Critical investigation tutorial 09/11/16

• ·         Notes & Quotes document pretty much exactly 2,000 – you’ve met the first deadline and have already got a great selection of documentary based research. It’s fine to use that as a basis for much of your argument but the primary text still needs to be Vogue magazine and make sure you’re bringing your own thinking and interpretations of the documentary stuff. You’ve got less web research but this is pretty easy to add to at any stage and I’m delighted to see some high quality academic research (Gender Trouble) already – that will give you a headstart on task #2.
• ·         Textual analysis is Task #1 – nothing on that yet so this will need to be a priority over the next few days. Deconstruct a few Vogue covers – in-depth textual analysis breaking down the key conventions and impact on audience. Treat this like an exam text. Remember your primary text should be from the last five years but it’s fine to analyse an earlier cover in addition if it’s helpful to your essay.  
• ·         Media Mag, Jump Cut etc. are currently from Notes and Quotes so add that over the next couple of weeks. eJump Cut is also very good – perhaps more for film than magazine but worth a look. E.g. http://ejumpcut.org/archive/jc51.2009/Hills-Affuso/index.html  
• ·         Academic books/journals are the focus for Task #2. Use Google Scholar and the BFI trip to develop this area beyond what you’ve already planned (which looks great). In terms of theory/books in class – Van Zoonen definitely, bell hooks (worth checking index at least), you’ve already got Butler, McRobbie will be essential (third wave feminism and magazines). Media, Gender and Identity by David Gauntlett. This is plenty to be getting on with!
• ·         Task #1 – make sure you get the analysis of your primary text done for next week and keep working through the academic research for Task #2
• ·         LR: Copy this into a new blog post called ‘Critical Investigation tutorial’ and write the next three steps in your research below my feedback.

n What i am going to do now:

• notes and quotes updated
• textual analysis
• further research 

Critical Investigation: Project proposal

The next step in our critical investigations is to develop our presentations into detailed academic proposals. 

You will be given a one-to-one tutorial to help you find the right angle and issue to concentrate on but first need to develop a blog post working through the following headings and tasks:

Working title

The representation of women in the fashion industry. 

Angle

The women working behind the scenes? who controls the representation? what representation is created? audience influence on representation? empowerment/objectification through sexual representation?  

Hypothesis

The fashion industry is controlled by women, creating a representation of women on their own perception. 

Linked production piece

2 double page spread article and front cover of an autumn edition fashion magazine.

MIGRAIN

Apply the Key Concepts to your texts/topic by using the questions from the Summer Research Project to help you. (Include at least five bullet point/key concept). Include as many media keywords as you can.

Media language;

1. Subscriptions: 1,067,668
2.  Escapism
3.  gatekeeping
4.  magazine editors
5. audience effect,

Institution ;

1.  1892
2. t is a piece of art everything to do with is glamorous and sophisticated 
3. It is a piece of art everything to do with is glamorous and sophisticated 
4. “Everywhere she goes, the waters part. The entire industry responds to Anna’s taste, her likes, her dislikes” (R. J. Cutler, quoted in Block, 2009).
5. Fashion writers, photographers, and editors, McRobbie observes, are “more closely linked with the fashion industry than would be the case in other journalistic fields”;

Genre;

1. fashion
2. "non specified"

Audience;

1. very wealthy, fashion conscious, celebrity watching women
2. glamour and sophistication
3. A-B Demographic 
5. LUXURY CONSUMERS
6. 93% of Vogue readers own designer fashion
7. 94% own premium beauty
8. average 34 yeaer olds

Ideologies;

1.  reflected the rules of the fashion world ; 'fashion prevailing at any given time'
2. important on luxurey
3. importance on culture as well as fashion
4. visible advertising 
5. reflecting the culture 

SHEP

Social

• representation of culture
• class differentiation in fashion 
• representation of women 
• influence of fashion on society
• feminism 

Historical / Political

• autumn of 1916
•  Dorothy Todd, a renowned Vogue editor due to her boldness, especially in her movement to blend the arts and fashion, 
• female representation changing over time
• photography 
• NDM

