Revision: KA4

Super. Human. Representation

Product context: 

• Super. Human. is the third of Channel 4’s advertising campaigns for the Paralympic Games
• Launching the campaign, Lynsey Atkin, 4Creative’s Executive Creative Director, said: ‘Following the last two Paralympics adverts was no small task – they exploded attitudes around disability …..Yet we spotted an opportunity to present Paralympians in a way they hadn’t been shown before – by pointing a camera at the realities of their lives, and, as with any elite athlete, the sacrifices they make in pursuit of greatness….. collectively these choices paint a story of mental determination, not of disability.’ (https://www.televisual.com/news/watch-c4sparalympics-campaign-super-human/) 
• The decision was therefore made to change the focus of a previous campaign ‘Meet the Superhumans’ and instead in the 2020 campaign to emphasise the ‘Human’ rather than the ‘Super’ and to juxtapose the images of the training regime with those of the everyday lives of the athletes, with the intention of making them relatable to audiences

Consider how and why particular social groups may be under-represented or misrepresented

• Dominant groups in society largely control what is produced and as a result, minority groups tend to be marginalised, creating an unrealistic view of the contemporary world. 
• This advertisement attempts to address the marginalisation of certain social groups, in this case, those with disabilities. Its aim, reflecting the ideology and ethos of Channel 4, is to give a voice to those who are not usually represented positively in other areas of the media.
• The positive representation of disability in the advertisement and the coverage of the games changed attitudes. According to YouGov research, 65% of viewers felt that the coverage of the Paralympics had a positive impact on their perceptions of disabled people. 
• 82% of viewers agreed disabled athletes were as talented as able-bodied athletes (https://www.campaignlive. co.uk/article/theyve-nailed-again-channel4-unveils-super-human-campaign-tokyoparalympics/1722076). 

Consider how representations are constructed through processes of selection and combination:

• Choices have been made by the producers of the advertisement to create representations that challenge accepted ideas regarding disability and disabled athletes in particular
• The advertisement actively avoids negative stereotypical representations of Paralympians as victims to be pitied, or heroes, ‘superhumans’, to be viewed in awe
• Instead, the representations create a realistic, ‘blood and guts’ feel to the advertisement
• The representations cover both genders and give a different view of the world of disability to that of ‘having something wrong with you’
• The narratives are centred around real people, but through re-presentation, a representation of reality is constructed focusing specifically on the challenges that the athletes face
• The filming, editing and audio codes combine to construct a representation of this social group, raising awareness and creating positive representations of the Paralympians as athletes first, rather than disabled people ‘doing their best’
• In constructing the representations as they have in Super. Human., the producers have aimed to avoid the stereotypes of disabled athletes as having to ‘overcome’ their disability in order to achieve success, instead celebrating them as high-performance athletes in their own right

Consider how the representations are constructed through media language

• Close-up shots of the athletes and their challenges during training and their home lives create positive representations of ordinary people who eat their breakfast, give birth, and play the drums, with whom the audience can positively associate
• The fastpaced editing enables the advertisement to highlight a range of narratives and athletes with different disabilities, disciplines, and challenges

Consider theoretical perspectives

• Stuart Hall’s theory of representation According to Hall, meanings are communicated through signs
• This is very true of the advertising form where easily recognisable signs rapidly communicate meaning to an audience in a short space of time
• For example, expressions of endurance and struggle are easily recognisable and understood
• This advertisement goes some way to address Hall’s assertions that stereotyping occurs when there are inequalities of power, and that excluded groups, such as the disabled, are constructed as different
• In the advertisement, the focus is on the athletes as ordinary sports men and women striving to achieve a goal
• The athletes are three dimensional and distinct from each other; therefore, the advertisement avoids simplifying their representations
• David Gauntlett’s theory of identity In addressing an under-represented social group, the advertisement gives visible recognition to those with disabilities and allows disabled people to see themselves represented positively in the media
• Super. Human. offers audiences a more diverse and inclusive range of identities and broadens general understanding of what it means to be disabled as an athlete and in everyday life
• However, many would argue that the Paralympics in itself is not enough to redress the balance and indeed, many disabilities are not featured in the games

The Times - Audience

How are audiences grouped and categorised?

