Do you think that Pop music video's are becoming more gay?

To the people of the internet! 

Do you think that Pop music videos are becoming more open about LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender) groups?

If yes then why do you think that this is the case?

Do you think it is right to?

There is no real right answer so write what you think! 

Thanks ☺

X-mas Task #6: Introduction, 1st & 2nd paragraphs

Popular music has changed rapidly over the last 30 years in terms of LGBT artists, and there have been many influences that have challenged & successfully changed the views of society. Popular music is known to appeal to mass audiences, therefore to keep artists in the mainstream they have to appeal to what the majority of people want to see, rather than educating people and creating awareness of LGBT groups. It could be argued that popular music is one of the main sources of awareness for LGBT groups as music has been known to create social and political change. However there is still many issues with the fact that LGBT groups are not being represented fairly, or in a heterosexual view and the issue regarding censorship and why young people are not being educated about LGBT groups. 

One of the first groups to represent LGBT groups and values of equality in Britain during the 1980’s were Culture Club whose hit song ‘Do You Really Want To Hurt Me’ “focuses on the misunderstanding of sexual diversity with the line”[1], not only during the time that the music video released but also during the different periods of time in which it was set.. The lead singer of Culture Club, Boy George, openly expressed his sexuality during a time of radical change socially and politically. British society was gradually becoming more exposed to LGBT groups however Britain was extremely conservative and homophobic. The 1980’s was arguably one of the most controversial and pivotal era’s musically in the 20th century for LGBT groups, as there were many artists that conveyed their pro-homosexual values through their music videos. Pete Burns is an example of an artist who through his costume and make-up challenged the conservative homophobic views of society in his music video ‘You Spin Me Round’. The medium shots of Burns body language would, at that time, seem unusual as there was and still “is social prohibition against the feminization of men”[2], it would seem that during this period of time popular music culture was becoming more aware of LGBT groups however the response to it was not as open.However not all artists were open about their sexuality, artists such as George Michael and Elton John did not ‘come out of the closet’ until society had become more aware of LGBT groups. It was not until the mid 1990’s that George Michael ‘came out of the closet’ after the release of his music video ‘Fast Love’; however even during this period of time homosexuality was still a controversial issue with the AID’s epidemic increasing rapidly. So there were still many problems surrounding the awareness and acceptance in society as a whole.Groups such as Bronski Beat, who were all homosexual, not only challenged the representations of LGBT groups in popular culture but directly addressed the political issues surrounding Gay Rights in the UK. During the mid 1980’s there was not only radical change to the music videos and popular culture in Britain but politically there was more question into both feminism and gay rights.

Although artists such as Madonna were not part of the LGBT groups, her music videos such as 'Express Yourself', challenged what it meant to be feminine, most people would have labelled her behaviour, costume and dancing to be 'butch' as “A woman attired as a man may be seen as ‘power dressing’ or as adapting the mannerism of lesbianism”[3]. It could be argued that this alternative representation of women in Madonna’s ‘Express Yourself’ created awareness of LGBT groups and was described as "an encouragement for all women and all oppressed minorities to resist, to express their ideas and their strength faced with tyranny." [4] as the music video challenged tried to empower women and LGBT groups from oppression. It would seem that the music videos at that time had changed in terms of the values as there were more music videos which were challenging the dominant ideologies of gender roles. From a Marxist point of view it would seem that music videos like ‘Express Yourself’ and even ‘Do You Really Want To Hurt Me’ portray the oppression that  the proletariat, in this case “women” and “minorities”, face in society and life from the bourgeoisie, the majority. Marx argues that in order to gain equality a “revolution is necessary”[5], in terms of popular music culture there was arguably a revolution of more LGBT artists and change to gender role in the music videos of the 1980’s. Pete Burns and groups like Queen whose lead vocalist Freddie Mercury, who were both described as being ‘openly gay’, also questioned gender roles through the use of their flamboyant attire and behaviour.However it could be argued that this in itself did not create awareness of LGBT groups but ridiculed LGBT groups as there were a limited amount of  homosexual artists in the media, therefore because of the lack of diversity and the conservative values of society LGBT groups would have been seen as bizarre and outspoken like the persona’s of the artists. So it did not help create awareness, but created more prejudice.

X-mas Task #5: Essay Plan

Question: How has popular music culture created awareness of LGBT groups and has it been successful in doing so? 

Introduction: 
Popular music has changed rapidly over the last 30 years in terms of LGBT artists, and there have been many influences that have challenged & successfully changed the views of society. Popular music is known to appeal to mass audiences, therefore to keep artists in the mainstream they have to appeal to what the majority of people want to see, rather than educating people and creating awareness of LGBT groups. It could be argued that popular music is one of the main sources of awareness for LGBT groups as music has been known to create social and political change. However there is still many issues with the fact that LGBT groups are not being represented fairly, or in a heterosexual view and the issue regarding censorship and why young people are not being educated about LGBT groups. 


