Chapter 4: Pragmatic Analysis Flashcards
What is SOPA?
SOPA stands for the stop online piracy act ➔ the US batter over new media regulation
How does pragmatism relate to media studies?
Pragmatist ideas help us better understand the process of regulation in the American media industries
Def pragmatism
Pragmatism is the branch of philosophy that assesses truth in terms of effect, outcome, and practicality
Pragmatists = truth depends on the degree to which a concept or theory provides us with useful results in the process of solving problems
Def habit ➔ William James
Habit: a pathway of discharge formed in the brain, by which certain incoming currents ever after tend to escape.
Def meliorism ➔ John Dewey
Meliorism, or the recognition of the elements present in a historical moment and the use of applied thought to develop ways of improving them
- Books Reconstruction in Philosophy (1919) and The Quest for Certainty (1929)
John Dewey ➔ that ways of thinking were essentially habits, in the sense that human beings generate thought in order to overcome difficulties they encounter in the world
Def Ironism ➔ Richard Rorty
Ironism, or a commitment to seeing the world in terms of contingent historical descriptions (and not in terms of an unchanging essence)
Def relativism ➔ Richard Rorty
Relativism is the belief that diverse approaches and theories related to a given subject are all equally correct
Richard Rorty
roughly aligns philosophical work with the empiricism of the hard sciences
Consequences of Pragmatism (1982) and Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity (1989)
Def conseqeunces
Consequences refer to the clear effects of a given regulation on society at large
- tangible results
Def contingencies
contingencies, or the factors a regulation should address as a result of context and situation
What are the issues in the regulation of American media?
Combating monopoly
Protecting intellectual property
Maintaining national interest
Promoting diversity
Managing morality
Ensuring accuracy
Talk about combating monopoly in regulating American media
Regulations designed to prevent media monopolies have focused historically on limiting the amount of a given market that any one company can own
Financial Interest and Syndication Rules (Fin-Syn Rules)
➔ PURPOSE of Fin-Syn Rules: break up perceived monopoly of major networks by LIMITING networks’ financial control over their programming
Def syndication
Syndication – process of producing & selling programming
Talk about the Telecommunications Act of 1996
Example of deregulation related to media monopoly
Telecommunications Act of 1996 – safeguards against monopoly by instilling traditional economic system of supply & demand encourages media to monitor itself
Act allows companies to purchase & control multiple mediums in unprecedented way ➔ increased cross ownership of TV & radio stations in same market + allow cable companies to expand their offerings to telephone services
Talk about protecting intellectual property in regulating American media
Copyright – grating of exclusive control of a creative work to that work’s creator ➔ Copyright Law of 1978 ➔ can only cover material expression of idea, not the idea itself
Digital rights management (DRM) – any number of diff software programs that media industries employ to control the distribution and use of digital intellectual property
Talk about maintaining national interest in regulating US media
Encryption – process of scrambling important digital messages by software so only those who possess complementary decoding program can read them
Export Administration Act ➔ restricted the export of powerful encryption software
Escrowed encryption standard: provides federal government w/ way of gaining access to encrypted messages sent over telephone wires that posed national threat
Talk about promoting diversity in regulating US media
Regulations motivated by desire to ensure that minority viewpoints & perspectives find a place on TV and radio
Fairness Doctrine (1949): an FCC policy that urged broadcasting stations to air programming on controversial issue & fairly represent both sides of issues to viewers
Equal Time Ruel ➔ promoted diversity in Pragmatically responsible way ➔ equal access to media for all public candidates & built upon contingencies
Talk about managing morality in regulating US media (3 types)
3 types of regulated media
Obscenity – most obscene media content ➔ sexually explicit in nature, not protected by freedom of speech
- Regulation of obscene content is ILLEGAL ➔ BUT images/words not obscene UNTIL someone challenges them in court of law
Profanity – “filthy” words banned from public broadcast
Indecency – any material that’s morally unfit for general distribution/broadcast ➔ often depicts sexual or excremental activities ➔ not illegal BUT regulated in number of ways
Talk about ensuring accuracy in regulating US media
ensuring journalists & news reporters use media forums to responsibly report truth to American public
SLANDER & LIBEL (not protected by freedom of speech)
Slander – publicly spoken, untrue & defamatory statements
Libel – false printed statements that similarly damage person’s character
Code of ethics – self-imposed set of rules that outlines the ethical strivings of a particular media outlet (goals which typically revolve around notions of truth and fairness)
Def historical violence
historical violence – probes the complex contradictions that shape human agency, the limits of rationality, and the existential issues that tie us to other human beings and the broader social world
typically accompanies portrayal of actual historical events
encourages audiences to think critically about the way violence is connected to hatred & social injustice
Def ritualistic violence
ritualistic violence – generates mostly emotional excitement b/c pure spectacle in form and superficial in content; serves to simulate & entertain
typically fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping, sensationalistic & hyper-masculine
common to both horror (slasher) & action genres
Def hyper-real violence
blurs boundaries b/n historical & ritualistic violence ➔ turns “murder into art”
combines LOOK of historical violence + FEEL of ritualistic violence
List the 4 primary effects of media violence?
aggressor, victim, bystander & catharsis effects
Def aggressor effect
Aggressor effect – exposure to media violence triggers arousal & promotes aggressive behaviour
theory of disinhibition ➔ media violence undermines social norms and sanctions vs violence
enculturation theory ➔ LT exposure constructs violence as norm
Theory of imitation
Def victim effect
Victim effect – ppl develop & experience heightened fearfulness of violence
THEREFORE: heavy viewing of media violence leads people to see themselves as likely victims in a cruel and scary world
Def Bystander effect
Bystander effect – holds that media violence fosters increased callousness about or insensitivity toward violence directed at others
Desensitization theory ➔ increased acceptance of violence in real life
Def catharsis effect
can reduce & alleviate feelings of aggression
PROSOCIAL EFFECT ➔ reduction of real world violence
