Peer Feedback

 How useful was the task?

was useful.

what you need to do to improve?

The main feedback was that  need to finish off my essay as my essay was incomplete.
And talk more about the theorists such as Connell and Gauntlett in order to be more successful along with looking at the different time periods e.g past present and future.

what have you learned from others work?

The way other people have structured their work has given me an idea of how i should be structuring my own essay.

Mad Men: Season 4 Episode 7 (The Suitcase)

Summary 

Don asks for ideas for the new suitcase they are going to be selling. Peggy doesn't get the work done in time so has to stay late with Don to get the work done, missing her surprise birthday meal with her boyfriend. She cancels the dinner and breaks up with her boyfriend. Don takes her out for a meal and a drink for her birthday. Afterwards they go back to the office where 'duck' (who peggy is having an affair with) is looking for her. Don an 'duck' have a fight and Peggy escorts 'duck' out of the building. Don and Peggy fall asleep together, early in the morning Don makes a phone call to find out someone close to him has died. The next day Don suggests an idea to Peggy and sends her home to change out of yesterdays clothes.

Characters

Don: has the most power within the work place, and is quite controlling as he makes Peggy work over her hours so that she can finish the work.
Seems unappreciative of Peggy's ideas and when she offers a good idea he changes it slightly to call it his own, showing Peggy's subordinate role within the office.

Peggy: quite powerless within the office compared to the men even though her job title is higher than the other men in the office. however she has more power than the other women within the work place and is treat with more resect than other women such as Joan Harris. Is having an affair with 'duck' who assumes she is sleeping with don.

Joan Harris: asks the men in the other room to tidy up the space and they ignore her command, apart when one of the characters moves the them, thus showing her lack of control over the men in the office.

Mad Men: character profiles

• Don Draper;

- Successful in career, powerful, smart, intelligent, attractive, respected leader.
- Men want to be him, women want to be with him.
- Hegemonic male category, offers the idea of the perfect male.
- 'perfect beautiful US family'
- 'he offers the world of power in a world where men arguably men have become increasingly emasculated post-industrialisation, or at least, the role of the female has altered over time.'
- Hegemonic: a notion of maintaining or re-establishing patriarchal authority; a social structure where this male is at the top of the hierarchy  and every other is ordered below him.
- Threats to hegemonic male; shifts in gender norms, the sexually confidant woman. The male has sexual prowess and who determines when the woman is attractive/ can satisfy his needs.
- women characters challenging masculinity

Mad Men;

- Set in the 1960s and very popular, coming up to series 5. Reasons for its popularity? who might the target audience be?
- what are your observations of Don and the other male characters? what tare the representations
- what forms don/ other male characters ideology?
- would you argue that this is any evidence of masculinity crisis?

R W Connell

Masculinities (1995)

critique of the sex role in gender socialisation 
-gender inequalities are explained in terms of biology
- difference is understood of deviation from the normative mode of masculinity and femininity
- gender roles themselves are vague
- it is incapable of theorising change in gender relations
- the individual subject (person) is entirely the product of social structure
- supports the status quo by ignoring power relations
- suggests that gender is 'hard work' not about socialisation
- they are multiple competing masculinities
- "masculinities are configurations of practice within gender relations a structure that includes large scale institutions and economic relations as well as face to face relations and sexuality. masculinity is institutionalised in this structure as well as being an aspect of individual character and personality" 2000

Key Terms

• Hegemonic Masculinity 

- dominant form of masculinity in our society
- culturally valued the most
- qualities include: heterosexuality, whiteness, physical strength, suppression of emotionsInterpellation 

• Subordinate Masculinity 

- exhibit qualities that are the opposite of those values in hegemonic masculinity, e.g physical weakness, express emotion
-gay or effeminate men

• Voyeurism 

observing or looking at someone and gaining sexual pleasure.