P1: First LGBT artists & there struggles in society with awareness & acceptance.
 Looking at examples of Boy George who started off in Culture Club in the 1980's as one of the first groups to openly express values of equality and sexuality, during a time when there was a lot of change in Britain, politically and socially, there was more immigrants moving to Britain and society was still homophobic. The 1980's was arguably one of the most controversial era's musically as there were many artists that not only challenged the way people thought with their own identity for example Pete Burns, who with his unusual costume and make up in his music video 'You Spin Me Round' challenged the conservative views of society to a more liberal approach on what is acceptable.  Artists such as George Michael and Elton John had to conceal their sexuality until it was socially acceptable in society to be gay. It was not until the mid 90's that George Michael 'came out of the closet' about his sexuality after the release of his song "Fast Love"; however, even during this period of time homosexuality was still controversial and there were many problems surrounding the awareness and acceptance in society as a whole.

Groups such as Bronski Beat, who were all homosexual, not only challenged the representations of LGBT groups in popular culture but openly addressed the political issues surrounding Gay Rights. During the mid 80's there was not only radical change to the artists and music videos in Britain but politically there was more question into both feminism and gay rights. 


Quotations:

• '“Truting” uses the pop song Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? By Culture Club (headed by openly gay male pop star icon, Boy George), which offers an upbeat tempo, yet focuses on the misunderstanding of sexual diversity with the line “this boy loves without a reason,” and repeating the title line and “Do you really want to make my cry?” frequently.' - LGBT identity and online new media By Christopher Pullen, Margaret Cooper
• ‘there is social prohibition against the feminization of men, there is almost none against the masculinisation of women.’ - Macdonald, M. (1995).Representing women: myths of femininity in the popular media. London: E. Arnold ;. P215

P2: Gender roles in music videos & Marxism

Although artists such as Madonna were not part of the LGBT groups, her music videos ('Express Yourself') challenged what it meant to be feminine, most people would have labelled her behaviour, costume and dancing to be lesbian and 'butch'; it could be argued that this alternative representation created awareness of LGBT groups and changed the way women were stereotyped. The oppression that is shown in Madonna's 'Express Yourself' challenges the gender roles during the 1980's, according to Marx to avoid this oppression there needs to be a revolution, in terms of pop music culture the revolution will hope to create equality for women and LGBT groups.

Pete Burns and groups like Queen whose lead vocalist Freddie Mercury who were both described as being ‘openly gay’ questioned gender roles through the use of their flamboyant attire and behaviour. However it could be argued that this in itself did not create awareness of LGBT groups but ridiculed LGBT groups as there were a limited amount of  homosexual artists in the media, therefore because of the lack of diversity and the conservative values of society LGBT groups would have been seen as bizarre and outspoken like the persona’s of the artists. So it did not help create awareness, but created more prejudice. 

Quotations:

• ‘Madonna’s erotica album blurred gender confusions, fluidity of sexuality, and transgression of masculine and feminine stereotypes.’-Gauntlett, D. (2007). Media, gender and identity: an introduction (Reprinted. ed.). London [u.a.: Routledge
• ‘A woman attired as a man may be seen as ‘power dressing’ or as adapting the mannerism of lesbianism’ - Macdonald, M. (1995).Representing women: myths of femininity in the popular media. London: E. Arnold ;. P215
• "an encouragement for all women and all oppressed minorities to resist, to express their ideas and their strength faced with tyranny." - Guilbert, Georges-Claude (2002), Madonna As Postmodern Myth, McFarland, ISBN 0786414081

• 
  

  “Both for the production on a mass scale of this communist consciousness, and ... the alteration of men on a mass scale is, necessary, ... a revolution; this revolution is necessary, therefore, not only because the ruling class cannot be overthrown in any other way, but also because the class overthrowing it can only in a revolution succeed in ridding itself of all the muck of ages and become fitted to found society anew.” Marx, German Ideology (1845)

Over time there has been a gradual change of views and overall acceptance


P3: Lady Gaga & Technology.
People like Lady Gaga advocate political and social change through the use of her powerfully influential music videos for example 'Born This Way', however not only does she use her music videos but also the use of new and digital media to convey her pro-homosexual ideologies through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. On Twitter Lady Gaga is known to address her fans as her 'kids' or, more famously, 'little monsters' in which she expresses her views on political issues surrounding the LGBT community, particularly before the gay marriages laws were passed in New York. Before the ‘information revolution’, there was not much interaction between the LGBT artists and the audiences but social networking sites has allowed artists like Lady Gaga to create more social awareness on behalf of LGBT groups, and has successfully managed to arguably influence the gay rights in New York. After the state of New York passed the gay marriage bill Lady Gaga expressed her enthusiasm via Twitter saying ‘'I can't stop crying. We did it kids’. 


