Collective identity and representing ourselves: blog tasks

 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?'

Who are you?:

 - We are all involved in constructing an image to communicate our indentity, through hair, makeup, clothes or choosing not to participate in any of those. We make conscious decisions to present ourselves in a certain way. 

 - we have very complex ideas about ourselves 

- there's a difference between who we want to be, who we present ourselves to be and who we think we are

 - the cultural environment we are surrounded by shapes or self image

I think therefore I am:

- In the past how we perceived ourselves and presented ourselves was based on societal constructions, defining the interpersonal relationships within the groups we find ourselves in 

- the notion of the individual was less central and therefore surrounded around class, gender, religion and predetermined roles. 

- self image was based on the success we had at meeting the expectations of or group

- our roles were easily defined, men were the "head of the household" , women were subject to their patriarchal power , the working class were at the lower end of the social hierarchy and our fate was predetermined by God

 - our external images were simply a reflection of a persons social position 

From citizen to consumer:

- the idea that identity could  be constructed through external image came post industrial consumer boom (early 20th century), where there was a deliberate move for people to adopt an identity. 

 - Edward Bernays, arguably the father of modern notions of propaganda and public relations, said was "based on not behaving as actual citizens but as passive consumers" 

- consumer boom was based on convincing people that it was no longer sufficient for people to only buy what they ", advertising and marketing made people consider what they "wanted" 

Consumer goods were now about creating and then satisfying desire; advertising then informed people of what they could and should want. 

The ideas of creating wants and desires was influenced by the work of psychoanalyst

Sigmund Freud.He argued that part of the human psyche was a need to feel the pleasure of having our desires met. He identified the idea of the id – the inner part of our personality that motivates behaviour based on irrational desires.

The rise of the individual: 

Individualism began to take hold in the late 1970s to early 80s and by the second half of the 20th century people began defining themselves as individuals. Rebelling against conformity became a big thing, therefore creating a unique sense of self. 

Branding and lifestyle: 

The 70s and 80s saw the rise of lifestyle marketing and the importance of brands. Branding is the association of a ‘personality’ with a product.

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

It means that the look of a product or how it looks on you is more important that the longevity of the product. Since most products don't guarantee that same "lifetime wear" because they feel that making more money is more important that having loyal customers. So yes I do believe that modern media is all about "style over substance"

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

Modern society has become so media saturated that its impossible for audiences to experience the natural or real world. Media saturation is the process in which we are exposed to too many ads, messages and information from various sources, reducing their effectiveness and impact. Therefore the media has infiltrated our everyday lives causing us to be unable to distinguish reality and fiction . 

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?

For me i like to personally curate who I am on social media, so it certainly doesn't show the true or real me. I do this for protection so that people who don't wish me well in life aren't able to find out every detail of my life to somehow use it against me. And I do this to also create a palatable image about who I am for my future employers so won't find out anything they won't like about me. I pick the things I post on social media very carefully for these reasons. 

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?

We give this companies access to our data and we don't even know it because we are too lazy to read the terms and agreements when we download an app or we accept rather than reject the cookies on a website,which lets them take our data. This is something I'm neither here nor there about as I don't believe it's a bad thing to have products advertised to me that based on my data and online presence I would actually like. So I don't believe it's an invasion of privacy if we clearly give them consent to do it. 

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 can "pick and mix" due to the range of representations that are offered to them
• Textbook "Gender and Identity" 
• He says audiences actively process the media that they consume
• "Media texts can move and inspire viewers" 
• Believes Mulvey's "Male Gaze" Theory , "rested 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.

A ‘collective’ identity is one that is primarily based around a collection of individuals who share a set of traditions, values and a similar understanding of the world that surrounds them. 

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

 The nostalgia dwells on what Britan has lost in the modern world, such as a community spirit, and the subtle indication is that today’s modern computer games, and people’s apparent failure to use toys as a source of individual imagination, are to blame. 

3) How has new technology changed collective identity?

It has given a new "third" space for people to be themselves and create online communities 

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

"Identity is complicated; everyone thinks they've got one"

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

 He argues that the boundary between text and reader has broken down, not merely in the way the reader constructs the text  but in the growth of fan cultures. The Facebook group reinforces his theory that fans have created their own "new texts" with "elements of the original text"