Our first videogames CSP is Tomb Raider: Anniversary (2007). This is an in-depth CSP so will require significant work and research for an extensive blog case study. The basics
Released in 2007 on multiple consoles, PC and Mac.
The Wii version had active features; on Xbox it was the first game to be offered on Xbox Live Marketplace.
11th version of the Tomb Raider franchise.
Marked 10th anniversary of original 1996 Tomb Raider game.
Sold 1.3m copies – good but nowhere near original (7m+ copies).
Game was based on original (offering nostalgia) but with updated graphics and gameplay – faster and more agile; more realistic visuals.
Genre: Action adventure
Protagonist/avatar (character player controls): Lara Croft
Quest narrative driven by enigma and action codes and culminating in a final confrontation with antagonist. Lara Croft is dispatched to New Mexico to recover part of the Scion of Atlantis
Analyse the game cover for Tomb Raider Anniversary (above).
1) How does the cover communicate the genre of the game?
The gun that is shown on the film poster suggests that there us gonna be a lot of action scenes. This reflects the scenes that are portrayed in an Action/Adventure. Also the ancient relic behind the character may suggest the game contains some mystery.
2) How does the pose and costume of the character appeal to primarily male audiences?
The characters stance predominately appeals to a male audience due to 'lara croft' expressing both sides of her body. The phallic symbol of the two abnormally large pistols may appeal to males that have a less female interactions. 3) How might the cover be read as empowering for female gamers?
The main character is played as a female named 'lara croft' who demonstrates incredible skills which may empower females in general to be more fearless. The looks of the character may attract female character not just males therefore, would be reinforcing gender equality.
Gameplay analysis Watch the following gameplay clips again:
1) What does the gameplay for Tomb Raider Anniversary involve?
The gameplay involves the character to complete a set of puzzles to progress further into the game. Lara croft has to move obstacles to create different openings to the final destination. Also whilst playing, you can collect these little token which, either tell he gamer what the place is like or the game in general. The character performs different arts of free running and martial arts to reach the end goal.
2) Write an analysis of the media language choices in the construction of the game: e.g. genre, narrative, mise-en-scene, camera shots etc.
The game is packed with action involving shooting animals such as dinosaurs. The game creates a sense of realism through the water flowing through the waterfall and the broken walls that Lara croft has to climb on. The character is wearing shorts which doesn't really represent a female on a dangerous mission, instead seems the female body is objectified for male gamers, The camera shows Lara crofts back which is deliberately done to appeal to a male audience. However, the camera follows the character's movements which makes the gamer feel as if they are in the game while playing.
3) Analyse the clips for audience pleasures, applying audience theory and considering media effects.
The game play creates a sense of vicarious pleasure for the gamer due to the audience feeling attached the character they are playing as. Also may create diversion as the game allows the gamer to escape from reality due to not everything being realistic in the game. The audience may receive surveillance from the tokens that are picked up during the mission.
Representations Read this NME feature on the evolution of the character of Lara Croft. Answer the following questions: 1) Note the statistics in the opening paragraph. She’s the most successful human videogame heroine of all time, gracing more than 1,100 magazine covers, and selling over 58 million videogame units worldwide. 2) How does the article describe the cultural change in society and the media since the early 00s? conversation around women’s equality has changed entirely. FHM, a lads’ mag which once had lycra underwear-clad women compete in a ‘Lara Croft Challenge’, is no longer in circulation.Women are fronting the most popular films at the box office, and #MeToo has finally given women the space to call out systematic sexism and harassment. 3) How was the original 1996 Lara Croft received by audiences and critics? Some feminists criticised the depiction of such a physically and mentally idealised woman, and Germaine Greercalled her a “distorted, sexually ambiguous, male fantasy.”
4) What did the 2013 re-launch do differently – and how successful was it? The 2013 re-launch game gave Lara a makeover. Hot pants and Barbie physiques were out; cargo trousers and abs were in. Scars, dirt and blood covered her skin, and the gameplay focused more on Croft’s face to reveal a deep and complex emotional background. Finally, Lara actually looked like someone who spent her time raiding caves for ancient artefacts. 5) How is ‘woke Lara’ defined in the conclusion of the feature? focussed relentlessly on the lessons we stand to learn from Lara: her determination, courage and physical ability. Woke Lara is officially ready to raid the box office.
