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WEEK 2 BLOG
WEEK 2 BLOG
logbook 002: The audience becomes the mob
When there is media, an audience is almost guaranteed to follow. Living life without once being part of an audience has become practically impossible with the rise of the internet (Nightingale,2011). Similar to the discussions held in this weeks lecture: You are part of an audience when you watch a youtube video, you're part of an audience when you go to a concert, you're even part of the audience if you're the only one on earth consuming a piece of media.
There are many interesting aspects to the study of audiences. A particularly intense example of audience culture is "mob mentality". This term refers to the feeling of belonging when in an audience. Eventually this feeling lessens our sense of individuality and joining in on the crowd's actions becomes second nature (Bogdan, 2010). This mentality most commonly appears within sporting events, especially when a certain audiences team looses
(see below: video focused on an interesting part of sport audiences today)
Here is a first hand example of when I was part of the extreme side of audiences, in this story... I was part of the mob.
Just a few months after I turned 18 I saw a post from a local bar I followed on Instagram. La,La,La's had posted their weekly gig guide and to my surprise later that week a selection of metal bands were playing! I hadn't known any of the bands but I was a huge fan of the genre.(in-fact I'm currently recording this log while listening to metal)
While I had no one to go with and had no clue what I was getting myself into I was still beyond excited to have my first live metal experience.
When I got there I was surprised by the size of the audience at the event, while it wasn't huge, it shocked me to know there were so many metalheads in the "boring" town of Wollongong.
During the set I joined into a rather small but still energetic mosh pit. This was my first ever experience like this and if I hadn't joined into the audience I definetly would not have had as much fun.
In the end I was very glad I decided to go even though I was alone and had no clue what I was getting myself into and at the concert, I was happy I got into the pit. The amazing experience still influences my musical taste today as I still listen to all three bands often and I'm always looking for more local bands.
This experience was a very enlightening one, I enjoyed the music and felt the energy of the audience so much I joined into an activity that some would argue is unsafe and not rather smart.
Letting that mentality win over me is a feeling I cant quite put down because to be honest, I had fun. Although I'd like to thing I wouldn't join into a riot at a sports event even if I had fun in the pit that night.
WEEK 3 BLOG
WEEK 3 BLOG
Logbook 003: The dress that changed the (Fashion) world.
(figure 1)
By far one of the most influential runway pieces in the history of fashion,(Mower 2018) No. 13, "Dress" by Alexander McQueen has many different viewing points. From the designer himself, the model wearing the very dress, to the entire fashion community.
According to Alexander McQueen the dress was inspired by a piece by Rebecca Horn called High Moon. In which two rifles shoot blood red paint at each other (Met Museum, 2011). While the "Dress" performance features different elements such as, car painting machines instead of shotguns, and different paint colours, the inspiration is undeniable.
According to Shalom Harlow, the model behind the iconic moments of this performance, her entire routine during this show was entirely improvised. She had just arrived from a "red eye flight" and was given a rundown of what she was about to walk into by McQueen (Smith 2022). However she was not told how to act out the performance, her every move was improvised. Part of the reason it comes off almost perfectly rehearsed, may be in part to Shalom's ballet history.
(Figure 2)
This "Instagram bait" is formulated to be reposted online to drum up interests in the brands newest designs wether or not these pieces are to be produced for the consumer at all. A quote from fashion journalist bliss foster reads: I Understand when folks see these runway gimmicks and worry that attention is being drawn away from the art of making innovative, beautiful clothes however ... we can take these runway gimmicks and seperate them into the two categories that we separate all art into, good art, (and) bad art." After this quote Foster directly references Alexander McQueen's No. 13 "Dress" as a good use of gimmick.
Recently another gimmick or spectacle was used in a collection by Coperni. With this piece, a special material was sprayed straight onto a model's body, eventually forming a perfect fitting dress. Even after more than 20 years McQueen inspires. However you view the original spray dress and its subsequent performance it will always be influential in the world of fashion and arts.
The fashion community almost all agree "dress" by McQueen was one hell of a spectacle. Others might say it was just a gimmick. Fashion journalist Bliss Foster disagrees. He Views the dress as a great example of gimmick used correctly and in a entirely creative way.
Many Brands throughout the years have used gimmicks to differing degrees of success. In the late 20th century a new designer brand's main audience members were the established designers who ran successful brands already (Foster,2023). The artists were looking for approval from other artists, who were already receiving appraisal from the consumers, to boost their brand's image before the internet was a consumer product.
Today fashion brands audience have grown almost globally thanks to the internet. For example (as long as you use social media) Im sure you immediately know what Im talking about when I say big red boots. One may think the only place you'll see luxury brands on social media is through their own accounts (Souza,2016). However, spectacle is used today to highlight a specific piece from a brands runway collection, often the piece could be seen as controversial.
WEEK 4 BLOG
WEEK 4 BLOG
Logbook 004: The easiest way to avoid Australia's media ownership problem.
Australian media is owned by a select few very powerful corporations that all support different political parties. All of these corporations are a few takeovers from a monopoly (Lidberg 2019). American media might always be in a worse state however, when the conservative owners of the media give anchors all the exact same speech on fake news (Blankenship et al. 2021).
The issue of media ownership and bias is a global problem that affects many countries, not just Australia and the United States (As well see later there are a few worst case scenarios). Additionally, supporting independent and local media outlets can help a viewer find their own news that matters most to them.
Personally I do not follow any of the major news corporation’s as more often than not, the news they present isn't at all interesting or concerning to me. This isn't just because I do not consume cable media but because of my opinions towards these global media corporations. Because of the worries I have towards Australia's major news outlets I tend to subscribe to more local or independently run sources on the news that matters to me.
Media I consume for news mostly consists of Instagram and Youtube, on youtube I subscribe to channels such as: FreindlyJordies, Charlie White (AKA penguinz0), Ludwig, etc. These are all channel owned and operated sources for news about subjects like Australian politics, online stories and broad global news. On instagram however most of my news come from accounts owned by a group of people such as, The Illawara mercury (I am not a subscriber to their website however), Illawara Greens, Them, The Political Compass, etc. Most of these accounts are owned by teams of journalists and feature news centred around local and global news.
As seen in this table from 2019 the Australian media is in the top 4 off this list of market share of top media. These numbers are terrifying to people who watch Australian television news
For me this concern towards Australia's major media outlets is minimal because of the fact that I don't watch them and can quite easily do my own research if I feel it necessary. I would only be concerned for my family and friends who might fall for this biased reporting and who are unaware of this insane media ownership margin problem Australia faces.
The local and independent news accounts I follow are a great way for me to get my information. Compared to television news the passion and interest in local media coverage is lost within the big corporations stories and as a viewer I always prefer a personal touch. Also with all these independent media pages I can follow a select few that support my political beliefs and easily turn out the ideas I don't believe in myself.
In the end Australian media ownership is a problem worth tackling, especially if we are too better improve Australia's democracy. However from my point of view it is not a direct issue for myself. As stated before its easier and better for me to find my own media that matches my beliefs and feels more personal.
Logbooks To Be Updated...
Logbooks To Be Updated...
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