Is the Media in the UK Sexist and Racist Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Is the Media in the UK Sexist and Racist - Essay Example The X rating imposed by the BBFC was as a result of explicit sexual and violent content, according to Stuart McDougal (2003: 3) in his book, Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange. Today, the censorship that resulted in an X rating for A Clockwork Orange, and prevented the film from being made available to the British public country-wide, is noticeably absent in the British media; as is the moral judgment and assertion of political interest that once prevailed in the UK’s media. The discernable sexism and racism that once defined the UK’s media were by design, according to David Buckingham, in a journal article published in the Journal of Communication (1998: 33). In his journal essay, Buckingham describes, â€Å". . . the history of media education in the UK, tracing its evolution Leavisite (Leavis and Twerepson 1933) origins, through the advent of cultural studies to the more explicitly political approaches developed in the 1970s. These approaches reflect a gradual democratization of the curriculum, as well as a form of cultural or political protectionism (1998: 33).† There has been, writes Buckingham, a noticeable and discernable move away from the aforementioned protectionism, resulting in a more open, less sexist, less racially discriminatory British media (1998: 33). The teaching of media in the UK, utilizing the Leavis and Thompson (1933) methods, was, according to Buckingham, focused on â€Å". . . salvation of the (British) culture – preserving the literary heritage, language, values, and health of the nation it was seen to embody and represent (1998: 34).† In their book, British Cultural Identities, authors Peter Childs and Mike Storry write, â€Å"The British are famed for both their prurience and their sexual reserve, a stereotype which, though exploited with many British cultural forms (Merchant/Ivory â€Å"heritage† cinema, for example), probably derives less from contemporary cultural attitudes than from England’s former role in the global imposition of repressive middle-class norms and values (2002: 128)†.

Charles Gains Conceptualism in Los Angeles Essay

Charles Gains Conceptualism in Los Angeles - Essay Example Ever since the 1960s2, when art in Los Angeles was defined by the introduction of abstract depictions, conceptualization has grown steadily amongst artists. Previous, one sees many faces in painting3 which had led to modernism by themed-nineteenth century. In conceptualization, the focus is on using abstract modes of expression to depict materials that we see around us in daily life, in an all new way. The main advantage of having such an art form was that lovers of art got a new perspective to look at nature and things around them. The perspective was believed to be initially impressionistic. Greenberg in his work Towards a Newer Laocoon, historically delineates how art has been evolving to become â€Å"pure† in its â€Å"medium† and in doing so it must retain the paint and the canvas for what it is and only convey sensation. Once this prescription has been satisfied the painter has achieved the â€Å"medium† of abstract art. Clark’s interpretation of Gre enberg’s Towards a Newer Laocoon, sparks a heated debate between him and Michael Fried. Clark argues that Greenberg is historicizing in his writing and ignoring that art is a reflection of the artist social environment. Formalism should not be the only thing accounted for in a painting but content as well. Artistic standards in history go hand in hand with social practice, which is evident in nineteenth-century Romantics. According to Clement Greenberg (1982), official painting and art forms were set to take a backseat in new forms of artistic depiction. Greenberg argues that if an artwork can be interpreted and agreed upon to be representative of a specific â€Å"situation† or â€Å" object†, then it is merely an imitation rather than a medium. Art (paintings and sculptures) in the 17th and 18th century was directly imitating literature, and so literature being the medium- art was just an illusion of literature.