Modelo de Negocio de un Canal de Televisión

Discourse of the weak male 1. The down-trodden

male

3. The emotional male

01. The ailing 02. The weird 04. The lonely 08. The distressed 10. Relationships 11. The vulnerability 12. The expressive 13. The respectful Discourse of the strong male 2. The ultimate male 03. The strong

05. The angry 06. The intelligence 07. The adventurer 09. The influential 14. The optimism 15. The physically fit

Discourse of the weak male

This discourse constructs males as unwell, weird, lonely, distressed,

friendless, vulnerable, emotional and desperately courteous. In this discourse, which is constructed from two theoretical codes, the weak male is constructed to lack any power or control. They easily become sick and allow their emotions to dominate which leads to them being distressed. These males are afraid and this leads to feelings of insecurity and loneliness, as they cannot trust people who are strange to them. They cannot control how they feel and thus they need to express any and every emotion. Therefore, the discourse of the weak male is not only about males lacking physical strength. They also the lack of control over themselves and how people view and use them. In the end they fall back upon emotions and not physical brute force. They are

physically weak and powerless. Others control them. These males are well mannered, which is a sign of weakness. They are subservient to others, which constructs them as downtrodden. This is a discourse unusual for males as it is not the stereotypical position (Attebery, 2001; Connell, 2005; Davies, 2003).

The father in Robot Dad (Students’ Version 1 Science Fiction Texts, 2011, Appendix A, pp. 273-275) displays weakness, as he cannot control anything that happens to his son. He is sorry for not being able to control events. He is not reluctant in showing emotion. He is also weak or powerless when it comes to helping others especially his son. He understands the reasons why his son may not want to live with him. The dad expresses his love for his son because as the weak male he is in touch with his feelings. However, he concedes too easily that his son will not stay and is resigned to losing him. The dad lacks any sign of resistance, which is shown through the following extract:

“I know I'm sorry, but I had nothing to do with this. It is out of my control. And yes I am your real Dad. I always have been and always will be. Look it’s all right, we will figure something out. Even though I would love you to stay and live with me if you really want to go back to London then that's okay. I understand.” (Robot Dad, Students’ Version 1 Science Fiction Texts, 2011, Appendix A, pp. 274-275)

The modality is medium. The father is not overly emotional with his pleads to his son to stay. The medium level modality constructs the father capitulating without a fight. The extracts that follow demonstrate the medium modality, ““I know I'm sorry, but I had nothing to do with this. It is out of my control… I am your real Dad. I always have been… I would love you to stay… I understand.”” (Robot Dad,

The word “sorry” demonstrates the discourse of the weak male. The word “sorry” is not only about emotion, but also that the father blames himself for everything that is occurring to his son. He says, ““I know I am sorry””

Vulnerability and a lack of real friendships together with expressing emotions are traits of the discourse of the weak male. Colin and Quentin in Avelaidia (Students’ Version 1 Science Fiction Texts, 2011, Appendix A, pp. 295-307) demonstrate some of these traits. Weak males are vulnerable to attack from others as Quentin is. Instead of real human friends, Colin finds it easier to bond with pets, other objects, or his robot. He would rather be with such non-human life than with other people. Weak males express emotions, such as Quentin showing happiness, which is not

stereotypical of males (Connell, 1987, 2005; Davies, 1989; Gilbert & Taylor, 1991). The following extract supports the discourse of the weak male:

Quentin and Aiden shared a room with Colin: and Erin had a room to herself. Colin snored at night, his arm was dangling over the bunk bed and kept hitting Quentin in the face. Toby the robot slept in the same quarter because Colin liked him around at all times. Quentin kicked above him causing Colin’s body to jolt, Quentin finally settled down to sleep happy the snoring had stopped but a second later Colin’s snoring became louder than before. Neither Aiden nor Quentin got to sleep that night; they merely talked about how Colin was even more annoying than Erin and about the adventures they would soon have. (Avelaidia, Students’ Version 1 Science Fiction Texts, 2011, Appendix A, pp. 300-301)

The modality is high. It relates to the discourse of the weak male due to the way certain actions affect the male characters. Colin not only snores but also hits Quentin in the head. This action not only affects Quentin’s sleep but also gives him a

sore head. Colin’s physical problem affects not only his health, but also the health of others as the snoring becomes noisier. This makes others annoyed with Colin as they are weakened through a lack of sleep. The following extracts support the high modality, “Quentin kicked above him causing Colin’s body to jolt, Quentin finally settled down… Colin’s snoring became louder than before… Colin was even more annoying than Erin” (Avelaidia, Students’ Version 1 Science Fiction Texts, 2011, Appendix A, pp. 300-301).

