tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24005837253429195152024-03-21T15:09:20.875-07:00Media A2 Revision blogAlex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-647073340161164312013-03-13T05:22:00.000-07:002013-04-29T08:17:13.474-07:00Stuart Hall - 'Reception Theory'<span style="color: red;">Stuart Hall </span>-<span style="color: red;"> </span>'The media defines the majority of the population'<br />
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This statement is very true, as almost everybody owns a TV or has access to some other type of media, such as a computer or tablet. The views and information displayed within these types of media are easily transferable to the viewer, and even though they choose whether to believe it or not, they will still know of the opinion and keep it in consideration. For example, in the 'IT Crowd', Moss and Roy are based in the basement of a huge business, and are looked upon by the other workers on the upper floors as outsiders or weirdos. They are treated this way because they know everything about modern technology and computers, when the other 'normal' people know nothing at all. Out of the millions of people who have watched as much as one episode of this programme, there will be a minority who will develop the same view that is being portrayed though the characters by the writers as comedy. After all, this programme is funny due to these characters being different, and most people do view nerds as strange as they have a dedicated interest in something most people know only a small amount about. You could even go as far as saying that the writers are expressing the view that all IT technicians are weirdos, but of course the programme isn't portraying this view seriously, if not at all. The same can be said for Boogie's comedy Youtube videos that focus on the main protagonist Francis. Through seeing Francis, people may then think that all serious gamers are really fat and have some kind of speech impediment, even though anybody can enjoy computer games. They may think that anybody who plays computer games must have no life outside of these virtual worlds, and that you cannot enjoy comupter games unless you dedicate your life to it. Of course this is wrong, as you can enjoy the occasional computer game no matter what stereotype you are classed as.<br />
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<img src="http://www.rebgaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/tumblr_lsi3odZYvi1r0b5vro1_500.jpg" /><br />
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<span style="color: red;">Stuart Hall </span>- 'Media seems to reflect reality, but in fact they construct it'<br />
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<a href="http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/news/big-bang-theory-pics-howard-and-bernadette-s-wedding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.aceshowbiz.com/images/news/big-bang-theory-pics-howard-and-bernadette-s-wedding.jpg" /></a>This statement relates well to 'The Big Bang Theory', as I personally feel that my own view of nerds has changed as a result of this programme. When this programme first started,the characters portrayed typical nerd characteristics, but one that I have notice change is the characteristic of being bad around girls. This is a central characteristic of a nerd, but I think it has changed somewhat as the seasons of this programme have progressed. All the characters are dreadful with the opposite sex in the first coupe of seasons, but eventually they learn from their mistakes and in the current season, all the characters have or have had successful relationships with women. Their social skills as a whole have improved and they still enjoy all the stuff that they did before, such as comic books and video games. In modern times it is not surprising to see a nerd have a girlfriend, but it used to be. This was because everyone thought that nerds were only interested in their video games and school work, and that that they didn't have any time for anything else. 'The Big Bang Theory' has gone someway to changing this perception<br />
<br />Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-76893651453498220582013-02-06T10:34:00.001-08:002013-04-29T08:17:04.311-07:00Stanley Cohen - 'Moral Panic'<span style="color: red;">Cohen</span> - 'The media overreacts to an aspect of behavior'<br />
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<a href="http://static.tvfanatic.com/images/gallery/sheldon-is-angry-at-stuart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="185" src="http://static.tvfanatic.com/images/gallery/sheldon-is-angry-at-stuart.jpg" width="320" /></a>This quote is extremely relevant to my study group, as everything nerds are known to do is blown out of proportion in TV programmes such as 'The IT Crowd' and 'The Big Bang Theory'. For example, one of the main characteristics of a nerd is their ability to become obsessed with collecting things, whether it be cards, costume or comic books. The characters in 'The Big Bang Theory' take this obsession to a whole new level. All of the main four characters value their comic books so highly that the comic books themselves often cause rifts between members of the group. They keep some comic books in 'mint' condition without even opening them and reading them, and these certain comic books alone are high in value. Sheldon actually has a safe dedicated to the storage of comic books. The characters visit the comic book store once or twice a week to buy new comic books. They spend hours searching the shelves and value the comic books that only they possess extremely highly. Lorre and Prady have clearly identified this characteristic of a nerd and exaggerated it to add comedic value. This is a perfect example of the overreaction that the media causes, which in this case is their portrayal of the characters.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim1Yqr8txSew_HLHGPQ9zSB0uXmpcrtOcoNfL2fPbBGv6Z5hKtvPB2Uoi_V7jE22Xqhh6vcMBrBC-iGmx-epVbXmvFjFSj9zFWfO8m3HRvJ5Af51kCshbbUB1WMsY7sAd7MlhYh9IvdAA/s1600/Raj+Koothrappali.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim1Yqr8txSew_HLHGPQ9zSB0uXmpcrtOcoNfL2fPbBGv6Z5hKtvPB2Uoi_V7jE22Xqhh6vcMBrBC-iGmx-epVbXmvFjFSj9zFWfO8m3HRvJ5Af51kCshbbUB1WMsY7sAd7MlhYh9IvdAA/s1600/Raj+Koothrappali.jpg" /></a>Another example from the same programme would be Raj's inability to speak to women at all. Nerds are known to lack social skills, especially around the opposite sex, but this usually is shown through lack of eye contact and a general sense of shyness around them. Never have I personally seen someone who has a complete inability to actually physically speak to a woman. This is the exact characteristic that Lorre and Prady have installed upon the character Raj. He suffers from an extreme social anxiety disorder and can't physically speak to woman unless he is drunk. This is one of the main sources of comedy for the programme, as when he is confronted in any way by woman, he turns around and walks away from them. 'The Big Bang Theory' have taken this characteristic of a nerd and exposed it to huge levels of exaggeration to further enhance the comedic value of the programme.<br />
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<a href="http://profratigan.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/itcrowd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://profratigan.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/itcrowd.jpg" /></a>The television programme 'The IT Crowd' also provides examples relevant to the quote, and are included by Graham Linehan to, once again, create comedy. Moss and Roy are situated in the basement, and have an extremely high knowledge of computers. Firstly, nerds are known to be socially awkward, and in some films they are portrayed to be too scared to go outside or see the sunlight (Benchwarmers). The head of the company has placed the IT Crowd in the basement as he feels that's where they belong as they are classed as strange compared to the other workers who don't specialise in IT. This is an exaggeration that has been included in the programme and it supports the quote that I have chosen by Cohen further. Another overreaction is included through the Moss and Roy's knowledge of computers. They don't have a knowldge that has never been seen before from a nerd, but they are the only two people in the building who know anything about computers. They receive calls for help by workers who cannot figure out how to turn their computer on, an this is usually because the computer is not plugged in. Through including these types of features, Linehen has made nerds look like they are the only ones who know anything about this type of technology, and it puts across the message that they are the so called 'leaders' of this area.Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-79802741056631774092013-02-06T09:51:00.001-08:002013-02-06T09:53:33.622-08:00Theorist Quotes'The medium is the message' - <span style="color: red;">McLuchan</span><br />
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'Dominant ideology serves the interest of the ruling classes' - <span style="color: red;">Marx</span><br />
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'Identity is complicated. Everyone thinks they've got one' - <span style="color: red;">Gauntlett</span><br />
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'Identities are not 'given'. But are constructed and negotiated' - <span style="color: red;">Gauntlett</span><br />
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'Stereotypes are not always negative' - <span style="color: red;">Perkins</span><br />
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'The media overreacts to an aspect of behavior' - <span style="color: red;">Cohen</span><br />
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'Gender is what you do, not what you are' - <span style="color: red;">Judith Butler</span><br />
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'Identity is performed through your expression' - <span style="color: red;">Judith Butler</span><br />
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'The social practice of missrecognising yourself is based on a full consciousness' - <span style="color: red;">Althusser</span><br />
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'Genre are instances of repetition and differences' - <span style="color: red;">Neale</span><br />
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'Media seems to reflect reality, but in fact they construct it' - <span style="color: red;">Stuart Hall</span><br />
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'Identity is ambiguous' - <span style="color: red;">Stuart Hall</span><br />
