Prophets of Rage Notes

-People were learning black history from popular culture rather than it being taught in schools
-Public enemy upset the media & government with songs
-Studied at uni - goes against stereotype that they're bad people/they don't try hard to work
-Got written off as criminal troublemakers
-They played at community centres
-Political fire drives their songs
-Civil rights policies were being cut
-Drugs were allowed to keep the black population down
-Developers would buy houses and move black people out to sell for a higher price
-Popular culture provided an outlet
-Martin Luther King was a peaceful protestor but methods didn't work so they tried to convey the protest through music
-Music filled the lack of politicians
-'Who is Malcolm the 10th?' Talking about Malcolm X, shows the lack of education given about black history
-Aimed to spark curiosity to learn that black people should be respected
-Public enemy introduced people to Malcolm X as schools didn't teach it
-Their songs highlighted that no black heroes are celebrated
-Lyrics contained political content
-Most didn't smoke, drink or do drugs
-Made white people aware of problems with racism
-White supremists didn't want to see black and white people together, their songs were banned on some radio stations
-It was claimed that they didn't come to mainstream attention until one member made controversial comments about Jews, only brought to media when they are shown in a bad light
-tackled issues that African Americans face
-'Anti nigga machine'
-Their message is more important than media coverage
-'The purpose of rap music or any kind of music is to raise dialogue'
-Hip hop has gone from raising dialogue to mass consumerism
-Major labels wouldn't fund them so they had to create their own label
-First group to make internet only album
-Public enemy politicised a new generation in America
-One of the greatest musical entities but they are never heard on the radio

Postcolonialism Links

Racism in the United Kingdom

This is a wikipedia page explaining the term racism and discussing the various issues surrounding this topic. Statistics about the number of black people under attack from racism are shown on this page.

Dave Chappelle - Open Racism

In this video the stand up comedian Dave Chappelle pokes fun at the use of racism in various regions and highlights the ridiculous nature of some white peoples' views towards black people. He mentions various stereotypes associated with his skin colour as well as questioning the use of the word 'nigger'.

Public Enemy - Fight The Power

This video is a protest song dedicated to ending racial violence. Throughout the song they mention that they are entitled to freedom of speech and in the video they have gathered a crowd of protestersholding up signs and pictures. The pictures they are holding in the video show black people they would consider to be heroes. In the song they use lyrics like 'Elvis was a hero to most but he never meant shit to me you see, straight up racist that sucker was' as an example of the fact that most of the celebrities publicised as being heroes were white men. 

Bob Marley - No War No More Trouble

Bob Marley's song No War No More Trouble is a song about ending the trouble and suggesting that we need to focus more on love than starting wars. The song may be seen as going against racial stereotypes as black people are often stereotyped as 'troublemakers' and this song is dedicated to ensuring there is less trouble. Love and peace are they key themes running throughout this song as he uses lyrics such as 'We don't need no trouble, what we need is love'. 

Skin Bleaching Epidemic in Jamaica

This video is explaining that skin bleaching has had a rise in popularity in Jamaica and it shows different peoples' views towards the idea. The process of skin bleaching suggests that the paler you are the more likely you are to have a good sense of identity which is suggesting that being paler is superior to being black. Our society is highlighting being paler as a better skin colour which is making people with darker skin want to adapt their tone in order to gain a better social status. In one part of the video someone states 'black skin is associated with social disadvantage, while brown skin is believed to be more beautiful'. The mentality that brown is beautiful while black isn't has encouraged Jamaicans to bleach their skin and this epidemic is shown in this video. 

Cricket Test

This page discusses the term cricket test and how British politician Norman Tebbit doesn't believe immigrants to be loyal. The phrase was created in 1990 making it a fairly modern phrase which suggests that racism is still a rising issue. He suggests that immigrants are still sticking to their old culture despite them moving to Britain as well as claiming they are 'dangerous'. This narrow minded view highlights the fact immigrants are discrimated against as a whole purely for coming from different cultures. 

http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/communication-and-culture/a-level/communication-and-culture-2625

Byzantium Trailer

The Byzantium trailer fits into some of the conventions surrounding vampires as it maintains similar imagery to what we would imagine in a vampire film. For example throughout the trailer the main colour scheme is black and red, and these are the colours generally associated with this genre. In one scene, the mother bathes in blood and blood is an image associated with vampires due to them sucking blood from peoples' necks and being generally violent. Another scene involves one of the characters being surrounded by bats which is one of the main images that we consider to be associated with vampires. The film does challenge certain conventions but in terms of imagery they use most of the main images. One change which they do make in the film is the way the vampires feed on their prey. The women in the film, rather than having fangs, both have long, pointed nails which they use as a way of cutting the necks of their prey and they feed with their hands rather than sucking the blood from their neck. Despite this being a subtle detail in the trailer this challenges one of the main conventions associated with vampires and also makes the film seem more female based as long nails are linked to women more than men.

Light and darkness is a main theme in the trailer and these both challenge and fit into conventions. At the very start of the trailer, the girl and her mother are walking through a field in the day time. Although the weather is musky they are surviving in daylight, something that stereotypical vampires can't do. The daughter goes to school with humans meaning she would have to be at school during the day and she can do this without any negative effects, so this convention is challenged. Despite this darkness is a main theme used throughout the trailer as they have ensured the colours are generally dull.

