MEST3 mock: learner response

1) Section A: Re-do Question 1, lacks any real focus on media language.

Q1) How are media language techniques used to make the two media products appear believable and authoritative? 

Media language techniques are used to make the two media products appear believable and authoritative. A factor which does this successfully is the format of the media texts. The video is presented as a 'news style' documentary and includes camera features such as tracking, handheld camera and various shots such as close-ups to emphasise the event. Moreover, the video uses subtitles which helps audiences understand what is going on as the news story is not in English because it was shot in Egypt. To continue, the diegetic and non-diegetic sound reinforces the emotion of the women in the video. As the news story conveys traditional conventions of news stories by holding interviews with some of the women taking part in the protest (diegetic). In addition, the print news gives audiences the opportunity to participate as the bottom of the page encourages audiences to visit The Real News Reform Village and tell them how they make real news. This makes the print news authoritative as it is giving audiences a command.

2) Add a paragraph of examples for both Question 2 and 3.

Q2) How successfully are audiences in using new and digital media to represent themselves? You may also refer to other media products to support your answer.

An example of content being controlled by active audiences if the Ferguson Case in America. This involved the shooting of Michael Brown by Darren Wilson, a police officer. This case caused major controversy in the media as the 18 year old black boy was shot by a 28 year old white police officer. This resulted in protests being held and carried out not only for Michael but for the black community. Social media campaigns began taking place on Twitter where people hashtagged #blacklivesmatter. Furthermore, Facebook was also used for people to plan protests and their meeting place, time and date etc. Thousands of people attended the protests and fought for the justice of Michael Brown along with their rights. This emphasises the use of social media and the fact that new and digital media has helped audiences to represent themselves and come together.

Q3) What are the advantages and disadvantages for audiences of media products that do not rely on advertising, government or business funding? You should refer to other media products to support your answer.

One advantage of media products that do not rely on funding is that they have freedom of speech. For example, the Everyday Sexism Project was designed and started by Laura. She is a female who has experienced quite traumatic experiences with men in the past which she has been ashamed to afraid to admit. However, by designing this project it allowed thousands of other people to share their story (which they can do so through the website) and has also allowed other men and women to gain confidence and put an end to whatever experience they are going through. As this is a non-funded project, it has been beneficial as it has developed from a real story and helped several thousands of other people. Laura's project did not have to meet any requirements as no cooperation is paying her to lead the project, therefore by being honest she has helped other people.

3) Section B: Write a paragraph using Marxism/Pluralism.

7) Use your case study to evaluate whether new and digital media are a threat or an opportunity for media producers.

New and digital media can be a threat to media producers as audiences can retaliate against content and powerful cooperation's. For example, The Guardian have a comment section on their online news page where audiences can comment and disagree with news stories they publish. Pluralists would day this can therefore be a threat to The Guardian as it can reveal that their stories are bias and one comment can lead to one hundred comments of people agreeing with each other. However, from a Marxist point of view it can be argued that this is not a threat because The Guardian have the right to take these comments down if they wished. Therefore, in fact it may be an opportunity to gain more audiences and users onto their website even if it is creating debate.

Critical Investigation 2nd draft

“Dancing with Miley, doing whatever we want, this is our house, this is our rules, and we can’t stop, and we won’t stop” - Miley Cyrus, We Can’t Stop[1].

What does Miley Cyrus' reinvention tell us about society and women in the media?

“The challenge is for each of us to let go of old patterns that divide us; that operate from imbalance and control. The opportunity is to discover our common ground and build upon our similarities and mutual goals” - Women Walk the Land[2].