• The Times’ target audience, according to ABC data, is predominantly ABC1, over 35 and has a liberal/ right-wing political stance
• This well-educated and middle-class audience take an interest in national and global affairs and can understand and engage with detailed political reporting. How do newspaper producers target audiences? 
• The front page of the newspaper is important in targeting the audience
• The choice and style of the main headline and central image are important in attracting the reader and in communicating the view the newspaper is taking on the particular story featured
• The newspaper appeals to the audience through its content and the inclusion of hard and soft news items, for example the lifestyle supplement ‘times2’
• The launch of the edition-based digital format addressed both the need to target a broader audience and understanding that readers of The Times preferred a digital edition that, whilst having some daily updates, closely resembled the print format
• Distributing the publication across digital platforms allows it to be updated, which will appeal to younger audiences, as will the launch of Times Radio
• Whilst the front page of the newspaper may be less explicit in its political allegiance, other pages in the newspaper and on digital platforms reinforce the right-wing ideology of the newspaper, for example the editorial and opinion pieces and political cartoons
• The Times letters page is culturally iconic and offers readers an opportunity to air their views and interact with the community of the newspaper
• This page and the ‘Comment’ section of the newspaper reflect the readership and their interests and concerns
• The values, attitudes and beliefs of the newspaper and the way in which they represent particular stories will resonate with like-minded readers who may have chosen this newspaper because of its right-wing stance
• Readers will be made to feel part of the newspaper’s community and that the stories and articles reflect their views
• This audience will accept the preferred reading of the newspaper. 

Theoretical approaches: Cultivation theory – Gerbner

• Audience exposure to repeated patterns of representation, such as that of Brexit, the economy, or the government in power, by newspapers may shape and influence their views and opinions of the world around them
• Gerbner went on to say that this is not like ‘hypodermic model’ but rather depends on what the audience already believes
• Newspapers function as opinion leaders and mediate the news for the readers with their political allegiance in mind
• These views will therefore be cultivated and reinforced by the newspaper and its content

Reception theory – Stuart Hall

• The producers of newspapers encode ideas in their publications that are to be decoded by their readers
• Active audiences who agree with the ideology of the newspaper will accept the viewpoint of the newspaper that is evident in its approach to stories and editorial and opinion pieces
• Those readers who have a different political allegiance will have an oppositional response, disagreeing with the messages constructed by the newspaper and will not buy nor read a publication that does not reflect their ideas and opinions

End of audience – Clay Shirky (A Level)

• The concept of audience members as passive consumers is no longer tenable in the age of digital technologies
• This is because they have enabled the rise of the prosumer who can create their own content submitting stories as a citizen journalist, offering an immediate perspective on news stories
• Consumers can also actively engage and ‘speak back’ to the news media
• The Times newspaper and website offers interactive opportunities for readers to comment on stories and features, thus giving them a voice as part of the newspaper’s community

The Daily Mirror - Audience

How are audiences grouped and categorised?

• It is important that newspapers have a clear idea of their audience demographic in order to produce content that will appeal to the target audience and their ideas and beliefs
• Newspaper audiences, similarly, to other media products, can be categorised in terms of age, gender and social class, as well as by lifestyle and taste
• Regarding newspapers, the political allegiance of the audience is also a key factor
• The Daily Mirror’s target audience, according to ABC data, is predominantly C2DE, over 35 and are working class Labour supporters

How do newspaper producers target audiences?

