Media Theories Flashcards
Which Theorists can be applied to different areas of media
Roland Barthes’ theory of denotation and connotation
The media constructs meaning through a process of denotation and connotation. We decode media imagery in two distinctly different ways: first producing a denotive reading that recognises the literal context of a media text and then producing a connotative reading that diagnoses a deeper symbolic meaning.
Roland Barthes’ theory of media as a myth
The media has an ideological effect on audiences. The media can produce a realistic portrayal of the world and has a myth-like capacity to guide and influence our VALs. the media naturalises ideas through repetition, reduces or simplifies ideas discouraging audiences from questioning its specific presentation of the world and it tends to reinforce the worldview of those who affect social power.
Levi-Strauss’ theory of Binary oppositions
Media narratives use binary oppositions. Levi-Strauss suggests that humans encode and decode the world using universally shared principles. The media uses binary oppositions to explain and categorise the complexities of the world around us.
Levi-Strauss’ theory of binary oppositions and ideological significance
The way binary oppositions are resolved creates ideological significance. Media products construct ideologies by positioning their audiences to favour one side of an opposition. Narrative resolutions often help us to diagnose which oppositions a product favours.
Todorv’s theory of the five-act ideal
Todorov suggests that meaning in media products is constructed through narrative sequences and transitions rather than through any individual effect or single moment within a product. He suggests the ideal narrative follows a pattern of equilibrium, disruption of equilibrium, recognition of disruption, an attempt to fix the disruption and a new equilibrium.
Todorov’s theory of the ideological effects on story structure
The power of stories lies in their deeper symbolic meanings. Narratives construct ideals through the use of equilibrium. Disequilibrium sequences represent ideas, values or behaviours deemed problematic - often these negatives are embodied through the villain character. Narrative transformation produces further ideals or positive models of behaviour for a media audience.
Steve Neale’s theory that genre is made up of repetitions and differences
The genre of a product is determined by a variety of factors. Genre offers specific pleasure to their audience. Audiences enjoy genre subversion as well as repetition. Genres are not fixed but are subject to constant change as a result of real-world effects and the needs of audiences. Genre hybridisation is a common feature within the contemporary media landscape.
Steve Neale’s theory that industry effects on genre-driven content
Genre-driven output is shaped by auteurs and is also subject to the effects of institutional mediation. Genre labelling is widely practised by media producers to create a narrative image for a media product. Promotion and marketing materials (intertextual-relay) can fix the genre of a product.
Baudrillard’s theory of the real and the hyper-real
There have been three distinct cultural phases: pre-modernity, modernity, and post-modernity. we now live in a post-modern age which is marked by a massive proliferation in media content and media messages. Media proliferation is enabled through the endless copying of pre-existing media. Media forms blend and hybridise during this copying process. The post-modern age is marked by the dominance of advertising as a media form. Advertising has also impacted other media forms creating hyper-real inertia. media blending has resulted in the construction of fictionalised reality. Audiences yearn for authenticity in post-modernity; the media industry tries to satisfy this through realised fiction.
Stuart Hall’s theory of the media representation process
The media does not mirror real-world events but produces edited versions of the events depicted. Media representations are constructed through codes - through the use of language, imagery, layout sound and editing. The media plays a vital role in shaping our views of the wider world.
Stuart Hall’s theory of stereotypes and power
Stereotypes are used by media producers to create instant characterisation. Stereotypes reduce social groups to a few key traits or visual cues and suggest that those groups are naturally inclined toward a specific set of negative behaviours. Stereotypes are mostly found when there are huge social inequalities. They exclude and demonise groups in a manner that both reflects and reinforces social hierarchies. Social groups can internalise the behaviours inferred by stereotypes. Stereotypes can be contested through transcoding strategies.
Paul Gilroy’s theory of racial binaries, otherness and civilisationism
Black communities are constructed as an ‘other’ to white culture and are associated with criminal activity and lawlessness. the media reflect collectivsationist attitudes through simplistic reportage and the demonisation of Muslims - media products nurture fear and the idea that Muslims and Europeans are incompatible.