Women in the media are no longer perceived as the innocent, obedient females that they once were. Society has changed and so has the media. It is said that “we construct our identities through complex processes of interaction with the culture around us, but today images of hyper sexualisation dominate”[3]. With over sexualised content in the media presented through images and videos, “where is a girl to go if she decides Beyoncé, Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, Rihanna or Britney Spears aren't for her”[4]? Audiences argue that “what are needed is more realistic portrayals of women since the media are said to reflect society”[5]. Miley Cyrus in particular has caused major controversy in the media throughout recent years. Having begun her career in 2006 with her very own Disney hit teen show Hannah Montana, Miley has left the sweet, shy personality in the past and now produces provocative music videos with RCA Records. It became obvious that Miley was no longer an innocent girl when she released ‘Can’t Be Tamed’[6] in 2010 where she revealed her rebellious side. It can be argued that this is simply her growing up and in reality, happens to every female. However, mothers of young Hannah Montana fans couldn’t agree less as they no longer want their daughters to look up to the singer and suggest that the star is creating a ‘moral panic’ in society. Some have even gone as far as saying they want her “Bangerz’ tour shut down”[7] as they refuse to subject their 9 year olds to a ‘porn show’ and walked out of her concerts early. Miley Cyrus’ reinvention tells us that women in the media have become more provocative and sexy and society needs to be more understanding of these changes.

One reason why Miley’s Bangerz’ tour has caused so much controversy is because she sold her own branded ‘Bangerz’ rolling papers at her concerts. This encourages smoking and audiences are already aware of Miley’s interest in drugs as she even stated in her Rolling Stones interview “coke is gross but Molly and weed are happy drugs”[8]. As Miley still has a young fan base, her behaviour and actions at her concerts have been regarded as ‘adult material’ as her revealing clothing and provocative dance moves (twerking) are not child friendly. Some on the other hand appreciate Miley’s music, “yeah she's crafty. But also stealthily soulful. Bangerz’ flaunts her savvy and her sexuality with an under-appreciated emotional directness”[9].

The main text that this essay will be focusing on is Miley Cyrus’ ‘Wrecking ball’ video[10]. ‘Wrecking ball’ was released in 2013 by RCA Records and was Miley’s first major controversial video. The video itself gained 735,540,463 views as well as Miley having 7,000,388 subscribers on her YouTube channel. The Guardian stated that the video portrayed a message to young women that they “should be sexually available”[11] and the nudity content shocked audiences. In the video, Miley has had her heart broken and is conveyed as innocent. Her lyrics state “you wrecked me”. It can be argued that this song was directed to her ex fiancé as their three year engagement collapsed just before the song was released, however Miley denied this in interviews with The Guardian.

The small white hot pants and crop top Miley wears in the video have connotations of her purity and innocence. However, her sexy red lipstick completely contrasts this image and makes her look provocative instead. It is therefore unclear what representation Miley is trying to portray of herself in the video. This relates to feminist Mulvey’s Male Gaze as Miley is presented as an attractive objective for men to look at. The video begins with a close-up shot of Miley’s face where she is crying. We as the audience immediately know that the song will be sad and the lyrics that come in soon after confirm this. Moreover, Miley is alienated in the video and is surrounded by destructive tools such as hammers and bulldozers (which she even swings on while fully nude). These tools are a denotation of the lyrics as Miley sings about wrecking, which she is physically doing in the video by knocking down walls. The linear narrative embodies values of hope and meaning as she sings “don’t you ever say I just walked away, I will always love you”. Furthermore, the music video is a mixed genre of power pop and romance as Miley sings about love and heartbreak along with diegetic/non-diegetic strong melodies with crisp vocals reinforcing power pop.

The audience for Miley’s ‘Wrecking ball’ would be mostly male/female teenagers and young adults as that is Miley’s main target audience for her music as a whole. It would also relate to anyone who has experienced heartbreak, therefore the song gains a larger target audience. Miley appeals to females particularly more than males as majority of females still see her as a role model and are fans of her music, TV show and films. The ethnicity group Miley appealed to when she first began her career on Hannah Montana was white-middle class. However, due to her different personality and character she is today, Miley appeals to working class white and black females and males too. Using psychographics, Miley appeals to Explorers who seek individualism and do not conform to society’s norms and values as she herself is quite an outrageous character. In addition, Miley targets Succeeders and Aspirers as she began her successful career at the age of 13. Miley currently has a net worth of $160 million[12] and the first week of release for ‘Wrecking ball’ sold 90,000 downloads.

