Key Terms

Question 1

Archetype

Answer 1

A universal type or model of character that is found in many different texts, e.g. ingenue, anti-hero, wise old woman, hero-as-lover, hero-as-warrior, shadow trickster, mentor, loyal friend, temptress

Question 2

Anchorage

Answer 2

Fixing of meaning
eg the copy text anchors (ie fixes to one spot) the meaning of an image (for instance, a single rose, that could be used for an ad for anything from a dating agency to a funeral home) in a print advertisement

Question 3

Antagonist

Answer 3

The character whose function in a plot is to oppose the protagonist. In straightforward hero’s journey plots (most action adventures), the antagonist can be referred to as the villain. However, in character drama, the antagonist might not be a “bad” character, just someone who stands between the protagonist and his/her goals.

Question 4

Audience

Answer 4

The recipients of a media text, or the people who are intended to read or watch or play or listen to it. A great deal of media studies work is concerned with the effects a text may have on an audience.

Question 5

Binary Opposition

Answer 5

The contrast between two mutually exclusive concepts or things that creates conflict and drives a narrative e.g. good/evil, day/night, male/female, presence/absence, old/young

Question 6

Censorship

Answer 6

Control over the content of a media text. Different media forms have different forms of censorship - sometimes from a government, but mainly from a regulatory agency, eg the British Board of Film Classification

Question 7

CGI

Answer 7

Computer Generated Imagery. Refers to the (usually) 3-D effects that enhance all kinds of still and moving images, from text effects, to digital snow or fire, to the generation of entire landscapes.

Question 8

Code

Answer 8

A system of signs which can be decoded to create meaning.
In media texts, we look at a range of different signs that can be loosely grouped into the following:

technical codes - all to do with the way a text is technically constructed - camera angles, framing, typography etc
verbal codes - everything to do with language -either written or spoken
symbolic codes - codes that can be decoded on a mainly connotational level - all the things which draw upon our experience and understanding of other media texts, our cultural frame of reference.

Question 9

Conotation

Answer 9

Way in which meaning is created —

Connote = meaning by association, the deeper meaning (e.g. red connotes anger, passion, love, danger)

Question 10

Convention

Answer 10

The widely recognised way of doing something - this has to do with content, style and form
eg the conventions of music video

they are the same length as the song (somewhere around 4 minutes, say)
they present the band, who look as though they are singing
they have lots of fast edits

Question 11

Convergence

Answer 11

The way in which technologies and institutions come together in order to create something new. Cinema is the result of the convergence of photography, moving pictures (the kinetoscope, zoetrope etc), and sound. The iPad represents the convergence of books, TV, maps, the internet and the mobile phone

Question 12

Demographic

Answer 12

Factual characteristics of a population sample, e.g. age, gender, race, nationality, income, disability, education.

Question 13

Denotation

Answer 13

Way in which meaning is created —

Denote = literal or surface meaning e.g. red is the colour of a flower

Question 14

Editorial

Answer 14

In a newspaper, Editorial refers to the opinion pieces (sometimes known as ‘leading articles’) written by senior reporters. Editorial in a magazine refers to the feature content that reflects the ethos of the publication

Question 15

Enigma

Answer 15

A question that is not immediately answered and thus draws an audience into a text

eg. a body is discovered at the beginning of a tv detective drama. The killer’s identity is an enigma. We watch to find out who the killer is.

Question 16

Gateskeeping

Answer 16

Quite an old-fashioned term to describe the way in which certain key personnel (news editors, newspaper owners mainly) have control over the information that is presented to audiences, and the way in which it is presented (the angle)

Question 17

Genre

Answer 17

A way of categorising a media text according to its form, style and content. This categorisation is useful for producers (who can utilise a genre’s conventions) and audiences (who can utilise their expectations of the genre) alike

Question 18

Globalisation

Answer 18

Process by which different cultures worldwide have come to share the same media texts e.g. movies and pop music.

Question 19

Ideology

Answer 19

This is a complex concept - in its basic form it is a set of ideas or beliefs which are held to be acceptable by the creators of a media text. For example, a text might be described as having a feminist ideology, meaning it promotes the idea that women are the equal of men and should not be discriminated against on the grounds of gender.

