Social Subjectivites: How to Be Judgmental Without Even Knowing It

There are many social subjectivities, but the ones that come to mind are: Age, class, gender, race, religion, sex, and sexuality.

Due to the commonality of social subjectivities as well as its connection to ideologies, social subjectivities becomes an important phenomenon to discuss in media studies.

Social subjectivities occur in our everyday lives. It is how one person views another person and is tied to ideology because of how much value is placed on social subjectivities. For instance, we can look at how someone is dressed as well as their grammar and try to determine what class they fall into, we develop a narrative of their life, and we do it without evening thinking about it. For example with all of the signifiers in this picture, the missing tooth, the flannel, the cowboy hat, the guns, and confederate flag, are all signs that this is a redneck. So we social subjectify him as such.

                                                               figure 1.

It’s strange that at this point in time, in my personal life, I am not experiencing social subjectivities. Many women find themselves as activists for feminism, I have yet to experience my gender holding me back from goals, jobs, etc.

Media in terms of its use for empowerment has definitely been used in the past couple of years. I have not personally used it for empowerment purposes, but those that have include, gay rights, black lives matter, woman’s rights and more.

A recent use of media for empowerment was the half-time show performance at the 2016 Super Bowl represented the Black Lives Matter movement and the Gay Rights movement. Coldplay based his part of the show around Gay Rights through symbolism, with vivid colors and the recurrence of the symbol for Gay rights the rainbow. 

                                          figure 2. 

The Black Lives Matter movement was shown through Beyoncé’s performance who is a powerful Black Women who showed her support through the dressing up in 

Black Panther attire and singing her song Formation that directly discusses race.

By referencing the Black Panthers in Beyoncé’s performance, she is using subject positioning and directly using popular culture to do so. The Super Bowl half-time show was one of the best times to make a statement through media to have access to the largest audience possible. Which was a smart move on her part.

                                          figure 3.

Those that viewed the half-time show had much to say regarding her performance on whether it was right or wrong and those beliefs and values that are reflected while ideological are basing their opinions on what was observed through social subjectivities.

Links: 

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/f9/0f/77/f90f7718bb22f16073bebb286e37da4a.jpg

http://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Screen-Shot-2016-02-08-at-10.22.02-AM-620x413.jpg 

 https://kellygermaine.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/beyoncc3a9-superbowl-2016.png?w=568&h=307

RSA and ISA, What Do You Believe?

Ideology is understood as beliefs, values and ideas. Most link ideology to Communism due to the various texts written by Marx such as the Communist Manifesto.

                                      Figure 1.

Much of ideology is based on politics and social structure such as the class system. Production in the world is created because of social structure and in order to have effective production in society there needs to specific conditions. These conditions are effective because the previous production is reproduced.

For instance, you have a product, in order to obtain that product you have materials, the materials are obtained from a merchant, that merchant has workers, those workers get paid wages. The wages keep the workers returning in order to feed their family so that their children will continue the job when they are gone. If this exact formula is reproduced than it is reproduction of production.

Although with every formula rules are applied in order to achieve the same outcome.

But with rules, or signifiers comes user error due to metaphor. This is why ideology can produce different results because people can have different beliefs, values and ideas based on variables.

Figure 2. 

So Marx created 2 representations of ideology such as, ISA which is Ideological State Apparatus and RSA: Repressive State Apparatus. 

The ISA is described by Marx as religious, educational, family, legal, political, trade-union, and communications and cultural.Marx says that all of these elements function together as Ideology, by beliefs, values and ideas. He goes on to describe RSA.

RSA is described by Marx as, “the Government, the Administration, the Army, the Police, the Courts, the Prisons etc.” (Althusser, Ideology andIdeological State Apparatuses.)

Where ISA is considered mainly ideology with little to no violence  RSA is considered violent, with the main word examined is repress. A current example of RSA is the Police brutality and Black Lives Matter movement.

                                     Figure 3.

Now when examining media and media studies these topics fit under the Ideological State Apparatus. For example media and media studies fits under communications. Communications can be heavily based on metaphor because of its basis on language. 

When one studies media they realize that there are various different platforms where media can be expressed through language and through content. One platform can be social media such as twitter. When one writes on twitter sometimes their messages can be misconstrued because of how the reader interprets the text due to metaphor or preconceived ideas. Once again ideology is beliefs, values and ideas, therefore communications in this example is considered ISA.

Links:

https://ato1952.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/ac019-9914779-background-concept-wordcloud-illustration-of-ideology-glowing-light.jpg?w=450&h=350

https://blinkutopia.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/karl-marx.jpg

http://america.aljazeera.com/content/ajam/articles/2015/5/28/minneapolis-may-become-the-next-baltimore/_jcr_content/image.adapt.480.low.Minneapolis_police_black_white_race_aclu_05289.jpg

https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/althusser/1970/ideology.htm#n8 

A Walk Through Interpretation: The Semiotic Way

As humans we create meaning in our everyday lives. When we see a stop sign we understand that, that means stop. 

The manner in which we create meaning is done through the identification and study of signs, this is called semiotics. Semiotics is very much a study of language as well, since so much meaning derives from the written word.

A sign can be described by an equation:

 signifier + signified = sign

Signifier and signified I believe were best described by Daniel Chandler in his writings of Semiotics for Beginners. A signifier is said to be “the form which the sign takes” where the signified is said to be “the concept it represents.” (Chandler. Signs) 

So we use the stop sign analogy: the color red + the word stop + the octagonal shape (signifiers) + Red means danger + word stop means stop + octagon shape is a warning (signified) = Stop sign (sign)

                                                          Figure 1. Stop Sign 

Signs require other signs in conjunction, in order to develop meaning, which is the idea of codes.

Codes explain why signs make sense; they are our reasoning behind developing meaning.

Though semiotic analysis may seem complex it is extremely important to success in various fields of work, for instance advertisements are always directed towards a certain audience and are trying to present a product in a certain light.  By using certain images and colors or even music these are the signs they are using to create meaning for the viewer.

For example you could produce a semiotic analysis for McDonalds and develop an interpretation as to why the advertisers chose the colors they did and how we know that a sign in a McDonalds sign, what characteristics signify that it is in fact a McDonalds.

                                                           Figure 2. McDonalds 

You would look into the letter M, the color yellow, the word McDonalds and so on. 

Meanings and interpretations are never ending, because we spend our lives interpreting what’s around us.Semiotics can define success and by studying it and understanding the reasoning behind interpretations we get closer to understanding humans and thought processes.

Links: 

  http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/S4B/

  http://theleadershipprogram.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/stop-sign.jpg 

  http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/50921000/jpg/_50921947_mcdonalds.jpg