Day: October 17, 2015

And… I received a “Fail” for all my 2011 thinking, writing, & reflections efforts, herein PRN2120.

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PRN 2120 – Foundations of Public Relations. Semester 1, 2011. Assessment 2
Media depictions (including film and television) are a primary source of how the citizenry learns about a profession.
(Susanne Johnston, 2010a, p. 1)

word count without references: 1600 (approx)
Including references: 2113

From an early age filmic texts like newsreels and movie informed and influenced me. Later, television, another one-way communication process, exposed me to a North American sitcom Bewitched, and to consumerism. This lengthy series depicted the fantasy life story of an inexperienced young advertising executive, his family and his profession. The story was based on an intertwined metanarrative, a binary made up of an archaic and a modern myth. This powerful narrative provided an important personal learning experience for me. The integrity of Darrin the advertising-executive-character was established by compliance with current, major, ethical, cultural standards. Throughout this essay I rely on the theory of public relations, media, communications and culture to reveal just a few of the countless ways public relations affected the series’ construction. I also argue this comprehensive screen depiction of public relations profoundly influenced my understanding of the profession in an enduring, positive way.

In 1950’s country Western Australia pre-ordained international and national news and movies only arrived once a month – in tin canisters – and without advertisements. Advertising historian Gawen Rudder exactly encapsulates my feelings when he says: “In the ‘50s and so on, advertising was so new and so novel that we watched open-mouthed. Like, “Isn’t this brilliant?” even if it wasn’t brilliant.” (The History of Advertising, 29th. May, 2003, p.1). One very successful American television series introduced me to advertising. This was Bewitched, a “fantasy sitcom” (“Bewitched”, n.d.). This powerful narrative had instant appeal; “as our film industry became more sophisticated … so did our advertising style” (Rudder, cited by The History of Advertising, 29th. May, 2003, p. 2).

Operating “under the umbrella of advertising” (Johnston, 2010b, p. 198), Bewitched was a televised ‘smash’ that ran from September 1964 until July, 1972 (“Bewitched”, n.d.). On one level the series was overt, transparent – and successful. It did not conceal it was a huge “press agentry [exercise] … the most common form of public relations” (Grunig cited by Harrison, 2011, p. 88), and, according to Crawford, within a century what Australians ate for breakfast depended upon advertising (2008). At that time I already knew “public relations functions were carried out” (Johnston, 2010b, p. 189). I was aware of being ‘sold’ Uncle Toby’s Oats and Chevrolet, and that those companies were major sponsors (All About the Bewitched Music Theme).

The television screen depicted the novel life and work environments of Darrin and his circle. Just as Lee (2004, p. 157) describes, these new concepts and ideas soon transfixed me. The underpinning strategy incorporated a well-defined:

hierarchy of effects … this theory suggests the sequence
in which people may come to be persuaded. The sequence
is: (1) awareness; (2) comprehension; (3) agreement or
acceptance; and (4) retention of the acceptance and
consequent behaviour change
Mackey, cited by Johnston & Zawawi, 2003, pp. 61, 62.

Classified as a “fantasy sitcom” (About TV.com Australia), the “comedy, romance …genres” also applied (Johnston, 2010, p. 189). Bewitched was much, much more, “a prism through which the subject[s] can be viewed” – and persuaded (Lee, as cited by Johnston, 2010a, p. 5).. As Edgerton explains “television [sheds] additional or nuanced light” (as cited by Johnston, 2010a, p. 5), and during eight years the series made its target audience aware of: “bigotry, racism, consumerism, materialism, human vanity, women’s liberation and mass hysteria” (“Bewitched”, n.d.). This popular culture entertainment “contributed to … discussion in a meaningful way” (Johnston, 2010a, p. 7).

As Lee (2004, p. 157) generally describes, Bewitched fitted neatly into some topics. They are what Johnston more specifically calls public relations themes; “power, fame, truth, deception, morality and love” (2010b, p. 189). While comprehending the series was providing a continuous stream of novel and engaging information, I never questioned the pedagogical form of the narrative – I was in agreement.

