Friday 30 November 2007

Response to Grades

Overall, I think that my grade for media wasn't very good and that I could do better defiantly. I think that I maybe did deserve the grade that I got because my attendance hasn't been very good but now I know that this is something I need to improve. My grade has gone down by one since my last report so that's not so good also so I will defiantly pay more attention to the areas I need to improve on.

Sunday 25 November 2007

Notes from Book

-> Film as 'Window to the World': The media, it was argued, are manipulated by the ruling patriarchal ideology and what is seen as natural, as clear-cut and obvious, is in fact construct produced by society. This ambivalence about the 'meaning' of film and other media suggests its interpretation by the audience may be different to that intended by the film-maker.

-> Masculinity as unproblematic: Defining the masculine as the 'norm' and the female as 'the other' may be valid at a patriarchal norm in Hollywood classic cinema, but if gender is a social construction then constructions of gender in film are not absolute and therefore are far more complex.

-> Masculinity is associated wih voyeurism, action, sadism, fetishism and the controling narrative, whilst femininity is associated with passivity etc. Yet these clear distinctions belie the acute anxieties and paradoxes which emerge when studying fil; the binary opposites of masculinity and femeninity are in fact much less opaque than may at first be apparent.

-> The male hero in in classical hollywood cinema is usually recognised as powerful. He signifies omnipotence, mastering the narrative, being in control, sadistic rather than masochistic. Neale argues that the elements of violence and voyeurism in Antony Mann's films in fact suggests a 'repressed homosexual voyeurism'.

-> The myth presented regarding masculinity is that it is natural , normal and universal. This myth is repeated by stories and images we see in the media and especially Hollywood films. Yet despite the certainty, the surety with which masculine identities are portrayed, closer examination reveals that masculinity is much less stable and much more easily undermined than previously thought.

-> Barabara Creed (1987-65) suggests that the muscle-bound hero of the 1980's cinema can be understood in terms of post-modernity, of playing with the notion of manhood, and argues that the muscular hero is a 'simulcra of an exagerated masculinity, the original lost to sight'.#

->Generic Pleasures: Genre works to stabilize or regulate particular desires, expectations and pleasures offered by the cinema. On this account, while genre is not simply an institutionalised strategy to delimit choice, if we choose to watch, say, a horror film then we expect certain pleasures in return.

-> The masculine body as spectacle and performer, having a performative function, is a key theme of Hollywood film, particularly action films of the 1980's.
Hard (1988) reflects on the lack of control for the male in the workplace, where the hero finds himself in impossible situations controlled by incompetent bureaucracies.

An Introduction to film studies (third edition) : Nelmes, Jill (2003), England, Routledge

Other books I looked at:-
March of the Hooligans: Soccer's Bloody Fraternity (2007), Brimson, Dougie: England, Virgin Books

Bring Out Your Riot Gear - Hearts Are Here!: Gorgie Aggro, 1981-86 (1999): Ferguson, C.S, Terrace Banter

Who Wants It? : Henderson, Chris (2000) :England, Mainstream Publishing
Research

Violence genre
Action heroes and heroines are cinematically constructed almost exclusively through their physicality, and the display of the body forms a key part of the visual excess that is offered in the muscular action cinema. Such an emphasis on physicality has, opened up a space in the action cinema for black performers who have been almost totally excluded from other Hollywood genres. Stereotypically defined through the body and a variety of kinds of performance, blackness is already coded in terms of spectacle.
The aesthetics and industrial development of Hollywood cinema in recent years provides an important context for thinking about the action cinema. An examination of contemporary American film production reveals both changes and continues with the 'Classic Hollywood' of the past.
Tasker, Yvonne (1993) : England, Routledge; 1 edition

