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?'
How the media can portray people and how from one photo many things can be deconstructed. 

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

Nike: Promotion of fitness and bettering your well being with leisure clothing and shoes that are designed to feel good. 

Pure gym: Helps people fight mental problems while becoming a better version of themselves 

3) Do you agree with the view that modern media is all about 'style over substance'? What does this expression mean?
 Yes, this is because they only care about how things are perceived and what things can become miscommunication. 

4) Explain Baudrillard's theory of 'media saturation' in one paragraph. You may need to research it online to find out more.
Jean Baudrillard is one of the most controversial postmodernist and poststructuralist thinkers whose novel ideas have gained lots of concerns. His social, political and cultural ideas have moved the notion of postmodernism into a new realm. Baudrillard’s key concepts such as “simulacra and simulation” and “hyperreality” have been discussed in Simulacra and Simulation (1994). He also deals with the concept of the end of history and power relations in The Illusion of the End and Forget Foucault. Baudrillard has also scrutinized Marxist doctrine and “sign value” in The System of Objects. First part of this chapter deals with fundamentals of postmodernism and how it differs from modernism and the second part owes itself to Baudrillard’s theories including simulacra, hyperreality, sign value, power relations and the end of history.

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?
Personally my social media is partly an accurate reflection of who I am, however I do keep it more friendly to viewers as I am thinking about the digital footprint I would leave behind for future generations to see and possible employers.

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?

I dislike the idea of data mining because it would mean that they gain access to your information and perhaps your personal information and this may lead to hackers getting your information's as well.

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.
collective identity is  one that revolves mostly around a group of people who have certain things in common like a set of traditions, values and a similar understanding of the world that surrounds them.

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?

Britian: fish and chips. Football. Royal family.

3) How does James May's Top Toys offer a nostalgic representation of Britain?
Goes through toys from when he was a kid.

4) How has new technology changed collective identity?
Some people are trying to be different.

5) What phrase does David Gauntlett (2008) use to describe this new focus on identity? 
David Gauntlett (2008) states that ‘Identity is complicated; everyone thinks they have got one.’

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

A fan has created this group in support of the fact that he has ‘learnt’ a new word from the film. The recognition of ‘Hey, I also learnt that word!’ means fans from around the world can then share their experience of watching the film and supporting the identity created within it.