Liberal Pluralists believe that the media are free to express themselves in whichever way they want. Additionally, the most powerful can be scrutinised and bought down. Miley embraces this belief as she expresses herself to be quite care free of other people’s opinions. However, it could also be argued that the media make her act a certain way in order for her music to sell and be popular with audiences. A journalist stated “Cyrus's nakedness happens in the context of a cultural industry still run largely by men, filmed largely by men, produced largely by men. We need an end to misogyny across everything, everywhere”[13]. Nick Lacey argued that “occasionally the media does represent women as powerful and independent characters, and yet they still almost invariably require a man to tell them what to do”[14]. This could represent the producers and directors of Miley’s videos as there are in fact male dominated.

Moreover, Simon de Beauvior stated “representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men”[15]. This suggests that men are in control and in fact women are still living in a patriarchal society with men making all the decisions. It has also been said that “women are ultimately refused a voice, a discourse and their desire is subjected to male desire”[16]. In contrast to this, society has changed as Audre Lorde believed by stating “women were expected to kneel to men. But women have survived”[17]. This shows that the “dominant ideological views”[18] have been banished and the empowerment of women has developed over the years as men are no longer needed for survival. Miley is powerful in the music industry as her successful career continues to build. Although some people highlight her controversy and try to bring her down e.g. parents who want to shut down her Bangerz’ tour, she does not let this stop her and continues to produce music and release images/videos causing controversy in the media.

Despite all the negative coverage Miley receives in the media, she does have her own beliefs and values and in fact argues she is “one of the world’s biggest feminists”[19]. “Post-feminism does not assume that gender issues are no longer valid. On the contrary, it acknowledges that there are still many areas of interest and concern within gender politics”[20]. Miley does not follow the traditional female characteristics in the way she presents herself. For example, her hair is short and blonde and she often wears casual t-shirts and shorts/jeans in her videos. Miley is an example of “hegemonic masculinity”[21]. However, she does still wear lipstick and small clothing therefore can argue that “tough women are still expected to be feminine, attractive and heterosexually appealing”[22].

Miley could be interpreted as a Post-feminist as she is extremely focused on her career while balancing family time as she has also worked in the acting/music industry with her famous father, Billy Ray Cyrus. As Miley is in her early 20’s, her main current focus is her career as oppose to becoming a mother and starting a family. Her values are similar values to Feminist Toni Morrison who stated “I don’t want to make somebody else. I want to make myself”[23]. Growing up in a Christian family, Miley has been taught that men and women are equal and argued, “no-one minds if a man goes topless on the beach, so why can’t we”[24]? She has also expressed that negative coverage in the media does not phase her and said “every time you talk about me, you're bringing more awareness to me and... my record”[25]. Moreover, she argues “I think people if they actually knew me would be surprised at how normal I am”[26], even though she does not come across this way in her videos. It is inspiring how Miley does not let the negative comments of others alter or bring down her success and confidence. After all, in order to remain in the music industry you must be strong headed and unafraid to be yourself which Miley does all the time. It can also be argued that Miley is in the third wave of Feminism as she is an empowered female, representing women and reclaiming femininity through her use of high heels, sexuality and so on.

Besides Miley Cyrus, there have been several other female singers in the music industry who have caused controversy in the past due to explicit videos. The Guardian stated “sexually explicit music videos should have ratings system”[27] and a campaign demands cinema-style restrictions on graphic material aimed at teenage girls. With obesity, anorexia and eating disorders largely common within young girls nowadays, it is important that girls are reminded that looking stick thin with curves in the right places (usually done by surgery) is not the norm, even if they are advertised by famous celebrities in music videos.

