MDIA 103 Assignment #1 - "Popular media culture" Part 2

The British version of Skins is a teenage drama that attempts to accurately portray teenage life in current day Britain. The Second Generation  which was screened on the English channel E4 ran from 2009 till 2010 (IMDB). Each generation of Skins lasts for two seasons, and attempts to represent a different aspect of different teenager’s lives the second generation attempted to represent things like sexuality, school, drugs and sex.

What a representation is, according to Branston and Stafford, is always a construction, a re-presentation, rather than a mirror, or a clear ‘window on the real’ (Branston and Stafford, 1). It also aims to get the viewer to feel like they are having an “experience rather than having a view of the world simply presented to them” (2). The way this is portrayed in television, especially in Skins, is by showing actors representing real life scenarios through their characters. Skins tried to do this by showing us a teenage representation of sexuality. The second generation characters of “Katie Fitch and Naomi Campbell” (E4.com) are portrayed in the first season as curious with their sexuality. Then throughout the course of season one and subsequent season two they continue to explore their sexuality and finally embrace and come to terms with  it towards the end of their characters time on the show. This may present the viewer with an experience by presenting the notion that sexuality is not something that has to be universal and people do experiment.

Another representation of teenage life given to us on Skins is age in the form of teenagers. What Skins tries to show is an accurate depiction of teenage life. By showing the second generation go through ‘6^th form’ at roundview college (E4.com) Skins is showing a representation of a typical teenagers life as in the majority of teenagers go to school this may also give a teenage viewer the experience of what a different school may be. During skins there is also a portrayal of drug experimentation, once again giving the representation that many teenagers experiment with drugs. Although giving this representation may be enough of an experience for some people meaning less people try drugs as a direct result of seeing it depicted in Skins.

The Audience response to Skins and its representations could vary dependant on the person and their experiences who is viewing the text. Somebody who might be able to relate to the representations could be somebody in a homosexual relationship or are curious about such things, even just a teenager going through the stages of growing up. For example trying their first cigarette or first drug experience or just losing their virginity, things that are all represented by the show. All of these are themes in Skins including drug use, depression and mental illness including suicide and also binge drinking and sex. However, if the viewer is an older viewer who has not had these experiences, or didn’t have them because the times were different back then, it would be harder to understand the meanings behind these themes even if you understood why Skins is trying to show them. A negative response to Skins may also be somebody who is a member of a specific social group or religion which may be against sex, drugs and drinking leading to a negative response to the representation, maybe even an oppositional stance towards Skins.

Throughout the 4^th season, second season of the second generation. The main theme in Skins is one of overcoming mental illness and friendship (E4.com). An audience response to this may be different to one of an image of sex and drinking. During the season, one of the characters starts to become reliant on drugs and starts to slide into a state of depression, towards the end of the season it shows what her friends are willing to help her with to overcome this. A viewer may see this and know of a person in a similar position.

In Skins, with a focus on the second generation, there is representations of teenage life in the form of sexuality and age. This is shown by the main stars being teenagers acting as a representation o teenagers growing up and facing the struggles and challenges of teenage life. The reaction of the  public towards the text depends on the audience, for example there may be different responses to the text,  with teenagers viewing the text differently to an adult because of the different experiences that individual had.

Reference List

Branston, Gill and Gill Stafford. "Representations." Branston, Gill and Gill Stafford. The Media Students Handbook. 5th ed. London: Routledge, 2010. 1-23.

E4.com. Skins. 1 January 2011. 10 April 2011 <http://www.e4.com/skins/the-gang/series3.html>.

IMDB. Skins. 1 January 2011. 10 April 2011 <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0840196/>.

MDIA 103 Assignment #1 - "Popular media culture"

The Big Bang theory is an American based “Sitcom” (Situation comedy) with its first episode screening in late 2007 (IMDB). It has since gone on to be shown worldwide. This is one of the reasons The Big Bang Theory qualifies as “Popular Media Culture”. It has picked up numerous awards for both the actors involved and the show itself and it has been renewed many times by the company that produces the show. The of the definitions of popular media culture given by Williams are something that is “Well-liked by many people”, “Inferior kinds of work” and “Work deliberately setting out to win favour with the people” (Storey, 5) using these definitions we can place The Big Bang Theory under the label of popular media culture.

This text fits into the definition “Well-liked by many people” (5) because of the awards the show and actors have been awarded, with many of them having been a people’s choice award, meaning that the public has had a say in the result of the outcome. Something that is normally reserved for the best of popular media. To reach this point a text has to be first accepted by the public, in this case it has spread worldwide being screened in many different countries.

The Big Bang Theory also fits the Williams definition of popular media culture  “inferior kinds of work” by not being what is classed as “high culture” (Storey) as in that it is not something considered by the masses to be out of reach. An example of this would be the opera or going to the theatre. It is because of this the text is classed as popular media culture by Storey. As it is what is left over after we have decided what is high culture (6) meaning that it is not a live performance as the way many view the text if from their own home.

The Big Bang Theory is made by the people for the people. We can tell this because it is filmed in front of a studio audience and created with comedy as its main priority (CBS). Its main source of comedy is the interlinking between the characters, and their struggles as scientists to come to terms with their social lives when different scenarios begin to arise when they start to socialise with different social groups, something they are not usually very good at (CBS), helping many people to feel a connection between their own lives and the show’s characters, especially the viewers who may not be very good in social situations or at disrupting/changing a daily routine.

The cultural citizenship qualities that The Big Bang theory exhibits are similar to the ones that qualify it for popular media culture, for example the nomination and public voting of The Big Bang Theory to win awards. The definition we are given of cultural citizenship by Hermes is: “Cultural citizenship can be defined as the process of bonding and community building, and reflection on that bonding” (Hermes, 21). The public voting and its subsequent winning of awards help to create a sense of belonging between the show and the public. However how popular culture makes bonding easier has been left out of the definition given to us by Hermes (10) one of the main reasons it has become easier is the access to popular culture, with the internet allowing almost instant access to anything. According to Hermes popular culture is blurring the differences between the public and private lives of the stars and the show. This is also being achieved through the internet, with social networking sites and fan pages allowing access where it normally would not be allowed. The actors have also made appearances at comic con in America, allowing more public access to the actors (Blast Magazine).

The Big Bang Theory shows us that it is “popular media culture” and has signs of cultural citizenship. We can see this by either by viewing the text or by looking on the homepage for the show. When compared to the definitions given to us we can come to the conclusion that it has been deemed popular through the winning of awards and the community/ public discussion boards it has spawned by the producers to renew it for another season each time the previous one concludes.

Word Count – 685

Reference List

Blast Magazine. Comic-Con 2009: The Big Bang Theory. 25 July 2009. 10 April 2011 <http://blastmagazine.com/the-magazine/entertainment/comic-con-2009-the-big-bang-theory/>.

CBS. The Big Bang Theory: Community. 1 January 2011. 10 April 2011 <http://www.cbs.com/primetime/big_bang_theory/community/>.

Hermes, Joke. “Introduction: popular culture/cultural citizenship.” Hermes, Joke. Re-reading Popular Culture: Rethinking Gender, Television and Popular Media Audiences. Malden: Blackwell, 2005. 1-17.

IMDB. The Big Bang Theory. 1 January 2011. 10 April 2011 <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0898266/>.

Storey, John. “What is popular culture?” Storey, John. Clutural Theory and Popular culture: An Introduction. 5th Ed. Portland: Book News, Inc, 2009. 1-15.