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[theunfilteredheat]

Bibliography

Zero Hedge. 2018. Edward Snowden: Facebook Is A Surveillance Company Rebranded As "Social Media" | Zero Hedge. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-03-18/edward-snowden-facebook-surveillance-company-rebranded-social-media.

 P. Cooke. 2018. Where is Edward Snowden now, what did he do, who’s his girlfriend and what secrets did he leak?. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6589507/edward-snowden-girlfriend-secrets-leak/.

The Guardian. 2018. Facebook accused of conducting mass surveillance through its apps | Technology | The Guardian. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/may/24/facebook-accused-of-conducting-mass-surveillance-through-its-apps.

 N, Thai. 2018. 10 Most Popular Social Media Sites in China (2018 Updated) | Dragon Social. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.dragonsocial.net/blog/social-media-in-china/.

 Forbes. 2018. No page title. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2018/07/10/how-is-internet-censorship-affecting-chinese-culture/#3bd303b7fcb0.

ABC News. 2018. What I learned from watching a week of North Korean TV - ABC News. [ONLINE] Available at: https://abcnews.go.com/International/learned-watching-week-north-korean-tv/story?id=52714005.

ABC News. 2018. What I learned from watching a week of North Korean TV - ABC News. [ONLINE] Available at: https://abcnews.go.com/International/learned-watching-week-north-korean-tv/story?id=52714005.

 J, Bengtsson. The Power of The Ideal Man Exploring the Effects of using Him in Media. STOCKHOLM SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS Department of Marketing and Strategy MASTER THESIS. 2012

HERMAN, E. S., & CHOMSKY, N. (1988). Manufacturing consent: the political economy of the mass media. New York, Pantheon Books.

 Distance from Japan to South Korea. 2018. Distance from Japan to South Korea. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.distancefromto.net/distance-from-japan-to-south-korea.

The Guardian. 2018. Edward Snowden: 'The people are still powerless, but now they're aware' | US news | The Guardian. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jun/04/edward-snowden-people-still-powerless-but-aware.

 Uldlam, J. (2016). ‘Corporate management of visbility and the fantasy of the post-political: Social media and surveillance’. New media & society 18, pp. 201-219

Papachrissi, z. (2009). ;The Virtual Sphere 2.0: The internet , the public sphere and beyond’. In Andrew Chadwick & Philip N. Howard (eds), Routledge Handbook of Internet Politics. New York: Routledge

[theunfilteredheat]

Data surveillance and censorship in China and North Korea

The internet provides a virtual space where communities and societies can interact easily. Since the rise of new media and technologies, there are new ways of communicating and this breaks down barriers encouraging globalization (Lister et al. 2003). This virtual space allows self-representation and organization for wider publics. This also enables governments to then have a right to  private information for national security (Contanza-chock, 2004: 274). This can be seen with the situation in London where the police went undercover and infiltrated the climate a Justice of Europe (Lübbens, 2012: Pickerill, 2003).

What really shed light onto government surveillance was Edward Snowden’s surveillance disclosure in 2013. The former CIA employee leaked information and documents that United States had on countries and people and it was prove a point of the surveillance capabilities that American and British have (P. Cooke, 2018). Even till today Snowden releases his open on matters about surveillance (Zerohedge, 2018).

Facebook has been in hot water recently.

https://giphy.com/gifs/the-night-before-O76FqlHFohXsQ

They have been accused of gathering data on its users and their friends to track private information. Although they have not admitted to this and Zuckerberg remains tight lipped, it can be well seen through experience that the media along with new technologies have a surveillance on our private information (The Guardian, 2018).

The post will continue to talk about how surveillance is an issue in place like china and North Korea and how this censorship has become a norm. The idea of of hard power comes to mind. What is hard power? Using force to get what you want along with the military and  economics. Citizens in these countries are curbed into what they can and cannot access. China for example really cracks down on media control. They do not have Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. China has its own applications such as Weibo which is a social media blogging application and more catered just for them (N, Thai. 2018). According to an article by Forbes, the Chinese government is only interested in media content that its citizens read in Chinese than in English therefore a connection could be made that they have banned so much western social media and created Chinese media platforms so they can censor what is been searched and consumed.

The data surveillance and censorship becomes so extreme that searches for Winnie the Pooh were blocked because people thought that President Xi Jinping looks similar to the animated character (Forbes, 2018).

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXYQ0QLlreY

How deep this impact Chinese culture? People cannot interact on the virtual global sphere effectively and thus this creates an uninformed public.  

Although the censorship  and surveillance seems a bit extreme in China, North Korea beats it by a large margin.  Their supreme leader Kim Jong Un has a Tight grip on the flow of information. According to a former reporter Jean H. Lee, North Korean citizens have contact with old media more than new media and since they have inadequate electricity this rules out television as well (J. Jarreat, 2017). To add, North Korea has its own smartphones and software and its ultimately for surveillance and control. They have a phone that looks like a Samsung but doesn’t have the basic operating software a Samsung has such as WiFi, Bluetooth and a browser (J. Jerreat, 2017). 

https://gfycat.com/gifs/detail/embarrasseddirtyarrowana

There is already a limit on new media technologies and what they can do but North Korean Television is what is really astonishing. Kim Jong Un makes the most presence on state television. TV can only be watched for seven hours  every week day due electricity supply and they have about less than ten channels to pick from. The main channel only disseminates content that are in favor of the Kims and the public is shown images of progression and work in North Korea (H, Lee. 2018).

