More Zoella

Zoella is a prime example of targeted narrowcasting 

Zoe is very 'chased' (Unsexulised)

It can be argued that Zoella promotes sexist, singular view of women: 

-Constant 'accidental' mistakes in her videos
-having the perfect supportive typically good looking boyfriend
-Colour theme of brand mainly pastel and soft colours
-Close up of her face emphasise large bright eyes and makeup 
-silly comments and tangents show a 'comedy'/human side to her 
-intersexual reference to friends (Poppy and Mark) assumes audience knows them

Counterpoint: how does Zoella subvert stereotypical representations of gender?

Zoella is entrepreneurial. She owns her own business, and takes an active role in promoting her own products

Zoella is in no way sexualised at all, and remains chaste and virginal in terms of her own self-representation

Zoella takes an active role throughout her videos, driving herself and talking directly to the camera

Zoella commands a range of servants and supporting characters, demonstrating her authority

Zoella actively takes the role of cinematographer, once more demonstrating her role as an active media producer

Zoella remains active and autonomous throughout her videos. Her importance is reinforced through consistent close-ups, which male supporting characters (eg. Alfie, Mark etc) often shown briefly in the background

Cheers to U block for these excellent responses! Remember, if you're reading this and disagreeing with these analytical perspectives, then that's OK! Your answer in media is pretty much always right as long as you can back up your argument with media language and theoretical perspectives!

• To what extent does Zoella use Youtube algorithms in order to manipulate her audiences?
• In what ways does Zoella's content differ from 'old' media products, for example TV shows and films?
• What are some positive aspects of online media in general and digital convergence in particular? How can marginalised groups, such as those with mental health issues use online media in positive ways?
• You have the the option to push a button and to irreversibly destroy all digital media. Would you push it? Why?

Exploring identity- Zoella vs Tanya

Zoella's Website 

UX= The user experience 

• plain white back ground connotes fresh, clean feel
• san-serif font
• bright and attractive colours aimed at younger audience 
• clearly layed out

classic middle class depiction of a picnic with the cheese board, abundance of food and lack of cigarettes and alcohol 

-cultivated into the idea that this is what a picnic should look like 

multimodality- media product that uses different modes of media (eg. magazines)
hypermodality- goes beyond traditional forms of modality (eg. internet) 



Every image on the website is heavily post processed with filters making them look constantly tanned and the locations sunny 

Zoella is aspirational but almost attainable 






Tanya Burr Website

• Super similar layout 
• less perfectionist- images taken on phone, less posed and edited 
• wider range of content
• feels more adult eg. images of alcohol and adult parties and events
• more sexualised with more revealing pictures and a pout  

1. How can we apply the male gaze theory to Zoella?
2. What issues are presented with Zoellas representation online?
3. To what extent does Zoella subvert representation of gender? (Judith Butler theory of gender) 
4. How does Zoella promote interactivity through her identity?
5. How does she create a hyper real character?
6. To what extent does she represent young women online? 

FUCK ZOELLA TWEET

Lack of moderation on Zoellas website 




Tweets from 2009 posted by Zoella (aged 18/19)

-totally goes against her image and ideology
-or is it actually fake news or just edits
-she realised apology statements


Why is Zoella fading out and losing momentum and popularity 

The audience that she originally catered to have grown up and young people are attracted to different trends and styles (eg. Kylie Jenner) 

With her somewhat innocent and sexless personer and lack of LGBTQ represenattion she is losing out to other more current influencers and you tubers 

TO WHAT EXTENT DOES ZOELLA USE STEREOTYPICAL REPRESENTATIONS OF WOMEN?

including Poppy in the video and treating her like some sort of 'special guest' -proairetic code  
including a mistake "i'm out of focus" serves as a transition and symbolic code for her being normal, quirky and making mistakes 


The high key lighting emphasise the range of pastel colours and shades of pink in the room.


