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Deathography Reflective Essay

In life nothing is more inevitable than death, it simply cannot be avoided. Despite advances in medical sciences and increased longevity in the Western world, human life remains fragile as death can occur at any age in a myriad of circumstances. Grief follows the death of a loved one, is often cited as being a ‘universal’ response to loss (Davidson, 1988) and can be defined as ‘intense sorrow’ (Oxford English Dictionary, 2013). Each bereaved person will experience and respond to grief in a unique way, underpinned by social, cultural and religious factors, further influenced by the individual’s personality and coping mechanisms. Grief reactions are widely acknowledged to vary in length and severity and to have physical, emotional, cognitive, behavioural and spiritual components (Rosenblatt, 1993: Archer, 1999: Parkes, 2001).

On the 18th September 1989 I gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby girl weighing 8lbs and 11 ounces. As a parent I had such high hopes and expectations for the future but on 23rd February 2002, aged 12 years, her life was drastically cut short following a tragic accident. She was excited as she set off for her first ever sleep over at her best friend’s house, I was anxious as this was the first time she had been away from home without me.

On that cold, damp Saturday afternoon they had decided to go out for a bike ride (my daughter had borrowed an old bike belonging to her friend’s brother).Whilst out riding the chain came off, as she fell to the ground the bike landed on top of her abdomen causing her liver to rupture. My daughter died within minutes from a massive internal haemorrhage, in severe pain and all alone at the road side as her friend had gone to get help. Oblivious to what had happened; I received a telephone call from her friend’s mother stating that Gemma had been in an accident and to meet her at the Birmingham Children’s Hospital. Assuming that she had experienced relatively minor injuries (I was told not to worry), I was ill prepared for the scene that unfolded before me as I entered the Multiple Injuries Unit in Accident and Emergency. Gemma lay motionless on a trolley, her body covered with a white sheet. The room was full of nurses and doctors who had attempted to resuscitate her, all of whom appeared shaken and emotional but no one was able to provide an explanation or answer my questions as there were no signs of injury or trauma to her body. It was only after the post mortem that the cause of her death was identified. I left the hospital that evening with a carrier bag containing her personal possessions and a leaflet explaining ‘what to do when a child dies in hospital’, barely able to comprehend what had just happened or the magnitude of my loss.

The loss of a child is the most devastating loss of all. It defies the natural order of events as parents do not expect to mourn their children, causing heartbreak and trauma like no other. Parental grief is different from other losses in both intensity and length. Sudden death robs the bereaved of preparatory grief, is more common in young people and often occurs in clinical environments.

There is a well-established theory base relating to issues of loss. Early theories include Freud’s (1917) grief work perspective and Bowlby’s (1969) early attachment model. Freud’s work led to grief being conceptualised as both a pathological condition requiring psychological intervention and a linear process. The individual must ‘work through’ it in order to detach the memories and thoughts associated with the deceased love one. Both Bowlby (1980) and Parkes and Brown (1972) suggest that grief follows a predictable pattern. A well-known five stage grief model developed by Kubler-Ross (1969) depicts grief as passing through phases of shock and denial, anger, depression, bargaining and eventual resolution and acceptance. Terms such as ‘normal’ and ‘complicated’ grief (Engel, 1961) were developed as a way of distinguishing grief that had not resolved within a given time frame.

Recent years have seen the development of a number of new theories and approaches to loss and grief. Stroebe and Schut (1999) explain grief reactions in terms of two concurrent processes or ‘orientations’ (also known as the dual process model). Loss orientation is described as a traditional grief reaction, characterised by despair, sadness and anger, whilst restoration orientation is characterised by attempting to rebuild one’s life and move on. Klass et al (1996) emphasises the importance not of letting go but of holding on even after the loss has occurred to maintain continuing bonds. Worden (1991) described four overlapping stages and tasks which the bereaved work through in order to relocate the deceased by redefining the relationship in the new context of the loss to invest in the future.

People who are suddenly bereaved often require more support and counselling than those who have the time to prepare for the death of a loved one. Without such support, unresolved grief reactions may occur along with a life time risk for psychiatric diagnosis (Keyes et al, 2014).Unexpected death is associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), panic disorder and depression regardless of when the death occurred in the life of the bereaved person. The incidence of generalised anxiety disorder, social phobia, mania and alcohol abuse is greater if the death occurred after the age of 40 in the bereaved person’s life. Thus, whilst extreme sadness and despair are normal reactions to loss which usually dissipate over time, some grief reactions are so severe they give rise to psychiatric disorders requiring medical intervention (Worden, 2003).

On that fateful day in 2002, my whole life’s purpose changed and everything that I had lived for now ceased to be. Neimeyer (2000) maintained that major losses challenge a person’s sense of identity. In the immediate days and months that followed I strongly identified with the initial stages outlined by Kubler – Ross of shock and denial. As a mental health professional I was familiar with the model and knew the predicted pattern that my grief would likely follow. I would ask myself over and over again, how could my only child be dead? How can someone die falling off a bicycle?

Catapulted into the depths of despair, no longer a mother, all my hopes and plans for the future had become futile and irrelevant. A major task of grief requires refocusing one’s life story to rebuild and maintain a semblance of continuity between what has gone before and what lies ahead (Neimeyer, 2006). The foundations of my belief system had been called into question; why Lord did you have to take my daughter who had so much to live for when there is so much human suffering in the world. I was consumed with anger whilst having to support my husband, parents and other family members alongside coping with returning to work. My colleagues would avoid me in the corridor, not knowing how to approach me or what to say.

Barely able to function, I felt lost, alone, hopeless and worthless. Overwhelmed by guilt, I felt that I should be blamed for failing to protect my daughter as I had not fulfilled my duty as a mother. The months turned to years, my frustration grew as I waited for the time that I would achieve resolution and acceptance. I lost motivation and became anxious, living in fear that I would lose another family member in such sudden and dreadful circumstances. I experienced flashbacks and actively avoided seeing friends and family as their children reached major milestones such as learning to drive or graduation. Loss orientation and concurring loss restoration would have been incomprehensible for me at this time. Instead, I chose to keep her memory alive by raising money for the Birmingham Children’s Hospital, publishing a diary of a bereaved mother, sponsoring an award in her name at the school she had previously attended, making frequent visits to her grave and commissioning a large portrait of her to hang in the lounge (continuing bonds).

Five years on, I was still unable to contemplate resolution and the trajectory of my grief wasn’t following a staged or linear process but zig zagged erratically back and forth between stages. This was unsettling and uncomfortable and went against everything that I had been taught as a mental health professional. Not only had the prescriptive linear and staged models been unhelpful (Sheehy, 2013) but had led professionals to conclude that I experienced a complicated grief reaction as resolution didn’t come within a given time frame. I gave up engaging with health care professions as I felt the template they were adhering to didn’t fit my unique situation. I still felt the physical pain of losing her as I acknowledged that my loss had pervaded every area of my life and completely changed my personality. Finally, I knew that it was up to me to find meaning in my life in order to have a future. That meaning came six years later when I became the mother of a baby boy in 2008.

The experience of losing Gemma was devastating and remains immensely painful but I now accept that the pain is an intrinsic part of me. I have simply learnt to live with it. The loss and trauma I have experienced has defined the person I am today, however, it must be stated that it has also positively influenced my attitudes and beliefs about life in many ways. Over the thirteen years, I have gained inner strength and I now appreciate just how precious life is. I take nothing for granted, knowing only too well how quickly a life can be taken away. I don’t plan for next year or too far into the future but I prefer to live in the moment and try to find something positive in each day. I am more tolerant and forgiving of others, whilst making a conscious effort to regularly remind relatives and friends how important they are to me and how much they are loved. If something is wrong in my life, I now have the courage to change it. I am not afraid of my own mortality, my faith has now been fully restored and I believe that one day I will be with her again when it is my turn to cross to the other side. Furthermore, the way in which I interact with bereaved people as a mental health professional has changed, shaped by my own experiences and the need to understand each individual in the context of their reality.

The hardest thing to do was to forgive myself and to realise that I am not to blame for her death. I have survived life’s cruellest blow and although life will never be the same, I am now able to experience happiness again. Gemma will always have a presence in my life as she is spoken about lovingly and frequently as a household name, her portrait remains over the fire place as a reminder of her wonderful contribution to my life.

In conclusion, whilst models and theories offer helpful frameworks and insights into the grieving process an individual’s unique response cannot be overstated. Many factors influence how an individual grieves, the dominance of linear or staged processes are too prescriptive. In supporting the bereaved, the task of the health care professional is not to favour or propose one model over another but to challenge assumptions and listen to the bereaved in order to facilitate an accurate reconstruction of the individual’s inner self and outer world. Thus, adopting broad concepts facilitates a more holistic understanding of the needs of the individual. Failure to do so will result in a continued theory/practice gap and those bereaved individuals who do not come through may remain prone to a range of long lasting psychiatric disorders. Further research is required into bereavement related contextual factors and the development of effective interventions in helping the bereaved to cope and such an approach is relevant in a wide variety of situations.

References

Archer, J. (1999) The Nature of Grief: The Evolution and Psychology of Reactions to Loss. New York: Routledge.

Bowlby, J. (1969) Attachment and Loss. London: Hogarth.

Bowlby, J. (1980) Attachment and Loss. Volume 3: Loss, Sadness and Depression. London: Hogarth.

Davidson, P. (1988) Grief a Literary Guide to Psychological Realities. New Zealand Family Physician 15(4): 138-46

Engel, G. (1961) Is Grief a Disease? A Challenge for Medical Research. Psychosomatic Medicine 23(1): 18-22

Freud, S. (1917) Mourning and Melancholia. Edited and translated in Strachey.J. Standard Edition of the Complete Works of Sigmund Freud. London: Hogarth Press.

Keyes, K.M, et al. (2014) The Burden of Loss: Unexpected Death of a Loved One and Psychiatric Disorders Across the Life Course. American Journal of Psychiatry 171:864-71

Klass, D., Silverman, P.R. and Nickman, S.L. (eds.) (1996) Continuing Bonds: A New Understanding of Grief .London: Taylor and Francis.

Kubler – Ross, E. (1969) On Death and Dying. New York: Macmillan.

Neimeyer, R.A. (2000) Searching for the Meaning of Meaning: Grief Therapy and the Process of Reconstruction. Death Studies 24(6):541-48

Neimeyer, R.A. (2006) Widowhood as a Quest for Meaning. A Narrative Perspective on Resilience. In Carr, D., Nesse, R.M., and Wortman, C.B., (eds.), Spousal Bereavement in Later Life (pp 227-252).New York: Springer.

Oxford English Dictionary. (2013) Oxford University Press: Oxford.

Parkes, C.M. and Brown, R.J. (1972) Health after Bereavement. A Controlled Study of Young Boston Widows and Widowers. Psychosomatic Medicine 34(5): 449-61

Parkes, C.M. (2001) Bereavement Dissected: A Re-examination of the Basic Components Influencing the Reaction to Loss. Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences 38(3-4): 150-6

Rosenblatt, P. C. (1993) Cross -Cultural Variation in the Experience, Expression and Understanding of Grief, in Irish et al (1993).

Sheehy, L (2013) Understanding Factors that Influence the Grieving Process. End of Life Journal.3 (1)

Stroebe, M. and Schut, H (1999) The Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement: Rationale and Description. Death Studies, 23 (3)

Worden, W.J. (1991) Grief Counselling and Grief Therapy: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner.2nd edn. London: Routledge.

Worden, W. J. (2003) Grief Counselling and Grief Therapy: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner.3rd edn. New York: Routledge.

Bibliography

Archer, J. (1999) The Nature of Grief: The Evolution and Psychology of Reactions to Loss. New York: Routledge.

Balk, D.E.(2004) Recovering Following Bereavement: An Examination of the Concept. Death Studies 28 (4): 361-74

Bowlby, J. (1969) Attachment and Loss. London: Hogarth.

Bowlby, J. (1980) Attachment and Loss. Volume 3: Loss, Sadness and Depression. London: Hogarth.

Corr, C.(1993) Coping with Dying: Lessons that we should learn from the work of Elizabeth Kubler – Ross . Death Studies 17 (1): 69-83

Davidson, P. (1988) Grief a Literary Guide to Psychological Realities. New Zealand Family Physician 15(4): 138-46

Engel, G. (1961) Is Grief a Disease? A Challenge for Medical Research. Psychosomatic Medicine 23(1): 18-22

Freud, S. (1917) Mourning and Melancholia. Edited and translated in Strachey.J. Standard Edition of the Complete Works of Sigmund Freud. London: Hogarth Press.

Keyes, K.M, et al. (2014) The Burden of Loss: Unexpected Death of a Loved One and Psychiatric Disorders Across the Life Course. American Journal of Psychiatry 171:864-71

Klass, D., Silverman, P.R. and Nickman, S.L. (eds.) (1996) Continuing Bonds: A New Understanding of Grief .London: Taylor and Francis.

Kubler – Ross, E. (1969) On Death and Dying. New York: Macmillan.

