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Media Studies > media theories/theorists > Flashcards

media theories/theorists Flashcards

1
Q

media language: Semiotics- Roland Barthes

A
  • semiology= the study of signs, explaining the way in which images are used to represent and relay information to an audience
  • objects have a connotation and denotation
  • signs can be shown through visual codes, audio codes and language codes
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2
Q

media language: Narratology- Todorov

A
  • narratives move forward chronologically, there is a clear begining, middle and end
  • characters in a narrative undergo change throughout, and this is evident by the resolution
  • the narrative resolution has ideological significance
  • this traditional story arc format is known as a linear narrative

The 5 stages identified by Todorov
1. equilibrium- the given state or balance of affairs before the disruption
2. disruption- the disruption of the equilibrium (may be affected by a catalyst)
3. recognition that there has been a disruption
4. resolution- attempts to restore the equilibrium
5. equilibrium- restoration of similar or changed state of affairs after the disruption has been resolved

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3
Q

media language: Genre Theory- Steve Neale

A
  • audience expectations=genre conventions
  • all genres contain instances of repetition and difference
  • difference is essentail to the to keep the audience interested
  • the text and its genre can be defined by two things:
    1. how much it conforms to genre conventions and stereotypes, so it can be identified as that genre
    2. how much it subverts these, it must do this enough to be considered unique and not just a clone of an existing text
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4
Q

media language: Structuralism- Levi Strauss

A
  • texts are constructed through the use of binary oppositions
  • many oppositions are set up to drive the narrative, and we watch to discover which side ‘triumphs’ at the end
  • these triumphs can have ideological significance
  • meaning is understood and produced by this series of binaries
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5
Q

media language: Postmodernism- Baudrillard

A
  • we have lost connection with the ‘real’ and have nothing left of it but a fascination with our loss
  • Baudrillard believes in hyper reality, which is inability to distinguish between reality and a simulation of it
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6
Q

media representations: Theories of representation- Stuart Hall

A
  • there is not a true representation of people/events but there are lots of ways they can be represented
  • the media often use stereotypes
  • stereotypes result from inequalities of power
  • the representation process can be sorted into three parts: reflective, intentional and constructionist views
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7
Q

media representations: Feminist Theory- Liesbet Van Zoonen

A
  • ideas about gender come from the media
  • our ideas about gender change depending on social and cultural context
  • women are often seen as objects in the media, their bodies are a commodity
  • this illustrates the fact that our culture is patriarchal, our media is run by males and marketed towards males, perpetuating patriarchy as a social norm to both men and women
  • women are often represented domestically while men are represented as professional and suitable for the workplace
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8
Q

media representations: Minority Feminism- Bell Hooks

A
  • race and class as well as sex determine the extent of exploitation, discrimination and oppression
  • all media is made by men, for men, as they are the dominant hegemonic group in society
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9
Q

media representations: Gender Performativity- Judith Butler

A
  • roles are taken on in order to be percieved as a certain gender, gender is constructed through performance
  • this is done by acting in ways which are percieved as masculine or feminine, such as men drinking beer, women wearing makeup
  • media tells us what we have to do in order to construct ourselves as male/female because they make up/reinforce roles and stereotypes
  • the people around us do this too
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10
Q

media representations: Post-Colonial Theory- Gilroy

A
  • we are now in a ‘post-colonial era’, suggesting that the influence of colonialism is past, but post-colonial theory suggests it is not
  • post-colonial theorists like Gilroy study the impact of colonisation on cultures and societes, and the continued dominance of white culture
  • post colonialists argue that when analysing things we should look at what isn’t there as well as what is
  • racial identities are historically constructed through colonisation, slavery etc
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11
Q

media industires: Power and Media industries- Curran and Seaton

A
  • the media is controlled by a small number of companies, mainly driven by profit and power
  • this prevents variety, creativity and quality
  • more socially diverse patterns of ownership create room for more varied and diverse productions
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12
Q

media industires: Regulation- Livingstone and Lunt

A
  • the needs of a citizen and the needs of a consumer are in conflict with each other, because protection can limit freedom to watch what they want
  • the main purpose of regulation is to protect children and other vulnerable groups from harmful content
  • tehcnology has made regulation harder because there are lots of bodies
  • the vast nature of the internet means it is hard to control
  • companies who are powerful can avoid regulation
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13
Q

media industires: Cultural Industries- Hesmondhalgh

A
  • the largest companies/conglomerates now operate across many cultural industries
  • the radical potential of the internet has partially been contained because it has been integrated into a large, profit-oriented set of cultural industries.
  • major cultural organisations create products for different industries in order to maximise commercial success (minmise risk, maximise audience)
  • major IT companies now compete with the more traditional media conglomerates within the cultural sector
  • online media has been colonised largely by a small number of service providers who have affected a creeping commercialisation of the web
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14
Q

media audiences: Media Effects- Bandura

A
  • the media can implant ideas directly into the audience
  • audiences aquire attitudes, emotional responses and new styles of conduct through modelling via the media
  • representations of transgressive behaviour can lead to audiences imitating this
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15
Q

media audiences: Cultivation Theory- Geroge Gerbner

A
  • exposure to certain media over time can ‘cultivate’ the viewer’s perception of reality
  • cultivation reinforces hegemonic values

