Celebrity and the Public Persona

The celebrity economy and that of normal individuals in society are now more connected than ever before. I believe that this is due to Globalisation. Globalisation has many different definitions throughout time and each refer to different aspects of life. For this blog I have chosen one that I feel conveys how celebrities and everyday individuals are now closer through globalisation.

John Thompson (1995, p. 149) argues that “Globalization refers to growing interconnectedness of different parts of the world, a process which gives rise to the complex form of the interaction and interdependency”. My interpretation of this is that due to technology we can connect with people on the other side of the world and because of this we have become increasingly conscious of the world as one. Celebrities can now interact with their fans on social media wherever they are in the world and can do this independently. Everyday citizens feel more independent as they are able to interact with others through the creation of an online persona.

The celebrity economy, media changes and the creation of personas through the specular economy will be explored, finding that these are building on globalisation, which I believe is ever changing.



Celebrity Economy

The celebrity economy has changed much over the years and David Marshall (2010, p. 498) believes that technological advances have instigated two changes that have caused growth in the celebrity economy. The first Marshall (2010) acknowledges is the ability to send messages, images and video, avoiding the gatekeeping element and other controlling mechanisms found in broadcast and print media. I believe this is a critical instigator of change for ‘the famed’ who are now able to construct and publish their own public image. In the past it was very crucial for celebrities to have teams managing their public image, but today, celebrities are “at the forefront of the expansion and use of social media and networks for reputation management”, (Marshall 2010, p. 498), “Celebrity culture in its intensified growth over the last century has always been a very elaborate discourse on what the famous are ‘really’ like”. The paparazzi and gossip magazines are known to for their work in trying to find out what celebrities are really like, but today with social media, celebrities can post their own personal photos and show what they are doing themselves sometimes in their own home which is something that the paparazzi is unlikely to capture and deliver to audiences.
Like this post of Kate Ritchie in her Pyjamas:

Kate Ritchie (Image:https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=371133712989573&set=a.253212438115035.38315.249920431777569&type=1&theater )

This picture was taken by Kate Ritchie and published on her Facebook page for her fans to see. Therefore this exemplifies the first change due to technology that has altered the celebrity economy.


Although in saying this, there are some celebrities who have not jumped on the social network band wagon and rely on others for their reputation management. For example in 2005 Rebecca Hewitt signed a contract with Australian magazine, Woman’s Day, allowing them to provide the ‘inside scoop’ on the Hewitt family from their wedding, the births of their children and everyday life. This information would have been edited by many employees at the magazine with some information being included and other parts excluded probably with Hewitt having little say. This example contradicts Marshall (2010) as Hewitt does not use social media (Twitter or Facebook) and still works with Woman’s Day by providing them with an inside scoop into her life as seen in this article published a few months ago.

Hewitt Family (Image:http://www.okmagazine.com.au/insider/232-meet-baby-ava.htm )

Barbour and Marshall (2011) argue that “The risk of not taking control of one's own online academic persona is that others will create one for you. This is what we are terming the 'uncontainable self'’”. This is evident when the name ‘Bec Hewitt’ is searched on Twitter and Facebook as there are many pages that have been created for Hewitt by her fans. This can be detrimental to the celebrity if the fans who control the social media page post inappropriate information. This problem can be rectified if the celebrity creates a real page in which fans can follow in order to create the public persona that the celebrity is after.

The second change that Marshall (2010, p. 498) believes has caused a growth in the celebrity economy is the fact that ‘not only is there a surplus economy of personalities, there is now an expectation of social interaction through social media’. This means that as the public, we expect to be able to interact with celebrities through social media. Click on this link to find out how to interact with celebrities on Twitter.

Marshall (2010, p. 500) states that ‘celebrities can be collectively “stalked” by fans and their whereabouts relayed quickly through a connected social network’. I won tickets to Jason Derulo’s exclusive performance in Sydney and uploaded a video whilst I was still at the event. Footage can be seen below.

Professional images weren’t available online until 3 days after the actual event and can be seen here. This is an example of Marshall’s (2010) previous statement as Jason Derulo’s whereabouts were relayed quickly through Facebook. Professional image seen below.

