Asy1 media c2 sc online zoella introduction language and representation

/Y1 MEDIA STUDIES
OMPONENT 2 SECTION C: ONLINE
EDIA
oella.co.uk
/www.youtube.com/user/zoella280390
y YT Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w7jyVHocTk&list=PLUPxDOG-YGRDVtj_jKKv6kBfca4oTbxyx

What do you already know about Zoella?
3 facts on a post it note below

Zoe Elizabeth Sugg (born 28 March 1990)
Grew up in Lacock, Wiltshire.
Currently lives in Brighton, East Sussex.
In a relationship with fellow YouTube star Alfie Deyes. ("Zalfie")
Sugg was working as an apprentice at an interior design company when she created
her blog, "Zoella", in February 2009.
 By the end of the year it had a thousand followers.
 As of September 2015 it had received over 540 million total visits.
The fashion, beauty and lifestyle blog expanded into a YouTube channel in 2009,
while Sugg was working for British clothing retailer New Look.
 Subscribers: 12+ million
 Total views: 1+ billion
[source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoella]

As she has got older so too has
her target audience.
Over time, her ‘Zoella’ brand has
grown, from a girl working alone
in her bedroom, into a global,
multifaceted company with lots
of employees.
Here’s a timeline of her career to
date…

 February 2007 - Aged 17, Zoe registers a YouTube channel under
the username Zoella280390, but doesn't post anything.
 February 2009 - While working as an interior design apprentice,
Zoe (19) sets up blog 'Zoella', and shares her first post "I LOVE
LUSH" - a review of some products her boyfriend at the time
bought her for Valentine's Day.
 May 2009 - After continuing to blog almost everyday (sharing
posts about everything from 'bootsale bargains' to asking for name
suggestions for her goldfish), Zoe begins to be invited to events as
a blogger.
 17 December 2009 - Zoe posts her first YouTube video, '60 Things
In My Bedroom', along with the caption: "I will be doing a room
tour, but I had seen a few of these videos & I always love watching
them, so I figured I would do one too."
 She was working in New Look at the time.
Source:
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/a12227772/zoellas-career-timeline/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zoe_Sugg

 July 2011 - After sharing a new YouTube video once a
month(ish), varying from 'About Me, 13 Personal Questions &
My Hair' to 'The Sibling Tag', Zoe teams up with fellow
YouTuber Sprinkle of Glitter to share their tips on making a
successful blog. In the caption, she wrote:
November 2011 - Zoella's blog wins "Best Established Beauty
Blog" in the Cosmopolitan Blog Awards.
Source:

 February 2012 - Zoe celebrates her blog's third birthday,
thanking her fans and writing, "I know it’s not the top dog blog
of the blogging world, but i’m incredibly amazed at how many
of you follow and comment and support me".
 April 2012 - Zoe and Sprinkle of Glitter set up their own
makeup brush business, Louella. (Not much about it online
anymore, so it's unlikely to still exist).
Source:

Source:
 November 2012 - She opens up about her anxiety in video
'Dealing with Panic Attacks & Anxiety | Zoella', which has
since racked up over 4 million views.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-iNOFD27G4

Source:
30 November 2012 - Zoe sets up a
second YouTube channel,
'MoreZoella', is set up to host her
vlogs. The first one she shared was
"Zoe & Darcy Day", featuring
Sprinkle of Glitter's daughter.
April 2013 - Her YouTube
channel hits 1 million
subscribers, and she
celebrates with a montage of
her favourite moments since
she started filming.

Source:
August 2013 - Zoe confirms she's dating fellow
YouTube Alfie Deyes aka PointlessBlog via a blogpost
on her website, and the pair quickly become one of the
power couples of the internet.
October 2013 - The Telegraph name Zoella, who had
500,000 followers at the time, the 93rd most
influential Tweeter in the world.
November 2013 - At the Radio 1 Teen Choice Awards,
she wins 'Choice Web Star: Female' and 'Choice Web
Star: Fashion and Beauty’.
December 2013 - Zoe shares a montage of her best
moments from the year just gone - and some of them
are pretty impressive.

