Animation

I chose to continuing using the Disney Corporation as my muse. After hearing the assignment I pictured exactly what I wanted to do and I'm pleased with how it came out. I chose a frame of mickey mouse and placed the different branches, divisions and companies owned by Disney flashing inside. Towards the end I put an image of Tinkerbell, followed by the fireworks that often erupt from her wand and close with the image seen on the left. The images start out flashing slowly at first and then speed up until the last frame. I wanted to finish with this image because it's representative of how Disney is prevalent in almost every country throughout the world. Furthermore, in a satirical sense, it represents how Disney has the possibility of taking over media companies worldwide.

Illustrator Studio - Magazine Cover

I found this cover when searching for one to choose for the assignment. It interested me because at first I assumed that the picture was a depiction of how so many Americans have lost their homes due to foreclosure. When I took a closer look I saw that it was from a few years ago and instead the cover was pointing out the booming real estate market. Finding this cover today is ironic as the state of our economy is no where near where it was in 2006. The news all throughout this past summer was about the number of foreclosures and bankruptcies occurring throughout the country. Many Americans were over spending and once they weren't able to make payments they began to rely on credit and eventually declare bankruptcy. This reliance on credit is frighteningly similar to the situation in which the Great Depression arose.

When working on the cover in Illustrator, I wanted to depict today's current real estate market. Middle class and upper-middle class families were the ones hit the hardest. Many of the houses that foreclosed were larger suburban homes. Families were shocked and upset at the loss of their homes and their financial stability. Additionally, the idea of the American Dream is no longer as reachable and promising as it used to be. With gas and food expenses rising alongside inflation and the American dollar falling in value, Americans aren't able to spend or save the way they used to.

Quiz - Media Globalization

1. The emergence of and continued dominance of the global media industry by a small number of transnational media conglomerates.
5. The uneven flow of information and communication products within the global system and the different levels of access that global citizens have to global networks and communication.
6. The promotion of the ideology of consumerism which is therefore bound up wit the capitalist project.

(1) The globalization of the media industry has lead to the formation of just a select few all-powerful transnational media conglomerates. Time Warner, Disney, Viacom and the News Corporation each maintain the high status of being one of the few companies which holds significant power over the world’s media. These large corporations often own, or maintain interest in consumer products and services in addition to their media outlets. Time Warner holds interests in AOL America, HBO, New Line Cinema, Time Inc., Time Warner Cable, TBS Turner Broadcasting, and Warner Brothers Entertainment. Disney maintains stakes in dozens of different companies in all different industries. For example, Walt Disney Studios, Disney-ABC Television Group, ESPN Inc., Walt Disney Internet Group, dozens of Disney consumer products, and their famous Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

(5) What is interesting about the idea of media globalization is that there are still many parts of the world that do not have the same amount of access to media as many western countries do. For example, there are many areas of Africa and South Asia that do not have access to all the different forms of media that a typical American would. This has caused a ‘digital divide’ between the different societies. Some believe it to be also a result of social class, education, geography, attitudes towards media, the generation in which one grew up in, and even physical disability. As Devereux states, “One’s ability to participate in a wire world is not a give. It is socially and economically determined.” Many internet and cell-phone service providers state that they’re service will keep you connected worldwide. In fact, Verizon states their Business package, Enterprise Mobility Solutions, will “keep corporate end-users connected globally”. When thinking about this critically, it is easy to wonder whether they truly have the capability of maintaining a connection in every part of the world. Secondly, the technology required to be able to maintain connection is most likely offered only in America, or at most a few other Western countries. This leads to the point that not everyone has complete access to all forms of media. There are many areas of the world that are still untapped by the internet, cable, or telephone lines. It is in these areas that they citizens have little access to the technology needed to gain access to forms of media, whether it is due to economical or social constraints.

