Friday Classwork - Hegemony Study

Thursday Classwork - Chief Censor in NZ

Questions:

1. How does the article describe what the censorship process was like in NZ 100 years ago?

It shows how before the chief censor at the time would have to physically look at every piece of media that was shipped over before any of it was released to the public. The chief censor would have to look through magazines and books and film reels to see if any content was deemed inappropriate and if it was they would have to cut it out before letting be sold or viewed by audiences. 

2. In what ways has this changed?

Nowadays media is released every millisecond through the proliferation of technology and the introduction of web 2.0. We as the general public have access to things such as social media platforms that allows us to interact with content and represent ourselves through the media with a click of a button. Media no longer has to go through someone else before having been seen by an audience. 

3. What does the writer of the article mean when they say, "A revolving digital landscape has changed the way Kiwis viewed their entertainment, and it's also changed the way censorship defines itself."

It is almost saying that by the introduction of new technology and the internet people are experiencing fragmentation more than ever whereas before you would have to get your daily news from linear TV and the whole family would be sitting down watching it together. Instead, we can now go on different devices, unsupervised, and be exposed to any media that has been uploaded. It also makes it harder for censorship to know what is okay and what isn't. These days we have to rely on parents to be their own regulatory bodies for their households and make sure their children aren't being exposed to inappropriate content. 

4. Who is the NZ chief censor?

David Shanks 

5. What 3 words describe how the chief censor sees his responsibility and role?

Monitor, research, Guide 

6. What City does the Chief censor reside in and how many people work in his team?

• Wellington
• 15

7. What other content passes through the hands of the censors and why is it considered a 'dark' side to the job?

Clips, film, and photos found on laptops and cameras seized by the police, Department of Internal Affairs, or customs are passed on to the censors' office for classification. The censors are the only group that can classify a video.

8. What are they on the look out for in content that is being assessed?

They're on the lookout for sex, horror, crime, cruelty, and violence as well as provisions covering highly offensive language and self-harm.

9.What are some of the things that might be outright banned in NZ?

Media that require an outright ban consist of: the sexual exploitation of children, sexual violence or coercion, torture or extreme violence, bestiality, sexual conduct involving the body of a dead person and the use of urine or excrement in association with degrading or sexual conduct.

10. What medium is becoming the censor's main focus at the moment and what do they do to classify things of that medium in NZ?

Video games, a medium becoming the office's main focus, will be played by a gamer who then rates and classifies it.

11. Seeing how Shanks describes the differences between regulatory standards in NZ and Australia, how do you think culture play a part in restrictions placed on content?

Shanks says Kiwis don't have a high tolerance for violence and sexual violence, unlike our Australian counterparts. Yet we've got a higher threshold for obscene language, nudity and healthy portrayals of sexual relationships.

12. What is a good example of a movie that was rated M in Australia but got a reviewed rating in NZ

Suicide Squad 

13. Explain how the digital era proves a challenge to the censors

A report released recently by the censor's office, Young New Zealanders Viewing Sexual Violence, revealed young people were viewing a concerning amount of media depicting sexual violence through non-traditional platforms. More concerning than that, they were forming their opinion based on those media. Youtube, for instance, has about 300 hours of content put up every minute. "No classification office can keep abreast of that

14. How does Shank imagine we might tackle this challenge?

he wants to join up agencies, getting educators in the mix, and have agencies like Netsafe and the Broadcasting Standards Authority, who can be taking an increasing role with streaming providers

15. What model did the Government say streaming services would fall under?

streaming services would fall under a self-regulatory broadcasting standards model

Wednesday Work - Representation in NZ "after The Power of Inclusion Summit"

Questions:

1. What was the event being held in NZ and what was its purpose?

• The Power of Inclusion summit
• The summit’s stated intention was to “posit future action to create a more inclusive industry and world”

