Lecture 2 CONCEPTS, DEBATES, AND APPROACHES

Summery Popular Media Culture

Identity

Identity is a central and constant aspect of everyday life. People use various identity markers or labels to understand and express who they are. These markers can be:

·       Externally assigned (e.g., being labeled male or female at birth),

·       Or self-identified (e.g., choosing labels like "gay" or "bisexual" based on personal experience).

Identity categories are shaped by:

·       Bodily traits such as skin color, age, sex, or abilities.

·       Sociocultural features like nationality, religion, or class status.

For example, someone growing up in a financially constrained, blue-collar environment may be identified as working class.

Richard Jenkins (2014)

Identification: "The systematic establishment and signification, between individuals, between collectivities, and between individuals and collectivities, of relationships of similarity and difference."

 

Identity: "Denotes the ways in which individuals and collectivities are distinguished in their relations with other individuals and collectivities."

 

Dual process of identity formation:

·       External identification by others - how society labels individuals.

·       Internal self-identification - how individuals perceive and define themselves.

 

Culture-dependent: Identity is shaped by and relies on culture, which includes cultural artifacts (e.g., books, clothing), practices (e.g., rituals, habits), and norms and values (e.g., expectations of proper behavior).

Cultural representations of identity 

Cultural representations of identity are shaped and circulated through popular media culture. They serve to:

·       Help individuals understand who they are by providing a sense of stability, clarity, and belonging.

·       However, these identity labels often come with normative expectations that can limit personal expression and reinforce stereotypes.

Importantly, these representations are context-specific, meaning they differ across cultures and social settings.

Example: A person born with male sex characteristics may be expected to behave in traditionally masculine ways, regardless of their own sense of self.

Social constructionist perspective

Social Constructionist View on Identity

·       Identity is socially constructed, meaning it is shaped by cultural, historical, and social contexts—not fixed or universal.

·       This perspective has been influential in identity studies since the 1970s.

Rejection of Essentialism

·       Essentialism assumes identities are natural, biological, and unchanging, and that all people with a given identity share the same experiences.

·       For example, it suggests men and women are inherently different by nature.

What Social Constructionism Argues

·       While it acknowledges an objective reality, it emphasizes that our understanding of identity is culturally and socially shaped.

·       Differences, such as those between genders, are the result of social processes and cultural norms, not just biology.

·       Identities are fluid and dynamic, shaped by interpretation, social interaction, and media representation—not predetermined or static.

Sociocultural Diversity

·       Encompasses differences in gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, class, and ability.

·       Although sometimes seen as neutral, it's deeply political, entangled with power dynamics and inequality.

Discursive Constructions of Identity

·       Some identities are constructed as "normal" or superior, while others are deemed "deviant" or inferior.

·       Identity is often framed in binary and hierarchical terms (e.g., men over women).

·       These constructions: Simplify identities, ignoring internal diversity, Reinforce structural inequalities in culture and institutions

Identity Politics

·       Defined by Chris Barker as creating new identity languages and seeking social change through coalitions.

·       It can empower marginalized groups by celebrating shared identity.

·       But it also risks essentialism—ignoring differences within the group.

·    Strategic essentialism: Using shared identity for unity and action, while still recognizing intersections (e.g., race, class, disability)

#MeToo Movement (Tarana Burke)

·       Founded by Tarana Burke (2006) to support women of color facing sexual violence.

·       Went viral in 2017, highlighting the scale of abuse (via Alyssa Milano’s tweet).

·        Exposed media bias: White celebrities received more attention, Celebrity capital gave them platform power, Women in vulnerable positions often lacked means to speak out.

Reflects Kimberlé Crenshaw’s intersectionality, showing how overlapping identities (race, gender, class) shape unequal experiences of oppression

Kimberlé Crenshaw -> Intersectionality

·       Crenshaw, a scholar in law and critical race theory, introduced intersectionality in her 1991 article “Mapping the Margins.”

