TV: Capital - Marxism and Hegemony

Capital is a state-of-the-nation drama. Applying theories such as Marxism and hegemony to Capital allows us to explore the political context of the text.

The notes from the lesson are here:

Marxism

In Britain and Europe, Marxist approaches were common amongst media theorists from the late 1960s until around the early 1980s, and Marxist influences, though less dominant, remain widespread.

Marxist theorists tend to emphasize the role of the mass media in maintaining the status quo, suggesting power is concentrated in the hands of a narrow elite.

Marxism v pluralism

The main non-Marxist tradition is that of liberal pluralism. Pluralists see society as consisting of competing groups and interests, none of them predominant all of the time.

In contrast, Marxists view capitalist society as being one of class domination; the media are seen to promote hegemonic ideology and ensure the dominance of certain classes; ultimate control is increasingly concentrated in wealthy corporations/media conglomerates; media professionals, while enjoying the illusion of autonomy, are socialized into and internalize the norms of the dominant culture.

Gramsci: hegemony

Gramsci used the term hegemony to describe the dominance of one social class over others – i.e. how the ruling class or elite maintain control. 

This represents not only political and economic control, but also the ability of the dominant class to project its own way of seeing the world so that those who are controlled by it accept it as 'common sense' and 'natural'. Commentators stress that this involves willing and active consent.


Marxism & hegemony: blog tasks

Task 1: Mail Online review of Capital

1) Re-read the Mail Online review of Capital. Why does it suggest that Capital features a left-wing ideology?

2) Choose three quotes from the review that are particularly critical of Capital and paste them into your blogpost. Do you agree with the criticisms? Why?

3) What scenes or characters from Capital could be read as promoting left-wing ideology?

4) What about the other side of the argument - are there any aspects of Capital that reinforce the status quo in capitalist London?



Task 2: Media Factsheet - Applying Marxism 

Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet #66: Applying Marxism. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets - you'll need to save the factsheet to USB or email it to yourself in order to complete this at home. Read the factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What does Marxism suggest regarding power in society?

2) Why is The Apprentice a good example of the media reinforcing capitalist values and ideologies?

3) Come up with three examples of media texts (e.g. TV programmes, newspapers etc.) that either fetishise working class life (e.g. EastEnders presents quite a harmonious East End community which probably doesn't accurately reflect East London life) or demonise working class life or poor people (e.g. The Daily Mail and The Sun newspapers regularly demonise people living on benefits with headlines referring to 'scroungers'.)

4) Look at the bullet points on page 4 of the factsheet:

When making a Marxist reading of a text, look out for representations that:

• show the values of the power elite as beneficial to the mass
• show queries or challenges to the base as meaningless, foolish or anti-social via ‘failed revolt’
• show the subdominant position of the masses as a naturalised idea
• show the values of the power elite as ‘natural’ or ‘right’
• show that being a member of the mass is a good thing
• show the masses accepting the values of the power elite
• show the values of the power elite as being ‘for the good of the masses’ (even when unpleasant)

Now try applying those bullet points to Capital. Think about the setting, characters and narrative strands - how many of the bullet points apply to Capital? Does Capital reinforce or challenge the values of capitalism? Give examples from episode 1 to support your points.

Task 3: Media Magazine feature on BBC drama The Casual Vacancy and ideology

Finally, go to our Media Magazine archive and read the feature 'The Beeb, The Mail and JKR' in MM53 (page 20). This focuses on the politics of The Casual Vacancy, another BBC three-part drama based on a book by JK Rowling.




Answer the questions below:

1) Why did the Daily Mail suggest The Casual Vacancy promoted a left-wing ideology?

2) How does the article suggest characters, narrative and setting are used to promote a left-wing ideology?

3) What research is quoted regarding BBC bias and what did it find? Do you think the BBC is biased?

4) Gramsci's theory of hegemony suggests people are kept under control through active consent - the control of 'common sense'. How could you apply the Daily Mail or the BBC to the idea of hegemony and dominant ideologies in the UK media?