• The front page of the newspaper is important in attracting an audience, particularly regarding tabloid newspapers
• The choice and style of the main headline and central image are important in attracting the reader and in communicating the view the newspaper is taking on the particular story featured
• For example, the headline ‘Thanks for Nothing’ and the sub-heading ‘Sunak’s Sickener’ used emotive language and alliteration to make its views clear about the mini budget in March 2022
• Other pages in the newspaper and on digital platforms will reinforce the ideology of the newspaper including the editorial ‘The Voice of the Mirror’, the letters pages and opinion pieces
• The values, attitudes and beliefs of the newspaper and the way in which they represent particular stories will resonate with like-minded readers who may have chosen this newspaper because of its left-wing stance
• Readers will be made to feel part of the newspaper’s community and that the stories and articles reflect their views
• This audience will accept the preferred reading of the newspaper
• Newspapers have had to adapt to survive, and the Daily Mirror has achieved this using new technologies
• In May 2021, it became the UK’s number one website with 32 million monthly readers across all digital platforms (www.mirror. co.uk)
• The digital platforms also enable the readers to interact with the newspaper and encourages them to post comments on the stories featured
• Distributing the publication across digital platforms which allow it to be interactive and immediate will also appeal to younger audiences

Theoretical approaches: Cultivation theory – Gerbner Audience

• exposure to repeated patterns of representation, such as that of Brexit, the economy or of the government in power by newspapers may shape and influence their views and opinions of the world around them
• Gerbner went on to say that this is not like ‘hypodermic model’ but rather depends on what the audience already believes
• Newspapers function as opinion leaders and mediate the news for the readers with their political allegiance in mind
• These views will be cultivated and reinforced by the newspaper and its content
• The messages, such as that of the government being corrupt and elitist, need to resonate with an established belief in the audience of working-class left-wing men and women, such as that of Boris Johnson not being fit to govern

Reception theory – Stuart Hall

• The producers of newspapers encode ideas in their publications that are to be decoded by their readers
• Active audiences who agree with the ideology of the newspaper will accept the viewpoint of the newspaper that is evident in its approach to stories
• Those readers who have a different political allegiance will have an oppositional response, disagreeing with the messages constructed by the newspaper and will not buy/read a publication that does not reflect their ideas and opinions

End of audience – Clay Shirky (A Level)

• The concept of audience members as passive consumers is no longer tenable in the age of digital technologies
• This is because they have enabled the rise of the prosumer who can create their own content submitting stories as a citizen journalist, offering an immediate perspective on news stories
• Consumers can also actively engage and ‘speak back’ to the news media
• The Daily Mirror website offers opportunities for readers to comment on stories and features, thus giving them a voice as part of the newspaper’s community

CONTEXTS

• Social and cultural Newspapers reflect the society and culture in which they are produced
• The Daily Mirror is a leftwing publication in a largely right-wing press
• The newspaper is known for its support of the ordinary working-class person and regularly runs stories and campaigns related to social issues and inequalities

Consider how this context is evident in the issue of the newspaper you have studied

• Economic The newspaper industry has faced economic pressure in recent years as the sale of print copies has steadily fallen
• Newspapers like the Daily Mirror, which are part of larger conglomerates, are more protected from economic risks
• Some newspaper titles have introduced subscriptions for some or all of their digital products. For example, there is a subscription for the tablet version of the Daily Mirror

Political

• The political context of newspapers is reflected in the way in which stories are selected and how issues, events and social groups are represented
• As a left-wing publication and a tabloid, the Daily Mirror will be openly critical of the Conservative government and supportive of Labour.
• It will also raise awareness of the effect of the Conservative policies on their working-class readers
• For example, the newspaper actively supported footballer Marcus Rashford’s campaign to force the government to give extra help for struggling families: ‘Marcus: Don’t Abandon Hungry Kids’ (May 2021)

Black Panther - Industry

Historical Context:

• From 15th-20th century, European powers colonised African countries and exploited the continent for both resources and slave labour
• Africans were branded ‘savages’ by the European invaders, their cultures dismissed as ‘primitive’
• During the early 20th century, AfricanAmericans attempted to establish a new black cultural identity with movements such as the Harlem Renaissance
• The Black Panther Party (October 1966-82) was a political activist group established initially to provide armed monitoring of police behaviour and prevent police brutality in the US
• It was controversial, with many Panthers being arrested or killed in confrontations with police.