Source:
September 2014 - Zoella Beauty is
announced: a range of 'Tutti Frutti'
scented bath and beauty products,
which reportedly went on to be
Superdrug's fastest-selling range of all
time.

Source:
 25 November 2014 - Zoella debuts
her first ever novel, Girl Online,
which broke the record for highest
first-week sales of a first-time
novelist, selling 78,109 in one week.
 Though Penguin Books later
admitted: "Zoe Sugg did not write
the book Girl Online on her own”,
and the YouTuber was criticised for
using a ghostwriter without
disclosing it.

Source:
November 2014 - The Sunday Times report Zoella earned £400,000
in the last six months.
December 2014 - As part of Band Aid 30, she (and Alfie) took part in
the charity single, 'Do They Know It's Christmas?’ they are the first
non-musicians to do so.

Source:
April 2015 Zoe and Alfie
unveil wax work figures of
themselves at Madame
Tussauds
Summer 2015 - Sugg took
part in the 2015 Comic Relief
edition of The Great British
Bake Off.
20 October 2015 - A sequel to
her first book, Girl Online: On
Tour, is released.
By the end of 2015, Zoe's main YouTube channel has
over 9.9 million subscribers and over 663 million
video views; her second channel has over 3.4 million
subscribers and over 290 million video views.

Source:
 May 2016 - The second round of Zoella Beauty products, 'Sweet
Inspirations', launches, featuring "8 products smelling of sweet
macarons and housed in beautiful pastel french patisserie style
packaging".
July 2016 - Zoella
hits 10 million (!)
subscribers on her
main channel and
is awarded the
Youtube Diamond
Play Button
award.

Source:
September 2016 - Zoella Lifestyle is
announced! A range of scented candles,
slogan cushions and stationery.
October 2016 - Zoella covers
Cosmopolitan magazine
October 2016 - The Independent
report Zoella earns £50,000 a
month wage and has a net worth
of around £3m.
November 2016 - The third and final book in her
Girl Online trilogy is released, Going Solo.

The term 'Sugg Life' is a play on 'Thug life', a phrase popularised
by Tupac Shakur's 1990s hip hop group of the same name and
more recently an internet meme.
The online shop offered a range of products such as hoodies,
stickers and phone cases.
Source:
In late 2016, Sugg and her brother Joe
(Thatcher Joe) released a range of branded
merchandise called 'Sugg Life', created in
collaboration with The Creator Store, a
company owned by Alfie Deyes and
Dominic Smales of Gleam Futures.

Source:
March 2017 - Fizziology ranked influencers
based on their social reach and average
engagement across social platforms, as well
as their cultural, political and social
influence, and named Zoella as the number
one most influential.
July 2017 - The latest Zoella Beauty range,
'Jelly & Gelato' is released, featuring
everything from bath milk to a beauty
clutch.
August 2017 - Zoella announces a new
range of Lifestyle products specifically for
Christmas, including an advent calendar,
mugs, hot water bottles and more.

Source:
August 2017, The Creator Store opened a pop-up shop in Covent
Garden which, for ten days, sold limited edition 'Sugg Life X PB'
merchandise; a collaboration of Sugg Life and Deyes' 'Pointless
Blog' brands. As of May 2018, the Sugg Life online shop is no
longer active.