Neimeyer, R.A. (2000) Searching for the Meaning of Meaning: Grief Therapy and the Process of Reconstruction. Death Studies 24(6):541-48

Neimeyer, R.A. (2006) Widowhood as a Quest for Meaning. A Narrative Perspective on Resilience. In Carr, D., Nesse, R.M., and Wortman, C.B., (eds.), Spousal Bereavement in Later Life (pp 227-252).New York: Springer.

Oxford English Dictionary. (2013) Oxford University Press: Oxford.

Parkes, C.M. and Brown, R.J. (1972) Health after Bereavement. A Controlled Study of Young Boston Widows and Widowers. Psychosomatic Medicine 34(5): 449-61

Parkes, C.M. (2001) Bereavement Dissected: A Re-examination of the Basic Components Influencing the Reaction to Loss. Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences 38(3-4): 150-6

Rosenblatt, P. C. (1993) Cross -Cultural Variation in the Experience, Expression and Understanding of Grief, in Irish et al (1993).

Sheehy, L (2013) Understanding Factors that Influence the Grieving Process. End of Life Journal.3 (1)

Stroebe, M. and Schut, H (1999) The Dual Process Model of Coping with Bereavement: Rationale and Description. Death Studies, 23 (3)

Worden, W.J. (1991) Grief Counselling and Grief Therapy: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner.2nd edn. London: Routledge.

Worden, W. J. (2003) Grief Counselling and Grief Therapy: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner.3rd edn. New York: Routledge.

This work was produced by one of our professional writers as a learning aid to help you with your studies

Can breastfeeding in the first six months prevent childhood obesity?

‘Obesity’ is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of ?25kg/m2 (World Health Organisation 2015). In the past decade, throughout much of the world, the rates of obesity in children in particular have increased to epidemic proportions (Lefebvre & John 2012, p. 386). The World Health Organisation (2015) estimates that 42 million children under the age of 5 years are overweight or obese worldwide and in Britain, overweight and obesity affects nearly one-third of children aged 2 to 15 years (Health and Social Care Information Centre 2009). Since obesity in childhood is strongly correlated with serious disease and increased risk of mortality throughout life (Yan et al. 2014, p. 3), and because of the significant direct costs of obesity on health services and societies globally (Department of Health 2011), strategies to prevent childhood obesity are of paramount importance. Research has suggested that breastfeeding for the first six months may be protective against and, therefore, prevent obesity in childhood (Lefebvre & John 2012, p. 386). Through a critical evaluation of this research, this paper will answer the question of whether breastfeeding in the first six months can prevent childhood obesity.

The beneficial effects of breastfeeding for children are well-established in the literature. High-quality studies have demonstrated that children who are breastfed have a reduced risk of ear infections (Duncan et al. 1993, p. 867), respiratory infections (Bachrach, Schwarz & Bachrach 2003, p. 237), necrotizing enterocolitis (Lucas & Cole 1990, p. 1519), gastroenteritis (Chien 2001, p. 69), diabetes (Owen et al. 2006, p. 1043), atopic dermatitis (Gdalevich et al 2001, p. 520) and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) (Vennemann et al. 2005, p. 655). Breast milk is not only rich in protective antibodies and beneficial bacteria, it is nutritionally-balanced and adapts to meet an infant’s changing needs (National Health Service 2015). Research has therefore suggested that another significant benefit of breastfeeding may be that is acts as a protective factor against obesity in childhood.

Kramer was the first to report that breastfeeding may result in a “significantly reduced” risk of obesity in children (1981, p. 4). In the next two decades, a number of similar studies also suggested an association between breastfeeding and a reduction in the risk of childhood obesity. In the mid-2000s this research was collated into three seminal meta-analyses which concluded that, overall, breastfeeding for the first six months did reduce the risk of childhood obesity. For example, Arenz et al. (2004, p. 1247) found that obesity had a “small but consistent” protective effect against obesity in children. This was supported by Owen et al. (2005, p. 1367), who demonstrated a small positive correlation between breastfeeding and a reduction in the risk of childhood obesity. Harder et al. (2005, p. 397) also found that the duration of breastfeeding was inversely associated with the risk of childhood obesity. These meta-analyses suggested an overall 15% to 30% reduction in odds of overweight from breastfeeding. However, they were widely criticised for major methodological problems, including a failure to deal appropriately or consistently with confounding variables such as parental BMI. As a result, the evidence they presented on the relationship between breastfeeding and reduced childhood obesity risk was not widely accepted.

However, the potential for a correlation between breastfeeding and a reduction in the risk of childhood obesity continued to be discussed and researched. In the past decade, a small number of high-quality studies have investigated this potential relationship. Evidence from this research is largely conflicting, with results varying depending on the study design used. For example, two large randomised-controlled trials found breastfeeding had no impact on the prevalence of obesity in children aged 6 or 11 years (Kramer et al., 2007, p. 1717; Martin et al., 2013, p. 1005). Similarly, several studies in siblings found no differences in the BMI of breastfed versus non-breastfed children (Evenhouse & Reilly 2005, p. 1781; Gillman et al. 2006, p. 112; Colen & Ramsey 2014, p. 55). Likewise, two high-quality American studies reported either no (Jiang & Foster 2013, p. 628) or small and inconsistent (Jenkins & Foster 2014, p. S128) effects of breastfeeding on childhood BMI. Conversely, multiple studies have reported a positive relationship between breastfeeding and a reduction in the risk of childhood obesity. For example, a large UK study concluded that breastfeeding reduced the overall risk of childhood obesity to a degree considered statistically-significant. These findings are supported in high-quality studies from Germany (Grube e tal. 2015, p. 1), Brazil (Assuncao et al. 2015, p. 1) and Japan (Jwa et al. 2015, p. 1527). Furthermore, these studies demonstrate that the length of time a child is breastfeed is proportional to the degree of their reduction in obesity risk, and that the inverse association between breastfeeding and overweight appears to be sustained over time.

Part of the problem underpinning these marked differences in study results can be explained by the quality of the studies themselves. Randomised-controlled trials – the gold standard of research trials – investigating the effects of breastfeeding are rare, because the well-established benefits of breastfeeding means allocating children into ‘breastfeeding’ and ‘non-breastfeeding’ cohorts would raise justifiable ethical concerns (Grube et al. 2015, p. 2). In studies where groups are not randomised, a spurious relationship between breastfeeding and reduced risk of obesity may result as a result of confounding if, for example, mothers who breastfeed also adopt a healthier lifestyle involving a nutritious diet and adequate physical activity for themselves and their children (Centers for Disease Control 2007, p. 3).

Reasons for these marked differences in study results can also be explained by the diverse sociocultural context in which both breastfeeding and obesity are grounded. Essentially, sociocultural factors have a significant impact on both breastfeeding and obesity which confounds the relationship between these two variables. For example, a cohort study examining the correlation between breastfeeding and childhood obesity in groups of English and Brazilian children found that breastfeeding was associated with reduced risk of childhood obesity in the English cohort but not in the Brazilian cohort (Brion et al., 2011, p. 670). This study suggests that sociocultural factors have a significant impact on the relationship between breastfeeding and childhood obesity in cohorts with different sociocultural characteristics. Another similar cohort study confirmed that breastfeeding in particular is a ‘socially-patterned’ phenomena, and that as a result the relationship between breastfeeding and childhood obesity may differ between cohorts in low- to middle-income and high-income countries (Fall et al., 2007, p. 47). Furthermore, a high-quality meta-analysis found that evidence for the relationship between breastfeeding and childhood obesity is primarily derived from studies conducted in high-income countries where the correlation between breastfeeding and socioeconomic status is a significant source of confounding in this relationship (Horta & Victora 2013). It is apparent, therefore, that the question of whether breastfeeding in the first six months can prevent childhood obesity is largely dependent on sociocultural factors.

The sociocultural-dependent nature of the relationship between breastfeeding and childhood obesity is also revealed in studies which have adjusted statistically for other covariates, such as sociodemographic factors and variables concerning birth, pregnancy and parental atopy, etc. For example, in one adjusted study on a German cohort, Grube et al. (2015, p. 1) conclude that breastfeeding might help to prevent childhood obesity. However, in another adjusted study on a Chinese cohort Jing et al. (2015, p. 55) found no statistically significant effect of breastfeeding on reducing the risk of childhood obesity. Because these studies both adjust for a range of sociodemographic and other covariates, sociocultural differences are an important explanation for the differences observed in results.

It is exceedingly difficult, perhaps impossible, to control for the diversity of sociocultural variables evident in different populations. The best that can be done is to control for as many other variables, such as sociodemographic factors, as possible. When this is done, the evidence overwhelmingly suggests that breastfeeding in the first six months can reduce the risk of childhood obesity. For example, a meta-analysis by Horta and Victora (2013) concluded that, if only studies which control for confounding are considered, breastfeeding leads to a reduction in childhood obesity of around 10%. This is supported by another large meta-analysis by Yan (2014) which, after examining only studies controlling for confounding, concluded that the risk of childhood obesity was lower in breastfed children by 22%.

It is worth noting that no Cochrane Systematic Review – the gold standard of meta-analysis – has been completed on the relationship between breastfeeding and childhood obesity. However, a Cochrane Systematic Review on evidence for the optimal duration of breastfeeding did conclude that breastfeeding did not confer any protection against obesity in children to the age of 6 years (Kramer & Kakuma 2012, p. 5) – a surprising finding, given the conclusions drawn in the previous paragraphs. However, this Cochrane Systematic review looked at obesity in terms of weight gain rather than BMI, the standard measure for obesity. It also did not exclude studies which failed to adjust for confounding. Thus, it is not accurate to compare its results with those of the meta-analyses discussed previously.

It is now generally accepted that breastfeeding in the first six months can reduce the risk of childhood obesity. However, complicating this conclusion is the complexity surrounding differences in the concepts of childhood obesity prevention versus risk reduction. The literature widely accepts that breastfeeding reduces the risk of childhood obesity; however, no studies claim that breastfeeding prevents obesity. Thus, in direct answer to the research question it must be concluded that breastfeeding in the first six months does not prevent childhood obesity. However, breastfeeding does reduce the risk of childhood obesity. Moreover, the length of time a child is breastfeed is proportional to the degree of their reduction in obesity risk and the inverse association between breastfeeding and overweight appears to be sustained as the child grows (Centers for Disease Control 2007, p. 4).

A variety of research is now being undertaken to further explain the relationship between breastfeeding and a reduction in the risk of childhood obesity. It has been suggested that, due to more normalised concentrations of the hormone leptin, breastfed children may have a more well-developed recognition of satiety and an improved ability to self-regulate their energy intake in both early and later childhood (Gillman 2011, p. 681). Hormones in human breast milk may influence this learned self-regulation of energy intake (Savino et al. 2009, p. 397). Additionally, breast fed children have a lower plasma insulin concentration and a shorter insulin response resulting in more regulated body fat deposition (Dietz 2001, p. 2506). Furthermore, the higher protein intake of formula-fed infants may stimulate the secretion of insulin and result in the dysregulation of body fat deposition (Dietz 2001, p. 2506).

The conclusion that breastfeeding reduces the risk of childhood obesity is widely accepted by global peak bodies on child health. These peak bodies include the World Health Organisation’s (2015) UNICEF, whose Baby Friendly Initiative is widely endorsed by maternity hospital and health service in the UK. The relationship between breastfeeding and a reduction in the risk of childhood obesity is also reflected in the policy statements and guidelines of most major paediatric bodies worldwide, including the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (2011) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (2012).

Obesity in childhood is a significant problem globally. This paper has concluded that whilst breastfeeding in the first six months does not prevent childhood obesity, there is evidence to suggest that breastfeeding does reduce the risk of childhood obesity. Moreover, the length of time a child is breastfeed is proportional to the degree of their reduction in obesity risk and the inverse association between breastfeeding and overweight appears to be sustained over time. However, it must be remembered that both breastfeeding and obesity are grounded in a range of sociocultural determinants which may confound this relationship. However, since obesity in childhood is strongly correlated with serious disease and increased risk of mortality throughout life, and because of the significant direct costs of obesity health services and societies globally, a relationship between breastfeeding and a reduction in the risk of childhood obesity is a significant finding.

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Introduction

A group of young men who had been in music for some while by the name” The rolling Stones” placed a claim that they were the greatest Rock & Roll band in the whole world in the later part of 1960s. Most people disputed the claim and little did they know the group had actually raised to a world class musicians. Since then, the Rolling Stones’ music which is mainly based on Rhythms and Blues has continued to sound vital pieces through the decades.

During the period of British invasion in 1964, the members of this group were called the bad boys instead of the world’s best band. What was viewed initially as a gimmick later led to a world image that many people especially their critics could not believe. One of their comrades Brian Jones met his death in 1969 which is up to date a mystery. This tragic year also saw violent murder during their set towards the end of the year at Altamont (Regina, 1980).

This band pioneered the famous ridiculing tone of British rock’s detachment and they did this through the music they composed. They wrote songs about offhand brutality, implied sex as a source of power among other compositions that were according to British community then, a taboo.

This group did not act as per the norms of its community. Mike Jagger in his music and social controversies as a musician in this band was perceived to be evil and was as a result branded the name ‘Lucifer’. He released ‘sympathy for the devil’ which, to many, was like an admission that what he and his group were doing was devilish.

