media theories Flashcards
What is Levi Strauss’ binary oppositions?
symbolic juxtapositions that have a deeper ideological meaning and create conflict and drama
What is Todorov’s narrative theory?
Each plot starts in equilibrium, followed by a disruption, recognition of the disruption, attempt to resolve the disruption then a new equilibrium.
What is Barthes’ Narrative theory?
The use of semiotics (symbols) with denotations that signify connotations to communicate messages to an audience.
What is Barthes’ semantic code?
parts of a text that have hidden meaning to them e.g red has a connotation of blood
What is Barthes’ cultural/ referential code?
parts of a media product that you only understand if you are a part of that group e.g a country/ age group
What is a proairetic/ action code?
elements of media products that signify something is going to happen as a result e.g someone pulling a gun from their pocket suggests someone might be killed
What is Barthes’ symbolic code?
use of colours in lighting, set design or costume that have specific connotations
What is Barthes’ hermeneutic/ enigma code?
something that acts as a mystery/ puzzle that will make the audience want to find out more
What is Stuart Hall’s reception theory?
Media texts contain a variety of different messages encoded by the producer that are then decoded by the audience in different ways and possibly not the way that the producer intended.
According to Stuart Hall’s reception theory, why do different audience members decode media texts differently?
due to their age, gender, culture, life experiences, beliefs, mood at the time of viewing
according to Stuart Hall’s reception theory, which three readings will audience members have of a media text?
dominant reading - the reading the producer intended
oppositional reading - when the audience rejects the preferred reading and creates their own meaning for the text
negotiated reading - a compromise between dominant and oppositional reading where the audience accepts the producers views but has their own beliefs on parts aswell.
What is Stuart Hall’s representation theory?
•We interpret a representation of something similarly to those who share our cultural roadmap
because of a shared conceptual roadmap.
•Therefore, stereotypes are created, which usually reduce a group down to a few simple characteristics and represent them as other from the norm.
What is David Guantlett’s theory of identity?
•we use representations in society to form our identities and discover our values.
•In the past the media used to only really use stereotypical representations of for example men and women, whereas now we have more diverse representations which gives people more space to discover their identities and feel more included in media texts.
What is Steve Neale’s genre theory?
• theory of repetition and difference
•Media texts in a genre reuse conventions from other texts to appeal to the audience of that genre and ensure box office success.
•Media texts also differentiate in some ways from texts within a genre to interest the audience as it is something new.
what is Van Zoonen’s feminist theory?
• we get our ideas about gender through how they are represented in the media
• these beliefs and representations change depending on the historical and cultural context
• women are objectified in the media, mostly due to the patriarchal society
• men and women’s bodies are represented differently in the media
• men’s bodies are presented as a spectacle that have been worked hard for
•women’s bodies are presented as something to own and lust over