• Marginalised Masculinity 

- cannot fit into the hegemonic because of certain characteristics , e.g race.
- still subscribe to norms of hegemonic masculinity like physical strength and aggression
- men of colour or disability

• Blys mythopoetic model 

a movement that refers to a loose collection of organizations active in men's work since the early 1980s. The mythopoetic men's movement grew as a reaction to the second-wave feminist movement. The mythopoetic men's movement aims to liberate men from the constraints of the modern world which keep them from being in touch with their true masculine nature.

• The Male Gaze 

- she looked at the 'gaze'

- she said that everything you watch is from the perspective of a male

- male gaze - term to describe the empowerment experience by the male audience when they look upon a female because the female character is objectified  

- describes men as predators, men looking upon women like fresh meat

• Complicit Masculinity 

- a man who doesn't fit into the hegemonic traits, but doesn't challenge it 
- often admires the characteristics of hegemonic masculinity

• Narcissistic Identification 

- experience of being able to put oneself so deeply into a character (feel oneself to be so like the character) that one can feel the same emotions and experience the same events as the character is supposed to be feeling and experiencing.

• Metrosexual 

- a heterosexual male who pays close attention to his appearance

• Emasculation 

- deprive a man of his male role or identity

• Misogyny 

- this is the hatred or dislike of women or girls

• Ubermensch 

- the idea of a superior man that rises above the rest to create and impose his own values

Mens Health

March 2013
'make her a sex adict'
- puts forward that the fault is with her - she is the addict
- makes reference to 'hunter-gatherer' ideology (conquer animal)
- 'coats of armour' advert outs forward an expert tone to better market the coat.

May 2013
- lists of role models: Thomas sabo advert - NOT hegemonic bit shows wealth (violin, jewellery etc) many oages if role models/ their training: Reassurance.
- 'follow their lead to get a blockbuster body'
- reassurance on how to beat disease, makes it seam easy.

June 2013
- ridiculous sell lines i.e own these abs indestructible health, wonder drug etc
- reassurance ie inform famous boxers/ celebs tc
- uses role models to support workout routines. develops him as hegemonic

May 2014
- laddishness as a protective layer: 'how to get away with office sex'
-objectifies women and treats them like object within the work place
- link in with hegemonic traditions , football, gym

Mens Health Task;

task;
1. use of irony/ humour/ ladishness
2. supporting men in finding their place in the world
3. reassurance
4. instruction of behaviour
5. how role models are used to direct and aid construction of identity
6. how mens health can construct identity 

Answers;

1. 

2.
3.
4. 
How to improve your orgasm 
Seduce the girl in 60 seconds

5.
6. 

Overview

Representation Theorists;

- Schollhammer - 2001 little miss busy & mr busy

- Lippman - stereotypes; shortcuts/ ordering/ reference

- Gauntlett - 2013 self representation; lego

- Hall - encoding and decoding

- Mulvey; male gaze

- Butler - gender is constructed

- Dyer; stereotypes

- Connell; 4 types

- Bly - 'deep masculinity' 

Narrative Theorists;

Todorov - narrative structure

Barthes - enigma

Propp - character types - 8 e.g hero

Levi-Strauss - binary oppositions 

Types of narrative; Open / Closed / Linear / Circular

Audience Theorists;

- Hall - readings e.g reception theory

- Morley; the nation wide - same readings

- Kats & Blulmer; uses and gratifications

- Ang - dallas

- Gray and Geraty; audience preferences

- Dyer - utopian solutions

- Cohen - moral panics

- Marxism - consumerism 

Genre Theorists;

- Goodwin - music videos - 8 principles 

- Fiske -categories

- Neale - gender changing for audience appeal

- Altman  - no 'pure genre

- chandler - themes / structures/ style/ setting

- Buckingham - genre is constantly changing 

- metz - model of genre development 

- Ryall- genre and rules 

- uses and gratifications - audience

Media Language; 

- Pierce - coined the term semiotics , symbolic , indexical 

- Barthes - semiotics

- Hedges- synchronic & diachronic

- Jakobson - Syntagm 'combination' / paradigm ' selection

- Chomsky - language and parole

Andrew Goodwin; ‘music videos ignore common narrative as they are essentially advertisements. As consumers, we make up our own meaning meanings of a song in our minds: a music ivdeo can anchor meaning and gives the record company/ artist a method of anchoring meaning’

Andrew Goodwin, DANCING IN THE DISTRACTION FACTORY, 1992.

