Final Prep -- Section 1 Flashcards
Annales School Key Ideas
Moves away from event-focused (“history of great men”) to long-term social, economic, and geographic structures.
Emphasizes interdisciplinary approaches (history + sociology, geography, anthropology).
Introduces the concept of “la longue durée”, focusing on deep historical patterns and mentalities.
Interested in everyday life and structures that persist over centuries.
Annales School Core Focus
Long-Durée History, Social Structures
Toronto School Key Ideas
Media technologies shape human perception and societal structures (“The medium is the message”).
Distinction between time-biased and space-biased media (Innis).
Focuses on the form of communication media (oral, print, electronic), not just the content.
Interest in how media environments alter consciousness and social organization.
Toronto School Core Focus
Media and Communication Theory
Time-biased Media
clay or stone tablets, hand-copied manuscripts on parchment or vellum and oral sources such as Homer’s epic poems
Tend to last many generations, but reach limited audiences.
Space-biased media
Radio, television, newspapers, social media
convey information to many people over long distances
Birmingham School Core Focus
Cultural Studies, Subcultures, Resistance
Birmingham School Key Ideas
Analyzes how subcultures resist dominant ideologies through everyday practices (style, music, dance)
Views media as a site of struggle where meanings are negotiated, not just imposed.
Emphasizes audience interpretation, identity, race, and gender.
More optimistic than the Frankfurt School about pop culture’s potential for resistance.
Explain Kant’s understanding of Enlightenment
According to Kant, Enlightenment is the human being’s emergence from his self-incurred minority, characterized by the ability to use one’s own understanding without direction from another.
I.e. Be a leader not a follower
What might be a ‘matter of the moment’ shaping a work of popular culture?
The #MeToo Movement
Influenced films and TV shows to depict stronger female characters, address themes of consent and power dynamics, or challenge traditional gender roles
Replace the X: According to the Annales School, revolution does not change how people think, it is changes in ___X___ that make revoltuion possible.
Thought
How does the Annales School differ from traditional Marxism?
considers culture as a driving force in historical change, contrasting Marxist historical models, which say that culture is shaped by a society’s material conditions—like its economy, class structure, and resources.
How does the Annales School view the reading of texts?
Texts are read in varying and individual ways that reflect the mentality of the moment.
Ex: The Handmaid’s Tale was once a fantasy/fictional novel about a dystopian society, but in recent American climate, it has become less of a fantasy.
What does Hunt suggest about rituals and symbolic actions in pop culture?
They should not be understood as expressing a central, coherent, communal meaning because of individualized interpretations of texts and actions.
What is the Annales School’s view on revolutions?
Changes in thought make revolution possible, not the events themselves.
How does Braudel define the word Event?
an event is explosive, a matter of moment
What does Braudel criticize about the association of capitalism with rationality?
Historians equate capitalism and rationality without considering broader social habits.
Culture is an agent of social transformation.
Which school is Braudel associated with?
Annales
What type of history does the Annales School emphasize?
The history of mentalities rather than events.
Why shift from hierarchical and monarchist governance to democracy? Annales School critics look for indicators of shifts in the mental environment.
Roger Chartier
Head of Annales School
Focused on histories of reading and forms of reader engagement.
What does the Annales School suggest about pop culture today?
It should be understood in relation to demographic and social changes.
How do Annales scholars view the Enlightenment’s role in history?
As part of culture in effecting historical change.
Harsgor’s definition of total historiography
Weighing and comparing whole civilizations
Micro history
The historical examination of specific incidents or small-scale matters
Total history
emohasized the broad interactions of several fields in historical processes
Most important concepts of the Annales School (3)
- its role in pioneering cultural history
- its emphasis on demography and geography rather than economics
- its concept of total history
What does the Annales School emphasize over political history?
The importance of an entire social system in history
What does McLuhan mean by the medium is the message?
the form of the media influences how the message is understood.
How did the Annales school pioneer cultural history?
They studied how ordinary people lived and thought, not just big events. They helped make history more about culture and everyday life.
What tendency do critics and audiences have regarding different media forms?
To rank one form of media higher than another
What is one advantage of books over television?
Books are portable, television chains viewers to one spot for the duration.
What is the main argument of Paglia regarding television?