Economic
jan-june 2016

• circulation : 195,053
• readership: 1,239,000
• (global) 21 editions reaching 23.5 million people
•  £4 million worth of coverage

Issues/Debates

Select at least five and say how each relates to your study, using theMedia A-Z to help you think about this:

• Representation and stereotyping : Women
• Media effects : perception of women
• News Values: closeness to home
• Ownership and control : Conde Nase final input as well as cheif editorial
• Regulation and censorship:

Theories

Select at least five and say how each relates to your study, using keywords/specific theorists' names from the Media A-Z:

• Semiotics : photography props etc create meaning
• Gender and ethnicity: hardly any ethnic minority represented / even working there. not many males either
• Liberal Pluralism: types of representation of women
• Audience theories: why readers pick vogue, entertainment? identification?
• Genre theories: Mulvey gaze - influence of representation of women
• 
  

Explain how your study fits into this.

Research plan (media texts, academic texts and websites)

Media texts
Print vogue editions
Vogue documentaries and books
Vogue official website

Other media texts
At least FIVE from university websites/academic papers online. UseGoogle Scholar as a starting point.

http://www.vogue.co.uk/video/inside-british-vogue-a-brief-history-of-100-years

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2752/136270406778051085?journalCode=rfft20

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/197483/summary

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/23264/summary

https://www.youtube.com/user/vogue

TV documentaries

• Absolutely Fashion: Inside British Vogue (2016) (8th and 15th Sep)
• British Devil Wears Prada

Academic texts/books
(a minimum of five, including author/full title/year, e.g.:)

• Vogue 100: A Century of Style Hardcover – 11 Feb 2016
• The Vogue Factor by Kirstie Clements by Robin Muir
• Vogue: The Covers by Dodie Kazanjian, Hamish Bowles 

• Unseen Vogue by Robin Derrick

• People in Vogue by Robin Derrick (Editor), Robin Muir

• Vogue: The Editor's Eye by Conde Nast, Anna Wintour (Foreword), Hamish Bowles (Introduction), Eve MacSweeney (Editor) 

• In Vogue: An Illustrated History of the World's Most Famous Fashion Magazine by Norberto Angeletti, Anna Wintour (Contribution by), Grace Coddington (Contribution by), Annie Liebowitz (Contribution by), Steven Klein (Contributor)

Internet Links

• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2016/09/15/absolutely-fashion-inside-british-vogue-a-reductive-bid-to-do-br/

• http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/14747317.7_of_the_best_moments_during_Absolutely_Fashion__Inside_British_Vogue/
• http://digital-assets.condenast.co.uk.s3.amazonaws.com/static/mediapack/vogue_media_pack_latest.pdf
• http://www.vogue.co.uk/video/inside-british-vogue-a-brief-history-of-100-years
• http://www.vogue.co.uk/video
• http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/vogue-s-attack-on-style-bloggers-shows-how-much-newcomers-have-fashion-magazines-rattled-a7342381.html
• http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/vogue-real-women-issue-no-models-november-issue-a7344776.html

critical investigation tutorial (1)

·         Good topic and text – but may need to consider the question carefully as there may simply be too much to cover in 2,000 words. Perhaps consider focusing on heterosexual norms and bring gender stereotypes into that rather than trying to cover everything in the question.

·         You could also re-work the whole question to focus on gender and feminism – exploring whether fashion magazines like Vogue advance or damage feminist causes. In terms of linking this to mental health and body image, I’m sure there will be links – surely there would be recent feminist campaigns that highlight this issue? As well as feminist theories (such as McRobbie) that explore the other side of the argument and suggest the increasingly sexual representation of women in lifestyle magazines is actually about empowerment.

·         Linked production – print fashion magazine.

·         Next steps: finish project proposal and start building a comprehensive research plan.

·         Post this to your blog with a brief plan for what you will work on in the next two weeks.

Ignite presentations: Learner response

Vogue - reputation and genre. 

