(48) Telegraph suspends comment on relaunched online content

Link : http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/feb/22/telegraph-suspends-comment-relaunched-online-content

 

 

Summary:

 

Newspaper is deciding whether to reinstate function as it undergoes website revamp and points readers who wish to comment to social media. The Telegraph has suspended the facility for readers to comment on stories and features “until further notice” as part of a review of the way the newspaper engages with its audience. As part of the relaunch of Telegraph.co.uk, the company is also researching whether to reinstate the feature. The print edition of the newspaper has recently been given a new look. A spokesman for the Telegraph said: “In the process of migrating its site to a new online platform, the Telegraph has suspended the comment function in some areas under transition until further notice. “It’s also undertaking research to understand the best way to support reader engagement, but in the meantime they can continue to comment on and share articles through Telegraph Facebook pages, or via Twitter, in the usual way.”

Key data/statistical information:



What's my view?

I think that it is a good thing that The Telegraph wants to some what improve their website seeing how new and digital media has taken over making it difficult for print newspapers. It is also a good idea that they looking to share articles through the social media platform as it will allow the audience to discuss with each other the points they think should be raised about the news. It will also help people to read the news as people now prefer to receive 24 hour news from social networking sites such as Twitter. This change in new and digital media has pushed the elite people to give the audience more power as to how we get news. Also, through this new method of receiving news, the audience have more a say about problems that occur in the world and can easily raise awareness on-line.



(47) Facebook sets up 'social VR' team to explore virtual reality beyond games

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/22/facebook-social-virtual-reality-beyond-games-mark-zuckerberg

 

Summary:

 

Facebook has created a “social VR” team to explore virtual-reality technology’s potential beyond games, as it prepares for the consumer launch of its Oculus Rift VR headset. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg revealed the plans in a surprise appearance at Samsung’s Mobile World Congress press conference, while talking up the popularity of 360-degree videos on Facebook, and on Samsung’s Gear VR headset – which uses technology from Oculus. Facebook is upping the quality of 360-degree videos on its service, while tasking its new team with developing other kinds of non-games content for VR headsets. “This team will explore how people can connect and share using today’s VR technology, as well as long-term possibilities as VR evolves into an increasingly important computing platform,” claimed Facebook.

Key data/statistical information:

• Already, millions of people watch 360 videos on Facebook every day
• More than 20,000 have been uploaded, with hundreds more added daily
• HTC has confirmed that its Vive headset will cost $799, with pre-orders opening at the end of February

What's my view?

 I feel that as the years go by, more technology has been produced with the aim of allowing people to connect with each other since we are living in the era of on-line interaction especially through social media. This potentially could turn into something great and it could gain a lot of popularity. Also, from a pluralist view, it could be said that the rise in technology that allows people to connect and communicate with each other, gives the audience more and more power.



(46) Independent and Independent on Sunday print closures confirmed

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/feb/12/independent-and-independent-on-sunday-closures-confirmed

 

 

Summary:

 

Evgeny Lebedev has confirmed that the Independent and Independent on Sunday will cease printing, with the last editions to be published in late March. Amol Rajan, the editor of the Independent, will take the role of editor-at-large across the new digitally focused Independent business. At a staff meeting, which was not attended by Lebedev but included Indy co-founder Andreas Whittam Smith, Rajan said that it was a “painful day” but it was not economically viable to keep running the Indy print operation. “The newspaper industry is changing, and that change is being driven by readers,” said Lebedev. “They’re showing us that the future is digital. This decision preserves the Independent brand and allows us to continue to invest in the high quality editorial content that is attracting more and more readers to our online platforms.”

