Readings of The Simpsons:

Dominate reading: The Simpsons is a show aimed at audiences in their teens and up. It satirises the average American family.

Negotiated reading: This show satirises American social problems and sometimes political problems. Even the concept of celebrity is made fun of.

Oppositional reading: This show contains negative, lowbrow humour that many may find offensive.

“ Digital media has, in many ways, changed how we consume media products” who do you think benefits most – audiences or producers?

In a world that revolves around digitial media, audiences benefit the most as they can enjoy the perks of taking a voyeuristic position, allowing a chance for escapism and entertainment. However the line between producer and audience is blurred as audiences are also allowed to partake in producing texts effectively making them producers.

The blurring of producer/audience lines begins with Citizen Journalism, something which allows any audience member to actively become a producer, not a passive audience member. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter allow videos to be shared amongst many members. One example of this is the recent Egypt riots videos that had exposed what was happening in the country. These sites allow videos like this to take a position where only the truth is shown via mobile phone. Footage from mobile phones is where the blurring of producer/audience begins. This has both advantages and disadvantages, one advantage being that these active audience members can work outside the restraints of newspaper journalism, having no bounds on what the video may contain which means the footage has not been altered in any way. However this is the problem as trhe contents of the footage may offend audiences and possibly create a negative image on certain groups or races.

In terms of consuming media products digital media has changed the method of consumption as we no longer have to rely on broadcast to watch our favourite TV shows, we can simply watch them online. Websites such as BBC I player, Channel 4 live and YouTube have given way to audiences becoming more selective in what they watch and when they watch it. These websites act as on demand programming making it ( in some cases) more popular than broadcast as programming on websites such as Lovefilm and Netflix allow audiences to enjoy movies at the comfort of their own home, making it extremely popular. When it comes to Lovefilm and Nteflix, synergy has taken place as these services can also be accessed on the Playstation 3 and apps for the Iphone, making these services more accessible to audiences. In this case audiences are benefitting as programming is better suited to their busy lifestyle.

Socialising websites in recent years has seen a huge rise in popularity as many now digitally socialise with others on either Facebook or Twitter ( the two most popular social networks). Along with allowing us to communicate both quickly and safely with friends and family, they could also give audiences a sense of belonging (as highlighted in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs). On the other hand it has been reported that 57% of people talk more online than they do in real life, which is alarming in the sense that real life social skills are decreasing. Another alarming statistic is that 48% of young Americans find out about the news through Facebook which could mean danger for the print industry. As Facebook and Twitter have not yet peaked in terms of it’s usage in the world, possibly another life to lead online however the other 500,000,000 have to be sure not to live their life online.

To what extent has new and ddigital media given younger audiences the opportunites to shape their own media representations?

With web 2.0. becoming increasingly more popular, audiences around the world have become UGC focused, creating their own ideas and opinions and social networking sites and blogs have only added to this as audiences become more and more confident in expressing their opinions and shaping their own representations. However there is also the danger of the oppositional,negotiated reading being taken inn the wrong way of that of the intentional meaning.

Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter have given users much more of a voice, therefore critical thinking among audiences has seen a rise. The Hyperdewrmic Model assumes that the audience is passive with no opinions on the text but with opinions becoming the social networking "norm" a negotiated/oppositional reading is a more likely outcome.

UGC has also given younger audiences the opportunity to shape their own video reviews on certain texts allowing a more nnegotiated reading which then allows audiences to gain individual gratifications from texts.

On the other hand with opinions so free to be spoken, there could be a risk of audiences misinterpreting representations in the media, taking it offensively even though it may not be intended that way.

Consider the view that the recent representation of teenagers is simply another moral panic:

Moral panic by definition is whe society sees itself threatened by the values and activities of a group who are seen as a threat to mainstream society's values. This is clearly seen in the trailer of Biully as the protagonist challenging the school's values and beliefs by causing havoc i.e. beating other students. The title itself "Bully" signifies a direct threat to the school establishment as bullies are not accepted or tolorated. This representation of teenager could now be seen as a dominant representation as the pprotagonist seems to be dominanating his peers and causinng destruction with any consequences. These ideologies of the game can be injected into the audiences mind (as mentioned in the Hyperdermic model), giving them the impression that it's ok to be bad.

Moral panic is addressed on a wider scale in the opening of Skins as we see teens engaging in smoking, drinking and other acts that would be deemed immoral. Again, what is shown in the montage sequence could be seen as a threat towards a social system which enforces hedgemonic values such as beinng a model citizen and not partaking in any of these acts.

However not all representations of teenagers in the media are something to be considered a moral panic as we show such as Glee which promotes partaking in school activities and trying to be a model student (as opposed to Bully).

Compare and contrast the representation of teenagers in the two texts:

The representation of teenagers in the opening of Skins is that of a negative representation as we see a montage of teens partaking in drinking, smoking and same-sex acts. Watching these teenagers carry out these acts plays into the stereotype of youth being rebellious and out of control. This view is of the oppositional reading but a negotiated reading of the text would see teens that are coming of age, experiencing both the high and lows life has to offer.

The trailer for Bully also complies with the stereotype of teenagers being anarchists as we see the protagonist bulliying other students and treating the school itself like a playground. The protagonist dress sense of the school uniform connotes a sense of rebellion i.e. his shirt being untucked. There are also points in the trailer of the protagonist weilding a slingshot and a fire extinguisher as wepons which further signifies a teenager's lack of authority and persuit for dominance over peers.