Nicki Minaj’s recent ‘Anaconda’ video[28] released in August 2014 gained 19.6 million video views in 24 hours, surpassing Miley’s ‘Wrecking Ball video’. The video was not a big hit with parents as they called it ‘vile’ as Nicki had her whole backside on display and further stated “these are young kids, I think, still that like her music, they look at her as a pop star or a rap star and it's horrifying. She's twerking, she's gyrating, and the other dancers doing … it's just vile”[29]. Tina Fey famously stated “All Beyonce and JLo have done is add to the list of attributes women must have to qualify as beautiful. Now every girl is expected to have blue eyes, full lips, a button nose, hairless skin with a tan, a dance hall ass, long legs, small feet, abs, the hips of a nine-year-old boy, the arms of Michelle Obama, and doll tits. The person closest to achieving this look is Kim Kardashian, who was made by Russian scientists”[30]. This quote expresses a Feminist viewpoint of celebrities and famous women in the media and the fact that they are creating false representations of what women should look like.

Moreover, Rihanna has released videos such as ‘Pour It Up’ in 2013, which gained 146,588,674 views on YouTube[31]. The star wore revealing clothes and had women going up and down poles, provocatively splashing around in water and shaking their assets in the camera. Mel C, former spice girl has critiqued Rihanna and stated she is “too raunchy for my daughter”[32]. She forbade her five year old from watching the video due to her concern that pop has become ‘too sexualised’. This is a major concern with several parents as pop music is more explicit and women are portrayed as sex objects.

Lady Gaga has also been debated recently as to whether or not she should be perceived as a symbol of female power. Lady Gaga’s music videos give unclear representations of power, sex and violence. Therefore, it is debatable as to whether she is “fighting for the advancement of women or if she is a pop-cultural representation of hyper-sexualised violence against women in the media”[33].

The historical text this essay will be focusing on is Madonna’s first music video ‘Everybody’[34], released in 1983. Madonna began her career in the late 1970's where she soon began releasing her songs and eventually her first album. Since then, she has become the ‘queen of pop’ and world-wide idol. Madonna’s main target audience is white middle-class males and females. The video is completely innocent, with males and females dancing individually around a stage where Madonna is dancing. One obvious statement in the video is that everyone is fully dressed with no small, tight clothes that female artists wear in their videos nowadays. In fact, Madonna is wearing baggy clothes and almost looks like a tom boy. This video is completely different to Miley Cyrus' videos such as ‘We Can’t Stop’[35] which also features males and females however they are all dancing with each other and taking drugs.

The video emphasises that a few things have changed since the 1980's. The genre of dance music tends to be faster. Before the dance music was very basic, whereas now there are more variations such as hip hop, RnB and dub. Also, dance music has much more explicit videos and lyrics nowadays, therefore targets and appeals to young adults. The zeitgeist of the 80's was not to be sexy or provocative. Instead, it was to produce enthusiastic music videos which would be popular with the audience during that time. Nowadays it is the opposite, as 'sex sells' in the music industry. Therefore young females such as Miley Cyrus have to be revealing and sexy in their videos as that is what is popular with audiences and what attracts views and fans. Madonna represents the second wave of feminism where woman began to gain more rights. As Madonna was a female artist producing her own videos, it reinforces the fact that women were becoming empowered to do things for themselves.

At the beginning of Madonna’s career, she was idolised and this was recognised by her audience as they stated “It was an era where disco was anathema to the mainstream pop, and she had a huge role in popularizing dance music as a popular music again”[36]. However, soon later Madonna also began to cause controversy in the media. This time, “the issue wasn’t so much with lyrics, but images. In ‘Like a Prayer’, Madonna takes on racism, appearing in a flimsy black slip and kissing an African-American religious icon, and later stands among crosses engulfed in flames”[37]. From this, we could question whether every star grows and breaks free by challenging society’s norms, especially when they start their career at a young age.

