TOPIC 1: PURPOSES AND IMPACT OF SOCIAL ACTION AND COMMUNITY MEDIA
Lesson 1
CLICK HERE FOR LESSON 1 PREZI - PURPOSE AND IMPACT OF SOCIAL ACTION
FURTHER INFORMATION: WHAT IS SOCIAL ACTION AND COMMUNITY MEDIA?
Social action media
Uses media as a creative tool to increase public knowledge and awareness (educational)
Sets out to analyse current social issues and problems and bring to public attention.
Encourages people to take action in response to what they have seen or heard.
Types of action/impact
Actions could include political lobbying, demonstrations, ,raising awareness etc
Aim to impact on voting behaviour, attitude, solidarity
See Greenpeace, anti globalisation, fathers for justice etc
Aims to improve ACCESS to both production & reception of media for all , both locally
& globally. Control over distribution + greater access to both management and
editorial decisions aim to give more people more control over production process.
New technology (cheaper) + accessible training has empowered & encouraged a wider range of new media producers (see internet, video activists) Eg Digital video, Newsletters/magazines, websites etc.
Also, community radio is one of the cheapest forms of mass communication and is run
by and for the community.
Community media
Definition of community – group of people with shared experiences and interests.
These may include location, lifestyle , age race, class, gender etc.
Many people these days are members of Virtual communities
What is community media ?
Community media provide a vital alternative to the profit-oriented agenda of corporate
media. They are driven by social objectives rather than the private, profit motive.
They empower people rather than treat them as passive consumers, and they nurture local knowledge rather than replace it with standard solutions.
Ownership and control of community media is rooted in, and responsible to, the communities they serve. And they are committed to human rights, social justice, the environment and sustainable approaches to development.
A voice for civil society
Much is promised by the information society - access to vital knowledge for health and
education, better information from governments and corporations, electronic democracy,
global trade and exchange, up to the minute news. But because they lack the resources to
make their voices heard in this shifting social landscape, the world's poorest communities
face the twin dangers of being left out of this new economy and becoming a cultural
dumping ground for mass market products made by and for the richest economies.
Community media help balance these inequities. They provide the means for cultural
expression, community discussion, and debate. They supply news and information and
facilitate political engagement. Radio is the most widespread electronic communications
device in the world and community radio is a practical and cost-effective means of
reaching and connecting the world's poorest communities..
Community media in practice
Community media are integrated with practices of community life.. Their content includes political and economic news that facilitates community dialogue and involvement, community and personal messages (marriages, union-meetings, lost donkeys), musical greetings, educational programs for development (health, environment, gender), information programs, and culturally relevant entertainment. Through access to the production and consumption of relevant communications, these media form a collective platform for community empowerment.
Independent Press Association provides a range of services to bolster both the financial and editorial aspects of independent and community publications that serve groups and communities often marginaliSed by the corporate media. Around the world a growing number of Independent Media Centres are struggling to create an interactive, web-based platform for reporting and sharing information on social issues and social movements.
Building community media
Because communication is a basic right and a necessary condition for social and economic development, community media can make a strategic contribution to that development. But a sustainable approach requires firm foundations.
Building community media requires an approach based on the empowerment of peoples and communities – not private investors. Nation states and international institutions have to guarantee access for production, distribution and consumption to all groups in society.
Similarly, copyright and intellectual property right regulations must allow for the free circulation of that may impact upon health and well being.
Community media projects require assistance to adapt to new digital production
technologies and to increase their access to the internet. Strategic links need to be made between community radio and telecentre development, and opportunities to cluster broadcast, print, and web-based community media resources must be developed and promoted.
In particular, the development of community radio and the future of community television will depend on access to significant technical resources. Affordable access to frequencies, channels and bandwidth and the adoption of appropriate technical standards is imperative. Governments and intergovernmental bodies, including the International
Telecommunications Union, need to ensure spectrum allocation and technical standards provide for community media development. Private media and telecommunications providers must be required to offer free or low cost channel space and bandwidth for community media content.
A burgeoning perspective is that of community informatics, which is concerned with the enabling uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in communities – how ICTs can help achieve a community’s social, economic, cultural, or political goals.
Community informatics brings together the perspectives of a variety of stakeholders – community activists and groups, policymakers, users/citizens, artists, and a range of academics working across disciplines.
Conclusion:
Community media are key to creating a strong, socially responsible civil society. They must have access to sufficient financial resources whilst respecting and preserving their independence from government and commercial media corporations
TOPIC 2: WHAT IS A DOCUMENTARY?
Documentary Modes
In his 2001 book, Introduction to Documentary (Indiana University Press), Bill Nichols defines the following six modes of documentary
The Poetic Mode'reassembling fragments of the world', a transformation of historical material into a more abstract, lyrical form, usually associated with 1920s and modernist ideas
The Expository Mode
'direct address', social issues assembled into an argumentative frame, mediated by a voice-of-God narration, associated with 1920s-1930s, and some of the rhetoric and polemic surrounding World War Two
The Observational Mode
as technology advanced by the 1960s and cameras became smaller and lighter, able to document life in a less intrusive manner, there is less control required over lighting etc, leaving the social actors free to act and the documentarists free to record without interacting with each other
The Participatory Mode
the encounter between film-maker and subject is recorded, as the film-maker actively engages with the situation they are documenting, asking questions of their subjects, sharing experiences with them. Heavily reliant on the honesty of witnesses
The Reflexive Mode
demonstrates consciousness of the process of reading documentary, and engages actively with the issues of realism and representation, acknowledging the presence of the viewer and the modality judgements they arrive at. Corresponds to critical theory of the 1980s
The Performative Mode
acknowledges the emotional and subjective aspects of documentary, and presents ideas as part of a context, having different meanings for different people, often autobiographical in nature
CASE STUDIES
Case Study 1: KONY 2012
After watching this social action documentary you will need to write a blog post explaining your reaction to it in relation to the areas below. Your post should be titled 'Kony 2012' and approx. 300-400 words in length.
- Summarise the purpose of the campaign
- Effectiveness as a social action documentary
- Your personal response
https://vimeo.com/37119711
Case Study 2: The Cruel Cut
Having watched these documentaries, choose one and write a blog post capturing your responses to the following questions:
1. How effective is this documentary? Consider the techniques and conventions used as well as the way in which the campaign is conveyed to the audience.
2. What is your personal response to the documentary?
More information
28 Too Many: FGM Let's End It
Daughters of Eve
TOPIC 5: RESEARCHING SOCIAL ACTION
After watching this social action documentary you will need to write a blog post explaining your reaction to it in relation to the areas below. Your post should be titled 'Kony 2012' and approx. 300-400 words in length.
Case Study 2: The Cruel Cut
Having watched these documentaries, choose one and write a blog post capturing your responses to the following questions:
1. How effective is this documentary? Consider the techniques and conventions used as well as the way in which the campaign is conveyed to the audience.
2. What is your personal response to the documentary?
More information
28 Too Many: FGM Let's End It
Daughters of Eve
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