Sarah-Ella Louise Jones
Representation: Consumerism
MSVC 203
Word count: 3,251
Consider the role of advertising in the media. Critically analyse the kinds of techniques that might be employed to sell a product.
In this essay I am going to consider the role of advertising in the media, how the media manages to advertise to us products we need, products we desire and even products that damage our health. Advertising which is also known as promotion, public relations and marketing is a way of communication that aims to gain potential customers, by persuading consumers to purchase an object, and not only buying a product but buying into the whole ideology which would be the sellers brand, the sellers services’ and other products. It is a non-personal, mass mediated message.Advertising has a role in consumption, within getting the message through to the consumer on the product the advertisement goes through a series of decisions and thoughts within the consumer as to whether they should actually buy the product. There are different stages within consuming a product that advertisement has an important role in. First of all the advertisement has to create a basic awareness level about their product and their services, when the consumer starts to consider the product the consumer then looks passed the actual object and begins to consider the ideology and the message the advertisement is portraying, if the ideology and the message is taken on board there is a connection established between the product and the consumer. Reaffirmation needs to take place so the consumer is aware and agreed on that the connection does exist and that the consumer can see a desire or need for the product within their lives. Even though this process is similar to considering the product and the service in the first place the consumer also has the additional competition of other products with them advertising to the consumer, the consumer also needs to evaluate each advertisement and chose a preference to which product they are going to chose, if they stick to the original product there is confirmation where the product is decided on and then viewed in a positive light as it has beaten all of the competition. Action is then taken where the consumer will buy the product and there is also reinforcement from the advertisement and the company as the consumer still has to maintain a positive association with the product and in doing so the consumer will then have a connection established between themselves and the brand, advertising is reinforced here so that the consumer will now use the brand again and the brand will become part of that consumers life.
‘Advertising is a series of appeals, symbols and statements deliberately designed to influence the receiver of the message toward the point of view desired by the communicator and to act in some specific way as a result of receiving the message, whether it be to purchase, vote, hold positive or negative views, or merely maintain a memory. Also, advertising is not always in the best interest of the receiver of the message,’ (Jowett & O’Donnell 1999: 149)
Advertising is so powerful that even products that harm our health can still be sold to us, advertisements are constructed so we over look the damage it does to our health and we concentrate and focus on the social benefits we gain from them, for example cigarettes.
‘we seek to understand and analyze propaganda by identifying its characteristics and to place it within communication studies to examine the qualities of context, sender, intent, message, channel, audience and response. Furthermore, we want to clarify, as much as possible, the distinction between propaganda and persuasion by examining propaganda as a subcategory of persuasion, as well as information. Our definition of propaganda focuses on the communication process-most specifically, on the purpose of the process: propaganda is the deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behaviour to achieve a response that furthers the desired intent of the propagandist.’ (Jowett & O’Donnell 1999: 5)
Throughout history, cigarette companies have employed various techniques in which to sell us tobacco. On targeting men the advertisement would showcase a handsome, wealthy looking man smoking cigarettes thus tapping into the emotions of men and the desire to appear attractive to the opposite sex. The man in the advert would be wearing a suit which would have the connotations of a wealthy lifestyle. In looking at the advertisement men would want to be the same as the man in the advert with the benefit in buying that commodity would then buy them the lifestyle the man in the advert has, a wealthy lifestyle, wearing suits and thus attract the opposite sex. Sponsorship is used to advertise cigarettes, it was used throughout the formula 1 racing which would already have a big male audience and there for the advertisement would be going out to the audience who it was aimed for.
After having male custom, tobacco companies then went on to target females as their new consumers, Along came the term public relations which is seen as a middle person between the public and a product, it was invented by Edward Burnay’s who was Sigmund Freud’s nephew. Edward explored crowd psychology with the help of his uncle’s work of psychoanalytical; he managed to manipulate the public’s opinions using his uncle’s knowledge and work of the psychology of the subconscious. Cigarettes where once only smoked by men and deemed socially unacceptable for women to smoke, due to the actual cigarette unconsciously symbolising the phallus, so Edward Burnay had to create a way and a new direction in to which cigarettes were seen and advertised so they would be consumed by females. The way he went about this was reconstructing the actual subconscious way people viewed the cigarette, he suggested the cigarette was now like the statue of liberty, ‘torches of freedom’ and managed to convince the suffragettes to smoke them whilst doing a protest, the lighting up of a cigarette was to symbolise their liberation, this was filmed which was then televised to mass audience which then changed the shift in smoking being a male dominated activity, and there for gaining a female consumer audience.
Tobacco companies have also targeted women and young girls advertising that smoking makes you slimmer, thus tapping into the need we have to be attractive to the opposite sex.
Children in the past have also been targeted by advertisement to buy cigarettes, despite being younger than the legal age. This was advertised through cartoon advertisements.
Through advertising we are encouraged to consume, Shopping fits into the capitalist system and is encouraged by the capitalist system via advertising, as it creates desire, as we already have our needs.As a society we define ourselves by what we do, we also gain a sense of identity through products. Even though shopping is a mundane activity it is important to us as it is a visual culture, we are constantly consuming visually. Shopping also is vital for the economy, and it showcases social organisation. There is a big significance of shopping within culture. Not only has it changed the way that we consume but the social and physical landscapes have evolved. We are now a society living in a culture which expects a twenty-four hour, seven days a week shopping availability, even when the shops are shut consumers can still consume online.There is also a major shift in desires verses needs, with many tag lines going with our desires which is what advertisement creates, for example a consumer thinking that having a certain suit is going to make them more eligible for a job due to it being advertised in a shop window on a manikin so consumers are able to view it on a physical form. Advertising encourages us to consume, the media is a big way of communicating to us what is trendy at a particular time, and the media also starts trends and is able to showcase these to us as a mass audience. Shopping is represented in the media as not only an individual benefit but also shopping will help the economy bloom and therefore supporting the capitalist ideology. For example, currently people are being encouraged to spend to try and make the economy bloom and over throw the credit crunch. Glamorising shopping is also another way of tapping into people’s desires, for example sex and the city is about four women who love shopping, and in sex and the city the girls are nearly always consuming whether it is having lunch, or actually buying shoes. This is glamorising such a mundane activity bringing a whole new enjoyment through it and also using shopping as a considered hobby. different techniques are employed to sell different products, Public relations are employed to help advertise certain products, there is a cycle between product and consumption. It beings with the product which is then taken on by the P.R who are hired by the people making the product, P.R use the media to make the public aware of their product which then leads to the consumption.Public relations can do many things to sell products, for example by having a celebrity endorse the particular product is going to get the product in the media. For example if a trendy celebrity was to be seen using a certain I-pod and the images of the celebrity were all across the media it gives consumers a way of trying to aspire to be like a certain celebrity. In a sense its using the celebrity as a human billboard, catapulting the object into people’s lives. It also relates to the lifestyle of the celebrity, for example people aspiring for the celebrity lifestyle can have a piece of it if they were to have that I-pod. Across the media, different mediums are used to sell products, The media has several different mediums to broadcast to us products in order for us to consume. Television, which not only has adverts in between programmes, but also showcases celebrities talking about and wearing certain stuff, which is always constructed by P.R and managers.
Product placement is a form of advertising, which use texts already in the media using actual products in texts for promotional advertisement. For example, in ‘fight club’ the film starts with the character talking about his apartment in regards to ‘Ikea’, it is part of the story but not only is it advertising the products that ‘Ikea’ has to offer but also the ideology of ‘Ikea’, and what ‘Ikea’ symbolises within our society. Consumers and audiences are already aware of the connotations of the brand ‘Ikea’ due to its saturation in the media.Adverts are broadcasted on television, most channels have adverts before, in between and after programmes. These can range from advertising other programmes to advertising consumer objects. Particular objects are advertised at particular times so they are reaching the correct audience. For example, toys are advertised in the morning whilst kids are watching their morning cartoons before school in the ploy that then they will then nag their parents to buy the particular toy, this is what is known as ‘pester power’ the adverts would also be televised when the kids come home from school to gain the same potential customer. Kids are an easy target, as they are easier to influence.Shopping fits into the capitalist system.
Different techniques are used to sell different products, advertising attempts to influence consumers buying behaviour by providing a good selling message.Different techniques are employed to sell different products as each product needs a different message, as they are aimed at different audiences so the right message needs to be sent. Audiences belong to pre-existing groups and categorise which define the consumer. Gender, age, family, class, nation and ethnicity are all ways of defining an individual and therefore representing information on them as consumer, for example a middle aged mixed race male is not going to consume in the same way as a young white female, there for there is different ways that advertising would target consumers on their background information there is also additional factors such as education, religion, political allegiance, region and urban versus rural background. On a mass scale, the advertisement has to be sent to audiences’ of all ages and levels of intellect and as audiences become so used to being spoken to in a particular way, a particular mode of address is used which is considered to be ‘dumbing down’ when the media is trying to get across a message which is quite difficult to take on board, the message is dumb downed so it can be understood by everybody.Audiences need to be targeted in specific ways. an audience can be defined by a particular product for example buying a C.D comes with a genre, which is helping define the type of person due to what music they consume. There is also particular specific audiences for types of products, for example having a niche audience for specific computer game magazines, which would not apply to a dominant audience.
Desire is created by the media and shown to us through advertising, it is a medium which tells and shows us what we desire. Advertising is how something we desire is sold to us, it is supplemented by capitalism. After we have our basic needs met, advertising comes into practise when we are then sold commodities which we do not really need, yet we are shown through advertising how better off we would be with that product. Advertising showcases to us what we could have, what we could look like providing we consume the desirable commodity their advertising. The commodities which bring with it idealised lifestyle, promising us a better life if we buy that commodity, that if we have that commodity it will bring us closer to our goal of perfection as consuming is all about striving to be better, better looking to the opposite sex, deeper and greater emotional fulfilment and social acceptance. Advertising taps into our emotional state and tells us we are not good enough, that the products that we have are no longer the latest of that product available hence why we consume. Advertisement tells us that we aren’t good and in striving to be better we consume.
Desire is sold to us through sex, advertising is not advertising sex but the guarantee that we will gain it from consuming, that we will become more attractive to the opposite sex thus consuming. Freud studied the psychological approaches to consumerism and studied how everything we do is to be attractive to the opposite sex and this is promoted to us through advertising of desires.
Problems occur from always striving for our desires, desires that are forever changing. Oliver James coined the term ‘affluenza’ which is the effects of us always striving to be better, to be perfect due to what capitalism is telling us to buy in order to be perfect. It is the illness that is caused through us always striving to be better and in doing so buying certain products which leads the consumer to be happy and content for a period of time before another better product comes out and then making consumers unhappy once again, it causes poor mental health as consumers are always striving for something that is forever changing. It is representing to us our desires but advertising them to us as needs. Society then have the pressure of trying to consume more in order to fulfil the promise of a better life and the benefits with that advertisement and thus creating identity, yet to consume more people need more money and in doing so need to work harder for a dream they can never catch for a long period of time. Depression due to trying to achieve something that is unachievable is also commoditised, capitalism is the reason behind this depression and un-fulfilment and to better our emotion consumers consume drugs in order to cure their depression thus the drug companies making more money which overall is supplementing capitalism, this is evidence of a consumerism circle.
‘Advertising usually involves the cost of production and distribution. The advertiser (communicator), in turn, hopes this cost will be returned eventually in the form of some benefit, such as the purchase of a product, the casting of a vote, or positive or negative feelings. In fact, advertising is the most ubiquitous form of propaganda in our society. It is found everywhere we look and almost everywhere we listen, and its pressure is felt in every commercial we make. The use of advertising as a means of information the public about the choices and availability of goods and services is an integral part of the free enterprise capitalist system’ (Jowett & O’Donnell 1999: 149)
Advertising not only creates and advertises us desires but it also advertises our needs, Despite us needing it and already having our basic needs met, companies can still sell us more of our basic needs, despite us already having it. They exploit our basic human emotions and needs with advertisement on the product that they make us believe we cannot live without. Bottled water is a prime example of this, despite us already having our basic needs through tap water; bottled water is sold to us with tag lines such as health benefits that we need to be hydrated in order to function. Tapping into our emotional needs and exploiting the fact that water is vital in order to stay alive. Such mundane products are easy to advertise due to them being basic commodities within our lives.
‘we must also not overlook the increasing importance of advertising as an integral part of economic development and the emergence of consumerism, for many techniques developed to persuade customers to purchase products were later adopted by other propagandists. One significant aspect of the 20th century propaganda is the symbiotic relationship between advertising and other forms of propaganda, particularly as techniques for reading audiences become more sophisticated and reliable’ (Jowett & O’Donnell 1999: 96)
The media is a visual medium thus being able to visually show consumers and audiences its commodities, and sell its ideology. Without the media advertising would be impossible. Without advertising we would not know what we desire, advertising plays such a vital part within our consumer culture. The media and advertising supplement and work together with the aim of producing a consumer society.