Like most Disney channel stars, Miley Cyrus has simply grown as a person and has experimented with her music and who she is. Several celebrities who started their career at a young age as well on Disney channel have grown up to cause some controversy in the media. Vanessa Ann Hudgens for her ‘nude leaks’ in 2007 and 2009, Dylan Sprouse in 2013, Demi Lovato, Lindsay Lohan, Zac Efron and Shia LeBeouf all visiting rehab for their drug addictions in recent years. Miley is hardly a needle in the haystack when it comes to controversial Disney stars who have simply grown up.

Miley Cyrus' reinvention tells us that women in the media develop mostly into objects which sell. The famous term 'sex sells' encourages women in the media to be provocative as it attracts attention from the media and fans whether it be positive or not, it still generates publicity. Society needs to become more accepting of the changing values instead of viewing controversial acts as something to be ashamed of. In my opinion, controversial artists will only 'get worse'. It is almost impossible to avoid nude and provocative women in the media, they are everywhere, whether it be on TV, online or even in celebrity magazines. An interesting feminist quote states “as women grow older, that ‘status’ is then taken away and they are shown as sexless housewives. In the process of living, women are made to feel self-conscious and guilty for being real”[38].

Words: 3,402

[1] Miley Cyrus (2013, June 03) Mike Will Made It. USA-We Can't Stop from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrUvu1mlWco

[2] Bogue, A. Women Walk the Land from Worth Knowing http://www.aneabogue.com/women-worth-knowing.php

[3] Dines, G. (2011, December 01) Moral panic? No. We are resisting the pornification of women from The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/dec/01/feminists-pornification-of-women

[4] ibid

[5] Branston, G. & Roy, S. (2003). The Media Student’s Book Third Edition. London: Routledge. p. 96.

[6] Miley Cyrus (2010, June 18) Hollywood Records. USA-Can't Be Tamed from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjSG6z_13-Q

[7] Sperry, A. (2014, February 20) Disgruntled Parents Want Miley Cyrus’ ‘Bangerz’ Tour Shut Down from The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/19/bangerz-tour-shut-down_n_4815160.html

[8] Mail, D. (2013, September 27) ‘Coke is gross but ‘Molly’ and weed are happy drugs!’ Miley Cyrus talks about one of her favourite subjects... drugs from Mail online http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article- 2435179/Miley-Cyrus-drugs-Coke-gross-Molly-weed-happy-drugs.html#ixzz3NmGEsPxi

[9] Cattuci, N. (2013). The Best Music Of The Year. Entertainment Weekly.

[10] Miley Cyrus (2013, August 25) RCA Records. USA-Wrecking ball from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My2FRPA3Gf8

[11] Hann, M. (2013, September 10) Miley Cyrus’ new Wrecking Ball video says young women should be sexually available from The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2013/sep/10/miley-cyrus- wrecking-ball

[12] Warner, B. (2015, January 13) Miley Cyrus Net Worth http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/singers/miley-cyrus-net-worth/

[13] Kitty, E. (2013, October 07) Miley Cyrus: does the music business exploit women? From The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/07/miley-cyrus-music-business-women-sinead-oconnor

[14] Grahame, J. (2010, December) Media Magazine 34, the change issue

[15] Beauvoir, S. (2009). The Second Sex. France. p. 636

[16] Gauntlett, D. (2008) Media, Gender and Identity: An Introduction. London: Routledge. p. 53

[17] Lorde, A. (1984). Sister Outsider. Crossing, Calif. p. 35

[18] Lacy, N. (2009). Image and Representation: key concepts in media studies (2nd ed). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 143

[19] Silverman, R. (2013 November 13) Miley Cyrus: I'm one of the world's biggest feminists from The Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopmusic/10445850/Miley-Cyrus-Im-one-of-the-worlds-biggest-feminists.html

[20] Grahame, J. Media Magazine 26, the film issue

[21] Brown, K. (2009). Sociology for A2 AQA. Cambridge: Polity Press. p. 240

[22] Innes, S. (2004). Action Chicks-New Images od Tough Women in Popular Culture. New York: Palgrave. p. 14.

