To what extent do Zoella and Attitude reflect the social and historical context of the time when they were made? [30]
Online media is the digital convergence of media platforms and new digital technology, it take forms such as YouTube channels, social media websites, online blogs, magazine and newspapers. Sociocultural context can be defined as the physical and social setting in which people live or in which something is developed or takes place. I believe that these case studies are very active signifiers of society and culture today. I will be exploring how the representation and industry of online media products, Zoella and Attitude magazine, reflect the social and historical context of the time when they were made.
Both online medias use representations that reflect the complex social and historical context of today. Attitude online challenges traditional representations of masculinity. It does this by creating typically subversive depictions of men, for example, the 'boys' section of the online magazine connotes an objectifying attitude toward men, where men are shown half naked, anchored with sexualised and immature captions such as 'the thirst is real'. To support this, attitude print magazines front cover of Jake Shears challenges additional hetero-normative representations through the use of costume and body language. For example, the male celebrity stands in a typically feminine stance, wears a face full of make-up, and his hands are painted with red nail varnish. This suggests that gender is more complex than a simple binary between what is male and what is female, supporting arguments by Judith Butler, who believes gender is simply a performance of acts we carry out every day. On the other hand, Zoella presents a very stereotypical representation of gender. In her video, 'Our Christmas Eve Traditions' it heavily reinforces the domestic role of women, and presents conventional depictions of femininity. For example, Zoella directly addresses the audience about her plans to cook, clean and decorate the house ready for a christmas party later that day. This conforms to stereotypes of women taking a domestic role; cultivating space for beauty and visual aesthetic, on the contrary, Alfie her boyfriend takes no part in these ideals. This reveals a more conventional representation of femininity and masculinity, which conforms to Stuart Hall's theory on stereotypes, that as a form of representation, reduces people to a few simple characteristics or traits. These arguments present a theory that the fluid and contrasting representations within these products mirror the social and historical context of the time they were made.
Each of the products additionally create reflections of todays social and historical context through media industry in multiple ways. Attitude online first launched it's website in 2014, creating the digital convergence of news and online technology platforms. The blog is published by a major publishing company, Stream Publishing. Curran and Seaton believe that the motive of these big corporations limits variety and creativity, due to all being powered by monetisation. Therefore Attitude online is powered by a large corporation focused on profit rather than quality of content. Examples of this include the multiple 'click bait' images anchored to emotive captions on article headlines; 'homophobic attack'. Especially as the LGBTQ community are a well sort after target audience today, due the large amount of money they spend, known as the 'pink pound', supporting arguments that Attitude is driven for profit. YouTube has a similar purpose, as it's industry is driven by financial interest, views and retaining advertising. Zoella also commercialises her own channel through constantly advertising her own make-up and beauty line, 'Zoella Beauty'. Not only does this mirror her stress on conventional beauty ideals for young female audiences, it also presents themes of using her huge audience and fanbase of 14 million subscribers to produce exceeding profit, reflecting how todays media trends structure the industry.
To conclude, both of these products reflect how the sociocultural context in todays media to a large extent, due to breaking down the products and exploring the representation and industry with in them.
Both online medias use representations that reflect the complex social and historical context of today. Attitude online challenges traditional representations of masculinity. It does this by creating typically subversive depictions of men, for example, the 'boys' section of the online magazine connotes an objectifying attitude toward men, where men are shown half naked, anchored with sexualised and immature captions such as 'the thirst is real'. To support this, attitude print magazines front cover of Jake Shears challenges additional hetero-normative representations through the use of costume and body language. For example, the male celebrity stands in a typically feminine stance, wears a face full of make-up, and his hands are painted with red nail varnish. This suggests that gender is more complex than a simple binary between what is male and what is female, supporting arguments by Judith Butler, who believes gender is simply a performance of acts we carry out every day. On the other hand, Zoella presents a very stereotypical representation of gender. In her video, 'Our Christmas Eve Traditions' it heavily reinforces the domestic role of women, and presents conventional depictions of femininity. For example, Zoella directly addresses the audience about her plans to cook, clean and decorate the house ready for a christmas party later that day. This conforms to stereotypes of women taking a domestic role; cultivating space for beauty and visual aesthetic, on the contrary, Alfie her boyfriend takes no part in these ideals. This reveals a more conventional representation of femininity and masculinity, which conforms to Stuart Hall's theory on stereotypes, that as a form of representation, reduces people to a few simple characteristics or traits. These arguments present a theory that the fluid and contrasting representations within these products mirror the social and historical context of the time they were made.
Each of the products additionally create reflections of todays social and historical context through media industry in multiple ways. Attitude online first launched it's website in 2014, creating the digital convergence of news and online technology platforms. The blog is published by a major publishing company, Stream Publishing. Curran and Seaton believe that the motive of these big corporations limits variety and creativity, due to all being powered by monetisation. Therefore Attitude online is powered by a large corporation focused on profit rather than quality of content. Examples of this include the multiple 'click bait' images anchored to emotive captions on article headlines; 'homophobic attack'. Especially as the LGBTQ community are a well sort after target audience today, due the large amount of money they spend, known as the 'pink pound', supporting arguments that Attitude is driven for profit. YouTube has a similar purpose, as it's industry is driven by financial interest, views and retaining advertising. Zoella also commercialises her own channel through constantly advertising her own make-up and beauty line, 'Zoella Beauty'. Not only does this mirror her stress on conventional beauty ideals for young female audiences, it also presents themes of using her huge audience and fanbase of 14 million subscribers to produce exceeding profit, reflecting how todays media trends structure the industry.
To conclude, both of these products reflect how the sociocultural context in todays media to a large extent, due to breaking down the products and exploring the representation and industry with in them.
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