2. Why was Heperi Mita identified as a significant voice? What did he direct and what did he do?

• Heperi Mita (director of Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen) called out New Zealand’s film industry for its racism, both historical and contemporary, towards Maori

3. Both NZFC and NZ On Air have a strategy for Maori content, what is it?

• NZFC and NZ On Air have a strategy for Maori content, called Te Rautaki Maori
• A range of initiatives was released specifically for Maori, including a Rangatahi Development Fund — grants for initiatives and organisations to run programmes for young Maori creators — and the Te Reo Development Fund for shorts, features and online content

4. What was the concern that Heperi Mita had with the fact that although there was funding, producers were still being hired from big studios to re-tell Maori stories?

• Heperi Mita said, “I get very concerned when I hear about big-budget production companies coming in and adapting traditional Maori stories or stories about Maori families. Although the intention may be good, and advice may be given, advice doesn’t necessarily need to be received. And at the end of the day, it is those that hold the purse strings that have the final authority, and it is exceedingly rare that those people are Maori.”

5. Last year, NZ On Air revamped its roadmaps and added a strand for “newer storytellers”. Explain what progress has been made here?

• Asian and Pasifika New Storytellers initiative under both NZ On Air (for a TV or web series) and the NZ Film Commission (for a Sunday Theatre feature, funded to the tune of $3 million)

6. What are some other important points that have been made as a result of this inclusion summit?

• Harris is planning to gather a committee to form a diversity policy after a national hui, to be presented to the boards of funding bodies.

Tuesday Task - Maori Representation in NZ

Questions:

1. What are some of the points this article raises between the difference in how progressive the TV representation of Maori is and the representation of Maori in film?

Although it is hard to be able to share diversity through film, New Zealand has done a good job of being able to represent Maori culture through movies and being able to spread them internationally. This compared to our TV industry doesn't amount. There have been certain shows such as 'Bro Town' which back in the day was a popular show but apart from that New Zealand has been lacking in the TV series area where there are no modern-day shows to represent culture or diversity.   

2. What is an example of the last TV show that really brought Maori representation into the spotlight but that is an older show to reference now?

'Bro ' Town', was a widely known show in New Zealand that went on from 2004-2008, unfortunately, that was about the last TV series to represent Maori culture or ethnic groups.   

3. What are some examples of films that have done well and that focus on telling the stories of ethnic minorities in NZ?

Films that have done well in representing Maori culture are 'Whale rider' and 'Once were warriors'. These films became big especially in New Zealand because it was the truth and depicted what really went on outside of the westernized neighborhoods. People were able to relate more to this content rather than big-budget Hollywood films that are mainly dominated by white people.  

4. Why are US TV networks scrambling to make their programming more diverse?

There was sustained pressure from minority groups for the US to diversify their casting and TV shows. Therefore resulting in shows such as Empire, Fresh off the Boat, Black-ish, and other series that have a majority all-colored cast. They were trying to represent ethnic communities in an extreme way. Former Chief of Entertainment Paul Lee said “When you see shows now that seem to lack diversity, they feel dated. America just doesn’t look like that anymore.”. Academic studies show that ethnic diversity makes good business sense. 

5. What, according to the article is one of the biggest challenges for Maori television shows?

According to broadcaster Stacey Morrison, finding advertiser backing is one of the big challenges for Māori television shows. “Māori programs are seen as niche viewing, not commercially viable and off-putting to advertisers.” Morrison says, “It is really hard to gain sponsorship.”. Accurately representing ethnic groups in New Zealand helps to benefit the country as a whole

• But not everyone agrees, including Richard Pamatatau, a Pacific Journalism expert: “I am not a fan of Bro’town or Sione’s Wedding. I recognise them for what they are – a re-presentation of a slice of a non-white world – but they seem to herd a part of a population and invite the consumer to see all people in that way.”