I chose the question I was most interested in and then formed on a plan in how I was going to go about tackling the question. I went to the library and got a book that was relevant and very useful, I managed to read this book enough to know that it would have been perfect in helping me with the essay but came to a hurdle when somebody else had reserved the book so even though I was able to write the information I remembered I was unable to quote it. Overall I think the essay went okay, I struggled with the consistency of the essay despite having a plan to follow and think the essay was weak in some places. I think I put the right amount of time and effort into it but think I needed to read more academic books to support my work and work closely with my plan rather than using it as a rough guide.
Bibliography
O’Donnell V & Jowett G propaganda and persuasion 1999 sage publications
About Me
Friday, 12 December 2008
subculture essay!
Investigate a specific case study relating to fandom or a subculture of your choice. Critically appraise the case study in relation to a range of theoretical perspectives studied within the module.
Your study should address how your chosen example offers insights into theories on fandom/subculture and audience perspectives generally. You are expected to relate the study to work undertaken on this module (e.g comparing and contrasting examples from those given in lectures and seminars)
Word count: 5,921
Subculture is a group of people despite belonging to a larger culture have another culture as well. Fandom is a form of subculture, as even though the fans within the fan group have a larger culture in which they belong to, they also have their subculture that they belong to which is their fandom. Subcultures subvert hegemonic ideologies, and their beliefs are always showcased via their image and behaviour. Moral panic when there is a threat to society usually follows a sub-culture, as the sub-culture identity is accompanied with hysteria.
Grunge is a genre of music, and with it comes a sub-culture due to its fans. Sub-culture is an alternative culture to the dominant culture within society, ‘During the 1950s, Albert Cohen and Walter Miller sought to supply the missing theoretical perspectives by tracing the continuities and breaks between dominant and subordinate value systems. Cohen stressed the compensatory function of the juvenile gang: working class adolescents who under-achieved at school joined gangs in their leisure time in order to develop alternative sources of self-esteem. In the gang, the core values of the straight world - sobriety, ambition, conformity, etc. - were replaced by their opposites: hedonism, defiance of authority and the quest for ‘kicks’ (Cohen, 1995)’. (Hebdige, 1987: 76)
Just like a sub-culture, grunge is an alternative culture, an alternative from the normal and ordinary. Grunge helped give belonging to teenagers in society that felt isolated, it gave comfort to teenagers who felt economic alienation supplemented with social alienation.
Grunge was an authentic genre which cared for the bands and the musicians, the ideologies and the belonging rather than money.
The ideology of grunge is going against the dominant hegemonic values of society. This is different to Muggelton’s research on post-subculture and identity as he found that post-subculture is not fixed, instead of resisting and apposing against the system they are using it to their advantage and choosing their own attitude and fashion where as grunge had its set ideology, rules and rituals.
In this essay I am going to research the fandom of Nirvana, focusing especially on the front man Kurt Cobain. Despite Kurt Cobain no longer even being alive and thus the band splitting up, the band still holds such a big fan group. I am going to look closely at the reason behind fandom and the substance gained from being a fan, before addressing other people’s fandom I decided to look into my own.
In my teenage years I was struggling with my own economic alienation and trying to piece together my own identity, I found music as such a comforting device to hold on to, from finding a way to express myself as well as gaining a sense of belonging. I used it as a well of rebelling against my parental as well as a way of helping me dealing with my own teenage angst.
I was able to identify myself through the music I liked, as well as helping me figure out who I was and forms opinions on the world. Fandom also started my social life, as the first time I went out was to a gig.
In researching fandom, I already had background knowledge of Nirvana fans as I had been one back in school and so were my friends so I had past experience on Nirvana fans and fans in general, as well as being one myself. I looked on the internet, not only on forums but also on official and non-official fan sites. There were a numerous websites that fans had constructed themselves with information and pictures they had gathered for the website.
I studied old press cuttings on interviews from Kurt and the band himself, as well as looking at old alternative music magazines.
Forums were the dominant medium in which I found my research, posting questions about their fandom as well as reading posts already there.
For primary research I carried out interviews with fans, as well as going on official Nirvana sites. I visited the official Nirvana fan club website and posted questions there as well as getting Nirvana fans to fill out questionnaires on their fandom.
The secondary research I used were existing case studies on fandom as well as unofficial websites, as well as websites constructed by fans.
The only problems I had during the research was fans not complying, acting too cool to answer my questions and wondering why they should even bother helping me.
This is actually a similar answer in which Kurt Cobain may have replied with, thus the fans have adopted the Kurt Cobain and Nirvana attitude. In interviews Kurt would reply to questions asking how it is anyone’s business but his own or simply being sarcastic and acting in a incompetent, foolish manner.
The internet is a forum which illustrates fan behaviour as the internet is a post-modern medium which makes finding out information more accessible, it is also used as a form of communicating with one another. It creates a place where people are able to network as it is an interactive medium. Trimer coined the term the ‘air port lounge’ which the internet is, it is an environment that is not cemented, it can also hold a place for fans whom have little commitment as well as fans who show the up most commitment in regards to their fandom. It is not only an advantage for the fans but also the bands themselves who can reach such a mass audience in such a simple easy manner.
On a fan site or a bands website you are able to access information from lyrics, to band reviews adding to your cultural capital, making you a level higher in your hierarchy and there for being a positive factor in your personal needs.
Personal connection is elevated via the internet, it gives such a sense of closeness to other fans, creating a community, Maffesoli studied the term ’neo-tribalism’ where a basic term is formed throughout fandom, where they gain personal needs that comes with being part of something, the advantages they get from belonging to a group, yet instead of having set rules and rituals, they are bought together through their similar lifestyles, interests and hobbies rather than their fundamental ideologies.
The internet is also a device in which fans can feel closer to the band.
Within forums the internet is also a medium which showcases distinction and discrimination, throughout my research it has come apparent that competition is very high between fans. There are clear cut boundaries within fandom that consists whether you’re a real fan, or who’s a better fan who would then gain praise and distinction and then gain self esteem from knowing lyrics to the songs, this would give them hierarchy and this would give them social status, despite it only being a shadow of cultural economy (fiske) yet it is not actually knowing anything about high culture, for example knowing who has just won the political election which would be classified as cultural economy, but within their group of fandom where the knowledge is self-acquired it would give them hierarchy.
Throughout my own fandom and researching Nirvana fans I saw how fans use their fandom and their knowledge gained through this to close the gap between them and society, this is what is known as an audiocat. This gave the fans self-esteem as their knowledge which is bringing them closer to society was self taught thus gaining the self-esteem through doing something yourself.
Authenticity is also made apparent via the internet. Boundaries are set within fandom, for example picking and chosing of whether you are a fan of something within your chosen fandom, for example ‘Smells like teen spirit’ being your favourite fan would make you less authentic as if you only know the more commercial songs, thus being hailed not a real fan. It would also lead to hierarchy, discrimination and distinction on when you became a Nirvana fan, the more authentic fans would have been with Nirvana at the start and after their most successful album ‘Nevermind’, rather than just liking their mainstream commercial album and work.
On asking fans what would consist a real nirvana fan, I had a various set of answers. Elen suggested ‘my boyfriend is a real fan, he was around when they first came out and he’s collected nirvana memorabilia ever since rather than getting into them years later although you could do that and still be a real fan’ (web 3) insinuating that it takes memorabilia and for to have been there when Nirvana had come out to be a real fan where as Louis thought ‘having one album’ (web 4) would consist of being a real fan.
‘fans discriminate fiercely: the boundaries between what falls within their fandom and what does not are sharply drawn. This is discrimination in the cultural sphere is mapped into distinctions in the social - the boundaries between the community of fans and the rest of the world are just as strongly marked and patrolled. Both sides of the boundary invest in the difference; mundane viewers wish to avoid what they see as a taint of fandom - ’I’m not really a fan, of course, but..’ on the other side of the line, fans may argue about what characteristics allow someone to cross it and become a true fan, but they are clearly agreed on existence of the line. Textual and social discrimination are part and parcel of the same cultural activity’ (fisk 1992: 35)
The internet gives fans a way of choosing their level of fandom in post-subculture the internet can host fans which then can fall into a category of being a tourist or a traveller within what has been coined as the supermarket of style by Polhermos.
The tourist and traveller terms were researched and given the name by Muggleton, and the tourist means they can play around with the conventions and boundaries of being a fan, whom claim you do not have to have every C.D to b a real fan where as the traveller would gain social status and thus esteem for having every C.D and knowing every lyric.
The difference between a tourist and a traveller is the tourist is more authentic, tourists seek authenticity which would then lead to distinction and discrimination, yet the tourist is aware of the post-modern take on fandom and embraced it.
It is down to the internet that it is hard to pigeon hole a sub-culture, despite it pushing and blurring boundaries it is such a vital medium in strengthening subcultures and fandom.
The internet is also a place to talk about your specific band, a social place where you can express your interest with like-minded people and in doing so feel a sense of belonging and gain social and self-esteem.
Identity is also very important within using the internet as a medium, it allows people to create many different identities, the supermarket of style is the accessibility you have from the internet it thus creates and supplements identity changes.
It is fundamental for niche audiences, and people searching online type in specific searches so they usually stay within their chosen net-work this is evident in Hodkinson’s research on the internet communication and sub-cultural boundaries, where it looks into the post-modernity of the internet. It also became apparent that the Goth subculture that he studied was similar to the grunge subculture in how they now use the internet.
Through my findings on asking questions regarding the internet, fans commented that whilst they were on Nirvana websites and fan websites they would use hyperlinks to go to band merchandise, web spaces that hold Nirvana’s lyrics and other texts within Nirvana fandom.
The main use for them using the internet was for social networking, not only was it a way of making friends through their passion of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana but friendships were also constructed outside of cyber space ‘me and my best friend bounded over Nirvana. He introduced me to AIC, I introduced him to Nirvana and Nirvana became both of our favourite band. We had the same bleak outlook on life. of course then he got into a different scene, we drifted apart’ (web 9) yet it was a vital factor in communicating in regards to arranging to meet up for gigs.
In Thornton’s studies he says the media is vital distribution medium in which fans can showcase their knowledge on their fandom.
The internet helps to supplement subculture as well as it does supplant it due to the blurring of boundaries, it also challenges Hebdige’s theory of his ideology of fandom being about going against the system as sub-culture which the internet is an important medium within is not going against the system, it actually supplements it.
There are various other mediums used by fans, magazines are used to gain knowledge which would then be talked about socially, which would lead to distinction and discrimination and in doing so creating hierarchy. Gigs are also advertised within magazines which would build on the social side of fandom.
Interviews pushed by the magazine interviewing Nirvana would add to cultural capital, it would also give information on the band adding to your social status.
Gigs would be a major part in fandom, adding to authenticity of your fandom, throughout my research I did not actually come across anybody who had actually seen Nirvana yet many of the fans like myself have seen the Foo Fighters and thought of Nirvana whilst watching Dave Grohl. Some fans stressed how they would not of actually liked to of met Kurt Cobain himself due to fear of disappointment, as a star as a constructed persona which could then lead to meeting the star when he is not playing out his persona which would ruin your illusion on your fandom.
There have been many books published on Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, Autobiographies and biographies on the band. Entitled ‘Kurt Cobain: the journals’ which was written by Kurt himself which was filled with drawings and thoughts on fame, he talks about rock history and his drug abuse. On reading reviews it was sparked that only a ‘real’ Nirvana fan should read this the reader would need background information about Nirvana for his thoughts to make sense, this would spark hierarchy and also self-esteem gained if on reading his journals you would understand what was happening at that date with the band because it is not written within his journals.
This would add authenticity within fandom, as reading his journals would be primary information; it would give the fans a sense of closeness.
Merchandise is a way of capitalising on existing money making medium. Nirvana and Kurt has a vast variety of merchandise, from books to t-shirts.
Textual productivity was also valid in the sense of how it made a lot of the fans themselves want to pick up a guitar and start their own band.
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain identity was not stereotypical of his gender, he challenged hegemonic ideologies through in the way that he would dress, instead of looking and acting like a stereotypical male he was quite feminine, this is evident in television appearances and also what he would wear to do his gigs. Kurt often wore eye liner and dresses, going against the dominant masculine men that he was not a fan of in the music industry, in the rock industry it was dominated by masculine men who would slate and disrespect women, he felt from a young age that women were repressed, disrespected and not counted for, he did not want to be another rock star who was going to treat women in such a way.