Source:
January 2018: Sugg and Deyes start A to Z Creatives and A to Z
Merchandise, a Brighton-based brand agency.
They are also directors of Crew Live Limited (the company
responsible for YouTube convention Hello World) alongside fellow
YouTubers Tanya Burr, Marcus Butler, Jim Chapman, Caspar
Lee, Louise Pentland, Niomi Smart, Joe Sugg, and Gleam
Futures CEO Dominic Smales.
https://www.atozcreatives.com/

Source:
October 2018 Sugg's non-fiction book, Cordially Invited, offering advice
on entertaining guests at home and planning celebrations, was
published by Hodder & Stoughton
February 2019 Sugg worked on a limited edition makeup range with
ColourPop Cosmetics, based on 70s fashion.
April 2019, Sugg announced Filmm, a mobile photography app that she
co-developed with Elsie Larson and Emma Chapman.
December 2019, she announced Template, another mobile editing app
designed for editing Instagram stories.[74]
August 2020, Sugg collaborated on a homeware range with Etsy,
featuring products co-curated by herself and independent Etsy sellers

Source:
August 2020, she partnered with mental health awareness
organisation #IAmWhole and cosmetics retailer Lush on a
"digital detox" campaign.
With a "Digital Detox Day" on 5 September 2020, the campaign
was created to "raise the issue of negative effects that social
media can have on mental health" and "encourage users to build
a healthier relationship with these platforms and their devices".

Source:
As part of the partnership, Sugg created a bath bomb called IRL
(In Real Life) with Lush, which will aid global grassroot groups to
secure grants that will focus on mental health.

Source:
October 2020, The Magpie Society: One for
Sorrow, a young adult fiction novel she co-
authored with Amy McCulloch, was released.
The book details events at an elite boarding
school from the points of view of two girls –
Ivy, written by Sugg, and Audrey, written by
McCulloch.
It was stated by Sugg that the book would
act as the first of a series, with a sequel
titled The Magpie Society: Two for Joy
expected to be released in 2021.

Source:
March 2021, the couple announced that they are expecting their first
child, a daughter, in September 2021

 2009 - First blog and vlog, working in New Look at the time
 2011 – Monthly vlogs – building an audience/recognition, wins
Cosmo award
 2012 – video on mental health gets lots of attention – 4m+
views. Starts More Zoella channel
 2013 – 1million subscribers. Begins dating Alfie Deyes.
Starting to become ‘mainstream’ household name – coverage in
The Telegraph, Radio 1,etc
 2014 – Zoella Beauty range launches for Superdrug. First
novel ‘girl online’ published, Appears on Band Aid 30
 2015 - Appears on Celebrity Bake Off, Madame Tussards
waxworks. 2nd book published. 9.9M subscribers

 2016: Zoella Lifestyle & Sugg Life ranges launched,
Cosmopolitan front cover, 3rd book published
 2017: New ranges continue to be launched for Zoella Lifestyle
and Zoella Beauty.
 2018: Sugg and Deyes start A to Z Creatives and A to Z
Merchandise, a Brighton-based brand agency, Sugg's non-
fiction book, Cordially Invited published.
 2019 Launches a make up range and two mobile apps: Filmm
& Template
 2020 Part of digital detox campaign with Lush, Etsy
homeware range, young adult novel The Magpie Society
published
 2021: Announces pregnancy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc7dh0bNy_A
Watch the video and make notes, using the questions in your notebook as a guide

What genre conventions
might you expect to find in
vlogs?
What aspects of vlogging
might be considered post
modern?
How do vloggers like Zoella create realism (and authenticity) in their videos?
How do vloggers like Zoella make themselves more relatable in their videos?
What term is used to describe the relationship between the audience and the
viewer that makes them feel as though they are really friends?
Media Language

How is femininity represented in
Zoella’s video?
Media Representation
How is masculinity represented in
Zoella’s video?
What gender stereotypes are reinforced?
What examples are given of taboo subjects covered in Zoella’s output?
What examples are there of representations that challenge gender stereotypes?

What would you expect to find on a blog website?
Consider the use of
 Layout and design
 Verbal codes (written/spoken word: lexis, mode of address,
literary devices, etc)
 Visual Codes: images, graphics, typography
 Other content
 Individual pages and whole website structure

We will begin by looking at her earlier posts…
Visit https://archive.zoella.co.uk and analyse the use of media language to
create meaning.
Consider the use of
 Verbal codes (written/spoken word: lexis, mode of address, literary devices,
etc)
 Other content
 Structure (narrative?)

