Media and Culture Portfolio Portfolio 1- 'Define' (Chosen Topic: Media Pleasure) Portfolio 2- 'Analyse a journal article' (Chosen Topic: Celebrity) Portfolio 3- 'Linking to real life example' (Chosen Topic: Information Society) Portfolio 4- Linking to real life example' (Chosen Topic: Media Power)

1. Media and Culture Portfolio
Portfolio 1 – ‘Define’
Chosen Topic – Media Pleasure
‘Media Pleasure’ can be defined with multiple meanings, including a feeling of happiness,
satisfaction or enjoyment, the intention of entertainment or for the ability to give sexual pleasure
or enjoyment. McQuail states that mass communication is an aspect of society and a lot of what
we see on a day-to-day basis is materialistic. ‘Culture influences social structure and social
structure influences culture’ (McQuail, 1983) - and if we believe more media content to be
cultural, the idea of idealism is indicated and ‘the media’ has the upper hand when trying to
influence people. This can be discussed in various ways through exploring different types of
pleasure. The word ‘pleasure’ is a condition or sensation where a positive experience occurs in
a comforting environment offering delight instead of pain. The ‘pleasure principle’ is most likely
to happen in a child, where they are in need to fulfil their basic needs to ensure they survive.
(Freud, S. 1921). There are five main types of media pleasures including Pleasure and Leisure,
Gendered Pleasures and Social Pleasures, and I will be focusing on both Pleasure and Leisure
as well as Social Pleasures.
An aspect of Leisure and Pleasure, is the value of critical analysation of freedom, constraint,
personal choice and regulation. By using media forms to obtain pleasurable experiences is
something that today’s society is seeking. The main problem with this type of ‘pleasure
maximizing’ choice of behavior is that we might just be turning ourselves into human robots.
Activities that only seek our pleasure are fun, but an excessive amount of time being focused on
this type of activity can either cause changes in our choice of behavior but could also leave a
negative effect on our psychological health.
With this being such a socially cultural approach, P. Brahmam and S. Wagg demonstrate the
persistence of the above concepts with the idea of ‘Pleasure and Leisure; there are many
engaging places of discussion that can be spoken about in a variety of different leisure settings;
(the countryside, places of tourism, sports, gambling, drug taking, social drinking and many
others). Back in the 1970’s, the main ways in people used to seek pleasure from media
concepts were from visiting galleries, exhibitions, theatre shows and listening to the radio. Both
society and our economy have transformed over the years and electronic devices have made it
a lot more easily accessible than back in those days. In addition to this, the idea of individualism
fits in perfectly with a quote from Weiss stating that the ‘modern self’ may seek new
communities where its normality, and the relationships formed can help develop a person’s
identity and self-understanding, than some’s community of origin; where they were born (Weiss,
1995). In the 21st century a lot more information is able to be shared to a wider audience of
people, allowing people to find their common identities/social groups leading to further
discussions within smaller communities. The balance of someone’s work life and production, will
progress into more of a leisurely/consumption centered life. The growth of the economy can

2. also help to benefit consumers who are buying goods and using services. This would create a
better prosperity of more companies, and they would be making more money.
Another form of pleasure comes in the form of being ‘social’. Social pleasure is usually classified
as something for entertainment, and with the interest of lots of people. Often in life, the people
are sometimes the reason for something to go ‘viral. Nowadays we have social media websites
including Instagram (for pictures), YouTube (for videos) and TikTok (for short creative videos
usually created whilst singing along to popular songs), and if enough of an ‘audience’ arises, or
there’s a lot of attention towards users who can be born overnight. ‘Real needs created by
society’ (Dyer., A, 1990). There are lots of other news stories and reports that often promote
topics not of people’s preferences or interests. Every day we experience lots of negative
scenario and immoral activities including destruction, violence, sexual crimes and homophobia
which are all being fixed in due time, which people sometimes aren’t interested in reading, but
because a story has blown up, a news report/interviews/documentaries etc have been created
to highlight the story (Ramanujam, S. April 2018). This links closely to social media as people
are often bombarded with information without a choice to reject of ignore it, and that’s what the
modern society is left to deal with.
Due to the addiction some have to social media, people on the platforms take advantage of their
users and spam them with ‘fake news’ or information that they just want people to talk about.
This type of process forces users to feel happy or pleasured by the information that they are
reading. This can happen through ‘clickbait’ titles on news reports/videos, making you click on
(especially if it’s a celebrity or someone of interest); or other direct ways to force people through
social media apps including; a right swipe on Tinder, a follow or follow request on Instagram, or
a subscription on YouTube. In conclusion, there are many more positive impacts of reading for
pleasure and having the feeling of being empowered. Some of the benefits include the
‘social/status/capital’ for young children, teenagers and the adult population in full, as well as a
better parent to child communication. ‘It is no surprise to us that reading for pleasure improves
wellbeing and builds empathy’. (Gerald., D. 2014)
Portfolio 2 – ‘Article’
Chosen Topic - Celebrity
The journal used is titled ‘Body, Image and Affect in Consumer Culture’ written by Mike
Featherstone. The article focuses on the relationships between body and image, and their
affects within consumer culture. It goes on to further explain how people with ordinary lifestyles
and body types often distance themselves away from how the media portrays many people with
the ideal ‘dominant media-depicted’ body type. In the beginning of the journal article, the main
view that can be identified is that there a variety of popular physiognomic assumptions that an
individual’s body; face especially, can be a true reflection of that individual and show someone’s

