Media & Collective Identity

Media & Collective IdentityG325 - Exam

Monday, January 7, 2013

A focus on identity requires us to pay close attention to the diverse ways in which media and technologies

are used in everyday life, and their consequences both for individuals and for social groups.

David Buckingham 2008


Identity is complicated. Everyone thinks they’ve got one. Magazines and talk show hosts urge us to explore our ‘identity’. Religious and national identities are the heart of major international conflicts. Artists play with the idea of ‘identity’ in modern society. Blockbuster superheroes have emotional conflicts about their ‘true’ identity. The average teenager can create 3 online identities before breakfast... Thinking about self-identity and individuality can cause some anxiety - at least in cultures where individuals are encouraged to value their personal uniqueness. Each of us would like to think that we have special, personal qualities, which make us distinctive and valuable to the others in our lives. But does this mean anything? Is individuality an illusion? Maybe we are all incredibly similar, but are programmed to value minuscule bits of differentiation.

David Gauntlett 2007Monday, January 7, 2013

Who?

David Buckingham Media lecturer at Loughborough University. Youth, Identity and Digital Media 2008

David GauntlettBritish Sociologist and media theorist. Creative Explorations: New approaches to identities and audiences 2007


Looking at the following

How media that are in public circulation now represent groups of people in different ways.

How these representations can be seen as different to historical representations of the same groups.

The effects in society of particular kinds of media representation of collective identities.

Ways in which people might use the media actively to form a collective identity.

Debates/arguments around the idea that our identities are increasingly constructed by, or through, or in response to the media.


Exam

You MUST refer to at least TWO different media

compare and contrast examples from film and TV or newspapers and social media

You MUST refer to past, present and future

ensure you use the majority of material from the past five years. Last years exams were criticized for being dominated by too many older films.

To access higher marks you MUST refer to critical/theoretical positions

you need to include quotes from people who have developed ideas about representation and identity that help to explain your points.


What is Collective identity?



Discuss with a partner and write a definition in your book.



Discuss with a partner and write a definition in your book.

Refers to a set of individuals’ sense of belonging to a group or collective. For the individual, the identity derived from the collective shapes part of his or her personal identity. It is the idea that through participating in social activities, individuals can gain a sense of belonging and in essence an ‘identity’ that transcends the individual


Youth

How would you describe a young person?

How would an older person describe a young a person?

How are young people represented in the media?


Quotes

“Kids are out of control... They’re roaming the streets. They’re out late at night”

“Children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, they no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents and tyrannize their teachers.”


Quotes

1 - Gordon Brown in 2008

2 - Plato in the 4th century BC.

Complaining about the behaviour of young people is nothing new.


What does this video say?


Media & Collective Identity

Documents

Transcript of Media & Collective Identity