Representation & Interpretation

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This is NOT a pipe

How do we make sense of media messages? How one interprets messages depends on underlying factors such as their upbringing, religion, views or background knowledge of the message. As well as denotations and connotations and ideological positions.

This was introduced by Stuart Hall who introduced the Encoding and Decoding model in 1973 which was the opposite of media models before him which suggested that audiences just ‘accepted’ what was put in front of them and could not distinguish this from reality. Stuart Hall suggested there was an encoding where the creator creates an image and the decoding is how the audience ‘reads’ the image. Both of which are dependent on a ‘framework’ of knowledge which can be vastly different and may effect the message of the said ‘image’.

Figure 1.1. The communication process. Encoding, media, and decoding (Hawkins, 2016).

In an advertisement by Zomato, a online food service that ‘enables digital access to thousands of restaurant menus’, has come under fire after an advertisement they had put on billboards in New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, among more cities.

Denotations

What appears on the advertisement are the words ‘MC. mac n’ cheese? BC. butter chicken?’ as well as a slogan “we’ve got it all. order food online on Zomato”. The logo appears with the rest of the words in white writing on a red background. It doesn’t seem “offensive” as the backlash on twitter would suggest.

Shame on you @ZomatoIN ! Absolutely shameful what you’ve attempted to do. Your investors should be sickened by your behaviour! @smritiirani : this is outrageous. @ascionline pic.twitter.com/pSChhHSrxo

— SUHEL SETH (@Suhelseth) November 30, 2017

Connotations

The backlash was sparked in 2017 after the launch of the billboards because of the letters ‘MC. & BC.’ are short for Hindu language ‘swear words’ which are sexist and disrespectful towards women (mothers and sisters in particular). Upon first glance and without any background knowledge of the Hindi language or culture, this would not seem like an offensive advertisement at all. Although if someone were to have this prior knowledge or brought up in this culture, it is understandable that one would find this offensive.

It could be seen as simply a reference to mac n’ cheese and butter chicken to someone who does not share this culture, which I personally would not blinked an eyelid at and some of the public at the time even thought the ads were witty and a clever play on words. After seeing the controversy online, and understanding the meanings behind these words, you can see how the public was outraged.

Zomato eventually took down the advertisements and issued an apology via twitter saying, “Hey, while we didn’t mean to, we can see why it can be offensive to people, and we apologise for it. We will take this ad down with immediate effect.” Zomato ‎Co-Founder, Pankaj Chaddah.

Hey, while we didn't mean to, we can see why it can be offensive to people, and we apologize for it.
We will take this ad down with immediate effect. cc @AksharPathak @prao24

— Pankaj Chaddah (@pankajchaddah) November 30, 2017

Therefore, it is easy to see the obvious differences ideology makes in the representation of an image/advertisement. However, ideology is the most prominent influence on how a person perceives the messages around them especially around culture and consequently the confusion around language interpretation.

References:

https://www.exchange4media.com/advertising-news/zomato-takes-down-controversial-ad-after-public-outcry-87415.html

Hall 1973 Encoding and Decoding in the Television Discourse Accessed 22nd March 2020 epapers.bham.ac.uk/2962/1/Hall,_1973,_Encoding_and_Decoding_in_the_Televsion_Discourse.pdf

The Medium is the Message

According to our old mate, McLuhan, ‘the Medium is the Message’ means, “The personal and social consequences of any medium- that is, of any extension of ourselves- result from the new scale that is introduced into our affairs by each extension of ourselves, or by any new technology.” But what does this mean?

To say I know what this means in it’s entirety, would be a flat out lie. But I think I’m catching what he’s throwing (ok maybe some is slipping through my fingers).

