The Little Prince and the British Society - Essay Example

Old and New Media: The Little Prince and the British Society January 14, Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, gave birthto a baby boy on July 22, 2013 at 4:24 p.m. London time. He was 8.6 pounds, and third in line to the throne, after his father and grandfather. He was later named as George Alexander Louis, two days after his birth. Naming the little prince this fast is already one of the many traditions that the young royal British family is moving away from. For instance, Queen Elizabeth II and Philip took a month before they announced the name Charles for the Prince of Wales, while Charles and Princess Diana took a week before they chose Williams four names (Lawless and Vinograd, 2013). Another example is how the prince’s birth has been announced to the public, which merges new and old media traditions. Clearly, several things, including deciding and announcing the name of royalty, are much faster done now compared to olden times. Moreover, being part of the British family, Kate and William’s little prince will expect large media attraction and coverage, although the British family has tried to limit the latter’s presence in their lives in various ways, since Princess Diana’s death in August 31, 1997 (Lawless and Vinograd, 2013). The royal family, for example, has made arrangements with the British press regarding photos and information that can or cannot be published in the past (Lawless and Vinograd, 2013), a form of censorship that is harder to apply on the foreign/international press. These actions are only some of the examples of the departures of the British family from old traditions and their responses to the intrusions that come from the new media. This essay describes the old and new media environment that the little prince will grow in, as well his impact on the British economy and society. It shows that, despite the prevalence and dominance of the new media, the British family balances old and new cultural traditions as they seek to manage and to influence the media’s increasing impact on society, most especially, on the growth of the little Prince George. To learn more about the role of media in the British family, it would be helpful to describe some changes in how the royal family announced the birth of Prince George. Traditionally, the royal family announces the birth of royal babies “in front of Buckingham Palace, in the form of a notice placed on an easel in the forecourt of the palace” (Gibson, 2013). British officials changed the tradition when they informed the public of Prince George’s birth through e-mail first, where they added: “The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry and members of both families have been informed and are delighted with the news.” After the electronic communication was sent, the official certificate was placed on an easel outside Buckingham Palace. These changes are analysed as the way of the British royal family of balancing new and old media. They did not remove the traditional communication practice, but they prioritised electronic digital communication, evidently because it is arguably faster and more efficient. Changes in announcing the news of Prince George’s birth, however, indicate fundamental attitudes regarding the use of new media. New media, for the purposes of this paper, refer to computer-mediated-communications (CMC) such as e-mail, chats, world wide web, blogs, and other communication using computer and computer-like gadgets as tools, interactive and hypertextual formats of media texts, such as Podcasts, DVD, and the Internet, and virtual realities (Lister et al., 2009, p.13). The primary characteristics of the new media are that they are “digital, interactive, hypertextual, virtual, networked, and simulated” (Lister et al., 2009, p.13). According to Lister et al. (2009, pp.12-13), new media concerns the following: (1) “new textual experiences,” (2) “new ways of representing the world,” (3) “new relationships between subjects (users and consumers) and media technologies”, (4) “new experiences of the relationship between embodiment, identity and community,” (5) “new conceptions of the biological body’s relationship to technological media”, and (5) “new patterns of organisation and production.” They are saying that new media, like old media, is changing how people see and experience the world, as well as how they work, live, and interact with one another. Using this definition of new media, it becomes clear that the British royalty also uses new media for new ways of expressing themselves and relating to the world. Instead of relying on the traditional forms of communication, for instance, the royal family showed that they can and also know how to use the new media to connect with the public. In doing so, the essay sees the royal family as capable of using new media for public relations purposes. Moreover, new media offers double-loop communication between the public and the royal family. Dzurilla (2013) reports the tweet of Albert Brooks after the announcement of Prince George’s birth: “Congrats to William and Kate...Your son shares the same birthday as I do...Lets give a little recognition to the horse that was born today that the kid will use for polo.” By tweeting, members of the public provide real-time reactions to the birth of a new prince. This example shows that the new media is interactive and networked. It allows people from different social statuses and classes to easily interact and connect without physically meeting one another. Thus, the new media is a tool for the royal family to communicate with the masses, while also controlling what the masses can consume from them, being the celebrities that the royal family members are. While new media has its uses for the royal family, the essay also cannot miss the reality of the celebrity effect of the British royal family on the state’s economy. Price and Nicholas (2003, p.158) assert that the UK media, specifically the tabloid press, sees the royal family as celebrities, as if the latter are a soap opera on its own that must be constantly followed (also Negrine, 1994). Old and new media are arguably similar in how they treat the royal family as products for mass consumption. Long (2008, p.8) describes the British monarch as a media product: “The British monarchy is a massive international media phenomenon. It is arguably the world’s most significant mass media commodity with widespread audience interest.” The royal family is