Key Terminilogies Flashcards
Whip Pan
When the camera moves at speed creating a blurred shot. It is used to show passages of time, movement between locations and to suggest frenetic action.
Myth
Dominant ideas and beliefs that are not necessarily true but have been accepted by a culture.
Social Construct
An idea or concept that is created, developed and accepted by society. These ideas are reinforced through repetition and practice.
Iconic Representation
A sign that has a physical resemblance to the thing that it stands for or represents. For example, marketing materials often feature iconic representations of products they advertise or promote.
Arbitrary Signs
Signs that bear no obvious resemblance to the thing signified, the meanings of which have been accepted through repetition over time.
Structuralism
A critical approach used to analyse the underlying structures or patterns of meaning within a text or culture.
Binary Oppositions
When people, ideas, concepts or values are set up in conflict with one another.
Lexis
The specific words used in a product which may relate to the genre of the product and includes terminology that is understood by the target audience.
Idiom
A well-known phrase with a figurative, not literal, meaning.
Repertoire of Elements
The key features or conventions that are recognisable to an audience and as such distinguish one genre or sub-genre from another.
Interpretive Communities
Initially used by Stanley Fish, a literacy critic, to explain how different groups of people, i.e. readers or audiences, interpret texts similarly due to their shared social and cultural positions and their experiences.
Semantics
Relates to the branch of linguistics concerned with how meanings are created. In a study of the media this applies to the meanings of words or objects contained within a product.
Simulacra
Postmodern concepts used to describe signs that simply refer to another sign rather than anything ‘real’. Simulacra are commonly understood as copies of copies. The singular is simulacrum.
Hyperreality
Images or simulations that, grouped together, create a distorted version of reality which may be accepted as ‘real’ by an audience.
Dominant Ideology
Refers to how those in positions of power present, repeat and reiterate a particular viewpoint that then appears to be ‘dominant’ or the norm. This is then accepted by the audience.
Ethnocentrism
The attitude that one’s own ethnic group, culture or nationality is superior to others.
Opinion Leaders
Those in position of power, for example newspaper owners and editors, who aim to persuade an audience of their point of view.
Prosumers
Derives from the marketing term ‘production by consumers’ and is used to describe those individual who comment on, create or adapt existing content and then distribute it through the internet and social media.
Masculinity
The state of ‘being a man’, which can change as society changes. It is essentially what being a man means to a particular generation. This will then be reflected in the contemporary media.
Ethnicity
A person’s cultural identity, which may be indicated through customs, clothing or food. Your ethnicity suggests an identity that is based on a sense of place, ideology or religion.
Mass Communication
The process of transmitting messages to a large audience through media, usually with the purpose of influencing public opinion or behavior.
Representation
The ways in which people, events, and issues are depicted in media texts, reflecting and shaping cultural, social, and political perspectives.
Stereotype
A widely held but oversimplified and generalized belief or idea about a particular group of people or things, often reinforced through media portrayals.
Media Language
The specific techniques, codes, conventions, and symbols used by media texts to convey meaning and communicate with the audience.
Audience
The group of people who receive, interpret, and respond to media messages, often influenced by their demographics, preferences, and prior experiences.
Ideology
A system of ideas, beliefs, values, and norms that shape the way individuals and groups interpret and understand the world, often conveyed through media texts.
Media Effects
The impact or influence that media messages, content, or technologies have on individuals, society, attitudes, behaviors, and perception of reality.
Media Ownership
The concentration of media organizations and outlets in the hands of a few major corporations or individuals, influencing the diversity and control of media content.
Framing
The process of selecting, emphasizing, and presenting certain aspects or perspectives of a story or issue in media coverage, shaping public perception and understanding.
Misrepresentation
Presenting a person, group, or situation in a misleading or inaccurate way in media texts.
Hegemony
The dominance or control of one social group over others, influencing how they are represented in the media.
Othering
The process of portraying a particular group as different, exotic, or outside the norm in media representations.
Media Bias
The unfair or unbalanced presentation of information or opinions in media texts, often favoring certain political or social perspectives.
Proairetic/Action Code
Something that happens in the narrative that tells the audience
that some action will follow, for example in a scene from a soap
opera, a couple are intimate in a bedroom and the camera
shows the audience the husband’s car pulling up at the front of
the house.
Active Audience
Audiences actively engage in selecting media products to
consume and interpreting their meanings.
Anchorage
The words that accompany an image (still or moving) contribute
to the meaning associated with that image. If the caption or
voice-over is changed then so may the way in which the
audience interprets the image. An image with an anchor is a
closed text; the audience are given a preferred reading. A text
without an anchor is an open text as the audience can interpret
it as they wish.
The same image of a school in a local newspaper could include
a negative or a positive headline, which may change the way in
which the same image is viewed by the reader.
Appeal
The way in which products attract and interest an audience,
e.g. through the use of stars, familiar genre conventions etc.
Audience Positioning
The way in which media products place audiences (literally or
metaphorically) in relation to a particular point of view. For
example, audiences may be positioned with a particular
character or positioned to adopt a specific ideological
perspective.
Audience Response
How audiences react to media products e.g. by accepting the
intended meanings (preferred reading).
Binary Opposite
Where texts incorporate examples of opposite values; for
example, good versus evil, villain versus hero. These can be
apparent in the characters, narrative or themes.
Brand Identity
The association the audience make with the brand, for example
Chanel or Nike, built up over time and reinforced by the
advertising campaigns and their placement.
Broadsheet
A larger newspaper that publishes more serious news, for
example The Daily Telegraph has maintained its broadsheet
format.
Camera Angles
The angle of the camera in relation to the subject. For example,
a high angle shot (shot of a character from above) may make
them appear more vulnerable.
Camera Shots
The type of shot and framing in relation to the subject, for
example, close-up shots are often used to express emotion.
