Lecture 4 - Communication Theory

Task 2 - Popular Music

Theodor Adorno's judgement on popular music was centred around what he claimed was
"the fundamental characteristic of popular music: standardisation" (Adorno, T, 1941, 'On popular music', Studies in Philosophy and Social Science :73)
Lady Gaga has established herself on the global music stage at an unprecedented rate over the last couple of years. She is identified through being distinctly unique, particularly in terms of her dress and performance styles. You could think therefore that Lady Gaga's individuality would have been applauded by somebody of Adorno's viewpoint. However, once you strip away the outlandish characteristics of her personality, her music is not vastly different to that of other pop stars; in terms of its structure, its sounds and also its subject - romance. These are all elements Adorno identified as necessary to fulfilling what the listener is led to believe they want to hear.
"The composition hears for the listener" (Adorno, T, 1941, 'On popular music', Studies in Philosophy and Social Science :77)
So then it could be said that Lady Gaga has built a bridge perfectly between being highly individual and appealing to the mainstream. All of this has subsequently led to her 'Bad Romance' video receiving over 314 million views on Youtube and her becoming one of the most famous people in the world. She also holds the claim of having the most Facebook fans and Twitter followers and so it could be argued that popular music fans are conforming behind her pseudo-individuality.

Lecture 3 - The Gaze

Lecture 2 : Critical positions on the media & popular culture

Task 1 - Panopticism in modern society

Panopticism is a social theory developed by French philosopher Michel Foucault and is based around the relationship between power, knowledge and the body. One element of how this theory could be applied to today’s society is through the subject of security in public places.

“The plague that gave rise to disciplinary projects” (Foucault in Thomas, J, 2000: 62)

The high profile terrorist activities of recent times have captured global attention upon their occurrence due to their high impact and explicitly visual nature. These terrible acts have doubled as a plague that has rapidly escalated security measures, providing governments with all the reason they need to implement such procedures.

“Two ways of exercising power over men, of controlling their relations, of separating out their dangerous mixtures” (Foucault in Thomas, J, 2000: 62)

Introducing such procedures allows governments to analyse each and every docile body, with a possibility to build a profile detailing a vast amount of personal information. What information is or isn’t collected is not known. We are not supposed to know. But we are told for our own safety that this is the way things have to be done.

“He is seen, but he does not see; he is the object of information, never a subject in communication” (Foucault in Thomas, J, 2000: 65)

Increased security and hi-tech surveillance are sold to us as appropriate steps to take in order to navigate any future threat to our society. Many of these security measures are now becoming so ingrained in everyday life that we it could be said we are oblivious to them and we do not question their existence. Infact it is probably quite the opposite, particularly at airports where the security is much more visible and noticeable. We tend to be very aware of our surroundings and subsequently are self-regulatory to how we feel we should act in this situation

“This surveillance is based upon a system of permanent registration” (Foucault in Thomas, J, 2000: 61)

Through a variety of measures such as closed circuit television, body scanners and numerous methods of identification we could be easily located and detected if the need was there. The government promotes theses processes as to be of benefit to us and for the sole purpose of maintaining our personal security, which could well be truthful, but at what stage will there be a cut-off point? When do these panoptic ways start to become an invasion of our privacy?

“It does not matter what motive animates him” (Foucault in Thomas, J, 2000: 66)

A strange and uncomfortable factor of this situation is that essentially we are all treated the same. Almost as if we are guilty until proven innocent. An everyday commuter or holidaymaker subjected to the same regulations as a would-be-terrorist.

Surveillance & Society Seminar Notes

Lecture 1 - Surveillance and Society

Level 05

September is here again and the first year of my degree has flown by and now Im moving from Level 04 into Level 05. Im looking forward to building on a very solid and enjoyable year whilst I attempt to bring a more professional aspect to my working practices through building a knowledgeable foundation of industry skills.

Semiotics Image Analysis

Semiotic theory is a flexible but logical approach to the study of cultural texts and imagery. Its use is significant when attempting to breakdown the meanings that are contained within the particular objects of study, these meanings can be realised through identifying the different layers of signification, denotation and connotation that are embedded within textual and social codes.

For my semiotic image analysis I have chosen to look at two movie posters/advertisements as they are meant to try and communicate a message or feel or what the film is about and they do this through obvious visual indicators as well as via more subliminal messages.

The first poster I have chosen is from the Mel Gibson directed film, Apocalypto. Beginning with the textual codes, the main title word is clear and prominent, with the letters well defined and spaced out and also the type is in white on a dark night sky background which together helps to start build a sense of drama and tension - meant to reflect the word itself, Apocalypto, apocalypse, giving connotations of something momentous.

Furthermore, behind the letter C, there appears to be an eclipse taking place, a sign that something exceptional and magical is occurring, leading the viewer to think about some sort of huge event - the dawning of a new era or the end of an old one, this event was also particularly significant to the Mayan people - who are the subject of the film.

In terms of image based, social codes there are several parts to the poster that help reinforce more vigourously what is communicated through the written, for example, the large pyramids in the background are a signifier that gives an epic sense of scale and occasion. More centrally, the main sign of the piece is the figure is alone and mostly covered by shadow and appears to have some sort of torch wielding crowd behind him in the distance, signifying he is being chased. Supporting this, the solo figure is holding a knife giving us denoting that he is involved in some sort of fight/ tribal conflict, a fight for life, all of which supports the film title which has strong connotations of something epic, apocalyptic.

The second advertisement is taken from the Martin Scorsesse film, Shutter Island which is about a post war mental asylum. Starting again with the textual codes, the film title appears towards the bottom of the page as to allow the imagery to take a central role. The title is in all capital letters, a bold typeface and also red in colour which connotes anger, delusion and instability. The letters are also close together giving the impression of restriction and imprisonment. There is also a small tag line that reads 'Something is missing' which has been given increased significance due to where it is placed on the page - across the shadow of the face.

The psychological nature of the film is mainly communicated through two combined images, one of an illustration of shutter island, the other of a shadowy face of the lead actor. The face is shown in black and white which then fades into the dark background with the slightly crazed expression only visible by match-light which signifies the unstable feeling of the mental institution on the island. There is also a kind of fantasy illustration of the island that is in dark mysterious colours and is ringed by a white glow, again giving connotations appropriate to the film's subject. One other less obvious sign is the use of pathetic fallacy where the weather depicted reflects the nature of the film's content as fairly subtly there appears to be driving wind and rain, whilst waves can be seen crashing against the rocky island.

I really like the way these two posters suggest the appropriate mood or feeling to help communicate the subject of the films and the mix of bold and hidden codes used to achieve this.

Semiotics Notes

Lecture 6 - Postmodernism

Lecture 5 - The Document

Lecture 4 - The Mass Media and Society

Lecture 3 - Advertising, Publicity and the Media

Lecture 2 - A Medium for the Masses

Lecture 1 - Modernism and Modernity

Proposed Bibliography

- Fiedler, J. (2006) ‘ Bauhaus’.

- Bergdoll, B. Dickerman, L. (2009) ‘Bauhaus’.

- Droste, M. (1990) ‘Bauhaus’.

- Bergdoll, Barry and Dickerman, Leah. (2009) 'Bauhaus, 1919-1933, Workshops for Modernity'.

- Smock, William. (2004) 'The Bauhaus Ideal: then and now: an illustrated guide to modernist design'.