Media Language and Media Representations. Flashcards
Socialisation
the process an individual experiences to become a unique individual and an active member of society
Factors impacting socialisation
family, school, peers, mass media
Standardisation
mainstream values and norms in society – the more we see of these the more they become accepted and embedded
Enculturation
the adjustment of people’s values to mesh with the culture and society they inhabit
Bardic function
the nature of the media as a story-teller/information provider within the culture.
Representation
how media texts deal with and present gender, age, ethnicity, national and regional identity, social issues and events to an audience.
Construction
the way a media text is put together.
Mediation
the process everything goes through before it reaches an
audience
Semiotics
the study of signs in our culture and how they communicate meaning, deconstructing and questioning ‘common sense’
Ferdinand de Saussure
theorist: signifier + signified = sign
Signifier
the sign itself (e.g. a police badge)
Signified
what meaning the sign represents to the audience (e.g. authority)
Types of signification
denotation and connotation
Connotations can be…
polysemic, culturally determined or personally interpreted
Polysemic
no fixed meaning, up to interpretation
Culturally determined
interpretation based on culture
Personal interpretation
interpretation based on personal experiences
Roland Barthes
he was suspicious of denotation, suspected there was more ideology than people think
Ideology
system of beliefs, values and ideals
Dominant ideologies
those often promoted by the mass media
Hegemony
the control of the current society by the government through social and cultural expectations, as well as through the media
Myths
a group of shared cultural connotations that reflect the dominant ideology- Barthes.
Arbitrary/Symbolic Signs
where there is no physical relationship between signifier and signified e.g. red and the meaning stop
Iconic Signs
look like their signified, making the relationship between the two very easy/obvious e.g. a portrait.
Indexical signs
where there is a casual relationship between signifier and signified e.g. footprints and the idea that someone has been there.
Dress Code
the clothing worn by anyone. can be used to signify status, age, lifestyle etc.
Todorov’s 5 stages (Narrative Theory)
Equilibrium
Disruption
Recognition
Attempt to repair
New Equilibrium
Claude Levi-Strauss
theory of binary oppositions