The product themselves (candles, and scented items) are aimed at women 
(example of commodity fetishism- lusting after the brand rather than the product)  


The fact that the focus is on the packaging not the product its self fetishise her brand therefore herself 

STANDISISED DIFFERENTAION-
every scented candle is only slightly different yet serves the same purpose 



Extreme close up on face enforces hegemonic norm as of women wearing a whole face of makup 

reality and post modernism

CONSTRUCTION OF ZOELLA

Simulation is no longer that of substance. It is the generation by models of a real without origin or reality: Hyperreality 

Zoella, much like many other vloggers is based on a mode of constant hyperrreferentiality and it is impossible to understand without an intimate knowlege of Barthesian referential codes 

Inferred knowledge: Mark the gay best friend 

UNTIMATE PIZZA TEST TASTE:

• non diegetic music in the background (simple guitar upbeat)
• between the age of 26-28 Zoella has changed her voice to sound more mature (example of rebranding)  
• both appear sexless and innocent
• a deliberate blooper/outtakes at the beginning of each video 
• the mid shot/ two shot infeers that we're sitting across from them like in a restranut or at her house 
• mistakes are left in to make it look less real to make it more real
• the video is 13 minutes of pure bordom
• provides audiences with strange form of escapism 

Zoella reinforces dominate hedmonic views of skinny girls are prettier 

This creates unrealistic expectations more the young impressionable audnice 

consumerist ideology

Reinforces how girls HAVE to wear makeup and the Gay best friend HAS to be camp

ZOELLA

ZOELLA

• world number 1 fashion/beauty blogger 
• 12 mil subscribers
• started doing videos from 2009
• 1 billion video views

Steve Neal- genre theories 

June favoiutes 2016- Set text

Editing:

jump cuts

hard cuts

bloopers left in

close up of face 

profential clean bright lighting                       

blurred plain background 

extreme close up of product

Mise-en-scene:                                                              2 years ago, 1.8M views 

holds product while talking about it

Wearing face of makeup

Simple black chocker, no earrings

hair in bun

shallow depth of field

She has a hyper expressive face

(viewer has to watch 30sec to count as a view)

feminine yet not sexual

very expressive uses her hands 

direct gaze

intentionally fucks up words and leaves them in eg. Smashbox 

Overly friendly 

informal mode of address 

neutral southern accent 

well spoken without being posh, dies not swear or use slang 

Online Media starter- Bloggs and Vloggs

What even is online media? The digital products, services and texts that involve the internet.

Digital Convergence - The coming together of previous separated industries digitally

E.G 

• a newspaper app. 
• Netflix and streaming
• Box office online
• Spotify

-Media Language

-Representation

-Audience

-Industry

Blog is short for Web-log. Practically an online diary. Vlogging is the activity or practice of posting short videos for social medias, or your own personal desire.

Micro-blogging sites exist such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Blogging and Vlogging are an example of Clay Shirky's End of Audience theory, where the audience make the product.

Stereotypically Vlogs and their producers target a younger demographic like around 11 to 18 year olds.

Youtube was founded in 2005, where they had cheap servers and horrible storage. With the massive improvement of internet and storage, YouTube as a platform grew massively.

Web 2.0 = currrent look of the internet 

eg. google icon with white background 

• Vlogs can be aspirational and give the audience something to aspire to
• they offer the pleasure of personal and social identity 
• pleasure of an unscripted narrative (still constructed but gives illusion of real life) 
• direct mode of address (breaking 4th wall) 
• Audience interaction- like, subscribe and comment 

Example: Jackson cat man 

Cover work

Assassins Creed Liberation 3

REGULATION

Who regulates this text?

Regulated by PEGI

What legal and ethical issues does this text bring up?

-racism

-false history 

-misogyny 

Does this text offer it's audiences a plurality of experiences? Give examples
-Genre: action, adventure, stealth

-interactive game play 

-narrative and story element

-black, female protagonist (different to previous games in series) 

DISTRIBUTION

Who distributes this product?

Published by Ubisoft

How many copies are/were sold?
Over 12mil

What is the circulation of this product?
Digital
Online
In store 

Can the product be distributed digitally?
Plateforms: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows via the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and Steam

POWER AND ORGANISATION

Who owns this product? 
Ubisoft as part of the Assassins creed series franchise 

Is the owner a major or indie?
Major

What else do they produce/publish?
Rainbow six titles, Watch Dogs1/2, Farcry5 ect

Are they vertically and/or horizontally integrated? 

Do they operate as a subsiduary? 

What is the dominant ideology of this organisation?

Ubisoft: Entertainment is a French computer and videogame developer and publisher with headquarters in Montreuil-sous-Bois, France. It was founded in 1986 by five brothers, of which Yves Guillemot serves as chairman and CEO. Thecompany consists of 26 studios spread across 18 countries.