For a male to be wearing eye liner and a dress would have caused moral panic within society, as it would challenge hegemonic ideology through gender, this is also visual in David Bowie’s fragmented persona, Frith and Hebdige studied Bowie, the ideologies that came out of these studies were that due to them going against the dominant ideology that there is actually narcissism within the ways boys looked and played around with the way that they were excepted to look by society.
On being asked whether Kurt’s gender and non-stereotypical masculinity played a large factor in your fandom, he replied with ‘uhhh… without you mentioning it, I never would of thought it. But actually, yeah. It wasn’t like the reason I liked them or anything, but that aspect was one of the things I respected about him. As a result, when I played in this band for a school play (big rock at candy’s mountain) I wore a dress. At the time I truly didn’t relate to traditional masculinity at all and I saw Kurt’s stance as both a rebellion and a superior form of masculinity. To me it was the difference between the “toughen up, derp!” kind of brainless, soulless, heartless masculinity and a lifestyle that involves having emotions’ (web 8)
He did not want to be a sexist icon like the other males within the music industry. In asking John what first attracted him to Kurt Cobain, he replied with ‘as an adolescent I was confused about who I was meant to be in the sense of gender and sexuality and I found this band with a front singer with such sadness whilst wearing a dress and I latched on to it, I was not like everybody else but never had the confidence to be myself’ (web 1) personal needs is a big reason throughout the research in how people first sought out Nirvana, John also stated that Kurt’s non-stereotypical view of masculinity was a key aspect in his fandom ‘I believe it is why Nirvana became my favourite band and why Kurt was my idol, I saw myself him in so much and his music became the background music to my life at that time when I was very confused’ (web 2)
By wearing a dress and eye liner it represented that he could be as feminism as he wanted, he was often abused mentally and physically at school for not being the stereotypical boy, and through his music he had a new found freedom on expressing himself due to him being so isolated and repressed for being himself through his childhood, that now he could be whatever he wanted to be, he could represent difference and challenge the hegemonic values of society that had haunted him for being different from his school years. By a male wearing male up which is a feminine ritual he was rebelling against the system, it was a gesture of defiance and a signature ritual in the issue that he is not going to conform, or be how society thinks he should be. Kurt was very androgynous, he did not want to be seen as male or as a female but he wanted to be counted as a person, he thought that gender played a small part within his ideology.
Kurt went on to help other people create their own identity, ‘I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t want to look like Kurt Cobain, maybe that’s why I grew my hair long, maybe not. Either way I don’t go out of my way to look like him, yet they affected me in some decisions I wouldn’t of done otherwise’ (web 10)
Kurt was also an enigma in regards to his sexuality; he was forever changing his answer to whether he was gay, straight or bisexual. Another issue that would spark questions on his sexuality would be him wearing a dress, which is seen as feminine action. His lyrics would be pro-gay which would spark questioning into his sexuality, but the reason behind this was not to spark questions towards his own sexuality but to publicise the fact that there is nothing wrong with being gay. Through Kurt’s childhood he found it difficult to interact with his male peers, as being so different from them apart from one boy who was gay, Kurt disagreed with the way that his friend was treated just for being gay and his mother even stopped him hanging round with this boy. He then found himself making friends with girls and there for got the experience and was able to witness how females were treated unequally, repressed and with no respect this went on to be a core factor in him constructing his own identity in later years.
What becomes apparent in his childhood is the depth of alienation he felt, for not being stereotypical, for having different views and beliefs, for being slightly feminine, he was even targeted against for liking art and for wanting to do something with his life instead of wanting to go into the same trade as his father like most of his peers at school.
Kurt Cobain’s parents also broke up when he was ten, adding to another level of his alienation, he strived and wanted so badly a normal family with a mum and dad like all of his peers, another dominant ideology that had been forced on him, that to be a family it does consist of a married mother and father. He found this lack another wedge between him and his peers and when his parents finally divorced he became very much isolated further than he was before and more than anything became anti-social. In Nirvana’s song ‘serve the servants’ the effect of the divorce becomes apparent in his lyrics ‘that legendary divorce is such a bore’ another lyric from the same song is ‘I tried hard to have a father but instead I had a dad’ and this links back to the lack of relationship him and his father had, due to his dad being a stereotypical masculine man that was unable to showcase any love or affection to his son, Kurt never really established a relationship between his dad.
In discovering music, semiotic productivity came about in the way that he reacted towards hearing the music, the music was relevant to him and he was able to make the music mean something to him; Kurt found belonging, despite his alienation, isolation, sadness and negativity he found music as such a positive comfort throughout his adolescence. He started listening to punk music with all the rebellious ideology; he found this genre fit in with how he felt socially and politically. The sensibility of punk was gaining respect for yourself despite your class, gender or sexuality stance. Punk created equality for women and it was rebelling against the system, views in which Kurt believed in and found a place within the punk genre through listening to bands such as the sex pistols. Just as Kurt was not stereotypically masculine the punk music he was listening to was challenging hegemonic sensibility.
This is similar to Louis’ reason on why he liked Nirvana in the first place ‘I saw a live video of Nirvana when I was 14 and he (Kurt) jumped into the crowd and started hitting a security guard with his guitar, I thought that was pretty cool’ (web 6)
The aggression that was seen throughout punk, even as far as the way the audience would act at gigs, as it was the punk movement who started the mosh pit was an out let for all of Kurt’s angst. Punk celebrated different and ugliness something Kurt had dealt with his whole life.
He found such reassurance through punk that there were other people battling with the dominant ideologies.
This is made apparent in the case study that Hebdige and Fiske did on punk, with the key force and ideologies of punk fans being a punk fan was due to finding a place for alternative identity, punk was an alternative identity from social dominance, a way of belonging for people who did not fit into the hegemonic values of society and this is apparent in Kurt’s fandom of punk.
Even through Kurt’s own fandom, came textual productivity when he then created his own band and wrote his own lyrics due to being inspired by other peoples lyrics and music.
All of Kurt’s feelings that are stated within books and interviews are apparent through his lyrics, they reflect his feelings and experiences.
The song ‘come as you are’ denotes trying to fit in, pretending to be something you are not and doing something else because somebody else is doing it, this reflects him not fitting in and being judged for being different. Lyrics in the song such as ‘no, I don’t have a gun’ denotes that he has nothing to hide and he is not going to judge you so do not be something you are not.
Nirvana’s song ‘dumb’ starts with the lyrics ‘I’m not like them but I can pretend’ which is another reference to trying to act like something he is not, to pretend to be something just so he can fit in with society, his alienation from his peers and society is evident throughout all his music, in lyrics such as the one’s in the song ‘Lithium’ where he sings ‘I’m so happy ‘cause today I found my friends, they’re in my head’ which connotes the lack of friends he had as a child due to being so anti-social.
‘Smells like teen spirit’ was the biggest rock anthem in the 90s, it reflected the society in which surrounded Kurt, even the title connotes an essence of ‘generation X’ it sings about his generation which was fuelled by anger, boredom and cynicism.
From finding punk as a way of Kurt belonging he then tunnelled his thoughts and feelings into his own lyrics which would of given everything Kurt got from punk to his own fans.
There are various links to other texts, after the death of Kurt Cobain the members went on to form other bands, Dave Grohl the drummer of Nirvana went on to form the very successful band the ‘Foo Fighters’, throughout the research on Nirvana fandom it became clear that most Nirvana fans had come to be a ‘Foo Fighters’ fan, the ideology between the two bands is consistent which would give fans authenticity from going on to be a ‘Foo fighters’ fan and therefore remaining a Dave Grohl fan. Elen’s fandom of Nirvana came secondary to that of her fandom for the foo fighters ‘I first heard Nirvana on the ‘Kerrang!’ channel… think it was ‘smells like teen spirit.’ I was into rock music so it was exactly the stuff I was already into, plus Kurt was pretty nice and I liked that Dave Grohl was in the band as I was a fan of the ‘Foo Fighters’ anyway’ (web 5)
It is clear that fans are productive; Throughout the research it became apparent that Nirvana and Kurt influenced his fans to different music genres ‘it got me into punk rock’ (web 7) create music themselves, as well as even giving them influence on other creative subjects ‘I did an a-level art project on Kurt’s artwork’ (web 8) on being asked whether he has influenced your life in anyway.
‘they influence my music writing style, they don’t influence my lyrics so much. They influence what music I listen to. They’ve influenced things outside my music tastes and writing as well. I’m not of a liberal person now due to reading about Kurt’s pro-choice stance on almost everything. I look at drugs in a different way too, I understand the attraction and the addiction better without having to take them myself. They play a role in my life, a small one yes, but I look at a lot of things different because of it. People, the world, music.’ (web 11)
Grunge like every other subculture has iconography, just like the research Hebdige and Fiske did on punk, grunge had an ironic attitude with self-awareness and a strong ‘do it yourself’ ethnic, clothing advocated its own construction. The uniform of grunge gave the specific genre a visual gesture, not only through the laid back attitude, but ideology was apparent through clothes, make-up and hair styles; ‘these choices contain a whole range of messages which are transmitted through the finely graded distinctions of a number of interlocking sets - class and status, self-image and attractiveness, etc’ (Hebdige 1987: 101)
Ripped jeans were a vital part in there grunge look, this signifies anti-establishment and anti-commodity and therefore connoting anti-capitalism through anarchy through destroying a pair of jeans. The tearing of jeans also signifies the ripping up of the establishment, this is very similar to the uniform of the punk, the ‘do it yourself’ attitude and tearing of the clothes to create new meanings.
It was also very important not to drip your jeans too much in the fear of looking like you are trying too hard, trying to look to constructed in a genre where the ideology was about not caring about the way that you looked. The whole grunge look as well as the music was meant to be authentic, inexpensive and carefree which reflected the ideology.
Band t-shirts were part of the grunge uniform, as well as plain simple t-shirts and clothing, the whole look was inexpensive and it meant to reflect this, no designer or labelled clothes were to be worn. Drawing on t-shirts and also flannel t-shirts were vital in creating the grunge look. The grunge uniform for girls was very similar, very little make up which would make them more androgynous which would connote not trying to be a male or a woman but more wanting to be counted as a person, despite gender. Girls would also wear ripped jeans, band t-shirts and aim for inexpensive look, it was all constructed in thus to look grunge, the inexpensive thrown together look was fabricated ‘it stands apart - a visible construction, a loaded choice. It directs attention to itself; it gives itself to be read’ (Hebodige 1987: 101)
Grunge was a sub-culture was a sub-culture that welcomed girls, O’Brien studied how girls were involved within the punk genre, despite at the time in the 70s girls were still being ridiculed and treated unfairly, punk like grunge were something they could be apart of away from the dominant culture.
Throughout O’Briens findings it concludes that there are many benefits for a female within a sub-culture, it gave them a way in which they could create an identity, it was used as a vice in which to not only be different and accepted but to visually showcase difference. It also sent a strong message that women do mattered in music, and therefore mattered in society.
Grunge gave women a way in which to rebel, as they rebelled against the way society thinks they should dress and behave. Instead of dressing like stereotypically how society expects girls to, grunge gave them an alternative identity, thus giving them a chance to feel and be more liberal.
It was not possible to broadly categorise the profile of the fan base as the fan base as a whole was made up from the ages of thirteen to thirty, from fans who had been around when Nirvana were actually around at their time to fans who had heard them a few years ago, yet the fandom started in their early teens, where rebellion and not fitting in was already evident. The same also applied to gender, there was a mix of boys and girls of whom were fans of Nirvana. The fans I questioned were white and straight and from working class families which is also evident in the studies on punk fandom and thus the creation of sub-culture itself.
On reflecting on individuals within the overall profiles the conclusion that became apparent was the reason for fandom throughout the study was not only their fandom of nirvana, but what they got from being part of a community who shared an interest. It helped fans create identity ‘at the age of 15, I didn’t really fit in at school, I don’t know why so I isolated myself and music became my friend, on finding nirvana I bought a nirvana t-shirt and to my amazement a boy came up to me in school and started talking about Nirvana, this was the first time I had socially been interactive and we became good friends after that, without the nirvana t-shirt, I would have been sitting on my own at lunch’ (web 12) this is also visible in the case study Stevenson did on Bowie fans, on how relationships were started due to being fans of Bowies, it gave them a start in which to form friendships due to their common liking of their star.
To summarise the research in addressing fandom, it became apparent that fans were the most identifiable and visual audiences. Fans are an active audience, thus the uses and gratification theory, fans use the media and use fandom to their advantage, forming something that has meaning to the individual and there for gained and benefited from their fandom.