Now read this feature – Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft: feminist or femme fatale? 1).Why is Lara Croft considered a “polarising figure among gamers”? she was noticed more for her voluptuous physique and revealing attire - a tank top and short shorts. And she remains a polarising figure among gamers, a paradox regarded as either a digital pin-up girl or a feminist role model, or sometimes both.
2) How did the limitations of game construction in the 1990s help to establish the way female characters were animated? Her sexualised appearance was a drawback from the early days of video game development when women were hard to distinguish from men on 32-bit consoles, Marie said. Flowing hair was difficult to design - Lara Croft wears her hair in a single braid - so emphasising a woman's hips, legs and breasts became an easier way to feminise her. 3) Why were Lara Croft’s physical attributes emphasised in the original games? Lara Croft's physical attributes were originally played up to market the franchise. 4) How does Anita Sarkeesian describe Lara Croft?
"She is a hyper-sexualised character that promotes a deep objectification of women."
Sarkeesian said Lara Croft was simply a stereotype for the category of games typically associated with male players. Even the camera angle in the game focuses on her rear end, she said, putting it at the centre of attention.
"With Lara Croft, you see her entire body running around in her hot pants," she said. "That encourages players to look at her as a sex object."
5) Why has Lara Croft’s appearance and characterisation changed over time?
Lara Croft's appearance gradually changed as more women were drawn to video games. (Research shows that nearly half of all players now are women). In 2013, Crystal Dynamics rebooted the franchise and gave her a more natural look, including trousers.
"The goal was to make her a relatable character, one that was believable," Marie said.
Industries
1) Why is Lara Croft such an iconic figure in the gaming industry?
Lara croft in the 2013 appeals to both male gamers and female gamers due to her figure still being objectified and her amazing skills empowers young female gamers. It has been a franchise since 1996 which has really gained a large viewing population through the very known character and the genre itself.
2) What products and spin-offs have featured Lara Croft or the Tomb Raider brand? There has been an animated show, two featured films and 11 games, memorabilia etc 3) Why might Lara Croft be considered a postmodern icon? Lara croft has been created through different popular genres and products in one to create a brand new narrative and character. It also has a lot of intertexuality between the sequels of Indiana Jones. 4) Why is Tomb Raider Anniversary a 'case study in conglomerate ownership'? Tomb raider is a massive franchise and also an inspiration for other video games that has pushed them in to the entertainment mainstream.
Women and videogames: blog tasks Work through the following blog tasks to complete this introduction to women in videogames. Part 1: Medium article - Is Female Representation in Video Games Finally Changing? Read this Medium feature on whether female representation in videogames is finally changing. Answer the following questions: 1) How have women traditionally been represented in videogames? Women are traditionally objectified or are seen as 'damsel in distress'. In video games female characters are created to appeal to males; this reinforces the Mulvey's theory on the male gaze. 2) What percentage of the video game audience is female?
42% of the video game demographic is female. 3) What recent games have signalled a change in the industry and what qualities do the female protagonists offer?
Recent popular games like Tomb Raider, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, The Last of Us, Dragon Age: Inquisition, and The Walking Dead series have female protagonists, co-protagonists or otherwise important characters. 4) Do you agree with the idea that audiences reject media products if they feel they are misrepresented within them?
I agree with this statement because the audience are so fixed on seeing these representations that seeing a change may create a dislike towards that product. 5)
What does the writer suggest has changed regarding recent versions of
Lara Croft and who does she credit for this development? Brianna Wu’s 2015 article in Polygon details how Crystal Dynamics saved Lara Croft by making some big changes in the reboot Tomb Raider (2013)andits sequel Rise of the Tomb Raider (2015).
