3. Student no: 1487612 Soccer fandom on social media spaces

STILL PHOTOGRAPHY AND NEW SPACES OF FANDOM

The new media technologies are perceived mostly as an addition to the traditional media forms such as radio and television. When sport anchors on both radio and television take to social media to engage with followers or supporters this is seen as stimulating the rate of participation, this is projected towards a larger audience than ever before (Banda et al, 2009: 4). Photography has led to the emphasis of realness and presence of someone or something at a certain space in time and in nowadays new technologies have made the dissemination of pictures so easy. Photography will serve as an emblem of existence of certain people at a certain space in time when those people have long departed from the earth. Still photography although not changing is exposed to a vast majority of translations because people ascribe certain elements to a picture based on their very own experiences and types of learned behaviour they practice on a daily basis. An interpretation of the photography can be influenced by an accompanying text which deflects it towards a particular atmosphere (Edwards, 1992:7-11).

Photographs serve as weapons through which we describe who we are to other people these might be those we interact with daily and those we have never met before. We define ourselves to other people by making, sharing, utilising, analysing and reacting to pictures. Our pictures do not only serve simply as definitions of who we are but also form part of art as we shape them to fit our own satisfactions (Heiferman, 2012: 12-19).

New media technologies have given each individual possessing a smartphone a chance to become a photographer and through such technology we have an online space as a museum for our own experiences. People can now take more than a 100 pictures a day and distribute them at the same time to thousands of people around the world, still photography is no longer a feature entangled to professionals. Still photography advocates for the reality of our daily encounters and it actually informs us on decision making for the future. The premier soccer league which is domestic to South Africa is mainly comprised of black supporters with white people, coloureds, and Indians identifying mostly with English teams and other European teams. Kaizer Chiefs is one of the biggest names in South African football having achieved a handful of trophies and has a huge pool of supporters. Manchester United one of the most successful English teams is widely supported in African countries which include South Africa and Nigeria. Manchester fans gather around televisions where mostly non-beverage drinks are distributed in their team’s jerseys. A small portion of black people, however, is more concerned with European football than domestic league (Fletcher, 2010: 79-86).

The very images which we take for granted at times have the ability to dictate our own cultures as we perform daily lives through them. New media technologies have provided platforms or new spaces where the fans can interact with each other and with their teams this serves as a reinforcement of their fandom. Soccer fans usually post images of themselves in their favourite team jerseys to the social media groups of the club, mostly such platforms are twitter and Facebook. The Kaizer Chiefs football club posts updates of the teams plan and some of the players engaging with supporters which brings us back to the power of still photography to depict our own existence through a narrative which we create to be read in a particular manner. Fans do not need radio and television to show their fandom as they can simply use their smartphones to make comments on a certain issue or take selfies to show their full support for the team. The liquidity which still photographs possess in contemporaneous days allows for a depiction of physical presence at a certain space in time. The images are never void of narratives and through such images we create ourselves and by engaging in the selfie-culture fans make their own truths a reality which becomes open to interpretations. Fandom and social media  have become a form of performing micro-celebrity as fans who have already become popular enhance their popularity through social media and some try their best to be popular through it.  

Virtual space transcends beyond physical borders and allows for an engagement of a large number of people who have a common interest. Social media connects people who might otherwise might have not connected (Sobré-Denton, 2016: 1723). Manchester United fans engage with other fans from all over the globe through the use of social media and mostly through twitter, from this we can see how a virtual cosmopolitan space advocates for discussions that might otherwise have not been possible. Manchester United fans have become more visible in the digital era because they engage in social media platforms whereas in the time before new media’s introduction one in England could only imagine that there are Manchester United fans in across different parts of the world. Photography changes how we perceive the world, those who never imagined that there existed fans of Manchester in Africa will come to learn of reality through a selfie-culture which clearly indicates affiliation when people wear jerseys of favourite teams. South Africans and Africans at large can now comment on each games and everything that involves their favourite teams. The engagement of fans on virtual spaces is sparked by the notion of imagined communities which then is further driven by still photography. Although photographs which we witness online are not tangible they become tattooed to our skulls and make us to imagine how we might use such images in the future to depict stories about our lives. Virtual cosmopolitan spaces have given opportunity to those fans who cannot attend stadiums to perform their fandom on social media. The use of social media tools by both Kaizer Chiefs and Manchester United reveal to us that existing cultures are strengthened by new forms of technological innovation. Still photography culture has, however, evolved as we can filter through, edit and do many countless things which sort of distorts reality but does not take away the very existence of ourselves.  

