Chapter 3 Flashcards
- A representation is ________.
a simplification or interpretation of the thing it describes or refers to
- In C. S. Peirce’s categorization of signs, a symbol ________.
bears no direct resemblance to what it signifies
- The literal or most obvious interpretation of a sign is _______.
denotative meaning
- If you are watching a television show and realize you are understanding the meaning of the show due to your knowledge of similar shows in the same genre, this is an example of which of the following?
Intertextuality
- The fact that any given sign can have many meanings illustrates the ________.
indeterminacy of representation
- In semiotics, a sign is comprised of ________.
a signifier
a signified
Both a and b correct
- As a social model of communication, the encoding/decoding model draws attention to the fact that communication is given form by ________.
social factors
- The issue of agency/structure is also a key question for trying to understand and explain ________.
how media systems operate
- Literary criticism’s roots reach back to when ________.
written records first emerged
- Vladimir Propp’s work focused on which of the following areas related to media content?
Narrative structure
- For post-structuralists, “meaning” is made in the act of ________.
decoding
- Discourse analysis focuses on ________.
how language positions us in the social world
- All of the following are examples of the “filters” identified by Herman and Chomsky that impact news media except ________.
indeterminacy of representation
- In the 1930s, soap operas were designed to socialize a home-confined, female audience with disposable income into ________.
the art of consuming
- The key attraction of reality TV to producers and television networks is ________.
its low cost
- The process of the encoding/decoding model does not include which of the following?
A semiotic analysis of media content
- Structuralism can be used to ________.
Identify common themes in stories from different countries incorrect
uncover ideological meanings in specific media content incorrect
provide insights into the ways in which language structures the form and content of communication incorrect
All of the above correct
- Content analysis has shown that ________.
A. there is a general lack of representation of people of colour in mainstream Canadian media
B. Canada’s self-described national newspapers mainly cover news in the cities and provinces in which they are based
- Understanding how artistic or professional conventions structure or dictate the production and consumption of content is the focus of what type of analysis?
Genre analysis
- Advertising is one of the most heavily studied forms of media content because ________.
of its cultural significance
- In C. S. Peirce’s categorization of signs, an icon looks like the object it describes.
True
- Media representation of a hockey game is essentially the same thing as the live game itself.
False
- In semiotics, the signified is an idea or mental concept.
True
- Polysemy refers to how we make meaning out of a media text based on our knowledge of other signs we have encountered.
False
- The most analyzed of all the narrative genres on television is comedy.
False
- The indeterminacy of representation refers to the idea that signs are only correctly interpreted in one way.
False
- A symbol is a sign that bears no direct resemblance to what it signifies.
True
- Most media content theories posit there is essentially no agency for media audiences in terms of the texts that they consume.
False
- Language can both enable and constrain communication.
True
- Literary criticism solely focuses on the interpretation of texts in terms of the intentions of the author.
False
- Post-structuralism emerged as a critique of the idea that texts have consistent structures put in place through the process of encoding.
False
- Discourse analysis can also be structuralist in character.
True
- Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign is an attempt to resignify the usual advertising meanings of beauty.
True