Foucault describes this type of one-way communication as “discourse” (as cited in Social Science Information). Harrison quotes L’Etang, who says discourse are “patterns of language that may communicate (and may seek to persuade) a particular set of values or knowledge” (2011, p. 86). This series provided what Johnston calls “understandings learned through television and film become part of the collective memory of a group within society” (2010a, p. 6). These exist in every society, where:

the production …
is at once controlled, selected, organised and redistributed
according to a certain number of procedures, whose role it
is to avert [the society’s] powers and its dangers, to cope
with chance events, to evade its ponderous, awesome
materiality
(Foucault, 1971, as cited in Social Science Information)

In this screen depiction the discourse and characters are components of what Barthes describes as a “myth … [or a] body of ideas, beliefs and practices”. He explains the function of myth in communication and culture is “to naturalise what is not natural or given but what is constructed”, that myth is an “ideology … being a body of ideas, beliefs and practices … [that] operate to promote the values and interests of dominant groups” (J. Hall, 2010, p. 3). The series promoted new values and interests via a not-entirely-new, Australian myth.

These values and interests of a “dominant coalition” (Grunig, as cited by Harrison, 2011, p. 167) and were housed in a “negotiated construction … to maintain their … ‘spontaneous consent’ of subordinate classes” (Strinati, 1995, p. 147). The new myth was an example of Gramsci’s “cultural hegemony” theory (p. 148). It contained a binary structure that contrasted two major Western-society “metanarratives”, or “absolute, universal and all-embracing claims to knowledge and truth” (p. 209), and appearing clearly on the surface of the text was an old, traditional, religion-based myth; heterosexual marriage. This myth appeared to be the primary context and was tightly associated with British-Empire dominance of the still-colonial society. However, Darrin’s was a ‘mixed-marriage’. Another, younger, more vigorous metanarrative lived unseen within the discourse: the American Dream.

Darrin the male junior advertising technician in the series is American; young, white, positive; a living embodiment, a “positive depiction” (Johnston, 2010b, p. 190), of the American Dream. Harrison states that “public relations practitioners are central to these power/knowledge processes through their role as discourse technologists” (2011, p. 86). Darrin the discourse technologist has a multi-faceted personal life intimately linked to his work-environment, the advertising house, the advertising campaigns he is involved in developing and Larry, his older boss. The narrative deliberately creates various potentially negative conflicts. The cultural theorist Stuart Hall reveals the binaries and negatives are tools that help “maintain the state in a capitalist society” (1986, n.p.).

The adversarial nature of this filmic text reinforces established value systems – and delivers the new ideologies. Darrin becomes an unlikely angel – delivering messages of modernity – by dealing with conflicting dualism in a mild-mannered way. Darrin is “cast as [the] strong socially responsible” individual, perfectly positioned to herald important covert, yet “commonsense” messages. (Johnston, 2010b, p. 204). The narrative often “incorporated … textuality … to preserve the collective memory” (p. 193). Both are communication device found in communications theories. Mackey says “theories are essential to understanding because the theories we hold influence what we consider to be ethical behaviour” (cited in Johnston & Zawawi, 2003, p. 47). A good example of media ethics theory in practice is the last episode on 23rd. February, 1972, when Darrin​

learns that honesty is not exactly the best policy when he
jeopardises an important account. It seems as though he may
have lost the account, but the client likes the honesty between
Darrin and Larry and gives them a break
(“Bewitched”, n.d.).

While Darrin in gender/race/ethnicity is the dominant major public relations industry stereotypes of the era (Johnston, 2010a, p. 11) and possibly classifies as an “intellectual lightweight” who displays some “unfulfilled, obsequious” characteristics, he is not “cynical, greedy, isolated … [or] manipulative” (Johnston,2010b, pp. 190, 191). Darrin exhibited other attractive features – an open mind, egalitarian nature, modesty, and willingness to learn. In the episode Darrin and achieves all five of Grunig’s “ethical duties in the workplace … duty to self, client, employer, profession and society” (Harrison, 2011, pp. 128, 129).