Key data/statistical information:

• Lebedev, who also confirmed the sale of the cut-price national stablemate i to Johnston Press, did not reveal how many of the 150 full-time staff would lose their jobs
• The overall number that end out losing their jobs could be ameliorated as 25 new roles are being created to boost independent.co.uk, and the i’s new owner is seeking 34 more staff
• The last issue of the Independent is expected to be published on 26 March, with the last issue of the Independent on Sunday on 20 March
• Lebedev attempted to position the closure of the 30-year old Independent as a bold transition to a digital-only future.
• The publisher said that newspaper’s website, which has 58 million monthly readers, is already profitable and is expected to see revenues grow 50% this year
• ESI Media said that it will create 25 new digital content roles in the first move to focus on building independent.co.uk into an international digital news brand
• the Evening Standard, which is 25% owned by Daily Mail parent DMGT made a profit of £5m last year

What's my view?

As predicted, the Independent had to close down as it was not economically viable to keep running the print operation. Everything is now made digital and more newspapers need to understand this. The fact that the Independent are going to focus on their website shows that they understand the change from print to new and digital media and therefore will focus more on making their on-line news more attractive for their audience.



(45) Independent aims to keep stars and boost quality in digital shift

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/feb/12/independent-aims-to-keep-stars-and-boost-quality-in-digital-shift

 

Summary:

 

The chief executive of the Independent has said a push will be made to get big names such Robert Fisk to stick with the digital publication following the closure of the print titles. “We want our bigger name writers writing for the Independent website,” said Auckland. “We want high quality, strong journalists on that site. We have global ambitions for the Independent and a London powerhouse with the Standard. We want to really take advantage of that now.” The independent.co.uk website has been criticised for running light-weight content, not least by many of its own staff. Staff complain that the website doesn't represent the newspaper and that the website is only all about the number of clicks it gets. Auckland then goes on to say that they are going to change the website a bit and push harder for better quality, more investigative journalism so that its similar to the print edition.

Key data/statistical information:

• The website will be boosted by at least 25 staff
• The company will make £25m from the sale of the i title to Johnston Press, owner of the Scotsman and Yorkshire Post
• The Independent.co.uk website has about 58 million monthly unique users
• Overall about 50% of the 150 full-time staff that work on the Indy and i are expected to be retained following the closure of the print editions next month

What's my view?

I think its a good idea that the Independent are looking to improve their website as that is where they will be able to keep the company going. Due to the rise of new and digital media, it is key that the new industry start focusing more on online-news rather than paper based because it will soon become a very unpopular way of receiving news. The new generation are more interested on getting 24 hour news which newspapers do not provide. By getting rid of the newspaper, I think the Independent will see a difference in the business.

MEST3 Index

September 2015 > The impact of Google
September 2015 > News Institutions

October 2015 > NDM News case study: Audience and Institution
October 2015 > Newspapers: The effect of online technology
October 2015 > NDM News: Citizen journalism
October 2015 > 10 examples of citizen journalism
October 2015 > NDM: News values

November 2015 > NDM: Marxism, Pluralism and Hegemony
November 2015 > Marxism and Pluralism essay
November 2015 > Marxism & Pluralism: Alain de Botton on the news
November 2015 > NDM News: Globalisation

December 2015 > Globalisation and the media: wider issues
December 2015 > NDM case study: News on the Tweet
December 2015 > NDM: The key concepts of audience and institution

January 2016 > NDM institution case study: News Corporation
January 2016 > Identities and the Media: Reading the riots
January 2016 > Identities: Post-colonial theory & blog tasks
January 2016 > Post-colonialism: Edward Said
January 2016 > Identities and the Media: Feminism

February 2016 > Identities: Feminist theory
February 2016 > Feminism online: recent examples
February 2016 > Identities and Film: blog task
February 2016 > Media and collective identity





 

New/digital media story index

(1)- Amazon launches gaming and 4K streaming Fire TV update

(2)- The Media Column: British TV is being bought up and outgunned by the Americans, leaving the BBC with a dilemma

(3)- BuzzFeed to cover more local news as it expands UK editorial team

(4)- Social media 'rehab': Is a 24/7 texting helpline really the best method?