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'People who supposedly threaten social order, folk devils' - <span style="color: red;">Cohen</span><br />
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'Audiences read texts differently, some accept, some negotiate and reject reading' - <span style="color: red;">Stuart Hall</span><br />
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'The more one depends on the media, the more it will be important to someone' - <span style="color: red;">Defleur</span><br />
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'Identity is problematic, and in a consistent state' - <span style="color: red;">Stuart Hall</span><br />
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'The media defines the majority of the population' - <span style="color: red;">Stuart Hall</span><br />
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'The power of mass media resides in their ability to place a subject' - <span style="color: red;">Althusser</span><br />
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'Invisible nature of ideology' - <span style="color: red;">Stuart Hall</span><br />
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<br />Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-56566571721514949182013-02-05T09:19:00.001-08:002013-02-05T09:45:01.012-08:00Dave GrossmanGrossman argues that the techniques used by armies to train soldiers to kill are mirrored in certain types of video games. He believes that in playing violent video games, such as first person shooters, a person becomes hardened emotionally to the task of murder by simulating the killing of thousands of opponents online. This could be true to some extent. For example, playing a game like Grand Theft Auto at the age of 10 could lead the player to believe that these kinds of actions are okay or not that horrific. The person could grow up with these games being a significant part of their lives and become hardened to the violence over time. This could possibly make the person more likely to commit a violent crime that they have seen in a video game that they have grown up playing. The age restrictions for these games are very relevant however, and the parents shouldn't let their children play these sorts of games. I think it is more likely to have an affect on a person who isn't in a healthy psychological state. They could use a method of killing seen on a video game to commit a real crime of this nature.<br />
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In terms of nerds, they are arguably the stereotype that is most at risk to the argument that Grossman applies. Nerds are known to spend countless hours playing video games, which are mostly of a violent nature. Children playing these games is less of an issue than people playing them who have mental problems. Nerds are known to lack social skills and because of this spend a lot of time alone, and they spend most of this time gaming. People with mental issues are viewed as strange by some people and also bullied. Nerds are also viewed and treated this way at times and so people with mental illnesses are similar to nerds in some way. These mentally ill people are the ones that are most at risk from the effects of violent video games, but it can also effect nerds too as they send a lot of time gaming. I don't believe that this theory is particularly worrying, as people know that when they are playing a video game that it is a game and not reality. However, due to gaming being a nerd's life, you can see how they might view their gaming experiences as reality as they don't believe in themselves outside of the video game.<br />
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<br />Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-90486323101826902302013-01-31T07:11:00.002-08:002013-04-29T08:15:52.152-07:00David Buckingham - 'Media Theory'David Buckingham is a media theorist who believes that children and young people have identities that don't exist at all or are constantly changing. He studied their interactions with electronic media, and he believes that ,due to the constant change of media, identities are constantly changing. He believes that genre isn't simply given to a young person as part of their culture, but instead it is constantly being negotiated and changed. The media reveals the bad sides of the world and therefore parents keep their children indoors to hide them from this reality. Due to this, children spend far too much time around various types of media such as TV's and computers, and therefore learn too much about the world and are constantly going through change due to the amount of views, opinions and cultures that they observe.<br />
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In relation to the topic of nerds, this theory by Buckingham makes sense as nerds are known to spend countless hours using these various types of media. This media includes games consoles, computers and TV's. Out of all the social groups and genres that exist in the world, nerds will spend the most time using this media and therefore becoming exposed to what it contains. They will not witness this first hand as they are not known to spend a lot of time outside socialising, but the increasingly growing opinion that nerds are often the victims of bullying is evidence of the fact that they may look upon the world and it's features in a negative way. They may have bad experiences with other people and various types of media will help them communicate with people similar to them, which will allow them to gain an understanding of the world in a different way to others. Although nerds are the most likely to find increasingly detailed content on the internet, this may not be the case. Even though nerds do spend a lot of time around computers, they are not known to do anything with them but use them as gaming platforms. They play console games, computer games and internet based games. Their huge interest in this hobby restricts them from viewing content that can cause a constant change in their identities, which is what will be happening to most young people.<br />
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"Identity is complicated, it's never simple or straight forward"<br />
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"Identity is complex, everyone thinks they have one"Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-64642045551182837872013-01-20T09:32:00.001-08:002013-01-20T09:32:15.968-08:00Historical and Contemporary (2009 - Present)<a href="http://www.pappasontaxes.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/revenge-of-the-nerds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.pappasontaxes.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/revenge-of-the-nerds.jpg" width="216" /></a>There hasn't been a huge change in terms of people's perception of nerds as time has progressed, as the dress sense and characteristics remain similar; comb overs, smart clothing, overwhelming intelligence. The stand out change that has occurred has been the knowledge of modern technology that nerds learnt to possess, with the introduction of home computer games in the late 1970's to early 80's. A film named 'Revenge of the Nerds' (which I am not studying), released in 1984, is a good example of how nerds have changed and added the knowledge of technology to their characteristics. Even though this film was released after home computer games were introduced, it was less common to own this type of technology. The main characteristics of nerds in this film is their smart clothing (buttoned shirts, glasses, comb overs), general intelligence and lack of sporting skill. The image on the left shows two characters from the film, and you can see that they are wearing smart clothing and glasses, have smart hair, have smart shoes and they are also wearing their trousers high which results in their socks showing. They have that general look of intelligence, and these were the main features of a nerd at this time. Over time, as technology started to become a bigger part of society, the increased knowledge of technology that nerds possessed became one of the main features that made a nerd.<br />
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'The IT Crowd' is a classic example of the way nerds are portrayed and seen in modern times, and even though the first three out of the four series of this programme were filmed before 2010 (which therefore makes them historical), the main reason why Moss and Roy are classed as nerds is due tho their expertise of and interest in computers. They are singled out from the rest of the employees at the company due to their profession, which happens to make them nerds. As seen in the image to the right, there are some similarities with the nerds from 'Revenge of the Nerds'. These similarities are increasingly evident in Moss's characteristics, as he wears identical clothing the nerds in 'Revenge of the Nerds'. Roy on the other hand is dressed more casually, but has a similar personality to Moss. Roy is wearing jeans, a T'shirt and a jacket, and isn't dressed very smartly at all. He also enjoys going out drinking when Moss doesn't, and he also lives in his own flat when moss lives with his mother. Roy is a character who wants to mix with normal people, but cant because his knowledge and interests set him apart. Aside from these differences, both paint the picture of the modern nerd, as they both take incredible interest in computers and are viewed differently because of it. They both come across as a little bit strange, and this combines with the technological interests to make them nerds.<br />
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<a href="http://img23.fansshare.com/photos/jimparsons/tbbt-cast-sheldon-cooper-full-the-big-bang-theory-955663132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Tbbt Cast Sheldon Cooper Full The Big Bang Theory" border="0" height="320" src="http://img23.fansshare.com/photos/jimparsons/tbbt-cast-sheldon-cooper-full-the-big-bang-theory-955663132.jpg" width="212" /></a>'The Big Bang Theory' is another good example of how nerds have changed, with the fact that they all dress casually being one of the differences between them and the characters in 'Revenge of the Nerds'. Like 'The IT Crowd', the early seasons of 'The Big Bang Theory' (first two seasons) were filmed before 2010, but the programme still portrays nerds in a much more modern light than 'Revenge of the Nerds'. Season three and the more recent seasons have been filmed from 2010 onwards. The characters wear clothing tributed to superheroes, collect comic books, cards and mementoes from films, and play all sorts of different types of computer games. Their behavior is a lot more childish than the nerd's in 'Revenge of the Nerds', even though they still possess great minds. They are still portrayed as being socially awkward and all lack sporting skill, so the only additional nerdy features they posses are their childish interests and their choice of clothing. The characters enjoy regular 'Halo nights', where they come together to play the popular video game. These video games were not available in the 1980's, and even though everyone plays these games nerds are known to spend the most playing them. They are even known to play them professionally and enter gaming tournaments, and doing these kinds of things contribute to the modern perception of a nerd.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYz2AE1zmzGCzNuBQ9oeL5djhSOhCjAF9JE52xjA_B-dGl4PlATqThswfhx_I2wHGJ3UgdkLBCyc84t6R_Wdr9kEhJWHXlgsCX_4HHXKSGxZmzqFHDEjnY79KCj7q3UthYtiMltU5o4p0r/s1600/243421.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYz2AE1zmzGCzNuBQ9oeL5djhSOhCjAF9JE52xjA_B-dGl4PlATqThswfhx_I2wHGJ3UgdkLBCyc84t6R_Wdr9kEhJWHXlgsCX_4HHXKSGxZmzqFHDEjnY79KCj7q3UthYtiMltU5o4p0r/s320/243421.png" style="cursor: move;" /></a><br />
