Postmodernism and the media A2 sociology Postmodernism and the media

Articulate Using your terms from yesterday 1 minute each

Postmodernism in the media http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqsP0vQJJ44

So what is postmodernism Explosion of the media seen as part of the change to a postmodern society, Postmodernist argue that we inhabit a world shaped by the media, Media imagery and representation themselves have become our reality with computer technology creating virtual realities that potentially replace their real life counterparts.

Baudrillard Argues that we now live in a in a media saturated society in which media images now dominate and distort the way we see the world. Media images replace reality to such an extent that laser technology and video reportage have replaced the blood and suffering and the corpse of war. TV news present information as media constructed spectacles which makes them hard to distinguish them from Hollywood movies and reality.

Baudrillard Argues that this distorted view of the world can be described as hyperreality with the media presenting what he calls simulacra (artificial images or reproduction/ copies of real life events viewed simultaneously across the globe.

Future media changes? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa-7E0izHA8&feature=related On your table groups identify all the changes you can imagine might occur in the mass media over the next century. How do you think the relationship between the media and audiences might change?

21st century media Enormous increase in the power and influence of already powerful companies Global satellite, cable and digital television and the huge growth of the internet and other new media emphasises the postmodernist argument that the media no longer only reflects reality but helps to create it.

Sims ? A virtual reality How can the Sims game be seen as a virtual reality? How can the game help people replace real life counterparts ?

Garrod (2004) Reality TV shows such I'm a Celebrity, Wife Swap, Fear factor, Big Brother, are blurring the distinction and between reality and hypperreality ‘Hyperreality’ : knowledge of the world is drawn from media images of reality rather than directly experiencing it. The signs contained in media reality constitute hypperreality and in the postmodern world are our main source of knowledge

List all the ways in which the media influences your life – 2 mins your knowledge of current affairs, your opinions, your taste in music and fashion, your views of different social groups such as men, women, ethnic minorities, the disabled or the elderly.

Strinati (1995) Emphasizes the importance and the power of the mass media in shaping consumer choices, Popular culture ( culture of celebrity ) media images and messages bombard us daily, through books, magazines, newspaper, TV, radio, advertising, and computers and from our sense of reality and increasingly define how we dominate yourself.

Strinati (1995) The mass media creates desires and pressure to consume and many of us actually define our identities (how we see and define ourselves and how we want others to see us) in terms of media imagery.

Clothes Have a think about what you are wearing today ... Is your dress sense or the brands you wear influenced by the media ? What message are you trying to get across to those that see you in those clothes? How do you want others to think of you based on the clothes you wear?

Strinati (1995) Argues that colour, form and media induced trends have become more important than the content of products; it is not the quality of clothes, drink or mobiles phones we buy that matters but whether they conform to media induced images, styles, brands, names and trends. The media promoted designers labels of popular culture become more important than the quality of the products.

Strinati (1995) A number of people are famous for no reason at all and made into celebrities by the media, We are bombarded with so much information imagery and images from the mass media that there is an increasing uncertainty in the world in the world: people no longer know what to believe as international media networks challenge our notion of the truth.

Example of hyperreality? The Beeb have received over two thousand complaints following the EastEnders ‘baby snatching’ New Year storyline. Viewers were outraged after watching Ronnie’s baby die of cot death. Officials at the corporation refuse to confirm just how many people registered their outrage, but insiders told The Sun that the office was ’swamped’ after the New Year’s Eve episode which showed Ronnie Branning, played by Samantha Womack, swapping her dead baby for Kat Moon’s. In a rather bizarre turn of events, some fans accused the soap of suggesting that all mother’s who suffered the agony of cot death, were criminals. “Easily the sickest storyline the BBC has sunk to so far. Sensationalising cot death is revolting,” said one viewer as their computer screen steamed up. “Shame on you BBC for using other people’s devastating pain to boost your viewing figures.” Another wrote: “I cannot believe that the writers would do this to Ronnie – after everything she has gone through. “Having been an avid EastEnders fan for years, I will no longer watch it.” Reading through some of the comments why do you think people feel such a close involvement to soap operas stars and storylines ?

‘Hyperreality’ The Eastenders storyline bears resemblance to that of Coronation Street in 1998 which saw Deidre sent to prison, This led to campaign from the British public to ‘free the Weatherfield one’ The Home Secretary also involved the then Prime Minister Tony Blair who attempted to intervene in the unreal world that is soap operas.

Criticisms of the postmodern (POMO) view of the media Exaggerating the extent to which wider social influences have subsided, POMO underplays the continual importance of class, gender, and ethnicity into our lives, POMO exaggerate the changes that the media have brought about, POMO overlooks the issue of inequality when referring to global villages which is effectively denied to so many people worldwide due to financial ability (digital divide).

‘Twitter’ summary Individually How would you summarise the content of this lesson in a twitter ‘tweet’

In conclusion, Whatever the exact nature of their influence the media have had an immense impact on modern societies throughout the world, and in the process the world has become a smaller place.

How do shows such as ‘snog marry avoid blur the differences between reality and hyperreality ? http://www.youtube.com/user/bbc?blend=1&ob=4#p/search/20/sqkrYiymtkU