Media Theories

Question 1

Roland Barthes’ theory of denotation and connotation

Answer 1

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.

Question 2

Roland Barthes’ theory of media as a myth

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

Levi-Strauss’ theory of Binary oppositions

Answer 3

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.

Question 4

Levi-Strauss’ theory of binary oppositions and ideological significance

Answer 4

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.

Question 5

Todorv’s theory of the five-act ideal

Answer 5

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.

Question 6

Todorov’s theory of the ideological effects on story structure

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

Steve Neale’s theory that genre is made up of repetitions and differences

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

Steve Neale’s theory that industry effects on genre-driven content

Answer 8

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.

Question 9

Baudrillard’s theory of the real and the hyper-real

Answer 9

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.

Question 10

Stuart Hall’s theory of the media representation process

Answer 10

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.

Question 11

Stuart Hall’s theory of stereotypes and power

Answer 11

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.

Question 12

Paul Gilroy’s theory of racial binaries, otherness and civilisationism

Answer 12

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.

Question 13

Paul Gilroy’s theory of the enduring legacy of the British Empire on English Identity

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Van Zonnen’s theory of the female body as a spectacle

Answer 14

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.

Question 15

Van Zonnen’s theory of masculinity in the media

Answer 15

Masculine depictions are not subject to the same objectification process as females. Male social dominance is reinforced through using active representations of masculinity.

Question 16

bell hook’s theory of interconnected oppression

Answer 16

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.

Question 17

bell hooks’ call to action

Answer 17

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.

Question 18

Judith Butler’s theory states that gendered identities are constructed through repetition and ritual

Answer 18

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.

Question 19

Judith Butler’s theory states there is gender subversion and gendered hierarchies

Answer 19

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.

Question 20

David Gauntlett’s theory of traditional and post-traditional media consumption

Answer 20

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.

Question 21

David Gauntlett’s theory of reflexive identity construction

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

Curran and Seaton’s theory of media concentration

Answer 22

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.

Question 23

Curran and Seaton’s theory of the effects of concentration on media content

Answer 23

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.

Question 24

Curran and Seaton’s theory of diverse ownership creating diverse products

Answer 24

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.

Question 25

Livingstone and Lunt’s theory of the citizen and consumer models of regulation

Answer 25

Citizen-oriented regulation is concerned with content-based issues. It’s a positive form of regulation that directs media content so that it can improve the lives of citizens and contribute to the well-being of wider society. It promotes forms of media that are able to hold powerful groups to account.

Consumer-based regulation seeks to ensure that the media landscape contains a variety of different producers so that audiences have choice. Consumer-based regulation regulation seeks to ensure that the technological infrastructure that provides media to the public is fit for purpose.it creates an environment in which audiences themselves make judgements about the kinds of media that are appropriate for their consumption. This approach has dominated the media landscape as a result of the communications act 2003 and the creation of Ofcom.

Question 26

Livingstone and Lunt’s theory of regulation in the globalised media age

Answer 26

Globalisation has reduced power of national governments to control the media - global companies operate beyond the scope and boundaries of any one country.

Question 27

Hesmondhalgh’s theory of maximising profit and minimising risks

Answer 27

The media industry is prone to risk as a result of shifting audiences and tries to reduce this risk through overproduction. Overproduction strategies generally an only be engaged by large media conglomerates. Media conglomerates have expanded to enable them to cope with risk. Media products are carefully formatted using a number of industry specific strategies to reduce risk.

Question 28

Hesmondhalgh’s theory that the effects of the internet revolution are difficult to diagnose

Answer 28

The democratising effects of the digital revolution have been over-exaggerated by some academics. Digital media is used by audiences in radically different ways, while only few users have the necessary skills to engage in participatory culture. The internet is dominated by a handful of very powerful companies. Commercialisation of the web has further reduced its democratising capacity.

Question 29

Bandura’s theory that violent behaviours are learned through modelling

Answer 29

Humans learn much of their behaviour through social interaction. Social learning can occur as a result of first-hand experience. It can also occur by watching others’ experiences.

