A2 Communication & Culture Key Concept
Mode of Address
In addition to the key concepts of the AS course, A2 adds the following: • Ideology • Mode of address • Discourse • Narrative • Technology.
Mode of Address It is a fundamental principal of Communication and Culture that all texts have the capacity to communicate. As we investigate cultural practices and cultural products we are searching for their meanings or, more precisely, the ways in which meanings are generated. We know that the simple process model (Sender – Message – Receiver) has its limitations because it is not really adequate in conceptualising the relationship between text (message) and receiver. This is where mode of address comes in. We start with the question: Who does this text think I am? In other words what assumptions are made about me and how I am expected to read the text? If you walk into a High Street bank, how are you addressed by the décor, the carpet, the fixtures and fittings, the signage, the lighting, the uniforms of the staff and the way they use language?
Barclays Piccadilly Circus, London
A staff member at Nat West
All these constitute a mode of address, the underlying message of which is probably something like, ‘You are very welcome here as long as you want to deposit money, borrow money or otherwise contribute to the profitability of the organisation.’ But it may be that you don’t feel welcome, you feel intimidated, patronised and out of place. In both cases, the mode of address has contributed to your subjectivity; it has formed you as a person in much the same way as Althusser describes the process of interpellation or ‘hailing’ Marxists are likely to find evidence in the modes of address of almost every text that confirms a view of class-divided society in which workers are exploited by capitalists. Feminists will find evidence in modes of address of the sets of assumptions that create gendered subjectivities. However, without denying the validity of these perspectives, it is surely the case that texts offer a range of different and sometimes contradictory subjectivities. For example, some advertisements address us as rebels and some invite us to fit in and be one of the crowd. (see over)
Diesel – Only the Brave (TV/Cinema Ad) These are similar Diesel Fragrance Adverts; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcHSEhOggMg - Diesel – Only the Brave TV Spot Daniel1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3d1GPd6R0M Sam 5-4-3-2-1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gri_qRp9_Fs - Diesel – Only the Brave TV Spot 2 Sam – “Who’s going to tell me when to stop?”
Q What assumptions are made about me and how I am expected to read the (Diesel) text?
WKD Wicked (TV/Cinema Ad)
Q What assumptions are made about me and how I am expected to read the (WKD) text?
Jennifer Lopez L'Oréal Paris Commercial
Q What
assumptions are made about me and how I am expected to read the (L’Oreal) text? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spWWzT9VD50&feature=related
Post Office – Saigon, Vietnam Texts are often multifaceted and, intentionally or not, allow us the possibility of many readings (otherwise known as polysemy). As with the Post Office above, we all recognise from time to time that a text is trying to manipulate us; to ease us into a subjectivity that we’d rather not have, thank you vey much. As soon as we ‘see through’ the ideological effect of a mode of address it becomes counterproductive and is likely to have the opposite effect to the one intended. (remember Hall and Morley) Notes on the above:
To use the example of advertising again, adverts form the 1960s and 1970s now seem so unsophisticated and blatant in their attempts to manoeuvre consumers into a particular subjectivity, that they are usually only shown today for their comedy effect. In this advert for Camel cigarettes, consider the use of white coat (icon) his sincere and ‘satisfied’ expression , his relaxed and reassuring body language. What is he an index to? How does this text make meaning?
Marlboro cigarettes – tapped into the Cowboy myth of the American West, rugged and square jawed this iconic image of the Marlboro Man made this campaign the most successful in cigarette advertising history (1954-1999). The advertisements were originally conceived as a way to
popularize filtered cigarettes, which at the time were considered feminine.
Who are these texts aimed at, how does it sell the brand –through what images, associations and connotations?
What a lucky lady! Regarding the unsophisticated attempts to encourage the reader to engage subjectively with these advertisement texts, resistance is ore likely to occur at the level of content rather than code. The specific idea that a cigarette can be linked to a form of rugged, outdoor manliness (as in the Marlboro Man) may seem a bit daft to most of us today. Yet the underlying convention of the encoded mode of address is still acceptable i.e. we still expect consumer products to be linked with desirable gender identities.
Desirable gender identities, here in the 1940s the woman seems coy, coquettish, subserviant even. She should wear make up it seems and this should result in a ‘natural look’ to please (all) men. Here women wear make up – for men, to attract men and to therefore conform to dominant ideology and have a partner/husband.
Two useful terms associated with mode of address are positioning and register. The idea that a text or message can position the receiver should be familiar to you. If your friend addresses you from their Controlling Parent ego state by giving you orders in a loud voice accompanied by a wagging finger and a steady stare, then you are being positioned as an Adapted Child. Of course, you may choose to reject this subject position, but to do so is to place yourself in conflict with your friend because he or she will have to change subject position if you response is from an Adult ego state. Perhaps it is more obviously the case in a face to face interaction such as thins, but we can see how all relationship texts, cultural products and cultural practices position us in one way or another Register involves modifications to the codes of communication, usually to fit in with the requirements of a particular group or a particular situation. For example, the mode of address of the post office we visited a few paragraphs ago may adopt a Formal register Informal register Serious register or a, Light-hearted register. Maybe you’ve been watching a show on TV or reading an article and unsure of the intended meaning, you may ask, “are they/is this meant to be serious??!!” “No it’s a micky take”, comes the reply, “Phew!” –
you were checking what register does the text require to understand it. As in COMM1 the A2 exam COMM3 will present you with a text, or more than one text for comparison and for analysis. You must apply the Key Concepts of Communication in this analysis, think of the KCs as handholds, scaffolding or tools to help you explore the texts and the range of meanings generated. TIP : The Key Concept Mode of Address is similar to the Media Studies’ Key Concept Media Language and Film Studies ‘ Micro Elements !
Guinness - Phat Planet by Leftfield – Surfer Ad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9CsRWdubrk
Pirelli Car Tyres – Venus In Furs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLWWtgqDG2M
Walkers Crisps – Gazza
v Lineker http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8OLuUjXbsI
For a thorough analysis in COMM3 (and COMM4) you will also need to consider some or all of the following
Visual codes non-verbal communication mise-en-scene colour – dominant colour, hues, tones, saturation décor – wall colour or coverings, furniture lighting – high key, subdued, low-key, ambient, natural, notan props –inc furniture costume/clothing inc accessories make-up and hair focus (deep/shallow) Written/Visual codes Semiotics Codes Index Icon Symbol Gestures Expressions Kinesics – movements, touch, Proximity Olfactics Aural Codes - Sound Verbal Language – words, lexis, colloquialisms , grammar Language, dialect, accent Direct address – voice over, commentary, monologue, questions, factual statements Tone, pace, rhythm Paralinguistic features – pauses, erms and arrs, stutter, lisp, sounds other than words
Diegetic sound Non diegetic Sound fx Foley sound Direct or actual sound