Week 8 – Celebrity Culture: Who are we listening to?

“A 12 week program that will change your body for the rest of your life!” That’s the claim celebrity personal trainer Michelle Bridges makes when selling her 12 week body transformation program.

For those who live under a rock, Michelle Bridges is the personal trainer who shot to fame through her involvement in Channel 10’s The Biggest Loser program. 

(Image: https://www.michellebridges.com.au/press/)

 

She must be good, and the program must work, because over 258,000 people like Michelle Bridges on Facebook! 258,000 people can’t be wrong! Or can they? She certainly has her critics, and her claim that her program is tailored to those trying to lose 50kgs as well as fitness fanatics is a little hard to believe.

At this point I must point out that I have nothing against Michelle Bridges and her program, it may work, it may not. But what makes it so popular has nothing to do with any scientifically proven formula, it is because it has been designed by Michelle Bridges, that famous person we seen on TV all the time helping obese people lose weight!

 (Image: https://www.michellebridges.com.au/press/)

This is a perfect example of the prevailing celebrity culture in society. The popularizing of certain people who have certain attributes that society deem exceptional. This has instilled itself into many disciplines of life from the famed in the medical profession to the way that we read and interpret politicians (Marshall 2010: 498).

This has changed who we listen to and why. But, are we receiving the right message?

References:

Marshall, D 2010, ‘The Specular Economy’, Symposium: Celebrity around the World, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 498-502

Bridges, M 2012, Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation, Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation, retrieved 30th August 2012 <http://www.12wbt.com/>

Week 7 – The Effectiveness of Narrowcasting in the Production of Diasporic Media

Narrowcasting is the dissemination of information to target a narrow audience by aiming media messages at specific segments defined by values, gender, preferences, age or demographic attributes (Mitchell 2011: np). This definition helps us to understand why it is commonly used in the production of diasporic media.

Diasporic communities are becoming more and more common thanks to globalisation. Due to vastly improved modes of transportation, and the increasing acceptance of migrates around the world, pockets of diasporic communities are increasingly appearing across the world.

The production of diasporic media serves as a way of maintaining cultural integrity and values amongst diaspora communities, contributes to ethinc cohesion and allows the community to maintain a meaningful connection with their homeland (Karim 1998: 2). The dissemination of diasporic media allows members of the community to navigate their way through the mass media of the host nation and avoid the imperialism that is prominent in the Eastern and Western world.

Traditionally the distribution of diasporic media had centered on weekly newspapers, magazines, radio and small-scale television programming. However, the continuing growth of digital media is changing the way in which the media is able to reach and target diaspora communities (Karim 1998).

Digital media and online video production provides media organisations with a greater reach and a medium which is much more accessible, circumnavigating the traditional broadcasting regulations imposed on print, radio and television.

So for the reasons outlined above, narrowcasting is very important and effective in the production of diasporic media.

References:

Mitchell, G 2011, Narrowcasting: What it is and what it achieves, Convenience Advertising, Retrieved 25^th August 2012, <http://www.conads.com/info/general/Content/get/41/itemId/> 

Karim, K 1998, ‘From Ethnic Media to Global Media: Transnational Communication Networks Among Diasporic Communities’, International Comparative Research Group Strategic Research and Analysis Canadian Heritage, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 1-23

Week 6 – Al Jazeera: The Fox News of the Arab world?

Al Jazeera is an independent news corporation dedicated to covering and uncovering stories in the Arab region. The news channel, which is owned by the state of Qatar and based in Doha, now has over sixty bureaus around the world that span six different continents (Al Jazeera 2012: np).

However, despite the ever-increasing credibility of Al Jazeera as a leading alternative news source, a large degree of skepticism still remains about the independent news corporation in the western world. So the question that needs to be asked is, is Al Jazeera a counter to Western media imperialism or a mirror version of Fox News style propaganda?

Propaganda is a very specific type of manipulation. It involves preaching a compelling message and reinforcing it continuously. This is what Fox News is notorious for and what a large proportion of the Western world believe Al Jazeera do. But is there evidence to back this up?

Skeptics will say yes, but I’m not so sure.

Al Jazeera appears to simply cover the alternate point of view and highlight the plights of many that the Western media simply chooses to ignore. The independent organization received widespread acclaim for its coverage of the uprising in Tunisia (an issue initially ignored by most Western media) and was the channel the US President had to tune into in order to watch the protests in Egypt as they began to unfold (The Canadian Charger 2011: np).

Like all news corporations, Al Jazeera toes the party line. But is their message any worse than Western media imperialism? The answer appears to be no.