considered, however, as not passive media products or objects. Instead, they are active makers of their public media personalities. Long (2008, p.8) emphasises that members of the royal family and their households’ press agents are “considerable and experienced creators and manipulators of media images and signs.” As an outcome, they have a celebrity effect that cannot only arouse or continue interest in the royal family and the traditions they represent, but also on everything they use and do. Prince George is no different from other monarchs who have the celebrity effect, in that, even as an infant, what he uses instantly creates marketing and economic effects. Kirkova and de Lacy (2013) report that the “£12 swaddle wrap used by Kate and William sells out” primarily because the Prince used it. They say that like his mother whose fashionable wardrobe promotes their sales, Prince George “is boosting sales of a much more simple item: swaddling muslins” (Kirkova and de Lacy, 2013). The article is saying that while Kate boosts the sales of the clothes and anything she wears, her baby does the same. Apparently, the new media creates a marketing effect through focusing on the material things that the royal family members are wearing, and in turn, they are boosting the economy of the nation. The reason behind the marketing and economic effects of celebrities can be explained in different ways. Um (2013, p.155) cites McCraken’s Meaning Transfer Model (1989) which asserts that celebrities express symbolic meanings and values to products or services they support. These meanings and values that come from celebrities are products of the culture that gave them fame and social status (Um, 2013, p.155). The royal family, in particular, are celebrities because they represent the traditional aspects of the British government- its lasting strength and influence (Billig, 1992, p.3). Long (2013, p.7) describes the role of the royalty in the expression and preservation of the national identity of the British to tourists and the masses. He talks about national identity that is “synthesised and displayed through royal performances of ceremonial, parades and (re-invented) traditions” (Long, 2013, p.7). The royal family and the products they use endorse traditional British values and beliefs. People who buy these products, in turn, may also feel connected more with their national identity. The essay thinks about how the growth and development of George would also be exposed to marketing and economic forces because of the new media. Though William and Harry led a relatively sheltered life from the media, the same cannot be expected from George who is the first member of the royal family to grow into the hyper-reality of new media. First, the effect of Diana’s death on the uneasy relationship with the media cannot be overlooked. Because in one way, the media killed Diana, the British royals have then tried to keep their lives as private as possible afterwards. Lawless and Vinograd (2013) report, for instance, that “Williams childhood normality was possible because the palace struck a deal with the media: privacy in exchange for a number of agreed-upon photo opportunities at birthdays and during school holidays.” Despite such deals, Prince George cannot be as protected anymore when digital technology and access to the Internet are quite extensive nowadays. This is especially true for the likes of Wilby (2011, p.20) who believes that privacy laws are not applicable to the monarchy: “The monarchy cannot be private: it is a public institution with no significant function other than to satisfy public curiosity.” Second, the new media is very likely to persuade Prince George’s parents to be quite protective, but their protection is futile. Gibson (2013) reports: Royals are always in the public eye, but the baby will face the unique challenge of growing up in an age of 24-hour news coverage, ubiquitous smartphones and social media. This is a child whose first steps, first day at school and first dates will all be a source of great interest to the British and international press. The child’s parents are likely to be distinctly protective. Growing in the middle of the new-media-saturated culture cannot protect George from being the centre of the media’s limelight for the rest of his life. However, the third point is that not all is negative regarding new media. Royal historian Robert Lacey affirms that the new media will give Prince George “an incredible insight into how the country and population he is supposed to represent live and breathe” (Lawless and Vinograd 2013). Additionally, he says: “In the Middle Ages, we have legends of idealistic princes who ...go out into the streets of town after dark to see how their subjects lived. The electronic media... do offer this new dimension to an heir” (Lawless and Vinograd 2013). The new media is also an empowering tool for the royalty to continue being relevant to the masses. Prince George is born into a celebrity culture that treats the royal family as both symbols and media products for consumption. As a result, he can cut the new media in two ways. On the one hand, Prince George will be bombarded by media that does not give him the right to privacy. It is a persistent and insistent presence in his life that opens him to ridicule and criticism. On the other hand, he can also use it to boost the economy of his people and to exploit it as a communication tool between him and his people. He can use new media to analyse his society and to advance social changes. Thus, in the world of digital technologies, Prince George will be equipped in diverse tools that can help go beyond ceremonial duties and become an agent for social transformation. Word Count: 1996 Reflection: On Professional and Creative Implications of Prince George’s Birth In my mind, the birth of Prince George continues to celebrate the symbolic, political, social, and economic purposes of the monarchy. Symbolically, he is part of the monarchy that represents the enduring ideals of strength and influence for the British. Politically, the royal family has no official government function, but can have a greater political effect. Socially, the royal family shapes society through the values, attitudes, and practices they embody and promote, which can have economic effects or benefits too. Because of these purposes, the little prince’s birth is not phenomenal to me because he is a mass media product, but because he can be an agent for social changes, and as for my creative