Question 30

Bandura’s theory that audiences copy media modelling

Answer 30

Audiences can copy media representations of negative behaviour. Representational modelling ca have a powerful effect on the behaviours of media audiences. Modelled behaviours by role models and the vivid visual encoding systems of media products further concentrate the effects of visual modelling. Violence is an endemic feature of media content.

Question 31

Gerbner’s theory of fear cultivation

Answer 31

Media products shape attitudes and perceptions of the world at large. Storytelling performs an enculturation role in helping to shape our attitudes and social values. Mass media has replaced other institutions,. most notably religion and education as the principle instructor of symbolic storytelling. Television has had a homogenising effect on society - we all watch and engage with the same symbolic stories as a result of mass media. Television schedules are saturated with violent content that cultivates a wide-spread fear in society - ‘mean world syndrome’. The media can produce resonance or mainstreaming effects on audiences.

Question 32

Gerbner’s theory that media consumption leads audiences to accept mainstream ideologies

Answer 32

Media consumption leads audiences to accept established power structures and mainstream ideologies. Mass media narratives create symbolic representations of power that affect our real-world view. Mass media products over-exaggerate the power and scope of the real-world authorities. Mass media products marginalise alternative viewpoints as a result of middle-of-the-road reportage.

Question 33

Stuart Hall’s theory of encoding and decoding

Answer 33

Professional media encodes messages using visual and aural cues. Media encoding is affected by institutional context, media production processes and genre-driven routines. Media products are polysemic as a result of their use of visual signs. Audiences do not necessarily decode the meanings that the media producers effect in a straight-forward way. Audiences can misread products if they are too complex or untranslatable.

Question 34

Stuart Hall’s theory of dominant, negotiated and oppositional decoding

Answer 34

Media products reinforce dominant ideologies and cultural hegemonies. Dominant ideologies are subject to change - the media plays a crucial role in affecting those changes. Audiences use ‘situated logistics’ to decode media messages. Audiences can produce readings of products that accept the dominant ideologies they construct. Audiences can use their contextual knowledge to read against the grain of a media product and to thus produce negotiated or oppositional decodings.

Question 35

Henry Jenkin’s theory of fan appropriation

Answer 35

Fans appropriate media texts, producing readings that are not fully authorised by media producers. Jenkins suggests that audiences can use professional texts as creative scaffolding on which they craft their own readings of products. Textual poaching can be used by marginalised fans to explore alternative readings to mainstream culture. Textual poaching in the digital age can take many forms, including fanfiction, remix culture, fan art or video parodies.

Question 36

Henry Jenkin’s theory of audience-producer convergence in the digital age

Answer 36

Fans and media makers have converged as a result of digital technology. Digital technologies have brought audiences and producers together. The digital revolution has expanded the scope of fandoms. Producers use their fans’ digital labour to promote market and media. Contemporary media producers deliberately construct material to engage fan interest.

Question 37

Henry Jenkin’s theory that fans use participatory culture to effect social change

Answer 37

Fans use participatory culture to effect wider social change. Participatory culture is distinctly different from the commercial activities of web 2.0. Participatory culture allows individuals to share and develop ideas with a like-minded community. Participatory culture can create social change.

Question 38

Clay Shirky’s theory that everybody makes the media

Answer 38

Shirky highlights the revolutionary impact of digital technology in speeding up media production processes. Media consumption patterns have changed from a broadcast model that involves one sender and many recipients to a many-to-many model. Traditional media uses a ‘filter then publish’ model to provide quality content. He suggests that the internet has resulted in a ‘publish now, filter later’ model due to lower production cost and reduced entry barriers to media production.

Question 39

Clay Shirky’s theory of everyday communities of practice

Answer 39

Audiences actively shape their own rules of engagement with professional media products. Digital technologies have resulted in an explosion of what Shirky calls ‘communities of practice’.