At the heart of representation are the acts of deliberate selection and emphasis. Do your texts demonstrate this?
The media is one of the most powerful institutions in society with its ability to shape and mould certain truths in their representations of certain issues. Consequently it is the thoughts and perceptions of the general public that become subject to such reshaping of perceptions and expectations. The deliberate act of selection and emphasis is a strategy undertaken by the media to convey a particular angle for certain reasons including the desire for ratings, the spectacularising of events, the active suppression by the elite and also feed into their audience’s expectations. This is seen in the Frontline (FL) series by Rob Sitch et al in the episodes The Siege and We Ain’t Got Dames, the SMH article by Sian Prior Give Me Knowledge Instead of All These Bits and the 1994 film directed by Ron Howard The Paper. This process of selection is satirised and conveyed explored in differing ways in the texts to portray the media’s ‘misrepresentation’ of truth.
The FL episode The Siege addresses the main issue of the media’s unethical behaviour of which the integrity of objective media reportage and the lives of innocent individuals are compromised merely for the purpose of ratings. The active process of construction and the spectacularising of an event are seen through the parody of the actions of the FL team. In the opening scene, as Brian walks boldly into the workplace yelling, “siege! Siege!” before being informed on the facts of the entire situation, we see the preconceived idea that exists in regards to the way the story is to be presented based on pre-existing beliefs. The “unscrupulous” behaviour of Brooke in Mrs Forbes’ interview as she ‘milks’ the emotional situation for the dramatic footage she wishes to obtain is a scathing image of the total disregard of truth of honesty in media reportage. The insensitive request of Mrs Forbes’ to “cry again” for the second take shows the clear process of selection and emphasis of material that the media wishes to place in the public domain. Marty’s creation of a climate of fear and danger by the framing and positioning of his live coverage enables for them to fabricate certain atmospheres despite the existence of the 5km exclusion zone. The asking for a “flak jacket” seeks to emphasise the media’s willingness to go to great lengths to construct a representation of the truth particular to the agenda.
Throughout the episode, the composers satirise and mock the behaviour of the Frontline crew in their approach to and compromise of journalistic reportage and the responsibilities that are complimentary to them. It is not until the abrupt cuts to the Commissioner and the final gunshots that interrupt the humorous atmosphere and light tone the harsh reality of the situation subverts the parodies of the situation to intensify and highlight the possible consequences that may occur in reality.
The SMH article Give me knowledge instead of all these bits by Sian Prior discusses the composer’s mistrust of the media in its conveying of truth regardless of the medium that she turns to ‘fiction’ in order to gain knowledge and avoid being bombarded and manipulated by such media constructs. Like The Siege, the composer also critiques the behaviour of the media in its misrepresentation of truth coloured by the agendas of the elite. The section where the composer presents an allegation as factual seen in “did you know that…” portrays the media’s power and ability to manipulate, even construct truths for their specific purposes. The composer then subverts the lines above with “I bet you didn’t, are you surprised? Well that’s because I made it up, plucked it right out of the air and put it on paper. And the fact that it’s coming to you in print, you probably believed it”. Consequently, we see the power that is gained from the credibility of the medium in which the media exists in being able to convey certain truths. The existence of any statement in newsprint gives it a dangerous amount of credibility. However, there now is the question of whether such media constructs have shaped our perceptions and expectations of what we expect from the media and in a sense, even diminished such expectations? You need to relate this to the question more clearly. I.e. selection and emphaisis.
This issue is addressed in the FL episode We Ain’t Got Dames where the media is seen failing in upholding their social responsibility of objective journalism, for the sake of increasing their appeal to the female audience. Again we see the process of selection and emphasis in play. In the opening scene of the episode where the content of the show is re-evaluated based on a small scale market research statistic, the interests and values of women in the 20th Century are patronised along with their supposed ‘liberated’ roles in society. The concluding of the crew on superficial ideas and issues being fit for the female audience shows the media’s upholding of the stereotypical perception of women as simply consumers who “aren’t interested in politics”. Thus any aspect of a story which might appeal to this rather diminished view of women is emphasised at the cost of truth in reporting. Mike’s interview of a powerful woman politician is reduced to a New Idea style “sisterhood” puff piece. This is suggestive of the diminishing of societal expectations of the media’s content in stories as a result of their active constructions ‘truth’. Media being a source of news as we see it, has, via the emphasis on the more entertaining aspects of any given story, transformed from being “gospel” to nothing more than “infotainment” as argued by Sian Prior.
The value of “vision” and image plays an integral role in conveying a skewed perception of the truth allowing for appearance to overshadow content. This is evident in both Frontline episodes as the onscreen and off screen juxtaposition of characters is made immensely evident. The manipulation of the visual footage accompanying the sweat shop story undergoes “major surgery” with the “doctor” in the dark mysterious depths of the editing suite. The key to every story, shows the spectacularisation of a serious issue degrading it down to a “fashion puff piece” of which the general public seemingly approve of. Therefore, as we can see, the process of deliberately selecting and emphasising certain events ultimately communicates a different meaning and one that the ‘elite’ allow for. This is good because you maintain focus on the question.
Ron Howard’s 1994 film The Paper is a film which reconstructs a fast paced and cocooned atmosphere of a newsroom and comments on the unscrupulous behaviour that arises within journalists ultimately pushing them to go against their morals to present a story that “only has to be correct for one day”. The construction of the front page on a racially tinged murder scandal shows the media’s ability to mould any information or allegation and visuals, which are referred to as “art”, to produce news. The use of the word “art” in reference to visual footage suggests the idea of its being able to be ‘created’ to suit the representation being put forward. The frenetic editing used throughout with the sudden cuts in non diagetic sound to silence and close up shots are used as a dramatic technique emphasising the importance of a particular point in the film. Again, we can see the desire for ratings and the unethical behaviour of the media overthrowing social responsibility in order to fulfil the deliberate act of selection and emphasis.
Thus, as we can see in the texts discussed above, it is indeed through the deliberate process of selection and emphasis at the heart of the media’s representations that different truths coloured by the agendas of the ‘elite’ are propelled into the public domain.
You need a bit more in the conclusion than this.
i.e Why does it matter? Yes you have discussed that throughout but this will be the last section the marker reads so be sure and finish with a flourish.
In terms of textual evidence to support your points and use of supplementary material this is fine. You do sometimes waver in your focus on the question. Just keep coming back to it with a sentence here and there as above. You have enough knowledge to approach any question at this stage so you need to practice application to questions. See the question on the page below and give yourself 10 min to plan and write an intro.
No doubt you aced the first exam so good luck in the next one…and the one after that …and…
AS
No comments:
Post a Comment