From season 3 onwards, Leonard and the other characters become more socially inept and begin to from relationships with women. Leonard eventually gets Penny, and this is another example of how nerds have changed over the past few years. Leonard will be seen by many to be 'punching above his weight' so to speak, but the fact that he got Penny, who previously liked more physically dominant men, shows how far nerds have come as they have started to distance themselves from the idea of social awkwardness. These days, nerds are less frequently bullied and they fit in with other people, and this could be down to the fact that almost everybody owns a gaming console. Due to everybody owning this technology, everyone has a great knowledge of it and therefore nerds are no different from normal people in this aspect. As seen in 'The Big Bang Theory',they wear more casual clothing too. Some women find themselves getting attracted to nerds now days, and this is testament to how far the perception of a nerd has come and how much it has changed.<br />
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Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-78002191906098779372013-01-09T09:14:00.003-08:002013-03-06T04:30:23.311-08:00Textual Analysis 2<br />
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<a href="http://1x57.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/big-bang-theory-cosplay-robin-hood-cape-viking-halloween-costume-jail-prisoner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="http://1x57.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/big-bang-theory-cosplay-robin-hood-cape-viking-halloween-costume-jail-prisoner.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
This image taken from the first season of 'The Big Bang Theory' in 2007 shows the characters dressed in their fancy dress clothing. They are attending Penny's Halloween party but have arrived early as they take great pride in being on time. Sheldon is a prime example of this, as he arrives places at the exact time he was asked to be there. It is one of his many obsessions. Even though this party is fancy dress, the costumes worn by the characters still set them apart from the other 'normal' people. The other people turn up to the party wearing caveman, cat and fairy costumes to name a few. Instead of choosing this type of costume, the characters show up in costumes taken from films associated with nerds. Sheldon (far left) is dressed up as a scientific principle. He claims to be 'The Doppler Effect', which is science related and therefore no one else understands it. It is a very unusual choice of costume, which goes along with the scientific nature of the costume to make Sheldon look like a nerd. Of course Sheldon is a nerd, and probably possesses the most nerdy characteristics of all of the characters. Raj comes as the mighty god Thor, which is a famous character from the Marvel comics. Thor is also a character included in the recent movie 'Avengers Assemble', and both this film and comic books can be seen as nerdy. In fact, the characters' relentless interest in comic books is one of the most nerdy interests. Due to the origin of the character he has come dressed as, Raj also looks like a nerd, and his costume could be seen as that of a typical nerd's choice. Leonard's costume is similar to Raj's in the way that it is that of a character from a famous franchise of films. He is dressed as Frodo out of 'The Lord of the Rings', and this film is one that nerds obsess over. Due to this reason, the costume is a typical choice for a nerd, and it makes Leonard look like a nerd. Howard's costume isn't as nerdy as the other three's, and it is again similar to Raj's and Leonards in the way that it is a costume worn by a character from a film. Robin Hood perhaps isn't seen as that much of a nerdy character when compared to Thor and Frodo, but it is still a costume that could be viewed as nerdy. It certainly makes Howard looks silly, and he is mistaken throughout this episode as Peter Pan; which makes him look quite pathetic. The costumes chosen by all four characters showcase their nerdy characteristics, with Sheldon dressing as something that no one else at the party can understand , and the other three dressing childishly as characters from fantasy films. The childish element that is attached to Raj, Leonard and Howard's costumes is the main reason why they look nerdy and pathetic, and it also shows that they are obsessed with these characters as they are prepared to wear these costumes in tribute to these characters and not be bothered by how pathetic they look.<br />
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This image shows Leonard and Sheldon in the comic book store looking at a replica excalibur sword with amazement. The comic store really brings out the nerdy characteristics that the characters contain, as it allows the viewer to witness their sad and embarrassing interests. Professor Brian Cox was quoted as saying that a nerd is a person who can be "serially obsessed" with things, and this image really does show that Leonard and Sheldon are serially obsessed with certain collectable objects. This sword isn't going to be of any use to either of them, and would be bought only as a collectable which they could take pride in owning - even though most people would view it as sad. It would also be very costly for the uses that it has, and this is money that the two characters are prepared to pay in order to own a useless object that both of them would have trouble even lifting. The models positioned in front of the sword sum up the comic store really well, as they are figurines of characters from films that serve the same purpose of the sword; to be collected. It is something that is of massive interest to the characters, and it is definitely seen as something nerdy.Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-20033712502383118722013-01-09T09:07:00.001-08:002013-01-14T04:05:06.942-08:00Textual Analysis 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Boogie2988's internet comedy character 'Francis' can be viewed as a typical nerd. In this screenshot from one of his videos, he is wearing a batman shirt. Batman is a franchise that can be associated with nerds, and it is also seen in 'The Big Bang Theory'. In a clip that I included in a previous post on this blog, Howard from 'The Big Bang Theory' gets excited when he sees a new batman belt-buckle in the comic book store. Francis seems to enjoy batman so much, that he risks wearing a T-shirt devoted to it that could lead to him getting teased an bullied. Francis also wears glasses, which is another piece of clothing that is common with nerds. There are also multiple posters on the wall behind him, which are positioned there deliberately so the viewer can see them. They are posters dedicated to adventure games that Francis plays on his computer, and again could be the subject of bullying by the many people on the internet that could view his videos. It's almost as if Francis and other nerds take a massive amount of pride in their interests to the extent that they are willing to risk the bullying to express themselves, not caring about people's views of them.<br />
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This second screenshot is taken from a different video from the first, and Francis yet again wearing the same batman T-shirt. The surroundings are the main focus of this screenshot, as character himself has previously been talked about. Francis has been gaming or is about to start gaming, and the x-box and TV are prominent in this image. Gaming is another activity commonly associated with nerds, mainly because it displays a lack of interest in social activities. You can see that Francis is sitting in a different room to the one that he is in in the first screenshot, and this room contains a seperate TV and gaming system to the technology he is using in the first screenshot which is out of view. A normal person woul use one gaming system, but Francis has a computer, PS3, x-box, Wii U and two TV's. It is obvious that he feels so passionately about gaming to the point that he spends a lot of money of the technology required for it.Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-30986621208486493202013-01-07T08:25:00.003-08:002013-01-07T08:51:40.510-08:00The IT Crowd<br />
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'The IT Crowd' is a British comedy written by Graham Linehan about three people, Moss, Roy and Jen, who work as staff members of an IT department for a fictional company named Reynholm Industries. Their department is based in the basement of the building, and consists of three rooms with very little natural light. The more attractive workers of the company work on the upper floors, feasting their eyes upon London's glorious skyline. Jen is a normal woman who finds herself working in a department where she doesn't belong, but serves as a good relationship manager to nerds Moss and Roy. Moss and Roy are both computer experts, and both portray certain characteristics of the typical British nerd. Roy is Irish and dresses normally, but his scruffy hair, knowledge of computers and lack of social skills sets him apart from the normal people upstairs. Moss is similar in the way that he has a great knowledge of computers, but he possesses more nerdy characteristics than his good friend Roy. He dresses smartly, wearing smart trousers and a button shirt with a bad chequered print. He also wears glasses and has unusual hair; a combover combined with an afro. Moss speaks in a tone which is similar to Will Mackenzie's from 'The Inbetweeners', which is a tone that is heavily associated with a British nerd. Throughout the different series of the programme, the viewer will also realise that Moss lives with his mother, which is the same situation Howard finds himself in in 'The Big bang Theory'. Moss is very different to a typical American nerd, but there are some similarities between the British and the American perception of a nerd.<br />