The Rolling Stones Band

Dartford Maypole County Primary School is legendry to Jagger and Richards for this was their first meeting place. Afterwards in1960 the duo discovered one familiar thing concerning themselves which was love for R&B. They managed to develop a reciprocal friendship with Dick Taylor, who was a guitarist and was pursuing economic studies in a London school. Jagger and Richards teamed up with Taylor and this also saw Richards becoming a second guitarist when they formed the Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys band.

This formation was disastrous for Richards as he was debarred from Dartford Technical College for absenteeism. Interestingly, Brian Jones started playing bebop alto sax and clarinet while in Cheltenham. One of the most awful things, at the age of sixteen Brian Jones had to flee briefly to Scandinavia for he had been a father to two illegitimate kids. Immediately after Jones returned back to Cheltenham, they teamed up with Ramrods prior to proceeding to London. Once he settled in London he joined Alexis Korner in his band which played blues.

This did not stop him from organizing his own band of which he incorporated Ian Stewart who was a renowned pianist in London (Sandford & Richards, 2004). Just as his colleague Elmo Lewis, Jones started to work at Ealing Blues Club and later joined other groups in singing blues. With this new group, he met and played with drummer Charlie Watts. While at one side Richards and Jagger started jamming with playing Blues music, these two together with Jones started going in to private music practice while Jagger became the most famous and featured singer of the time with blues, Inc. while in the city of London, the three friends and blues musicians Jones, Jagger and Richards rented a tiny apartment.

Together with Tony Chapman who was a drummer, they cut a demo tape which to their disappointment did not meet the standards of EMI and was therefore rejected. Taylor left his colleagues to join the royal college of arts after which he started ‘Pretty Things’. The genesis of the name The Rolling Stones can be traced to this period when Taylor left. It is after his leaving when they did the song ‘Muddy Waters’.

It is this particular song that earned them the name of their band which they were to use to rise to fame and be universally recognized as the best Rock music in the whole world. Life was a little bit a challenge to the group but when one of their colleagues Ian Stewart got a job with a chemical company in London, the rest of the group could not starve to death because there was something to eat, at least (Regina, 1980).

July 1962, the band; ‘The Rolling Stones was made up of its veterans Jagger, Jones, Richards together with bass voice singer Taylor Dick and drummer Mick Avory. The latter was to join the Kinks group later. This band staged their first work at the Marquee on the 12 th of July, 1962 (Sandford &Richards, 2004). Two guys from the Clifton’s band namely Chapman and Bill Wyman soon replaced Avory and Taylor respectively after their departure from the Rolling Stones band.

According to Jagger, Jones and Richards, Chapman did not fit well in his new position. To avoid a mistake in appointing a person to replace Mr. Chapman, they decided to take their time, actually several months, to recruit Charlie Watts. They took much caution in executing this exercise because they simply wanted the best person to take that role satisfactorily. Charlie Watts previously worked in Blues.

He was an employee to an advertising agency. At one time, the Blues’ schedule would get too busy and it made his job difficult, he had decided to leave the group and concentrate on his advertising job. Recruiting Mr. Watts who was an advertiser is felt to have been a strategic approach for the members of the Rolling Stones band. First, Mr. Watts was a famous man in the city and he could appear in company advertisements for brands.

Such a famous person being associated with the band and actively participating in the Rolling Stones made the group feel proud. Most of their fans would come to see the man they saw in television adverts perform live. This contributed positively in getting more fans and more cash in that case (Sandford & Richards, 2004).

In January 1963, Mr. Watts officially joined, thus completing the band. Their fortune began when Mr. Gomelsky Giorgio, who was a local businessman, signed a deal with the Rolling Stones where they were to perform at his Crawdaddy club for eight months. This residency was most successful for the band. The owner of this club remained the manager of the Stones, although unofficially, they were signed as clients to Andrew Loog Oldham who obtained finances from Eric Easton.

Their sponsorship by Oldham was meant to raise their status so that they may out-compete the Beatles who were then the sensation of Britain. This kind of promotion was an easy way out for Mr. Stewart, who despite being mild-mannered was the band’s popular pianist both on tour and road within the residence (Sandford& Richards, 2004).

The Rolling Stones released their first track single in June 1963, known as ‘Come on’ by Chuck Berry. When the Stones first played on the British TVs ‘Thank Your Lucky Stars’ Program, the producer of that program reportedly advised the groups sponsor and manager to get rid of Stewart because he was ‘vile-looking singer with the tire thread lips’ (Mick et al. 2003).

Despite this criticism, that single reached number twenty one on the British best music chart. The same year, the Rolling Stones for the first time participated in the London based National Jazz and Blues Festival which was held annually.

In September 1963, the Rolling Stones band was short listed among other bands that were to participate in a package of tour entertaining their fans while promoting the business of their sponsors. Included in the tour were other bands such as Everly brothers, Little Richard and Bo Diddley. In December 1962, the Rolling Stones band released their second single track known as ‘I wanna be your man’ which was entirely written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. This track brought much fame to the band and it featured in the top 15 hits in Britain.

In January 1964, The Rolling Stones band for the first time headlined a tour in Britain with the Ronettes. They jointly released a version of ‘Not fade away’ which had earlier been done by Buddy Holly. This track rose up the chart and unbelievably was rated third. The track did not only bring fame to the Rolling Stones in Britain but also crosses borders as far as the US where it was rated No. 48 in the US singles charts.

Meanwhile, the band had actually attained the dreams of their sponsors and manager because it was a real sensation in Britain. At times, the press would report things like members of the band had been spotted urinating in public which was a show of ill manners but at same time a proof of sensation in the city (Obrecht 1980).

In April 1964, Rolling Stones band released their first album in United Kingdom which was followed by an American tour barely two months later in June 1964. They covered the song ‘it’s all over now’ which had earlier been as collaboration between Valentinos and Bobby Womack. This song had been rated the British number 1 and had been one of their own (Stephen 2006).

In their tour to America in June 1964, they stopped at the city of Chicago based Chess Records, to record ‘five by five’ EP. Their recording was a success although there was a challenge when riots broke out when the band members attempted to address the press. Meanwhile, the band’s version of the blues standard track ‘little red rooster’ which had been rated number 1 on Britain’s chart was banned in the US market and media for claims that it had “objectionable” lyrics (Sandford & Richards, 2004).

At this time, both Jagger and Richards had already started the composition of their own tunes initially using ‘Nanker Phelge’ for compositions which they made jointly. In August 1964, one of Jagger and Richards piece “Tell me (you are coming back home) was one of the joint composition tracks which was accepted in the US and rated in the top forty (Regina 1980).

In November 1964, another composition by Jagger and Richards which was original, “Time is on my side” was rated number 6 on the top hit chart in US. Since then, very few of the songs that were performed by the Rolling Stones band were a joint-composition of Richards and Jagger (Nico 2008).

The year 1965 was a good year for the group because they recorded success. Their hit “The late time” became number one on the UK charts while it appeared in the top ten hits in the US in that spring. The stones next single release was “I can’t get no satisfaction” which consecutively remained number 1 for four weeks in the summer of 1965 and it is perceived to have been the most famous song.

The talented and creative duo (Jagger & Richards) continued to write songs but with time, their composition became more sophisticated. Their work was worth their effort because each of their composition appeared in the top hit charts either in the UK or the US. Some of their most famous tracks include ‘get off my cloud’ which was No. 1 in 1965, ‘as tears go by’ rated position 6 in 1965, ’19^th nervous breakdown rated second in 1966, ‘mother’s little helper’ rated 8 in 1966 and ‘have you seen your mother, baby, standing in shadow?” which was rated ninth in 1966.

The Rolling Stones released their primary LP 1966 and it was a set of purely original material (Sandford & Richards, 2004). Although it was expected to bring much impact in the music industry and market, the impact was significantly minimized because the Beatles released their ‘Revolver’ while Dylan Bob released his ‘Blonde on Blonde’ almost at the same time. This resulted in steep competition in the market because despite these three simultaneous releases by industry foes, the Middle Eastern had produced ‘paint it black’ in 1966 and the ballad “ruby Tuesday” which had remained the number 1 hits in the US (Obrecht 1980). They were simply unbeatable.

In January 1967, there was a stir up of another sensation in Ed Sullivan show when the stones performed their ‘let’s spend the night together’ which was side B of Ruby Tuesday. In this show, Jagger instead of singing the words in the title line mumbled because there was a threat of censorship after some people made claims that the first line of the track had been censored. Many people anticipated that Jagger sung the phrase ‘let’s spend some time together with clarity and audibly (Mick et al. 2003).

In February 1967, Jagger and Richards faced a major challenge when the two were arrested while in Britain in connection to crime of possessing drugs (Stephen 2006).May 1967, another challenge faced the Rolling Stones band with the arrest of Brian Jones. Luckily, the heavy jail sentences which had been made upon the three artistes were eventually put in to suspension following an appeal by their lawyer.

As a result of this drawback, the Rolling Stone band members decided to refrain from making public appearances whether performing or in private business but this were a temporary measure and a strategy to recollect and reflect on their plight. Jagger with his love, singer Marianne Faithfull, flew to India in the company of Beatles to meet star Maharishi Yogi. Following this episode, the Rolling Stones did not release another single until much later in the fall when they released the hit ‘Dandelion’ which was ranked number 14 while its side B ‘we love you’ was rated 50. In this last hit, both J. Lennon and P. McCartney sang back-up voices and the aim of this hit was to thank all fans of the Rolling Stones

(Sandford & Richards, 2004).

December 1967, the Stones released their ‘Satanic Majesties Request’ which was their psychedelic response to ‘Sgt. Pepper’ by the Beatles which was perceived to be an ambitious mess (Regina 1980). It took some time for ‘she is a rainbow’ which was a lone single track in their album featured in the top 25 chart. By the time it entered the chart, management of the group had been put under the responsibility of Allen Klein (Obrecht 1980).

In May 1968, a hit track named ‘Jumping Jack Flash’ was released and it was placed position 3 in the charts. In this month, basic rock and roll returned. Again, the electric ‘Beggars Banquet’ was in market after a 5- month delay which resulted from some sleeve photos which were in the controversial package. Critics of the band claimed that this album had been the best piece of work the Stones had ever made (Mick et al. 2003).

On June 9^th 1969, the greatest setback to the band struck. One of the most reliable and adventurous members by the name Brian Jones left the band. Jones had lent to the band a marimba, sitar and dulcimer. He had also been to Morocco where he recorded nomadic musicians who belonged to the Joujouka community. The explanation he gave for his quitting was that he did not see eye-to eye with other band members over the discs they were jointly cutting any more. Jones had made public his intentions to start his own band. The group reacted to this withdrawal swiftly and within a week, his position was taken up by Mick Taylor who was a former guitarist in the John Mayall band (Obrecht 1980).

On July 3^rd 1969, Brian Jones was found dead in his own swimming pool. Reports cited it as “death by misadventure”. It was revealed that Jones had been beset by drug problems and it had clearly come to him that the Rolling Stones band was owned by Jagger and Richards who made him barely participate in the various sessions of Beggars Banquet. A Few days after death of Jones, the Stones performed in open at Hyde Park (Mick et al. 2003).

A day after burial of Brian Jones, on July 11^th 1969, the Stones released ‘Honkey Tonk Women’, and another classic. At this time, every one of their album was in high demand including “Let it Bleed” (Regina 1980).

Immediately after Jagger’s return from Australia where he was a celebrity in the film Ned Kelly, he started the band’s massive tour to America in 1969, after 3 years of not be able to visit the US (Mick et al. 2003). Their performance at Altamont Speedway, California turned tragic and portrayed the satanic image they had adopted earlier when the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang who had been hired by Stones to provide security stabbed a boy to death. This incident led to Stones dropping their stage shows for the following 6 years. The fall of 1970, after a long break from stage, they released a live album named ‘Get Yer Ya-Yas out. Later that year, the band founded the Rolling Stones Records (Obrecht 1980).

References

Mick, J. Richards, K. & Wood, C. (2003). Rolling Stones: Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-4060

Nico, Z. (2008). The Complete Works of the Rolling Stones.New York: Sage Publication.

Obrecht, Jas. (1980). Mick Taylor: Ex-Rolling Stones on His Own, Guitar World,p.20.

Regina, R. (1980). Criminal Cases: Canada Law Book. p. 518.

Sandford, C. and Richards K. (2004). Satisfaction.New York: Caroll & Graf.

Stephen, T. (2006). Some Girls AMG: All music. London: Longman Publishers.

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Describe the development of the keyboard concerto from c.1710-1790, and assess why the form became so popular with both composers and public.

This essay explores the development of the keyboard concerto during the 18^th century considering its precursors, social and economic context and the advent of the piano. By exploring the work of key composers during the 18^th century, it will be shown how musical and social shifts created an environment in which enduring, popular and technically adventurous piano concertos could emerge.

Early Concertos

Concertos are typically defined asinstrumental works where a smaller group (in a concerto grosso) or soloist (ina solo concerto) contrasts against the sonority of a larger grouping. This technique was used in orchestration during the 17^th century in works such as canzonas (Grout 1988: 473), with the concerto form emerging towards theend of the 17^th century. Possibly the most influential composers ofearly concertos were Corelli, Torelli and Vivaldi. Wellesz and Sternfield(1973: 435) trace the emergence of the early concerto form through these three composers.