Jason Derulo Exclusive Performance (Image:http://www.2dayfm.com.au/scoopla/galleries/house-of-hits-with-jason-derulo/ )

Representational Media and the emergence of Presentational Media
These changes that Marshall (2010) argues is instigated by new technology can be seen as going from representational media (film, television, journalism and advertising) to presentational social media (Twitter and Facebook). Marshall (2010, p 499) discusses that “instead of television or magazines organising a sophisticated panoply of idealized representations of ourselves through famed and celebrated people, we now have an incredibly complex presentation of the self through the screens of social media via the Internet and mobile communication”. This means that in the previous examples, some celebrities like Kate Ritchie are seen to be moving into presentational social media by publishing her own material and not relying on representational media like magazines (as does Bec Hewitt) to define her public persona.



Specular economy

The specular economy is explored by David Marshalll (2010, p.499) to be ‘where collectively we are becoming more conscious of how we present ourselves and how others perceive us…’ Just like your day to day routine where you get ready to present yourself to the outside world and check that you have done so by looking at your reflection in the mirror. This is the idea that the specular economy is based on. Today, unlike the years before, we have to present ourselves to the public on social media. We ‘pose’ for our friends on Facebook, for our employers on LinkedIn and for our fans on YouTube. Marshalll (2010) believes that the specular economy which is produced by the media means that we continuously construct ourselves to be viewed in a certain way.

In relation to my own social media use, I choose not to post the fact that I reversed into my partner’s car today because I do not want to be seen as an incompetent driver by my ‘friends’ on Facebook. I also chose not to post that I can’t be bothered going to work on the weekend because I want my colleagues and managers to see me as a motivated employee who enjoys my work and the workplace. Yes, I have now shared two facts on the internet about myself that I did not want my ‘friends’ to see. But they will not read this blog post, nor will they even know that I have blog because I have chosen not to share this site with them because I feel that my scholarly postings may not be good enough. Can you see a pattern? I have chosen to hide negative aspects (aspects that I perceive to be negative) about my life because I am constructing my persona to be more positive than it really is.
Click here to find out how to make you more attractive on Facebook.

Marshalll (2010, p.499) believes that “The online and mobile media screen as mirror has to be thought of as producing ‘persona’”. This is exactly what I am doing, using Facebook and other social media sites to develop a certain persona and pose to be a specific way for my audience

Many people, who use social media, thrive for more friends, more likes, more comments and overall more attention. Therefore many people act in a highly individual way on social media sites to achieve this. This hyperindividuality is seen across social media, particularly on YouTube in an aim to become well known to many people globally.

Christopher Lasch (1979) argued that at this time, Americans had developed a form of narcissism. This means that people were searching for constant validation. Lasch (1979) called this the ‘me generation’ and included the quest for wealth and fame just like many people today that use social media, particularly YouTube.

There are so many different YouTube channels about so many different topics. Gone are the days when we were limited to the channels on our televisions. One of the first channels I started watching in high school was GabeandJesss a 21 year old mother of 4 children under 4. So I ‘subscribed’ to her channel and every time she would publish a video I would be notified. She is now known by 113, 830 subscribers and her private moments are now made public. We know a lot about Jessica Shafer as she publishes videos about her day to day activities, updates on her children and personal life as well as weight loss and beauty tips. This article about Shafer and her ‘GabeandJesss’ channel says that the American mother has received “gifts from as far away as Ireland”.

Therefore private information like this is not only published about celebrities like Bec Hewitt but of normal everyday people who have become famous through ‘presentational media’, broadcasting themselves. I think we could call the young people of today the ‘me generation’ with many people like Shafer also making YouTube channels and becoming famous. These people are on a quest for wealth and fame and today with YouTube and social media, it has just gotten a lot easier.

Jessica Shafer and Family (Image:https://www.facebook.com/pages/GabeandJesss/136509159703383 )

Hyperindividuality is seen widely across the use of social media ensuring the growth and strength of micropublic networks. Marshall (2013, p. 12) believes that the “micropublics identify a newer duality: these are the followers and friends that are connected to a range of content via a particular individual”. Micropublic networks enable intercommunication through “the way that information about the self migrates through online culture and occasionally produces moments of real fame for participants as cultural memes” (Marshall, 2013). This is true in that the things I post on Facebook will not only be seen by my 300 friends, but by many more through connected networks. If I ‘like’ my friend Taylar’s photo, another friend of mine, Kerrie, who is not friends with Taylar, can see Taylar’s photo.


Social media enables a variety of media like images, video, sound and messages to be publicised on social media, direct from the source, avoiding the messenger, the middle man who can change or control the content. This is what Marshall conveys which I believe is only part true. A lot of what is shared from user to user on social media is media from news sources that has been filtered. So content is still being filtered, although the audience/social media user is able to choose the information they wish to digest and prioritise news that is of interest and of high importance to them.


