key theorists

Question 1

roland barthes - semiotics
media language

Answer 1

all elements of a media text are codes that need to be read. these can all be understood as the thing they are (denotative level) and the responses they create (connotative level).

Question 2

tzvetan todorov - narratology
media language

Answer 2

narratives follow a pattern of equilibrium > disruption > new equilibrium.

Question 3

steve neale - genre theory
media language

Answer 3

genre is recognisable but does change over time or borrow from other genres. genre is important to institutions because it helps them to market texts.

Question 4

claude lévi-stauss - binary opposition
media language

Answer 4

the conflict between binary opposites drives forward the narrative.

Question 5

jean baudrillard - semiotics
media language

Answer 5

the lines between created texts and reality are becoming blurred. for example perfect instagram images seem ‘real’.

Question 6

curran and seaton - power and media
media industry

Answer 6

if we had more of a variety of media companies, we would have more of a variety of texts.

Question 7

livingstone and lunt - regulation
media industry

Answer 7

the increasing power of global media conglomerates, together with the rise of convergent media technologies and transformations in the production, distribution and marketing of digital media, have placed traditional approaches to media regulation at risk.

Question 8

david hesmondhaugh - cultural industries
media industry

Answer 8

industry uses tried and tested strategies to appeal to us - but we should be concerned that only a few companies hold a lot of power.

Question 9

stuart hall - representation
media representation

Answer 9

media language is used to create representations. stereotyping is often used to assert power.

Question 10

david gauntlett - pick and mix theory
media representation

Answer 10

we use the internet and other media texts to help us to create our identity. we now have more of a variety of representations to identify with.

Question 11

liesbet van zoonen - feminist theory
media representation

Answer 11

men and women are represented differently in the media. women are objectified as a result of western culture.

Question 12

bell hooks - feminist theory
media representation

Answer 12

feminism is a political struggle to end patriarchal domination and other factors affect this domination, including race and class.

Question 13

judith butler - gender performativity
media representation

Answer 13

gender is a social construct - ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ are created through repetition.

Question 14

paul gilroy - ethnicity and postcolonialism
media representation

Answer 14

the idea that colonial discourses continue to inform contemporary attitudes to race and ethnicity in the postcolonial era. the idea that civilisationism constructs racial hierarchies and sets up binary oppositions based on notions of otherness.

Question 15

albert bandura - effects debate
media audience

Answer 15

a theory that is contested. if an audience sees aggressive behaviour, they are likely to mimic it (bobo doll experiment).

Question 16

george gerbner - cultivation theory
media audience

Answer 16

the idea that exposure to repeated patterns of representation over long periods of time can shape, and influence the way in which people perceive the world around them (cultivating views and opinions).

Question 17

stuart hall - reception theory
media audience

Answer 17

producers want audiences to respond in a particular way to a text. some audiences do (preferred reading), some audiences don’t (oppositional reading), and some are in the middle (negotiated reading).

Question 18

henry jenkins - fandom theory
media audience

Answer 18

the internet has allowed fans to gather and create their own texts and easily share their work. instead of just consuming the texts, audiences are creating them.

Question 19

clay shirky - end of audience
media audience

Answer 19

we are now more likely to use the internet and other technologies to respond to texts, including creating our own.