(6)Many people believe that the large media conglomerates hold too much power. This connects to both points one and five. Because these corporations have so much power, they hold a lot of sway in how members of different societies are exposed to information. While point number five points out that there are areas in the world that have no access to the media, there are even more areas that are only exposed to a small amount of media. It is in these societies that the large media conglomerates can be seen as too powerful. The large corporations may very well be the only media provider in certain areas of the world. With no competition from the other conglomerates, they maintain free reign on what media is provided and how it is presented. The news can be told in ways which are biased and therefore cause society to misunderstand important issues. Additionally, as explained in point one, many of these media conglomerates hold stakes in consumer products and services. Thus, if they are the only media provider, they are most likely only going to promote and advertise their own goods. The effect on society is that they are uninformed about their consumer options and often forced into accepting certain branded identities because it is both consciously and subconsciously forced on the society. Many believe that the large corporations are run purely on intentions of gaining profit and therefore force feed societies media laced with consumerism hoping to make a quick buck.

Media globalization has caused a lot of concern over the power held by thy large media corporations. Not only do they maintain lots of power on what they put in their media, but they also can present it in any way they wish. The fact that many areas don’t have full and complete access to all forms of media creates the uneven, digital divide. Depending on their geographic location, different people have different access to information. Thus, people who aren’t able to gain access to full information cannot make smart and informed decisions. Several scholars and researchers believe this lack of information can lead people in societies to be forced into a mass consumer frame of mind. In areas of the world which don’t have complete media access, there is a fear that these citizens will fall under the large media conglomerates superiority and change their form of consumption in ways that may be hazardous to their economical and physical lifestyles.

Media Globalization and Resistance

Media globalization is currently dominated by a few powerful transnational media conglomerates. These large corporations virtually have free reign on how they operate as the environment is pretty much unregulated. This allows for the global media industry to have a lot of power in deciding what information is provided to the public and how it is presented. Additionally, these media conglomerates have enormous opportunity when it comes to promoting their own subdivisions. By having so much control over the media, the corporations can easily promote the other products or services they own.

Due to their high level of power in terms of promoting information and products and services, many people believe that the corporations only do things which will serve their own interests and not necessarily think about what is best for the society. Additionally, many scholars believe that corporations are creating a period of media imperialism. If citizens are only provided with certain information and are only aware of certain products or services, they are, in a sense, being taken advantage of. There are several parts of the world in which societies are not able to access a lot of media. Thus, what little media they are able to access only provides them with so much information.

Because many of the media conglomerates are headquartered and run in Western countries, many believe that media globalization is causing a cultural homogenization. There is fear that soon Western products and Western forms of media will completely dominate the global market because Western companies hold the reigns over much of the global media. On the other hand, many people have performed research on this very topic and have found that while many societies do accept and enjoy Western media, they still maintain strong ties to their own culture. Others have even gone on to say that media globalization has instead created stronger local cultures as societies have seen other cultures and in turn, gained greater respect for their own.

Still, many people believe that large corporations are causing negative affects and ruining the different cultures around the world. Many resistance groups have formed as a result. The Yes Men is an activist group who’s purpose is, “impersonating big time criminals in order to humiliate them.” They believe the large media conglomerates are only in their business to make a profit at the expense of everyone else. They often take such outrageous positions it can end up being comical. Whether this tactic is successful is difficult to tell. The Yes Men take a more passive form of resistance, but do a good job of providing information and an alternative view. Naomi Klein wrote a book which inspired the movie “No Logo”, which looks at how corporations have stopped focusing on creating products and instead on how to create brand identities which are then incorporated by people into their own lives. Klein points out how these large corporations have caused a destruction to consumer choice and are in effect, undemocratic.

Media Globalization Remix

When thinking of a media globalization, Disney is at the top of my mind. Their presence is truly global and they have reached that point because they constantly grew beyond national borders. Not only does every child know who Mickey Mouse is, but everyone knows the Disney name. The Disney franchise includes many different forms of media:

• Television Channels - Disney Channel, ABC, ESPN, Lifetime, Soap Net
• Movie Companies: Disney, Touchstone, Miramax, Hollywood Pictures, Buena Vista, Pixar
  
• Theme Parks - Disneyland, Disneyworld, EuroDisney, Tokyo Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, California Adventure
  
• Record Label - Hollywood Records
• Vacation Destinations - Cruise Line, Adventures by Disney, resorts worldwide
  
• Cell Phones - Disney Mobile
• Magazines - Discovery, Family Fun

These are just a few of the many assets owned by Disney. I chose to pick some of the most well known companies to be a part of the collage. Placing Mickey as the center of it all was significant in that it was with Mickey Mouse that the entire company started.

