Week 10 - Networking

The use of multiple platforms to engage viewers has become a popular means of engaging fans and keeping them interested in a text. Comic books and graphic novels, merchandise, interactive websites, games and more are often utilised by the makers of a text, such as a television show or film, to both raise revenue and keep interest levels high.

Paul Booth (2008), gives an example of fans of the television show ‘Gilmore Girls using technology that is familiar to them to give their own interpretations of the show and interact with other like-minded fans.
While many fans of a particular text or genre may not be inclined to create fan fiction or contribute their own creativity or interpretation of the text, occasionally particular pieces of fan work become successful themselves and gather a following of their own. An example of this is the widely popular ‘Potter Puppet Pals’ (Cicierega, 2005) which can be found on the website YouTube. The videos, which were made as a humorous take on the Harry Potter series of books (Rowling, 1997), have become so popular that selected videos have received over 100 million views and fan videos depicting scenes of the Potter Puppet Pals have even appeared online.

References
Booth P, 2008 'Rereading Fandom: MySpace Character Personas and Narrative Identification', Critical studies in media communication
Cicierega N, 2005 Potter Puppet Pals
Rowling J, 1997 Harry Potter series

Week 9 - Othering

One of the many 'othered' groups within current Australian society consists of refugees and asylum seekers, especially those who come by boat. Allen, 2005, writes that refugees are often scapegoated, accused of stealing the jobs of citizens who were born in the country where others are attempting to seek refuge. Likewise, the human stories of these individuals are often untold in an attempt to dehumanise, with the words 'illeagal' and 'bogus refugees' used to bring negative connotations to all refugees and asylum seekers, not only thoses who come to Australia though illeagal channels.
An expamle of the Australian government attemping to dehumanise refugees is the Children Overboard case which occured in 2002. The website safecom.org.au shows immages of individual children, adults and families swimming from a sinking overcrowed boat, as well as mothers and fathers recovering with their children during the aftermath of their experience. The writer states that the photographer was "given commands not to humanise the asylum seekers".

References
Allen, S 2005, 'Racialised othering' Journalism: Critical Issues
'The Unthown Kids' safecom.org.au/kids-overboard

Week 8 - Gazing

Fashion advertising is becoming increasingly sexulised, with Merskin (2006) comparing images often seen in magazines such as Vogue with soft core pornography. The idea that it is not the product itself for sale but what it is the product stands for is clearly evident in advertisements such as an example by Guess Jeans, in which the jeans worn by the models are shown only from the thighs up, with the viewer's eye being drawn instead to the female model and the particularly sexual look she is giving at the audience. It is also very noticeable that neither seems to be wearing any clothing except the advertised jeans, and a bra in the case of the woman.
Interestingly, a recent advertisement for barbie dolls attempts to show the doll as being empowering to women, while it is more commonly known for portraying unrealistic body dimensions and is criticised by many for wearing skimpy outfits and promoting the sexulisation of young girls. The television add does not reveal what is being advertised until the very end of the add, as to prevent the viewer from not taking the add seriously when they see it is for barbie. While the add appears to be taking a feminist standpoint and shows a woman helicopter pilot, those familiar with the doll will be unlikely to change preconceived notions about the product, although this is ultimately what the add is striving to do.

References
Merskin, D 2006, 'Where are the clothes? The Pornographic Gaze in Mainstream American Advertising', Sex in Consumer Culture

Week 7 - Watching

The panopticon has been important in regulating human behaviour and controlling shifts in power, both as a physical structure such as a prison, and as a concept. Devised by Jeremy Bentham in 1785, it was used long before this time as a means of keeping groups or individuals under surveillance, including both examples of the Roman Colosseum and the public spectacle of death and punishment as well as a means of determining the health and well-being of those suffering from the plague (Foucault, 1977).
Throughout the ages, the panopticon has been seen as a tool used in order to discipline the masses, and keep them under somewhat control.  An example of religious schools is used, demonstrating how the school administration can keep the families acting in a manner they see as appropriate, simply by having the means to investigate those they believe may be acting outside their ideal way of living (Foucault, 1977, p. 212).
The idea of a panopticon as a tool to invade the privacy of the people in a dystopian world is a key concept in the novel 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' (Orwell, 1948). The use of technology to discipline society, while they are unsure whether they are being watched and must therefore act accordingly, is used not only in Orwell's novel but also in modern day society, with the threat of CCTV recording us continually, and prompting us to behave even though we do not know if anyone is really monitoring the footage.

References
Foucault, 1977, Discipline and Punish
Orwell, 1948, Nineteen Eighty-Four

Week 6 - Speaking & Listening

The Internet and it's role as a public sphere has revolutionised the way individuals and groups alike have been able to communicate and get their message heard to others across the globe. As a public sphere, the Internet is seen as "not private, but accessible and observable by all" (Paracharissi, 2002, 10). Despite the increasing number of global Internet users, the above quote does not seem to be the case. Nielsen (2009), indicated 80.1% of Australians with Internet access which indicates that this technological resource is not in fact, "accessible by all". In less developed continents Internet usage is much lower than that of Australia, with only 10.9% of those in Africa with Internet access resulting in a worldwide Internet usage rate of 28.7%. (World Internet Stats, 2010)
The Internet as a public sphere does allow for increased sharing of ideas and the interconnectivity of those who would otherwise never be able to communicate, yet it cannot really be classified as a public sphere due to limited access to the disadvantaged. (Paracharissi, 2002, 15)
The Internet is utilised for political means by thousands or perhaps millions world wide, with a recent example of Internet use by the people who would otherwise go unheard being that of the recent protests in Egypt, much of which was fuelled by twitter and facebook, as well as many protests being uploaded to Youtube (Ungerleider, 2011).