In this episode and many others, Darrin is not assisted by Larry, the boss or public relations management. A successful old-style advertising magnate, Larry displays many classic advertising-character faults of today; “cynical, greedy …manipulative” (Johnston, 2010, pp. 190, 191). Darrin conquers all these binaries, plus other-world problems created by his in-laws. American film critic A. O. Scott, when reviewing the critical public relations documentary The Corporation, states:

Surviv[ing] at least as much on seduction as on coercion,
and that it [capitalist society] has flourished not
simply by means of chicanery and domination but
by extending, and often fulfilling,
promises of freedom, creativity and individual choices
(30 June, 2004, n.p.).

Bewitched, did not coerce, it promised freedoms, creativity and individual choices. By delivering layers of new ideas it proposed cultural change. On an overt level, the narrative depicted Darrin, a young advertising executive, and a seductive picture of his family and life, and his values. Uncle Toby’s Oats was included in the individual choices proffered. Forty years later, my family still prizes that particular oats brand – over all others. With the benefit of hindsight, and of education at ECU, it is possible to see I was in agreement with the lesson, I retained that agreement and I changed my views and behaviour to an affiliation to the American Dream.

Bewitched was classified as fantasy/comedy/romance but also used sophisticated media, communications and cultural theory strategies. These were used to deliver a story of the advertising profession. The young advertising technician Darrin and older manager Larry characters presented a binary of the good and bad of the profession. The lead role Darrin dealt with many crises. In his private and professional life he exhibited little discrimination, was ethical and could co-habit when times were different and people were strange. Via the one-way-communication medium of television, this screen portrayal provided a valuable balanced/positive pedagogic model over an impressive period. The series generated public analysis and consideration of important issues, at a time when that society was not particularly thoughtful. While openly and successfully advertising new consumer products to Australia in the 1950s and 60s, the television series Bewitched also depicted the advertising profession, and in showing the way the profession conveyed information to the masses, it revealed the public relations component. This series was itself an impressive example of public relations as it was a massive, well-planned and executed, vastly successful, covert campaign. This influential narrative met the dominant coalition’s public relations objectives on both functional and management levels: firstly it resulted in successful sales records; secondly it openly, positively and successfully introduced the advertising profession to Australians. Lastly, the campaign was a brilliant public relations propaganda/press agency model covertly equipped a generation of Australians to deal positively with the chaos of modernity. Until recently – when a new metanarrative was recently installed.

Reference

“Bewitched”. (n.d.). AboutTV. Com Australia. (2011). CBS Entertainment. Retrieved from
http://www.tv.com/bewitched/show/140/summary.html

All About the Bewitched Theme Music. Retrieved from
http://bewitched.net/music.htm

Crawford, R. (2008). But wait, there’s more …: a history of Australian advertising, 1900-
2000. Carlton, Victoria: Melbourne University Publishing.

Social Science Information. (n.d.). Michel Foucault 1971. 10:7
doi:10.1177/05390184710100021.Maison des Sciences de l’Homme. Retrieved from: http://ssi.sagepub.com/content/10/2/7.citation

Hall, J. (2010). CMM1101 Reading Media Texts.ECU tutorial notes. Limited publication.
Available from ECU School of Communications and Arts.

Hall, S. (1986, June). The Problem of Ideology – Marxism without Guarantees. Journal of
Communication Inquiry. Sage Journals Online. June 1986. 10 (2) 28-44
http://sagepub.com/content/10/2/28. doi: 10.1177/019685998601000203

Harrison, K. (2011). Strategic Public Relations: A practical guide to success. South Yarra:
Palgrave Macmillan.

Johnston, J. (2010a). A history of Public Relations on screen; Cinema and television
depictions since the 1930s. The First International History of Public Relations Conference. 8 & 9 July 2010. Bournemouth University.