Useful website:-
*
Racial Violence and Representation

Youth Pride
When there are three women for every two men graduating from college, whom will the third woman marry?
This is not an academic question. Women, who were a minority on campuses a quarter-century ago, today make up 57 percent of undergraduates, and the gender gap is projected to reach a 60-40 ratio within a few years. So more women, especially black and Hispanic women, will be in a position to get better-paying, more prestigious jobs than their husbands, which makes for a tricky variation of "Pride and Prejudice."
It's still a universal truth, as Jane Austen wrote, that a man with a fortune has good marriage prospects. It's not so universal for a woman with a fortune, because pride makes some men determined to be the chief breadwinner. But these traditionalists seem to be a dwindling minority as men have come to appreciate the value of a wife's paycheck.
A woman's earning power, while hardly the first thing that men look for, has become a bigger draw, as shown in surveys of college students over the decades. In 1996, for the first time, college men rated a potential mate's financial prospects as more important than her skills as a cook or a housekeeper.
In the National Survey of Families and Households conducted during the early 1990s, the average single man under 35 said he was quite willing to marry someone earning much more than he did. He wasn't as interested in marrying someone making much less than he did, and he was especially reluctant to marry a woman who was unlikely to hold a steady job.
Those findings jibe with what I've seen. I can't think of any friend who refused to date a woman because she made more money than he did. When friends have married women with bigger paychecks, the only financial complaints I've heard from them have come when a wife later decided to pursue a more meaningful -- i.e., less lucrative -- career.
Nor can I recall hearing guys insult a man, to his face or behind his back, for making less than his wife. The only snide comments I've heard have come from women talking about their friends' husbands. I've heard just a couple of hardened Manhattanites do that, but I wouldn't dismiss them as isolated reactionaries because you can see this prejudice in that national survey of singles under 35.
The women surveyed were less willing to marry down -- marry someone with much lower earnings or less education -- than the men were to marry up. And, in line with Jane Austen, the women were also more determined to marry up than the men were.
You may think that women's attitudes are changing as they get more college degrees and financial independence. A woman who's an executive can afford to marry a struggling musician. But that doesn't necessarily mean she wants to. Studies by David Buss of the University of Texas, and others, have shown that women with higher incomes, far from relaxing their standards, put more emphasis on a mate's financial resources.
And once they're married, women with higher incomes seem less tolerant of their husbands' shortcomings. Steven Nock of the University of Virginia has found that marriages in which the wife and husband earn roughly the same are more likely to fail than other marriages. That situation doesn't affect the husband's commitment to the marriage, Nock concludes, but it weakens the wife's and makes her more likely to initiate divorce.
It's understandable that women with good paychecks have higher standards for their partners, since their superior intelligence, education, and income give them what Buss calls high "mate value." They know they're catches and want to find someone with equal mate value -- someone like Mr. Darcy instead of a dullard like the cleric spurned by Elizabeth Bennet.
"Of course, some women marry for love and find a man's resources irrelevant," Buss says. "It's just that the men women tend to fall in love with, on average, happen to have more resources."
Which means that, on average, college-educated women and high-school-educated men will have a harder time finding partners as long as educators keep ignoring the gender gap that starts long before college. Advocates for women have been so effective politically that high schools and colleges are still focusing on supposed discrimination against women: the shortage of women in science classes and on sports teams rather than the shortage of men, period. You could think of this as a victory for women's rights, but many of the victors will end up celebrating alone.