‘the literature on fandom is haunted by images of deviance. The fan is consistently characterized (referencing the terms origins) as a potential fanatic. This means that fandom is seen as excessive, bordering on deranged, behaviour’ (Jenson 1992: 9)
Despite being stereotyped as being unhealthy, fandom has given comfort to so many people. Fandom not only comes from the liking of the text but also from a problematic social existence.
Rebellion was also a key factor, fandom gave fans something in which to use to rebel. Fans used their fandom to form their identity in regards to dress, attitude and ideology.
‘I suggest here that these two images of fans are based in an implicit critique of modern life. Fandom is seen as a psychological symptom of a presumed social dysfunction; the two fan types are based in an unacknowledged critique of modernity. Once fans are characterised as deviant, they can be treated as disreputable, even dangerous ‘others’ (Jenson 1992: 9)
Bibliography
Web 1 – John Evans – www.facebook.com – December 4th 12.16am.
Web 2 – John Evans – www.facebook.com – December 4th 12.16am.
Web 3 - Elen Beynon - www.facebook.com - December 4th 2.51am
Web 4 - Louis Roberts - www.Facebook.com - December 1st 11pm
Web 5 - Elen Beynon - www.Facebook.com - December 4th 2.51am
Web 6 - Louis Roberts - www.Facebook.com - December 1st 11pm
Web 7 - Louis Roberts - www.facebook.com - December 1st 11pm.
Web 8 - Emotionally Constipated - http://www.nirvana2.com/system/display.php?thread=5766&forum=1&perpage=30&page=1&order=asc- 4th December 10.45am
Web 9 - emotionally constipated - http://www.nirvana2.com/system/display.php?thread=5766&forum=1&perpage=30&page=1&order=asc- 4th December 10.45am
Web 10 - kswis - http://www.nirvana2.com/system/display.php?thread=5766&forum=1&perpage=30&page=1&order=asc - 2nd December 7.40pm
Web 11 - kswis - http://www.nirvana2.com/system/display.php?thread=5766&forum=1&perpage=30&page=1&order=asc - 2nd December 7.40pm
Web 12 - yawn - http://www.nirvana2.com/system/display.php?thread=5766&forum=1&perpage=30&page=1&order=asc - 7th December 12.02am
www.facebook.com
www.nirvanaclub.com
Jenson J (1992) fandom as pathology: the concequence of characterizations, in Lewis A L (ed) 1992 adoring audience - fan culture and popular media. London, routledge.
Fiske J (1992) the cultural economy of fandom in Lewis A L (ed) 1992 adoring audience - fan culture and popular media. London, routledge.
Hebdige D subculture - the meaning of style 1987 London, Routledge.
Your study should address how your chosen example offers insights into theories on fandom/subculture and audience perspectives generally. You are expected to relate the study to work undertaken on this module (e.g comparing and contrasting examples from those given in lectures and seminars)
Word count: 5,921
Subculture is a group of people despite belonging to a larger culture have another culture as well. Fandom is a form of subculture, as even though the fans within the fan group have a larger culture in which they belong to, they also have their subculture that they belong to which is their fandom. Subcultures subvert hegemonic ideologies, and their beliefs are always showcased via their image and behaviour. Moral panic when there is a threat to society usually follows a sub-culture, as the sub-culture identity is accompanied with hysteria.
Grunge is a genre of music, and with it comes a sub-culture due to its fans. Sub-culture is an alternative culture to the dominant culture within society, ‘During the 1950s, Albert Cohen and Walter Miller sought to supply the missing theoretical perspectives by tracing the continuities and breaks between dominant and subordinate value systems. Cohen stressed the compensatory function of the juvenile gang: working class adolescents who under-achieved at school joined gangs in their leisure time in order to develop alternative sources of self-esteem. In the gang, the core values of the straight world - sobriety, ambition, conformity, etc. - were replaced by their opposites: hedonism, defiance of authority and the quest for ‘kicks’ (Cohen, 1995)’. (Hebdige, 1987: 76)
Just like a sub-culture, grunge is an alternative culture, an alternative from the normal and ordinary. Grunge helped give belonging to teenagers in society that felt isolated, it gave comfort to teenagers who felt economic alienation supplemented with social alienation.
Grunge was an authentic genre which cared for the bands and the musicians, the ideologies and the belonging rather than money.
The ideology of grunge is going against the dominant hegemonic values of society. This is different to Muggelton’s research on post-subculture and identity as he found that post-subculture is not fixed, instead of resisting and apposing against the system they are using it to their advantage and choosing their own attitude and fashion where as grunge had its set ideology, rules and rituals.
In this essay I am going to research the fandom of Nirvana, focusing especially on the front man Kurt Cobain. Despite Kurt Cobain no longer even being alive and thus the band splitting up, the band still holds such a big fan group. I am going to look closely at the reason behind fandom and the substance gained from being a fan, before addressing other people’s fandom I decided to look into my own.
In my teenage years I was struggling with my own economic alienation and trying to piece together my own identity, I found music as such a comforting device to hold on to, from finding a way to express myself as well as gaining a sense of belonging. I used it as a well of rebelling against my parental as well as a way of helping me dealing with my own teenage angst.
I was able to identify myself through the music I liked, as well as helping me figure out who I was and forms opinions on the world. Fandom also started my social life, as the first time I went out was to a gig.
In researching fandom, I already had background knowledge of Nirvana fans as I had been one back in school and so were my friends so I had past experience on Nirvana fans and fans in general, as well as being one myself. I looked on the internet, not only on forums but also on official and non-official fan sites. There were a numerous websites that fans had constructed themselves with information and pictures they had gathered for the website.
I studied old press cuttings on interviews from Kurt and the band himself, as well as looking at old alternative music magazines.
Forums were the dominant medium in which I found my research, posting questions about their fandom as well as reading posts already there.
For primary research I carried out interviews with fans, as well as going on official Nirvana sites. I visited the official Nirvana fan club website and posted questions there as well as getting Nirvana fans to fill out questionnaires on their fandom.
The secondary research I used were existing case studies on fandom as well as unofficial websites, as well as websites constructed by fans.
The only problems I had during the research was fans not complying, acting too cool to answer my questions and wondering why they should even bother helping me.
This is actually a similar answer in which Kurt Cobain may have replied with, thus the fans have adopted the Kurt Cobain and Nirvana attitude. In interviews Kurt would reply to questions asking how it is anyone’s business but his own or simply being sarcastic and acting in a incompetent, foolish manner.
The internet is a forum which illustrates fan behaviour as the internet is a post-modern medium which makes finding out information more accessible, it is also used as a form of communicating with one another. It creates a place where people are able to network as it is an interactive medium. Trimer coined the term the ‘air port lounge’ which the internet is, it is an environment that is not cemented, it can also hold a place for fans whom have little commitment as well as fans who show the up most commitment in regards to their fandom. It is not only an advantage for the fans but also the bands themselves who can reach such a mass audience in such a simple easy manner.
On a fan site or a bands website you are able to access information from lyrics, to band reviews adding to your cultural capital, making you a level higher in your hierarchy and there for being a positive factor in your personal needs.
Personal connection is elevated via the internet, it gives such a sense of closeness to other fans, creating a community, Maffesoli studied the term ’neo-tribalism’ where a basic term is formed throughout fandom, where they gain personal needs that comes with being part of something, the advantages they get from belonging to a group, yet instead of having set rules and rituals, they are bought together through their similar lifestyles, interests and hobbies rather than their fundamental ideologies.
The internet is also a device in which fans can feel closer to the band.
Within forums the internet is also a medium which showcases distinction and discrimination, throughout my research it has come apparent that competition is very high between fans. There are clear cut boundaries within fandom that consists whether you’re a real fan, or who’s a better fan who would then gain praise and distinction and then gain self esteem from knowing lyrics to the songs, this would give them hierarchy and this would give them social status, despite it only being a shadow of cultural economy (fiske) yet it is not actually knowing anything about high culture, for example knowing who has just won the political election which would be classified as cultural economy, but within their group of fandom where the knowledge is self-acquired it would give them hierarchy.
Throughout my own fandom and researching Nirvana fans I saw how fans use their fandom and their knowledge gained through this to close the gap between them and society, this is what is known as an audiocat. This gave the fans self-esteem as their knowledge which is bringing them closer to society was self taught thus gaining the self-esteem through doing something yourself.
Authenticity is also made apparent via the internet. Boundaries are set within fandom, for example picking and chosing of whether you are a fan of something within your chosen fandom, for example ‘Smells like teen spirit’ being your favourite fan would make you less authentic as if you only know the more commercial songs, thus being hailed not a real fan. It would also lead to hierarchy, discrimination and distinction on when you became a Nirvana fan, the more authentic fans would have been with Nirvana at the start and after their most successful album ‘Nevermind’, rather than just liking their mainstream commercial album and work.
On asking fans what would consist a real nirvana fan, I had a various set of answers. Elen suggested ‘my boyfriend is a real fan, he was around when they first came out and he’s collected nirvana memorabilia ever since rather than getting into them years later although you could do that and still be a real fan’ (web 3) insinuating that it takes memorabilia and for to have been there when Nirvana had come out to be a real fan where as Louis thought ‘having one album’ (web 4) would consist of being a real fan.
‘fans discriminate fiercely: the boundaries between what falls within their fandom and what does not are sharply drawn. This is discrimination in the cultural sphere is mapped into distinctions in the social - the boundaries between the community of fans and the rest of the world are just as strongly marked and patrolled. Both sides of the boundary invest in the difference; mundane viewers wish to avoid what they see as a taint of fandom - ’I’m not really a fan, of course, but..’ on the other side of the line, fans may argue about what characteristics allow someone to cross it and become a true fan, but they are clearly agreed on existence of the line. Textual and social discrimination are part and parcel of the same cultural activity’ (fisk 1992: 35)
The internet gives fans a way of choosing their level of fandom in post-subculture the internet can host fans which then can fall into a category of being a tourist or a traveller within what has been coined as the supermarket of style by Polhermos.
The tourist and traveller terms were researched and given the name by Muggleton, and the tourist means they can play around with the conventions and boundaries of being a fan, whom claim you do not have to have every C.D to b a real fan where as the traveller would gain social status and thus esteem for having every C.D and knowing every lyric.
The difference between a tourist and a traveller is the tourist is more authentic, tourists seek authenticity which would then lead to distinction and discrimination, yet the tourist is aware of the post-modern take on fandom and embraced it.
It is down to the internet that it is hard to pigeon hole a sub-culture, despite it pushing and blurring boundaries it is such a vital medium in strengthening subcultures and fandom.
The internet is also a place to talk about your specific band, a social place where you can express your interest with like-minded people and in doing so feel a sense of belonging and gain social and self-esteem.
Identity is also very important within using the internet as a medium, it allows people to create many different identities, the supermarket of style is the accessibility you have from the internet it thus creates and supplements identity changes.
It is fundamental for niche audiences, and people searching online type in specific searches so they usually stay within their chosen net-work this is evident in Hodkinson’s research on the internet communication and sub-cultural boundaries, where it looks into the post-modernity of the internet. It also became apparent that the Goth subculture that he studied was similar to the grunge subculture in how they now use the internet.
Through my findings on asking questions regarding the internet, fans commented that whilst they were on Nirvana websites and fan websites they would use hyperlinks to go to band merchandise, web spaces that hold Nirvana’s lyrics and other texts within Nirvana fandom.
The main use for them using the internet was for social networking, not only was it a way of making friends through their passion of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana but friendships were also constructed outside of cyber space ‘me and my best friend bounded over Nirvana. He introduced me to AIC, I introduced him to Nirvana and Nirvana became both of our favourite band. We had the same bleak outlook on life. of course then he got into a different scene, we drifted apart’ (web 9) yet it was a vital factor in communicating in regards to arranging to meet up for gigs.
In Thornton’s studies he says the media is vital distribution medium in which fans can showcase their knowledge on their fandom.
The internet helps to supplement subculture as well as it does supplant it due to the blurring of boundaries, it also challenges Hebdige’s theory of his ideology of fandom being about going against the system as sub-culture which the internet is an important medium within is not going against the system, it actually supplements it.
There are various other mediums used by fans, magazines are used to gain knowledge which would then be talked about socially, which would lead to distinction and discrimination and in doing so creating hierarchy. Gigs are also advertised within magazines which would build on the social side of fandom.
Interviews pushed by the magazine interviewing Nirvana would add to cultural capital, it would also give information on the band adding to your social status.
Gigs would be a major part in fandom, adding to authenticity of your fandom, throughout my research I did not actually come across anybody who had actually seen Nirvana yet many of the fans like myself have seen the Foo Fighters and thought of Nirvana whilst watching Dave Grohl. Some fans stressed how they would not of actually liked to of met Kurt Cobain himself due to fear of disappointment, as a star as a constructed persona which could then lead to meeting the star when he is not playing out his persona which would ruin your illusion on your fandom.