Johnston, J. (2010b). Girls on Screen: How film and television depict women in public
relations. PRism. 7 (4): http://www.prismjournal.org/fileadmin/Praxis/Files/Gender/Johnston.pdf

Johnston, J. & Zawawi, C. Eds. (2003). Public Relations: Theory and practice. 2nd Ed. Allen & Unwin

Lee, M. (2004). What does Hollywood think nonprofit CEOs do all day? Screen depictions of
NGO management. Public Organisations Review. 27 (3) 157.

The History of Advertising.(2003, 29th. May). Transcript of Episode 17 George Negus
Tonight: Future: History. People. Profiles. http://www.abc.net.au/dimensions/dimensions_future/Transcripts/s867614.htm

Rutzou, D. (2007, 13th November). Unlocking the mystery of public relations: Presentation
by Dennis Rutzou to The Institute of Independent Business National Workshop.
http://www.drpr.com.au/publicrelations/public-relations-company.html

Scott, A. O. (2004, June 30). Film Review. The Corporation (2003): Giving corporations the
Psychoanalytic Treatment. The New York Times.
Movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9FO2E7D81538F933AO5755COA9629C8B63
Tutor: Katie Turton. ​Susanne Harford student No 10043898 March/April 2011​Page 1 of 6

And… I received a “Fail” for all my 2011 thinking, writing, & reflections efforts, herein PRN2120.

The Cultures Didn’t Clash … At Least Not In The Way ‘They’ Wanted….”.

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CMM3115 Global Communications​ ​Assessment 1 Semester 2, 2011
September.
CLASH OF CULTURES

Globalisation is now entrenched in this current era of Australian, Western life. Globalisation already profoundly alters, in countless ways, this democratic society and the lives of many individuals in it. Globalisation carries many good factors, and is often referred to as the age of information, or technological advances. Yet this multi-faceted, now-inevitable way of life is a conflicted age with substantial potential for clashes of culture. That pitential  is directly related to communication difficulties between different components of Australian society – differing groupings of existing inhabitants, and those who are newly-permanent parts of the Australian community. These factors significantly change the Australian society and disturb, for good or bad, the established Australian culture.  Major factors in this clash are the high levels of anxiety and the collapse in communication occurring at various fundamental levels in Australian society today.

Globalisation has for some time been upon the ‘democratic nation’, aka monarchy’s-colony, of Australia, and can now be perceived. Manuel Castells says, beginning in the 1990s, a global construction of “wealth, information and power” became identifiable. Not simply another facet of traditional “domination… [this is] “a new global social structure” (2004, p. xv). Castells says because its structure contains two principal and contradictory characteristics, globalisation is invariably conflicted (2004).
The first characteristic is a multi-faceted “cultural identity” which provides fleeting avenues of protection against the second characteristic of “programmed networks” (Castells, 2004, p. xv). In addition as,  Panizza Allmark explains, a further dimension in this diverse era carries a “time-space compression that… creates cultural tensions and pressures” (CMM3115 lecture notes, 2011).

Also, Johnathan Pickering says “globalisation and culture are multi-centred and heterogeneous in nature” ((2001, p. 47) and Eric Aarons more specifically describes this era as “a profound crisis of sustainability for a planet with seven billion people and growing” (cited by McKnight, 2010, p. 54).

Upon finding themselves in this confusion which is termed globalisation, people naturally seek protection. They search for solutions in their own, known culture – “Australia”.

The existing Australian culture is quite unique and while  Pickering argues “the diversity and vitality …are as great as they have ever been” (p. 56), Jon Stratton talks about the “structural organisation of Australian society” (2009, p. 1). He calls Australian society a “race-based class system where the middle-class has remained predominantly white” (p.1). He classifies Australia as a nation where “Anglo-Celtics… [are] the source of ‘Australian values… and the hegemonic Australian culture’ “(2009, p. 16). These two differing views of Australian society and culture are probably a good representation of its diversity.

In addition, Australia’s populace, and culture continue to diversify ever more rapidly, causing an enormous amount of important factors to impact ever more strongly. For example, Stratton describes “Australian[s’]… history of intense dislike of migration” (2009, p. 2).