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The clip above includes Moss arriving at work having had another confrontation with his usual bullies on the bench. Moss portrays the image of a child in this scene, as he clearly allows the bullies to get to him and doesn't stand up to them. He even gets upset during a role play with Roy as he tries to practice his retaliation to the bullies' comments. While watching this scene, you tend to forget that Moss is a fully grown man. You can see that he is wearing his usual glasses, but is wearing a formal coat over his buttoned shirt. He also arrives wearing a childish back-pack. It is very easy to see why he may get picked on or have hurtful comments thrown his way, and it is because he is a typical nerd. His hair also makes him stand out and look unusual, giving people the perception that he is weird. There is also a lot of technical equipment in the background behind the characters, indicating a further connection with computers. Not only do Moss and Roy have a great knowledge of computers, but they seem to enjoy their profession and are proud of it. There is a lot of IT memorabilia displayed on the walls of the room, including computer motherboards, and this adds to the perception of them being nerds.<br />
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Graham Linehan has a similar theory as to what a nerd is to both Beesley and Morris who wrote 'The Inbetweeners', and Lorre and Prady who write 'The Big Bang Theory'. Moss speaks in a similar tone to Will Mackenzie and also dresses smartly like him, and both Moss and Roy have a great knowledge of computers like the characters in 'The Big bang Theory' do. Moss and Roy are both generally intelligent, but are not on the same level as Sheldon, Leonard, Raj and Howard from 'The Big Bang Theory'. There are some similarities which are evident between the American and British perceptions of a nerd in these three programmes, inparticularly the intelligence shown by all the characters from across all three programmes. They all have an excellent knowledge of modern technology and are proud of it, and all the characters have and still do suffer forms of bullying. The primary difference remains the way in which the characters dress, which is very casual in 'The Big bang Theory' and not so much in 'The IT Crowd' and 'The Inbetweeners'.Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-70158658723899698452012-12-29T08:56:00.000-08:002012-12-29T09:22:46.445-08:00The Big Bang Theory <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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'The Big Bang Theory' is an American sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, who make up two of the executive producers for the show along with Steven Mularo. Unlike 'The Inbetweeners', this show focuses solely on a group of nerd scientists and the antics that they get up to. The four main characters, Sheldon, Leonard, Raj and Howard, are scientists at a local university, and they also enjoy participating in activities that can be classed as nerdy or geeky. They collect comic books and superhero figurines, participate in online gaming, are intense Star Trek fans, etc. They are all extremely intelligent and have problems communicating when it comes to women. Raj cannot speak to women at all and Sheldon isn't interested in relationships with women as his sole focus is on his work.<br />
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The clip above shows Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, Raj and Penny visit the local comic book store. The way the nerds inside the store react is a classic example of the social anxiety nerds are typically known to show around the opposite sex; they all act as if they have never seen a female before. The articulate manner in which Sheldon speaks is also typically associated with a nerd, and is similar to that of how nerds are portrayed to speak in British television. The way in which Penny reacts to Sheldon's knowledge of 'the multiverse' that exists inside these comic books is one of bewilderment, and it shows that she is miles out of her depth.<br />
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This programme provides classic examples of the portrayal of American nerds, which is different to how nerds are portrayed in British television. Unlike Will Mackenzie from 'The Inbetweeners', the nerds in 'The Big Bang Theory' don't wear formal clothing, but instead wear shirts with a superhero print. In the clip above, Howard is seen to be excited when looking at a "new Batman belt buckle", which shows the obsession they have with superheroes. The four nerds can also speak the fictional language of Klingon, which is the language spoken in the Star Trek universe. Lorre and Prady's view of a nerd has both similarities and differences to Beesely and Morris's from 'The Inbetweeners'. The characters are all extremely intelligent like Will Mackenzie, but they are more nerdy in the sense that they participate on more nerdy and geeky things. They enjoy all the superhero stuff and comic book collecting, and these things are not prominent to a nerd's characteristic in British television.Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-54111939927415653262012-12-29T05:46:00.001-08:002012-12-29T08:33:40.778-08:00The Inbetweeners<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Inbetweeners is a British comedy, written and created by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, that focuses on four teenage boys as they engage in typical teenage activities. It isn't a programme that is focuses fully in nerds, but one of the four main characters is a nerd. The character of Will Mackenzie is portrayed to be extremely academic, as well as being formally dressed and being a character who lacks social skills. He had previously attended a private school and he speaks in a formal tone which can be classed as nerdy. He gets called names by the other students, is one of the few students to wear the full school uniform, and carries a briefcase instead of a normal back pack. </div>
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<a href="http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-inbetweeners/4od#2920831"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-inbetweeners/4od#2</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://i3.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article1399796.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/Simon+Bird+-+The+Inbetweeners" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://i3.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article1399796.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/Simon+Bird+-+The+Inbetweeners" width="238" /></a>The above link leads the Channel 4oD website, which shows the sixth episode of the second series. The episode is named 'End of Term', and is focuses on the students taking their AS exams. Will is the only one out of the four boys that spends time revising, and in the end spends too much time revising. The increased attention and anxiety that Will applies to his revision and exams is a typical characteristic of a nerd/geek. If a person spent most of their time studying at school instead of playing sports or socialising with others, then chances are they would be unpopular and be singled out as being a nerd or geek; which mean the same thing. </div>
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In terms of Will's nerdy characteristics, this is as far as they go. The way he is portrayed is that of a typical British nerd, as oppose to American. This is clearly Beesley and Morris's view of a nerd; someone who is well educated and dresses formally. Will isn't portrayed to spend multiple hours gaming online like characters from the Big Bang Theory or Francis from the previous post. He in fact spends a lot of time out with his three close friends, and the antics they get up to ultimately make the programme. This programme, along with the IT Crowd, provides an example of the British perception of a nerd, and we can look at it and draw up similarities and differences to the American perception of a nerd. It seems that the two perceptions can appear different, and that will become increasingly evident in future blog posts.</div>
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Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-70145009646898983782012-12-27T07:47:00.000-08:002012-12-27T09:03:44.143-08:00Boogie2988 Youtube Channel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This video is by a Youtube uploader called 'Boogie2988'. He tackles the modern day issues through posting videos of him talking about recent events. He also performs comedy sketches, where he takes on the role of a character called 'Francis', which he created. Francis is a classic example of a nerd, as he gets up to all sorts of nerdy things in his many videos. The video above is named 'Early Christmas Present', and includes Francis receiving two Star Wars lightsabers from his mum. The way he reacts to the presents and what he does with them are heavily associated with the stereotype of a nerd. </div>
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Francis is obese, wears glasses and speaks with a lisp. All these things could lead to him being bullied and classed as a nerd. Francis doesn't wear extravagant, superhero marked clothing like the characters in 'The Big Bang Theory' do, but instead he wears plain clothing. This could be because it is hard for him to find clothing his size, and it also shows a lack of style. He has a great knowledge of computers and other form of technology, and he is a serious gamer. He also lives with his mother, even though he is over 30 years old. Other videos that can be found on his Youtube channel associate him with these things. </div>
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The video opens with Francis playing video games as he ignores his mothers call. He is surrounded by high-tech equipment and isn't interested in coming away from it until his mother says that he can open an early Christmas present. The viewer will get the impression that he is like a child and has failed to grow up and mature, and this is proven by his reaction to the news that he can open a present. He is gaming online using his computer and is wearing a headset. There are also empty cups and litter on his desk, which shows that he spends a lot of time at once gaming as he collects a stash of food before starting to play. It also shows that he doesn't care about the mess he is leaving, and is only focusing on his game. </div>