Complete for homework - due next Wednesday.

Advertising: Persuasive techniques

Adverts - both print and moving image - use a range of persuasive techniques to try and positively influence their audience.

We need to learn a range of these techniques and later apply them to the two CSP adverts we need to study for the exam.

The notes from the lesson are below.

Persuasive techniques

Advertisements are generally trying to persuade their target audience to:

• Buy a product or service
• Believe something or act in a certain way
• Agree with a point of view

There are many persuasive techniques used in advertising. A selection include:

• Slogan – a catchy phrase or statement
• Repetition – constant reference to product name
• Bandwagon – everyone is buying it
• Testimonial/association – e.g. celebrity endorsement
• Emotional appeal – designed to create strong feelings
• Expert opinion – ‘4 out of 5 dentists…’

Examples:

• Slogan – Just Do It
• Repetition – Go Compare
• Bandwagon – Maybelline ‘America’s favourite mascara’
• Testimonial/association – FIFA18 ‘El Tornado’ / Ronaldo
• Emotional appeal – WaterAid ‘Dig toilets not graves’
• Expert opinion – Max Factor ‘The make-up of make-up artists’

Case study: Marmite

Marmite has a long history of unusual advertising based around the idea ‘You either love it or you hate it’. How many of the persuasive techniques can you spot in these adverts?







Advertising: Persuasive techniques blog task

Create a new blog post called 'Advertising: Persuasive techniques'. Read ‘Marketing Marmite in the Postmodern age’ in MM54  (p62). You'll find our Media Magazine archive here.

Answer the following questions on your blog:

1) What does John Berger suggest about advertising in ‘Ways of Seeing’?

2) What is it psychologists refer to as referencing? Which persuasive techniques could you link this idea to?

3) How was Marmite discovered?

4) Who owns the Marmite brand now?

5) How has Marmite marketing used intertextuality? Which of the persuasive techniques we’ve learned can this be linked to?

6) What is the difference between popular culture and high culture? How does Marmite play on this?

7) Why does Marmite position the audience as ‘enlightened, superior, knowing insiders’?

8) What examples does the writer provide of why Marmite advertising is a good example of postmodernism?

Complete for homework - due next week.

Advertising: Narrative in advertising

Narrative is a hugely important element in advertising and marketing.

You need to be able to apply the four narrative theories we have studied previously. Crucially, AQA also make it clear you need to be able to apply narrative theory to both print and moving image texts.

Narrative theories: a reminder

You can find our original lesson notes on narrative here. To summarise each theory in a word or phrase:

• Todorov – Equilibrium
• Propp – Familiar character types
• Barthes – Enigma and action codes
• Levi-Strauss – Binary opposition

Narrative in advertising: Jonah Sachs

American writer Jonah Sachs has highlighted the importance of storytelling in advertising and marketing:

“The story wars are all around us. They are the struggle to be heard in a world of media noise and clamour. Today, most brand messages and mass appeals for causes are drowned out before they even reach us. But a few consistently break through the din, using the only tool that has ever moved minds and changed behaviour – great stories.”

Narrative in advertising: examples

There are a huge number of examples of adverts that use narrative. This marketing blogpost highlights 12 examples (including some we looked at in the lesson).

Sainsbury's World War 1 truce



Airbnb: Breaking Down Walls




Narrative in advertising: blog task

Nike has received critical acclaim for its February 2018 advert ‘Nothing beats a Londoner’. Embed the advert in your blog and answer the following questions:

 


1) How does the advert use narrative? Apply at least three narrative theories to the text, making specific reference to specific shots or key scenes in the advert.

2) Read this BBC feature on some of the people in the advert. How does the advert use celebrities and less well-known people to create stories in the advert?

3) Read this AdWeek feature and interview on the Nike London advert. [Note: this may now be behind a paywall - you can find the text from the article here]. How did the advert use technical codes (camerawork, mise-en-scene, editing etc.) to help create narratives that could connect with the audience?