Television is a scanned rather than attentively watched medium
(having a show on in the background while you study)
What does reading require from the reader that television does not?
Imagination in creating characters and settings.
Being more attentive.
According to Innis, what is an exercise of power in communication?
Controlling and storing communicable information
How does McLuhan characterize the impact of print-based literarcy on individuals?
He describes print-based individuals as fragmented compared to the complex emotional beings found in oral societies.
Raymond Williams argues that the magic of advertising is distrinct from what?
The product
What does Williams suggest about modern advertising’s effect on consumers?
It teaches consumers how to want rather than providing what they actually want.
We have a cultural pattern in which the objects are not enough but must be validated, if only in fantasy, by association with social and personal meanings.
We are more likely to buy a washing machine that would make our neighbours envious, than a basic model.
According to Williams, what shift occurred in advertising in the mid-nineteenth century?
Advertising transitioned from providing information to creating consumer-oriented constructions of value.
What is the main argument of William’s essay “Avertising: The Magic System”?
Advertising is a “magic system” because it turns ordinary products into symbols of happiness, success, or identity.
Instead of focusing on the product’s actual use, ads create emotional and cultural meaning around it.
This makes people buy things not just for what they do, but for what they represent.
What is lived culture?
the specific cultural experiences and practices that shape an individual’s or group’s understanding of the world
Christmas in Western countries, which reflect shared beliefs and traditions and are celebrated through specific rituals and practices.
Recorded Culture
The documentation and preservation of cultural traditions, practices, and knowledge through various forms of recording.
Museums and archives store objects that represent a culture, such as clothing, tools, artwork, or other items that provide insight into their daily lives and traditions.
Canonical Culture
a body of works, texts, or practices that a particular culture deems most important and influential, often serving as a model or standard for others
ex: Declaration of Independence, The Bible in Malta
Three levels of culture
- Lived
- Recorded
- Canonical
What does Hoggart argue about the nature of mass culture?
It may perpetuate inequality and isolate individuals rather than build a community
According to the Birmingham School, what is the relationship between mass culture and class struggle?
Mass culture is seen as part of the class struggle, influencing tastes and desires.
What is the significance of the lending libraries in the 19th century?
They shaped publishing demands and influenced reader tastes.
Social definition of culture
A particular way of life.
Documentary definition of culture
Surviving cultural materials that provide insight into a culture.
Ideal definition of culture
Refining and perfecting human tastes and conduct.
Raymond Williams three-part definition of culture
The ideal, social, and documentary.
What does Hoggart mean by the manipulative power of the cultural industries?
The ability of mass culture to naturalize and reinforce social norms.
A show reinforcing gender norms by depicting a woman as a homemaker.
What does Antonio Gtamsci’s theory of cultural hegemony suggest?
One class rules over others by normalizing its values as a societal norm.
What is the primary focus of Richard Hoggart’s work?
The authenticity of working-class culture and its representation in mass culture.
How do Adorno and Horkheimer view the relationship between consumer needs and cultural products?
Consumer needs are manipulated rather than genuinely satisfied.
Pseudo-individualization
Theodor Adorno
The illusion of uniqueness in mass-produced cultural products
Zach Bryan VS Taylor Swift songs
Cultural industry accoring to Frankfurt School
The production of culture as a commodity that serves to reinforce capitalist ideologies and manipulate public opinion.
Standardization
Reflects the necessity for identical needs to be satisifed by identical needs.
Individuals become passive consumers of culture, which is created to serve profit
What is the culture industry?
The industrialized production of cultural products that serve to manipulate consumer needs.
What do Horkheimer and Adorno argue about mass culture?
Reflects the coercive influence of propaganda in an authoritarian state.
Method of manipulation.
How would you explain Marcuse’s notion of repressive desublimation?
The process by which societal demands are satisfied through superfical means, leading to repression of deeper desires.
Sexual imagery in advertising and media: sexuality is repressed by social norms, but used to sell products
Liberating reason
Critical thinking that challenges the status quo
Repressive reason
Propaganda
In what way did Adorno and Horkheimer view the relationship between Enlightenment and myth?
They believed Enlightenment turned into its opposite: instead of liberating people, it created a new system of control, much like the myths it tried to replace.
Enlightenment reason tried to control and explain everything, reducing the world to logic, calculation, and science.
