To what extent have the following two pictures gone through a process of mediation?

In this essay I am going to be analysing and deconstructing these two pictures refferring to semiotics, binary oppositions and ideology.

In this first picture, the main focus is on the knocked down flats at the front. There are many binary oppositions such as the the building symbolises distruction, loss, death and the fact that people used to live there and have memories. However, behind the building is the Capitol Hill which is a buliding of parlament. Two images are combined into one which have seperate, opposite meanings.
When you first look at the photo you just see half a buliding and thats it, but then if you study the photo it has semiotics behind it; It looks as if Capitol Hill is looking upon or avoiding the fact that these things happen to people in actual life.

The second photo also has binary oppositions. The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of freedom and opportunity. The sunlight is beaming on it so it looks bright and gives the photo a positive feel. In contrast to this, in the background there is thick, black smoke which we then know automatically that something has happened. It has connotations of danger and loss, we get this from it being dark, dull and smoke is usually around when a fire or a destruction of some sort is going on. It is like completely two different pictures in one as they both give off different symbols.
Also, when you look closely at the Statue of Liberty it kind of looks as if it has been photoshopped in as it is clear and has no mist of smoke anywhere near it. This could just be the angle of the photo but does make you question.

Does the media merely reflect sociey or is it instrumental in constructing it?

There are many types of media such as, television, radio, newspaper, magazines etc. But they all play a different part in our lives. Television broadcasts information visually which helps us relate to people because we see facial expressions and the tone of voices. We also watch soaps which is supposedly a copy of reality. However, in my opinion this isn’t always true. In occasions, we do see things that relate to our lives, for example marriage, adultery, new life and death, but within soaps it is slightly exaggerated and can ‘construct’ our opinion on certain things.

The radio also does this but in a different way. Seeing as the main purpose of the radio is music and the main purpose for song writers is for the public to listen to the words of their songs. And this is what we do. Certain lyrics could change your opinion. Also, the presenter on the radio station sometimes tells stories about his/her lifestyle, this also constructs our society because it is seen that that is how we should live.

In addition to this, newspapers and magazines do this in another way, celebrities and other people in the public eye such as criminals etc. are always followed by the paparazzi. This constructs our opinion as if we see a certain person doing a certain thing it can change our opinion on somebody. For example, if we were to see a picture of Prince Harry in a nightclub overly drunk, the majority of the public would be shocked and disgraced. Certain things the public see in the media of newspapers or magazines can influence actions like a celebrity losing so much weight could cause someone to become anorexic over a certain amount of time because they think this is how we should be. I also have a strong opinion on the fact that ‘fashion pages’ definitely construct our society. It basically tells us what to wear and how we should look depending on our body shapes etc. If we see that a famous person is wearing a fashion item which is then sold in a high street shop, there is a large chance that more than half the public that see this will then go and buy it.

I have noticed that throughout my essay I mention a lot about celebrities and how we see them and their lifestyles. We all do deep down wish to be famous, well known and looked at as an idol so it is the media that lets us in and shows us this. They construct society by giving the impression that that is how we should or should not in some cases, live our lives, look and act. We all have similar ideas to what is ‘perfect’ but who is to say that is what perfect is? It is only how we are taught to be. Who knows in another world perfect could have been seen as something completely different.

Media Manifesto

My name is Emily-Louise Dann :)
I would sum myself up as extremely lazy. Who isn't? But time to get my head down and focus. I hope ha. I would not say at all that I am an optimistic, but it isn't as bad as it sounds, I just don't get my hopes up.
In my GCSE's I took 7 exams, out of that I got 6 A*-C grades. I failed additional science but to be honest, I am not suprised, I could never get my head around science! Apart from that, I am happy with the grades I got. Although there isn't many, I still managed to get myself here :)
I chose Media Studies as I did it as a GCSE, so I thought I would carry it on. Also, it could help towards further careers such as, journalism, presenting etc. that I would like to persue.
Targets/challenges that I am setting myself at the beginning of sixth form is to OBVIOUSLY not be lazy ha, what a challenge aye!? Also, me being me, I would always leave everything 'til the last minute but this time around I am going to try to do it before. It would make life so much easier.