4) What representation of London does the advert offer?

5) Why might this advert appeal to an audience?

Complete this for homework - due next week.

MIGRAIN: Final index

We have now completed our mammoth MIGRAIN Introduction to Media unit. You've covered a huge amount of work since September and now have a grounding in all the key concepts of A Level Media - well done! 

We now need to update our MIGRAIN blog index (we last updated this in December) with all the work we've done recently. As you know, it is important we are revising terminology and theory on an ongoing basis and making sure there are no gaps as the course continues. The vast majority of the course will be tested in an exam situation and there could easily be a question on a specific theory that we've covered in the last three half-terms. If you have missed any lessons or blog tasks this will significantly disadvantage you.

MIGRAIN Final index

Keeping an index of all your work is extremely good practice from a revision perspective. Not only does this keep the concepts and media terminology fresh in your mind but it will also highlight if you've missed anything through absence or trips. Your index should now include the following:

1) Introduction to Media: 10 questions
2) Media consumption audit
3) Semiotics blog tasks - English analysis and Icon, Index, Symbol
4) Language: Reading an image - advert analyses
5) Reception theory - advert analyses part 2
6) Genre: Factsheets and genre study questions
7) Blog feedback and learner response
8) Narrative: Factsheet questions
9) Audience: classification - psychographics presentation notes
10) October assessment learner response
11) Audience theory 1 - Hypodermic needle/Two-step flow/U&G
12) Audience theory 2 - The effects debate - Bandura, Cohen 
13) Industries: Ownership and Control
14) Industries: Hesmondhalgh - The Cultural Industries
15) Industries: Public Service Broadcasting
16) Industries: Regulation
17) Representation: an introroduction and MM article
18) Representation: Feminism - Everyday Sexism & Fourth Wave MM article 
19) January assessment learner response
20) Representation: Feminist theory
21) Representing ourselves: Identity in the online age - MM article & Factsheet
22) Ideology: BBC Question Time analysis and MM articles

You'll have done a lot of this index already - a quick time-saving tip is to copy the HTML from your original index blogpost and paste it in your new index blogpost. This will give you the first few links and you can add to it from there. If you simply add to your previous index, make sure you change the date to today (use the 'Schedule' tab on the right-hand menu to do this). 

Remember, this is your index, so the text should link to your corresponding blogpost so you can access your work on each key concept quickly and easily. This also means you if you have missed anything you can now catch up with the work/notes over half-term and won't underperform in future assessments due to gaps in your knowledge.

Deadline: post your final index AND any outstanding work by Wednesday 26 February.

MIGRAIN: Ideology

The media's role in setting and reinforcing the dominant values and ideologies within society is a vital aspect of A Level Media Studies. 

The key notes from today's lesson on ideology and binary opposition:

Ideology

What is an ideology?
An ideology is a world view, a system of values, attitudes and beliefs which an individual, group or society holds to be true or important; these are shared by a culture or society about how that society should function.

Dominant ideologies

Ideologies that are told to us repeatedly by important social institutions such as the government or media are called dominant ideologies.

Dominant ideologies are ideologies or beliefs that we live by in our day-to-day lives and often do not question – they have become 'natural, common sense' things to do. This effectively dissuades people from rebelling against these beliefs, and keeps a sense of stability in society.

Why is ideology important in Media Studies?

Media texts always reflect certain values or ideologies though sometimes we may not be aware of this. When studying a media text you may look for the dominant ideology present and question whose world view is represented and perhaps which groups have not been represented.

Levi-Strauss: Binary opposition

Claude Levi-Strauss (1908-2009) was a French philosopher and one of the most important cultural theorists of the 20th century. 

His theory of binary opposition is important for media students.

Levi-Strauss suggested everyone thinks of the world around them in terms of binary opposites such as up and down, life and death etc. and therefore every culture can be understood in these terms. 