This type of surveillance and censorship really impacts civilians negatively. Firstly,  the lack of electrical supply cuts down new media and technology use, secondly they are only being exposed to biased North Korean media. It gives citizens false hope development and it careers an informed public. Likewise, the rest of the world is also uninformed of the  happenings in North Korea. South Korea is the forefront of news in comparison and the only time you witness information recently  is when Kim and Trump have discussion or conflict o there is worry of Nuclear bombing. This creates an  entirely uninformed public across countries and this has shown how data surveillance and censorship negatively impact publics .

[theunfilteredheat]

From Anime fan to Koreaboo

957 km seems like a large stretch from Japan to South Korea but that’s exactly how far my media experience has taken me and all I did was click and tap (DistanceFromTo, 2018). All this credit can be given to algorithms. What are algorithms? According to Cambridge dictionary it is a set of mathematical rules or instructions that, especially given to a computer, will help to calculate an answer to a problem (Cambridge Dictionary, 2018). “They are programs that size us up, evaluate what we want, and provide a customized experience” (D. Lazer, 2015). An example would be our phones. We have personal information stored onto our phone such as locations, messages and we have speakers in our phones that can be hacked into that can give service providers our information as well. Many people were not aware of this until Edward Snowden, a former Central Intelligence Agency employee, leaked the mass surveillance officials had over people in 2013 (MacAskill, Hern. 2018). A very pivotal example of this would be Facebook. People have complained about how they spoken about a particular topic or them meeting  up with someone  and then  suddenly there’s an advert on Facebook or a friend suggestion.

https://me.me/i/facebook-now-hiring-no-need-toapply-we-already-have-all-21452859

 All these are possible because our devices give out this information. Algorithms in turn also use this to create new searches for you. This argument may seem as though I am saying the media is inherently  ideological. Technology may be able to track your environment and then cater for you but it is actually the discourses around them and how technology is used in society (Kranberg, 1985) (Lasch, 1897). 

The above has explained algorithms and how it uses surveillance of personal information to create individualistic media experiences. This post will continue to show how algorithms shapes the media world.

I started to watch anime on YouTube in my teens and the first one was Free! It was about competitive swimming. What is notable about this is that the main characters are male and are very domineering characters. In other words they share some characteristics with the stereotypical man.

https://za.pinterest.com/pin/676806650225162164/

Looking at my environment at that time, I went to an all girls school where feminism is promoted but that lack of the male counter-part can make males seem more interesting and mysterious. The technology around me took note of this personal information and had showed me content related to my situation with hint of fantasy and by that I mean I was advertised a vampire anime that took place in an Elite school called Vampire Knight. Around this time The vampire diaries was a huge success which I had been watching religiously. Taking in the idea of of what I consumed and the environment around me, media platforms showed me content I would be interested in based on context. Therefore, much animes similar to this was consumed where male characters were the forefront and female characters were in need of saving. 

http://www.crunchyroll.com/group/Kaname_Sama_FanClub

Fastfowrd to 2016, first year university and you begin to realize the many layers of society and in more colloquial terms, I became “woke”.

https://gifer.com/en/72nt

The media content  I consumed began to change because my environment changed. “Yuri on ice” a competitive  ice-skating anime may sound ordinary however the characters  are far from the norm in anime. One of the characters has a fluid sexuality, the other finds himself comfortable in playing a women’s role and many of them do not look masculine. They take on more feminine features.

 https://www.kotaku.com.au/2016/12/what-did-you-think-of-the-yuri-on-ice-finale/

I watched more of these types of anime, suggested by algorithms , and eventually  kpop videos came up and I took an interest. The obsession of Korean pop culture grew so much that I watched their dramas, followed their dressing styles, followed youtubers who live in Korea and lived vicariously through their experiences. The term koreaboo came up and it is used to describe people who are non-Asian but are obsessed with Korean culture. The word now has a negative connotation since many people  began to idolize Korean culture and not really appreciate it authentically and want to be Korean themselves forgetting their own culture. Since kpop has made its rise with BTS (a Korean boy group) who made it to the billboard music awards in 2017 for the best social Artist. Kpop has made its debut on mainstream media and now everyone wants to get on the popularity.

Although algorithms brought me vast knowledge, they have kept me in context. Eli Pharisee argues that algorithms create an uninformed public because if you have history of clicking on  certain types of information, your searches will continue to validate and only expand what you know (E. Pharisee, 2011). It will not inform you beyond that. Likewise, my interests have kept me informed of East Asian popular culture. My searches do not pick up on Trumps affairs (politics) or South African affairs either. Algorithms base information around your interests much like how the media is not inherently  idealogical, your platforms cannot show you information other than what you want because it does not know what you need to be informed of. Technology may scan your environment and view your interests but it’s the discourses that lay behind the media that to some extent control what information is available to you and show you what you need and this creates a lack of diversity and it produces social divisions.  