http://www.rlnn.com/ArtJan06/MalePrideFemalePrejudice.html

Useful Websites:-
*Male Pride
*
"Male Spirituality": A Feminist Evaluation

Youth Subculture
The emergence of this thing called "youth culture" is a distinctly 20th-century phenomenon; the collision of increased standards of living, more leisure time, the explosion of post-war consumer culture and wider psychological research into adolescents all contributed to the formation of this new social category defined by age. Previously, the rite of passage between childhood and adult life had not been so clearly demarcated -this is not to say that young adults didn't have their own activities before the invention of Brylcreem and crepe soles (youth gangs were common in Victorian Britain, for example) but it hadn't before been defined or packaged as a culture.
Once "invented", the "youth culture" provoked a variety of often contradictory responses: youth was dangerous, misunderstood, the future, a new consumer group. British post-war youth culture emerged primarily in response to the American popular culture centred on rock 'n' roll. The 1955 film Blackboard Jungle, with its soundtrack featuring Bill Haley And The Comets' Rock Around The Clock, was a defining moment, inspiring people to dance in the aisles (and some to slash seats). The fear was not only of hoodlums but also of the creeping Americanisation of British culture.
But the impact of imported US films and music did not lead to cultural homogenisation; instead, it inspired a series of spectacular - and distinctly British - youth subcultures from the mid-50s to the late-70s: teds (quiffs, Elvis, flick-knives, crepe soles, working-class London origins circa 1953, drug of choice: alcohol); mods (Jamaican-rudeboy/Italian-cool style, US soul, purple hearts, The Small Faces, scooters, working-class London origins circa 1963, drug of choice: amphetamines); skinheads (Jamaican ska, exaggerated white, British, working-class masculinity, contrasting starkly with middle-class hippiedom of the same period, boots, braces, shaved heads and violence, sometimes racist, late 60s origins, drug of choice: amphetamines); punk (Sex Pistols, spit, bondage, swastikas, circa 1976, drug of choice: glue and amphetamines).
Drug use became a feature of youth subcultures from the Mods onwards - not just any old drugs, but ones that characterised and defined the subculture in question. Mods chose speed because it made them feel smart and invincible; it also gave them the energy to keep on the move, awake at all-nighters (and through work the next day). Later, within rave culture, drug use - this time, ecstasy - was central to the point of being almost obligatory.
Dick Hebdige, acommentator on youth culture, argues that the multicultural nature of post-war Britain was crucial to the formation of many subcultures; each one, he says, should be seen as a response to the presence of black culture in Britain, the ska/rudeboy-inspired two tone movement being a particularly vivid example. The tribes were created through the amalgamation of particular types of cultural goods; music, fashion, hairstyles, politics, drugs, dances - with their boundaries defined through crucial choices: Vespas or Harley-Davidsons, speed or acid, Dr Martens or desert boots. But then, youth culture is full of contradiction: the desire to express individuality by wearing the same clothes as your mates, and rebelling against capitalism at the same time as being a perfect capitalist slave.
Britain also led the way in the study of youth, and its celebration of creativity and resistance, though these studies, naturally, have their favourite subcultures, often overlooking others. (Still, the kiss of death for any subculture is to be "understood" by a sociologist.) By the late 70s and early 80s, youth subculture began to change, and became less gang-oriented. The regular emergence of new subcultures slowed down, and the first major period of revivals began. It became difficult to identify distinct subcultures, rather than just musical styles. In fact, something weird happened: everyone started behaving like a teenager. By the 90s, "proper" grown-ups had started to complain that contemporary youth were dull and conformist, and the music of small children became the preferred choice of most teenagers - Pinky & Perky dressed up as Steps.
Today, there are still plenty of new genres of music, but they don't have such visible subcultures affiliated to them. Even something as recent as 80s dance music and rave culture - after its initial, Smiley-faced, ecstasy-fuelled unity - fragmented into a multitude of sub-genres with no definable set of cultural attributes. Despite society's consistent attempts to regulate youth culture, perhaps the main cause of its demise in recent years is the extension of adolescent behaviour until death by the Edinas and Patsys of this world. Youth culture is now just another lifestyle choice, in which age has become increasingly irrelevant.


Useful Websites:-
*Youth Culture
*List of Youth Cultures
*The Youth Subculture
Blog Buddy Meeting #2

After our second meeting, my blog buddy and I decided to research further into these 3 areas:-

1.) Subcultures - This is because the two groups that we are studying are both part of subcultures that make their own decisions away from society and follow the rules and values of their leader.

2.) Binary Oppositions - In both of our texts there are binary oppositions constantly appearing to ruin the equilibrium and state of the movie.

3.) Representation - Both of our texts raise the question of representation of young males and this is why we have chosen this as an area of study. This article is useful to the both of us because it explores the issue in detail.
Some more Key Words!

A
Actuality - showing events as they actually are.

