PUBLIC RELATIONSCOMMUNICATION & SOCIAL RELATIONS

BY : S3281313 NATALIE YOANNIDIS S3243878 NIKIEE NIK MAHMUD S3268226 LIM CHYUAN ZHI

ARTEFACT 1

MITRE TAVERN

DRINKING CULTURE

There are a few different aspects to this im-age. The first is the pub in the centre. This is the Mitre Tavern and is located in Bank Place off Col-lins Street. The Mitre Tavern is Melbourne’s oldest standing building (Chapman & Stillman, 2005). The building is designed to resemble an old English pub. It is rendered in a sand colour and is two stories high. The windows are winged by fake wooden shut-ters and old wooden beer barrels are being used as tables. Another aspect of this image is that it includes four men in business suits drinking at on of the wooden barrels. This is a social gathering which illustrates the pub or drinking culture of Mel-bourne.

Public Relations seek to manage image in so-ciety. In this circumstance, a public relations perspec-tive can be employed to assess the effects drinking culture can have on the city as an entity. In terms of strategies, PR highlights the notion that Melbourne has an excessive drinking culture that must be tack-led. This is due to health concerns for citizens and the perceptibly worrying increase in alcohol fuelled violence. Warning of the potential health implica-tions of alcohol consumption could be perceived as a strategy (Room, 1988). The government, social welfare groups and medical professionals highlight the dangers of alcohol use as a tactic to attempt to control Melbourne’s drinking culture. Strategies employed by groups include Alcoholics Anonymous and liquor licensing laws (Stark & Fyfe 2009). In Melbourne, it has been established through the me-dia that the city has an issue regarding drinking cul-ture. It is common to hear of excessive violence in the CBD and more recently this concept has spread to suburban areas. Groups in position of authority have shown a tendency to accuse alcohol consump-tion of the dangers facing citizens.

In retaliation to these strategies, citizens tend to rebel using tactics. A string of violent attacks in Melbourne have been linked to alcohol consump-tion and demonstrate how drinking culture is not af-fected by the PR strategies conveyed. People tend to ignore the warnings of alcohol- fuelled violence and continue to indulge in drinking habits. Groups of teenagers engage in drunken brawls resulting in life threatening injuries (Xuereb, 2008). Due to the continuation of Melbourne’s drinking culture, public order has deteriorated as citizens refuse to obey the notion of controlling their consumption. That argument that Melbourne’s drinking culture is a characteristic of the city and promotes a posi-tive social atmosphere also exists. Drinking in pubs in the city has become a way for citizens to create lines of communication (Graham, 2005). The notion of stemming alcohol consumption is thus ignored in favour of social enjoyment. Youth drinking culture in society is an example of how positive perceptions of alcohol outweigh the negatives. Many adolescents see alcohol consumption as providing “enjoyment, its qualities as asocial lubricant, its ability to relax and… its ability to bind them to a social group”(Taylor & Carroll).

Melbourne’s drinking culture helps to dem-onstrate an aspect of the city as an entity. Via public relations, organisations attempt to dictate the im-age of the culture control drinking. Strategies are counteracted by tactics employed by the citizen body, who continue to drink in Melbourne despite negative perceptions of the culture.

BY NATALIE YOANNIDIS

ARTEFACT 2

PRINCESS THEATRE

THEATRE CULTURE

This is an image of the Princess Theatre. The theatre is one of Melbourne’s most extravagant buildings and it is designed in an architectural Sec-ond Empire style. It has showcased an extensive list of the world’s renowned musical productions. The detailed architecture of the structure is prevalent in this image as is the golden tones of the exterior of the building. Its grand architecture has meant the theatre is now listed as a heritage building. This par-ticular image was selected as the Princess Theatre has over time created a legacy in the city regarding theatre culture. This is representative of the great-er Melbourne community.

Theatre was initially introduced to Melbourne during the period of colonization and has created a new culture that helped shape the city’s identity (Aronson, 2000). Public Relations in Melbourne have sought to represent the city as the cultural capital of Australia (Travel Weekly, 2008). Melbourne has excelled in premiering international productions while Sydney shows a decline in theatrical communi-ty. This is indicative of the lack of interest expressed by the NSW Government (Westbury, 2009). This highlights PR’s role in demonstrating the city’s cul-tural value. This supports the role of PR in the city’s cultural value. PR applies strategies to highlight the prominence of theatre and artistic culture and the positive influence this has in society. Advertisements promoting the theatre demonstrate how Public re-lations attempt to convince the public of the positive aspects of attending productions. The messages presented accentuate the vibrancy of theatre cul-ture and convince citizens of their desire to join the movement. These advertisements generally cater only to the more affluent members of society who share an interest in theatre productions (Turner & Edmunds, 2002). By exposing the community to a

number of famous musical productions, PR seeks to educate the masses and create hype for the sup-port of artistic culture in Melbourne. These produc-tions are advertised excessively in the city and this help increase awareness of the culture.