(5)- Music streaming just became a billion-dollar industry

(6)- Forty percent of US millennials still pay for news, poll finds

(7)- Meryl Streep defends feminist credentials as Suffragette opens London film festival

(8)- Richard Desmond boosts Daily Star sales with price cut

(9)- Female technology journalists report abuse is still the name of the game

(10)- News Corp offers Times and WSJ digital bundle for corporate users

(11)- Why the future of newspapers is not all doom and gloom

(12)- Map shows parts of UK most excluded from digital world

(13)- Sun website to scrap paywall

(14)- Freedom of Information Act must be strengthened, says Tom Watson

(15)- Can dropping the paywall and upping the story count boost Sun’s website?

(16)- Kate Winslet says children being harmed by social media

(17)- BBC shelves plans to shut news channel

(18)- Marketing 2020: next generation talent will be key to filling digital skills gap

(19)- Sun website traffic recovers as Mirror slips back

(20)- Eiffel Tower meets peace sign in show of solidarity after attacks

(21)- Two-thirds of Britons will own a smartphone by 2018, research finds

(22)- Twitter raids Sky for new head of UK news

(23)- Mail Online US almost doubles advertising growth

(24)- YouTube Kids: campaigners criticise app for its 'junk food' videos

(25)- Time Out to cut about 40 staff in UK and US

(26)- The Independent’s blog site hit by ransomware attack

(27)- Twitter warns users they may have been hacked by 'state-sponsored actors'

(28)- Daily Mail is cruel and childish about the Duchess of Cambridge

(29)- Sun website traffic rises by a quarter – but it is eclipsed by the Mirror

(30)- Can Donald Trump's social media genius take him all the way to the White House?

(31)- Facebook and Uber team up to offer Messenger users taxi trips

(32)- The Daily Telegraph fined £30,000 for email instructing readers to vote Conservative

(33)- US digital advertising in 2016: things will get better

(34)- Two New Jersey newspapers denounce Chris Christie's 'abysmal' performance

(35)- The social housing tenants taking to Twitter to influence policy

(36)- Daily Telegraph to withdraw devices monitoring time at desk after criticism

(37)- Phone hacking: The Sun accusers open a new chapter

(38)- Daily Mail takes full control of Australian website

(39)- Sun website traffic falls by more than 5% despite axing of paywall

(40)- How tweeting about floods became a civic duty in Jakarta

(41)- YouTube star Zoella reaches 10m subscribers milestone

(42)- Daily Mail website's ad revenues surge as paper announces price hike

(43)- Russian magazine cyber-attacked and fined after article on Putin's daughter

(44)- James Franco to direct Twitter tale of stripper Zola's sordid road trip

Media and collective identity

Read the Media Magazine article on collective identity: Self-image and the Media (MM41 - page 6). Our Media Magazine archive is here.

1) Read the article and summarise each section in one sentence, starting with the section 'Who are you?'

Who are you: The construction of role models and the media can influence who we want to be.

I think therefore I am: Our lives were constructed outside of ourselves; class, religion, gender and the predetermined roles that were part of the accident of the family we were born into.

From citizen to consumer: Bernays proposed ideas of originating the notions for the consumer boom of the early 20th century, inspiring a psychoanalytic take on consumerism construction by branding products depending on how it'd make people feel about themselves.

The rise of the individual: At the end of the 20th century, people began to express themselves though uniqueness and different and encouraged others to be their selves.

Branding and lifestyle: People choose products that match with their own self image.

Who will we be?: social networking sites allow participants to create a public image of themselves to be consumed as a media product by others.


 2) List five brands you are happy to be associated with and explain how they reflect your sense of identity.

Nike: Comfort
Dolce and Gabbana: Class
Chanel: Class
Pringles: Taste
Samsung: Simplicity

 3) Do you agree with the view that modern media is all about 'style over substance'? What does this expression mean?

The expression suggests that today people focus on what you wear  and how you present yourself rather than the inner you. This can be said for people, brands or anything that can be judged through appearance. Today, we cannot deny that people like to judge others and things based on how they are presented therefore I agree.

4) Explain Baudrillard's theory of 'media saturation' in one paragraph. You may need to research it online to find out more.

