Chapter 1: Intro to Media Studies Flashcards
What 2 ways do we learn?
Somatically ➔ direct sensory perception of enviro
Symbolically ➔ through someone or something (could be through media!)
What is a medium?
Medium is an indirect channel of information ➔ information is mediated through a medium
Spoken or written word use to be the primary medium, what are 4 limitations of it?
- Transmission of information was tied to the available means of transportation
- it was slow especially over distance
- Couldn’t be reproduced and distributed (limited scope)
- Passed through manny channels (broken telephone)
What is the def of Critical Media Studies?
the social and cultural consequences of the revolutionary capability from individual media (human speech and hand-written letters) to modern mass media
an umbrella term used to describe an array of theoretical perspectives which, though diverse, are united by their skeptical attitude, humanistic approach, political assessment, and commitment to social justice.
Def of media
broad term that includes a diverse array of communication technologies
Def of mass media
communication technologies that have the potential to reach a large audience in remote locations
- divided into 4 categories: print media, motion picture and sound recording, broadcast media, and new media
Tell me about print media
- First mass medium
- Printing press ➔ more circulation of knowledge
- Newspaper industry increased until 1973 then decrease
- Magazine industry mirrored newspaper industry
Tell me about motion picture and sound recording
Thomas Edison
- Phonograph for sound
- kinetoscope for early motion picture
- vitascope: early film projector ➔ rise of the silent film era
- Increase in record industry with increase in cheap tech
Tell me about broadcast media
Media over public airwaves
- freed mass media from transportation confines
- Radio first then TV
- TV = dominant medium for usage
- Sat radio and cab and sat TV
- Sat TV/radio and cable can also qualify as New Media because they use a digital signal ➔ fits into both categories
Tell me about New Media
New Media (according to Lev Manovich): “new media are the cultural objects which use digital computer technology for distribution and circulation.”
- Problem: def needs revamping because computing tech is more common now
- Ex. digital TV, film, photo, e books, internet etc.
- Began with the dev of microprocessor/computer chip
Def of postmodernity
Postmodernity: describes the historical epoch that began to emerge in the 1960s as the economic mode of production in most Western societies gradually shifted from commodity-based manufacturing to information-based services
List the 5 trends driving mass media into postmodernity
convergence, mobility, fragmentation, globalization, and simulation
Def of convergence
Convergence: the tendency of formerly diverse media to share a common, integrated platform
- Obstacles of convergence: noise from analog signals made message distortion adn decay over long distances (solved with digitization) and bandwidth limitations
Def of mobility
Mobility: the ease with which an object can be moved from place to place.
- Instead of us going to places for media, media can increasingly go places with us
Def of fragmentation
Fragmentation, a splintering of the consuming public into ever more specialized taste cultures
- results in proliferation of media content and niche marketing
- internet = most diversified medium
Def of globalization
Globalization is a complex set of social, political, and economic processes in which the physical boundaries and structural policies that previously reinforced the autonomy of the nation state are collapsing in favor of instantaneous and flexible worldwide social relations
- Globalization creates opportunities to bring their cultural products to distant local markets.
- Fear of dev cultural imperialism
Def of cultural imperialism
the imposition of one set of cultural values on other cultures
Def of simulation
Simulation: the generation by models of a real without origin or reality ➔ an implosion of the image and the real
Def of socialization
describes the process by which persons – both individually and collectively – learn, adopt, and internalize the prevailing cultural beliefs, values, and norms of a society.
- All social institutions are mediators and contribute to socialization
What is content?
Content influences WHAT we learn
Content refers to the informational component of a message, to the specific details, facts, ideas, and opinions communicated through mass media
Why is content important?
- establish which social issues are considered important and which are considered unimportant.
- content lacking a diversity of views and opinions significantly limits the scope of pub- lic debate and deliberation on matters of social importance.
- Necessarily biased because media is communicated using symbols and symbols are selective
What is form?
Form influences HOW we learn
Form describes the cognitive component of a message
The way a message is packaged and delivered ➔ conseqeunce of the medium adn the genre/class
The packaging influences how we process it and how we think about it
Ex. processing language vs images
What are the 4 key characteristics of Critical Media Studies?
skeptical attitude, humanistic approach, political assessment, and commitment to social justice
Explain skeptical attitude
The various perspectives within the field of critical media studies adopt an attitude of skepticism, not as a way of rejecting media, but as a way of understanding how they work and what they do.
- Skeptical attitude = hermeneutics of suspicion
What is hermeneutics?
mode of interpretation grounded in close analysis ➔ deep distrust of surface appearances and common-sense explanations
Explain Humanistic approach
studies emphasizes self-reflection, critical citizenship, democratic principles, and humane education
Explain political assessment
determining whose interests [political] are served by the media, and how those interests contribute to domination, exploitation, and/or asymmetrical relations of power.
how media create, maintain, or subvert particular social structures, and whether or not such structures are just and egalitarian
Explain commitment to social justice
Critical media studies aims not only to identify political injustices but also to confront and challenge them
For improvement of society
What is a theory?
an explanatory and interpretive tool that simultaneously enables and limits our understanding of the particular social product, practice, or process under investigation.