Fill in the blank: Horkheimer and Adorno argue that the rational subject may fail to recognize their shared existence with ____X____.
Nature
What is the potential danger of viewing individuals solely as rational subjects?
It overlooks the influence of unconscious desires and social contexts.
What did Horkheimer and Adorno argue about the relationship between knowledge and power?
They believed that knowledge, especially scientific and technical knowledge, is often used to control people and nature, not to liberate them.
Horkheimer and Adorno believed that the Enlightenment’s rationality could lead to ____X_____ exercises of power.
Authoritarian
What does the term ‘alienation’ refer to in Horkheimer and Adorno’s critique?
alienation refers to the way individuals become disconnected or estranged from their true selves, from each other, and from the world around them.
facilitated through mass culture, capitalism, standardization
True or False: Horkheimer and Adorno saw reason as an unproblematic tool for understanding reality.
False
What did Horkheimer and Adorno mean by ‘the instrumentalization of reason’?
The use of reason as a tool for domination rather than for understanding reality.
Fill in the blank: For Horkheimer and Adorno, the Enlightenment leads to an increase in _____X________ and _______X______ over nature.
Power; alienation
Frankfurt School Core Focus
Critical Theory, Mass Media, Cultural Industry
Frankfurt School Key Ideas
Mass media serves as a tool for ideological control under capitalism
The culture industry commodifies culture
Strong critique about capitalism and instrumental rationality
Pessimistic about pop culture’s potential for resistance.
Adorno and Horkheimer were key contributors of which school?
Frankfurt
Define enlightenment
A broad cultural and intellectual movement that shaped philosophy, literature, music, politics, and even religion
What is Frankfurt’s critique of Enlightenment?
Mass media manipulates public understanding, leading to mass deception rather than true enlightenment.
Could be used as a tool of control.
Relate the definition of culture to definitions of ideology for Williams and the Frankfurt School.
Williams views culture as a dynamic process shaped by societal relations.
Frankfurt School sees culture as an industrialized product used for capitalism.
True or False: Cultural studies is a well-established discipline with fixed parameters and goals
False
Pop Culture
Activities or artifacts most commonly recognized, used, and reproduced by the members of a culture.
Feminist Theory
Pop culture depicts patriarchal ideologies which work in the interests of men and against the interests of women.
post-modernist theory
pop culture highlights radical changes in media which wear away at the distrinction between image and reality.
Enlightenment Subject
An individual who is encourages to use reason and understanding independently, rather than relying on authority.
Thinks for themselves, doesn’t follow the herd.
What does Kant mean by minority?
Submission to authority rather than learning or self-development.
The inability to make use of one’s own understanding without direction from another.
Opposite of enlightenment subject.
What struggles did Enlightenment face in the 20th century?
Two world wards, industrialization of warfare, economic depression, pandemics
What is the significant of the phrase “dare to know!” in enlightenment thought?
it emphasizes the importance of using one’s own understanding and reasoning, encouraging independence and authority.
Have courage to learn and grow.
What do Horkheimer and Adorno mean by myth?
‘Myth’ refers to the irrational beliefs that Enlightenment rationality attempts to abolish
Myths were humanity’s first way of explaning the unknown.
Enlightenment rationality is supposed to free us from myth.
Instrumental Reason
A form of reasoning that prioritzes efficiency and control over understanding, often leading to alientation from nature and humanity.
By using reason as an instrument to understand the world, we also come to see the world as something to be used in our rational projects, not as something that we and our projects are part of.
What is the main critique of the Enlightenment according to Horkheimer and Adorno?
If reason is used only as a tool for control, it will betray its original promise of freedom.
The Enlightenment created systems that, under the surface of progress, turned people into obedient, manageable subjects.
Enlightened Despotism
A form of governance where enlightenment rationality is used to justify authoritarian control.
Benevolent rulers who use their power to create reforms that seem for the “greater good” but still maintain strict control over the people, showing the tension between power and freedom.
EX: President Snow using the Hunger Games as an entertainment show, under the guise of maintaining order and peace.
How does Marx relate urbanization to social and cutural change?
Modern industry made capitalism possible through urbanization as workers flocked to cities for factory work. Urbanization created competition between workers and allowed more industrialized production.
