Garlic the dog. Photo: Tran Nhat Lam Thuy
"What were two points from this week's reading that stood out to you as particularly important and/or interesting?"
"Why so?"
(van Krieken 2018)
One of the two points in this week's reading that fascinated me is the power of media image. O'Shaughnessy, Stadler, and Casey (2016) compared how John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon looked during the 1960 American presidential election, and Pierre Trudeau's looks and ideologies aided in maintaining his status as a political celebrity A-lister. How they appear, how convincingly they speak, whether they are able to interact with people easily, and how respectable their personal lives are some factors contributing to their media image (O'Shaughnessy, Stadler & Casey 2016).
Another interesting point in this week's reading is the ubiquity of celebrity politics in cyberspace. Just like the interaction between other celebrities and their fans, these well-known politicians use social media as a way to communicate with their constituencies, which is considered "an important aspect of the personalization of politics" (van Krieken 2018). With the continually advancing technology in media, politicians can not only "correct" portrayals in "mainstream media," but also forge a more direct, unmediated line of communication with the public (O'Shaughnessy, Stadler & Casey 2016).
Word count: 176
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Garlic the dog approximately four months later. Photo: Tran Nhat Lam Thuy
"What impacts do celebrities have on how you understand society and yourself?"
Micro-celebrities and legitimate celebrities can now be perceived as being familiar, intimate, and authentic, thanks to social media (McIntyre 2022). The audience with whom these celebrities interact tends to develop parasocial relationships, where McIntyre (2022) wrote, "they identify with the person and perceive an intimacy with them" while "the celebrity is unaware of their existence."
(Wise 2021)
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"Choose a celebrity text (e.g. a magazine cover) and briefly describe it, i.e. a denotation (remember, you must not include copyrighted images in your Adobe Portfolio). Briefly analyse this text taking:"
- An ideological approach
- A political economy approach
- Celebrity chosen: Rihanna (Robyn Rihanna Fenty)
- Title of media text: Rihanna in "Bitch Better Have My Money" music video
- Link to media text: https://hausofrihanna.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/bbhmm1.jpg
(Rihanna 2015)
Ideological Approach:
Rihanna appeared in her music video "Bitch Better Have My Money" from her album with the same name. It shocked listeners as "the violent imagery in which would divide feminist media commentators for its representation of graphic and sexualised violence against a white couple" (Ferreday 2017). Ferreday (2017) also claimed that the commentary would become the center of much popular and academic feminist debate over the intersectional gendered and racialized politics of popular culture, particularly coming to define what has been referred to as "white feminism" or "white supremacy in heels" (Cargle 2018). Rihanna is depicted as the leader of a gang carrying out violent acts on the partner of the white man who owed her money, Ferreday (2017) described her as "a parodic, excessive vision of white femininity." The video therefore critiques the hostile and violent gaze that is directed at the sexual pleasure of black women. According to the feminist anti-sexualization blogger who asserted that the video's message to rape victims is to "just smoke 'em," the shooting in this context is not a literal call to violence (Shewmaker, cited in Ferreday 2017).
Political economy approach:
As a singer, actress, and businesswoman with an enormous fan base (285 million followers across her social media platforms), her admirers are willing to support any product provided she has appeared in said product. Despite having mixed reviews, the seven-year-old single was considered one of the best 200 songs in the 2010s (Pitchfork 2019). It was also certified three times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), meaning it has sold over three million digital copies (RIAA n.d.)
Word count: 320
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Reference List:
Cargle, RE 2021, When feminism is white supremacy in heels, Harpers BAZAAR viewed 7 November 2022, <https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/politics/a22717725/what-is-toxic-white-feminism/>.
Ferreday, D 2017, '‘Only the Bad Gyal could do this’: Rihanna, rape-revenge narratives and the cultural politics of ưhite feminism', Feminist Theory, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 263–280.
McIntyre, J 2022, ‘Lecture 7: Celebrities and elebritisation’, MDA10001 Introduction to media studies, Learning materials via Canvas, Swinburne University of Technology, 13 April, viewed 4 November 2022.
'Celebrity Society: The Struggle for Attention' [book cover], in Celebrity society: The struggle for attention, 2nd ed, Routledge, New York, viewed 4 January 2023, <https://www.oup.com.au/new_book_images/covers/9780195597257.jpg>.
O'Shaughnessy, M, Casey, S & Stadler, J 2016, Media and society, 6th ed, Oxford University Press, Victoria, pp. 374-393.
Pitchfork 2019, The 200 best songs of the 2010s, Pitchfork, viewed 7 November 2022, <https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-songs-of-the-2010s/>.
RIAA n.d., Gold & platinum, RIAA, viewed 8 November 2022, <https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Rihanna&ti=Bitch%2BBetter%2BHave%2BMy%2BMoney&format=Single&type=#search_section>.
Rihanna 2015, 'Bitch Better Have My Money video' [image], in Sakany, L 2015, Styling details for Rihanna’s ‘Bitch better have my money’ visual, Snobette, viewed 4 January 2023, <https://snobette.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/UlyanaSergeenkoSpring2015.jpg>.
van Krieken, R 2018, Celebrity society: The struggle for attention, 2nd ed, Routledge, New York, pp. 179–198.
'Who’s who … a sample of celebrities in 2021' [image], in Wise, L 2021, 'Where are the next Tom Cruises?': how the internet changed celebrity, The Guardian, viewed 4 January 2023, <https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/fb5512642f2d9bddb2513f8ba242f84ee1a4bab7/0_0_6944_4167/master/6944.jpg?width=1300&quality=45&dpr=2&s=none>.