He  is interested in why the arrival of modest numbers of “asylum seekers arriving by boat” creates such inordinate levels of community anxiety, and why there is such an emphasis on assimilation (p.1). Stratton seems to consider assimilation as a one-way process yet the arrival of new comers, into any established society, automatically involves numerous, often two-way  processes of assimilation. Broadly: assimilation allows an existing culture to continue to function and  is an imperative if a culture is to dynamically evolve.

On the personal scale, assimilation requires good communication. Stephen Matchett reveals the UN protects the rights of everyone to “seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, either orally, in writing or in print… or though any other media” (p. 20).  Unfortunately, Stratton (2002) does not, in this information age, discuss how a notable lack of effective communication hinders many debates, including migration, in many societies. Including Australia.
Australia is a democracy, but it is a capitalist society. In the now-globalised Australian environment communication has been segmented and shredded by the power of the economic sector. For example, George Megalogenis says “the difference for Australia [now] is the quarry is generating national income while also continuing to hollow out large parts of our economy, and society” (2011, August 27-28, p. 1).

This hollowing out means today in Australia the protection culture can offer its people is limited and uncertain. This is because of globalisation’s economically-driven, or capitalist “programmed networks” (Castells, 2004, p. xv). In Australia these programmed networks include those of communication.

The enormity of these influences, exerted by economic interests, is a major concern to huge sectors of the community, both working and middle-class (Megalogenis, 2011, August 27-28). This, and other concerns, are directly related to the ‘boat-people’ cincerns (above) and how the visa entry system to Australia which is now “employer-driven” (Stratton, 2009, p. 4). The existing community perceive these matters to contain several direct threats to their “cultural identity” and to their associated quality of life.
These concerns directly position “Australian skilled workers within a global market… [which] drives down Australian wages” (Stratton, 2009, p.4). Today “nine-tenths of the local economy is already on the edge of recession” (Megalogenis, 2011, August 27-28).

The average Australian can understand clearly what is happening to his bargaining power; there is only one direction in which his lifestyle is going – and that is down. These are key changes to modern Australian culture, and to the ( industrialised) Australian way of life.

These factors create unremitting pressure throughout the existing Autralian culture, and yet these huge changes are also part of the entire world’s globalisation process, where, Castells says, the governing structures of [all] societ[ies are] undergoing dramatic change (2004). Megalogenis says, in Australia it is a “restructure as profound as the Hawke-Keating-Howard deregulation project of the 80s and 90s” (2011, August 27-28, p. 1).

The Australian image is closely tied to one of strong self-sufficiency. Any reduction in something as fundamental as wages immediately reduces the level of protection Australian “cultural identity” (Castells, 2004) may offer the masses. Little wonder this is making the average Australian so very anxious.
There are many anxieties occurring in Western society now. This is time, according to Eric Aarons, for “every society to reverse the priority capitalism gives to individual betterment and gain and give that priority instead to social needs” (cited by McKnight, 2010, p. 54).

. Globalisation may hold out that promise, but right now, globalisation is causing chaos. Just when social stability is vitally important, many major institutions, previously fundamental cornerstones of democracy, have almost entirely lost credibility with the public (Castells, 2004).
These institutions include government, banks, stock exchange, the housing market, health, education systems and the judiciary (Castells, 2004). Castells’ view is that the conflict identified in globalisation forces culture at all levels to undergo dramatic change (2004).

Pickering calls this a “mixed harvest” for Australia (2001, p. 48). Megalogenis says institutions such as the Australian government do not properly understand the communications problems they are having, and the furore they are creating within the society (2011, August 27-28, p. 1).

Communication dysfunction now in Australia has been examined in other recent media articles. Dennis Shanahan describes as the profound the government “disconnect. [in relation to] the depth of feeling in the electorate” (2011, August 27-28, p. 11). Megalogenis says “this change is bewildering for the community because it is being imposed without our national leadership owning it, let alone explaining where it will take us” (2011, August 27-28, p. 2).