First they hired Rhianna Pratchett as the lead writer, a woman who “had
a long history of working on games with complex female protagonists. Part 2: Tropes vs Women in Video Games – further analysis Visit Anita Sarkeesian’s ‘Tropes vs Women in Video Games Series 2’ YouTube playlist and watch ONE other video in the series (your choice - and feel free to choose a video from season 1 if you prefer). Write a 100 word summary of the video you watch: Title of video: Body Language and Male Gaze 100 word summary:
This Video is all about how female characters are presented to appeal to male users. In the video you see many female movements for example, hip sways and the way a female character sits down, portrayed in a very soft delicate manner. In contrast, with the male characters, you barely see any anything below the characters waist. This suggests that male characters should be interpreted as robust and very masculine to demonstrate authority. All these features of a female character is designed to make the game more enjoyable for a male user more than a female. Part 3: Anita Sarkeesian Gamespot interview Finally, read this Gamespot interview with Anita Sarkeesian of Feminist Frequency and answer the following questions: 1)
What reaction did Anita Sarkeesian receive when she published her videos
on women in videogames? You can find more information on this on Sarkeesian’s Kickstarter fundraising page. Anita says, "While I always expect some level of harassment when
discussing gender issues online, this time it's a more extreme and
sustained torrent of sexism, hate, and threats. All the horrible
backlash has just made me even more determined and committed to creating
this video series. 2) How does Sarkeesian summarise feminism? Sarkeesian summarises feminism as "working towards the equal treatment
of women socially, culturally, institutionally, and economically." 3) Why do stories matter? Narratives have always been a core way human beings learn about, make
sense of, and understand the world we live in. Stories have embedded
myths and messages and can be carriers of positive, heroic, or
subversive values, but they can also propagate or reinforce negative
stereotypes and oppressive social norms. "The Universe is made of stories, not of atoms." 4) How does Sarkeesian view Samus Aran and Lara Croft (the two protagonists from our upcoming CSPs)?
Sarkeesian views Samus Aran and Lara Croft in a positive and negative way as they are seen as a heroic and are the main lead in the two games that they presented in. However, they are objectified and sexualised to appeal to male users which make these characters seem very unrealistic. 5) How has the videogame landscape changed with regards to the representation of women?
There have been many videogames releases over the years that have a female character lead however, not much has changed regards to the representation of women since they still be objectified and sexualised to the expense of male pleasure. Eventhough, their appearance seem less attractive than before, still they are harassed by body language the female characters portray. 6) Why are Mirror’s Edge and Portal held up as examples of more progressive representations of women?
They feature women of colour and also manage to use women as
protagonists without overly sexualising or objectifying them. Sarkeesian
points out that this is probably due to the first person perspective
gameplay. 7) What are the qualities that Sarkeesian lists for developers to work on creating more positive female characters?
some very basic things I look for in female characters are: protagonists
with agency not tied directly to their sex appeal; transformative story
arcs where characters are struggling with or overcoming personal flaws;
and some emotional depth and expression. 8) What is the impact of the videogames industry being male-dominated? The impact of the videogames industry being male-dominated is that everything is designed to appeal to a male audience. This means that male characters would want to be seen as heroic, robust and females are created, first to look attractive towards male users and second be the victim of the narrative arc. Most of the story arc is based on male preferences. 9) What did Sarkeesian hope to achieve through her ‘Tropes vs Women in Video Games’ series?
She hoped her audience would understand the female representation in videogames and highlight how females are being portrayed negatively even though they may be the lead in the videogame. Anita wanted to address that females shouldn't be sexualised, instead be equally given thought to. 10) What media debates did Sarkeesian hope to spark with her video series?
She hoped to contribute to the ongoing conversation and debates
regarding the harmful, sexist representations of women in video games.
She wanted to let young women know that while these issues are present
in fictional video games, they are real life issues that we do need to
be aware of.
Your learner response is as follows: Create a new blog post on your Media 1 Exam blog called 'OSP assessment learner response' and complete the following tasks: 1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential).
WWW: Clearly, the mark and grade is not where you want to be but there is definite potential her. With serious work on exam technique you could move up a couple of grades quite quickly.