Binary opposition in media

Binary opposition is used to create narrative and conflict in media. It is also used to simplify complex situations for easy consumption (e.g. TV news).

Along similar lines, if something is not easily reduced to binary opposites, it is far less likely to receive widespread media coverage.

Binary oppositions can be used to create stereotypes and promote certain ideologies or beliefs.

Blog tasks: ideology

Part 1: BBC Question Time analysis

Watch this clip from BBC Question Time with Russell Brand and Nigel Farage. The BBC deliberately placed the two against each other and the episode resulted in far more people watching and tweeting than usual.

1) What examples of binary opposition can you suggest from watching this clip?

2) What ideologies are on display in this clip?

Embed the video into your blog (as above) and answer these two questions in full paragraphs.


Part 2: Media Magazine reading

Media Magazine issue 52 has two good articles on Ideology. You need to read those articles (our Media Magazine archive is here) and complete a few tasks linked to them. 

Page 34: The World Of Mockingjay: Ideology, Dystopia And Propaganda

1) Read the article and summarise it in one sentence.

2) What view of capitalist ideology is presented in the Hunger Games films?

3) What do the Hunger Games films suggest about the power of the media to shape and influence ideological beliefs?


Page 48: They Live - Understanding Ideology

1) Read the article and summarise it in one sentence.

2) What are the four accepted ideological beliefs in western societies highlighted by the article?

3) What does Gramsci's theory of hegemony suggest about power and ideology in society?

4) What does French theorist Louis Althusser suggest about ideology and consumerism?

5) Do YOU agree with the idea behind They Live - that we are unthinkingly controlled by the media which is run in the interests of the economic elite? These are the big questions of A Level Media!

You'll need to finish this for homework - due for the first lesson after half-term.

TV: Capital case study

Our first television close-study product is BBC state-of-the-nation drama Capital. We need to know everything about the programme - from textual analysis of key scenes to how it was funded, distributed and promoted.

The key notes from the lesson are here: 

Novel adaptation

• Capital is a BBC TV drama series adapted from 2012 book by John Lanchester.
• The book was set in 2007-8 either side of the financial crisis but the TV drama updates it to 2015 and changes the location slightly (Clapham to Balham). 

Capital: a state-of-the-nation drama

• Capital is a ‘state-of-the-nation’ drama – designed to capture the issues facing the country at the time it is written and produced.
• In Capital, it focuses on the economy and the financial crash, immigration, London’s housing market and the incredible mix of people in a city of 8.5 million.

Reviews
Reviews of the Capital TV series drew attention to the state-of-the-nation aspect of the drama:

• Ben Lawrence in the Telegraph wrote: Capital shows “an eternal London, riven by inequality and quickened by diversity”.
• Ben Dowell in the Radio Times: “It shows Londoners trying to work out very real problems… there is a fierce intelligence at work here, a script which asks some very interesting and important questions but doesn’t force the answers down your throat.”

London 2009-15 

• Following the global financial crash in 2007-8, London was not expected to quickly recover economically. 
• However, house prices soared with some properties almost doubling in price in five years. By September 2015, the average London house price was £531,000.
• Traditionally working-class neighbourhoods in London suddenly had houses worth £1m+.

London: immigration

The Oxford University Migration Observatory published a report in 2011 regarding migration to London. Key quotes:

• “One in three London residents was born abroad, and a quarter of these migrants arrived since 2006. Nearly a half of the UK’s migrants live in London.”
• “London’s population is characterised by rapid flux. Area stability – the proportion of a neighbourhood’s population remaining in place over time – is far lower in London than the rest of the UK.”
• “Some of the most deprived migrants in the country reside in London, and some of the most privileged too… vulnerable migrants in London include asylum-seekers with subsistence-only support.”

Capital: case study blog tasks

Work through the following tasks to build a detailed case study for Capital. This will give you plenty of background information to use in an exam question. Remember, for this CSP the question could be on any of the key concepts: language, industries, audiences or representations.