Australian community is reeling because it is currently at the mercy of what Stratton calls “the primacy of the market” (2009, p. 4). During these turbulent changes of globalisation those governing have lost contact, possibly forever, with the governed.
Effective communication between established levels within any society is essential, yet today, regardless of party politics, Australian politicians seem to have lost the art of communicating or “the nature of cultural transmission” (Pickering, 2001, p. 48) with those they are (supposedly) elected to govern.

Megalogenis describes the current situation.
​​A mining boom is an opportunity only if government
understands its role is: to ensure the nine-tenths of the
economy not directly connected to it can still function.
(2011, August 27-28, p. 1).

Substantial further clashes within the culture are possible as nine-tenths of the economy is also nine-tenths of the Australian people – badly hurt by economic globalisation. Individuals now must find and accommodate themselves to, “new ways of living” (Castells, 2004).

Globalisation has the potential to create an Australia “full of confrontations between people, groups, and nations who think, feel and act differently” (Geert Hofstede & Gert JanHofstede, 2005, p. 2). Globalised Australia is changing so rapidly, “the pace… has undoubtedly intensified” (Pickering, 2001, p. 49). If globalisation is “compression of the world… into a ‘single place’” (Robertson cited by Pickering, 2001, p. 48), it is difficult to see how to overcome the substantial levels of individual communication difficulty that will exist.

One example is discussed in a recent article by philosopher Tim Soutphommasane. His subject is virtue, and he investigates whether a common view of this key universal human value is possible. Soutphommansane says “there remains minimal shared understanding… in a society that contains citizens with diverse moral beliefs and practices” (2011, August 27-28, p. 8). Tomlinson says:

​​Cultural transmission involves an interactive
process of negotiation, incorporation and
resistance.. Furthermore, there are many other
aspects of culture that remain highly resistant…
such as language, personal relationships and
religious, ethnic and political affiliations.
(cited by Pickering 2001, p. 51).
Given all these separate stresses and strains, it seems Australians need to quickly become aware of the complications globalisation is imposing and work at developing effective communication methods, and in his analysis there are a number of factors which Stratton does not address.On the street it is evident forces of globalisation now operating within Australia are deeply, quickly and economically negatively affecting many in the the existing society. Pickering says these forces of globalisation “operate… at many levels, including the economic, political, environmental and cultural” (2001, p. 48). This is change with a huge problem – and with such a profound failure of communication comes substantial potential for clashes of culture. Anxiety is heightened today in Australia when the community attempt to express themselves because a large majority of this democracy are either not heard, or not understood.

Reference

Castells, M. (2009). The Information Age: Economy, Society & Culture. Vol.II. The
power of identity. (2nd. Ed). Maldon, USA: Blackwell Publishing.

Hofstede, G. & Hofstede, G. J. (2005). Cultures and Organisations: Software of the
mind. Intercultural Cooperation and its importance for survival. New York: McGraw Hill.

James, J. D. (2010). McDonaldisation, Masala McGospel and Om Economics:
Televangelism in Contemporary India. New Delhi: SAGE Publications India Pvt. Ltd.

Pickering, J. (2001). Globalisation: A threat to Australian culture? Globalisation and
Australian culture. pp. 46-59. Journal of Australian Political Economy No. 48

Matchett, S. (2011, Monday, June 27). Feel free to feast at UN’s internet buffet. The
wry side. A Plus. p. 20. The Australian.

Megalogenis, G. (2011, August 27-28). Changing Gear. Inquirer 1. The Weekend
Australian.

McKnight, D. (2010, Spring) Rethinking Marx, the market and Hayek. pp. 53, 54.
Dissent

McPhail, T. L. (1987). Electronic Colonialism: The future of international
broadcasting and communication. Newbury Park, Calif: Sage Publications, Inc.

McPhail, T. L. (2002). Global Communications: Theories, stakeholders and trends.
Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Shanahan, D. (2011, August 27-28). Labor loses on the left and right. Focus. p. 11.
The Weekend Australian.
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Susanneharford student no 10043898 Tutor:

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