EBI: Q1 is a great lesson in unseen questions. You make some valid points but do not offer media analysis of the advert. Deconstruct the text! image, Text, colour etc In Q2, you show knowledge of the Csps but no focus on the question at all. Do you actually use the words 'Hesmondhalgh' at all or values or ideologies at any point? You Must answer the question! 2) Read the whole mark scheme for this assessment carefully. Identify five specific aspects from Figure 1 (the Google Home advert) that you could have mentioned in your answer (e.g. selection of image, framing and focus, colour, text etc.) Links Google brand to vision of ideal family life – creative play with parent; coloured pencils, paint bottle and corner of child’s picture all reinforce creativity and colour. Repetition of the word ‘home’ creates connotations of safety, warmth and comfort. Reinforces white, western, middle-class representation of family life to the exclusion of
other backgrounds (race/ethnicity, sexuality, age, class). Google presenting its smart speaker as a ‘natural’ part of home life will be strongly rejected by audiences concerned with data, privacy 3) Now use the mark scheme to identify three potential points that you could have made in your essay for Question 2 (Hesmondhalgh - narrow range of values and ideologies).
The ‘End of Audience’ that Clay Shirky writes of means that a wider, more diverse range of values and ideologies are now available to consumers. Teen Vogue illustrates this with a liberal agenda that promotes perspectives championed by digital feminists in the late 2000s (sometimes considered the fourth wave of feminism).
it could be argued that Teen Vogue is replicating many of the mainstream, hegemonic values and ideologies found across the cultural industries with regards to the representation of women and the fashion industry. Despite appearing to champion progressive causes, Teen Vogue in fact reinforces the expectations placed on women with regards to beauty and appearance.
Clay Shirky writes about (the “billion new participants in the contemporary media ecosystem”) has not benefited The Voice in its mission to promote values and ideologies that remain outside the mainstream. 4) Use your exam response, the mark scheme and any other resources you wish to use to write a detailed essay plan for Question 2. Make sure you are planning at least five well-developed paragraphs in addition to an introduction and conclusion.
Para 1: In my first paragraph, i will be explaining how Teen Vogue ignores Hesmondhalghs narrow range of values and ideologies.Clarifying 'end of audience' Clay Shirky wrote, which he explains theres a wider range of values and ideologies available for the consumers.
Para 2: In my second paragraph, I will be illustrating how Teen Vogue reinforces Hesmondhalghs narrow range of values and ideologies.Teen Vogue is replicating many of the mainstream, hegemonic values and ideologies found across the cultural industries with regards to the representation of women and the fashion industry.
Paragraph 3: In my third paragraph, i will be begin stating how The voice disproves Hesmondalghs narrow range of values and ideologies as it offers an explicit black British perspective on news stories and issues in London and the UK. This alone sets it apart from mainstream media. Paragraph 4: However, there are some aspects of the The Voice that reinforces Hesmondhalghs narrows range of values and ideologies.the poor construction of the website and social media presence (poorly worded polls, cluttered design, low-quality photography, lack of fresh content, poor video production values, weak sponsored content) means it is not the powerful voice in British media it should be. 5) Finally, identify three key areas you plan to revise from the OSP unit (CSP aspects or theories) having looked at your feedback from this assessment. Looking over the exam i need to revise exam technique and understand what the question is asking me. Learning the CSPs more to the extent where the knowledge can be linked with many theorists.
The Voice has a significant place in the social and historical context of race relations and representation in Britain, launching in 1982 in the wake of the Brixton race riots. It is also the perfect case study to further develop our understanding of Paul Gilroy's postcolonial theory we studied last lesson.
The Voice - background and notes The Voice, founded in 1982, is the only British national black weekly newspaper operating in the United Kingdom. It is owned by GV Media Group Limited, and is aimed at the British African-Caribbean community. The paper is based in London and is published every Thursday. The first issue of The Voice was printed to coincide with the Notting Hill Carnival in August 1982. Its cover price was 54 pence, and was only sold in London.
In 1981, the Brixton race riots shone a spotlight on race relations in Britain.
The Voice emerged in 1982 partly as a result of these riots – both due to the need to offer a voice and representation to black Britons and also due to a business loan from Barclays Bank. The bank was keen at the time to improve their reputation with the black community due to investments in Apartheid South Africa.
