Media Magazine Super Curricular: Taylor Swift

 

- I was provided with a random magazine and had to create a power point summarising the key points from the article that caught my attention. I picked Taylor Swifts article because it reminded me of Stuarts Hall representation theory, where music labels present artists in certain narratives in order to gain a reaction from the audience. I liked how Taylor Swift rebelled against this and chose to embrace her individuality and tell her own story rather than others telling a story for her.

Advert Presentation: Sure Deodorant

 

I was given a random item (Sure Deodorant can) and had to create a powerpoint presentation on how I would create a campaign to advertise the product. I had to include the following:

- Decide who was the target audience for the product

- How will the advertising campaign address AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire and Action)

- Use as much terminology provided as possible from the Advertising and Marketing spec glossary

All About Me

 - Stuart Hall representation theory states that media does not reflect reality, but it instead constructs its own through language, signs and cultural codes. Media producers encode messages with their own dominant ideologies and the audience decodes the messages based on their cultural backgrounds and beliefs. The dominant reading is when the audience accepts the producers intended meaning, the negotiated reading is when the audience accepts parts of the view but modifies it to their own experiences and oppositional reading is when the audience rejects the intended meaning.

- The flags present my national identity and mixed heritage, some people may have different readings depending on previous experiences. For example, an oppositional reading could be having a bad experience abroad in Portugal, or a dominant reading could come from someone becoming friends with a Latvian person.

- The Manchester United badge suggests that I am a loyal fan and enjoy football through preferred reading. A person who supports a rival team may have an oppositional reading and perceive the team in a negative way. Football is represented as a male-dominant sport which may create a variety of readings between gender.

- My favourite superheroes have connotations of heroism and strength that are stereotypical for masculine characters. Some people may have an oppositional or negotiated reading, suggesting that women can also have the same traits as well as men.

- Through the four pictures, I have encoded my love for music through the picture of the music studio (producing music is one of my favourite hobbies) as well as my favourite music artists. Those who listen to the same music artists as I do may have a dominant reading. People from other cultures, particularly religious backgrounds may believe that certain music isn't okay due to their negative lyrics. There are often stereotypes surrounding hip-hop artists which may create varied readings between audiences.

- In my free time, I like to go on walks and play sports (connotations of peace, escaping from stress). However, it evokes negotiated readings as people may interpret them in different ways (for example going out at night as dangerous if they have had previous bad experiences).

- I added my favourite food and drink which may provide a dominant reading to those who find it relatable and share the same preferences.