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The main part of the video shows Francis both opening and playing with his new lightsabers. His reactions when he opens his presents can be heavily associated with a child's. His face expresses a look of shock and excitement as he marvels at the lightsabers. His dialogue expresses more excitement on his part as he shouts out the names of characters who own the lightsabers from the Star Wars films. He repeats the phrase "Oh My God" as he unboxes the toys, and his excitement grows as he starts to play with them. He imitates the movements of the characters from the films and seems generally overwhelmed with excitement and joy. He is enjoying himself too much to stop when his mother asks him too. He also goes to play outside, which shows that he doesn't care if he is seen playing with kids toys in public. </div>
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Here are some other videos from the Boogie2988 Youtube channel:</div>
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Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-58993566099094086122012-12-19T09:30:00.001-08:002012-12-19T10:04:58.493-08:00Guardian Newspaper article by Alice Bell (Oct 2010)<span style="color: red;">'Who's the Geek?'</span><br />
Article on what the word 'geek' actually means, with famous people revealing their geeky secrets. The article is inspired by a date with a man of which the author attended, and how he expressed that his geeky secret was 'too embarrassing' to share. He enjoyed Warhammer, which involves taking small, plastic models of orcs and painting them. Alice Bell didn't arrange to see the man again, but revealed that it was because he was ashamed of his geeky interest and not because of what the activity actually involved. The article contains several quotes from several celebrities on the topic of the geek and what it actually is.<br />
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<li> 'Words like <span style="color: red;">Nerd</span> and <span style="color: red;">Geek</span> have been reclaimed in recent years. It used to be an insult, now it just means you're into your stuff. That you're proud of what you love, it's about being enthusiastic. It's a liberation.' <span style="color: red;">Simon Pegg</span></li>
<li>'A geek is being able to be serially obsessed with things. I'm a geek and proud - I used to spot buses.' - <span style="color: red;">Professor Brian Cox</span></li>
<li>'Geek used to mean people who collected Star Wars figures, but now it means anyone who'sgot an interesting slant to them.' - <span style="color: red;">Jonathon Ross</span></li>
<li>Geekery is being passionate about something, without caring how it might look to other people or social norms.' - <span style="color: red;">Sydney Padua</span></li>
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<span style="color: red;"><br /></span>Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-69302094243689072272012-12-19T04:26:00.000-08:002012-12-19T09:18:56.568-08:00Nerd/Geek Research - Media Magazine (Sept 2011)<span style="color: red;">'In Defence of Media 2.0 or How to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love Being a Geek.'</span><br />
<span style="color: black;">Nick Potamitis reflects on his own experiences as a producer, and calls upon Media students everywhere to embrace their inner geek. He mentions some of the activities he enjoys which can be classed a nerdy, and these include comic designing and Warhammer. </span><br />
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<li>Being a geek is about 'Being able to be serially obsessed with things.' - <span style="color: red;">Professor Brian Cox</span></li>
<li><span style="color: black;">'Being a geek is a creative act. It's not just about collecting things and facts, although that is a lot of what it's about.' , 'Geek can be used as an insult now'. - <span style="color: red;">Nick Potamitis</span> </span></li>
<li><span style="color: black;">'It just means you're into your stuff. That you're proud of what you love, and you're happy to know a lot about it... it's about being enthusiastic. It's a liberation' - </span><span style="color: red;">Simon Pegg</span></li>
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Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-63373515374236332442012-11-25T10:48:00.002-08:002012-11-25T10:48:23.970-08:00Textual Analysis and Connotations<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableLightShadingAccent1" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid #4F81BD 1.0pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent1; mso-border-top-alt: solid #4F81BD 1.0pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: accent1; mso-padding-alt: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-table-layout-alt: fixed; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
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<b><span style="color: #365f91; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">The Big Bang
Theory <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #365f91; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">Leonard is
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<span style="color: #365f91; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">Shows that
nerds get overly nervous around girls, wear glasses, wear smart clothing but
lack a sense of style. However, it does show that nerds can attract girls,
and those of the status of Penny.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border: none; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 168.45pt;" valign="top" width="225">
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<b><span style="color: #365f91; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">Boogie2988<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #365f91; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">Youtube<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #365f91; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cnL80ItPxA">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cnL80ItPxA</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #365f91; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">He is obese. Wearing glasses, polo
shirt, trousers and gaming accessories. He also has groomed facial hair. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #365f91; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">The start of the video shows that
nerds spend a lot of time gaming, and it is obvious that he doesn’t want to
be disturbed. It also shows that nerds can be quite childish, as he got
excited when he was allowed to open an early Christmas present. The fact that
he got really excited by getting toy lightsabers also shows that he is
childish, and has failed to mature. He has no interest in the adult world.
This idea is supported by the fact that he can’t wait to play with them, as
he does so straight away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</tr>
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<td style="background: #D3DFEE; border-bottom: solid #4F81BD 1.0pt; border: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 63; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent1; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 168.45pt;" valign="top" width="225">
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<b><span style="color: #365f91; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">The Big Bang
Theory<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #365f91; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">TV<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #365f91; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqHpk97qeEc">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqHpk97qeEc</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<td style="background: #D3DFEE; border-bottom: solid #4F81BD 1.0pt; border: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 63; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent1; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 5.0cm;" valign="top" width="189">
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<span style="color: #365f91; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">Sheldon is
wearing a superhero T-shirt and trousers. Leonard isn’t wearing typical nerdy
clothes, but is wearing glasses and has his hair positioned in an unstylish
way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
<td style="background: #D3DFEE; border-bottom: solid #4F81BD 1.0pt; border: none; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themetint: 63; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent1; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 151.9pt;" valign="top" width="203">
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<span style="color: #365f91; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-themecolor: accent1; mso-themeshade: 191;">It shows that
nerds still enjoy superheroes and everything that comes with them. They also
enjoy childish toys, which is evident by their reaction upon receiving them.
The start of the video portrays Sheldon as a very intelligent person, as he
is working on some very difficult physics equations. He also expresses how it
makes him very happy, when other people may find it incredibly dull and
boring. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-39432368299889534292012-11-18T04:56:00.000-08:002012-11-18T11:41:58.722-08:00How and Why is Representation Complicated?Representation in the media can be complicated in many different ways. The audience is key when it comes to the representation of a certain social group within any type of media. There are a lot of different views around regarding audience and the significance of it. Many people believe that the audience is paramount to the success of certain media, as producers will target a specific type of audience that they feel would take most interest. Many people feel the opposite; that there is no such thing as an "audience" or that the audience is a set of individuals who actively make their own meaning about a text. What ever the belief, the audience is vital as they are the people who take interest in media, allowing it to sell and become popular. They are the best judges of whether something is good or bad.<br />