[theunfilteredheat]

The media dictating the ideal man

You are constantly being bombarded on television, newspapers, magazines and on online spaces with images of the perfect guy.   You are unconsciously giving into these stereotypes of what men should be like and giving into objectification. This creates unrealistic expectations since most of these images are photo-shopped and the image of the perfect guy is being dictated to us (Thomson et. Al, 1999). 

This relates to the phenomena of soft power which uses attraction to influence. Manufacturing consent, discusses five steps as to how soft power is used to lure societies into certain cultural codes and values (Chomsky, Herman. 1988). The most relevant  idea is the size, dominance and profit of media firms. Major media outlets re-enforce ideas around  what masculinity is. An example would be Gq magazine. Gq magazine sales are quite high as shown below  and this means that it  is largely  disseminated . This magazine features  men like Chris Hemsworth, Leonardo DiCaprio and David Beckham take center stage showing how defined their physiques. This then defines what physicality should be for men.

http://justmediakits.com/mediakit/1371-gq.html

Media outlets also define what emotions and interests a man should have. The magazine covers say it all already. Men should be interested in working out, bulking up, having muscles and being athletic as possible.

 Having a salacious interest in sex (heterosexual)

https://giphy.com/gifs/ash-williams-Psj6oPRONBVUA

They have to be breadwinners in their households and this shifts the power dynamic onto men having dominance in relationships. This just shows the impact magazines can have by perpetually showing a particular kind of man. Due to technological advancements and access, the online world has become the new space to further entrench these ideas. Social media apps play a part in disseminating  information. Instagram is one of the more popular apps since it has the highest usage rates. Instagram has something called Instagram models. These people are considered to be physically attractive and have a high following. The male Instagram models in particular love to show their toned bodies, nutritional  diets, their affluent lifestyle and how many “beautiful” women they have around them.

 This impacts the average male since it urges them to make these changes in their life. It impacts females in terms of what they want  as life partners. To break down these examples, the stereotypical male should be strong, physically fit, sexual, emotionally detached and  domineering. These explored  ideas will feed into three main examples that seemed to have a large global impact on societies. 

The Twilight franchise from 2008 made a large explosion in the media world when famous books turned into four films that young adults and teenagers went ludicrous over. To put the plot line simply, girl moves into new town, finds emotionally  detached and creepy vampire boy attractive, pursues him and he falls in love with her, her werewolf friend likes her too and they all live disastrously ever after. 

https://giphy.com/gifs/bill-hader-stefon-Kjv5D2VLwj2tG

The point is the  relationship between  the lead characters, Bella and Edward. When the two begin to commit, Bella is affected quite negatively. She gets physically hurt, emotionally torn when he becomes absent and leaves her and he has this blood-lust. 

https://www.hypable.com/twilight-cast-hate-twilight/

Fifty shades of grey portrays this similarity where Christian Grey is this abusive, sexual deviant who happens to be rich and good looking and takes in upon himself to use his traumatic  past as an excuse to hurt women such as Anastasia who are submissive and have no real knowledge of worldly affairs. What these two have in common  is there impact on both genders in society. Looking at women firstly, these type of media products induct the belief that it’s okay for men to abuse you in all forms. You just have to stand by him and be willing because your emotions do not matter. It’s how you benefit him that matters. Looking at this from another perspective, it allows men to believe that they can hurt women because they are stronger, smarter, wealthier and women are naturally submissive. 

https://za.pinterest.com/pin/8585055517934694/

Lastly, the new Netflix heartthrob, Noah Centenio. 

To all the boys I have loved before  sparked great interest in the male lead, Peter Kavinsky. The character portrayal of the perfect boyfriend. Peters relationship with Lara might have started off fake to prevent Lara’s best friend and sister from finding out about her recent crush  and to annoy Peters ex-girlfriend, It soon  ignited romantic feelings between the two. What makes this movie so attractive  to viewers is the way Peter treats Lara. He sends her handwritten notes, he does the now famous hand in pocket spin, he talks to her about his family situation and feelings (not immediately however) and he is respectful and nice to her family. That sounds really pleasant but the facts still remain that is he an athlete part of the lacrosse team, he lives in a nice house and drives fancy car and to add, he has a raspy voice, tall and well built built physique and it doesn’t hurt that he is good looking. Although this portrayal of the male lead is slowly progressing, he still embodies the ongoing physical standards of the ideal male.

These type of attributes effect people’s desires and expectations because at one stage, I wouldn’t dare go for a guy who was not over six foot, worked out and lived some affluent lifestyle. 

https://gifer.com/en/8lzz

The terms nice guys always finish last is because the media portrayed ideal guys to be emotionally detached and quite mean and in turn coerce women to be with this certain type of man. The medias portrayal of the ideal man impacts societies in ways people may not notice and people  unknowingly give into and support stereotypes and that links to soft power and it’s influences on societies cultural codes and values.