There have been many books published on Kurt Cobain and Nirvana, Autobiographies and biographies on the band. Entitled ‘Kurt Cobain: the journals’ which was written by Kurt himself which was filled with drawings and thoughts on fame, he talks about rock history and his drug abuse. On reading reviews it was sparked that only a ‘real’ Nirvana fan should read this the reader would need background information about Nirvana for his thoughts to make sense, this would spark hierarchy and also self-esteem gained if on reading his journals you would understand what was happening at that date with the band because it is not written within his journals.
This would add authenticity within fandom, as reading his journals would be primary information; it would give the fans a sense of closeness.
Merchandise is a way of capitalising on existing money making medium. Nirvana and Kurt has a vast variety of merchandise, from books to t-shirts.
Textual productivity was also valid in the sense of how it made a lot of the fans themselves want to pick up a guitar and start their own band.
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain identity was not stereotypical of his gender, he challenged hegemonic ideologies through in the way that he would dress, instead of looking and acting like a stereotypical male he was quite feminine, this is evident in television appearances and also what he would wear to do his gigs. Kurt often wore eye liner and dresses, going against the dominant masculine men that he was not a fan of in the music industry, in the rock industry it was dominated by masculine men who would slate and disrespect women, he felt from a young age that women were repressed, disrespected and not counted for, he did not want to be another rock star who was going to treat women in such a way.
For a male to be wearing eye liner and a dress would have caused moral panic within society, as it would challenge hegemonic ideology through gender, this is also visual in David Bowie’s fragmented persona, Frith and Hebdige studied Bowie, the ideologies that came out of these studies were that due to them going against the dominant ideology that there is actually narcissism within the ways boys looked and played around with the way that they were excepted to look by society.
On being asked whether Kurt’s gender and non-stereotypical masculinity played a large factor in your fandom, he replied with ‘uhhh… without you mentioning it, I never would of thought it. But actually, yeah. It wasn’t like the reason I liked them or anything, but that aspect was one of the things I respected about him. As a result, when I played in this band for a school play (big rock at candy’s mountain) I wore a dress. At the time I truly didn’t relate to traditional masculinity at all and I saw Kurt’s stance as both a rebellion and a superior form of masculinity. To me it was the difference between the “toughen up, derp!” kind of brainless, soulless, heartless masculinity and a lifestyle that involves having emotions’ (web 8)
He did not want to be a sexist icon like the other males within the music industry. In asking John what first attracted him to Kurt Cobain, he replied with ‘as an adolescent I was confused about who I was meant to be in the sense of gender and sexuality and I found this band with a front singer with such sadness whilst wearing a dress and I latched on to it, I was not like everybody else but never had the confidence to be myself’ (web 1) personal needs is a big reason throughout the research in how people first sought out Nirvana, John also stated that Kurt’s non-stereotypical view of masculinity was a key aspect in his fandom ‘I believe it is why Nirvana became my favourite band and why Kurt was my idol, I saw myself him in so much and his music became the background music to my life at that time when I was very confused’ (web 2)
By wearing a dress and eye liner it represented that he could be as feminism as he wanted, he was often abused mentally and physically at school for not being the stereotypical boy, and through his music he had a new found freedom on expressing himself due to him being so isolated and repressed for being himself through his childhood, that now he could be whatever he wanted to be, he could represent difference and challenge the hegemonic values of society that had haunted him for being different from his school years. By a male wearing male up which is a feminine ritual he was rebelling against the system, it was a gesture of defiance and a signature ritual in the issue that he is not going to conform, or be how society thinks he should be. Kurt was very androgynous, he did not want to be seen as male or as a female but he wanted to be counted as a person, he thought that gender played a small part within his ideology.
Kurt went on to help other people create their own identity, ‘I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t want to look like Kurt Cobain, maybe that’s why I grew my hair long, maybe not. Either way I don’t go out of my way to look like him, yet they affected me in some decisions I wouldn’t of done otherwise’ (web 10)
Kurt was also an enigma in regards to his sexuality; he was forever changing his answer to whether he was gay, straight or bisexual. Another issue that would spark questions on his sexuality would be him wearing a dress, which is seen as feminine action. His lyrics would be pro-gay which would spark questioning into his sexuality, but the reason behind this was not to spark questions towards his own sexuality but to publicise the fact that there is nothing wrong with being gay. Through Kurt’s childhood he found it difficult to interact with his male peers, as being so different from them apart from one boy who was gay, Kurt disagreed with the way that his friend was treated just for being gay and his mother even stopped him hanging round with this boy. He then found himself making friends with girls and there for got the experience and was able to witness how females were treated unequally, repressed and with no respect this went on to be a core factor in him constructing his own identity in later years.
What becomes apparent in his childhood is the depth of alienation he felt, for not being stereotypical, for having different views and beliefs, for being slightly feminine, he was even targeted against for liking art and for wanting to do something with his life instead of wanting to go into the same trade as his father like most of his peers at school.
Kurt Cobain’s parents also broke up when he was ten, adding to another level of his alienation, he strived and wanted so badly a normal family with a mum and dad like all of his peers, another dominant ideology that had been forced on him, that to be a family it does consist of a married mother and father. He found this lack another wedge between him and his peers and when his parents finally divorced he became very much isolated further than he was before and more than anything became anti-social. In Nirvana’s song ‘serve the servants’ the effect of the divorce becomes apparent in his lyrics ‘that legendary divorce is such a bore’ another lyric from the same song is ‘I tried hard to have a father but instead I had a dad’ and this links back to the lack of relationship him and his father had, due to his dad being a stereotypical masculine man that was unable to showcase any love or affection to his son, Kurt never really established a relationship between his dad.
In discovering music, semiotic productivity came about in the way that he reacted towards hearing the music, the music was relevant to him and he was able to make the music mean something to him; Kurt found belonging, despite his alienation, isolation, sadness and negativity he found music as such a positive comfort throughout his adolescence. He started listening to punk music with all the rebellious ideology; he found this genre fit in with how he felt socially and politically. The sensibility of punk was gaining respect for yourself despite your class, gender or sexuality stance. Punk created equality for women and it was rebelling against the system, views in which Kurt believed in and found a place within the punk genre through listening to bands such as the sex pistols. Just as Kurt was not stereotypically masculine the punk music he was listening to was challenging hegemonic sensibility.
This is similar to Louis’ reason on why he liked Nirvana in the first place ‘I saw a live video of Nirvana when I was 14 and he (Kurt) jumped into the crowd and started hitting a security guard with his guitar, I thought that was pretty cool’ (web 6)
The aggression that was seen throughout punk, even as far as the way the audience would act at gigs, as it was the punk movement who started the mosh pit was an out let for all of Kurt’s angst. Punk celebrated different and ugliness something Kurt had dealt with his whole life.
He found such reassurance through punk that there were other people battling with the dominant ideologies.
This is made apparent in the case study that Hebdige and Fiske did on punk, with the key force and ideologies of punk fans being a punk fan was due to finding a place for alternative identity, punk was an alternative identity from social dominance, a way of belonging for people who did not fit into the hegemonic values of society and this is apparent in Kurt’s fandom of punk.
Even through Kurt’s own fandom, came textual productivity when he then created his own band and wrote his own lyrics due to being inspired by other peoples lyrics and music.
All of Kurt’s feelings that are stated within books and interviews are apparent through his lyrics, they reflect his feelings and experiences.
The song ‘come as you are’ denotes trying to fit in, pretending to be something you are not and doing something else because somebody else is doing it, this reflects him not fitting in and being judged for being different. Lyrics in the song such as ‘no, I don’t have a gun’ denotes that he has nothing to hide and he is not going to judge you so do not be something you are not.
Nirvana’s song ‘dumb’ starts with the lyrics ‘I’m not like them but I can pretend’ which is another reference to trying to act like something he is not, to pretend to be something just so he can fit in with society, his alienation from his peers and society is evident throughout all his music, in lyrics such as the one’s in the song ‘Lithium’ where he sings ‘I’m so happy ‘cause today I found my friends, they’re in my head’ which connotes the lack of friends he had as a child due to being so anti-social.
‘Smells like teen spirit’ was the biggest rock anthem in the 90s, it reflected the society in which surrounded Kurt, even the title connotes an essence of ‘generation X’ it sings about his generation which was fuelled by anger, boredom and cynicism.
From finding punk as a way of Kurt belonging he then tunnelled his thoughts and feelings into his own lyrics which would of given everything Kurt got from punk to his own fans.
There are various links to other texts, after the death of Kurt Cobain the members went on to form other bands, Dave Grohl the drummer of Nirvana went on to form the very successful band the ‘Foo Fighters’, throughout the research on Nirvana fandom it became clear that most Nirvana fans had come to be a ‘Foo Fighters’ fan, the ideology between the two bands is consistent which would give fans authenticity from going on to be a ‘Foo fighters’ fan and therefore remaining a Dave Grohl fan. Elen’s fandom of Nirvana came secondary to that of her fandom for the foo fighters ‘I first heard Nirvana on the ‘Kerrang!’ channel… think it was ‘smells like teen spirit.’ I was into rock music so it was exactly the stuff I was already into, plus Kurt was pretty nice and I liked that Dave Grohl was in the band as I was a fan of the ‘Foo Fighters’ anyway’ (web 5)
It is clear that fans are productive; Throughout the research it became apparent that Nirvana and Kurt influenced his fans to different music genres ‘it got me into punk rock’ (web 7) create music themselves, as well as even giving them influence on other creative subjects ‘I did an a-level art project on Kurt’s artwork’ (web 8) on being asked whether he has influenced your life in anyway.
‘they influence my music writing style, they don’t influence my lyrics so much. They influence what music I listen to. They’ve influenced things outside my music tastes and writing as well. I’m not of a liberal person now due to reading about Kurt’s pro-choice stance on almost everything. I look at drugs in a different way too, I understand the attraction and the addiction better without having to take them myself. They play a role in my life, a small one yes, but I look at a lot of things different because of it. People, the world, music.’ (web 11)
Grunge like every other subculture has iconography, just like the research Hebdige and Fiske did on punk, grunge had an ironic attitude with self-awareness and a strong ‘do it yourself’ ethnic, clothing advocated its own construction. The uniform of grunge gave the specific genre a visual gesture, not only through the laid back attitude, but ideology was apparent through clothes, make-up and hair styles; ‘these choices contain a whole range of messages which are transmitted through the finely graded distinctions of a number of interlocking sets - class and status, self-image and attractiveness, etc’ (Hebdige 1987: 101)
Ripped jeans were a vital part in there grunge look, this signifies anti-establishment and anti-commodity and therefore connoting anti-capitalism through anarchy through destroying a pair of jeans. The tearing of jeans also signifies the ripping up of the establishment, this is very similar to the uniform of the punk, the ‘do it yourself’ attitude and tearing of the clothes to create new meanings.
It was also very important not to drip your jeans too much in the fear of looking like you are trying too hard, trying to look to constructed in a genre where the ideology was about not caring about the way that you looked. The whole grunge look as well as the music was meant to be authentic, inexpensive and carefree which reflected the ideology.
Band t-shirts were part of the grunge uniform, as well as plain simple t-shirts and clothing, the whole look was inexpensive and it meant to reflect this, no designer or labelled clothes were to be worn. Drawing on t-shirts and also flannel t-shirts were vital in creating the grunge look. The grunge uniform for girls was very similar, very little make up which would make them more androgynous which would connote not trying to be a male or a woman but more wanting to be counted as a person, despite gender. Girls would also wear ripped jeans, band t-shirts and aim for inexpensive look, it was all constructed in thus to look grunge, the inexpensive thrown together look was fabricated ‘it stands apart - a visible construction, a loaded choice. It directs attention to itself; it gives itself to be read’ (Hebodige 1987: 101)
Grunge was a sub-culture was a sub-culture that welcomed girls, O’Brien studied how girls were involved within the punk genre, despite at the time in the 70s girls were still being ridiculed and treated unfairly, punk like grunge were something they could be apart of away from the dominant culture.
Throughout O’Briens findings it concludes that there are many benefits for a female within a sub-culture, it gave them a way in which they could create an identity, it was used as a vice in which to not only be different and accepted but to visually showcase difference. It also sent a strong message that women do mattered in music, and therefore mattered in society.
Grunge gave women a way in which to rebel, as they rebelled against the way society thinks they should dress and behave. Instead of dressing like stereotypically how society expects girls to, grunge gave them an alternative identity, thus giving them a chance to feel and be more liberal.