(representation)
- media representation influences how we see the world
- representation of groups in certain ways over time influences the audience’s views on them
- particularly true if someone has never had an experience of that group

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16
Q

media audiences: Reception Theory- Stuart Hall

A
  • media texts are encoded by the producer- they are loaded with values and messages
  • the text is then decoded by the audience who interpret the text in different ways, perhaps not the intended way

Dominant Reading: the intended meaning/preferred reading is understood and accepted
Oppositional Reading: the message is understood by the decoder and they disagree with it or read it in a contrary/oppositional way
Negotiated Reading: encoder’s message is acknowledged, although the message is adapted, questioned or negotiated to fit the decoder’s own individual experience/context

17
Q

media audiences: Fandom- Henry Jenkins
(within a participatory culture, there are… (list), the four types and what is included)

A
  • fans are active participants construction and circulation of textual meanings
  • fans shape media texts and read them in ways that are not fully authorised by the media producers (textual poaching)
  • fans construct their social and cultural identities through borrowing and changing mass cultural images and are a part of a participatory culture that has an energetic community

within a participatory culture, there are:
- low barriers to artistic expression and public engagement
- strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations with others
- some type of informal mentorship, what is known by the most experienced is passed along by novices
- members believe that their contributions matter
- members feel some degree of social connection with one another/care for what other people think their creations
- not every member must contribute, but all must believe that they are free to contribute when they are ready to and what they contribute will be appropriately valued.

There are four types of participatory culture:
1. Affiliations-memberships, formal and informal, in online communtiies, centred around various forms of media
2. Expressions- producing new creative forms
3. Collaborative Problem-Solving- working together in teams, formal and informal, to complete tasks and develop new knowledge
4. Circulations-shaping the flow of media (new ways of content distribution)

18
Q

media audiences: End of Audience- Clay Shirky

A
  • audiences have become a ‘prosumer’ due to new technologies that make connecting with one another much easier
  • sharing our own content by using this blurs the lines between conumer and producer
19
Q

media representations: Theories of Identity- David Gauntlett

A
  • audiences get a sense of their own identity and how they should act from the media they consume
  • in the past, there were straightforward and simple representations of identity (gender in particular)
  • now, in newer media products we get much more diverse representations that challenge our views
20
Q

Alvarado

A
  • people from different cultures are defined in the media by how different they are- their “otherness”
  • these representations can focus on racial characteristics and on preconceived audience perceptions, drawn from other texts rather than reality (therefore stereotypes)
  • Alvarado believed the representation of ethnic groups could be divided into 4 categories:
  • pitied
  • exotic
  • dangerous
  • humourous
21
Q

Propp’s character theory

A
  • found certain character types and events associated with stories
  • he called their motivations ‘functions’ and suggested that their functions often drove the narrative with the idea of ‘cause and effect’
  • characters usually act out of motives, and we find out what these are when they are introduced
  • these motives drive the characters and often bring the characters into conflict with one another
  • it is this conflict that drives the narrative
22
Q

what were the different character types identified by Propp?

A
  • Hero- reacts and responds to the donor and gets married to the princess
  • Donor- prepares the hero for the challenged ahead
  • Villain- antagonist who plots against the main character
  • Dispatcher- character who informs the hero of some emergency/need and sends them on their quest
  • Helper- often magical, helps the main character
  • Princess- the hero’s love interest who cannot be married until the villain is defeated
  • Princess’ father- gives the hero his task and exposes the false hero
  • False hero- jealous of the hero, plots against them and takes false credit for their achievements
23
Q

Bartle’s taxonomy of gamers

A
24
Q

uses and gratifications- blumler and katz

A

audiences choose media texts to fulfill specific needs and desires:
1. the need to be informed/educated about the world we live in
2. the need to identify and relate personally with characters and situations to learn more about ourselves
3. the need to be entertained
4. the need to use the media as a talking point of social interaction
5. the need to escape from the daily grind into other worlds and situations

25
Q

the ‘exotic’ type- Alvarado’s theory of ethnicity

A
  • links closely to what stuart hall calls ‘the secret fascination of otherness’- the way that media represents people that are different from us
  • this can be positive or negative
  • this stereotype presents the individual in terms of how they look, what they wear, what they eat and different customs
26
Q

the ‘pitied’ type- Alvarado’s theory of ethnicity

A
  • ethnic minorities are stereotyped as vulnerable and victims
  • this is true for newspaper, TV, news reports of developing countries because the only time some countries appear is when it is linked to a disaster
  • similar representations are used for charity campaigns to shock the audience into action
27
Q

the ‘humourous’ type- Alvarado’s theory of ethnicity

A
  • in certain texts, the audience is encouraged to laugh as the ethnic stereotypes it may contain
  • these have often been built up over time and exaggerate recognisable features and attributes
  • this was seen as acceptable in the early days of sitcom
28
Q

the ‘dangerous’ type- Alvarado’s theory of ethnicity

A
  • some texts represent ethnic minorities as a threat to society and they are often blamed for social problems
  • immigrants are stereotyped as benefit cheats and scronugers
  • the ghettoisation of some social groups reinforces the idea of difference because they become marooned communities that are seen as different from the norm
  • this lack of personalisation makes it easier to blame them for a range of social problems
29
Q

Media representation: Laura Mulvey- Male gaze theory

A

Media Studies (32 decks)

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