Media and Collective Identity

Identity

• David Buckingham and David Gauntlett are two of the most influential writers in media education
• They're both concerned with the relationship between media and cultural identity
• Buckingham (2008) - 'A focus on identity requires us to pay close attention to the diverse ways in which media and technologies are used in everyday life and their consequences both for individuals and for social groups
• Gauntlett (2007) - 'Identity is compicated. Everyone thinks they've got one. Magazines and talk show hosts urge us to explore our identity. Religious and national identities are at the heart of major international conflicts about their 'true' identity. And the average teenager can create 3 online identities before breakfast... Thinking about self indentity and individuality can cause some anxiety at least in cultures where individuals are encouraged to value their personal uniqueness. Each of us would like to think that we have special, personal qualities which meaks us distinctive and valuable to the other people in our lives.
• 'On the internet nobody knows you're a dog' Which relates to how we can construct an alternative identity for ourselves online
• Clothes we wear, media we consume, people we like
• Goffman (1990) - 'the presentation of self'
• Stakes get higher for identity when people feel marginalised, victimised or in anyway prejudice against because of their identity
• E.g. minority ethnic groups, gays, elderly, disabled
• For gay men, there is the issue of whether 'straight-acting' is a safer 'way of being' as being gay is not an immediately visible trait
• These examples take us into the realm of collective identity