From my understanding from the lecture and the readings this week, I have taken away the following:

• an extension of ourselves is anything in reality because it signals information of some kind- hair, clothes, driving a car or using a pen- these all extend our normal abilities. Using language as a medium, takes our thoughts into a message.
• McLuhan uses the example of a hammer extending our arms abilities
• A medium is anything from which a change occurs, usually from a new innovation or technology
• The content itself is not the medium, the medium is the change in dynamics that the new technology brings. For example, Federman, M. (2004) suggests that “the message of a newscast are not the news stories themselves, but a change in the public attitude towards crime, or the creation of a climate of fear.” as a result of the message.
• Federman also encourages to “seek non-obvious changes or effects that are enabled by the new thing.”

Another example I’ve come up with could be (I’m hoping), the message of an advertising campaign being made is not the advertisement itself, but the change in product purchases as a result.

-Chels

Digital Artefact Pitch

FIKA FEELS

Fika is Swedish and means: a moment to slow down and appreciate the good things in life, usually accompanied but a coffee and sweet treats.

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My digital artefact is an Instagram page which is about sharing positive content to it’s viewers.

This would be useful for people who want to learn about positivity and the power it can have on you, people who are suffering to find gratitude each day or are overwhelmed with different information out there.

There is a misconception apparent around ‘positivity’ and gratitude which I found with my own experience with the topic.

My content will include quotes, aesthetic images, recommendations on empowering podcasts, people who I find uplifting to follow, anything along those lines. I will also be posting on my blog any research around the topic I would like to share with my users.

FIKA FEELS fits the #FIST principle perfectly. Instagram is easily accessible for me and my audience. It takes little time and no expense in uploading content. I will maintain a simple approach by having one page and a few posts on my blog and will start with simple posts and iterate the same meaning of posts.

Feedback will be crucial for my DA, so I’m hoping to engage my users with a suggestion story that will stay open and persistently asking for feedback through polls as well.

My DA is relevant to me because it will help me learn how to build a positive attitude and resilience towards many situations and help to explore the creative side of myself.

I believe FIKA FEELS will really capture what it means to see something good everyday.

https://www.instagram.com/fika_feels/

What is an audience these days?

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What does it take to be part of an audience in the modern media of today? What is an audience and how does it differ to that of the 19th century? Audiences have no doubt changed over the last two centuries, but not too much despite the take off of the internet and streaming services we see today.

There has definitely been a life-changing transformation since the early days of content creation and mass media viewing. This changed from having to view content in a single area containing a large gathering of people to watch the ‘same’ material. Which, overtime, revolutionized the way in which we consume media, being able to watch alone whenever, wherever on multiple devices across multiple platforms but still able engage with other audience members online.

However, we still view in a ‘traditional’ sense when we gather for a lecture, watch tv with friends or family, in a cinema or watch a sporting match or concert/festival at a venue with a group of people. An audience today is much different in the sense that the WAY in which we consume media has changed but we haven’t completely disregarded the ‘traditional’ audience setting such as a cinema, play or concert. But the question is, if we are on our phones consuming different things in the same space are we an audience with the people around us or are we part of different audiences relating to the content in front of us? This is something I had to think about. In a way we’re part of both. We are consuming different media to each other despite being in the ‘same’ space but we aren’t necessarily having the ‘same’ shared experience. Similarly, we are engaging in an online audience by tuning into streaming services or social media and we may not be in the same space as the audience consuming the same content but we are sharing a similar experience. Despite the distance between the audience, we can share our experience and be critical on the content through online threads such as Twitter or other avenues.

I am a part of an audience at the touch of button on my phone, everyday. I click on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube multiple times a day. As a consistent social media viewer, I am part of the active audience when I am making sense of the media text in front of me and being critical of what I am viewing.

Even though social media audiences typically tune into what they want to engage with, the experience of having access to this kind of content is not always pleasurable. You may not agree with other online audience members or watch someone you don’t agree with. The negatives I normally come across on social media as a viewer is content creators misinforming their audience/s. Another common negative is when other audience members share their malice or hatred against the creator or other viewers via comments or live threads.