Baudrillard claims that our current society has replaced all reality and meaning with symbols and signs, and that human experience is of a simulation of reality. The simulacra that Baudrillard refers to are the significations and symbolism of culture and media that construct perceived reality, the acquired understanding by which our lives and shared existence is and are rendered legible; Baudrillard believed that society has become so saturated with these simulacra and our lives so saturated with the constructs of society that all meaning was being rendered meaningless by being infinitely mutable.

 5) Is your presence on social media an accurate reflection of who you are? Have you ever added or removed a picture from a social media site purely because of what it says about the type of person you are?

To some extent. I believe that things that honest hearted people post on social media shows their morals, standards and who they are. For example, you could get to know that some like certain foods, countries and hair products through social media which I think is getting to know someone. Despite it not being an accurate reflection of who I am as I don't post much on social media, it does reflect some of my characteristics/ personality; someone who enjoys time with family, enjoys company with friends, visiting countries and attending special occasions such as weddings. I have never removed a picture but I have added a picture to show the type of person I am.

6) What is your opinion on 'data mining'? Are you happy for companies to sell you products based on your social media presence and online search terms? Is this an invasion of privacy?

It can be useful to see things that interest you on-line however to some degree, it can be an invasion of privacy. I personally dont want companies to scoop around my social media just to see what products I am interested in.

Identities and Film: blog task

1) Read Media Factsheet 142: Identity and Film.

2) Complete the Twenty Statements Test yourself. This means answering the question ‘Who am I?’ 20 times with 20 different answers. What do they say about your identity? Write the 20 answers in full on your blog.
3) Classify your answers into the categories listed on the Factsheet: Social groups, ideological beliefs, interests etc.

Social Groups
-I am female
-I am Congolese
-I am a student
-I am multilingual
-I am very short
 Ideological beliefs
-I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses

Interests
-I am a fan of food
-I am a Barcelona fan

Ambitions
-I am going to be travelling a lot
-I am going to visit Nepal

Self-evaluations
-I am good at giving advice
-I am loyal
-I am trustworthy
-I am shy
-I am good at winged eyeliner
-I am good with nails
-I am a good listener
-I am independent
-I am bad at socialising
-I am stubborn

4) Go back to your favourite film (as identified in the lesson). What does this choice of film say about your identity? Are there any identities within the film (e.g. certain characters) that particularly resonated with your values and beliefs?

Think Like A Man
I like comedy and believe that women should be treated with respect.
I can resonate with the guy in the group whose happily married because he doesn't really put himself in stupid situations and puts his wife first before friends.

5) Watch the trailers for the five films highlighted as examples of gay/lesbian representation in mainstream film. How are LGBT identities constructed in the trailers and how are audiences encouraged to respond to these representations?

 

(44) James Franco to direct Twitter tale of stripper Zola's sordid road trip

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/feb/05/james-franco-direct-twitter-thestory-aziah-zola-wells-rolling-stone-stripper-swiatkowski-pimp-hoeism

Summary:

James Franco has signed up to direct a potentially controversial true-life drama based on a wild and unsavoury stripper road trip to Florida that went viral on Twitter. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Franco’s film will be based on the Rolling Stone article Zola Tells All: The Real Story Behind the Greatest Stripper Saga Ever Tweeted, which was published in November. The drama is based on viral tweets by Aziah ‘Zola’ Wells – which won praise from Ava DuVernay and Missy Elliott – about her brush with a violent pimp.

Key data/statistical information:

• The piece related the story of stripper Aziah “Zola” Wells’ 148-tweet splurge
• Wells’s Twitter rant, which later went viral under the hashtag #thestory, also recounts an episode in which a rival pimp supposedly attempted to kidnap Swiatkowski
• Wells, who has more than 95,000 followers on Twitter, has revelled in her new-found fame and is said to be planning “Hoeism” merchandise

What's my view?

