Analysing my media diet

I saw it at the cinema, so it took my primary attention, as there was nothing else to take away my attention, except for my popcorn.

My third favourite media product is The Chris Moyles Comedy Show on Radio One. It is a very popular show with 6.5 million listeners across the UK. It features the main presenter, Chris Moyles, his assistant, Comedy Dave, Thin Lizzie and Producer Will.

It is a comedy show, and provides a diversion and is an opportunity to enjoy a relationship with other people, which are two of the four reasons for consuming media products according to certain reception theories.

Stage 3

Out of my media top ten, the one that most cathartic is probably The Simpsons. Cathartic means it has a good affect on me. It is cathartic because it puts me in a good mood and gives me something to talk about with my friends. I think the most desensitising product in my top ten Big Brother. This is because when it first came it was really different but now after having seen a second series and many similar "Reality TV" shows it is now just the norm.

The program I imitate most is Trigger Happy TV, because I use the pranks they do on other people. However I don't think it affects my overall personality.

Stage 4

Representation is the process of working on an idea or image to convey a specific meaning. In other words you can reorganise and edit information so that it has more impact, and you may also give a viewpoint on the information.

This idea can be conveyed or represented by this model:

It is a channel for conveying liquid from one point to another, with basin at the end representing the audience. The channel is simply a pipe. What you put through is up to you. The same goes for channels of communication.

It is essential to study media representations of ourselves because they affect people's perception of us.

Teenage stereotypes are usually based on characters in TV programmes and the news. They lead people to assume that all teenagers are stroppy, or geeks, or drug addicts, or hooligans. It makes the public fearful of teenagers, and we end up being stared at when we walk around with our friends.

It is a real shame because most teenagers are not like this Most of us do not listen to punk music at it's loudest, or smoke in public, or swear at our parents. Also most of us have a decent dress sense.

However there is a small minority that gets all the media attention, because they are the ones who bring society down, and so are more important for the media to mention, which in turn means that they affect people's stereotypes a lot more.

Stage 5

Content Analysis is a method of examining how people are represented in the media. It involves measuring the number of times a particular representation occurs and drawing conclusions about them.

Content analysis is important because people have to know if they are being unfairly represented n the media. For instance, if a programme portrays the police force as predominantly male, is it because they are sexist, or are the just conveying the reality of the police force?

I will be analysing some photographs from a teenage magazine to find out about the representation of teenagers in teenage magazines.

I collected images I found in National Geographic World, which is an educational magazine aimed at teenagers. It is sold internationally, so I expected it to contain pictures of people from every creed, colour and nationality.

I found that most of the teenagers were neatly dressed, look happy and seem to be nice people. This is in stark contrast to what you would find in an adult magazine, i.e. messy clothes, dirty faces, cigarettes in hand and/or long unwashed hair.

It shows that teenage

magazines do not stereotype teenagers or show their negative side. They show what represents the majority of teenagers, the neat and well-presented population.

The magazine does this so that it doesn't offend its target audience, because teenagers make up most of the readership. It would of course mean that teenagers enjoy reading the magazine more.

Stage 7

I decided I should mimic the laid back, cool, calm and collected stereotype that is often shown in teenage programs, but so often missed in adult programs, where they choose to opt for the stroppy stereotype because that's what adults want to see. However in a program aimed at teenagers it would be stupid to stereotype in such a way.

I chose this stereotype partly because people tell me that this is who I am, and partly because that is how I would like to be. But also I chose it in protest against the way teenagers are portrayed on TV. Any passive member of the audience would no doubt think that all teenagers are the same as those on some soaps and documentaries, and may go out and treat teenagers the way the would treat those TV characters.

In setting up the photograph I knew from the start that I would be using that stereotype. I decided I would wear my most casual clothes, without looking messy, dirty, cheap or scruffy. I didn't want to look too serious and I wanted my photo in a real world environment, so I thought school would be perfect.

This stereotype is seen in many teenage programs, but the one that influenced me most of all in making up my mind was Bart Simpson, from The Simpsons, because he is so laid back and doesn't have a care in the world.

I think the photo has worked out quite well, and it conveys the image that I had aimed to achieve. However here were a couple of problems, like the fact that the photographer had covered the lens slightly with his finger, and that had aimed to look "laid back" and yet in the photo I am leaning forward! Other than that however I think the photograph was a success.

I think (or hope) that the photo is a good representation of my character. The only criticism may be that school is not the perfect place for the photo to be taken, as it looks gloomier than I had intended.

Conclusion

In this assignment I have learned that different target audiences require different stereotypes. While a passive member of the audience may accept negative stereotypes, an active teenage audience would know that these stereotypes are not necessarily true of all teenagers. For this reason teenage magazines show positive stereotypes, because teenagers would rather read about how nice they are rather than how annoying they are.

Therefore teenagers must not get sucked in to these stereotypes be being passive about the media they consume, because they would be damaging their own view of teenagers because of the medias narrow-mindedness.

My favourite media product, The Simpsons, uses teenage stereotypes by taking them to the extreme, so that the teenager becomes comically geeky, stroppy or dumb.

Benefits for teenage media consumers include being entertained, and programs having a cathartic effect. It may also cause imitation, which is good in some cases.

I have learnt that one should remain active when consuming a media product, and not let the media brainwash me into changing my view of teenagers and myself.

The best way to construct a realistic representation of a teenager is to be part of the teenage community and know what teenagers are like. The Trouble is, most of the media just aren't that dedicated!