It was not possible to broadly categorise the profile of the fan base as the fan base as a whole was made up from the ages of thirteen to thirty, from fans who had been around when Nirvana were actually around at their time to fans who had heard them a few years ago, yet the fandom started in their early teens, where rebellion and not fitting in was already evident. The same also applied to gender, there was a mix of boys and girls of whom were fans of Nirvana. The fans I questioned were white and straight and from working class families which is also evident in the studies on punk fandom and thus the creation of sub-culture itself.
On reflecting on individuals within the overall profiles the conclusion that became apparent was the reason for fandom throughout the study was not only their fandom of nirvana, but what they got from being part of a community who shared an interest. It helped fans create identity ‘at the age of 15, I didn’t really fit in at school, I don’t know why so I isolated myself and music became my friend, on finding nirvana I bought a nirvana t-shirt and to my amazement a boy came up to me in school and started talking about Nirvana, this was the first time I had socially been interactive and we became good friends after that, without the nirvana t-shirt, I would have been sitting on my own at lunch’ (web 12) this is also visible in the case study Stevenson did on Bowie fans, on how relationships were started due to being fans of Bowies, it gave them a start in which to form friendships due to their common liking of their star.
To summarise the research in addressing fandom, it became apparent that fans were the most identifiable and visual audiences. Fans are an active audience, thus the uses and gratification theory, fans use the media and use fandom to their advantage, forming something that has meaning to the individual and there for gained and benefited from their fandom.
‘the literature on fandom is haunted by images of deviance. The fan is consistently characterized (referencing the terms origins) as a potential fanatic. This means that fandom is seen as excessive, bordering on deranged, behaviour’ (Jenson 1992: 9)
Despite being stereotyped as being unhealthy, fandom has given comfort to so many people. Fandom not only comes from the liking of the text but also from a problematic social existence.
Rebellion was also a key factor, fandom gave fans something in which to use to rebel. Fans used their fandom to form their identity in regards to dress, attitude and ideology.
‘I suggest here that these two images of fans are based in an implicit critique of modern life. Fandom is seen as a psychological symptom of a presumed social dysfunction; the two fan types are based in an unacknowledged critique of modernity. Once fans are characterised as deviant, they can be treated as disreputable, even dangerous ‘others’ (Jenson 1992: 9)
Bibliography
Web 1 – John Evans – www.facebook.com – December 4th 12.16am.
Web 2 – John Evans – www.facebook.com – December 4th 12.16am.
Web 3 - Elen Beynon - www.facebook.com - December 4th 2.51am
Web 4 - Louis Roberts - www.Facebook.com - December 1st 11pm
Web 5 - Elen Beynon - www.Facebook.com - December 4th 2.51am
Web 6 - Louis Roberts - www.Facebook.com - December 1st 11pm
Web 7 - Louis Roberts - www.facebook.com - December 1st 11pm.
Web 8 - Emotionally Constipated - http://www.nirvana2.com/system/display.php?thread=5766&forum=1&perpage=30&page=1&order=asc- 4th December 10.45am
Web 9 - emotionally constipated - http://www.nirvana2.com/system/display.php?thread=5766&forum=1&perpage=30&page=1&order=asc- 4th December 10.45am
Web 10 - kswis - http://www.nirvana2.com/system/display.php?thread=5766&forum=1&perpage=30&page=1&order=asc - 2nd December 7.40pm
Web 11 - kswis - http://www.nirvana2.com/system/display.php?thread=5766&forum=1&perpage=30&page=1&order=asc - 2nd December 7.40pm
Web 12 - yawn - http://www.nirvana2.com/system/display.php?thread=5766&forum=1&perpage=30&page=1&order=asc - 7th December 12.02am
www.facebook.com
www.nirvanaclub.com
Jenson J (1992) fandom as pathology: the concequence of characterizations, in Lewis A L (ed) 1992 adoring audience - fan culture and popular media. London, routledge.
Fiske J (1992) the cultural economy of fandom in Lewis A L (ed) 1992 adoring audience - fan culture and popular media. London, routledge.
Hebdige D subculture - the meaning of style 1987 London, Routledge.
Sunday, 23 November 2008
Representation: consumerism.
The commodity I bought was ‘RIMMEL London 60 seconds vinyl shine nail polish - 484 rapid ruby’
‘I shop therefore I am’ - baudrillard
Baudrillard ‘ I shop because I am in awe of the symbolism of objects’
Before even choosing the actual nail varnish colour I looked for the brand, In Baudrillard’s theories he sees consumerism as not only being about actually buying actual commodities/objects but also consuming signs visually. ‘Systems of signs’ includes consuming brands and logos, so even before consuming the commodity I consumed the logo and the brand.
Yet a problem with the saturation of signs due to capitalism will lead to the signs becoming meaningless, the over production of signs leads to the sign becoming invisible.
WHY? I chose RIMMEL over any other brand of nail varnish because it is a popular and a well known brand, RIMMEL London is a product I have bought before so I have brand loyalty due to the first time buying a product from this range/brand and I was satisfied with it creating brand loyalty.
I opted for this choice rather than another brand (with a cheaper price) due to knowing that I would get what I paid for with RIMMEL, also the advertisement of it drying in 60 seconds appealed to me.
Desire Vs Need.
Nail varnish is a beauty product, used to make me feel and look better about myself. Commodities and consumption is a big part in making consumers feel better about themselves :
* I will get that job if my nails are that colour.
* That boy will be attracted to me if my nails are that colour.
It also makes sense why somebody would pick a desire over a need for emotional pleasure. Freud studied unconscious sexual desires. Everything we do is so that we are attractive to the opposite sex.
‘Consumption offers promise of (sexual) satisfaction’ (Bocock, 1993)
Advertising
RIMMEL is advertised on billboards, television adverts, and in magazines.
Television adverts: The adverts advertise the nail varnish with Kate Moss wearing it, looking glamorous. RIMMEL has tag lines such as:
* Break the rules
* with a look as individual as you are
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y72iMG8egpM&feature=related
The scenes in the adverts are juxtaposed with a song and a voice over talking about the product.
Magazine adverts:
Companies have already chosen their audience by putting advertisements into women’s magazines (e,g cosmo), by doing this it is already reaching the target and correct audience.
In magazine adverts you see Kate wearing the product, looking perfect with the tag line, product and the RIMMEL logo.
These advertisements helped me chose RIMMEL as a brand to buy because the advertisements appealed to me due to them being celebrity endorsed, as well as giving me enough information about the product. Both of the adverts were catchy and easy to remember as well as being clear and easy to identify what the advertisement was advertising.
Celebrity endorsed
Kate Moss is the face of RIMMEL London and she played a big part in why I chose the object. She is a style icon and is a billboard to ‘what is cool’
* I want to be like Kate Moss
* everything Kate stands for is symbolised in this brand, with the tag line: get the London look.
With the tag line emphasising what you are trying and aiming to create by buying this commodity. Kate is also a face of ‘cool London’ and Kate co notates what is ‘cool’ which is showcased to us via the media. So by buying a RIMMEL product you get to be apart of the whole Kate Moss cool London movement.
Social location
I got the nail varnish from ‘SUPERDRUG’ on Albany road, Roath. Albany road is a residential area which has shops to cater for all needs, desires, ages and sexes. It is only a fifteen minute walk from Cardiff’s shopping centre yet it is enough to provide for one’s needs and desires.
SUPERDRUG
Superdrug is a well known beauty store, with brand loyalty I come to Superdrug for all my cosmetic purchases.
Saturday, 15 November 2008
Monday, 13 October 2008
Representation: Consumerism.
The product I have chosen to analyse is bread, white bread from tescos. I have analysed Tesco's finest white sliced bread and tesco's value white sliced bread.
The colours used on tesco's finest sliced bread are white and black, these are the colours used throughout tesco's finest products so consumers will be aware and get to know the 'class' of products due to the colours. The font used simple and in white on a black background, with the contrast of these colours it makes it clear and it stands out well. White also symbolises purity. The writting for the tesco's finest products is using done in italics giving it class, also the packaging is left so you can see the quality of the product.
Tesco's value sliced white bread looks completely different to the finest, with the tesco colours being used (white, red and blue) and the tesco value stripes which is the tesco value logo, this would alow consumers to automatically know the 'class' of the bread. Red, blue and red are primary colours, they are also seen as British colours as they appear on the Union Jack which ties in with Tesco as a brand. The packaging on the value products are usually bright and busy so people get caught by that not the (lack of) quality of the actual product.
The colours used on tesco's finest sliced bread are white and black, these are the colours used throughout tesco's finest products so consumers will be aware and get to know the 'class' of products due to the colours. The font used simple and in white on a black background, with the contrast of these colours it makes it clear and it stands out well. White also symbolises purity. The writting for the tesco's finest products is using done in italics giving it class, also the packaging is left so you can see the quality of the product.
Tesco's value sliced white bread looks completely different to the finest, with the tesco colours being used (white, red and blue) and the tesco value stripes which is the tesco value logo, this would alow consumers to automatically know the 'class' of the bread. Red, blue and red are primary colours, they are also seen as British colours as they appear on the Union Jack which ties in with Tesco as a brand. The packaging on the value products are usually bright and busy so people get caught by that not the (lack of) quality of the actual product.
Thursday, 22 May 2008
.....Gigs
Madness - mon 10th december - cia
The Beach Boys - sun 6th of april - cia
Spunge - 5th of may - barfly
GATECRASHER festival (the prodigy/chemical bros) - 24th/25th of may - england
The Beach Boys - sun 6th of april - cia
Spunge - 5th of may - barfly
GATECRASHER festival (the prodigy/chemical bros) - 24th/25th of may - england
CV - 22.05.08
Name: Sarah-Ella Louise Jones. Age: 19
Address: Room 5, Flat 2, Block B. D.O.B: 27/05/88
Victoria Halls,
Blackweir Terrace,
Cardiff
CF10 3EY
Contact: 07837949614
E-mail: S.L.Jones23@uwic.ac.uk
Personal Profile:
I believe myself to be a confident individual who’s very eager to learn. I am hardworking and excel in both working in a team and also by myself. I can speak both English and Welsh adding to my good communicational skills.
In quest of employment to enhance and improve new and existing skills to run concurrently with studying for a degree in media and visual culture.
Education & Qualifications:
Sept. 2007 Cardiff School Of Art And Design, University Of Wales Institute Cardiff.
Currently studying a BA (hons) in Media Studies and Visual Cultures.
2006 - 2007 Pembrokeshire College - AS level in Media.
2004 - 2006 Pembrokeshire College - ND Media Studies.
1999 - 2004 Ysgol Dewi Sant, St David’s, Pembrokeshire. - 10 GCSEs.
Employment:
2008 Terra Nova Café - Roath Park.
Duties included: kitchen assistant, waiting tables, dealing with customers and money.
2005 The Atourment Arms public house, Croesgoch.
Duties included: kitchen assistant, waiting tables, food preparation, washing up, dealing with customers and money.
2005 - 2007 The Shed, Porthgain.
Duties included: waiting tables, food preparation, washing up, dealing with customers and money.
Hobbies & interests:
In my spare time I enjoy going to live music events, gigs and festivals. I spend a lot of my summer by the coast, at the beach, fishing and going out on the boat as I take pleasure in most outdoor activities. I am very keen on walking, reading and dancing. I’m interested in popular culture, current affairs, media and fashion. I also gain enjoyment from doing work experience which tributes to my career.
Reference: on request.
Address: Room 5, Flat 2, Block B. D.O.B: 27/05/88
Victoria Halls,
Blackweir Terrace,
Cardiff
CF10 3EY
Contact: 07837949614
E-mail: S.L.Jones23@uwic.ac.uk
Personal Profile:
I believe myself to be a confident individual who’s very eager to learn. I am hardworking and excel in both working in a team and also by myself. I can speak both English and Welsh adding to my good communicational skills.
In quest of employment to enhance and improve new and existing skills to run concurrently with studying for a degree in media and visual culture.
Education & Qualifications:
Sept. 2007 Cardiff School Of Art And Design, University Of Wales Institute Cardiff.
Currently studying a BA (hons) in Media Studies and Visual Cultures.
2006 - 2007 Pembrokeshire College - AS level in Media.
2004 - 2006 Pembrokeshire College - ND Media Studies.
1999 - 2004 Ysgol Dewi Sant, St David’s, Pembrokeshire. - 10 GCSEs.
Employment:
2008 Terra Nova Café - Roath Park.
Duties included: kitchen assistant, waiting tables, dealing with customers and money.
2005 The Atourment Arms public house, Croesgoch.
Duties included: kitchen assistant, waiting tables, food preparation, washing up, dealing with customers and money.