This definitely shows the power that Twitter has along with celebrities. They can bring awareness to any subject of their choice as long as they have people supporting them just as the two step flow theory suggests. Due to the hashtags and tweets found on twitter, it has now brought conversation whether they will make it into a movie.  

(43) Russian magazine cyber-attacked and fined after article on Putin's daughter

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/01/russian-magazine-cyber-attacked-and-fined-after-article-on-putins-daughter

Summary:

Russia’s New Times magazine has been hit with a state fine and a hacker attack on the day it published an investigation of president Vladimir Putin’s daughter. The penalty against New Times came the same day it published new information about Putin’s older daughter, Maria. After the magazine’s website also went down for several hours on Monday, editor Yevgeniya Albats told RBC she believed a distributed denial-of-service attack was the cause. The Kremlin has long been suspected of wielding cyber-attacks against political opponents and critical websites. Discussing Putin’s private life has long been taboo in Russia, but publications have recently begun to draw back the veil of secrecy, finding that his two daughters and their associates have enjoyed speedy success in politics and business along with other children of the Kremlin elite.

Key data/statistical information:

• A publication can be shut down if it receives two warnings in 12 months
• Albats said New Times last suffered such an attack after an interview with Putin foe Mikhail Khodorkovsky in 2013
• Moscow State University official Katerina Tikhonova, 29, was outed as the president’s younger daughter last year and found to have corporate holdings worth more than £1.3bn with her partner Kirill Shamalov
• Using property and academic records and testimony from building employees, New Times found that Putin’s older daughter Maria, 30, lives in a well-guarded flat block near the American embassy in Moscow and is a graduate student at an endocrine centre run by the health ministry

What's my view?

In my opinion, I think this presents a Marxist view as the magazine got in trouble for writing about something that the President, an elite. The newspaper was fined and received a cyber-attack most like from elite people who wielded such attacks against political opponents. It shows that even magazine don't have a say and things do get censored or put down if the government is not happy with it.

(42) Daily Mail website's ad revenues surge as paper announces price hike

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/jan/28/daily-mail-websites-ad-revenues-surge-as-paper-prepares-for-price-hike

 

Summary:

 

The owner of the Daily Mail has said that Mail Online boosted its ad revenues by 27% in the final three months of last year, as it announced that the paper is to increase its cover price for the first time in three years. Mail Online’s 27% boost in the final quarter is a promising sign, particularly given at one point last year its growth rate fell to single digits as the entire digital newspaper ad market faltered. DMGT announced on Thursday that the Daily Mail is to increase its cover price from 60p to 65p from 1 February, its first increase in three years.

 

Key data/statistical information:

 

• Daily Mail & General Trust reported on Thursday that Mail Online, which missed its £80m annual revenue target last year, had a growth rate of 16% in the year to the end of September
• The website saw digital ad revenues grow by 17% in the UK and 66% in the US in the three months to the end of December
• Elite Daily, the US-based news and entertainment website popular with 18- to 34-year-olds that DMGT acquired a year ago, saw ad revenue growth of 211% in the final quarter
• Advertising across the Mail business as a whole, including print and digital, was down by 3%
• DMG Media, the division which includes the Mail business, Metro and Elite Daily, said that in the four weeks since 27 December total underlying ad revenues are down 12% year on year
• Print revenues fell 20% in the four-week period, while digital grew by just 11%
• DMG Media said it still expects to deliver stable underlying revenues in the range of -2% to +2% for its financial year to the end of September

What's my view?

I'm not sure if people are going to be too pleased to see the price increase especially considering the factor that we live in era where people can get 24/7 news on-line for free. However, it is nice to see that Mail Online is making progress as it is a platform that I think the Daily Mail should really focus on as, today, people prefer reading their news on-line.