Corelli’s twelve Opus 6 concertigrossi were written at the end of the 17^th century using a structure consisting of a somewhat random alternation of slow and fast movements. Movements were ritornello-based (a ritornello is like a refrain), with alternating tutti and concertino passages showing limited decoration or exploration of thematic material.

Torelli, composing at the turn ofthe century, wrote concerti grossi and solo concerti. He established the three movement (fast-slow-fast) structure that was widely adopted. Torelli also explored the use of contrasting thematic elements within concertos and increased the complexity of solo lines.

Vivaldi, writing in the early 18^thcentury, refined the form, with more exploration of thematic contrasts, although Kolneder (1986b: 307-8) argues that Vivaldi’s material is perhaps better described as motifs than themes.

Although these three composers werekey to the emergence of the concerto form, their instrumentation focused on strings. Vivaldi wrote some flute and bassoon concerti, and orchestras would typically include a continuo keyboard part, but the first composers to use solo keyboard in concertos were Bach, Handel and Babel.

The First Keyboard Concertos

There is debate over which piece ofmusic qualifies as the first keyboard concerto. Handel wrote the first organ concertos, with a set of six published in 1738, but used a concerto-likestructure very much earlier, in his cantata ‘Il trionfo del tempo e deldisinganno’ of 1707, contrasting the organ with the orchestra in a ritornello structure.

Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto no. 5,composed around 1720, is widely held to be the first harpsichord concerto, and develops the concept of the virtuoso soloist, featuring an extensive solo harpsichord cadenza towards the end of the first movement.

However, recent research suggests that, even earlier than this, William Babel was writing concerted movements for harpsichord. The dates of composition are uncertain, but appear to be at leastas early as 1718, and possibly 5 or 6 years prior to that (Holman 2003).

Handel’s work, in addition to developing the keyboard concerto, provides interesting insights into the nature of performance and developments in amateur music-making at the time. Handel hadmoved to London, where he spent most of his adult life, in 1712, establishing himself as something of a celebrity. Initially finding success with Italian-style opera, the wane in the popularity of the form caused him to switch to oratorios. The virtuoso castrati, who had played a major role inopera, were not appropriate for oratorios, where virtuoso performance was considered not to be in the spirit of the work. By composing organ concerti tobe performed alongside the oratorios, Handel preserved an element of virtuoso performance popular with audiences, and as one of the leading organists of his day, he was able to showcase his skills through these works..

As the English organ had no pedals, music written for it transferred easily to the harpsichord, and Handel’s publisher could promote his second set of organ concerti as ‘for harpsichord or organ’, broadening its appeal (Rochester 1997).

Mid-Century Developments

The popularity of the Baroque concerto may have hindered the development of the concerto form. Wellesz and Sternfield argue that even such original composers as Sammartini and C.P.E.Bach could not rid their minds of Baroque preconceptions. (1973: 434)

C P E Bach regularly used the Baroque structure, with a number of tuttis punctuating solo passages in the ritornello style, but was innovative in other respects: his device of running one movement into another is more often associated with 19^th century music.

Wellesz and Sternfield establish three main elements where there is a clear differentiation in style between Classical and Baroque concerto forms: tonality, form and co-ordination of musical elements (1973: 435-6).

Classical concerto style develops the concept of opposing tonalities, placing tonic and dominant against each other,while the Baroque style, though often using modulation, maintains more stability.

In the Baroque concerto, exposition and development are often combined, while in the Classical era there is clearer demarcation, pointing towards sonata rather than ritornello form.

The Baroque form entwines contrapuntal elements over a more independent bassline, while the Classical form prefers all elements – including harmony, melody, orchestration and rhythm- to be held together within the same overall plan.

Also key to the development of the keyboard concerto was the emergence of the piano. The prototype instrument was developed by Bartolomeo Cristofori in the final years of the 17^thcentury and called the gravicembalo con piano e forte, meaning harpsichord withsoft and loud, although the dulcimer, where strings are hit by hammers, was more of an inspiration than the plucked harpsichord. This gave scope to developa keyboard instrument with greater dynamic versatility. However, composers were initially sceptical. In 1736, Gottfried Silbermann invited J S Bach to try one of his instruments. Bach was critical, but Silbermann worked to improve hispiano, and Bach subsequently acted as an intermediary in its sales.

The new instrument also found success in Britain. During the 18^th century, Britain, and especially London, was cosmopolitan: Handel had had great success, and records show that many musicians from the continent made Britain home. Britain offered an environment of relative political stability compared with many areas of Europe. There was a keen appreciation of music among the upper classes, and a growing middle classwith money to spend on leisure pursuits – including music.

However, in 1740 there was only onepiano in the country. In 1756, the Seven Years War resulted in an exodus from Saxony to Britain, and their numbers included a group of harpsichord makers,one of whom, Zumpe, began to make pianos and invented the square piano. It had advantages over the harpsichord and other types of piano which were a similar shape to the harpsichord. It was quicker and cheaper to manufacture, and remained popular until the middle of the next century.

Johann Christian Bach, son of J Sand younger brother of C P E, arrived in London in 1762. He developed a range of commercial interests, and became Zumpe’s London agent, providing an incentive to write material to show the instrument to its best advantage. He had other business interests too: on arrival in London in 1762, he shared lodgings with Carl Abel, also a German composer. They developed a partnership running subscription concerts, which proved hugely popular until after J CBach’s death in 1782, and had a stake in the Hanover Square Rooms, which they used as a venue for their concerts.

Johann Christian had been a pupil of his older brother Carl Philip Emmanuel, but it was the younger brother who was the more influential on the development of the concerto form, particularly with regard to exposition themes. He often used a triadic primary theme and more cantabile secondary theme, suggesting elements of sonata form, although ritornello style is still evident.

J C Bach wrote around 40 keyboard concertos between 1763 and 1777 (Grout 1987: 560). Midway, dating from 1770,are the Opus 7 concertos: ‘Sei concerti per il cembalo o piano e forte’ (six concertos for harpsichord or piano). The title itself is significant.Harpsichord manufacture was still on the increase in the 1770s, but the instrument was soon to be overtaken in popularity by the square piano, and Bachwas the first to use the instrument for public performance (Grout 1987: 562).Grout suggests that the E flat major concerto, no. 5 of the set, hassignificant structural similarities to Mozart’s K488 (Piano Concerto No. 23 inA major), with a similar combination of Baroque ritornello structure and sonataform, contrasting keys and thematic material.

While Johann Christian’s work goes some way to realising the Classical concerto form, it was Mozart who pushed theform forward to create a precedent for concerto composition in subsequent centuries:

Mozart’s concertos are incomparable. Not even the symphonies reveal such wealth of invention, such breadth and vigor of conception, such insight and resource in the working out of musical ideas.

Grout 1987: 614

Mozart’s Piano Concertos

Mozart’s move to Vienna from Salzburg in 1781 heralds musical developments and reflects social changes. On 9May 1781, he wrote to his father I am no longer so unfortunate as to be in Salzburg service (Mersmann 1938: 161): he had been frustrated by the limited opportunities of his employment at court. The joy of leaving Salzburg for Vienna seems to have been musically inspiring, and the next few years were prolific, not least in the composition of piano concertos: Mozart wrote 12 between 1784 and 1786.

The influence of J C Bach on Mozartwas significant. The two had met in London in 1764, when Mozart was still aboy. In 1772, Mozart created his first three piano concertos by rearranging three of J C Bach’s sonatas. Beyond the concerto structure, the detail of Mozart’s music suggests Bach’s influence. His subtle ornamentation and cleveruse of suspensions and ambiguities of tonality also characterises J C Bach’s work.

Mozart’s use of keys is particularly innovative: in the first movement of the A major Piano Concerto K488, the development section incorporates a passage of dialogue between thewinds and a larger grouping of piano and strings, modulating through E minor at bar 156, C major at bar 160, A minor at bar 164 and then through F major at bar 166 to D minor at bar 168. The more obvious, related tonalities for a work in Amajor would be D and E major, the subdominant and dominant keys, and F# minor, the relative minor key. This type of harmonic device gives a strong sense of departure from the safety and stability of the home key, making its eventual return in the recapitulation stronger and more satisfying.

This passage also shows examples of Mozart’s innovative orchestration: the small group-large group contrast of earlier concertos becomes a three-way interchange, with piano, winds and strings forming three groups which are united and contrasted in a range of combinations.

Conclusion

Mozart’s innovations took the keyboard concerto to a new level, and give some indication of why the form became so popular with composers and the public.

For the composer, working patterns were changing, away from the often creatively restrictive nature of patronageto an environment of more freedom, with composers having more control of performances as events – J C Bach is a particularly good example of this. With many composers also being gifted performers, who could attract audiences by way of their virtuosity, the concerto offered scope to write exciting, challenging passages within the context of a major work, giving their performances real impact.

Yet the economic reality was thatincome depended on the success of concerts and the ability to please a fickle audience.Mozart was clearly aware of the need to please a range of Viennese listeners,writing of his 3 concertos written for the 1782-3 season:

There are passages here and there from which connoisseurs alone can derive satisfaction, but they are written so that thenon-connoisseurs cannot fail to be pleased even if they don’t know why.(Quoted by Steinberg 1998: 279)

Taking the above into account, itis surely not insignificant that Mozart’s piano concertos are, 200 years after their composition, enjoyed by a huge audience and also highly regarded by musicologists.

The development of the keyboard concerto in the 18^th century demonstrates how changes in the social landscape and innovations in instrument technology planted the seeds of avibrant music industry. This helped set up the piano concerto to become an indispensable ingredient in the concert hall and a contributing factor in the phenomenon of the virtuoso in the 19^th century and beyond.

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The issue of politics and the regulation of media is not a new debate. Discussions around communications have a long history and governance and policy around telecommunications is a well-established topic at both national and international levels (Fylverboom, 2011). Even before national governments realised that international mechanisms were required to manage global issues such as trade of the environment, many realised that the benefits of international telecommunications would only be apparent if there were shared rules of the game in terms of governing how national networks would connect with each other (Fylverboom, 2011).

This study looks at the role of two key intergovernmental organisations and their role in regulating the global media. The United Nations (UN) and World Trade Organisation (WTO) both exert considerable influence on the world stage and it can be argued that both are influential in the regulation of media around the globe.

The United Nations was established in 1945 to bring together nations of the world to promote peace and security (United Nations 2015) it is involved in missions around the world ranging from peacekeeping and sustainable development to fighting terrorism and addressing climate change.

In relation to global media, UNESCO is an arm of the UN with a focus on education, cultural understanding and promoting freedom of expression and democracy. It states that it has a specific mandate to “foster freedom of expression and to promote the free flow of ideas by word and image”, The UNESCO webpage states that the organisation “works to foster free, independent and pluralistic media in print, broadcast and online. Media development in this mode enhances freedom of expression, and it contributes to peace, sustainability, poverty eradication and human rights.” (UNESCO, 2015).

Interestingly, UNESCO itself has entered the debate around media regulation, although more with a view on the contract between media self-regulation and state regulation than addressing the issue of media regulation by NGOs. A UNESCO report by Pudephatt (2011) provides a useful declaration of a media environment that supports freedom expression stating: “it will be a diverse media environment, part public, part private and part community; a plurality of different media outlets; and a system that is broadly self-regulating with the exception of broadcast media (where spectrum has been limited and a regulatory body allocates bandwidth)” (Pudephatt, 2011, p10).

Pudephatt debates a central question around media regulation, which is whether it threatens or supports democracy. Some argue that minimal state interference in the media is necessary for a media environment that supports democracy, whilst other will argue that state intervention is required to promote a pluralist and diverse media (Pudephatt, 2011). A good example to support this argument would be a democratic state in which a small number of wealthy individuals bought up most of the media outlets and used this near monopoly to promote one political or economic view with the result that democratic debate became stifled. Pudephatt (2011) makes the point that in the past many states have looked to prevent a company from occupying a dominant market share of the media in order to ensure freedom of expression.

It can certainly be argued that many arms of the UN do oppose most forms of media regulation. Human rights instruments such as the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights for example can all be seen as tools to support rather than suppress freedom of expression.

O’Siochru et al (2002) suggest that there have been three broad phases in the development of global media regulation. The initial phase, pre-UN was driven by the economic and industrial revolution and accommodated the societal concerns of the time. A second phase came with the emergence of the UN and closer international relations. The increased presence of developing nations within the UN and its bodies, and calls for societal and human rights saw freedom of expression on the UN agenda, and through bodies such as UNESCO it encouraged greater freedom of expression in both national and international media (O Siochru et al.,2002). The third phase is represented by a weakening of the UN role in global media governance and one in which big business with a focus on the commercial rewards of global media looks to undercut national regulation and looks to free trade proponents such at the WTO to support this.

The WTO was established with a narrower agenda. It is an international body established to promote free trade through the abolition of tariffs and other trade barriers. It is closely linked with the ideas of globalisation and faces criticisms that it is too powerful, indifferent to worker’s rights, biased towards the rich and that it lacks democratic accountability (BBC, 2012). These criticisms can arguably be extended towards the WTO and global media, particularly when consideration is given to the expansion of powerful media conglomerates which benefit from the trade liberalisation ethos of the WTO.