·       She explored how racism and sexism intersect in the lives of women of color, making their experiences distinct from white women or men of color.

·       She valued identity politics for its unifying power but criticized its tendency to ignore differences within identity groups.

Crenshaw’s Conclusion

·       Intersectionality is crucial to understanding overlapping oppressions.

·       Identity categories like "women" or "people of color" are only useful if they account for internal diversity.

·       Her Center defines intersectionality as: A dynamic strategy for linking the grounds of discrimination to the historical, social, economic, and legal contexts that create systems of oppression and privilege.

Three Forms of Intersectionality (Crenshaw, 1991)

Structural Intersectionality

·       How race and gender intersect in social structures to disadvantage women of color differently than white women.

·       Example: Anti-violence policies often ignore barriers faced by immigrant women or those from certain cultural backgrounds.

Political Intersectionality

·       Highlights how feminist and anti-racist movements often fail to address the intersecting oppressions experienced by women of color.

·       Women of color may feel excluded or forced to choose between political struggles.

Representational Intersectionality

·       Focuses on how media and cultural portrayals reinforce stereotypes about women of color.

·       Encourages using intersectionality to critically assess how groups are represented and perceived.

Case Study: 2 Live Crew Lawsuit (1990)

·       Hip-hop group 2 Live Crew was charged with obscenity for their album As Nasty as They Wanna Be.

·       Crenshaw's analysis revealed how the debate ignored intersectional dynamics:

Feminist Critique (e.g., George Will):

·       Claimed the music was misogynistic and harmful to women, but ignored racialized framing.

·       Criticism: White rock bands weren’t prosecuted for similar content.

Anti-Racist Defense (e.g., Henry Louis Gates):

·       Argued the lyrics were satirical and challenged stereotypes of black masculinity.

·       Criticism: Overlooked the music’s sexism and impact on women.

Key Issue: Even intra-group humor can be gendered and harmful if it reinforces the subordination of women.

Woke

Origins

·       Early 1900s: Used in Black communities to urge awareness of racial injustice.

·       1962: Highlighted in a New York Times article by William Melvin Kelley.

·       20th Century: Continued evolving but kept the meaning of being socially aware.

·       2008: Referenced in Erykah Badu’s song Master Teacher.

·        2014: Gained political momentum during the Ferguson protests with #StayWoke.

·       Black Lives Matter: Solidified “woke” as a term for fighting systemic oppression.

Corporate Wokeness

·       Dual Use: Activists use “woke” to expose injustice; corporations co-opt it for branding.

·       Woke-Washing: Companies like Nike and Coca-Cola market social justice, but often fail to align internal practices with public messaging—a form of performative activism.

International Resignification

·       Global Spread: Countries like Belgium and the Netherlands adopted “woke” in media from 2017 onward, first referencing U.S. issues, later adapting it to local social justice debates.

Conservative Backlash: The term has been redefined by critics to represent “excessive political correctness”, attacking:Gender-inclusive language,Representation initiatives,Revised terminology

Cancel Culture

·       Origin: Emerged from activist efforts to hold powerful figures accountable, especially in politics, business, and entertainment.

·       Goal: Expose and challenge behaviors like racism, sexism, homophobia, and abuse.

Key Elements:

·       Accountability: Calls for public and institutional response to wrongdoing.

·       Withdrawal of Support: Demands to cut ties—socially, financially, professionally.

·       Social Media’s Role: Amplifies marginalized voices but often lacks nuance or space for deeper dialogue.

Criticism:

·       Can overshadow structural issues (e.g., systemic racism).

·       Media often focuses on controversy rather than real reform—sensationalizing backlash (e.g., episode removals as clickbait).