(41) YouTube star Zoella reaches 10m subscribers milestone

Link: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/feb/01/youtube-star-zoella-10m-subscribers

 

Summary:

 

She may be a bestselling author and makeup mogul now, but Zoe “Zoella” Sugg is still attracting new fans on her original stomping ground: YouTube. The vlogger’s main YouTube channel has just reached the milestone of 10 million subscribers, making it the fourth British channel to reach that mark after One Direction, KSI and Adele. Subscribers have become one of the key metrics to measure YouTube channels’ success, representing fans who have signed up to receive notifications when a creator posts a new video. In 2014, she became one of the first British channels to be promoted by YouTube with TV, print and billboard ads, alongside Vice News and The Slow Mo Guys.

 

Key data/statistical information:

 

• British vlogger’s videos have been watched more than 1bn times so far on Google’s online video service across her two channels
• She also has a second channel, More Zoella, which has nearly 3.9 million subscribers and 377.2m views – meaning across both channels she now has 1.04bn views
• Zoella reached the milestone of 1 million subscribers in April 2013, three years after joining YouTube
• By the time of YouTube’s advertising campaign in 2014, she had 6 million subscribers
• KSI’s main channel has 11.9 million subscribers, while his second channel has 4.2 million
• The most-subscribed-to YouTube channel belongs to gamer Felix “PewDiePie” Kjellberg, with 41.9 million fans signed up

What's my view?

 

YouTube has become something so great over the past years and YouTubers have become more and more popular and have started to earn money and view YouTube as their main job. They have become celebrities to people and therefore the two step flow theory can be applied here as YouTubers are known for stating their opinion on YouTube causing others to be persuaded to their point of view.



Feminism online: recent examples

Emma Barnett: female journalists targeted

1) Summarise this example for the rest of the class in one paragraph

Barnett was one of a group of female journalists, including Guardian columnist Hadley Freeman and Independent columnist Grace Dent, who were sent a threatening message about a bomb being placed outside their house. The frightening incident underlines the fact that being female and having an opinion can be a dangerous combination on-line. Women journalists are a particularly attractive target for internet trolls. Men receive more Twitter abuse than their female counterparts in every single profession — except for female journalists. The nature of the trolls' comments could point to the reason for the singling out of women writers and presenters. Before she received the bomb threat, the Telegraph's Barnett wrote about technology for the newspaper showing not everyone enjoys reading an article about technology when it is written from a woman's point of view. 

2) What was the initial incident or situation that sparked this example?

"A BOMB HAS BEEN PLACED OUTSIDE YOUR HOME.

IT WILL GO OFF AT EXACTLY 10:47PM ON A TIMER AND TRIGGER DESTROYING EVERYTHING."

Emma Barnett, the women’s editor of The Telegraph, received this tweet in July 2013 from an anonymous user. She read it and then promptly went to the pub.

3) In your opinion, is this an example of a valid campaign or something of a witchhunt against people who are not doing any serious harm?

Personally, I think this is an example of a valid campaign because trolling has become a major issue on social networking sites such as YouTube and Twitter. The fact there are people who think it is acceptable to send such a scary threat that a bomb is going to explode and kill them is crazy. It takes trolling to another level. It causes female journalists to fear for their life as well as lower their self-confidence.  This sort of trolling can do serious harm to any woman emotionally and it should be taken into consideration to make it a much bigger deal. 

Emma Watson: HeForShe gender equality campaign

1) Summarise this example for the rest of the class in one paragraph

The “HeForShe” campaign has the aim to end gender inequality—and to do whatever needed for everyone to be involved. This is the first campaign of its kind at the UN: the campaign as well as Emma Watson wants to try and galvanize as many men and boys as possible to be advocates for gender equality and make sure it is tangible.

2) What was the initial incident or situation that sparked this example?

Emma Watson started questioning gender-based assumptions from the age of eight when she was confused at being called “bossy,” because she wanted to direct the plays they would put on for their parents—but the boys were not. When at 14 she started being sexualized by certain elements of the press. When at 15 her girlfriends started dropping out of their sports teams because they didn’t want to appear “muscly.” When at 18 her male friends were unable to express their feelings. But it was her recent research that made her realise that feminism has become an unpopular word and that sparked this example.  It seems she is among the ranks of women whose expressions are seen as too strong, too aggressive, isolating, anti-men and, unattractive.