• We can celebrate movies like Sione’s Wedding and shows like Bro’town, but not all Samoans will see themselves represented in those stories, just as not all Pākehā will see themselves represented in Outrageous Fortune. One movie or TV show does not equal ‘representation’, but it is a starting point.

 

Monday Task - algorithms, information and news

 Notes:

- Claimed that some platforms such as Google, Facebook, etc have a biased point of view in terms of electoral positions. 

- Facebook is more likely to give content matching the user's worldview (regardless of the diverse amount of information that they also portray)

- Whatever content you most engage with is the content that you'll be seeing the most, for example, if you comment, like, or share a post then Facebook's algorithm takes it that you want to see more of the content. 

- "These platforms are businesses trying to generate money through more eyeballs"

- Facebook has been said to be biased against conservatives 

-"Hard to decide in today's society what even is truth" 

- People providing misinformation know how to work with algorithms provided by social platforms in order to get it in front of people. 

Tuesday Slideshow Power in the media

By Kayla Lockington 

Friday - Narrative research

 Narrative research:

Task 2 - 

If the power to tell stories and shape narratives is only held by a few, what dangers lie in that?

If the power to influence and tell a story was a right only held by a few then our cultures and heritages would start to crumble into nothing but a memory. If the thoughts of one were the only thoughts being portrayed to the masses, we would all fall into the trap of thinking the same and there would be no creative differences to separate us. If this proved to be true things such as racism and female injustice may still be going on to a higher degree today. We may not have seen colored people presented in a positive light on-screen or women being more than just a 'prop'

Merata Mita. Why was her work important and how would you describe her efforts?

Merata Mita helped to pave a way for indigenous filmmakers everywhere. Stirring the balance between mainstream and 'forbidden'. She was allowing small filmmakers to be able to get the opportunity to express themselves through the media in the future. She went to extreme efforts to stand up for what she believed in, although the government was targeting her and she was a single mother raising 5 children, she never stopped trying to make a statement and prove that indigenous films are an important part of learning the true culture of our country or the ways in which people live, other than the mansions and big inheritances that we see on screen. It allows people to learn about different heritages and cultures that are crucial to the social and economic development of countries. Through small indie filmmakers, we can see the truth behind all the smoke and lights rather than getting the mainstream media from big tech companies or the big conglomerates that try to mask the truth. Audiences may be able to relate to different messages or ideas that indie filmmakers are portraying, it's a smaller directed message that can help to raise awareness to try and prevent things such as domestic violence or racism in different political scenes which a lot of the time is happening behind the scenes. 

Task 3 -

1. How are indigenous stories being funded?

Different filmmaker associations are being set up to be able to financially support indie film amkers and try help with the progression of films. An example is in 2017 when Canada formed the Indigenous Screen Office to support Indigenous filmmakers, which then helped fund 35 projects in their first year. People are becoming more aware that indie films are needing to be heard more. 

2. What are some of the stereotypes that were perpetuated in early indigenous portrayals of the native Americans?

They were shown to be dirty or less than what a normal person should be seen as. Native Americans were seen as nothing more than savages and that whoever was not a native and had fair skin, could own the (what was known as) 'the inferior race'

3. Who is one example of an indigenous voice in NZ who is succeeding at telling stories from an indigenous point of view and garnering the interest of the wider world?

Taika Waititi started off as an Indie filmmaker first producing films such as "Two Cars", "One Nights", etc. Then in 2017, he was given the opportunity to direct the film Thor: Ragnarok, and even in this big-budget Hollywood film there were still touches of culture coming through, for example, one of the characters seen in the fighting ring and had a classic "kiwi accent", which stood out from the rest of the voices but almost help to make the film better as it showed more diversity in casting. This is where even though it was a big film, indie filmmakers are still in touch with their roots and help to bring that to larger audiences consuming big tech media.