Social context - The Battle for Brixton documentary
The Voice analysis: production values The Voice offers a strong contrast to Teen Vogue with significantly lower production values across its digital operations – website design, video content and social media. However, the growth of digital technology means that the Voice can effectively compete on the same playing field as Teen Vogue, albeit targeting a niche audience. Watch this video on influential black women in business and compare it to Teen Vogue’s video content – similar in ideology but very different in production values (note the view count too):
The Voice: representation
The Voice was launched to cater for the interests of British-born black people. Applying Gilroy’s work on “double consciousness”, it could be argued that the Voice was launched to give black audiences an opportunity to see the world through their own eyes rather than through the prism of white, often-racist mainstream British media.
The Voice: industries The Voice is owned by Jamaican media organising the Gleaner company and published in Britain by GV Media Group. It is a significant contrast to Teen Vogue and the international giant Conde Nast.
Recently, in a similar move to The Guardian's request for donations, The Voice asks its readers to support the publication by paying donations via PayPal. This raises interesting questions regarding the financial viability of online news media and particularly niche publications such as The Voice (or indeed Oh Comely). The Voice: case study blog tasks
1) What news website key conventions can you find on the Voice homepage?
The main key convention on the voice is the top bar menu consisting of; news, sport, lifestyle, entertainment, faith. People can click on the different categories and consume them. Also there are polls such as, racism in the England game which was posted two weeks ago. This shows that the voice does not regularly update their website.
2) How does the page design differ from Teen Vogue? The voice has a very low budget compared to Teen Vogue's due to them having a higher readership and circulation. The Voice also targets a very niche population
3) What are some of the items in the top menu bar and what does this tell you about the content, values and ideologies of the Voice? The items that are listed at the top menu bar are: News, Sports, Lifestyle and Entertainment. News being the first option at the top menu bar indicates its importance to The Voice due to it being the main source of its readership.
4) Look at the news stories on The Voice homepage. Choose three stories and discuss how they have presented the news from an angle or perspective that reflects The Voice's role as a voice for black Britons.
Football tournament held to remember murdered teen
This shows how black representation has changed over the years as you can see the football team showing sympathy for the young black teen by honouring him. Several years ago, black people weren't even recognised on the news and were rather ignored by the white people living in Briton. Collective helping black women tech founders secure funding expands to London This subverts black female stereotypes as they are normally seen as fragile and quiet. However in this news story, you see three empowering black females expanding their organisation around the world starting with the UK. These female Tech founders have shown how intelligent females can be and raised many female voices to also make a change to their media representation. Second World War veteran inspires younger generation to reach their full potential Neil Flanigan who served the royal air force during the Second World War has become an inspiration for young adults as he talks about young teens having the capability of reaching their full potential. Black people had trouble reaching out to a global audience to encourage people do better as they were normally silenced by the majority. 5) How is narrative used to encourage audience engagement with the Voice? Apply narrative theories (e.g. Todorov equilibrium or Barthes’ enigma codes) and make specific reference to stories on the homepage. The Voice uses Todorov's equilibrium in every news they publish stating the equilibrium or the disequilibrium. they also create enigma codes to keep their audience engaged with their future news or to get a greater insight in the current ones.
1) What are the items in the sub-menu bar for the Lifestyle section and what does this suggest about the Voice audience?
The Voice deliberately chose those sub headings as it interests the audience the most due it being a very common 'click' when reviewing someones lifestyle. This suggests The voice's audience aren't that different than the majority as they have similar interest.
2) What are the main stories in the Lifestyle section currently?
"Honourees aplenty at 2019 Black Magic Awards" "Black male grooming brand secures investment to support its growth" "How to podcast and influence people"
3) How does the Lifestyle section of the Voice differ from Teen Vogue?
The lifestyle section of The Voice differs from the Teen vogue due to Teen vogue targeting young females therefore, The Voice can have variety of lifestyle subheading as it targets a wider population.
4) Do the sections and stories in the Voice Lifestyle section challenge or reinforce black stereotypes in British media?
Black stereotypes are reinforced since the Voice lifestyle still reflects the same media representation that the Black people believe is not true. For example, the sub menu of the lifestyle section does not mention anything about their culture instead reinforce typical stereotypes of what people enjoy and are concern about.
5) Choose three stories featured in the Lifestyle section – how do they reflect the values and ideologies of the Voice?
Trailer for Pixar's First film with Black lead is here
The Voice here is supporting the success of a Movie with the first black lead. The ideologies created are that Black people are becoming more and more successful in the film industry. Also Pixar are now being more diverse which is reinforced in the The voice lifestyle section.