practice, he inspires me to continue improving my journalistic skills and knowledge in light of the new media. Professionally, the birth of Prince George encourages me to study the effects and role of the new media on society. Celebrities, for instance, use the new media to create their public images. They can change it or preserve it because the tools for communication are accessible and influential. As a celebrity, Prince George will be soon immersed in the hyper-real world of the digital society. He is arguably the first prince to grow fully digitally native. My question is: what does this mean to him as a person? Will this digital nation make him a better person, or someone else? Whatever effect this has on him has an indirect effect on me because he helps me understand what the new media is doing to me also. I wonder how new media improves and not improves my professional skills and knowledge, as it shapes me as a person too. In particular, I want to reflect on Tyler’s 2007 article on narcissism and the “me millennium.” Tyler (2007, p.343) states: “Narcissism is now seen to be at the root of everything from the ill-fated romance with violent revolution to the enthralled mass consumption of state-of-the-art products...” and the life of the rich and the elite. How will people like me and Prince George avoid becoming narcissistic in a damaging way? For me, narcissism can lead to self-confidence and being unafraid in expressing our voice. But it can also lead to the extreme of no longer hearing out others and being too me-centric, and perhaps even ethnocentric. I want to further the discussion through exploring the lost objectivity in journalism. Journalism, nowadays, has questionable objectivity. Reporters blur the difference between the news and their opinions, or reality and their perception of it. I want to make sure that I am not using new media for my own expression of opinions alone, but to show the world as it is and to help people think critically about the news. I want to be the kind of professional who makes it clear when and if I am expressing my opinions and when I am reporting facts, because I do not want my perceptions to be reported as if they are facts. It will be for me, a breach of integrity, to use the news for my own narcissistic needs, and instead, I seek to use my profession to report important events, and at times, to promote social changes. Moreover, the birth of Prince George inspires me to continue improving my journalistic skills and knowledge in light of the new media, so that I can also boost my creativity. Mare (2014) talks about collaboration that resulted to creative changes in media production and consumption in Mozambique. The characteristics of new media can create many new media products because they change how people see and interpret the world. Grauer, Castro and Lin (2012, p.139) provide concrete examples, based on their program Gulf Islands Film and Television School (GIFTS): Community-based new media programs offer a distinct place of arts learning in the larger learning and media ecologies that teens and young adults navigate…Community-based new media programs provide an occasion to create encounters for both producers and viewers to experience differing ways of knowing. At GIFTS, an emphasis on creativity, critical analysis, identity development, and voice are achieved through an intense immersion into film production. This program is an example of a creative program that promotes creativity too, as it maximizes new media in developing young people’s critical thinking skills and film production abilities. This program encourages people to be creative in dealing with stakeholders, so that they can attain collective goals. I also agree with Krumsvik’s (2012) balanced views on old and new media’s strategic importance to journalism that can explain the role of continuity in media development. If the British family balances old and new traditions, the media also weighs in their use of old and new media characteristics. Krumsvik (2012, p.729) argues that new digital media will have increasing strategic value but their funding will still come from “strong traditional media products in the portfolio.” Essentially, this means that I should not discount the role of old media in my professional and creative efforts. Instead, the key is merging them for diverse purposes, or being flexible in using the right combination for different target recipients and circumstances. Moreover, I see the potential of continuity and change in new media. I should be able to know which components and characteristics to continue and which to change, according to the needs and conditions of my readers. Prince George’s birth has various professional and creative implications, notable of which are reflections on what new media mean and how they can be maximized for personal and social goals and the role of collaboration in attaining these goals. The monarch presents media opportunities and challenges, which suggests the extent and risks of the new media. I believe that the new media is in its infancy and still growing in knowing itself, as the people who use it continue to know themselves too in relation to the use of and impact of new media on their society. Word Count: 998 Reference List Billig, M., 1992. Talking of the royal family. London: Routledge. DZerilla, C., 2013. Welcome little prince: royal baby born to Kate and Wills. Los Angeles Times, [online] 22 July. Available at: [Accessed 12 January 2014]. Gibson, M., 2013. It’s a boy: The Duchess of Cambridge gives birth to a son. Time.com, [online] 22 July. Available at: < http://world.time.com/2013/07/22/its-a-boy-the-duchess-of-cambridge-gives-birth-to-a-son/#ixzz2qK4yNwLc> [Accessed 12 January 2014]. Grauer, K., Castro, J.C. and Lin, C., 2012. Encounters with difference: community-based new media programs and practices. Studies in Art Education: A Journal of Issues and Research in Art Education, 53(2), 139-151. Kirkova, D. and de Lacy, M., 2013. The Prince George Effect! £12 swaddle wrap used by Kate and William sells out. Daily Mail, [online] 25 July. Available at: [Accessed 12 January 2014]. Krumsvik, A.H., 2012. Why old media will be funding journalism in the future. Journalism Studies, 13(5/6), 729-741. Lawless, J. and Vinograd, C., 2013. By George! Britains little prince gets a name. Yahoo! News, [online] 25 July. Available at: [Accessed 12 January 2014]. Lister, M., Dovey, J., Giddings, S., Grant, I. and Kelly, K., 2009. 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