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The audience links strongly to complication of the representation of certain things within certain media. The audiences perception of an opinion or view portrayed in a certain piece of media is crucial. For example, a film could portray a typical view of today's youth; showing them drinking, doing drugs, and just generally causing or getting into trouble. This view is what the majority of people believe through either witnessing it themselves in different ways or just seeing a lot of media texts portraying the same view. As this is the standard hegemony, people will be able to understand and 'read' the media better than they otherwise would if the view being portrayed went against the hegemony. The audience will agree with the standard view and be more receptive to the media if it's something they or the majority believe in. They will also be more comfortable with the view that is being portrayed. Some youths may take slight offence to this view which is being portrayed through all different kinds of media, as they might not do the things that a member of today's youth is perceived to do. The media can also cause confusion if the majority of the audiences view is different to that of the one that is being portrayed, and it goes against the hegemony. The audience will stuggle to connect to the media if what it is portraying is perceived to be wrong by the majority. For example, if a nerd was portrayed to have lots of friends and be good at sports in a film or TV programme, then people wouldn't be able to connect with the piece. It would be perceived as wrong and would be open to criticism.Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-51888621535889842612012-10-30T11:18:00.002-07:002012-10-31T11:48:27.365-07:00Negative/Positive Representations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUixBeJXNFd_wtP0N5RJL0DgnjIECv9PkEBmpmGPYgCsMFlwLZ8zg3rI-8F_INdjwLhuNhOdtmBKnezWlK4hx3M4-7dBaM5heKTtuG11PLxQgA9oBG3PwDbZ1UT6wKpFix-siXuLH9EVI/s1600/3412512.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidUixBeJXNFd_wtP0N5RJL0DgnjIECv9PkEBmpmGPYgCsMFlwLZ8zg3rI-8F_INdjwLhuNhOdtmBKnezWlK4hx3M4-7dBaM5heKTtuG11PLxQgA9oBG3PwDbZ1UT6wKpFix-siXuLH9EVI/s320/3412512.png" width="320" /></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2400583725342919515" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2400583725342919515" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2400583725342919515" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2400583725342919515" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<b>Negative
Representation:</b> This picture is hinting toward the life of a nerd, and is
taken from an episode of the TV comedy ‘South Park’. The man is an expert player
of an online computer game, and throughout the episode it is perceived to be
his life. He looks to be around 40-years-old, has lost his hair, has a casual
beard and has some spots. He is very fat and doesn’t seem to care about his
appearance anywhere near as much as the game that he is playing. He is wearing
a protective strap on his right hand as he has a common injury associated with
over clicking on the computer mouse. His apartment is littered with clothing
and looks generally messy. There are empty energy drink cans on his desk, and
he is also using a pillow on his chair to rest his head on. This could be because
knows he is going to in that position all day and wants to be comfortable. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYz2AE1zmzGCzNuBQ9oeL5djhSOhCjAF9JE52xjA_B-dGl4PlATqThswfhx_I2wHGJ3UgdkLBCyc84t6R_Wdr9kEhJWHXlgsCX_4HHXKSGxZmzqFHDEjnY79KCj7q3UthYtiMltU5o4p0r/s1600/243421.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYz2AE1zmzGCzNuBQ9oeL5djhSOhCjAF9JE52xjA_B-dGl4PlATqThswfhx_I2wHGJ3UgdkLBCyc84t6R_Wdr9kEhJWHXlgsCX_4HHXKSGxZmzqFHDEjnY79KCj7q3UthYtiMltU5o4p0r/s320/243421.png" width="215" /></a></div>
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<b><br /></b>
<b>Positive
Representation: </b>This is an image taken from ‘The Big Bang Theory’, and it
shows how nerds can indeed excel socially and obtain girlfriends. The general
conception of nerds is that they are not good socially, especially around
females, but the character Leonard from the hit comedy has no such problems. Leonard
wears superhero shirts, wears glasses and possesses a comb over haircut, but he
still manages to attract a girl who is deemed to be extremely attractive by
himself and other people. It shows that people can look like nerds or/and like
nerdy things such as computer games and comic books and still excel socially. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaCDtIK0Y2O8HVfT7tshafpduI76U8nX7Ck-KEBcT_UDZKrYz8BLIn6LZUM1orC-IyWnFTPyCzf_lJ3cV8ySHBvLyST4BjLfIopKHPNTOycdyYLvpsVTxcufsXzUy5aP9xzlmtO7jUDep0/s1600/z-leonard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaCDtIK0Y2O8HVfT7tshafpduI76U8nX7Ck-KEBcT_UDZKrYz8BLIn6LZUM1orC-IyWnFTPyCzf_lJ3cV8ySHBvLyST4BjLfIopKHPNTOycdyYLvpsVTxcufsXzUy5aP9xzlmtO7jUDep0/s320/z-leonard.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Negative Representation:
</b>This is another image from ‘The Big Bang Theory’, and Leonard and Sheldon
have just been bullied through having their trouser taken. Nerds are known to
lack physicality and be the victims of bullying, and this picture is evidence
of that. Obviously this is not always the case, but the idea is represented in
this picture. The characters are both wearing typically nerdy clothing. Sheldon
is wearing one of his many superhero shirts, has unfashionable shoes and is
wearing his socks half way up his shins.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNY_V_u7JJuv2GE8soTirnvjZ-v0fSoYtagZ7d9zrHcg6gGoB5D6WmxhYU4gtYt9Ko92yp887g68SUvluyFLteLCXA4RTm7sGDaKV5byu7_tMTpyiWo8rtB_qXQpj9KOs6GvqWuDYWErer/s1600/hqdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNY_V_u7JJuv2GE8soTirnvjZ-v0fSoYtagZ7d9zrHcg6gGoB5D6WmxhYU4gtYt9Ko92yp887g68SUvluyFLteLCXA4RTm7sGDaKV5byu7_tMTpyiWo8rtB_qXQpj9KOs6GvqWuDYWErer/s320/hqdefault.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<b><br /></b><b>Positive
Representation: </b>This image is taken from the film ‘Napoleon Dynamite’,
where Napoleon is performing a dance in front of one hundred people as part of
a school election campaign. It is perceived that nerds lack confidence and
avoid situations where the main focus is on them, but this image is evidence
that shows that this is not always true. Napoleon is still dressed as a nerd
though, as he is wearing his usual large and round glasses with his shirt is
tucked into his waist-high trousers.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicV5HalDofzxt-n2i4ChKwJ6GVE57jT-Pm2Aa4-e5WmA6JaxMguYFFGdi_0zsMHOfuADrgNqNDrR9LK-HLS5z4bT7urhDDnjTkydCHkeEy5Irkkka8Zgl2qbPVDdMPcjVXPx7y96yhShyphenhyphenR/s1600/tumblr_l8ulq5z6ZU1qazruz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicV5HalDofzxt-n2i4ChKwJ6GVE57jT-Pm2Aa4-e5WmA6JaxMguYFFGdi_0zsMHOfuADrgNqNDrR9LK-HLS5z4bT7urhDDnjTkydCHkeEy5Irkkka8Zgl2qbPVDdMPcjVXPx7y96yhShyphenhyphenR/s320/tumblr_l8ulq5z6ZU1qazruz.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Negative Representation: </b>This is a picture of Maurice Moss from the
popular British comedy ‘The IT Crowd’. The program follows two nerds and their
department manager who work for a hugely glamorous business solving IT related
issue from the basement. Moss is wearing the typical nerd clothing. He clearly
lacks a sense of style, wearing a smart checked shirt, a dull tie, and glasses.
He is working on what looks like some kind of computer hard drive, the likes of
which he is also surrounded by. He is also surrounded by old computers and
other various pieces of complicated technology. Moss is a shy character that
lacks vital social skills, making it hard for him to communicate with the
workers upstairs who are considered to be ‘normal’. The fact that Moss and his
co-worker Roy work in the basement of a hugely tall building is clear evidence
of the lack of respect that the other people in the business have for them. The
other workers have the opportunity to look out over the city of London from
their workstations and have the luxury of daylight. Moss is the perfect fit for
the common perception of a nerd; poor dress sense, poor social skills,
overwhelming interest in technology, play with computers in the darkness all
day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkxprUBmRphCPW4axHbBshh6zqgWQn8Y0U8RiofI1efR8AS-LBEl3PzqVgqGXCSCNecCc67QhBeg32I3WpzwcF61D4cGDocCuoNbuXG4aanzG0PrrpQOHuqNVWbJSGCAUJiBhLelcaLgVN/s1600/tumblr_mawgfdMTJL1rt74qno1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkxprUBmRphCPW4axHbBshh6zqgWQn8Y0U8RiofI1efR8AS-LBEl3PzqVgqGXCSCNecCc67QhBeg32I3WpzwcF61D4cGDocCuoNbuXG4aanzG0PrrpQOHuqNVWbJSGCAUJiBhLelcaLgVN/s320/tumblr_mawgfdMTJL1rt74qno1_500.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is an image from the film ‘Benchwarmers’. The story of
the film is that of a typical underdog story, where nerds form a baseball team
and take on all the best teams from around their area. The teams they play against
happen to contain their former high school bullies, and so they get revenge
over them through winning. They win the tournament, and it shows that the
belief that all nerd are bad at sport is wrong. They are bad at the beginning,
but once they get practice and the opportunity to play, they become
unstoppable. Through this achievement, the nerds gain more friends and become
respected and popular. In this picture, the characters are wearing baseball
uniforms instead of their typical nerd wear. In fact, they look like ordinary
people in this photo. They are on a baseball field, which isn’t nerdy at all,
and they are celebrating one of their many wins as a team. The character on the
right, Gus, isn’t actually a nerd, as he is a keen baseball player. He helps
the nerds come to terms with the game and gives them hints as to what to do. This
shows that nerds can blend in and become friends with sporty people, and that
