Lecture Five Hyperreality

Seminar 

Lecture Four; Communication Theory

Seminar 

Communication Theory Task

In this passage I will be looking at an advert for the fiat 500 revolutionair car brand advert in context with the Shannon and Weaver Communication Theory.  When initially slotted into this theory the information source would be the product design itself. This is a new product that needs to be promoted to inform the public of it's existence, hense the message.    The transmitter otherwise known as the Encoder would be the design of the promotion.  In this,  select language, skills, layout, colour palette etc are all conscious considerations specific to encoding the message, the promotion of this car brand.  The Channel is therefor the media used, the full a4 page magazine article.  This could be described as the crossroad of the transmitter and receiver or in this case the product and graphic designer and the consumer.  Once received visually in context of a full page magazine advert, the receiver then decodes the message (the promotion) by reading it.  The destination would then be the clarity of the message and the persuasion of the promotion itself.  Shannon and Weaver's communication theory is only worth while once the A to B transition of the message is successful, as its reaction is the transitions soul objective and reason to exist.

Noise effects this reaction.  Situated below the Channel in Shannon and Weaver's Theory diagram implies that it can affect the message as soon as it steps onto the cross section of communication where it is on show to both the transmitter and receiver, or the maker and consumer.  In this case of the fiat 500 advert noise should be limited as it has been made tailored to it's receivers considerations and needs of understanding.  However noise could exist in the choice of magazine it features in.  Marie Claire is a prestigious fashion magazine with an audience predominantly female ranging from the age of 12 to 55.  That is noise in itself as to who reads this advert highly determines it's success of decoding and understanding.  That is to say that if anyone under the age of 17 were to read and receive this message of promotion and informing them of this car brand and what it has to offer, they are automatically void as they aren't at a legal age to even drive the product it promotes.  Another noise feature would be the geography of the advert and what it is behind and in front of.  In this case it just so happens that the page opposed to the advert which automatically puts them in a state of relation or competition when first seen, is an article of a young female giving up her city lifestyle to pursue something a lot more planet and mankind friendly.  This is exactly what the message itself is trying to transmit.  The fiat 500 brand is promoting the fact that their car has less emissions then others or its kind and therefor giving back something to the world.  

It seems that alot of noise is purposfully included by the information source to help the decoding of their message more successful.  This makes the message redundant as nothing has been lost in the noise of this message.

However entropy, the fading of strength of a message could be involved in this message through various other problems.  A semantic problem could mean that even once the message had been received successfully taste could automatically over throw this success voiding the promotion full stop.  A technical problem could mean that the message is skipped all together in the channel (magazine) as there are many more like it and they tend to be ignored or even the stock choice makes the pages stick together frequently.  Most importantly and effectiveness problem would be that even after the message is received, decoded and understood, nothing after this would mean a complete waste of time in transmitting this promotional message in the first place

Lecture Three; The gaze

Lecture 2 Critical Positions on the Media and Popular Culture

Seminar Task two. Popular Culture

Adorno on 'Popular Music' is one result of the Frankfurt school which focused on a system of Marxist ideas and beliefs otherwise known as ideologies. He is essentially intelectually hating on mass produced tinny music referring to it as standardisation, 'the details themselves are standardised no less than the form' (Adorno, 1941 p74). That is to say that no matter what genre the music may be the structure remains consistent and unsophisticated. This allows the listener's expectations and responses to be limited and repetitive, 'Structural standardisation aims and standard reactions' (Adorno, 1941 p78). It is a dictation from the media dork in the superstructure which abolishes interest division and promotes ideals of a free society which only resslts in everybody having the same ideals and conforming to what is given, 'listening to popular music is manipulated not only by its promoters but, as it were, by the inherent nature of this music itself, into a system of response mechanisms wholly antagonistic to the ideal of individuality in a free, liberal society' (Adorno 1941 p78). It's aim is to create an audience that will never change,

It does this by creating such music (most awful, video a) that does not require much effort to listen to, 'the composition hears for the listener' (p77), thereby stopping any true involvement and understanding of the music incase we individualise. By producing something that is easy to digest make it easy to produce, 'popular music is pre-digested' (p77).

To an extent this control is hidden in our culture. If discovered we would challenge and revolt against it to individualise. This is where video (b) comes in. When individualising from conformed taste and standardisation this sense of challenging then becomes a trend in itself, otherwise known as pseudo-individualisation, 'endowing cultural mass production with the halo of free choice' (p79). The video (b) is a great example of this. It is a niche of people amongst many others believing that they have revolted against something and are behaving more autonomously, but in fact are under an illusion of being individual.

I can sadly agree with the depressed attitude of Adorno. There is so much tat out there of things that have been thought out for you. However I do think you shouldn't be afraid to nod along to the things that you don't mind nodding along to, but you can never be individual.

(a)

(b)

Task ONE/// reflection of panopticism

The sign up sheet could be an example of panopticism. It is a daily register which is otherwise known as a "collection of separated individualities" (Foucault, 1977, 65). It is unknown as to weather it will be up on the board for students to sign in everyday during a particular time period which seems to get earlier and earlier. This uncertainty is to induce "a state of conscious and permanent visibility that assures the automatic functioning of power" (Foucault, 1977, 65), as the student self regulates themselves to be in early for registration and most other course related engagements. This is a technique of installing fear on a possibility not a fact. Day in day out they "never know weather he is being looked at at any one moment, but he must be sure that he may always be so" (Foucault, 1977, 65). That is to say that it may be that the register is left up all day allowing students to freely enter at any time but it may not, making them make a choice as to weather they take a chance in thinking that their attendance is or is not being assessed. The power and control is now mentally driven not physical leading to warnings and exclusions from the course.

Exclusion also plays a role in the sign up sheet. If that day the sign up sheet has been taken down and the docile (in both senses) student missed the specific sign up time, a thick black marker line is then placed through their name, allowing all the staff and fellow class mates to "judge at a glance, without anything being concelaed" (Foucault, 1977, 67) as to weather or not they have conformed to playing the role in which the student are in a "power situation of which they are themselves the bearer" (Foucault, 1977, 65). The structure of the sign up sheet also shows exclusion which also implies that they are not conforming to playing a productive and devoted role on the course. The expectations and characteristics of normality are preached from the first day, setting a standard where the docile bodies around it stand out like a sore thumb.