Cultural context:

• The science fiction blockbuster and superhero genres have traditionally been dominated by white, male characters
• In the 1990s, actors like Will Smith and Wesley Snipes did break ground playing black characters, but recent action films and especially superhero films have rarely featured African-American actors in lead roles
• For the last 15 years, Marvel films have topped the box office
• Though these regularly featured non-white characters, they were often sidekicks (e.g. The Falcon in the Captain America films)
• There have also been very few superhero films with a female lead (Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel being exceptions)
• Black cinema has traditionally consisted of issues-based social realism (e.g. the films of Spike Lee) or have been ‘arthouse’/’prestige’ pictures (e.g. Moonlight, 2016)
• Blade (1998) is one of the few superhero films to have a black main character
• In 2016, the #oscarssowhite meme drew attention to the lack of diversity in the films nominated
• US/European news media tends to portray Africa as an under-priviliged, developing country, focusing on civil wars, famine and terrorism
• The Victorian branding of Africa as ‘the Dark Continent’ has not evolved very far
• Very few feature films from Africa reach the Western mainstream, and films like Blood Diamond (2006) and Captain Phillips (2013), though featuring sympathetic African characters, still portray Africa as a dangerous and barbaric place
• Further study: research the cultural movement of ‘Afrofuturism’. What does this term mean? How have artists explored the idea in music, art, film and other media? To what extent is Black Panther an Afrofuturist film?
• Economic and Political Contexts:
• Barack Obama (2009-2017), America’s first African-American president, created many initiatives that aided minority and women’s groups: from universal healthcare, to college and entrepreneurship access funds for the under-priviliged
• Donald Trump, the current president, has vowed to reverse many of these, winning support from mostly white, right wing Americans who consider such initiatives unfair
• In addition, Trump has insulted other countries (including many in Africa), and refused to condemn violent racist attacks in American cities
• Worrying statistics about the amount of unarmed ‘people of colour’ (POC) shot by US police led to the #blacklivesmatter campaign, which has utilised social media to raise awareness of an issue that has often been ignored by mainstream media

Consider the significance of patterns of ownership and control, including conglomerate ownership, vertical integration and diversification:

• Black Panther was produced by Marvel Studios, who became a subsidiary of Disney in 2008. They are also the film’s distributor, which makes this a good example of vertical integration
• Marvel has historically sold options on individual characters or comicbook titles e.g. Spiderman to TV and then to Paramount (and who is still partly owned by Sony)
• Black Panther was one of those owned fully by Marvel; in 2009 a new team began developing T’Challa and lesser known characters
• In early 2000s, Marvel Studios began to produce films, starting with Blade (1998) and the X-Men films (2000)
• When Disney bought Marvel, they agreed to minimal creative influence over Marvel products
• in 2013, Marvel also signed a deal with streaming service Netflix to develop TV series for six more characters (including Daredevil and Punisher who had already been made into films). This may have caused conflict with Disney, who has their own streaming channel, and in 2019 Netflix cancelled their Marvel shows

Consider how media organisations maintain, including through marketing, varieties of audiences nationally and globally:

• Disney, the film’s distributor adopted a ‘360-degree consumer experience’ to their marketing (i.e. wherever you look, there’s Black Panther!)
• The concept was to make the film into a ‘cultural event’ across a variety of media and platforms and raising its profile from being ‘another superhero’ film into something more politically resonant
• Here are some of the brand association deals Disney used to target a diverse audience who may not be ‘fanboys’. How do these a.) appeal to a different spectator than other Marvel films?:
• Hasbro toys
• Lexus cars
• Interscope records (Universal Music)

How do they combine in a synergy to make Black Panther ‘more’ than a superhero film?