This is something that I will be taking into account while doing my study because its what my question is based on (the actuality of football hooliganism in Green Street).

M
Moral Panic - Public feel a threat by the behaviours shown on screen.

The topic of football hooliganism is very threatening to the audience it occurs in reality and will help me to look further into this.

A

Archetype - Often repeated character type.
The character of Pete is very common in reality as well as in movies concerning hooliganism as he is the alpha-male and strong-minded. His decisions drive the group in the film.

B
Binary Opposition - Two opposing characters in a text.
Both firms are headed by two leaders who are against each other. This is useful because it reflects real life oppositions.

D
Disaster Movie - A movie that goes from equilibrium to disequilibrium constantly.
The movie 'Green Street' has a lot of disequilibrium's rising from states of normality and this is how the reality of the football firms are.

E
Empathy - This causes the audience to sympathize with characters.
The film has a lot of times when the audience sympathizes with the situations the characters must face. I can use this to explore the sensitive sides to hooligans in reality.

H
Heritage film - Based on historical pieces.
The film 'Green Street' connects to the heritage of football hooligans from those before them. This helps me to see how this heritage changes over time.

P
Prejudice - Judging and having views on certain characteristics of people.
In reality people assume negative things about hooligans but I will look into why these prejudices are.

S
Subjective Shot - A shot that looks as though its coming from the character's view.
The film has many shots when the character of Matt is looking at the opposing side fearfully but then in the end his view changes. For example, 'Millwall' running towards him in the end but he doesn't care even though the subjective shot creates fear in the audiences hearts.

S
Symbiosis - Partnership between different people.
Pete and Matt are two completely different people but they come together in the movie to make a team together.
10 Links...


Website: This is an article about the outcome of a football riot in Italy and how it led to a death of a civilian. This relates to my study because it shows the effects that hooliganism has on society.

Website: This is useful to me because it has pictures of football riot events at various matches and can give me a visual insight to what it's really like.

Website: This website gives me the chance to see the various types of representations and stereotypes linked to the group that I am studying.

Website: This is a blog that is based on 'The Football Factory' by a previous student and it will be useful with my study because it is based on a very similar text and has a lot of detail to help me compare as I am also looking into 'The Football Factory' for an extra text in my study.

Website: This is a news website that has loads of articles to help me with my insight into the reality of football hooliganism and how the media report it so that I can see how people themselves perceive it.

Website: This websites links other countries into football hooliganism. Here there are some comments also being made by people to help me see the two sides of it. The media VS The people...

Website: This is a look into how hooliganism can be stopped and avoided ... It has plenty of comments that show the views of normal people towards this type of violence.

Website: This website shows the way that representations of hooligans in the media are sometimes offensive to the public because they are inaccurate and invalid.

Website: This is a website that shows the different football teams and their firms and is useful because it shows how widespread it actually is.

Website: This shows me the history of football violence and also how it originated and by whom. This will help me because it lets me know hoe it has changed over time.

Monday 19 November 2007

Blog Buddy Meeting #1

During our meeting, me and my blog buddy 'Lamia' decided to look into Youth, Violence and Pride for our research as well as 'masculinity' for our research...

1.) Youth Subculture-> We chose youth because the age group that we are both studying are predominately young and both in a stage of 'coming-of-age'. We also think that youth is useful to look into as it will help us explore the various stereotypes that come with being a young male from diverse backgrounds.

2.) Pride -> We also found that youth links into 'Pride' as this is something young males begin to idolize when they are in the transition of becoming men and in both our texts 'pride' is an ongoing theme within the youths. It is also usualy at the root of the violence and by exploring this we can understand how this relates to real life.

3.) Violence (Action: Genre) -> We then decided that we should also look into 'violence' because this is something that our movies both incorporate and involve. All three of these subjects connect to both our texts and we think that it will be very useful for us to look into these to help us in our study.

