Exam 3 Flashcards
Comic book industry process of production
- Industrial process - assembly line (writer, artist, colorist, etc.), mostly used by larger companies
- Artisan process
The Big Two Publishers - Mainstream
- Mainstream refers to dominance
- Mainstream criticized
- Documentary (didn’t talk about Holocaust or Vietnam War)
- Superhero genre
Independent Comic Book Publishers
- profit-oriented mindset
- mass marketers vs. niche marketers
Production - work-for-hire
- freelance/ownership of the properties
- long-term financial rewards for publishers like Marvel or DC
- ethical issues
Distribution
- original copy to multiple copies
- select outlets & transports
- marketing/promotion
- 2 types of distribution (mass-market & direct-market)
Mass-Market Distribution
- newspaper stands, grocery & drug stores, etc.
- distributor sends multiple copies
- retailers returned unused copies
- burden on distributor
- problems: retailer wouldn’t always stock and leave the marketing/promotion to the distributor
Direct-Market Distribution
- subscription - retailers order copies
- burden on retailer
- creators - positive outcome - retailers select certain authors/artists
- created a star system
Distribution Monopoly
- Mid-1990s - exclusive deals
- Diamond - dominant distributor
- U.S. Department of Justice - diamond not a monopoly on “magazine” industry
Exhibition
- specialty shops
- online
Ideology
- A system of beliefs that groups of people share, and believe are inherently true and acceptable
- A particular way of thinking and seeing the world that makes the existing organization of social relations and practices seem natural and inevitable
- Lays out the vision to which a society aspires - how things ought to be
- Our worldview
Characteristics of Ideology
- Culture is deeply connected to ideology
- Socially constructed
- Dominant ideologies/hegemony
- Perpetuated through socializing agents (socialization)
- Movies, TV shows, etc. (themes, messages)
Movies, TV Shows, Books, etc. contain myths
- Myths are simple stories w/ compelling characters & resonant plots
- Manifest messages
- Latent messages
- Provide ideals to live by (ideologies)
Myths, Ideology, and Superhero Genre
- Superhero comics and films – have a lot to say about our culture – about crime, individualism, etc.
- The simple stories (myths) convey ideology (worldviews)
- Fit our expectations (mirror culture)
- Perpetuate/socialize (shape culture)
Crime & the Superhero
- Origin/solution: Individual vs. societal perspective
- Origin of a crime - individual is a criminal inherently (born with it), individual is a victim of their circumstances (lived in poverty, etc.)
Individualism
- Individualism vs. Collectivism/Populism
- Most films identify them as naive and a superhero needs to come & save the day
Who is the superhero?
Individual superhero - wealthy, educated, successful, “cares about the common man” but does not believe they can take care of themselves
Female Superheroes
- Golden Age
- Career girls, perky teenagers
- Wonder Woman didn’t need saving - she saved others
- WWII - women had to take over workplace
- Post-WWII - women lose their jobs & go back into the home
- 50s - Wonder Woman is romantic
- 60s - her powers are taken away & now is a spy
- 80s–present - hyper-sexualized, supporting role
- Feminist Movement
- Current issues: spider-woman image released, Milo Manara known for this type of work
- Can heroines star in their own movie?
Present - slow changes
- Increased interest in comic books among women
- Ms Marvel (Kamala Khan)
- Marvel - A-Force - all-female avengers-inspired comic book
- Lesbian, gay, and bisexual characters
X-Men
- First appeared in 1963
- Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
- Background: Mutants vs. Humans
- Magneto - mirrored a lot about Malcom X
- Professor X - facilitate relationships, allegory for MLK Jr.
- Civil Rights Movement
- All marginalized people who are “othered” & struggling to be accepted
Production (movies)
- Major studios
- Mini-majors
- Independents
Find movies to produce/distribute
- Movies produced (created) by distributor’s studio
- Movies from independent producers
- Cost-sharing w/ other distributors
Distribution (movies)
- Research
- Publicity to buzz (special events, tie-ins, stars/junkets, stars on talk shows/social media)
- Advertising/promotion
Exhibition (movies)
Major Chains: Regal, AMC, Cinemark Theaters
Emergence of Blockbuster Movies
- Late 1960s-1970s
- Film School Brats
- Counterculture films replaced with traditional genre
Jaws (1975) - The First “Real” Blockbuster
- Steven Spielberg
- Huge production budget (3.5 million/12 million)
- TV advertising
- Summer - wide release (limited on June 20 and wide on July 25)
- $470 million worldwide
Characteristics of Hollywood Blockbuster Movies
- Based on novel, comic book, TV show, etc.
- Sequels, prequels, remakes
- Market research
- Synergy
- Saturation advertising & promotion
- Global - action more popular than drama/culture
- Messages/themes
Genre
A type, class, or category of presentation that shares distinctive and easily identifiable features
Formula
Refers to the patterns in premise, structure, characters, plot, and trappings
Formulaic Analysis
Defines formulaic elements that are characteristics of a genre and examines the messages conveyed by the formula
Premise
- The initial circumstances, situation, or assumption that serves as the point of origin for a narrative
- A characteristic situation in which characters find themselves
Formulaic Structure
- Refers to the structure of the scenes in a movie, TV show.
- Identify a structure using descriptors “order” and “chaos”
- Reaffirms the worldview (ideology) of the story
- Most common plot structure - “order-chaos-order”
Formulaic plot
A planned series of events in a narrative, progressing through a struggle of opposing features to a climax and a conclusion
Formulaic subplot
Secondary stories that are frequently interwoven into narratives
Characteristics of social problem films
- Distinguished by subject matter: Spotlight a contemporary issue larger than the personal problems of the protagonists.