Honourees aplenty at 2019 Black Magic Awards
This is reflecting the values The Voice have over the black community, and how they want them to be heavily represented in their magazine, this feature is showing how they want to celebrate black people for their heavy success in 2019.
Black male grooming brand secures investment to support its growth
Story of his launch went viral gaining international media exposure and a loyal following of customers who felt inspired by his story. This again emphasises the success of Black people in the media and how they are changing other people views about their appearance in the business market.
Feature focus
1) Read this Voice news story on Grenfell tower and Doreen Lawrence. How might this story reflect the Voice’s values and ideologies? What do the comments below suggest about how readers responded to the article? Can you link this to Gilroy’s work on the ‘Black Atlantic’ identity? This reflects the Voice's values and ideologies as Black people are regarded as less important than white people. Doreen Lawrence suggests that if there was white people instead of black in the Grenfell Tower, there would of been more of an effort put in control the situation and the fire brigades union would of been more aware of the scenario. Applying Gilroy's Theory on diaspora, he suggests that black people were never welcomed in the society and were always told 'to go home'. This reflects Doreen Lawrence's point on Black people not having the same privilege at white which corresponds to Gilroy's theory of not belonging here.
2) Read/watch this Lifestyle feature about the Black Magic Awards. How do the article and video content reflect the values and ideologies of the Voice? What do you notice about the production values of the video interviews? Firstly, the production value of the video is poorly recorded as the audience can see alot of blank space behind the person. This suggests that the Voice have a very low budget. The Article reflects the values and ideologies of the voice as it raises awareness for the success of Black people which is rewarded by them doing awards.
The voice is trying to change the view of 'double conscious' by representing black people in a positive light.It recognises and celebrates students who have passed top grades in their GCSE and SATS as role models, to inspire them to aim higher and show education is the route to achieve their goals and career success.
Audience
1) Who do you think is the target audience for the Voice website? Consider demographics and psychographics. I believe the target audience for The Voice is people around their 40s due to them appealing to black people who came from their home town to America. There are also debates that The voice are yet to figure out who their target audience is since they haven't been doing a great job on their website and their production work.
2) What audience pleasures are provided by the Voice website? Apply media theory here such as Blumler and Katz (Uses & Gratifications). Personal identity can be applied since some of the news published on The Voice are relatable for example, Sterling's commentary on the racist act he endured in football. Another audience is Blumbers and Katz user and gratification theory. Most likely surveillance would be applied to The Voice as they give an insight of what black people are accomplishing in the world since it does not get recognised that much.
3) Give examples of content from the website that tells you this is aimed at a specialised or niche audience.
It is clearly aimed at a black audience from all the featured articles,
it is mainly focusing on stories that would relate to a black audience.
Also, it shows how they aim to target a niche audience with stories such
as, "Ocean race to promote St Lucia as yachting destination", this
shows how they aiming for people interested in travel, but again
reinforces how they targeting black people with the carribean country St
Lucia.
4) Studying the themes of politics, history and racism that feature in some of the Voice’s content, why might this resonate with the Voice’s British target audience? Themes such as politics, history and racism resonate with the Voice's British target audience because i believe black people are most affected by these topics and they have now created strong opinions about these themes which need to be heard across the world.
5) Can you find any examples of content on the Voice website created or driven by the audience or citizen journalism? How does this reflect Clay Shirky’s work on the ‘end of audience’ and the era of ‘mass amateurisation’?
I think the lack of Production value of The Voice reflects the era of 'mass amateurisation' because the increase availability of editing software and the digital media exhibits that there is no need for professionalism needed to make a decent content for the viewers, For example the 'Black Music Awards'.
Representations
1) How is the audience positioned to respond to representations in the Voice website?
The audience are positioned to respond positively as it presents its audience the opportunity to see the world through their own perceptive, rather than living behind the eyes of dominated white British people.
2) Are representations in the Voice an example of Gilroy’s concept of “double consciousness” NOT applying? Why? The representation in the Voice is not an example of Gilroy's concept of 'double consciousness' as it doesn't follow the mainstream therefore, the media supports Black peoples views and values rather than changing it to seem unrealistic.