The celebrity economy has changed due to today’s technology with more people learning more about the famed through the celebrity’s posts on their own social media pages. More celebrities are taking on the role of creating their own online persona like Kate Ritchie. Although others, like Bec Hewitt are not interacting with fans and allowing representational media to maintain their public persona. Normal everyday people also make public personas on Facebook by being conscious of the public version of them and then constructing an image they are after. Some people like me leave out certain facts about myself in order to control how others see us. Then, there are people like Jessica Shafer who go as far as sharing very intimate details about their lives on YouTube, similar to the ‘me generation’ acknowledged by Lasch in 1979. Just like celebrities, everyday people are creating public personas online and are becoming connected with a global community.




References

2day FM, 2013, ‘House Of Hits with Jason Derulo’, 7 October 2013, <http://www.2dayfm.com.au/scoopla/galleries/house-of-hits-with-jason-derulo/ >

Aquilina, M 2013, ‘Facebook: Melissa Aquilina’, 7 October 2013, <https://www.facebook.com/melissa.aquilina.7>

Aquilina, M 2013, ‘Jason Derulo’, 7 October 2013, <https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201644209739550&l=4488029405292560052>

Barbour K. and Marshall P.D. 2012, The Academic Online: Constructing persona through the world wide web, First Monday, vol 17, no. 9, [available: http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3969/3292]

Hatch, A 2010, ‘Oh, Baby: Teen mom blogs pregnancy on YouTube’, 7 October 2013, <http://www.parentdish.com/2010/05/14/oh-baby-teen-mom-blogs-pregnancy-on-youtube/15#c27929091>

Lasch, C 1979, ‘Culture of Narcissism’, W.W. Norton, New York

Marshall, P.D. 2013 , Persona Studies: mapping the proliferation of the public self, Journalism, June 4. online edition.

Marshal, P.D 2010, ‘The Specular Economy’, Society, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 498-502

OK!, 2010, ‘Meet baby Ava’, 7 October 2013, <http://www.okmagazine.com.au/insider/232-meet-baby-ava.htm>

O’Neill, N 2010, ‘5 Ways to instantly make yourself more attractive on Facebook’, 7 October 2013, <http://allfacebook.com/attractive-facebook-profile_b12124>

Ritchie, K 2013, ‘Facebook Timeline Photos’, 7 October 2013, <https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=371133712989573&set=a.253212438115035.38315.249920431777569&type=1&theater>

Thompson, J. (1995). ‘The Globalization of Communication’ In Thompson, J. The Media and Modernity: A Social Theory of the Media, (pp.149-173). London: Blackwells.

WikiHow, 2012, ‘Make a celebrity follow you on Twitter’, 7 October2013, <http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Celebrity-Follow-You-on-Twitter>

Wikipedia, 2013, ‘Bec Hewitt’, 7 October 2013, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bec_Hewitt>

Women’s Day, 2013, ‘Bec Hewitt: Why I don’t call Australia home’, 7 October 2013, <http://womansday.ninemsn.com.au/celebrityheadlines/8667863/bec-hewitt-why-i-dont-call-australia-home>

Women’s Day, 2013, ‘Home’, 7 October 2013, <http://womansday.ninemsn.com.au/ >

Shafer, J 2013, ‘GabeandJesss’, 7 October 2013, <http://www.youtube.com/user/GabeandJesss>

Globalisation and Hollywood

Christina Klein (2004) believes that many films have been hybridised. This means that both Hollywood and Asian characteristics have been mixed into films. She lists films that have been Asianized by including martial arts within the narrative, such as, Shrek, Charlies Angels, Scary Movie and The Matrix.

Klein’s publication was published nearly a decade ago, but in recent times, Amos Dane (2011), a freelance film critic with a B.A. in film and classic cinema, still believes in Hollywood and Asian hybridity in films.

Dane points out in this article (2011) that movies made in other countries are being copied and released in America and Hollywood movies find their way to foreign markets. Foreign movies rarely find success in the US and Dane believes this is because American’s do not like to read subtitles when watching movies made in other countries like “Brothers, Solaris, Vanilla Sky, Let Me In, Chloe, and Death at a Funeral”. Dane believes that foreigners speak English as a second language so they therefore understand English and enjoy Hollywood films.

