Component 1 Flashcards
What are the four aspects to theoretical framework?
Media Language -> Forms codes, conventions and techniques
Audience -> How media forms target , reach and address
Representation -> How the media portrays events, issues, individuals and social groups
Media Industries -> How they process production, distribution + circulation affect media forms.
What is Semiotics?
The study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.
What is a signifier?
Physical forms of a sign, eg a sound, word or image that create communication.
What is the signified?
A concept that a signifier refers to
What is an icon?
Physical resemblance to signified
What is a symbol?
Does not represent signifier that is being represented.
What is an index?
The physical connection between signifier and signified. The signifier cannot exist without physical presence of signified.
What is a denotation?
Literal meaning of a word
What is a Connotation?
Various social overtones, cultural implications, or emotional meanings associated with a sign.
What is a myth?
Connotation of a sign that is so widely used it becomes accepted.
What does polysemic mean?
Different meanings to different people.
What are the four codes?
Visual Codes (Colours, setting, clothing props)
Audio Codes (Sound effects, music, accents)
Technical Codes (Camera angles, shot types, focus etc)
Language ( What is written, what is said)
What is meant by conventions?
The specific way in which codes are used in a media text in order to create a certain feel or style.
What is meant by narratology?
The idea that all narratives share a basic structure that involves a movement from one state of equilibrium to another.
What’s Todrov’s theory?
Equilibrium
Disruption
Recognition
Repair
Reinstatement of equilibrium
What is an Enigma Code?
Mystery within a text. Clues are dropped but no clear answers are given, this makes the audience want to know more.
What is the proairetic (action) code?
Contains sequential elements of action in the text. These elements add suspense to the text.
What is Structuralism and who came up with it?
Claude Levi-Strauss.
There are universal patterns to human thought and culture.
What are binary oppositions?
All human thought works by thinking through binaries, or oppositions.
Eg: Man and woman
Death and Life
Raw and Cooked
Morning and Night
Steve Neale genre theory
The idea that genres may be dominated by repetition, but are also marked by difference, variation and change
What is Representation?
The media selects elements (issues, events, people etc) from the real world and represents them to us to create a certain view of reality.
What is mediation?
Mediation is the process by which an institution comes to represent events based on their ideological perspective. When viewing a text think about mediation + how they’re constructed: have they shown both sides? Are they stereotyping people? Is it fair in representation?
What is ideology?
A body of ideas or set of beliefs that underpins a process and leads to social relations. These are beliefs held by groups within society, and the prevalent ones are those help by the ruling groups.
What is Levi-Strauss’ theory?
Binary oppositions - Majority of narratives in media contain opposing main characters.
What is Barthes’ theory?
Exploration of myths and how signs that are regularly reinforced across media forms take on the role of a myth and become accepted as natural, when in fact they are a social construct .
What is Halls theory about representation?
The idea that representation is the production of meaning through language, with language defined in its broadest sense as a system of signs
The idea that the relationship between concepts and signs is governed by codes
The idea that stereotyping, as a form of representation, reduces people to a few simple characteristics or traits
The idea that stereotyping tends to occur where there are inequalities of power, as subordinate or excluded groups are constructed as different or ‘other’ (e.g.
through ethnocentrism).
What is Gilroy’s theory?
Postcolonialism
What is Gilroy’s theory on post colonialism?
The idea that we an still see the effects of colonialism in the media today, he believes ethnic minorities are still/often shown as weak, powerless, dehumanized, or “other”. Seen as not as powerful, successful or good as white/western people.