BIBIOGRAPHY  

Banda, F., 2009. China in the African mediascape: A critical injection. Journal of African Media Studies, 1(3), 343-361.

Edwards, E., 1992. Anthropology and photography, 1860-1920(No. Sirsi) i9780300051681). Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.

Fletcher, M., 2010. ‘You must support Chiefs; Pirates already have two white fans!’ race and racial discourse in South African football fandom. Soccer & Society, 11(1-2), 79-94.

Heiferman, M. ed., 2012. Photography changes everything. Aperture.

Sobré-Denton, M., 2016. Virtual intercultural bridgework: Social media, virtual cosmopolitanism, and activist community-building. New media & society, 18(8), 1715-1731.

I’M ALSO A FOOTBALL FAN

WOW!!!! Manchester United is international

SADDAM CHIEFS MICRO-CELEBRITY

KAIZER CHIEFS FANS SHOWING THEIR LOVE FOR CHIEFS 

The Manchester United @Red-Devils player

FANDOM QUESTIONS

Football Asks

1. What’s your favourite team?

2. What team do you hate the most?

3. Who’s your favourite player, all categories?

4. Which league is your favourite?

5. What’s your favourite chant/song?

6. What’s your NT? Is that also your favourite NT?

7. Who’s your favourite player from your own country?

8. Who’s your favourite European player?

9. Who’s your favourite African player?

10. Who’s your favourite Asian player?

11. Who’s your favourite South/North/Central American player?

12. What team did you support growing up? Do you still support them?

13. What’s your favourite Premier League club?

14. Favourite Bundesliga club?

15. Favourite La Liga club?

16. Favourite Ligue 1 club?

17. Favourite Serie A club?

18. Favourite club outside the Big 5 Leagues?

19. Who’s your favourite goalkeeper?

20. Favourite defender?

21. Favourite midfielder?

22. Favourite attacker?

23. Favourite coach?

24. Which big tournament is your favourite? (WC, CL, Euros etc)

25. What position would/do you play if you were/are a footballer?

26. Which stadium is your favourite?

27. How many games have you seen live?

28. Who’s the most famous player you’ve seen live?

29. Who’s the most famous player you’ve met?

30. How many football shirts do you own?

31. Who’s your favourite captain?

32. Who’s the best player in the world?

33. Who’s the best player ever?

34. FIFA/Football Manager?

35. For how long have you been a football fan?

36. Who was your first favourite player?

37. Are your other family members football fans as well? If so, what teams do they support?

38. Why/how did you start liking football?

39. What local team of yours do you support?

40. Put together your dream XI.

FROM TUMBLR BY jpickfords

Football culture is not going anaywhere

'Manchester is my Heaven'

- Read It Here: https://ift.tt/2Csb7OH - For More Latest Manchester United News, Photos, Videos and Discussions, Follow @CarloGordon and @mancunian_red

2. STUDENT NO: 1487612 NEVER MISBEHAVE BECAUSE BECAUSE THE CAMERA IS ALWAYS LOOKING. WATCH YOUR WAY THEY HAVE SMARTPHONES HIDING SOMEWHERE.

“There is no power relation without the correlative constitution of a field of knowledge, nor any knowledge that does not presuppose and constitute at the same time power relations” … (Michel Foucault).

SURVEILLANCE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The new media forms have given opportunity to the people to do many things on social media and we see this on different aspects of life but it is most evident in our very personal daily life experiences. People often utilise digital media specifically social media as a means to brand themselves amongst such people are musicians, poets, writers and designers. Amongst things such platforms have provided we can include without any doubt new ways of marketing and new mobilisations while censoring others or reinforcing others through repetition. The internet culture has been incorporated into our quotidian life experiences as we use it in personal conversations which are sometimes embedded in political discussions. The internet has become a vivid example of a disciplinary tool which utilises ideology and discourse to punish which makes it highly attractive as it does not engage in physical pain manifestation. Public shaming is done on a different scale for distinct purposes but it is mostly evinced in ordinary people’s lives.  

Surveillance is not only typical or unique to print media, radio and television as new media enhances societal involvement in keeping order. Manufactured consent is usually executed without the use of force, this allows people to widely engage in acting as communal police or enhances them to police themselves in accordance to the bureaucratic rules. Digital media gives the residents a communal belonging and a space where these people can communicate about social issues which in turn leads to maintenance of ideas existing prior to the establishment of such technologies (Shah et al, 2005:536). Public shaming has taken a turn from the use of physical pain infliction to psychological pain infliction which takes place on social media as this is perceived less harmful than physical torture. People are becoming constantly aware of the use of social media to shame people this instils fear in them that they do refrain from behaving in a way which would be seen as deviant by the society. Stories which are perceived to be very deviant from society are taken by the mainstream media which scouts continuously for stories on social media that might spark an argument as such stories question moral ethics within the society (Hess &Waller, 2014: 101-105).