4. Where do indigenous films have a platform to be viewed currently?

At the moment the only way to view an indie film is through film festivals. Even though this is a fun experience, people are so used to having everything on demand now through the introduction of web 2.0, that no one wants to make the effort to have to physically go to a film festival or if they do it is more of a special occasion that only happens every so often. Every now and again we see a big-budget film company release an indigenous type of film but that still isn't enough publicity to help the dying breed. 

5. What in your oppinion, is the future of more authentic portrayals and representations of indigenous people on screen, moving forward?

I feel as though indie films are slowly making their way through the ranks. The demand for the truth in the media is growing and audiences are starting to take a liking to the authenticity of indie films. We can see the support when things such as crowdfunding are used to help progress a film, for example, what they did for 'What we do in the Shadows' although they had a small budget people were still supporting the film and wanting to see the end result, which ended up paying off when the film grossed over $6 million in gross sales. 

Thursday Classwork

Ideology questions:

1. In your own words, describe what 'ideology' is.

Ideology is a certain view or belief seen by an individual or a group in society. It holds the power to influence societies and impact the way people live and go about their day-to-day lives.

2. What are 2 examples from the text of dominant ideologies of the West, reflected in media?

• Dominant ideologies include beliefs about gender roles, about the economy, about social institutions.
• Consumerism is a world view that a person has more worth if she or he has more material possessions and that we are made happier by consuming more goods.

3. Thinking about 'Black Panther' which is one of your case studies for Power and the Media, what ideology is being communicated to the audience about the people groups represented?

It is representing people of color and a different culture compared to the ones that may be seen in the western world today. Audiences may not relate to it as much but it is engaging with a different standard of normal, that hopefully allows people to become more diverse compared to the 90s were having a predominant all person of color cast was never seen, especially when the producers were middle-aged Caucasian men that only saw the lens from their perspective. 

4. Thinking about ideology - Why would it be considered a powerful position to be in, if you were in a position to create media, consumed by audiences?

When producing the media whatever ideology you believe in or the views that you see are socially acceptable can be portrayed in the type of media you produce. Unfortunately, up until this point people who have produced media have been white males who only saw the world as plain black and white where minorities would have never been seen on-screen or any other type of culture would have never been brought to audiences if it was not seen as the 'normal way of living. Women were never the main character but rather another prop on the side, as the world has progressed females have slowly risen in the ranks where they are now seen as more than just an object where now they are the main characters and also seen as heroes. It now imposes the idea onto audiences that this can now be seen as normal in the film industry. 

5. If movie-making is essentially storytelling, the point of view and underlying world view of the storyteller is important in how people are represented. Give some examples of how we see dominant ideologies changing in society as a result of diversity in the top ranks of those creating film/ media and becoming the storytellers? (give detailed examples)

As I said before with women in the media and how it has slowly progressed over time. We now see it in many examples where women have risen through the ranks. They have now seen as heroes an example is 'Captain Marvel' where a woman is seen to be in a powerful position and saving the world, compared to when they are shown as weak or the damsel in distress. Females have started to own their own sexuality, especially women in the music industry where instead of being sexualized they are portraying themselves in a hyper-sexualized way in order to sell but also making a statement, women rappers are now dominating the industry with examples such as Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat, Cardi B, etc. 

Power in the media essay

 Essay 

"To what extent do people today have the power to represent themselves" 

People today have an unprecedented amount of power to represent themselves through the media and free speech platforms. Big tech companies such as Google and social media giant, Facebook, have a hegemonic dominance over content in order to decide what is shown at what is not. Influence is huge and can be easily passed on through powerful names, enforcing different ideologies onto audiences, sometimes tainting the image of some groups in society and the way they are being portrayed. An example of this is the Black Lives Matter movement, where audiences were sick of seeing people of color shown in an aggressive or dangerous light on-screen or through the media. In 2011, more than half of the films fell into the lowest level of cast diversity of less than just 11%. However, in 2020, 28.8% of films had the highest level of cast diversity with 50% or higher. Just under 10% of films in 2020 fell into the lowest level of cast diversity, clearly showing the changes being made to adapt to audience preferences. Stuart Haul's Representation theory implies that the subject has a single fixed meaning against which accuracy can be measured. Haul points out that this can not be so. This can be seen to correlate yet also contrast with George Gerbner's Cultivation Theory. He believed that long-term exposure can shape the way you perceive the media and influence how audiences conduct themselves. 

