AQA GCSE Media Studies Student Book

67 However, her huge audience means that she is not only quickly recognisable but also that she is in a position to influence her audience more than someone without a successful vlog. Having an online presence is a type of self-promotion – much of her success centres on her engaging personality. Of course, she will not film, or will edit out, many things that may not appeal to the audience, such as showing she is grumpy or irritable. However, she often films herself without makeup and is also willing to talk about difficult issues such as anxiety. With so many media images of airbrushed celebrities, this is refreshing – although, this, in itself, is also a form of managed representation to increase audience empathy and engagement. Of course, it is nothing new for celebrities to represent themselves as vulnerable or ‘normal’, but vlogging offers a particular opportunity to control such representations. Gender As Zoella is a makeup and fashion vlogger, it is important to think about how she embodies and reinforces gender stereotyping. Is she reinforcing stereotypes about young women as being superficial and only interested in appearances? Or has she shown that she can be successful in business just by being herself, and promoting products that will interest her target audience, regardless of her gender? Your answer to these questions probably says more about you and your values than it does about hers. Remember that, in media studies, you are allowed to voice your opinion, as long as you use evidence from the products you are studying to make your point. Representations of reality At this point, it is useful to look in more detail at what we mean by ‘reality’. We’ve already seen how difficult it is to represent ‘real’ life and even our ‘real’ selves. We have to make decisions about selection and omission. Cultural theorist Stuart Hall reminds us that representation in the media is the production of meaning through media language: Reality exists outside language, but it is constantly mediated by and through language. (1993, page 95) As seen in Chapter 1, this language is formed of signs which we share as a culture, and these help us to convey and understand messages. Objects, characters and events on screen or in print do not have universal, true meanings but are mediated by media producers. They choose what to show us, so their social and personal biases affect the ‘facts’ through what is shown and how it is shown. Much of what we believe to be real has been conveyed to us via the media. What do you think is the most realistic form of media that represents the world most accurately? You might say that newspapers report real events, and that TV documentaries can seem like real life. But, as we have seen, all media output is just Does the fact Zoella is now rich and famous influence her representation? Quick question 2.7 Now that you have read about some of the aspects of representation you can look out for, watch a couple of YouTube videos by Zoella, and look at her blog. Find specific shots, sequences, images or words that support or contradict the points made in this case study. Think about how the media language used at these points has created specific representations. Use this research, and the ideas in this case study, to answer the question posed at the start of this section: ‘Social media allows us to see celebrities as they really are.’ How far is this true of Zoella (CSP)? Activity 2.21 You have seen that Zoella presents herself as ordinary, feminine, successful and popular. What other stereotypes do YouTubers often convey? Quick question 2.8 Can the media ever truly reflect reality? Quick question 2.9 2 Media Representations