The WTO has a great deal of power in relation to global economic matters and its influence on global media has also grown as media organisations become bigger business and increasingly commercialised (Leicester University, 2015). One of the key concerns for the WTO is promoting free trade and the addressing the pre-existing barriers that national sovereignty can out in place of media expansion globally.

Hackett and Zhao (2005) argue that the WTO has become an organisation which “straddles key areas of communication and is set to extend its mandate further” (p212). The WTO appears to be as supportive of the liberalisation of media and telecommunications as it is for the liberalisation of other areas of trade. With its rulings on formal trade complaints enforceable in international law, it is increasingly being seen by the largest media organisations as an ally as they look to expand into new market (Mansell and Raboy, 2011). The difficulties that companies such as Google have establishing a presence in states where there is more rigid censorship serve as one example of this.

Global broadcasting has been happening for decades yet whilst organisations such as the WTO have long had success in securing international agreements which liberalised trade, cultural industries have often been afforded greater protection by governments and certain restrictions have been placed on the importance of cultural industry products and media services (Mansell and Raboy, 2011).

One consequence of globalisation of the media however has been an increased commercialisation of the industry (Mansell and Raboy, 2011). Essentially, global media is now big business and there are huge profits to potentially be made if the largest media corporations can overcome national media regulation and expand into new territories. As Mansell and Raboy (2011) state “global markets in broadcasting are commercial, even when they involve trade among national broadcasters” (p55). In many individual nations, national broadcasters have seen their market share decline.

The WTO’s influence can be seen in the growing dominance of a small number of market leaders in the media industry and much of the context to this can be found in the US media. In 1984 around 50 corporations controlled the vast majority of news media in the US; this in itself seemed a small number but by 2004 similar criteria being applied found that this number had reduce to five huge organisations controlling over 90 per cent of mass media in the US (Mansell and Raboy, 2011). These organisation are looking to expand their influence globally and the liberalisation of trade under the WTO is enabling this to happen.

The dominance of a small number of corporations, the majority of which share a similar world view, brings us back to the question as to whether regulation of the media is a good or bad thing in terms of promoting democracy and freedom of expression. As these huge corporations use their market power as leverage to reduce traditional national interest public broadcasting, there are questions as to whether broadcasting in the public interest is still happening. Mansell and Raboy (2011) suggest that there is no global forum with sufficient influence to tackle these questions; in essence the liberalising power of the WTO is overcoming national attempts to regulate media and also the efforts of organisations such as UNESCO to promote a diverse global media.

One of the key media developments for both the UN and the WTO to address has been the growth of the Internet over the last two decades. Whereas global media had always been subject to some form of governance, the Internet has been portrayed as outside of the reach of regulation due to its global and decentralised nature (Fylverboom, 2005). Its ever-expanding nature and its versatile technical platform have left it for some time outside of global media governance but there is some evidence that this is beginning to change and the UN and the WTO have both had at least some involvement in this.

In 2003 a UN World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) debated issues around global governance of the Internet. It looked at the status quo at the time where national governments were largely regulating the Internet within their own boundaries, and discussed whether some form of global governance was possible (Mansell and Raboy, 2011). It was clear at this point that both democratic and authoritarian governments were taking steps to deny access to their citizens for content that was seen as illegal or objectionable. The WSIS was ultimately unable to make much progress on this issue, finding that the conditions for access to the Internet would continue to be determined by the national government policies that were established and the effectiveness of their implementation (Mansell and Raboy, 2011). This suggests that the UN at least is limited in its capability to regulate some part of digital media on a global scale. Whilst the Internet is a global tool to be used, national governments so far are able to maintain a certain level of control as to the level of access that citizens have.

Unsurprisingly the WTO has looked to extend its influence into the complex area of Internet regulation. One of the difficulties it faces it that the complexity of Internet regulation makes it an issue much larger than something that simply comes under the remit of free trade or trade liberalisation. The whole area of content regulation has to be addressed; the attitude of China for example towards Internet content from the democratic West for example is not something that can easily be resolved (Kong, 2002). There remains a possibility that the WTO may be asked to step into legal battles around freedom of trade related to provision of Internet services. There has been discussion recently that companies such as Google might look to sue governments such as the Chinese’s for discrimination because of its harsh web filtering conditions (World Trade Law, 2015). If this were to happen, the WTO’s role in Internet governance would expand rapidly

Issues around Internet content make ideas of global regulation difficult; different cultures have different views on acceptable content. For the WTO, there are other issues around the Internet which it can more easily address. It may be able to coordinate regulation and standard-setting in areas such as data protection and enabling access to financial services (IP Watch, 2015).

A summary of the current position would be that the UN’s influence over global media regulation diminishes as the globalised nature of the Internet develops further, and as powerful media conglomerates exert influence to facilitate their own plans for future dominance. The WTO with its commitment to free trade has enabled some of these huge corporations to grow; the challenge it faces in future will be to resolve the ongoing issues between these media giants and the national governments which wish to maintain a level of control on the media access open to their citizens. The likelihood given its nature is that the WTO will support the media organisations; the question is whether individual governments will adhere to its decisions.

Bibliography

BBC (2012) World Trade Organisation [Online] Available: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/country_profiles/2429503.stm

Fylverboom, M. (2011) The Power of Networks: Organizing the Global Politics of the Internet. London: Elgar

Hackett, R. and Zhao, Y. (2005) Democratizing Global Media. Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield

IP Watch (2015) Panels: WTO Could Play Crucial Role In Challenges Facing Global Digital Trade. [Online] Available: http://www.ip-watch.org/2015/10/08/panels-wto-could-play-crucial-role-in-challenges-facing-global-digital-trade/

Kong, Q. (2002) China and the World Trade Organization: A Legal Perspective. New Jersey: New Scientific

Mansell, R. and Raboy, M. (2011) The Handbook of Global Media and Communication Policy. Colchester: John Wiley and Sons

O Siochru, S., Girard, B. and Mahan, A. (2002) Global Media Governance: A Beginner’s Guide. Oxford: Rowman and Littlefield

Pudephatt, A. (2011) The Importance of Self-Regulation of the Media in Upholding FReedom of Expression

UNESCO (2015) Fostering Freedom of Expression [Online] Available: http://en.unesco.org/themes/fostering-freedom-expression

United Nations (2015) UN News Centre. [Online] Available: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=52315#.ViaXlDZRHIW

World Trade Law (2015) Google, China and the WTO. [Online] Available: http://worldtradelaw.typepad.com/ielpblog/2010/01/google-china-and-the-wto.html

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Does Popular Journalism Reach Out or Dumb Down?

The news media has a responsibility to be objective, a responsibility it is often criticised for overlooking. Likewise the mass the media, with its huge audience, has an opportunity to educate – this is not to say that commercial television should fill its schedules with GCSE Bitesize revision programmes, but that there is much to learn through great writing, great acting and great comedy, that these are popular art-forms. Most mass media products do not seize this opportunity. Instead, a trend of pandering to the (perceived) base pleasures of certain mass markets is, more often than not, apparent, a trend that can be seen to reinforce stereotypes – an idea I will explore in this essay.

The real question then is: does the media reach out by dumbing down, or does it pander and condescend to its audience? In answering this question I intend to examine the ascendance of reality television since the late 1990s and question why such programmes came to prominence, and to analyse the differing approaches of various news products in their selection and presentation of the news and how this can relate to the notion of dumbing down.

The often criticised emergence of reality television came about in the late 1990s as a way of cutting down production costs whilst increasing output. With its stylistic roots in the documentary format but based on the concept of reality TV, the docu-soap came to prominence, and notoriety, with the unexpected successes of shows such as Driving School, Airport and Fairground, which followed members of the public as they went about their jobs and their everyday lives. The ‘stars’ of the shows often went on to enjoy minor, short-lived celebrity status, releasing pop records and guesting on other shows.

The unexpected success of the programmes opened the door to mass production, and a spate of copycat shows flooded both terrestrial and subscription channels – Sky One was notable for its successful Ibiza Uncovered series, following holiday-makers in the hugely popular club-based Ibiza night-life, which spawned countless Uncovered sequels. This was a dream come true for broadcasters, who had stumbled upon the scheduler’s Holy Grail – a format that was cheap, popular, and quick to produce. The use of ‘real people’ cut out the roles – and the fees – of writer and actor, as well as the valuable production time taken up by the writing and rehearsing process. They also cut equipment costs by the use of natural lighting and documentary style single camera format. Therefore high volumes of programmes could be churned out for little money, in little time.

The criticism which arose against the docu-soap phenomenon centred upon the flimsy content of the shows, the canonisation of trivial incidents, the lack of narrative, and the lack of any documentary-style insight into the lives of the protagonists. Many of the shows tended to make unwitting fools of its stars. Others would take the most trivial elements of its stars’ jobs – say, a routine check of an aeroplane toilet by a member of flight staff – and make it a central narrative of the show.

However what was perhaps particularly galling was that all of the terrestrial channels would pounce so fervently upon the fad. Of course any broadcaster has a lower end of entertainment, cheaper shows with lower production values than its flagship products, made quickly and cheaply to bulk out the schedule – but the docu-soap managed to find itself straddled across the channels in prime-time slots, as well as bulking out daytime schedules. For the BBC in particular, who have such a proud history of incendiary documentary film-making and social realism – this is the channel that screened Cathy Come Home (Ken Loach, 1966) – this seemed to reflect far too great a willing to sacrifice standards of content.

But in their presentation of real people in their real lives, were the docu-soaps ‘reaching out’ to the viewing public? It could be argued that the shows reflected their audience, that they made stars out of the viewing public, turned everyday events into prime-time viewing, took genuine events from genuine lives and put on screen, and thus reflected the social realities of its audiences to a greater degree than ever before.

However the stars of these shows were not comic characters penned for a cheap sitcom, they were human beings, with pasts, and families, tragedies, hopes, futures – but that’s not how they were presented. To the viewer, they were clowns and stooges, caricatures. The tools of the programmes may have been founded in reality, but the sum of the parts was as stripped down and simplistic as journalism can get. The plot of an episode of Airport: a member of staff going about his job. The point: mild amusement at his expense. And with the elimination of the creative process, the value of cheap, mild amusement at the expense of an unwitting stooge is hard to quantify. In truth, the shows had little more than stylistics in common with documentary.

And yet their effect is great. Whilst the docu-soap fad may have petered out, their influence can still be seen in the more recent popularity of reality antique and property make-over shows, and through its canonisation of members of the public, can even be seen to have paved the way for shows such as Big Brother and The X Factor, the new royalty of reality television.

This is a reality of the digital revolution. Products such as Freeview, Sky and ITV digital compete partly on the promise of more channels with greater choice than their rivals. More channels means more shows must be put in production, and unless the company wishes to go bankrupt, that means lower production values, less experienced talent both on and off screen, and more copycat shows – antique shows, reality shows, re-runs, and repeat showings. This leads to less experienced people making cheaper shows, and spreading them over a wider array of channels.

So we can see that the dumbing down of commercial television in the wake of the digital revolution is rooted not in the value system of the entertainment industry but in the economic reality of it. Writing talent, acting talent, directing talent, production values – all these elements cost both money and time, and when cheaply and quickly produced products are just as popular, the talent becomes expendable.

So what about the broadcast news, has it also undergone a process of dumbing down? Firstly, it is important to remember the role of humanity in news reportage. For example, what constitutes a news ‘event’? Is a motorway pile-up the event of the crash or the aftermath of it? Is the ‘event’ of a political speech the content of the speech or the reaction to it? Journalism relies on journalists, who rely on their own skills of interpretation, and it is generally accepted that every potential news story is judged on a certain set of ‘news values’. One of the most recognised interpretations of these values was made by Johan Galtung and Marie Holmboe Ruge in 1965. They identified eleven distinct values:

This process is merely a reality of news reportage: not every event that happens in the world can be covered, and so events must be judged on their ‘importance’. However problems can arise when this intangible ‘importance’ becomes linked not to theoretical values, but to the perceived values of a generalised target audience. In a News night investigation into the process of selecting stories for news coverage (screened in October 1999, BBC 2), a journalist from the News Of The World told the film crew that a story about white youths dying from drugs sold to them by a black man was more likely to be reported by their newspaper than a story about black youths dying from drugs sold to them by a white man.

This is based on the assumption by the newspaper that their audience is not interested in the problems of drug culture affecting the black community, whereas the representation of non-whites selling drugs to white youths reinforces racial stereotypes, and as such are more appealing, less challenging, and provide a greater sales guarantee. This is not just dumbing down, it is systemised media bias; it is a news service that bases its reportage on reinforcing stereotypical values of a massively generalised target audience in order to maintain circulation, and hence, profit. Even if the News Of The World have judged their audience correctly, it speaks of a worrying cycle of ignorance – if their audience members characterise non-whites as detrimental to whites, and their news reinforces this, how can they be expected to change their views?

So we can see that journalistic practice runs into serious problems when it considers its target audience in its methods of reportage. This is a particular problem for commercial television stations, who garner almost all their profits from advertising sales – sales which rely on the selling of a target market, one which is shared by the channel and its potential advertisers. What then happens if a certain news story does not appeal to a news product’s target market – is it tailored to be more attractive? Is it left out altogether? If the news product does not suit its target market, ratings drop, and advertisers pull out. ITV is a channel which survives on accessibility, so if its news is not accessible, does not reflect the tone and style of the rest of its programming, it risks losing viewers.