- Attempt to prompt reflection, discussion, and…action about a pressing concern of American social life
2 Narrative Modes (Social Problem Genre)
- Realism (function): prove that story & problem are authentic
- Melodrama (function): pity, outrage, action
Issues (Social Problem Genre)
- Historical facts - realism vs. melodrama
- Simplified, condensed, prettified
Disaster genre (key features)
- The disaster is not the conflict
- Start with normalcy (provides hope for post-disaster)
- Learn about conflict - usually human relationships
- Story becomes more than disaster
- Hero/heroine stops disaster from killing main characters
- Main characters resolve conflict
- Normalcy returns
Disaster Genre (question)
Entertainment, makes people’s lives not seem as bad, hope at the end, makes you feel stronger
Dystopian Genre
- Dystopia: A futuristic, imagined universe in which oppressive societal control and the illusion of a perfect society are maintained through corporate, bureaucratic, technological, moral, or totalitarian control.
- Dystopian films, through an exaggerated worst-case scenario (melodrama), make a current criticism about a trend, societal norm, or political system.
Some characteristics of the dystopian genre
- Futuristic (in response to a disaster)
- Post-apocalyptic (Mad Max, Waterworld)
- Science Fiction (Elysium)
- World will be worse than the one we are currently living in
- Social Commentary (social problem film) - questioning the sociocultural issues in our lives
Dystopian Films - Political Power and Resources
- Totalitarian government or dictator
- Concentration of money
- Propaganda used to control citizens
- Strong police force
Characters in Dystopian Films
- Good (the people) vs. Evil (government, technology, etc.)
- Protagonist - hero - usually unlikely and/or unwilling
- Antagonist - dictator, government, group
- Masses - aware of oppression (Hunger Games
- Masses - unaware of oppression (The Giver, Pleasantville)
- Masses - passive or unable to fight for themselves
- Typically, the people’s plight is due to a ruler who is either ruthless (President Snow) or who is misguided (Jodie Foster, Elysium)
Themes in Dystopian Films
- Good vs. Evil
- Self-sacrifice
- Human kindness/compassion
- Greed
- Police state vs. underlying problems
Sports as a cultural phenomenon
- Sports are connected with major spheres of social life such as family, economy, politics, education, religion, media, etc.
- Sports are social constructions
- Institutionalized
- Ideologies exist (some dominant) - world views - help make sense of the world - identify what is important, right and natural in the world
Sports and popular culture
- Hegemony - gender, ethnicity
- Quantitative in nature - see how many people watch superbowl
- Folk culture
- High vs. low culture - high: golf, skiing (elite), low: football, baseball
- Post-modern culture - all sports are equal
- Mass culture - sporting events are always happening
Characteristics of sports
- Social class
- Race
- Gender
- Hegemony
- When a new sport emerges, it becomes another site in which these issues must be renegotiated
Traditional ski culture
- Skiing requires spare time, significant economic capital and cultural capital - how to dress, language, etc.
- Hidden entry requirements - family tradition, dress code, techniques of sociability
Cultural Capital
- How to dress
- Language to use
- How to interact on/off the slopes
Snowboarding culture
- New, different, provides a way for youth to be different from parents and traditional ski culture
- Antisocial & uneducated
- Jake Burton - Father of Snowboarding
- Early adopters and early majority adopt snowboarding, in part, as a way to rebel against parents and traditional ski culture
- Strong connection to 3 other subcultures: surfing, skateboarding, and “hip hop/gangsta culture”
Heino Model
- Traditional culture
- Subculture emerges (rebellious youth) and challenges traditional values, beliefs, etc.
- Period of dissension
- Marketers (cool hunting) take notice and commodify the subculture’s cultural artifacts
- Subculture and its cultural artifacts become mainstream - initial values, beliefs altered
4 essential elements of advertising
- Paid - not how much it costs to make the ad, but how much it costs to pay the media
- Mediated
- Identifiable source
- Intent to persuade
Intended effect (advertising)
Attitude toward the brand and ad make for a purchase
Larger debates about advertising
- Demand creation (occurs when an external message drives people to feel a need or want) vs. demand response (people have needs & the products advertised are there to fill those needs)
- Materialism vs. self-control - people argue advertisements heighten expectations and make people believe the product is always the answer
- Shaping vs. mirroring
- Manipulation vs. persuasion (passive vs. active audience)
- Monolithic industry vs. diversified (separate competitive agencies)
Pro-Advertising arguments
- Supports the media and entertainment industries
2. Reflects our culture and (sometimes) can be considered “art” - maybe even “high art”
Basic Story Types
- Rebirth - snickers commercial w/ the Brady Bunch
- Quest - mission from point A to point B
- Rags to Riches - Cinderella
- Journey & Return - transformation between travel & homecoming
- Tragedy - dark side of humanity
- Comedy
- Parody
- Overcoming the Monster - supporting the underdogs
Interpretation
The process by which people understand or make sense of something
Semiotics
- The discipline that studies the nature of a system of meaning
- Can gain cultural attitudes from this approach
Sign
- Everything in your experience, every object, every action or event is a sign
- A sign induces you to think about something else
- Each sign has a meaning
- Influences you to think about other things besides the sign
Signifier & Signified
Sign = signifier (the perceivable part of the sign - visual, audio, textual) / signified ( the meaning evoked, or the referent captured by the signifier)
Example:
sign = car / brand message
Symbolic relationship
(Convention) - meaning is agreed upon by a large number of people, purely arbitrary, learned over time (American flag (signifier) represents Patriotism (signified))
Indexical relationship
(Causal connection) - there is a causal/direct link between the signifier and signified, not arbitrary
Iconic relationship
(Resemblance) - resemblance between the signifier and signified - when SNL cast pretends to be other people