[23] Morrison, T. (1973). Sula. Knopf, US. p. 114

[24] ibid

[25] Butterfly, A. (2013, November 12) Miley Cyrus says she's 'one of the biggest feminists' from BBC Newsbeat http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/24911610

[26] ibid

[27] McVeigh, T. (2013 November 10) from The Guardian Sexually explicit music videos 'should have ratings system' http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/nov/10/videos-miley-cyrus-rihanna-ratings

[28] Nicki Minaj (2014, August 04) Young Money. California-Anaconda from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDZX4ooRsWs

[29] Petersen, S. (2014 August 28) Parents respond to Nicki Minaj's 'vile' music video that's breaking records from Deseret News http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865609740/Parents-respond-to-Nicki-Minajs-vile-music-video-thats-breaking-records.html?pg=all

[30] Fey, T. (2011). Bossypants. Little, Brown and Company, United States. P. 98

[31] Rihanna (2013, January 08) Def Jam. USA-Pour It Up from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehcVomMexkY

[32] Petersen, H. (2014, October 14) Mel C: Rihanna is too raunchy for my daughter from The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/13/mel-c-rihanna-daughter

[33] Fogel, A. (2011, September 16) Lady Gaga and Feminism: A Critical Debate http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/67358990/lady-gaga-feminism-critical-debate

[34] Madonna (1982, October 06) Sire. New York-Everybody from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOqr_x_9fMc

[35] Miley Cyrus (2013, June 03) Mike Will Made It. USA-We Can't Stop from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrUvu1mlWco

[36] Erlewine, S. (2005, November 29) All Music: Madonna from All Music http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/madonna-mr0000674567

[37] Bixlar, B (2014, March 20) The Evolution of Madonna’s Feminist Message from All That Is Interesting http://all-that-is-interesting.com/madonna-feminist-message#1BIkeMCmgUJLHxXp.99

[38] Alexandre, L. (2011) WOMEN: Using Female Bodies For Sales and Profit from Center for Media Literacy http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/women-using-female-bodies-sales-and-profit

Bibliography

Works Cited

Books

Beauvoir, S. (2009). The Second Sex. France. p. 636

Branston, G. & Roy, S. (2003). The Media Student’s Book Third Edition. London: Routledge. p. 96.

Brown, K. (2009). Sociology for A2 AQA. Cambridge: Polity Press. p. 240

Cattuci, N. (2013). The Best Music Of The Year. Entertainment Weekly.

Fey, T. (2011). Bossypants. Little, Brown and Company, US. p. 98

Gauntlett, D. (2008) Media, Gender and Identity: An Introduction. London: Routledge. p. 53

Innes, S. (2004). Action Chicks-New Images od Tough Women in Popular Culture. New York: Palgrave. p. 14.

Lacy, N. (2009). Image and Representation: key concepts in media studies (2nd ed). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 143

Lorde, A. (1984). Sister Outsider. Crossing, Calif. p. 35

Morrison, T. (1973). Sula. Knopf, US. p. 114

Newspapers and Magazines

Butterfly, A. (2013, November 12) Miley Cyrus says she's 'one of the biggest feminists' from BBC Newsbeat http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/24911610

Dines, G. (2011, December 01) Moral panic? No. We are resisting the pornification of women from The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/dec/01/feminists-pornification-of-women

Grahame, J. Media Magazine 26, the film issue

Grahame, J. (2010, December) Media Magazine 34, the change issue

Hann, M. (2013, September 10) Miley Cyrus’ new Wrecking Ball video says young women should be sexually available from The Guardian  http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2013/sep/10/miley-cyrus-wrecking-ball

Kitty, E. (2013, October 07) Miley Cyrus: does the music business exploit women? From The Guardian  http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/07/miley-cyrus-music-business-women-sinead-oconnor