3. inner character or personality as opposed to their physical appearance. In addition to this, the
article goes on to speak about.
The main example in the article that relates to this, is our use of senses, and that we all has five
senses, but everyone uses them in different ways. The way in which we use them, depends on
how well they work together and how we individually perceive the world and encounter human
activity both in real life or online. This links very closely with the personality traits such as being
extraverted or introverted and the differences that each of the senses can affect how somebody
acts or reacts to a situation.
A study back in 1994 consisted of measuring people’s sensitivity and the aim was to work out
people’s individual sensitivity level to each of the five different odorants. (Koelega, H.S, 1994).
The overall study showed a low correlation among the five measures and questioned the
existence of a general factor for measuring sensibility. By reading this little study and analysing
the information about it, some of the participants didn’t answer all the questions which makes
the study slightly inaccurate as well as having a large variety of different people that were being
tested; based on age, gender and body mass index, which made the study very difficult to
analyse.
This journal goes on to speak about the fake characteristics and looks that people sometimes
try and copy to fit in with consumer culture. The main ideology around consumer culture is the
modification of body parts or enhancements within people’s body features to construct a more
‘beautiful appearance’ of one’s self. It links closely to the theme of Celebrity, as we often link
appearance with wealth and popularity within the media industry. As celebrities are in more of
an influential state and can spread to a wider audience, they often promote topics that they
know will get a large positive response, such as creating fitness DVD’s and workout schedules
as well as speaking about problems such as depression for example. Some of the time, they
use these topics to falsely ‘amp up’ their popularity among readers, giving them an extra
platform to promote their brand, as at the end of the day, every celebrity or star is their own
‘brand’ and that’s what/who they promote on a day to day basis.
Portfolio 3 – ‘Real Life’
Chosen Topic – Information Society
I am going to apply the concept of ‘Information Society’ with the impacts of social media in
society. The reason I chose this topic is because social media is used in most people’s lives
daily and can often influence a variety of choices that we make, resulting in both positive and
negative outcomes. ‘Informationalism is the technological paradigm that constitutes the material
basis of early twenty-first century societies […] a new form of social organization’ (Castells,
2004). By looking at the four main types of technological paradigms created; including scientific
and technological, a lot of information that we see on the internet comes from unknown methods
and hidden advertising that we wouldn’t think about as an ordinary user. This often includes a
range of different methods such as targeting specific audiences and pinpointing them to related
websites and content. (Kuhn, 1970).