Quotations: 

• “I aim at creating my art in the context of a universal idea of freedom. I am unquestionably against all physical and ideological manifestations of tyranny, oppression and imprisonment,” -  Benichou, P. (n.d.). » International Reviews Philippe Benichou Artist Blog. The Art of Philippe Benichou - Original Paintings - Limited Editions - Official Web Site. Retrieved January 24, 2011, from http://philippebenichou.com/blog/?page_id=150
• "Lady Gaga has clearly mastered the new social network phenomenon that drives global consumerism." -  Lady Gaga: Mistress of convergence - http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/MM36_Collab_gaga_convergence.html
• "The debates surrounding popular culture representations of gayness became increasingly politicized." -  Encyclopedia of gay and lesbian popular culture By Luca Prono

P4: LGBT groups in society & the awareness 
It would seem that although we, in today's society, have more freedom of expression as well as more LGBT artists who through the use of their music videos create awareness of the issue in a political sense, there is still the issue of the majority of society (heterosexuals) oppressing the minority groups (LGBT), which is what artists like Katy Perry portrays through her music video 'Firework'. The gay character in shown to be oppressed and upset by the fact that a heterosexual couple are kissing in the medium shot. John Stuart Mill's view on tolerance; majority vs. minority - there will inevitably be a problem with tolerance and acceptance as the majority view will always be accepted; which is what institutions do in mainstream pop music in order to hold on to the majority, the mainstream audiences. 


Quotations: 

• "Despite some important advances in gay and lesbian visibility in media culture in recent years, representations of sexuality in mainstream pop culture continueto be, for the most part, rampantly heterosexual." -  Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Critical Reader By Gail Dines, Jean McMahon Humez
• " Like other tyrannies, the tyranny of the majority was at first, and is still vulgarly, held in dread, chiefly as operating through the acts of the public authorities." - John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, 1859.

P5: Censorship and the problems. 

It could be argued that because there is a lot of censorship with LGBT characters in music videos that there is a lack of awareness created. Recently there have been music videos that have not created awareness of LGBT groups but have been argued to be extremely pornographic, for example Rihanna's music video Te Amo, was not as censored on television yet it portrayed lesbians to be extreme through the medium shots of both Rihanna's and the woman's body. It seems that when other music videos like Lady Gaga's Born this way and Katy Perry's Firework that actually do try to create awareness of LGBT groups in society are more censored than extreme sexual music videos like Te Amo. Media theorists such as Laura Mulvey's would argue that the male gaze is the reason for the success and acceptance of videos such as Te Amo where as the gay kiss in Firework would not be accepted. There is also the problem of young, impressionable children and teenagers who could see music videos with gay and lesbians and be exposed to content which is beyond their understanding of the world - is it fair for young children to see this. It could be argued that it is fair as this in itself would create awareness for younger generations and educate them on modern culture and society.

There seems to be a problem when representing LGBT groups in pop music videos; as it is usually from a heterosexual point of view. The institutions that try to create a LGBT stereotype always add their own institutional value to their text, again looking at the example of Rihanna's 'Te Amo', the music video portrays the suggested lesbian characters to only have a sexual relation. 
Institution & portray women as simply sexual*
Now that there are artists that are more open about their identity it seems socially acceptable, however there is still the issue of bullying in schools and legal issues. 

Quotations: 

• ‘there is social prohibition against the feminization of men, there is almost none against the masculinisation of women.’ - Macdonald, M. (1995).Representing women: myths of femininity in the popular media. London: E. Arnold ;. P215
•  “the general struggles any new medium has to go through before it gains wide social acceptance.” - Nielsen, S., Smith, J. H., & Tosca, S. P. (2008). Video Game Culture. Understanding video games: the essential introduction (p. 138). New York: Routledge.

Conclusion:
Is society ready to see more of LGBT groups in pop music? There is still the question of what society tolerates and whether or not these music videos actually do create awareness of LGBT groups. Toleration is not the only problem but also the problem of censorship and what is suitable to show on television as television is the platform that has regulations. Should there not be more people representing or supporting LGBT groups in pop culture? 

X-mas Task #4: Additional Web Research

Media Magazine online research:


http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/MM36_Collab_gaga_convergence.html
Lady Gaga: Mistress of convergence - 
"She campaigned very successfully on the issue of homosexuals in the U.S. military having to lie about their sexuality, resulting in the repeal of the Bill. "

"In other words, convergence culture meets somewhere between the media platform and the consumer platform. The emergence of a Gagapedia reflects the collaborative nature of the Gaga brand, using fans creativity to create interest and appeal. "

"Lady Gaga has clearly mastered the new social network phenomenon that drives global consumerism."


http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/mm28_diploma_freemusic.html
Diploma - freedom of music: 

"Despite so called Freedom of Speech legislation, our more controversial spoken comments still get us into trouble; however it often seems that the same opinions in song are perfectly acceptable."