As the wealthy middle class (bourgeoisie) acquired power and displaced the aristocracy (those with power and property by virtue of birth), a working class (proletariat) emerged.
Marx influenced which three key values?
- social theory
- the rise of sociology as a discipline
- the development of various forms of liberalism and social demoncracy
What was the nature of Mao’s change to Marx’s argument about social change?
Mao shifted Marx’s focus from urban centres to rural centres, arguing the revolution could begin in the countryside rather in industrial cities.
What did critics argue regarding Mao’s change to Marx’s argument about social change?
Although Mao was successful in his war, the resulting society and revolution were not Marxist and did not make sense in a Marxist theory.
Revolutionary struggle for independence from colonial powers has taken inspiration from the possibility of rural, agrarian revolutionary war.
Why did Lenin focus on agrarian organization rather than urbanization, and how does this differ from Marx?
Lenin adapted Marx’s theory to Russia’s context by organizing rural peasants instead of urban workers, due to Russia’s lack of industrialization and large peasant population.
Why did Marx focus on economic rather than political issues?
Marx believed that the economic base (production and labour, and class relations) determines all other parts of society (politics, law, religion, and culture).
How people work and produce things shapes how society is organized.
Why does Marx call the bourgeois middle class revolutionary?
They overthrew feudal systems (monarchies), reshaped economies with capitalism, and transformed social structures and production methods.
Both the French Revolution and the American Revolution were bourgeois revolutions
Aristocracy and feudalism (hereditary kingship) were displaced by liberalism (bourgeois revolutions), which has remained the dominant political system
What does Marx mean by historical materialism?
Dialectical materialism
material conditions (not social) drive historical change and shape social and political life.
Let them eat cake.
How does Marx define the proletariat and bourgeoisie?
Proletariat: working class who sell their labour (farrier, metalsmith)
Bourgeoisie: capitalist class who own the means of production and profit from worker’s labour.
Class consciousness
Worker’s awareness of their exploitation and shared interests
Unites the proletariat and sparks revoluionary change.
How does Gramsci expand on Marxist theory with cultural hegemony?
Ruling classes also control ideas, values, and beliefs through media, education, religion, and pop culture, which makes their worldview seem natural or common sense.
The ruling class stays in power not just by owning things, but by shaping culture so people accept the system as normal.
How does Okot p’Bitek distinguish between culture as something you do versus something you buy?
Culture is a lived practice rooted in everyday activities and community values, not as a commercial product to be consumed or bought in a marketplace.
Do cultural attitudes change as your circumstances change? What changes and what remains the same?
Cultural attitudes can shift with changes in environment, education, or life experiences, but core beliefs tied to identity, family, or tradition may remain stable over time.
Thesis
An original idea
Antithesis
a direct contradiction or challenge to it
Synthesis
The resolution that combines elements of both, move the idea forward through conflict
Teleology
A belief or theory that events or processes are directed toward purpose, end goal, or final outcomes.
Implies progress or destiny.
Social formation
The totality of the society, whether it is a nation, city, or town
Why did Mao and Lenin professionalize politics in pre-industrial societies, and how does this differ from Marx’s view of economic change?
Mao and Lenin created professional revolutionary parties to lead change in largely agrarian societies, while Marx believed revolution would arise organically from the industrial working class as capitalism advanced.
How did the ideas of Gramsci and Luxemburg differ from those of Lenin and Mao?
Gramsci emphasized cultural struggle and consent (hegemony), and Luxemburg believed in spontaneous mass action; they both argued that the people are the driving force of a revolution
Lenin and Mao prioritized centralized leadership and political parties to guide revolution.
Social Formation – Base
the organization of social life in relation to labour, such as how the working day is divided, how the division of labour is established, what material conditions prevail, property relations or forms of ownership, and so on.
Social Formation – Superstructure
Includes larger forms of social organization, such as the political system, the judicial system, culture, religion, the state, and other social instutions.
How do Gramsci’s and Luxemburg’s ideas relate to Marx’s social analysis?
Both extended Marx’s analysis
Gramsci deepened the role of culture and ideology as a powerful tool in maintaining control in society. Ruling class doesn’t need force to stay in power, it also uses ideas, media, education and culture
Luxemburg emphasized ordinary people working together to drive revolutions
Cultural Hegemony
dominant beliefs and values in a society reflect the interests of those in power, and most people accept them without even realizing it.