2005 - 2007 The Shed, Porthgain.
Duties included: waiting tables, food preparation, washing up, dealing with customers and money.
Hobbies & interests:
In my spare time I enjoy going to live music events, gigs and festivals. I spend a lot of my summer by the coast, at the beach, fishing and going out on the boat as I take pleasure in most outdoor activities. I am very keen on walking, reading and dancing. I’m interested in popular culture, current affairs, media and fashion. I also gain enjoyment from doing work experience which tributes to my career.
Reference: on request.
End Of Year Summary
I don't think what I've learned educationally could ever compete with what I've learned about myself and life in general, I've already added a lot to my CV with volunteer work and getting a job, but also life experience that could never be worthy lines on a piece of paper.
After a rubbish start I now enjoy my course and am so glad I stuck it out and am looking really forward to a future in Cardiff and a future in UWIC after a summer in Pembrokeshire.
After a rubbish start I now enjoy my course and am so glad I stuck it out and am looking really forward to a future in Cardiff and a future in UWIC after a summer in Pembrokeshire.
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
Thursday, 7 February 2008
Tuesday, 22 January 2008
Another One Bites The Dust..
Heath Ledger..... Who'd have known. I think it's more of a question of what celebrity isn't doing drugs these days!?! Good O'Amy with her crack-pipe. I don't understand why she isn't being hounded by the police when it is blatantly a crack pipe when Kate Moss fell from grace when she was elededly pictured snorting coke! Who cares.
WOO
Communism is economic and social related that’s ideology is the same as the hierarchy, shares the same beliefs as the establishment of a classless society with no means of nationality based on common governorship of the means of production.
Socialism is a range of political engagements and ideologies with the aspiration of aconnection between economics and social system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community. The people distributing this would either be direct for example council workers or indirect where the people of the state would distribute it.
Capitalism involves economically and socially in the system where the means of production are privately owned, purposely operated for profit. The way they’re operated for financial gain, distribution, income, production and the price of the goods and the services are determined through the market economy.
It is a competitive class based system which came about in the late Feudal which means the medieval European political system period in Europe.
Being based on commoditisation, the motivation of owners of means of production to maximise profit, the production of goods and services to customers creating an unequal society.
Marxist
Karl Marx was a theorist who critiqued capitalism, he also supported and recommended socialism yet didn’t write much about this issue.
Marxist went on to publish the communist manifesto in 1818 yet it was to have no influence at that particular time, he also did work with Frederick Engles yet Engles wasn’t as ‘famous’ as Marx.
The Marxist theory suggests the economic problems were down to and related to social institutions. There was said to be a materialistic concept of history class conflict and noticed the unequal class position with people and production and consumption of objects with a very active and changing relationship between the two.
The Marxist theory on socialism defines the point that capitalism is supplanted by socialism. If larger groups of people owning means of production would benefit wealth and then the gain would be spread to all which would lead to society becoming more equal.
Marxists theory on ideology was the preservations of interests of the ruling classes, when looking into media terms people who run media companies get to express their interests, people without access to such means struggle to circulate ideas.
Production
Is the ability to visualise the finish product, creating self-awareness and generating personal potential. The downfall and problem to this was people not being able to keep ‘labour power’ and have to exchange for wages trading away their personal potential which would lead to society feeling alienated as they do not see the end product, so there would be no other reason to work other than for wages.
Commodity
Is a thing which has the maximum productivity to satisfy a human want or need. If this is accomplished and fulfils this need, it has a value commodity exchanged (ie for money) an example of this is plastic surgery as the making of the commodities can not be seen on the surface of the finished product, the conditions of the product are absent, without the thoughts and feelings of people who made it.
Value of things
The use value is what a product can be used for, its utility or usefulness. The exchange value is what it can be sold for, for example Van Gogh didn’t sell any paintings in his life time yet when he died a piece of his work sold for $49 million in 1987. An exchange value is based on a desire rather than a need.
Base superstructure
Superstructure of culture and ideological institutions built on economic base, everything is shaped and dependant on shape of economy. The way basic needs are met, through industrialist capitalism in a social order determine it’s superstructure.
False consciousness
Dominant class able to make workers believe that the way things are, working conditions for example and social situation are natural and inevitable and unavoidable which is known as false conscience.
Frankfurt school
General theories on commodity fetishism and the culture industry. The Frankfurt was post-Marxist theories. The members included Adorno, Marcuse and they were Jewish and middle class.
Within the context of time, rise of Nazism was happening in the west where in the east Stalinism was rising, there was also a rise of Marxism and American culture as well as consumer capitalism all influencing the Frankfurt school.
Oppressive regimes for example concentration camps, food shortages yet on the other hand they had the rise of Hollywood films and TV entertainment.
The historical background is that the Frankfurt school is said to be a reaction to enlightenment which is based on reason which targeted relation and aristocracy.
Problematic science of rationality in the sense of stamping out human freedom.
The Frankfurt school rejected thinking of enlightenment.
It also draws on but criticizes Marxism moving away from economic emphasis, for example base superstructure.
Culture becomes casual factor for society, revolution never likely to occur which would also bring the rise of fascism.
The Frankfurt perspective was a decline of socialism and working class radicalism. There was also a centralised control over large groups by modern capitalism.
Culture industry exercising control over individuals through media.
Commodity fetishism by Adorno
Commodity fetishism is the way that commodities reinforce domination of capitalism, the money and price of commodities dominate social relationships, the surface of commodity does not show story of production, people who make products relate to commodities not each other, relationships with things not people.
Exchange value
The exchange value will always dominate over value according to Marx, production and consumption are more important than human needs.
Adorno and pop music
He sees pop music as a commodity, production of cultural commodities produced for the market, mass society. Exchange value hides use value possible to have immediate reaction to music, becomes an objects of enjoyment, people become victims of commodity fetishism where social relationships and cultural appreciation objectified by money. Exchange value or price of ticket becomes use value, musical performance is real use value.
Marx predicted that working class would overthrow capitalism, no large scale cohesive revolution in Britain, affluence and consumerism ensured a passive workforce, working class people pacified by capitalism, central to Frankfurt’s school theory.
Money and false needs
Marcuse in 1964 said individuals need to be creative, independent and fully rounded individuals and free thinkers. Capitalism denies these positive states, and supplants ‘false needs’ created by consumerism, temporarily satisfying but never fully. The real needs are never identified, dumped by commodities with a short term stimulation. Freedom is limited to choosing between different consumer goods or different brands.
Culture industry so good at creating and satisfying false needs, no need for revolution.
Psychoanalysis
Range of theories, subjectivity, sexuality, unconscious,.
The Freudian basics of psychoanalysis are the pleasure principle, with ego, identity and super ego, unconscious, repression and sublimation.
Psychoanalytic perspective
Scotophil is the pleasure of looking with a basic drive, certain momvents of seeing central to creation of subjectivity, formation of sexuality.
Subjectivity
Individuals are subjective making sense of the world, the way we feel, dream, fantasise, pleasure and repression. Reacting to things beyond words psychoanalysis addresses the emotional states, the emotional affect of visual.
Unconscious
Emotional reaction to visual images, not always conscious. Unconscious created at early age, a child has to repress the pleasure principle, culturally forbidden aspect of chives. Repression produces unconscious in a forbidden zone. Unconscious mind cannot access it full of outlawed drives and emerges, for example the desire to kill.
Freudian theory
Unconscious affects way we do things despite being repressed. Unconsciousness remains hidden and there for there is the factor that we never really ‘know’ ourselves.
Conscious/unconscious split
Culture gives us disciplines, taboo, prohibitations even though they are not clear cut for example it is wrong to kill somebody you don’t like, it’s not acceptable yet in warfare use a shoot to kill police policy.
When applied to visual culture society is learned to see it in a culturally way, process repeated and reinforced, we are ‘taught’ to see things in a particular way.
Psychoanalysis explores constant disciplining of subjectivity and stresses inability of unconsciousness which threatens to distribute disciplining. Process of building subjectivity never ends.
Psychoanalysis and sexuality
Creating of audiences, subjectivity when looking at images. Think about the way images effect us, psychoanalysis concerned with formation of sexuality established of sexual difference, sexuality develops as process. It’s not given naturally and it’s not a fixed concept.
Castration complex - Freud
A boys child development, child breaks away from mother, no penis. Fathers intervention. Heterosexual masculinity created through fear of being castrated. For girls it’s the sense of inferior as having no penis means a lack. The purpose of this theory illustrates the idea that babies learn discipline over desire resolved by Oedipus complex represses profound desire for the parent produces unconscious.
Psychoanalysis and sexuality
Complex and controversial, Freud naturally positions girls as inferior even biologically for not having a penis and assumes that heterosexuality as the ‘norm’ making homosexuality deviant.
Laura Mulvey
Introduces visual pleasure and narrative cinema in 1975, introduction of the raze in which sexuality and sexual difference created through looking there’s also the way in which this apparent in films for example in Hitchcock’s psycho in the shower seen before the women is killed.
Structuralism
Is the way that we establish by large social or structural arrangements, structures are an organised system.
Freud examined the world in a structured way, human psyche is a structure, unconscious mind revealed through slips or dreams.
Marx said the economic life is structured, unequally between owners and workers.
Structuralists anthropology: food systems
Culture organises food as a system, rules of exclusion for example the English seeing frogs and snails as barbaric.
Signifying opposition for example you wouldn’t eat steak with ice-cream and pasta with sweets yet in rules of association steak and chips followed by ice-cream would be okay but steak and ice-cream followed by chips wouldn’t be.
Binary oppositions
For example male/female, nature/culture, individual/society
Common feature of western intellectual tradition.
Science of signs, ideas which play a crucial part in structuralism. Language is a system of signs. Langue is the system of speech and parole is the act of speaking, Idea of inequality in the way that language produces meaning. Within the terms being opposite for example black/white and hot/cold the context is important.
System of signs
Sign must have a physical form, refer to something other than itself and must be recognised as a sign by others.
Structuralism
The subject is de-centred. Post-structuralism is further removed.
Feminism
Is the relationship between sexes, unequal and oppressive and attempts to challenge inequality. It has three strands the first being liberal feminism which dealt with employment and representations of women in media. The second was radical feminism which had the interests of men and women being different due to patriarchy, and the third being social feminism, patriarchy being a problem and capitalism.
Three’s an important split, equality, contentious issue. Gender inequality verses celebrating the difference between man and woman.
There are also three waves of feminism. The first wave was Wollstone craft in the 18th centaury, with the suffragettes in the 19th and 20th centaury which was an organised group that wore a uniform and were famous for guerrilla tactics.
The success of the suffragettes is debateable, after the first world war 1914 women over thirty-five and working class men were given the vote in the 1920s, yet it was criticized for having a single middle class agenda.
In the second wave in 1970s notational organisation for women, liberal feminism. The agenda gaining a part in education and in the workplace. The sex discrimination act was established in 1978. In 2006 equality act eliminates discrimination and harassment and promotes equality of opportunity between men and women. In the 1980s there was a backlash as people thought feminism was going too far and criticized for having it all for example having a career, babies and money.
The location of inequality is to do with the body, hormonal imbalances. It was said that women are driven by body and men are ruled and driven by their mind. Travelling womb syndrome was due to this and was called hysteria.
The main issues in feminism in the first wave, 17th, 18th and 19th centaury fought male ownership of women through marriage. In the second wave 1970s parity in workplace, where women are valued for appearance and then the rise in the porn industry.
The criticisms to this were the privileged concerns of white western middle class women, feminism was seen as too western and too white.
The body representing women yet there is a problematic greater concern with appearance than thoughts or feelings, issues of objectification.
Post-feminism wasn’t a campaign group, assumes gender equality and fight for women having greater access to money and education which equals power.
Socialism is a range of political engagements and ideologies with the aspiration of aconnection between economics and social system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to control by the community. The people distributing this would either be direct for example council workers or indirect where the people of the state would distribute it.
Capitalism involves economically and socially in the system where the means of production are privately owned, purposely operated for profit. The way they’re operated for financial gain, distribution, income, production and the price of the goods and the services are determined through the market economy.
It is a competitive class based system which came about in the late Feudal which means the medieval European political system period in Europe.
Being based on commoditisation, the motivation of owners of means of production to maximise profit, the production of goods and services to customers creating an unequal society.
Marxist
Karl Marx was a theorist who critiqued capitalism, he also supported and recommended socialism yet didn’t write much about this issue.
Marxist went on to publish the communist manifesto in 1818 yet it was to have no influence at that particular time, he also did work with Frederick Engles yet Engles wasn’t as ‘famous’ as Marx.