References:

Al Jazeera 2012, Corporate Profile, Al Jazeera, Retrieved 19^th August 2012,

<http://www.aljazeera.com/aboutus/2006/11/2008525185555444449.html>

Al Jazeera 2012, Timeline: Tunisia’s uprising, Al Jazeera, Retrieved 19^th August 2012,

<http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/spotlight/tunisia/2011/01/201114142223827361.html>

Boaz, C 2011, Fourteen Propaganda Techniques Fox “News” Uses to Brainwash Americans, Truth Out, Retrieved 19^th August 2012, <http://truth-out.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=1964:fourteen-propaganda-techniques-fox-news-uses-to-brainwash-americans>

MacNicol, G 2011, Even President Obama Is Watching Al Jazeera, Business Insider, Retrieved 19^th August 2012, <http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-01-29/entertainment/30035180_1_al-jazeera-crisis-egyptian-president>

The Canadian Charger 2011, Western media vs. Al Jazeera, Retrieved 19^th August 2012, <http://www.thecanadiancharger.com/page.php?id=5&a=811>

Week 5 – Making Culture

The Internet is increasingly becoming an important tool in the way in which we contribute to our national culture. But what is interesting is that many of us wouldn’t even realize that we are using the Internet to do this when we connect online. Every time we post our thoughts, pictures, music or stories onto sites such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, we are contributing to our national culture.

National culture can be defined as norms, behaviours, beliefs and customs that exist within the population of a sovereign nation (BusinessDictionary.com 2012: np).

So every time you upload a video clip to YouTube or change your status on Facebook, you are sharing your culture with the world. The stories you write, and the way in which you write them, inadvertently portray your values, beliefs and customs. However, there is a flip side. The use of social networks to portray your personal thoughts and views also enables others to comment or pass judgment on what you post.

So this begs the question, will social networks change our culture? Are we altering our personal values and behaviors in order to avoid criticism as a result of going against the social norm?

However, social networks also provide a medium for a diaspora population to gain a new found sense of belonging by connecting with their traditional roots. Check out Hot Peppa Sauce as a great example of NYC resident Ameer Bacchus connecting with his West Indian roots demonstrating how powerful a tool the Internet is in contributing to national culture.

References:

Bacchus, A 2012, Hot Peppa Sauce Yuh West Indian Fix, Hot Peppa Sauce, Retrieved 13^th August 2012, <http://www.hotpeppasauce.net/>

BusinessDictionary.com 2012, National Culture, BusinessDictionary.com, Retrieved 13^th August 2012, <http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/national-culture.html>

 

Kallas, P 2011, Will Social Networks and Sharing Change Our Culture?, Dreamgrow, Retrieved 13^th August 2012, <http://www.dreamgrow.com/will-social-networks-and-sharing-change-our-culture/>

Kameliaculture 2012, Sharing West Indian Culture Through Comics Online, Culture Kamelia, Retrieved 13^th August 2012 <http://cultureatkamelia.wordpress.com/2012/07/15/sharing-west-indian-culture-through-comics-online>

Wikipedia 2012, Diaspora, Wikipedia, Retrieved 13^th August 2012, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaspora>

Week 4 – The Olympics: A Positive or Negative Global Event?

The 2012 Summer Olympic Games are currently underway in London amid much hype and fanfare. Parochial and patriotic Brits are singing the praises of the host nation and promoting their backyard to the world. There is little doubt that Summer Olympic Games are the biggest sporting event in the world, but are the Games themselves a positive or negative global event?

Staging the Olympic Games requires a long and expensive commitment by the host city. First it must prepare a bid in an attempt (there is no guarantee) to win the rights to host the games, spend seven years preparing for the Games if the bid is successful, successfully stage the Olympic and then deal with the much longer post-Games era (Cashman 2002).

Other impacts also include alterations in the design of the city, the representation of a city/country and its culture, increased cost and taxes and changes in governance and public decision-making (Cashman 2002).

However, the staging of the Olympic Games leads to urban regeneration, increased housing availability, improvements in public transport and local infrastructure, an increase in international tourism and more jobs. Rose & Spiegel 2009 also demonstrate how countries that host the Olympic Games enjoy a substantive permanent increase in trade, known as the “Olympic Effect”.

So while there are both positive and negative effects of hosting the Olympic Games, the ability to showcase a city/country’s benefits to the world, as well as the proven trade benefits to hosting the Games, means the Olympic Games are truly a positive global event.

References:

Cashman, R 2002, Impact of the Games on Olympic host cities, CEO UAB, Retrieved 6^th August 2012, <http://olympicstudies.uab.es/lectures/web/pdf/cashman.pdf>

Imperial College London 2012, Political, social and economic aspects of the Olympic games, Imperial College London, Retrieved 6^th August 2012, <http://olympics.pthimon.co.uk/index2.htm>

Rose, A & Spiegel, M 2009, The Olympic Effect, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Working Paper Series, Retrieved 6^th August 2012, <http://www.frbsf.org/publications/economics/papers/2009/wp09-06bk.pdf>