"For decades artists from Bob Dylan to U2 to Rage Against The Machine have been angered by different troubles and inspired to write songs about them, some to draw attention to the problem and some to prompt direct action against political wrongdoings."

"To me this shows that it is not only multimillion pound recording artists who can protest about these things freely; even bands trying to break into the market have the confidence and drive to express themselves without limit."


http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/mm25_anarchy.html
Anarchy? Where? When sub-versive sub-cultures hit the mainstream: 

"For most, music is little more than entertainment and individuals identify themselves as fans of certain genres, such as indie, hip hop or heavy rock. For others, music is the defining aspect of the sub-cultural group to which they belong, such as goths or, 30 years ago, punks." 

" It was during the 1960s that music was most obviously countercultural; that is, in opposition to the status quo. The counterculture of the 1960s broadly encapsulated:

• the Civil Rights movement

• the growth of feminism

• the anti-war movement

• the Gay rights movements amongst others."

(Rock) "So music was not really treated as a (capitalist) business but as something belonged to the bands and their fans."

"Genres such as grime continue to appear from the underground to challenge the status quo and to be vilified by politicians and the press. "

"He argues that we can all be ‘pirates’ forcing Big Business to respond to youth culture or go out of business. As the Chinese proverb has it, ‘we live in interesting times.’"

Broadsheet newspaper site research: 


http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/dec/24/nigerians-optimistic-people-world?INTCMP=SRCH
Research found that Nigeria is supposedly the most optimistic country in the world, which is ironic as in the news there are an increase in homosexuals being shunned in their society and have to face many issues because of their identity. This article from the Guardian questions whether Nigeria should be called an optimistic country or not (no offence to any Nigerians). 


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/06/us-overseas-aid-human-rights?INTCMP=SRCH
Another article from the Guardian about President Obama telling US officials like Hilary Clinton to deal with human rights abuse against LGBT groups internationally through foreign aid. "It should never be a crime to be gay." - Hilary Cliton speaking in Geneva.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/shortcuts/2011/dec/21/hip-hop-losing-homophobic-image?INTCMP=SRCH
Article from the Guardian about how Hip-Hop seems to be loosing its homophobic image with artists such as Lil' B, Lil Wayne and Kanye West.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/8965869/Religious-groups-boycott-Tesco-over-senior-executives-evil-Christians-comment.html
Hilariously weird article from the Telegraph about Christians boycotting Tesco's after the senior executive called Christians 'evil' for opposing gay marriage. Funny cos in the Bible it says in Matthew 7: 1 "Judge not, that you be not judged. ". This is a clear example of how the media has not only influenced people in a political sense but also socially. 


Media education sites research:
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Students/mtw9402.html
Portrayal of Gays and Lesbians on TV and the audience reaction.

http://www.socresonline.org.uk/2/2/6.html
Research into male sexuality in posters and leaflets.

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/591536/index.html
Focusses more on the historical aspect of homosexuality in film.

Wikipedia research: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_(charity)
A charity called Stonewall (named after the Stonewall riots) which tries to help LGBT groups.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_the_United_Kingdom
Page about the LBGT rights in the UK.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equality_Act_(Sexual_Orientation)_Regulations
About the Equality Act to help LGBT groups in public places without being discriminated against.

X-mas Task #3: Historical Text Analysis & Research

Historical Text #1: 

Boy George seems to be in trial, representing homosexuals in the 1930's, in court; from a historical point of view as it was seen to be illegal to be openly gay in society at that time and the fact that there are ethnic minorities in the court would show Culture Club's positive values of equality for other ethnicities and LGBT groups. It seems to be that Boy George in travelling back and forth in time through the different locations of the court room, night club and the health club; at all of these locations the character of Boy George seems to be rejected by the people around him. This would represent LGBT groups as a whole in society when the song actually released and the different times that Boy George in shown in.

 This would follow J.S.Mill's views on tolerance and 'tyranny of the majority', even though the times changed the 'majority' did not approve and tolerate the minority, in this case Boy George, the lyrics also show this in the chorus "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me?". Boy George himself said that "Until sexuality is a non-issue with them, it will be an issue with me. People have been calling me 'girl' and 'poof' since I was five - I didn't ask for that but eventually you have to ignore it or deal with it." (http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/do-you-really-want-to-hurt-me-1143223.html) it would seem that Boy George is trying to portray the lack of change for LGBT groups over the different time periods. The fact that before the locations change there is a close up on his sunglasses would connote him looking back and reflecting on what has happened to others before.

It is key to note that there are a number of close ups on the people in court and the judge's facial expression as they all seem to collectively disapprove and are shocked by his appearance.
Another thing to note is the costume and make up of Boy George; which challenged the way music videos portrayed men to be masculine, however Boy George is feminised through his costume and make up.