The Marxist theory suggests the economic problems were down to and related to social institutions. There was said to be a materialistic concept of history class conflict and noticed the unequal class position with people and production and consumption of objects with a very active and changing relationship between the two.
The Marxist theory on socialism defines the point that capitalism is supplanted by socialism. If larger groups of people owning means of production would benefit wealth and then the gain would be spread to all which would lead to society becoming more equal.
Marxists theory on ideology was the preservations of interests of the ruling classes, when looking into media terms people who run media companies get to express their interests, people without access to such means struggle to circulate ideas.
Production
Is the ability to visualise the finish product, creating self-awareness and generating personal potential. The downfall and problem to this was people not being able to keep ‘labour power’ and have to exchange for wages trading away their personal potential which would lead to society feeling alienated as they do not see the end product, so there would be no other reason to work other than for wages.
Commodity
Is a thing which has the maximum productivity to satisfy a human want or need. If this is accomplished and fulfils this need, it has a value commodity exchanged (ie for money) an example of this is plastic surgery as the making of the commodities can not be seen on the surface of the finished product, the conditions of the product are absent, without the thoughts and feelings of people who made it.
Value of things
The use value is what a product can be used for, its utility or usefulness. The exchange value is what it can be sold for, for example Van Gogh didn’t sell any paintings in his life time yet when he died a piece of his work sold for $49 million in 1987. An exchange value is based on a desire rather than a need.
Base superstructure
Superstructure of culture and ideological institutions built on economic base, everything is shaped and dependant on shape of economy. The way basic needs are met, through industrialist capitalism in a social order determine it’s superstructure.
False consciousness
Dominant class able to make workers believe that the way things are, working conditions for example and social situation are natural and inevitable and unavoidable which is known as false conscience.
Frankfurt school
General theories on commodity fetishism and the culture industry. The Frankfurt was post-Marxist theories. The members included Adorno, Marcuse and they were Jewish and middle class.
Within the context of time, rise of Nazism was happening in the west where in the east Stalinism was rising, there was also a rise of Marxism and American culture as well as consumer capitalism all influencing the Frankfurt school.
Oppressive regimes for example concentration camps, food shortages yet on the other hand they had the rise of Hollywood films and TV entertainment.
The historical background is that the Frankfurt school is said to be a reaction to enlightenment which is based on reason which targeted relation and aristocracy.
Problematic science of rationality in the sense of stamping out human freedom.
The Frankfurt school rejected thinking of enlightenment.
It also draws on but criticizes Marxism moving away from economic emphasis, for example base superstructure.
Culture becomes casual factor for society, revolution never likely to occur which would also bring the rise of fascism.
The Frankfurt perspective was a decline of socialism and working class radicalism. There was also a centralised control over large groups by modern capitalism.
Culture industry exercising control over individuals through media.
Commodity fetishism by Adorno
Commodity fetishism is the way that commodities reinforce domination of capitalism, the money and price of commodities dominate social relationships, the surface of commodity does not show story of production, people who make products relate to commodities not each other, relationships with things not people.
Exchange value
The exchange value will always dominate over value according to Marx, production and consumption are more important than human needs.
Adorno and pop music
He sees pop music as a commodity, production of cultural commodities produced for the market, mass society. Exchange value hides use value possible to have immediate reaction to music, becomes an objects of enjoyment, people become victims of commodity fetishism where social relationships and cultural appreciation objectified by money. Exchange value or price of ticket becomes use value, musical performance is real use value.
Marx predicted that working class would overthrow capitalism, no large scale cohesive revolution in Britain, affluence and consumerism ensured a passive workforce, working class people pacified by capitalism, central to Frankfurt’s school theory.
Money and false needs
Marcuse in 1964 said individuals need to be creative, independent and fully rounded individuals and free thinkers. Capitalism denies these positive states, and supplants ‘false needs’ created by consumerism, temporarily satisfying but never fully. The real needs are never identified, dumped by commodities with a short term stimulation. Freedom is limited to choosing between different consumer goods or different brands.
Culture industry so good at creating and satisfying false needs, no need for revolution.
Psychoanalysis
Range of theories, subjectivity, sexuality, unconscious,.
The Freudian basics of psychoanalysis are the pleasure principle, with ego, identity and super ego, unconscious, repression and sublimation.
Psychoanalytic perspective
Scotophil is the pleasure of looking with a basic drive, certain momvents of seeing central to creation of subjectivity, formation of sexuality.
Subjectivity
Individuals are subjective making sense of the world, the way we feel, dream, fantasise, pleasure and repression. Reacting to things beyond words psychoanalysis addresses the emotional states, the emotional affect of visual.
Unconscious
Emotional reaction to visual images, not always conscious. Unconscious created at early age, a child has to repress the pleasure principle, culturally forbidden aspect of chives. Repression produces unconscious in a forbidden zone. Unconscious mind cannot access it full of outlawed drives and emerges, for example the desire to kill.
Freudian theory
Unconscious affects way we do things despite being repressed. Unconsciousness remains hidden and there for there is the factor that we never really ‘know’ ourselves.
Conscious/unconscious split
Culture gives us disciplines, taboo, prohibitations even though they are not clear cut for example it is wrong to kill somebody you don’t like, it’s not acceptable yet in warfare use a shoot to kill police policy.
When applied to visual culture society is learned to see it in a culturally way, process repeated and reinforced, we are ‘taught’ to see things in a particular way.
Psychoanalysis explores constant disciplining of subjectivity and stresses inability of unconsciousness which threatens to distribute disciplining. Process of building subjectivity never ends.
Psychoanalysis and sexuality
Creating of audiences, subjectivity when looking at images. Think about the way images effect us, psychoanalysis concerned with formation of sexuality established of sexual difference, sexuality develops as process. It’s not given naturally and it’s not a fixed concept.
Castration complex - Freud
A boys child development, child breaks away from mother, no penis. Fathers intervention. Heterosexual masculinity created through fear of being castrated. For girls it’s the sense of inferior as having no penis means a lack. The purpose of this theory illustrates the idea that babies learn discipline over desire resolved by Oedipus complex represses profound desire for the parent produces unconscious.
Psychoanalysis and sexuality
Complex and controversial, Freud naturally positions girls as inferior even biologically for not having a penis and assumes that heterosexuality as the ‘norm’ making homosexuality deviant.
Laura Mulvey
Introduces visual pleasure and narrative cinema in 1975, introduction of the raze in which sexuality and sexual difference created through looking there’s also the way in which this apparent in films for example in Hitchcock’s psycho in the shower seen before the women is killed.
Structuralism
Is the way that we establish by large social or structural arrangements, structures are an organised system.
Freud examined the world in a structured way, human psyche is a structure, unconscious mind revealed through slips or dreams.
Marx said the economic life is structured, unequally between owners and workers.
Structuralists anthropology: food systems
Culture organises food as a system, rules of exclusion for example the English seeing frogs and snails as barbaric.
Signifying opposition for example you wouldn’t eat steak with ice-cream and pasta with sweets yet in rules of association steak and chips followed by ice-cream would be okay but steak and ice-cream followed by chips wouldn’t be.
Binary oppositions
For example male/female, nature/culture, individual/society
Common feature of western intellectual tradition.
Science of signs, ideas which play a crucial part in structuralism. Language is a system of signs. Langue is the system of speech and parole is the act of speaking, Idea of inequality in the way that language produces meaning. Within the terms being opposite for example black/white and hot/cold the context is important.
System of signs
Sign must have a physical form, refer to something other than itself and must be recognised as a sign by others.
Structuralism
The subject is de-centred. Post-structuralism is further removed.
Feminism
Is the relationship between sexes, unequal and oppressive and attempts to challenge inequality. It has three strands the first being liberal feminism which dealt with employment and representations of women in media. The second was radical feminism which had the interests of men and women being different due to patriarchy, and the third being social feminism, patriarchy being a problem and capitalism.
Three’s an important split, equality, contentious issue. Gender inequality verses celebrating the difference between man and woman.
There are also three waves of feminism. The first wave was Wollstone craft in the 18th centaury, with the suffragettes in the 19th and 20th centaury which was an organised group that wore a uniform and were famous for guerrilla tactics.
The success of the suffragettes is debateable, after the first world war 1914 women over thirty-five and working class men were given the vote in the 1920s, yet it was criticized for having a single middle class agenda.
In the second wave in 1970s notational organisation for women, liberal feminism. The agenda gaining a part in education and in the workplace. The sex discrimination act was established in 1978. In 2006 equality act eliminates discrimination and harassment and promotes equality of opportunity between men and women. In the 1980s there was a backlash as people thought feminism was going too far and criticized for having it all for example having a career, babies and money.
The location of inequality is to do with the body, hormonal imbalances. It was said that women are driven by body and men are ruled and driven by their mind. Travelling womb syndrome was due to this and was called hysteria.
The main issues in feminism in the first wave, 17th, 18th and 19th centaury fought male ownership of women through marriage. In the second wave 1970s parity in workplace, where women are valued for appearance and then the rise in the porn industry.
The criticisms to this were the privileged concerns of white western middle class women, feminism was seen as too western and too white.
The body representing women yet there is a problematic greater concern with appearance than thoughts or feelings, issues of objectification.
Post-feminism wasn’t a campaign group, assumes gender equality and fight for women having greater access to money and education which equals power.
Wednesday, 16 January 2008
SICK world.
http://www.peta2.com/trollsens/index.asp?c=917
http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/trollsen_twins_peta2?qp_source=p2advgametroll&c=p22549 - Watch the video, I can't.
http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/trollsen_twins_peta2?qp_source=p2advgametroll&c=p22549 - Watch the video, I can't.
Fight For Your Right.....
Personally I sometimes think the world is saturated with the negative side of what the media can do.... There is also a very positive side of the media, for example, fighting for peoples/animals rights who can't do it themselfs, ie cruelty to children by the RSPCA adverts and programmes such as 'hughs chicken out'.....
http://www.chickenout.tv/index.html
An articule from the telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/01/08/nosplit/bvtv08last.xml
http://www.chickenout.tv/index.html
An articule from the telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/01/08/nosplit/bvtv08last.xml
Saturday, 12 January 2008
< CV >
Name: Sarah-Ella Louise Jones.
Age: 19
D.O.B: 27/05/1988
Address: Room 5, Flat 2, Block B. Victoria Halls,
Blackweir Terrace,
Cardiff
CF10 3EY
Contact: 07837949614
E-mail: S.L.Jones23@uwic.ac.uk
Address: Room 5, Flat 2, Block B. Victoria Halls,
Blackweir Terrace,
Cardiff
CF10 3EY
Contact: 07837949614
E-mail: S.L.Jones23@uwic.ac.uk
Personal Profile:
I believe myself to be a happy and confident individual. I’m a hardworking character who is also very eager to learn. I surpass and excel in both working in a team and by myself. I consider myself to hold good organisation and motivational skills.
In quest of employment to extend and increase new and existing skills to run simultaneously with studying for a degree in media and visual culture, which I really enjoy.
In quest of employment to extend and increase new and existing skills to run simultaneously with studying for a degree in media and visual culture, which I really enjoy.
Education & Qualifications:
Sept. 2007 - Cardiff School Of Art And Design, University Of Wales Institute Cardiff.
Currently studying a BA (hons) in Media Studies and Visual Cultures.
Currently studying a BA (hons) in Media Studies and Visual Cultures.
2006 - 2007 Pembrokeshire College - AS level in Media.
2004 - 2006 Pembrokeshire College - ND Media Studies.
1999 - 2004 Ysgol Dewi Sant, St David’s, Pembrokeshire. - 10 GCSEs.
Employment:
Employment:
2005 The Atourment Arms public house, Croesgoch.
Duties included: kitchen assistant, waiting tables, food preparation, washing up, dealing with customers and money.
Duties included: kitchen assistant, waiting tables, food preparation, washing up, dealing with customers and money.
2005 - 2007 The Shed, Porthgain.
Duties included: waiting tables, food preparation, washing up, dealing with customers and money.
Duties included: waiting tables, food preparation, washing up, dealing with customers and money.
Work experience:
2005 Autisum Cymru - Charity snooker event.
2005 Green ginger - production company.
2004 BBC news event - BBC.
2005 Autisum Cymru - Charity snooker event.
2005 Green ginger - production company.
2004 BBC news event - BBC.
Hobbies & interests:
I enjoy learning, broadening my horizons and living. In my spare time I enjoy going to live music events, gigs and festivals. I spend a lot of my summer by the coast, at the beach, fishing and going out on the boat as I take pleasure in most outdoor activities. I am very keen on walking and reading. I adore dancing. I’m interested in popular culture, current affairs, media and fashion. I also gain enjoyment from doing work experience which tributes to my career.
Reference: on request.
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