Pew research center did a survey and found that 72% of U.S. adults say that social media platforms are having too much of an influence on today's society. Similarly, 59% of people think that certain types of media should be banned or censored to stop different messages from being misunderstood, for example, the covid pandemic showed how different information was twisted into something to either scare people further or give wrong news. Platforms such as Twitter began really as a tool that allowed those in social circles to essentially "shout out" to one another, but it has increasingly become a broadcast platform to reach the masses. Some 47% of the population thinks that the government should be regulation major technology companies more than it is now. Regulation can be seen as a good thing but censorship may be argued against. Rather than silencing someone's right to free speech, it could be edited or just the post that was seen as offensive could be taken down. An example of this is when Twitter permanently suspended Donald Trump's account. As of this, within the weekend, nearly every link to his account was taken down and him being banned from social media giant Facebook. The people who hold the power here are the ones creating the content as well as the ones regulating it. Social media is still a massive evolving phenomenon and the problem is now whether it is having a more positive or negative effect and influence on the masses 

Although the control of the media is slowly becoming more accessible to the wider population, companies such as the big 5 (Disney, Sony, Warner Bros, Paramount, and Comcast) still have control over smaller subsidiaries and the media that goes out to audiences. Through the proliferation of technological convergence, big monopolies such as Disney now have more control than ever through the introduction of streaming video on demand (SVOD). Not only does it make it easier for audiences to access the media but also cheaper than having to go to the cinemas which are on the rapid decline. Fans can now 'binge' their favorite show or movie series without ads or interruptions. This as well as the introduction of web 2.0 gives audiences the freedom to express their opinions about certain aspects of the media they are consuming, audiences now becoming 'prosumers' catering to their liking. An example of this was with the release of Stranger Things, and a fan page was created on Facebook so that people could talk freely and express their thoughts on the show. Instead, it was a platform for hate speech that ended up having to be taken down because complaints were made by the actors saying that what people were putting online was hurtful and started to affect the ways in which actors played their roles. 

A clear example of the audience controlling different parts of the media is in the film 'Song of the South, released in 1946, directed by Wilfred Jackson, whom may I point out was a middle-aged Caucasian male at the time of the production of this movie. In this, there is a picture of cackling crows shown in a rather discriminatory racist light. They are seen to be talking like a person of colour and seen to have adopted 'baffoon'-like behavior, as that was the only thing people of a different race were seen to behave like. It was a mockery of culture and as time went on people started to voice their opinions about this, forcing Disney to completely remove this offensive scene from the original movie. It is not just people of colour and minorities being shown in a stereotypical way through the media. It is also how women are now being used in music videos as objects, a typical "trophy wife" where male singers almost are objectifying women, thinking they are nothing more than something to stand there and look pretty or making the males look in power, a dominant gender. Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze Theory puts this into perspective, saying how women no longer want to be accessories on screen. Everything was being made where the female viewer must experience the narrative secondarily, meaning their opinion is not as important as the male audience. Big-name artists such as Chris Brown or Kanye West have used women in ways of promotion where they are almost promoting sexualized content aimed at men. Over time women have started to take rank where they have started owing their femininity and using it to sell the content of their own. Lil Kim revolutionized women in music and started a new era in the late 1990s, dominating the billboards and paving a way for future female artists/rappers. 

