Supercurricular

Media Magazine Article -

   

I read the Media Magazine’s article on Covid-19 specifically concerning celebrities and how they spent their time. The article firstly talks of how the years of Covid-19 changed the way humans interact as a whole and as how we all possibly felt lost and unsure how to navigate this new ‘normal’. Many celebrities aimed to come across a relatable to the general public during lockdown, as well as explaining how serious of a problem Covid-19 really was. One of the celebrities who did this was ‘Veteran Pop Star Madonna’, how ever the point of her video was undermined by the mise-en-scène as in the video she was laying naked in a bath with rose petals. Another celebrity who was criticised for their response to Covid-19 was television host Ellen DeGeneres as she referred to be locked away in our house during lockdown was like our own personal jails, however people were unpleased with her video as she lives in a multi-million dollar house which doesn’t come across as a jail to ‘normal’ people with ‘normal’ houses. 

This article does also cover the good that came from celebrities during lockdown such as fun, interactive TikToks from famous celebrities such as Florence Pugh, Jack Black etc. Regular talk shows that people frequently indulge in such as ‘James Corden’s’, ‘Jimmy Fallon’s’ and more took a more domestic setting so that they could continue entertains people from their own homes. And the idea of these hosts as ‘family men’ made them come across as more humane and likeable for audiences. And as new media was on hold during lockdown, celebrity participation was attractive as audiences were looking for new content which is shown through the cast of Hamilton doing an online Zoom performance so that everyone could enjoy. 

This article concludes that Celebrities during Lockdown had a majorly positive effect as they enabled people to forget the horrible thing happening in the world at the time but. It’s important to not fail to remember  that this did enhance the idea of par-asocial relationships becoming more normalised over the internet and people losing touch with reality which backs up Baudrillard’s Postmodernist theory.  

Shelter - ‘Our House’ Advert -

 I chose this advert as I recognised the song used in the title of the video so I already felt a pull to the advert. Which is most likely similar for other members of the public watching this advert.

The message of this advert is ‘Our House is not a home.’ And this shows that so many families are unable to live ‘normal’ lives due to their economic circumstances.

Firstly the advert is from a child’s perspective and shows that homelessness and limited housing can affect people from all walks of life and is not just happening to older people who are ’lazy’ or ‘criminals’. Also the fact this advert is seen through the eyes of a child makes the audience feel empathy as a child as young as the boy in the average should not have to worry about whether this will have to be permanent housing or whether or not there will be food on the table. He should be worried about games and friends. It also reinforces that children (and families) living in poverty notice way more then should have too at such a young age or when they should be worrying about spending family time tighter not whether they will make their rent for the month. 

This advert is showing that engaging in pro-social behaviours I.e donating, helping, sharing etc. all these things can help the people in the community who are less fortunate and would like help to get them back on their feet’s. This further shown with the ‘Donate Now’ message at the advert which encourages the audience to participate and donate to help others. It also promotes Altruism as all though there will be no personal benefit from helping you are still giving to those who need it in an act of philanthropy. 

Paul Gilroy’s Post-colonial theory -

  

New things I found while reading Dixon’s interpretation of Gilroy’s theory:

- Gilroy argues that many representations of black people after the Second World War - marginalised the black community from the outset - constructing them as a ‘racial other’ in the predominantly white world of 1950s Britain.

- Black immigrants were perceived as ‘swamping’ the white communities of Britain.

- Gilroy argues that Post-War racism is a covert attempt to recover the social order of Empire England.

- Gilroy suggests that Albion England (England created by media) is nothing more than a distracting fantasy that distracts from the realities of what Britain is truly like. 

Key Vocabulary:

- Albionic nostalgia: A representation of Englishness that is marked by nostalgia and generally produces a whitewashed version of an idealised/imagined rural England. 

- Civilisationism: A stark representation of the world in which Western democracy is pitted against extremist others. 

- Cosmopolitan conviviality: A term that describes real-world multiculturalism and the high levels of racial harmony that mark most people’s day-to-day existence. Conversely, the media portrays racial disharmony as the norm. 

- Postcolonial melancholia: A term used by Gilroy to describe the deep-rooted shame felt because of the loss of the British Empire. That loss is deflected through media nostalgia and a widespread anxiety surrounding British identity. 

Challenging Gilroy’s Thinking:

- It could be argued that Gilroy’s theory presents an overly critical view of the UK media, zoning in on the problematic representations constructed by producers in the past. To counter this one might say that today’s mainstream media takes a more complex view of race-relations resulting in rarer instances of the kinds of racial binaries reported by Gilroy. 

- It also might be argued that more traditional or right-wing producers have evolved their approach to target more ‘woke’ subjects critiquing proponents of gender, race and ability diversity as today’s ‘others’ to a civilised traditional Britain. Such stories often name trans or climate activists as swamping influences, citing critical race theory as a corrupting social force. 

Reading this chapter has given me more of an insight into the history behind Gilroy’s theory and what he is trying to stop/spread awareness of. However, it has also shown me that the theory is not necessarily representative of all parts of Britain or the media and that it is important to remember that this dosen’t apply to everyone.