Collective Identity

'A collective identity refers to individuals' sense of belonging (the identity) to a group (the collective). From the perspective of the individual, the collective identity forms a part of his or her personal identity. Sometimes, the sense of belonging to a particular group will be so strong that it will trump other aspects of the person's personal identity (for example, the person may be willing to assume great risks for the group, even as great as loss of life)'

French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan proposed a theory called the Mirror Stage, at which a child begins to develop their identity. The Mirror Stage describes the formation of the Ego through the process of identification, the Ego being the result of identifying with ones own image. He pointed out that a baby can recognise itself in the mirror at around six months, and this can represent a phase in which a subject is permanently caught and captivated by his own image. We can apply this theory to how audiences recognise images on screen, which can reinforce and define their personal identity and also lead to identification, aspiration and escapism. When an audience see a character on screen that they like, this could be due to the fact that they can identify with the character or aspire to be like the character, or both.

What makes up a person's identity?
-Work
-Religion
-Aspirations
-Family
-Peers
-Social Class
-Community: school/clubs/groups
-E-community: social networking sites (facebook)/online gaming (second life)

How does media influence our identity?
Over many different media platforms we are given false impressions of identity, through magazines, TV programmes, films and celebrity obsession offering idealised images of fame and fortune. This can affect how we create our own identity, who we idolise or aspire to be like, through peer pressure and false advertising our identity can be affected in a negative way. It can also affect who we identify with.