Boy George's hair is also important as he has dreadlocks in the video which is stereotypically a hairstyle for Afro-Caribbean men; which would promote Culture Club's equality views.
The long shot of the black women releasing Boy George from jail is significant part in the music video as is shows that he wants LGBT groups to be free or have freedom as he has in the music video.

Historical Text #2: 

It is key to note the fact that this version of The Wizard of Oz was made in 1939 when it was illegal to be gay, so it could be argued that the characters of the Wizard of Oz were suggestively homosexual as society was extremely homophobic. The repetition of "Lions and tigers and bears" are stereotypically animals that are associated with dominance and fear however when the characters are introduced to the cowardly lion he seems to try to be the alpha male that he's supposed to be however is proved otherwise as he is shown to be a coward. 


The fact that the Scarecrow, Tin Man, the cowardly Lion skip in the forest  with Dorothy in the long shot when they are male characters would again suggest that they could be gay. However it is also important to consider that the primary audience of the text are young children and the fact that it is a musical. The fact that the scarecrow says "It gets darker, before it gets lighter." sets an ominous atmosphere as the text is set in the forest, which would connote danger. The red shoes that Dorthy wears would connote her growing up and becoming a lady. The characters of the Tin Man and the Scarecrow get scared when they see the Cowardly Lion which would also suggest that they are threatened by the seemingly dominant male character, which could again suggest that they maybe homosexual. 

Historical Text #3: 

This historical text is a cover of a lesbian magazine called "The Ladder", the October 1957 edition. It is important to note that the magazine was published in the late 1950's, as homosexuality was still a major political issue, and which is why the messages about homosexuality were still subliminal as both legally and socially LGBT groups were not accepted. This magazine was released during the Homophile movement (gay rights movement) in the 1950's and 1960's.   


The image of the woman on the cover is a stereotypical 'butch' lesbian, as she has short hair and is wearing a shirt, during that period of time (and even today) women that took on male traits were stereotypically deemed as lesbians. The fact that the woman is holding a mask would connote her 'coming out' or in other words revealing her sexuality. The facial expression of the woman seems calm and happy whereas the expression of the mask is upset as there is a tear drop it on; this would suggest that the woman was unhappy not being able to express herself, and now she can and therefore feels better about herself. 


The fact that the publication itself is called 'The Ladder', would suggest that the primary lesbian audience should be able to climb higher, be successful and 'come out of the closet' without feeling oppressed like they were supposedly feeling when they concealed their identity. It is vital to note the fact that the cover of the magazine is in black and white because during the 1950's magazines were available in colour, it could have been published in black and white to add credibility to the serious topics that the magazine covered.  

X-mas Task #2: Additional book research & bibliography

Book research: 


" Like other tyrannies, the tyranny of the majority was at first, and is still vulgarly, held in dread, chiefly as operating through the acts of the public authorities." - John Stuart Mill, On Liberty, 1859. 


‘Madonna’s erotica album blurred gender confusions, fluidity of sexuality, and transgression of masculine and feminine stereotypes.’-Gauntlett, D. (2007). Media, gender and identity: an introduction (Reprinted. ed.). London [u.a.: Routledge.

Authentic Human Sexuality: An Integrated Christian Approach By Judith K. Balswick, Jack O. Balswick

"Even after the emergence of heterosexual desires, the battle is not over;homosexual thoughts can pop up at the most"

LGBT identity and online new media By Christopher Pullen, Margaret Cooper

'“Truting” uses the pop song Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? By Culture Club (headed by openly gay male pop star icon, Boy George), which offers an upbeat tempo, yet focuses on the misunderstanding of sexual diversity with the line “this boy loves without a reason,” and repeating the title line and “Do you really want to make my cry?” frequently.'

Encyclopedia of gay and lesbian popular culture By Luca Prono

"Gay and lesbian celebrated queers as producers of culture, thus countering media representations of gays as producers of the plague. "

"The debates surrounding popular culture representations of gayness became increasingly politicized."

Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Critical Reader By Gail Dines, Jean McMahon Humez

"Despite some important advances in gay and lesbian visibility in media culture in recent years, representations of sexuality in mainstream pop culture continueto be, for the most part, rampantly heterosexual."

"Part of the reason for this is the continuing homophobia that producers assume continues to characterize the majority of media consumers in most targeted audiences. "

GAUNTLETT, DAVID Media, Gender and Identity

"Homosexuality distorts the natural bond of friendship that would naturally unite persons of the same sex ." 

"For example, whilst the official diagnostic manual of American psychiatrists ceased to define homosexuality as pathological in 1973, in 1980 it introduced a new illness called 'Gender identity disorder', which explains that girls or boys who are interested in non-stereotypical activites may have fallen prey to this psychological malady." 