Two Main Academic Fields studying Media and diversity

1. Communication Sciences ·       Philosophical basis: Post-positivist ·       Ontology: Critical realism (an objective reality exists but can only be partially known) ·       Epistemology: Seeks partial objectivity; minimizes bias ·       Goals: o   Explain, predict, and control media phenomena o   Identify causal relationships o   Ensure validity and reliability through scientific methods 2. Media and Cultural Studies ·       Philosophical basis: Interpretative and critical perspectives Interpretative (Constructivist) Approach: ·       Ontology: Social constructionism (multiple realities exist) ·       Epistemology: Knowledge is subjective, shaped by interaction ·       Goals: o   Understand how people make sense of the world o   Reject universal truths or predictions o   Emphasize context and lived experience Critical Approach: ·       Shares elements of social constructionism and critical realism ·       Focus: Expose and challenge power structures (race, gender, class) ·       Goal: Use research as a tool for emancipation and social change ·       Assumes that inequality is ideologically maintained, not natural Field Goal View of Reality Approach to Knowledge Research Aim Communication Sciences Predict & explain Objective (but limited) Partial objectivity Empirical, generalizable findings Media & Cultural Studies Understand & transform Socially constructed Subjective & critical Contextual insights, social change

Communication sciences: realism and socialisation

Developed in the 1950s–60s, grounded in post-positivist thought

Based on two key assumptions about media:

1 Media should reflect reality

·       Media are expected to mirror society, especially in representing minoritised groups.

·       Scholars use quantitative methods (e.g., content analysis) to: Compare media content to real-world demographics. Critique distortions in how marginalized identities are portrayed.

·       Rooted in critical realism: assumes an objective reality that can be partially known and measured.

2 Media influence socialization

·       Media affect how people perceive social groups.

·       Short-term effects: Social psychology studies measure reactions to media stereotypes.

·       Long-term effects: Cultivation theory (Gerbner): Heavy TV viewing shapes beliefs about society, Lack of representation leads to symbolic annihilation, Frequent exposure can reinforce sexist and stereotypical attitudes.

Criticisms of This Approach

·       Media images are not neutral: Even “realistic” portrayals are culturally constructed.

·       Subjectivity of 'realism': One group's reality may not reflect another's experience.

·       Focuses too much on visible content, ignoring hidden meanings and deeper cultural biases.

·       Overemphasizes media effects: Ignores how audiences actively interpret, resist, or reinterpret messages.

Media and Cultural Studies: Ideology and Sense-Making

Originated from British Cultural Studies (Birmingham Centre, 1964).

Focuses on how culture reflects and shapes power relations and ideologies.

1 Culture Is Ideological

·       Influenced by Marxism: media and culture produce and reinforce dominant ideologies.

·       Not just about reflecting reality—but about shaping how people think about social norms.

·       Early focus on class expanded to include race, gender, sexuality, etc.

2 Audiences Make Meaning in Complex Ways Stuart Hall’s Encoding/Decoding Model (1980):

·       Media producers encode messages based on ideology.

·       Audiences decode them in multiple ways: Dominant reading: fully accepts the message. Negotiated reading: partially accepts, partially challenges. Oppositional reading: actively resists the intended meaning.

·       Emphasizes that audiences are not passive, especially marginalized viewers interpreting representations of themselves.

Criticisms

·       Too focused on text: May neglect how people actually use or engage with media.

·       Overemphasis on resistance: Risks romanticizing audience opposition while ignoring production constraints.

·       Limited attention to media creators and the conditions under which content is made.

Politics of Representation

Stuart Hall on Representation:

·       Definition: Representation is the “production of meaning through language” (Hall, 1997).

·       Social Construction: Meanings are constructed based on time and place, and they are not neutral—they carry ideological weight.

Politics of Representation:

·       Dual Role: Representation can both reinforce the socio-cultural status quo and serve as a tool to challenge dominant, hegemonic ideas.

·       Popular Culture Impact: TV shows, comedy, and social media platforms (YouTube, TikTok) actively articulate and circulate norms and values, often favoring some groups over others.

