Reflecting Our Social Values
A combination of the codes and conventions mentioned above are used to construct a representation of a product that reflects one or more social values. Occasionally the media challenges the dominant social values of the audience in order to shock them or to change a behaviour or belief.
All social values are partly based on fact (how society actually is) and partly on fantasy (how we would like to be). Advertisers know this and play the two off against each other very effectively. To fully understand social values you will need to do as the advertisers do, conduct some research into to the value you are investigating. Compare and contrast the facts with the social value to see how social values both shape and are reflected in an advertisement.
So representations reflect and/or challenge social values. And you need to be able to identify the particular representations presented in media texts, and discuss the extent to which they reflect or challenge the social values of the period of its production.
When a media text goes into production and is set in a specific time, eg. The 1960’s, that text contains certain elements which tie in with the social fabric of the time. This may be represented within the costumes, language, issues dealt with or the characters themselves and how they interact. This can also be representative of the country or nation in which the text was made. The text becomes a ‘stamp’ for a place in history.
A social value is the importance that the society, as a mass, places on an ideal. It can also be a person’s principles or standards or his or her judgement of what is valuable and important in life. An example of a value statement is the idea of the “the importance of family”, not just the word “family”.
A combination of the codes and conventions mentioned above are used to construct a representation of a product that reflects one or more social values. Occasionally the media challenges the dominant social values of the audience in order to shock them or to change a behaviour or belief.
All social values are partly based on fact (how society actually is) and partly on fantasy (how we would like to be). Advertisers know this and play the two off against each other very effectively. To fully understand social values you will need to do as the advertisers do, conduct some research into to the value you are investigating. Compare and contrast the facts with the social value to see how social values both shape and are reflected in an advertisement.
So representations reflect and/or challenge social values. And you need to be able to identify the particular representations presented in media texts, and discuss the extent to which they reflect or challenge the social values of the period of its production.
When a media text goes into production and is set in a specific time, eg. The 1960’s, that text contains certain elements which tie in with the social fabric of the time. This may be represented within the costumes, language, issues dealt with or the characters themselves and how they interact. This can also be representative of the country or nation in which the text was made. The text becomes a ‘stamp’ for a place in history.
A social value is the importance that the society, as a mass, places on an ideal. It can also be a person’s principles or standards or his or her judgement of what is valuable and important in life. An example of a value statement is the idea of the “the importance of family”, not just the word “family”.