Context: 5

Clarity: 4

Presentation: 5 

Overall: 14 Good clear opening and justification 

• Solid structure- starting with front covers
• Excellent use of media terminology and key conventions
• well selected examples and material 
• idea of how representations are constructed is very good but need a little more depth/clarity
• following into ideology makes perfect sense but id like to see more about influence of dominant/western ideologies (or perhaps class here too?) 
• delivered confidently without notes - impressive
• impact of text on audience is a vital area - could offer more here - and perhaps less on psychographics and more on media effects would be good (e.g. influence on body confidence etc.) 
• superb opening question on race/ethnicity - handled confidently and certainly an area for further research. 
• question on male gaze slightly confusing but bringing in these theories is helpful and another area for further research. 
• Question on audience and institution is brilliant and very confidently handled with original and thoughtful response. 

WWW and EBI for your own research and presentation as a whole.

WWW: The way in which my presentation was structured and presented was confident and clear to follow so in a practical scenes my presentation was a strong point. Another strength was that the research i did regarding the images and what images could portray a successful message was efficient and worked well. 

EBI: In terms of research i need to research into the institution with more economical data and statistics. I also need to further develop my critical investigation with alternative texts, viewpoints and theories with debates. 

The final aspect is a paragraph discussing how your presentation will lead into your critical investigation. Some of this may refer to your feedback (a greater focus on media debates, for example) or in rare cases you may want to change the focus of your investigation entirely.

My presentation had the rough process through which i am going to go with my essay as it follows a similar structure. I am also going to analyse the posters like i did during the presentation but with much more theory and debate involved as well as deeper analysis in between posters with background information on celebrities and their media relations. Moreover i am aiming to take a lot more of historical and political debates and theories.

Summer Project Research

Issue: Representation of males and females in fashion

Text: Vogue

After i came up with a title and concept i decided to look up a few images of the text that could highlight the issue. 

Then i did a bit of research into articles that explored Vouge as a brand/company. 

• http://www.vogue.com/13468802/la-perla-julia-haart-creative-director/
• http://www.condenast.com/brands/vogue/media-kit/contracts-and-regulations 
• http://www.vogue.com/press/

Which lead to some further interesting research.

http://www.condenast.com/about-us/about-us

And some more...

Then only to find... 







Then i did a bit of research into the issue. 

• https://www.thefword.org.uk/2011/05/fashion_and_gender/
• http://laurafoley89.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-representation-of-women-on-vogue.html
• http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2204521/Is-domestic-violence-Vogue-Anger-choking-cover-featuring-Stephanie-Seymour.html 
• https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2013/jul/05/vogue-truth-size-zero-kirstie-clements 
• http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3211626/Vogue-magazine-fire-readers-revealed-plus-size-women-featured-832-page-September-issue-appear-paid-ad.html

Media Representations 

• Women and Men - Many people create these representations such as the fashion editors, art editors, beauty editors, events organizers, photographers, journalists, graphic designers, PR, advertisers and much more.
• All in the name of fashion (potentially, research (which i still need to do) may show that its to create certain ideologies etc. )
• Representations can never be 100% fair/ accurate as these concepts cannot be summarised by one perspective. 
• In fashion there are way too many contracts, terms and conditions, procedures etc. for the person themselves to have any control over how the represent themselves (even if they did post production/ media would create their own perspective)

 

Media Languages and Forms 

• Every little thing about print media can be depicted and analysed. From the central images posture to the word choice of the cover lines
• Vogue seems to believe that photos/typography convey vaster messages than text 
• From the initial make up to the photographers to the editors its all part of the processes. 

Narrative 

• The visual finish with the iconography, genre, mise-en-scene, editing etc create the narrative of what is trying to be conveyed.

Genre 

• Fashion 
• News, fashion, catwalk, beauty, people and parties, arts and lifestyles and miss vogue. 
• They place a strong emphasis on the celebrity(model), photographers, stylists and fashion labels. 

Media Institutions 

• Vogue / condE Nast 

Media Values and Ideology 

• quality, innovation and learning, autonomy, pride and passion for everything they do and last but not least a long term perspective.

Media Audiences 

• Medium age of 38, $62,000 average annual salary, 87% female : 13% male, 66% go to college or above, 63% employed, professional managerial jobs 23%. 
• Global international audience

Then i made the ignite presentation