• Black Panther’s teaser trailers were shown between NBA games and a special collaboration with Lexus called ‘Long Live The King’ was shown during the Superbowl
• What kind of audiences normally watch these programmes? How are they different to the usual Marvel fanbase?
• The film’s release also harnessed a political element to add gravitas. Crowd-funding projects to buy under-privileged children a ticket won support from celebrities; the film was released during Black History Month; plus Coogler, the stars and the costume , hair/make-up , production designers all gave detailed interviews about how the film celebrates African culture
• There was also a ‘Welcome to Wakanda’ catwalk show at New York Fashion Week and features in numerous fashion magazines. (On opening weekend 44% of ticket buyers were female)
• How does the film celebrate African culture?
• Why might it be important to black children to have characters like Black Panther?
• How does it also represent black women in a powerful way?
• How does it also appeal to fans of blockbusters?
• Disney are adept at identifying nuanced demographic groups and strategies for targeting them
• Many of their products are ‘intercultural’ i.e. they strongly represent one cultural tradition but in a way that resonates with audiences from other cultural / national / ethnic backgrounds
• Disney has used recent Nielsen research to challenge conventional ideas about the ethnic diversity in mainstream America
• 53% of Americans live in a multicultural or ‘blended’ household. 67% indicated they were enthusiastic about encountering and experimenting with ‘diverse cultures’
• Think about recent Disney releases like Moana (2016) or Coco (2017): how do they represent a cultural tradition positively?
• What universal themes or story elements would audiences not from that culture still engage with

Consider the regulatory framework of contemporary media in the UK and the role of regulation in global production, distribution and circulation:

• The BBFC (an independent, non-governmental body) classifies film and video releases in the UK. However, local councils have the power to overrule BBFC decisions and rate films differently (e.g. This is England was rated 18 by the BBFC but several councils rated it 15)
• The theatrical release of Black Panther gained a 12a certificate
• Look at the BBFC website for what constitutes a 12a - why do you think they awarded this to Black Panther? (http://www.bbfc.co.uk/)
• The film, like many recent Marvel films, features very little romantic drama and no sex or nudity
• It is fairly violent, but the combat is fantastical (hard to imitate) and there is a strong moral code to most of the conflict
• The film was classified as PG-13 in USA, and similarly in other territories
• Why do you think the film was regulated this way, even in countries with stricter rules and censorship like China or India?

Consider processes of production, distribution and circulation and the impact of digitally convergent platforms:

• The teaser trailer was released in June 2017 by Disney’s sister channel ABC, during NBA Finals
• Within 24 hours it had been viewed 89 million times on YouTube
• Just before release, Black Panther was the most-tweeted about film of 2018 with more than 5 million tweets globally
• In midMarch 2018, it became the most-tweeted about film ever with 35 million tweets

Consider how film/film marketing is circulated and distributed:

• Where and how is film/film marketing most likely to be consumed by audiences? 
• How has this consumption changed/ been impacted by the internet, including YouTube and smartphones?
• Are audiences now more likely to seek out, for example, new trailers online as active consumers?
• Consider the way people share trailers or movie gossip (casting decisions, plot elements etc.) especially those with a strong fan community
• How is this is an example of ‘word-of- mouth’ marketing
• How does this impact the relationship between audience and product?
• How did Black Panther harness other, more political social media campaigns to create a ‘cultural event’ rather than just another summer blockbuster?

Theoretical perspectives: A level only: Cultural industries – David Hesmondhalgh

• Often films within a series can become formulaic and lack risk. Is this the case with Marvel Studios? Or Disney?
• Explore Hesmondhalgh’s idea that media conglomerates operate across a range of cultural industries by considering the way the film was released as part of a synergy - with fashion, music, videogames, sports tie-ins, even a car!
• You might also usefully introduce the idea that this film has a very low risk for the producers. The character of T’Challa and Wakanda were introduced in Captain America: Civil War, the comic is over 50 years old, and all previous Marvel films have been hugely successful
• On the other hand, having such an Afrocentric A level Media Studies Fact Sheet 4 film could have been seen as a commercial risk, especially outside the USA and Africa. Curran and Seaton ‐ Media and power
• How does the film’s much celebrated diversity challenge Curran and Seaton’s idea that domination by a small number of media institutions limits creativity and variety?
• How could the conglomerate model (Marvel as a separate brand to Disney) offer a more complex pattern of ownership than Curran and Seaton describe?
• To what extent does the dominance of Marvel in the sci-fi/superhero genre limit theopportunities for alternative, riskier independent films in these genres?