Dialectics
Method of understanding change through the conflict of opposing forces
When a thesis is challenged by an antithesis and a synthesis is developped.
How can dialectics be used to understand changes in digital music and piracy?
Traditional music distribution (thesis) was challenged by digital sharing and piracy (antithesis), resulting in new models like streaming platforms (synthesis) that changed how music is accessed and monetized.
Napster or The Pirate Bay
These platforms challenged the existing music industry (antithesis vs thesis) sparking legal and cultural conflicts that led to new norms and technologies (synthesis), like copyright control
What is Napster?
a peer-to-peer file-sharing service launched in 1999 that allowed users to share and download MP3 music files for free
Determinism
a society’s economic structure determines everything
Material conditions are the driving force behind how history unfolds and society is shaped
What does Marx mean by consciousness and conditions?
Consciousness – thoughts, beliefs, values, and awarenss of the world; shaped by their material conditions
Conditions – the real-life circumstances people live in (like working class vs ruling class)
Why does Marcuse say consciousness fall beneath commodities in our modern world? Don’t we choose how to consume commodities?
the materials that should serve life come to rule over its content and goal, and the consciousness of man is completely made victim to the relationship of material production
People’s thoughts, desires, and sense of self (their consciousness) are shaped by the commodities they consume. In his view, we’re not just surrounded by products—we’re surrounded by messages, values, and ideologies embedded in those products and the way they’re marketed.
Yes, we can choose between brands, models, or styles—but those choices exist within a system that already defines what’s valuable, desirable, and “normal.”
How would you distinguish between hard and soft determinism?
Hard – everything is determined by prior causes—including human actions—so free will doesn’t truly exist.
A person grows up in poverty with no access to education and turns to theft to survive.
Hard determinism says their actions were shaped entirely by their environment and past—they had no real choice.
Soft – determinism is true, but free will can still exist—as long as your choices reflect your inner desires and reasoning, not external coercion.
Vivian grows up in a tough environment and becomes a sex worker out of necessity. When she meets Edward, her past influences how she sees herself—but she still chooses to set new boundaries and eventually pursue a different life.
Soft determinism says her environment shaped her options, but her decisions are still freely made based on her desires and values.
Why would Marx and Freud disagree?
Marx: economy and social structures shape behaviour, material conditions determine actions
Freud: the unconscious mind shapes behaviour, inner desires and repressed emotions drive actions
Can you think of a product that you might understand differently by reading it using Marx or Freud?
Smartphone
Marx: The smartphone is a commodity in a capitalist system, promoting consumerism and class divisions.
Freud: The smartphone fulfills psychological needs, like connection or validation, linked to unconscious desires.
Althusser’s Ideological State Apparatuses
Institutions that shape ideas and values in society (Hollywood, music, TV, education)
People acceot the status quo through culture, media, and education (not force)
The goal is to reinforce dominant ideologies and maintain social order
How do you distinguish between infrastructure and superstructure?
Infrastructure – the economy and production system, shapes how people work, produce and distribute resources
Superstructure – culture, laws, politics, and education, reflects the ideas that justify and support the economy.
How would you define bourgeois freedom? Is this idea possible, or is it innately contradictory?
the freedom in capitalist societies for individuals to make choices and pursue personal interests
Marx argued it was contradictory, it may appear like people are free to make their own choices, but they are limited by class structure and economic inequalities, often only benefiting the wealthy.
From a Marxist perspective, true freedom would require abolishing class divisions and creating a system where everyone has equal access to resources and opportunities
If we all consume the same popular culture, is it a reflection of individuality? How? Is this a mistake in our thinking?
At first glance, it might seem like consuming the same popular culture reflects individuality. People often choose shows, music, or movies that align with their personal tastes and interests.
from a critical perspective, especially through Marxist or Adorno’s lens, consuming the same popular culture could be seen as a false sense of individuality.
mass production, capitalism, pseudo-individuality, standardization
Digital Economy – Terranova
The digital economy relies on immaterial labor—work that produces data, information, and content (like social media posts or online interactions).
Users unknowingly contribute free labor, creating value that is monetized by corporations, often leading to exploitation of their online activities.
What does Terranova mean by the “knowledge class” and “immaterial labour”?