Applying Masculinity

Hunger Games;

Peeta;                     Complicit, shy characteristics

Gale;                       Hegemonic, strong, confidant 

Haymitch;              Subordinate, physically weak, expresses emotion 

Cinna;                    Marginalised, quite feminine, black - would otherwise be hegemonic 

Finnick;                  Hegemonic -  white, muscly, strong, flirt 

President Snow;    Hegemonic due to power, but subordinate due to weakness 

Genre

iconography; particular signs that we associate with genres - physical attributes, costume , settings and props

sub genre; small category within a general genre e.g with music rock can be split down into punk rock.

Rick Altman
- Argues that there is no such thing as a 'pure' genre anymore, genre is progressive in that it will always change.
- he says that genre is surviving due to hybridisation - or genres borrowing conventions from one another and thus being much more difficult to categorise.

example; shaun of the dead -  comedy, horror, war, action, romanic, zombie (sub genre)

John Fiske;
- genre attempts to structure some order into a wide range of texts and meanings that circulate in our culture for the conveniences of both producers and audiences

•   "Attempts to structure some"Attempts to structure some order into the wide range of texts and meanings that circulate in our culture for the convenience of both producers and audience"

•   A way of categorising texts in our media - saturated culture

•   Prepares audiences expectations

•   Culturally dependent - different cultural groups construct different expectations

Constructed through a series of signs (visual/aural) associated with that genre or through use of generic narratives and ideologies

Chandler and genre theory

Daniel chandler; conventional definitions of genres tend to be based on the notion that they constitute particular conventions of content (e.g themes and settings / structure and style)
for example; fantasy - usually set somewhere made up
- narrative
-characters - actors (usually associated with a particular genre)
-iconography
-filming techniques


Neale and Genre Theory
- steve neale declares that ' genres are instances of repetition and difference (1980)

Buckingham and genre theory
argues that 'genre is not simply 'given' by the culture: rather it is in a constant process of negotiation.

Goodwin 
8 main principles;
1. links between lyrics and visuals , narrative based music videos which may be fragmented of linear (most comment is fragmented) (e.g Biblical - Biffy Clyro)
2. links between music and visuals ( complimentary , contradicting or amplification)
3. genre characteristics
4. intertextual reference
5. notions of looking (objectification of women) - linked to Mulvey & male gaze
6. voyerism (direct gaze, other people looking at artist, insight into artists life, screens and mirrors)
7. demands of the record label ( representations of the artist) e.g miley cyrus
8. performance based, narrative based or concept based music videos

Christian Metz
4 phases of existence;
1. experimental
2. classic
3. parody
4. deconstruction

Deborah Knight
'satisfaction is guaranteed with genre; the deferral of the inevitable provides the additional pleasure of prolonged anticipation - 1994
- although you know what is going to happen in a particular genre you still watch it anyway

Applying Theory To My Work

Personal Relationships; the audience may have formed a relationship with the singer within the music video so may watch it because they relate to the audience.

Preferred Reading; the main character within the music is a strong individual

Popular music is often a focus of social concern.

Dick Hebdige 1979
argued that the bricolage of each new style , such as 'punk' or 'garage' music subvurts the cultural norm and so creates a new representation of a group out of control. e.g the music if Elvis Presley as regarded as 'black' music and not suitable for 'white' audiences and his act was too 'ranchy' to be seen on television so they only showed him from the waist upwards

Audience Theory Part 2

Media texts which you engage with?