not everyone finds them to be weird or strange people. <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-55549438000611044142012-10-30T10:28:00.002-07:002012-10-30T10:28:11.706-07:00Presentation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0c4VEPqsPBmaz9BPJpXN6GVrJu6xIApTLTADAb0Qt2GTPs5VE6LjIKA4sS_UrfTWOldZCx73sJamOFDXNRMeD-UO4L2O2_IfdI5-ITNSmIlE2JnSkNRo3msEC_G43P6XVBlkzzpiaQpJJ/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0c4VEPqsPBmaz9BPJpXN6GVrJu6xIApTLTADAb0Qt2GTPs5VE6LjIKA4sS_UrfTWOldZCx73sJamOFDXNRMeD-UO4L2O2_IfdI5-ITNSmIlE2JnSkNRo3msEC_G43P6XVBlkzzpiaQpJJ/s320/1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_gkj6Zcw0LDNh1nnuMkT8sd_htq8sJVvhEwNNcDuxqAWxwnKKhyphenhyphen6Nlom0sERXssKvGsiNlugy1jyU9O7sPiIu0qHbnx1Fu7YmOxip3hYv81vi_0he53yeUqtmjFkZUbLjjx_b5QpVPK9/s1600/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7_gkj6Zcw0LDNh1nnuMkT8sd_htq8sJVvhEwNNcDuxqAWxwnKKhyphenhyphen6Nlom0sERXssKvGsiNlugy1jyU9O7sPiIu0qHbnx1Fu7YmOxip3hYv81vi_0he53yeUqtmjFkZUbLjjx_b5QpVPK9/s320/2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4zqWE2EfPjVKT38CajPN35ZiDkOXalNxEtox91ZrWjJ-0aNdU4yfDrVq7675z-c9pVBqj9jw-KLumqWefd3C56fvLDlrrAumxi_j4290LaTPwrwxARTyr3DezkpjDQXqWWULEI2BoWXjk/s1600/3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4zqWE2EfPjVKT38CajPN35ZiDkOXalNxEtox91ZrWjJ-0aNdU4yfDrVq7675z-c9pVBqj9jw-KLumqWefd3C56fvLDlrrAumxi_j4290LaTPwrwxARTyr3DezkpjDQXqWWULEI2BoWXjk/s320/3.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-74852132128903178302012-10-18T05:13:00.005-07:002012-10-18T05:13:49.473-07:00Collective Media IdentityI have started to look at and study the representation of 'nerds' in today's media, and also the perception of the stereotype from when it started in the 1950's. I looked at a variety of different texts from TV and Film where nerds are portrayed in different ways. I examined clips from 'The Big Bang Theory' and 'The IT Crowd' to analyse the behavior of the people viewed as nerds, and why they might be viewed in this way. I found that the characters in the 'The Big Bang Theory' enjoyed things like comic books and Star Trek toys. They are also extremely intelligent and lack basic social skills. All these things come together to contribute to their social standing; which doesn't seem to be very high. They are often mocked and referred to as 'geeks', due to their intelligence and enjoyments. They wear superhero-themed T-shirts and regularly visit their local comic book store. One of the characters cannot speak to women, while another character lives with his mother at the age of 30. The characters in 'The IT Crowd' are quite similar as they possess a great knowledge of computers. They work in the basement of a massive company below all the attractive people who work on the upper floors of the building, where no one pays attention to them or appreciates them.<br />
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I also looked at the modern nerd-based films 'Benchwarmers' and 'Napoleon Dynamite'. The characters in 'Benchwarmers' are portrayed to be bad at sports, and are damaged by the bullying they suffered in their previous school days where they were teased and pick on due to their different sources of enjoyment and entertainment. The whole film is based on them starting up a baseball team to beat their former bullies' teams to give hope to all the young nerds growing up. One of the characters is too scared to step outside of his house, due to his fear of sunlight, while another always wear a helmet and wears his trouser way above his waist. 'Napoleon Dynamite' is a very random film, but the representation remains the same. Napoleon and his brother Kip are two classic nerds that wear glasses, have no sense of style and struggle in terms of social standing. Kip chats with strangers who he labels "babes" all day, while Napoleon possesses two friends and gets bullied at high school.<br />
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I also looked at an older nerd film named 'Revenge of the Nerds' (1984), where the idea is very similar. I studied the film to see if i could identify any differences in how the nerds were portrayed in this film, as oppose to the more recent films such as 'Benchwarmers' and 'Napoleon Dynamite'. They were all portrayed in the same light, apart from the fact that intelligence about the latest technology didn't come into the stereotype as much. This is due to the fact that computers weren't as advanced as they are today, and so a characteristic of today's nerd is that they play console or computer games 24/7. I identified the turning point of people's perception of nerds to be the introduction of modern technology, such as advanced computer games and games consoles.<br />
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<br />Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-6904258075516358832012-09-30T10:08:00.001-07:002012-09-30T10:09:19.710-07:00<br />
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<b><span style="color: red; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What
did you use? What did you do?<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mainly I used Adobe Photoshop during the post-production
process. Firstly, I edited the photos I had taken of the classmates that were
going to play a part in the magazine. For example, I edited out things that
stood out on the person. These things included small spots and freckles.
Editing these out made the images look more professional, therefore adding to
the professionalism of the magazine. I then used Photoshop to make the magazine
pages. I added text, images and background colour. I also added shapes to go
behind the text to make things stand out more. I used different colour text for
different pages, which Photoshop made very easy once I got used to using the
software. I also used Blogger, which is a website that allows you to share
things that you have done. Every time that I completed a piece of work, I would
post it straight on to this website. For example, after I had made the first
drafts of all the magazine pages, I posted them all on to the blog. I also
wrote a small amount of text under each page to explain what the page was about
and what I did. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How
well did you use this software?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I didn’t use the software well at first, but I got used to it
as I continued to use it. Blogger was easy to use and get used to, but
Photoshop was a bit harder. I quickly learnt how to insert images on to my blog
posts along with text, and it was easy to actually post the piece of work.
Photoshop was quite complicated at first due to the amount of tools there were
at my disposal, but I had used different versions of the software before.
Example of the tools I had to come to terms with are the cropping tool, lasso
tool and magic wand tool. I had learn what these tools and many more were for
and did before I could really start getting the work done. I had time to come to
terms with the software during the preliminary task, but I still had things to
learn by the time it came to the main task. As I was nearing the end of the
main task, I had become competent with the tools and knew what each one was
for. As a result, my work was completed more efficiently as I neared the end of
the coursework. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: red; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What
did you learn about?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I learnt a lot about Blogger and Photoshop, as I was
constantly using them. I learnt how to insert images into posts on Blogger, and
ultimately I learnt how to post, edit and delete posts. I mostly learnt about
Photoshop and the tools within it. I learnt how to insert images, crop images,
add colour to all aspects, etc. I became a lot more familiar with the software
as the year progressed. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-26720397051994140862012-09-27T08:33:00.004-07:002012-09-27T08:35:50.328-07:00Conventions Revision<br />
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<b><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">Which
were the most influential conventions for you? How did your study of them
affect your decisions and outcomes?<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">One influential convention was the questionnaire, as the data
I collected was extremely significant as I would take all of it into account
when making the magazine. I made questionnaire to hand out to members of the
class in order to gather other people’s opinions about what they would like to
find in a magazine they would buy. It would be interesting for me to see if
there were any factors that completely went against what I was planning to do. Included
in the questionnaire were questions relevant to the type of magazine I was
planning on doing. For example, data was collected on topics such as; favourite
music genre, what the person would find to be most enticing, if they would like
a free sample CD included, how many albums/singles the person purchased per
month, and how much the person would be prepared to spend on a music magazine. Gender
was also noted so I could see if there was any difference in what the two
genders preferred when the results were eventually put together. I analysed
this information carefully, and I went on to use the information when creating
the magazine. For example, there was an equal split through preferred music
genre. This enabled me to focus more on what genre I would prefer to make the
main focus of the magazine. My opinion didn’t count as much for other topics,
as the results of the questionnaire really helped me to make some decisions. A good
example of an obvious preference was the question about the enticement of the
magazine. Many people said that they would be enticed by interviews and
reviews, rather than the other options which were available to them. These other
options included news and freebies. So using this information, I decided that the
main focus of my magazine was going to be an interview with an up and coming
star of rap music. After collecting the information from the questionnaire, I immediately
discarded the news and freebies ideas and focused on the interviews and reviews
option. The questionnaire served me really well, as it enabled me to look at other
people’s opinions. This stopped me from including things that only I thought
would look best in the magazine, which could have made the magazine look bad. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">Other useful conventions that I included in my blog were the
professional magazine analysis and the magazine drafts. In terms of the drafts,
they allowed me to see what I needed to improve in order to step up and
increase the quality of the final product. I am going to talk a lot more about
the magazine research though, as this was definitely the most influential
convention out of the two. Looking at the front cover, contents page and double
paged spread of professional magazines, such as NME and Karrang, increased my
knowledge of what these pages should look like. For example, I gained a lot of
knowledge of how the contents page should be structured in order to make it
look good and be easy to read. Without this research, I wouldn’t have had
anywhere near as much of an idea of how these pages looked in professional
magazines. I spent a lot of time completing this research, as I analysed a
total of five different pages in detail. I looked at the text to image ratio,
the structure of the whole page, the positioning of images and text, the use of
colour and the relevance of it and the subject of the less significant
headlines. All this information became incredibly useful to me when I moved on
to designing my magazine. I tried to take into account some of the things I had
picked up from these professional magazines. For example, one of the things I noticed
about most of the contents pages was that there was an image in the middle of
the main body of text. The content of the magazine was usually listed on the
left side of the page. I decided to include this structure in my contents page.