Mail, D. (2013, September 27) ‘Coke is gross but ‘Molly’ and weed are happy drugs!’ Miley Cyrus talks about one of her favourite subjects... drugs from Mail online http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2435179/Miley-Cyrus-drugs-Coke-gross-Molly-weed-happy-drugs.html#ixzz3NmGEsPxi

McVeigh, T. (2013 November 10) Sexually explicit music videos 'should have ratings system' from The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/nov/10/videos-miley-cyrus-rihanna-

Petersen, H. (2014, October 14) Mel C: Rihanna is too raunchy for my daughter from The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/13/mel-c-rihanna-daughter

Silverman, R. (2013 November 13) Miley Cyrus: I'm one of the world's biggest feminists from The Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopmusic/10445850/Miley-Cyrus-Im-one-of-the-worlds-biggest-feminists.html

Internet

Alexandre, L. (2011) WOMEN: Using Female Bodies For Sales and Profit from Center for Media Literacy http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/women-using-female-bodies-sales-and-profit

Bixlar, B (2014, March 20) The Evolution of Madonna’s Feminist Message from All That Is Interesting http://all-that-is-interesting.com/madonna-feminist-message#1BIkeMCmgUJLHxXp.99

Bogue, A. Women Walk the Land from Worth Knowing http://www.aneabogue.com/women-worth-knowing.php

Erlewine, S. (2005, November 29) All Music: Madonna from All Music http://www.allmusic.com/album/release/madonna-mr0000674567

Petersen, S. (2014 August 28) Parents respond to Nicki Minaj's 'vile' music video that's breaking records from Deseret News http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865609740/Parents-respond-to-Nicki-Minajs-vile-music-video-thats-breaking-records.html?pg=all  

Sperry, A. (2014, February 20) Disgruntled Parents Want Miley Cyrus’ ‘Bangerz’ Tour Shut Down from The Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/19/bangerz-tour-shut-down_n_4815160.html

Warner, B. (2015, January 13) Miley Cyrus Net Worth http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-celebrities/singers/miley-cyrus-net-worth/

Moving Image texts

Madonna (1982, October 06) Sire. New York-Everybody from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOqr_x_9fMc

Miley Cyrus (2010, June 18) Hollywood Records. USA-Can't Be Tamed from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjSG6z_13-Q

Miley Cyrus (2013, June 03) Mike Will Made It. USA-We Can't Stop from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrUvu1mlWco

Miley Cyrus (2013, August 25) RCA Records. USA-Wrecking ball from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My2FRPA3Gf8

Nicki Minaj (2014, August 04) Young Money. California-Anaconda from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDZX4ooRsWs

Rihanna (2013, January 08) Def Jam. USA-Pour It Up from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehcVomMexkY

Works Consulted

Books

Cattuci, N. (2013). The Year's Best Albums. Entertainment Weekly.

Greenblatt, L. (2011). The Worst Singles of 2011. Entertainment Weekly. 

Hot New Singles. (2010). Entertainment Weekly.

MacDonald, M. (1995). Representing Women. St Martin's Press, New York. P. 861

Newspaper and Magazines

Beaumont-Thomas, B. (2014, May 12) Miley Cyrus makes date rape joke onstage at GAY from The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/12/miley-cyrus-date-rape-gay

Buchanan, D. (2013, October 17) Forget 'empowered' pop stars – we need more riot grrrls from The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/17/miley-cyrus-sex-appeal-bikini-kill

Chester, J. (2013, September 01) 'I have so many issues... everyone does dumb stuff when they're messed up': Miley Cyrus opens up as her VMA performance continues to cause controversy from The Guardian http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2408376/Miley-Cyrus-opens-following-controversial-performance-VMAs.html

Ellen, B. (2013, October 06) Miley Cyrus: exploited or empowered? From The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/oct/06/miley-cyrus-exploited-empowered-debate

Empire, K (2014, May 11) Miley Cyrus live review – a Duracell bunny of provocative mischief from The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/11/miley-cyrus-live-review-duracell-bunny-provocative-mischief