The location of this film has aspects of fitting into the conventions but it also goes against them. There are multiple settings in the trailer such as a beach, city and a cave, which wouldn't usually be considered as places suited for vampires. The cave fits some conventions as caves are isolated places and aren't lived in by humans so the mysterious or lonely feel of them ties in  with the settings that vampires usually live in. Vampires would generally be considered to live somewhere historical like a castle, or an isolated place like forests or dungeons so caves are similar to these but less likely to be associated with vampires. The beach is an unusual setting as it is a very open place and would generally be considered a positive setting due to them being related to holidays and sun. The beach in this film looks duskier and more isolated which ties in with the connotations of vampire settings, but as a general place it is considered unusual for vampires to stay there. Cities are urban so they are usually busy and this is an unlikely place for vampires to live.

Women are the dominant gender in this trailer which goes against conventions as when people think of vampires they think of males more than females. In the film the mother is fighting to be accepted into the group of male vampires and one states that they are a brotherhood and there are no women there. The film challenges the idea that women are the inferior gender but also fits some gender stereotypes as the mother is very sexualised. While her daughter wears baggy clothes and tries to cover up, the mother is shown to be dressed in tighter and more revealing clothes. She also acts seductively around male prey which suggests she uses her sexual appeal to hunt her prey. Her clothes are fairly aristocratic but are still revealing so she has the historical look that vampires have without losing her sexualised look. Themes of desire run throughout the film as the scenes in the trailer suggest the mother gets pleasure from feasting and the sexualised nature of the women highlight this theme.

Another theme that is generally considered to be seen in vampire films is the idea of mystery and secrets. This theme is used as the daughter is shown writing about her mother then throwing the pages into the wind so as to stop people reading them.

Key Concepts

Communication - The way different information is shared either verbally or non-verbally

Culture - Certain ways of life in different places or classes

Context - The situation behind communication, how it will be read, the audience, purpose etc

Representation - 

Value - The importance of something

Identity - How we are/how we represent ourselves

Power - How much influence somebody has over others

Code - A practice or rule that is created by a culture

Nick Griffin Clip

This video is set in a conventionally British Looking home and the colours he is wearing are representative of Britain due to them being red, blue and white. The arbitrary logo in the corner of the screen is decorated with the colours of the british flag also which suggests this video is centered around British pride. These colours are a symbol as our culture has given them connotations of British pride but to people not part of this culture they may not have any hidden meaning. Nick Griffin may have negative views towards him due to him being part of the BNP and this political party is known for attempting to stop immigration for good. hence the running theme of British pride. Despite a lot of people viewing this British pride as a hate for other countries, he may be trying to show his audience how important British culture is. Cooking is a cultural practice in most places but he is trying to suggest that Britain is the proudest country when it comes to cooking as he is using all British ingredients and placing constant emphasis on the fact that everything comes from Britain.

Barbie Image Analysis

The sender of this message is a group on facebook named “Beautiful and Bald Barbie”. Not much information is given about the sender but the name suggests this group is aiming to raise awareness of the fact that people suffering from certain illnesses which may result in hair loss should still be considered beautiful.

The powerful message is shown through a central image which is the main focus of this poster, and a few bits of text to support the picture and make it clear what the intended message is. The words “bald” and “beautiful” are used frequently in the text and this suggests the main message is that girls can still be beautiful despite being bald. It states it is for “girls coping with hair loss” due to various illnesses and this is supported by the main image as the picture doesn’t fit into conventions associated with the barbies usually seen in shops. It breaks from the norm as Barbie is usually considered to be beautiful because of her long hair and ‘perfect’ figure, but the figure is hidden here and all of the main focus is placed on her head, where she has lost her hair. Barbie is a conventionally beautiful doll and well-known by everyone so that is likely to be the reason that this particular brand of doll is used. Negative opinions about the social norm of beauty in our culture is represented in this text as they are breaking away from conventions and producing a doll which would not normally be shown in media. This gives a suggestion that the sender believes norms of beauty are giving society negative views towards people who don’t fit into these norms and this should be changed by allowing everyone to see that bald is still beautiful.

The main audience is people who have joined the facebook page but it is likely to be seen by a large audience due to people sharing it over the internet. It was created to make people think so it would most likely be shared around to others to ensure that it creates an impression. The implied audience is girls as the colour theme is pink and yellow which are stereotypical girl colours. A Barbie is used as the main theme which is generally considered a girls toy and the word “beautiful” is also stereotypically associated with females. It can be assumed that this is more aimed at younger people to boost their self-esteem as media generally doesn’t show cancer patients in magazines/TV shows about beauty. This may make them feel bad about themselves as they may think they don’t fit into society’s norms and body image is usually a more important problem for girls and teenagers.

Semiotic Approach:

The Barbie picture is an index as although it’s clear that the picture is a Barbie it has connotations like unconventional beauty surrounding it and it has a deeper meaning due to it being placed there to provoke a response. The yellow ribbon is a symbol which a lot of people know is associated with cancer, but may be unrecognisable to people who have never come across this image before. It is arbitrary to some due to it not having any meaning just by itself. Our culture has attached meaning to it over time and we now place value in it because it shows support for people trying to overcome cancer.