OSP: Language and Representation blog tasks

 OSP: Language and Representation blog tasks

Work through the following tasks to cover the Language and Representation key concepts for our OSP CSPs:

Language

1) Make two lists - one of website conventions used on Marcus Rashford and Kim Kardashian's official website and one of social media conventions found on their Instagram pages. 

WEB:

• homepage
• logo/brand identity
• central image/s or video/s 
• multi- media features
• social media links/integration
• navigation menus

SM:

• logo/brand identity
• profile pic/image
• background/banner image
• images + video
• online engagement/ audience interaction

2) How does Marcus Rashford's website and social media promote his brand? Give at least three examples of different pages / posts / images from his website or social media. 

- the new homepage emphasizes his football career and brand image

- the central images and videos contain luxury brands that he works with such as Dolce and Gabbana which makes people more attracted to his brand/website

- the homepage contains a lot of red images, which links to the team of Manchester United but also shows a strong, passionate and dominant role.

3) How does Kim Kardashian's website and social media promote her brand? Give at least three examples of different pages / posts / images from her brand websites or social media.

 - she has a link in her bio that leads to her website/ online shop: SKIMS which helps her make more sales of her products and promote her brand on her Instagram page

- her page also tags all the accounts of her other brands

- she has a website called KARDASHIAN KLOSET, which sells clothes worn by the Kardashians and also mentions her other brands as well as showcasing her as a "social media phenomenon".

4) How does Marcus Rashford's online presence use the narrative of his childhood upbringing to create a positive brand identity? 

He challenges stereotypes regarding social class, benefits and poverty and his online presence emphasizes his working class background and how hard his mum worked as a single parent, creating the narrative of success against the odds, which he then uses to drive his campaigning work on food poverty and reading.

5) How does Kim Kardashian's website and social media promote other media products or websites using the Kardashian brand (e.g. Keeping Up With The Kardashians TV show)? 

In order to keep her fame, Kim promotes other products using her brand such as KARDASHIAN KLOSET, SKIMS etc, by using her position as a celebrity to gain more followers and money through endorsements on her Instagram story and other photo shoots with brands and TV shows with her family.

Representations

1) How does Marcus Rashford use different aspects of mise-en-scene (e.g. clothes/costume/ settings/locations) to create representations of himself on his website and social media? 

His website contains many red images, linking to the Manchester United football team but also connoting power, influence and dominance to his campaigns and brand identity. He also wears football clothes in order to promote his career in sports and uses the FareShare website to further convey his charity work and his good intentions, which gives him a positive reputation and fits well with his campaign- he also wears the jacket in the image of the food bank, which connotes his voluntary position and makes him look attractive to mainstream brands, without making him seen as a rich footballer.

2) What examples can you find of website pages, social media posts or aspects of his brand that create a positive representation of Marcus Rashford? You may wish to comment on his discussion of family or his campaigns - his page on the FareShare campaign website may help with this question.

His page on the FareShare campaign website advances his reputation as well as his discussion of family which causes empathy created for the footballer as he shares his personal background/ story.

3) How does Marcus Rashford's online presence challenge stereotypes? Think about gender (masculinity), race/ethnicity, social class or football here. 

He reinforces the typical stereotypes of a rich male footballer but also subverts ideas surrounding race and ethnicity as well as social class as he talks about the struggle him and his family faced when he was younger. 

4)  What representation of celebrity is created by Kim Kardashian's website and social media? How are audience encouraged to view celebrity? 

Her social media profile picture obviously exposes the photo shoot taken in place for that photo, which emphasizes traditional stereotypes covering feminine beauty and the belief that women needed to be presented perfectly in society, which encourages a facade in place for members of the audience and discourages them from being themselves which negatively portrays the influencer. 

5) What gender stereotypes are reinforced or challenged in Kim Kardashian's online presence? 

She reinforces traditionally female stereotypes due to the facade she holds and encourages others to also hold, also shown by all of her beauty brands.