Paul Gilroy’s theory of the enduring legacy of the British Empire on English Identity
A deep-seated post-colonial melancholia infects the media as a result of Britain’s diminishing global importance. Postcolonial melancholia promotes a nostalgic construction of Englishness. Postcolonial melancholy produces a sense of English rootlessness and anxiety surrounding the British identity
Van Zonnen’s theory of the female body as a spectacle
The roles that females are expected to play within society vary enormously across different cultures and historical periods. The dominant representational model in Western culture positions women as an erotic spectacle. Second-wave feminists have challenged the dominance of men in society. Third-wave feminists have reasserted the right of women to occupy traditional female roles. Fourth-wave feminists continue to challenge male privilege using both mass media and social media platforms.
Van Zonnen’s theory of masculinity in the media
Masculine depictions are not subject to the same objectification process as females. Male social dominance is reinforced through using active representations of masculinity.
bell hook’s theory of interconnected oppression
Representations of black women and men (and men) have been shaped by historical forces. Feminist movements of the 20th century have largely been dominated by a white viewpoint. A social hierarchy exists that places white men and the top followed by white women, male ethnic minorities and last, female ethnic minorities. Oppression of minority groups are constructs of a white male-dominated social hierarchy. the lack of black female power results in absent representations and a range of negative stereotypes that some black women have internalised.
bell hooks’ call to action
her intersectional work prompts media producers to fashion their products in ways that draw attention to social inequality. Intersectional media foregrounds the interconnected nature of inequality. Intersectional media celebrates diversity and gives voice to social groups that have been marginalised by white male power.
Judith Butler’s theory states that gendered identities are constructed through repetition and ritual
Our bodies and sex do not define our gendered identities. Gender is not fixed by childhood experiences. Gender is constructed through the continuous repetition of micro-rituals.
Judith Butler’s theory states there is gender subversion and gendered hierarchies
Heteronormativity is entrenched within society. Non-heteronormative identities are marginalised or subjugated. The media assists the marginalisation of subversive identities through absent representations, abjection and parody. The performance of gender trouble is a difficult, sometimes painful nature of process given the entrenched nature of heteronormativity.
David Gauntlett’s theory of traditional and post-traditional media consumption
Gauntlett’s ideas build upon Anthony Gidden’s assertion that society has progressed to a stage that Giddens calls ‘late modernity’. The conditions of late modernity enable audiences to escape the prescriptive identities that are constructed for them through localised social norms and traditional viewpoints. Gauntlett argues that contemporary media has bought audiences into contact with a wider range of representations - and importantly that audiences can consciously shape their own sense of self.
David Gauntlett’s theory of reflexive identity construction
The media provides a variety of role models and lifestyle templates that audiences use to guide their own outlooks. Audiences are engaged in a continuous revision of their identities. Media narratives mirror the process of identity transformation. Audiences are in control of the media - adapting and assimilating ideas about themselves through the various representations that the media presents.
Curran and Seaton’s theory of media concentration
The media is controlled by a small number of companies that make products to create profit. Globalisation has concentrated media ownership into the hands of a few companies. Media conglomerates are horizontally and vertically integrated to maximise profit. Large-scale media producers rely on advertising to generate income. Advertising drives media companies to produce products that have mass audience appeal.
Curran and Seaton’s theory of the effects of concentration on media content
Media concentration adversely affects media content. The business function of the media industry takes precedence over creative/public service capacities. Profit-driven media is softened to create mass audience appeal. Minority interest content is pushed to the margins of broadcast schedules. Free market competition produces format-driven products.
Curran and Seaton’s theory of diverse ownership creating diverse products
Diverse ownership creates diverse products. Curran and Seaton highlight the damage that free market ideologies have had on the media landscape. Public service broadcasting provides impartial news, serves minority audiences and champions national unity by offering inclusive rather than exclusive content.