Bibliography: 
 International Reviews Philippe Benichou Artist Blog. (n.d.). The Art of Philippe Benichou - Original Paintings - Limited Editions - Official Web Site. Retrieved January 2, 2012, from http://philippebenichou.com/blog/?page_id=150

Dines, G., & Humez, J. M. (2011).Gender, race, and class in media: a critical reader (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE Publications.

Gauntlett, D. (2002). Media, gender, and identity: an introduction. London: Routledge.

Macdonald, M. (1995). Representing women: myths of femininity in the popular media. London: E. Arnold ;.

Mill, J. S., & Alexander, E. (1999). On liberty. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview Press.

Prono, L. (2008). Encyclopedia of gay and lesbian popular culture. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.

Pullen, C. (2010). LGBT identity & online new media (1. publ. ed.). New York [u.a.: Routledge.


Marx, K., Engels, F., & Arthur, C. J. (19721970). The German ideology. New York: International Publishers.


Guilbert, G. (2002). Madonna as postmodern myth: how one star's self-construction rewrites sex, gender, Hollywood, and the American dream. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co..


Nielsen, S., Smith, J. H., & Tosca, S. P. (2008). Understanding video games: the essential introduction. New York: Routledge.

X-mas Task #1: Textual Analysis

Textual Analysis #1:

People who feel that they are different and go through emotional and physical pain are being represented in the text through the use of the singer Katy Perry describing the narrative in the lyrics (e.g. "You don't have to feel like a waste of space"). The representation is fair as it is not a biased representation, the audience see the injustice/sadness of the different characters. The change in facial expressions, body language and actions is an opportunity for self-representation for the characters (e.g the homosexual who feels a lone in the club seen has a depressed face expression, then after he has "ignite the light" he gains the confidence to approach another male and kiss him.) 

The "firework" has many connotations in this text referring to each characters situation for example when the two children are listening to their father abuse their mother, the lyrics change to "like the 4th of July" referring to the American Independence, so in this case the fireworks connote freedom. This is when the young boy decides to intervene and stop his father from arguing and abusing the mother. The firework shown in the medium shot of the boy coming between his parents can connote anger and a spark of emotions.


The lighting in this shot is low-key, until the firework 'ignites' from the characters, it would seem as though the "firework", in this case it literally a light from inside, but symbolically the characters accepting and embracing their identity. Throughout the text the characters seem to be oppressed by their identity, appearance etc. it would seem according to Marx that the bourgeoisie, in this case the characters problems, are oppressing the proletariat, the character themselves. Marx would argue that in order to be free from the oppression of the bourgeoisie, the proletariat would need a revolution to gain equality, in this case the revolution would be the 'firework' and the characters ability to overcome their problems, this would be apparent through the long shot of the insecure overweight girl jumping into the pool. 

Another point to note is the colour scheme of the text as whole, everything starts off dreary, dull and depressing (e.g the hospital, the pool party) but when the fireworks come to each character the whole text appears to have more colour.

Research into "Firework" : 
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/katy-perry-dedicates-new-firework-video-to-youth-lgbt-project-20101028
In the article from Rolling Stone.com Katy Perry says that the music video of "Firework" is dedicated specifically  to the "It Gets Better Project, which fights discrimination against LGBT Youth." The fact that Katy Perry had tweeted that "@PerezHilton I am officially dedicating my new video to #itgetsbetter," clearly shows the texts and artist's pro-homosexuality ideologies.


The issues surrounding this text in particular are the representations and stereotypes that are conveyed through the characters in Katy Perry's music video. For example, the young gay man who is sitting alone in the club scene, is shown to be insecure and uncomfortable through the medium shot of him overlooking a heterosexual couple. Although the music video is described as a teen empowerment anthem and Katy Perry claimed that it is in support of the 'It gets better' campaign it still raises another issue of  the censorship of the gay kiss. If it was meant to empower LGBT youth surely the gay kiss would be shown to generate more support of youth that struggle with their identity and sexuality. It is key to note that this music video was created in response to the alarming increase of suicides by LGBT  youth as there is arguably not enough awareness and the fact that these teenagers endured bullying in almost every aspect of their lives, which is what Katy Perry conveys through the music video.

Textual Analysis #2:

At the beginning of the video Gaga is portrayed as the "Mother Monster" literally giving birth to "the new race, a race within the race of humanity, a race which bears no prejudice, no judgment." 
The use of symmetry in the long shot of the Mother Monster symbolically giving birth to a "new race" would connote the equality that begun in the equilibrium of the music video. However there is a change in the narrative, the disequilibrium, as the world of symmetry is changed as the "birth of evil" takes place. It would seem that according to Lady Gaga's ideologies that she is putting across through this music video that the evils of the world are "prejudice" and "judgement", which she tackles throughout the course of the video. 