Knowledge Class – a group of people whose work is based on intellectual skills, reativity, and knowledge, producing ideas, content, and info that drive the digital economy
Immaterial Labor – work that produces value in the form of knowledge, information, or emotions, such as content creation, social media engagement, and online interactions. Often unpaid or underpaid
Why does Terranova describe the Internet as “an extended gated community for the middle classes”? How does class shape access to the Internet?
access to the internet and its benefits are often privileged and controlled, much like how a gated community restricts access to certain groups
digital divide and digital literacy shape access to the internet
What are three ways in which the media around you draws on what Terranova identifies as “free labour”?
- Social media content creation
- Data mining and targeted advertising
- engagement in online communities
Late Capitalist
The stage of capitalism characterized by globalization, financialization, and the dominance of multinational corporations. It focuses on consumer culture, commodifying almost everything, and turning everyday life into a product for profit. It also blurs the line between work and leisure, with a heavy reliance on digital and immaterial labor.
In his work Civilization and its Discontents, he
expresses significant disagreement with Marxism.
Freud
He developed the so-called antihumanist form of Marxism in France
Althusser
Antihumanism
Historical and social forces shape individuals, not the other way around
Structuralism
Althusser argued that society and history are determined by underlying structures, such as economic systems and state power, not by human will or individual actions.
Focuses on external structures as driving forces
He presented the middle class as the most
revolutionary group to date in history
Marx
He argued social existence determines man’s
consciousness.
Marx
Historical _________ understands historical
change as the outcome of social conflicts rather than
the choices of individuals.
Materialism
Tiziana Terranova argues that commercialization of
the internet relied on ____ labour
Free
__________ materialism is also sometimes called
“dialectical materialism
historical
Christopher Caudwell argued that the pursuit of
individual desires limited opportunities for communal
advancement, a problem he called Bourgeois
________.
egoism
Althusser defined the “Ideological _______
Apparatus.”
State
Marx argued workers will be able to revolutionize
because capitalism made them concentrate in
_______ centres.
urban
He argued that a professional party could begin and lead a revolution
Lenin
He argued, in contrast to Marx, that a revolution
could develop from workers in rural locations
Mao
Explain the differences between “rational choice” and the “unfair negotiation of choice.”
Rational choice – individuals makes decisions by carefully weighing the costs and benefits of their options
unfair negotiation of choice – decision making is oten influenced by power imbalances, inequities, and social constraints.
How might you use the concept of cultural hegemony to discuss or consider racism in film?
In short, cultural hegemony in film can be used to discuss how racism is subtly perpetuated through widespread media representations that serve the interests of the dominant group, influencing how society views race and racial relations
stereotypes in the media
Example of first dimension of power
If students come into a classroom and sit in their seats but one student remains standing, the professor can physically force that student to sit, or can draw on the university’s institutional power to compel the student to sit by calling security or through the threat of force. By threatening to call security or by putting a hand on the student, the professor would have exercised force or the threat of force.
Example of second dimension of power
if a student remains standing during class, the professor can coerce the student to sit by calling on the ability to lower grades or embarrass. These acts are neither direct force nor threats of direct force—they are coercions.
example of the third dimesnsion of power
Students come into the classroom and sit down because it is the normal, or natural, thing to do. They would feel awkward or uncomfortable if they did not do it, without any need for the professor to directly coerce or force them.
How would you categorize or describe, using Lukes, your own response to an advertisement that features an attractive person persuading you to purchase a product tied to social status (such as a car, clothing, or body care products)?
Using Lukes’ three dimensions of power, my response to such an advertisement would likely align with the second dimension, where power is exercised through shaping desires and preferences. The ad subtly influences my perceptions by associating the product with social status, thereby manipulating my choices without overt coercion or force.
When advertising and entertainment are part of the same industry, how do Lukes’s dimensions of power apply to popular culture?
First dimension of power: direct persuasion of consumers to buy products
Second dimension: shapes public desires by embedding product associations with success, beauty, or status in entertainment content.
Third dimension: subtly influences cultural norms and values, making consumption seem natural and desirable in the context of entertainment.
id
the unconscious
drive the person to want or desire things without the person’s understanding/knowledge
the unknown
ego
manges the unknown against reality
makes sense of the drives and wants of the id
superego
the sonscience
carries societal association of guilt rules, and demands
the ego must accomodate the superego
Write down an example of a conflict between each pair of the three elements in Freud’s model.