- Diversion; books, films, Tv
- Personal Identity; films
- Personal Relationships; TV

Class survey; most people use media texts for diversion, as a form of escapism

Reception Theory: Stuart Hall (70's)
- texts are encoded with meaning
- different audiences respond in different ways (decode)
- bother encode and decoded meaning will be understood in the context of social and cultural - background of the producer and audience.

dominant/ preferred reading - what the director/ producer intended the meaning of the product to be
negotiated - audience partly agrees with the preferred reading
oppositional - audience disagree completely

EXAMPLE : 'Royle family'
negotiated - placing bets on antiques road show, watching it for a different intended meaning of the show but bringing the family together.
personal relationships - the grandmother likes to watch it for the presenter

theories are outdated.

Morley's Nationwide Study
- Morley & Brundson 1978
- about a tv show form the 70's
- different responses to the tv show nationwide
- audiences brought a complex set of knowledge and experiences to text thet were consuming
- this experience and other factors is an important part in the way in which audiences 'consume' , 'understand' and 'create meaning'

Ang's Dallas Study (1985)
- dallas was a a 'mass culture' - everyone was talking about it
- she found three categories:
-the ideology of mass culture , for example the walking dead
- the ironic or 'detatched' position , watching t because it was bad but want to see what people are talking about
-  the ideology of popularism; got pleasure from watching it

Dyer (1977) Utopian Solutions
- entertainment genres fantasy element created with a text, as a form of escapism e.g westerns and musicals

'effects' debate and moral panics 
-Tales from the crypt ( was a series of stories then made into TV)
-1955 children and young persons (harmful publications act)
-panics in general can be related back to the 18th century e.g through folk tales

Moral Panics
Cohen - Folk Devil and Moral Panics (1972)
- a mass response to a group, a person or an attitude that becomes defined as a thread
- spread by the media , e.g dangerous dogs, 'staffies' now feared.

Audience Positioning
media 'address' the audience - mode of address
position; 'privileged' i.e sope opera

Gender Preferences;
Gray ( 1992 )
video playtime: the gendering of leisure Technology
Anne Geraghty (1991) 
women prefer to watch an open e.g soap opera

Mens Health: Case Study

Typical Characteristics:

- layout creates a a strong brand identity

- emphasis on loosing weight quickly / enjoyably / effortlessly 

- regular ' what women want' sell line ( or is it how to get her to give you what you want? )

- banner strap-line dedicated to role models

- advice about beating your rage

- tips about muscle foods

- 'warning' sell lines which (possibly) provoke anxiety about the future: winter/ your holiday

similarities in the magazines;
conquering/ fighting something
dealing with stress
role model 'banner sell'
easy weight loss
dangerous food
giving sexual satisfaction
anexiety- promoting sell line
masculine words e.g lean, strong

The representation of masculinity on the front cover is the embodiment of the desires/ aspirations/goals conveyed by the sell lines. his gaze directly looking at the reading in an act of interpellation (getting the attention of).

• Mens health is famously made the male torso and particularly the six pac the defining feature of masculinity.
• this representation sees being a man in terms of traditional values associated with masculinity; e.g power. Use of fighting words (in relation to fat) and dodging things like flu
• references to hangovers, sex, pizza, beer bellies, and rage reinforce this tradition version of masculinities. A lot of sport, traditionally football ( but broader now ) establishes this picture of manhood and is often mediated by role models e.g David Beckham.  
• Exotic cars, money and images of beautiful women also fit into this representation
• BUT is mens health a 'lads mag'? dressed up to look like something else because of its readership  and without naked women on the front?
• MH claims to be about 'total body fitness' , meaning mind as well as body; e.g headers that refer to mental health, articles that instuct readers on building wealth/ getting rich strategies, inform readers about 'male grooming'.