References
Nielsen, 2002
Paracharissi, 2002, New Media and Society
Ungerleider, 2011, Fast Company
World Internet Statistics, 2010

Week 5 - Mediating

The destruction of the Twin Towers in New York City on September 11, 2001, and the immediate and lasting reaction of the media to this event was the main focus for this week's reading (King, 2005, pg. 47-56). The reading draws on different aspects of the media coverage of the disaster, and is states that this real-life event can be distinguished from common 'disaster film' sequences by the obvious use of hand-held camera equipment and a lack of continuity whilst filming the sequence (King, 2005, pg. 49-50). While many of the earlier big budget disaster style films do make scenes of destruction particularly clear and unmissable for the viewer, recent computer generated images technology has meant that film makers no longer need to spend such high amounts on pyrotechnics and explosions. The recent film 'Cloverfield' (2008), is shown in its entirety as a hand-held style of filming  and, like the 9/11 coverage, does not show many of the destruction sequences at the most visible angle to the audience. This style of film making is done here deliberately, to give the film a more authentic feel.
In comparison to real disaster footage and 'breaking news' coverage of events, simulated disasters made by directors and film makers for entertainment can sometimes seem quite cheap and offensive to those affected by real life events. An example of this could be the humorous portrayal of nuclear meltdown as seen in several episodes of the television series 'The Simpsons' (1989 -) which may now be seen as distressing by many who have been affected by the recent disasters in Japan, including threat of nuclear radiation (Demetriou, 2011, The Telegraph Online).

References
Demetriou, D. (2011) Highly radioactive water leaks outside Japan's nuclear plant building, The Telegraph.co.uk
Groening, M. (1989-) The Simpsons
King, G. (2005), "Just like a movie"?: 9/11 and Hollywood Spectacle
Reeves, M. (2008) Cloverfield

Week 4 - Writing

This week's reading addresses different styles of writing, as well as reasons and inspiration for writing. It likens writing to 'dancing with the pen' (Game &  Metcalf, 1996, p. 87) and likens the writing process to that of dreaming. Whilst the act of creative writing is commonly known to allow for dreaming and free, expressive thought, Game and Metcalf (1996, p. 88-89) contend that research reports and scientific writing  must allow for structured ideas.
The blank page or computer screen is seen as a tool for dreaming by Game and Metcalf (1996, p. 87) and for many students such as myself it is viewed as something to which provokes and intensifies thought while it is simultaneously dreaded and observed as intimidating. Game and Metcalf do address the initial physical process of preparation for writing (1996, p. 96), however, they neglect the frequent problems which confront the writer all too often, which include difficulty finding the right words to express a meaning or troubles in manifesting the ideas and concepts themselves.

Bibliography
Game, A &  Metcalf, A 1996, Passionate Sociology, SAGE Publications

Week 3 - Reading

This week's required reading covered the topics of plot and structure followed by many films and television shows. These include the 3 act structure utilised by many film makers and writers to set up a story line. This structure incorporates an initial state of equilibrium, followed by a period of conflict and finally a resolution (Jane Stadler & Kelly McWilliam, 2009, p. 157). This classical narrative style is popular for many fairytale type stories, including many of those adapted by Disney.
An example of this includes The Little Mermaid (1989, Walt Disney Pictures, Clements & Musker ), in which the 'hero' character, Ariel, initially has a beautiful singing voice and privileged lifestyle and then transitions through the stage of conflict when her voice is taken away from her in exchange for a human body and ability to walk on land, and is later resolved when she wins the heart of the prince and regains her voice when her nemesis is destroyed.
In addition to the traditional 3 act structure, story lines may also make use of a non-linear time frame, which includes flashbacks and flash forwards, interwoven story lines and fragmented story lines (Jane Stadler & Kelly McWilliam, 2009, p. 169).

Bibliography:
Screen Naratives: Traditions and Trends, Jane Stadler & Kelly McWilliam, 2009
The Little Mermaid, 1989, Walt Disney Pictures, Clements & Musker

Week 2 - Looking

This week's topic of 'looking' has addressed different perceptions and the multiple ways images can be perceived by the viewer. Such examples raised by the text (Introduction to Textual Analysis, p. 7) included a confrontation by a group of six young men and the way this could be perceived by different people with different personal experiences. While many of the denoted meanings that could be read into this particular image would be similar, if not the same, the connoted meanings could be seen quite differently.
A recent media example of the concept may include the controversy over refugees arriving illegally in Australia by boat. While some believe that these people deserve a second chance in Australia after the hardship they have previously been through, others contest this idea with views that they are cheating the system and taking the jobs and changing the way of life of the Australian public and those who have come legally and through the proper channels.