinions and encourage other members of their own community (or that they support) which allows for the echo chamber effect to almost create a strong sense of confidence amongst these individuals who can then go on and share this confidence in the real world, motivating them to reach for their goals and dreams as they know that at least one person supports them out there. Yes, many of these moves, campaigns etc. tend to get criticism but so does everything on social media so with the right mindset, censorship and community eg. Tumblr tends to have a less hateful community online than other social media platforms, allows for a more positive outcome than negative.
3) How could you apply the post-colonial theories we have learned in class to the issue of social media and black identity?
Social media tends to create the representation that most black people are exotic and humorous which in today's society is more so of a positive thing and is embraced - but you can understand the deemening tone of it. The issue here is they are over simplifying them to over come the stigma of the west vs the east to create a sense of togetherness but the media is still managing to twist that into a lack of a strong identity. Creating a infantilized and essentialized of black people. stereotypes to counteract stereotypes.
A Hustle for Life: Refugees in the Media
Now turn to page 6 and read A Hustle for Life: Refugees in the Media. When you have read the article, complete the following tasks:
1) What examples of different representations of refugees in the media are offered in the article?
British Press- the representation is hostile and presents them as those who are acting by choice rather than genuinely fleeing due to circumstance being presented as being in control of it ignorning the control and power of these westen countries.
2) In your opinion, is the documentary genre more or less biased than the news media? What examples can you provide from the article to support your view?
i feel they are both bias but in different ways. This is because of the organisations they are workling for and the ideologies they hold, talking to different types of audiences in different ways but still guding their perceptions both times.
3) How could you apply the post-colonial theories we have learned in class to the representation of refugees in the media?
They are being essessialised and being treated as a mass without indivduality we see mass images of migration but never too many indivdual cases that would give them personality and a more of an emotive power, possibly in a way that maybe the west doesnt want.
Media Magazine: Critical Investigation research
You'll soon be receiving back the first draft for your Critical Investigation. In some cases, a lack of research is holding people back. You may find several articles from MM58 useful for your second draft:
Pathetic Fallacy: Representing Brexit
Jonathan Nunns looks back at the carnage provoked by the EU Referendum, and takes the media to task for their coverage of events and individuals.
The Power of the Media
Steph Hendry considers the power of the media in relation to the development of technologies and their impact on social change.
Internet Research for Film Studies
Any self-respecting film student knows that informed and critical online research is essential – but where do you start? Roy Stafford introduces some of the most useful film websites around.
The Witch: A Feminist Review
Owen Davey recommends a new horror film with a difference.
Remember: A* students need to develop an understanding of the media across platforms, genres, issues and debates. These Media Magazine articles will help you to do this even if you don't need them for your Critical Investigation. Good luck!
1) List three theorists discussed in the article and what they believe regarding black identity.
- Aisha Harris- social media plays a negative role in the construction of black identities. As the rise of social media has created a culture where black people are often subject to the process of ‘memeification’(their likeness becomes de-contextualised on the internet) "Harris believes that this process is an unconscious reflection of a deep-rooted desire to see black people perform and entertain" therefore fixing black identities with dominant attitudes towards them being reinforced.
- Giddens- social media can be where positive black identities are created. This is as they can use social media to construct a positive image of black identities instead of the previous misrepresented(if represented at all) by the mass media.
- Alan Martin’s Echo Chamber effect - social media only reinforcing ideas already present in the black community without the same reciprocated in wider society thus causing a fairly aggressive clash most the time.
- Henry Jenkins - social media is a platform on which ‘participatory cultures’ can be established: online, interest-driven networks that allow individuals to creatively express and gain an online root into political activism, voicing the minority view points.
2) In your opinion, is social media a positive or negative force when it comes to issues of black identity?
I feel as that social media is mostly more positive when it comes to creating ethnic minority representations not just black identity. Social media allows for these individuals to become active and share their voices and opinions and encourage other members of their own community (or that they support) which allows for the echo chamber effect to almost create a strong sense of confidence amongst these individuals who can then go on and share this confidence in the real world, motivating them to reach for their goals and dreams as they know that at least one person supports them out there. Yes, many of these moves, campaigns etc. tend to get criticism but so does everything on social media so with the right mindset, censorship and community eg. Tumblr tends to have a less hateful community online than other social media platforms, allows for a more positive outcome than negative.
3) How could you apply the post-colonial theories we have learned in class to the issue of social media and black identity?
Social media tends to create the representation that most black people are exotic and humorous which in today's society is more so of a positive thing and is embraced - but you can understand the deemening tone of it. The issue here is they are over simplifying them to over come the stigma of the west vs the east to create a sense of togetherness but the media is still managing to twist that into a lack of a strong identity. Creating a infantilized and essentialized of black people. stereotypes to counteract stereotypes.
A Hustle for Life: Refugees in the Media
Now turn to page 6 and read A Hustle for Life: Refugees in the Media. When you have read the article, complete the following tasks:
1) What examples of different representations of refugees in the media are offered in the article?
British Press- the representation is hostile and presents them as those who are acting by choice rather than genuinely fleeing due to circumstance being presented as being in control of it ignorning the control and power of these westen countries.
2) In your opinion, is the documentary genre more or less biased than the news media? What examples can you provide from the article to support your view?
i feel they are both bias but in different ways. This is because of the organisations they are workling for and the ideologies they hold, talking to different types of audiences in different ways but still guding their perceptions both times.
3) How could you apply the post-colonial theories we have learned in class to the representation of refugees in the media?
They are being essessialised and being treated as a mass without indivduality we see mass images of migration but never too many indivdual cases that would give them personality and a more of an emotive power, possibly in a way that maybe the west doesnt want.
Media Magazine: Critical Investigation research
You'll soon be receiving back the first draft for your Critical Investigation. In some cases, a lack of research is holding people back. You may find several articles from MM58 useful for your second draft:
Pathetic Fallacy: Representing Brexit
Jonathan Nunns looks back at the carnage provoked by the EU Referendum, and takes the media to task for their coverage of events and individuals.
The Power of the Media
Steph Hendry considers the power of the media in relation to the development of technologies and their impact on social change.
Internet Research for Film Studies
Any self-respecting film student knows that informed and critical online research is essential – but where do you start? Roy Stafford introduces some of the most useful film websites around.
The Witch: A Feminist Review
Owen Davey recommends a new horror film with a difference.
Remember: A* students need to develop an understanding of the media across platforms, genres, issues and debates. These Media Magazine articles will help you to do this even if you don't need them for your Critical Investigation. Good luck!
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