Throughout the video there are medium shots of the Monster Mother, with the third eye on her chin, the repetitive symbolism of the eye in would connote Gaga's positive values of equality as the eye would be a representation of the new outlook that we should have on people who are different, thus the "new race" is born. Again it would seem that Marx's theory of oppression that were posed in his 'Das Kapital' book would be apparent, as Gaga repeats in the chorus "God makes no mistakes", here it would seem that Gaga is empowering her fans (or as she calls Little Monsters). 


In the video Gaga tries to create "boundless freedom", through the use of her costume and her lyrics, it would seem that although she is dancing in her underwear, she is representing the fact that people are "born this way", which would also re-inforce her values of the fact that people should not be ashamed or afraid of the way they look. Gaga's powerful messages in this video specifically target LGBT youth through her lyrics, "No matter gay, straight, or bi, Lesbian, transgendered life,"; which would show her positive values of equality and acceptance. 


 The music video itself was released on the 27th February 2011 on YouTube and many broadcast music channels. It is key to note that only months after the video was released on the 25th June 2011 the state of New York had passed their Gay Marriage Bill, which is where Lady Gaga is from. Lady Gaga is arguably one of the most influential artists at this point in time as her music videos create awareness of LGBT groups being equal as opposed to being the minority group. It could be argued that this music video has politically changed the views of people internationally but particularly the state of New York as they have become the 6th state to legalise gay marriage. Socially, Lady Gaga has empowered and encouraged LGBT groups to embrace their identity and become proud of who they are. 

Media magazine articles & quotes:

http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/MM36_Collab_gaga_convergence.html
Lady Gaga: Mistress of convergence -
"She campaigned very successfully on the issue of homosexuals in the U.S. military having to lie about their sexuality, resulting in the repeal of the Bill. "

"In other words, convergence culture meets somewhere between the media platform and the consumer platform. The emergence of a Gagapedia reflects the collaborative nature of the Gaga brand, using fans creativity to create interest and appeal. "

"Lady Gaga has clearly mastered the new social network phenomenon that drives global consumerism."

http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/mm28_e-media_wikis.html
Free culture: e-media comes of age -
" On social networking sites, on YouTube and other sites which rely on UGC and on wikis this vision is finally coming true. Here, the divide between institution and audience is slowly being broken down."

"The ‘free culture’ movement seeks to distribute knowledge more freely and widely, and overlaps with wikis’ anti-centralisation ethos wherein we can all be experts. In a small way, all UGC is part of this."

"While this is likely to perpetuate existing privileges and biases, there is certainly a shift in terms of the generational bias, with knowledge lying in the hands of the younger generation, and increasingly accessible to those for whom the great libraries and built infrastructure are not available, or are culturally unapproachable."

'

Cohen quotes Ahmad Belal, a 23-year-old medical student who came from Cairo to attend the ‘Wikimania’ conference, saying:

"For Egyptians the visa procedure for any country is very difficult. You need a visa to visit any country in the world. Facebook and Wikipedia connect us to the outside." '

http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/mm28_diploma_freemusic.html
Diploma - freedom of music:

"Despite so called Freedom of Speech legislation, our more controversial spoken comments still get us into trouble; however it often seems that the same opinions in song are perfectly acceptable."

"For decades artists from Bob Dylan to U2 to Rage Against The Machine have been angered by different troubles and inspired to write songs about them, some to draw attention to the problem and some to prompt direct action against political wrongdoings."

"To me this shows that it is not only multimillion pound recording artists who can protest about these things freely; even bands trying to break into the market have the confidence and drive to express themselves without limit."

http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/MM36_Collab_Music_Politics.html
Music and Politics:

"Pop music is often seen as a disposable product which has a limited lifespan, with no more cultural meaning than that created by the audience member. In today’s digital media age, pop music’s commodification has been at the centre of debates around copyright, ownership and distribution. "

"The X Factor can be seen to epitomise the more commercial side of the music industry. Contestants are selected and judged on their ability to replicate the sounds of already successful artists – those that have already proved popular with the buying audience."

"At the heart of the protest though was the idea that, whilst pop music is often cynically manufactured to create a popular product with mass appeal, it has also been a voice for the non-mainstream audience and being a source of cultural resistance."

" Music on the street level is often created as a direct response to social inequalities and offers a voice to people who traditionally have limited social and/or political power. "

" The Conservative government of the time introduced a range of social and economic changes which were resisted by a large number of people including musicians. They challenged public sector cuts, privatisation of nationalised industries and the social changes (and mass unemployment) created by the closure of manufacturing and production industries."

"Facebook and YouTube offer technologies that allow voices from outside the mainstream access to audiences bypassing the traditional music industry gatekeepers"

http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/mm25_anarchy.html
Anarchy? Where? When sub-versive sub-cultures hit the mainstream:

"For most, music is little more than entertainment and individuals identify themselves as fans of certain genres, such as indie, hip hop or heavy rock. For others, music is the defining aspect of the sub-cultural group to which they belong, such as goths or, 30 years ago, punks."