3) In your opinion, is this an example of a valid campaign or something of a witchhunt against people who are not doing any serious harm?

I think that this is an example of a valid campaign because it teaches us that we should stop defining each other by what we are not and start defining ourselves by what we are. 
Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong.

Caitlin Moran: Twitter silence

1) Summarise this example for the rest of the class in one paragraph

The article talks about the surge of abuse women get on a daily basis on twitter. The movement is a Twitter trend called #TwitterSilence, and it involves an ironic day of quiet in protest of women's inability to speak out on Twitter without incurring some form of abuse. The idea belongs to controversial feminist Caitlin Moran, who shrugged "I just wanted to do a thing" on Twitter before going dark around midnight.

2) What was the initial incident or situation that sparked this example?

"From politics, it was an easy step to silence."
When Jane Austen wrote these words in her classic 1823 novel Northanger Abbey, she hardly anticipated that one day the politics, and the silence, would be happening because of her. But in the wake of the onslaught of Twitter abuse directed at Caroline Criado-Perez, the organizer of a campaign that put Austen's picture on the latest British banknote, her fellow U.K. feminists have rallied behind her with an unusual tactic: shutting up.

3) In your opinion, is this an example of a valid campaign or something of a witchhunt against people who are not doing any serious harm?

Personally I think it is a valid campaign as women do get abused on social networking sites like Twitter daily. However, the approach is not effective in my opinion. Staying silent is exactly what they want. It would be better to get your voiced heard rather than staying silent.

Identities: Feminist theory

1) How might this video contribute to Butler’s idea that gender roles are a ‘performance’?

Butler believes gender roles are ‘a performance’ and that male and female behaviour is socially constructed rather than the result of biology. Traditional feminists divide society into ‘men’ and ‘women’ and by dividing men and women, feminists reinforce the idea of differences between the two genders. This can be in Beyoncé's music video as she reinforces the difference between men and women. She shows herself as a everyday woman as she presents herself as a stay at home wife who cleans, cooks and gardens. Beyoncé also plays the role of a "woman" who thrives for the attention of a man and despite being successful, still needs a man in order to fulfil her life. 

 2) Would McRobbie view Beyonce as an empowering role model for women?

McRobbie, known for highlighting the empowering nature of magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Glamour and taking a different perspective to traditional feminists, would view Beyonce as an empowering role for women to a certain extent. As Beyoncé presents herself in seducing clothes and sexualises herself in the music video, it can be seen as empowering especially to people like McRobbie who believe that women who sexualise themselves are viewed as powerful. However, it can be said that McRobbie wouldn't view Beyoncé as an empowering role model for women because of the gender roles presented in the music video.

3) What are your OWN views on this debate – does Beyonce empower women or reinforce the traditional ‘male gaze’ (Mulvey)?

In my opinion, in this music video, she both empowers and reinforces the traditional male gaze (Mulvey). Today's society has decided that women who sexualise themselves can be seen as "empowering" and powerful and that's exactly what Beyoncé does in the music video. She sexualises herself through self touching and the revealing clothes she wears and to some people, it can be seen as empowering. However, it can also be seen that she is reinforcing the traditional male gaze because of the way she sexualises herself. The main audience would be for men. This can also be said as she displays herself seductively even though she is doing chores that women are expected to do such as cleaning. The fact that she was wearing such clothes whilst doing cleaning shows that she wants to show herself as sexy towards men as she cleans. Personally, I think that Beyoncé is purposely exaggerating the gender role here as she burns the food in the music video and has mascara running down her face just because she needs the attention of a man which are all signs of exaggeration. She sings about having smarts, and being a good wife yet claims that she should be loved by a man because she posses these so called qualities. She then also goes and cleans all these trophies that she has gotten. To me, the facial expressions and the fact that she shows that she has it all shows an oppositional reading to the common gender role. Beyoncé is in fact making a statement that people think that women need a man in order to be successful but in fact they can be successful without a man which empowers women.