The end of the 2018 FIFA World Cup has seen the introduction of VAR in the South African context which takes place on social media rather than on the pitch. People have been told to be very cautious of what they put out on social media because VAR does not only shame people through taking and distributing information about them without their knowledge but they also digs for details on existing posts. VAR which in full writes ‘Video Assistant Reference’ was used to evaluate things which were not clear to the referee and his assistants where he would go and look into the screen from where a final decision would be taken (WAAR OR VAR? HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS CATCHING PEOPLE OUT: 2018).

The old lady is said to have called the girl names which led the young girl to hit the elder asking her who is a bi*ch calling her by name? The young girl was later taken to court after the video fell into the hands of the police. As the video went viral after being distributed by someone who witnessed the incident and took to their fingers to address the matter. This girl who appears severely biting an elderly woman in a conflict about alcohol has been charged with a fine of three goats and a cow. The alcohol is said to have belonged to Macebe (the elder) and one of the elders declared that Mbali (the girl) should get a biting as she shows no regrets about what she did, after the fine and biting the charges can then be dropped (Zuma, 2018).

From the story of Mbali and Macebe we can see how surveillance is taking shape in a new form which includes participatory and intersecting journalism. The society works as free labour to monitor their very own behaviour through new media technologies and their actions challenge that which is seen as deviant. Although public shaming that manifest itself through new media is not affiliated with physical coercion it is a paint that will be embedded in the life of the concerned person. The term VAR serves as a metaphor for fixing the deviant behaviour as it analyses each event thoroughly.  A famous South African dancer Zodwa Wabantu has been consonantly under scrutiny from VAR and another phenomenon called We Are Fixing The Country, for the way in which she dresses. Zodwa Wabantu usually wears short skirts without any underpants which makes people to take to fingers to correct the matter. The new media is then a weapon which reinforces the ideas, norms, and beliefs which existed before such a platform was introduced to the society. Londie London a famous South African musician has also been under close scrutiny because she wears very short pants or just puts a pant on in most pictures that she posts on social media.  With the former and the latter celebrities we can see how body mobility is controlled and reinforcements of the human behaviour are being rearticulated. Although citizens think they act independently to create an ideal society the truth is they recreate a society which has already been developed for them by the authority that gives them tools of fortifying existing norms or reification. Bodies are being constantly constructed and reconstructed on social media, so we can argue that such new media forms just like traditional media forms which include the television teaches behaviour. On television adverts would instruct people on what to do and what to abstain from doing and such behaviour is mediated on the terms of the authority and media proprietors. Unlike traditional media the new digital media forms give the illusion of power to ordinary individuals to set and reinforce rules for themselves. Some might argue that such actions of social behaviour control emanate from social media platforms as by products but this appears as a well calculated plan to let the society control itself without having to think about it.    

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Hess, K. and Waller, L., 2014. The digital pillory: media shaming of ‘ordinary'people for minor crimes. Continuum, 28(1), 101-111.

Shah, D.V., Cho, J., Eveland Jr, W.P. & Kwak, N., 2005. Information and expression in a digital age: Modeling Internet effects on civic participation. Communication research, 32(5), pp.531-565.

WAAR OR VAR? HOW SOCIAL MEDIA IS CATCHING PEOPLE OUT. 2018. Online, Retrieved 28 AUGUST 2018: https://ewn.co.za/2018/08/08/waar-or-var-how-social-media-is-catching-people-out

Zuma, S. 2018. Udliwe inkomo otaxe isalukazi kubangwa utshwala baso Retrived September 2, 2018 from https://www.isolezwe.co.za/izindaba/udliwe-inkomo-otaxe-isalukazi-kubangwa-utshwala-baso-16852234

    .  

SOUNDS MORE LIKE PEOPLE STEALING OTHER PEOPLES PICTURES ON SOCIAL MEDIA

This is Cassper Nyovest a famous hip hop South African star showing off his muscles unfortunately #FixingTheCountry got everything under control.

Zodwa Wabantu is a South African dancer who has been constantly bahsed for putting no pant on or just wearing a pant with nothing else. She was not allowed to go into Zimbabwe without panties on when she had a gig there. Fixing the country has constantly been focusing on Zodwa’s behaviour on social media platforms. 

BREAKING NEWS VAR IS WATCHING YOU, YES YOU

Oh My Gosh It’s Surveillance @smartphones

EYE-PHONE SEES YOU’LL