WWW.ZOELLA.CO.UK
Above “the fold” (what you can see without scrolling down)
• Primary content – most important – seen first by audience.
• Header image and logo – brand identity
• Navigation bar/menu – post categories – indication of content from headings
• Rotating “carousel” of popular posts – images and headlines
• Search bar
• Social media menu

WWW.ZOELLA.CO.UK
Handwritten signature on header image = personal, relatable, informal
Fairy lights at top = feminine, playful, fun, youthful, magical
Soft pastels and pink colours = feminine, gentle, innocent, youthful
Zoella in bed in PJs, kissing dog = personal, relatable, informal, intimate

WWW.ZOELLA.CO.UK
Below “the fold” (what you can see after scrolling down)
• Secondary content – next most important – audience has already decided to
engage a little.
• Gallery of recent posts, illustrated with key images. Hyperlinked to take you to
individual post
• “House style” – in keeping with brand identity – CSS
• Menu remains at top for easy return.

Analysing website: posts
Look at the post https://archive.zoella.co.uk/2017/12/everyday-festive-
glam-look-ad.html
Analyse the use of media language to create meaning.
Consider the use of
 Verbal codes (written/spoken word: lexis, mode of address,
literary devices, etc)
 Structure/Narrative
 Other content

Dominated by images (rather
than text). Visual rather than
verbal – superficial?
More accessible/less challenging
Disclaimer for paid for
promotion – advertorial.
In body of text, when products
are mentioned their names are
hyperlinked to websites where
they can be bought online.
Call to action (imperative) –
encourages reader to ‘share’
Direct mode of address – extra
diegetic gaze (looking at camera)
+ use of 2nd person (you, your,
etc)
Informal mode of address ”feel
a little bit fancy…just for the
fun of it”

Below the post are links to
further ‘featured” posts from
elsewhere on the site and then
comments from other users,
with the ability for the reader
to “join the discussion”
(another imperative call to
action).
As well as interacting with
Zoella, this is an opportunity
for the audience to interact
with each other, forming their
own online community and
even promoting links to their
own blogs.

Today, the website looks quite different…

Gone are the fairy lights, the signature header, the images of Zoella at
home, the soft pink hues. Her name has been replaced by just the letter
Z, its font reminiscent of fashion magazines.
It is less about Zoella/Zoe Sugg the person, and now Zoella, the
brand/company, which is a team of people.
It is less personal, more sophisticated, mature and business-like

Gone are the fairy lights, the signature header, the images of Zoella at
home, the soft pink hues. Her name has been replaced by just the letter
Z, its font reminiscent of fashion magazines.
It is less about Zoella/Zoe Sugg the person, and now Zoella, the
brand/company, which is a team of people.
It is less personal, more sophisticated, mature and business-like
This toggle
changes the
Instagram
feed between
Zoella (the
brand) and Zoe
Sugg (the
person

The website contains posts now written by a ‘team’ of
writers, but still about a lot of the same subject matter:
fashion and beauty, interior design, recipes, lifestyle
tips, etc. There are regular features such as ‘Between
You and Me: Your problems answered’, ‘Snog Marry,
Avoid’, ‘13 questions with…’, ‘Weekly Wants’ and a book
club.

While reinforcing some female stereotypes of a focus on looking good and looking
after the home, the site also features some more empowering representations of
women, embracing feminist books, celebrating successful female businesswomen,
International Women’s Day, and raising awareness of female directors.

The website also contains a lot
more mature and even taboo
content, aimed at an older
demographic

What would you expect to find in a vlog video?
Consider the use of
 Technical codes: camera, editing,
 Verbal codes: written/spoken word - lexis, mode of address,
literary devices, etc
 Visual Codes: "mise en scene" - setting, costume, props, NVC,
etc.
 Narrative: Barthes codes, characters, structure
 Other content
What different types (subgenres?) of blogs/vlogs can you think
of?