4. In addition to the theory above, one of the main issues with using the Internet, but more
specifically social media is the fact that there is a digital divide throughout society. There are a
wide range of social media platforms that put out different media content whether that includes
podcasts, video projects, photography, written blog posts, new stories for example, and not
everyone has access to all available platforms or services available. This means that people
often find out information around current affairs and situations at different speeds, and a lot of
information that is found online is not often spoken about away from the online world. Another
major difference with the online world and use of networks compared to real life situations, is the
hierarchy scheme. (Rheingold, 2000). On social media, there isn’t a ‘manager’ or a ‘co manager’
who control the internet, but instead there are ‘virtual communities’ which can be groups of
people who have the same passions and interests. These smaller groups often post their ideas
through secret social media accounts, not displaying their real-life personas, but instead create
‘fan accounts’ to either post content relating to a particular band/singer or topic and try to build a
connection with other people in those smaller internet communities. With these types of
accounts, they are then able to share as much or as little
Another main issue with the ‘online world’ is that there are lots of celebrities from all different
backgrounds who follow the route of only posting the positive moments and achievements in
their careers, instead of speaking about their low moments or talking about more sensitive
topics such as mental health or depression, which are ongoing problems for a lot of people.
When celebrities do speak up about the topics, it’s usually only because it’s a ‘talking point’ on
social media, or they believe it will improve their celebrity status and get a story speaking about
it, rather than having a genuine passion for an issue that they are speaking up about.
In conclusion, a lot of people from a younger generation are growing up with most people using
social media as a main form as communication and that this is the primary method of
communicating in today’s life. People are often unable to stay away from their electronical
devices for long periods of time as they have become attached to the ways in which we can
interact with other through social media. There are a lot more positives that outweigh the
negatives, but the internet is being used too excessively especially with the way social media
always has that ‘perfect life’ stereotype which can potentially force people to change their diet
habits or looks, to follow a specific celebrity.
Portfolio 4 – ‘Real Life’
Chosen Topic – Media Power
The final topic that I am going to be covering is Media Power and connecting is with the mass
media. Firstly, the term ‘media power’ means the relation between two individuals or two social
groups, usually relying on one of the sides being the ‘permanent force’ of power. Initially, when
people hear the word ‘power’, they believe that media means authority and that’s true. In the
real life world it’s clear who is the manager of a company and who is a normal worker, but in the
online world we often think about who has authority or control over who in society, the main
audience of people that the media is aimed at, and how ‘online power’ compares to something
such as political power which often lead to disagreements and arguments, but also making

5. changes and dealing with issues which can affect society. We can’t often pinpoint who controls
the internet, but decisions that are made can often give power to different communities within
the online world. The fact that people use media related products and content daily, such as
watching television, listening to the radio or buying magazines and newspapers strengthen
media power. Another factor with media power is the fact there is often control over different
authorities. The origin of media power initially comes from political authorities and professional
broadcasters, and in one specific article focusing on media power in Poland, it was believed that
the media has positive influences on people and resulted in them becoming a more attractive
part of society life.
Within media power, you can think about the individual term of ‘power’ as a communicative or
symbolic tool often thinking about immaterial factors such as trust, rationality, emotions and
respect for example. (McQuail, 2008). It’s often thought that there are four main ways to use
symbolic power and they are to inform, encourage action, selectively focus on and persuade
people in decision making. In addition to this, he goes on to say that you can sometimes define
a specific situation and set reality frames which he backs up with the fact that the media power
is simply 100% of the potential effects of media, especially when planned. The media’s affection
in short messages or passages can also is seen as being bias, whilst long term messages are
intended to policy that specific media form. (Goulding, P, 1981).
To conclude ‘power as control’, one specific type of media power is control. Politicians often
have to be voted into a position where they are able to have power, as well as having key roles
which they take on based on where and when they get voted in, but with the online world,
everyone is given equal control, and how they use it will determine how much or how little
information they can get out of the internet. This can also include networking sites and how
many people you are connected with online, or what pages you are following. From the above
factors, this will help identify what information and how much of it you will have access to.
Bibliography:
Beder., S, 2003, ‘Technological Paradigms’
http://www.herinst.org/envcrisis/paradigms/tech/para.html
Bramham., P, Wagg., S, 2011, ‘The New Politics of Leisure and Pleasure’
Featherstone., M, 2010, ‘Body, Image and Affect in Consumer Culture’
Filsinger., E. K., Fabes R. A., Hughston G.1987. ‘Introversion–extraversion and dimensions of
olfactory perception’.
Force., J, 2016, ‘The impact of Social Media Networks on Society’
https://sysomos.com/2016/12/22/impact-social-media-networks-society/

6. Freud., S, ‘How it helps motivate behavior’
Available at: https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-pleasure-principle-2795472
Gerald., D, 2014, ‘Reading for pleasure builds empathy and improves wellbeing’
Available at: https://readingagency.org.uk/news/media/reading-for-pleasure-builds-empathy-
and-improves-wellbeing-research-from-the-reading-agency-finds.html
Koelega., H. S, 1994. ‘Sex differences in olfactory sensitivity and the problem of the generality
of smell acuity’
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Available at: http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/145578?rskey=hXRMcU&result=1#eid
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Available at: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-real-need-of-todays-world-in-which-I-can-
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