Feminism?

Waves of feminism

First wave: early 20th century, suffragette movement (right to vote).

Second wave: 1960s – 1990s, reproductive rights (pill), abortion, equal pay.

Third wave: 1990s – present, empowerment, reclaiming of femininity (high heels, sexuality etc. See Angela McRobbie's work on women's magazines).

Fourth wave? 2010 – ongoing, use of new technology and digital media (e.g. Twitter) for activism.

Fourth wave?

Many commentators argue that the internet itself has enabled a shift from ‘third-wave’ to ‘fourth-wave’ feminism. What is certain is that the internet has created a ‘call-out’ culture, in which sexism or misogyny can be ‘called out’ and challenged.

This culture is indicative of the continuing influence of the third wave, with its focus on challenging sexism and misogyny in advertising, film, television and the media.

Key quote: “power users of social media”

The internet has facilitated the creation of a global community of feminists who use the internet both for discussion and activism.

According to #FemFuture: Online Feminism, a report recently published by Columbia University’s Barnard Center for Research on Women, females aged between 18 and 29 are the ‘power users of social networking’.

(Source: Political Studies Association. Read more about this: http://www.psa.ac.uk/insight-plus/feminism-fourth-wave)

Critics of online feminism

Critics of online feminist movements suggest that petitions and pressure from Twitter campaigns is simply a witchhunt orchestrated by privileged middle-class white women.

They ask: are ‘trolls’ the danger they are portrayed to be?

Introduction to feminism: blog tasks

Case study: Everyday Sexism

Watch the TEDx talk by Everyday Sexism founder Laura Bates:

1) Why did Laura Bates start the Everyday Sexism project?

2) How does the Everyday Sexism project link to the concept of post-feminism? Is feminism still required in western societies?

3) Why was new technology essential to the success of the Everyday Sexism project?

4) Will there be a point in the future when the Everyday Sexism project is not required? What is YOUR view on the future of feminism?

Media Magazine: The fourth wave?

Read the article: The Fourth Wave? Feminism in the Digital Age in MM55 (p64). You'll find the article in our Media Magazine archive here.

Letter to the Free

Lyrics:

Southern leaves, southern trees we hung from
Barren souls, heroic songs unsung
Forgive them father they know this knot is undone
Tied with the rope that my grandmother died
Pride of the pilgrims affect lives of millions
Since slave days separating, fathers from children
Institution ain't just a building
But a method, of having black and brown bodies fill them
We ain't seen as human beings with feelings
Will the U.S. Ever be us? Lord willing!
For now we know, the new Jim Crow
They stop, search and arrest our souls
Police and policies patrol philosophies of control
A cruel hand taking hold
We let go to free them so we can free us
America's moment to come to Jesus

Freedom (freedom)
Freedom come (freedom come)
Hold on (hold on)
Won't be long (won't be long)
Freedom (freedom)
Freedom come (freedom come)
Hold on (hold on)
Won't be long (won't be long)

The caged birds sings for freedom to bring
Black bodies being lost in the american dream
Blood of black being, a pastoral scene
Slavery's still alive, check amendment 13
Not whips and chains, all subliminal
Instead of 'nigga' they use the word 'criminal'
Sweet land of liberty, incarcerated country
Shot me with your ray-gun
And now you want to trump me
Prison is a business, America's the company
Investing in injustice, fear and long suffering
We staring in the face of hate again
The same hate they say will make america great again
No consolation prize for the dehumanized
For america to rise it's a matter of black lives
And we gonna free them, so we can free us
America's moment to come to Jesus

Narrative:

The music video does not really follow a direct narrative but rather follows a collective narrative, which is the collective narrative of African-Americans, who are being oppressed as a result of the criminalisation of them. 

Editing: 

Music video/Steve Neale's theory

History of music videos: https://danielmmediastudies.blogspot.com/2019/01/music-video-timeline.html

"Genre is instances of repetition and difference"

Thriller (1983) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA&safe=true

The video fits the theory as it has a narrative strand and that it has dance numbers, which are typical of a video in the disco genre. However, it was on MTV which a difference to other music videos like Video Killed The Radio Star.

Public Service Broadcasting

1. The report suggests that people are increasingly viewing content in a variety of different ways, both on television and on different devices while young adults are watching a substantial amount of non-PSB content.

2. The differences highlighted between younger and older viewers is that their viewing habits are becoming increasingly different. Viewers aged 65+ watched an average of 5 hours 44 minutes in 2016 while 16-24 year olds watched an average of 1 hour 54 minutes.

3. The report suggests that people are satisfied with PBCs as 83% of the TV population aged 4+ watch one of the PBCs weekly.

13th- Documentary review

1. I agree with the quote. In order for people to move on, they have to understand what lead to this point and how we cannot change the past. However, we can change the future.




2. I was not surprised by the racial underpinnings of the legislative policies of Nixon and Reagan. It has be known for years that they were racists, but needed to find another underhanded way of oppressing black people. This is why the War on Drugs started, and why the CIA distributed crack in southern Los Angeles neighborhoods, where the residents were mostly black. They could no longer enforce Jim Crow laws, so they gave black people crack and then locked them up for it.


3. Media does impact the perception of African-Americans. In the past, black people were presented as dangerous and a threat to white people. In films they were put in roles were they would prey upon white women. In the present, they are presented as dangerous criminals. Most modern rap presents black people as criminals, even by themselves. This is how entrenched this stereotype is in within society.

4. The dangers surrounding ALEC is that they create legislation that benefits the people within ALEC, and not the American people. This leads to inequality, which could push black people into crime.

Music Video Timeline

1. Pre-MTV

Bohemian Rhaspody (1974)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJ9rUzIMcZQ&safe=true


2. MTV launches (1981)

Thriller (1983) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA&safe=true


3. The internet starts, MTV declines (1995)


4. YouTube (2005)


Poker Face (2009) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bESGLojNYSo&safe=true


5. First 24 hour album (2013)


Happy (2014) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbZSe6N_BXs&safe=true


6. Interactive music videos (2015)


Feedback Delicates (2016) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ykDNxDl7Zs&safe=true


7. VR music videos (2015)


I Got U (2014) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHCYHldJi_g&safe=true


8. Film directors get in on music videos (2016)


Daydreaming (2016) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTAU7lLDZYU&safe=true
3

Introduction to Representation

Taken trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPJVJBm9TPA


Groups:
Men- Dominant as Liam Neeson is acting strong and trying to save his daughter.
Women- Dominant as they are shown as weak and in need of saving.
White people- Dominant- speaking like how white people would speak.

Stereotypes in the trailer include women being helpless and in need of saving and men being strong and saving women.

Taken might offend groups as they are showing women being weak and helpless, when women can be strong but they are instead using a stereotype so they can appeal to as wide of a target audience as possible.

Mainstream film and television texts often use stereotypes because it appeals to a wide target audience. Using alternative portrayals might put more traditional viewers off, as they see it as something weird and not something they are comfortable with. This costs the film money and in the end, mainstream films are made to make millions in the box office, not to appease social groups.