A person wants to eat cake (id), but the ego understands that it is not appropriate to eat cake for breakfast, and the superego would feel guilty because the last piece of cake is for your husband.
Define the archetype concept. Give an example from popular culture.
a thought pattern, symbol, or image that is psychologically intrinsic in all human minds regardless of the influence of culture or society
The Hero archetype, exemplified by characters like Harry Potter. The Hero archetype represents the individual who embarks on a journey or quest, faces challenges, and grows through trials to ultimately achieve a significant victory or transformation.
What is the symbolic meaning of killing “evil” in a narrative?
Killing “evil” in a narrative often symbolizes the triumph of good over evil, the restoration of moral order, and the purification of society or the individual.
Symbolically, it can also signify the overcoming of internal struggles, such as the defeat of one’s own darker impulses or fears. In many narratives, this act of killing or vanquishing evil serves to reaffirm the moral values and ideals of the society or characters involved.
Define “projection” in a psychoanalytic or archetypal analysis.
the process by which individuals attribute their own unconscious feelings, desires, or traits onto someone or something else.
Harry projects his own fears and struggles onto Voldemort. He sees Voldemort as pure evil, but in doing so, Harry is also facing his own fears, like losing loved ones and feeling powerless. Harry’s fight against Voldemort is also a way of dealing with his own inner conflicts.
What does Leeming mean by the “threshold”? Is this a literal or metaphorical portal? If the latter, what does the metaphor mean?
a symbolic boundary or point of transition in a hero’s journey, where they move from the ordinary world to the unknown or extraordinary world.
Metaphor representing a shift in the hero’s identity, understanding, or stage in their development
What forms of differences does Leeming’s method, particularly his discussion of Campbell, overlook?
Cultural differences: The hero’s journey may not align with how non-Western cultures view heroism or personal transformation.
Gender differences: Campbell’s hero’s journey often centers around a male hero, overlooking the different ways female protagonists might experience growth, challenges, or empowerment.
Leeming’s method tends to focus on broad, generalized themes without fully addressing these specific differences.
Monomyth
The monomyth, also known as the hero’s journey, is a narrative pattern identified by Joseph Campbell
refers to a universal story structure that many myths, legends, and stories across cultures follow
In what ways does Mickey’s argument demonstrate the “engineering of consent”?
explaining how powerful organizations or media manipulate public opinion to align with their interests
This is done by shaping perceptions, emotions, and beliefs through strategic media, advertising, and PR efforts, often subtly guiding people’s choices without them realizing it.
“Simulacra” according to Baudrillard:
refers to representations or copies of things that no longer reflect reality but instead create their own version of reality
the media and culture often present a version of reality that is disconnected from the original truth, becoming more influential than reality itself.
Give an example of less extreme engineering of consent
an advertisement campaign for a brand (e.g., clothing, tech, or a new car) where the ad subtly shapes a consumer’s identity or social status by showing aspirational imagery of attractive, successful people using the product
How might a successful public relations campaign make use of Campbell’s theory of archetypes and the monomyth?
The Call to Adventure: Introducing a challenge or need (e.g., a societal issue or personal transformation).
Trials: The brand or product helps overcome challenges (showing how it solves problems).
The Hero’s Return: The brand or campaign leads to a transformation, where the consumer feels they have gained something meaningful or impactful (like social recognition or personal success).
In Baudrillard’s theory of _______X________, the referent becomes secondary to its reproduction.
simulacra
Public relations firms like Hill and Knowleton were
employed to shape public opinion on the ____ War.
Gulf
Lukes argued that context or naturalized
expectations defined this dimension of power.
third
His theoretical ideas were used extensively in Star Wars.
Campbell
English for Freud’s “Unbewusst.”
unconscious
This dimension of power is visible to all parties involved.
first
Gramsci argued this form of hegemony amounted to
an unfair negotiation of choice
cultural
Similarities between Harry Potter and Star Wars may reflect __________.
archetypes
Joseph Campbell developed the theory of the
_______.
monomyth
The Hill and Knowleton case involved public
relations firm distributing information on the _________
atrocity
incubator