Reviews and features

Read the following interviews, reviews and features on Capital:

Guardian review by Sam Wollaston
Telegraph review by Ben Lawrence
London Evening Standard: five things you need to know about Capital
Behind the scenes filming Capital from the Daily Telegraph

1) What positive points do the reviews pick out about Capital? What criticisms are made - either of the TV drama or the original novel?

2) In the Telegraph 'behind the scenes' article, what does the writer say about the London housing market?

3) What references can you find in these reviews and features to the idea Capital is a 'state-of-the-nation' drama? How does it capture modern-day London?


Trailer analysis

Watch the trailer for Capital:




1) How does the drama use camerawork to capture London life?

2) How does the trailer use mise-en-scene to capture the family element of the drama?

3) How does the trailer introduce narrative strands suggesting tension or enigma in the 40-second running time?


Watch the Episode 1 preview for Capital:



1) What does this preview clip suggest about the potential sub-genres for Capital?

2) What elements of the clip might suggest this is a 'state-of-the-nation' drama?

3) Analyse the mise-en-scene in this clip. How does this provide realism and familiarity for audiences?

4) What audience pleasures are provided by this scene?

5) How is the audience positioned to respond to the different characters in this particular sequence?


Watch the Episode 2 preview for Capital:




1) How does this clip represent upper-middle-class family life?

2) What narrative strands are suggested in this sequence?

3) How is the audience positioned to respond to Roger Yount, the main character (banker and father to the two boys)?


Representations: close-textual analysis

Capital offers a range of fascinating representations - from London and asylum seekers to capitalism and inequality. You need to be able to confidently discuss these issues in the context of 2015 London - with reference to key scenes from episode 1. Representations include: London, family, gender, ethnicity, religion, immigration, asylum, inequality, wealth, capitalism, aging and more.

1) Write an analysis of the representations in each of the key scenes from episode 1 we studied in class:

Scene 1: opening sequence 00:30 – 4.49
Scene 2: work in the City 6.28 – 8.10
Scene 3: “Which of those isn’t absolutely essential?” 14.00 – 15.35
Scene 4: asylum 18.03 – 19.42 AND 31.10 – 32.40
Scene 5: “What use is 30 grand?” 36.40 – 39.00 
Scene 6: life at the corner shop 40.10 – 42.55

You can choose which aspects to focus on for each scene: e.g. London, family, gender, ethnicity, religion, immigration, asylum, inequality, wealth, aging etc.

2) How does Capital use stereotypes? Do the characters and issues represented in Capital reinforce or subvert the stereotypes we typically see in the media?



Industries and production context

Capital was produced by independent production company Kudos for the BBC. Look at the Kudos website and also read the Kudos Wikipedia page.

1) Who is the parent company for Kudos?

2) What was the breakthrough show for Kudos in 2002?

3) Watch the showreel on the Kudos website. What other TV dramas have Kudos produced? What awards have they won?

4) What audience pleasures does the showreel suggest Kudos productions offer? 



Marketing and promotion

Read the BBC Press Pack for Capital.

1) How does the programme information on page 3 make Capital sound interesting to audiences?

2) Why does the programme information mention the other shows that the director and producer have worked on?

3) Who commissioned Capital for BBC?

4) Read the interview with Toby Jones. What does he say about the character of Roger?

5) Read the interview with Adeel Akhtar (page 10). What does he suggest Capital says about the fictional Pepys Road and the sense of community (or lack of it) in London?

6) Read the interview with Shabana Azmi (page 12). What does she say about Asian representations in Britain? 

7) Read the interview with Peter Bowker (who adapted Capital - page 14). What are his favourite scenes in the drama and why?

8) Read the interview with Derek Wax, the Executive Producer for Kudos (page 16). Why did he produce Capital and what does it say about the way we live now?




DVD packaging

Look at the DVD packaging for Capital. There are many marketing techniques employed here.