Let us examine the coverage of the first annual May Day protests in London. In May 2000 Trafalgar Square was occupied by members of the anti-globalisation protest group Reclaim the Streets, in protest against the practices of multinational corporations and the climate of brand power. As the demonstrations went on, a small minority of vandals along for the ride embarked on a low-scale wave of petty violence, which was denounced by RTS as contrary to their values.

RTS are a young political group, tapping into the youth culture trends of anti-capitalism and the deification of counterculture. Looking at the scenes of the protestors, they were young men and women, almost to a head in the 18-25 age group. The only terrestrial news channel to give any air-time to a member of Reclaim The Streets, or to even mention their name, was Channel 4 – the channel whose programming is aimed at the youth market to a greater degree than the others – in fact a channel who is contradictorily required to be ‘alternative’. The BBC news focused on the graffiti tagging of the Cenotaph, and ITV news focused on the small-scale vandalism and violence incited by a small minority of “protestors” who had crashed the party. Both news products characterised the protestors as ‘anarchists’ and ‘rioters’ (true of just a tiny minority). In this case, it is not hard to see how each news product’s target audience affected the reporting of the event. On the other hand, ‘Select’, an alternative music magazine, ran a 12 page special on the inspiration behind the protests, the base of the issues at the heart of Reclaim the Streets, and interviewed popular protagonists of the anti-capitalist sub-culture – comedian Mark Thomas and theorist Naomi Klein.

This does not necessarily suggest a greater moral credibility on the part of ‘Select’, but simply that they were in a position to make such a report. The style and tone fitted in perfectly with their target market, and the piece also ran interviews with various alternative musicians, such as Zack De La Rocha of politically outspoken anti-capitalist funk-rock group Rage Against The Machine. So whilst all of the terrestrial television news programmes can be seen to be dumbing down the event, it would be more accurate to say that they were catering their product to the perceived expectations of their target market, and ‘Select’ did exactly the same. It is hard to see the BBC devoting 10 minutes of a 30 minutes broadcast to a history of anti-capitalist theory and demonstration, but on the other hand this is a channel that recently gave prime-time half-hour debates to the leaders of the three major political parties in the run-up to the general election. ‘Select’ gave comprehensive coverage to the history of RTS and the theory behind the demonstration, but they may not have given so many column inches to, for instance, a pro-hunting group. Their coverage may have been more in depth and comprehensive on the May Day protests, but in the same way as the BBC and Channel 4, they covered what would sell.

So then we can see that ‘dumbing down’, within news reporting at least, perhaps has less to do with appealing to the lowest common denominator and more to do with appealing to a target audience. This can be seen to be a rather exclusive approach – appealing to a particular, and generalised, target audience excludes audience members who do not ascribe to the values of the target audience, and in this way we can see how popular news reinforces social stereotypes. It is, for instance, a rather galling assumption that a viewer of the BBC news is less interested in the motivations behind a political demonstration from a peaceful political group (who denounced the small-scale vandalism of a small minority as being contrary to their protest – at least they did when given air-time), than a stereotyped representation of anarchic youths run amok.

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With the emergence of digital media, the relevance of print media have been fiercely debated (Gomez, 2008; Leatherbarrow, 2012). The advocates of digital media supremacy bring to light the idea of the death of print media. In an attempt to persuade the public of the ultimate end of print newspapers, magazines, and books, the advocates present print media as fully outdated, expensive, and impractical (Anderson, 2014). What becomes evident from their pressure on the public is that they have initiated “a zero-sum game – print must die for digital to prevail” (Anderson, 2014, n.p.). This essay is aimed at discussing whether print media are really dead in the 21st century. Drawing on the recent research evidence and authoritative opinions, the essay attempts to generate an in-depth analysis of the vitally important issue.

Gomez (2008) asserts that print media (especially print books) continue to preserve popularity among the reading public because they greatly appreciate how print media look and smell. Drawing the parallels between people’s devotion to print media and patriotic feelings, Gomez (2008) poses a reasonable question: “how can books ever be replaced, let alone disappear?” (p.13). However, the author also claims that print media are significantly threatened by the wide spread of digital media and that the sales of print media are declining. Discussing the position of print media in the digital era, Hooper (2012) expresses a view that “reports of the ‘death of print’ have been greatly exaggerated” (n.p.). To prove his opinion, Hooper (2012) mentions some examples of the increasing interest in print media. For instance, he claims that some sites and online services (e.g. Google, Moshi Monsters, and Net-A-Porter) have recently started to publish print magazines to attract new partners and customers and realise new strategic goals. Hooper (2012) also discusses the case of the famous Berlin magazine 032c. This magazine was created by Joerg Koch to advertise the website. However, the print magazine has acquired so much popularity among readers that the website was transformed into an archival repository. Moreover, as West (2009) specifies, many famous newspapers (e.g. The New York Times, Washington Post, Time, and The Guardian) are still published because “the quality of journalism produced by traditional print media is still well ahead of the combined might of all the bloggers that inhabit cyberspace” (n.p.). In the viewpoint of West (2009), digital media will not replace print media until the quality of digital media is increased. Likewise, Anderson (2014) mentions that even computational and scientific fields heavily rely on print media. For instance, in the medicine field, print journals are considered as crucial and reliable resources widely used by health care professionals.

Nossek, Adoni, and Nimrod (2015) have conducted an interesting research on print media reading in nine European countries. The countries chosen for the research were technologically similar, but culturally different. The acquired evidence has clearly revealed that print media preserve their popularity in the 21st century. About half of the European respondents have acknowledged that they read either print books or print newspapers. However, the findings of Zickuhr and Rainie (2014) and Desilver (2014) have shown a gradual substitution of print books for digital books. Despite these findings, Nossek, Adoni, and Nimrod (2015) claim that “this displacement, if actualized, will only be partial” (p.379). Although digital books are less expensive and are more accessible than print books, the tradition of reading print books is too powerful (Liu, 2008). Moreover, in the viewpoint of Nossek, Adoni, and Nimrod (2015), readers significantly enjoy design and artistic worth of print books. On the other hand, Nossek, Adoni, and Nimrod (2015) acknowledge that print newspapers have more chances for displacement than print books. This is explained by two major factors: 1) print newspapers are less popular among readers than print books and 2) digital media provide readers with a range of new opportunities (e.g. socialisation, an immediate access to national and international news, and co-creation of news) (Nossek, Adoni, and Nimrod, 2015). West (2009) acknowledges that some large newspapers will certainly fail to survive in the highly digital world because of the loss of monopoly.

While the mentioned reasons for displacement can hardly be considered disputable, print media outperform digital media in the depth of media coverage, accuracy of information, and the diversity and quality of the content (West, 2009; Nossek, Adoni, and Nimrod, 2015). With regard to the latter aspect, the articles published in print newspapers and magazines are written by professional journalists who do not only produce grammatically correct writing, but also tend to discuss an issue or event from different perspectives, positions, and angles (West, 2009). In addition, Kitch (2009) specifies that people continue to view print media as crucial material objects which help them preserve memories of some events. Adoni and Nossek (2001) also point out that those readers who are unable to develop digital skills certainly prefer print books to digital books. What the research of Nossek, Adoni, and Nimrod (2015) has brought into light is that “the majority of Internet users balance their time spent reading different media” (p.381). Actually, the choice of digital or print media depends on readers’ needs and purposes of reading (Liu, 2008). For instance, those people who attempt to receive authoritative and detailed information on certain events choose print newspapers or print books, while those people who want to satisfy their psychosocial needs or want to be entertained choose digital media. In view of the fact that digital media and print media endow readers with diverse kinds of experience (Liu, 2008; Hooper, 2012), it is wrong to reject either of the two. This is proved by the survey of trade magazine editors conducted by Leatherbarrow (2012). According to the survey findings, editors strongly believe that their print magazines benefit from online versions and that people of different ages, professions, experiences, and skills prefer different kinds of media. In the viewpoint of one respondent, “My sector has a traditional older, less technically-literate reader base. They spend 12 hours a day in their shops, and want to relax with a magazine they can hold, not in front of a screen” (Leatherbarrow, 2012, n.p.). What is evident from this particular testimony is that print texts and digital texts cannot be differentiated on the premise of their different formats. It is the difference in experience that matters (Catone, 2013).

However, as Richtel and Bosman (2011) acknowledge in their article, reading of print media is widespread not only among the old generation, but also among the young generation. Although parents are obsessed with digital devices and digital media, they attempt to inspire their children’s interest in reading print books. According to Richtel and Bosman (2011), parents hold the view that the experience of reading print books is unique and contributes much to the overall development of their children. This unique experience is explained by the fact that children establish emotional ties with print books (something which cannot be achieved with digital books). Through these emotional ties, they evoke all five senses and acquire different skills. In addition to children and old people without appropriate digital skills, researchers and scholars also contribute much to the survival of print media. As Berger (2006) specifies, academic authors prefer print publications to digital publications. Print books can be sold, distributed among friends, relatives, colleagues, and students, and used for citations. In the process of writing an academic paper, scholars and students tend to heavily rely on print books because “online resources do not guarantee any longevity for citation as books and analog journals do” (Berger, 2006, p.152). This assertion is consistent with the findings of Ramirez (2003) who investigated the reading preferences of students from the National University of Mexico and found that 78 percent of students read and better understand print media and materials, while only 18 percent preferred reading of digital materials. Even when students read a digital text, they cannot read it for more than two hours (Ramirez, 2003). According to Liu (2008), students tend to choose print media when a text or book is rather lengthy, when they need to profoundly investigate a specific issue or area, and when they need to take notes.

What should be understood is that those who insist on the death of print media speak from the position of significant technological changes, fully disregarding social aspects of print media reading. Griswold, Lenaghan, and Naffziger (2011) express the view that digital media “are not bringing about the death of reading, or a postprint age, or the disappearance of the book in ink-on-dead-trees form, but are changing the nature and type of reading experiences available” (p.31). Following this line of argument, it becomes evident that modern readers do not have to dismiss print media for the sake of digital media. Instead, they have an opportunity to choose among different types of media. Moreover, by bringing to light the debate about the death of print media and by comparing print media to digital media, authors, researchers, and scholars unintentionally revive interest in print media (Sutherland and Deegan, 2012). The debate has a great impact on people’s minds and makes them reconsider their attitudes to the issue of print media. When in 1999 the British Library microfilmed and then eradicated American newspapers after 1850, this decision was negatively perceived by both English and international public (Chartier, 2004). As a result of this negative perception, American and English libraries were forced to stop destroying print newspapers and magazines. This particular example proves that people are not ready to easily reject print media, even though they widely read digital media. In the process of reading print and digital versions of the same text, readers use different methods and strategies of reading. Catone (2013) compares reading of digital media to watching a film version of a live performance. Those who understand the beauty and value of a print book certainly continue to invest in books to enrich their collection (Agresta, 2012).

The recent survey of English and American readers conducted by Publishing Technology (2015) has demonstrated that readers between 18 and 34 years understand and highly appreciate the value of print books. According to the acquired evidence, 79 percent of American respondents and 64 percent of English respondents read print books last year. The research has also found that the majority of English and American readers tended to buy their print books in bookstores instead of using Internet stores (e.g. Amazon). The findings of this survey and the above mentioned studies provide conclusive evidence that print media are still alive. Moreover, in the viewpoint of Josefowicz (2009), the myth about the death of print media is created by information junkies who use digital media and reject print media because they want to receive news in a fast way. However, Josefowicz (2009) claims that information junkies constitute a minor group of people. On the other hand, their voices are so loud that it may seem that the view of the death of print media is shared by the majority. In contrast to the research findings discussed in this essay, the opinions expressed by information junkies and digital media lovers are based on anecdotal evidence. Unquestionably, such evidence can hardly be considered trustworthy and reliable. As Josefowicz (2009) rightfully asserts, “the ‘end of print’ is a meme that has gained ascendancy in an environment of disruptive change in the communication ecology” (n.p.).

As the essay has clearly shown, print media are not dead in the 21st century. Despite the increase in reading digital media, the findings of the recent studies prove that people continue to read print newspapers, magazines, and books. In view of these findings, it is more appropriate to speak not about the death of print media, but about “the evolution of a new functional division of labour among print media and their digital equivalents” (Nossek, Adoni, and Nimrod, 2015, p.381). To satisfy their diverse needs, readers may successfully combine reading of print media and reading of digital media. The views of authors and critics mentioned in this essay reveal “the main reasons why printed publications are destined to survive” (West, 2009, n.p.).

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This work was produced by one of our professional writers as a learning aid to help you with your studies

Traditional media regulation is becoming significantly challenged by the user-centricity that is a feature of the contemporary media environment (Van Dijck, 2013). Social media means that users are able to exercise far greater control over the types of media that they wish to consume, and can also actively produce content (Vardeman-Winter & Place, 2015). The traditional approach to media regulation is that there are a relatively small number of users who produce the media, coupled with a large number of those who consume it, who are powerless to directly influence the content (Van Dijck, 2013). This means that the regulatory framework that was previously used which was founded on a command and control framework is inappropriate for a situation where there are substantial producers of content (Lievens & Valcke, 2013). Regulatory action in social media is typically focused upon disclosure of interest, protection of children, codes of practice and the prohibition of offensive material (Van Dijck, 2013). This will be investigated as follows. First, the impact of social media upon media regulation will be discussed. Secondly, the approaches to self-regulation will be considered. Thirdly, the challenge of educating users that is necessary to achieve self-regulation will be discussed. Finally, the challenges posed to greater regulation of the media will be considered.

