Collective identity and representing ourselves: blog tasks

 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?'

-We are constructed by the media around us

-In the past, we identified ourselves using our gender, race, religion, family and expectations

-People want to keep up with the standards of society and therefore advertisements must make sure that people have the necessities to keep up with the standards of society

-The idea of 'being yourself' was introduced but this was challenged by Lacan talked about the 'fragmented self' which suggested that fragmentation leaves us feeling incomplete and we try to find completion within ourselves by imaging an ideal state of the self.

-Brands create products fit for certain personalities 

-People view us according to our online profiles

2) List three brands you are happy to be associated with and explain how they reflect your sense of identity.

- Mcdonalds- Obsessed with nuggets

- Instagram-Having a social life 

- PLT- fashion  

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

I disagree with the view that modern media is all about 'style over substance'. I think that people are more worried about the quality of their content than how it looks because nowadays, the media is used to spread issues and solve them rather than to entertain.

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

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. The influence of the media in providing the  images, the products, the role models and the ideas that we use to help construct an idea of identity and image has been tackled widely in film.

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?

No my presence on social media is not an accurate reflection of who i am as they only see a slight insight to my life. They simply just see pictures which does not truly display my personality. Yes i have removed a picture of myself from social media because i didn't like the way i looked in it. 

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 is helpful for companies to sell their products and i'm quite happy for companies to sell me products based on my social media presence, however I think data mining is an invasion of privacy. 


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.

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 when a set of individuals share the same traditions, values and a similar understanding of the world around them. For British people, some 'collective' identity values are: the majority of the population believe in democracy, freedom of the press and ideals which have been traditionally woven into the history of the British society. How the media "re-presents" identity must be considered as 'collective' identity too.

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 

- Parliament 

- The Queen 

- The Big Ben

- Full English breakfast 

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

Being targeted at a slightly older audience means that the toys also become metaphors for the sense of Britishness that May explores, that of ‘nostalgia’ or a feeling / longing for the past where life was perceived to be simpler. This can be also described as a mythic England that resides in the mind of many older people in this country: warm beer, cricket on the green and cups of tea. 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.

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. The creation of such video hosting websites such as YouTube means the traditional passive audience can now write original stories or songs about the shows they view, make art or costumes based on the films they watch, edit videos or produce film parodies or do podcasts, develop websites or engage in a broad range of other expressive practices.

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

The new focus on identity is supported by Gauntlett who, in 2008, proposed the ‘Make and Connect Agenda’. This is an attempt to rethink audience studies in the context of media users as producers as well as consumers of media material. 

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

Gauntlett argues that there is a shift from a ‘sit-back-and-be-told culture’ to a ‘makingand- 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.