Klein (2004, p.363) confirms that Asian audiences enjoy Hollywood films, because “Hollywood in the 1990s became an export industry, making movies primarily for people who live outside the USA –and increasingly for people who live in Asia”. Klein (2004) conveys that Hollywood movies make most of their money outside of the USA and so focus on “spectacle-driven films such as special-effects-heavy blockbusters”. This means that the asianisation of films has been increasing due to its rising success in making profits. Blockbusters, which is as Klein (2004) describes as the over reliance on special effects to drive the film, means that narratives are focussed on less in order to hook the audience through visual experience of the special effects. Klein (2004) believes that this increases audiences in foreign countries and therefore increases profits.

I believe that the effects of globalisation where people in different countries have access to many forms of media were the foundation for transnationalization. Klein (2004) believes that transnationalization in film is where Hollywood hire a broad range of Asian film workers. This means that Asian workers will go to Hollywood and then “at other times, Hollywood went to them”.  An example of this is Rumble in the Bronx (1995), a movie that brought Jackie Chan to American mainstream.  Jackie Chan then went back to Asia in 2010 for the remake of The Karate Kid which is another example of asianisation in film where a Hollywood movie is set in China, starring Jackie Chan who was born in Hong Kong. This illustrates that in the decade since Klein’s 2004 publication, his observations have sustained with movies like The Karate Kid (2010) which is a recent movie that hold many Asian characteristics and references.

(Image:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Karate_Kid_(2010_film))

References

Dane, A 2011, ‘Hollywoodization: Foreign Movies Lost in American Translation’, Yahoo Voices, 21 April 2011, Retrieved 20 September 2013, <http://voices.yahoo.com/hollywoodization-foreign-movies-lost-american-translation-8304979.html?cat=2>

Klein, Christina 2004, ‘Martial arts and globalisation of US and Asian film industries’, Comparative America Studies, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 360-384. 

The Specular Economy

The specular economy is explored by David Marshall (2010, p.499) to be ‘where collectively we are becoming more conscious of how we present ourselves and how others perceive us…’  Just like your day to day routine where you get ready to present yourself to the outside world and check that you have done so by looking at your reflection in the mirror. This is the idea that the specular economy is based on. Today, unlike the years before, we have to present ourselves to the public on social media. We ‘pose’ for our friends on Facebook, for our employers on LinkedIn and for our fans on YouTube. Marshall (2010) believes that the specular economy which is produces by the media, means that we continuously construct ourselves to be viewed in a certain way.

In relation to my own social media use, I choose not to post the fact that I reversed into my partner’s car today because I do not want to be seen as an incompetent driver by my ‘friends’ on Facebook. I also chose not to post that I can’t be bothered going to work on the weekend because I want my colleagues and managers to see me as a motivated employee who enjoys my work and the workplace. Yes, I have now shared two facts on the internet about myself that I did not want my ‘friends’ to see, but they will not read this blog post, nor will they even know that I have blog because I have chosen not to share this site with them because I feel that my scholarly postings may not be good enough. Can you see a pattern? I have chosen to hide negative aspects (aspects that I perceive to be negative) about my life because I am constructing my persona to be more positive than it really is.

Click here to find out how to make you more attractive on Facebook.

(Image: http://allfacebook.com/attractive-facebook-profile_b12124)

Marshall (2010, p.499) believes that “The online and mobile media screen as mirror has to be thought of as producing ‘persona’”.  This is exactly what I am doing, using Facebook and other social media sites to develop a certain persona and pose to be a specific way for my audience. With many more people online today than ever before, the specular economy is a global concept that applies to people all over the world.

References

Marshal, P.D 2010, ‘The Specular Economy’, Society, vol. 47, no. 6, pp. 498-502

The Damsel Fights Back

‘The Damsel Fights Back’ is a 3D computer game full of action and adventure about a woman on a quest to save her husband who was too weak to escape from his male kidnapper. This story-line reverses the ‘Damsel in Distress’ cliché that has been widely used in gaming history, like Donkey Kong (1981) and the most recent, Double Dragon Neon (2012) which both involve a male protagonist trying to save the life of the damsel. This is a global story line and is the basis of many more games played around the world.

I am here to fight back against this cliché. This is something very rare and is seen in only few games around the world like Super Princess Peach (2006) where the female protagonist fights to save a male plumber.  This cliché is spoken about in the series, ‘Damsel in Distress: Tropes Vs Women in Video Games’.  Rachel, the female protagonist in ‘The Damsel Fights Back’ will look similar to this character below from Wolverine.