Without looking at this particular magazine layout, I would have spent more
time deciding what structure I wanted to follow for my contents page. I would
have had no clue about how magazines structured these pages. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">Overall, all these conventions made a massive impact on the
way my magazine turned out at the end of the year. My magazine pages looked
similar to those of professional magazines, when they probably wouldn’t have
had I not abided by these conventions. There was a very big contrast between
this and the work I had produced for the preliminary task. During the
preliminary task, I was not required to complete any of these detailed
conventions. I think that because of this, my work during it suffered in
comparison to the main task. I didn’t really have a clue about what a
professional magazine looked during the preliminary task, and due to this the
quality of the pages was very poor. I remember my contents page looking
absolutely terrible. Of course it is obvious that I had nowhere as much time to
complete it, but still it was very poor in my eyes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">Did
you subvert any conventions that you studied in music magazines?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 115%;">I did go against some of the conventions that I studied for
the magazine, one of which I remember made a big impact. The two main
conventions I went against were the use of colour that I found in professional magazines,
and the amount of images used in them too. In terms of the colour, I noticed
that a lot of the magazines I analysed had an expansive range of bright,
vibrant colours. A lot of them had front covers with colours such as red and
blue as the background, but I went against this and used black. I did
originally use grey for the front cover, orange for the contents and blue for
the double page spread. If I had kept these colours, there would have been a
lack of consistency on this aspect, as the professional magazines tended to
stick to a certain colour or range of colours. However, for my final design, I decided
to go with a black background for all three pages. I did this because it made
the content on each page stand out more, and I struggled to decide on any other
colour anyway. Black seemed like an obvious choice at the time. I think that
the decision had its pros and cons. It was good in the way that it created a
sense of consistency and it mad the content stand out well, but it was quite
risky because it went against the research that I had collected from the professional
magazines. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the case of the amount of pictures I included in the
magazine, I don’t think that there were anywhere near enough and I think that
this went against me. I only included four pictures in my magazine; three of
the main subject, and one of the band who were displayed on the contents page. I
did this because I originally thought that this amount would be enough when I looked
at all the pictures I had taken. I didn’t actually take that many pictures and
they were all pretty similar with little variety. Looking back on it now, I should
have planned what pictures I wanted to take more carefully before actually
taking them. There weren’t really enough or any valid reasons to only take this
amount of pictures, so I am not sure why I did it. It was a very bad thing to
do, and was something that probably cost me dear in the end. So in this case,
it definitely didn’t work. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-81179245946370367372012-09-22T07:09:00.002-07:002012-09-22T07:32:17.325-07:00Research and Planning Revision<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: red; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Detail how your
understanding of the importance of good research and planning skills developed
throughout the pre-production of your AS and A2 coursework<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Adequate research, drafting and
audience feedback are all extremely important when it comes to AS and A2
coursework, and I realised this more and more as I progressed through AS and
during the preliminary task for A2. I researched magazine structure and text
type briefly first time around for the magazine I was to going to be producing.
When I produced my first draft for all pages and realised that they weren’t
good enough, I decided to engage in more thorough research. Through doing this
research, it allowed me to complete the product quicker as I knew exactly what
I wanted and was supposed to do. I found and analysed front covers, contents
pages and double page spreads from a number of different magazines and looked
at structure, text to image ratio and the general appearance. I also looked to
see if it served the correct purpose and was suited to the genre of music it
was representing. Doing this research more thoroughly enabled me to see what I needed
to include in my magazine to make it look better than the first draft. I also
made questionnaires and handed them out to members of my class to gather views
on what other people think would look best in my type of magazine. Looking back
at AS, I feel that I should have planned the images that I was going to put
into my magazine in more detail. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: red; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">How did your knowledge of
digital technology and your research and planning skills develop throughout the
pre-production of your AS and A2 coursework?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">My knowledge of both digital technology
and research and planning skills developed significantly throughout the
pre-production on my AS coursework. For example, my skills on the Apple Macs
and using Adobe Photoshop improved through using them all the time in order to
make my product. My research and planning skills also developed throughout AS. They
developed at times when I realised that my work wasn’t good enough and so I engaged
I more planning to make the work better. These skills are currently progressing
at this moment in time, through starting the A2 coursework. I am aiming to take
these sets of skills which I learnt last year and build on them, which will
hopefully result in an increase of quality in my work. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-46592587608489215752012-09-19T09:24:00.002-07:002012-09-22T07:15:07.774-07:00Creativity Revision<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: red;">Do you think you were creative or not throughout your coursework?</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I don't think that
I was particularly creative throughout my coursework during AS Media Studies. I
had to make three pages of a music magazine, including a front cover, contents
page and a double-page spread. I decided to go with the simple idea of getting
a class mate to dress up like a rapper and create an article about his rise to
stardom. This wasn't very creative at all because it was not out of the
ordinary or eye-catching. There have been many other stories similar to the one
I decided to go with, as it is always about someone who started off with
nothing and ended up making something of themselves. I should have thought
outside the box and tried something a bit different from this standard idea. In
terms of what the pages of the magazine actually looked like, I don't think
they were anything special. I looked at examples of professional music
magazines on the internet and copied the page layouts and structure. For
example, my front cover was of basic structure. It consisted of a central image
of the rapper, with all the various headlines neatly arranged around it. This
type of structure was definitely not very creative. I also wasn't very creative
with the type of photographs I took of my class mate posing as a rapper. I took
three shots of him posing in typical rapper stances, which were all in the same
place. I could have made him make some unusual poses that would catch the eye,
and maybe dress him up in some more extravagant clothing. All I did was
put a rapper's hat on his head and that was it. I also could have taken photos
of him in a variety of locations which were relevant to what a rapper does. For
example, I could have taken photos in some kind of music recording studio, or
in front of a wall of graffiti. I only took photos of him in front of a
grey, boring wall. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: red;">Did technology
enhance your creativity or not?</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Having access to
the latest technology definitely did enhance my creativity, as I was able to do
a number of different things. An example of the hardware I had access to was
the Apple Macs and the software stored on them, such as Adobe Photoshop. I
could do a number of things with the photos I took and put on to Photoshop,
such as shooting over rough edges, colour editing and cropping. These
tools and many more were available to me via this software. Without this
technology, I wouldn't have been able to edit the photos I took to make them
look better. I wouldn't have been able to insert other objects (text, shapes,
etc) around the main image for the front cover, contents page and double page
spread. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: red;">What ideas did
you communicate and what stylistic techniques did you use? How did it relate to
your interests/self-identity?</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The ideas that I
communicated through the magazine were that of a stereotypical nature. I put
pictures of a rapper dressed in typical baggy clothes and hats into the
magazine along with a story of how he rose to stardom. This idea isn't very
creative in the way that this is the case with a lot of modern day rappers
around at this point in time, and a lot of people perceive them to be informal people
walking around in baggy clothes and jewellery. This image is actually changing
as time is progressing. Instead of creating this stereotypical image, I could
have told the story of a boy who had a rich background, and was different from
all the people around him. I could have also taken pictures of my class mate
dressed in smart suits. This would have been very risky however, and could have
backfired. The ideas that I did portray through the magazine were ones that
were of a relation to me, as I like this genre of music as well as many other
genres. I am not saying that I am someone who walks around looking like a
rapper, but does take a certain interest in this type of music. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Was your product influenced by your environment?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My
environment did influence my product, as I am surrounded by many people my age
in a school who prefer this genre of music to others. I knew this genre would
appeal to people my age and so decided to go with it. The structure of magazine
that I decided to go with was also influenced by my environment to a certain
extent. In every shop, the music magazines always look the same. They all have
flashy front covers and images, and contain modern language and interests. I
decided to go with these ideas as I was trying to make my magazine look like
the professional ones. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: red;">Was it original
or did you add something extra to an original media text?</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The product was an
original one, as I didn’t use text which had been taken from another source. It
was all my work, but it was strongly influenced by other media texts. There are
bound to be many professional articles and magazine front covers around that
are very similar to mine, as this genre of music is very popular now days. The type
of interview which my magazine possessed will also be very similar to others which
are out there in many ways such as language, images and structure. So in a way
it wasn’t very original as I just took a common idea that is already used in
many magazines and formed my own magazine. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Would you take any creative skills into future projects or have you
been influenced to engage these skills in any other projects?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I will
take the skills I have used during AS into future projects, as I feel the
skills and lessons I have learned from this year have been very good ones. During
this year in A2, I will be able to use these skills to great effect and expand
on them, and this will hopefully result in a higher standard of work. For me it’s
all about taking the basic skills I have picked up, and adding to the fundamentals
to increase the quality of those skills. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<span style="color: red;"><br /></span>Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2400583725342919515.post-77162604342997898472012-09-19T03:24:00.003-07:002012-09-27T08:34:42.456-07:00Digital Technology Revision<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">What were the good and bad things about the software and hardware used at AS in terms of skills development?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
The hardware we used in AS were the Apple Macs, which I found hard to use at first. I didn't really know what anything was due to the fact that I used Windows PC's most of the time. I also found the keyboards hard to use, due to the fact that they are very small and precise. I found myself making a lot of typing errors which became an annoyance, as I had to keep going back to make corrections.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I also used a video camera to capture our music video. I liked using this video recorder because it was easy to use. It also provided good practice for A2.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
Photoshop was one of the many pieces of software that I used throughout the year. As the year progressed, my understanding of all the different tools increased and I was able to work more efficiently when using the application. I also used iMovie to edit the video we filmed at the end of the year, which was very easy to use.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Over the time that I was studying AS Media Studies, I became more and more familiar with both the software and hardware that we used.</div>
Alex Uptonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06967747521798353356noreply@blogger.com0