The word “finally” is associated with the discourse of the weak male. It means that something has taken too long to happen. Quentin is exhausted as he needs to get some sleep due to Quentin’s snoring and thus Quentin is in a weakened state. He is relieved to “finally” get to sleep.

The discourse of the weak male includes the lack of concentration. The evil ruler’s weakness in Too Small Shorts (Students’ Version 1 Science Fiction Texts, 2011, Appendix A, pp. 261-264) is in the way that things can take his concentration away. This physical and mental weakness leads the evil ruler to be vulnerable. His weakness for dogs leads him to be easily taken in. He is a sucker for a dog. The extracts that follow support the discourse of the weak male, “We used the robot dog to distract the “evil ruler”… Success, it turns out that the “evil ruler” wasn’t that evil, but very gullible for a robot dog” (Too Small Shorts, Students’ Version 1 Science Fiction Texts, 2011, Appendix A, p. 264).

The modality is medium. The male evil ruler is weak as a robot dog easily deceives him and his concentration is fragile. In using medium modality of language it shows that the evil ruler’s focus can be easily distracted. As a weak male, his lack of concentration is physical as well as mental powerlessness. The language is not overstating this weakness, but it clearly is a weakness. This modality is demonstrated

in the two following extracts, “We used the robot dog to distract… the “evil ruler” wasn’t that evil” (Too Small Shorts, Students’ Version 1 Science Fiction Texts, 2011, Appendix A, p. 264).

The word “distract” shows the discourse of the weak male. This word means to draw someone’s attention. In the above example the evil ruler is distracted from another object by the robot dog. He has no way of keeping his attention, which is his weakness.

Discourse of the strong male

This discourse is constructed from one theoretical code, which constructs males as strong, angry, intelligent, adventurous, influential, optimistic and physically healthy. Males are dominant in this discourse. The discourse of the strong male is one where males do not fear anyone else, physically or mentally. They are authoritative and politically powerful. These males are never pessimistic. They are confident in being successful. They will also try anything. These males are also violent not only in physical tasks, but emotions as well. Males get angry very easily. Being healthy these males take trips and adventures and their occupations require strength and physical fitness. Overall, the discourse of the strong male is stereotypical for males (Connell, 2005; Davies, 2003; Gilbert & Taylor; Weedon, 1997).

The male police officer who easily overpowers Janet, in Who (Students’ Version 1 Science Fiction Texts, 2011, Appendix A, pp. 291-294), illustrates the discourse of the strong male. He gets angry as he yells out that he does not believe what the female is saying. Males, such as the police officer, can show their anger to females and in putting other males down. This male police officer views other males

as weak and thus he displays his superiority. The following extract supports the discourse of the strong male:

The police just sat there for a minute, then stood up suddenly he grabbed Janet and put handcuffs on her, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” yelled Luke. “You could be in serious danger Luke, I don’t buy any of the words coming out of this ladies mouth!” “But she hasn’t done anything wrong!” cried Luke “What’s wrong with your brain boy, she kidnapped you!” the police officer holding Janet said “Now go and pack your bags Luke, Officer Katy will help you”… whilst the other police man locked Janet in the dining room. (Who, Students’ Version 1 Science Fiction Texts, 2011, Appendix A, pp. 293-294) The modality is high. The violent actions of the male police officer are stereotypical in the discourse of the strong male. Luke also displays aggression. He yells at the police officer to show his anger and that he is a strong male who must be listened to. Through demonstrations of shouting and anger strong males are

determined to get their point across. This means deploying mental as well as physical force. In the following extracts high modality is demonstrated, “suddenly he grabbed Janet and put handcuffs on her… yelled Luke… I don’t buy any of the words… cried Luke… the police officer holding Janet… the other police man locked Janet in the dining room” (Who, Students’ Version 1 Science Fiction Texts, 2011, Appendix A, pp. 293-294).