(Image: http://moonfirecharms.com/2013/07/26/the-wolverine-review/)

 She is tremendously smart and needs to figure out clues in order to proceed. Rachel will work hard through the obstacles in Melbourne’s big city, using her super powers to find her husband and fight the men who kidnapped him.

This production process will follow the Hollywood studio system like many games, starting with developing and then manufacturing, publishing, distribution and retail. Hopefully Nintendo will be this up and I will get at least 20% of the profits.

Raessens (2005) believes that games are participatory media and that there are three domains of participation- “Only gamers can jointly construct events and actions through the fourth characteristic, connectivity” (Raessens 2005, p. 374). This means that gaming is very different from other media like television and reading newspapers due to participation.

One of the domains of participation Raessens (2005) presented is interpretation. Interpretation of the media by gamers, according to Start Hall (1980, cited in Raessens 2005, p. 375) can be a dominant reading, where my audience will agree with my view of the importance of a female protagonist, the negotiated reading, where some gamers may believe my game is good in representing females but either way it doesn’t matter, and the oppositional reading where the gamer thinks that sexism is good in games and males play a better protagonist.

The second domain of participation according to Raessens (2005) is reconfiguration where my audience will be ‘…invited to give form to these worlds in an active way by selecting one of the many pre-programmed possibilities in a computer game” (Raessens 2005, p. 380).
The third domain of participation is construction where gamers playing my game will be able to add “…new game elements” (Raessens 2005, p. 381).

References

Raessens, J. 2005, ‘Computer games as participatory media culture’, Handbook of

Computer Game Studies, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass, pp. 373-388 

Employment and the Blogosphere

We are all guilty of being cynical about our work, employers and colleagues at one time or another. Complaints about daily tasks, management’s leadership skills and gossip about other co-workers and office politics can now be shared in a different way- the blogosphere! The term ‘blogosphere’ was created by William Quick (2001), and describes it as the ‘intellectual cyberspace’ that bloggers occupy.

Employee cynicism published in blogs is spoken about by Richards and Kosmala (2013) as they contend that employee blogging is a response to corporate culture. They deliver the ideas of Fleming and Spicer (2003, cited in Richards and Kosmala 2013, p. 2) who argue that the manifestation of power is imaginary because employees who blog about their job still remain ‘compliant’ with the organisation. This means that employees are being cynical about their occupation and publishing their distrust in the organisation or employer on blogs but go back to work the next day and do the work that they are employed to do.  

(Image: http://fitforlifedaily.wordpress.com/2013/04/07/fit-for-life-joins-corporate-blogosphere-with-fit-for-life-daily/)

I do not have a blog covering the issues I have about my part time job, but I do put my hand up to say that I participate heavily in cynical talk in regards to my workplace with family and friends. However, I do this because I care about the organisation and think that some progresses could be made to develop employee satisfaction thus improving business as a whole. I agree with Richards’ and Kosmala’s (2013, p. 7) study that found employee bloggers had a strong sense of loyalty and dedication to their job. This I believe can be applied to me as my cynical expressions can improve the business.  Richard and Kosmala (2013) believe that blogging about work allows voices to be heard and can substitute trade unions for employees who just need to ‘vent’.

Schoneboom (2007, cited in Richards and Kosmala 2013, p 4) contends that these blogs are no longer ‘attacks on employers but are organised vocal movements’. Blogging about work can connect the employee to their occupational community online participating in a ‘global village’ feeling connected to others who feel the same things in their line of work and possibly in other countries. This is the benefit of globalisation and does not come without some costs  employers and employees need to consider.  

(Image: http://mariosundar.com/category/how-to-use-social-media/business-blogging/)

References

Quick, W 2004, ‘Content delivery in the blogosphere’, DailyPundit.com, 831520, 30 Dec 2004, <http://thejournal.com/articles/2004/02/01/content-delivery-in-the-blogosphere.aspx>

Richards, J Kosmala, K 2013, “In the end, you can only slag people off for so long”: employee cynicism through work blogging”, New Technology, Work and Employment, Vol. 28, No.1, Blackwell, Oxford

You're a Prosumer and You Don't Even Know It

The article, Production, Consumption, Prosumption by Ritzer and Jurgenson (2010) explore the concept of prosumption and its increasingly evident appearance in our lives more so today than ever before. Prosumption according to Ritzer and Jurgenson (2010, p. 14) ‘prosumption involves both production and consumption rather than focussing on either one’.