3) What kind of black British identity is promoted on the Voice website? Can you find any examples of Gilroy’s “liquidity of culture” or “unruly multiculturalism” here?
The kind of black British Identity that is promoted on the Voice website
is that it gives a voice for the black British community. So it
promotes Black British people. An example of "liquidity of culture" is
that there was a news story which was about a person in Jamaica.
4) Applying Stuart Hall’s constructivist approach to representations, how might different audiences interpret the representations of black Britons in the Voice?
The preferred reading is it represents black people in a positive ways as it highlights the struggles they have faced and the accomplishments they have made. It brings unity towards the Black British community. However, the oppositional reading may be that due to the poor production values and the many clickbaits, are the Voice really making a change.
5) Do you notice any other interesting representations in the Voice website? For example, representations or people, places or groups (e.g. gender, age, Britishness, other countries etc.)
A interesting representation in the Voice website is it doesn't inform any news that includes a white person. The Voice is only focused on bring a voice to the black community and neglects all other races.
It exhibits the original values and ideologies behind the Voice brand of giving a voice to the black Britons who were born and raised here however, they never truly felt they belonged here due to having to access to human rights. It also shows they need to learn how to adapt to the society with the changing use of technology and creating a website to unite everyone.
The Voice's early sales were poor, but it was buoyed by job adverts from
the newly aware London boroughs, which were willing to pour in money to
satisfy their consciences, regardless of the response. Sales eventually
rose, and by the start of the 1990s the Voice had its circulation
officially audited at 45,000 - a figure which was proudly printed on the
front page each week above the masthead.
3) The Voice is now published by GV Media Group, a subsidiary of the Jamaican Gleaner company. What other media brands do the Gleaner company own and why might they be interested in owning the Voice? You'll need to research this using Google/Wikipedia.
The Gleaner company also owns 'The Weekly Gleaner' carrying news of
interest to the West Indians in the United Kingdom, the paper offers
coverage of important issues and events in both the Caribbean and the
United Kingdom. They also own : The Weekend Star, first published in
1951, reviews of Jamaican music, dance, theatre, and culture,
Hospitality Jamaica is about tourist industry news. The Star is an
afternoon tabloid. "The people paper", it provides investigative
reports, news, special columns, and stories.
4) How does the Voice website make money? What is your opinion of the 'asking for donations' approach that The Voice is now using?
Through advertisement and sponsoring other brands which is supported through the website's feed.
5) What adverts or promotions can you find on the Voice website? Are the adverts based on the user’s ‘cookies’ or fixed adverts? What do these adverts tell you about the level of technology and sophistication of the Voice’s website?
The low production value reflects the lack of budget The voice has therefore, promotion and adverts are very fixed compared to Teen Vogue which had cookies allowing you to see their recent averts repeatedly.
6) Is there an element of public service to the Voice’s role in British media or is it simply a vehicle to make profit?
In my opinion, The voice is surviving on public service through the donations and the sponsoring so it not really a vehicle to make just profit because if it was, they would of become obsolete by now.
7) What examples of technological convergence can you find on the Voice website – e.g. video or audio content?
There is a news article featuring a video interviews and The Voice also do have a YouTube channel.
8) How has the growth of digital distribution through the internet changed the potential for niche products like the Voice?
The growth of digital distribution through the internet changed the potential for niche products like the Voice as it increased its population and due to this , The voice have a better understanding of their niche audience they are trying to appeal to.
9) Analyse the Voice’s Twitter feed. How does this contrast with other Twitter feeds you have studied (such as MailOnline or Teen Vogue)? Are there examples of ‘clickbait’ or does the Voice have a different feel?
In Contrast with Teen Vogue, The Voice offers more clickbait on their twitter feeds and its mostly based on images and videos.
10) Study a selection of videos from the Voice’s YouTube channel. How does this content differ from Teen Vogue? What are the production values of their video content? Due to The Voice's low budget, they are not able to produce content at a better standard than Teen vogue as it lacks production Values. For example the 'six influential Black people' video had many irrelevant objects and disturbing written work on the Whiteboard which didn't correspond to the video at all.
The basics
The basics
