Super Curricular

                                                       music video research

Sun goes down: Before Lil Nas X was Lil Nas X, he was (and still is) Montero Lamar Hall, an internet-raised, Nicki Minaj-worshipping, meme-posting, closeted gay teen who grew up in a small town outside Atlanta, Georgia. Outside of interviews and cover stories, it’s a past that the pop star has generally opted not to speak too much about, even trying to cover some of it up — until now. A string of songs from his long-awaited debut album Montero dive into his past and pre-fame life for the first time, giving the world a glimpse of who the man under the cowboy hat really is — and who he wants to be.

    The searing heart of “Sun Goes Down” comes in the song’s chorus as he tells his younger self — and in turn, the innumerable other gay kids listening to the song — “I know that you want to cry/ But there's much more to life than dying/ Over your past mistakes (Oh)/ And people who threw dirt on your name.” In one fell swoop, the core of Montero — and his role as a pop star — becomes clear: He may just be one person, and the music industry is still not built for gay men, but he’s already laying down the bricks for an industry that just might be in the future.

Burn the witch: Radiohead have released their much-anticipated new song “Burn the Witch”, along with a stop-motion videothat’s best described as unsettling. In the eerie clip directed by Chris Hopewell and inspired by the British children’s TV series the Trumptonshire Trilogy, a man is given a tour of a picture-perfect town in which the residents do unspeakably creepy and violent things to each other. The video culminates in the man nearly being burned to death inside a massive wooden effigy — a clear homage to 1973 British horror film The Wicker Man.

In a recent interview with Billboard, the animator behind the video, Virpi Kettu, discussed the motives behind “Burn the Witch”. Interestingly, she believes the video was intended to be happier than the song. “They wanted the video to contrast with what they’re playing and to wake people up a bit,” Kettu explained.
Kettu also said that the band wanted the video to raise awareness about Europe’s refugee crisis and the “blaming of different people… the blaming of Muslims and the negativity” currently engulfing European politics. She brought up the cryptic postcard that some Radiohead fans recently received in the mail, which read, “We know where you live.” Aside from being downright terrifying, she opined that the band was trying to recreate the climate of fear that politicians have encouraged in response to Muslim immigrants.

                                             Media Magazine Conference                         

Chris Hogg- on the magic and challenges of using Al in creative processes                                

Alison Philips, former editor of The Mirror newspaper, in conversation with April McCarthy

Hannah Ewens on the evolution of fandom

Harv Frost - screening followed by a Q&A and audience questions

David Hesmondhalgh and Anamik Saha in conversation

about cultural products and the industry structures that made them

Nida Manzoor, writer

  

                                                                 Media Magazine 

                                                 December 2012: Issues - Does pink matter? (pg 60)

 Early socialisation into gender roles has long been an issue for debate, often epitomised by the                                                     gendering of products and the associations of the colour pink. Nick Lacey investigates, and finds that the             humble biro has become a symbolic battleground for debates around sexism. 

Nursery rhymes- children learn this kind of blind sexism from an early age through rhymes that they deemed normal. eg. 

What are little boys made of?                'Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails That's what little boys are made of!'       What are little girls made of?                'Sugar and spice and all things nice      That's what little girls are made of!' 

Young children are taught gender roles from a very early age and although it wasn't thought of deep, nursery rhymes may have had a big impact on them and therefore continue to have an impact on you now. 

The Pinkstinks website thinks that gendering of roles at a young age does matter and, in particular, the prevalence of toys that are aimed specifically at girls or boys: "Pinkstinks is a campaign that targets the products, media and marketing that prescribe heavily stereotyped and limiting roles to young girls. We believe that all children - girls and boys- are affected by the 'pinkification' of girlhood. Our aim is to challenge and reserve this growing trend. We also promote media literacy, self-esteem, positive body image and female role models for kids." 

Pinkification refers to the prevalence of gender colour coding. Girls toys are often based on cosmetics and 'pretty pink things' whereas boys toys are often aimed at being more adventurous and physical. 

It is possible to test for gender bias, for example using a 'commutation test', where one sign in a text is replaced by another belonging to the same 'group', in this case- gender. If you replace 'girl' with 'boy' to read: 'Little boys like pink, it's part of their innocent charm...' it is likely this sentence will strike you as strange. This emphasised the ideological bias. 

Reflections:

- I believe this article shows an interesting insight to gender roles. I think that is shows a more 'backed up' perspective and they have used direct quotes from articles and studies such as the commutation test.