David Gauntlett;

Argues against the notion of mens lifestyle magazines representing a re-assertion of old fashioned masculine values, or a backlash against feminism e.g 'lad culture' against feminism. 

Overview; 

- supports the idea that identities are fluid and found magazines offer readers an opportunity to 'pick' and 'mix' from the magazines advice. 

- media messages in the form of role models e.g David Beckham. directing men in constructing identities and lifestyles

- identities are fluid, and personal change is both possible and necessary too.

mens magazines & modern male identities
Considers the idea of manhood conveyed by mens lifestyle magazines, and whether these magazines are:
- simply mainstream vehicles for old fashioned attitudes
- soft porn pleasures
- offering new models of male identity to modern men

Gauntlett on mens health;
- across all means lifestyles magazines he studied, it is the only one which regularly features semi-naked men, instead of semi- naked girls on the cover
- the one which most closely parallels women lifestyle magazines

Similarities include;
- emphasis on the body and appearance e.g fitness, diets, weight loss
- psychological strand including advice on positive thinking, improving self- esteem, and using mental techniques for success
- how to keep passion alive in a relationship and sex advice

Gautlett's sumative overview of mens health;
- mens health is largely though of as an informative health and fitness magazine for men, but actually provides a clever 'masculine'  packaging of everything women's magazines are meant to be about e.g looks, sex, diet, relationships
- as we know the mens health ideal mean after reading should be; supremely fit, good in bed, knowledgeable but above all is everybody's 'ideal'. makes an assumption the every woman would be impressed by these traits

context of study;
- acknowledges the growth of mens magazines as a cultural phenomenon worthy of serious consideration with regards to telling us something about men and masculinity today (remember importance of acknowledging past, present and future) e.g race is a thing of the present, as some races have become more 'socially acceptable'.
- Future - more cultural acceptance in tv e.g peter dinklage (game of thrones) is a dwarf but has featured on the cover of other magazines e.g rolling stone.

- suggest men's magazines show men to insecure and confused in the modern word and seek help and reassurance.

Mode of address;
- 'laddish' tone used as a defensive shield: writers will anticipate that many may reject serious articles on relationships, advice on sex, health and cooking, and so they present their pieces with humour, irony and 'ladishness'
- 'before FHM, conventional wisdom had it that women read magazines form a introspective (reflective reading) point of view, seeking help and advice for, and about themselves. Men on the other hand, read magazines about things like sport, travel, science, business and cars. but FHM  realised that men will red magazines about themselves if you give them the information in the right context; irreverent, humorous,, and never taking its self too seriously. the articles in FHM, although they are highly informative, are written in a tongue in cheek the fashion is accessible, the advice  is humorous and empathetic'
- objectification of women on the front cover, aimed to 'lure' in men. being 'laddish' in the sense of physically attractive women on the front of the cover.

Research on Users;

- focus group interviews confirm men like to feel they are flicking through the magazines and not taking themselves too seriously, citing themselves as different to women, who they believe, take the magazine advice seriously. Men preferred to suggest they take the magazines lightly and with little commitment.
- men may be likely not to take it seriously as they might not want to admit to themselves that they need this help , e.g sex advice.
- may be more willing to admit that they read mens health as it applies more to the actual individual as a health adviser.

Mode of address and uses;

- Gauntlett suggests that the use of the , humour, irony and laddishness is perhaps a requirement - men's magazine could leave out the coverage of sex advice and relationships but don't, so it could be concluded that users do want articles on these things but do not want others to think they do and don't want to think themselves that they want them.
- for example, sex advice, it might be something that they want advice on but they wouldn't come out openly and ask for it. probably more likely to bring it up i a more humorous/ laddish tone, providing a protective barrier for themselves so they can get this advice.
- todays magazines for men are all about the social construction of masculinity that is, if you like the subject matter, in the past men didn't need lifestyle magazines because it was obvious what a 'man' was (e.g business, cars, sport) and what a man should do (e.g builder, miner, labourer). it is only in the modern day, that we are more aware of the man choices available and are also of the feminist critique of tradtioal masculinity, the fact that gender roles can and do change, that men have started to need magazines about how to be a man today.
- With this in mind, Mens Health and others emphasise the need to choose the lifestyle and construct themselves.
- Gauntlett suggests that nothing is fixed, and mens health recognises that the readers may use the text to recognise that readers may use the text to help them answer the question  'what can i do/ be next?'