·       Dynamic Process: Meanings are continuously renegotiated through the interplay of production, text, and audience reception.

Critical/Emancipatory Representations:

·       Independent Platforms: Independent organizations, such as film festivals, offer space to highlight marginalized identities.

·       Mainstream Examples: While mainstream media (e.g., HBO, Netflix) can offer authentic portrayals (e.g., HBO’s The Wire), their efforts must be critically assessed.

Investment in Diversity:

·       Ambiguous Commitment: It is not always clear whether initiatives are driven by genuine efforts for social change or are merely performative (woke-washing), aimed at marketing rather than real inclusion.

Social Change vs. Image: True commitment involves elevating marginalized voices; mere representation can become a superficial branding tool.

Stereotyping

Foundations: Walter Lippmann, Public Opinion (1922)

·       Stereotypes are mental shortcuts—we define before we see.

·       They simplify a complex world, saving time but relying on preconceived ideas.

·       We often substitute cultural assumptions for real understanding.

Richard Dyer’s Expansion

·       Stereotypes have both social (organizing) and ideological (power-preserving) functions.

·       They maintain hierarchies by: Presenting social categories as fixed and natural.Reflecting majority (in-group) valueswhile marginalizing out-groups.Reinforcing partial truths and rigid assumptions.

Dyer on Stereotypes in Popular Fiction

·       Social types: Open-ended, norm-following individuals.

·       Stereotypes: One-dimensional, excluded from social norms.

Two Modes of Stereotyping in Fiction:

·       Through Iconography: Uses visual or auditory cues (e.g., accents, clothing) to signify identity (race, gender, disability). Simplifies storytelling but often reproduces clichés.

Through Narrative Structure: Static structures( Reinforce dominant norms (e.g., heterosexual roles in lesbian couples). Dynamic structures: Reinforce stereotypes through plot outcomes.( ex. Supercrip trope)

Example Sex and the City

Ø  Stereotyping through iconography

§  Use of “Free zone” -> what they consider freedom, only wester women are free 

§  Want to be educational -> but in the end just shallow and trying to make fun (about Nika), question the educational element

§  Dynamic of what is allowed to be different, level of diversity we tolerate

§  Its getting “exotic”

§  Entertainment, attraction, orientalist image, becomes a sceptical

Its Indian music -> says a lot about the production and how serious they take the matter, do not challenge the audience, lazy in production just a orientalist image

Trans-coding

Trans-coding Strategies (Stuart Hall, 1997)

·       Definition: Re-appropriating existing meanings to challenge stereotypes and discrimination.

·       Goal: Change how marginalized groups are represented in media across race, gender, class, sexuality, and disability.

Three Main Trans-coding Strategies1. Reversing Stereotypes

·       Tactic: Turn negative portrayals into dominant or heroic roles.

·       Issue: Risks replacing old stereotypes with extreme opposites (e.g., glorifying hypermasculinity, violence, or wealth), reinforcing the "otherness."

2. Inclusion of Positive Images

·       Strength: Offers affirmative representation.

·       Criticism: May avoid structural critique (e.g., class and racism) and commodify diversity without addressing deeper issues.

3. Through the Eye of Representation

·       Approach: Use familiar media forms to subvert and reshape meaning from within.

·       Key concept: Polysemy — meanings are not fixed; they depend on interpretation.

Overall Takeaway

·       Trans-coding is a powerful media tool, but comes with challenges:

o   Avoid replacing one stereotype with another.

o   Ensure positive images don’t mask structural inequalities.

o   Focus on transforming narratives, not just tweaking them.

Case Study: This Is America

·       Dual audience:

o   Speaks to Black audiences through lived experience.

o   Confronts White audiences with uncomfortable truths.

·       Themes:

o   Contrasts gun worship vs. disregard for Black lives.

o   Critiques media spectacle and cultural appropriation.

Ambiguous ending symbolizes continued racial struggle.