An overused example to explain prosumption is McDonaldisation. This term was developed by Ritzer (1993) but the concept began with Henry Ford and his development of the assembly line for producing cars. The most efficient way of completing a task is found and then broken down into smaller ones. This is efficiency; the first of the four dimensions of McDonaldization according to Ritzer (1993). This task is then completed the same way every time and this is another dimension, predictability. Another is control refers to the irreplaceability of humans and machines. The last dimension is calculability and means quantity over quality.

(Image: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/what-is-mcdonaldization-theory.html)

McDonalds is a global producer and their products are the same in every country. Just like people in every country are prosumers.

When you think about it we do a lot of the work that the McDonalds ‘restaurant’ should be doing for us. We wait a long time in a line to order our own food and then wait again for our food to be made and handed to us. We then carry our own food to a table that we need to find. If we want anything else we need to get it ourselves. There is no waiter to serve us like at other restaurants and it can be said that we are part of the production in creating our meals.

 Toffler (1980, cited in Ritzer & Jurgenson 2010) believed that Prosumption was a well-known in pre-industrial societies. Although today with the web 2.0 (provider generated information) prosumption is at its finest and clearly exemplified in many thing we do in our day to day lives. Do you have a Facebook account? If so, then you are a prosumer. Like McDonalds you do all the work like post photo’s, video, text, information and links and also share others information.

I am a prosumer when I post this blog.

But what happens to all the information that you supply without payment on Facebook. Ritzer and Jurgenson (2010) suggest that Facebook sell your information to advertisement agencies, but today, it was found here that Facebook handed over data to the Australian government. This is an example of uberveilance.

Are you happy about being a Prosumer?

References

Ritzer, G 1993, ‘The McDonaldization of Society’, Sage Publications, London

Ritzer, G. & Jurgenson, N, 2010, ‘Production, Consumption, Prosumption’, Journal of Consumer Culture, Vol. 10, no 1, pp. 13-36

White, A 2013, ‘Facebook hands over data on hundreds of Australians in first half of this year’, The Herald Sun, 29 August, Accessed 28 August 2013, <http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/facebook-hands-over-data-on-hundreds-of-australians-in-first-half-of-this-year/story-fni0fiyv-1226705818264>

Global Media Entertainment Discoveries May Not Be Discoveries At All

I agree with the argument that creative arts, cultural products, invention and discovery are not original ideas, but the combination and recombination of previous ideas. Christopher Booker, an English journalist and author believes that there are seven basic plots and that all stories told can be grouped into at least one of the seven plots he listed in his book ‘The Seven Basic Plots’. This means that with the amount of television drama series, there must be many with very similar plots and characters. Is this wrong? Do copyright laws prevent this from happening?

As Kirby Ferguson indicates in his series ‘Everything is a Remix’, there are many more copyright cases today than ever before by saying ‘prior to this (George Harrison’s case) plenty of songs sounded much more like other songs without ending up in court’. So with many more copyright cases being heard today than in any other era, why wouldn't copyright laws prevent similar television drama series airing as the laws do for songs?

Well, according to the U.S Copyright Office ‘The general idea or concept for a program is not copyright-able’.  Although, what about when the story-lines and main characters of two shows are similar? Where is the line drawn? This is hard to tell as stated by Ferguson; copyright laws are very broad in order to cover a broad range of happenings.

The two television drama series that I have in mind are a couple of my favourites, The O.C. and Gossip Girl who were both created by Josh Schwartz.

(Image: http://glee.wikia.com/wiki/File:Gossip_girl_11.jpg)

(Image: http://www.last.fm/music/O.C.+California)

The O.C. was first aired in 2003 and Gossip Girl in 2007. The similarities can be seen here and consist of similar characters who even look the same with both shows having a very similar storyline. Yes, both shows were created by the same person but even university students have to abide by copyright laws that do not allow their own work to be re-submitted/ re-published. I assumed that professionals would have similar rules. Another issue is the fact that the Gossip Girl series is based on a novel written by Cecily Von Ziegesar in 2002. So did Schwatz ‘copy, transform and combine’ which is what Ferguson believes creative artists and inventors do, and make The O.C. to have it cancelled and then dive in to just copy the original work anyway? Again, is this wrong?