The current model of media regulation has focused more upon the use of alternative regulatory instruments (ARIs). These are considered to be more effective in a fast-changing media environment. ARIs are defined as a collection of instruments, such as self and co-regulation, and have increased in its impact when referred by different media policy documents from the 1990s onwards (Lievens & Valcke, 2013). However, in practical terms there is less clarity on what is meant by these types of regulatory instruments (Van Dijck, 2013). There seems to be a sense in which they involve the use of non-governmental players, and stand as an alternative to the governmental approach (Lievens & Valcke, 2013). ARIs tend to refer to a regulatory framework that is distinct from the traditional form, and this tends to point towards self-regulation.

Self-regulation is often seen as a solution in which the freedom of the internet can be maintained alongside a desire to reduce the impact of legislative regulation (Van Dijck, 2013). This means that regulation is effectively enforced by a group of actors within the social media, without any influence emanating from outside the group Lievens & Valcke, 2013). Given that social media comprises the users as also those who produce media products, there is an intuitive attraction to their being involved in the regulatory procedure (Fuchs et al., 2013). Furthermore, the users of media are traditionally involved in the regulatory mechanism, such as through their representation in the bodies of public service broadcasters, or through audience research (Croteau & Hoynes, 2013). Self-regulation also provides an empowerment to the users of social media, which is consonant with their position in the social media universe (Lievens & Valcke, 2013). This allows the regulation of social media to be fitted to the features of its use.

Education is, however, a requirement for effective social media regulation in order to ensure that the rights and responsibilities of using social media are understood (O’Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011). Providing content that is against the users’ terms and conditions of the specific site is not an effective means to educate users as these are rarely read (Fuchs et al., 2013). The publicity that ensues when a social media user unwittingly commits a crime often has the impact of educating users. It has been noted, for example, that for many users of social media an understanding of the intricacies of defamation may not be as widely appreciated as is the case for the newspaper industry (O’Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011). There are thus some issues where people have been prosecuted for retweeting a defamatory statement simply because it was not widely understood that broadcasting such information could be illegal regardless of its provenance (Campbell et al., 2014). However, this publicity then at least ensures that there is a wider appreciation of what constitutes defamation in such cases and thus functions as a method of education (Fuchs et al., 2013). Furthermore, the extent to which self-regulation can apply to some of the key concerns of regulatory bodies, such as the protection of children or the removal of hate speech may be challenged (Campbell et al., 2014). There is an argument that the greater consumer choice that is exercised in the case of social media should result in a reduced level of regulation to take into account the extent to which the choice exercised by the user can play a role (Van Dijck, 2013). Consumers may thus be put in greater control of their own choices, but in order to do so, they need to be aware of the dangers that can arise through a lack of knowledge of appropriate behaviour.

Education is more commonly provided as a result of the user’s inappropriate behaviour being corrected by the social media site (Lievens & Valcke, 2013). This means that where material is posted that concerns other viewers, it may be flagged as inappropriate with the viewers being asked why they find it objectionable. The content is then reviewed by the regulatory body of the site which then can either approve or remove the content (Lievens & Valcke, 2013). This relies upon the users of the site to establish whether the material is likely to need regulating, rather than observing content individually (Van Dijck, 2013). A significant drawback of this method is that it represents an ex ante approach, allowing the material to remain online for as long as it takes to be reported (Lievens & Valcke, 2013). This means that where copyright is compromised or sensitive material is posted, the content remains public allowing for it to be copied (Buckingham & Willett, 2013). Such examples may be seen in cases where the rules are broken; where the posting is taken down on the original account, it is already too late and the information may be reposted repeatedly (Lievens & Valcke, 2013).

This characteristic of social media regulation means that the regulation of material is significantly limited, as material cannot be prevented from being broadcast by being reported as offensive (Lievens & Valcke, 2013). However, this does not extend as far as is the case for traditional media and stories that are entirely false that would not be permitted in a newspaper can be distributed freely through social media (Van Dijck, 2013). Although individuals may report them, they are often not removed unless they illustrate features that are against the terms of the use agreement (Baron, 2015). The process of reporting such content after it is published is therefore not a fully effective way to regulate content, and, moreover, involves looser regulation than is generally accepted for journalistic standards (Lievens & Valcke, 2013). At the same time, censorship is not applied on the basis that the information presented may be false and misleading (Van Dijck, 2013). Although this model does tend to empower users, the extent to which it provides an effective model of regulation can be questioned, as it cannot prevent false material from being published, as is the case for the traditional media.

The AVMS Directive was published by the European Commission in 2007, complemented by a Communication on media literacy (Lievens & Valcke, 2013). It was suggested that the promotion of media literacy was a more appropriate approach that the provision of advertising bans (Bertot et al., 2012). This has been explored particularly in cases where social media is used to develop the employees approach to social media in governmental or corporate context (Lievens & Valcke, 2013). Internal social media policies are usually created, and advice given on how best they may be used to elicit consumer or citizen engagement. However, there are divisions between how social media is used in an official capacity and the differences between how employees use social media as an individual can undermine the effectiveness of such regulation (Bertot et al., 2012). This illustrates that the trend towards self-regulation is only largely effective in the context where social media should be better understood by the user. For the majority of users, regulation is perhaps undermined by a lack of the education that has been argued as essential for its effective use.

Despite the calls for greater regulation, resistance has come from the belief that it presents significant economic opportunities. The barriers to regulation against audiovisual content on sites such as Youtube has been seen as tantamount to reducing choice for viewers (Lievens & Valcke, 2013). Parallels are drawn between how the highly regulated broadcasting environment in television in the 1980s reduced the level of choice for viewers. Furthermore, the use of social media to promote products and services provides a number of challenges to the regulatory environment in that it is not always easy to establish whether commercial activity is being undertaken by an individual for personal (Van Dijck, 2013). If an individual promotes a brand and does not conform to regulation that affects advertising, the extent to which they may be liable for omission or exaggeration poses a regulatory challenge (Evans, 2012). For example, situations where an employee represents themselves as a consumer can undermine the validity of the media regulation (Evans, 2012).

This lack of regulation can thus have significant effects on the veracity of other media. In April 2013, a bomb was detonated near the finishing line of the Boston Marathon (Lievens & Valcke, 2013). Social media played a significant role in disseminating information about the bombing, much of which was accurate. However, there was a range of misleading information that included significant factual errors. A tweet suggesting that an arrest had been made was retweeted 13,930 times and reported as fact by major news corporations (Lievens & Valcke, 2013). This is an example where the lack of regulation allowed assertions to be made, which could then circulate as fact without verification. Social media can thus perpetuate the misinformation available, and the fact that there is no regulation requiring users to only provide true material when broadcasting undermines this (Dabbagh & Kitsantas, 2012).

A similar issue surrounding social media use is the potential for it to be used for bullying (Creech, 2013). For example, for some individuals who have been insensitive may find themselves receiving death threats, and in other contexts their home locations may be shared (Croteau & Hoynes, 2013). This means there is an apparent propensity of social media to provide a kind of mob rule. Unfortunately, because these situations escalate relatively quickly, the type of ex ante regulation that is usually applied is ineffective as it is impossible to challenge a fast moving story that is repeated thousands of times (Jewell, 2013). This means that social media challenges the traditional gatekeeping process of journalism, but is less regulated, undermining the extent to which information can be disseminated (Vardeman-Winter, & Place, 2015).

A final key area in which social media regulation is likely to pose significant challenges to the existing model of media regulation is due to its international nature (Van Dijck, 2015). Media regulation has previously allowed regulation to take place on a national basis, so material deemed unsuitable for broadcast were easily prevented. For example, allegations surrounding the royal family have often been regulated against dissemination in the UK, but are freely disseminated abroad. Social media allows such allegations to be freely disseminated (Lievens & Valcke, 2013). In many cases, traditional broadcasters can be restricted, even where they are situated abroad and are cable operators (Lievens & Valcke, 2013). Social media effectively undermines the potential for such broadcasting to take place, meaning that its effect on the regulatory environment extends to undermining existing regulation that is organised on a national basis (Van Dijck, 2013). Social media thus not only challenges the reach of media regulation in terms of its nature, it also acts to undermine the effect of existing legislation.

In conclusion, social media has had a significant impact upon on media regulation. It does not fit clearly into traditional models of regulation and this undermines how such media may be regulated. Because it can blur the edges of different media types, in that it can provide news or advertising at the same time, it can also challenge regulatory frameworks based upon such media remaining discrete. Self-regulation is suited to the nature of the media, but poses significant challenges to existing regulatory frameworks, as it does not prevent the dissemination of sensitive or false material; it simply allows it to be removed ex ante. Social media also undermines the extent to which existing regulatory frameworks may be conducted on a national basis as any information that is disseminated is thus available globally. These features have effectively reduced the impact of regulation and thus far the focus on self-regulation has done little to prevent the whole-scale diminution of media regulation.

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Evans, D. (2012).Social Media Marketing: An hour a day. London: John Wiley & Sons.

Fuchs, C., Boersma, K., Albrechtslund, A., & Sandoval, M. (2013).Internet and surveillance: The challenges of Web 2.0 and social mediaLondon: Routledge.

Jewell, M. (2013). Self-regulation, teenagers and social media use: Inquiry into online behaviour and the influence of digital architecture. http://matt.pm/assets/self-regulation-social-media-use.pdf [retrieved 17th October, 2015].

Lievens, E. & Valcke, P. (2013) Regulatory trends in a social media context. In M. E. Price, S. G. Verhulst, & L. Morgan (eds.) Routledge Handbook of Media Law, London: Routledge, pp.557-580.

O’Keeffe, G. S., & Clarke-Pearson, K. (2011). The impact of social media on children, adolescents, and families.Pediatrics,127(4), pp.800-804.

Van Dijck, J. (2013).The Culture of Connectivity: A critical history of social media. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Vardeman-Winter, J., & Place, K. (2015). Public relations culture, social media, and regulation.Journal of Communication Management,19(4), pp.19-38.

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Greenpeace Save the Arctic campaign – LEGO and Shell

Greenpeace has had environmental issues at the core of its mission since it was founded in 1971, when a small group set sail from Vancouver, Canada to witness nuclear testing (Greenpeace, 2014a). Now a large international organisation, Greenpeace has several main branches of environmental activism and campaigning. One of its major campaigns is ‘Save the Arctic’, which has been running for 15 years. The campaign is concerned with climate change in general and the shrinking Arctic, but also more specifically with the plans of oil companies to drill in the Arctic. According to Greenpeace, the harsh conditions and remoteness would mean “an oil spill would be almost impossible to deal with. It’s a catastrophe waiting to happen”( Greenpeace, 2014b). Climate change can be a nebulous and esoteric problem that the public feel increasingly helpless to do anything about (Nordhaus and Shellenberger, 2009), but by focussing on a specific aspect, with a specific enemy, Greenpeace are providing people with an avenue for tangible action and results.

Currently, the campaign targets the oil company Shell, but throughout its history it has run targeted campaigns against a number of oil companies. Increasingly, companies are coming under scrutiny for their environmental credibility as consumers become more aware of damaging practices and become more discerning with their purchasing power (Miles and Covin, 2000). Greenpeace previously used this knowledge in a successful campaign called ‘StopEsso’ that impacted the social credibility of ExxonMobil (Esso) and caused negative consumer perceptions about the company in regard to the issue of climate change (Gueterbock, 2004).

However, in its most recent ‘Save the Arctic’ campaign, Greenpeace tried another new tactic by targeting the toy company LEGO. LEGO has had a partnership with Shell since the 1960s that saw LEGO toy sets branded with the Shell logo distributed from Shell petrol stations in several countries. Instead of targeting Shell for its plans to drill in the Arctic, Greenpeace targeted LEGO for its partnership with Shell.

Oil companies are now well known for their poor environmental credibility, so environmental campaigns need new ways to bring attention to specific issues. LEGO is a much-beloved toy company, and Greenpeace hoped that by linking LEGO directly to Shell’s Arctic drilling plans they could damage LEGO’s environmental credibility. For a company that had not faced this kind of criticism before, the attention could potentially be very damaging (Cho et al., 2012), so Greenpeace hoped this would force them to end their partnership with Shell. This would further damage Shell by ending a lucrative partnership and denying them the credibility by association with a popular toy company.

Through its partnership with LEGO, Shell had reached a new audience by putting its logo in the hands of children and making it seem more family-friendly and caring (Greenpeace, 2014c). Greenpeace’s targeted campaign also helped them reach the new audience of children by making them an integral part of the campaign mission. Throughout the campaign, Greenpeace pointed to LEGO’s mission to “leave a better world for children”: a promise it is not fulfilling by supporting Shell.