Direct mode of address – extra diegetic gaze to camera
Informal mode of address - colloquialisms – “I’m so bummed” – ‘Youtube Voice’
Camera: Single, static “locked off” camera – no movement = Home made, “alone”.
Mid shot/MCU, comfortably personal proximity. Positioned centrally with eyes on
framed on top 3rd.
Editing – “jump cuts” – ellipsis “…” to make snappier, cut out unnecessary detail. But
cuts are not hidden/disguised – part of home made honesty – even including rain
noise (rather than doing at another time) = ordinary, girl-next-door, just-like-you-ness
Mise en scene
• Location – at home (conservatory referred to in opening) – sometimes in bedroom
• Heavily make up = she is a fashion/make up role model so this is expected.
• Costume – modest (not revealing) - brightly coloured stripes – fun – suitable for
younger audience.

Narrative. Simple: “Hello everyone”, - welcoming, brief intro of content (establishes
tone, creates enigma codes).
Then lists products she has used and liked in last month, with reasons, descriptions
and experiences. Holds them all up to be seen in screen when discussed.
Finishes with “ I hope you enjoyed/thanks – please like/subscribe (call to action) and
see you next time. Some videos also have an “endcard”

Below the video are links to her other
blogs/channels/social media and places
where the featured products can be
bought online. Items she receives an
income for are marked with an
asterisk * to declare her vested
interest.

The illusion of face to face conversation.
“…An illusionary experience, such that media audiences interact
with personas (e.g., talk show host, celebrities, characters) as if
they are engaged in a reciprocal relationship with them, and feel
as though a mediated other is talking directly to them…”

…PSI can be developed to the point where media audiences begin
to view the mediated others as "real friends". Feelings of PSI are
nurtured through carefully constructed mechanisms, such as
verbal and nonverbal interaction cues…”
“Relationship” is one-sided, non-dialectical and
controlled by performer/celebrity/star.

How is media language is used to construct this illusion in
Zoella’s vlogs?
Consider
 Camera
 Mise en scene
 Verbal codes

What is the purpose/effect of this upon the audience?

 David Gauntlett Representation & Identity
 Stuart Hall: Representation (codes & stereotypes)
 Stuart Hall: Audience – reception theory
 George Gerbner: Audience – cultivation theory

Representation: The production of meaning through media
Language (Hall)
 Consider how messages and values (ideologies) about the
world are encoded in the media text.
 Consider how Zoella represents herself – self representation.
 Consider how messages and values (ideologies) about groups of
people are encoded in the media text e.g. gender.
Task: Watch the vlog and make notes ready for discussion with
class.

Language (Hall)
 What messages and values (ideologies) about the world are
encoded in the media text?
 What media language is used to construct these
representations?

Language (Hall)
 How is Zoella represented in the media text?
representations?

How might you describe Zoella’s brand identity?

How might you describe Zoella’s brand identity?
 Girl next door – “normal” – just like you - relatable
 Best friend – trustworthy, approachable, honest, authentic
 Like a (big?) sister
 Friendly

Language (Hall)
 What messages and values (ideologies) about groups of people
are encoded in the media text? e.g. gender.
representations?

“Magazines financed by the beauty industry teach little girls that the need
make-up and teach them how to use it, so establishing their lifelong
reliance on beauty products. Not content with showing pre-teens how to
use foundations, powders, concealers, blushers, eye-shjadows, eye-liners,
lip liners, lipstick and lip gloss, the magazines identify problems of
dryness, flakiness, blackheads, shininess, dullness, blemishes, puffiness,
oiliness, spots, greasiness, that little girls are meant to treat with
moisturisers, fresheners, masks, packs, washes, lotions, cleansers, toners,
scrubs [and] astringents”
The Whole Woman, Germaine Greer, 1999. p.28
Greer was writing about magazines in 1999. Do her comments relate to
vlogs today?
Today, makeup tutorials/demonstrations on beauty bloggers’s channels are
also often financed through sponsorship and advertising deals.
This is one critical viewpoint. How might these types vlogs be viewed more
positively?