It must be acknowledged that Public relations have generally promoted this concept of theatre cul-ture to those in a financial situation to attend the the-atre. Consequently, tactics have been employed by members of the lower classes of society to combat the notion that theatre reflects the most highly re-garded form of entertainment in the city. The lower class engages in what is deemed popular culture or practices that do not require substantial amounts of money (Turner & Edmunds, 2002). The live music scene in the city is inexpensive and provides a form of musical entertainment for a difference audience. Attending the cinemas in Melbourne is also a popu-lar low cost activity. These citizens rebel against the notion that theatre is the most culturally inspired form of entertainment by committing to alternative activities.

The Princess Theatre gives rise to a discus-sion on the prominence of theatre culture in Mel-bourne and how Public Relations agencies employ this concept to help characterize the city. Strate-gies are incorporated into daily lives of citizens to promote theatre as a manner of refined expression. In response tactics are applied to reject the idea that the expensive theatre is the only cultured form of entertainment available.

BY NIKIEE NIK MAHMUD

ARTEFACT 3

GRAFFITI

GRAFFITI CULTURE

The artwork in this image is a form of graf-fiti which has been approved by the Melbourne City Council. It comprises of tags and provides messages for observers. This particular compilation of graffiti is located opposite Degrave Street, in the café rich laneway of Centre Place. This particular laneway is not only unique for its cafés but also the extensive presence of graffiti. From the art in this image, the graffiti can be classified into two categories. These include wording and artistic designs. Images range from simplistic stickmen to elaborate and sophisti-cated illustrations. Wording is a prevalent feature of wall art which employs artistic designs to convey ordinary messages. Revolution of graffiti could be speculating from Rennie Ellis’s Australian Graffiti Revisited. 70’s graffiti shows mix of political, satiri-cal toilet scrawls and billboard advertising. It reveals how graffiti can be a means to communicate with society (Ellis, R 2010).

From a public relations perspective, graffiti is constantly presented with negative connotations. It is promoted as a form of vandalism. PR has sought to associate certain aspects of graffiti with a con-ceived criminal culture. Strategies have thus been employed to eradicate the issue. Millions of dollars have been spent to control it in Melbourne. The Mel-bourne City has launched a Graffiti Management Plan to eliminate the conceived graffiti problem. The plan was implemented in order to distinguish between unwanted graffiti and street art that is permitted to continue. Four tasks were introduced to control the production of graffiti. The first of these strategies is ‘engagement’ which seeks to allow graffiti artists to create a partnership with the council. ‘Eradication’ promotes the removal of unwanted graffiti and ‘edu-cation’ is employed to inform students on the differ-ence between illegal and legal street art. Finally, ‘en-

forcement’ has seen the formation of a partnership between the Victoria Police and the community to report unwanted graffiti (City of Melbourne 2009).

For many graffiti artists, public art is a unique tactic used to reflect the meaning of the city as an entity. It highlights a hidden aspect of society. The continued creation of graffiti is a tactic employed by graffiti artists against the negative associations that follow the art in society. Messages can include such concepts as of the joy of being alive (Halsey & Young 2006).The artists illustrate symbols and designs to express their perspectives of characteristics, crit-ics and commentaries connected to the city. Graf-fiti can be viewed as an attempt to attract atten-tion from a society that values conformity. Gangs of graffiti artists have been established to increase the prevalence of art work in the city as a manner of rebellion against the strategies applied by organisa-tions in positions of authority. The increased graf-fiti contributes to the character of the city (Alonso 1998).

Graffiti art serves the purpose of depicting an aspect of Melbourne and therefore contributes to the image of the city. It lines the walls of several laneways in the CBD consequently adding to the at-mosphere of the location. Public Relations has dem-onstrated a desire to present graffiti in a negative light and strategies have been employed by organi-sations assist in the eradication of unwanted wall art. In spite of these strategies, graffiti artists have continued to rebel using tactics of their own. These tactics ensure that graffiti is not lost to the city of Melbourne.

BY LIM CHYUAN ZHI

REFERENCE LISTARTEFACT 1

ARTEFACT 2

ARTEFACT 3

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