There are many shows with this same similar storyline and include, Melrose Place and Laguna Beach. These shows are global and reach many people in different countries who in turn create their own shows and could add to the list of similar television drama series.

Although, shows are made to entertain the viewer and if the audience only enjoys these particular drama series then they will be hurt if copyright laws act to limit the amount of shows produced. Or maybe the audience will just purchase more copies of the one television series making them more money. With this view, copyright laws seem worthy.

But then again maybe the audience will just share movie files. This may be 'illegal' but globalisation has made it difficult for authorities to rule.

References

Mars-Jones, A 2004, ‘Terminator 2, The Odyssey Bad’, The Guardian, 21 November, Accessed 13 August 2013, <http://www.theguardian.com/books/2004/nov/21/fiction.features>

U.S. Copyright Office, 2010, ‘Copyright| Dramatic Works: Scripts, Pantomimes, and Choreography, 13 August 2013, <http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl119.html>

Vimeo, 2012, ‘Everything is a Remix- Part 4’, 13 August 2013, <http://vimeo.com/36881035>

Wikipedia, 2013, ‘Josh Schwartz’, 13 August 2013, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Schwartz>

Deal Or No Deal- a global game show that shows a global desire

The Deal Or No Deal Australian Opening in 2003 is a memory of mine. Nine year old me was upset that our Sunday night family ritual of sitting in front of the television watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire was disrupted by my father’s decision to change the channel to the Seven Network to try the talked about, Deal Or No Deal. We were instantly hooked and although today the show has made many changes I still enjoy watching the program during weekly dinners with my mother. Many people enjoy the game show, especially older women who come into my Intencity store to play the Deal Or No Deal video game.

(Image: http://www.segaarcade.com/dond-street)

Maybe I hold this particular game show close to my heart as the last time I saw my late Maltese grandmother, we watched Deal Or No Deal together. Realising this made me stop and think about the show and question why so many people from different cultures enjoy it. I came to realise that it was because winning money is desired by all people in different countries. Is this a global desire? I think so.

I then stumbled upon the Italian version of Deal Or No Deal and found my Italian grandparents enjoyed the show too. With some research I found that 17 other countries had a version of Deal Or No Deal. This means that Deal Or No Deal is a global game show and makes clear to me that all people in all countries have a desire to win money. I now view all cultures and the people in those cultures in a similar way to myself as I know we all have at least something in common- We have the desire to win money.

In 1995, Malcom Waters defined globalisation as “… a social process in which the constraints of geography on social and cultural arrangements recede and in which people become increasingly aware that they are receding”. I believe this aligns well with the global Deal Or No Deal. With this game show all cultural restrictions are faded and other thinkers like me are aware that they are receding. This allows people in different countries to enjoy the show.

Although, like Jan Nederveen Pieterse said in 2004, ‘Globalisation is uneven’. This is true for Deal Or No Deal which differs from country to country in many, many ways. Deal Or No Deal is just an example of this statement showing that many countries develop at different speeds and at different times making globalisation an uneven ‘playing field’. For example the Italian version of Deal Or No Deal use boxes instead of brief cases. 

(Image: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/dec/12/time-warner-bid-endemol)

A simple game show has driven me to see globalisation in a new way. To become aware of a shared desire and to learn that yes, globalisation may be uneven but we can all still be connected.

Reference List

Blackwood Company, 2008, ‘Deal Or No Deal Australia Opening’, online video, accessed 5 August 2013, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWceF0izO2A

Deal Or No Deal, 2011, ‘Worldwide’, 5 August 2013, http://www.dealornodeal.co.uk/show/worldwide/

Intencity, 2013, ‘Home’, 5 August 2013, http://www.intencity.com.au/

National Spelling Bee, 2013, ‘Get to know the competition’, 5 August 2013, http://www.spellingbee.com/

Nederveen Pieterse, J 2004,Globalization: consensus and controversies, Globalization and culture: global mélange, Rowan & Littlefield, Lanham, Md.

Rai1, 2013, ‘Affari tuoi’, 5 August 2013, http://www.affarituoi.rai.it/dl/portali/site/articolo/ContentItem-6c509d7d-34b3-443c-ae49-816a5930fa13.html?homepage

Sega Amusements, 2012, ‘Deal Or No Deal Street’, 5 August 2013, http://www.segaarcade.com/dond-street

Sweney, M 2011, ‘Deal or no deal? Time Warner makes €1bn bid for Endemol’, The Guardian, 13 December, Accessed 5 August 2013, http://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/dec/12/time-warner-bid-endemol

Tv.com, 2012, ‘The Price is Right’, 5 August 2013, http://www.tv.com/shows/the-price-is-right/

What is Globalisation?