Gauntlett - Theories of Identity
The media provide us with ‘tools’ or resources that we use to construct our
identities
In the past the media tended to convey singular, straightforward messages
about ideal types of males & female identities. The media today offer
audiences a more diverse range of stars, icons and characters from whom
we may pick and mix different ideas
• Write a short paragraph on each of these ideas, linking it to the Zoella blog
case study. Refer to specific examples where possible to support your points.

The media provide us with ‘tools’ or resources that we use to construct our
identities.
Zoella’s blog and vlogs provide personal stories and advice on day-to-day
matters for her audience on matters such as relationships, beauty and
make-up tutorials etc. As such, her “supportive big sister” persona acts as
a role model for her (mostly younger) audience.
For instance, in her February Favourites vlog, Zoella names and describes a
range of products she has liked in recent weeks, presumably as
recommendations for her audience. It is expected that her audience will
want to imitate her choices/behaviours as links to purchase their own are
placed below the video.
Criticisms of Zoella usually centre around her position as a role model and
whether the messages and values she reinforces (materialism, celebrity
worship, gender stereotypes, etc) have a negative impact upon her young
and potentially easily influenced/exploited audience.

In the past the media tended to convey singular, straightforward messages
about ideal types of males & female identities. The media today offer
audiences a more diverse range of stars, icons and characters from whom
we may pick and mix different ideas.
Today, the Internet provides a much more diverse range of sources of information and
inspiration for audiences to use to pick and choose from to construct their identities.
Lower costs of production and distribution as well as a greater number of outlets
mean than many more media products are available to choose from. In addition, Web
2.0 has allowed ordinary members of the public to become content creators and share
their own user-generated content. Zoe Sugg started her blog from her bedroom while
working as an apprentice.
However, although the Internet more broadly offers man different and diverse voices,
much of Zoella’s success can be attributed to her uncomplicated videos that do not
challenge mainstream values or dominant ideologies and offer the same
“straightforward” messages about ideal selves as found in mainstream, traditional
media.

Stuart Hall is credited with the following ideas about Representation:
• Representation is the production of meaning through language, with
language defined in its broadest sense as a system of signs. The
relationship between concepts and signs is governed by codes
• Stereotyping, as a form of representation, reduces people to a few simple
characteristics or traits. Stereotyping tends to occur where there are
inequalities of power, as subordinate or excluded groups are constructed
as different or ‘other’ (e.g. through ethnocentrism)
• Write a short paragraph on each of these ideas, linking it to the Zoella
blog case study. Refer to specific examples where possible to support your
points.

George Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory
 Considers effects of long term exposure rather than immediate
effect of media on audience
 Suggests audience views are shaped or cultivated by patterns of
representation, rather than by single products in isolation.
What “patterns of representation” might audiences of Zoella’s
blog be exposed to over a long term and how might it shape their
view?

‘“I would go to bed with knots in my stomach,” says Lucia, who has had anxiety since
she was a child. As a teenager, she suffered panic attacks and breathlessness due to
other stresses, but says her obsession with buying products recommended by
YouTubers left with her with stomach aches and unable to sleep…
“There are four different sets of consequences that research shows comes with
buying into the message of consumer culture that happiness depends on your
possessions,” Kasser says. Firstly, hundreds of studies have shown materialism has
a negative effect on wellbeing. ..
“When people prioritise materialistic values, the less happy they are, the more
depressed they are, the more anxious they are, the lower their self-esteem, the lower
their life satisfaction, the more likely they are to smoke cigarettes and drink
alcohol,” Kasser says. “While it’s not a gigantic effect it is consistent, and it’s
consistently negative.”
Secondly and thirdly, materialistic values crowd out pro-social values, such as
empathy, and also mean people act less ecologically and care less about the
environment. Finally, some studies have shown that materialistic children have a
poorer academic performance…’
https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/internet/2018/02/knots-my-stomach-
how-youtube-consumerism-affects-children-and-teens

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