The word “grabbed” is used in this context to demonstrate male force over a female. The male police officer uses force to subdue a female. This male therefore is not only using force to suppress but to display his command and authority over others and thus “grabbed” is a very strong word.

The discourse of the strong male is shown through the male character of Aiden in Avelaidia (Students’ Version 1 Science Fiction Texts, 2011, Appendix A, pp. 295-307). He is physically strong as he defeats a giant sea creature. Not only is Aiden strong but also he is a master at using weapons such as spears. Aiden is also the hero in the eyes of others. The strong male is constructed as admired by others

(Davies, 2003). They are not only heroes but also saviours and they have followers. The following extract demonstrates Aiden as a strong male:

Aiden watched in pain at the sight of it but pain quickly turned to anger and Aiden became furious with rage and he stabbed the giant with this strange spear. The spears stone turned a pale blue which faded to a burnt orange, the inscriptions changed with it and the light surrounded circling around this creature becoming too bright to look at. Suddenly the creature turned a light grey colour and became solid like stone it crashed to the bottom of the ocean and tiny legs broke into large pieces from being crushed underneath the solid squid head.

Aiden came back on the ship holding the stone-headed spear, four survivors followed him amazed at what he'd done, asking him how he did it, how he made the spear worked, they were ruffling his head up and patting him on the back chanting “Aiden. Aiden. Aiden!” (Avelaidia, Students’ Version 1

Science Fiction Texts, 2011, p. 304)

The modality is high. Not only does Aiden use physical strength but also his emotions are aggressive and brutal. He becomes very angry and this leads Aiden to attack the creature in a frenzy of blows. The creature’s death also displays high modality. It does not sink slowly, but crashes, breaks up and is squashed. The four survivors are amazed by Aiden and show their hero worship through their questions

and by physically touching him, for example by ruffling his hair and patting him. They surround Aiden congratulating him and yelling his name. The following extracts support high modality, “Aiden watched in pain… Aiden became furious with rage and he stabbed the giant… it crashed to the bottom of the ocean… large pieces from being crushed underneath the solid squid head” (Avelaidia, Students’ Version 1 Science Fiction Texts, 2011, Appendix A, p. 304).

The word “quickly” relates to the discourse of the strong male. Aiden is quick in his movements that lead to the death of the giant creature. His movements are very powerful and he becomes the hero. Not only Aiden’s speed and strength can change quickly. Aiden’s mood changes fast, which is also a trait of the strong male as they can switch their moods or emotions quickly to suit the occasion. This is the

aggressive side that is part of the strong male. Once this anger is released no creature or human is safe.

Callen in That Day our City got Invaded (Students’ Version 1 Science Fiction Texts, 2011, Appendix A, pp. 312-314) is a male character who is another example of the strong male. He demonstrates physical fitness, intelligence and strength. He knows the location of the explosives and guns which is at the police station where Callen’s father works as a police officer. Callen is physically fit and strong as he can run fast. He not only knows where the explosives are but how to use them. He is technically knowledgeable as well as strong. His intelligence enables him to think about the seriousness of the situation or action and how he must adapt his strength. The following extract supports the discourse of the strong male:

Callen's Dad worked in the police force, so he knew where the explosives and guns were kept in the police station. Quickly he ran down to the police station to see what he could find. Mitch and Callen both found four massive TNT

explosives, in the back part of the station. Working as a team, the four of us carried these explosives and gently placed them in and around this abandoned shed where the robots got their charge. As the sun went down, we waited. (That Day Our City Got Invaded, Students’ Version 1 Science Fiction Texts, 2011, Appendix A, p. 314)

The modality is medium as there is only limited fast or urgent action by the male characters. Callen and Mitch work with others to fix the explosives. The large amount of explosives they must carry also shows the medium modality. They work together to gently set the charges. This collaboration and calm demonstrate medium modality. The following extracts demonstrate the modality, “Callen's Dad worked in the police force… he knew where the explosives and guns were kept… Quickly he ran… Mitch and Callen both found four massive TNT explosives… Working as a team, the four of us carried these explosives” (That Day Our City Got Invaded, Students’ Version 1 Science Fiction Texts, 2011, Appendix A, p. 314).

The word “ran” is used to describe the strong male. It means to be quick and fast, but also agile. This means the strong male, for example Callum, can respond in a cool but a quick way.