Independent filmmakers are starting to rise through the ranks as we now have access to so many streaming platforms that allow user-generated content. One of the biggest online phenomenons to be introduced to the public was Youtube released in 2005 and now has over 2.1 billion users. This has given indie filmmakers the opportunity to get their films recognized on a low budget. People have not only started to become involved in the way films are being made but are starting to make their own films. The industry is a forever growing market and gives people the power to represent not only themselves but already established conglomerates, in whatever light they chose. Through web, 2.0 people can influence the opinion of the world on something through the click of a button. 

Monday Lockdown Classwork

 Youtube case study:

- how much content is created every day?

• 300 hours of video content uploaded per minute, it would take nearly 50 years to watch every single video that was uploaded in a day 
• "Represents over 20% of the time spent on connected television"
• Over 500 hours uploaded every minute 
• Over 1 billion hours watched every day

- Who acquired Youtube and how much was spent?

• 3 ex PayPal employees created the idea, Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jar Vet Kareem. 
• The first video uploaded to Youtube was a short video of Jarvez Kareem, one of the co-founders, standing outside the elephants' exhibit at the San Diego Zoo 
• Youtube is the 2nd largest search engine 
• In 2019 Youtube generated $15 billion in revenue. 
• YouTube had to pay $170 million to settle lawsuits and other expenses. 
• Google spent $1.65 billion on the purchase of YouTube 

- how was allowing people to monetise channels, a major shift in the industry?

• Over 2 billion users visit Youtube every month
• There are creators who are making millions and millions of dollars every month from posting videos an example includes Dude Perfect who literally do fun stunts and get paid millions to do so - 56.6 million subscribers on YT.

- how were algorithms used to Youtube's advantage with subscribers?

• lead on to people basically "never leaving the app" 
• Videos were suggested to you based on what you had watched previously and who you’re subscribed to.

- name some of the ways Youtube has changed and added aspects to their channel to increase audience/subscribers?

• Youtube at first had no traffic therefore was changed into a dating site where people were enticed with money and other methods. 
• They tweaked their technology so that anyone would be able to upload videos and share them online for the world to see. 
• Just one click Youtube's "Big Bang Moment"

- why is content moderation hard for Youtube?

• Content published isn't always accurate 
• Content moderation has been seen to be quite the challenge

The diversity report

Notes:

- shows that 54.6% of the top films of 2020 were released solely via streaming subscription services, a major departure from business as usual.

- The global home and mobile entertainment market increased to a record $68 billion over the course of 2020, up 23% from the $55.9 billion in 2019.

- The U.S. share of this global market stood at nearly 44% in 2020. Latino and Black adults, in particular, consumed online content at higher levels than other groups.

- All four job categories showed progress in 2020, but women and people of color are still underrepresented in critical behind-the-camera jobs. Women made up just 26% of film writers and just 20.5% of directors. Combined, minority groups were slightly better represented as directors at 25.4%. Just 25.9% of film writers in 2020 were people of color.

- For streaming platforms, films featuring casts that were 21% to 30% minority had the highest ratings among white, Black, Latino, and Asian households and viewers 18–49.

- In 2011, the first year tracked, more than half of the films fell into the lowest level of cast diversity — less than 11%. In 2020, however, 28.8% of films had the highest level of cast diversity — 50% or higher. Just under 10% of films in 2020 fell into the lowest level of cast diversity.

- In 2020, nearly all of the films with a female director also featured a female lead (94.7%). Films directed by minorities had the highest level of cast diversity. And 78.3% of films directed by people of color featured minority leads.

- White film directors were more than twice as likely as minority directors to helm a film with a budget of $100 million or more — 6.4% versus 2.8%. Men and women were equally likely to direct a big-budget film in 2020 — 5.7% and 5.6%, respectively.

-Women and people of color were more likely to direct films that fell into the lowest budget category of less than $20 million. For films directed by people of color, 72.3% had budgets less than $20 million, compared to 60% for white directors. It was about the same for films directed by women. Of those, 74.3% had budgets less than $20 million, compared to 59.2% for men's directors.