" It was during the 1960s that music was most obviously countercultural; that is, in opposition to the status quo. The counterculture of the 1960s broadly encapsulated:

• the Civil Rights movement

• the growth of feminism

• the anti-war movement

• the Gay rights movements amongst others."

(Rock) "So music was not really treated as a (capitalist) business but as something belonged to the bands and their fans."

"Genres such as grime continue to appear from the underground to challenge the status quo and to be vilified by politicians and the press. "

"He argues that we can all be ‘pirates’ forcing Big Business to respond to youth culture or go out of business. As the Chinese proverb has it, ‘we live in interesting times.’"

Quotations & links continued ...

“Advertising operates predominantly by changing consumer tastes”
How effective is aspirational advertising such as ‘Paco Rabanne: 1 Million’ and perfume advertising in general, in influencing male consumer lifestyles, and why is this the case? - Sonia 

 “one of the ways of determining whether a male character in an advertisement has the required authority [...] is through visual appearance”


 “it is though patriarchy that power is attributed to males and withheld from females”


 “contradicts the basic premise of traditional heterosexuality – that only women are looked at and only men do the looking”


How are reality TV documentaries, such as Wife Swap and Supernanny constructed? Why is this genre so popular? - Bianca 
“mix of fact and fiction, of popular elements of documentary or news, popular elements of lifestyle or talk shows and drama like melodrama or soap opera" 


"Reality TV couldn’t be the success story it is if it didn’t appeal to lots of different kinds of audiences” .


“the one thing they are united on is drama student Beck’s sexuality”


“‘nothing is sacred’ philosophy" 


“fly-on-the-wall doesn't just watch the world. It can change it too.” 

How and why is violence so prevalent in modern videogames, and should audiences be better protected from it through censorship? - Kalbir

 “the general struggles any new medium has to go through before it gains wide social acceptance.” - Nielsen, S., Smith, J. H., & Tosca, S. P. (2008). Video Game Culture. Understanding video games: the essential introduction (p. 138). New York: Routledge.

“I aim at creating my art in the context of a universal idea of freedom. I am unquestionably against all physical and ideological manifestations of tyranny, oppression and imprisonment,” -  Benichou, P. (n.d.). » International Reviews Philippe Benichou Artist Blog. The Art of Philippe Benichou - Original Paintings - Limited Editions - Official Web Site. Retrieved January 24, 2011, from http://philippebenichou.com/blog/?page_id=150

“life is liveable because we know that wherever we go most of the people we meet will be restrained in their actions towards us by an almost instinctive network of taboos.” - Ellis, H. (1910)

Wikipedia links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_(charity)

Stonewall (charity):

"has never pretended to be a democratic member organisation. We have never said we speak for all lesbian, gay and bisexual people." - Geen, Jessica. "Stonewall chief executive won't be 'jumped into' gay marriage position". Pink News. 

Equality Act (Sexuality orientation) regulations:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equality_Act_(Sexual_Orientation)_Regulations

 However, the Labour Party had not originally wanted to prohibit discrimination against gays and lesbians. - ^ The Times, 27 February 2005

LGBT rights in the United Kingdom: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_the_United_Kingdom

On 16 September 2011, the UK Government announced plans to start a consultation on Same-Sex Civil Marriage, with the remit of the Consultation to be to examine how this can be introduced, rather than whether it should be introduced - ^ http://news.sky.com/home/article/16071578

Civil partnership in the United Kingdom: 

In addition, having listened to stakeholders, it is clear from many that there is a desire to move towards equal civil marriage and partnerships. We will work with all those who have an interest in this area on how legislation can develop. - ^ Home Office website

Same sex marriage in the United Kingdom: 

In February 2011 the government expressed its intention to begin a consultation to allow both religious same-sex ceremonies and civil marriage for same-sex couples - ^ ^a b Travis, Alan (17 February 2011). "Gay marriages and heterosexual civil partnerships may soon be welcomed". The Guardian (London: Guardian News and Media Limited). Retrieved 18 February 2011.

LGBT social movements:
A commonly stated goal is social equality for LGBT people; some have also focused on building LGBT communities, or worked towards liberation for the broader society from sexual oppression. -  Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History in America – Page 194

Queer theory:

“

Queer is by definition whatever is at odds with the normal, the legitimate, the dominant. There is nothing in particular to which it necessarily refers. It is an identity without an essence. 'Queer' then, demarcates not a positivity but a positionality vis-à-vis the normative. -  David Halperin (1997-02-06), Saint Foucault: Towards a Gay Hagiography, Oxford University Press, p.  62, ISBN 0195111273, http://books.google.com/?id=o9ct-YPs66UC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Saint+Foucault:+Towards+a+Gay+Hagiography&q =queer%20odds, retrieved 2010-05-10