1) How does the packaging use other critically acclaimed TV dramas to promote Capital?

2) What does the use of design and images suggest to the audience about the drama?

3) How are review quotes used on the cover and what do they suggest to the audience about sub-genre, narrative and audience pleasures?

4) What representation of London does the DVD packaging offer?



There is a lot of work here - easily 3-4 hours in total if you do in the depth required for the top grades at A Level. However, you will have two weeks to work on this and then half-term to complete it.

Complete for homework - due first lesson after half-term.

MIGRAIN: Representing ourselves - identity in the online age

Our final topic in our introduction to representation is collective identity: the sense of belonging to a group.

This is something the media has a huge influence over - everything from advertising to social media profiles can affect our sense of identity and where we fit in. Indeed, the representations we see in the media can have a huge impact on how we fit into society and the world around us. We need to learn some key theories and also consider the impact of new and digital technology on issues of collective identity and representation.

Notes and key theories

Collective identity

Collective identity is the shared sense of belonging to a group. In Media Studies, we need to consider the influence media has over a person’s sense of identity.

This is closely linked to representation as the way groups are portrayed in the media can influence our sense of identity and belonging.

Collective identity: theories

Marxism and the Frankfurt School

Marxists believe identity is constructed through hegemony imposed by the ruling elite. A sense of individual identity is a myth that prevents people challenging powerful groups.

This links to the Frankfurt School, a group of influential Marxists who viewed media audiences as passive vessels. They believe the media is used to control and manipulate people.

Example: Apple branding

Apple’s early branding suggested individuality and creative freedom... But in fact it was always a massive profit-seeking corporation looking to sell as widely as possible.

Later, iPhone adverts subtly suggested a certain lifestyle that has become synonymous with Apple products. Everything suggests creative possibility and individual opportunity but Marxists would argue this merely hides the fact we are being manipulated by a faceless corporation into handing Apple huge amounts of money (why is an iPhone so much more expensive than an Android phone for example?) 

What is the representation of an iPhone user presented in the iPhone 6s 'Onions' advert?

Daniel Chandler: CAGE

Daniel Chandler suggested the acronym CAGE, stating our identity is constructed through class, age, gender and ethnicity. 

Does this still apply in the 21st century? Do we construct our own identities along these lines? Is representation in the media still dominated by these classifications? Think about your own presence on social media.

Stuart Hall: media construction

Stuart Hall suggests the media actively constructs our society rather than reflecting it back. 

Our identity is part of this and therefore any sense of individuality we may feel is actually constructed through the media we engage with.

Constructing our own identities

New technology has changed the way we see ourselves and others. Through social media we can construct representations of ourselves.

Example: Instagram/Snapchat

• How did you choose your profile pic?
• What does your profile say?
• Who do you follow?
• How much do you consider what others will think of you when posting/liking/sharing?

Does social media have a positive influence over our identity? Or is it corrosive? Simon Sinek's interview on the millennial generation went viral when it was first released and is worth watching again for the section on social media, technology and how it influences our sense of identity:

Shared identity online

New technology has created the opportunity for people to form groups online that represent their shared identity. 

Think about the work we have done recently on feminism and online activism - blogs, forums, social media accounts and whole campaigns and movements (#everydaysexism) have given audiences a new sense of collective identity. In America, #blacklivesmatter is doing this with racism and police brutality.

Social media can empower individuals and create a strong sense of belonging – media theorist Sherry Turkle  famously described the internet as a place to be "alone together".

Collective identity in the 21st Century

So, collective identity doesn’t just refer to representations in mainstream media.

It also refers to self-constructed identity by users of social media and communities formed online of shared identity (e.g. Feminism).

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?'

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

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

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

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?

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?


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.

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. Save it to USB or email it to yourself so you have access to the reading for homework. 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.

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?

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

4) How has new technology changed collective identity?

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

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

You will have some lesson time to complete this but will need to finish for homework anything you do not cover in the lesson. Deadline: confirmed by your teacher.