Media Globalization

Walt Disney’s famous characters are an example of media globalization. Disney is currently a global marketplace itself. The Disney Corporation produces movies, shows, merchandise, and has family vacation spots and theme parks throughout the world. Mickey Mouse is one of the most recognized icons in the world. His popularity stems to all age groups as the younger generation enjoys the current entertainment while parents and grandparents hold positive nostalgic feelings for him. People of all ages can go to a Disney theme park and get lost in the family friendly fun. Mickey’s global reach has grown primarily because of cartoons. While the characters and the storyline are the same, each country can dub their own language into the show. This has allowed Mickey to be loved by children throughout the world. Additionally, Mickey is lovable because he is human in respect to the fact that he makes mistakes and can goof up but has a sincere heart.

In terms of studying Mickey in a social context, it’s interesting to look at how much social power Mickey has. During elections, many times voters have the opportunity to write in a vote. When people feel as though there isn’t a good candidate to represent them, or if they are boycotting the election, Mickey has often been written in on ballots. Several other countries, most often in Europe, have used Mickey and Donald Duck to represent their negative feelings about elections. Mickey’s image has also been used by Islamic Extremists in Palestine. A television series entitled “Tomorrow’s Pioneers” had a character on it named Farfour that looked very much like Mickey Mouse. In the show, Farfour promoted a movement to a world led by Islamists. He also glorified violence and weaponry. By using a character similar to Mickey Mouse, the Islamists proved just how powerful Mickey is. Of all the characters in the world, they chose Mickey to be the one to use in order to reach kids of the younger generation. Young children are easily persuaded and Mickey being as popular as he is could certainly be used to reach kids at their level. Disney was very upset by the whole show as Mickey was never meant to be used to teach radicalism.

U2 & the Record Industry

When choosing an artist to compare and contrast to U2, I wanted one that would measure up to U2’s popularity and global reach. The first female artist I thought of was Madonna. I think she is similar to U2 in that she has been around for several decades and has a strong following throughout the world. Comparisons past that are pretty slim, however. Where as many U2 fans enjoy their songs because of the lyrics, I believe that many Madonna fans love her songs because they are entertaining. U2 has a strong following of both male and female listeners while the majority of Madonna’s fans are female. U2 has a specific sound that they have created and maintained. Madonna on the other hand seems to flow with the times. She’s talented at picking up what’s popular at the moment, whether it be a bit of a country twang or hip hop beat, but her songs continuously maintain top of chart status.

What type of demographic factors shape her fan base?
The bulk of Madonna’s fan base belongs to young women 16-30. Her songs are usually fun and upbeat making them good songs to play in the car with friends or out for a night on the town. She doesn’t necessarily have the same following with men. While I’m sure there are men that like her music, I think that most see her more as merely an entertainer and not as a respected musician. I feel as though she doesn’t have distinct class following but she has been known to reach out to bisexual and homosexual groups due to her speaking out on behalf of educating people about bisexuality (think of Madonna, Britney and Christina at the VMA’s). Madonna is certainly not known for being modest or meek, so I’d say she has few overly religious or pious fans. Much of her early work dealt with the irony of religion (thus her name being Madonna). She’s popular worldwide, the number one female artist of all time in the United Kingdom and has recently been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1). Her song “Hung Up” reached #1 in 45 countries (2).

Do Madonna fans constitute a specific subculture?
I don’t believe that current Madonna fans have created their own subculture. I think she had more of a cult following when she first became popular. She really epitomized the eighties and its sexual revolution. A lot of people started to follow her fashion trends. Now, I think she is seen more of a music artist and not necessarily a fashion icon. Additionally, she doesn’t have the same shock value as she did previously. Whereas many of her songs and videos had strong sexual themes in them, she has somewhat toned them down to be a little more subtle and has relatively stopped any religious themes. Currently, I don’t believe her fans are part of a subculture. While she’s still a popular female artist, I feel that her influence on society has diminished.

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_(entertainer)
2. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_records_has_Madonna_sold_world_wide