Globalisation has been around for a long time and there are many, many definitions. When we 'blab' about globalisation we are communicating, communicating through media. I share my opinions and you, who may be on the other side of the world, can respond back to me. I can share with you my Italian and Maltese heritage and you can share yours. We can share the political happenings of our countries or even start a business together. Through the technological change that has occurred in recent years anything is possible. To me, globalisation means exactly this, the whole nation as one, sharing and working together to benefit each other.

My thoughts about globalisation are very similar to those of Terhi Rantanen, Professor in Global Media and Communication. She believes that ‘globalisation is a process in which worldwide economic, political, cultural and social relations have become increasingly mediated across time and space’ (2005, p. 8). In her text ‘The Media and Globalisation’ it is established that many globalisation theorists neglect media and communications in their definitions of globalisation.

When first thinking about globalisation, before reading Rantanen’s text, I believed that globalisation meant the whole world connecting and working together as one and this means media and communications is essential. With today’s technology globalisation has increased and this is evident through the growth in trade, Australian companies moving internationally and overseas organisation coming to Australia. I believe that capital flow has had the most global growth due to technological advances, with things like Outlook, Facebook and Skype, economics has soared. 

Outlook
(Image: https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRkCZB2Une8aYfLAMA1_ugfIq-NmyljEmaivytwHnlAlDziaKSyeqyg2OOe)

Facebook
(Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcopako/) 

Skype
(Image: http://citycynic.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/skype.jpg)

These technological products are global products and can be accessed in every country through internet access. Many products that individuals consume have also been made in multiple countries. For example, KFC’s mayonnaise is now made in Malaysia by Kerrie Ingredients. It was once made in their Altona factory in Victoria, Australia and as of August 2012 all products made in this plant have been sent to Malaysia. This movement is an example of the increase in economic globalisation. Media and communications are involved in multiple aspects of this example; communications facilitated the move with technological advances making it easier than it was in the past and the media informed the public of this move. Is this a negative or positive example of globalisation? Well, for my father in law who was one of the 105 people who lost their jobs, the increase in globalisation has affected him negatively. For Kerrie Ingredients and Malaysian workers, this movement is positive. Therefore, to me, globalisation is not positive or negative; globalisation is the connection of countries through media and communications.

Kerry Ingredients
(Image: http://www.fdbusiness.com/2011/12/kerry-group-completes-230-million-acquisition/)

Reference List

City Cynic, 2009, ‘Skype sheds it’s corporate parent, but can it adapt?’, 26 July 2013, http://citycynic.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/skype.jpg

Flickr, 2013, ‘Macro Pakoeningrat’, 26 July 2013, http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcopako/

Food and Drink Business Europe, 2011, ‘Kerry Group Completes $230 Million Acquisition’, 26 July 2013, http://www.fdbusiness.com/2011/12/kerry-group-completes-230-million-acquisition/

Google Images, 2013, ‘Outlook 2013 Logo’, 26 July 2013, https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRkCZB2Une8aYfLAMA1_ugfIq-NmyljEmaivytwHnlAlDziaKSyeqyg2OOe

Rantanen, T 2005, The Media and Globalisation, Sage, London.

Week One: About Me

Hello, my name is Melissa, and welcome to my blog for ALC215 Globalisation and the Media. Over the next 10 weeks, I will be making weekly posts about globalisation. In this first post I will be introducing myself.

I am a Deakin University student living in Melbourne and attending the Geelong campus. I am in my second year completing a double degree in Arts/Commerce, majoring in Human Resources Management and Media and Communications. I am enjoying the course and hope to get a graduate position in a government organisation in 2016.

Currently, I am a Doxa Cadet at the ATO for the Doxa Youth Foundation and I work there for eight weeks a year for the duration of my degree. This program aims to help young people gain corporate work experience, setting them apart from their peers. I enjoy working in the public sector and this is where I would like to begin my career. I would however like to have some experience in the private sector before I graduate and will be looking for vacation work during the summer of 2014.

My spare time is spent watching television drama series, reading books, exercising with friends, spending time with family and working at my part-time job- a video arcade!

I hope to develop insights into globalisation through this course and look forward to sharing them all with you.