Media Language Glossary and Theorists Flashcards
Semiotics, Narratology, Genre, Structuralism, Postmodernism
Semiotics
What are semiotics generally?
The study of signs- how signs communicate meaning in our culture
both theory and analysis
Semiotics
What is a sign?
a word/ image used to convey an idea
Semiotics
What is a signifier?
A word/ sign
Semiotics
What is a signified?
The idea represented by the signifier
Semiotics
What is an icon?
A sign that resembles what it really is
e.g. a fire exit sign is an icon for a fire exit
Semiotics
What is an index?
A sign that works by a relationship to an object
e.g. smoke is a result of a fire
Semiotics
What is a code?
systems of signs used to create meaning
e.g. Barthes’ codes
Semiotics
What is a symbol?
A sign/ image representing ideas through metaphors/ association
Semiotics
What is anchorage?
Linguistic text elements (e.g. caption) constrain ‘preferred reading’ of an image
Semiotics
What is an ideology?
A set of determined values and beliefs
Semiotics
What is a paradigm?
A set of signifiers/ signifieds (e.g. bread, crisps or types of food)
Semiotics
What is a syntagm?
Related to structures that create meaning
Barthes
What is Barthes’ general view?
Takes a semiotic approach to the study of narratives
* Suggests there are 5 codes that media producers follow to create menaing for audience interpretation
Barthes
What does signification mean?
What a sign shows
Barthes
What does denotation mean?
Dictionary/ literal word definition
Barthes
What does connotation mean?
What is implied/ suggested
Barthes
What is a myth?
Socially/ historically determined idea which has become accepted truth
Narratology
What are the 5 narrative codes?
Barthes’ 5 codes:
* Hermeneutic/ enigma- anything that isn’t fully explained on purpose
* Action- action leading to narrative progression
* Referential code- textual refs can be understood with a good knowledge of news, events etc
* Semantic- something that connotes more than just a surface level meaning
* Symbolic- non literal meanings that use binary opposites to demonstrate meaning
Narratology
What is narration?
Way in which events are put together in media texts
Narratology
What is diegesis?
Communication of story from inside world presented
Narratology
What is quest narrative?
Grand narrative design involving a hero undertaking a journey
Narratology
What is meant by causality?
Cause-and-effect relationship between events
Narratology
What is the plot?
Main events of a storyline
Narratology
What is the masterplot?
Collection of broad story types told in different contexts across genres
What are Todorov’s general ideas?
- Narratives aren’t the same as a story as they contain causality, time and space
- Narratives conbey ideology
- Development of online media challanges narratology- audiences have control over it
Todorov
What is equilibrium?
State in which opposing forces/ influences are balanced
Todorov
What is a new equilibrium?
Conflict is resolved and story reaches a new state of balance from before
Genre Theory- Neale
What is Neale’s general idea?
- Genre offers comfort and familiarity
- Genre invites shared understandings between producer and audience
- Genre is relied on within instituations therefore it is important
Genre theory- Neale
What are conventions and rules?
Widely recognised way of producing media products
Genre theory- Neale
What is a sub-genre?
Sub-category within one parent genre (niche)
Genre theory- Neale
What is genre hybridity?
Combination of different genres and styles
Genre theory- Neale
What are genres as a cultural category?
Approach which situates genre within wider cultural hierarchies
Structralism- Levi Strauss
What are binary oppositions?
Conclict created by two opposing ideas- drives narratives forward
Structuralism- Levi Strauss
What is mytheme?
Involves relationship between character, an event, and theme- creates theme from which myths are constructed
Structuralism- Levi Strauss
What is an ideological reading?
An interpretation based off values and beliefs you have
Structuralism- Levi Strauss
What is deconstruction?
The act of analysing the structures used to construct a media product
Postmodernism
What is pastiche?
The act of imitating the style or content of other media products
Postmodernism
What does bricolage mean?
When signs or artefacts are borrowed from different styles or genres to create something new
Postmodernism
What is intertextuality?
Shaping of a text’s meaning by another text
Text within a text in terms of meaning
Postmodernism
What is implosion?
the collapse of meaning due to the sheer increase of signs and the way they often refer to one another to create meaning
What are Baudrillard’s ideas on postmodernism?
- Simulacrum acts like Chinese Whispers- results in simulation
- Society is becoming an urbanised culture of consumption
- The barrier between the real world and media world is crumbling
Postmodernism- Baudrillard
What is simulacrum?
Sign that imitates something original, lacks quality and becomes disconnected from the original over time
Postmodernism- Baudrillard
What is simulation?
The space we exist in is a combination of physical real world and constructed technological world of media- we can’t differentiate representation from reality
Postmodernism- Baudrillard
What is meant by hyperreality?
Breakdown between real world and simulated reality- the two become indistinguishable (fake becomes real)