Sunday 18 November 2007

Research on 'Masculinity'



An Introduction to film studies (third edition)...by Jill Nelmes


Representations of Masculinity
'Masculinity' is a concept that is made up of more rigid stereotypes than femininity. Representations of men across all media tend to focus on the following:
Strength - physical and intellectual
Power
Sexual attractiveness (which may be based on the above)
Physique
Independence (of thought, action)
Male characters are often represented as isolated, as not needing to rely on others (the lone hero). If they capitulate to being part of a family, it is often part of the resolution of a narrative, rather than an integral factor in the initial equilibrium. It is interesting to note that the male physique is becoming more important a part of representations of masculinity. 'Serious' Hollywood actors in their forties (eg Willem Dafoe, Kevin Spacey) are expected to have a level of 'buffness' that was not aspired to even by young heart-throbs 40 years ago (check out Connery in Thunderball 1965).
Increasingly, men are finding it as difficult to live up to their media representations as women are to theirs. This is partly because of the increased media focus on masculinity - think of the burgeoning market in men's magazines, both lifestyle and health - and the increasing emphasis on even ordinary white collar male workers (who used to sport their beergut with pride) having the muscle definition of a professional swimmer. Anorexia in teenage males has increased alarmingly in recent years, and recent high school shootings have been the result of extreme bodyconsciousness among the same demographic group.
``He [Charles Andrew Williams] e-mailed us and told us that he just wanted to come home and that it was just awful over there. They were teasing him, calling him 'country boy.' He didn't dress right, he didn't look right. He was skinny, they called him gay,'' she [a friend's mother] said. "
Full Story Here
As media representations of masculinity become more specifically targeted at audiences with product promotion in mind (think of the huge profits now made from male fashion, male skin & haircare products, fitness products such as weights, clothing etc), men are encouraged (just as women have been for many years) to aspire to be like (to look/behave in the same way) the role models they see in magazines. This is often an unrealistic target to set, and awareness of this is growing. Read about the increasing influence of men's magazines here and here.
Whilst some men are concerned about living up to the ideal types represented in magazines, others are worried by what they perceive as an increasing anti-male bias in the media. There is growing support for the idea that men are represented unfairly in the media - read a selection of articles
here and here.
Masculinity in Crisis
Journalism of Gender
Masculinity in advertising

http://www.mediaknowall.com/gender.html

also look at http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/issues/stereotyping/men_and_masculinity/masculinity_defining.cfm

Sunday 11 November 2007

'Bibliography: Books'

Benton, William (1768) : Encyclopedia Britannica (Volume 18). Scotland, Society of Gentlemen in Scotland

Hammerton, Sir John (...) : Practical Knowledge For All (Fifty Educational Courses). The Waverley Book Co. Limited

(...) (1989) : The New Joy of Knowledge. Oriole, USA

Frosdick, Steve and Marsh, Peter (2005): Football Hooliganism. Willian Publishing, USA, Canada

Benton, William (1768) : Encyclopedia Britannica (Volume 12). Scotland, Society of Gentlemen in Scotland

Fetzer, Scott (1991) : My World Book. World Book, Inc, Chicago, USA

Gall, Caroline (2005) : Zulus: A Football Hooligan Gang, Milo Books, England

Benton, William (1768) : Encyclopedia Britannice (Volume 13). Scotland, Society of Gentlemen in Scotland

Nelmes, Jill (2003) : An Introduction to Film Studies. Routledge, England

Pennant, Cass (2002) : Want Some Aggro?. Blake Publishing, England

Sunday 4 November 2007

Blog Buddies

Blog Buddy 1: Lamia

The reason that I have chosen Lamia as my blog buddy is because our studies are both based on 'representation'. She is doing a study on the representation of young black males and I'm doing a study on 'football hooligans' who are also males. I think that this will be useful for the both of us because our studies are very similar and I think that it will also be useful with our 'representation' module to see how people are labelled and for what reasons.


Blog Buddy 2: Simran

The reason that I have chosen Simran as my blog buddy is because we are both doing similar studies which are both based around British males. Also our question is very similar as it looks at whether the representation and stereotype of the groups being studied are actually true. The texts that we are usuing are also very similar to each other and therefore it will be useful for us to work together.