Greenpeace’s campaign went beyond the rhetoric of securing the environment for our children’s future however; it actively used children in several of its marketing stunts. In one event, children built giant LEGO-block Arctic animals outside LEGO’s London headquarters. When justifying the use of children in their campaign, Greenpeace stated: “Children love the Arctic, and its unique wildlife like polar bears, narwhals, walrus and many other species that are completely dependent on the Arctic sea ice. They wouldn’t want to see them threatened.” (Greenpeace 2014c). When assessing the use of emotion in social campaigns aimed at engaging youth, Hirzalla and Van Zoonen (2010) identified the appeal to empathy with animals and identification of animals’ ‘coolness and cuddliness’ as key constructs. While appealing to children through the use of animals, Greenpeace also strengthened its message of saving the planet for future generations by using seemingly self-motivated children in its campaign.

Many of the tactics used in Greenpeace’s campaign against LEGO followed guerilla marketing principles. While traditional guerilla marketing campaigns aimed at selling products focus on the element of surprise and unconventional techniques, Greenpeace’s campaign style could be more closely compared to guerilla warfare, composed of a series of ambushes and sabotages (Creative Guerrilla Marketing, 2015). For example, a band of Greenpeace activists descended on a LEGO factory in the Czech Republic and decorated it with a Shell logo and an oil spill with giant unhappy minifigures (LEGO characters) cleaning it up. Later, activists appeared outside LEGO’s headquarters in Denmark with a series of giant bricks representing the signatures of petitioners to stop the partnership between LEGO and Shell. Greenpeace’s global reach and local bands of enthusiastic demonstrators allow it to run campaigns multinational companies can only dream of; they can produce targeted marketing stunts quickly and a little cost.

A related tactic used in the campaign is viral marketing. Again, aimed at creating buzz with lower cost, viral marketing is “an Internet-based ‘word-of-mouth’ marketing technique” (Woerndl et al., 2008). Greenpeace had an online petition to LEGO to sever its connection with Shell that was easy to sign and share, providing a low barrier to participation for people who might want to join the campaign but not to go out and engage in guerilla activities. It was also easy to share and the progress was easily measured. Often, visible metrics of success can further increase the likelihood of a viral campaign being shared wider as its credibility is established (Woerndl et al., 2008). For example, the number of hits on a YouTube video can influence the likelihood of someone watching and sharing the video.

In fact, the centrepiece of Greenpeace’s viral marketing campaign was a video. Ryan and Jones (2011) said: “Online video is so powerful because well-executed video can be incredibly engaging and entertaining, demands little effort to consume and packs a lot of information into a relatively short space of time in comparison to other media. It’s also incredibly easy to share.” Greepeace’s video, launched at the start of the campaign, now has nearly seven million views on YouTube (Greenpeace, 2014d). It centres around a direct parody of LEGO’s recent smash-hit movie and its iconic song ‘Everything is Awesome’. The song is sung not in its original high-energy upbeat style, but as a slow lament, as images of an Arctic created out of LEGO slowly drowns under a tirade of leaked oil from Shell’s oil drilling platforms.

The video is extremely evocative, showing Arctic animals and ways of life drowning, as well as eventually our way of life too. By constructing the set out of LEGO bricks and using the popular song from the movie, the focus is very much on LEGO, while also capitalising on its recent surge in popularity thanks to the movie. Emotional appeals in marketing are shown to be more effective in eliciting a response from viewers (Franzen, 1994). It can be a risky strategy to appeal to negative feelings, however, unless the ‘product’ being marketed offers a solution. Greenpeace’s encouragement to people to sign the petition and make LEGO end their partnership with Shell prevents the campaign from creating purely negative feelings that could work against viral potential by providing a concrete, actionable solution.

The campaign was launched at the end of June 2014. After two weeks of guerilla tactics and the launch of the video, LEGO at first seemed unwilling to change its position, stating that: “We expect that Shell lives up to their responsibilities wherever they operate and take appropriate action to any potential claims should this not be the case.” LEGO maintained that Greenpeace’s dispute was with Shell and not them. However, for Greenpeace, LEGO’s trust in the oil company’s responsibility was not enough, and the campaign intensified. Finally, in October 2014, LEGO announced that it would not renew its partnership with Shell (Vaughan, 2014a).

However, in LEGO’s statement on the termination of the partnership, it was still reserved in its messaging and maintained that it did not agree with Greenpeace’s tactics against them: “We do not want to be part of Greenpeace’s campaign and we will not comment any further on the campaign. We will continue to deliver creative and inspiring LEGO play experiences to children all over the world.” (LEGO, 2014).

The Greenpeace campaign attracted criticism for targeting LEGO specifically. Some individuals pointed to the hypocrisy of the focus on the dissolution of the partnership as a partway solution to Arctic drilling, considering that LEGO bricks are made of plastic, a by-product of oil (Skapinker, 2014). However, LEGO is currently searching for a sustainable alternative material for its bricks, and hopes to replace oil entirely by 2030 (Miel, 2014).

The narrow focus on targeting LEGO also drew criticism for its simplicity in not dealing with the larger issue of energy generation. Chris Rapley, former director of the Science Museum (who opened a gallery in partnership with Shell), said the campaign “might attract headlines and make them feel good, but does not address the real issues and will not deliver the changes we all need.” (Vaughan, 2014b) Additionally, it has been argued that we all use energy and products of oil in our everyday lives, so we are all ‘implicated’, and any action against individual companies is hypocritical (Skapinker, 2014). Both argue that oil companies are also those most heavily involved in renewable energy development, being more truly ‘energy’ companies than purely ‘oil’ companies.

However, a blogger for The Economist (identified just as M.S.) praised Greenpeace’s campaign, saying that just because we are all sinners does not mean we cannot pressure others to behave better, and it is just these sorts of campaigns that encouraged energy companies to invest in renewable energy research in the first place (S., 2014). M.S. also praised the tactics of Greenpeace’s campaign, saying it leveraged the weight of environmental credibility to produce a concrete result: “If Shell comes to fear that drilling in arctic waters will damage its brand and encourage other well-regarded companies to distance themselves from it, that may help dissuade it from further drilling.” The viral tactics of the campaign were lauded by M.S., who identified it as a breakthrough campaign for Greenpeace as they left their roots of unfurling banners from buildings behind and produced a “wickedly clever campaign that feels entirely of this moment”.

In conclusion, the Greenpeace campaign was a success because it combined virality with up-to-date guerilla tactics in order to challenge the environmental credibility and social licence of a globally-recognised and popular toy company. Future Greenpeace campaigns look set to repeat the strategy, and time will tell if they remain successful. Following the announcement that LEGO terminated their partnership with Shell, executive director of Greenpeace UK John Sauven said: “Clearly Shell is trying to piggy back on the credibility of other brands. It’s a good PR strategy if you can get away with it. But as we’ve shown, if you can’t get away with it, that social licence is taken away. It does damage them a lot.” (Vaughan, 2014a).

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Discuss with reference to 2/3 films.

The representation of stereotypical gender identities in filmmaking has evolved throughout cinema history, primarily in accordance with changes in political and social values. The traditional gender stereotyping of the dominant male- the all-powerful, masculine hero – and the spectacle of an emotional, submissive but desirable female counterpart, continues to dominate the filmmaker’s approach to image and narrative in mainstream commercial cinema. However there are examples of films which break with this stereotype as the boundaries which define this traditional role of the male and female are blurred.

Many film critics have considered the essential appeal of cinema in relation to audience participation and the viewer’s willingness to temporarily suspend their views and judgments; to draw parallels, make assumptions and interpretation with the film’s fictionalised ‘reality’. The importance of the relationship between the spectacle and the spectator, the viewed and the viewer, continues to be integral to film theory and criticism. The viewer watches a film with pre-determined thoughts, values, expectations and prejudices. It is the purpose of the filmmaker to draw upon, guide and manipulate the audience’s emotions and sense of ‘realism’. As David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson consider, “Film form can make us perceive things anew, shaking us out of our accustomed habits and suggesting fresh ways of hearing, seeing, feeling, and thinking.”

The audience’s interpretation of a film, the way in which we identify with the characters, is, as is often in life, judged upon initial appearance. The mise-en-scene of a film; namely the use of setting, lighting, costume, with the movement of the actors, visually dictates the story and the viewer’s sense of ‘realism’. These elements are of equal importance and as influential as the filmmaker’s use of camera shot, movement, technique and frame composition. Costume, props and make-up function as a guide in a film, contributing to a narrative with the creation of a specific mood. Assumptions can be made about a character before they have even spoken, based entirely upon their physical appearance. Film genres play with costume props and make-up extensively, typically for the purpose of creating realism, or to give impact to an image.

The representation of cross-dressing in commercial mainstream cinema has conventionally been avoided or included for comic purpose. The disguise by the divorced husband played by Robin Williams as a female housekeeper in ‘Mrs Doubtfire’ (1993) typifies the humorous and inoffensive approach to the taboo subject which had been previously explored in films such as ‘Some Like It Hot'(1959) and ‘Tootsie’ (1982). These were roles in which the male protagonist finds it necessary to disguise themselves as women so as to ensure their success and happiness in life, and is not meant as a representation of gender confusion or sexual ambivalence. Each dresses in drag for comic effect, it is visual clown comedy. Mrs. Euphegenia Doubtfire is a divorced man determined to remain with his children in any way possible, so becomes their female nanny. In ‘Tootsie’ an unemployed actor disguises himself as a woman to get a role in a soap opera and becomes a star. In ‘Some Like It Hot’ two musicians witness a mob hit and escape in an all-female band disguised as women. The audience are in on the joke alongside the men (played by Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis) while the fellow characters remain humorously oblivious. The light hearted, harmless, and unquestionably unrealistic, approach to gender identity in such films reflects cinema’s historical aesthetic tradition of telling a story which is the ‘norm’, familiar to its audiences, and marketed as entertainment for mass appeal

The portrayal of cross-dressing in relation to gender and sexual confusion in cinema is stereotypically of a character tormented by pain and uncertainty. The film is subjective, following their personal journey as they seek personal happiness and fulfilment, and a release of their fears. Such gender identity is typically explored by filmmaker’s through psychoanalytical representation. A film which exemplifies such depiction is Alfred Hitchcock’s film ‘Psycho’ (1960). The film tells the story of Norman Bates, a crazed individual whose obsessive need of his mother (he literally preserves her body in his basement), leads him to become her. The silhouette of Norman wearing a dress and wig as he raises his arm and slashes the defenceless heroine of the film as she has a shower is perhaps the most well-known images of cross-dressing in cinema history. A psychiatrist explains to the viewer as the film ends, “He was simply doing everything possible to keep alive the illusion of his mother being alive. And when reality came too close, when danger or desire threatened that illusion, he dressed up, even in a cheap wig he’d bought. He’d walk about the house, sit in her chair, and speak in her voice. He tried to be his mother.” Hitchcock is able to successfully manipulate his audience into identifying with each of the film’s victims in turn; firstly, with his female protagonist Marion Crane and then the male/female antagonist Norman Bates. The viewer’s emotions are shifted as Hitchcock forces us into exploring and comprehending the complex world of his mind and reconsider his identity and our interpretation of him.

The gender coding of masculine restraint, with the emphasis upon physique and not emotional charge, is evocatively explored in ‘Boy’s Don’t Cry’ (1999), a film which powerfully addresses the issue of sexual identity and gender roles. The film tells the story of Brandon Tenna (played by Oscar winning Hilary Swank), a young girl who successfully integrates herself into a small town Nebraskan community as a man, has a loving relationship with a woman, and who is later raped and murdered when it is discovered that he is in fact biologically female, given the birth name of Teena Brandon. Based upon a true story, filmmaker Kimberley Pierce explores not what it means being a lesbian but what it is to be a woman who feels that she is a man. Teena cuts her hair, tapes her breasts, and puts a sock down her trousers, hiding her female identity, and making not a sexual but a social transformation. The film is a graphic portrayal of the manifestation of hate, ignorance and ultimately the use of violence as a display of “manhood”. Significantly, it is not Teena who is represented as being crazed, but her attackers as they brutally rape her and shoot into her defenceless body. The viewer is forced to confront their own biases and prejudice as Pierce positions us without remission or apology throughout the shockingly explicit ordeals that Teena Brandon suffers. Pierce said of her film, “I think it’s a universal story that affects people regardless of their sexual orientation … the point is to engage the audience as deeply as possible with all the characters and allow the audience to see itself reflected in all of them, in the tragedy as a whole.” What makes the film so hauntingly frightening is its believability; that the rape and murder were so predetermined and could so likely happen again if a similar situation were to arise. Pierce asks the viewer to consider this.
Cinema has the capacity to shift and change an audiences understanding and evaluation of a subject matter. The individual expression of an artistic vision by the filmmaker is open to a flexibility which invites interpretation and rethinking. The varied representations of cross-dressing in films throughout cinema history, to the present day direct addressing of the taboo in films such as ‘The Crying Game'(Neil Jordan, 1992) and ‘Boy’s Don’t Cry’ exemplifies how complex subject matters might don’t necessarily alienate film audiences.

Bibliography:

Bordwell, David & Thompson, Kristin. Film Art, New York: McGraw Hill. 1990.

Francesca Miller. Putting Teena Brandon’s Story on Film. Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide. Volume: 7. Issue: 4. 2000.