Summative findings;

- men insecurely trying to find their place in the world and seeking help on how to behave and relationships
-they can reassure yet at the seem time cause anxiety (particularly regarding ideals.)
- most importantly that identities are not given but are constructed and negotiated

Mens Health role models are constructed to be:
- muscular
- ambitious
- reflective and self aware
- appear down to earth
- be admired by other men
- have a soft, sensitive, very human side
- be people with natural talent who have worked hard to get to where they are
- fulfil many roles (actor, footballer, comedian, intelligent)
- have heroes themselves

Masculinity

Case Studies:

TV - Mad men
Magazine - Mens Health

Theory:

R.W.Connell - masculinities
David Gauntlet - Med's Magazines and Modern Male identities 2002

Hegemonic masculinity

• Traditional Masculinity:

- strong
- working man
- unemotional

Genres:
- action/crime
- comedy
-western, war

• Traditional Femininity

- image conscious
- sex object
- patriarch (mother figure)

Genres
- drama/melodrama
- romantic/rom-com
-musical

• R.W Connel

-suggests that there are 4 types of masculinities, these four types are present in our society. e.g when boys are growing up they are told what a 'man' should be

• Hegemonic (traditional)

- dominant form of masculinity in our society
- culturally valued the most
- qualities include: heterosexuality, whiteness, physical strength, suppression of emotions

• Complicit

- a man who doesn't fit into the hegemonic traits, but doesn't challenge it
- often admires the characteristics of hegemonic masculinity

• Marginalised

- cannot fit into the hegemonic because of certain characteristics , e.g race.
- still subscribe to norms of hegemonic masculinity like physical strength and aggression
- men of colour or disability

• Subordinate

- exhibit qualities that are the opposite of those values in hegemonic masculinity, e.g physical weakness, express emotion
-gay or effeminate men

different types of gender;
'femininities' and 'masculinities' describe gender identities. they describe socio-cultural categories in everyday language; these terms are used differently in biology. Because femininities and masculinities are gender identities, they are shaped by socio-cultural processes, not biology. Femininities and masculinities are plural and dynamic; they change with culture and individuals. 

Gender; 
- In everyday language, femininity's and masculinities do not map onto biological sex. in any one cultures certain behaviours or practices may be highly recognised as 'feminine' or 'masculine' irrespective of whether they are adopted by women or men. the actual acts themselves, e.g job roles, are associated with a certain sexual orientation.
- Femininities and masculinities are plural- there are many forms of each. what is defined as feminine or masculine varies from region , class , national culture and other social factors. how masculinities and femininities are valued differs culturally. 
- Any one person - women or man- engages in many forms of femininity and masculinity which she or her adopts (consciously or unconsciously) depending on context, the expectations of others, life stage, and so forth. a man can engage in what are often stereotyped as feminine activities, such as caring for a sick parent. for example;
Mam: Cover Manager ( office) would be considered feminine
Dad: Ex Welder , now lecturer of Welding and Fabrication - would be considered masculine 
- Cultural notions of 'feminine' and 'masculine' behaviour are shaped in part by observations about what men and women do. this kind of 'gender marking' tends to discourage women or men from entering 'gender-inauthentic' occupations  
- Femininities and masculinities are learned. messages about 'feminine' and 'masculine' behaviours are embedded in advertising, media, news, educational materials and so forth. these messages are present in a range of environments, from the home to the workplace to public spaces.