Underpinning theories

Underpinning theories.

Researching media effects, the impact of stereotypes and issues of representation is complex. My first degree is in art, history and media and I was a media lecturer for many years so have been exposed to media effects theory, but I wanted to actively engage with these ideas within the context of my own life: I am a white single parent, my son is black. I have read to expand my knowledge on: how parents develop cultural literacy within the family,(Caballero 2008) different models of race (Dupre 2005) , the world of gangs, (Heale 2008) black male culture (Alexander 1996) and how this feeds back into concepts of cultural literacy. The media theories that I drew on included Althusser’s (1989) concept of interpellation, models from the Birmingham school that acknowledge both the hegemonic nature of media, and the potential of audiences to actively engage with the media. The work of Hall ((1995:21) is key especially because of his awareness of race and audiences. I also drew on Brofenbrenner’s Model of Child Development (1979) as that placed my son’s experience within the real world context. Seven Black Men, is an exemplar of how such a model can be used, and confirmed for me the validity of such an approach. (2005)

From the outset my plan was to blend theory with practical practice and Gauntlett’s (2005) active research model supported this approach. My initial plan was to ask other single white parents and their mixed grownup offspring to produce a creative representation or box of resources reflecting their media use, and to present this as an exhibition. So this term as a prototype of the type of material such pairs could produce I have started producing my own bit of a box to help me consider the resources my son and I used. (For more detail on this aspect of the study see Appendix A) As a result of all this work I feel I have a better understanding of how stereotypes impact on all human relationships, and may contribute to racism and lack of aspiration within certain groups of people, even in circumstances where positive media images are increasingly available, but only as a small part of other things happening in people’s lives.