Frizzell, N. (2013, October 14) Miley Cyrus could put her tongue to better use – by speaking up for women from The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/womens-blog/2013/oct/14/miley-cyrus-tongue-madonna-pop-star

Gibbs, S. (2014, September 01) Miley Cyrus: social media is worse than drugs from The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/sep/01/miley-cyrus-social-media-google-instagram-facebook-worse-than-drugs

Grahame, J. (2011, February) Media Magazine 35, the culture issue

Grahame, J. (2011, April) Media Magazine 36, the collaboration issue

Grahame, J. (2013, September) Media Magazine 45, reading the media issue

Hoby, H. (2013, November 24) Miley Cyrus isn't a child: she's 21 and she can twerk if she wants to from The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/nov/24/miley-cyrus-21-twerk-if-she-wants

Keller, G. (2013, September 22) Forget Miley Cyrus, teens and tweens have moved on from The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/22/miley-cyrus-not-role-model-girls

Mail, D. (2011, August 18) ‘Moral panic’ making judges impose overly-harsh sentences, says former top prosecutor from Mail online http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2027459/UK-riots-Moral-panic-making-judges-impose-overly-harsh-sentences.html

Michaels, S. (September 25) Miley Cyrus: is twerking worse than cooking meth on Breaking Bad? From The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/25/miley-cyrus-twerking-robin- thicke

Quinn, B. (2013, October 04) Sinéad O'Connor threatens to sue Miley Cyrus over mental health tweets from The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/oct/04/sinead-oconnor-miley-cyrus

Internet

Christman, E. (2014, January 03) Digital Music Sales Decrease For First Time in 2013 from 

Billboard http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/digital-and-mobile/5855162/digital-music-sales-decrease-for-first-time-in-2013

Lane, D. (2013, August 11) Miley Cyrus scores first ever UK Number 1 with We Can’t Stop from Official Charts Company http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/miley-cyrus-scores-first-ever-uk-number-1-with-we-cant-stop-2413/

Resnikoff, P. (2014, June 05) The Music Industry Has Only Declined 3% Since 2000, Research Shows… from Digital Music News http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/permalink/2014/06/05/music-industry-declined-3-since-2000-research-shows

Riley, M. (2011) WOMEN: Madonna: Siren or Symbol? From Center for Media literacy http://www.medialiteracy.com/reading-room/women-madonna-siren-or-symbol

Sexton, P. (2013, August 12) Miley Cyrus Grabs First U.K. No. 1 With 'We Can’t Stop' from Billboard http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/global/5645608/miley-cyrus-grabs-first-uk-no-1-with-we-cant-stop

Moving Image Texts

Britney Spears (2013, September 17) RCA Records. USA-Work B**ch from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt8VYOfr8To

Mike WiLL Made-It - 23 ft. Miley Cyrus, Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbEoRnaOIbs

1st draft Critical Investigation feedback

WWW:

• Detailed research
• Clearly written, focused essay
• Good examples/quotes
• Key concepts are clearly pointed out
• Great use of wider context with specific media terminology
• Good use of critical debates using moral panic
• Good examples of gender representation

EBI:

• Needs more concise and shorter quotes
• Feminist media theorists
• Add more examples to back up points
• More institution background
• Need to cover some economical and political wider context
• Could use other types of critical debates
• More theories e.g. Feminism waves

What I am going to do to improve my Critical Investigation:

• Add Feminist theories e.g. different waves and link them to different eras, emphasising how times have changed and link to current and historic text 
• Shorter quotes (embed into sentences)
• Ensure my bibliography is laid out in the correct format e.g. put ibid in italics and hyperlink the web links 
• Check spelling, punctuation and grammar
• Add more examples and research to back up points stated
• Cover more economical and political wider context
• Introduce the Critical Investigation better, add more background/institutional information
• Bring in more critical debates
• Keep within the word count (2,200 max excluding quotes)
• Shorten the starting quote
• Add 4 more book references