Unspoken ‘rules’ are interesting as audiences don’t abide by them all of the time. For example, when you’re at the cinema, there is an unspoken or ‘universal’ rule that you don’t kick the back of the chair of the person sitting in front of you. However, the last few times I’ve been to the cinema, the back of my chair has been kicked.

Online, I think it is similar. Most people have a shared ‘rule’ of not commenting negatively on other people’s content even if they don’t agree however, like kicking cinema chairs, this is very prominent in today’s online content. Imagine if this type of commenting was just as prominent when going to the cinema or a live show, it is simply a waste of time. Why pay for a ticket if you’re going to be negative? Similarly, why tune into someones channel if you’re not interested?

It’s interesting to think of an audience as something that is a ‘similar’ experience as though we all have similar feelings about content. I agree in some regard, I think that when we’re at the cinema or watching tv from home, we are often manipulated into thinking a certain way about characters or the story line with the use of media techniques. However, I think this is the opposite when viewing social media content because content can differ from one minute to the next as creators tend to be focused on a niche group of people. Therefore, I don’t believe we all have a similar experience when viewing social media content because of the differing interests we have.

I also think it’s interesting the idea of audiences of mass media content used to be seen as passive and naive where as now, it’s nearly the opposite. If you’re not informed or don’t keep up with the media you’re ‘falling behind’ or lacking knowledge of events around you. Gauntlett (2002) study of media audiences suggests that audience members “take the bits they like, and discard the rest”. This suggestion, in my opinion is accurate in the way we consume social media, we “take the bits we like…” (tune into content that is niche to our interests) “…and discard the rest” (don’t bother tuning into what we don’t like).

Streaming gives us the freedom of being part of an audience when and how we like. We can use streaming to view as a family or with friends or we can view on the train on a smart phone and still be an audience of content.

Streaming also gives us the freedom to be an active member of an audience in the comfort of the space where we consume it. We can critique using online platforms to connect with other audience members and share ideas or concerns about the same interest in content.

While audiences have changed, there is always going to be a need for members of the audience to be active and critical about the content they’re consuming. We are seeing this more and more with the rise of streaming and social media platforms allowing for this type of connection with each other. Audiences are more critical about the content they are consuming and the media in general.

References:

Gauntlett, David 2002

Digital Artefact ideas

I’m finding this a little hard at the moment because I don’t have many exciting interests or hobbies like photography or art, etc.

Soo… here’s a (very broad) list of DA ideas that are floating around my brain at the moment.

• My Wollongong Adventure Instagram- not being from the Gong this would include anything around Wollongong that I could document (cafes, beaches, etc.)
• Dog Instagram
• Organisation tips
• Reviews- on Instagram/blog on just about anything (books, tv shows, movies, podcasts, reality tv (this one I’m leaning towards the most because I do engage with most of these things anyway)
• Quotes/inspiring people I’m following
• Lifestyle balance – which there is a lot out there already

Please leave a comment if you think you would engage in any of these or have any tips!! Chow for now. x

WHY on earth am I blogging??

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A little bit about myself to start with. My name is Chelsea, I’m 19, studying a Bachelor of Communication and Media (first year) which I moved to Wollongong to pursue. I come from a (very) small town about 450kms West of Wollongong.

My interests include sport, the beach, reading, true crime, reality tv (definitely counts) and water skiing.

I’m creating this blog not only as a requirement of my course for BCM but to practice my writing and creative skills to build a portfolio for the future. Some topics I may write about will be all things media-related. I would love anyone to engage in my blog who has an interest in media or BCM students. Also, follow my twitter account (@woodoro2). I would also like to connect with you, so please feel free to comment and follow. In the upcoming semester/ year I’m hoping to become more confident with blogging and sharing media through different platforms and have a solid foundation for a future portfolio.

What will my blog consist of?

• My thoughts on my lectures and tutorials
• Digital Artifact ideas/progress
• Anything else I find interesting

My goals in my classes this year is to engage as much as possible and start building my presence online by deep diving into blog writing. Subscribe to follow and keep up to date! With that said, here we go! #2020