Question 20

Institution

Answer 20

A formal organization (with its own set of rules and behaviours) that creates and distributes media texts

Question 21

Intertextuality

Answer 21

The influence that media texts have on each other. Sometimes this is the result of direct cross-references (e.g. music mash ups) or indirect (the way gossip news items regulate the way we view a star’s performance)

Question 22

Narrative

Answer 22

The way in which a story, or sequence of events, is put together within a text. All media texts have some sort of narrative, from a single photographic image to a sports report to a feature film.

Narrative may be reduced to one simple equation which is

equilibrium - disequilibrium - new equilibrium

Question 23

Neologism

Answer 23

Newly-coined word or phrase made up to describe a new trend, idea or gadget e.g. hopium, agnotology

Question 24

News values

Answer 24

Ways of categorising and assessing news stories to decide on their newsworthiness

Question 25

Ownership

Answer 25

An important issue in media studies - and a constantly changing one. Who produces and distributes the media texts we read?

Question 26

POV ( Point of view)

Answer 26

A first-person camera shot that shows a scene from an individual character’s viewpoint. Used to help the audience understand what is happening in a character’s head e.g. a predator stalking his/her prey

Question 27

Preferred reading

Answer 27

The meaning of a text which the producers intended. The opposite of ‘preferred reading’ is ‘aberrant reading’, such as when people deliberately interpret a text (the Bible is the source of a lot of mixed messages) to further their political agenda rather than the author’s original intent

Question 28

Protagnist

Answer 28

The character who drives the narrative forward, through the choices they make and the actions they take

Question 29

Realism

Answer 29

The techniques by which a media text represents ideas and images that are held to have a true relationship with the actual world around us. Realism means different things in different texts - realism in animation (eg the movement of single hairs in computer animation) means something entirely different to realism in soap opera (eg the depiction of people eating breakfast and talking with their mouths full). it is important to assess how much a text strives for realism, how much audiences are expected to think it is realistic.

Question 30

Representation

Answer 30

The way in which the media “re-presents” the world around us in the form of signs and codes for audiences to read.

Question 31

Self- Regulation

Answer 31

When an institution (the Press, Advertising) appoints a group of individuals whose job is to deal with complaints about that institution

Question 32

Signs and significations

Answer 32

Sign - a symbol which is understood to refer to something other than itself. This may be very simple - think of a “No Entry” road sign. it may get more complicated when reading media texts, where a sign might be the bright red coat that a character is wearing (which signals that they are dangerous)
Signification - the process of reading signs (see denotation and connotation)

Question 33

STAR

Answer 33

A person who has become so famous, both for doing their job (actor, sport player) and appearing in many sorts of media, that their image is instantly recognisable as a sign, with a whole range of meanings or significations
eg - David Beckham’s image represents a whole raft of meanings: England, football, wealth, Posh, success, fashion victim, expertise, sexuality etc…

Britney Spears is also a star but her image signifies physical fitness, blonde (+associated stereotypical characteristics), singing, dancing, sexuality, fashion etc…

A star’s image becomes a readily recognised sign that is used in many different media forms - think of where you have seen pictures of Britney and Becks. Stars can use the fact that their image has meaning by allowing it to be used for advertising purposes.

Question 34

Steryotype

Answer 34

Stereotypes are negative (usually) representations of people that rely on preconceived ideas about the group that person is perceived as belonging to. It is assumed that an individual shares personal characteristics with other members of that group eg blondes are all stupid, accountants are all boring.
Although using stereotypes saves a lot of explanation within a text, it can be a very lazy method of characterisation. Stereotypes may be considered dangerous, as they encourage audiences to think large groups of people are all the same, and often have the same negative characteristics.

Question 35

UPS

Answer 35

Unique Selling Point or Proposition. The attribute of a text or product that is highlighted as being new or unique in the marketing process, something that sets it apart from its competitors

Question 36

MIGRAINE

Answer 36

Media forms
Institution
Genre
Representation
Audience
Ideology
Narrative
Examples